New Nukes
The Government has been criticised for failing to make any concrete plans for the construction of nuclear power plants at sites such as Hinkley Point and has been accused of assuming they will “magically appear”.A report by the Economic Research Council says it remains unclear how the reactors will be built and who will be responsible for building them after Gordon Brown announced he is keen for Britain to begin a new age of atomic power. The report says only three European utilities – EDF of France or Germany’s E.ON and RWE – had the financial strength and inclination to take on the risk of building new nuclear stations at sites including Hinkley Point B in West Somerset.
Western Daily Press 3rd March 2008 more >>
The Government has given its tacit backing to a substantial increase in the share of UK electricity generated from nuclear power to 30 per cent or more. Senior officials in the power industry have told The Times that John Hutton, the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, has expressed support privately for an increase in electricity generation through nuclear power from 18 per cent of the present mix to “30 or 35 per cent” in the long term.
Times 3rd March 2008 more >>
A 200-year-old Sheffield metal- basher is considering building a 15,000-tonne press – one of the world’s biggest – to satisfy the demand for parts arising from the global renaissance in nuclear power. Sheffield Forgemasters (SFI), which was on the verge of bankruptcy two years ago before it was rescued by a management buyout, has placed an order for one 4,000- tonne press and is weeks away from ordering a 15,000-tonne device as governments worldwide look to nuclear power as a source of non-carbon-emitting energy.
Times 3rd March 2008 more >>
Sellafield MOX Plant
A nuclear plant built at a cost of £470m to provide atomic fuel to be used in foreign power stations has produced almost nothing since it was opened six years ago, the government has admitted. The mixed oxide (Mox) facility at Sellafield in Cumbria – which was opposed by green groups as uneconomic – was originally predicted to have an annual throughput of 120 tonnes of fuel. The energy minister, Malcolm Wicks, has admitted in response to a parliamentary question that it had managed only 2.6 tonnes in any one 12-month period between 2002 and 2006-07.
Guardian 3rd March 2008 more >>
Korea
International nuclear experts have accused the White House of exaggerating North Korea’s nuclear threat to support its claim that the communist state was part of an “axis of evil” – just as it did with Iraq’s before the 2003 invasion.
Independent 3rd March 2008 more >>
Renewables
Householders will be able to make money by fitting solar panels or mini wind turbines to their roofs, under proposals to be announced in the Budget next week. Those who generate their own renewable energy through the devices will be able to sell their surplus electricity to the National Grid, at a guaranteed price. The scheme, known as “feed in tariffs”, gives long-term financial security to homeowners who instal the expensive electricity generation equipment. It has been highly successful in Germany but the Government is said to have held out against new rules for small-scale power generation since Labour was elected in 1997. There are more solar panels in the German city of Freiburg than in the whole of Britain.
Telegraph 3rd March 2008 more >>
Fuel Poverty
Energy prices could soar and green investment may suffer if the Government pushes ahead with a threat to impose windfall tax on gas and electricity firms, according to a senior industry representative. The Sunday Telegraph revealed yesterday that the chief executives of energy companies had been summoned to Downing Street over the past days and weeks and told they must contribute to a nationwide fuel poverty scheme or face a windfall tax akin to the one imposed on privatised utilities by Labour in the late 1990s. But David Porter, chief executive of the Association of Electricity Producers, said the threatened windfall tax on energy profits would “send a very negative message” to foreign investors looking to pump money into Britain’s creaking infrastructure.
Telegraph 3rd March 2008 more >>
Britain’s biggest energy companies are holding talks with the Government about a deal to provide subsidised heating and electricity to the 4.5 million people thought to be living in fuel poverty.
Times 3rd March 2008 more >>
