New Nukes
Professor Sir David King said the UK will have to move all heating and transport on to electricity to cut emissions from fossil fuels. This will mean producing twice as much electricity but it must be from low carbon sources. The report from the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment (SSEE) at the University of Oxford called for a nuclear base backed up by some renewables to meet the target to cut emissions in half by 2050. But Sir David, chief scientist under Tony Blair, said the UK could not rely on offshore wind, which the Government is investing billions of pounds in at the moment.
Telegraph 15th Mar 2012 more >>
It will be impossible for the UK to meet its long-term carbon reduction target without reusing the nation’s stockpile of plutonium, the former government chief scientist has warned. He predicts that global supplies of uranium will begin to run out in 2023 so the UK will need to rely on a domestic supply of nuclear fuel. Sir David King told the Guardian: “You have to look at our stretching long-term targets, and we will need to generate more electricity while reducing emissions you will need to look at plutonium in order to do that. I don’t see any other way.”
Guardian 15th March 2012 more >>
A recent press report that seemed to indicate nuclear was going to get the same treatment as renewable energy in the UK was inaccurate according to the UK’s Energy and Climate Change Secretary. But it did in fact highlight that the UK is still very committed to nuclear and renewables. The Guardian really put the cat among the pigeons on March 11, at least for some. In an article titled UK wants 2030 renewable energy target scrapped the esteemed broadsheet claimed access to a leaked policy plan that said the country would rebrand nuclear power as a renewable form of energy. What we’ve said is EU targets for 2030 should be technology neutral, leaving member states to decide what the best mix is to get costs down and meet our carbon reduction targets. It’s about having flexibility. We want nuclear to be part of the mix, alongside renewables and CSS.
Nuclear Energy Insider 14th Mar 2012 more >>
Today, four of the UKs leading environmentalists will warn that the government is about to hand over control of Britains future energy and climate security to the French government. The French will only build new nuclear reactors in the UK if the financial risks involved are transferred from France to British households and businesses leaving UK taxpayers to pick up the bill to protect the French nuclear industry.
IB Times 14th Mar 2012 more >>
eGov Monitor 14th Mar 2012 more >>
Radwaste
Save Our Lake District Dont Dump Cumbria! has learned last night that the two South Lakeland District Council MRWS Partnership members have decided they cannot support going into the next stage of the search for a nuclear dump site in West Cumbria. The South Lakeland Council members of the MRWS partnership, join Churches Together in Cumbria, another partnership member, in coming out against the proposals. Also last night Buttermere Parish Council joined Cockermouth Town Council, Seaton Parish Council, Threlkeld Parish Council, Crosscanonby Parish Council and Above Derwent Parish Council who have all voted against moving to the next stage of deciding to participate.
SOLD Press Release 14th March 2012 more >>
Radiation Free Lakeland 14th March 2012 more >>
Plutonium
GE Hitachi said it signed a memorandum of understanding with UK engineering firms Costain, Arup and Pöyry to develop a proposal to use the Prism fast reactor for plutonium disposition at the Sellafield nuclear and chemical waste complex in northwest England. Costain, Arup and Pöyry, who have separately joined together under the banner of the CAP Alliance, and GE Hitachi plan to hold a nuclear industry suppliers conference in the area April 4 to explore possibilities for working with local suppliers on the proposal to build two Prism reactors at Sellafield, GE Hitachi said. Should Prism be approved for construction, in addition to creating about 900 permanent jobs and thousands of expected indirect jobs for the local community, this multi-billion pound investment would stand to create a range of opportunities for suppliers while continuing to develop the countrys nuclear energy skills base, GE Hitachi said in a March 14 press statement. The NDA, under the auspices of the Department of Energy and Climate Change, has been pursuing plans to use the stockpiled plutonium in mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel, which has been identified as the preferred option for plutonium disposal to date. But the proposal would require construction of a new MOX fuel manufacturing plant as the existing Sellafield MOX Plant was permanently closed last August for a lack of contracts, and after years of poor performance. Talks with Areva on construction of a new MOX plant are continuing. GE Hitachi has been selling its Prism reactor as a better solution and last month the NDA formally solicited expressions of interest from any party for alternative proposals to the MOX fuel proposal.
i-Nuclear 14th Mar 2012 more >>
Eon
German utility E.On was hit hard last year by the German governments decision to shut down nuclear power plants, the company said Wednesday as it announced a net loss of 1.9 billion ($2.5 billion) for 2011. The atomic reactors shutdowns, combined with Japans Fukushima nuclear disaster and a new tax on nuclear fuel, cost the company 2.5 billion in 2011, Germanys biggest power supplier said.
Washington Post 14th Mar 2012 more >>
Scotsman 14th Mar 2012 more >>
Eon said on Wednesday its appetite for investing in nuclear power had slowed down. ‘Our appetite to boost nuclear with great energy has become smaller,’ said board member Klaus-Dieter Maubach during the company’s 2011 results conference. He said the low carbon price meant investments in nuclear power, which emits zero carbon, were unattractive and also mentioned time and cost overruns at new nuclear plants in Finland and France. CEO Johannes Teyssen clarified the utility had not made a negative decision against the British nuclear new build project and a final investment decision was not due at this stage. ‘The investment environment (for nuclear power) in the UK is friendlier than in other countries,’ Teyssen said during the same conference.
London South East 14th Mar 2012 more >>
Reuters 14th Mar 2012 more >>
Money from British household energy bills was used to help pay for the £2.1billion shutdown of German nuclear power plants last year, it emerged yesterday. German-owned E.ON, one of the UKs largest energy providers, yesterday admitted money had passed from British bills to the coffers of the Düsseldorf-based business. It comes as the UK government says £200billion needs to be pumped into Britains energy infrastructure to keep the lights on.
This is Money 14th Mar 2012 more >>
Energy Solutions
US-based EnergySolutions has been awarded a multi-million dollar contract to clean up contaminated water at Tokyo Electric Powers Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, EnergySolutions said in a press statement March 14. The work will involve decontaminating 125,000 cubic meters of water, much of it sea water used to cool the six-reactor station during the emergency following the accident in which three of the reactors melted down one year ago. The water will be decontaminated to below detectable levels of radiation, the company said. EnergySolutions did not specify in their statement what that level of radiation is, but general industry standards for detection is below 0.1 Becquerel/litre for alpha and gamma emitters, higher for beta emitters.
i-Nuclear 14th Mar 2012 more >>
Guardian 14th Mar 2012 more >>
Hinkley
NUCLEAR power has been a feature of Somerset life for decades. For more than 50 years, power plants at Hinkley Point have been part of the landscape and community, ever since construction of the first nuclear station began there in 1957. With EDF Energy’s plans for a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C progressing, we believe Somerset can continue to play a pioneering role in creating a low carbon future. At EDF Energy, we believe new nuclear will make an important contribution to the UK’s future needs for clean, secure and affordable energy. New nuclear will help to cut our carbon emissions and keep the lights on.
Bristol Evening Post 13th Mar 2012 more >>
Heysham
Plans for a third nuclear power station at Heysham in Lancashire have been put on ice. French company EDF Energy has cancelled an agreement with the National Grid to set up any new connection to the grid from Heysham. The site was one of eight earmarked two years ago for a new generation of nuclear power stations. EDF Energy said all its plans for new stations will be focused on their sites at Sizewell and Hinkley Point. The company which operates two plants at Heysham said it had no plans to take the so called “Heysham 3” option. A company spokesman said: “It is important to note that our initial new build plans as a company remain focused at Hinkley Point and Sizewell.” He added: “This does not stop us from approaching National Grid for a similar connection offer for any planned future build at Heysham.” EDF had been obliged to sell land near one of its nuclear sites as part of European Commission competition rules. At one stage it looked like land at Heysham would be sold but the company has now sold land in Anglesey.
BBC 14th Mar 2012 more >>
Wales
THE Welsh Government was yesterday accused of performing a staggering U-turn over its nuclear energy policy after announcing outright support for nuclear power on Anglesey.
Western Mail 15th Mar 2012 more >>
Dounreay
HIGHLAND councillors have agreed that if “exotic” nuclear fuel material is to be moved from Dounreay to Sellafield, it should be transported by rail rather than road. But they also want any money saved in sending it to the Cumbrian plant, rather than building a new facility at Dounreay, to be invested in Caithness.
Herald 15th Mar 2012 more >>
BBC 14th Mar 2012 more >>
Scotland
ENERGY experts have clashed over the Scottish Government’s claim that 50,000 green jobs could be created as part of Scotland’s renewables revolution, with one leading economist warning the number could be as low as 300. MSPs were also told that Scottish Government ministers “don’t know” their own energy policy, amid growing questions over the viability of a flagship target to generate all of Scotland’s electricity needs from renewables by 2020. But green energy campaigners insist that the industry is growing “quickly and sustainably” and will support thousands of jobs in the long term, as a Holyrood inquiry into the Scottish Government’s policy on renewables got under way yesterday.
Scotsman 15th Mar 2012 more >>
Energy Prices
An independent energy supplier has broken ranks to lift its prices. Ovo Energy blamed higher wholesale costs for its decision to increase its duel electricity and gas tariff by 7.7 per cent to £1,140 per year, equivalent to £81 per household. Analysts warned that the Big Six energy companies E.ON, British Gas, EDF Energy, Scottish and Southern Energy, Scottish Power and RWE npower were likely to follow suit, despite announcing modest cuts in January.
The Times 15th Mar 2012 more >>
Hong Kong
More than 100 people took part in an anti-nuclear rally in the heart of Hong Kong’s busiest shopping district on Sunday (March 11) to mark the anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan that killed thousands and caused the worst nuclear crisis since the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear reactor meltdown in Ukraine. Participants of the protest organised by the Hong Kong Alliance Against Nukes called for an end to the use of nuclear energy, expressing particular concern about the Daya Bay and Lin Ao.
ITN Source 12th March 2012 more >>
Iran
The Prime Minister David Cameron joins the US President in his commitment to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, saying “nothing is off the table”.
Telegraph 14th Mar 2012 more >>
Japan
The safety of Kansai Electric Power Cos two nuclear reactors will be assessed by Japanese ministers as early as this month, media have reported. The two reactors – units 3 and 4 at Kansai’s Ohi plant – each generate 1,180 megawatts of electricity. The independent nuclear agency finished on Tuesday a technical review of the reactors, paving the way for officials to make a decision. But the ministerial meeting, headed by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, is likely to approve the reactors’ restart only after the government manages to erase public distrust of its widely criticised safety measures after the Fukushima accident. This may take months, judging from a poll this week by the Asahi newspaper which showed a majority of Japanese oppose a restart of nuclear power plants currently shut for maintenance.
Energy & Technoogy Magazine 14th Mar 2012 more >>
Switzerland
Swiss utility BKW will appeal against a federal administrative court ruling that its 375MW Muhleberg nuclear plant must close in June 2013. The 1 March ruling, which is not yet legally binding, cites safety concerns in its decision to limit Muhleberg’s operating permit to 28 June, 2013.
Argus Media 14th Mar 2012 more >>
Test Veterans
British ex-servicemen who say they became ill as a result of being exposed to radiation during 1950s nuclear weapon tests in the Pacific have lost the latest round of a legal battle for damages. But lawyers and relatives said the fight would go on and urged ministers to set up a compensation scheme.
Belfast Telegraph 15th Mar 2012 more >>
Independent 15th Mar 2012 more >>
Express 15th Mar 2012 more >>
Metro 14th Mar 2012 more >>
Renewables
The government’s main renewable energy subsidy scheme adds just £15.15 a year to the average household bills according to new research based on official Ofgem figures.
Business Green 14th Mar 2012 more >>
