NPS
One of the main criticisms the Energy & Climate Change Committee had of the first Draft Energy NPSs was that the ‘Appraisals of Sustainability’ (AoSs) did not consider alternatives properly. Although the revised NPSs have not changed a great deal, the AoSs that are published with them have, particularly in how they deal with alternatives. The number of identified sites for nuclear power stations was also reduced from ten to eight, two in Cumbria being dropped. Revised NPSs now having been published, the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee has decided that it will only have a single evidence session with a single witness, and does not appear to be inviting written evidence. Next Tuesday, 30 November, at 4.15 p.m., the committee will hear evidence from Charles Hendry MP, the energy minister (no doubt aided by officials from DECC, and possibly also CLG given the subject-matter). Four topics for discussion have been identified by the committee, not all of which relate directly to the NPSs: (1) the implications of changes in the Planning Act 2008 for the implementation of the National Policy Statements; (2) the robustness of transitional arrangements preceding the abolition of the IPC and the creation of the MIPU; (3) the implications of changes to the Appraisals of Sustainability for the assessment of the National Policy Statements; and (4) how the changes in the revised draft National Policy Statements will affect their contribution to the Government’s energy policy objectives.
Bircham Dyson Bell 24th Nov 2010 more >>
Reprocessing
AN energy minister has hinted that the coalition might be looking more positively at reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. Some 3,500 jobs could be protected at Sellafield if new reprocessing contracts are secured for the site. On a visit to Sellafield this week, minister Charles Hendry told The Whitehaven News: “If business comes forward with new proposals for new reprocessing at Sellafield, then the government would certainly look at this on its merits. Cumbria has much to offer in terms of expertise and experience.”
Whitehaven News 24th Nov 2010 more >>
Radwaste
Letters: Tim Knowles: The West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Waste Safely Partnership is looking at whether this area should take part in the Government’s search for somewhere to locate a repository, without making any commitment. This community partnership includes organisations from across Cumbria such as local authorities, parish councillors, the Lake District National Park, Churches Together in Cumbria and the National Farmers Union. We have also invited Greenpeace to take part. This is a unique process. As a community, we have the power to decide whether or not to have this facility here. These are complex issues and they need careful consideration. As Jean McSorley is aware, we are currently looking at what might go into a repository, including possible waste from new nuclear power stations and what the effect of that would be. We certainly do not have all the answers yet. We are asking the Government a lot of questions, speaking to experts and commissioning research. However, we should not wait to discuss this issue with local people until we have the full picture. We want the public to be involved from the start.
NWAA: The West Cumbrian Managing Radioactive Waste Safely partnership is to be congratulated on its recent information drive designed to encourage local residents to express their views on taking the next step in hosting a repository for higher activity waste. However, throughout the documentation and the DVD provided to facilitate discussion, there is almost no mention of the issue which will be pivotal in deciding whether or not the repository is acceptable to the public of West Cumbria – safety. Safety will undoubtedly be the key factor in deciding people’s views, yet information relating to the topic is virtually absent from the partnership material. Although CoRWM recommended disposal, the recommendation was heavily qualified and conditional on an intensified research and development programme to reduce the level of scientific and technical uncertainty around disposal to the point where it was felt safe to proceed. We have not yet reached that point and are indeed a long way from it. Earlier this year, Nuclear Waste Advisory Associates (NWAA) – an independent group with expertise in radio-chemistry, nuclear waste policy, radiation risks and planning – compiled a technical report on disposal, following an initiative at a meeting with the Environment Agency. This report lists more than 100 technical and scientific issues which need to be addressed at generic and site-specific levels before the sort of confidence the NDA apparently already places on disposal could be justified. Among those issues are: how to contain and isolate radioactive material while at the same time allowing hydrogen gas to escape, an issue which contradicts the ‘safety in the multi-barrier concept’; our lack of understanding of the impact of low levels of exposure to radioactivity; the fact that gassified radioactive carbon could escape from the repository over a very short space of time (decades) giving a much higher than predicted dose to the people above; the uncertainties which surround the longevity of various types of packaging; microbial activity and general swiftness of decay of packaging. These issues are recognised now. Matters relating to safety, and, moreover, the means by which these safety uncertainties are to be addressed, must be put before the Cumbrian public as soon as possible. The issues register compiled by NWAA exists today and is in the possession of the partnership. It is time the findings of the register were made known by the partnership to all interested citizens and groups of Cumbria.
Whitehaven News 24th Nov 2010 more >>
Anti nuclear campaigners are using characters from Lake District author Beatrix Potter’s books to get their message out. Campaign group Radiation Free Lakeland have produced pictures showing a relative of Mrs Tiggywinkle’s washing clothes in a stream with barrels of nuclear waste in. They have been produced to mark ‘Managing Radioactive Waste Safely ‘Drop In’ meetings taking place in Lakeland towns and villages over the next two weeks.
Lakeland Radio 22nd Nov 2010 more >>
Northern Indymedia 23rd Nov 2010 more >>
Hinkley
Hinkley Point nuclear power station, where EDF Energy hopes to build a new reactor and has obtained permission to move a colony of badgers from the proposed site. Energy giant EDF Energy has been accused of breaching conservation guidelines in moving a colony of badgers off land earmarked for Somerset’s proposed new nuclear power station. The work was carried out with a licence from wildlife watchdog Natural England. According to the Badger Trust, the legally-protected animals should only be moved “as a last resort”. However, EDF Energy won permission to move them from the site of the proposed Hinkley C power station well before planning permission has been considered.
This is Somerset 24th Nov 2010 more >>
Western Morning News 24th Nov 2010 more >>
Sizewell
A NEW by-pass on the A12 and putting Leiston back on the passenger rail map are likely to be among the demands before Sizewell C can be built.
Evening Star 20th Nov 2010 more >>
Sellafield
West Cumbria will receive a £5 billion cash injection if a new nuclear plant is built at Sellafield, a Government minister said. Energy Minister Charles Hendry said the area could look forward to a construction-led boom if a new reactor is built on land earmarked for development north of the existing nuclear site. Sellafield is among 10 potential locations chosen by ministers for the UK’s next generation of nuclear power plants. But Mr Hendry reiterated that companies wanting to build new plants will have to stump up the cash themselves and will not be handed Government subsidies.
Cumberland News 24th Nov 2010 more >>
Whitehaven News 24th Nov 2010 more >>
SELLAFIELD admitted yesterday that bags of workers’ underwear were scattered on the road at Hensingham – but they said none of it was contaminated by radioactivity.
Whitehaven News 24th Nov 2010 more >>
Oldbury
The Department for Energy and Climate Change are to attend a public consultation meeting to consider Oldbury as a possible location of any future nuclear power stations ten other sites are also being considered at this time. The consultation will take place on Thursday 16 December between 7pm–9pm at Severnside Hall, Thornbury Leisure Centre, BS35 3JB. Anyone is welcome to attend and no registration is required.
Patchway Town Council 24th Nov 2010 more >>
Studsvik
THE first-ever Business Awards hosted by Britain’s Energy Coast Business Cluster (BECBC) saw a special award go to Studsvik UK.
Whitehaven News 24th Nov 2010 more >>
Areva
France still hopes to pin down by year-end a capital increase to fund development at its nuclear champion Areva CPEFi.PA, though the transaction could be a two-step process, a top official told Reuters on Tuesday.
Reuters 23rd Nov 2010 more >>
Britain’s plans to use French expertise to build next generation nuclear reactors are now facing uncertainty as relations between EDF, the French electricity giant, and Areva, France’s nuclear power station operator, have touched a nadir. Poor relations between the two French companies have now raised fears whether they would be able to complete the British nuclear energy projects in which they are partners on time and within budget. EDF’s chief executive Henri Proglio wants to raise his company’s stake in Areva from 2.4 per cent to 6 per cent. Though the move has the support of French president Nicholas Sarkozy, it is being opposed by Areva CEO Anne Lauvergeon who is said to be desperate to stay out of EDF’s reach in France. At the same time, Proglio is striving to prevent Mitsubishi Heavy Industry from joining Areva’s 15 per cent capital hike.
New Statesman 24th Nov 2010 more >>
They have been earmarked by the Government to build Britain’s next generation of nuclear reactors in the hope that French expertise will prevent an energy crisis once existing power stations are closed down. But relations between EDF, the French state-controlled electricity giant, and Areva, France’s nuclear power station operator, are so poor that fears are growing about their ability to complete the British project on time and within budget.
Times 25th Nov 2010 more >>
Westinghouse
Westinghouse Electric Company has secured a contract to provide engineering services to Asociacion Nuclear Asco Vandellos (ANAV) nuclear plants in Spain.
Energy Business Review 24th Nov 2010 more >>
Uranium
Cameco, a Saskatchewan-based uranium producer, has entered into an agreement with China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding (CGNPC) to supply 29 million pounds of uranium concentrate under a long-term agreement through 2025.
Energy Business Review 24th Nov 2010 more >>
North Korea
Assuming Stuxnet is aimed at Iran’s nuclear programme, could a similar cyber bug be used to wreck a uranium enrichment plant unveiled by ally North Korea? The answer, in theory, is yes, say security specialists who monitor international efforts to check the military ambitions of the secretive nuclear-armed country. Also in theory, the plant at the North’s main atomic complex may already be infected by the customised malware, its key parts destined to turn gradually into worthless scrap metal. But North Korea’s isolation and tight state control mean that in practice the country would probably be an even tougher target than Iran for any attempt to use cyber warfare to cripple the production of fissile material for an atom bomb.
Reuters 24th Nov 2010 more >>
Canada
Updated long-term energy plans issued by Ontario see the need for up to 2000 MWe of new nuclear capacity by 2030 as the Canadian province continues to work towards its goal of phasing out coal-fired generation.
World Nuclear News 24th Nov 2010 more >>
Thailand
Japan Atomic Power Co (Japco) has signed a technical cooperation agreement with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) to provide support on the construction of nuclear power plants in the country. Under the cooperation agreement, Japco will provide EGAT with technical assistance on the introduction of nuclear power generation and will provide training for EGAT engineers. Thailand has completed preliminary studies for building its first nuclear power plant, which it plans to have in operation by 2020.
World Nuclear News 24th Nov 2010 more >>
Kuwait
Kuwait, the fifth-biggest oil producer among OPEC members, plans to build four nuclear power reactors by 2022, joining a drive for atomic energy among Gulf countries seeking alternative sources of electricity.
Alexanders Gas and Oil 24th Nov 2010 more >>
Renewables
Tom Singh, the man who has dressed millions of British women from his New Look shops, has invested millions of pounds in green energy through the purchase of a 10 per cent stake in mO3 Power, a renewable energy company that wants to cover Britain’s farmland with solar panels. A flotation of Mr Singh’s fashion chain was postponed this year when institutional investors balked at the price tag demanded by its majority private equity owners Apax and Permira. But the float is set to be revived next year, handing Mr Singh a multimillion-pound pay day. The millionaire has invested £40 million in mO3, which is seeking to raise about ten times that amount by the spring, and already has persuaded investors to part with £130 million. The company has made planning applications for 34 solar parks, which are expected to be built on about 1,000 acres in South Wales, Norfolk, Yorkshire and Cheshire.
Times 25th Nov 2010 more >>
