Torness
MORE than 500 people work for him, his business ploughs £30 million into the Dunbar area each year and he’s responsible for keeping the lights on at one million homes. Newly-appointed Torness power station director Brian Cowell is looking forward to a bright future as the pros and cons of nuclear power are weighed up by the policy-makers who will decide the plant’s long-term future. Torness is scheduled for decommissioning in 2023 but could be granted a lease of life for up to 10 years beyond that. Plans have been mooted for a new power station (Torness B) to be built on land next to the existing site but a decision will not be reached until 2020.
East Lothian Courier 9th November 2006
BNG Privatisation
THE fate of Sellafield will be the main topic at a meeting in Manchester later this month as bidders for the site attend a pre-bidding event. All the bidders for BNG will be lobbying at the Industry Day at the Renaissance Hotel on November 28 and 29. The carve-up of BNG is being masterminded by the NDA and it says the event is to enable bidders to “actively engage and inform the marketplace and to interact face-to-face with potential bidders”. New to the bidding war is US multinational Bechtel, which drew up the suggested sell-off options. Serco, the UK project services specialist, has formed a nuclear clean-up consortium with Bechtel and US nuclear specialist BWXT. The Sellafield contract could be worth around £5billion initially but could include an option to extend the deal. Under plans agreed by the Government last month, companies will be invited to bid for the contract next year. The award will be made in 2008.
Whitehaven News 9th Nov 2006
New nukes
The nuclear industry is predicting a rapid expansion—but that will not happen without government help. In most countries, the future of nuclear power rests more on political considerations than commercial or technological ones. Investors will be reluctant to commit themselves without a big shift in public opinion or pledges from governments to push through planning approval or defray the cost of any delays. As Fatih Birol, the IEA’s chief economist, puts it: “If governments do not facilitate the investment, I don’t think nuclear will fly.”
Economist 9th Nov 2006
Labour’s biggest financial backer, Lord Sainsbury of Turville, has resigned as Science minister after eight years in the job, saying he wanted to devote more time to his business and charity work. His departure caused a shuffle of responsibilities among ministers at the Department of Trade and Industry. The former energy minister Malcolm Wicks will replace Lord Sainsbury, while the Trade Secretary, Alistair Darling, will take personal responsibility for energy policy, including the question of whether there should be a new generation of nuclear power stations.
Independent 11th Nov 2006
Japan
Should Japan build its own nuclear arsenal? And should Japan’s government rewrite the country’s pacifist constitution to make it easier for its troops to be deployed abroad? Each of these difficult questions has the potential to unsettle Japan’s neighbours.
BBC 10th Nov 2006
Nuclear Waste
BERLIN: Police said Friday that an officer was injured in a clash with demonstrators protesting against a shipment of nuclear waste from France. German anti-nuclear groups regularly protest shipments of waste from a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in La Hague to the Gorleben storage site.
International Herald Tribune 10th Nov 2006
Terror
Britain’s spy chief has said authorities are tracking almost 30 terrorist plots to “kill people and damage our economy” and expressed concern over future terrorist attacks using chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.
CNN 10th Nov 2006
The Prime Minister said he fully endorsed Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller’s warning and said the country faced a “long and deep struggle” to win the battle against al-Qa’eda. He urged people to confront the “poisonous propaganda” that was warping the minds of young Muslims.
Telegraph 11th Nov 2006
Iran
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Friday Iran’s enemies could not do a “damn thing” to stop its nuclear programme.
Reuters 10th Nov 2006
Trident
Plaid Cymru politicians Leanne Wood AM, party President Dafydd Iwan and Jill Evans MEP, chair of CND Cymru, will take part in a peaceful blockade of the Trident base near Glasgow along with other protestors from Wales on Monday. Plaid opposes the estimated £76 billion cost of replacing Britain’s nuclear arsenal.
Newsnow 10th Nov 2006
