New Nukes
The so-called “French nuclear miracle” embraced by some U.S. policymakers as a model for this nation is a misconception masking a pattern of fast-rising nuclear reactor construction costs and a “crowding out” of investments in renewable energy, such as wind, solar and hydro-electric power, according to a new study by Vermont Law School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment.
Digital Journal 9th Sept 2010 more >>
Oldbury
Horizon, the nuclear joint venture between Eon and RWE Npower, wants to use squat, ‘hybrid’ cooling towers for the proposed new nuclear station at Oldbury. The company said its preferred solution is the result of community engagement. The towers can be less than half the height of standard towers because they use fans rather than natural processes to force cooling. This means that while the plant would be marginally less efficient because of the electricity used to power the fans, the visual impact on the landscape would be mitigated. Horizon says the vapour plume is also less visible from the hybrids.
Utility Week 9th Sept 2010 more >>
Modern Power Systems 9th Sept 2010 more >>
Hinkley
Letter: WHY are the politicians determined to build two of the world’s most powerful nuclear reactors on Somerset’s beautiful rural coastline? Why take the risk, however small, of an accidental release of clouds of radioactive material, making large parts of this country uninhabitable? Human technology is not infallible, did we not learn from the Chernobyl accident 24 years ago, where still today thousands of people cannot return home and even today’s children are suffering ongoing medical cancer and genetic problems?
This is Somerset 9th Sept 2010 more >>
Scottish Waste
In response to consultees on its Strategic Environmental Assessment on Higher Activity Wastes, the Scottish Government has undertaken further environmental assessment work. The assessment forms an Annex to the Environmental Report. Further public views on this supplementary assessment are invited by 21 October 2010.
Scottish Government 9th Sept 2010 more >>
Iran
Iran has been secretly constructing a vast underground complex to hide a nuclear facility in the mountains east of Tehran in a development that would violate the UN sanctions regime, it has been claimed.
Telegraph 10th Sept 2010 more >>
Now is the time for Turkey to play a meaningful role in curbing Iran’s ambition to acquire nuclear weapons. As sanctions intensify – and before Israel or the United States seriously consider taking more coercive (including military) action against Iran’s nuclear facilities – Turkey’s unique position, influence over and experience with Iran could be utilized. But for Turkey to play such a role, it must display the moral equivalence and the kind of pragmatic leadership that can engender confidence in its meditation efforts in the region.
Middle East Online 9th Sept 2010 more >>
Kuwait
Japan has inked a cooperation agreement with Kuwait for the development of a nuclear power program in the country.
Energy Business Review 9th Sept 2010 more >>
World Nuclear News 9th Sept 2010 more >>
Test Veterans
HUNDREDS of MPs have received letters urging them to lobby the Defence Secretary on behalf of Britain’s nuclear test veterans.
About 20,000 British and other servicemen took part in the UK military’s nuclear weapons tests in the 1950s and 1960s, with many now claiming they suffer poor health as a result of radiation exposure. More than 1,000 people – including some in Derbyshire – are now locked in a legal battle with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in a bid to win compensation, but the Government has so far refused to pay out.
Derby Evening Telegraph 9th Sept 2010 more >>
Carbon Emissions
The entire five-year period of the European Union’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) that ends in 2012 is set to deliver carbon savings of less than a third of 1% of total emissions, according to a new report. The analysis by emissions trading campaign group Sandbag predicts that only 32m tonnes of pollution permits will need to be surrendered to meet the cap on greenhouse gas emissions – a tiny fraction of the 1.9bn tonnes of carbon emissions covered by the ETS each year. The “miniscule” saving is the result of the economic crisis having driven down industrial activity while the caps remain at the same level.
Guardian 10th Sept 2010 more >>
Renewables
Drastic new measures will be needed if the UK is to meet its target of generating 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, the government’s climate change watchdog has warned. The UK generates only 3 per cent of its energy from such sources, despite more than a decade of policy measures intended to raise that figure substantially.
FT 10th Sept 2010 more >>
Lord Turner, the chairman of the independent Committee on Climate Change (CCC), is calling for a “step change” in government policy if Britain is to meet its 2020 renewable energy targets. In a letter to Chris Huhne, the Energy Secretary, Lord Turner outlines several issues to be addressed “as a matter of urgency” to ensure Britain is producing 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources within 10 years as planned. The CCC remains supportive of both the headline target, and the estimation that within it some 30 per cent of UK electricity will need to come from renewables, requiring a massive expansion of offshore wind generating capacity in particular.
Independent 10th Sept 2010 more >>
