Radwaste
In fridays Times and Star on page 7 there is an unobtrusive item tucked in the Cockermouth Town Council Notices. Item number 11 is sandwiched in-between pot hole repairs and permission to use memorial gardens. Former Allerdale Borough Councillor and Seaton Parish Councillor Joe Sandwith describes it as The most important decision Cockermouth Town Council has ever made or is ever likely to make. Item number 11 in the Town Council notices describes Cockermouth Town Council voted against going to the next stage of consultation for an underground radioactive waste repository in West Cumbria. The irony is of course that only the Decision Making Bodies of Allerdale and Copeland Borough Council and Cumbria County Council will be given the right of veto. Cumbria County Councillors in 2008 were furious that they were not allowed to vote on the initial expression of interest which was swept in by a handful of people on the Decision Making Body. It matters hugely that Cockermouth Town Council has said No to going to the next stage on the steps towards geological disposal and other town and parish councils will follow their lead. The so called Decision Making Bodies have no moral mandate as was pointed out by Cumbria County Councillors back in 2008.]
Radiation Free Lakeland 18th Feb 2012 more >>
PEOPLE all over Cumbria have been having their say on the pros and cons of having an underground nuclear waste repository in the county. Copeland is seen as the most likely location if anywhere geologically suitable can be found for investigation but first of all the West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Safely Group wants to know whether or not it should purse the interest further. West Cumbria through its local authorities is the only area of the UK so far to have expressed an interest in hosting a facility designed to provide the final solution to the UKs radioactive waste disposal problem. The Partnerships public consultations started before Christmas and are due to end on March 23.
NW Evening Mail 18th Feb 2012 more >>
Hinkley
Nuclear energy company EDF, today served papers on activists occupying a farm on the proposed site for nuclear new build at Hinkley Point in Somerset. The papers, served by Squire Sanders of London are applying for possession of the premises and in an unprecedented move, an injunction against all future protests, at this site, this includes any protest by other local residents such as campaign group Stop Hinkley.
South West Against Nuclear 18th Feb 2012 more >>
Activists are occupying a farmhouse close to Hinkley Point nuclear power station, to stop EDF Energy trashing land for a planned new nuclear power station; and are calling for more people to join them. Anti-nuclear campaigners have been joined by members of Seize the Day as the first residents of Edf-Off Cottage which is on the 400-acre site earmarked for two new mega-reactors. Following an occupation of trees last week, the campaign against Hinkley C power station being built on fragile coastal land has now moved to a nearby farmhouse.
Rising Tide 18th Feb 2012 more >>
Building a new nuclear power station in the region will blaze the trail for a new Anglo-French industrial pact, David Cameron has said in Paris. The Prime Minister yesterday shared a platform with French President Nicolas Sarkozy to commit to economic collaboration in the development of civil nuclear energy.
Western Daily Press 18th Feb 2012 more >>
COUNCIL leaders in North Somerset are to join forces with other authorities along the route of a proposed new power line to continue to campaign for the cables to go underground. North Somerset Council is poised to sign a planning performance agreement (PPA) with energy giant National Grid to ensure the authority is fully involved with every step of the power line plans.
Bristol Evening Post 18th Feb 2012 more >>
Hartlepool
But today, power station bosses allayed fears when they told the Hartlepool Mail the information was nothing more than technical data which had been publicly available for weeks.
Hartlepool Mail 17th Feb 2012 more >>
Sizewell
BRITAIN and France will today sign a landmark agreement to co-operate on civil nuclear energy, paving the way for the construction of a new generation of power plants in the UK.
East Anglian Daily Times 17th Feb 2012 more >>
SUFFOLKS head of emergency planning has pledged to take into account criticism of the existing plans to protect residents in the event of a nuclear accident at Sizewell. Andy Osman, who faced criticism of current emergency plans when he attended a public meeting at Leiston, said a review was being carried out and views of the community would be taken into account. Residents at the meeting organised by the Office for Nuclear Regulation, the Governments safety watchdog called for more information to be made readily available about actions to take in the event of a disaster at Sizewell. One resident called for the storage of anti-radiation potassium iodate pills at local schools just outside the zone. These pills are currently only handed to people living and working within the zone. There was also criticism of the extent of the emergency zone itself a 2.4 kilometre radius of the nuclear site when accidents elsewhere, including the Fukushima disaster in Japan last year, had led to the evacuation from a radius of more than 30km. The meetings chairman, Pete Wilkinson, a member of the Sizewell Stakeholder Group, said: Ive lived up here for 15 years and it is evident that people dont have confidence in the emergency plan.
East Anglian Daily Times 17th Feb 2012 more >>
Supply Chain
British firms will be left with only the scraps on the table from an £18 billion deal for two nuclear power stations signed by Britain and France, an expert has warned. At a meeting on Friday with President Nicolas Sarkozy, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that Rolls-Royce had landed a £ 400 million contract with Areva, the French maker of nuclear reactors, that would create 1,500 jobs in Britain. But the overall contract was won by the French state-owned energy giant EDF, while Areva is expected to build the four reactors two at each plant.
This is Money 18th Feb 2012 more >>
A series of supplier days where local manufacturers can discuss their products with buyers from the nuclear energy sector are being planned by the Nuclear AMRC. The move has been subsidised by a £2m government grant, a £6m government-guaranteed banking facility and £2m from Elonex shareholders.
The Manufacturer 18th Feb 2012 more >>
Iran
Iran may be poised to expand its nuclear programme at an underground site near the city of Qom, a Vienna-based diplomat has told the BBC. It appears to be ready to install thousands of new-generation centrifuges at the fortified underground plant, the diplomat said. They could speed up the production of enriched uranium – required for both power generation and nuclear weapons.
BBC 19th Feb 2012 more >>
Tom Donilon, the US president’s top security aide, arrived in Tel Aviv on Saturday morning for three days of meetings with Israeli defence and security chiefs. While Washington claims the visit is simply the latest in a series of “regular, high level consultations between the United States and Israel”, it came just days after coordinated attacks launched against Israeli embassies across the world provoked outrage in Jerusalem, which claims with certainly that Iran is responsible.
Telegraph 18th Feb 2012 more >>
Renewables
The government should increase support for wave and tidal power to preserve the UK’s global leadership, say MPs. The Energy and Climate Change Committee says the UK had in the past lost its early lead on wind power through lack of support, and must not make the same mistake again on marine energy. Its report recommends increasing funding and improving links between UK and Scottish programmes. The Carbon Trust recently said marine power could create 10,000 jobs by 2020.
BBC 19th Feb 2012 more >>
BRITAIN could rule the waves if the government adopted a more visionary approach to developing marine renewables if the UK, according to a new report. The House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee said with the largest wave and tidal resources in Europe, up to a fifth of the UK’s electricity could eventually come from this “reliable and predictable” low-carbon source. And developing a thriving wave and tidal power industry could also bring economic benefits to the UK, the committee argues, with opportunities to export technology and expertise. The report warns, however, that an overly cautious approach may allow other less risk-averse countries to steal the UK’s lead, as they did with wind power.
Scotland on Sunday 19th Feb 2012 more >>
Independent 19th Feb 2012 more >>
THE public sector should share the cost of developing wave and tidal power devices to attract more private sector investment into the industry, a group of MPs will today claim. The Commons’ energy and climate change committee will call on the coalition government to reduce the risks involved for investors so that the UK can keep its lead in developing offshore devices.
Scotland on Sunday 19th Feb 2012 more >>
Doug Parr: Why we must surf this wave of hope. As sure as the sun shines and the wind blows, marine renewable energy is part of our industrial future. This is a tide which no amount of nuclear nostalgia can turn back. Wave and tidal energy cuts carbon emissions and boosts energy security, and tidal power is highly dependable. But these technologies have big economic benefits too, and the race is on to be the industry leader.
Independent 19th Feb 2012 more >>
An organic farmer in Oxfordshire is trying to persuade his local community to take control of one of the largest solar farms in the country. Adam Twine, who has been farming at Westmill in Watchfield, Oxfordshire, for 27 years, will offer about £4.5m of shares in the 30-acre solar project to local investors over the next few weeks.
Sunday Times 19th Feb 2012 more >>
Microgeneration
This week’s Micro Power News now available.
Microgen Scotland 17th Feb 2012 more >>
Trident
The Clyde bases that host Britain’s nuclear bombs and submarines are plagued by widespread safety flaws, according to an internal Ministry of Defence (MoD) report obtained by the Sunday Herald. The SNP’s defence spokesman in Westminster, Angus Robertson MP, said the problems at Faslane and Coulport “clearly put lives at risk” and demanded an urgent investigation. The MoD’s latest annual review of safety reveals that 11 of the bases’ 13 activities have been officially declared unsatisfactory after assessments by site managers and regulators. The review was released last week in response to a request under freedom of information legislation.
Sunday Herald 19th Feb 2012 more >>
