Hinkley
The IPC must decide whether to accept the application within 28 days of receiving it, i.e. by 29 November, and it will publish the application documents shortly thereafter. Acceptance is no mere formality – it has refused to accept one of the seven applications so far made to it. It relates to the quality of the application documents and the pre-application stages rather than the merits of the application. Although the BBC says ‘Plans for the station could be published within 28 days, when the public can comment on them’ that is not quite right. The ability to comment on the application is only triggered once EDF Energy publicises the fact that the application has been accepted (if it is). In the case of the Rookery South application, the application was accepted on 26 August 2010, but it wasn’t until 7 October 2010 that the promoter publicised the fact. That is the last point at which the timetable is under the control of the promoter – after that they must step onto the IPC conveyor belt (rollercoaster?).
Bircham Dyson Bell 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
EDF Energy has delivered a development consent order to the Infrastructure Planning Commission to build and operate a new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset.
Construction Index 1st Nov 2011 more >>
Dounreay
A nuclear submarine reactor test site could be decommissioned after 2015, the Ministry of Defence has said. The Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment (NRTE) site at Dounreay, in Caithness, has historically been used for the development of new reactor core designs. However, the MoD said confidence in the technology and computational modelling meant “prototyping activities” were no longer needed.
Rutherglen Reformer 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
STV 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
PA 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Radwaste
Its a dirty job, but someone has to do it. Researchers from the University of Leeds have teamed up with Sellafield Ltd to clean up radioactive sludge produced by the UK nuclear industry. The newly formed Sludge Centre of Expertise draws on specialist knowledge from the Universitys engineers and environmental specialists, who are working closely with Sellafield Ltds sludge team. The Centre will play a key role in describing the behaviour of the sludge wastes that have arisen after years of operation at Sellafield and other nuclear sites across the UK.
The Engineer 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Emergency Planning
A working group under the government’s nuclear safety panel will expand priority areas that should be prepared for possible atomic accidents to a 30-km radius of a nuclear power plant from the current 8 to 10 km. The group is reviewing areas where enhanced disaster-prevention measures should be taken, after the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant led the government to set a 20-km radius of the plant as a no-entry zone and advised people living in areas outside the zone where high radiation doses had been detected to evacuate.
Japan Times 3rd Nov 2011 more >>
Japan
The possible detection of xenon at Fukushima Daiichi 2 has led to questions over ongoing fission, but detection is uncertain and a translation error may have exacerbated anxiety.
World Nuclear News 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Nuclear fission by-products have been detected at one of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the government said Wednesday, raising the possibility that some parts of the melted core may still be active.
Wall Street Journal 3rd Nov 2011 more >>
Nuclear workers at the crippled Fukushima power plant raced to inject boric acid into the plants No. 2 reactor early Wednesday after telltale radioactive elements were detected there, and the plants owner admitted for the first time that fuel deep inside three stricken plants was probably continuing to experience bursts of fission.
New York Times 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
A Japanese utility operator has denied any problematic nuclear reactions at a tsunami-hit power plant, saying a radioactive gas in one of the damaged reactors came from spontaneous fission that occurs in any idle reactor. The operator this week found radioactive xenon, initially hinting unexpected nuclear fission and injected boric acid as a precaution against further nuclear reactions. The Tokyo Electric Power Co said further examination determined that xenon was produced by curium, a nuclear fuel component that causes spontaneous fission.
Gorey Guardian 3rd Nov 2011 more >>
Japan Today 3rd Nov 2011 more >>
The operator of the tsunami-hit nuclear power plant in Japan said yesterday that substances found in a reactor could be a result of nuclear fission, a possible setback in efforts to shut the plant down safely. But analysts said a higher risk of radiation was unlikely.
Independent 3rd Nov 2011 more >>
Scotsman 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Metro 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Engineering & Technology 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Business Green 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Guardian 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Today Scientist Marco Kaltofen of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) presented his analysis of radioactive isotopic releases from the Fukushima accidents at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association (APHA). Mr. Kaltofens analysis confirms the detection of hot particles in the US and the extensive airborne and ground contamination in northern Japan due to the four nuclear power plant accidents at TEPCOs Fukushima reactors. Fairewinds believes that this is a personal health issue in Japan and a public health issue in the United States and Canada.
Fairwinds 31st Oct 2011 more >>
Spain
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) has secured multi-year services contracts from Iberdrola and Nuclenor for the Cofrentes and Santa Maria de Garona nuclear power plants in Spain.
Energy Business Review 3rd Nov 2011 more >>
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is steadily moving ahead with a nuclear tender that could generate orders worth 20bn for the hard-pressed nuclear engineering industry. Electricity group CEZ this week invited the qualified candidates Frances Areva, Westinghouse Electric ( a Toshiba subsidiary) and a Russo-Czech consortium led by Atomstroyexport to submit bids by July 2, 2012, with the winning bidder expected to be announced in late 2013.
FT 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Israel
Israel yesterday test-fired a ballistic missile believed to be long-range and capable of reaching Iran amid a public debate triggered by reports that the country’s Prime Minister is mustering support for a strike on Tehran’s nuclear facilities.
Independent 3rd Nov 2011 more >>
Iran
Iran is attempting to engineer and test nuclear weapons at a series of banned production sites in defiance of United Nations sanctions, according to a report to be released next week.
Telegraph 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
British armed forces are stepping up preparations for potential military strikes on Iran as the country triples its nuclear enrichment programme.
Metro 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
A report by the UN’s nuclear watchdog due to be circulated around the world next week will provide fresh evidence of a possible Iranian nuclear weapons programme, bringing the Middle East a step closer to a devastating new conflict, say diplomats.
Guardian 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Britain’s armed forces are stepping up their contingency planning for potential military action against Iran amid mounting concern about Tehran’s nuclear enrichment programme, the Guardian has learned.
Guardian 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Iranian nuclear sites: Tehran’s most precious strategic assets, which took two decades to build, would be the targets of any western bombing campaign.
Guardian 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Attempts to foil the Iranian nuclear programme from faulty parts to computer worms have been blamed on intelligence agencies.
Guardian 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
War with Iran is the last thing Barack Obama needs with the American economy in dire trouble and a tough White House election campaign looming next year, according to officials in Washington as well as political analysts. But while the Obama administration is desperate to avoid another conflict it would be America’s fourth in a decade the drumbeat from Israel has been growing louder.
Guardian 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Bangladesh
Russia is to build Bangladesh’s first nuclear power plant under an intergovernmental cooperation agreement signed today in Dhaka.
World Nuclear News 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
BBC 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Belgium
The Belgium Government has announced plans to phase out nuclear power within the next 15 years.
Click Green 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Nuclear Testing
Global navigation satellites already have many uses, and scientists may soon be adding nuclear-explosion detection to the list. When nuclear weapons are exploded underground, they create a disturbance in the ionosphere, the thin layer of charged particles at the atmosphere’s edge. The disruption, in turn, distorts signals from navigation satellites to ground stations. Jihye Park at Ohio State University in Columbus and her colleagues were able to locate a 2009 nuclear test in North Korea by analysing historical data from ground stations in South Korea, Japan and China. The technique pinpointed the test to within roughly 3.5 kilometres of the test location determined by seismographs.
Nature 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Climate Change
The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has today set out the terms for a new investigation into the role councils can play in cutting carbon emissions and tackling climate change. It promises to produce a series of recommendations in the spring. However, the report is unlikely to contain mandatory requirements for councils to follow. This has prompted Friends of the Earth and a number of councils to launch a campaign calling on the government to impose a duty on local authorities to produce climate change action plans.
Business Green 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Renewables
David Cameron has backed claims by an international bank that uncertainty over Scottish independence risks destroying the SNPs dream of transforming the nation into a leader in renewable energy. The Prime Ministers intervention came yesterday after a report by Citigroup said that electricity companies and investors should not spend money on renewables in Scotland until the referendum result was known.
The Times 3rd Nov 2011 more >>
Simplistic assumptions devalue this Citigroup analysis of the future for renewable electricity in an independent Scotland. But the fact that it has been produced at all and in these terms is a warning to the SNP.
The Times 3rd Nov 2011 more >>
Olav Hohmeyer is a professor in energy and natural resource sciences at the University of Flensburg. He is a member of the German Advisory Council on the Environment. They have recently given recommendations to the German government on pathways towards a 100 per cent renewable energy system by 2050. He will explain the key findings of this work and emphasize how Norwegian hydropower may play an important role to help Germany become 100 per cent renewable.
You Tube 12th Oct 2011 more >>
The Fourth Revolution: Energy, also known as Die 4. Revolution Energy Autonomy, is a German documentary film by Carl-A. Fechner, released in 2010. It shows the vision of a global society, which lives in a world where the energy is produced 100% with renewable energies, showing a complete reconstruction of the economy, to reach this goal.
4th Revolution Nov 2011 more >>
Prime Minister David Cameron has today side-stepped a call to halt government plans to impose deep and rapid cuts to feed-in tariff incentives for solar photovoltaic installations. Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Labour MP for Southampton test Alun Whitehead asked Cameron to intervene in “the appalling chaos” that has been caused by the government’s proposals that within six weeks solar incentives will be effectively halved.
Business Green 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Letter: The UK really has given up on solar renewables and other renewables will follow if the government does not rethink changes to subsidies. Many investors have backed renewables, and solar in particular, solely on the basis that the feed-in income is guaranteed for 25 years. This second significant change to the tariff has halted many important CO2 saving projects and has undermined the low-carbon industry’s confidence about investing in the UK. In Haringey it will wreck our plans to install £15m worth of panels across our estates, which would have doubled London’s solar generation capacity and brought jobs and placements to an area in London topping the unemployment league tables. The government needs to stop moving the goal posts if it wants to create the stable conditions that will attract serious long-term private investment. The European courts have already ruled the feed-in tariff needn’t sit on the public expenditure accounts.
Guardian 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Gas
Controversial ‘fracking’ technique to extract gas from the ground was the ‘highly probable’ cause of earth tremors, report finds, as protestors occupy drilling rig. Nick Molho, head of energy policy at WWF-UK, said: “We’re extremely concerned by the way in which shale gas is being painted as a ‘wonder gas’ which will slash energy bills in Britain and help tackle climate change. Shale gas is still a fossil fuel, and a new dash for gas could see global temperatures skyrocket. There’s also no evidence that it will have a big impact on energy bills, which have in fact been driven up in recent years by a rising gas price.”
Guardian 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Independent 3rd Nov 2011 more >>
Telegraph 2nd Nov 2011 more >>
Times 3rd Nov 2011 more >>
In Britain, a senior official of the Environment Agency, Tony Grayling, told a conference yesterday that “there are significant environmental risks associated with the exploration and exploitation of shale gas”, although he said the risks could be managed. Months ago, the Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee gave shale gas a cautious welcome, but the Co-op, which had commissioned a report from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, called for a moratorium on development. The Co-op believes investing in shale gas will take away funds which could have been invested in renewable energy.
Independent 3rd Nov 2011 more >>
