New Nukes
Go nuclear or freeze in the dark. That would appear to be the message from Gordon Brown as he insists that the greater use of nuclear power is the only way to combat the threat of diminishing oil supplies and their ever-escalating cost. He has claimed that the world needs about another one thousand nuclear power stations and, in his London press conference, this week studiously avoided ruling Scotland out of that equation. In this he was probably doing no more than refusing to be cowed by Alex Salmond and the First Minister’s coalition of nationalists, Liberal Democrats, some Labour MSPs and Greens. But the reality is that, whether opposed politically or not, there has never been any suggestion thus that a new “nuke” will be sited in this country.
Telegraph 14th June 2008 more >>
Hutton presented a study which shows the UK is a global leader in nuclear investment.
Engineer 13th June 2008 more >>
Petrol shortages are threatened by a strike of tanker drivers, oil prices are going through the roof, BP is locked in a fierce investment row with Russia, climate campaigners have halted a train taking coal to a power station and ministers are agonising over what to do with nuclear waste. The decision taken earlier this year to proceed with a new generation of nuclear reactors was at least five years late, even though the twin imperatives of security of supply and environmental pressure imposed by climate change had long made such a move inevitable.
Telegraph 14th June 2008 more >>
Asked about the 1000 nuclear power stations the Prime Minister had mentioned in the press conference this morning, the PMS said that that figure had come from the International Atomic Energy Agency who had said that the world would need something like 30 new power stations a year over the next 30 to 40 years.
Downing Street 13th June 2008 more >>
The PM reignited the row over nuclear power in Scotland by hinting that the Scottish Government’s refusal to consider new reactors may not be the end of the issue.
Press & Journal 13th June 2008 more >>
A THOUSAND new nuclear power stations are needed across the world to tackle the oil crisis, Gordon Brown warned yesterday. As the global fuel crisis deepened, the Prime Minister called for a long-term response to the problems which have sent UK petrol prices soaring to almost 1.30 a litre.
Scotsman (Front Page) 13th June 2008 more >>
A RANGE of factors are moving many countries, including Britain, to think about building a new generation of nuclear power stations: fossil-fuel
depletion; energy security; the high price of oil; and the need to curb greenhouse gas emissions. In the UK, the government thinks that ten nuclear
plants will be required by 2020. Yet atomic power carries its own risks the threat from terrorist action, the high cost and the constant nag of where to keep the waste products safely. Such risks should not be minimised. However, on balance, it is difficult to see how Britain can do without replacing its elderly nuclear plants. Renewables on their own cannot provide reliable base-load, while imported gas could prove a hostage to fortune.
Scotsman 13th June 2008 more >>
British Energy
MOVES by the Business Secretary, John Hutton, aimed at boosting confidence in the nuclear sector were undermined yesterday amid signs that utility companies are still uncertain about the industry. But the comments came after Iberdrola, the Spanish owners of ScottishPower, confirmed they had ended talks to buy UK nuclear operator British Energy.
Scotsman 13th June 2008 more >>
Spanish utility Iberdrola has not ruled out investing in the UK nuclear power and making an offer for British Energy in the future despite ruling itself out of the bidding earlier this week.
Share Cast 13th June 2008 more >>
EDF, France’s electricity mono-poly, could be prepared to nudge up its £11bn ($21.4bn) bid for British Energy, but only if the board of the UK nuclear group moves quickly to recommend the offer. The French nuclear power operator has signalled that it intends to walk away from the process if a deal cannot be reached by the end of the month. “Either it happens quickly or there will be no deal,” said a person familiar with the situation.
FT 13th June 2008 more >>
Nuclear Waste
Commenting on today’s Government plans for dealing with Britain’s stockpile of nuclear waste, Friends of the Earth’s energy campaigner Neil Crumpton said: “Britain’s growing mountain of nuclear waste will remain a dangerous threat for tens of thousands of years, and is already costing the taxpayer over £70 billion in clean-up costs alone. Offering financial inducements to local communities to take radioactive waste is likely to make it more expensive still.
FoE Press Release 12th June 2008 more >>
The Government faced anger from anti-nuclear campaigners last night after offering to pay communities to provide burial sites for waste, and making clear that it would press ahead with plans to build new nuclear power stations.
Yorkshire Post 13th June 2008 more >>
Accepting cash for nuclear waste?
ITV Borders 13th June 2008 more >>
Iran
Tehran will today be offered the chance of international assistance to develop a peaceful nuclear energy programme if it halts uranium enrichment or face punishing sanctions within a month.
Times 14th June 2008 more >>
FT 14th June 2008 more >>
BBC 14th June 2008 more >>
Britain and the world’s leading powers will offer today to help Iran build civil nuclear power stations if Tehran obeys the United Nations and stops enriching uranium.
Telegraph 14th June 2008 more >>
Reuters 14th June 2008 more >>
Independent 14th June 2008 more >>
Guardian 14th June 2008 more >>
US
The nation’s nuclear energy industry, all but stagnant for three decades, is quietly building toward a resurgence with more than two dozen new reactors on the drawing board in 15 states. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received applications to build 15 new reactors in eight states. Later this year, plants in seven other states plan to seek permits for a dozen more reactors.
Money AM 13th June 2008 more >>
Climate
Climate change campaigners halted a coal train yesterday outside Drax, Britain’s biggest power station, and shovelled its contents on to the only line into the plant. More than 20 tonnes of coal blocked the tracks as protesters strung ropes between the train and the girders of a river bridge as police watched from a distance. More than 30 protesters swarmed aboard the 21-wagon freight service. Hidden in banks of cow parsley beside the line to Drax, North Yorkshire they struck at 8am after watching two empty trains arrive to collect ash in the previous two hours.
Guardian 14th June 2008 more >>
