Planning
A major change to Britain’s planning process under the new government will not delay the permitting of nuclear power plants, energy minister Charles Hendry said Thursday to ease fears of nuclear developers. The new coalition government has shifted the final say from the Infrastructure Planning Committee (IPC), which was set up by the previous Labour government to approve large energy projects, back to ministers.
STV 25th Nov 2010 more >>
Terror
Energy minister Charles Hendry has to answer some intriguing questions from time to time, but he must have gulped when he looked at a recent batch tabled by Parliament’s sole Green Party backbencher, Caroline Lucas. She wanted to know if his department had assessed “the merits of implementing force-to-force security protection exercises at UK nuclear installations” and if the secretary of state had held discussions with his US counterpart about the effectiveness of such exercises at US civil and military nuclear sites. There was more in a similar but more detailed vein. Lucas asked whether any assessments had been “made of the adequacy of physical protection measures at UK nuclear installations against attack from laser-guided anti-tank shoulder-fired weapons” and whether the energy secretary was planning to discuss with his Russian counterpart “the force-on-force security system tests on purpose! -built dummy reactor buildings which Russian security forces have conducted using AT14 Kornet/Spriggen weapons”. Hendry played a straight bat. He replied: “The government does not comment on the detail of security matters at civil nuclear sites. It is important that security measures adopted at civil nuclear installations are proportionate to the threat. Nuclear site licence companies are responsible for meeting the costs of security.” Nice try Caroline. Don’t think you or the great man (Disconnector, not Hendry) is any clearer as a result of that probing, though. However, one suspects that the sort of assessments she was asking about haven’t been applied to UK reactors.
Utility Week 25th Nov 2010 more >>
Radwaste
Government response to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee Report: Radioactive Waste Management: a further update.
Parliament 22nd Nov 2010 more >>
Dounreay
DOUNREAY’S operators yesterday responded to fresh concern about the hazard posed by the contaminated seabed immediately off the site. The discovery of one of the hottest particles yet unearthed in this summer’s “trawl” by a specialist contractor has been described by nuclear consultant John Large as deeply concerning. He claims environmental and health authorities need to review the risks posed by the seabed pollution in light of the latest finds. A remote-controlled vehicle recovered 429 reactor fuel fragments during the three-month clean-up. Dr Large said the find of the 100 million Bq particle was a “shameful” indictment of past management practices. He said: “We are only now beginning to realise the extent and activity of the particles which have been discharged. The plant operators seem to view the results as an indication of how wonderful the technology is in retrieving the particles. “! ;What I find remarkable is the callous disregard for public safety the plant managers of the time had in allowing the discharges to happen in the first place.” London-based Dr Large believes the risks lie less with skin contact and more with ingesting a particle, which is the size of a grain of sand.
John O Groat Journal 19th Nov 2010 more >>
Supply Chain
Sheffield Forgemasters has conducted casting trials on a hollow steel ingot which could help the company to win contracts linked to the nuclear power sector. The company was at the centre of a political storm earlier this year, when the coalition Government cancelled an £80m loan to the firm.
Yorkshire Post 25th Nov 2010 more >>
The Manufacturer 25th Nov 2010 more >>
Westinghouse Electric UK and Springfields Fuels Ltd. have enhanced its commitment to UK manufacturing, by awarding a major new contract to South Yorkshire-based Newburgh Engineering for the supply of in-core reactor fuel components for use at existing UK nuclear power stations.
The Engineer 25th Nov 2010 more >>
Hinkley
EDF reduced production at a 610-megawatt reactor at Hinkley Point in Somerset, England, for refueling. Hinkley Point B7 was generating 140 megawatts as of 1 p.m. local time, according to National Grid Plc data. The unit “is at low load for planned refueling.
Bloomberg 25th May 2010 more >>
A DETAILED investigation into the cost of putting cables for a proposed new power line from Avonmouth to Hinkley Point under the Severn Estuary has been launched by National Grid. The energy giant wants to create a new line from Bridgwater to Avonmouth to bring electricity from the proposed new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point on to its transmission network. It is looking at a series of options for the new line along two route corridors, both of which would cut across swathes of the North Somerset and Somerset countryside.
Bristol Evening Post 25th Nov 2010 more >>
Energy giant EDF Energy has been blasted for breaching conservation guidelines and forcing a colony of badgers off land earmarked for controversial new nuclear power stations at Hinkley Point in north Somerset. Environmentalists warn that future corner-cutting could put lives at risk if construction of the two new reactors gets the green light.
Indymedia 23rd Nov 2010 more >>
Small Reactors
Small modular nuclear fission reactor (SMRs) — which are even more safe and secure than modern western designs. The public should feel better about nuclear by learning more about SMRs. And government regulatory agencies should be feeling much better about licensing the new SMR designs, given their improved safety and security aspects.
Oil Price 25th Nov 2010 more >>
Uranium
Canadian uranium producer Cameco announced November 23 that it has signed an agreement with China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co., Ltd. (CGNPC) to supply 29 million pounds of uranium concentrate under a long-term agreement through 2025.
Nuclear Engineering International 25th Nov 2010 more >>
Sustainable Development Commission
Scottish ministers have come under fierce fire for scrapping their green advisers, the Sustainable Development Commission. The environment minister, Richard Lochhead, announced late this afternoon that funding for the commission will cease from next March, silencing one of the government’s most effective and radical critics.
Rob Edwards 25th Nov 2010 more >>
Scotland
Increased energy prices are to blame for the latest rise in the number of households suffering “fuel poverty”, according to new figures. About 770,000 households, a third of the total, were placed in that category in 2009, an increase from 618,000 over the previous year. The term is used when more than 10 per cent of income is spent on household fuel.
Scotsman 26th Nov 2010 more >>
France
Electricite de France SA may be forced to sell nuclear power to rivals at less than it says it needs to recoup production costs under a law adopted yesterday by France’s National Assembly, according to a lawmaker.
Bloomberg 25th Nov 2010 more >>
Canada
The provincial government of Ontario announced it plans to finance at least two new nuclear plants and refurbish 10 others over the next 20 years. The authority is committed to nuclear continuing to provide around half of the province’s electricity supply. Canada currently has 18 nuclear units of which 16 are in Ontario. Two new units, providing 2000MW of capacity, will be built at the Darlington site which already houses four nuclear reactors; units at the Darlington and Bruce sites will to be modernised and the operating lifetime of units at the Pickering nuclear plant will be extended until 2020.
Nuclear Engineering International 25th Nov 2010 more >>
China
Westinghouse Electric Co., owned by Toshiba Corp., expects additional orders for its third- generation AP1000 reactors from China after selling four units three years ago to the world’s fastest-growing nuclear market.
Bloomberg 25th Nov 2010 more >>
North Korea
Korea experts are trying to establish whether North Korea’s shelling of a South Korean island is linked to recent disclosures about Pyongyang’s nuclear programme.
Janes’s 25th Nov 2010 more >>
India
India has successfully tested a medium-range version of its most powerful nuclear-capable missile during an army training exercise.
Bloomberg 25th Nov 2010 more >>
Telegraph 25th Nov 2010 more >>
Disarmament
The US Senate should ratify the US-Russia strategic arms reduction treaty without further delay. Senate Republicans are blocking this important measure, which would reduce the two powers’ nuclear stockpiles and restore the verification system that lapsed when the previous treaty expired. The GOP calls constantly for the White House to extend its hand in co-operation over measures that command bipartisan support. There is no better instance than Start.
FT 26th Nov 2010 more >>
Test Veterans
NUCLEAR test veterans have been given a boost after Prime Minister David Cameron agreed to personally look into their case.
Burton Mail 25th Nov 2010 more >>
