New Nukes
Building new nuclear power stations will make it harder for the UK to switch to renewable energy, said one of the top German officials leading the country’s nuclear energy phase-out. But Jochen Flasbarth, president of the Environmental Protection Agency in Germany, who advises the German government, said: “We are not missionaries, and every country will have to find its own way in energy policy, but it is obvious that nuclear plants are too inflexible and cannot sufficiently respond to variations in wind or solar generation, only gas [power stations] do.”
Guardian 28th Nov 2011 more >>
UK Chancellor George Osborne has been urged to put nuclear power at the forefront of the country’s electricity supply policy by Sir William McAlpine, chairman of the pressure group Supporters of Nuclear Energy (SONE).
New Statesman 28th Nov 2011 more >>
Hinkley
Herbert Smith has advised long time client EDF Energy on its application to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) for development consent to construct and operate a 3.2GW nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset.
The Lawyer 28th Nov 2011 more >>
Recent nuclear news from the United Kingdom includes the public release of plans for new reactors at Hinkley Point and an unconfirmed report that GE-Hitachi may pitch its salt-cooled PRISM reactor as a solution to the countrys excess plutonium problem. For Hinkley Point, British regulators released the 30,000-page application to build a new nuclear plant at the site on the Bristol Channel. EDF submitted plans to build two Areva EPR pressurized water reactors to the Infrastructure Planning Commission on Oct. 31, and the agency released them for public comment last week, the BBC reported. If approved, the project could be finished in 2020.
Nuclear Street 28th Nov 2011 more >>
Heysham
EDF Energy has restarted its 660-megawatt (MW) Heysham 2-7 nuclear reactor on Monday, a spokesman said.
Reuters 28th Nov 2011 more >>
Old Reactors
UK prompt power prices eased Monday on an improved supply outlook, with wind power output remaining high and after the return of two nuclear units, traders said. UK nuclear power generation increased Monday after EDF Energy confirmed the return of its 600 MW Heysham 2-7 unit and the 600 MW turbine 2 at Sizewell B following outages.
Platts 28th Nov 2011 more >>
Radwaste Transport
Photos of protests in Germany.
IB Times 29th Nov 2011 more >>
The Week 28th Nov 2011 more >>
Guardian 28th Nov 2011 more >>
Radwaste
The nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan, earlier this year caused many countries to rethink their appetite for nuclear power. It is also, in subtler ways, altering the fraught discussion of what to do with nuclear plants’ wastes. A prime example is Germany, which decided to shut down all its nuclear power plants by 2022 after the partial reactor meltdowns at Fukushima. That decision is making it easier for Germans to have a calm and focused discussion about a permanent disposal site for the plants’ wastes, analysts say. Previously, opponents of nuclear power worried that backing a permanent solution for the wastes would make it easier for nuclear power plants to continue to exist, according to Michael Sailer, the chief executive at the Öko-Institut in Berlin, a research and consulting group focused on sustainability.
Waste Management World 28th Nov 2011 more >>
Opinion Polls
Public opinion in many countries with nuclear power programmes has become more opposed to the technology since 2005, a new poll for the BBC indicates. But the UK and the United States are bucking the trend with those polled becoming less opposed to nuclear energy than others.
Nuclear Engineering International 28th Nov 2011 more >>
Uranium
Rio Tinto is poised to win a bidding war for a Canadian uranium company after Cameco, the worlds biggest uranium producer, declined to raise its offer for a second time.
FT 28th Nov 2011 more >>
Europe
In the wake of the March Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan and Germanys subsequent decision in June to close all of its 18 nuclear power plants between 2015 and 2022, the European Union is turning its eyes eastwards to new EU members Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slovakia, offering further funding to ensure that its Soviet-era nuclear reactors remain out of service permanently.
Oil Price 28th Nov 2011 more >>
Japan
Masao Yoshida, 56, has been hospitalised for “treatment of illness” and will relinquish his director post at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeast Japan from Thursday. His sudden departure without a specific medical explanation is likely to prompt speculation surrounding the possible connection between his medical condition and exposure to high radiation levels at the plant. However, officials at Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), operators of the plant, declined to comment on whether Mr Yoshida’s illness was connected to radiation exposure.
Telegraph 28th Nov 2011 more >>
Daily Mail 28th Nov 2011 more >>
With the shutdown of unit 2 at Kansai Electric Power Company’s (Kepco’s) Takahama nuclear power plant for a periodic inspection, less than 20% of Japans nuclear generating capacity is now in operation.
World Nuclear News 28th Nov 2011 more >>
Tokyo Electric Power said it would raise about Y192bn ($2.5bn) by selling its stakes in KDDI, the telecoms carrier, and Kanto Natural Gas Development to help cover the costs of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster. Tepco, which faces an estimated Y4,700bn bill to cover compensation for those affected by the worst nuclear disaster in 25 years, as well as the cost of decommissioning the Fukushima plant, is selling the KDDI stake back to the telecoms group.
FT 28th Nov 2011 more >>
Iran
A large explosion has been reported in the Iranian city of Isfahan as the regime issued conflicting reports apparently designed to deny any suggestions of a sabotage attack on its nuclear facilities.
Telegraph 28th Nov 2011 more >>
The Iranians keep insisting all they want to do is to develop nuclear power, which flies in the face of disturbing evidence to the contrary recently released by the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, which suggested that they are actively trying to build a nuclear bomb. The crisis over Iran’s nuclear programme which has now dominated the international security agenda for a decade or more is clearly coming to a head, with both the British and American governments pointedly refusing to rule out the possibility of launching military action to destroy Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. If Iran were really serious about reaching a peaceful resolution to this crisis it would be seeking to establish a dialogue.
Telegraph 28th Nov 2011 more >>
Bangladesh
Bangladesh has achieved notable progress in its nuclear infrastructure development of nuclear power, according to a team of international experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency. An IAEA Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) mission concluded that Bangladesh has mostly met the conditions for knowledgeable decision-making and is actively preparing for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project.
Nuclear Engineering International 28th Nov 2011 more >>
CCS
THE £1 billion that had been earmarked for carbon-capture-and-storage (CCS) technology will be spent on other projects, the UK government has announced.
Scotsman 29th Nov 2011 more >>
Independent 29th Nov 2011 more >>
The government was forced to reassure the carbon capture and storage industry on Monday after comments from the Treasury appeared to cast doubt on the future of £1bn funding for the technology. Danny Alexander appeared to suggest money set aside for CCS could be subsumed into general infrastructure spending. But the Department of Energy and Climate Change moved to calm fears, insisting £1bn was still available from the government to fund pioneering CCS projects.
Guardian 28th Nov 2011 more >>
Green Deal
Briefing by JDS Associates on the Green Deal and ECO.
JDS Associates 25th Nov 2011 more >>
