New Nukes
The unwisdom of nuclear power by poet Danny Chivers. more >>
Letter from Dr David Purves: Alan Black misunderstands my argument for the progressive abandonment of combustion of fossil fuels, in favour of renewable sources of energy in Scotland, as an argument in support of the construction of new nuclear power stations. Fortunately, Scotland has adequate renewable sources of energy such as hydro-electric and tidal and wave power, in addition to wind farms. The latter have to be seen as a valuable complementary resource in relation to our present population. We will not be ripping the sails off yachts because the wind is intermittent! There is, understandably, a vociferous, commercial lobby in favour of the construction of new nuclear power stations in Scotland, and the former Lib Dem-Lab Executive declared that it was opposed to the construction of new nuclear power stations, unless the problem of long-term disposal of nuclear waste had been solved. I understand that this remains the Scottish Governm ent’s present position.
Scotsman 10th June 2010 more >>
The final decision on whether to proceed with a new generation of nuclear plants is not due to be taken until 2011, which means there is time to continue highlighting the serious problems with nuclear power and the alternative technologies that are the only real solution to tackling climate change.
Corporate Watch 9th June 2010 more >>
Westinghouse
ONE of the Fylde’s biggest employers says it is focused on bringing a nuclear revolution to the coast. It comes as Toshiba Westinghouse, owners of Springfields, have set up a permanent home for its regional office. Due to a massive expansion of its office staff, the Salwick-based company has left its Preston office in favour of a larger one in Chorley.
Blackpool Gazette 9th June 2010 more >>
Sizewell
PROBLEMS at the Sizewell B nuclear power plant could see the reactor remain closed until September – potentially costing tens of millions of pounds in lost electricity sales. Sizewell’s owner EDF Energy has confirmed that the facility is not expected to be up and running until the third quarter of 2010. It means the power station, which has been shut since the end of March and employs more than 500 people, could be closed until September while engineers carry out repairs. Commentators suggest the power station could lose around £350,000 a day in electricity sales.
Lowestoft Journal 8th June 2010 more >>
Cumbria
CLAIMS that Sellafield were slow in sending out its own armed police to help catch the gunman and ambulances to help the wounded have been vehemently denied. The Civil Nuclear Constabulary said yesterday about 27 of its officers responded as quickly as possible.
Whitehaven News 9th June 2010 more >>
Sellafield
Steve Hall, head of manufacturing in the high-level waste plants, wants workers to say whether they have the skills to back up as joiners, painters, plumbers and scaffolders. It comes as parent body Nuclear Management Partners look to shed up to 800 Sellafield jobs. Sellafield Ltd admitted it is talking to employees to get a ‘better understanding’ of skills. At the same time the company has refuted a claim that it is encouraging ‘amateur DIY’ on the site, stressing that no one would be asked to complete work for which they were not qualified.
Whitehaven News 9th June 2010 more >>
Nuclear Subsidy
Forgemasters is at the centre of another chapter in the story of industry – picked by Peter Mandelson for an £80m loan before the election, it waits to see if his successor Vince Cable delivers. In a wise speech last week the business secretary criticised what he called the anti-market “new interventionism”, “micromanaging the economy at the level of individual companies”. His theory is sound. The consequences sometimes painful. Walking around Forgemasters it is impossible not to be stirred: great misshapen lumps of scrap steel, red heat shining through furnace doors, huge presses, and a machining hall where the black crust is cut from immense forgings to produce shiny precision-engineered parts. This factory can do things that can be done nowhere else: I passed the core of a submarine’s reactor, lying near the shaft of a power station turbine. There are customers for these products. This is not a dying factory afraid of foreign competition.
Guardian 6th June 2010 more >>
Fusion
The international economic crisis has a new victim in its sights: the giant international ITER project, an experimental thermonuclear fusion reactor which could help project partners solve their potential energy shortage problems by the end of the century. The estimated costs for the first components to build the reactor, to be paid out of the EU’s dedicated research programme, have soared from 2.7 to 6.6 billion. ITER’s international partners are waiting for a clear signal of Europe’s commitment at the upcoming ITER Council meeting in Shanghai on June 17, but there is as yet no agreement within the EU how to cover the missing 3.92 billion. The Commisson has warned that pulling out now might cost the EU 4.5 billion.
European Energy Review 9th June 2010 more >>
ITN 9th June 2010 more >>
Iran
This is an ironic period for Iranian society. While society prepares for the first anniversary of the ‘green movement’ and civil resistance, the UN Security Council prepares to impose a fourth sanction on Iran. Although there is an understandable growing global concern regarding the Islamic regime’s nuclear ambitions, the crucial question in this context is whether this fourth sanction gives sufficient consideration to Iran’s post-election conditions. Most specifically, what kind of message is being sent to the Iranian public with the introduction of new sanctions when we consider the recent actions of western leaders? During the last twelve months, they have made several references to Iran’s new situation.
Open Democracy 10th June 2010 more >>
IRAN defied the rest of the world last night after the UN Security Council agreed “tough” new measures to punish the rogue state for its suspected secret bid to build an atomic bomb.
Express 10th June 2010 more >>
Independent 10th June 2010 more >>
Barack Obama has warned Iran that the world had sent an “unmistakable message” on its nuclear programme as the United Nations finally passed new sanctions.
Telegraph 10th June 2010 more >>
Morning Star 10th June 2010 more >>
Russia
A VESSEL that once carried nuclear waste has sunk during scrapping operations in Russia. The 56-year-old Severka was sent to the Polyarny shipyard, near Murmansk after being out of commission since 1993. It had been used to carry nucealr waste from nuclear reactors to processing plants since 1978. Dismantling of the vessel had began with the removal of solid waste containers, said the yard’s director Arkady Oganyanb. The holds, equipment and superstructure were all decontaminated and broken down before the vessel sank. Russia’s emergencies ministry and the Murmansk hydrological agency reported that there has been no change to normal radiation levels in the area. Oganyan said the vessel will be salvaged and scrapped within the next month.
Fairplay 9th June 2010 more >>
Abu Dhabi
An Abu Dhabi state-owned company on Wednesday announced plans for the biggest single solar power plant in the world, as the emirate tries to diversify energy supplies from oil.
Telegraph 10th June 2010 more >>
