Nuclear Waste
NEXT Tuesday Cumbria County Council’s Cabinet will decide whether to ‘express an interest’ in the Government process to find a location for a deep geological nuclear waste repository in Cumbria. But the motion before councillors will point clearly at Copeland as the area for consideration, rather than the county as a whole.
Whitehaven News 29th Oct 2008 more >>
New Nukes
Letter from David Lowry: I read with some incredulity that the West Wales Business Forum has joined the atomic advocacy club. It would take at least 10 years before any power could be generated. The present Wylfa reactor is due to close within 18 months, so what is Anglesey Aluminium – a major user of the nuclear electricity from Wylfa – to do in the intervening eight years? New nuclear power is irrelevant to Anglesey Aluminium’s future.
Western Mail 29th Oct 2008 more >>
Letter: It takes four years to build a new nuclear reactor, though even in England the government intends to first spend five years doing paperwork. We know that French nuclear designs can produce as much electricity as we want at 1.3p per kWh, because they have been doing so for decades. Our politicians, who know all this perfectly well, have been grossly irresponsible for decades.
Herald 29th Oct 2008 more >>
Politicians may be sold on nuclear as a vital component in a low carbon energy mix. But as Danny Bradbury discovers a nuclear renaissance is no cast iron certainty. There are some serious practical hurdles for the next generation of nuclear plants to get off the ground, and access to debt is one. Moreover, wind farms and solar plants can begin producing energy relatively soon after construction begins, and can expand their energy in line with additional construction. Nuclear plants don’t move any juice until they’re completed, and they can take a long time to build.
Business Green 30th Oct 2008 more >>
Nathan Argent gives Greenpeace’s reaction to the news that the government tried to fix another public consultation on new nuclear power, and ponders the implications for UK energy policy.
Greenpeace Podcast 29th Oct 2008 more >>
Sellafield
SELLAFIELD’S new owners will have to think again about who will fill one of the site’s top jobs. New finance director Earl Ward has quit from the new Nuclear Management Partners executive team only weeks after being appointed. Mr Ward was due to take up the post on November 24 – the day NMP succeeds BNFL as Sellafield’s new parent company. It is understood that Mr Ward, who has paid one visit to the site, has taken up another position outside the NMP consortium.
Whitehaven News 29th Oct 2008 more >>
FUTURE projects for the West Cumbria Energy Coast were revealed at a conference on Friday. It was stated that the “government wants to see Sellafield included on the site listings for new nuclear reactors” .MP Jamie Reed opened the conference by describing the Energy Coast in Cumbria as having an international reach. For example, he pointed out that there was a £300 billion market worldwide for nuclear decommissioning. He said getting new build reactors at Sellafield was pivotal for the future, but it “would be a hard fight to get Sellafield chosen as there are easier sites in the UK.” He added: “I don’t just want to see one reactor, I want to see two or three.” Later nuclear opportunities director Rosie Mathisen added: “The government wants to see Sellafield on the nominations list” (for new reactors). She showed a plan outlining land on the Beckermet side of Sellafield as the proposed new reactor’s location.
Whitehaven News 29th Oct 2008 more >>
THE private consortium taking over Sellafield has been given a government insurance indemnity against any major insurance or damages claim. And the taxpayer-backed cover note will extend 30 years into the future. But a Labour MP has described the deal as an “outrage” in that MPs were denied time to debate the matter. Details were posted in the House of Commons library after the deal was signed with Sellafield’s new parent, Nuclear Management Partners.
Whitehaven News 29th Oct 2008 more >>
Nuclear Weapons
In a remarkable speech on nuclear policy delivered October 28 at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP), US Defense Secretary Robert Gates painted a dire portrait of international affairs and argued that Washington should expand the doctrine of pre-emptive war formulated by the Bush administration to include possible nuclear strikes.
World Socialist Web 30th Oct 2008 more >>
Iran
The foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates visited Iran yesterday in a bid to improve relations between the neighbours, which have been strained by concerns over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and claims to disputed islands. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Manouchehr Mottaki, his Iranian counterpart, signed an agreement to set up a committee to boost economic and political co-operation between the two nations.
FT 30th Oct 2008 more >>
Peak Oil
The “peak oil” debate has raged for many years. Some governments and oil companies believe that crude oil production will meet rising demand for decades to come. But an increasingly vocal group – including many experts from within the oil industry – claim that a production peak is imminent.
Guardian 29th Oct 2008 more >>
