New nukes
All of Britain’s existing nuclear power plants could be shielded from the worst expected effects of climate change for the next 100 years using technology available now, according to research published on Tuesday.
Reuters 27th Nov 2007 more >>
Almost all big British businesses think cutting their carbon emissions is important and that switching to cleaner energy is a good way to do it, a survey showed. But 40 percent of the 500 largest companies in Britain, surveyed over the last month, do not regard nuclear power as low carbon even though some of the biggest have said in a separate report that they wanted more reactors to be built soon.
Reuters 26th Nov 2007 more >>
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has promised that a decision on whether Britain should build new nuclear power stations will be made early next year. Mr Brown told delegates at the Confederation of British Industry’s annual conference in London yesterday that the time for public debate had finished. He said the controversial decision over Britain’s nuclear future must be made to ensure security of energy supplies over the next decades.
Telegraph 27th Nov 2007 more >>
The Business 27th Nov 2007 more >>
GORDON Brown yesterday re-ignited the row over building new nuclear power stations, signalling he believed they had a role to play in tackling climate change. The Prime Minister was speaking to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) ahead of a final decision to be announced early next year after a consultation process. At the CBI’s conference, Mr Brown said: “We must – and will – take the right long-term decisions to invest now for the next generation of sustainable and secure energy supplies. We have said that new nuclear power stations potentially have a role to play in tackling climate change and improving energy security.”
Scotsman 27th Nov 2007 more >>
Sir David King told BBC News that he was disappointed that the UK government had not pushed forward with more power stations in the 2003
Energy White Paper; the government said that it wanted to see if renewables would fill the gap. However, Sir David now says that he knew at the time he did not believe renewables on their own would be enough.
BBC 27th Nov 2007 more >>
e-Politix 27th Nov 2007 more >>
Cameron’s CBI speech 27th Nov 2007: more >>
The CBI has suggested 12 new nuclear reactors as a carbon abatement strategy.
World Nuclear News 27th Nov 2007 more >>
Unite, the UK’s largest trade union and global engineering construction company, Westinghouse, have joined forces to champion British industry. Speaking at a joint event today with Westinghouse and Prospect trade union, Dougie Rooney, Unite National Officer for Energy and Utilities, will say that 10,000 jobs can be created over a period of 10 years, if the UK government ensures that manufacturing and construction industries here get a share of any new nuclear reactor development and build in the UK.
Unite 27th Nov 2007 more >>
A new independent report out today has suggested that plans to build new nuclear power stations here in the UK risk wandering into the realms of fantasy.
Greenpeace website 26th Nov 2007 more >>
British Energy
Plans for a new generation of nuclear power stations will take a significant step forward today when British Energy names four sites in the south of
England as the first it wants to link to the national grid. Sizewell in Suffolk, Dungeness in Kent, Hinkley in Somerset and Bradwell in Essex have been identified as the most likely sites for new nuclear construction. British Energy, the nuclear generator, will say this morning that National Grid, which owns the electricity transmission network, has agreed to put in enough additional capacity to connect up new nuclear power stations if they are built at those locations. Lack of grid capacity has been seen as a significant obstacle to new nuclear investment. The government is expected to give the go-ahead to a new generation of nuclear power stations early next year.
FT 27th Nov 2007 more >>
AFX News 27th Nov 2007 more >>
Bloomberg 27th Nov 2007 more >>
British Energy has named eight of its sites as possible locations for next-generation nuclear plants. The firm earmarked Sizewell in Suffolk, Hinkley in Somerset, Bradwell in Essex and Dungeness in Kent for development. It also named Heysham in Lancashire, Torness in East Lothian, Hunterston in Ayrshire and Hartlepool.
BBC 27th Nov 2007 more >>
Sizewell
The prospect of a new nuclear power station being built in the region came a step closer yesterday, after the prime minister signalled his backing for a new generation of such stations.
East Anglian Daily Press 27th Nov 2007 more >>
Planning
Britain’s green energy companies could be among the biggest winners under new legislation to streamline the planning system, Hazel Blears, communities secretary, claimed yesterday. Ms Blears said the new laws should mean that even the most controversial infrastructure projects, including tidal barrages or big wind farms, could clear the planning system in less than a year. The planning bill, published today, aims to tackle Britain’s glacial planning system – a constant source of frustration for business – under which some key projects can be held up by public inquiries for five years or more.
FT 27th Nov 2007 more >>
China
President Sarkozy helped to clinch the world’s largest commercial nuclear power contract yesterday, winning an agreement to sell French-designed reactors and atomic fuel worth nearly $12 billion to China.
Times 27th Nov 2007 more >>
Energy Business Review 27th Nov 2007 more >>
World Nuclear News 26th Nov 2007 more >>
Nuclear power giant EDF is seeking to pick up a 30% stake in a planned nuclear power joint venture in China.
Energy Business Review 26th Nov 2007 more >>
Energy Efficiency
Saving on the home front Carbon dioxide emissions from UK homes could be cut by up to 80% by 2050, according to a low carbon strategy produced by Oxford University. Financial incentives for home owners and tighter energy efficiency standards were among the study’s recommendations. One technology that could deliver sizeable saving is micro combined heat and power (CHP). Micro CHP systems generate both heat and electricity locally, and reduce
costs and emissions by offsetting energy needs that otherwise would have been drawn from national electricity and gas distribution grids.
BBC 27th Nov 2007 more >>
Emergency Planning
Jersey’s emergency planning officer is in France to see how the French would deal with an accident at the Flamanville nuclear reactor plant.
BBC 27th Nov 2007 more >>
Iran
An Iranian court today acquitted a former nuclear negotiator of spying for the British government but convicted him of acting against the Islamic authorities. The Iranian government charged Hossein Mousavian earlier this month with passing classified information to foreigners, including the British embassy, and the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, called him a “spy” and “traitor”.
Guardian website 27th Nov 2007 more >>
Inspectors from the U.N. atomic watchdog agency on Monday began checking uranium fuel that was produced at a Russian facility for Iran’s first nuclear power plant, officials said.
Guardian website 26th Nov 2007 more >>
