Nuclear Security
Opponents of nuclear power rightly focus on issues of cost, operational danger and waste disposal, writes David Lowry. But they should not forget the towering ‘elephant in the room’ – nuclear security and the risk of proliferation and terrorist attacks.
Ecologists 2nd May 2014 read more »
Moorside
Key commercial terms have been agreed with Japanese technology giant Toshiba and its partner GDF SUEZ for the construction of a new nuclear power station in West Cumbria. Toshiba signed a preliminary £102 million deal to buy a 60% stake in the NuGen nuclear venture in January and has pledged to invest £200 million as part of a new agreement. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has agreed to extend a land option agreement with the developers, which reaffirms the consortium’s commitment to build three reactors at Moorside. NuGen plans to use reactors made by Toshiba-owned Westinghouse, which are expected to come online by 2024 and produce 3.4GW of nuclear capacity – enough to power up to six million homes.
Energy Live News 2nd May 2014 read more »
Cumbria nuclear power station plans have been slammed by North-west Greens and branded ‘dangerous technology’. Peter Cranie, the North-west Green Party’s European election candidate, said: “We cannot continue to bury our heads in the sand and build a whole new generation of nuclear power stations. “Recently the Environment Agency warned that flooding at Drigg could lead to the contamination of vast swathes of land. “As we saw at Fukushima, nuclear is a dangerous technology. “The waste remains radioactive for thousands of years. What kind of legacy is that to leave to our children?” “The nuclear industry sustains many jobs in Cumbria, but the coast here has huge potential to become a centre of excellence for the renewable energy industry, providing green jobs.
NW Evening Mail 2nd May 2014 read more »
Toshiba will invest £200 million in Britain’s nuclear power industry in a deal that will create more than 14,000 jobs in construction in Cumbria, David Cameron and Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe announced. The premiers met for talks in Downing Street aimed at bolstering economic links. Earlier this month, plans for a new nuclear power station were given a boost when Toshiba agreed a £102 million deal to buy a majority stake in a project to build three reactors. Under the agreement, three AP1000 nuclear reactors built by Westinghouse Electric Compant which is owned by Toshiba, will be constructed at Moorside, near the Sellafield site. Around 1200 workers are employed at Westinghouse’s Springfields site near Preston – which is where fuel for the new NuGen reactors will be made. Westinghouse intends to build three AP1000 reactors at the site at Moorside, near Sellafield.
Lancashire Evening Post 2nd May 2014 read more »
Sellafield
At last. Local printed media has picked up on the fact that Sellafield has harvested tissue from the trapped roe deer for experimentation.
Radiation Free Lakeland 2nd May 2014 read more »
A NUCLEAR site has called its analysis of culled deer standard practice – but anti-radiation campaigners believe the animals were used as “sacrificial canaries”. On March 28 Sellafield Ltd publicly announced that three deer trapped within their fencing were culled as a last resort, following expert advice from the Deer Initiative. They have now revealed that samples from the carcases were used for analysis.
NW Evening Mail 30th April 2014 read more »
TEPCO/Sellafield
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) considers it would be beneficial to share expertise with overseas operators which have similar decommissioning experience, to decommission Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. TEPCO has agreed with Sellafield Ltd. on exchanging information relating to the management and technology of decommissioning, towards a safer and stable decontamination and decommissioning at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. Sellafield Ltd. is a company in UK which has engaged in the decommissioning of a reactor and radioactive waste facilities. On ahead of the formal information exchanging agreement, the two companies signed a cooperation statement, which clarifies the objectives and significance of the agreement.
TEPCO 2nd May 2014 read more »
IB Times 2nd May 2014 read more »
ITV 2nd May 2014 read more »
Contractors working on Sellafield nuclear power station could win work on the Fukushima clean-up in Japan. Nuclear plant operator Sellafield Ltd and Tepco FDEC, the company in charge of decontaminating the site in eastern Japan have signed a cooperation agreement this week. The Fukushima plant suffered a partial meltdown after it was hit by a tsunami in 2011. Under the agreement Tepco representatives will visit Sellafield to learn from its clean-up work. The deal will also provide opportunities for the UK firm to see advancements made at Fukushima in future.
New Civil Engineer 2nd May 2014 read more »
Decommissioning
Innovus has seen a flurry of new applications from West Cumbrian companies wanting to become part of the region’s nuclear decommissioning efforts. The new applications come after a decommissioning opportunities event held by Innovia in March. So far 40 applications have been submitted from companies interested in decommission nuclear sites across the country, including Sellafield in West Cumbria. Four new applications have been submitted since the event. Speaking of the March event, Sellafield’s research and development manager Professor Neil Smart said: “It was great to see the variety of SME’s, businesses and Sellafield Ltd staff engaging on ideas to support the decommissioning opportunities we have.”
NW Evening Mail 2nd May 2014 read more »
Nuclear Weapons
Bruce Kent: Why nuclear spending is wrong: People ask me why I’m traveling around the country speaking on this theme in so many places. The reason is that I can’t stand stupidity, waste and gross immorality. They make me angry.
Sheffield Telegraph 3rd May 2014 read more »
The Non-Aligned Movement has reiterated the demand for Israel, the only country in the Middle East that has not joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty, to ‘renounce possession of nuclear weapons’ and join the Treaty without delay.
Ecologist 2nd May 2014 read more »
Test Veterans
John Baron MP: When compared with how other countries treat their nuclear test veterans, Britain has a shameful record. Ministry of Defence (MoD) references to war pensions do not wash. The very high rate of serious ill health amongst veterans’ offspring reinforces the fact that, although no side can lay hold to firm scientific evidence, there is a case to be answered. The Government needs to build on its good track record of acknowledging past wrongs, and finally recognise the debt of gratitude we owe to these veterans and their families.
Conservative Home 2nd May 2014 read more »
Japan – reactor restarts
Moves by Japan’s government and electric utilities to restart nuclear power plants idled after the 2011 Fukushima accident are facing further delays and appear unlikely to succeed before the summer peak, prolonging an economically burdensome rise in energy imports. Until as recently as last month, it had been widely assumed that the first reactors would come back on line in May or June, before the heat of the Japanese summer prompts a surge in air conditioner use that pushes electricity consumption higher. But that outcome appears increasingly improbable, analysts said, due to the slower than expected pace of safety reviews for the dozen-odd reactors whose owners have applied for permission to resume operations. In the latest development, the Nuclear Regulation Authority, the government agency conducting the reviews, told Kyushu Electric Power on Friday that a list of planned and completed safety upgrades for a pair of reactors, contained in a 7,200 page application that it submitted this week, was insufficient. Kyushu Electric had not adequately outlined measures to deal with some types of fires, including a theoretical blaze caused by an airliner crashing into a reactor, the agency said. It plans to meet again in a week to review proposed changes to the company’s application.
FT 2nd May 2014 read more »
The restart of Japan’s Sendai and Genkai nuclear power reactors in Kyushu is unlikely to cut LNG imports because of the proximity of oil-fired power plants. Utility Kyushu Electric’s Sendai 1 and 2 reactors are likely to be the first to gain government approval for restarting. Both have a capacity of 890MW and sit on the southwest of the island of Kyushu. Safety reinforcements were scheduled to be completed in April and the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has started the safety assessment of the reactors. But the Sendai nuclear power plant is located next to the 1,000MW Sendai oil-fired power plant. Because of the high cost of oil compared with LNG, this is likely to be first plant to have utilisation reduced.
Argus Media 2nd May 2014 read more »
Activists who have been rallying against nuclear power near the prime minister’s office and the Diet building since 2012 are scheduled to hold their 100th demonstration Friday night. The number of people attending the rallies, however, has declined to several thousand after peaking at some 200,000.
Japan Times 2nd May 2014 read more »
Brazil
Westinghouse Electric Company has established new business unit, Westinghouse Electric do Brasil in order to serve the growing demands in Brazil’s nuclear energy industry. Westinghouse president Americas Mark Marano said, “We look forward to working with our partners and customers to put our new plant, fuel, automation and service technologies to work powering the region’s homes and businesses.
Energy Business Review 1st May 2014 read more »
Renewables – wind
A roundup of images from around the world celebrating the windfarms that help to power our way of life.
Guardian 2nd May 2014 read more »
Energy Efficiency
The Government’s new Green Deal Home Improvement Fund, announced this week, discriminates against an estimated 850,000 homes in rural England and Wales. That’s because these householders will be unable to take advantage of the scheme to upgrade their boiler as it only applies to gas-fired types. On Thursday the Department of Energy and Climate Change revealed that, from June, people in England and Wales will be able to get up to £7,600 back through the new Green Deal fund. Under the scheme, domestic energy customers can secure up to £1,000 for installing two measures from an approved list, up to £6,000 for installing solid wall insulation and up to £100 refunded for their Green Deal Assessment. The scheme also entitles those who bought a property in the year before applying to qualify for up to an additional £500 if they carry out energy-efficiency improvements.
Independent 3rd May 2014 read more »
