Europe
Britain may face a bill of more than £6 billion a year to meet tough new emissions targets due to be published today by the European Commission. To try to tackle global warming, all 27 European Union countries will be set targets for renewable energy use to ensure that 20 per cent of EU energy comes from renewables by 2020. The UK’s renewables target is expected to be set at about 15 per cent by 2020. British households face a long-term rise in energy bills to cover the cost of cutting carbon emissions, Paul Golby, chief executive of E.ON UK, said. E.ON was interested in participating in “more than one” new nuclear power station, while windpower would be the main focus of a £1 billion investment programme in low-carbon energy over the next five years, he said.
Times 23rd Jan 2008 more >>
Baltic
The Baltic states and Poland are struggling to settle the political, commercial and environmental problems involved in their joint plan for a €7bn ($10.2bn, £5.2bn) nuclear power station aimed at easing to ease expected regional electricity shortages and reducing dependence on Russian energy. The 3,200-megawatt plant would be built at the site of an ageing Soviet-era nuclear power station at Ignalina, Lithuania, which is to close in 2009 in line with European Union requirements. The partners plan for the plant to start operating in 2015, but industry executives say the deadline is tight. Lithuanian officials, who – with Ignalina’s looming closure – have the strongest interest in pressing ahead, say they expect the scheme to be agreed no later than this autumn.
FT 23rd Jan 2008 more >>
Sweden
Public opinion in Sweden has shifted in favor of more nuclear power in the country’s energy matrix, according to AP, which cited a poll by market research firm Synovate Temo.
Energy Business Review 23rd Jan 2008 more >>
World Nuclear News 22nd Jan 2008 more >>
Hinkley
MARK Formosa, who hopes to stand for the Conservatives at the next General Election in Taunton, has called for one or two new nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point. He claims it would help cut energy bills in the area and warned that thousands of people are likely to die in the UK this winter because they cannot afford heating bills.
Somerset County Gazette 22nd Jan 2008 more >>
Torness
British Energy’s Torness-2 nuclear reactor in Scotland unexpectedly shutdown at 1329 GMT on Tuesday because of a boiler issue. Engineers were looking into why a boiler unit tripped, causing the reactor to stop.
Reuters 22nd Jan 2008 more >>
British Energy
British Energy are to sponsor the UK’s leading Climate Change Summit set to take place on the 12-13 February at the Regents Park Marriott Hotel in London. Speakers from Lehman Brothers, The Co-operative Group, Cadbury Schweppes, ASDA, British Gas, Tesco, Timberland, and AXA Insurance among many others will discuss how to approach climate change as a business opportunity and merge environmental responsibility and financial objectives by acting now.
Ethical Corporation 22nd Jan 2008 more >>
Skills
Engineering and science skills shortages need to be addressed before a new generation of nuclear power stations can be built, according to the newly appointed nuclear skills director of the industry’s sector skills council, Cogent.
People Management 24th Jan 2008 more >>
South Africa
Areva is to propose the sale of two of its third generation EPR European pressurised water nuclear reactors to South Africa through a consortium including EDF and Bouygues, the French nuclear engineering group told journalists. Areva will head the consortium which will also comprise South African engineering company Aveng, a spokesman said, adding that it will submit its offer at the end of January
Interactive Investor 22nd Jan 2008 more >>
Nuclear Weapons
As a US diplomat who has worked for every president from John F Kennedy to Bill Clinton, I did not believe that nuclear disarmament was practical or necessary. I have changed my mind, because like other cold war veterans, I believe nuclear weapons will be used in my children’s lifetime, and nuclear deterrence will not prevent this. It is fear, not hope, that motivates me.
Guardian 22nd Jan 2008 more >>
Nuclear Waste
Nuclear power’s credentials as a carbon-free energy source have helped to calm fears about its safety, but scientists have yet to solve the problem of the hundreds of thousands of years of toxic waste it generates. Most countries’ nuclear waste is stored in steel and concrete containers kept in indoor cold water ponds over ground or ventilated shafts. Ideally, scientists say, it should be placed in deep, underground repositories. That technology is not yet proven. But the government, which earlier this month backed a new generation of nuclear power plants, said it believed deep geological waste reserves would be viable and some scientists agree.
Christian Today 22nd Jan 2008 more >>
Reuters 22nd Jan 2008 more >>
A Nuclear expert from the University of Nottingham says the Government must build its first underground facility for nuclear waste. Radio-ecologist Professor George Shaw, from the School of Biosciences, admits choosing a location will be a controversial decision.
Nottingham Evening Post 22nd Jan 2008 more >>
Companies
Babcock International Group PLC and International Nuclear Solutions PLC (INS) said they have agreed for Babcock to buy INS Innovation Ltd for 39.8 mln stg in cash plus certain debts.
AFX 22nd Jan 2008 more >>
Scotland
East Lothian’s Labour MSP Iain Gray and Labour MP Anne Moffat have welcomed the green light from the UK Government for firms to begin planning for new nuclear power stations as part of a balanced energy policy including cleaner coal and renewable methods of electricity generation. Commenting on opposition to new nuclear power stations in Scotland by the SNP-led Scottish Government, Mr Gray commented: “Nuclear energy provides up to 40 per cent of our electricity at the moment and it is consistent baseload power. “It cannot be substituted by more intermittent sources like wind and new technologies like tidal, wave and carbon capture are not yet proven.
East Lothian News 18th Jan 2008 more >>
New Nukes
Letter from Jack Harris: Groups like Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the Green Party have demonised nuclear power for many years. However, 13 learned societies with scientific expertise have publicly endorsed the proposals.
South Wales Echo 22nd Jan 2008 more >>
Nuclear Terror
This is a world in which non-conventional weapons technologies – particularly of nuclear weapons – have already spread beyond the elite club of recognised nuclear states to other countries. States such as Pakistan and North Korea already possess nuclear capabilities, and Pakistan has been responsible for spreading them further, including to Iran. The most potent threat in a proliferated world may come from a non-state entity.
FT 23rd Jan 2008 more >>
Severn Barrage
Ministers argue that green groups cannot sensibly reject both nuclear power and big renewable energy projects.
Daily Mail 23rd Jan 2008 more >>