Radwaste
ITS been 25 years since villagers in Fulbeck won a momentous battle to save their back yards from becoming a home to nuclear waste. To mark the occasion – and to donate £1,000 left over from the campaign to fighting cancer – many of the LAND (Lincolnshire Against Nuclear Dumping) campaigners who fought the good fight met up at Fulbeck Village Hall last week. With an exhibition of press cuttings and photographs on display, this reporter expected the mood to be one of cheerful reminiscing. Instead, some 25 years on and with the prospect of new nuclear power stations being built, the campaigners are still in militant mood and continue to meet regularly.
Grantham Journal 2nd June 2012 more >>
Wylfa
ANTI-nuclear campaigners have outlined how they would regenerate Angleseys economy without Wylfa B. PAWB unveiled its Maniffesto for Môn in a bid to show there are alternatives to nuclear power generation for the islands economy. PAWB says it has identified the potential to bring between 2,500 and 3,000 jobs to the island, although most of them are already in existing energy proposals. They include 150 jobs in energy conservation through insulation and lagging schemes, 300 jobs in wind energy with community turbines on-shore and support for Centricas 600 turbine Irish Sea development. PAWB say solar and biomass could also provide 750 jobs with projects on the table in Holyhead and Llangefni, and 150 jobs could come from wave and tidal schemes.
Daily Post 2nd June 2012 more >>
BBC 1st June 2012 more >>
Chernobyl
When nuclear rain swept the UK in the aftermath of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, farmers saw their livelihoods and even their families threatened. Some 9,700 farms and four million sheep were placed under restriction as radiocaesium- 137 seeped into the upland soils of England, Scotland and Wales. Twenty-six years after the explosions at Reactor Four, restrictions remained on 334 farms in North Wales, and eight in Cumbria. But as of today, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) regulationsonthese farms were lifted, giving long-suffering livestock owners cause for celebration.
Independent 1st June 2012 more >>
New Nukes
With details of the Governments draft energy bill now released and socialist president, Francois Hollande, sweeping to power in France, what does the future hold for the UKs multi-billion new build nuclear plans? French energy giant EDF Energy is 83% state owned and, unlike Sarkozy, Hollande is no fan of nuclear his election campaign included a pledge to close half of Frances 48 nuclear reactors. So is he really likely to be in favour of EDF investing heavily in UK nuclear power? Alan Cumming, head of procurement at EDF, reminded a business audience at the Nabarro manufacturing dinner in Sheffield last year, if new build nuclear doesnt go ahead the lights are going out. The reality is, were in a bad economy thats showing no signs of getting better fast and the new build nuclear programme is a supply chain worth £28bn. So which is it, politics or the economy?
The Manufacturer 1st June 2012 more >>
Multiple structural barriers inside the nuclear industry tend to prevent it from producing a united pro-nuclear front to the general public. Efforts to change public opinion worldwide must deal with these real-world constraints.
Nuclear Engineering International 1st June 2012 more >>
Chris Gadomski, head of nuclear research for Bloomberg New Energy Finance, says: The leadership in the nuclear power industry is moving away from western Europe and going primarily eastward. The Russians, are very aggressive in exporting their technology, and there are the Chinese and Indian markets.The Koreans are going to be the world leaders, as far as exporting nuclear technology worldwide is concerned. China is also stepping up efforts to export its nuclear technology, recently making a bid for a reactor project in Turkey that was very attractive because China offered to supply its own financing and it did not require Turkish government guarantees. However, analysts say that it will still be several years before Chinas nuclear technology matures enough to make the country truly competitive with the likes of Russias Atomstroyexport. Fukushima has undeniably had a cooling effect on global nuclear ambitions, but much of this has been centred in Europe and developed markets. Overall, 24 reactor projects representing more than $135bn in new build have been postponed or cancelled in the wake of the Fukushima crisis, according to estimates by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Countries including Germany, Italy, Belgium, Kuwait, Switzerland and Mexico have scaled back their nuclear power programmes and cancelled or postponed projects. With the recent presidential victory of François Hollande, who wants to reduce French dependence on nuclear power, France, too, could join the list. But outside Europe, many of the countries where energy use is growing the fastest remain committed to expanding their nuclear programs, often with design adjustments to incorporate the lessons learnt from Fukushima.
FT 1st June 2012 more >>
Dounreay
A worker at Dounreay is making banjos using wood salvaged from buildings at the nuclear power plant in Caithness.
BBC 1st June 2012 more >>
US
The twin Westinghouse AP1000 reactors being built at Georgia Powers Vogtle nuclear site in the US state of Georgia are already 7.5 months behind schedule and are likely to run over the estimated $6 billion a piece cost, the official construction monitor has said. Further schedule slippages can be expected, Jacobs said, noting that Southern and Westinghouse/Shaw have yet to settle a disputed nearly $400 million in existing additional design costs and project delays and have yet to agree on an integrated project schedule for the reactors.
i-Nuclear 1st June 2012 more >>
Iran
Fresh revelations about US involvement in the Stuxnet computer virus which damaged an Iranian nuclear facility are likely to complicate the already tense negotiations over Irans nuclear programme. According to a report in the New York Times based on a forthcoming book, President Barack Obama personally ordered the cyberattack on the Iranian nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz in a joint operation with Israel.
FT 1st June 2012 more >>
Guardian 1st June 2012 more >>
Finland
Fitch Ratings has downgraded the credit ratings of Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyjs (TVO) over the 5.3-year delay in the completion of the EPR at Olkiluoto-3. In a statement June 1, Fitch said TVO has an excellent operational and safety record, fully funded nuclear liabilities, a stable shareholder base and benefits from a favourable and transparent regulatory environment. The downgrade of TVO Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured rating to BBB+ from A- reflects Fitchs concerns over the impact on TVOs credit profile of the continued delay to the commissioning of the third 1,600 MW nuclear plant Olkiluoto-3 (OL3), Fitch said.
i-Nuclear 1st June 2012 more >>
Japan
The Japanese government has admitted it may have to abandon a target to cut carbon emissions by 25 per cent by 2020 in the wake of the Fukushima crisis. The government signed up to the pledge in 2009, but the collapse in public confidence in nuclear power since the disaster in March 2011 forced the government to mothball plans for nine new reactors and begin stress testing the current 54, the last of which was shut down on May 5.
Business Green 1st June 2012 more >>
Hundreds of Japanese anti-nuclear protesters gathered outside the prime minister’s office on Friday, beating drums and chanting slogans against the planned restart of reactors a year after the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 25 years.
Reuters 1st June 2012 more >>
Japan Today 2nd June 2012 more >>
Last week the World Health Organisation released its first preliminary analysis of the Japanese peoples exposure to radiation after the Fukushima nuclear disaste, and the renowned German Max Planck Institute released its own report warning of the global risks of the next nuclear accident. Both reports underline the need for better measures in Japan and across the world to protect the public from nuclear risks. The Max Planck Institute stated that nuclear meltdowns may occur once every 10 to 20 years (based on the current number of reactors) some 200 times more often than estimated in the past. The World Health Organisation (WHO) based on a preliminary assessment concluded that the radiation impacts in most of Japan are very small, though in some areas radiation exposure is relatively high. Also last week, the Japanese operator of the crippled Fukushima plant said that the amount of radioactivity released in the accident is larger than previously estimated.
Greenpeace 1st June 2012 more >>
Fukushima Update to 31st May 2012
Greenpeace 1st June 2012 more >>
China
China took a step towards full resumption of its nuclear power program with preliminary approval for a post-Fukushima nuclear safety plan. In a meeting yesterday chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao, the State Council discussed a ‘Safety Plan’ and a set of ‘Vision 2020’ goals, to which they gave preliminary approval. These documents will underpin the burgeoning Chinese nuclear industry when it returns to full-scale planning, licensing and construction.
World Nuclear News 1st June 2012 more >>
Beijing has indicated that it will lift its year-long moratorium on new nuclear projects in a move that will breathe life into an industry plagued by uncertainty since the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi reactor last year.
FT 1st June 2012 more >>
Microgeneration
Micro Power News w.e. 1st June 2012 is now available. Gives news of some interesting solar projects still going ahead.
Microgen Scotland 1st June 2012 more >>
