New Nukes
Ed Milliband: There is a temptation for people to justify opposition to each form of low-carbon power, but the truth is that on grounds of energy security and climate change, we cannot afford this luxury. Everything we know suggests that there can be no comfort any more in a high-carbon energy policy. If we pursue this course, we risk finding ourselves unable to meet our climate change commitments and facing a more difficult and painful transition to low carbon in a world where prices have been pushed up, by both global demand and agreements to put a price on carbon. And as if that wasn’t enough, we would also miss the huge low-carbon industrial opportunity for Britain. So as well as improving energy efficiency, we need to pursue the trinity of low-carbon technologies: renewables, nuclear and clean fossil fuels. In Scotland, the Nationalists still repeat “no thanks”, refusing to contemplate nuclear and insisting on a one-club energy policy. They are putting roadblocks up to low carbon, even as Scottish voters appear to support new nuclear power.
Times 27th Apr 2009 more >>
Sizewell
Protesters have held a vigil against nuclear power at a generating station in Suffolk to mark 23 years since the Chernobyl disaster. The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), which organised a “peaceful” overnight protest at Sizewell said it wanted to highlight the dangers.
BBC 26th Apr 2009 more >>
Faslane
The country’s main nuclear submarine base has been hit by a series of safety breaches, including leaks of radioactive waste, it is reported. In a confidential report released under the Freedom of Information Act, the Ministry of Defence described safety failings at Faslane, on the Gare Loch near Glasgow, as a “recurring theme”. The worst breaches include three leaks of radioactive coolant from nuclear submarines in 2004, 2007 and 2008 into the Firth of Clyde.
AOL 27th Apr 2009 more >>
Britain’s nuclear submarine base at Faslane has had so many safety breaches – including leaks of radioactive material – that they have become a “recurring theme”, according to a confidential government report. The documents, which were released to Channel 4 News, showed the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) warned it would consider closing the base if it had the power to do so.
Guardian 27th Apr 2009 more >>
SEPA Documents http://www.sepa.org.uk/about_us/access_to_information/access_to_information_files/faslane_and_coulport.aspx
Telegraph 27th Apr 2009 more >>
Yorkshire Post 27th Apr 2009 more >>
BBC 27th Apr 2009 more >>
They are devastating admissions about one of Britain’s most significant nuclear sites, the sprawling and heavily defended base for the UK’s nuclear deterrent at Faslane, which dominates the coastline on a quiet sea loch north-west of Glasgow. Detailed within 400 pages of internal reports, emails and letters released under the Freedom of Information Act are startling admissions of repeated safety breaches and failures of management.
Guardian 27th Apr 2009 more >>
North Korea
THE youngest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has reportedly been named to the powerful National Defence Commission, an appointment analysts said yesterday indicates the 26-year-old is being groomed to take power amid tension over the country’s nuclear programmes.
Scotsman 27th Apr 2009 more >>
North Korea has resumed plutonium extraction.
FT 27th Apr 2009 more >>
Test Veterans
After decades of campaigning by veterans, and shameful prevarication on behalf of successive governments, the nuclear test guinea pigs have made significant progress in recent months towards receiving the compensation and war pensions many argue they deserve.
Times 27th Apr 2009 more >>
Children and grandchildren of servicemen involved in Britain’s nuclear bomb tests are to get medical help for the first time. The families – who have 10 times the normal rate of birth defects – are to take part in a landmark £500,000 study, it was announced last week.
Sunday Mirror 26th Apr 2009 more >>
Disarmament
Russian and American negotiators began work at the weekend on their ambitious plans to rid the world of nuclear weapons. The talks are intended to produce a new agreement to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start) that expires in December. This time, however, both sides are committed to cutting their arsenals well below the current combined total of 5,000 warheads, after the declaration by presidents Obama and Medvedev in London on April 1 that they would work towards the scrapping of all nuclear arms. It is a fraught endeavour, but a very worthwhile one.
Times 27th Apr 2009 more >>
Climate
Climate change needs the same kind of mass support that fired the Make Poverty History campaign, the energy secretary Ed Miliband said yesterday. He is right to try to provoke a sense of obligation in this generation to future generations, but although we can all play our part in reducing demand, only government can deliver the incentives and the structure for clean energy supplies.
Guardian 27th Apr 2009 more >>
Renewables
Construction at Europe’s largest onshore wind farm is on course to be completed ahead of schedule, with the capacity to generate power for every home in Glasgow. ScottishPower Renewables confirmed yesterday that 126 turbines have been built at Whitelee, near Glasgow, and work on the final 14 has begun. All 140 turbines, producing up to 322 MW of electricity, are scheduled to be in place within the next few weeks. The announcement by the energy giant came on the same day that First Minister Alex Salmond called for Scotland to realise its potential as a world leader on green energy projects, as a pioneer of “carbon capture” technologies.
Herald 27th Apr 2009 more >>
