EMR
Minister of State for Energy Charles Hendry told MPs June 14 that there will be full transparency over the terms of any long-term contract with a guaranteed power price for EDF Energys new nuclear power plants in the UK. But his remarks may not go far towards extinguishing controversy around how the deal with be negotiated and how much of it will become public. Scottish and Southern Energy Chief Executive Ian Marchant told the House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee June 12 that the governments proposed mechanisms for choosing the strike price for new nuclear power is a mechanism designed to mean negotiation in a smoke-filled room. I am very concerned about that process, he said.
i-Nuclear 15th June 2012 more >>
Friends of the Earth
Today has also seen some speculation in the blogosphere about Friends of the Earth’s position on nuclear power (never a quiet day in the office). This is because we recently announced that we were commissioning the Tyndall Centre to review the background evidence that is relevant to our position on nuclear. Anyone that knows Friends of the Earth well will know that this is the kind of thing we do on a fairly routine basis because for the last 40 years, we have been proud to be an organisation that is evidence-based. But it caused author and journalist Mark Lynas (who doesn’t know Friends of the Earth very well) to blog that we were “considering abandoning our anti-nuclear stance”. This is a deeply misleading headline.
FoE 14th June 2012 more >>
Lovelock
Having already upset many environmentalists for whom he is something of a guru with his long-time support for nuclear power and his hatred of wind power (he has a picture of a wind turbine on the wall of his study to remind him how “ugly and useless they are”), he is now coming out in favour of “fracking”, the controversial technique for extracting natural gas from the ground. He argues that, while not perfect, it produces far less CO2 than burning coal. Lovelock says the political fallout from the Fukushima disaster in Japan last year means that the chances of a surge in nuclear power generation are dramatically reduced. “The fear of nuclear is too great after Fukushima and the cost of building plants is very expensive and impractical. And it takes a long time to get them running. It is very obvious in America that fracking took almost no time to get going. There’s only a finite amount of it [in the UK] so before it runs out, we should really be thinking sensibly about what to do next.
Guardian 15th June 2012 more >>
Hinkley
PEOPLE in the Burnham and Highbridge area are being given a fresh chance to have their say on the positioning of underground power lines for the proposed new Hinkley Point nuclear power station. National Grid has begun a new consultation to identify issues surrounding a proposed 50-mile stretch of pylons to link Hinkley Point C with Avonmouth.
This is the West Country 15th June 2012 more >>
EDF has denied the project will bring fresh crime and disorder to the West and claims its plans are on track. Police have criticised the plans to build two reactors at Hinkley Point C in Somerset, claiming an influx of transient and foreign workers will affect community relations in the area.
Western Daily Press 15th June 2012 more >>
Dungeness
EDF Energy’s 550-megawatt Dungeness B21 nuclear reactor in Britain stopped producing power on Friday to start a planned outage, grid operator data showed.
Reuters 15th June 2012 more >>
Aldermaston
One worker was left with burns to his face & arm after the incident that took place on the evening of 3rd August 2010 in a building on the site in Berkshire where explosives were housed. The investigation by the HSE found issues with the control systems in place at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.
ITV 15th June 2012 more >>
Morning Star 15th June 2012 more >>
Scotland
The Scottish Government today announced a deal with EDF Energy to supply electricity to Scotland’s public sector. EDF Energy, which took over British Energy owner of Scotland’s two nuclear power stations will provide power for almost every school, hospital and council building in Scotland. Scottish Conservative Finance Spokesman Gavin Brown MSP said: “I welcome this strong SNP endorsement of nuclear power, a low carbon source of electricity, and it is a pleasing U-turn. EDF Energy has experience in many types of electricity generation including renewables and Scotland’s two nuclear power stations at Torness and Hunterston.
Scottish Conservatives 15th June 2012 more >>
Ireland
Scottish & Southern Energy is to spend 488m (£397m) buying up power stations in Ireland, making Britain’s second-biggest energy supplier the number three in the Emerald Isle. SSE is buying the gas and oil-fired plants from the indebted Italian utility Enel’s Endesa division. The deal price is made up of 320m for the actual purchase plus a further 168m for working capital and construction costs to develop them.
Independent 16th June 2012 more >>
EDF
With nuclear power out of favour, shares in EDF are in the bargain basement. So, should you buy the French utility?
Money Week 15th June 2012 more >>
Nuclear Archive
THE Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is being urged to show its commitment to building a national nuclear archive in Wick by applying for planning permission. Dounreay Stakeholder Group vice-chairman David Flear stressed the public needed to have confidence the project will go ahead and said that it could be achieved by the organisation making an application to the Highland Council.
Northern Times 15th June 2012 more >>
Europe
A review of nuclear security across the European Union (EU) has identified an extensive set of good practices and has urged member states to continue their efforts and cooperate both within the EU and further afield.
World Nuclear News 14th June 2012 more >>
Japan
Japan is to resume the use of nuclear power for the first time since last year’s triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi power plant after the government on Saturday approved the restart of two idled reactors. The decision to restart reactors three and four at Oi power plant in western Japan could pave the way for the resumption of operations at other atomic facilities, amid concern over power shortages during peak demand this summer.
Guardian 16th June 2012 more >>
ITV 16th June 2012 more >>
Independent 16th June 2012 more >>
Fukushima Update 12th to 14th June.
Greenpeace 15th June 2012 more >>
India
For a professed proponent of liberalisation and free trade, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s penchant for a technology that cannot float without subsidies is telling. Nuclear power’s unfavourable economics are not lost on Dr. Singh. Recently, Westinghouse Electric and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to negotiate the setting up of AP1000 reactors in Gujarat, ending a slump in interest from the Toshiba subsidiary in India’s nuclear market. For Toshiba’s Westinghouse and other nuclear equipment suppliers, the Civil Nuclear Liability Act’s clause on supplier liability was the key hurdle to investing in India. The companies wanted the Indian government to insulate them from the financial fallouts of any potential disaster caused by their technology by spreading that liability among taxpayers. The recent MoU suggests some progress in moving towards this goal.More obstacles remain, though. Nuclear projects are un-bankable. The government may deploy mental health specialists to deal with the fears of Kudankulam protestors. But those shrinks are unlikely to be able to allay the fears of financiers or nuclear equipment suppliers. According to nuclear energy expert Peter Bradford, The most implacable enemy of nuclear power in the past 30 years has been the risk not to public health but to investors’ wallets.
The Hindu 15th June 2012 more >>
Pakistan
Pakistan could launch a nuclear strike on India within eight seconds, claimed an army general in Islamabad whose warning is described in the latest volume of Alastair Campbell’s diaries. The general asked Tony Blair’s former communications director to remind India of Pakistan’s nuclear capability amid fears in Islamabad that Delhi was “determined to take them out”.
Guardian 15th June 2012 more >>
Iran
After a decade, we are nearing an endgame on Iran’s nuclear file. The initial positive atmosphere during Tehran’s talks with the P5+1 (the five members of the UN security council plus Germany) in Istanbul in April had been lost by the next round of talks in Baghdad, in May.
Guardian 15th June 2012 more >>
Carbon Capture
Capturing carbon dioxide and storing it underground could give rise to small earthquakes, according to a new report from the US National Research Council. But the authors said there was too little research to be firm on the findings, and called for more work to be done.
Guardian 15th June 2012 more >>
