New Nukes
Letter Kate Hudson: We quite agree with George Monbiot’s assessment of the nuclear industry’s shortcomings, but even were the secrecy, corruption and commercially motivated safety shortcuts to magically disappear, the fundamental problems with the technology remain.
Guardian 11th July 2011 more >>
Electricity Market Reform
The UK government has wanted new nuclear reactors for years, but a political contortion means explicit support is impossible. Result: a bewildering maze of measures. Energy in the 21st century is about three Cs: carbon, cost and continuity of supply. But the UK government’s major reform of the country’s electricity market, due to be published on Tuesday, is fundamentally about only one thing: new nuclear power. The plans are critically important. They represent a giant intervention in the UK’s unusually free market and are intended to deliver the investment needed to meet the three Cs, that a free market would not provide. In other words, it’s about keeping the lights on while cutting greenhouse gas emissions at a price that consumers can pay. The UK government decided long ago that new nuclear power stations are essential to deliver this. In the last few days I have spoken to people in the power industry, energy academics, investors and green campaigners. All agree that the sprawling and complex maze of measures the government proposed has the central aim of getting new nuclear power stations built. Essential background reading on this is an article by Professor Catherine Mitchell at Exeter University, which deftly leads you through labyrinth.
Guardian 11th July 2011 more >>
Catherine Mitchell.
Guardian 11th March 2011 more >>
Sceptics see hidden nuclear subsidy. There are fears, in both the industry and environmental pressure groups, that the plans are a way of subsidising nuclear energy without appearing to do so directly, because some of the reforms will benefit all forms of “low-carbon electricity”, which will be taken to include nuclear reactors. The coalition has pledged not to subsidise the nuclear industry “directly” but by including it with renewable forms of generation, it can get round this stipulation.
Guardian 11th July 2011 more >>
Dounreay
The prospect of flasks of spent nuclear fuel being hauled the length of Scotland by rail has increased after the principle was given the official nod. Earlier this month Dounreays managers revealed plans to move breeder fuel to the reprocessing plant at Sellafield in west Cumbria. Their preferred option has now been backed by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which oversees the clean-up of Britains defunct reactor sites. Friends of the Earth Scotland has condemned the proposed movements, claiming they pose unacceptable risks for accidents, mistakes and sabotage.
Press & Journal 12th July 2011 more >>
Anger at move to send 46 nuclear waste shipments by rail.
Scotsman 12th July 2011 more >>
STV 11th July 2011 more >>
Hinkley
EDF Energy, the French energy giant behind the proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset has announced that it will be issuing a revised timetable for completion after delays caused by the PR fallout that followed the Fukushima disaster in Japan.
The Drum 11th July 2011 more >>
Germany
Germanys nuclear phase out will speed up the low carbon economy. A decade ago, Germany started transitioning towards a low carbon economy. The share of renewable power has tripled. Wind farms, solar modules, biogas, and hydro power provide 18 percent of Germanys power supply. Today, renewables are a reliable and indispensable pillar of Germanys power supply that keep trains running and factories humming. The sector is fast growing and provides 370,000 good-paying jobs much more than the 22,000 jobs in Germanys lignite coal industry. Many of these jobs are within traditional industries, such as steel workers, farmers and the ceramic and glass industries. A shift to a renewable energy powered economy comes with costs. However, this price tag is modest in comparison to the heavy burden that nuclear brings. Over the last 40 years, the German nuclear industry has been pampered with more than 200 billion Euros in subsidies. In comparison, renewable energy technologies have been incentivized by about 4.8 billion Euros in 2010. By replacing fossil fuel imports and avoiding health costs, renewables already pay off today.
Climate Progress 11th July 2011 more >>
