Nuclear Subsidies
Trade unions have urged the new government to uphold pledges of loans to manufacturing companies made by Labour as fears grew they could be axed as spending is cut. Among the companies which could be affected is heavy engineering firm Sheffield Forgemasters, which was promised an £80 million loan by Lord Mandelson. Forgemasters intends to use the money to help pay for a forging press that would enable it to produce ultra-large components for new nuclear reactors.
Professional Engineering 8th June 2010 more >>
EDF
Although the Government quickly agreed to a carbon price floor to help private sector investment in nuclear power, sceptics say the move will not be enough. Mr de Rivaz is keen to brush off any concerns. “I am not nervous at all,” he said, describing Mr Huhne as “a man of integrity, a man we can do business with”. He also stressed that EDF’s initial plans for four new nuclear reactors are “on track”, although he refused to be drawn on the financing for the scheme.EDF is spending £10m on two dedicated “campuses” to boost British engineering skills and support the group’s plans to build new nuclear power stations. The French energy group is talking to schools and universities, as well as other industry players, about two centres – one near Bristol, one at an undecided location in the South-east – to be up and running by the end of the year.
Independent 9th June 2010 more >>
Westinghouse
One of the world’s biggest energy firms has opened its permanent UK headquarters on a Lancashire business park. Westinghouse, which owns the Springfields nuclear fuel factory at Salwick, near Preston, has taken the space at Matrix Park at Buckshaw Village, near Chorley ahead of its planned expansion.
Lancashire Eving Post 8th June 2010 more >>
NDA
So we now discover a £4 billion black hole in the budget for decommissioning nuclear power stations, including Oldbury. Chris Huhne, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, is apparently locked in talks with the Treasury to secure more funding – it really is true what both Jonathon Porritt and Tony Benn say about the nuclear industry, we cannot believe a word they say.
Ruscombe Green 8th June 2010 more >>
Wylfa
TWO councils are working together to develop a joint planning policy service. Gwynedd and Anglesey Councils hope the project will make efficient use of resources.Anglesey planning portfolio holder Aled Morris Jones, added: “It is essential the new Local Development Plan meets the unique challenges posed by the sheer scale of Wylfa and the renewable energy projects in the Irish Sea.”
Daily Post 8th June 2010 more >>
Oldbury/Finland
Shepperdine Bookmaking —When will Ollkiluoto 3 open?
Shepperdine Against Nuclear Energy 8th June 2010 more >>
Protest
Demonstrate outside the Nuclear Industry Forum, London, Tues 15 June. 8.30am – 10am, One Whitehall Place (adj. to The Royal Horseguards hotel), Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EJ (Embankment / Charing Cross tube)
Stop Nuclear Power 8th June 2010 more >>
Video of Sizewell Camp more >>
Iran
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned Iran will not agree to talks on its nuclear programme if a fourth round of UN sanctions are imposed. He also said a nuclear fuel-swap deal brokered by Turkey and Brazil was an offer that would not be repeated.
BBC 8th June 2010 more >>
Guardian 9th June 2010 more >>
Morning Star 9th June 2010 more >>
Telegraph 9th June 2010 more >>
Tehran summoned the Swiss ambassador, who represents US interests in Tehran, on Tuesday and handed over documents which it said showed Shahram Amiri, a university researcher working for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation, was taken during a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia and handed to the Americans. But soon after the Iranian authorities had released grainy footage, supposedly of Mr Amiri, saying he was being held against his well in Tucson, Arizona, another video appeared on YouTube in which what appeared very strongly to be the same man saying he was studying in the southern US state and was in the US of his own free will.
Telegraph 9th June 2010 more >>
After months of delicate diplomacy the United States is on the brink of ushering in a fourth round of punitive UN sanctions against Iran over its nuclear enrichment programme. Passage of the sanctions resolution through the UN Security Council would be a moment of reckoning for Iran. Just as the US has worked tirelessly to make it happen, Tehran has spared no effort to stop it. Sources said that the measures, aimed at further isolating the regime of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, were likely to be approved later today.
Independent 9th June 2010 more >>
Argentina
The Ministry of Defence in Argentina has said it is reviewing the idea of using nuclear reactors to power some of its naval vessels.
World Nuclear News 8th June 2010 more >>
Spain
Spain has renewed 10-year operating permits for two of its eight nuclear power plants, operators said on Tuesday, in a sign that nuclear energy will be around in the country for decades yet.
Interactive Investor 8th June 2010 more >>
Germany
EoN and RWE Germany’s largest utilities, fell in Frankfurt trading after the government said it plans a new tax on the nuclear power industry regardless of whether reactors are allowed to run longer. E.ON dropped 3.6 percent to close at 23.45 euros, the lowest since July. RWE fell 2.9 percent to 56.26 euros, extending the stock’s decline this year to 17 percent. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Cabinet approved levies on banks, air travel and nuclear stations in what she called an “unprecedented” round of budget cuts to thwart a sovereign- debt crisis. German utilities are waiting for a reprieve to run reactors past shutdown dates that would close plants ahead of international peers and boost spending on power capacity.
Bloomberg 8th JUne 2010 more >>
Since June 4, operators of Germany’s 17 nuclear reactors knew they should expect shorter life extensions for their plants than Chancellor Angela Merkel promised when she was voted back into power in the autumn. Waning political majorities and legislative uncertainties combined with a vociferous anti-nuclear opposition have made the coalition backtrack on earlier plans to add up to 28 years to the current reactors’ lives of an average 32 years.
Reuters 4th June 2010 more >>
NPT
Is it time to start work on banning nuclear weapons? “Yes” says a growing majority of governments and civil society groups. “No” insists a tiny nuclear-armed minority. “Premature” say some of their closest allies. That is the barest summary of what happened at the United Nations when 189 countries met recently on what to do about nuclear weapons. Churches seeking specific steps to stop nuclear arms shared long-standing disappointments – plus a few new grounds for hope – with many governments and most of the 120 civil society organisations in New York during May for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference.
Ekklesia 8th June 2010 more >>
Trident
The Scottish and Welsh Nationalists have managed to prompt the first Commons vote where one of the governing parties has to vote against its own manifesto. They have put down an amendment calling for Trident to be included in the SDR.
Spectator 8th June 2010 more >>
