Radwaste
In a major vote of no-confidence, an association of local governments in Cumbria County, England have said they do not consider credible or viable the UK government process for siting a geological disposal facility (GDF) for nuclear waste. The Cumbria Association of Local Councils (CALC) has represented town and parish councils on the West Cumbria MRWS (Managing Radioactive Waste Safely) Partnership for three years. CALCs participation in the MRWS Partnership was based on a position statement agreed with its member councils in September 2009 that required a neutral position to be adopted on the merits or demerits of a siting a GDF in West Cumbria. But CALC said this week that it has changed its position. In view of the absence of clear support from parish councils and the community generally and the number of serious shortcomings in the prospective MRWS process in West Cumbria, CALC does not consider the programme as currently envisaged to be credible or viable, the association said.
i-Nuclear 24th April 2012 more >>
CALC’s position Statement: In view of the absence of clear support from parish councils and the community generally and the number of serious shortcomings in the prospective MRWS process in West Cumbria, CALC does not consider the programme as currently envisaged to be credible or viable.
CALC 23rd April 2012 more >>
56% of local and Parish Councils from Allerdale and Copeland responded to the consultation. Of those 65% said no to moving on to the next stage of the process.
CALC 23rd April 2012 more >>
The Lake District National Park Authority has given the complicit thumbs up to the plan for a geological nuclear dump. They are happy to go to the next toxic step and their concerns are not with radioactive pollution but with polluting the brand of the Lake District. West Cumbria is effectively disowned.
Radiation Free Lakeland 23rd April 2012 more >>
Hurrah Some of the Partnership Patsys are stirring from their sleep walk along the toxic steps to a geological dump! In CALCs view the evidence in the public domain and available for public discussion points to the conclusion that the prospects of finding a suitable site in West Cumbria are too poor to justify proceeding.
Radiation Free Lakeland 24th April 2012 more >>
New Nukes
In the space of a few weeks, Britains energy policy has gone into meltdown. Now, if you want this country to have a low-carbon future, vote for Nicolas Sarkozy. Its not a pledge likely to be included in the French presidents manifesto as he begins a crucial 12 days of campaigning. Nor is it likely to sway all the voters he must attract from the far-Right Marine Le Pen if he intends to sweep past the challenge of François Hollande. But such is the nature of our open energy market that the result of the election is critical to keeping the lights on in Britain. Only Sarkozy is committed to Frances nuclear future. Hollande, for example, has pledged to close down many of the reactors that have powered France for a generation. If he is going cool at home, there is no reason he would sanction a further investment abroad. But it isnt just the political whims abroad that threaten the nuclear programme. Even Centrica, the only British company involved, is getting cold feet. The reason is that how much it can charge for power generated by those new plants is up in the air.
London Evening Standard 24th April 2012 more >>
Sizewell
FRENCH owned power giant EDF Energy has reiterated its commitment to building a new nuclear plant on the Suffolk coast – regardless of who wins the race to the presidency in its native country. Prospective candidate François Hollande holds a narrow lead over the incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy, following the first round of elections in France. Socialist Mr Hollande has already said that he will look to reduce his countrys reliance on nuclear energy from 75% to 50% by 2025 if he is elected. This – coupled with German owned energy companies RWE and E.ON abandoning its nuclear projects in the UK – has led some to question whether French EDF might look to pull out of its projects, which includes hopes of building two reactors on the Suffolk coast at Sizewell. But last night EDF Energy CEO Vincent de Rivaz said: We are moving forward with our strong and credible new nuclear project, and remain committed to delivering the first new nuclear plants in the UK for 20 years.
East Anglian Daily Times 24th April 2012 more >>
Hinkley
COMMUNITIES across Bridgwater are being urged to take their best chance to let Government planners know the extent of traffic fears over proposals for Hinkley Point. Hundreds of people are expected to pack Bridgwater Town Hall for an open floor meeting next month when members of the public can directly address planning officials. Power giant EDF Energy wants to build a new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point, and its application is being considered by the National Infrastructure Directorate.
This is the West Country 24th April 2012 more >>
Politics
In an extraordinary failure of leadership, the prime minister has backed out of making his first major green intervention. The nation’s ailing economy and energy bill payers will bear the cost. Prime minister David Cameron has at the last minute downgraded a planned “keynote speech” on the environment, trailed as a “major policy intervention”, to just five minutes of introductory “remarks”.It is an extraordinary betrayal and abject failure of leadership. Cameron pledged to lead the “greenest government ever” and was elected with photogenic huskies and a “vote blue, go green slogan”. But after two years in No 10, he has given no speech dedicated to the issue at the heart of his Tory decontamination strategy. With the dream of new nuclear power plants in the UK crumbling in the face of high costs, a deafening committment to energy efficiency and renewable energy is essential. What we get is a cancelled speech and a craven capitulation to the Daily Mail over the “conservatory tax” that never was.
Guardian 24th April 2012 more >>
Japan
The Tomari nuclear plant in Hokkaido and the Tsuruga plant in Fukui Prefecture are at risk of being surprised by earthquakes that exceed their quake-resistance specifications, a report by three utilities said Monday.
Japan Times 24th April 2012 more >>
Fukushima Update 20th – 23rd April 2012.
Greenpeace 24th April 2012 more >>
A new report on the world’s changing energy architecture from high-level policy organisation the World Economic Forum (WEF) warns Japan risks jeopardising its energy security if it turns its back on nuclear power.
World Nuclear News 24th April 2012 more >>
North Korea
North Korea’s nuclear programme has been a source of great concern for the international community for more than 20 years. The state is already believed to have conducted two underground nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009 at a site called P’unggye-yok in a remote area in the east of the country, near the town of Kilju. Multiple rounds of negotiations amid a strict sanctions regime – a process, which has been described as a game of cat and mouse – appear to have done little to curb its nuclear ambitions. North Korea’s previous tests followed rocket launches and there are concerns that the North could be preparing for a third nuclear test after April’s failed missile test.
BBC 24th April 2012 more >>
North Korea has almost completed preparations for a third nuclear test, a senior source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing said, an act that would draw further international condemnation following a failed rocket launch.
Reuters 24th April 2012 more >>
Independent 25th April 2012 more >>
Scotsman 25th April 2012 more >>
Pakistan
Pakistan successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable ballistic missile on Wednesday, the military said, less than a week after rival India tested a missile capable of delivering nuclear warheads as far as Beijing and Eastern Europe. Pakistan’s Shaheen-1A is an intermediate range ballistic missile, capable of reaching targets in India. Military officials declined to specify the range of the missile.
Trust.org 25th April 2012 more >>
India
Letter: You fail to mention that the NPT classifies countries into nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states on the basis of a world order almost half a century old, and seeks to cement this position for posterity. Surely you do not suggest that a country arguably more democratic than Russia, with a better human rights record than China, and more relevant than the UK and France, should accept this preordained position because she was spearheading naive concepts such as global disarmament and non-alignment when the Big Five were stockpiling enough nuclear weapons to destroy the planet many times over (which, conveniently, the NPT does not seek to reduce). If there is a lesson to be learnt from the NPT being weakened it is that postwar global institutions must adapt to a changing world or risk being made irrelevant something we can ill-afford while taking our first steps in a non-unipolar world.
FT 25th April 2012 more >>
Nuclear Weapons
April’s NIS Update includes news on cuts in numbers of police guards at the UK’s military nuclear sites and a new report analysing the future relationship between an independent Scotland and NATO. We also report on lessons from a major emergency exercise at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.
NIS 23rd April 2012 more >>
Renewables
Almost nine in 10 people want to see the government ramp up the UK’s use of clean domestic energy and reduce the country’s reliance on imported gas, a new YouGov poll reveals. Just under two-thirds of the 2,884 people questioned on behalf of campaign group Friends of the Earth listed wind, wave, solar or tidal as power sources they wanted to see playing a greater role in the UK’s electricity mix over the next decade, while just 2% backed an increase in gas capacity. The survey is the latest to signal strong public backing for renewable energy, following Sunday’s YouGov poll for Scottish Renewables that found 71% of Scots supported wind power, and a separate Ipsos MORI survey last week that reported 67% of respondents were in favour of using more wind power.
Guardian 23rd April 2012 more >>
