Wylfa
THE debate over a new nuclear power station in North Wales exposed a rift in the Plaid Cymru leadership battle yesterday. Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas accused his two rivals of undermining a campaign to secure Wylfa B on Anglesey and hundreds of skilled jobs. The clash came as the three contenders started a phase of hustings and meetings with party members across Wales in the race to succeed Ieuan Wyn Jones. Both Ceredigion AM Elin Jones and South Wales Central AM Leanne Wood are outspoken in their opposition to new nuclear power facilities in Wales.
Daily Post 11th Feb 2012 more >>
Hinkley
Protesters have for the second time in a week occupied the development site at Hinkley Point nuclear power station in Somerset. In the early hours of this morning anti-nuclear activists took possession of an abandoned farm on the site which is protected under International Environmental law. The site contains a Site of Special Scientific interest (SSSI) and a protected wetland (R.A.M.S.A.R site) but it is due to be cleared by power company EDF in the coming months. Protesters are angry that permission has been given for this work to begin before the company have won permission to build their controversial new nuclear plant. Press RFelease not on the web yet. Earlier Press Release.
Stop Hinkley 7th Feb 2012 more >>
The Infrastructure Planning Committee commissioned a report to look at the cost of various options of installing a new 400,000-volt power line between Avonmouth and Hinkley Point nuclear power station. Published this month it found overhead lines were the cheapest option, costing between £2.2 and £4.2million per kilometre on whichever route is chosen. Taking the cables underground could cost anything from between £10.2 million to £24.1 million per kilometre. Using an underwater route along the Bristol Channel would cost between £13.1 million and £31.8 million per kilometre, report authors the Institute of Engineering and Technology and consultants Parsons Brinckerhoff found. Nailsea district and town councillor Jan Barber equates to adding a few pence annually to household energy bills.
Mrs Barber said: “What is boils down to is a cost of only 30p per household per year to underground as opposed to ugly pylons spoiling our countryside.
Nailsea People 12th Feb 2012 more >>
Hilda Murrell
New doubt has been cast on the conviction of a teenage burglar for the controversial Eighties murder of anti-nuclear campaigner Hilda Murrell. Her nephew Robert Green, who was a naval commander, has written a book containing details of DNA evidence not disclosed at the trial. The case has been hotly debated because at the time then Labour MP Tam Dalyell claimed men of British Intelligence were involved.
Daily Mail 12th Feb 2012 more >>
Nuclear Constabulary
A DECC quango has spent over £1 million on stockpiling weapons, ammunition and vehicles as it guards the nation’s civil nuclear energy sites against attack. The shocking figures were discovered within an annual budget of nearly £80 million that is operated by the eight-man Civil Nuclear Police Authority. The panel was set up in 2004 to govern the work of the UK’s Nuclear Police Constabulary but because it’s a quango, it’s spending is not scrutinised in the normal way by the National Audit Office but by accountancy firm KPMG. The vast spending bill, which includes £14,000 for bottled water, is underwritten by DECC but paid for by the nuclear energy industry, which in turn is recovered through consumers’ bills.
Click Green 11th Feb 2012 more >>
DECC
The new energy secretary has vowed to help households waste less electricity and heat as he takes control of a government department hit by turmoil over its solar and wind policies. Ed Davey marked his first week in charge of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) by announcing the creation of a 50-strong taskforce to make energy efficiency more relevant to homeowners. The team will promote the green deal, the coalitions subsidy for home improvements such as cavity wall insulation, as well as the roll-out of smart meters and renewable heat technologies.
Sunday Times 12th Feb 2012 more >>
France
In a startling development widely reported across Europe in the English-, French-, and German-language press, France imported electricity to meet peak demand during a brutal cold snap February 7, 2012. And one of the countries France imported electricity from was Germany. Post Fukushima, Germany closed two-fifths of its nuclear reactors and there were fears that Germany would not be able to meet its own demand let alone export electricity.Nuclear reactors provided one-fourth of Germany’s electricity before Fukushima. Available French nuclear capacity was operating flat-out with three reactors off line. However, France’s famed nuclear fleet delivered only 60 percent of the 100,000 MW of peak load experienced at 7:00 p.m. (19:00 hours) as millions of French homeowners switched on their electric heaters.
Renewable Energy World 10th Feb 2012 more >>
Iran
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the Islamic Republic, targeted by tougher Western sanctions, will soon announce advances in its nuclear programme.
Herald 12th Feb 2012 more >>
Daily Mail 12th Feb 2012 more >>
Metro 11th Feb 2012 more >>
Guardian 11th Feb 2012 more >>
Japan
Thousands of people marched against nuclear power Saturday, amid growing worries about the restarting of reactors idled after the March 11 meltdown disaster in northeastern Japan. Holding No Nukes signs, people gathered at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo for a rally. Nobel Prize-winning writer Kenzaburo Oe attended the rally. The protesters then marched peacefully through the streets, demanding the government abandon atomic power.
Japan Today 12th Feb 2012 more >>
Japanese operator of the stricken nuclear plant releases video of the nuclear fuel pool ahead of rod removal.
Reuters 11th Feb 2012 more >>
What really happened on March 11? How have the lives of the victims changed since the tragedy? What are their futures? NHK is to broadcast a NHK Special documentary series on NHK General TV for nine days beginning on March 3 to mark the first anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. It will use the extensive footage and stories it has gathered since the disaster in the search for answers and to look toward a more optimistic future.
Japan Today 12th Feb 2012 more >>
Submarines
In an increasingly tense war of words, Argentinian Foreign Minister Hector Timberman claims the UK is deploying nuclear weapons near the Falkland Islands.
Telegraph 11th Feb 2012 more >>
Channel 4 News 11th Feb 2012 more >>
Microgeneration
This weeks Micro Power News now available: Updates and reactions on the Governments latest Feed-in Tariff consultations, plus news of schemes going ahead including community hydro projects and a solar co-operative.
Microgen Scotland 10th Feb 2012 more >>
