New Nukes
THE ruling on which Copeland sites will be chosen for nuclear new-build has been put back. Sellafield, Braystones and Kirksanton are all earmarked for reactors. People living around the “potentially suitable” sites were expecting to hear one way or the other by the end of this month, when MPs start their summer break. But the change of government has put the final selection by Parliament back another nine months or so. But the Department of Energy and Climate change told The Whitehaven News yesterday that the government will give its own view sometime in the autumn after evaluating the provisional list formed by the last government.
Whitehaven News 21st July 2010 more >>
The UK risks missing its carbon emission targets without early and radical reform of the electricity markets. According to an in-depth study by KPMG, reform is needed to provide a framework to secure large scale private sector investment in nuclear energy. Richard Noble, European Power & Utilities Partner at KPMG, commented: “Nuclear energy has to play a central role in an affordable, secure low carbon generation mix if the UK is to meet the Government’s ambitious emissions targets.
Consultant-News 21st July 2010 more >>
Supply Chain
Sheffield Forgemasters has abandoned plans to become one of only two companies in the world capable of making the massive forgings at the heart of civil nuclear power plants. The Brightside Lane firm is suspending work on the project, after talks with the coalition Government, which axed the preceding Labour Government’s pledge of an £80 million loan.
Sheffield Star 21st July 2010 more >>
The government was forced last night to deal with its first sleaze row since the general election when secret Whitehall documents showed a Tory donor successfully lobbied for the cancellation of an £80m loan to a leading engineering company. Downing Street denied ministers had acted improperly when a loan to Sheffield Forgemasters was cancelled weeks after Andrew Cook, who has subsidised some of David Cameron’s flights, warned the government it could be illegal. The government swung into action last night a few hours before two Sheffield Labour MPs named Cook, chairman of engineering firm William Cook Holdings – which is not in competition with Sheffield Forgemasters – in a Commons debate. Angela Smith, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, told the Commons an email from Cook to Mark Prisk, the business minister, claimed that the loan – agreed by the last government – was “possibly illegal” under EU law.
Guardian 22nd July 2010 more >>
Scotland
Letter from George Regan: I HAVE noted with interest the clutch of opinion pieces and letters seeking a nuclear renaissance in Scotland (Letters, 20 and 21 July). You wouldn’t think there is a national election in Scotland less than a year away, would you? Nuclear Free Local Authorities has developed a policy briefing (see www.nuclearpolicy.info) to play our part in this debate which we are inputting to the policy discussion sessions of all the Scottish political parties. We have analysed all the many actual and proposed renewable energy projects planned in Scotland and have calculated that over the next decade Scotland can actually provide 179 per cent of its energy needs by 2020 from these initiatives – offshore wind, wave and tidal. Scotland is ideally placed geographically to take advantage of renewable energy and it is leading the way in the British Isles. Given this simple fact, why does Scotland need to develop highly expensive new nuclear power stations? Given as well that a number of Scottish farms have only just been given the all-clear some 24 years after the Chernobyl disaster it seems quite daft to consider the nuclear option for Scotland. Instead, let us sort out our huge radioactive waste legacy, deal properly with the real problems of fuel poverty in Scotland, have a concerted effort to develop more energy efficiency programmes and, above all, continue to make the progressive moves to develop renewable energy in Scotland.
Scotsman 22nd July 2010 more >>
Low Level Waste
Letter Marianne Birkby: Following ongoing deregulation of the nuclear industry the law now allows radioactive waste to be dumped into landfill. “Very Low Level Rad Waste” is a new classification – that is, rebranded radioactive waste to be put into ordinary landfill. No other industry could get away with polluting in this way. Laws applying to everything else going to landfill have been, quite rightly, tightened up. The industry is desperate to get rid of its contaminated rubble, soil and radioactive detritus and the previous, pronuclear Government deregulated to allow this. What should happen is that the radioactivity is contained on existing nuclear sites. Putting radwaste in landfill is environmental madness.
Carlisle News and Star 21st July 2010 more >>
Wylfa
Druid’s manifesto: Everything must be done to ensure Wylfa B goes ahead. Because of the dangers of nuclear power, Horizon should be made to contribute to the island by funding a charitable trust; reduction of electricity bills for islanders helping set up a scheme where people can apply for renewable technology.
Bangor and Anglesey Mail 21st July 2010 more >>
Radioactive Discharges
Meeting in Stockholm this week, the OSPAR’s Radioactive Substances Committee (RSC) welcomed the latest analysis of beta emitting radioactive substances from the nuclear sector. “Our latest figures confirm good progress in terms of a continuing improving trend towards the OSPAR objective and we have recorded the lowest total-alpha and total-beta discharges since our data collection began in the early 1990s. The discharges in 2008 were approximately fifteen times lower than in 1990”, stated Bob Russ, of the Environment Agency (UK) and Chair of the Expert Assessment Panel charged with validating and interpreting OSPAR data. There are no similar reductions for tritium because abatement techniques have yet to be developed.
OSPAR 16th July 2010 more >>
Companies
Top shareholders in International Power are demanding a significant premium as the price of ceding control of the group to GDF Suez of France. As the French group confirmed yesterday that it was in talks about a £6.4 billion reverse takeover of the British power station group, shareholders said they would accept the deal only if it was accompanied by a large cash sweetener.
Times 20th July 2010 more >>
South Korea
South Korea aims to reach an accord with the U.S. by 2012 that could allow the Asian nation to recycle spent nuclear fuel for “peaceful” use to produce electricity, Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Kyung Hwan said. The two countries are discussing revising an agreement expiring in 2014 that bans South Korea from recycling uranium, which can also be used to make atomic weapons. South Korea, which plans to build more reactors to increase the share of nuclear power generation from about 40 percent, is running out of space to store the spent fuel.
Bloomberg 21st July 2010 more >>
France
French energy giant EDF is considering using half of the French grid operator, RTE, as an investment to help pay future nuclear decommissioning costs, EDF said in a statement Wednesday. The company said that “EDF is studying the possibility to allocate 50% of RTE to its dedicated [decommissioning costs] assets portfolio.”
Platts 21st July 2010 more >>
Utility Week 21st July 2010 more >>
Myanmar
Allegations by a Myanmar defector that the military-run country is pursuing a nuclear program are corroborated by newly available commercial satellite images, Jane’s Intelligence Review said in an article released yesterday.
Bloomberg 21st July 2010 more >>
North Korea
American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today announced that the U.S. will impose new sanctions on North Korea in a bid to stem the regime’s atomic ambitions. Mrs Clinton said the move was designed to rein in the regime’s nuclear activities by stamping out illegal moneymaking ventures used to fund the programme.
Daily Mail 22nd July 2010 more >>
Aldermaston
The Ministry of Defence has this week submitted a planning application to West Berkshire Council for development of a new hydrodynamics research facility (Project Hydrus) at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston. The new facility will be designed to undertake research into materials used in the manufacture of nuclear warheads and will play a key role in ensuring that Trident warheads retain their destructive power as they age. It will also undertake research necessary for the design of a successor to the Trident warhead, should the government decide to develop one.
Nuclear Information Service 21st July 2010 more >>
Solar
Solar and Nuclear Costs: The Historic Crossover: Solar is now the better buy.
NC Warn July 2010 more >>
