Radwaste
Today in Carlisle in the pouring rain monitored by Special Branch who introduced themselves most cordially (not kidding!) Radiation Free Lakeland provided the public with their only chance to vote. Do you want a nuclear dump under Cumbria? 200 people vote NO 6 vote YES The ONLY public vote to take place reveals a convincing 97% against the government plan for a nuclear dump under the Silloth or Eskdale area or any other most promising site in West Cumbrias leaky geology. The vote took place over 2 hours from 10 till 12.
Radiation Free Lakeland 25th Aug 2012 more >>
Japan
The industry ministry plans to amend legislation to allow for “direct disposal” of spent nuclear fuel, a move away from the nation’s problem-plagued goal of creating a full nuclear fuel cycle, sources said.
Asahi 26th Aug 2012 more >>
Iran
The UN atomic watchdog said that “intensive” talks Friday with Iran had failed, with no plans for a follow-up meeting to persuade Tehran to address suspected evidence of nuclear weapons research.
Middle East Online 25th Aug 2012 more >>
Nuclear Weapons
Opponents of the SNP leadership’s plans to reverse the party’s long-standing opposition to Nato membership have met in Glasgow. SNP defence spokesman Angus Robertson has said an independent Scotland could be opposed to nuclear weapons but remain in the military alliance. The party’s CND group hosted a seminar to “educate” nationalists about what the U-turn in policy could mean. The issue is due to be debated at the party’s conference in October.
BBC 25th Aug 2012 more >>
STV 25th Aug 2012 more >>
THE SNP leadership does not have grassroots backing for its plan to reverse policy on Nato membership, a group of Nationalist MSPs opposed to the reform said yesterday, as the partys battle over the crucial issue intensified. The anti-Nato campaign, which launched yesterday with the backing of ten of the partys 67 MSPs, said it was confident party delegates could be persuaded to stick by its historic opposition to the military alliance.
Scotland on Sunday 2th Aug 2012 more >>
Energy Efficiency
A new £5.2 million Scottish Government datacentre, completed last year, will use two-and-a-half times as much electrical power per year as a facility built to the best modern standards. A freedom of information request has uncovered that the 15,000sqft Saughton House facility in Edinburgh, one of 120 used by the Scottish public sector, has a “power usage effectiveness” (PUE) rating of 2.7, equating to a 37% efficiency rating. Calculations based on the 10p per-kilowatt-hour cost of electricity to the one megawatt datacentre reveal the facility will cost the taxpayer up to £7.14m in extra energy costs over five years, emitting an extra 38,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, compared to a datacentre of the same size built to more up-to-date designs. PUE is the cost of mechanical and electrical power required to create optimum atmosphe ric conditions for massed servers, over and above the cost of powering the servers themselves. While a PUE of one (equal to 100% efficiency) is unachievable, some private datacentres – including an Edinburgh centre by Onyx unveiled last week – have already reached a PUE of 1.2 (83% efficiency). The most up-to-date facilities, including those in the Republic of Ireland, have achieved PUE as low as 1.07 (93%). Derek Schwartz, director of the Green Data Center Alliance (GDCA), a not-for-profit body that campaigns for better energy efficiency in data processing, said a 2.7 PUE rating for a new datacentre was “outrageous in this day and age” and urged the Scottish Government to consider predicted rises in the cost of energy when planning future data provision.
Sunday Herald 26th Aug 2012 more >>
Renewables
All is not well in the UK offshore wind industry. The Westway investment is the Scottish Government’s first from its £70 million National Renewables Infrastructure Fund but a year ago it had been promising three such announcements before the end of 2011. Whether or not the authorities have been dawdling, this mainly reflects the reality that turbine manufacturers are not ready to commit to building factories. The problem is that the wind farms are taking longer to reach fruition than planned above all the vital Round Three projects that comprise the biggest part of planned capacity for the sector. Danish turbine maker Vestas recently scrapped a plan to build a factory in Kent and despite memorandums of understanding for manufacturing in Scotland from the likes of Gamesa and Samsung, the sector has been ominously quiet of late. Several major farms notably Greater Gabbard, off Suffolk have has serious technical problems that have rattled investors. People are looking nervously at Europe, where the Germans among others are finally getting their act together. Given that there is likely to be less banking finance available than before the markets crash, some wonder whether the great offshore wind dream might be starting to slip away.
Sunday Herald 26th Aug 2012 more >>
