New Nukes
Britain’s plans for a new generation of nuclear power stations have suffered another setback after being delayed by at least a year. The first of the new plants will not be built until 2019 because of extra safety checks following Japans atomic disaster. Ministers originally hoped to get the first nuclear power station built by 2017, before revising this to 2018. Now there has been a further slippage, after an updated timetable showed the first station in Somerset is not expected until nearer the end of the decade. The Government has placed its hope on nuclear power to stop Britain being vulnerable to energy shortages when coal power stations start retiring from 2015. The Coalitions plans for building eight to 10 nuclear plants over the next decade were described last week as simply lacking credibility by peers in the House of Lords. EDF Energy, the company building the first plant, has refused to give a firm and final completion date for nuclear power. A spokesman for the company said the 2019 date was only indicative. The Government disclosed in its Carbon Plan yesterday that tripling the UKs nuclear power would be the cheapest way for the country to tackle climate change by reducing emissions.
Telegraph 2nd Dec 2011 more >>
Sellafield
Taxpayers will have to foot the £500 million bill to build a new nuclear fuel reprocessing plant at Sellafield – even though the existing one has been closed because it has no customers. The Government yesterday said that its preferred option to deal with the world’s largest civilian stockpile of plutonium – being stored at the sprawling site in Cumbria – was to build another “Mox” plant. This would recycle the plutonium by turning it into nuclear fuel for use in new reactors in Britain or abroad. But the first Mox plant was closed this summer after its only customer, the Japanese nuclear industry, said that it no longer wanted the fuel. Japan is phasing out nuclear power in the wake of the meltdown at the Fukushima plant, caused by the tsunami in March. More than two thirds of its reactors are closed. Greenpeace, the environmental campaign group, dismissed the plan as “crazynomics” that would lead to public money being spent to “fund the nuclear industry gravy train”. Nuclear experts also warned that about a quarter of the plutonium at the site was unusable because of impurities.
Times 2nd Dec 2011 more >>
The government has astonished the anti-nuclear lobby by outlining plans to spend £3bn of public money building a new mixed-oxide fuel (Mox) plant – months after announcing the closure of a similar facility that lost taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds. Energy minister Charles Hendry said Britain could not continue to keep the world’s largest civilian stockpile of used plutonium stored at the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria. It should be converted into Mox fuel for possible use in a new generation of thermal light water reactors.
In a written statement to MPs, Hendry said the government had gathered enough information to be confident Mox was the right direction and was now “preferred policy”.
Guardian 2nd Dec 2011 more >>
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has published two documents a. the conclusions of its consultation on the long term management of UK-owned separated civil plutonium and b. our response to the recommendations for Government contained in the Chief Nuclear Inspectors final report on events at the Fukushima nuclear site in Japan that was published on 11th October 2011. On plutonium UK Government has concluded that it has identified the right preliminary view. Accordingly, the Government confirms this as the preferred policy. While the UK Government believes it has sufficient information to set out a direction, it is not yet sufficient to make a specific decision to proceed with procuring a new MOX plant. Only when the Government is confident that its preferred option could be implemented safely and securely, that is affordable, deliverable, and offers value for money, will it be in a position to proceed with a new MOX plant. If we cannot establish a means of implementation that satisfies these conditions then the way forward may need to be revised. On Fukushima: Government sets out work we have done or intend to do in implementing Dr Weightmans recommendations, including: Continuing to work with our international partners on nuclear safety, particularly through the development of the IAEA Director Generals Action Plan. Taking forward work from the Nuclear Emergency Planning Liaison Group review of the UKs national nuclear emergency arrangements in light of the experience of dealing with the prolonged Japanese event. Ensuring that openness and transparency are enshrined in the work we are taking forward to create the ONR as a statutory body
DECC 1st Dec 2011 more >>
Although Mr Hendry made it clear that the Government sees the “Mox option” as a priority, it is not certain that a new £3bn plant to convert the plutonium into Mox fuel will ever be built. Mindful of the financial and technological disaster of the current Mox fuel plant at Sellafield in Cumbria, which has cost £1.34bn and produced a tiny fraction of the fuel it was scheduled to make, Mr Hendry said that a clear case has still to be made for a second Mox plant at Sellafield. Senior government advisers have been in discussions with GEC-Hitachi about the possibility of adapting its Prism fast reactor to deal with the plutonium stockpile at Sellafield. However, the Government’s response says that, unlike fast reactors, Mox fuel is not a pioneering technology and so does not carry the risks associated with fast reactors. If a commercial partner were prepared to take on those risks, the Government says it would consider the possibility of building a nuclear fast reactor to deal with the waste.
Independent 2nd Dec 2011 more >>
A global nuclear company is interested in building the worlds first so-called fast reactor in west Cumbria, creating up to 5,000 jobs. GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) wants to create the reactor known as PRISM at Sellafield if it gets the go-ahead from the Government.
It would be used to dispose of plutuniom stockpiles at the site and would create energy as a by-product. PRISM is separate to plans by NuGen for a new nuclear power station at Sellafield.
Cumberland News 1st Dec 2011 more >>
Whitehaven News 1st Dec 2011 more >>
Morgan Sindall is opening a new, permanent base in Cumbria as it targets a range of construction and infrastructure projects in the region, including major nuclear industry construction contracts worth up to £1bn. It now has an office at Westlakes Science and Technology Park in Whitehaven. This is Morgan Sindalls third office to open in the North West.
Builder 1st Dec 2011 more >>
PUBLIC reassurances have been given that radioactivity found in a drain at Seascale presents little risk. Five road drains in the area have shown contamination since monitoring began in 1999 but in one of them (on Drigg Road) the radioactive levels were higher than average last year. Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment expressed concerns after the increase was highlighted in the latest Radioactivity in Food and Environment report. The Environment Agency has been investigating whether it has carried any risk to public health or the environment. Ian Parker, the agencys nuclear regulation manager, told The Whitehaven News: We have been monitoring these drains for over a decade following the clean up of an area contaminated by feral pigeons. The measured concentrations of radioactivity are low. Following an increase at one drain in 2010 we initiated additional monitoring and investigation. Subsequent monitoring has shown this increase to have returned to pre-2010 levels.
Whitehaven News 1st Dec 2011 more >>
Radwaste
The worlds biggest hole Mirny Diamond Mine is located in Russia. The giant hole is actually a diamond mine in Eastern Siberia. It is 525 meters deep and 1.25 km in the diameter. Chris Huhne plans to trump that with a hole 1000 meters deep, 26 km square and filled with high level nuclear wastes.
101 uses for a nuclear power station 1st Dec 2011 more >>
Letter: I found it interesting to read Elaine Woodburns comments in The Whitehaven News (November 10) regarding underground disposal of nuclear waste. She suggests that Nirex made a mess of it when they were refused permission to bury medium level nuclear waste at an enquiry, where evidence for and against was put forward and a decision against disposal was made. So if Nirex had tried a different approach, maybe something like the one she supports now, then in her opinion they wouldnt have made a mess of it but would have been successful in their efforts to bury the waste. Even if the geology is found to be unsuitable in the whole of Cumbria, Elaine believes that by throwing money into every organisation, building project and sports group in the area, they will be able to buy acceptance for their proposals. I think shes probably right. We may suffer increases in nuclear related diseases and lose a lot of tourists but think of all that money.
Whitehaven News 1st Dec 2011 more >>
Hinkley
A petition signed by more than 12000 people opposed to the planned expansion of Hinkley Point power station near Burnham-On-Sea is to be handed in at Downing Street next week. The Stop Hinkley campaign group has collected 12750 signature.
Burnham-on-sea.com 1st Dec 2011 more >>
Anti-nuclear campaigners will next week present a petition to Downing Street protesting at plans for a new nuclear power station in Somerset. Almost 13,000 people have signed the petition, which will be handed in for Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday.
Western Daily Press 1st Dec 2011 more >>
Supporting the proposed EDF nuclear power development at Hinkley Point, the UK survey company Coastline was tasked with extracting vibrocore samples adjacent to Combwich Wharf, near Hinkley Point, in support of a licence application for the upgrade and enlargement programme that would allow access for the vessels required to bring heavy machinery and construction plant to the project. Using the Wharf will enable very large components to be brought on site which are too large to use road transport networks.
Hydro International 1st Dec 2011 more >>
Dounreay
WORKERS taking apart one of Britains most hazardous installations are swapping their knowledge of safety with those putting together parts for the worlds most modern airliners. The exchange between the redundant nuclear site at Dounreay and the Spirit Aerosystems fabrication facility at Prestwick brings together safety teams at two of Scotlands biggest workplaces. The teams are learning how each other works to reduce the risk of accidents and taking the best aspects of each back to their own sites.
John O Groat Journal 1st Dec 2011 more >>
Berkeley
A FORMER nuclear power station worker died 21 years after his retirement from a cancer caused by asbestos, an inquest heard.
Gloucestershire Gazette 1st Dec 2011 more >>
Carbon Plan
Carbon Plan reveals UK will ‘significantly exceed’ emissions targets. Government confirms 25 per cent drop in carbon emissions and outlines how meeting 2050 targets could be cheaper than taking no action. The government has set out a wide-ranging package of measures today designed to ensure that the UK cuts its greenhouse gas emissions in half by the middle of the next decade. The long-awaited Carbon Plan confirms that UK emissions have fallen 25 per cent below 1990 levels for the first time, and reveals that a quarter of electricity is now generated from low carbon nuclear and renewable sources. At a glance it also predicts that the green policies the government already has in place will see the economy “significantly exceed” the 34 per cent target set for 2020 under the Climate Change Act. According to the plan, between 40GW and 70GW of new low-carbon electricity capacity is required by 2020, including three to five twin nuclear reactor stations similar to that at Hinkley Point C and a three- to five-fold increase in renewable energy capacity. According to the calculator, a balanced 2050 energy mix consisting of 33GW of nuclear, 45GW of renewables and 28GW of fossil fuels with CCS is estimated to save £84 per person each year. Moreover, under the scenario, energy use will be halved, mainly owing to more efficient technologies, while the likelihood of high fossil fuel prices will increase savings further.
Business Green 1st Dec 2011 more >>
DECC 1st Dec 2011 more >>
The UK is set to substantially over-achieve on its carbon-cutting targets, with potential economic benefits in cost savings and the growth of new industries, according to a government report.
Guardian 1st Dec 2011 more >>
Japan
A new analysis of the accident at Fukushima Daiichi indicates more extensive melting probably occurred at unit 1 than previously thought, although the predicted status of units 2 and 3 remains about the same.
World Nuclear News 30th Nov 2011 more >>
A JAPANESE woman living in Stourbridge has organised a fundraising concert to raise money to help a kindergarten in tsunami stricken Fukushima in Japan. Money raised will help to relocate a kindergarten, near the ailing Fukushima nuclear power plant, which has been operating amid growing fears of contamination since the March 11 disaster.
Halesowen News 1st Dec 2011 more >>
Iran
The European Union has broadened its sanctions against Iran to target 180 new individuals and organisations linked to the Islamic republic’s shipping line and the Revolutionary Guards Corps, suspected of involvement in a covert nuclear weapons programme.
Guardian 1st Dec 2011 more >>
Independent 2nd Dec 2011 more >>
Israel does not want to take military action against Iran over its nuclear program, but at some point may have no other option, the Israeli defense minister said today.
Daily Mail 2nd Dec 2011 more >>
Bulgaria
Bulgaria’s Kozloduy nuclear power plant plans to boost the capacity of its fifth and sixth units to 104%. The facility’s executive head Mr Alexander Nikolov said that would mean that the capacity of each reactor would reach 1100 MW. When working at 100% capacity, each of the two units currently generates 1040 MW of power but following the upgrade they will produce 60 MW more. The investment will cost below BGL 1 million per MW, or a total BGL 120 million, which is significantly less than building a new 60 MW plant.
Modern Power Systems 1st Dec 2011 more >>
China
An unconventional project by US university students has concluded that China’s nuclear arsenal could be many times larger than current estimates, drawing the attention of Pentagon analysts.
Telegraph 1st Dec 2011 more >>
South Africa
When criticised for their support for nuclear power, South African politicians and government officials are quick to respond that the country is no stranger to the technology. For more than 25 years, the country has stood out as the only country in Africa with a nuclear power station. The 1,800MW Koeberg plant powers most of the Western Cape and about 6 per cent of South Africas total capacity.
FT 1st Dec 2011 more >>
Renewables
THE case for moving towards an economy powered by renewable energy “has never been stronger” as the industry has made major breakthroughs on issues such as grid connection, the head of Scottish Renewables said last night. Niall Stuart said the renewables sector north of the Border had made significant progress over the past 12 months, with £750 million worth of projects coming on stream and positive signs from regulators that barriers such as the cost of grid connection can soon be overcome. Stuart, who is chief executive of the trade body, also declared his confidence in meeting the Scottish Government’s revised target to meet, through renewable sources, 100 per cent of electricity needs and 30 per cent of all energy demand by 2020. “It is a stretching but achievable target. It is a challenge but also a clear vote of confidence in our industry; a clear statement of intent that is already attracting investment,” he told an audience of 950 industry figures at Scottish Renewables’ annual awards ceremony in Edinburgh.
Scotsman 2nd Dec 2011 more >>
A MORATORIUM should be placed on new wind turbine developments until councils are given clearer guidance from government, environment minister Fergus Ewing has been told. MSPs warned that local communities feel they are “under attack” from energy firms whose desperation to snap up land across Scotland “resembles the prospecting days of the American gold rush”. Hundreds of local campaigners packed into Holyrood’s public gallery last night and heard warnings that the issue could now threaten flagship government energy policies. Labour’s Neil Findlay warned that the SNP’s plans to generate 100 per cent of Scotland’s electricity from renewables by the end of the decade could be “scuppered” by public anger surrounding the “over-concentration” of wind farms in some areas.
Scotsman 2nd Dec 2011 more >>
Fuel Poverty
A quarter of all households in England and Wales have now fallen into fuel poverty following an autumn of steep increases in energy bills and stagnating incomes, the Guardian can reveal. The dramatic increase in fuel poverty up from nearly one in five households last year to one in four now will be highly embarrassing to the government, which has a statutory obligation to eliminate fuel poverty by 2016. It now looks certain to fail to meet its legal duty.
Guardian 1st Dec 2011 more >>
Guardian 1st Dec 2011 more >>
