New Nukes
Letter: The fact that some website claims that French nuclear power is costing the equivalent of 1.3p per unit is quite irrelevant as to whether or not we should have more nuclear power stations in the UK. A more useful question would surely be, “What is the cost of producing nuclear power from our existing UK stations?”. For these stations, the capital costs have probably long since have been written off, and the decommissioning costs have been taken over by the state, but I doubt that even then the British Energy cost is as low as 1.3p/unit.
Scotsman 3rd Nov 2008 more >>
Finland
Finland’s Olkiluoto power station was meant to symbolise the resurrection of nuclear power after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and to act as a showcase for Areva of France’s new EPR reactor technology. Instead, Olkiluoto has become a showcase for the hassles, delays and cost-overruns that critics say always bedevil nuclear projects. Finland’s fifth nuclear plant is now only expected to start operation in 2012 – three years late – and to cost 4.5bn, 50 per cent more than originally planned.
FT 3rd Nov 2008 more >>
Jordan
Jordan’s Prime Minister Nader Dahabi and Anne Lauvergeon — president and CEO of French nuclear giant Areva — on Sunday discussed a plan to build a 110-megawatt reactor in the energy-poor kingdom.
Yahoo 2nd Nov 2008 more >>
Renewables
Democrats will lead effort to curb world’s dependence on oil; Plans to create five million new posts in clean energy projects. Barack Obama is promising a $150bn “Apollo project” to bring jobs and energy
security to the US through a new alternative energy economy.
Independent on Sunday 2nd Nov 2008 more >>
More than than 13,000 megawatts (mw) of energy capacity are stuck in the planning process, enough to power at least 7.5 million homes, add some 17 per cent to UK electricity generation, and take the country half-way down the road to the 2020 renewable energy targets. But as the government-backed Planning Bill designed to address bottlenecks in the regime moves to the next stage in its progress through Parliament this week, experts say the new legislation will do little to ease the congestion.
Independent 3rd Nov 2008 more >>
Submarines
The first of a new generation of nuclear submarines being built by BAE Systems, the defence contractor, is likely to miss its in-service date due to continuing problems with the £3.8bn programme, the government has admitted. It is expected that the handover of HMS Astute, the first of the Royal Navy’s new nuclear hunter-killer submarines, will now be several months late. BAE and the Ministry of Defence launched a review of the programme a few weeks ago but at the time insisted they were still confident that Astute would enter service in 2009.
FT 3rd Nov 2008 more >>
