Hinkley
Protesters have set up camp in an abandoned farm on the site of the proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset. They are angry West Somerset Council has given EDF Energy the go-ahead for preparatory work before planning permission has been granted.
BBC 12th Feb 2012 more >>
Stop Hinkley 12th Feb 2012 more >>
Morning Star 12th Feb 2012 more >>
Construction Enquirer 13th Feb 2012 more >>
Western Morning News 13th Feb 2012 more >>
Burnham-On-Sea’s MP has endorsed a damning new report that criticises government research and proposals to build new nuclear power stations, such as Hinkley C, around the UK. The report, entitled ‘A Corruption of Governance?’ was written by the No Need for Nuclear Group.
Burnham-on-sea.com 11th Feb 2012 more >>
Wylfa
Wylfa Site has taken delivery of the last Magnox nuclear fuel elements ever to be manufactured, with the last bulk delivery arriving just before Christmas. Approximately 5.5 million Magnox fuel elements have been produced by Springfields Fuels Limited, near Preston, since 1955 with more than 600,000 destined for Wylfa.
NDA 10th Feb 2012 more >>
Radwaste
Letter: Having seen the advert promoting geological disposal of nuclear waste (Gazette, Jan 19th) I went along to the meeting in Kendal Town Hall. Many people were there to voice their concerns, which were brushed aside by specialists with: It wont happen unless its safe and: Its a long process. Really? The proposed timescale has already been brought forward, with mining up to 1000m deep and 26km square planned to start in a couple of years following site selection. And emplacement of waste is scheduled to start in 15 years time.
Westmorland Gazette 9th Feb 2012 more >>
Scoland
Safe Energy No.55, February 2012: An update of Scottish News is now available for downloading.
No2nuclearpower.org.uk 12th Feb 2012 more >>
New Nukes
Iberdrola has teamed up with Frances GDF Suez to develop plans for a new UK nuclear plant, with a final investment decision due in 2015, but Mr Galán said much more regulatory clarity was needed from the government. The area that has the most uncertainty is the area of nuclear. We still dont know how its going to be properly paid what the return will be, he said. The decision to go ahead is not going to be taken until the moment the framework is clear and predictable enough, with enough remuneration for those investments.
FT 12th Feb 2012 more >>
Companies
The energy supplier First Utility is looking for a big-name chairman to help the Morgan Stanley-backed group to crack the dominance of the “big six” within three years.
Independent 13th Feb 2012 more >>
France
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has decided to extend the lifespan of Frances nuclear plants so they can operate beyond 40 years, Industry Minister Eric Besson said in an interview with Europe 1. A decision to prolong the life of a plant would require approval by nuclear-safety watchdog Autorite de Surete Nucleaire, Besson said. Shutting Frances nuclear plants would increase electricity prices, he said. Sarkozy on Feb. 9 vowed to keep the Fessenheim nuclear plant in eastern France open in opposition to Francois Hollande, the Socialist Party presidential candidate, who has promised to close the site because of safety concerns.
Bloomberg 12th Feb 2012 more >>
Japan
Concern is growing that the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan is no longer stable after temperature readings suggested one of its damaged reactors was reheating. The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), said the temperature inside No 2 reactor one of three that suffered meltdown after last year’s earthquake and tsunami may have reached 82C on Sunday. Tepco said there was no evidence that the melted fuel inside had reached criticality. The utility reportedly increased the amount of cooling water being injected into the reactor along with a boric acid solution, which is used to prevent the fuel from undergoing sustained nuclear reactions. Confirmation that the temperature has risen above 80C could force the government to reverse its declaration two months ago that the crippled plant was in a safe state known as cold shutdown.
Guardian 12th Feb 2012 more >>
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday the temperature at the bottom of the No. 2 reactor at its crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant rose further to 82 C, but the reactor has not gone critical. While the thermometer reading at shortly after 2 p.m. marked a new high since the reactor attained a cold shutdown in December, the utility known as TEPCO said it has confirmed that sustained nuclear reactions are not taking place in the reactor as no radioactive xenon has been detected inside its containment vessel.
Mainichi 12th Feb 2012 more >>
Back home for just three hours, a tearful Miyoko Takeda sorted through her belongings. She left behind the kimonos she once wore as a traditional dancer, fearful they might be contaminated by radiation. Nearly a year has passed since a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit Japan, Okuma town, but the site of the reactors at the centre of the Fukushima nuclear crisis remains off limits for residents, save for short trips to hastily abandoned homes.
Reuters 13th Feb 2012 more >>
Japan’s trade minister threatened on Monday to block a plan to rescue Tokyo Electric Power Co with a $13 billion (8 billion pounds) injection of public funds unless the government gets more say in running the struggling operator of the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant.
Reuters 13th Feb 2012 more >>
Iran
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted by state media, on Saturday, as saying his country would reveal “several major achievements in the nuclear domain” within the next few days.
IB Times 13th Feb 2012 more >>
Telegraph 12th Feb 2012 more >>
Fuel Poverty
Calls for energy bills to be cut intensified last night after it emerged that the number of people dying of hypothermia has almost doubled in the past five years. A total of 260 people across all age groups died from the condition in 2010-11 after suffering from low body temperatures, up from 135 in 2006-7. Meanwhile, hospital admissions for over-60s diagnosed with hypothermia rose by 120 per cent in the same period, up from 633 five years ago to 1,396 in the last year.
Independent 13th Feb 2012 more >>
Renewables
The Government must overhaul the “closed shop” energy market by embracing community schemes, according to a new report. The study by social and economic think-tank ResPublica warns that failure to support the community sector will have serious consequences on the Government’s climate change, emissions and fuel poverty targets. It sets out a series of recommendations to open up the market which is dominated by the big six energy companies. The Friends of the Earth-backed study – entitled Re-energising our Communities: Transforming the energy market through local energy production – argues that local communities should be at the centre of new projects to harness renewable energy.
Press Association 12th Feb 2012 more >>
