Hinkley
Campaigners against the new Hinkley C nuclear power plant in Somerset have raised concerns over plans to start preparing the proposed site before planning permission is granted. The Stop Hinkley Campaign Group has raised concerns about plans the energy giant has for the proposed greenfield site they want to develop. As part the Hinkley C plans, EDF wants to create a plant with two reactors for when the current plant Hinkley B is decommissioned in 2016. But the campaign group claims they plan to bulldoze and dynamite most of the 435 acre area in preparation – before they get the planning permission to build the new station.
Jack FM 17th Aug 2010 more >>
Aldermaston
Information about the safety and environmental risks posed by a new nuclear weapons research facility which is to be built at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Aldermaston should be released to the public, according to the Nuclear Information Service (NIS). NIS is concerned that excessive secrecy surrounds proposals to build ‘Project Hydrus’, a new hydrodynamics research facility at AWE Aldermaston, where warheads for the UK’s Trident nuclear weapons system are manufactured. A planning application for the new facility was submitted to West Berkshire Council last month. Key information about Project Hydrus, its impacts, and the risks it poses has been withheld from the public by the Ministry of Defence, which claims that releasing such information into the public domain would be “contrary to the interests of national defence”.
Nuclear Information Service 17th Aug 2010 more >>
Germany
Germany’s utilities are offering to pay the government billions to let them keep their nuclear power plants running longer instead of shutting them down as mandated under current law, energy giant RWE AG said Monday. The companies also want the government to back off a proposed tax on nuclear fuel as part of the deal.
Business Week 16th Aug 2010 more >>
US
New US nuclear development depends on federal support such as loan guarantees, especially as natural gas prices remain depressed, Standard & Poor’s said in a report Monday. Federal loan guarantees, in which the government backs financing for most of a new nuclear project, “significantly” improve the economics of reactor construction, S&P analysts Swami Venkataraman and Aneesh Prabhu wrote. A merchant nuclear plant costing $6,500/kW to build is likely uncompetitive without a federal loan guarantee at prevailing forward gas prices, S&P said. Such a project could become viable with subsidies even at prices lower than recent spot rates for natural gas.
Platts 17th Aug 2010 more >>
In America, about 60,000 tonnes of heavy nuclear energy byproducts sit in radioactive dumps, with no potential use and no expiration date in sight, while federal experts rack their brains for a better way to manage nuclear waste. Several energy companies say they have a solution to the waste issue: Recycling, basically squeezing more energy from already-used nuclear fuel while leaving less waste behind. But their efforts face a decades-old policy hurdle that offers them little incentive to pursue the process.
Reuters 17th Aug 2010 more >>
Israel
The United States and other Israeli partner states should press Jerusalem to permit U.N. scrutiny of its nuclear activities, the 22-nation Arab League told the powers in a letter last week.
Global Security Newswire 16th Aug 2010 more >>
Iran
Israel has “eight days” to launch a military strike against Iran’s Bushehr nuclear facility and stop Tehran from acquiring a functioning atomic plant, a former US envoy to the UN has said.
Middle East Online 17th Aug 2010 more >>
Daily Mail 18th Aug 2010 more >>
China
The Shaw Group has inked an initial contract with China’s State Nuclear Power Technology (SNPTC) unit State Nuclear Power Engineering to provide technical support services for additional AP1000 nuclear power plants in China.
Energy Business Review 17th Aug 2010 more >>
Russia
Two Russian nuclear-powered icebreakers will escort a tanker transporting gas condensate from Russia to China via the Arctic rather than through the Suez Canal. The trial run is aimed at slashing the time it takes to ship oil and gas to countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
World Nuclear News 17th Aug 2010 more >>
Fears Russia’s rampant summer wildfires could release a soot cloud of radioactive particles sparked a war of words between government officials and environmentalists. Vladimir Sliyvak, co-chairman of Russia’s Ecodefence, an environmental organisation, said: “It is evident that fires have taken place on (radioactively) contaminated areas and that there is a possibility of re-distribution radiation – it’s stupid to deny it.” Environmental group Greenpeace accused authorities of downplaying the dangers. Controversy raged over allegations Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered the blocking of an official website warning of radioactive dangers from the wildfires though these were denied. But government officials said radiation experts had reported no increase in radiation levels in the area, on the border of Belarus and Ukraine.
Edie 17th Aug 2010 more >>
Brazil
Brazil has taken another step towards wider use of nuclear energy with a technical cooperation deal to examine sites for future build. The deal was between nuclear utility Eletronuclear and the Empresa de Pesquita Energ tica (Energy Research Company, EPE), part of the Ministry of Mines and Energy. The two will cooperate to develop preliminary studies for selection of future nuclear sites, of which Brazil wants to establish four by 2030. Led by EPE, the study will primarily use public databases built up by various national geologic and natural resource authorities.
World Nuclear News 17th Aug 2010 more >>
Trident
The Chancellor said he was ‘‘very clear’’ that the cost of Trident would be met by the MoD. ‘‘They know that,’’ Mr Osborne said of the MoD, after Defence Secretary Liam Fox suggested discussions on the issue were ‘‘constantly ongoing’’.
Telegraph 18th Aug 2010 more >>
Channel 4 News 17th Aug 2010 more >>
Renewables
Researchers at Edinburgh Napier University have developed a method of producing biofuel from two main by-products of the whisky distilling process – “pot ale”, the liquid from the copper stills, and “draff”, the spent grains.
Guardian 18th Aug 2010 more >>
A team of university scientists have developed a process which can transform the by-products of whisky into biobutanol a fuel which experts believe might be the successor to petrol. As a chemical capable of powering automobiles without any need to convert their engines, it is seen as a major step along the road towards reducing our dependence on oil.
Times 18th Aug 2010 more >>
BBC 18th Aug 2010 more >>
Scotsman 18th Aug 2010 more >>
Telegraph 18th Aug 2010 more >>
Scottish firms have secured funding of 4million to help develop tidal-turbine technology. The largest share, from Norwegian firm Hammerfest Strom UK, goes to Fife-based Burntisland Fabrication (BiFab). Its 2million will be spent fabricating the substructure of a tidal-power turbine at Arnish in Stornoway. The Hammerfest Strom HS1000 device will be tested at the Emec site in Orkney next year. First Minister Alex Salmond said: Awarding 4million of contracts to Scotland is a massive vote of confidence in the talent, expertise and infrastructure we have to support the development of a clean, green renewables future.
Press and Journal 18th Aug 2010 more >>
Keith Anderson, director of ScottishPower Renewables, said: “To some extent this is just the tip of the iceberg. The jobs will grow exponentially as the industry develops.” Engineering experts say contracts like the one announced yesterday will spark a boom in marine energy manufacturing, which could turn into a m ulti-billion pound industry for Scotland. The Scottish Government estimates that by 2020 as many as 60,000 could be employed either directly or indirectly through the offshore renewables industry.
Scotsman 18th Aug 2010 more >>
Scotland is on course to have the first island in the world to be powered by tidal energy. The energy harnessed by the 1MW machine from the ebb and flow of the tide in the Sound of Islay, which can move at up to three metres per second, is enough to power 1000 homes. It is hoped that by 2013, 10 of the turbines will be placed near Islay to make it the first island in the world to be powered by tidal energy. A planning application is currently under consideration. By 2017, almost 100 of the turbines could be fitted in Ness of Duncansby in the Pentland Firth, a move that would help Scotland meet its pot ential to generate six times the electricity consumed by its domestic market to sell into Europe.
Herald 18th Aug 2010 more >>
