New Nukes
GE Hitachi could have a new nuclear plant commercially operational in Britain by 2023, Senior Vice President of GE Hitachi’s Nuclear Plant Projects, Daniel Roderick, told Reuters on Friday. “We can start a plant in 2023,” Roderick said on the sidelines of a nuclear conference in London. The nuclear joint venture between U.S. firm General Electric and Japan’s Hitachi is planning to submit design details for its ESBWR nuclear reactor to the UK’s nuclear regulator in June 2011, once it has finalised approval for EDF’s EPR and Westinghouse’s AP1000 designs.
Reuters 17th Sept 2010 more >>
Efficient and sustainable energy solutions are needed that also protect the environment, and nuclear energy needs to gain wide acceptance as a key contributor in the energy mix in the coming years, Anne Lauvergeon, Chief Executive Officer of AREVA, a French-based developer of nuclear energy installations and technology, said in a keynote address at the World Energy Congress Montr al 2010. In terms of disposal of nuclear waste, recycling technology already exists, Lauvergeon said. “We have solutions today and we need to deploy them as soon as possible. But we need public acceptance. We know how to recycle 96 per cent of spent fuel. The problem is the last 4 per cent. We know how to transform into an inactive form, but we have not resolved what to do with it.”
Commodities Now 18th Sept 2010 more >>
PROBLEMS with finance, policy and skills have hamstrung the much-hyped resurgence of the nuclear power sector, experts have said. Speaking at a meeting of the World Nuclear Association in London today, Ron Cameron head of the Nuclear Energy Association’s (NEA) nuclear development division said: “The nuclear renaissance hasn’t taken off” despite its ability to decarbonise the expansion of global energy demands. The NEA had projected that global nuclear power would expand from meeting 13% of electricity demand today to 24% by 2050 as scientists push for increases in cleaner generation methods to reduce dangerous levels of atmospheric carbon. This leap requires 30 nuclear power reactors building each year for the next 40 years compared to the 11 that began construction in 2009.
Chemical Engineer 17th Sept 2010 more >>
The Stop Nuclear Power Network is a grassroots network of groups and individuals taking action against nuclear power and its expansion and supporting sustainable alternatives. Date for your diaries:
Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th October, Bristol.
Bristol Indymedia 17th Sept 2010 more >>
Companies
The UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) and Pursuit Dynamics plc (PDX) have agreed to set up a joint venture to develop, produce and market products for the global nuclear industry. PDX will take the majority 60% share in the JV, which is due to be established in November 2010, subject to approval by NNL’s shareholders.
Nuclear Engineering International 17th Sept 2010 more >>
Sizewell
A WATCHDOG that monitors Suffolk’s nuclear power stations has agreed to review the way it works. Sizewell A and B Stakeholder Group (SSG) is set to undertake a thorough examination of its constitution. The decision was made at its latest meeting and will also look at the way members are allowed to vote. As part of the review Charles Barnett, chairman of the Shut Down Sizewell Campaign, asked representatives to change the rules to bring them in line with local councils. Currently, members with a financial interest in the power station – such as an employee or someone claiming a pension – are allowed to vote on any decisions. This is similar to other stakeholder groups across the country but members of the Shut Down Sizewell Campaign would like to see it changed. They think it would be fairer if those with a financial interest were not allowed to vote – similar to local councils.
Lowestoft Journal 18th Sept 2010 more >>
Hinkley
Council officials in Somerset have launched an astonishing attack on energy giant EDF’s plans for a new nuclear reactor at Hinkley.
Two local authorities have said plans for the proposed Hinkley C nuclear power station are “totally unacceptable” and “simply not good enough” unless the firm drastically improves its plans.
The proposed replacement for Hinkley B nuclear power station is a cornerstone of the Government’s energy policy. But Conservative-controlled Sedgemoor District Council is set to raise very serious concerns over EDF’s proposals at a special full council meeting on September 22.
This is Somerset 17th Sept 2010 more >>
UP to 260 affordable homes should be built in Williton and 500 extra bed spaces created in Minehead as part of a lasting legacy from a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point. The call has come from councillors fighting to get a better deal from Hinkley C developer EDF Energy. They say the developments could bring unspecified community benefits for both towns and reduce to 300 the number of bed spaces needed for construction workers on the Hinkley C site itself, rather than the proposed 700-bed hostel. And they want the scaled down on-site hostel moved away from existing homes in Stogursey parish. The ideas have been put forward as an “alternative strategy” by West Somerset Council and Sedgemoor District Council as part of a 700-plus page combined response to EDF’s second stage of consultation.
West Somerst Today 17th Sept 2010 more >>
South West Business 17th sept 2010 more >>
Firms bidding to build the new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point will need help to tackle the complexity of the project and deliver the quality of workmanship required, client NNB warned this week. The skillsets of consortiums preparing to bid for main works contracts are insufficiently developed to deal with the complexity of construction, said NNB head of procurement Alan Cumming. NNB is the EdF/Centrica joint venture that will manage nuclear power station construction at Hinkley Point and at Sizewell. Cumming said contractors working on plants in Olkiluoto in Finland, Flamanville in France and Taishan in China have all struggled with reinforcement design and concrete mixes.
New Civil Engineer 16th Sept 2010 more >>
Oldbury
CAMPAIGNERS have criticised a nuclear energy company’s announcement concerning the height of cooling towers. Horizon Nuclear Power, the firm behind plans to build a new nuclear plant at Shepperdine near Oldbury, announced last week that 70 metre high cooling towers were its preferred option. It said previously that it was considering both 70 metre hybrid towers and 200 metre natural draught towers, which would have to be built as part of the new station. However, the announcement has not been welcomed by members of the community. Reg Illingworth, chairman of Shepperdine Against Nuclear Energy, said: “They still seem to be reserving the right to use the natural draught cooling towers. “The towers are just one concern. This feels like a bit of PR to appease the community.”
Thornbury Gazette 14th Sept 2010 more >>
Dounreay
The Dounreay nuclear power plant in Caithness should be completely flattened by 2032, according to the site’s operators. Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) confirmed this week that among the buildings going will be the landmark sphere – also known as the dome. Previously it had been suggested it might be retained as a monument to the UK’s early efforts to harness nuclear energy.
BBC 18th Sept 2010 more >>
US
Plans for new nuclear build in the USA have been delayed due to a lack of demand for electricity, according to the head of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). Nevertheless,TVA’s forward planning sees it increasing its nuclear capacity over the next 20 years.
World Nuclear News 17th Sept 2010 more >>
High costs of building nuclear power plants may put the industry at a disadvantage to fossil-fuel-burning energy producers, says a study from MIT. But reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, a controversial practice, won’t be necessary, it finds.
Christina Science Monitor 17th Sept 2010 more >>
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is issuing a new analysis of nuclear energy issues today, this time focusing on fuel cycles and what to do about that pesky issue of radioactive waste. The United States would do well to take a step back, reorganize and then proceed with a more open-ended technology-neutral nuclear energy policy, the report suggests, knowing that spent reactor fuel can be safely stored until a viable long-term solution is identified.
Building on an earlier analysis released in 2003 and updated last year, the report starts out with a simple assessment: uranium supplies are sufficient to power the industry for much of the century without recycling or reprocessing. This holds true even with a potential expansion of nuclear power, which would be based on the same once-through fuel cycle deployed in current reactors.
Nature 16th Blog Sept 2010 more >>
A former Los Alamos National Laboratory nuclear scientist and his wife were indicted on charges of trying to provide nuclear secrets to Venezuela. Pedro Mascheroni, 75, and Roxby Mascheroni, 67, are U.S. citizens who worked as contractors at Los Alamos in New Mexico, officials said today.
Daily Mail 18th Sept 2010 more >>
Guardian 18th Sept 2010 more >>
Telegraph 18th Sept 2010 more >>
UAE
The UAE plans to take a leading role in helping developing countries build safe nuclear power programmes, the country’s representative to the UN’s top nuclear regulator says. The plans emerged as the UAE revealed it would bid for a seat on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors, the group’s top decision-making body.
Middle East Online 17th Sept 2010 more >>
South Africa
The South African government has ended the country’s Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) nuclear power project because of funding obstacles.
Argus Media 17th Sept 2010 more >>
Test Veterans
PARLIAMENT has censored a petition written by a Derby MP in which he calls on fellow politicians to support veterans of Britain’s nuclear weapons tests. Some 20,000 servicemen took part in the UK’s atomic bomb tests in the 1950s and 1960s. Around 1,000 are now fighting a court case against the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in a bid to win compensation, but the Government is refusing to pay out.
Derby Telegraph 18th Sept 2010 more >>
Trident
When it comes to Britain’s defences, fudge is unacceptable. And until yesterday, although question marks hung over the future of many parts of the Armed Forces, the UK’s independent nuclear deterrent, Trident, looked to be assured with plans to replace it on schedule to be announced by 2014. Suddenly all that has changed. Unless the coalition Government comes out with a definitive statement on this crucial issue, faith in our ability to provide a virtually unassailable last line of defence will be badly damaged.
This is Devon 17th Sept 2010 more >>
BRITAIN’S nuclear defences are back in the spotlight after talk of delaying the £20bn Trident renewal programme until after the next election. Financial pressure is mounting on the cash-strapped Ministry of Defence which will somehow have to cover the cost, so a delay is reportedly being mooted among coalition Goverment officials in order to release the burden.
Worcester News 17th Sept 2010 more >>
