Weightman Report
DECC pages – including correspondence between Mark Higson and Mike Weightmam on the National Policy Statements.
DECC 18th May 2011 more >>
Chris Huhne’s answer to my urgent question yesterday proved that his faith in his new religion is skin deep. The voice of someone in the cabinet who once believed is more useful than a gaggle of politicos who have never believed in anything. Again and again yesterday, he chanted his mantra of no subsidies on nuclear power. Interesting.
Paul Flynn MP Blog 19th May 2011 more >>
New Nukes
MPs have accused the government of planning to subsidise nuclear power despite pledging no public financial support for the industry. The coalition government says it is committed to new nuclear build but has insisted it would not be taxpayer funded. But a report by the Commons Energy and Climate Change committee said hidden subsidies for nuclear will be awarded through government-supported long-term contracts to supply energy, and a minimum price for carbon emissions. It condemned the attempts to hide the subsidies as deeply irresponsible and said it put the governments green credentials in jeopardy.
North West Evening Mail 20th May 2011 more >>
H&V News 20th May 2011 more >>
Parts of the most beautiful countryside in Britain will be blighted by hundreds of miles of electricity pylons in the next few years, campaigners warned yesterday. Energy bosses are planning at least 300 miles of high-voltage power lines to connect new wind farms and the next generation of nuclear power stations to the grid.
Daily Mail 21st May 2011 more >>
Fukushima didn’t kill nuclear power – it was already dead. Christopher Flavin of the World Watch Institute says there wasn’t a revival of nuclear power before the accident. It’s actually a dwindling energy source.
Fast Company 20th May 2011 more >>
The recent devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan have confirmed the worst fears of nuclear power critics. Governments everywhere are re-evaluating their nuclear plans. But are fears of nukes misplaced? Chris Goodall and Jose Etcheverry are both environmentalists but stand divided on the nuclear debate.
New Internationalist June 2011 more >>
Nuclear Industry Association
Former Cumbrian MP Lord Hutton has been named chairman of the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA). The former Barrow MP and energy secretary will take over in mid-June following the end of Lord ONeills three-year tenure at the head of the UKs nuclear trade association. Lord Hutton was at the forefront of UK energy policy when new nuclear build became official Government policy.
Cumberland News 20th May 2011 more >>
Cumbria
Evidence leaked to Greenpeace and released under the Freedom of Information Act shows local nuclear consultation on nuclear waste disposal is a sham and pro-nuclear lobbyists know Sellafield is not a suitable location for a new reactor. The documents reveal that the three Councils which have made an ‘expression of interest’ in West Cumbria hosting a national nuclear dump secretly view hosting the dump as a ‘trump card’ in getting new reactors at Sellafield.
Greenpeace Briefing 16th May 2011 more >>
Copy of Council Minutes released 16th May 2011 more >>
Copy of Amec Slides released 16th May 2011 more >>
Hinkley
Stop Hinkley May Newsletter.
Stop Hinkley 19th May 2011 more >>
Sizewell
The Sizewell B nuclear plant in Suffolk is considered among the most advanced reactors of its kind in the world, according to a report prompted by the Fukushima disaster in Japan. Nuclear chief inspector Mike Weightmans report, which said none of Britains 19 reactors are the boiling water design used at Fukushima, has been welcomed by EDF Energy and its partner Centrica in the light of plans to build a third reactor at Sizewell.Charles Barnett, of the Shut Down Sizewell group, said he had no confidence in the report, adding: The Government is hell-bent on foisting another 10 nuclear power stations on the public. The report mentions only the tsunami and takes no account of terrorism, which could leave large areas of the country a radioactive desert, or the real chance of mudslides in the Canaries which could generate a tsunami to dwarf that of Japan.
Eastern Daily Press 20th May 2011 more >>
Civil Nuclear Police
Lieutenant General Sir Philip Trousdell KBE CB has been appointed as interim Chair of the Civil Nuclear Police Authority to take over from Sir Chris Fox, who has stepped down.
DECC Press Release 20th May 2011 more >>
AP1000
In a setback for the only model of nuclear reactor for which ground has been broken in the United States, government regulators have found additional problems with the design of its shield building, a crucial component, the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said on Friday. The chairman, Gregory B. Jaczko, said that computations submitted by Westinghouse, the manufacturer of the new AP1000 reactor, about the buildings design appeared to be wrong and had led to more questions. He said the company had not used a range of possible temperatures for calculating potential seismic stresses on the shield building in the event of an earthquake, for example.
New York Times 20th May 2011 more >>
Companies
Siemens AG (SIE) will pay Frances Areva SA (CEI) 648 million euros ($927 million) after an arbitration tribunal found the German company failed to meet contractual obligations in a nuclear joint venture that it exited earlier this year.
Bloomberg 19th May 2011 more >>
The government has proposed the most radical reforms of the electricity market since privatisation 20 years ago partly to encourage low carbon generation. Mr Marchant said that SSEs priority would be to capitalise on its expertise in renewable energy, particularly by expanding offshore wind generation, while being cautious about investing in new nuclear power stations. The aim was to have more than our fair share of renewables and less than our fair share of nuclear. Mr Marchant added: We have no experience in running a nuclear plant, so we would inevitably be the junior partner of a consortium, whereas in renewables, we could be leading a consortium.
FT 20th May 2011 more >>
Radhealth
A study to assess cancer risks in people living near nuclear plants and facilities will begin with a public meeting Monday that will be shown via a live video webcast.
The Tennessean 20th May 2011 more >>
Japan
The operator of Japan’s stricken nuclear power plant has announced record losses of 1.25 trillion yen (£9.5bn) as it counts the cost of ongoing efforts to contain the world’s worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
Guardian 20th May 2011 more >>
FT 21st May 2011 more >>
IAEA Update on the status of the reactors.
IB Times 21st May 2011 more >>
TEPCO, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, used to be in the business of supplying energy to the world’s largest metropolis and its environs. Ten weeks after the disaster at its Fukushima nuclear power plant following the March 11th quake and tsunami, its primary activity is transforming into a massive financial-compensation vehicle, with a power company on the side.
The Economist 20th May 2011 more >>
As more people are forced to leave their homes around the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, anger is growing in a farming community forced to make the agonising decision whether to slaughter livestock or face ruin.
AFP 20th May 2011 more >>
Damage to pipes inside a turbine steam condenser has been discovered following the leak of seawater into a reactor at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, its operator Chubu Electric Power Co said Friday. The utility will investigate the cause of the damage as the pipes, measuring 3 centimeters in diameter through which cooling seawater flows in the condenser, may have fractured.
Japan Today 21st May 2011 more >>
The president of the Japanese utility that runs a tsunami-devastated nuclear plant resigned in disgrace on Friday after reporting the biggest financial losses in company history, saying he was stepping down to take responsibility for the ongoing crisis.
Telegraph 20th May 2011 more >>
Sky News 20th May 2011 more >>
Reuters 20th May 2011 more >>
Independent 21st May 2011 more >>
US
Nuclear Regulatory Commission still insists that US nuclear plants with same design as Japan’s stricken Fukushima Daiichi facility are safe. But watchdog groups cite failed venting system, which led to hydrogen explosions.
Christian Science Monitor 20th May 2011 more >>
Germany
From Saturday only four of the 17 nuclear plants will be operating. It threatens serious power shortages if the weather does not cooperate.
Die Welt 20th May 2011 more >>
France
A NUCLEAR waste treatment plant in Basse-Normandie has been rapped for under-declaring dangerous incidents. In its report for 2010 on nuclear installations in Normandy the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) said Arevas plant at Beaumont-Hague in the Manche was had an unsatisfactory record last year when it came to its declarations process. Last year there were 58 events in total compared to only 25 the year before at the plant, which is one of the sites which houses the most radioactive material in the world. Out of these, six were classed at 1, the rest at 0. The plant last had a level 2 incident in 2009.
Connexion 20th May 2011 more >>
Nuclear Weapons
Letter: Dr Mark Campbell-Roddis (Letters, 20 May) suggests that it is now time to question whether we should continue to rely on our “allies” for nuclear defence. It is not at present clear which of our so-called allies has the authority to launch nuclear weapons on the civilian populations of a number of unspecified countries – the so-called nuclear deterrent policy. I would be surprised if any of the targeted countries represent any threat to Scotland. What is certain is that the implementation of this policy, associated with bases located in Scotland, would make Scotland a primary target in the event of a nuclear holocaust. On this basis, it important that the Scottish Government should now be fully responsible for Scotland’s defence policy.
Scotsman 21st May 2011 more >>
Renewables
A pioneering project based in Norfolk could improve how we use renewable energy. The electrical substation near Great Yarmouth takes power from nearby wind farms and stores it in industrial batteries. At the moment, renewable energy has to be used as it is generated. If this prototype is successful, it could have a big impact on green energy production.
ITV Anglia 19th May 2011 more >>
