Radwaste
MOST West Cumbrian parish councils are still against any search being made in the area for a suitable site to bury highly radioactive nuclear waste. And with Cumbria County, Copeland and Allerdale Borough Councils set to make the crucial decision (on October 11), the Cumbria Association of Local Councils (CALC) is calling for the three local authorities to hold back until more is known about geology. Chairman of CALC, Copeland Tory councillor Keith Hitchen, said: This is a key decision coming up. Its vitally important that the decision is not rushed and that the county and borough councils have fully satisfied themselves that the proposed MRWS programme has credible foundations. We believe there are serious gaps in the information available to the councils that must be addressed before any decision is taken. The majority of town and parish councils in West Cumbria are unconvinced about the current approach to the programme.
Whitehaven News 30th Aug 2012 more >>
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are planning a trip to the Lake District. Perhaps they will be the first celebrities to take a stand opposing the mutation of the Lake District . to the Nuke District ? The Lake District could do with some heroes to stop the government plan for the heart being ripped out of our wonderfully diverse geology and replaced with ever increasing quantities of high level nuclear wastes.
Radiation Free Lakeland 30th Aug 2012 more >>
Steven Quas is among the Buttermere and Loweswater residents who have arranged Thursdays meeting for 6.30pm, with the talk due to start at 7pm and last an hour before questions are invited. Mr Quas said it was initially planned to be by invitation only, aimed at local councillors and business people and non-government organisations, but had since been opened up to the public because of the interest it had generated. Speakers: Professor David Smythe; Professor Stuart Haszeldine; Professor Andy Blowers; Thursday 6th Sept at 7pm The Eco Centre, Cockermouth School.
Radiation Free Lakeland 30th Aug 2012 more >>
Hinkley
The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) will hold a forum for communities neighbouring existing and proposed nuclear power station sites in Somerset on Wednesday 26 September. The forum will be brought up to date on the design assessment progress reports for the new EPR reactors that are planned for the Hinkley C site.
Hazard Ex 30th July 2012 more >>
Sellafield
Heavy rain and flash flooding caused havoc in Cumbria today with a train carrying workers to Sellafield nuclear plant being derailed. The two-coach passenger train, which was carrying more than 100 people, struck a landslip near Nethertown, south of Caulderton in West Cumbria, at 6.45am.
Morning Star 30th Aug 2012 more >>
Letter Tim Knowles: Much has been said and claimed regarding the benefits of the nuclear renaissance for West Cumbria. As things stand today, what do we really know? I suggest that besides the confirmation that Thorp will close in the relatively near future, at a cost of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of pounds lost to our economy, we have very little hard information and only a few guaranteed counterbalancing benefits. The handover of Sellafield to a multi-national consortium, costing the taxpayer vast sums (apparently including an annual £50 million management fee on top of everything else?), the parcelling up of billions of pounds worth of contracts for work at Sellafield, which again seem to end up in the hands of multi-national companies, this we know. All of it would not be so bad if there was major, demonstrable benefit or improvement, but few who know Sellafield believe that to be the case. The eye-watering overspend/delays on Evaporator D are just one example, paying hundreds of thousands of pounds each for managers whose every out-of-pocket expense is borne by us, the taxpayers, should have brought better outcomes by now. Where is the delivery of the global centre of excellence, the promised links to world markets, creating wealth and jobs in Copeland, that was proposed by those self-same multinationals over four years ago, when they got their potentially 17-year contract, worth tens of billions of pounds?
Whitehaven News 30th Aug 2012 more >>
Nuclear Skills
LAKES College West Cumbria will introduce another new course which will help prepare the community of West Cumbria for the exciting developments planned in the area. Starting in September, Practical and Engineering Skills for the Nuclear Industry has been designed, with industry involvement, to provide essential education and training to give engineering hopefuls a better chance of securing an apprenticeship. Apprenticeships will act as one of the primary sources of training in the energy industry, providing both essential training solutions for businesses and vital skills for the future generation. However, this also means that the demand to become an apprentice has increased and employers have greater choice when selecting an apprentice. Fear not, this does not mean that apprenticeships will be unobtainable it just means a bit more preparation is required to stand out from the masses.
Whitehaven News 29th Aug 2012 more >>
Energy Prices
Households are running out of ways to avoid being stung by higher energy bills this winter after one of the UKs big suppliers ended its fixed deal. EDF Energy is withdrawing its dual electricity and gas tariff, which is guaranteed to be maintained until April 2014, after a last-minute stampede. A rival supplier, Scottish and Southern Energy, unexpectedly announced last week that it would raise prices by 9 per cent. Other energy companies are expected to follow soon, triggering a rush by consumers to protect themselves by signing up to cheaper fixed deals.
Times 31st Aug 2012 more >>
Iran
An Israeli attack on Iran would delay but probably not stop its nuclear programme, the most senior US military officer has claimed. General Martin Dempsey reinforced Washington’s opposition to unilateral Israel military action as he made clear that US military chiefs were equally wary of getting ensnared in Syria.
Guardian 30th Aug 2012 more >>
Iran is preparing for a possible major expansion of uranium enrichment in a fortified underground facility, a UN nuclear watchdog report showed, underlining Tehran’s defiance in the face of western pressure and the threat of an Israeli attack.
Guardian 30th Aug 2012 more >>
Iran has more than doubled its capacity to refine uranium at an underground bunker, the UN said on Thursday night as Tehran was accused of re-activating the shadowy scientist at the heart of its alleged nuclear weapons programme.
Telegraph 30th Aug 2012 more >>
A U.N. watchdog report is expected to show that Iran has expanded its potential capacity to refine uranium in an underground site by at least 30 percent since May, diplomats say, adding to Western worries over Tehran’s nuclear aims.
Reuters 30th Aug 2012 more >>
Iran has no interest in nuclear weapons, but will keep pursuing peaceful nuclear energy, its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told heads of state from developing countries in Tehran. Iran, hosting a summit of the 120-nation Non-Aligned Movement, is hoping the high-profile event will prove Western efforts to isolate and punish it economically over a disputed nuclear programme have failed.
Herald 31st Aug 2012 more >>
The UN chief and Egypt’s president launched scathing attacks on Iran’s nuclear programme and foreign policy at an international summit in Iran. The Iranians were forced to listen as Ban Ki-moon denounced them for calling for Israel’s destruction and denying the Holocaust. The West suspects Iran is seeking a nuclear weapons capability, an accusation Tehran denies.
Daily Mail 30th Aug 2012 more >>
Japan
The majority of Japanese say they want to end the country’s dependence on nuclear power, a new report says. The report, by a government panel of experts that analyzed recent polls on the country’s attitudes toward nuclear power, says the majority of the public has expressed support zero nuclear dependency because of a growing “distrust in policy-making processes on nuclear policy and anxiety over the safety of nuclear power generation,” The Daily Yomiuri newspaper reports
UPI 30th Aug 2012 more >>
The construction of huge solar power plants is under way in unused industrial complexes across Japan amid expectations that solar power may become a pillar of renewable energy sources in the aftermath of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant. Mega solar power plants require vast amounts of land to lay tens of thousands of solar panels as well as power-transmission facilities, but idled industrial complexes meet the requirements. Local government officials have long racked their brains over how to deal with such idled industrial complexes because they have become non-performing assets. The officials are promoting construction of mega solar power plants at those complexes as an engine for regional economic revival.
Mainichi 27th Aug 2012 more >>
Belgium
The restart of the 1,006MW Doel nuclear power unit 3 in Belgium has been pushed back by a further two months, according to French utility GDF Suez, which operates the unit through its Belgian subsidiary Electrabel. The unit is now forecast to go back on line on 1 December, two months later than the previous forecast. This is the second delay to the restart of the unit following the discovery of potential cracks in the highly pressurised bottom ring of the stainless steel cladding of the reactor vessel. The restart of the unit was pushed back on 14 August until 30 September after Belgian watchdog AFCN announced the discovery of the defects and warned other national watchdogs of the potential nuclear manufacturing fault.
Argus Media 29th Aug 2012 more >>
US
Federal regulators denied a license Thursday to the French-controlled company for a proposed third nuclear reactor at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant in Southern Maryland, giving the company 60 days to find a U.S. partner. At the end of those 60 days, the three judges of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board wrote, they would be forced to terminate the company’s application proceedings entirely. The decision follows warnings from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in April 2011 that UniStar Nuclear Energy, which is owned by Electricite de France, is not eligible to control the proposed $9.6 billion Calvert Cliffs 3 project under its current ownership structure. Federal law prohibits a foreign entity from completely owning or controlling a U.S. nuclear plant.
Baltimore Sun 30th Aug 2012 more >>
Renewables
Wind power in Britain is predictable enough that the grid can rely on it to help keep the lights on, despite spells of cold, calm weather, while it cuts carbon emissions significantly, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said.
Telegraph 30th Aug 2012 more >>
