Aldermaston
Britain’s nuclear bomb factories have had three safety awards withdrawn because of a major fire, and they are now under investigation for faulty fire alarms in radioactive waste buildings. AWE, a private consortium that operates nuclear weapons facilities at Aldermaston and Burghfield in Berkshire for the Ministry of Defence, has been forced to return “gold awards” it won from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). This follows a £200,000 fine imposed in 2013 for breaching safety rules during a fire at an explosives plant that injured a worker in 2010. At the same time the government’s safety watchdog, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), is considering legal enforcement action against AWE over two recent incidents in which building fire detection systems were found to be defective. One detector at a medium-level radioactive facility had been out of action for “an extended period”.
RobEdwards 11th June 2014 read more »
Sellafield
The world’s largest open air nuclear storage pond, at Sellafield in Cumbria, is being decommissioned to make the site “safer”. The Pile Fuel Storage Pond, built in 1948, was originally used to store fuel from the Windscale Pile Reactors. Now, the radioactive sludge will be moved from the pond to a modern waste treatment plant. Project Manager Chris Plane said the new plant will reduce “sludge hazard” and will be operational next year. The Drum Filling Plant is designed to accelerate sludge retrieval from the pond by more than three years. Using a petrol-pump style design, the plant said it will export the sludge from the pond at a “fraction” of the cost. The pond ceased operation in the 1970s, but it is one of four sites at the plant that is identified as a top priority for risk and hazard reduction. Dorothy Gradden, head of the Pile Fuel Storage Pond, said it was one of the “most challenging” decommissioning projects on the site.
BBC 12th June 2014 read more »
The cash-strapped Cumbrian Museum is rebranded to tell ‘The Sellafield Story’. The UK’s favourite scientist Brian Cox and Government Minister Baroness Verma provide razzmatazz along with the Happy Robot. Lollypops anyone?
Ecologist 12th June 2014 read more »
Dungeness
Dungeness B station is not safe in the hands of EDF says Green MEP Keith Taylor. EDF has applied to the Office of Nuclear Regulation (ONR) to relax a key safety requirement at Dungeness B. The changes would allow an increased weight loss of the graphite bricks inside the reactor from 6.2% to 8%. The bricks, which degrade over time due to radiation, are vital for safety. Keith Taylor, a Green MEP for Kent and South East England, said: “It’s highly worrying that EDF are attempting to lower a key safety standard at Dungeness B in order to prolong the life of the reactor. Safety limits are there for a reason, and re-writing these simply to keep the reactor online for another few years suggests that EDF think profits are more important than safety. Dungeness is out dated, and needs to be decommissioned as soon as possible to make way for safe jobs in renewable energy production.
Rye & Battle Observer 12th June 2014 read more »
Europe at Risk Shut Dungeness B Now.
Radiation Free Lakeland 12th June 2014 read more »
Petition.
38 Degrees 12th June 2014 read more »
Heysham
Plans are under way to prolong the life of Heysham’s two nuclear power stations. Heysham 1 was due to close in 2019, and Heysham 2 in 2023, but owners and operators EDF says it could now be looking at a further seven years of life for each reactor. “Heysham 1 is looking at extending beyond its existing ‘lifetime’ of 2019 and Heysham 2 beyond 2023 – although decisions on these would be made in the future.” A spokesman for EDF, which employs 1,500 people at its Heysham site, said a final decision for Heysham 1 would be made by 2016, and 2020 for Heysham 2, but the intention is to extend the lives of the two reactors. Concern has been raised however by a Lancaster architect, who is urging EDF to shut down the operation early for safety reasons. Mo Kelly suggests the French energy company should abandon plans for Heysham 3 on moral grounds, and also because Lancaster will have only one full time fire engine by 2016. Ms Kelly, who visited the power station recently, refers to a document published in 1990 by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), who commissioned a report into the safety of nuclear installations in the UK. Two sites, one of them Heysham and the other Hartlepool, were named as too close to centres of population for effective evacuation in the event of a significant radioactive release.
Lancaster Guardian 12th June 2014 read more »
Supply Chain
The Nuclear Control Systems business of FTSE 250-listed Ultra Electronics has scored a £12.9m contract from EDF Energy to manufacture and supply nuclear reactor instrumentation. Under the deal, Ultra will support the instrumentation, which will be used in EDF Energy’s current UK nuclear power stations. The group said it was the second contract to benefit from its recent investment in a state-of-the-art nuclear instrumentation manufacturing facility.
Share Cast 12th June 2014 read more »
Nuclear Subsidies
The planned financing of the new Paks nuclear plant constitutes an unlawful state aid, and breaches the European rule of law multiple times, says Energiaklub and Greenpeace. Therefore, Energiaklub filed a submission to the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission, asking them to investigate the subsidy plan the Hungarian government constructed, and to take the necessary measures if needed. Greenpeace also filed a complaint to the Commission back in April. The two organisations have also requested an investigation by the Compliance Committee of the Aarhus Convention.
Greenpeace 12th June 2014 read more »
Energiaklub 12th June 2014 read more »
New Nukes
The need to bring online a new fleet of nuclear power stations in the UK was stressed yesterday at an energy conference in London. Speaking at UK Energy 2014, organised by The Economist, power company bosses and climate change campaigners backed Britain’s drive to build eight new reactors, starting with EDF’s Hinkley Point C. The need for nuclear was backed-up by Stephen Tindale, associate fellow at the Centre for European Reform and also co-founder of Climate Answers. “I spent 20 years campaigning against nuclear and then realised I was wrong: it’s low carbon. It’s a price worth paying to have a new generation of nuclear in the UK.”
Penn Energy 11th June 2014 read more »
Scotland
The Scottish Government is finally waking up to the challenge of cutting carbon emissions after failing to hit targets set in the Climate Change Act for a third consecutive year. New Measures include: The establishment of a Cabinet Sub-Committee on Climate Change – to embed climate change as a core priority across all government departments and provide a regular focus on climate change for the country’s key decision-makers; A new regulatory framework on district heating – helping to tackle carbon emissions from heating buildings and water, which make up around half of Scotland’s carbon emissions; Homes energy efficiency – £5m made available for energy efficiency upgrades for rural areas such as Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles; Transport – A further £15m for cycling, walking and electric vehicles and for the Smarter Choices Smarter Places programme to promote low-carbon, healthier transport options
Edie 12th June 2014 read more »
Energy Supplies
As tensions between Russia and the West have mounted over the Crimea crisis, Russia has threatened to stop the supply of gas to Ukraine, and Russia’s gas giant Gazprom raised the prices for Ukraine by 44%. Around 30% of the EU’s gas – 130 billion cubic metres in 2012 comes from Russia with around 15% of the gas imports flowing through Ukrainian pipelines. In 2011 Bloomberg reported Russia’s gas sales to Europe were worth $57bn of which around $31bn went to Europe excluding Turkey.
Energy Desk 6th May 2014 read more »
Spectacular advances by Jihadi forces across northern Iraq have raised the spectre of a Sunni-Shia conflagration in the heart of the Middle East, triggering a surge in oil prices and throwing into doubt the structure of global energy supply for the next decade.
Telegraph 12th June 2014 read more »
Letter Ed Davey: From day one, this government has been tackling and turning around the legacy of under-investment and neglect in our power generation, with the greatest reform of the sector in a generation to ensure that as old plants close, new ones take their place. The bottom line is that we are “rewriting the rules” to spur investment, including through a capacity market that will protect security of supply. That plan has seen £45bn of investment in electricity since 2010, renewables investment last year at record levels and terms agreed for the first nuclear power station in a generation. Given the legacy of under-investment we inherited, we were still left with an electricity deficit for the next two winters, which is why the National Grid is proceeding with plans announced a year ago to make sure it has the right tools in place to manage demand in the short term through sensible measures that will keep the lights on and the economy growing. This is about rewarding volunteer businesses with the flexibility to reduce their use of National Grid supplied electricity – only at peak times and only if called upon. Most companies do this by switching from grid to on-site generation. Such demand side reduction is not new to the UK. Our choice matches that in many countries, and both the Confederation of British Industry and British Chambers of Commerce say it is a sensible approach.
FT 12th June 2014 read more »
Energy Costs
British consumers should subsidise power plants on the continent because it could help bring down energy bills, think tank Policy Exchange has argued. In a report on Thursday, the group says that foreign power plants should be allowed to compete for subsidies in the Government’s new capacity market, due to be launched later this year. It claims this will encourage the construction of new power interconnector cables to the continent, which in turn could lower energy bills by as much as £1bn by giving British consumers access to cheaper European wholesale energy prices.
Telegraph 12th June 2014 read more »
North America – radwaste
The unusual display of recent bi-partisanship we have witnessed in the Michigan Legislature is also front and center regarding a proposed underground nuclear waste facility less than a mile from Lake Huron near Kincardine, Ontario. In this case, the meeting of the legislative minds appears to be a no-brainer. “The construction of a nuclear waste storage facility that close to Lake Huron does not make any sense,” Michigan Senator Phil Pavlov said during an interview on Greening of the Great Lakes. “I realize this is a Canadian issue and there is only so much we can do here in Michigan, but we are going to do all that we can to stop this.”
MLive 12th June 2014 read more »
France – Nuclear Life Extensions
Electricity produced by onshore wind and solar plants may become more competitive with power generated by upgraded nuclear plants in France by the end of this decade, a study by environmental group Greenpeace showed on Thursday. The study comes a week before Energy Minister Segolene Royal presents the broad lines of a much-delayed framework energy law that aims to spell out how France will cut the share of atomic energy to 50 percent from the current 75 percent by 2025. The rising cost of France’s nuclear energy is a concern and the government should set up independent expert institutions to help it plan long-term energy investments, a parliamentary committee said in a report published on Tuesday. According to the Greenpeace study, the investment needed to upgrade French utility EDF’s 58 nuclear reactors to bring them close to the safety level of a new-generation EPR reactor would raise median production costs to 133 euros ($180) per megawatt-hour (MWh). That estimate, based on an extension of the lifespan of current reactors by 10 years to 50 years and 4.4 billion euros worth of work per reactor, would make nuclear energy less competitive than onshore wind power around 2015, the study said. Greenpeace also sees the cost of photovoltaic power falling to less than 134 euros/MWh around 2019 from more than 250 euros/MWh today, making it competitive with the renovated French nuclear plants by that time.
Global Post 6th June 2014 read more »
Germany – export guarantees
{Machine translataed] Nuclear phase paradox: On the domestic nuclear power plant be shut down, promoted abroad by German tax money. Furthermore, there is controversy for years. According to SPIEGEL ONLINE information, this practice is now abolished. This funding policy scrapes for years about the credibility of the energy transition: In Germany a nuclear reactor is shut down after the other, while abroad but the federal government is supporting the construction of nuclear power plants by millions in guarantees. Now the grand coalition tilts the controversial development funding. The black and red German government has decided to continue to have stopped export credit guarantees if German firms to help build nuclear power plants abroad. The learned SPIEGEL ONLINE on Thursday from the Federal Ministry of Economics. Government support for nuclear technology abroad on guarantees – so-called Hermes cover – is so severely restricted.
Der Spiegel 12th June 2014 read more »
Iran
A July 20 deadline for Iran and world powers to strike a nuclear deal looks increasingly likely to be extended given the seemingly huge gap that remains between the two sides, experts say. Though the aim is still to reach agreement by the stated deadline, officials familiar with the talks admit a delay is looking more and more possible.
Middle East Online 12th June 2014 read more »
Israel will not attack Iran while nuclear talks between Tehran and the P5+1 powers are ongoing, according to a senior western official based in the region. The P5+1 group, which comprises Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the US, is currently locked in negotiations with Iran aimed at stopping the Islamic republic from acquiring a nuclear arsenal. Many in Israel believe the talks will not reach a resolution before the final deadline of 20 July, and it has been suggested by senior figures in the Israeli establishment that Jerusalem will launch a unilateral strike to force a breakthrough.
IB Times 12th June 2014 read more »
Australia – radwaste
An Indigenous woman who opposes the construction of a nuclear waste dump in the Northern Territory says it is a stepping stone to Australia storing the world’s waste. The federal court is sitting in Tennant creek to hear from members of four clans who say they were not properly consulted by the Northern Land Council (NLC) and the commonwealth, which they say wrongfully acknowledged the Lauder family of the Ngapa clan as traditional owners of the site, 120km north of the town.
Guardian 13th June 2014 read more »
Nuclear Weapons
Britain is stepping up its cooperation with the US over the design of nuclear warheads, raising new questions about the independence of the UK deterrent, according to documents disclosed after a freedom of information request. Increased cooperation on warhead design and the exchange of material crucial in the manufacture and stockpiling of nuclear weapons will be sealed in a pact being drawn up by senior officials from the two countries. The pact, renewing the 1958 mutual defence agreement (MDA) between the UK and US, is expected to be signed in a discreet ceremony in Washington in the next few weeks. It does not have to be debated or voted on in parliament. Though the agreement is incorporated in US law, it has no legal status in Britain. A document prepared for a visit by a senior American nuclear official to the Aldermaston atomic weapons establishment (AWE) refers to “enhanced collaboration” on “nuclear explosive package design and certification”, on “maintenance of existing stockpiles”, and the “possible development of safer, more secure, warheads”.
Guardian 12th June 2014 read more »
TWO veteran protesters who tried to stop evictions at the Dale Farm and Hovefields traveller sites took part in a blockade on a nuclear weapons plant. Ann Kobayashi, 73, from Hazlemere Road, Wickford, and Zelda Jeffers, from Brooke House, Basildon, joined members of Action AWE to stop vehicles entering the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Burghfield, near Reading in Berkshire, in protest at the facility.
Southamption Echo 13th June 2014 read more »
Scottish independence could break a “logjam” in the global effort to wipe out nuclear weapons, MSPs have heard — if politicians keep their pledges. The Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament’s John Ainslie sought to reassure backbenchers on Holyrood’s Europe and external relations committee over the SNP government’s plans to remove nukes from Scottish soil. The party has vowed to carry out the policy if independence is secured in September’s referendum, but has said it would also seek membership of US-led military alliance Nato.
Morning Star 13th June 2014 read more »
Renewable subsidies
The government’s new system to allocate green energy subsidies is called contracts for difference (CfDs).The government plans to use auctions to annually divide up a fixed pot of money to support established forms of renewable power. Different technologies will compete against each other for support. Other less mature technologies may not have to compete for money initially, on the basis that they need the support more. Consumer group Which? supports the scheme, but wants the money – which comes from a levy on household energy bills – to deliver the best value possible. Introducing competition more quickly for less-established technologies would help ensure this happens, it argues in a letter to the government seen by Carbon Brief.
Carbon Brief 12th Jun 2014 read more »
Renewables – onshore wind
The Shadow Energy Minister Tom Greatrex has expressed his party’s support for onshore wind, saying a future Labour government would not curtail its deployment if elected next year. He said a “significant contribution” from onshore wind is needed to meet the UK’s decarbonisation objectives. His comments contrast with those made by the Conservative party, which has announced that it would end all financial support for future onshore wind projects, leaving the technology stranded – a policy that Mr Greatrex referred to as “illogical”.
RenewableUK 12th June 2014 read more »
UK: Scottish energy minister Fergus Ewing explains why he believes the wind energy sector would be better off if Scotland split away from the UK. Ewing addresses offshore prospects for Scotland and questions over whether the upcoming September referendum is creating uncertainty in the sector.
Wind Power Monthly 11th June 2014 read more »
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has succeeded in overturning a council’s decisions approving three wind turbines in the Western Isles. The MoD challenged Comhairle nan Eilean Siar’s decision to grant three crofters permission to build turbines. The comhairle approved plans for two turbines at Bornish and one at Frobost on South Uist. The MoD said wind turbines could interfere with air defence radar systems.
BBC 12th June 2014 read more »
Scotsman 12th June 2014 read more »
Energy Efficiency
Tim Farron: Our houses are polluting the atmosphere. Focus on the controversy over fracking, or even the laudable plastic bag ban, and you miss arguably the greenest achievement of this government so far – plugging the leak from the places that we live. Over a quarter of the UK’s total carbon emissions come from housing, and the vast majority of that is unnecessarily wasted on inefficiently heating space or water. This isn’t a problem confined to stone cottages in the Lakes. It’s seeping out of relatively modern homes, keeping energy bills high. The average home built to current standards leaks out almost twice as much CO2 as the average car emits every year (1.5 tonnes). This is unacceptable, and avoidable. In Sweden, a partly-arctic country, housing generates barely a twentieth of the country’s carbon emissions. So it’s absolutely right that in the face of significant, repeated reluctance from our Coalition partners, we have stuck to our guns and taken a green leap forward.
Huffington Post 12th June 2014 read more »
Fossil Fuels
THE company behind plans to bring coal mining back to Whitehaven say it would create up to 500 new jobs, 100 of them for miners. A new company, West Cumbria Mining Ltd (WCM) is backing its proposals with a £14.7million investment. Whitehaven Coking Coal Project aims to open a new mine next to Haig Pit and extract high-value coking coal for use in the steel industry. The finance, from private equity firm EMR Capital, Australia, will support development of the project as the company begins talks with local authorities, residents and local organisations. This is the third time that organisations have homed in on Haig’s coal reserves. A geo-thermal unit has been looking at extracting heat from water and gas in disused mineworkings; the Cluff company is looking at gasification (setting fire to the undersea coal to produce gas); now, WCM, whose parent company Riverside Energy first expressed an interest in mining coking coal at Whitehaven a year ago, is back with firmed-up plans.
Whitehaven News 12th June 2014 read more »
Climate
Britain’s chief scientist has called for researchers to speak out about the risks and benefits of strategies for tackling climate change before national policies are set by the government. Sir Mark Walport, the government’s top science adviser, said the climate change debate had to move on from arguments over the reality of global warming to more pressing questions of what the country should do in response. In an interview with the Guardian, Walport urged scientists and engineers to be vocal about the pros and cons of new energy sources and technologies designed to combat climate change to ensure that policy decisions came from a public debate based on solid evidence.
Guardian 12th June 2014 read more »
