Nuclear Politics
The latest manifesto from Greenpeace UK is the first ever with no explicit anti-nuclear policies. It was launched with the tagline “Change the politics. Save the climate.” Timed for the return of parliament and accompanied by a roof-top protest and a full-page advertisement in The Times, Greenpeace appealed to leaders of all political parties to “Please steal our policies.” But for the first time, there was no explicit policy against nuclear power. Instead there were stipulations for any new coal-fired power plants to come with full carbon dioxide abatement, and for renewables to make up 15% of all energy.
World Nuclear News 13th Oct 2009 more >>
Depleted Uranium
A French documentary has revealed that radioactive materials from nuclear power plants are being being stored in containers in a Siberian parking lot. Meanwhile the largest power company in Europe, France’s EDF, which sent the materials there, says it is not responsible.
Der Spiegel 13th Oct 2009 more >>
France’s Ecology Minister says she wants an investigation.
Channel 4 News 13th Oct 2009 more >>
Proliferation
THE announcement of a secret uranium enrichment facility in Iran has sharpened President Barack Obama’s efforts to place nuclear proliferation issues at the top of the world agenda: 2010 will be a critical year.
Scotsman 14th Oct 2009 more >>
Terror
Nuclear scientist and al-Qaeda suspect, Adlene Hicheur, planned to blow up a Total oil refinery with an explosion which would have destroyed a city “the size of London”, a security source has claimed.
Telegraph 14th Oct 2009 more >>
Companies
Areva is expected to pick the winning bidder for its transmission and distribution business next month. The French state-owned nuclear group is selling this profitable asset to raise funds for its hefty 10bn ($14.8bn) investment programme. It will also need to find another 2bn to buy its German partner Siemens out of its old nuclear engineering joint venture in two years’ time as a result of Siemens’ decision to exercise its option to pull out of the partnership. So the money is crucial for the French group. But the sale of the transmission and distribution business is also likely to be the first step in a broader process of change at Areva. For when the sale is completed, the government intends to open up the nuclear group’s share capital to new investors, including sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East and Asia as well as industrial partners such as Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
FT 14th Oct 2009 more >>
Nuclear Police
Defence chiefs are considering cutting numbers of the specialist police who guard military facilities including Britain’s nuclear deterrent, an industry leader warned last night.
Yorkshire Post 13th Oct 2009 more >>
Germany
Renewable energy industries in Germany are set for a double blow as the new government plans to increase the life of nuclear power stations while reducing subsidies for wind and solar farms. “Experts warn the nuclear power comeback will retard the development of expensive wind power plants for years and cost jobs,” warned news magazine Der Spiegel this week.
London Evening Standard 14th Oct 2009 more >>
Iran
Hillary Clinton pledged not to sacrifice US support for human rights in Russia in its attempt to reset relations with the Kremlin and begin a new era of co-operation over global security threats such as Iran’s nuclear programme. The US Secretary of State assured civil society groups in Moscow that the Obama Administration would continue to speak out on abuses and would not abandon them in the effort to win Russian support for tougher sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme.
Times 14th Oct 2009 more >>
Scientists have warned that Iran and North Korea could produce a weapon capable of paralysing Western electricity grids for months or years. Experts fear that a missile-launched nuclear bomb exploded above the earth’s atmosphere could cause a catastrophe.
BBC 13th Oct 2009 more >>
Belgium
Belgium has agreed to extend the life of its three oldest nuclear power reactors for 10 years until 2025 in exchange for annual payments from producers, primarily Electrabel, the Belgian arm of French utility GDF Suez.
Interactive Investor 13th Oct 2009 more >>
World Nuclear News 13th Oct 2009 more >>
Russia
The crisis and the global recession have hit demand for electricity in Russia and around the world, and led to several proposed nuclear power plants being delayed. But Kirill Komarov, executive director of Atomenergoprom, the holding company for Russia’s nuclear power industry, still has ambitious expansion plans for both home and export markets. His strategy shows the huge opportunities available in a world where about 20 countries want to develop nuclear power programmes for the first time, and many existing nuclear countries want to build more reactors. It also reveals the political difficulties that those opportunities can create.
FT 14th Oct 2009 more >>
Coal
Energy and climate secretary Ed Miliband has insisted that the delay to the new coal-fired power plant at Kingsnorth would not derail Britain’s drive to prove the viability of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, seen as vital to ensuring energy security while also curbing carbon emissions. The comments come as the International Energy Agency (IEA) released a report saying that at least 850 full-scale CCS plants need to be built by 2030 – 100 of them by 2020 – if the world is to avoid dangerous climate change by halving global carbon emissions by 2050. To date, no plant has been shown to be able to trap and bury the emissions from a power station on a commercial scale. Last week, power company E.ON said the recession had cut demand for electricity, forcing it to postpone its Kingsnorth plans. Kingsnorth had been seen as a frontrunner in the UK government’s competition to build a CCS demonstration. Plans for clean coal were dealt a further blow this week when the Danish energy company Dong Energy announced it was pulling out of plans for another major new coal-fired plant in Ayrshire.
Guardian 14th Oct 2009 more >>
