British Energy
According to data provided from the National Grid, five of British Energy’s nuclear reactors were out of service on Wednesday, including Hartlepool 1, Heysham 2-7, Huterston B-8 and Torness 2.
Reuters 13th May 2009 more >>
Interactive Investor 13th May 2009 more >>
By reducing the size of its stake from 25 to 20 per cent, and cleverly saving cash by offering its (generously valued) 51 per cent stake in Belgian energy provider SPE to part-fund the deal, Centrica has effectively bought into BE for 622p per share – much less than the 774p EDF itself paid.
Investors Chronicle 13th May 2009 more >>
Letter from David Lowry: You assert that nuclear power is “carbon free”. It is not, and this sloppy statement demonstrates the democratic dangers of the nuclear industry repeating this falsehood to gain support for its planned UK expansion, as unquestioning journalists repeat it as if it is fact. Greenhouse gas emissions are produced from uranium mining, milling, enrichment and nuclear fuel fabrication, all prior to fuel irradiation, and spent fuel management, radioactive waste storage and/or disposal, post irradiation, and ultimately reactor decommissioning. In 1999 the Department of Trade & Industry published a study that calculated that for each kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity generated, nuclear produces 4g of CO2, while wind produces 8g, and hydro-power 8-9g. Additionally, nowhere in the 3,352-word statement issued by Centrica to explain its intended purchase of a 20% share in British Energy (BE) does it explain whether this shareholding will include the gas company taking a pro-rata 20% share in BE’s plutonium stockpile, of at least 15,000kg.
Guardian 14th May 2009 more >>
Companies
VT expects big growth in its business serving the nuclear industry. “I’d be surprised if we don’t triple the size of that busienss over the next three to four years, if not more,” Mr Lester said. “This is a big growth industry,” he added, pointing to a government forecast that investment in new nuclear energy resources in the UK could top £150bn by 2035.
Telegraph 14th May 2009 more >>
Finland
Finnish nuclear safety agency STUK said Wednesday it had called for a probe into how pipes for the country’s new nuclear reactor were damaged before French contractor Areva SA (CEI.FR) could resume work on the project. Pipes that will run between the nuclear reactor and its steam generator have been welded in France for Areva, but the work was halted after tests discovered some microscopic fractures. STUK wants Areva and TVO to report back on how the damage was caused before welding work continues.
Easy Bourse 13th May 2009 more >>
Olkiluoto.info 12th May 2009 more >>
Because of mounting quality flaws and persistent problems with safety culture, construction must be stopped. It is impossible to repair a moving train. A thorough international inspection must be carried out instead of just trying to deal with every problem separately after things have already gone wrong.
Olkiluoto.info 12th May 2009 more >>
TVO has said that the defective welds had been discovered in the pipes at the manufacturing plant in France, where the pipes remain, and that construction work at Olkiluoto had not been disrupted. TVO said that the weld seams could be easily repaired, with one of the pipes having already been repaired. The company said the weld defects will not impact the project schedule.
World Nuclear News 13th May 2009 more >>
Dounreay
The operators of the Dounreay nuclear plant in northern Scotland have received planning permission for two waste stores, vital to decommissioning the remote site. With a combined value in excess of £300 million and a capacity for almost 200,000 cubic metres of waste, they will be the largest facilities ever built in Scotland for managing radioactive waste. Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DSRL) said the new stores are for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste from the site closure programme.
Nuclear Engineering International 13th May 2009 more >>
BBC 13th May 2009 more >>
Wylfa
A METAL giant on Anglesey has taken the first steps to building a huge biomass power plant to help save the jobs of more than 500 workers. Anglesey Aluminium Metals (AAM) has approached the county council over the possible environmental impact of a renewable energy plant at the Penrhos Works site outside Holyhead. The company said positive feedback on the first stage of the environmental consultation could see a planning application submitted as soon as October. This increases the pressure on securing a temporary power deal with Wylfa owners, the National Decommissioning Authority. The current contract expires this September. Unless a deal is secured the smelter at the plant, which employs 540 people, will shutdown in September, dealing the island and wider region a devastating economic blow.
Daily Post 12th May 2009 more >>
Freshfields advises E.ON in its joint venture with RWE on successful power station bidsInternational law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised leading energy company E.ON in relation to the successful bid by its joint venture with RWE in the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority auction of land for potential new nuclear development at sites in Oldbury and Wylfa.
Law Fuel 10th May 2009 more >>
Oldbury
Unfortunately, the report clearing Oldbury nuclear power station of health risks has some important problems. For example, it failed to look at figures in Chepstow, the nearest large population to Oldbury other than Thornbury.
Bristol Evening Post 13th May 2009 more >>
Cumbria
Radiation Free Lakeland are urging Cumbrians to oppose all three proposed new reactor sites.
Get Noticed Online 12th May 2009 more >>
Millom
IN the past few weeks many discussions have taken place following the revelation that land close to the picturesque village Kirksanton is being regarded as a possible site for a nuclear plant. Villagers have formed an action group to fight against the proposal, but others living close to it feel such a construction would help the community by providing much needed jobs.
NW Evening Mail 13th May 2009 more >>
Scotland
Alex Salmond: Clean, green energy is the future for both Scotland and the planet. The safe capture and storage of harmful emissions is a prerequisite for a sustainable and safe world. The green energy revolution is being developed, built, tested and established real jobs, real technology, happening in Scotland now. By contrast, nuclear power is unreliable and unwanted in Scotland. The UK Government’s plans to build a new generation of nuclear power stations south of the border were recently called into question when it emerged that the same EPR reactor currently being built in Finland is already three years behind schedule and 50 per cent over budget. Today key industry and energy players will meet with government for the first time for the meeting of the Energy Advisory Board, to discuss Scotland’s current and future strategic energy policy, and to ensure that we continue to push Scotland’s energy advantages on a European and global basis. We all want safe, sustainable energy. It is central both to our economic recovery and to our future. And we are doing all that we can to make sure that Scotland continues to be well-placed to play its part at home and abroad.
Scotsman 13th May 2009 more >>
US
Amory Lovins: The dominant type of new nuclear power plant, light-water reactors (LWRs), proved unfinanceable in the robust 2005–08 capital market, despite new U.S. subsidies approaching or exceeding their total construction cost. New LWRs are now so costly and slow that they save 2–20x less carbon, 20–40x slower, than micropower and efficient end-use.
Rocky Mountain Institute 12th May 2009 more >>
Bangladesh
Bangladesh has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Russia to develop a plan for a nuclear power plant to produce up to 1,000 megawatts (MW) to relieve its energy shortage. The project aims to produce power by 2014 and may cost between $1.5 billion and $2 billion.
Energy Business Review 13th May 2009 more >>
Guardian 13th May 2009 more >>
Renewables
Solar energy will fall in price to match the cost of conventional fossil fuel electricity far sooner than previously expected, the UK’s largest solar company has claimed in a new report. Solarcentury said British homeowners will see solar achieve “grid parity” – the point where solar electricity rivals or becomes cheaper than conventional nonrenewable electricity – by 2013. Most predictions suggest that technological innovation will not bring the price down far enough until 2020 or later.
Guardian 12th May 2009 more >>
Solar power will not be able to compete with conventional energy until there is a breakthrough in the technology, BPs chief executive has said, in a further sign of the companys move away from renewables towards oil and gas. BP has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in making solar cells
and components, but in the past six months it has been closing factories around the world, and announced a sharp cut in its investment in alternative energies, such as solar, from $1.4bn last year to $1bn (658m) this year.
FT 14th May 2009 more >>
There is a perception that increasing the deployment of renewable generation in the UK will increase the price of electricity for British consumers. However, the reality is the reverse: adding significant amounts of wind capacity to a country’s generation portfolio leads to lower overall generation costs, and to lower bills, while increasing energy security.
Times 13th May 2009 more >>
Disarmament
DUNDEE CITY councillor George Regan has just returned from New York where he led a UK delegation to the United Nations in support of nuclear disarmament, writes Brian Allison, local government reporter. As acting chairman of the UK Nuclear Free Local Authorities, organisation Mr Regan spoke to a meeting of mayors from cities all over the world at the UN. He was also involved in lobbying international diplomats and ambassadors with a view to having a resolution on nuclear disarmament put to the UN. The meeting Mr Regan addressed was organised by Mayors for Peace, an international non-governmental organisation recognised under the UN Charter which is dedicated to ridding the world of nuclear weapons by 2020.
Dundee Courier 14th May 2009 more >>
ORGANISERS of a major peace conference in Edinburgh last month have drawn up a report for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, setting out a course for a world free of the danger of nuclear weapons. The United Nations Association’s Edinburgh chair Dr Gari Donn said its report underlined the importance of next year’s review of the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty.
Edinburgh Evening News 13th May 2009 more >>
