Nuclear Subsidies
The electricity market will need at least three major changes to pave the way for new nuclear power in the biggest industry shake-up since privatisation, according to the Energy Minister. Charles Hendry, the Tory MP, has told The Daily Telegraph that two more incentives would be needed for nuclear beyond the Government’s plans for a “carbon floor price”. This measure, due to be set out in a key paper on electricity market reform this month, will artificially raise the cost of carbon allowances to penalise fossil fuel generators and reward low-carbon power. But Mr Hendry said that on top of this reform, he is “very much” in favour of capacity payments for low-carbon electricity generation – an option championed by EDF. This would reward companies for making their electricity generation capacity available to the grid, even if it is just as a back-up. Mr Hendry acknowledged that this would still not be enough to persuade nuclear companies to build their plants in the UK. “There will still need to be an additional third mechanism,” he said, adding that an obligation on suppliers to provide a certain proportion of low-carbon power or contracts-for-difference in the electricity market are two key options under consideration.
Telegraph 5th Nov 2010 more >>
New Nukes
One billion extra tonnes of carbon has been emitted because of opposition to nuclear power generation, experts have claimed. Speaking to producers of a Channel 4 documentary, campaigners claimed that environmental advocates are in danger of repeating the mistakes of the past by continuing to oppose nuclear power, the Daily Telegraph reports. Campaigner Mark Lynas said that nuclear opposition has already added to the levels of carbon in the atmosphere, because the objection to the technology in the 1970s and 80s led to the construction of highly-polluting coal power plants.
Low Carbon Economy 4th Nov 2010 more >>
Monbiot: Brand’s vision depends on forgetting the context. He maintains that we will save the biosphere by adopting nuclear energy, GM crops and geoengineering, and paints a buoyant picture of a world running like clockwork on these new technologies. Without a critique of power, his techno-utopianism is pure fantasy. Nuclear electricity may indeed be part of the solution, but the real climate challenge is not getting into new technologies, but getting out of old ones. This means confronting some of the world’s most powerful forces, a theme with no place in Brand’s story.
Guardian 5th Nov 2010 more >>
Nuclear power may not be ideal, but the industry has cleaned up its act since the 1970s, and if renewable sources can’t do the job, then something has to make up the shortfall. Likewise with GM foods. For the greens to cling to idealistic notions of environmental purity while the oceans boil makes them look like myopic old hippies.
Guardian 5th Nov 2010 more >>
EPR
Professor Thomas is the author of “Areva and EDF: Business Prospects and Risks in Nuclear Energy” (March 2009) and the co-author of “The Financial Crisis and Nuclear Power” (February 2009). He has been a researcher in energy policy for more than 25 years. Professor Thomas writes particularly on economics and policy towards nuclear power, liberalization and privatization of the electricity and gas industries and trade policy on network energy industries. He is a member of the editorial boards of: Energy Policy; Utility Policy; Energy and Environment; and International Journal of Regulation and Governance.
EPR in Crisis Report 4th Nov 2010 more >>
NDA
Britain’s nuclear clean-up agency has been unable to publish its annual accounts for nearly five months after the National Audit Office queried some of the figures, The Times has learnt. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which spends £2.5 billion a year cleaning up 19 toxic nuclear sites including Sellafield in Cumbria and Dounreay in Caithness, was originally scheduled to publish its annual report in early July. The accounts have not been published because Amyas Morse, the NAO’s Comptroller General, has declined to sign them off. Bill Hamilton, a spokesman for the NDA, said that the accounts, which include details of spending on complex projects to dismantle Sellafield’s B30, the most contaminated industrial building in Europe, as well as ponds filled with radioactive sludge, were submitted to the NAO several months ago.
Times 5th Nov 2010 more >>
Nuclear Skills
The UK must overcome a ‘generational skills gap’ if it is to deliver the new nuclear power stations needed for security of supply and a low carbon economy, energy industry experts warn today. And regulators must not ‘move the goalposts’ once the framework to build the plants has been agreed, they warn in a report from leading City law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner, backed by the Nuclear Industry Association.
British Builder 4th Nov 2010 more >>
Radwaste
At the Allerdale Borough Council Meeting last night Councillor Joe Sandwith called on fellow councillors to “formally withdraw Allerdale’s expression of interest” in “volunteering for geological disposal of high level nuclear waste. The council heard presentations from two speakers. The first was Dr Helen Wallace, Executive Direcor of Genewatch UK and the second was Professor Brian Clark, who serves on the Committee for Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM). Nine Councillors supported Councillor Joe Sandwith’s proposal to withdraw and 19 opposed.
Northern Indymedia 4th Nov 2010 more >>
Allerdale council has kicked out a bid to have the borough removed from the process to find an underground nuclear waste dump.
Carlisle News And Star 4th Nov 2010 more >>
The Commission has proposed safety standards for disposing spent fuel and radioactive waste from nuclear power plants as well as from medicine or research. In the Directive put forward this week, Member States are asked to present national programmes, indicating when, where and how they will construct and manage final repositories aimed at guaranteeing the highest safety standards. With the Directive internationally agreed safety standards become legally binding and enforceable in the European Union.
Wired Gov 4th Nov 2010 more >>
Waste Transport
On Tuesday, at 3pm, Greenpeace conducted a citizen inspection at the entrance of the railway terminal in the small town of Valognes, France. Activists carried out radiation measurements by monitoring the passage of trucks that have been carrying containers of highly radioactive nuclear waste for a week. Containers first arrived in the rail terminal in Valognes on Oct. 25, waiting to be loaded on a train that will leave the station Friday, November 5 in direction of Gorleben, Germany. These containers are highly radioactive, and the rail terminal has not been classified as a basic nuclear installation – a classification necessary for any building storing nuclear waste. Greenpeace has therefore filed a complaint against French nuclear giant Areva for use of an undeclared basic nuclear installation, by storing nuclear waste in a place not designed for this purpose. Areva does not respect the legal criteria for storage of radioactive nuclear waste.
Greenpeace 4th Nov 2010 more >>
Hinkley
One of the West’s most outspoken opponents of nuclear power has stepped down from his role as co-ordinator of high-profile campaign group Stop Hinkley. For more than a decade, Jim Duffy has been a thorn in the side of EDF Energy, who own Hinkley Point. But a spokesman for the French energy giant yesterday told the Western Daily Press it respected the campaigner for the way he had “stuck” to his principles. Mr Duffy has stood down because of an ongoing illness which has recently worsened, and his decision comes as the campaigning against the proposed Hinkley C and Oldbury on Severn power stations intensifies.
This is Somerset 4th Nov 2010 more >>
HEALTH experts responded to an anti-nuclear group and scientist’s claims that Hinkley Point was behind “increased breast cancer rates” in Burnham as being unfounded. Stop Hinkley commissioned Professor Chris Busby, of the Green Audit group, to analyse cancer diagnosis it obtained from the South West Public Health Observatory under the Freedom of Information Act. The group said Professor Busby’s subsequent study showed that 167 women in Burnham-on-Sea developed breast cancer between 1994 and 2004, which is 54 more than would normally be expected. However, a Somerset Primary Care Trust (PCT) spokesman has rubbished claims. He said: “The PCT has seen no new or compelling evidence which supports campaigners’ hypothesis that radioactive pollution arising from the past operation or recent decommissioning of Hinkley, is responsible for a statistical increase in the incidence of breast or any other cancer in the surrounding area.”
This is Somerset 4th Nov 2010 more >>
BBC 4th Nov 2010 more >>
Heysham
One of two nuclear reactors at Heysham 1 Power Station in Morecombe, Northwest England, has suffered an unplanned outage and there is still no sign as to when the reactor will be brought back online. Facility operator EDF Energy – the UK division of French utility Electricite de France S.A. (EDF), confirms the reactor has been taken offline as a result of the unplanned outage and that repairs are being carried out. The company also said the outage posed no safety concerns.
Utility Exchange 4th Nov 2010 more >>
Legal
Addleshaw Goddard has strengthened its energy practice with the hire of the former head of legal at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). Roger Clayson joined the national law firm earlier this week (1 November) from the NDA, where he most recently served as head of property law, having held the head of legal role between 2007 and 2009.
Clayson joins as a legal director in Addleshaws’ 10-partner, 20-fee earner energy, projects and infrastructure group. He will focus on helping the firm win high-value projects in the nuclear sector, as well as helping clients respond to the coalition Government’s energy policy.
Legal Week 2nd Nov 2010 more >>
Brazil
Two weeks ago we revealed banking group BNP Paribas, the world’s leading investor in the nuclear industry, is planning to fund an obsolete, dangerous nuclear reactor in Brazil – Angra 3. Since then a lot of you have asked BNP Paribas to stop its radioactive investments, some by sending an e-mail and others by phoning. So far the bank has not responded adequately to your concerns.
Greenpeace Nuclear Reaction 4th Nov 2010 more >>
Burma
A senior missile scientist who defected from Burma after leaking secrets about the junta’s suspected nuclear programme has revealed how senior generals were personally involved in plans to develop a weapons system.
Independent 5th Nov 2010 more >>
Iran
Iran is on an “explosive” course in the Middle East with its pursuit of nuclear enrichment and needs to clear up questions surrounding its program, Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal said on Thursday.
Reuters 4th Nov 2010 more >>
France/China
France and China have agreed to form a strategic partnership in civilian nuclear power that ranges from building reactors in common to exploiting uranium mines, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday.
Reuters 4th Nov 2010 more >>
Germany
Germany’s government has no choice but to extend the life of its remaining plants, according to a new report from Datamonitor. The independent business analyst believes that the only way Germany can achieve its ambitious climate change and renewable energy targets is to keep the plants online past their 2021 retirement date.
Nuclear Engineering International 4th Nov 2010 more >>
Disarmament
Barack Obama has called on the Senate to approve a landmark nuclear weapons deal with Russia before a newly elected crop of Republicans take office in January.
Telegraph 5th Nov 2010 more >>
Daily Mail 5th Nov 2010 more >>
Letter from UKIP: If Trident is, as Mr Mitchell claims, “virtually useless” as a defensive system, why would the Russians take such a risk as to send a specially upgraded submarine to record the acoustic signature made by the Vanguard submarines carrying the Trident nuclear missiles?
Southern Reporter 4th Nov 2010 more >>
Renewables
JOHN Lewis’s three Scottish stores are to have cutting edge biomass technology installed in an attempt to slash the chain’s carbon emissions by 2020. Edinburgh’s flagship shop at the St James Centre is likely to be one of the first to use the wood chip-fired combined cooling heat and power plant when it undergoes refurbishment as part of a major regeneration of the shopping mall in 2012.
Scotsman 5th Nov 2010 more >>
