Wylfa
Statement of Community Consultation.
Horizon 11th Dec 2011 more >>
Radwaste
A RADIOACTIVE waste campaigner and politician has written to the Government to raise his concerns over the low-level radioactive waste site at Kings Cliffe. George Smid, Kings Cliffe campaigner and chairman of Corby Liberal Democrats, has written to Local Government minister Andrew Stunnell calling on him to make changes under the spirit of the Localism Bill. He said: The Government must stop the dumping of radioactive waste at Kings Cliffe. The operator of the site was allowed to deposit radioactive waste only on appeal to the Secretary of State after Northamptonshire County Council refused the application.
Northants Evening Telegraph 11th Dec 2011 more >>
Areva
French nuclear reactor maker Areva will announce large losses on Tuesday when the group unveils its strategy, French Industry Minister Eric Besson said on Sunday. “I can confirm that Areva will announce losses,” Besson told Radio J. “In all likelihood, they will be big.”
Reuters 11th Dec 2011 more >>
BBC 11th Dec 2011 more >>
Areva has secured a contract worth more than EUR600m from French utility EDF to upgrade nuclear power plant monitoring and control systems. The work will be carried out on 20 reactors each with a capacity of 1,300MW at eight nuclear power plants throughout France. Areva is the principal contractor of this project and the company will work mainly with its partner, Rolls Royce, to supply the majority of the technology associated with the contract. EDF said the upgrade work, which will begin in 2015, is an integral part of its industrial program for continuous improvement of its nuclear installations.
Energy Business Review 12th Dec 2011 more >>
Scotland
SCOTLAND could earn billions of pounds a year by exporting electricity if Holyrood was handed full powers over the countrys energy sector, says a leading think-tank. But the claims were attacked by critics last night as incoherent and confused. A report from Reform Scotland said that the nation could become a world-leader in trading green energy if it switched from nuclear power to renewables such as wind and sea power to generate electricity. The report also said the Scottish Government should shut all nuclear power stations north of the Border and instead become the biggest exporter of low-carbon electricity in Europe.
Scotsman 12th Dec 2011 more >>
Japan
Editorial: The Diet’s approval of atomic energy agreements, which the government has signed with Jordan, Vietnam, Russia and South Korea, has opened the way for exports of nuclear power plants to these countries, but the decision came too hasty and has not been thought through. The pacts are expected to come into force as early as January. However, the crisis at the tsunami-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant has not been brought under control and the cause of the accident needs to be clarified. The Diet has endorsed the accords without in-depth discussions on how to ensure safety of nuclear power stations.
Mainichi 10th Dec 2011 more >>
Canada
A community on the shores of Lake Huron has cracked open the door to southern Ontario’s becoming the permanent storage site for Canada’s spent, but still dangerously radioactive, nuclear fuel. Until now, only nine communities in remote areas of northern Saskatchewan and northern Ontario were in the running to host the $24-billion project for a mammoth underground facility. Now, to the consternation of some, one of southern Ontario’s premier tourist destinations is on the radar, although how it got there is already the subject of dispute. The municipality of Saugeen Shores, which includes the picturesque lakeside towns of Port Elgin and Southampton about three hours west of Toronto, is showing interest in becoming home to the waste site.
CTV News 12th Dec 2011 more >>
Renewables
The public is being kept in the dark about the viability of solar photovoltaic energy, according to a study conducted at Queens University. Many analysts project a higher cost for solar photovoltaic energy because they dont consider recent technological advancements and price reductions, says [co-author] Joshua Pearce, Adjunct Professor, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. Older models for determining solar photovoltaic energy costs are too conservative. Dr. Pearce believes solar photovoltaic systems are near the tipping point where they can produce energy for about the same price other traditional sources of energy.
Climate Progress 11th Dec 2011 more >>
RenewableUK, the trade association representing the wind, wave and tidal energy industries, has strongly criticised the report “Renewable Energy: Vision or Mirage”, to be published on 12th December by the Adam Smith Institute and Scientific Alliance. The report fails to recognise the hugely significant role that wind energy already plays in generating clean electricity in the UK. The report states incorrectly that wind “does little to reduce carbon emissions”
Renewable UK 12th Dec 2011 more >>
Britain is heading for an energy crisis by the middle of the decade due to the government’s “unrealistic” reliance on wind, solar and other high-cost renewable energy technologies, according to a controversial report out today. Ministers are failing to factor in the cost of dealing with intermittent energy sources and ignoring the implications of burdening consumers with higher energy bills, said the right-leaning Adam Smith Institute and Scientific Alliance. The report argues the renewable energy roadmap for 2020 is hugely overambitious. It says the target has already been reduced but current renewable power generation is still 28% short of meeting it.
Guardian 12th dec 2011 more >>
A report by the Adam Smith Institute and the Scientific Alliance says that wind farms cannot meet the need for energy, leading to “a crisis by the middle of this decade”. Dr Gordon Edge, director of policy at RenewableUK, the industry’s association, said it was “simply another example of the same little clique of people repeating the same tired old arguments against renewable energy, regardless of the facts”.
Telegraph 12th Dec 2011 more >>
“Desertec”, a largely German-led initiative aims to provide 15% of Europe’s electricity by 2050 through a vast network of solar and wind farms stretching right across the Mena region and connecting to continental Europe via special high voltage, direct current transmission cables, which lose only around 3% of the electricity they carry per 1,000km. The tentative total cost of building the project has been estimated at 400bn (£342bn). Until now, Desertec has been seen by many observers as little more than a mirage in the sand; the fanciful plan of well-meaning dreamers. After all, the technical, political, security and financial hurdles can, each on their own, appear to be utterly insurmountable. But over the past two years, the initiative has received significant support from some of the biggest corporate names in Germany, a country that already leads Europe when it comes to adopting and developing renewable energy, particularly solar. the first phase of the Desertec plan is set to begin in Morocco next year with the construction of a 500MW solar farm near to the desert city of Ouarzazate.
Guardian 11th Dec 2011 more >>
Up to 29,000 jobs and £230m a year in taxes will be under threat today, as the Government controversially slashes solar power subsidies, environment group Friends of the Earth (FOE) says. After a last-minute rush to register for the original subsidy rate, households and small businesses signing up to the so-called feed-in-tariff (FIT) scheme from today will see earnings from energy they produce cut in half. The FITs have generated more than £275m annually in tax and created thousands of jobs since the scheme began in April 2010, says energy consultants Element Energy. However, between 18,000 and 29,000 of the solar industry’s estimated 30,000 jobs are now at risk, threatening most of the tax revenue they generate, according to Element’s research, which was commissioned by FOE and the “Cut Don’t Kill” campaign.
Independent 12th Dec 2011 more >>
Energy Efficiency
Energy companies face missing government targets to insulate millions of customers homes, leaving them liable for fines of up to 10 per cent of their turnover. The industry needs to insulate 2 million more homes over the next 12 months double the rate over the past three years to hit the targets under a £5.5 billion scheme. ScottishPower has admitted to grave concerns about the deliverability of the targets. Companies partly blame households for not responding to offers to insulate their homes for free. Today the first lot of 4.4 million letters from companies will be sent to households on benefits to try to boost the take-up. The industry has warned if this push fails, it would have to carry out more expensive work, such as insulating solid walls, to try to meet the targets, and will raise bills to recoup the costs.
Times 12th Dec 2011 more >>
Climate
Scientists and environmental groups warned that urgent action was still needed to rescue the world from climate change, despite the deal sealed on Sunday morning in Durban after two weeks of talks. Andy Atkins, executive director of Friends of the Earth, said: “This empty shell of a plan leaves the planet hurtling towards catastrophic climate change. If Durban is to be a historic stepping stone towards success the world must urgently agree ambitious targets to slash emissions.” Although governments managed to find a last-minute deal that should lead to the first legally binding global agreement on climate change covering developed and developing countries, they did not discuss whether their pledges to cut emissions would prevent dangerous levels of global warming. According to the United Nations environment programme, countries’ current emissions pledges would collectively mean that global annual emissions of greenhouse gases would be about 50bn tonnes in 2020, similar to the total in 2011. But to have a 50-50 chance of avoiding global warming over 2C, scientists estimate that global annual emissions would need to fall to about 44bn tonnes in 2020, to less than 35bn tonnes in 2030 and less than 20bn tonnes in 2050.
Guardian 11th Dec 2011 more >>
Getting a deal was a success, but a pitiful one. The world’s climate debt is soaring and postponing action threatens an environmental austerity far greater than today’s economic woes.
Guardian 11th Dec 2011 more >>
