Generic Design Assessment
A nuclear reactor design proposed for Britain will need to demonstrate it is strong enough to resist aircraft impact and other hazards, the safety regulator has warned. The Health and Safety Executive, running the design assessment programme for the new generation of reactors, registered its most intense level of concern on Tuesday about the Westinghouse AP1000, which could be built at Oldbury and Wylfa.
FT 17th Feb 2010 more >>
Telegraph 17th Feb 2010 more >>
HSE 16th Feb 2010 more >>
One of the two new nuclear reactor designs being considered for use in Britain may not be strong enough to withstand a direct hit from a commercial airliner, which could stop the technology being licensed in Britain, the UK’s nuclear safety watchdog said yesterday. The claim from the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) that the design could be vulnerable to terrorist attacks is a blow for the American-Japanese group that is behind the AP1000 reactor type.
Times 17th Feb 2010 more >>
New Nukes
Letter from Roger Helmer MEP: GERRY Wolff, “Cost of nuclear power disguised” seeks to vilify nuclear power with assertions like “if the industry had to insure for the full cost of a meltdown, the price of nuclear electricity would increase by 300%”. Yes, and if the wind industry had to reimburse the damage inflicted on local communities, and to pay the estimated £10bn needed to reconfigure the National Grid, and to account for the real working lifetime of turbines (often only 18 months for offshore), and to provide for the cost of creating the 90% conventional back-up which most industry experts think is needed, no-one would be building wind turbines. Dr Wolff is wrong. I quote the Finnish example, where a commercial nuclear power plant at Olkiluoto, with no subsidies, and providing against the costs of waste disposal and eventual decommissioning, is right now, today, delivering the cheapest electricity in Finland.
Derby Telegraph 17th Feb 2010 more >>
Radioactive Waste
High-level nuclear waste from across the European Union could be shipped to eastern Europe for burial in a central underground storage facility under plans being considered by EU member states. The Times has learnt that the project, which comes amid a resurgence of interest in nuclear power, could be given the green light later this year by the European Commission. Ewoud Verhoef, deputy director of Covra, the agency responsible for the storage of the Netherlands’ nuclear waste, said: “The nuclear programme in Holland is small and the cost of building a geological repository is very high. We only have one nuclear reactor in the Netherlands so there would be big advantages to a shared solution.” Discussions are under way between eight countries the European Repository Development Organisation which includes the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Bulgaria about transportation and storage of waste. It is due to meet again in May.
Times 17th Feb 2010 more >>
Oldbury
South Gloucestershire Council has responded to the Nuclear NPS Consultation. The overview says “At present South Gloucestershire Council cannot agree in principle with the decision to include Oldbury on the list of sites for new nuclear power stations in EN-6”. They go in to thorough detail of a significant number of concerns about the project.
Shepperdine Against Nuclear Energy 16th Feb 2010 more >>
South Gloucestershire Council 16th Feb 2010 more >>
Dungeness
Rye Lib Dem candidate Nick Perry has launched a scathing attack on the Government over its decision to drop Dungeness from its nuclear programme. Nick is angry at Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband MP’s failure to respond to correspondence in the wake of the recent decision not to build a new power station at Dungeness. He said: “I am appalled that I have had no response from the Minister on these important issues. He is clearly too busy writing Labour’s election manifesto to care about job prospects in the energy industry for Ryers.” Nick is campaigning for a capacity survey for the area which provides workers to Dungeness. The survey would look at the options for new renewable energy projects, to be located on the unused site at Dungeness, or elsewhere.
Rye and Battle Observer 16th Feb 2010 more >>
Hartlepool
THE people of Hartlepool have given a resounding thumbs up to a new power station after 73 per cent said it would benefit the town. And today, Mayor Stuart Drummond said it would be “tragic” if Hartlepool missed out on a new build which could bring thousands of jobs and see millions pumped into the local economy.
Hartlepool 16th Feb 2010 more >>
Cumbria
Plans to build two nuclear power stations on land away from Sellafield could plunge Cumbria into a “permanent nuclear winter”, a leading environmental consultant has warned. Braystones, near Egremont, and Kirksanton, near Millom, have been earmarked as potential sites for a new reactor. Land north of the existing Sellafield complex has also been shortlisted. While the Sellafield plans have been broadly supported across the county, the other two locations have been vehemently opposed. Doug Cross, a scientist and environmental consultant, told a meeting of tourism and business leaders opposed to the plans last week, that if the Braystones and Kirksanton plans went ahead it would constitute a “nightmare” for Cumbria’s environment and its economy. He said he already knew of holiday park owners who were losing business over customer fears that their holiday homes would be in the shadow of nuclear reactors. Cumbria Tourist Board, Cumbria Wildlife Trust and the Duddon Estuary Partnership were among those represented at the meeting held at Skelwith Fold Card caravan park.
Cumberland News 16th Feb 2010 more >>
EDF
EDF could face “massive” new investment to extend the life of its French nuclear reactors beyond 40 years, the country’s safety authority has warned. Extending the life of its French reactors is crucial to EDF, which is hoping to secure 60-year life-cycles for its plants – a term that is already common in the US. The move comes as the French state-owned utility faces the prospect of greater competition in its home market and struggles to cope with record debt. Andr-Claude Lacoste, president of the French nuclear safety authority, said yesterday that the watchdog was “beginning to treat” the question of the conditions EDF would have to meet to extend the life of its reactors beyond 40 years. “To go beyond that without doubt would require massive investment,” he warned. The warning came as the regulator revealed that EDF has already been forced to commi t hundreds of millions of euros to replacing the ageing steam generators on 34 of its 58 reactors.
FT 17th Feb 2010 more >>
Japan
Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato said Tuesday he is willing to accept a pluthermal (MoX) power-generation project by Tokyo Electric Power Co. at a plant in his prefecture if certain conditions are met.
Japan Times 17th Feb 2010 more >>
US
President Barack Obama said that $8bn in loan guarantees for the first US nuclear power plant to be built in three decades was “only the beginning” yesterday, as he redoubled efforts to promote nuclear power. Portraying nuclear energy as vital to cutting US carbon emissions at the same time as creating jobs, the president appealed for cross-party support for building more reactors, part of his administration’s efforts to pass climate- change legislation.
FT 17th Feb 2010 more >>
Telegraph 17th Feb 2010 more >>
Guardian 17th Feb 2010 more >>
BBC 16th Feb 2010 more >>
Reuters 16th Feb 2010 more >>
Reuters 16th Feb 2010 more >>
The government backing of the Georgia project is a major financial gamble, but the White House seems to see it as worth the risk politically. Last week Obama told reporters that his embrace of nuclear power is part of an effort to adopt some Republican ideas on energy, adding that he remains an “eternal optimist” about bipartisanship. The case the administration has made is that they will give Republicans more nuclear power, offshore oil and gas drilling, and incentives for coal, if they will accept a cap on carbon emissions and investments in renewable energy. But so far his entreaties have been met with a resounding “No” from the right, which maintains that he is “anti-nuclear”. The $54bn in tax-payer dollars they’ve put on the line would indicate otherwise.
Guardian 17th Feb 2010 more >>
Aldermaston
Nineteen activists were given police cautions after protesting outside a nuclear weapons site in Berkshire. A total of 26 activists were arrested on Monday when about 400 anti-nuclear campaigners spent eight hours at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE).
BBC 16th Feb 2010 more >>
Coventry Telegraph 16th Feb 2010 more >>
Daily Post 16th Feb 2010 more >>
Iran
The tough talk is heating up between the U.S. and Iran over Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program.
Reuters 16th Feb 2010 more >>
Russia joined America and France in open criticism of Iran’s nuclear programme as China came under pressure not to block a move to tighten UN sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Telegraph 17th Feb 2010 more >>
Nuclear Testing
France used its servicemen as human guinea pigs to test the effects of radiation exposure, it was claimed yesterday. Le Parisien said that in April 1961, about 300 soldiers were sent into areas of Algeria where atomic devices had been set off. Quoting from a government report, it said the aim was to study ‘the physical and psychological effect of atomic weapons on humans’.
Daily Mail 17th Feb 2010 more >>
Telegraph 17th Feb 2010 more >>
BBC 16th Feb 2010 more >>
