Sellafield
HOPES have been raised in parliament for a new Mox fuel plant to be built at Sellafield. Construction would mean jobs for thousands of contractors and hundreds of plant operators. Fuel produced by the plant could also power Britain’s new generation of electricity-producing reactors, including one expected to be built at Sellafield. The government is expected to give the go-ahead to both developments later this year. Nearly two years ago The Whitehaven News revealed that MP Jamie Reed was pressing the Mox case with ministers, saying a new plant would create up to 5,000 construction jobs and secure more than a thousand on Sellafield’s permanent payroll. The prospect moved closer in a House of Lords debate last week in which Department of Energy spokesman Lord Marland said matters would “easily be resolved” adding there was a clear message to the people of Cumbria “because that is where the Mox plant would be located”.
Whitehaven News 19th Jan 2011 more >>
POLICE have warned that a string of developments planned for West Cumbria could create an increased threat to national security and a higher risk of organised crime. Ideas currently on the table for the west of the county include: Proposals for a new nuclear power station at Sellafield; Possibility of West Cumbria being chosen for an underground nuclear dump. If all the developments run at the same time there could be a 25 per cent increase in West Cumbria’s population, the report states. Mr Mackey talks of “increased national security threat at the new-build facility”.
Whitehaven News 19th Jan 2011 more >>
Nuclear Research
CONSTRUCTION of a new £20million nuclear research centre has reached a major milestone with the start of work on its foundations. The Dalton Cumbrian Facility is being constructed at Westlakes Science Park, Moor Row, and is scheduled to open in September. DCF will be a new research base for the University of Manchester’s Dalton Nuclear Institute and is the result of joint investment by the university and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. The facility is designed to expand the nuclear research and education capability of the UK’s university sector. Its overall aim is delivering world-class nuclear research and transferring that knowledge to industry. Research at the site will focus mainly on the fields of radiation science, nuclear engineering decommissioning and the management of radioactive waste.
Whitehaven News 19th Jan 2011 more >>
Radwaste
THE Nuclear Decommissioning Authority says it has no plans whatsoever to send high-level radioactive materials to Sellafield. Copeland’s MP Jamie Reed has raised Parliamentary questions over claims that high-level waste might come to Sellafield from other UK nuclear sites. His concerns were reported in The Whitehaven News this week. “I am still waiting for answers to my questions but I have been told I won’t get these until Monday.” The questions have been tabled to Secretary of State for Energy Chris Huhne. One of them is what plans Mr Huhne’s department has to locate all of UK’s historic and future high-level radioactive wastes at (a) Sellafield and (b) West Cumbria.” But the NDA responded: “We can state categorically there are no plans at all for high-level waste to be moved to Sellafield from other sites. The facts are that all high-level waste is created at Sellafield by reprocessing spent fuel and as a result 100 per cent of the UK’s current high level waste is already stored at the site.” Potentially the only radioactive material that could come would be from Dounreay and Harwell. A spokesman stressed: “None of this is high-level waste and in any event no decisions have yet been taken. Before any final decisions are taken the NDA will complete technical studies, develop a detailed business case and engage with local stakeholders.
Whitehaven News 13th Jan 2011 more >>
Hinkley
Contamination on the Hinkey C site.
You Tube 19th Jan 2011 more >>
Wylfa
The Snowdonia Society fears a new power station at Wylfa on Anglesey will lead to an increase in pylons in the national park. The National Grid is currently holding a public consultation into the use of underground cabling, but is yet to discuss options for the new Wylfa.
BBC 19th Jan 2011 more >>
Paul Williams, Conservative Assembly candidate for Anglesey, and author of ‘The Druid’ blog said his research showed Mr Ieuan Wyn Jones had discussed the island only nine times in 131 Assembly sessions over the past two years. A spokesman for Mr Jones said: “Ieuan Wyn Jones has worked tirelessly in Anglesey and for Anglesey in the National Assembly. He has been instrumental in developments to bring about the renewal of one of the island’s main employers, Wylfa, and is in regular discussions with Horizon and Coleg Menai to maximise the employment and training opportunities for local people with regards to a new station.
Holyhead and Anglesey Mail 19th Jan 2011 more >>
Nuclear vs Solar
The generation game has changed so much over the last decade that electricity generated from solar energy will be cheaper than electricity generated from the proposed new nuclear plants according to UK Market leaders – mO3 Power. “The cost of generating power from solar photovoltaic (PV) systems has steadily fallen over the last ten years while the projected costs of constructing the new nuclear plants have ballooned,” said Ken Moss, CEO of mO3. “The cost of producing and installing PV cells has been steadily dropping for some years,” he said. “A PV system now costs about half of what it did in 1998.”
Commodities Now 19th Jan 2011 more >>
Europe 99.5% Renewable
Renewable energies could furnish 99.5 percent of European Union electricity needs by 2050 if nuclear loses its priority access to distribution networks, Greenpeace said in a report released Tuesday. The environmental campaigners said that windfarms are “often stopped in peak production periods to give priority access” to electricity generated by nuclear reactors and coal-fired power stations. Greenpeace researchers said that solar energy in Europe’s south and wind energy from the north could supply 68 percent of the 27-nation EU’s electricity needs in 2030 and 99.5 percent by the middle of the century. However, the group claimed that would require governments to change policy tack and favour investments in green energy to the tune of 70 billion euros (94 billion dollars) by 2030 and another 28 billion euros over the following decade “It’s a question of choice,” said campaign figurehead Jan Vande Putte.
Independent 20th Jan 2011 more >>
Companies
Rolls-Royce Group plc has signed an agreement to collaborate with the Nuclear Power Delivery UK (NPD) consortium in its plans to deploy the Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactor in the UK. Under the agreement, Rolls-Royce will support NPD in the development of proposals for engineering, manufacture and supply of mission critical components for the heart of the nuclear reactor. The group will also explore the provision of nuclear engineering, technical support and supply chain management expertise to the consortium. NPD UK is a team comprising Westinghouse Electric, the Shaw Group, Laing O’Rourke and Toshiba. Rolls-Royce president-nuclear Lawrie Haynes said, ‘Today’s agreement builds on the strong relationship that we have developed with Westinghouse and the work we have successfully completed for them.
Money AM 19th Jan 2011 more >>
A company established to deliver Westinghouse nuclear power plants in the UK has announced that it has signed a memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with three of the biggest names in the nuclear industry supply chain – BAE Systems, Doosan Power Systems and Rolls-Royce.
New Civil Engineer 19th Jan 2011 more >>
Nuclear Institute
The Nuclear Institute has appointed former CEO of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, Norman Harrison as its new president. Mr Harrison takes over from outgoing president Paul Thomas who had been in the position since 2008. Presently director of strategic development for the support services division of Babcock International Group, Mr Harrison led the sale of UKAEA to Babcock in 2009.
Construction News 19th Jan 2011 more >>
US
What would it take to switch the country’s entire energy infrastructure to renewables like wind and solar by 2030? According to National Geographic, about 4 million massive wind turbines, 90,000 solar plants and a four-fold increase in production of a rare earth metal that is a major component of key renewable energy technologies. The magazine outlined the findings of new research on the question of transitioning to an all-renewable energy economy by 2030 as part of its energy policy series. Mark Delucchi and Mark Jacobson, professors at the University of California-Davis and Stanford University, have developed a roadmap of sorts for moving away from coal and oil.
The Hill 17th Jan 2011 more >>
Iran
Iran and six world powers meet Friday in Istanbul for a second round of talks, amid guarded hope for progress in efforts to settle tensions over Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme.
EU Business 19th Jan 2011 more >>
Letter: You say that the US has often appeared to be “standing helpless while Iran pushed ahead with its nuclear programme” . But you don’t mention the nature of this “programme”. Certainly, Iran has a uranium enrichment programme but this is not the same as a bomb factory. Uranium enrichment is useful for nuclear power as well as for nuclear weapons. Conflating an enrichment programme with weapons development – as virtually all of the western media now do on a regular basis – is misleading, dangerous and unhelpful.
In fact, there is no evidence that Iran has a nuclear weapons development programme.
FT 20th Jan 2011 more >>
China
Westinghouse Electric Company and China’s State Nuclear Power Technology Corp have entered into a two-year extension of a nuclear cooperation agreement for the continued deployment of its AP1000 nuclear reactor in China. The agreement, which was originally signed in 2008, will cover service and maintenance, technology development and strategic investment. Currently, Westinghouse and its consortium team member Shaw Group, are providing four AP1000 units in China, two each at Sanmen and Haiyang.
Energy Business Review 19th Jan 2011 more >>
World Nuclear News 19th Jan 2011 more >>
Test Veterans
A grieving son has accused the government of sending his father to paradise and sentencing him to death. Neil Dunkerley is one of 1,000 people seeking compensation for relatives who contracted cancer after working in the South Pacific during nuclear testing in the 1950s
Manchester Evening News 19th Jan 2011 more >>
Renewables
German engineering conglomerate Siemens has selected Associated British Port’s (ABP) Hull development to build what will be Britain’s first major offshore wind turbine manufacturing plant.
Guardian 20th Jan 2011 more >>
Times 20th Jan 2011 more >>
BP Energy Outlook
Primary energy use is set to grow by nearly 40pc over the next 20 years, with 93pc of this growth expected from non-OECD countries such as China. Overall energy demand from non-OECD countries is set to rapidly increase from the current level of just over half, to two-thirds. Non fossil fuels, such as nuclear, hydro and renewables are together expected to provide the biggest source of growth for the first time. Renewable energy over the next 20 years including solar, wind, and geothermal are projected to grow from 5pc to 18pc.
Telegraph 20th Jan 2011 more >>
