Nuclear Sites
Planners have warned of repeated policy revisions and public consultation on nuclear capacity following the announcement of 11 potential sites for development. The public has until 14 May to comment on the proposed locations, which include Dungeness, Hartlepool, Sellafield and Sizewell.
Planning Resource 24th Apr 2009 more >>
Hartlepool
RESIDENTS are being urged not to miss an initial opportunity to comment on whether Hartlepool should have a new nuclear power station.
The Government is currently looking for potential sites for new power stations, and prospective developer EDF Energy has nominated Hartlepool as a location.
Hartlepool Mail 23rd Apr 2009 more >>
Sizewell
Sizewell in Suffolk has been pushed to the fore of a UK nuclear power debate that promises to intensify in heat after British Energy named it and Hinkley Point, Somerset, as the the company’s preferred sites for new nuclear build. British Energy’s parent company, EDF, is behind five of the 11 sites to be shortlisted by the UK Government as potential new venues for nuclear power, but wants to build its first four reactors at Sizewell and Hinkley.
Business Weekly 23rd Apr 2009 more >>
Scotland
The Scottish Government’s determination to resist pressure from Westminster to build two nuclear reactors has been boosted by an independent report. International think tank The Centre for International Governance Innovation backed the Scottish National Party’s position that more sustainable alternatives should be sought. The report entitled The British Nuclear Industry: Status and Prospects, the CIGI warned that a stronger focus on sustainable energy alternatives would be better and more cost-effective than new nuclear capacity. Report author Ian Davis – former executive director of the British American Security Information Council – said: “The Government’s obsession with nuclear power is undermining and marginalizing more efficient and safer technologies – the real energy solutions. A much more prudent path would see a stronger focus on delivering more sustainable methods of generating electricity and on absolute reductions in UK energy demand, along the lines of what is being proposed in Scotland.”
Construction News 23rd Apr 2009 more >>
Northumberland
A Berwick councillor has called for a nuclear plant to be built at a coastal beauty spot.
Newcastle Journal 23rd Apr 2009 more >>
Cumbria
LOCAL opposition is growing against siting nuclear reactors at Braystones and Kirksanton. Lowside Quarter parish council, representing Braystones, Coulderton and Nethertown, says it is strongly opposed to a reactor on the coast at Braystones adding: “We are in favour of nuclear power based at Sellafield but are in full support of parishioners both residents and businesses wishing to stop a plant from being built at Braystones.” And Whicham parish council says that following a questionnaire sent to 176 households most people were opposed to the Kirksanton proposal. A Whicham action group has now been set up. More opposition was heard at a Joint Neighbourhood Forum public meeting in Millom on Tuesday night although some Millom residents were in favour of a Kirksanton reactor to bring more jobs. A similar meeting was held in Calderbridge on Wednesday.
Whitehaven News 22nd Apr 2009 more >>
EDF
IN JUNE 2008 French members of Greenpeace, an environmental campaign group, blockaded three quarries supplying sand and gravel to the building site of a new nuclear-power plant at Flamanville in northern France. Greenpeace, a fierce opponent of nuclear power, boasted that it had delayed construction for EDF, which is the world’s largest operator of nuclear reactors. EDF now stands accused of making an illegal intrusion of its own in its struggle to contain Greenpeace.
Economist 23rd Apr 2009 more >>
France’s highest court today rejected arguments by environmental groups against Electricite de France SA’s construction of a new-generation nuclear reactor, allowing EDF to pursue the government-backed plan for the plant. The public was consulted before the 2007 decision allowing the reactor at Flamanville in northwest France, and environmental risks had been “sufficiently studied,” the Conseil d’Etat said in a statement on its Web site. In addition, EDF met its obligations in demonstrating its ability to limit risks tied to the plant, the Conseil said.
Bloomberg 23rd Apr 2009 more >>
NDA
ATOMIC agency workers in Cumbria were paid average bonuses of nearly £12,000 each, it has emerged. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority forked out nearly £3.8m in bonus payments last year. The pay-outs were shared among 315 members of the west Cumbria-based organisation’s staff, who received an average of £11,954.
Carlisle News & Star 23rd Apr 2009 more >>
Whitehaven News 22nd Apr 2009 more >>
The NDA organisation charged with distributing millions of pounds in Copeland for having the Drigg low-level waste repository on its patch has been boosted by two new board members with a wealth of business experience. The Copeland Community Fund has appointed business coach and company owner, Michael Shields, of St Bees, and commercial business consultant, Steve McClure.
Whitehaven News 22nd Apr 2009 more >>
Sellafield
SELLAFIELD’S old B30 plant – known locally as “Dirty 30” – has been headlined in a Sunday newspaper as potentially the “most dangerous place in Europe”. But operators Sellafield Ltd assured The Whitehaven News yesterday that everything was being done to eliminate B30’s hazards.
Whitehaven News 22nd Apr 2009 more >>
Zirconium
The nuclear industry is set to boom and minor metal zirconium, crucial in the energy creation process, will be in big demand so abundant supplies now should not be taken for granted.
Reuters 24th Apr 2009 more >>
Facts about the metal.
Yahoo 23rd Apr 2009 more >>
Companies
LDC, the mid-market private equity arm of LloydsTSB, has invested £6.5m ( 7.3m) in Nuclear Engineering Services, a niche engineering solutions group focusing on the nuclear, marine defence and other specialist industrial sectors.
Alt Assets 23rd Apr 2009 more >>
US
Ameren Corp suspended its efforts to build a new nuclear power plant in Missouri due to unfavorable legislation that would not allow for the cost recovery during the construction process, the company said in a release Thursday. In 2008, Ameren filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for permission to build a new reactor at an estimated cost of $6 billion at its existing Callaway nuclear power plant in Missouri.
Interactive Investor 23rd Apr 2009 more >>
Spain
Permits to operate seven of Spain’s eight nuclear plants are up for renewal in the next two years, or within the mandate of a government that has vowed to phase them out.
Yahoo 23rd Apr 2009 more >>
North Korea
The world’s intelligence agencies and defence experts are quietly acknowledging that North Korea has become a fully fledged nuclear power with the capacity to wipe out entire cities in Japan and South Korea. The new reality has emerged in off-hand remarks and in single sentences buried in lengthy reports. Increasing numbers of authoritative experts from the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the US Defence Secretary are admitting that North Korea has miniaturised nuclear warheads to the extent that they can be launched on medium-range missiles, according to intelligence briefings.
Times 24th Apr 2009 more >>
Disarmament
Russia and the United States could cut their nuclear arsenals by half under a new deal being negotiated at disarmament talks in Rome on Friday.
Telegraph 24th Apr 2009 more >>
Guardian 24th Apr 2009 more >>
Thinking about Nuclear Weapons by Michael Quinlan – Book Review.
Telegraph 23rd Apr 2009 more >>
Coal
Fifteen months ago John Hutton, came within days of giving permission to build the first new coal-fired power station in Britain in more than 30 years, at Kingsnorth, Kent. The move would have delivered a huge blow to the government’s claims to be leading the world in tackling climate change and almost certainly triggered an intensification of the long-running conflict with activists, who had turned it into one of the green movement’s totemic issues. A last-ditch campaign by green cabinet members, including the then environment secretary, David Miliband, and his brother Ed, backed by Greenpeace and other environmentalists, first delayed the Kingsnorth decision and yesterday, having persuaded the Treasury, overturned the old energy department stance. “This is a complete rewrite of UK energy policy. Instead of a laissez-faire system where companies told government what they wanted to build and where, government has decided that reducing climate change emissions cannot be left to the market and it must now tell industry what needs to be built to what pollution standards,” one government source said yesterday. No new coal-fired power station will now get government consent without it having equipment to capture and bury at least 25% of emissions now and 100% by 2025 when the technology is expected to be technically and commercially proven.
Guardian 24th Apr 2009 more >>
Independent 24th Apr 2009 more >>
Times 24th Apr 2009 more >>
Bryony Worthington: The government has finally come up with a clear policy about new power stations. It wants them to use coal and be at least 20% cleaner than they would be otherwise. This won’t be enough for deep green environmentalists but it is nevertheless a significant step forward.
Guardian 24th Apr 2009 more >>
Climate
There was much to welcome in Wednesday’s budget but many more bold steps towards a low-carbon economy need to be taken over the next few years, as part of a coherent, consistent and credible strategy to tackle climate change.
Guardian 24th Apr 2009 more >>
