25 August 2010

Nuclear Smuggling

Moldovan police have seized 1.8kg of uranium-238 in the capital, Chisinau, officials say. Three members of the group, which included former police officers, were arrested, they said. The smugglers had reportedly been trying to sell the material on the European black market for 9m euros (£7.4m). A nuclear expert has told the BBC that this form of uranium is of no use for making nuclear weapons.

BBC 24th Aug 2010 more >>

A customs investigator who claimed spies interfered in efforts to halt an international nuclear smuggling ring has been sacked for gross misconduct. Atif Amin caused a political storm after he claimed officials at MI6 and the CIA ordered him to drop an investigation while working for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

Yorkshire Post 24th Aug 2010 more >>

New Nukes

The nuclear industry’s excellent safety performance and caution may have ironically hurt its public acceptance, by making reactors seem scarier than they really are. The advent of small modular reactors might dispel people’s fears of nuclear power.

Nuclear Engineering International 24th Aug 2010 more >>

Hinkley

The deadline on the petition against nuclear new build at Hinkley Point in Somerset has been extended to the end of October. Please encourage friends and others to sign the online petition or print off petition forms to collect signatures: www.stophinkley.orgPETITION.htm

Ruscombe Green 24th Aug 2010 more >>

TOWN councillors have vowed to make themselves heard over the “tremendous impact” a third nuclear power station could have on the Burnham and Highbridge area. French energy giant EDF’s much-publicised bid for the Hinkley Point C plant has prompted local councillors to call on the firm to rethink some of its proposals.

This is the West Country 24th Aug 2010 more >>

Wylfa

The Isle of Anglesey County Council (IACC) wish to commission a suitably qualified and experienced company to undertake a Wylfa Nuclear New Build: Accommodation Facilities for Construction Workers Study. The study outputs will be utilised to inform and justify the IACC’s position in terms of construction workers accommodation, whilst informing future policy development & decision making.

Sell 2 Wales August 2010 more >>

Companies

Portchester’s Extec Integrated Systems has been bought by Ultra Electronics Holdings Plc. Middlesex-based Ultra Electronics will use the firm’s microcircuits to build control systems for nuclear power plants.

Portsmouth News 24th Aug 2010 more >>

Germany

Letter: German chancellor Angela Merkel is wise to tax her nuclear producers because these correspond very much to the rent seekers that plague the capitalist system, as you regularly denounce. The same applies in Belgium for nuclear producers: their rent comes from the accelerated depreciation they could impose on consumers during the 1980s and the 1990s, nuclear power plants having been built to last at least 40 years, and depreciated in 20 years. The extra costs of this accelerated depreciation were borne by electricity consumers at large, with no risk to the producers, organised in oligopolies with tariffs regulated on a cost-plus basis. This subsidy is not the only one enjoyed by nuclear producers, who enjoy a limitation of damage responsibility to a fraction of the potential costs

FT 25th Aug 2010 more >>

The debate over nuclear power in Germany has heated up after a group of the country’s business elite published an open letter to the government. The letter, signed by industry leaders, members of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s own Christian Democrats, and academics, criticised Merkel’s plans for a nuclear tax. It also urged Merkel to make good on a pledge to extend the life of the country’s nuclear power plants beyond their planned closure in 2022.

Utility Week 24th Aug 2010 more >>

China

Two recent large-scale energy initiatives in China have been the commercialisation of fuel cell-powered vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and coal-to-liquid alternative fuel plants to reduce oil imports. Both require significant quantities of hydrogen. The enlargement of nuclear-based hydrogen production is envisaged to meet these requirements.

Nuclear Engineering International 24th Aug 2010 more >>

Zhou Shirong is deputy director of nuclear safety at China’s environmental protection ministry. Here, he talks to Cao Haidong and Meng Dengke about managing construction standards – and public anxiety.

China Dialogue 24th Aug 2010 more >>

Nuclear Weapons

Bruce Kent and Kate Hudson discuss the 65th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the changing tide against nuclear weapons in Britain and around the world, and the prospect of global nuclear abolition.

Reality Radio 24th Aug 2010 more >>

Renewables

France launched one of Europe’s most ambitious wind power projects yesterday, unveiling a €10 billion (£8 billion) contract to build 600 offshore turbines in a move that delighted environmentalists but infuriated fishermen. The announcement of the tender for the wind farms the first tranche of what is likely to be an overall investment of up to €20 billion over the next decade signals an attempt by Paris to catch up with Britain in the offshore renewable energy market.

Times 25th August 2010 more >>

Scotland’s offshore wind industry could create 28,000 jobs over the next decade, a report said. A study found the industry has the potential to add “significant value” to the Scottish economy, contributing £7.1 billion of investment by 2020. The research, commissioned by Scottish Renewables and Scottish Enterprise, also suggested that a further 20,000 jobs could be created in related industries in 10 years’ time. But it came with a warning that the next four years are “critical” to the success or failure of the Scottish offshore wind industry.

Herald 25th Aug 2010 more >>

BBC 25th Aug 2010 more >>

Scotsman 25th Aug 2010 more >>

Dundee Courier 25th Aug 2010 more >>

Press & Journal 25th Aug 2010 more >>

A record number of homeowners installed solar panels this month, in a sign of Britons enthusiasm for domestic renewable energy generation. But some householders are in danger of signing up for solar panel deals for which they will gain only a limited benefit, experts warned on Tuesday. More than 2,200 homes have been fitted with solar panels this month, up from 1,700 in July and 1,400 in June, according to figures published by Ofgem, the energy regulator. Since April, more than 6,660 solar panel installations have been built into houses, amounting to a total generating capacity of 16MW for UK homes. The boom has been sparked by a change in the subsidy system for small-scale renewable energy generation, which took effect on April 1.