New Nukes
EDF Energy is moving ahead with plans to build four nuclear power plants after joining forces with Rolls Royce. Under the agreement, Rolls Royce will supply engineering and technical support during the planning and construction phases.
Planning Resource 25th Sept 2009 more >>
Processing of nuclear fuel has been granted an exemption from European Union (EU) plans to auction carbon dioxide emissions allowances from 2013, although the exemption list will be reviewed before 2010.
World Nuclear News 24th Sept 2009 more >>
IRENA – the International Renewable Energy Agency – has condemned the decision of the IEA to include nuclear and CCS projects in developing markets into the mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol. ‘The Clean Development Mechanism is not called clean out of any reason – only 100% renewable energy is clean. CCS technology on the other hand is nothing but a fata morgana, technically feasible on a larger scale not before 2020,’ IRENA said in a statement.
PV-tech 24th Sept 2009 more >>
Dounreay
Bidders for nuclear work are gearing up to fight for a multibillion pound contract to manage the clean-up of the Dounreay site on the northern coast of Scotland. The NDA has issued a tender seeking a consortium to oversee the restoration operation at the site. The programme is valued at about £3.6bn. The Pentland Alliance is regarded as the frontrunner for the job. Members of this consortium, which includes Amec, CH2M Hill and the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), have been seconded to senior posts at Dounreay over the past three years. However, in a surprise move last week, the commercial arm of UKAEA chose engineer Babcock International rather than Amec to be its buyer, which raised questions about the future of the Pentland Alliance. However, it is thought that the consortium will continue.
Building 25th Sept 2009 more >>
One of the most demanding clean-up jobs ever undertaken in the history of nuclear energy is gathering pace. It involves the recovery and packaging of more than 1500 tonnes of radioactive waste that has lain submerged for up to 50 years in the ground beneath Britain’s abandoned experiment with fast reactors at Dounreay – in the Dounreay Shaft and Wet Silo. Tests are underway in Scotland, Germany and the USA to develop the heavily-shielded plant that will sift and package the hazardous debris once it is brought back to the surface. Later this year, work is expected to begin on a scheme design for the robotic machinery that will descend up to 65 metres below the surface to recover the waste from its watery resting place.
Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd. 24th Sept 2009 more >>
Dounreay has published the findings of its investigation into the discovery of a radioactive particle in land adjacent to the licensed site. The investigation report has been distributed to the land-user and nearby residents and SEPA. An investigation was carried out into the discovery of contamination during a survey last month of the off-site area designated for development as a repository for low level radioactive waste from the site decommissioning.
DSRL 17th Sept 2009 more >>
Liberal Democrats
That’s it’s for the Lib Dem conference for another year, with members, despite strong and impassioned arguments, having voted to retain their “no nukes, no way” position. Why was this? Could there have been an Opik effect? For we heard the knowledgable Lembit tell how he had researched it all for a year and had reached the conclusion that nuclear wasn’t so bad after all. But we also heard him say that the waste could go to disposal sites in Uruguay or Paraguay. They don’t have nuclear waste disposal sites, we understand. Seems he wasted a whole year.
Guardian 24th Sept 2009 more >>
Sellafield
Sellafield emergency exercise dubbed “irrelevant sham” Sellafield emergency exercise dubbed “irrelevant sham” An emergency exercise at the Sellafield plant on Thursday has been dubbed “an irrelevant PR sham” by anti-nuclear campaigners. Marianne Birkby of Radiation Free Lakeland said: “This exercise has everything to do with the appearance of the authorities being in control and nothing to do with the safety of Cumbrians.” RFL believe there is no place in nuclear safety for Public Relations exercises that bear no relevance to the real dangers.
Get Noticed Online 23rd Sept 2009 more >>
WEST Cumbria will have a new social master plan to help the area cope with the possible loss of 8,000 jobs. These may go mainly through decommissioning at Sellafield.
Whitehaven News 23rd Sept 2009 more >>
THE THREAT of strike action hanging over Sellafield and other energy construction sites seems to have been averted. Mass meetings are now being arranged at all UK sites, including Sellafield, at which union officials will recommend acceptance of a new deal covering pay and conditions.
Whitehaven News 23rd Sept 2009 more >>
Low Level Waste
THE search for more nuclear waste sites will hot up now that consultations on what to do with future low-level radioactive material have ended. The government will have the headache of finally deciding how far to move away from Drigg – the country’s only designated site – or to use landfill both in West Cumbria and other parts of the country. Both Copeland Borough and Cumbria County Council have made it crystal clear that contaminated material should be kept at, or as near as possible to, both Sellafield and Drigg. But this may fly in the face of government national strategy which will consider whether some conventional landfill sites could fit the bill. These would dispose of only the very lowest levels of radioactive materials, some of it from hospitals and universities as well as the nuclear industry.
Whitehaven News 23rd Sept 2009 more >>
Sizewell
The probability of two new nuclear reactors at Sizewell, as well as gas fired plants at South Holland and Kings Lynn and the development of the offshore wind farm at Lowestoft (Greater Gabbard) mean that National Grid needs to not only provide a connection to these power stations, but also to ensure that there is enough capacity in the system.
Kathy Pollard (Lib Dem Councillor) 22nd Sept 2009 more >>
British Energy has today submitted an Environmental Scoping Report to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). The Scoping Report outlines the nature and purpose of British Energy’s proposed spent fuel management strategy which options include on-site storage in a dry fuel store from 2015, when the current fuel ponds will reach capacity.
British Energy 22nd Sept 2009 more >>
Bulgaria
RWE AG Chief Executive Officer Juergen Grossmann is considering withdrawing from a nuclear power plant to be built in Belenes, Bulgaria, because of rising costs.
Bloomberg 25th Sept 2009 more >>
Proliferation
World leaders backed a landmark resolution yesterday calling for a world without nuclear weapons at a United Nations Security Council, but Sarkozy came close to mocking Obama for a resolution with no targets or fresh mandates. “We live in a real world not a virtual world, and the real world expects us to take decisions”.
Irish Independent 25th Sept 2009 more >>
THE UN Security Council, at a summit chaired by US President Barack Obama, unanimously approved a resolution yesterday calling on nuclear weapons states to scrap their arsenals.
Irish Examiner 25th Sept 2009 more >>
The resolution calls for stepped up efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, promote disarmament and “reduce the risk of nuclear terrorism.”
Belfast Telegraph 25th Sept 2009 more >>
FT 25th Sept 2009 more >>
There is a growing fear amongst disarmament experts both inside and outside government that the whole machinery intended to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons – whose cornerstone is the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT – is looking increasingly fragile. As nuclear power spreads around the globe, there is a growing risk that nuclear know-how could encourage other countries to aspire to nuclear weapons. Mr Obama’s approach rests upon three main pillars. First the nuclear-armed powers must demonstrate their own disarmament credentials in deeds rather than just words. Second the whole machinery of non-proliferation must be strengthened. Thirdly the nuclear bargain needs to be reinforced too. Real efforts must be made to share and encourage the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
BBC 24th Sept 2009 more >>
THE world’s nuclear states pledged yesterday to scrap their deadly arsenals in a move which experts said could be the most significant attempt in decades to halt a new nuclear arms race.
Scotsman 25th Sept 2009 more >>
Herald 25th Sept 2009 more >>
Telegraph 25th Sept 2009 more >>
Some believe events are fast pushing Israel toward a pre-emptive military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Iran was given a September deadline to start negotiations over its nuclear programs at July’s G8 summit in Italy. So Mr Obama is right to seize any chance of halting this new nuclear arms race. But can Iran and North Korea be persuaded that, this time, the nuclear club will come through? It has to be worth a try.
Scotsman 25th Sept 2009 more >>
While the presidents and prime ministers declared their commitment to a world without nuclear weapons, back home, much of the nuclear club – including China and Russia – is quietly planning to upgrade their current arsenals.
Scotsman 25th Sept 2009 more >>
Gordon Brown urged the United Nations to come up with “far tougher” sanctions on Iran and North Korea if they continue with their nuclear weapons programmes.
Herald 25th Sept 2009 more >>
Q&A on the NPT and Nuclear Disarmament.
BBC 24th Sept 2009 more >>
Iran
Pressure mounted on Iran yesterday to halt its nuclear programme as world leaders at the United Nations warned of the threat posed by Tehran to a global consensus on disarmament.
Times 25th Sept 2009 more >>
Independent 25th Sept 2009 more >>
Iranian negotiators should realise that their centrifuges are reaching their highest trade-in value. Push it any further, and Iran will not have an internationally monitored production line of enriched uranium to feed its nuclear reactors. Instead of international finance and trade, it will attract blockades and bombs.
Guardian 25th Sept 2009 more >>
Trident
Gordon Brown’s gesture is an exercise in political symbolism rather than a major change in Britain’s nuclear posture. The fourth submarine is essentially a “spare” and it is probable that – whatever some nuclear-weapons advocates say – a missile submarine can be maintained on patrol at sea at all times with a fleet of just three boats.
Open Democracy 24th Sept 2009 more >>
FORMER nuclear submarine engineering officer and chief petty officer Terry Spurling believes the Royal Navy needs at least four boats if it is to maintain Britain’s nuclear missile deterrent.
Business Gazette 24th Sept 2009 more >>
Climate
The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published in 2007 is widely considered the most authoritative report on global warming. However a new report looking at the science that has been produced since found that temperature rises could be even higher because of increasing amounts of pollution in the atmosphere, speeding up of melting glaciers, collapsing ecosystems and acidification of the oceans.
Telegraph 25th Sept 2009 more >>
Coal
Letter from WDM and FoE(S): Local campaigners are absolutely right to challenge Scottish Government plans to build a coal-fired power station at Hunterston on the basis that they haven’t been properly consulted. The proposal is also flawed in other ways, not least because there is no need for new coal in Scotland. The World Development Movement recently published a report, The Power of Scotland, Renewed, based on independent analysis, which showed that Scotland can meet its projected electricity needs between now and 2030 without new coal (or nuclear). Given that the Scottish climate change law also requires Scotland to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 42 per cent by 2020 (and burning coal is a major source of these emissions) it is hard to see why the Hunterston proposal came to be in the National Planning Framework at all.
Scotsman 25th Sept 2009 more >>
