New Nukes
The Environment Agency has released detailed assessments of two new nuclear power station designs, and is inviting all interested parties to comment. There are 10 sites in England and Wales potentially suitable for the next generation of new nuclear power stations. The Environment Agency, working closely with the Health and Safety Executive, has conducted assessments of the acceptability of two new nuclear power station designs in a process called Generic Design Assessment. This process was designed to ensure that any new nuclear power station will meet high standards of safety, security, environmental protection and waste management.
There are two designs being considered in the GDA process; EDF/Areva’s EPR and the AP1000 designed by Westinghouse Electric Company. Both are modern designs of Pressurised Water Reactors, which is the type of nuclear power reactor in use at Sizewell B in Suffolk.
Environment Agency 28th June 2010 more >>
ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners have accused the government of preparing to allow multi-million pound “handouts” to firms building nuclear reactors. Greenpeace said the move went against assurances given by ministers that the nuclear industry would not receive any handouts to help build new nuclear power stations. The government has denied the accusation. A report written by Ian Jackson, an associate fellow in the energy, environment and development programme of the Royal Institute ofInternational Affairs, said dealing with waste from each new reactor would cost about £1.5bn. But under current plans being considered by the government, energy companies would “walk away” having contributed as little as £500m.
NW Evening Mail 28th June 2010 more >>
Supply Chain
The Rotherham-based National Metals Technology Centre and the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, are offering this region’s manufacturers a last chance to attend the two-day nuclear metals and manufacturing conference at Oulton Hall Hotel and Golf Resort in Leeds on June 29 and 30.
Sheffield Star 28th June 2010 more >>
Companies
Yesterday the Japanese foreign ministry announced the start of talks with India on a civil nuclear energy pact that would open the way for Japan’s three big nuclear-engineering groups – Toshiba, Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy – to bid on reactor-building contracts in the country. With worldwide nuclear-plant construction expected to double in the next two decades, Japanese groups are counting on their technology to give them an edge. They’ve forged alliances with US and European companies with deeper experience in international markets: Toshiba bought Westinghouse of the US in 2006, Hitachi has partnered with GE and Mitsubishi has joined forces with France’s Areva. However, lower-cost competitors could thwart Japan’s ambitions. This spring Russia’s Atomstroyexport beat a Japanese consortium for a contract to build nuclear plants in Vietnam. And in December, a South Korean group won a bid to build four plants in the United Arab Emirates.
FT 29th June 2010 more >>
MOX
A transport ship carrying recycled nuclear fuel for Japanese power reactors from France arrived at a Kyushu Electric Power Co plant in Saga Prefecture on Monday. The ship docked at the Genkai power plant on the Sea of Japan in the early morning as Japan Coast Guard ships patrolled the area, and unloaded some of the fuel. It left for its next destination, a Kansai Electric Power Co nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture, in the evening. The ship was loaded with 15 tons of uranium-plutonium mixed-oxide fuel, or MOX fuel, apparently containing around 1.3 tons of plutonium, when it left France in April.
Japan Today 29th June 2010 more >>
Nuclear Research
German energy group EOn and French national nuclear energy commission the CEA have signed a framework agreement on future cooperation in nuclear energy research and development. The CEA has also signed a cooperation agreement with French car maker Renault. The agreement with EOn “provides the basis for new research projects focused on the future use of nuclear energy, which are in both CEA’s and EOn’s interest,”
World Nuclear News 28th June 2010 more >>
Proliferation
WHEN it comes to nuclear danger, North Korea and Iran grab everyone’s attention. One flounced out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and tested two bombs; the other, though it denies it, seems headed for just such a breakout. Syria and Myanmar make the worry-list for getting secret nuclear help from North Korea. Even Israel, which keeps mum about its bombs, is now being named and (Egypt hopes) shamed. Pressing Israel to join nuclear talks was Egypt’s price for not ruining a big NPT review last month. Picking on Israel makes the silence and hypocrisy that surrounds nuclear-armed India and Pakistan all the stranger.
Economist 24th June 2010 more >>
Energy Prices
A significant chunk of a householder’s energy bill is already made up of environmental levies, which the Government charges energy companies, which they in turn pass on to their customers. However, according to uSwitch, the price comparison website, these levies are due to nearly double over the next decade, based on calculations from Ofgem, the industry regulator. This would mean customers have to pay £156 a year in green taxes on the average bill of £1,194, compared with today’s £84.
Telegraph 29th June 2010 more >>
India
Canada’s nuclear industry will be able to access India’s expanding nuclear market under a nuclear cooperation agreement signed by the two countries.
World Nuclear News 28th June 2010 more >>
Canada, which had led India`s nuclear isolation in the mid-1970s and late 1990s, is now the ninth nation with which New Delhi has a peacetime atomic energy pact, opening the doors for bilateral nuclear commerce on the lines India has with the US.
Asian Lite 28th June 2010 more >>
BBC 28th June 2010 more >>
Iran
Iran is to postpone nuclear talks with the west as a “punishment” for the imposition of new UN sanctions that are designed to it stop enriching uranium, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said. Negotiations would be put off until after Ramadan in late August, he said, though no talks have in fact been scheduled.
Guardian 29th June 2010 more >>
Germany
Angela Merkel’s plans to extend the life of Germany’s nuclear power stations have been thrown into disarray by the loss of the upper house in last month’s elections.
Utility Week 25th June 2010 more >>
North Korea
North Korea said Monday it would bolster its nuclear weaponry in response to what it branded US hostility.
Telegraph 28th June 2010 more >>
Carbon Sequestration
A Danish climate scientist has published a paper criticising carbon sequestration – the idea of dealing with CO2 emissions by stuffing the greenhouse gas away into underground or deep-sea storage where it can’t affect the atmosphere. The prof has done some long-term analysis into the consequences of massive carbon sequestration, and he doesn’t seem happy with what he’s found. According to a statement issued by the Niels Bohr Institute, sequestration amounts to creating “a burden for future society… in line with that of long term management of nuclear waste”.
The Register 28th June 2010 more >>
Renewables
Several groups have come up with plans to harness the sun in Africa to make electricity, which could then be exported to Europe, or use it to turn desert into forests by using the power to desalinate sea water. And how far is this from a reality? In a recent interview, European energy commissioner G nther Oettinger said that Europe will be importing hundreds of megawatts of solar-generated electricity from north Africa within five years. The EU is committed to sourcing 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. Most advanced in the planning is the German-led Desertec Industrial Initiative, which aims to provide 15% of Europe’s electricity by 2050 or earlier, via power lines stretching across the desert and the Mediterranean. Its $400bn plan is supported by some of Germany’s biggest companies, including Siemens, E.On and Deutsche Bank.
Observer 27th June 2010 more >>
Britain’s renewable energy revolution suffered an abrupt setback this winter when the power supplied from wind, hydro and other “clean” sources fell, despite years of promises and policies to end the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels and slash global warming pollution, the Guardian can reveal.The news comes as the government will tomorrow unveil a major report into how it will pay for the hundreds of billions of new spending needed to meet the UK’s targets for renewable energy and cutting climate change emissions by setting up a new Green Investment Bank (GIB).
Guardian 29th June 2010 more >>
Plans to axe billions of pounds from Britain’s energy and scientific research budgets threaten to cripple the nation’s efforts to meet ambitious carbon reduction goals, one of the country’s most distinguished scientists warned yesterday.
Sir David King, the former chief scientific adviser to the Prime Minister, told The Times in Oxford that plans to cut up to 25 per cent from the budget of the Department for Energy and Climate Change as well as a range of other funding programmes were a “real concern” for Britain’s drive to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 80 per cent by 2050 while creating new green industries based on low carbon technologies.
Times 29th June 2010 more >>
An environmental group has suggested that the green industry could be a major driving force in the UK’s economic recovery.
Simon Bullock, economy campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “I appreciate that there are major problems with the UK’s deficit and debt, but the green economy and the green technology sector will be big drivers of future economic growth.”
He added that the sector is growing, but “it does need support”, making it “really important that the government continues to support these industries, whether its offshore renewables or energy efficiency or low carbon vehicles”.
EST 29th June 2010 more >>
Nuclear Submarines
TV review: How To Build A Nuclear Submarine was heaven for lovers of impressive stats, but the £1.25bn cost of the boat was one that worried our reviewer somewhat.
Metro 28th June 2010 more >>
