GDA
The design assessment for Hitachi-GE’s advance boiling water reactor (ABWR) has officially begun. The Japanese company has signed an agreement with the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the Environment Agency (EA) which will enable the company to support work undertaken during the design assessment. The ONR and the EA will now begin work with Hitachi-GE on the timescale and resources needed for the assessment, with Hitachi-GE meeting all the costs for the design assessment.
Utility Week 11th April 2013 read more »
Nuclear Subsidy
A group of MPs, academics and NGOs signed an open letter this weekend calling on the National Audit Office to investigate government negotiations over building new nuclear power plants. The letter raises concerns that the government could be striking a bad deal for UK behind closed doors. The government is currently locked in talks with French energy giant EDF about building two generators at Hinkley Point in Somerset as it tries to turn plans to build 16 gigawatts of new nuclear into a reality. The letter’s signatories include eight MPs, and they say the deal needs to be more transparent to ensure the best value for the taxpayer. The signatories also intend to ask a number of parliamentary committees to investigate their concerns. Such processes will (presumably) be another stumbling block on the government’s path to securing the UK’s nuclear future.
Carbon Brief 8th April 2013 read more »
Sizewell
MPS are calling for the disclosure of full details of the proposed deal being negotiated between the Government and EDF Energy over a guaranteed price for electricity generated by planned new nuclear power stations. The cross-party group, which includes Simon Hughes, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, and Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP and member of the Parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee, say the public costs involved may be considerable and it is only right they are exposed to public scrutiny. Alan Whitehead, a member of the Commons Select Committees on Energy and Climate Change, said because of commercial confidentiality there was likely to be very limited public access to the details once the deal had been agreed by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
Coastal Scene 10th April 2013 read more »
Dungeness
Plans to expand a Kent airport have been given the go-ahead by the government following a pubic inquiry. Lydd Airport bosses want a new terminal building and an extended runway to take up to half a million passengers a year. Opponents said safety fears about the nearby Dungeness nuclear plant had not been addressed. Shepway District Council gave permission for the expansion plans in 2010 but the government called for a public inquiry.
BBC 10th April 2013 read more »
Independent 10th April 2013 read more »
Cumbria
CALLS are growing for the nuclear industry to pay its way in Cumbria. Jobs linked to the Sellafield complex and beyond are among the area’s most lucrative. But Copeland Council leader and Labour politician Councillor Elaine Woodburn has triggered debate by claiming the industry is failing to deliver wider community benefits. She argues that firms were making millions of pounds, but giving nothing back. Cllr Woodburn’s arguments have been backed by Councillor Eddie Martin, the Conservative leader of Cumbria County Council.
NW Evening Mail 9th April 2013 read more »
Energy Costs
Europe is falling dangerously far behind the US in productivity growth and is blighted by crippling energy costs, the pan-EU industry federation has warned. “Europe doesn’t have an energy policy. It has a climate policy,” said Markus Beyrer, head of BusinessEurope. Mr Beyrer said the US is running away with the shale energy revolution, leaving Europe’s companies in the dust. Spot gas prices are now four to five times higher in Europe, with grim implications for the chemical industry. “Shale gas is a game-changer and we need to have a discussion based on the evidence, not based on risks,” Mr Beyrer told The Daily Telegraph. France has imposed a moratorium on shale exploration and few countries have yet to take decisive action. Mr Beyrer said Europe’s carbon trading scheme is a muddle with “mutually distorting ob jectives” that drive up energy costs without much benefit for the climate. The latest twist is a switch to coal by EU power companies, playing havoc with CO2 goals.
Telegraph 9th April 2013 read more »
Energy Supplies
Household energy bills will rise by an average of £200 to more than £1,600 a year because of last month’s cold snap, analysts said yesterday. With temperatures 3C below the average for March, shivering customers used a third more gas this spring than last year. Britain’s gas storage facilities were almost empty yesterday, with just under 11 hours’ worth of gas left in reserve, as opposed to a maximum capacity of 15 days. Figures from Platts, the data analysts, show that Britain’s average daily gas consumption last month was 329 million cubic metres, up from 267 million cubic metres for the same period last year.
Times 11th April 2013 read more »
Emergency Planning
An exercise is taking place in Dorset to test the emergency response to an accident involving a nuclear submarine. The simulation is being held around Portland Port, one of the locations authorised to accommodate nuclear-powered vessels in the UK. Royal Navy, police, coastguard, council and health service personnel are all involved in the exercise which is held every three years.
BBC 10th April 2013 read more »
Proliferation
Although North Korea and Iran are thousands of kilometers apart on opposite sides of Eurasia, they are linked — directly as well as indirectly — in the North Korean crisis. Iran’s nuclear and long-range ballistic missile ambitions are silent actors in the confrontation between North Korea and a wide range of countries in the international community, including the United States, China and Russia. All these countries, and many others including Japan, have condemned Pyongyang’s threats to launch nuclear and missile attacks on the U.S. and American bases in Japan and the Western Pacific.
Japan Times 11th April 2013 read more »
Chernobyl
The decommissioning and clean-up of Chernobyl is a project that the international community will not allow to be ‘swept under the carpet’ since the stakes are high for this particular plant. However, the Ukrainians reckon they can contain it under one giant plug.
Nuclear Insider 10th April 2013 read more »
A FIREFIGHTER who helped deal with the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear accident will visit the region to meet supporters of children affected by disaster. Vitali Baranovski was among the emergency crews involved in the clean up after the 1986 explosion and fire at the Chernobyl power plant, then in the USSR and now in Ukraine. He will be the guest of honour at St Paul’s Centre, in Spennymoor, County Durham, to give a presentation with film and photographs on Tuesday, April 23, 2.30pm.
Northern Echo 10th April 2013 read more »
Nuclear Research
LIVERPOOL strengthened its world class position in nuclear science with a visit from the head of CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research. Professor Rolf Dieter-Heuer, head of CERN, addressed the University of Liverpool’s annual Institute of Physics meeting.
Liverpool Dail Post 11th April 2013 read more »
World Nuclear
Nuclear power is going through some of its toughest ever years, but retains majority global policy support, the World Nuclear Fuel Cycle (WNFC) conference heard today in Singapore. Huge uncertainty for industry flowed from the Fukushima accident, as well as new programs to guard against external risk and improve accident mitigation. The extended shutdown of 48 reactors in Japan had instant effects on demand for reactor fuel and the raw material, uranium. Philippe Hatron of Areva told the conference that the company’s current strategy for nuclear fuel production includes bringing on new facilities to replace old ones, but only to meet the needs of current reactors.
World Nuclear News 10th April 2013 read more »
Germany
Politicians have been arguing for years about where to site a permanent storage facility for German nuclear waste. An agreement has now been reached that will allow the search to go ahead, but details remain unclear. The words that kept recurring at the talks on Tuesday evening (09.04.2013) were transparency, trust, and – above all – consensus. 35 years – that’s how long it has taken for German federal and state politicians to agree to look again at where to site a permanent storage facility for German nuclear waste.
Deutsche Welle 10th April 2013 read more »
Japan
The Nuclear Regulation Authority said Wednesday its planned new safety standards to deal with serious atomic crises in the event of earthquakes and tsunami could affect the reactivation of the country’s reactors. The NRA will solicit public comments on the standards as well as other regulations, including a process to give exceptional extension to reactors operating more than 40 years, as the country continues to grapple with the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant disaster triggered by the March 2011 megaquake and tsunami. Public opinion will be courted for 30 days from Thursday and could be reflected in the standards, which will be enforced from mid-July. The new standards will replace the current guidelines that the Fukushima catastrophe proved were insufficient.
Japan Times 10th April 2013 read more »
Another toxic water tank at the Fukushima Daichii power plant is likely leaking, the national atomic energy agency says, bringing the total defective tanks to three of a total seven. The tanks were built to store contaminated water. The new leak was detected in pool No.1 while water from the leaking pool No.2 was being transported, according to the Nuclear Regulation Authority. The water transfer has been halted.
RT 10th April 2013 read more »
Radioactive water continues to leak from tanks at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. Space is running out to store the hundreds of tons of contaminated water produced each day. And the initial plan to address the growing water problem now appears flawed. That is the situation facing plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co., which on April 9 admitted to another leak in an underground storage tank holding contaminated water.
Asahi Shimbun 10th April 2013 read more »
North Korea
AS THE world braces for a provocative missile launch by North Korea amid its threats of “thermo¬nuclear war”, Pyongyang, the centre of the storm, remains strangely calm. The focus in the North Korean capital yesterday was less on preparing for war and more on beautifying the city ahead of the nation’s biggest holiday – the 15 April birthday of the nation’s founder, Kim Il-sung.
Scotsman 11th April 2013 read more »
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel calls North Korea ”unpredictable”, saying the United States is fully capable to defend itself and its allies if needed.
Reuters 10th April 2013 read more »
North Korea has been described as the most secretive nation on earth – yet in order to negotiate successfully with an adversary, it’s essential to get inside their heads. Professor Victor Cha from Georgetown University in the US was Director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council – a key advisor to the White House over North Korea. He points out in a paper entitled ‘North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction: Badges, shields, or swords?’ that developing weapons of mass destruction can only be properly understood as part of a wider military rationale.
Huffington Post 11th April 2013 read more »
The world’s most fascinating – and unnerving – game of poker is taking place on the Korean peninsula. The problem is no one has seen the Korean Kid play before.
FT 10th April 2013 read more »
Iran
Tehran has announced controversial plans to build more nuclear reactors in an earthquake-prone coastal area facing its Gulf Arab neighbours, a day after a powerful tremor struck near Iran’s only atomic energy plant. The 6.3 magnitude quake hit 55 miles south-east of the port of Bushehr, killing 37 people and injuring more than 900 as it flattened 12 villages and damaged dozens more. The dead included eight young children. The nuclear power plant near Bushehr – which Iran insists is “quake proof” – escaped unscathed. Within hours, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation said more reactors would be built there.
Scotsman 11th April 2013 read more »
Pakistan
Pakistan test fires nuclear-capable Hatf IV Shaheen-1 intermediate-range ballistic missile.
Reuters 10th April 2013 read more »
Nuclear Weapons
Jeremy Corbyn: The crisis in Korea and other wars around the world point to a need for reflection and promotion of the values of peace. Hysteria and jingoism are not going to bring peace and justice to anyone. A more sober examination of the causes of the current conflicts must be made. Over the Easter weekend, CND organised a magnificent demonstration around the Aldermaston base, where Britain is developing its very own US-made nuclear weapons – thus perpetuating the fiction of an “independent” nuclear deterrent.
Morning Star 10th April 2013 read more »
Senior Tory peers tell Cameron he has to answer questions about impact of independence on Trident base near Glasgow. David Cameron has been warned by senior Tory peers that he has to answer questions about the impact of Scottish independence, including potential disruption in moving the UK’s Trident nuclear weapons base from the Clyde.A House of Lords committee chaired by the former Tory cabinet minister Lord MacGregor, who served under Margaret Thatcher and John Major, says Cameron’s government is being too complacent about the risks to its own interests if Scots vote yes to independence in the referendum on 18 September next year.
Guardian 10th April 2013 read more »
AN independent Scotland would not be able to join Nato unless it formally accepted its “nuclear umbrella”, according to the organisation’s former secretary general. Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, who as George Robertson was a Labour defence secretary, said the confirmation from Nato that a separate Scottish state would have to apply for membership had left the SNP facing a “huge dilemma”. It is committed to getting rid of Trident on the Clyde and he questioned whether its rank and file members would swallow the requirement to recognise the “supremacy” of US, UK and French nuclear weapons. Opposition parties said Nato’s statement had left Alex Salmond’s defence policy in a “total mess”.
Telegraph 10th April 2013 read more »
Renewables
Scotland is hoping to leverage its extensive experience in North Sea oil and gas drilling to become the leader in the offshore wind industry. Here’s why they stand a pretty good chance of succeeding.
Mother Nature Network 13th March 2013 read more »
Fracking
New research suggests that fracking is not a significant cause of earthquakes that can be felt on the surface. UK scientists looked at quakes caused by human activity ranging from mining to oil drilling; only three could be attributed to hydraulic fracturing. Most fracking events released the same amount of energy as jumping off a ladder, the Durham-based team said.
BBC 10th April 2013 read more »
Telegraph 10th April 2013 read more »
FT 10th April 2013 read more »