New Nukes
Ed Milliband: Nuclear power is undergoing a renaissance, as many who originally opposed it rethink their views in the face of climate change and the need to cut emissions. The construction of each of the new power stations could provide up to 9,000 jobs – we need to make sure that the skills are in place and the supply chains are prepared. In each of these areas, we need dynamic and effective companies, but we also need government to play its role, setting the right framework to drive the technology forward.
Times 8th July 2009 more >>
Cornwall’s Eden Project is under sustained fire for supporting the French energy giant EDF Energy. EDF is promoting something called Team Green Britain Day, an annual event to promote a more sustainable lifestyle. The project is being promoted in association with the Eden Project to the surprise of environmentalists.
Bristol Indy Media 9th July 2009 more >>
Get Noticed Online 9th July 2009 more >>
Dale Vince: I’d like to declare today to be Greenwash Day. To celebrate that relatively modern phenomenon of companies trying to sell themselves as being rather greener and more ethical than they really are. Today would be an apt day, it is after all – Green Britain Day. Where’s the Greenwash in that? Oh where to start.
Guardian 10th July 2009 more >>
Nuclear Finance
Moody’s says new nuclear plants increase negative credit rating pressure.
Interactive Investor 9th July 2009 more >>
G8
On nuclear energy, the G8 ‘witnessed’ that a growing number of countries see nuclear power as a means to address climate change and energy security, with an essential role in meeting the dual challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowering fossil fuel consumption.
World Nuclear News 9th July 2009 more >>
Sizewell
NEW doctors surgery, larger schools and better recreation facilities are just some of the improvements needed if a new nuclear power station is built near a Suffolk town. Councillors outlined a “wish list” of what they would like to see happen in Leiston should a third nuclear reactor get the go-ahead in nearby Sizewell.
Suffolk Evening Star 9th July 2009 more >>
Wylfa
£1.8m has been allocated to the new Energy and Fabrication Centre on Coleg Menai’s Llangefni campus in Anglesey. The facility aims to equip people with work skills such as those needed for the decommissioning of the island’s Wylfa Power Station.
Western Mail 9th July 2009 more >>
Cumbria
A TEAM at BAE Submarine Solutions Ltd led by Barrovian Jason Zaccarini has been drawing up the case for the yard to get seriously involved in civil nuclear power now that both Labour and the Tories are committed to it as a means of cutting carbon and ensuring Britain’s energy security.
NW Evening Mail 9th July 2009 more >>
Hinkley
BRIDGWATER College students had the chance to have their say on the future of nuclear power in Somerset. A group of 20 teenagers met with representatives from EDF Energy, which hopes to build a new power station at Hinkley Point.
This is the West Country 9th July 2009 more >>
Oldbury
OLDBURY Power Station has been praised for its work with wildlife conservation. The site recently won first prize in a competition to find the country’s best industrial and commercial sites for birds run by the British Trust for Ornithology. Oldbury Power Station won in the community category for its conservation work carried out on site.
Gloucestershire Gazette 9th July 2009 more >>
E.ON has reassured Oldbury residents that they will not start building the proposed new nuclear power station without permission from central government. A representative from the company, which recently purchased land in Oldbury with the intention of building a nuclear power station, attended a meeting of Oldbury Parish Council on Tuesday to answer the questions of local people.
Gloucestershire Gazette 9th July 2009 more >>
Companies
Energy companies were emitting enough hot air to run a small generator tonight in a spat about who was the greenest and most patriotic. The unseemly squabble was triggered by EDF, the French state-owned nuclear group, which has organised a Green Britain Day for tomorrow. Its slogan: “Do something green for the team,” urging the public to support the battle against climate change, is accompanied by a green Union Jack. But its upfront advertising and patriotic claims have led rival Ecotricity to launch legal action against EDF for “stealing” its planet-friendly Union Jack logo.
Guardian 10th July 2009 more >>
Areva, the largest builder of nuclear plants, is seeking to use a lead in its home European market over Toshiba Corp.’s Westinghouse Electric Co. to gain an edge in the $1.05 trillion of global contracts up for grabs. Areva’s new model, the evolutionary power reactor, or EPR, has been chosen for at least 11 of the 41 new plants planned or under construction in the European Union. Westinghouse, which is pushing its AP1000 pressurized water reactor, hasn’t built a plant in the region for more than 20 years.
Bloomberg 9th July 2009 more >>
Low Level Waste
PLANS to dismantle Britain’s ageing nuclear power stations could prove a much-needed boost for waste specialists Augean, which aims to win a slice of the decommissioning programme. The Wetherby company is applying for permission to take low-level radioactive waste at its East Northamptonshire facility, which could open the doors to a multi-million pound clean-up.
Yorkshire Post 10th July 2009 more >>
Finland
Hopes of an early nuclear dawn on the Baltic coast are fading – the May start up date came and went and the OL3 is now not expected to begin pumping out electricity until 2012 – three years later than planned and about $2.4bn dollars (1.7bn euros) over budget. There have been a string of problems starting with the concrete, then the welding. Now, the safety regulator is questioning the designs for the reactor’s nerve centre – the Instrumentation and Control system. TVO is trying to claim back $3.3bn (2.4bn euros) from Areva for the soaring costs, not least to cover having to buy-in electricity to plug the gap until the plant is finished. On the other side Areva is claiming $1.4bn (1bn euros) from the Finns and the relationship on the Baltic has shown signs of icing. “If Greenpeace had said at the start that after four years of construction its going to be three and a half years late and 60% over budget everybody would have laughed at them,” says Steve Thomas, Professor of Energy Policy at Greenwich University in the UK who has been monitoring the project. Britain’s safety regulator, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII), now seems to be echoing Finnish concerns. The NII must decide whether to approve the design of Areva’s European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) for use in the UK. In a letter to Areva, the NII has warned that if questions regarding the instrumentation and control systems are not resolved it could, “prevent a successful outcome”.
BBC 8th July 2009 more >>
World Service 8th July 2009 more >>
Italy
Italy’s parliament backed measures on Thursday to relaunch a nuclear energy sector it quit two decades ago, but experts said the government faced an uphill struggle to find funds and sites for new plants.
Yahoo 9th July 2009 more >>
Argus Media 9th July 2009 more >>
Bloomberg 9th July 2009 more >>
Disarmament
Britain’s nuclear stockpile could be reduced after multilateral talks next year that are likely to flow from a global summit on nuclear weapons, Gordon Brown indicated yesterday. The summit, to be convened by Barack Obama, is expected to come up with a new regime to prevent nuclear proliferation and the safe storage of nuclear stockpiles. It is likely to involve up to 30 countries, providing an opportunity for discussion on a more intrusive weapons inspection regime and a chance for nuclear weapons states other than Russia and the US, which between them account for 95% of nuclear weapons, to contribute to the disarmament process.
Guardian 10th July 2009 more >>
Herald 10th July 2009 more >>
Telegraph 10th July 2009 more >>
Daily Mail 10th July 2009 more >>
Barack Obama has called a global summit on reducing the world’s stockpile of nuclear weapons which could eventually result in Britain’s Trident system being scaled back.
Independent 10th July 2009 more >>
Proliferation
President Barack Obama on Thursday launched a new initiative in his strategy to reduce nuclear proliferation around the world, announcing that he will host a summit in Washington next year aimed at combating the illegal trade in fissile material. As the US and Russia outline plans to reduce nuclear stockpiles before the end of the year, Mr Obama said the summit will be aimed at enhancing the security of material used in atomic energy programmes.
FT 10th July 2009 more >>
