Sellafield
UNION leaders called for new investment at the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant on Tuesday amid speculation over its future and warnings that up to 2,000 jobs were at risk. Environmental campaigners said the mixed oxide plant in Cumbria may have to close even though it has cost the taxpayer £472 million.
Morning Star 17th Feb 2009 more >>
Cumbria
A NEW action plan designed to boost the economy of Cumbria will be presented to keynote speaker Lord Mandelson and delegates at the Cumbria Economic Summit 2009 on Friday (February 20).
Westmorland Gazette 17th Feb 2009 more >>
Scotland
Letter: Mr Murphy forgets that Alex Salmond’s predecessor was hardly welcoming of a new generation of nuclear power stations. Jack McConnell was always at pains to stress that his Scottish Government would not support new nuclear power while nuclear waste remained unresolved. Scotland now promotes innovation in renewable energy through the international £10 million Saltire Prize and is witness to the creation of new jobs in the renewables industry, creating new wealth in the economy. Scotland is now ready and willing to take a responsible position within the community of nations, without the heavy price tag of nuclear waste. The truth is the Scottish Parliament and the people of Scotland are against spending countless billions on the New Labour, new nuclear experiment be it power plants or weapons of mass destruction.
Dundee Courier 18th Feb 2009 more >>
The anti-nuclear lobby, which includes Scotland’s First Minister, is choosing to react to new climate predictions, not by heeding the advice of those scientists who urge that it is the responsibility of every nation to reduce emissions by deploying the widest possible range of climate-friendly sources of energy, but by fiddling with statistics. At the weekend, Alex Salmond proclaimed that nuclear power was “a busted flush”. He said that nuclear power in Scotland had declined to its lowest level this century, that it was unreliable and unnecessary.
Times 19th Feb 2009 more >>
New Nukes
Various Letters, including one from Kerr Macgregor: Jim Murphy’s nuclear suggestion is no long-term solution. Like oil and gas, uranium is finite and limited. And, like fossil fuels, nuclear creates waste for which we have no satisfactory solution. Letter No.2: Some will argue that the gap can be filled by nuclear power, but this is not so. A recent report from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology has calculated that economically extractable uranium will run out by 2040, if the industrial world were to attempt to build one nuclear station per week for the next 40 years. Even at that rate of build, the nuclear power industry could provide no more than 4% of the estimated demand.
Herald 19th Feb 2009 more >>
Letter from Duncan McLaren: The choice between developing a vibrant export renewable industry in Scotland and importing billions of pounds’ worth of expensive and polluting nuclear expertise seems a simple one. We’re glad the Scottish Government has taken the right decision.
Scotsman 19th Feb 2009 more >>
Nuclear Waste
Nuclear chiefs have defended a controversial decision to question former employees of the Drigg waste dump to help them find out what is in it. Adverts were placed in newspapers last week asking for people who worked at the Low Level Waste Repository, near Sellafield, to share their memories of what was buried there and how. The appeal led to criticism by environmental groups that the authorities did not know what was at the site and that it could contain higher level foreign waste.
Cumberland News 18th Feb 2009 more >>
Terror
An alleged terrorist accused of a plot to blow up airliners researched other targets including nuclear power stations, a jury has heard. Woolwich Crown Court heard that Assad Sarwar had a memory stick with details of nuclear power stations as potential terror targets. Mr Sarwar and seven other men are accused of conspiracy to murder by blowing up planes with home-made bombs.
BBC 18th Feb 2009 more >>
Companies
EDF’s £12.5 billion takeover of British Energy threatens to drive up prices and undermine competition in the UK electricity market, according to one of the country’s biggest power producers. Dorothy Thompson, chief executive of Drax Power, operator of Britain’s largest power station, criticised antitrust remedies agreed between EDF and the European Commission as being no more than “a gesture”.
Times 19th Feb 2009 more >>
US
The field of U.S. companies competing for $18.5 billion in government-backed loans to build new nuclear plants has narrowed to five from about 14 last year, company sources said. Officials with projects in Texas, Maryland and South Carolina confirmed they were still in the running for a piece of U.S. Energy Department loan backing, which could be crucial to spurring the first round of nuclear plant building in more than 30 years.
Reuters 18th Feb 2009 more >>
Bulgaria
French utility GDF Suez has decided to pull out of Bulgaria’s planned atomic power plant of Belene to focus on its other nuclear projects, a company spokesman said on Wednesday. GDF Suez’s Belgian subsidiary Electrabel had been in talks to take part in German utility RWE’s 49-percent stake in Bulgaria’s 4 billion euro plant.
Reuters 18th Feb 2009 more >>
Iran
The UN’s nuclear watchdog will report that Iran is continuing to obstruct its investigation into allegations of past work on nuclear weapons, but the country’s uranium enrichment programme was expanding more slowly than expected.
Guardian 19th Feb 2009 more >>
Kuwait
Kuwait is considering developing nuclear power with the help of a French firm to meet demand for electricity and water desalination, the country’s ruler said in remarks published on Wednesday.
Yahoo 18th Feb 2009 more >>
Middle East Online 18th Feb 2009 more >>
