New Nukes
A report on the future of nuclear power by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) concludes that with a few notable exceptions, such as Germany, most countries are still committed to nuclear power and that by 2020 the world will be producing 27 percent more GW of power from nuclear than it did in 2010.
Oil Price 13th June 2011 more >>
Companies
MPs have raised fresh concerns that Scottish Power is “milking the British consumer”, after finding the company that recently raised energy bills to record levels has lent £800m to its foreign sister company.
Telegraph 14th June 2011 more >>
Energy Supplies
The energy regulator is pressing the Government to carry out a full review of gas supply security because the freezing winter, Japans nuclear disaster and the Arab spring of unrest and revolution have exposed the dangers of becoming more dependent on imports. Its fears have been echoed by Tim Yeo, chairman of the Commons Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, who has told The Times that Britains growing reliance on imports places it in a hazardous position.
Times 14th June 2011 more >>
Scotland
Letters: IN THE continuing debate about rising fuel prices and who is to blame, I note with disappointment some prevailing misconceptions and prejudices about nuclear and renewables: that renewables means wind power; that wind power is expensive, and that the only “clean” way to provide base load power to the grid is by nuclear energy. Wind power is one renewable form of energy, but not the only one. The present cost of investment in renewables will pale into insignificance in the long term when nuclear and fossil fuels run out, as they will. Then it may well be true that renewable power will be too cheap to meter, just as the nuclear industry boasted in its heyday. Nuclear has received massive public subsidy in the past and will continue to as plants are decommissioned and waste stored safely for hundreds of years. Thorium might be a cheaper alternative to uranium, is much safer and much more abundant, but doesn’t prod uce weapons-grade material, which was the prime driving force behind the development of the nuclear industry.
Scotsman 14th June 2011 more >>
Andy Myles is totally wrong to say that renewable energy is cheap. Currently, the main renewable energy source (and the only one shown to work reliably on a large scale) is wind and it is relatively expensive compared with electrical energy produced by fossil fuel. Why else would firms operating wind farms require an expensive government subsidy? In a written answer to the House of Commons on 11 November, 2008, the costs (pence/kWh) for various electrical energy sources were given as: nuclear 3.8; coal 5.1; gas 5.2; onshore wind 7.2; offshore wind 9.2.
Scotsman 14th June 2011 more >>
Japan
The discovery of a rabbit born with no ears close to the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant has triggered new concerns across Japan about the radiation that has been released into the atmosphere since March 11.
Telegraph 14th June 2011 more >>
Tepco which is struggling to contain the worst nuclear disaster in 25 years, has another crisis on its hands: finding storage for enough radioactive sludge to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Tepco plans to start decontaminating millions of liters of water poured over melted reactors after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami knocked out cooling systems. By the end of the year it expects to have 2,000 cubic meters of highly radioactive sludge separated from the water, said Teruaki Kobayashi, a nuclear facility manager at Tepco.
Bloomberg 14th June 2011 more >>
The start of a crucial operation to treat highly radioactive water at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has been delayed again because of a series of equipment problems, the plant’s operator said Sunday. This marks the latest setback in attempts to bring the three-month-old crisis under control. Tepco, had planned to begin a trial run of its new water-treatment facility supplied by French nuclear-energy firm Areva SA last Friday, with full operation expected to start Wednesdaya plan that had already been pushed back from the beginning of June. But the embattled utility said Sunday that discovery of leaks in the system on Friday and a malfunctioning valve that controls the flow of water on Sunday has forced it to delay the tests.
Wall Street Journal 12th June 2011 more >>
By the time summer temperatures peak in August across Japan, only 14 of the nation’s 54 nuclear reactors will be churning out electricity to cope with the demand, due to the effects of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Since the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 plant in Fukushima Prefecture started on March 11, nuclear power plants across the country have faced difficulty in resuming operations of some of their reactors that have been closed for regular inspections. Moreover, the governments of prefectures or municipalities where those plants are located are strengthening their positions that they cannot allow the operations to resume unless the central government provides new safety standards that can prevent crises like the current one at the Fukushima plant.
Asahi 14th June 2011 more >>
More than 100 shareholders of Kansai Electric Power Co. are demanding that the company close all its nuclear power plants and throw its president off its board.
Asahi 14th June 2011 more >>
Haruki Murakami has slammed Japan’s nuclear policy following the emergency at Fukushima, declaring that his country should have said “no” to nuclear after learning in 1945 “just how badly radiation leaves scars on the world and human wellbeing”.
Guardian 13th June 2011 more >>
A flood of data collected about the accident by the CTBTO’s global network of 80 radiation monitoring stations. In the following weeks, the data were shared with governments around the world, but not with academics or the public. Now scientists working with the CTBTO on behalf of member states are calling for the data to be released, both to give other researchers an opportunity to use them, and to improve the network’s performance.
Nature 13th June 2011 more >>
At least eight workers trying to bring Japan’s crippled nuclear power plant under control have been exposed to more radiation than allowed under new safety standards, government officials said Monday.
Reuters 13th June 2011 more >>
Korea
North Korea may have developed a nuclear warhead small enough to be loaded onto a ballistic missile, the South Korean defence minister said yesterday, warning that risk of another surprise provocation by the Stalinist regime was now rising.
Telegraph 13th June 2011 more >>
Italy
In the past weekend Italians’ were called to cast their vote on four referendums, one of which was about the production of nuclear energy in Italy. The answer has come loud and clear: almost 57% Italians went to vote and the vast majority of them, almost 95%, have chosen for a future free of nuclear energy.
Greenpeace 13th June 2011 more >>
Silvio Berlusconi’s authority to govern received another blow today as Italians rejected the beleagured Prime Minister’s policy proposals in a referendum today. Early results show that 90% of the votes cast went against the government on all the four referendum questions. The questions were on reviving nuclear power, ministerial immunity and two on water privatisation.
eGov Monitor 13th June 2011 more >>
The anti-nuclear movement won a crushing victory in Italy on Monday when well over 90% of voters rejected Silvio Berlusconi’s plans for a return to nuclear power generation. The result represented an overwhelming setback for the prime minister, who had tried to thwart the outcome by discouraging Italians from taking part. The referendum needed a turnout of at least 50% to be binding. Interior ministry figures projections indicated that more than 57% of the electorate had taken part. Greenpeace called it a historic result.
Guardian 14th June 2011 more >>
BBC 13th June 2011 more >>
Business Green 13th June 2011 more >>
FT 14th June 2011 more >>
Bulgaria
Bulgaria has come to an agreement with U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric Co. on future nuclear energy projects. Under Mondays agreement, Westinghouse will cooperate in the planned modernization of the two 1,000-megawatt reactors at Bulgarias only nuclear plant in Kozlodui. The licenses at the Russian-built reactors expire in 2017 and in 2019.
Washington Post 13th June 2011 more >>
Germany
Germanys decision to permanently shutdown its eight oldest nuclear reactors and phase out all nuclear power by 2022 failed to drastically alter the curve in the UK and on the continent – any market reaction to the news was short lived.
Connecting Industry 13th June 2011 more >>
Iran
The first admission by the former European ambassadors is that they recognize that Irans nuclear activities are consistent with international law and that there has been no diversion of nuclear activities in Iran to military purposes.
Middle East Online 13th June 2011 more >>
Nuclear Weapons
The United States plans to replace several versions of the ageing B61 free-falling nuclear bomb with a single refurbished guided variant. The increased accuracy provided by the planned guidance system will allow the new bomb to achieve the same target effects as current models, but with a lower nuclear yield.
Janes 13th June 2011 more >>
NGOs
The green movement is “out-of-touch, ineffective and bureaucratic”, according to the campaigner who spent a decade leading Friends of the Earth in the UK , which celebrates its 40th anniversary on Wednesday.
Guardian 13th June 2011 more >>
Renewables
Leonie Greene: You report that “subsidies for large-scale photovoltaic installations are to be cut drastically”. However, the most devastating impact of the government’s actions will be on “community-scale” solar which is poorly understood but crucial to building a modern green electricity infrastructure. As you state: “The government said its review of feed-in tariffs (FITs) for renewable energy would divert funds from field-sized … solar power plants to panels on house roofs.” The Renewable Energy Association campaigned alongside Friends of the Earth for the FIT legislation to ensure that diverse people and groups can invest easily in renewable power, including solar. Solar projects in schools, farms, businesses and local councils were beginning to flourish. The government needs a fresh approach to this technology, which has the potential to revolutionise the way we own and generate electricity. Solar energy has to be allowed to compete directly with fossil fuels and new nuclear. It empowers millions of people, not a handful of energy companies. Could that explain the resistance?
Guardian 14th June 2011 more >>
Two new wind farms in South Ayrshire, which are operated by Scottish Power, have entered production. The move has increased the company’s total capacity from wind power to one gigawatt, making it the first in the UK to reach this milestone. Scottish Power Renewables has now expanded its operation to 24 wind farms. According to the company’s figures, it has the potential to power 600,000 homes from wind.
BBC 14th June 2011 more >>
