Hinkley
The money and jobs a new nuclear power station in Somerset will bring outweighs any safety concerns among local people, MPs have been told. A top executive from EDF Energy said communities around Hinkley Point want the huge economic boost and are not worried about safety. But anti-nuclear campaigners say thousands of people have signed a petition protesting against the project. Stop Hinkley says it has given the Independent Planning Commission, which will decide the application, a 13,000 signature petition against the project. Its submission focuses on emergency plans, as the evacuation zone would include Bristol, Taunton, Exmoor and Glastonbury, and EDFs transport strategy, which the campaigners say is dangerous.
Western Daily News 28th Jan 2012 more >>
NNB Generation Company Limited has submitted an application to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) for consent to build a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point, Somerset. The company, a subsidiary of EDF Energy, has also applied for permission to build accommodation centres for workers, park and ride facilities and a bypass. The government will make the final decision on EDF Energy’s proposals after considering the recommendation made by the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) which is looking at the planning application. As part of the planning process, the Environment Agency is submitting its views and has advised the IPC on the parts of the application that refer to its remit, particularly flood risk management.
Environment Agency 27th Jan 2012 more >>
Radwaste
A PUBLIC consultation to decide whether West Cumbria should volunteer to house the countrys nuclear waste has sparked widespread debate. Copeland and Allerdale Councils have expressed an interest in having a £12 million radioactive waste disposal facility built underground in the districts the only local authorities in the country to have put themselves forward. Radiation Free Lakeland believes that a nuclear dump would be a blight on agriculture and tourism in Cumbria. And it claims that the scheme is a cunning plan by the Governement to keep the nuclear agenda on track. Save Our Lake District claims that little or no work has been done on the environ-mental or economic aspects of the proposal. The group believes that a respository would have a negative impact on house and land prices and badly affect communities.
Westmorland Gazette 27th Jan 2012 more >>
SNP Councillor Alan Hill has sent a warning shot to Hunterston bosses who may be considering making ‘A’ station a waste depository for other nuclear stations around Scotland. The North Ayrshire councillor countered that any bid ot try and make Hunterston into a national dumping ground would be against planning policy. This week, Labour councillor Alex Gallagher set up a petition to oppose any suggestion of other nuclear waste coming to the site.
Largs & Millport Weekly News 27th Jan 2012 more >>
HAZARDOUS waste firm Augean said it is looking ahead with optimism despite the bleak economic outlook and will focus on opportunities to store low-level nuclear waste. The Wetherby-based company recently won a court battle allowing it to take radioactive material at its East Northants site in Northamptonshire, despite fierce local opposition. It believes it could take up to 2,000 tonnes of LLW in the year ahead, significantly boosting profits. The company said despite strong competition in the hazardous waste markets, it expects 2011 results to be in line with expectations.
Yorkshire Post 28th Jan 2012 more >>
Wylfa
KEY Enterprise Zone sites to transform Anglesey into an Energy Island could create up to 5,000 new jobs. The Welsh Government has given the island the special economic status – backing its bid to become a centre for nuclear, biomass, off-shore wind and micro-generation projects. This opens the door for multi-million pound investment with business rate discounts, free credit on public land, and accelerated planning for low carbon companies and linked support firms. It is hoped companies use these incentives to site office, manufacturing and warehouse schemes on the park to support Wylfa B.
Daily Post 27th Jan 2012 more >>
News Wales 27th Jan 2012 more >>
Cumbria
Experts predict that Copelands planned nuclear power station could generate £9 billion for the local economy.
Cumberland News 27th Jan 2012 more >>
Carlisle News and Star 27th Jan 2012 more >>
Dounreay
Traces of radioactive contamination have been found on the shoes of workers demolishing a former nuclear power station. It was detected on around a dozen people on Thursday as they prepared to leave a building which they were preparing for demolition. Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL), which is overseeing the decommissioning of the site in Caithness, has launched an investigation. It said that the building is in a “controlled” area, where contamination is possible, and controls are in place to manage it.
Rutherglen Reformer 27th Jan 2012 more >>
DOUNREAY suffered just over half-a-million pounds worth of damage in recent storms, it has emerged. A Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd spokeswoman confirmed the cost of the damage which came about after severe weather on November 27 and December 9. High winds caused structural damage to the roof of a waste building and to the roof of a building in the Materials Testing Reactor complex.
John O Groat Journal 27th Jan 2012 more >>
TRAINS will start transporting nuclear material from Dounreay through the Highlands in the summer but the exact times and dates will not be disclosed because of fears of terrorist attack.
John O Groat Journal 20th Jan2012 more >>
Opinion Poll
The results of a nationwide poll show that Britons believe new nuclear power plants would be the best infrastructure investment the country could make. The result saw 19% of 1711 people polled by YouGov on 19 and 20 January choose nuclear investment as “best for Britain” from a list of projects either in progress or under discussion. The second most chosen by the respondents was offshore wind, selected by 16% of people, while the development of superfast broadband internet access in rural areas was third with 13%.
World Nuclear News 27th Jan 2012 more >>
Politics
The head of the charity that helped to arrange David Cameron’s memorable husky photoshoot in the Arctic, launching the Conservatives’ rebranding as the nice-not-nasty party, has warned that the PM’s lack of leadership on environment issues risks “retoxifying” their image.
Guardian 27th Jan 2012 more >>
Europe
In 2012, the consequences of Fukushima at EU level will continue to unfold with the completion of the so-called “stress tests”, the revision of the safety Directive and the publication of a European-wide opinion poll (Eurobarometer) on waste and safety. Other developments are also in the pipeline like the publication of a report on nuclear by the European Commission (EC) called “PINC” and the adoption by the European Parliament (EP) of own initiative reports on the Energy Roadmap 2050 and the Low-carbon Roadmap 2050. Please find below an overview of EU nuclear policy developments expected this year.
Foratom 27th Jan 2012 more >>
Iran
Iran is moving closer to the point when it will be too late to destroy its nuclear facilities with a precision air strike, Israel’s defence minister has warned.
Telegraph 27th Jan 2012 more >>
Iran is due to open talks with UN nuclear inspectors on Sunday in an attempt to allay their suspicions of a covert Iranian weapons programme, the first such discussions in more than three years.
Guardian 27th Jan 2012 more >>
Iran must open its nuclear facilities to a team of inspectors heading to Tehran on Friday as the full extent of its atomic work remains a mystery, a leading international official has said.
Telegraph 27th Jan 2012 more >>
China
China has moved swiftly to deny it has become the latest nation to experience a nuclear accident, after claims that it was forced to shut down its newest nuclear reactor last year. A report from Japan’s Atomic Energy Agency said the China Experimental Fast Reactor (CEFR) stopped generating electricity in October following an accident. With Japan already reeling from the meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant in March last year, the incident sparked alarm there and in South Korea over the prospect of radiation leaking from the CEFR. Those fears were intensified by Beijing’s failure to report the accident or release details of what happened, according to a Tokyo newspaper which cited the Japanese Atomic Energy Agency’s investigation.
Telegraph 27th Jan 2012 more >>
Japan
The Japanese government has admitted it failed to keep records of key meetings during the nuclear crisis last year. Deputy PM Katsuya Okada has instructed ministers to produce summaries of the meetings retroactively by the end of February, an official said.
BBC 27th Jan 2012 more >>
Advisers to Japan’s nuclear safety agency have said power plant stress tests do not prove that a nuclear plant is safe, as the country faces the prospect of a summer without a single nuclear reactor in operation. Last year, the Japanese government ordered the nuclear authorities to conduct tests on all Japan’s reactors after the 11 March meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi raised questions about the safety of nuclear power, particularly in a country prone to earthquakes and tsunami. Earlier this week, a team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) began a review of the safety tests but said it was up to the Japanese government whether or not to approve the restart of idle reactors.
Guardian 27th Jan 2012 more >>
Fukushima Crisis Update 24th 26th Jan.
Greenpeace International 27th Jan 2012 more >>
Microgeneration
This weeks Micro Power News with all the news of the Solar Court Case, the £66k the Government has spent on legal costs so far and its appeal to the Supreme Court. There is speculation that this is just to avoid another solar rush before the 3rd March.
Microgen Scotland 27th Jan 2012 more >>
