NDA & Energy Review
Chancellor Gordon Brown has told ministers that the cost of cleaning up Britain’s nuclear facilities stands at £90bn, considerably higher than figures produced by the government agency overseeing the task. Energy minister Malcolm Wicks is due to hold one-to-one meetings with cabinet ministers in the coming weeks to brief them on the progress of the government’s energy review and sound out their concerns. The review is intended to look at a range of technologies that can deliver ‘carbon-free’ and secure energy in the future, as the 20 per cent of generation capacity supplied by Britain’s current nuclear facilities declines steeply. The review does not report until later in the summer, but Tony Blair has indicated he believes nuclear should be part of the solution. Several cabinet ministers – thought to include Margaret Beckett, Peter Hain and Hilary Benn – have deep reservations about nuclear power. One said: ‘Gordon Brown told the cabinet that the combined clean-up costs would be £90bn, not the £70bn that has been stated. That is a massive cost.’ The Treasury is known to have serious misgivings about a new nuclear building programme because the cost of constructing and decommissioning stations constantly rises. Independent experts say these concerns are justified, and that the £90bn figure is entirely plausible. One senior official said that the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which published the £70bn figure, had itself warned that the total could rise. On top of that, there is an additional £14bn needed to dismantle the eight second-generation stations owned by British Energy and the eventual costs of a deep underground store, estimated at between £15bn and £20bn.
Observer 4th June 2006
Nuclear Waste
Around 40 per cent of the UK has the right geology to store the country’s 470,000 tons of nuclear waste, according to initial findings by the British Geological Survey (BGS). If confirmed, this figure is much higher than the 30 per cent judged to be suitable 10 years ago, when the building of an underground nuclear waste repository was last considered.
Independent on Sunday 4th June 2006
CUMBRIA County Council has backed recommendations on burying nuclear waste in underground bunkers. The council has issued a response to the draft recommendations laid out by CoRWM (Committee on Radioactive Waste Management) on how Britain’s radioactive waste should be dealt with in the future. While the council supports the recommendations, saying they are “realistic and acceptable”, it believes that phased geological disposal – burying waste in phases, so that it can be monitored and retrieved – is the best way forward. The council’s response also raises concerns about the lack of discussion on the number and location of stores and stresses that storage should be as close to where the waste arises as possible and not all centralised at Sellafield.
Carlisle News and Stat 3rd June 2006
Iran
IRAN yesterday said that a breakthrough over Tehran’s nuclear programme was possible and welcomed the prospect of talks with all parties, including the EU and the United States.
Scotland on Sunday 4th June 2006
Iran seemed finally to be backing away from a confrontation with America and Europe over its nuclear programme, as senior officials and politicians in Tehran said yesterday that proposals put forward last week might form the basis for negotiation.
Observer 4th June 2006
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that Tehran will consider a package of incentives agreed by six world powers this week in a bid to persuade the Islamic republic to abandon its controversial nuclear programme.
ViewLondon 4th June 2006
Iran said Saturday it was awaiting a new international proposal to end the crisis over its disputed nuclear programme but stuck by its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment work.
Interactive Investor 4th June 2006
Skills
A training academy for the nuclear industry could be set up in Bridgwater after a fact-finding trip to the US by a delegation from the town. An academy would bring millions of pounds of investment and training for skilled jobs, while a spin-off could be research and development projects in Sedgemoor.
Bridgwater Times 3rd June 2006
Uranium
Gerard Holden, who quit Barclays Capital as its global head of mining and metals earlier this year, will emerge as chairman of a uranium mining company this week. Brinkley Mining lists on Aim tomorrow with a value of more than £150m, having already raised around £20m from high-net worth individuals and institutions in a pre-IPO fund raising.
Sunday Telegraph 4th June 2006
Sellafield
Following the leak of 18,257 gallons of radioactive acid at the Sellafield reprocessing plant, British Nuclear Group faces criminal charges at Whitehaven magistrates court, Cumbria, on Thursday (8th June). In what the shadow trade secretary, David Willetts, described as a failure “worthy of Homer Simpson”, the leaking pipe went unnoticed for months.
Sunday Telegraph 4th June 2006
Australia
Kylie Minogue is furious over the possibility that a nuclear station might be build on her island sanctuary – French Island near Melbourne.
Sunday Express 4th June 2006
