New Nukes
The government’s national policy statement on nuclear energy faces a legal challenge from environmental group Greenpeace on the grounds that ministers failed to take into account the implications of this spring’s Fukushima incident in Japan. The groups 1,611-page judicial review application says energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne unlawfully pressed ahead with the NPS, adopted last month after a Commons vote, “without waiting to take into account relevant considerations arising from the Fukushima disaster”.
Planning 30th Aug 2011 more >>
Greenpeace UK has served legal papers accusing the UK coalition government of failing to take into account the implications of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in their future planning for the building of new nuclear power stations in the UK. The six energy National Policy Statements (NPS) were approved by parliament on 19 July 2011, following public consultation and parliamentary scrutiny. The nuclear NPS lists eight sites that are suitable for the deployment of a new nuclear power station by 2025. A spokesman for the energy and climate change department (DECC) said: “We are confident that the designation of the Nuclear National Policy Statement was lawful.”
Nuclar Engineering International 30th Aug 2011 more >>
Dounreay
Opposition is growing to using the railway to carry consignments of spent nuclear fuel from Dounreay to west Cumbia. A local authority lobby group has condemned the proposal, adding to concern already voiced by environmental groups. The controversy centred on a 44-tonne payload of uranium/plutonium fuel used to power the long-defunct, sphere-shaped reactor. Today marks the deadline for a consultation the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is carrying out on what to do with the material.
Press & Journal 31st Aug 2011 more >>
Bradwell
PARTS of the north Essex coast have been put on flood alert by the Environment Agency. Higher than usual tides are forecast at 12.42pm today. The coast between Clacton and Bradwell on the other side of the Blackwater Estuary are currently on flood alert.
Essex County Standard 29th Aug 2011 more >>
Scotland
Letters: in response to Professor Colin McInness assertion that renewables are an increasingly risky bet. That may be true for countries without Scotlands fantastic renewable energy resources, but we should play to our strengths and look to capitalise on our natural resources 25% of Europes wind and tidal resource, and 10% of its wave energy. There is a 2bn annual subsidy from UK taxpayers to fund decommissioning of nuclear power stations, twice the levels of support to renewables. The Department for Energy and Climate Change and the independent regulator Ofgem have published research concluding that investment in renewables will protect consumers from hikes in bills due to increases in gas prices in coming years. Professor McInnes points to the proposed nuclear plant in Cumbria with a colossal 3600MW capacity. Scotland already has more than 4300MW of renewable electricity in operation, and plans for almost 10,000MW of offshore wind and 1600MW of wave and tidal projects by 2020. These new projects will attract thousands of job opportunities and inward investment and tackle climate change. The renewables industry is actively exploring options for storage capacity, cost reduction and financing the necessary grid connections to transport power to where it is consumed.
Herald 31st Aug 2011 more >>
Letter Bill Robertson: Professor McInness article claims that the rest of the UK will push ahead with developing the next generation of nuclear energy while our policy is to eradicate nuclear energy from Scotland. The reactors likely to be given the go-ahead in Wales and England will be based on the pressurised water reactors being built in Finland, France and China, referred to as the European Pressurised Reactor (EPR). Construction of the Finnish Olkiluoto 3 reactors commenced in August 2005 with an initial estimate of 3.7 billion euros and has experienced major problems, delays and cost over-runs. The latest cost estimate in June 2010 was an increase of 2.7 billion euros and the latest completion date is 2013. Westminster has assured us there will be no nuclear subsidies for the next generation of nuclear power plants. However they will be given guaranteed production quotas and the fossil plants will be penalised by the so-called carbon tax. Planning permissions for them will be eased and public inquiries very unlikely.
Herald 31st Aug 2011 more >>
Nuclear Safety
Facing higher resistance to nuclear power after the Japanese disaster this year, French officials said Monday they would seek to promote stronger international policies on nuclear energy, despite opposition from some other countries who resist tougher supranational regulation. French Prime Minister François Fillon on Monday called for the creation of an international emergency task-force to address nuclear incidents and an international training center on nuclear operations. Earlier, French Energy Minister Eric Besson said he would seek to have the International Atomic Energy Agency extend recently-enacted European “stress tests” on a global level.
Wall Street Journal 30th Aug 2011 more >>
Energy Business Review 30th Aug 2011 more >>
A U.N. nuclear safety action plan has been described as “weakened” by diplomats looking for strong measures to prevent a repeat of Japan’s nuclear crisis. The document from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the third draft presented to IAEA member states over the last few weeks, outlines a series of steps to help improve nuclear safety after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident earlier this year. The latest version would encourage countries with atomic power to host international safety review missions but puts increased emphasis on the voluntary nature of the proposals.
Engineering & Technology 30th Aug 2011 more >>
Japan
The first comprehensive survey of soil contamination from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant showed that 33 locations spread over a wide area have been contaminated with long-lasting radioactive cesium, the government said Tuesday. The survey of 2,200 locations within a 100-kilometer (62-mile) radius of the crippled plant found that those 33 locations had cesium-137 in excess of 1.48 million becquerels per square meter, the level set by the Soviet Union for forced resettlement after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Another 132 locations had a combined amount of cesium 137/134 over 555,000 becquerels per square meter, the level at which the Soviet authorities called for voluntary evacuation and imposed a ban on farming.
Wall Street Journal 30th Aug 2011 more >>
Germany
Germany is importing massive amounts of nuclear-generated electricity from France following its decision to abandon atomic power in the wake of Japan’s Fukushima disaster. But it is still bracing for blackouts of the kind not seen since the Second World War as eight of the 17 reactors were switched off overnight in a populist move that is now seen as a rash decision. Nuclear plants generated nearly a quarter of Germany’s electricity. But after the tsunami and earthquake that sent radiation spewing from Fukushima in March, the government disconnected the eight oldest of Germany’s 17 reactors.
Daily Mail 30th Aug 2011 more >>
Scotsman 31st Aug 2011 more >>
US
A supplemental evaluation of Entergy’s application to continue operating its aging Indian Point nuclear plant outside of New York City did not identify any new license conditions, the U.S. nuclear safety regulator said on Tuesday.
Reuters 30th Aug 2011 more >>
Kazakhstan
The Semipalatinsk region suffered under four decades of Soviet nuclear testing. Now, the country wants to become an international research hub for the effects of radiation on future generations.
Ecologist 30th Aug 2011 more >>
Between 1949 and 1989, the Soviet Union detonated more than 456 nuclear devices on the Semipalatinsk test site, better known as the “Polygon”. This region of the Kazakh steppe, covering an area the size of Belgium, was the primary testing ground for the most sophisticated atomic weapons in the Soviet arsenal. Some 116 were exploded above ground, producing the “beautiful” mushroom clouds that witnesses remember; the rest were let off underground, protecting the atmosphere but leaching more poison into the earth. As for the locals, they were little more than guinea pigs. In the state home for the elderly in Semipalatinsk – which has been renamed Semey since Kazakhstan independence in 1991 – old women gather round to tell their stories. They too have injuries and illnesses, though only Makysh receives compensation, because it is so hard to prove the link between nuclear fallout and the diseases that may strike afterwards. According to Dr Marat Sandybaev, head of the local oncology centre, cancer rates in the area are still twice as high as the national average, and it is estimated that birth defects are up to 10 times higher.
Telegraph 31st Aug 2011 more >>
Space
Nuclear power plants built on the Moon or Mars could fit in a suitcase and would need no water towers, according to researchers developing a prototype.
Edie 30th Aug 2011 more >>
Submarines
Generations of submarine builders are working on the latest Astute vessels for the Royal Navy at the “James Bond set” of BAE Systems’ yard in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. It has cost £4bn to design and build the first three Astutes and takes up to six years to build each vessel. Can the country afford to spend billions on more nuclear submarines? Or can it afford to lose one of its few world-leading industries? Should we be promoting defence as the base to rebalance our economy?
Telegraph 31st Aug 2011 more >>
Renewables
More than one-third of UK farmers want to install renewable energy projects on their land, most of them within the next year, and hope to generate average returns of £25,000 pounds a year, Barclays bank says. The bank’s business arm on Tuesday launched a £100m fund to help farmers finance renewable energy projects, including solar panels, windfarms, hydro plants and organic waste power, as a growing number of agricultural businesses seek to benefit from government support tariffs.
Guardian 30th Aug 2011 more >>
The nimbys are mutating. Until recently the main opposition to renewable energy in the UK was directed against onshore wind turbines, along with some strong pylon-hating. But today’s Times reveals the existence of solar farm nimbys too. You may not be able to read that story, it’s behind a paywall, but luckily it’s a pretty shameless replica of a story from the Daily Mail on Friday. It even has the same nimby, Robin Smith, who says his view of Somerset Levels has been spoiled, using exactly the same words: “It is blanket desecration of the countryside. I feel very sad that it is just for people lining their coffers.”
Guardian 30th Aug 2011 more >>
