Lib Dem Conference
Huhne: The coalition agreement, of course, involves give and take. I expect George Osborne to take more millions of the low-paid out of income tax even though he is a Conservative minister implementing a Liberal Democrat pledge. And George Osborne expects me to deliver our agreement on nuclear power, which is that there is an important place for new nuclear stations in our energy mix as long as there is no public subsidy. A deal is a deal, and I will deliver. I’m fed up with the stand-off between renewable and nuclear which means we have neither – we will have both. We will have low carbon energy, and security of supply. And I say again there will be no subsidy to nuclear, for a very clear reason: it is a mature technology, not an infant needing nurture. Every person in my department has a very clear motivation to ensure that the full costs of nuclear – present and future – are fully taken into account. More than half our budget – £1.7bn a year – goes on the clean-up costs of old nuclear facilities. Britain had artificially cheap nuclear electricity for decades. Governments repeatedly looked only at the short term. The result is that we are paying far, far more than if we had dealt with waste and decommissioning in a timely manner. Never again. Not on my watch. No hidden subsidies.
Liberal Democrats 21st Sept 2010 more >>
Nuclear and renewables both have a part to play in meeting Britain’s future energy needs, Energy Secretary Chris Huhne said on Tuesday, adding it was not a choice between one or the other.Huhne’s statement is in line with the coalition agreement but he made it to delegates at the Liberal Democrat conference, challenging sceptics in his own party who oppose nuclear power.
STV 22nd Sept 2010 more >>
Sky News 21st Sept 2010 more >>
Reuters 21st Sept 2010 more >>
Politics.co.uk 21st Sept 2010 more >>
Guardian 21st Sept 2010 more >>
A small observation from the speeches at today’s Liberal Democrat conference. Simon Hughes gave a rousing speech, in which he was quite categorical in saying he will, with his party, use “all our influence in the coalition government” to stand up “in opposition to nuclear power”. This affirmation of the party’s position on nuclear fuel was greeted with cheers from a crowd in need of a little reassurance over their role within the coalition. Chris Huhne, the Secretary for Energy and Climate Change, didn’t get the memo. In his speech, given a few hours later, he said: ‘‘I’m fed up with the stand-off between renewable and nuclear which means we have neither – we will have both. We will have low-carbon energy, and security of supply”.
New Statesman 21st Sept 2010 more >>
Simon Highes’ opposition to nuclear power is telling. Not least given that Chris Huhne, the new Lib Dem energy secretary, has signalled his willingness to accept the need for nuclear. Any signs of enduring resistance within the coalition to new nuclear power stations could create nervousness within the industry. Especially as E.ON, the world’s largest utility company, has written to Huhne to demand clarification of remarks made by Huhne last week.
FT Blog 21st Sept 2010 more >>
A plan to create almost 250,000 jobs in green industries, including nuclear power and home insulation, will turbo-charge the economy and help offset budget cuts, the energy secretary, Chris Huhne, claimed today. The “green deal” will lead to thousands of workers modernising some 26 million homes to make them more energy efficient as part of the coalition’s ambition to be the “greenest government ever”. Setting out the plan, Huhne said: “Since there is no money left, my department is pioneering new ways of turning this government into the greenest ever. “We use more energy to heat our homes than Sweden, where it’s seven degrees colder in January. We might as well be standing outside burning 50 notes. By stopping this waste, we can make big savings on bills, and use them to pay businesses for the cost of insulation. This is the green deal.”
Guardian 22nd Sept 2010 more >>
Government
Climate change secretary Chris Huhne is fighting to defend his department’s funding and independence, fending off a suggestion that his civil servants should be moved to the Treasury to cut costs.
Huhne is having to resist the Treasury on numerous policy fronts. He has rejected the relocation idea, fearing his department’s civil servants would “go native” if they moved into offices in the Treasury.
Guardian 22nd Sept 2010 more >>
Radwaste
The key to disposing of high-level nuclear waste appears to be not technology, or terrain – but trust. In Eurajoki in Finland, where the local council decided seven years ago that it would like to see the waste from the country’s nuclear reactors buried in its backyard, the T-word is everywhere, nestling alongside its spiritual siblings openness, honesty and transparency.
BBC 21st Sept 2010 more >>
Listen to the Radio 4 programme
BBC iPlayer 21st Sept 2010 more >>
The ‘Partnership’ process is aimed solely at steering ‘volunteer’ communities into the acceptance of deep disposal of high level nuclear wastes. The safer option of above ground and retrievable waste management is not even on the agenda. If the ‘volunteer’ process fails then the government “will look at other options” to force ‘disposal’, We take this to mean forcing an underground high level nuclear dump (or more than one dump) on communities. The MRWS process is looking to include NewBuild wastes, and the pronuclear Department of Energy and Climate Change is desperate to give the appearance of having ‘solved the problem of nuclear waste ‘in order to go ahead with new build. In March of this year Nuclear Waste Advisory Associates identified over 100 problems with disposal, and a report published this month by Dr Helen Wallace, for Greenpeace International confirms that deep disposal of radioactive wastes has the “potential for significant radiological releases through a variety of mechanisms”.
Indymedia 21st Sept 2010 more >>
Letter: Who in their right mind would oppose managing radioactive wastes safely? The cleverly titled Managing Radioactive Wastes Safely Partnership is designed to stifle any opposition to the geological “disposal” of high-level nuclear waste. Radiation Free Lakeland is based in South Lakeland on the border with Lancashire and we regularly witness radioactive waste en route to Sellafield. The nasty “partnership” process is aimed solely at steering “volunteer” communities into accepting deep disposal of high-level nuclear waste. The safer option of above-ground and retrievable waste management is not even on the agenda. If the “volunteer” process fails then the government “will look at other options” to force “disposal.”
Morning Star 21st Sept 2010 more >>
Wylfa
Around 100 people turned out for a meeting to discuss how to make the best use of £1m from a land sale by a community council on Anglesey. The 32 acres near the Wylfa at Cemaes is being brought by the company hoping to build a replacement nuclear power station as a “gesture of goodwill”.
BBC 21st Sept 2010 more >>
North Korea
ROGUE nuclear state North Korea could soon be run by a “ruthless” new leader who is still only in his 20s. Kim Jong-un, the son of the present repressive ruler, is tipped to be given an official title before eventually taking over the secretive communist state.
Express 22nd Sept 2010 more >>
US
What will it take to spark a nuclear renaissance in the United States? Recognizing that nuclear power could play a much greater part in the future of the country’s energy production a shift some advocates say will be unavoidable to reduce dependence on fossil fuels President Barack Obama’s administration has been working to reshape key aspects of US nuclear policy. Now, an analysis led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge offers guidance on some of the thorniest questions surrounding the fuel and waste side of the nuclear equation.
Nature 21st Sept 2010 more >>
In America, about 60,000 tonnes of heavy nuclear energy byproducts sit in radioactive dumps, with no potential use and no expiration date in sight, while federal experts rack their brains for a better way to manage nuclear waste. Several energy companies say they have a solution to the waste issue: Recycling, basically squeezing more energy from already-used nuclear fuel while leaving less waste behind. But their efforts face a decades-old policy hurdle that offers them little incentive to pursue the process.
New Economy 21st Sept 2010 more >>
Israel
It is against Israel’s interests to join a global anti-nuclear arms treaty and the UN atomic watchdog is overstepping its mandate in demanding it to do so, its nuclear chief said Tuesday.
Arab states have tabled a resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency annual conference in Vienna for Israel to foreswear nuclear weapons and sign up to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Middle East Online 21st Sept 2010 more >>
Iran
A highly sophisticated computer worm that has spread through Iran, Indonesia and India was built to destroy operations at one target: possibly Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor. That’s the emerging consensus of security experts who have examined the Stuxnet worm. In recent weeks, they’ve broken the cryptographic code behind the software and taken a look at how the worm operates in test environments. Researchers studying the worm all agree that Stuxnet was built by a very sophisticated and capable attacker, possibly a nation state, and it was designed to destroy something big.
Computer World 21st Sept 2010 more >>
Egypt
Nuclear power would be the worst answer to Egypt’s electricity needs. It would make Egypt entirely dependent on foreign suppliers with only very limited domestic job creation. It’s extremely costly without a guaranteed supply of electricity. Recent experience in Europe with new reactors proves that costs overruns can run to billions of euros. Egypt should closely study how French and US companies are struggling with the construction of new reactors before signing a contract for at least $7bn. It would become an economic nightmare for a country in urgent need of a safe, affordable and stable electricity supply.
Greenpeace Nuclear Reaction 21st Sept 2010 more >>
Egypt Minister of Electricity and energy Dr. Hassan Younis said the committee which is assigned to discuss financing of the Egyptian nuclear plant project in Daba will meet under Finance Minister Dr. Youssef Butros Ghali late this month to select the best financing substitute, adding a station of this kind costs $ 4 billion.
Global Arab Network 22nd Sept 2010 more >>
Germany
The leader of Germany’s opposition Social Democratic party, Sigmar Gabriel, has called for the country’s constitution to be amended to allow for a referendum on the future of nuclear energy.
Nuclear Enginnering International 21st Sept 2010 more >>
The coalition has agreed that utilities may operate their nuclear plants 12 years longer in return for a new tax and levies that will earn the government 30 billion euros (25.3 billion pounds), according to Economy Minster Rainer Bruederle. But costs for decommissioning the plants and for finding a location to store the highly radioactive waste are already set to dwarf the money energy providers are putting aside for the task, calculations from German and international agencies show. That might leave a bill for the government that might hurt its finances in the longer term, despite the billions it expects to earn.
Reuters 21st Sept 2010 more >>
Kuwait
Kuwait and Russia have signed a memorandum of cooperation for peaceful use of nuclear energy generation in the Gulf Arab state, Kuwait’s state news agency KUNA reported, following similar deals with Japan and France.
Yahoo 21st Sept 2010 more >>
Morocco
The International Atomic Energy Agency (AIEA) will keep supporting Morocco to complete its projects in the fields of drinking water, the environment and nuclear electricity, the AIEA’s Director General Yukiyo Amano said on Monday.
Global Arab Network 22nd Sept 2010 more >>
Russia
A rare view of Russia’s floating nuclear power station.
BBC 21st Sept 2010 more >>
Trident
Liberal Democrat members are pushing the coalition to carry out a full review of plans to replace Trident. A motion to be debated at the party’s annual conference warns a like-for-like replacement for the nuclear deterrent could mean widespread military cuts. It says the decision not to include Trident in the upcoming defence spending review is “untenable”.
BBC 22nd Sept 2010 more >>
