Nuclear Costs
SOARING energy bills could plunge a third of households into fuel poverty by 2030 unless more nuclear power stations are built, a think-tank warned last night. A report from the Centre for Policy Studies forecasts that Britains nuclear generating capacity will fall by 75 per cent over the next few years. Energy analyst Tony Lodge, the reports author, also argued that so-called renewable energy sources such as wind turbines were unlikely to be reliable. Any further delays in building nuclear power stations would mean they could not begin contributing to the electricity-generating system before 2025, he added, making Britain dependent on increasingly costly gas for more than 80 per cent of its electricity generation by then.
Express 3rd Jan 2012 more >>
Radwaste
The New Year sort out of cupboards has unearthed an interesting find. It is the Spring 1997 issue of the FRIENDS OF THE LAKE DISTRICT newsletter. FLD has much cause for celebration. We could not have hoped for better news and the decision has been greeted with delight by local people, local authorities and environmental groups alike. In 1997 FLD celebrate their strong and active opposition to the Nirex proposal that would lead to an underground dump for intermediate level nuclear wastes in West Cumbria. This contrasts with mute acceptance and advertising of the present charade of a consultation with the aim of dumping high level wastes under the guise of Managing Radioactive Wastes Safely.
Radiation Free Lakeland 2nd Jan 2011 more >>
Scotland
Brian Wilson: Despite press releases saying otherwise, we are nowhere near our renewables target, or knowing its cost How will Scotland keep the lights on by 2020 and how much will it cost? I suggest these two questions as starting points for discussion of energy policy in 2012 in order to introduce some honesty and realism into a vital debate. The Scottish Government is excellent at issuing press releases. Invariably, they greet some supposed breakthrough in renewables capacity which, I strongly suspect, will make not a whit of difference when it comes to answering my big questions for 2020. As a long-term advocate of a balanced energy policy, I reckon Scotland is in a reasonably good place. The figures for 2010 showed that we got 30 per cent from nuclear, 29 from coal, 24 from renewables and 17 from gas. For good measure, we exported 20 per cent surplus capacity. All of that is about to chan ge. The Scottish Government is gleefully looking forward to Hunterston closing by 2016. There is uncertainty about Longannet following ScottishPower’s decision to pull the plug on plans for carbon capture and storage. Cockenzie is switching from coal to gas. Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has made renewable energy its flagship policy, second only to independence itself. By 2020, we are told, Scotland will generate the equivalent of 100 per cent of our electricity consumption from renewables. The press releases seek to disguise the implications of that aspiration.
Scotsman 3rd Jan 2012 more >>
Uranium
There is no word from Areva about the potential impact on their Chinese uranium contracts or Chinese business partnerships resulting from Arevas recent decision to abandon near-term uranium mine production at its UraMin properties in Namibia, the Central African Republic and South Africa.
i-Nuclear.com 2nd Jan 2012 more >>
Japan
Before March 11, the government and media had generally ignored the voices of alternative energy advocates. But the disaster poisoned the favorable environment for the pronuclear bureaucracy and all of the nation’s reactors may find themselves idle in the coming months at least temporarily if politicians fail to ease Japan’s boiling anitinuclear sentiment. As of Dec. 25, only six of the nation’s 54 reactors were running. But even these will be halted by spring for scheduled inspections, bringing electricity supplies to dangerous lows. Even if the reactors pass their inspections, the government may have a hard time restarting them because doing so requires the consent of the municipal and regional governments hosting them. This is something local-level politicians are now very sensitive about because the risk of voter backlash is much higher in the wake of Fukushima.
Japan Times 3rd Jan 2012 more >>
On a street just six minutes from JR Kashiwa Station, the Bec-Miru facility that Motohiro Takamatsu opened in October is turning heads by offering residents a chance to scan their own groceries, garden soil and other items for radiation. The surreal sight of a do-it-yourself radiation testing facility standing next to a hardware store and an Internet cafe raises a question for Japan: Is this the new normal?
Japan Times 1st Jan 2012 more >>
Spain
Spain’s centre-right government may allow an ageing nuclear power plant to stay open beyond a 2013 deadline for closing set by its socialist predecessors.
Reuters 2nd Jan 2012 more >>
Czech Republic
The six nuclear reactors at Temelin and Dukovany in the Czech Republic have passed their post-Fukushima, EU-mandated stress tests, Czech utility CEZ Group said January 2 in a statement.
i-Nuclear.com 2nd Jan 2012 more >>
Iran
Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum believes bombing Iranian nuclear facilities will teach Iran some lessons it badly needs. Santorum, who is surging ahead in Iowa trial polls, said in an interview to NBC’s “Meet the Press”, on Sunday, he wouldn’t hesitate to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities.
IB Times 2nd Jan 2011 more >>
Iran has launched a long-range missile during naval exercises in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, the latest show of defiance by Tehran as the west weighs tighter sanctions over its nuclear programme.
FT 2nd Jan 2012 more >>
Letter: The distinction between having a bomb and having a nuclear capability is fundamental. Only the former is forbidden by the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Some years ago, a leading Iranian told me that their object was to be like Japan. It would be better not to go so far Iran is still miles short of Japanese capability but it would also be better for the west to accept a limited capability rather than pushing the Iranians, as we are currently doing, towards the conclusion that only a bomb will deter an Israeli or western attack.
FT 3rd Jan 2012 more >>
Test Veterans
NUCLEAR test veterans on South Tyneside could hear within weeks if they have won the latest round in their battle for compensation. Men who claim they have suffered numerous medical problems as a result of being exposed to damaging radiation during allied atom bomb tests in the 1950s have spent years fighting for justice. The result of the latest stage in their long legal fight is expected later this month.
South Shields Gazette 2nd Jan 2012 more >>
Trident
If the captains of these Trident-armed subs cant tune into Britains flagship morning radio show for three consecutive days, then they know the UK is done for and its time to break out the codes and fire off the deadly weapons. These codes are stashed in a lock box and handwritten by the Prime Minister and are only to be opened when Radio 4 falls silent.
Electricpig 2nd Jan 2012 more >>
It would be naive to imagine that Faslane and Glen Douglas are not on a shortlist of UK locations set to receive long range missiles at or before the start of any major conflict in which the UK might engage. Our peripheral monkeying around in stand offs with Iran, in the wake of the Americans as usual, is foolishly provocative and particularly so in the case if nation which has just admitted to recent tests of long range missiles. While one nuclear submarine is on station somewhere in international waters at all times, this news does mean that other submarines leaving Faslane on deployment at a time of conflict might not make it out of the Clyde with the surrounding area taking the literal hit and the consequent radioactivity from damage to the ships reactor cores and warheads.
For Argyll 2nd Jan 2012 more >>
Renewables
SCOTTISH companies are being urged to tap into wind power to boost business. Aberdeenshire-based ice-cream manufacturer, Mackie’s of Scotland, Midlothian-based leaflet and posters distributors, EAE Ltd, and Renfrewshire-based Scotland-wide retailer M&Co joined environmental group WWF Scotland in encouraging more firms to follow their lead and switch to using wind energy. The companies also threw their weight behind a global consumer label which identifies products and companies made with wind energy.
Scotsman 3rd Jan 2012 more >>
