Energy Supplies
Letter from Paul Dorfman and others: Recent political reviews of energy policy have tried to suggest that there are no practical alternatives to the risks of new nuclear reactors – that unless we start on new nuclear construction now, the lights will start to go out by 2015. The real situation is more complex: although some 25GW of coal and nuclear is due to come offline by around 2030, the generation gap by 2015 identified in some recent policy papers is not supported by evidence, in that it assumes that no new generation capacity of any kind will be built over the next five years. In fact more non-nuclear generation is already under construction and will come on-line by 2015 than is scheduled to go off-line. A further 1GW of new capacity beyond 2015 is being planned, permitted or constructed. Although this is predominantly gas- fired, the International Energy Agency has made it clear that gas is available in an increasingly global market to deliver reliable and affordable access for the UK. Domestic demand for natural gas could be reduced significantly, and as anaerobic digestion biogas starts to come on-line, this will leave more gas capacity for the power sector. However, in terms of gas supply, the real issue is the lack of storage capacity, making us susceptible to market manipulation and threatened interruptions. The mid-term picture for nuclear power looks equally problematic. Three major new energy scenarios conclude that the EU could obtain both its electricity and even its total energy, from renewables by 2050.
Independent 4th May 2010 more >>
Letter: Studies estimate complete lifecycle CO2 emissions at between 66 and 130 grams of CO2 per kilowatt hour generated. Compare this with natural gas at 443, coal 755-1050 and wind at 10-37. These figures also assume a nuclear power plant operating for 40 years at 85 per cent capacity. No nuclear reactor in the world has ever operated past 35 years and none has come near to an average 85 per cent capacity factor. In some cases this figure has been more like 6 per cent. As countries around the world pin their hopes on nuclear power, uranium abundance falls, decreasing its quality and increasing nuclear power’s CO2 emissions. In a few decades’ time nuclear power will be producing the same amount of CO2 as a gas-fired power station does today.
Independent 4th May 2010 more >>
NPT
Letter from David Lowry: Labour’s fanatically pro-nuclear Foreign Secretary David Miliband did attend Obama’s conference, where he commented: “Proliferators are not welcome in the modern world, nuclear proliferators especially.” From May 3-28 British diplomats – as no minister will be available initially – will have to justify Britain’s continued possession and planned £100 billion replacement of the Trident nuclear WMD system at the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference in New York. The NPT requires all its signatories, including its nuclear-armed member states, “to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament … under strict and effective international control.” When this treaty was negotiated at the UN between Britain, the US and the former Soviet Union 42 years ago, the then minister of state for foreign affairs Fred Mulley spoke in Geneva to argue the case for nations to sign up to the new treaty. He declared: “It is our desire that these negotiations should begin as soon as possible and should produce speedy and successful results.” Britain has not entered a single warhead into multilateral negotiations since, and is hence in flagrant breach of its international treaty obligations. As Trident replacement would be a massive act of nuclear proliferation, the three party leaders need to resolve as a matter of urgency how they plan to comply with Britain’s NPT international obligations and negotiate away Britain’s nuclear WMD system.
Morning Star 4th May 2010 more >>
The United States has 5,113 nuclear warheads and ‘several thousand’ more retired warheads awaiting the junk pile, the Pentagon said in an unprecedented accounting of a secretive Cold War arsenal. The Obama administration disclosed the size of its atomic stockpile going back to 1962 as part of a campaign to get other nuclear nations to be more forthcoming, and to improve its bargaining position against the prospect of a nuclear Iran.
Daily Mail 4th May 2010 more >>
China has pledged “extreme restraint” in its development of nuclear weapons as world powers met in New York at a key UN conference on curbing the spread of nuclear arms.
Morning Star 4th May 2010 more >>
We are at a crucial point in time and must ensure that all NPT parties step up to their obligations. The growing availability of sensitive technology increases the possibility of access to weapons of mass destruction by state and non-state actors, alike. And the significant failure of some states to comply with their NPT obligations undermines regional and global security.
Telegraph 5th May 2010 more >>
Day one of the non-proliferation conference in New York brought a small but significant breakthrough for nuclear transparency.
Guardian Blog 4th May 2010 more >>
Kate Hudson’s Blog
CND 4th May 2010 more >>
Dounreay
Sixteen workers were turned away when they reported for work at Dounreay on Monday amid a row over their jobs. The workers have been told they are no longer needed as their employer Nuvia’s contract at the nuclear plant in Caithness has ended. But they claim they should have transferred to the site’s operator Dounreay Site Restoration Limited. The company said it was not obliged to employ them. The case is to go to an employment tribunal.
BBC 4th May 2010 more >>
Press & Journal 4th May 2010 more >>
Hinkley
New nuclear power station at Hinkley point is not needed and would leave an unacceptable legacy to future generations. Jonathon Porritt voiced his views to a packed meeting of local anti-nuclear campaigners who are opposing the Somerset scheme.
YouTube April 2010 more >>
Oldbury
It is absurd that the Government is strongly supporting the construction of new nuclear power stations whilst depriving renewable power and energy saving initiatives of investment. We are blessed by some of the most abundant offshore wind, wave and tidal resources in the world. The UK could, given the political will, cut energy use and develop sufficient green power to secure a nuclear-free, low carbon future. Green Party Report on Oldbury available.
Ruscombe Green 4th May 2010 more >>
Marketforce’s Nuclear New Build Webinar. This free webinar will be broadcast live on 12th May from 12pm to 1pm London Time, from the London Stock Exchange.
Stop Oldbury 29th April 2010 more >>
Wylfa
The issue of who to vote for becomes more complex when we also include Wylfa B into the mix. Most residents on the Island (including the Druid) agree that Wylfa B is crucial to Anglesey’s economic future. However as the building of new nuclear power stations requires government approval, there is a good possibility that Wylfa B could be scrapped in the event of a hung parliament where the anti-nuclear Lib Dems are likely to hold the balance of power. Plaid’s Dylan Rees is personally pro-nuclear (probably due to personal political expedience rather than any heartfelt conviction) whilst his Party is resolutely anti-nuclear (as is their Scottish partners, the SNP); accordingly a vote for Rees is a vote for 1 pro-nuclear and 3 to 4 anti-nuclear voices in Westminster. Peter Rogers is pro-Wylfa B and would likely vote with his ex-party, the Conservatives in Parliament. Accordingly, any vote on Anglesey which does not return either a majority Labour or Conservative government, can probably be seen as a vote against Wylfa B.
The Druid 4th May 2010 more >>
Nuclear Security
Safeguard Security has said that its subsidiary, Systemsgroup Protective Service, has expanded its services to the nuclear power generation market. Systemsgroup’s new division provides services to nuclear power generation companies, chemical and petrochemical companies that face government regulations requiring Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS). The new division provides clients with integrated solutions that include security staffing, security technologies, products, design and engineering.
Energy Business Review 4th May 2010 more >>
Nuclear Research
A TWO-day conference based on the nuclear industry has been organised by a Rotherham business support group. NAMTEC (the National Metals Technology Centre) has set up the event in partnership with the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC). The Nuclear Metals and Manufacturing Conference will feature high profile speakers from the nuclear industry and will focus on the latest developments around nuclear power stations in the UK.
Rotherham Advertiser 4th May 2010 more >>
Supply Chain
Sheffield Forgemasters International has boosted its credentials as a supplier to the nuclear sector with a contract to supply components for the latest generation of nuclear power plants in South Korea.
Sheffield Star 4th May 2010 more >>
Iran
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday brushed off the threat of a new round of UN sanctions over Iran’s nuclear programme.The Iranian leader said fresh sanctions would mean that Barack Obama had given up on his campaign to engage Iran diplomatically. “While we do not welcome sanctions, we do not fear them either,” Ahmadinejad told reporters in New York. “We feel that the US government will be damaged more than us by those sanctions.”
Guardian 5th May 2010 more >>
The Mahmoud Ahmadinejad show arrived at the UN for the sixth time, and much like its previous episodes, it did not disappoint. His speech contained its usual anti-Israel and anti-US diatribe but, surprisingly, this year he also had some interesting and salient points. One of them was the fact that he lambasted the US for threatening his country with nuclear weapons. He has a point. It boggles the mind as to why Obama recently stated that based upon the new US nuclear doctrine, the US would not use nuclear weapons against any country which does not possess them, with the exception of Iran. This was a huge setback for Obama’s outreach strategy to Iran. It was also a huge gift for the ultra-conservatives there.
Guardian 5th May 2010 more >>
Malaysia
Malaysia’s Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water has been given the go-ahead to look for suitable sites for a nuclear power plant.
World Nuclear News 4th May 2010 more >>
India
The radiation-related death of a scrap metal worker has raised concerns over nuclear safety in India, at a time when the Asian power is wooing foreign players to its $150 billion civilian nuclear market. Authorities have launched a probe into the unauthorised disposal of a disused machine from the chemistry department of Delhi University, which contained the radioactive material cobalt-60 and ended up in a scrap metal hub in the capital.A man died in hospital from exposure last week, in a case a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was quoted as saying was the most serious worldwide since 2006.
Interactive Investor 4th May 2010 more >>
Submarines
Two nuclear subs were allowed to sea with a safety defect.
Press & Journal 4th May 2010 more >>
Fusion
Scientists have been battling to make nuclear fusion work for more than half a century, and seem to be forever ‘no more than 20 years away’ from success. As it happens, the 10 billion International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is still only in the process of preparing the site for their colossal prototype, and not expected to run commercially before 2050. But a recent breakthrough could see fusion take off later this year. Scientists at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in California have found that by using lasers to ignite and control the nuclear reaction, instead of the ITER approach involving powerful magnetic fields, fusion reactors may be viable on a much smaller scale.
Green Futures 4th May 2010 more >>
Coal
Around 14 old coal and oil-fired power stations were due to close in 2015, putting the UK in danger of running out of power in the second half of this decade. Experts had warned that taking this back-up generation off the system before nuclear power plants are built would risk an “energy gap” and potential black-outs. But furious lobbying by UK energy companies forced the EU to back down on its directive on Tuesday, with MEPs on the body’s environmental committee voting to recommend that the power stations another four years of life. The EU parliament will take a final decision in July, but is likely to follow the committee’s guidance.
Telegraph 5th May 2010 more >>
