Decommissioning
Britain is facing a £4bn black hole in unavoidable nuclear decommissioning and waste costs, Chris Huhne, the energy and climate change secretary disclosed tonight. The decommissioning costs over the next four years revealed by officials to Huhne are so serious that he has already flagged the crisis up to the cabinet. The revelation places an unexpected burden on his department’s £3bn annual budget ahead of difficult spending negotiations this summer. “As you can imagine, this is a fairly existential problem. The costs are such that my department is not so much the department of energy and climate change, as the department of nuclear legacy and bits of other things,” Huhne told the Guardian.
Guardian 2nd June 2010 more >>
FT 2nd June 2010 more >>
New Nukes
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath writes for ePolitix.com ahead of his oral question on government proposals for nuclear power. Bizarrely, the government will put the NPS before Parliament – the Liberal Democrat spokesperson will speak against and Liberal Democrat MPs will abstain. So three positions from within the same coalition! Such stitch-ups have a habit of coming a cropper. And the worry is that companies who were gearing up to invest billions of pounds in the UK may be wary because of the uncertainties of government policy. The government has decided to abolish the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC). This was created by the previous government to take major planning decisions. Now decisions will be firmly back in the ministerial in-tray, with all the uncertainty and delays that will bring – the very reason we set up the IPC in the first place. Alongside this is the fear that the loan given by the Labour government to Sheffield Forgemasters is in jeopardy.
ePolitix.com 1st June 2010 more >>
Scotland
Letter from Neil McKinnon: It should come as little surprise to hear, in an interview with a Sunday newspaper, Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat energy secretary, who worked in the City before politics, and at one time had described nuclear power as a “failed” technology, say: “I am not an ideological ayatollah against nuclear power per se. I am simply a sceptical economist about the record of nuclear power on delivering on time and to budget in a way that can make returns for investors.” I wonder how much longer Tavish Scott and his Lib Dem colleagues at Holyrood will hold out before they too admit to the need for nuclear power in Scotland.
Scotsman 2nd June 2010 more >>
Companies
Scottish and Southern Energy has ruled out a bid for rival energy supplier EDF’s electricity networks, valued at around £4bn. The utility giant said it may be persuaded to purchase a stake of no more than 10pc, but had decided not to go ahead with a full acquisition.
Telegraph 2nd June 2010 more >>
Scotsman 2nd June 2010 more >>
General Electric says it has not had any discussions with Hitachi about changing the structure of their nuclear alliance.
Interactive Investor 1st June 2010 more >>
Carbon Tax
The European Union could seize control of green taxes across the continent in order to make low-carbon energy cheaper. The EU wants to overhaul Europe’s 240bn (£201bn) annual taxation of energy, which varies between countries and often creates paradoxical incentives that encourage the biggest polluters.
Telegraph 2nd June 2010 more >>
Wylfa
THIS is the land power giants want to build a new generation of nuclear reactors on and provide a catalyst to transform the economy of recession hit Anglesey. Horizon Nuclear Power unveiled their favoured position on a tour of the site which they described as the “best” location in the UK for new nuclear. Project developer Pete Forest also revealed the consortium is now exploring creating a quay on one of three bays on the site to ship in as much material as possible during construction.
This would help bypass Anglesey’s road network. If the Government gives the final green light after its strategic site assessment later this summer Horizon will complete the land purchase and press to submit a planning application by February 2012. This could see the six-year mammoth construction project start by 2013, creating 5,000 jobs and pumping millions of pounds into the island economy.
Daily Post 1st June 2010 more >>
Iran
Iran has amassed enough fissile material to build two nuclear bombs, according to the United Nations atomic watchdog. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA’s) last report before a Security Council vote on proposed new sanctions for Iran also detailed how its inspectors have been denied access to facilities. It renders obsolete Iran’s efforts to revive a fuel-swap deal which was aimed at delaying the moment it reaches nuclear capability.
Times 2nd June 2010 more >>
Trident
In an early show of opposition to Trident replacement, a number of newly-elected MPs from different parties will visit Downing Street today (2 June) to call for government action on nuclear disarmament. They will hand in a letter that has been produced in response to the outcomes of the recent United Nations conference to review the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The letter will ask ministers to outline how they will make progress on reaching the objectives of the conference agreement. This will include questions on when and by how much the UK government will further reduce its nuclear warhead stockpile and how it will reduce the circumstances in which nuclear weapons may be used. They include Liberal Democrat Julian Huppert, the Scottish National Party’s Eilidh Whiteford and the Green Party’s Caroline Lucas. The initiative is supported by newly elected Labour MP John Cryer.
Ekklesia 2nd June 2010 more >>
