New nukes
Would Electricité de France be allowed to buy British Energy, which owns and manages the bulk of what’s left of Britain’s nuclear power industry? In some respects, it would be a perfect solution to Britain’s nuclear future. Even if it were thought politically acceptable for France’s state-owned energy company to acquire such a key strategic asset, it is not altogether clear EDF would want to. EDF’s interest is first and foremost in building new PWRs, not owning a fleet of ageing AWRs until their point of closure some 10 years from now. The roadblocks to new nuclear build remain profound. Number one is political and public opinion. Number two is waste disposal. Condition number three is that alternative forms of power generation from fossil fuels are made to pay their proper carbon costs. It might be possible for EDF to build without government subsidy or other forms of market subvention, but that other forms of power generation pay their carbon costs would be non-negotiable. Unless these and other issues are settled within the next year, there is virtually no possibility of new nuclear power stations being ready for when the old ones start to switch off. Instead, Britain will become increasingly beholden to imported Russian gas. Not a pleasant prospect, especially for a Government committed to reducing emissions by 60 per cent by the middle of the century.
Independent 17th March 2007
This short briefing provides an outline of the sustainable Development Commission’s advice to Government on the need for a comprehensive engagement programme as a central part of any policy on nuclear new-build.
Sustainable Development Commission 4th March 2007
Green campaigner Paul Lavelle is to stage a balloon protest in the Arctic – supporting nuclear power.The Gloucestershire-based polar explorer and businessman is setting off for Svelbard Island, within the Arctic Circle on Sunday so he can float in a hot air balloon over a melting glacier.
Western Daily Press 16th March 2007
North Korea
North Korea will not stop its nuclear activity unless its funds held in a Macau bank are fully released, the country’s chief nuclear envoy said today.
ICWales 17th March 2007
A Japanese newspaper widely viewed as an unofficial mouthpiece for Pyong-yang yesterday welcomed the end of a US Treasury investigation into alleged money laundering by a Macao bank, calling it an “epochal event”.
FT 17th March 2007
Trident
SUPPORT has been flooding in to the Ealing Times online edition following Ealing North MP Stephen Pound’s decision to resign over the Trident nuclear weapon’s furore.
Croydon Guardian 17th March 2007
Iran, under fire from the big powers over its atomic programme, on Friday criticised Britain’s plans to renew its nuclear arsenal as a “serious setback” to international disarmament efforts. “Britain does not have the right to question others when they’re not complying with their obligations” under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, said.
Middle East Online 16th March 2007
Reuters 16th March 2007
Russia
Government officials said Friday that Russia will build two nuclear reactors annually through 2015, and increase to four a year by 2020 in an effort to sharply increase atomic power generation, according to Russian news agencies.
Guardian website 16th March 2007
Chapelcross
THE NUCLEAR Decommissioning Authority is being asked to hand over £5.9 million for three major projects in Annandale and Eskdale. The schemes, put forward by the Chapelcross Site Stakeholder Group, will boost the community as the former nuclear plant is being defuelled and decommissioned.
Dumfries and Galloway Standard 16th March 2007
Nuclear Skills
An artist impression of the £19m nuclear academy at Lillyhall has been launched.
Times and Star 16th March 2007
Dounreay
A CONFERENCE in Caithness focusing on efforts being made to counter the Dounreay jobs rundown is back on the agenda. Plans were hatched last summer to attract a government minister to a forum, provisionally entitled “Beyond Dounreay”.
John O Groat Journal 16th March 2007
THE spin-offs to Caithness from a research-and-development role in marine energy were highlighted at Monday’s forum in North Highland College in Thurso. Public-sector agencies working to counter the rundown of Dounreay believe it represents one of the best sources of hope in the drive to regenerate the economy.
Caithness Courier 7th March 2007
DEPUTY First Minister Nicol Stephen has been told that a major skills shortage is jeopardising efforts to replace jobs being lost at Dounreay. During a visit to Caithness on Monday, industry and union representatives aired their concerns about a crisis of confidence in the future of the area. They said apprentices and tradespeople are voting with their feet in the absence of any visible progress in diversifying the economy.
Caithness Courier 7th March 2007
Nuclear waste
It will cost $26.9 billion (€20.2 billion) to build and operate the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump through 2023, the Energy Department says. The department’s new cost calculation did not include a new figure for the total life-cycle cost of the project in the Nevada desert, estimated several years ago at $58 billion (now worth €43.5 billion). The department plans to recalculate that figure in May, and it almost certainly will rise.
International Herald Tribune 16th March 2007
DOUNREAY’S site liaison group is seeking to earmark the extent of the area which should have a say in whether the Far North bids to host a national nuclear waste dump. It has agreed that the process should not be stymied by the Highland Council’s long-standing hostility to accepting radioactive waste imports. A subgroup of Dounreay Stakeholder Group (DSG) has been charged with the thorny task of delineating the area deemed to be most affected by the construction and operation of a future dump. The Government has made it clear that any potential host community would be in line to rake in substantial financial benefits.
John O Groat Journal 16th March 2007
A LOCAL Church of Scotland minister this week claimed the Highland Council’s policy opposing nuclear waste being taken into the county may have to be re-examined. The Rev Ronnie Johnstone pointed out that the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management, in its final recommendations for the long-term management of the UK’s intermediate-level waste, called for deep disposal underground. CoRWM also stated that communities interested in taking on the facility should volunteer to become a site for the waste. Mr Johnstone, speaking at a meeting of the Caithness presbytery in Thurso on Tuesday evening, posed a number of questions on the issue. The church and society convener wondered what is meant by a local community; what the incentives are to volunteer; and how a community’s opinion is to be explored and established.
John O Groat Journal 9th March 2007
Sellafield
A SECURITY firm employing more than 430,000 people in 100 countries has emerged as a shock bidder for the management control of Sellafield under the ownership of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
Whitehaven News 15th March 2007
FLUOR, one of the bidders to run Sellafield, has pledged to put £30,000 a year into a community treasure chest. The cash is for the benefit of community groups within Sellafield’s travel-to-work area. Fluor Ltd, the UK’s operating arm of Texas-based Fluor Corporation, will put the annual £30,000 into a fund administered by Cumbria Community Foundation, an award-winning charity for improving community life which has already distributed £8.4 million in grants.
Whitehaven News 15th March 2007
Emergency Planning
BRITISH Nuclear Group has had its knuckles rapped over a mock emergency exercise. The Nuclear Industry Inspectorate has ordered the company to re-enact an exercise carried out on November 21 last year. A new date of June 5 was given to the West Cumbria Sites Stakeholder Group emergency planning sub-committee by the Group’s site emergency planning officer Norman McPhail.
Whitehaven News 15th March 2007
Nuclear Spin
Moore Spin: Or, How Reporters Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Nuclear Front Groups
Common Dreams 16th March 2007
