GDA
EDF and Areva have closed out only one of the 31 original GDA Issues lodged against the UK EPR design when the Office for Nuclear Regulation issued its interim design approval, or I-DAC, last December. According to the ONRs latest Generic Design Assessment (GDA) quarterly report issued May 24 for the period ending March 31 EDF and Areva have fallen substantially behind in the number of responses to the GDA Issue resolution to date. ONR said the shortfalls in deliverables are having an effect on our progress and on our ability to use the (outside) technical support contractors we had programmed to support our work, as their availability is not always guaranteed when the original assessment dates have been missed.
i-Nuclear 24th May 2012 more >>
Evaluation of the Environment Agency’s consultation on the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) for new nuclear power stations. Commissioned by Environment Agency.
Shared Practice 24th May 2012 more >>
Energy Bill
THE governments draft Energy Bill has sparked hopes of new private sector investment in nuclear new-build. Copeland MP Jamie Reed said yesterday: I hope this will now bring forward the necessary investments in nuclear from the market as I believe it will. After working closely with potential nuclear investors for many years theyve always made it clear that they required this kind of operating framework.”
Whitehaven News 24th May 2012 more >>
“There is absolutely no case for subsidising nuclear power said Dr Gerry Wolff of the Energy Fair group, responding to the recently-published draft of the Energy Bill 2012. The proposed feed-in tariff with contracts for difference is a blank cheque to a nuclear industry that is already heavily subsidised. Nuclear white elephants will be paid for via surcharges to consumers bills, for perhaps as much as 35 years. said Dr Wolff. It will be mainly poorer people that will foot the bill because they will be least able to afford the up-front costs of generating their own power.
Energy Fair 22nd May 2012 more >>
Market Oracle 24th May 2012 more >>
Sellafield
More than 1,000 construction workers have walked off the Sellafield site today in protest at job loss selections. The 1,100 workers, members of the Unite and GMB unions, left the site at midday when tensions erupted after an announcement that Mitie is to make a shop steward and two health and safety stewards redundant. The Mitie Group recently won a £200 million facilities management contract on the nuclear site to provide cleaning, maintenance and security services.
Cumberland News 24th May 2012 more >>
Whitehaven News 24th May 2012 more >>
Horizon
Energy Minister Charles Hendry today reassured 130 Gloucester nuclear energy workers that their jobs were not under threat despite an upset in Government plans for a new generation of power stations. Mr Hendry spoke to staff at Horizon Nuclear Power in Gloucester which was set up to develop plans for new nuclear plants at Oldbury-on-Severn, South Gloucestershire and Wylfa in North Wales. This afternoon Mr Hendry said the Government was progressing with talks with potential new partners who would take over Horizon.
This is Gloucestershire 24th May 2012 more >>
Speaking ahead of the visit Charles Hendry said: There has already been strong interest in Horizon and we are making the Governments commitment to new nuclear clear to interested parties. The launch of the draft energy bill this week has shown investors that we are prepared to take tough decisions to ensure confidence in our long-term vision for the electricity market. While this is a commercial process, I am confident everyone involved is working to ensure a swift sale can be achieved, which will protect the jobs of those working here.
Energy Live News 24th May 2012 more >>
DECC 24th May 2012 more >>
Radwaste
A crucial decision on whether or not to participate will not be taken until the autumn, but the results of a Mori telephone opinion poll has swung the balance in favour of scanning the area for a suitable site. Copeland and Allerdale borough councils, along with Cumbria County Council, will decide in October/November on the basis of a report by the West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Waste Safely Partnership (MRWS). An important part of it will be the independent Mori survey results. Of 3,000 Cumbrian residents who took part, 68 per cent in Copeland and 51 per cent in Allerdale want a site search to be made in West Cumbria.
Whitehaven News 24th May 2012 more >>
Times and Star 24th May 2012 more >>
A SELLAFIELD workers lobby group has urged the government to build an underground nuclear dump in the county. An opinion poll, carried out on behalf of the West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Waste Safely Partnership, showed that almost 70 per cent of Copeland residents and 51 per cent of Allerdale residents were in favour of the government selecting the area to host a £4bn nuclear waste repository.
NW Evening Mail 24th May 2012 more >>
Letter: All members of the Partnership should read again carefully the Government White Paper Managing Radioactive Waste Safely which laid out the procedure for GDF site selection. While this document has been the subject of repeated re-interpretation by the Government, the NDA and the partnership, at its core are two immutable features: The first is that a GDF cannot be imposed on a community which has not volunteered to host it. This has been upheld by the powers that be who argue that other parts of the country, acknowledged as geologically more suitable, cannot be investigated because they have not volunteered to be involved in the process. The second feature of the White Paper, which has been actively marginalised by the Partnership, is that a host community exists. This is not the community of West Cumbria or any other ad hoc grouping that suit the planners. It is carefully defined thus: The community in which a facility will be built can be termed the Host Community. The host community will be a small, geographically defined area, and include the population of that area and the owners of the land. For example it could be a town or a village.
Whitehaven News 24th May 2012 more >>
Letter Jean McSorley: A Freedom of Information request has revealed the budget ask for communications for the MRWS for 2011-12. The combined overall budget proposed was £291,860. The wages for communications people was proposed at £50-£65 per hour for less senior staff, rising to £98 per hour for the head of the company which runs the PR on the nuclear dump. Ill leave people to do the maths on what those figures work out at a daily, weekly or yearly rate. The budget document has comments which also reveal significant concerns over the amounts proposed for communication overall, in particular the increases proposed above spending in previous years. The information reveals just how important PR has become in the MRWS process. It would be in keeping with the MRWSs approach of openness and transparency, if the relevant bodies published a precise breakdown on what was spent on communications in 2011-2012 and also the monies proposed for the 2012-2013 budget?
Whitehaven News 24th May 2012 more >>
PLANS are being considered to create a nuclear waste dump under the fields around Rye. Shepway Council is examining the possibility of a nuclear disposal facility which would see nuclear waste, from all over the UK, being buried under Romney Marsh. They say the £12 billion facility could create jobs in the Rye area when the Dungeness A and B power stations are phased out. But opponents of the plan say it could have a disastrous impact on the environmental ecology.
Rye & Battle Observer 25th May 2012 more >>
Sizewell
ELECTRICITY giant EDF Energy could extend the life of Sizewell B nuclear power station by a further 20 years. The firm is currently working with the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) regarding the extension of the operational lifetime of its existing fleet of nuclear power reactors. It means that the Suffolk reactor could see its decomissioning date extended from 2035 to 2055. Last night a spokesman for EDF Energy said no decisions had yet been made and in Sizewells case it was unlikely that anything would be agreed until much nearer the 2035 deadline.
Coastal Scene 23rd May 2012 more >>
Hinkley
SERIES of meetings about the Hinkley C nuclear project have heard major concerns about traffic and a housing shortfall. Planning commissioners have been hearing public opinion on Hinkley C at eight open floor meetings this month at Bridgwater Colleges Cannington campus, Otterhampton village hall in Combwich, Bridgwater town hall and Stogursey Victory Hall. At the sparesely attended Bridgwater town hall meeting (see picture), Bridgwater town and district councillor David Baker said Hinkley C would cause road junctions in the town to be overloaded by extra HGV traffic, even after road improvements.
This is the West Country 24th May 2012 more >>
Works to prepare for Somerset’s newest nuclear power station is well under way, despite claims there are problems. Local authorities gave permission for the ground work for another power station at Hinkley Point, on the Somerset coastline, to begin last year – although permission for the actual plant itself is not expected to be made by the government until later this year. This week it was claimed that French energy giant EDF, who is behind the Hinkley plan, had been delayed in getting earthworks completed.
Wells Journal 24th May 2012 more >>
Bridgwater College has received £2 million from EDF Energy to help students and local people secure new skills, training and jobs for Hinkley Point C and to create a legacy of engineering excellence across the South West.
Western Daily Press 24th May 2012 more >>
Heysham
The Manchester office of DTZ, acting on behalf of joint LPA receivers, has sold 12.11 acres of land at Heysham in Lancashire. The former railway sidings off the A683 were purchased by National Grid Electricity Transmission.
Place North West 24th May 2012 more >>
Dounreay
Plans to move nuclear material from Scotland to England will not result in savings that could benefit communities, local authorities have been told. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) proposes moving fuel and other radioactive material from Dounreay to Sellafield for treatment. The proposal is deemed to be more cost effective than building new facilities at Dounreay in Caithness. Councils had hoped this might leave spare money to invest in projects. The NDA has two separate proposals to transport material from Dounreay to Sellafield, where there are existing facilities, or ones being built, to handle it. For the material to stay at Dounreay, storage sites would have to be upgraded or replaced within the next 15 years.The benefits are that a future demand on HM Treasury will be reduced The NDA has said that it would take eight to 10 years to design and build the necessary facilities. In the case of material called breeder, the NDA has estimated that it would cost about £60m to transfer it to Sellafield, but £65m to deal with it at Dounreay.
BBC 25th May 2012 more >>
New Nukes
Various letters in response to Simon Jenkins: Simon Jenkins is looking for mathematical formulae that will help him understand the complexities of climate change, renewables and nuclear. Let me oblige with three suggestions from a recent conference on climate change organised by Help Rescue the Planet. First RC + MJ = GG where RC stands for Reduced Carbon, MJ for More Jobs and GG for Green Growth. Secondly, EC + R > NO where EC stands for Energy Conservation, R for Renewables and NO for Nuclear Option (In maths > indicates greater than). In other words if the government is planning to spend £100bn to meet our energy requirements, should it spend it on conservation and renewables or on getting Russia or China to build a new generation of nuclear reactors. In political as well as purely economic terms this is a “no brainer”. Why does nobody mention the building of the high-voltage, direct current European supergrid, which will allow import of electricity from the Sahara, hydro-power from Norway, and geothermal from Iceland at times when we cannot generate solar or wind power, and export electricity when we generate more than we need? Several undersea links are there: to France and Ireland. Last year a cable was laid to the Netherlands. The next link to Norway has already been planned. Why does the energy secretary not mention this project, which won’t expose us to the risk of a nuclear future?
Guardian 25th May 2012 more >>
Companies
A West Cumbrian firm is poised to help a massive Japanese nuclear power plant get back on its feet after it was hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Forth Engineering, which does work with the Sellafield nuclear site, is building a £3 million research and development facility which will create around 20 jobs. Mark Telford, managing director, said: This interest means a great deal to the company, not just financially and to keep work flowing but to make the company feel proud of what its doing and make it all feel worthwhile. The new facility being built at Risehow will develop robotic technology to be used in nuclear decommissioning at Sellafield and work is nearing completion.
Times and Star 24th May 2012 more >>
France
Henri Proglio, chief executive of EDF, has warned Frances new president that he will need to discuss compensation with the nuclear power group if he presses on with plans to shut the countrys oldest atomic plant. The comments highlight the possible tensions ahead should François Hollande stick with his pre-election promise to cut Frances reliance on nuclear energy, the state-owned supplier of about three-quarters of the countrys electricity.
FT 24th May 2012 more >>
Japan
CNIC May/June Newsletter.
CNIC 24th May 2012 more >>
Radiation levels in most of Japan are below cancer-causing levels a year after the Fukushima plant accident, a World Health Organisation (WHO) report published on Wednesday says.
BBC 24th May 2012 more >>
Iran
International talks over Iran’s nuclear programme were salvaged from collapse in Baghdad with a last-ditch agreement to make another attempt at a compromise deal in Moscow next month.
Guardian 25th May 2012 more >>
World powers are hindering talks in Baghdad with Iran over its nuclear programme, creating a “difficult atmosphere”, according to an Iranian delegate.
Telegraph 24th May 2012 more >>
Letter: On Monday, the Government handed out £350m in contracts to upgrade Britain’s nuclear submarine fleet. The project will ensure, says Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, that the UK will have nuclear weapons of mass destruction “into the 2060s”. On Tuesday, Britain was one of the six states five of which have nuclear weapons in talks with Iran about its nuclear energy programme. Urged on by Israel, another nuclear state, they were trying to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. There’s nothing like having the moral high ground is there?
Independent 25th May 2012 more >>
IRAN accused world powers yesterday of creating “a difficult atmosphere” hindering talks on its atomic energy programme, signalling a snag in diplomacy to ease a stand-off over fears of a covert Iranian effort to develop nuclear bombs. The nub of the dispute was not immediately clear as the high-stakes negotiations in pursuit of a framework deal to stop a feared drift towards a new Middle East war went into a second day in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. But Iran had served notice that it wanted immediate relief from economic sanctions as part of any deal to stop higher-grade uranium enrichment, a pathway to nuclear arms, whereas Western powers insisted Tehran must first shut it down.
Herald 25th May 2012 more >>
Tough negotiations between Iran and world powers over Tehrans nuclear programme ended last night with a plan to meet next month for another round of talks.
Scotsman 25th May 2012 more >>
Iran yesterday rejected internationally backed incentives for Tehran to curb its nuclear programme in a development which stopped well short of a breakdown but suggested that negotiations which lie ahead could be protracted and tortuous.
Independent 25th May 2012 more >>
Iran has to address concerns by the IAEA over the extent to which it conducted research on weaponisation. If progress is achieved, the conditions could be laid for a breakthrough in Moscow. But the US and the EU have also got to be mindful of Iranian psychology. The regime needs a deal they can present as a victory, not a national humiliation. If the ending of medium-enriched uranium is the goal, it is one worth spending time on. It will not be achieved by Iran looking down the barrel of a gun.
Guardian 25th May 2012 more >>
A rule of thumb suggests that when Israeli leaders talk of war, they are unlikely to give the order. But the opposite also holds true silence can be ominous and it will remain true despite the negotiations between Iran and the worlds six leading powers that took place in Baghdad yesterday.
Telegraph 24th May 2012 more >>
Telegraph 24th May 2012 more >>
US
President Barack Obama said on Thursday he will nominate Allison Macfarlane, an expert in nuclear waste, to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and plans to name her as the panel’s chairman once she is confirmed by the Senate. Macfarlane would replace Gregory Jaczko, who announced his resignation on Monday after a contentious term as the top nuclear safety official marked by accusations from his four fellow commissioners that his bad temper had created a hostile work environment.
Reuters 24th May 2012 more >>
i-Nuclear 24th May 2012 more >>
Fukushima has given U.S. nuclear regulators four important lessons given a tendency to downplay the far-reaching consequences of disasters and outdated ways of preparing for them. First, we know from multiple disasters that people who live far from predetermined evacuation zones will move themselves and their families to places where they feel safe. We saw this during the Three Mile Island scare when 200,000 people in Pennsylvania — far more than the 3,500 people advised to leave — departed en masse from the area. Fukushima has underscored the ways in which formal evacuation plans are “fantasy documents.”
CNN 25th May 2012 more >>
Trident
Sometimes, I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. I seem to be one of the only people who has noticed that amid the biggest financial crisis in a generation, parliament has just insouciantly waved through £350 million on some drawings of some new submarines. Maybe I’m being unfair – maybe there will also be scale models to sit on an admiral’s desk too, maybe even a Troy Tempest uniform for Nick Clegg to dress up in – but it still seems like a hell of a lot of money.
Huffington Post 24th May 2012 more >>
Renewables
On 24th May, DECC announced the conclusion of its consultation on Comprehensive Review Phase 2A: Solar PV Cost Control, which was published on 9th February 2012. The long awaited document sets out both FiT rates in the short-term (i.e. from 1st August) and the longer term management of the scheme. Greg Barker informed the House that Government had listened to the industry and believed that these changes would put the Feed-in Tariff scheme on a predictable and sustainable long term footing, promoting confidence amongst businesses and consumers.
Ecuity 24th May 2012 more >>
Business Green 24th May 2012 more >>
Business Green 24th May 2012 more >>
Guardian 24th May 2012 more >>
