Radwaste
RESIDENTS angry at the decision to allow nuclear waste to be dumped near their village have raised £10,000 to help fund a legal battle. Campaigners organised quiz nights, safari suppers and yard and garage sales to raise the funds for the court case. They hope it will overturn the decision to allow the waste to be dumped at Augeans East Northants Resource Management Facility, in Stamford Road, Kings Cliffe. They have also received personal donations towards a £30,000 target to meet the total costs of bringing the case. It is due to be heard at the High Court in London on Tuesday, November 2. Villager Louise Bowen-West is bringing the case on behalf of the community of Kings Cliffe.
Stamford Mercury 23rd Oct 2011 more >>
Opinion Polls
The nuclear lobby takes some comfort from opinion polls, some of which suggest that, although support in the UK had fallen after Fukushima, it still outweighed opposition. For example, according to an Ipsos-MORI Poll in August carried out for the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA), when asked how favourable are you to the nuclear energy industry, 28% said favourable, 24% unfavorable. When asked do you support or oppose building new nuclear power stations to replace the existing fleet, 36% supported, 28% opposed. However, the results are not consistent across all polls: a poll for the British Science Association found that opposition was still in the majority: it said 37% of the UK population support the use of nuclear power for producing energy in the UK, but opposition was at 47%. Moreover the responses depend a lot on the questions asked. An earlier Ipsos MORI poll, in May, part of a global survey, found that, in the UK, 74% disagreed with the idea of modernization of electricity production via nuclear, while a massive 80% felt that nuclear was not a viable long term option.
Enviromental Research Web 22nd Oct 2011 more >>
Politics
Evidence that the government has abandoned its effort to be the greenest ever has mounted to the point that it cannot be ignored. George Osborne whose free market ideology means he cannot comprehend that green regulations create growth far more often than preventing it. This is why the government slashed between £400m and £1.3bn from the subsidies directed at creating a sustainable and clean energy supply for the UK and ultimately reducing energy bills.
Guardian 21st Oct 2011 more >>
Energy Prices
Huhne condemns us all to fuel poverty. As soaring energy bills up by 18 per cent help to push inflation to its highest level for 20 years, everything the Government has done to fight climate change has also been driving millions more people into fuel poverty. Last week, a new study suggested that this is already causing 2,700 deaths a year in England and Wales. So at least there are faint signs that a crunch is approaching, where it becomes obvious that our climate change make-believe can only lead to economic suicide. As yet, however, no vestige of reality seems to have entered the head of Mr Huhne. Last week he was again lamenting on the Today programme that we cannot afford to depend for our electricity on ever-rising imports of natural gas without mentioning that our best hope of keeping Britains lights on is our vast potential reserve of shale gas. He hates this because it offers the prospect of electricity so much cheaper than that from his useless windmills.
Telegraph 22nd Oct 2011 more >>
Letter Louise Hutchins: Professor Dieter Helm argues that policymakers shouldn’t assume they know what the future will bring, but then says they should base policy on his assertion that cheaper gas prices will be available at least for the next couple of decades. In reality he is paddling against a tide of expert analysis warning of long-term gas price rises, particularly as demand from developing countries outstrips any new shale gas finds. The costs of nuclear power too have only increased since the Fukushima disaster. It may not fit with Dieter’s world view, but if we are to bring energy bills under control in the medium term, we need to stop importing ever more expensive gas and start building “fuel-free” renewable energy, where costs are already falling and Britain can gain from jobs and export industry growth.
Guardian 23rd Oct 2011 more >>
Japan
Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, plans to sell part of its stake in a wind power utility to raise funds for compensation payouts, a report said Sunday. The embattled company will sell a 20 percent interest in Eurus Energy Holdings to trading firm Toyota Tsusho for an estimated 20 billion yen ($262 million), the Nikkei business daily reported.
AFP 23rd Oct 2011 more >>
Korea
The US and North Korea are due to hold talks in Geneva, aimed at restarting stalled nuclear negotiations. Six-party discussions involving North and South Korea, China, Russia, Japan and the US broke down in April 2009 when North Korea walked out. One month later, North Korea tested its second nuclear weapon, which was followed by increased tension on the Korean peninsula.
BBC 23rd Oct 2011 more >>
Jordan
Jordan has warned Japan that if the Diet fails to ratify a bilateral civil nuclear cooperation accord by yearend, a Japan-France consortium will miss out on the chance to win a lucrative contract to build the country’s first nuclear power plant, diplomatic sources said Saturday.
Japan Times 23rd Oct 2011 more >>
Iran
The European Union warned Iran on Sunday that it risks new sanctions if it fails to return to international talks aimed at easing concerns about its disputed nuclear programme. In conclusions adopted at an EU summit, the council of 27 EU states “urges Iran to respect all obligations under international law.”
EU Business 23rd Oct 2011 more >>
Switzerland
The anti-immigrant Swiss Peoples Party (SVP) lost ground in elections yesterday which resulted in a rise in support for Greens opposed to nuclear power. Early projections predicted that the SVP was heading for its worst result in 20 years, losing seven seats, due partly to competition from a conservative party formed by SVP renegades as well as from the Green Liberals which want an end to nuclear power.
Times 24th Oct 2011 more >>
Nuclear Weapons
This month’s NIS Update contains news about the forthcoming Ministry of Defence consultation on submarine dismantling, risks posed to the defence equipment programme by spending on the Trident replacement programme, and the new Nuclear Liabilities Management Strategy published by the Ministry of Defence. There’s also news from the Atomic Weapons Establishment about new planning applications which will shortly be submitted to West Berkshire Council, and safety vulnerabilities revealed following the Weightman Review of nuclear safety.
Nuclear Information Service 23rd Oct 2011 more >>
Renewables
A pioneering project to provide 22,000 tenants of social housing schemes with solar panels generating free electricity is in jeopardy. Fears the government will cut subsidies for solar installations have prompted backers to withdraw their support. The project had been planned by Empower Community, a social enterprise. Empower says families would have saved an average of 120 from their electricity bills by using free solar power during daylight hours. Empower’s project was supported by eight local authorities and housing associations, along with charities and a major pension fund. It was designed to take advantage of a subsidy arrangement, called a feed-in tariff, designed to encourage renewable energy generation.
BBC 23rd Oct 2011 more >>
The future of the booming solar industry is in doubt, as the cash strapped Coalition considers slashing the subsidy for feed-in tariffs (FITs), which pay homeowners for producing energy. The Department of Energy may cut up to 75 per cent in FITs, which insiders said would kill the industry stone dead. An announcement is expected by the end of the year. In the past 12 months the number of people working in the industry has jumped from 3,000 to 26,000 and installations have doubled since June to more than 85,000 in a scheme that started in April last year. As the cost of solar installation plunges in the past 18 months prices of solar panels and installations have fallen more than 20 per cent the Solar Energy Industries Association is expecting the subsidy to come down. But a 75 per cent cut is bigger than expected, raising fears that the Government will be forced to row back on its green credentials. These fears have been confirmed by cuts in subsidies to onshore wind turbines.
This is Money 23rd Oct 2011 more >>
