Nuclear Sites
EDF Energy has begun the process of selling land at one of its nuclear sites by inviting “credible nuclear operators” to register expressions of interest. The company is fulfilling a promise made when it acquired UK nuclear generating company British Energy last year. It agreed to dispose of land at either Heysham in Lancashire or Dungeness in Kent to another company interested in nuclear new build. EDF said the decision on which site would be sold would be “a matter for the successful bidder”.
Utility Week 8th May 2009 more >>
Reuters 7th May 2009 more >>
EDF’s first nuclear construction contracts will be let this year kickstarting the utility’s £16bn nuclear programme in the uk.
Contract Journal 7th May 2009 more >>
PRIME Sellafield farm land earmarked for nuclear reactors will soon go under the hammer in one of West Cumbria’s biggest and most fiercely contested auctions. The successful on-line bidder may have to pay upwards of £300million to secure a £2billion investment. Under the hammer: 400 acres of mainly agricultural land stretching for five square miles outside the present Sellafield site. The vendors are the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority who pledge that farmers will be properly looked after for giving up generations of livelihood. The sale potentially paves the way for a new power station.
Whitehaven News 6th May 2009 more >>
Bradwell
FEARS have been raised Colchester’s world-famous oyster beds could be decimated if a new nuclear power station is built at Bradwell. To cool the new generation of stations, 72,000 cubic litres of water would be pumped in and out of the Blackwater Estuary every second – more than twice the volume needed at the old Bradwell power station. And campaigners believe the warm water pumped back could wipe out some sections of Colchester’s native oysters, beloved since Roman times.
North Essex Gazette 7th May 2009 more >>
Low Level Waste
The boss of a controversial £6m nuclear decontamination plant opened on the outskirts of Workington has insisted: “We’ve got nothing to hide.”
Business Gazette 7th May 2009 more >>
Whitehaven News 6th May 2009 more >>
Westinghouse
Toshiba-owned Westinghouse Electric Company is to enhance its position in the global nuclear fuel market through the acquisition of a 52 per cent stake in Japan’s Nuclear Fuel Industries Ltd. (NFI).
Modern Power Systems 7th May 2009 more >>
Sellafield
TWO “hot” cans of nuclear material which could give off a high dose of radiation are still missing at Sellafield. The search to find them could take weeks. But Sellafield Ltd says it is sure there is no danger of the highly radioactive material having been taken off site. The cans, the size of Thermos flasks, have disappeared from where they should have been in a sealed cave but might have been moved to a different location. They contain radioactive material from historic work.
Whitehaven News 6th May 2009 more >>
Submarines
Letters: Stripping away all the fine words and looking at the detail (“Faslane to be home to UK’s fleet of nuclear submarines”, 7 May), what we are getting on the Clyde is a bundle of nuclear powered submarines approaching their decommissioning dates. It is incredible that in the week after SEPA announced that such was the level of toxic waste leaking intermittently into the Clyde from our present operation there that it would close it down if it had the power to do so we are getting more of the same.
Scotsman 8th May 2009 more >>
Spacecraft
We owe the wonderful images of the outer solar system taken by the Galileo and Cassini spacecraft to the power generated by Cold War surplus nuclear isotopes. But those leftovers are expected to run out in 2018, and no good alternatives are ready, warns a new report by the US National Research Council. The crucial isotope is plutonium-238. It can’t be used in weapons or reactors, but as the atoms decay, they emit alpha particles, or helium nuclei, that easily convert their energy to heat.
New Scientist 7th May 2009 more >>
Russia
Russia will sign an agreement with Japan on peaceful utilization of nuclear energy on May 12, 2009, during Vladimir Putin’s, Russian prime minister, visit to Tokyo. Putin and his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso will also discuss North Korea and their territorial dispute, though Russia is not prepared to give up four Kuril Islands claimed by Japan, Ushakov, Putin’s deputy chief of staff, said.
Energy Business Review 7th May 2009 more >>
Philippines
Philippine Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said that the country is not yet ready to embrace nuclear power. A bill filed by Representative Mark Cojuangco of Pangasinan and pending before the House of Representatives seeks to revive the 630 megawatt Bataan nuclear plant, which was pursued by controversy over allegations of corruption and safety concerns when it was put up during the Marcos administration.
Energy Business Review 7th May 2009 more >>
North Korea
North Korea has accused the Obama administration of hostility and vowed to bolster its nuclear arsenal. Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry said the regime will follow through on plans to “further strengthen our nuclear deterrent”.
Daily Express 8th May 2009 more >>
Japan
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said on Friday it would restart the world’s biggest nuclear plant on Saturday for the first time in nearly two years after it was damaged in a major earthquake, a step towards cutting its fuel imports and carbon emissions.
Yahoo 8th May 2009 more >>
Iran
US engagement with Iran must convince Tehran to halt progress in its ability to build a nuclear bomb and accept tough international controls, according to a US Senate report out Thursday.
Middle East Online 7th May 2009 more >>
Vietnam
The Electricity of Vietnam Corporation ((EVN) has selected Phuoc Dinh commune in Ninh Phuoc district and Vinh Hai commune in Ninh Hai district, in the southeastern province of Ninh Thuan to construct nuclear power plant. These areas meets all the safety needs like having no volcanoes, having sufficient water to cool the plant, little chance of earthquakes and no flooding.
Energy Business Review 6th May 2009 more >>
Scottish Climate Bill
A Labour amendment for targets on greenhouse gas emissions to be set for the period between 2010 and 2019 to ensure early action was voted
in. However, Lib Dem proposals for duties to make sure local councils achieved emission reductions were not supported. The next rounds of debate are set to focus on issues including whether to bring in a system of council tax rebates for people who improve the energy efficiency of their homes and businesses. And there will be a discussion about what portion of Scotland’s emissions should be cut at home, instead of relying on buying international credits for action overseas.
Scotsman 8th May 2009 more >>
