EDF
EDF’s nuclear power joint venture with Constellation Energy Group Inc in the US will allow the French utility to enter ‘a major period of expansion’ similar to that seen in the 1970s, EDF chief executive Pieree Gadoneix said in an interview with Le Figaro.
Forbes 23rd July 2007 more >>
New nukes
Letter: Bearing in mind the formidable future challenges posed by the environment and security of supply, BusinessEurope not only wants effective policies for renewables but also urges public authorities to direct towards nuclear energy the attention it has not received for a long time. It is also essential to allow nuclear to compete with other sources of low-carbon generation on a level playing field.
FT 23rd July 2007 more >>
The government is today stepping up its consultation on its energy white paper, including whether nuclear power stations should be built or not. As part of the 20-week consultation period, 12 regional stakeholder events will be held to gauge views on Britain’s future energy needs.
View London 23rd July 2007 more >>
GNN 23rd July 2007 more >>
India
The Indian and US governments are separately grappling with differences that remain over nuclear co-operation after four days of talks in Washington, which officials said had made “substantial progress” without necessarily bridging the thorniest gaps.
FT 23rd July 2007 more >>
Russia
Attackers dressed in dark clothes and wielding metal pipes raided a camp of environmentalists protesting against nuclear waste processing at a Siberian chemicals plant early on Saturday, killing one activist. Witnesses say the attackers shouted nationalist slogans as they rampaged through the forest tent camp near the city of Angarsk, about 2,600 miles east of Moscow. But police rejected suggestions that extremist groups had masterminded the attack.
Independent 23rd July 2007 more >>
Guardian 23rd July 2007 more >>
Germany
Vattenfall Europe AG, Germany’s fourth-largest utility, will keep its Brunsbuettel nuclear plant halted until repairs to screw anchors are complete.
Bloomberg 22nd July 2007 more >>
North Korea
A team of UN inspectors walked into a nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, one of the most secret and well-guarded sites in Asia, last week and placed specialised fibre-optic seals on the machinery. It was a rare moment of triumph for nuclear diplomacy in a dangerous world: North Korea had come back into the fold after five years of rampant bomb-building. The inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) went on to seal four other North Korean sites and are now setting up an elaborate network of video monitors and sensors. The next step will be for the regime to account for the rest of its nuclear programme with a view to eventually dismantling it.
Guardian 23rd July 2007 more >>
Japan
Tokyo Electric Power, Japan’s biggest utility, has started counting the cost of the Niigata earthquake, which last week brought the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, the biggest in the world, to a complete shutdown.
FT 23rd July 2007 more >>
Japan’s nuclear power industry is among the world’s most ambitious. Spurred by fears of global warming, planners envision a rapid expansion of plants, capacity and cutting-edge technologies. But a series of radioactive leaks at the world’s largest atomic plant following last week’s killer earthquake in Niigata Prefecture has given the industry a public relations headache that will be difficult to cure.
Japan Times 23rd July 2007 more >>
