New Nukes
Humphrey Cadoux-Hudson has taken on perhaps the UK power industry’s biggest challenge: delivering a suite of four new nuclear reactors. As head of nuclear new-build at EDF Energy he has been placed firmly in the spotlight by EDF Energy chief executive Vincent de Rivaz, who promised – conditions being right – that the first reactor would be in place in time for the British public to cook their Christmas dinners in 2017. EDF Energy’s first reactor will be at Hinkley Point and the second probably at Sizewell. The company also bought additional land at Bradwell in Essex, and this is its “reserve” site. A four-reactor programme is ambitious, but Cadoux-Hudson argues that in practice it brings big benefits. It is clear that despite the work put in by government and industry in the past few years there are still hurdles to clear to ensure new nuclear is built.
Utility Week 15th June 2009 more >>
Nuclear Sites
Simmons & Simmons has won a key role advising Iberdrola on its bid for land at Sellafield, as the Spanish utility seeks to avoid being left out in the cold in the UK’s new civil nuclear energy race.
The Lawyer 15th June 2009 more >>
Scotland
The Calman Commission, the body set up to review the Scottish government’s devolved powers, has said there are no grounds for returning planning powers for major infrastructure to Westminster. There has been increasing tension between the Scottish and Westminster governments over the latter’s plans to build a new generation of nuclear power plants across the UK.
Planning Resources 15th June 2009 more >>
Sizewell
THE government should halt all plans to build more nuclear power stations with immediate effect after it was revealed that Suffolk was just hours away from a nuclear accident, campaigners claimed last night. About 10,000 gallons of radioactively contaminated water was discharged into the North Sea in January 2007 after a pipe, carrying cooling water to an engineered pond containing highly radioactive spent fuel rods, burst at Sizewell A power station on the Suffolk coast. Now an independent consultant’s report has said that the power station was about ten hours away from a serious accident which could have drained the cooling pond, uncovered the old fuel and started a fire which would have released highly radioactive products. Last night, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament’s eastern region spokesman Mell Harrison called on the government to view the incident as a lucky escape and reconsider its position on the future of nuclear power.
Lowestoft Journal 15th June 2009 more >>
Nuclear Training
AN organisation which has pledged nearly £2million towards a major new nuclear training centre in Bridgwater has rejected fears there will be delays in making the money available. Last week the Mercury revealed how the Energy Skills Centre at Bridgwater College had secured £1.9million from the South West Regional Development Agency, while other projects including the Burnham town centre regeneration missed out. Bridgwater MP Ian Liddell-Grainger says he has met with the RDA but has not received assurances about when the money will be forthcoming. He told the Mercury: “The RDA say they are 100% behind this new centre but because of their funding commitments they say they are not sure they have the money at the moment.
This is the West Country 15th June 2009 more >>
Ireland
Ireland’s predicament makes it a prime candidate for a “green new deal” policies aimed not just at helping the economy through a difficult time but also to make it better able to face the twin challenges of a world where fossil fuels are dwindling and the temperature is rising. Even better news is that Ireland appears quite keen to act as Europe’s guinea pig for the green new deal concept, and is likely to reap a considerable dividend as a result. While the short-term outlook for Ireland is dire, the longer term picture is much rosier. As Eamon Ryan, a Green party minister in the coalition government, put it: “The crisis makes it easier The status quo is gone. This is a moment when you can recalibrate everything.
Guardian 15th June 2009 more >>
Letter: The green begging bowl will do the rounds in Brussels, but any generosity from this quarter will have to be matched by Irish co-funding. Increasingly there is talk of a carbon tax (to accompany the EU’s emission trading system), but there is little analysis of the willingness or ability of Irish consumers and businesses to pay much higher energy prices. Despite all this, the Irish government has a solution under its nose. The Irish state is the majority owner of the dominant, incumbent electricity and gas businesses. Privatising these business would generate around 5bn. This is the scale of financing to which the government will have to commit to realise its green dream.
Guardian 16th June 2009 more >>
France
EDF is seeking a court order to force employees at nuclear reactors back to work, saying the strike threatens its ability to respond to a possible jump in demand. The Paris-based utility asked a court in Bobigny to end the strike because delays in restarting nuclear reactors is threatening supply-demand balance, an EDF spokeswoman said by telephone today. In the event of a heat wave, EDF would have to resort to power cuts to meet demand for electricity, she said. Workers at the Belleville, Bugey, Cruas, Cattenom, Dampierre and Paluel plants had walkouts today, she said.
Bloomberg 15th June 2009 more >>
North Korea
The US has confirmed a “probable” nuclear test carried out by North Korea last month. The explosion yielded several kilotons, more powerful than North Koreas’s first nuclear test in 2006, officials said.
BBC 16th June 2009 more >>
Reuters 15th June 2009 more >>
Aldermaston
A number of anti-nuclear activists have been arrested after staging a protest at a nuclear weapons site in Berkshire, demonstrators said. Activists said they were protesting at the building of new nuclear weapons facilities at the Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment.
Teletext 15th June 2009 more >>
Medical Isotopes
Three intercontinental deals today illustrate the pressure on medical isotope supplies in the face of problems at two of the world’s leading production reactors. The extended shutdown of the NRU reactor at Chalk River in Canada means a short supply of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), which decays in a matter of hours into technetium-99m for use in medical imaging procedures. Meanwhile, Europe’s top Mo-99 producer, the HFR at Petten in the Netherlands, is due for major repairs within a year.
World Nuclear News 15th June 2009 more >>
Renewables
Britain could become a booming market for solar power from next year when the UK introduces a support system used successfully by dozens of other countries. Last week 240 MPs signed a parliamentary motion supporting the mass rollout of solar photovoltaic (PV) power. The support was the biggest of any such motion introduced in this parliament. Colin Challen MP, who tabled the motion, said: “There is an enormous opportunity to drive forward this technology through the forthcoming feed-in tariffs.” Feed-in tariffs (FITs) work by paying a guaranteed, above-market price for any electricity fed into the grid for a period of 20-25 years. They have been designed to offer returns close to 10%, thereby reducing payback times for any household investing in a PV system to 10 years or less. Jerermy Leggett, chairman of the British solar group Solar Century, says the British market has tremendous potential but is also concerned that some officials at the Department for Energy and Climate Change may stall the introduction of the FIT at the behest of groups arguing that nuclear power is the answer.
Guardian 15th June 2009 more >>
