Hinkley
Leading figures in the West’s business community have hailed the Hinkley C nuclear reactor project clearing its final regulatory hurdle as being a major day for the region’s economy.
Western Daily Press 9th Oct 2014 read more »
Property Magazine 9th Oct 2014 read more »
Experts said the Hinkley Point C project, in which two Chinese nuclear giants hold a minor stake, will pave the way for Chinese companies’ eventually owning a nuclear project in the UK.
ECNS 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Overlooked in the political frenzy over the success of UKIP in the two by-election results is Nigel Farage’s curious backing for Brussels’ support for massive multi-billion pound subsidies for new nuclear power plants in Britain.
David Lowry 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Exeter Chamber’s Initiative for Science and Technology (ExIST) will be welcoming speakers from AnTech, Somerset Chamber of Commerce’s Hinkley team and the Exeter and East Devon Low Carbon Task Force at its next event.
Exeter Express and Echo 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Hunterston
Hunterston ‘B’ station director Colin Weir has said that the cracks found in the graphite core of their reactor were predicted, and will not affect the future operation of the power plant. Hunterston ‘B’ station director Colin Weir has said that the cracks found in the graphite core of their reactor were predicted, and will not affect the future operation of the power plant. Rita Holmes, the chairman of the Hunterston site stakeholders group, said: “I have every faith in the dedicated workforce at Hunterston B. It is just getting to the end of its life, it was supposed to close in 2011. We have to rely on the ONR and SEPA to regulate stringently. Eventually it won’t be worth EDF’s while repairing the ageing reactors – not just Hunterston – it is a concern to me.”
Largs & Millport Weekly News 9th Oct 2014 read more »
Wylfa
The National Grid is to press ahead with plans for pylon corridors across Anglesey’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the iconic Menai Straits despite 92% favouring an undersea cabling, critics claim. The Grid’s own report on its North Wales consultation admits there was “strong and widespread opposition to overhead line development” between Anglesey and Gwynedd.
Wales Online 9th Oct 2014 read more »
Windscale
On 10th Oct it will be 57 years since the worst nuclear accident in the UK. The bravery of those who fought the 1957 blaze was without question and they are remembered with our gratitude for preventing the far greater catastrophe of a full on Lake Counties nuclear sacrifice zone. Official estimates point to a possibility of 240 additional cancer cases as a result of the Windscale fire. Studies reveal that the impacts of nuclear accident and routine emissions may be far wider reaching than the public is led to believe. One such study in 1995 by Dr John Bound, a former paediatrician at the Victoria Hospital, Blackpool; Brian Francis, of the Centre for Applied Statistics, Lancaster; and Dr Peter Harvey, pathologist at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary found that the Windscale fire was followed by a surge in cases of Down’s syndrome. Their studies were poo poohed to protect the vested interests of the nuclear establishment. This pattern has been repeated time and time again. History is now repeating itself with the plan for untried and untested new build near Sellafield.
Radiation Free Lakeland 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Waste Transport
A SHIP carrying nuclear waste that went adrift in the Moray Firth after a fire onboard has resumed its journey. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority said the Parida was carrying two containers, called flasks, each holding three 500-litre drums of intermediate-level waste.
Herald 11th Oct 2014 read more »
BBC 10th Oct 2014 read more »
An oil platform evacuated after a cargo ship carrying radioactive waste caught fire is back in operation. All 52 crew were airlifted from Beatrice Alpha in the Moray Firth when the MV Parida began drifting towards the platform on Tuesday evening.
STV 10th Oct 2014 read more »
The episode has raised many questions about the safety of transporting nuclear material by sea. But not much has been said about the presence of another vessel in the Pentland Firth last week, the Oceanic Pintail. Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd, which is charged with the decommissioning of the plant, confirmed that this other vessel was undergoing trials to see if sea transport was a viable option for taking Dounreay’s so called “exotics” to Sellafield in Cumbria. These represent 26 tonnes containing unirradiated highly-enriched uranium; unirradiated plutonium and irradiated fuels. This is not nuclear waste, and is potentially more dangerous than cargo bound for Belgium. It is estimated it will need 60 trips carrying 24 flasks at a time. Nuclear engineer John Large has said of the “exotics”: “We’re talking about bomb-grade material that would be a target for terrorists. It is also fuel from an experimental reactor which will have got broken up and will have been in storage in an uncertain condition. “It will be very difficult to inspect it before it is transported and the only safeguard is based on their assumption that they would not encounter an accident with a big enough impact to break open the flask.” The campaigning group Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment (Core) have long had their collective eye on the Oceanic Pintail, which they say is based in Barrow. Core compares the two nuclear cargo boats thus: “The 5800 tonne Parida, a roll-on roll-off cargo vessel, was built in Turkey in 1999. By comparison, the Oceanic Pintail was built in 1987 and at 27 years of age, has well exceeded the 25-year shelf-life that has historically been enforced on Barrow’s fleet of nuclear cargo carriers. ” Core is concerned about the age of the Oceanic Pintail and “its continued use as a dangerous nuclear materials transport vessel” , especially since the Department of Transport’s withdrawal of emergency tow coverage for the notoriously difficult waters of the Minches in 2013.
Herald 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Scotland
The Scottish Government needs to be given the powers to implement stricter environmental reforms, Pete Roche, Policy Adviser to the Scottish Nuclear Free Local Authorities (SNFLA) told RIA Novosti Thursday. “The Scottish Government’s policy of near site, near surface storage of waste, rather than disposal, is the right one, but it needs the powers to implement it more effectively,” Roche said, noting that “even after we have closed down all the nuclear sites in Scotland we will still have a legacy of nuclear waste to deal with for hundreds of years to come”. According to Roche, “the way to reduce risks and the number of accidents is to adhere to a strict code of environmental principals when dealing with the waste”. “These would include, for instance the proximity principle – dealing with the waste as close to where it is produced as possible; and concentrating and containing waste rather than diluting and dispersing it throughout the environment,” Roche said. Recently, three separate nuclear-related incidents occurred in and around Scotland. On Monday, it was revealed that graphite bricks within one of the core reactors at Hunterston B nuclear power plant in Ayrshire were showing signs of cracking. Nuclear safety experts are still to determine what is causing the problem and questions have been raised over the safety and future life of the nuclear power plant. On Tuesday, The Parida cargo vessel, carrying nuclear waste from Scotland to Belgium, caught fire and started drifting in the North Sea amid poor weather conditions. A nearby oil platform was evacuated as a precaution before the fire was brought under control and the vessel was towed to the Port of Cromarty Firth. On Wednesday, a fire was reported at the Dounreay nuclear power plant in the far north of Scotland. The blaze occurred in one of the plant’s reactors and took 30 minutes to extinguish.
RIA Novosti 9th Oct 2014 read more »
The Scottish government has called for full control over fiscal and tax policy to be devolved from Westminster, in the wake of the vote against independence. SNP ministers also said welfare and employment policy must be devolved, as well as other areas like energy and broadcasting.
BBC 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Brian Wilson: The Scottish Government is presiding over an energy policy that is little more than a shambles. A few weeks ago, I took part in a referendum debate with Fergus Ewing, the Scottish energy minister, and was genuinely startled to learn that his strategy for keeping Scotland’s lights on until 2030 depends on our two nuclear power stations continuing to operate. Fergus was a Glasgow lawyer in his prior existence rather than a nuclear engineer so while he might wish for that outcome; he certainly cannot guarantee it. Thankfully, it is the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, rather than any politician, who will make the critical decisions and this week’s reports of cracks in the Hunterston B reactor wall remind us of how vulnerable the assumption is. One could dwell on the irony of a Scottish Government which seethed with anti-nuclear rhetoric and destroyed the sensib le option of encouraging a state-of-the-art Hunterston C now pinning its energy masterplan on keeping our trusty old nuclear stations going for more than half a century. But that is where they have led us and where we now are. A couple of weeks ago, Spanish-owned ScottishPower spoke of closing Longannet sooner than expected because it cannot compete with coal-fired stations in England. (Incidentally, whatever happened to the multi-billion pound Scottish investments promised by the chairman of Iberdrola, in concert with our First Minister, during the run-up to the 2011 Scottish elections? Is anyone counting?). Mr Ewing came in on cue to denounce transmission charges which reflect the fact Longannet is further from the main market it supplies than its competitors. Again the irony was glorious. Just a few weeks ago, Fergus was campaigning to turn this market into a foreign state. Where would that have left the bargaining power of Longannet or any Scottish generator?
Scotsman 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Nuclear Research
Bristol is to be the base for a nuclear energy research and education hub. This will be developed following an agreement by the University of Bristol to invest more than £5.3 million along with £2.43 million, from the Higher Education Funding Council for England. The hub, which builds on the success of the Bristol-Oxford Nuclear Research Centre (NRC) formed in 2011, is due to open in early 2016; it signifies a development of the existing NRC strategy by creating a dedicated physical presence at the university that will be accessible to both the UK and international nuclear energy community.
Machinery Market 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Energy Costs
Ofgem, the energy watchdog, is launching a renewed transparency drive over the finances of the big six energy suppliers amid further concerns of profiteering. Figures released by Ofgem show the companies that dominate power generation and supply have had combined earnings before interest and tax of almost £17bn over the past five years. It is demanding independent auditing of annual accounts – broken down into individual divisions – as well as the faster release of figures and more details on corporate cost structures.
Guardian 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Uranium
French nuclear group Areva SA has begun processing uranium ore at its Canadian mill at McClean Lake, bringing a new source of the radioactive metal to market after delays. The mill, located northern Saskatchewan, has been undergoing modifications since 2010 to allow it to process ore from Cameco’s $2.6 billion Cigar Lake mine, which is set to become one of the world’s biggest by 2018.
Mining 9th Oct 2014 read more »
France
French lawmakers have voted to make their country a little less heavily dependent on nuclear energy. The lower house of parliament adopted a measure Friday to reduce the share of nuclear energy in the electricity supply from 75 percent currently to 50 percent in 2025. The nuclear share in the United States, in comparison, is about 19 percent.
ABC News 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Platts 10th Oct 2014 read more »
South Korea
SOUTH Korean city Samcheok has rejected plans to build a nuclear power station in an unofficial referendum. Around 85 per cent of the of the 28,867 residents who cast ballots said No, according to the volunteers who administered the referendum that the government has rejected as having no legal weight. Turnout was 68 per cent of the 42,488 who registered — from the 61,000 on the regular electoral role. Supporters of the nuclear plant called for a boycott of the vote.
Morning Star 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Iran
Talks over Iran’s nuclear programme might be extended if disagreement over remaining issues cannot be resolved by a November deadline, Iran’s top negotiator was quoted as saying on Friday, in the first hint an extension was being contemplated.
Reuters 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Poland
Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (OCCP) has approved the formation of a joint venture between three utilities and a mining company to build the country’s first nuclear power plant. In July 2012 copper miner KGHM Polska Miedź and power utilities Tauron Polska Energia and Enea, which are 31.8%, 30% and 51.5% state-owned, respectively, agreed to take minority stakes in the $10.3-11.3 billion project with Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE).
World Nuclear News 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Renewables – offshore wind
The Scottish Government has today given consent to four massive offshore wind farm projects in a fresh push to ensure it secures a share of £235m renewable energy finance from Whitehall. Combined, the four projects could generate more than 2.2GW of new capacity, offering a major boost to Scotland’s target to have 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2020. The government predicts they could also generate £314m to £1.2bn for the Scottish economy and create tens of thousands of jobs.
Business Green 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Four huge offshore wind farms combining hundreds of turbines have been approved off the east coast of Scotland. The developments in the Forth and Tay region could provide 2.284 gigawatts of power, enough to power over 1.4m homes every year. Government consent was granted under strict conditions to mitigate any potential environmental impact. It is estimated the four developments will produce carbon savings of 135m tonnes of CO2 over their lifespans. While the offshore developments have won the backing of green groups including Friends of the Earth Scotland, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Scotland voiced fears over the proximity of seabird colonies.
BBC 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Herald 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Scotsman 11th Oct 2014 read more »
RSPB Scotland claimed that the schemes threaten marine wildlife and could have a disastrous impact on colonies of gannet, kittiwake, and razorbill that breed along the coastlines, including the 110,000 gannet colony at the Bass Rock and puffin breeding grounds at the Isle of May. It was “inevitable” that there would be a decline in species due to seabirds colliding with turbines and displacement from foraging grounds at sea.
Times 11th Oct 2014 read more »
Telegraph 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Microgeneration
This week’s Micro Power News incl Local Energy Revolution underway in Plymouth; 1.85k solar houses for Salford.
Microgen Scotland 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Climate
Last year, industry executives had reason to be surprised, then, when they were asked to pay damages. The request came in the form of the most ambitious, wide-ranging environmental lawsuit in the history of the United States. And it was served by the most unlikely of antagonists, a former college-football coach, competitive weight lifter and author of dense, intellectually robust 500-page books of American history: John M. Barry.
New York Times 2nd Oct 2014 read more »
A French diplomatic effort to seal a deal on cutting carbon emissions at next year’s Paris climate change summit has opened with a warning from the country’s former climate change ambassador that it would be better to have no deal at all, than a bad one.
Guardian 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Meeting a target of keeping global temperature from rising above 2C is still possible, according to 30 leading climate and energy experts. The authors, who include former UK government scientific adviser Sir Bob Watson, conclude that staying under 2C needs “immediate, urgent action” at the highest levels of governments. The Tackling the Challenge of Climate Change report was presented at Ban Ki-moon’s UN climate summit in New York last month. Watson rejects any suggestion that 2C is an inappropriate target saying it “plays into the hands of climate deniers” and would be a step backward from the urgent action that’s needed. Waiting until 2025 or 2030 to bend the CO2 emissions curve will be too late to meet the 2C target. That would hit most of Africa, many small island states and the world’s poorest very hard.
Guardian 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Fossil Fuels
The Scottish government has taken over the decision on two planning appeals for the production of coal bed methane. Dart Energy had applied to Falkirk and Stirling councils for permission to drill at 14 sites in Airth and the Forth Valley. The firm then called on the government to make the ruling instead of the local authorities. Planning Minister Derek Mackay said the plans were of “national interest” and needed further scrutiny. Thousands of objections had been sent in to the councils from local residents and green campaigners over the plans. No hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” would be involved in the coal bed methane gas extraction, but environmental campaigners claim it carries risks similar to those they attribute to fracking.
BBC 10th Oct 2014 read more »
Herald 11th Oct 2014 read more »
