New Nukes
Letter from David Lowry: Dr Paul Golby of Eon remarks that nuclear waste storage tanks are “secure” and “nuclear waste is actually quite stable”. A day earlier, Nuclear Management Partners, operator of the giant Sellafield nuclear waste storage and processing plant, proudly announced it had finally halted a radioactive leak at the plant – after half a century. The toxic liquid has been seeping from a crack in one of four huge concrete waste tanks, which in the past processed radioactive effluent, before being pumped out into the Irish Sea. NMP presents this as a triumph of technology. Another way of characterising it is a national disgrace.
Guardian 20th June 2009 more >>
Wylfa
ANGLESEY Aluminium Metals Ltd (AMM) has released plans to build a £600m power station to generate its own electricity. The announcement was made on Tuesday just seven days after the staff were warned of possible redundancies if Wylfa bosses pull the plug on a cheap power deal which ends in September.
North Wales Chronicle 17th June 2009 more >>
NDA
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority at Westlakes Science Park has a new chief executive – Tony Fountain. The former boss at BP succeeds acting chief executive Richard Waite and heads up the NDA’s multi-billion pound task of cleaning up Sellafield and the rest of the UK’s civil nuclear sites.
Carlisle News and Star 19th June 2009 more >>
Nuclear Skills
A GOVERNMENT minister hailed west Cumbria’s £20m skills and training centre as a positive symbol of the area’s future as he officially opened it today. Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, was at Lillyhall Business Park to open Energus – the state of the art home of the National Skills Academy for Nuclear as well as giving the University of Cumbria its first presence in the west of the county.
Carlisle News and Star 19th June 2009 more >>
US
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday said it has contacted the owners of 18 nuclear power plants asking them to explain how the economic downturn has affected funds they must set aside to cover future decommissioning costs.
Platts 19th June 2009 more >>
Iran
Letter: DEMONISING Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (your report, 15 June) isn’t good enough. Better to think positively. Help Iran’s modernisers while furthering US president Barack Obama’s goal of a drastic reduction in nuclear weapons and a halt to proliferation. The way to do so is to establish a nuclear-free Middle East.
Scotsman 20th June 2009 more >>
Bulgaria
Bulgaria has a compelling case for receiving more compensation for closing two ageing Soviet-era nuclear reactors in 2006, Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Friday. The fate of the two 440-megawatt reactors, which Bulgaria shut to win EU membership, is a politically sensitive issue in the Balkan country where the Kozloduy nuclear plant, the site of the blocks, is seen as a symbol of national pride.
Interactive Investor 19th June 2009 more >>
Spain
Spain’s Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) says the government has asked it about renewing a permit for an ageing power station for two, four or six years, rather than the 10 years which the watchdog recently approved. The Garona plant’s current permit expires on July 5 and the government — which has vowed to phase out nuclear power — has the final word on whether to allow the plant to keep running.
Guardian 19th June 2009 more >>
Renewables
After three decades of resistance, the first and only intergovernmental agency to focus solely on renewable energy development is finally ready to launch on July 1st. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), has attracted nearly 100 member countries, including most European countries, many developing countries, and rapidly emerging economies like India. The United States, United Kingdom, and China are also expected to join by the end of the month. But IRENA supporters fear that nuclear interests are actively trying to undermine the agency.
Huffington Post 18th June 2009 more >>
Cars could be the solution to the intermittent nature of wind power if a multimillion European project beginning on a Danish island proves successful. The project on the holiday island of Bornholm will use the batteries of parked electric cars to store excess energy when the wind blows hard, and then feed electricity back into the grid when the weather is calm.
Guardian 20th June 2009 more >>
Jeroen van der Veer – the departing chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell: We stand at the early dawn of a new energy future. It will be powered by alternative energy and cleaner fossil fuels. If governments adopt the right rules and incentives, by the middle of this century renewable sources will provide nearly 30 per cent of the world’s energy.
Times 20th June 2009 more >>
Trident
Letter: In 2007 MPs promised that a £77bn replacement programme for the Trident nuclear weapons system would come before Parliament. However, things appear to have changed. Instead, the decision on the first phase of replacement will be made in September, during the parliamentary recess, when all MPs are on holiday.
Derby Telegraph 20th June 2009 more >>
