New nukes
An opinion poll published today suggests that only a third of the British public supports the building of a new generation of nuclear power stations.
RTE 20th Nov 2006
Blair – Who says I’m not Green? Despite fully sharing their belief in the seriousness of the climate threat, Mr Blair parts company with the likes of Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth over what he sees as a key part of the solution, and they do not – nuclear power. Asked if he accepted that there were public fears about nuclear power, he said: “Yes, there are public fears, but they’re often generated less by knowledge than by people saying well, if something has got the word ‘nuclear’ in it, then there must be a problem.” On the issue of nuclear waste he was equally unapologetic. (The Government has announced that Britain’s long-term nuclear waste store will be deep underground, but only located in a community that volunteers to take it. It may yet be decades away.) He was asked: “What do you say to people who say, you’re creating more nuclear waste with a new generation of nuclear power stations, when we still don’t have a site for disposal of the waste that’s been created over the last 50 years?” Mr Blair replied: “Well, we’re going to have to get that site, in any event, and we said that’s best done by people volunteering. And the new nuclear power stations generate about a tenth of the waste [of the old ones] – but in any event we’re going to have to find storage for that. “But when you actually go into the details of the science of that storage, some of the fears that are raised seem to me at any rate to be completely exaggerated.”
Independent 18th Nov 2006
Blair has failed to make the case for new nuclear power stations.
Green Party Press Release 20th Nov 2006
Asked, following a poll in the Financial Times which showed an even split between pro, against and unsure supporters for nuclear power, what the Prime Minister would say on the matter in the coming week, the PMOS said that the energy white paper had been produced and put forward the arguments why we needed to have a mixed energy supply of renewable energy, conventional energy, and nuclear energy. This argument is one that is designed to meet the energy needs of the country, but also to meet the demands of the environment, this is why the White Paper suggests the mix it does.
Downing Street 20th Nov 2006
Their construction is by no means assured, but suddenly a career behind lead walls looks more attractive. Or does it?
Guardian 21st Nov 2006
Dounreay
Another radioactive particle from the Dounreay nuclear complex in Caithness has been found washed up at nearby Sandside Beach. It brings to 74 the number of hotspots which radiation surveyors have recovered from the area. Three radioactive hotspots were found at the public beach earlier this month. The metallic fragments of reprocessed reactor fuel are linked to a rogue historic discharge from the plant, which is being decommissioned.
BBC 15th Nov 2006
Japan
The Japanese government vowed yesterday not to acquire nuclear weapons in the wake of the North Korean A-bomb test nor open the issue to public debate, despite mounting pressure for it to do so.
FT 21st Nov 2006
Trident
Letters: in the lowest cost scenario, a like-for-like Trident replacement would cost £43.4bn over 30 years, rising to £76bn if the current higher annual costs are maintained. Greenpeace says: Your article doesn’t mention the fifth option the government must consider: to abandon plans for Trident replacement, to take Trident off patrol and confine warheads to an internationally monitored site in the UK. The UK could then credibly lead efforts to strengthen international disarmament negotiations.
Guardian 21st Nov 2006
Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain warned against any “bouncing from on high” of the public or MPs over replacing Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent.
Yorkshire Post 21st Nov 2006
Fusion
World governments are about to sign off on the biggest and most expensive scientific experiment since the space station: a project to build an experimental nuclear fusion reactor. In this week’s Green Room, the Iter programme’s Director-General Nominee, Kaname Ikeda, argues that the considerable sums of money involved are a very worthwhile investment for the world.
BBC 17th Nov 2006
Iran
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has not found conclusive evidence that Iran is developing nuclear weapons.
BBC 20th Nov 2006
Iranian President says his country intends to have 60,000 centrifuges to meet its nuclear fuel needs by 2007.
Middle East Online 20th Nov 2006
Nuclear Waste
Community leaders in North East Lincolnshire have hit out at suggestions nuclear waste could be stored in the area.
Grimsby Telegraph 20th Nov 2006
Energy Gap
The gap between energy supply and demand could cost companies £108 billion by 2015, according to Logica-CMG, which provides IT and other business services. The Government’s recent Energy White Paper forecast that energy demand may be 30 per cent greater than supply by 2025 if no action is taken. LogicaCMG predicts that the energy gap could be 23 per cent at peak times by 2015. Within four years, the consultancy expects the gap to be 5 per cent and cost business £7.9 billion a year if energy-intensive companies are forced to shut down at regular intervals.
Times 21st Nov 2006
Westinghouse
The public sector posted a net cash repayment of £8.4bn, well above forecast and the best for an October since 1999. But it was flattered by the sale of British Nuclear Fuel’s Westinghouse subsidiary.
Independent 21st Nov 2006
