New Nukes
John Hutton is determined to make it possible for private investors to build a new generation of British nuclear power stations. By the time you read this, John Hutton may no longer be in charge of Britain’s energy policy. If that’s so, many people who do not otherwise much care how Gordon Brown rearranges the cabinet deckchairs on Labour’s Titanic will feel a tinge of regret. Because unlike most of his ministerial colleagues, Hutton is driving forward a radical long-term vision: he really does have an energy policy, and you sense as soon as you meet him just how much he would like to see it through until the next general election.
Spectator Business 2nd Sept 2008 more >>
The Government is committed to a new generation of nuclear power stations to fill Britain’s energy gap. But Tom Burke says the new nuclear policy is fundamentally flawed and is based on a misunderstanding of nuclear power’s economics.
Telegraph 3rd Sept 2008 more >>
Sheffield Forgemasters International has won a key role in the construction of a new generation of US-designed nuclear power plants. The Brightside Lane firm is to make safety critical casings for high pressure pumps, capable of pumping up to 95,000 gallons of coolant a minute around the nuclear reactor at the heart of the plant. The first of the 16 tonne castings, made from stainless steel, is destined for the Sanmen nuclear power plant in China.
Sheffield Star 3rd Sept 2008 more >>
British Energy
The battle over British Energy could reach a crucial stage this weekend as one of its main shareholders holds key meetings that could help decide the future of the nuclear power generation group. Fund managers at M&G Investments, which holds a stake of around 7pc in British Energy, will today hold meetings with Centrica at which a potential all-share merger will be one of the items on the agenda. M&G was one of the major investors that scuppered the takeover of BE by French utility EdF at the 11th hour in July. The fund manager, also a significant investor in Centrica, has made clear its opposition to the 765p-a-share indicative offer for BE, claiming it does not realise the true value of the nuclear power generator.
Telegraph 4th Sept 2008 more >>
British Energy’s Heysham 2-7 nuclear power reactor was running at about a third of its capacity on Wednesday after output was cut for planned refuelling, a spokesman for the plant said.
Interactive Investor 3rd Sept 2008 more >>
Nuclear Waste
Radioactive water is leaking from an old salt and potash mine in Germany that had been converted to a storage facility for nuclear waste. The discovery of the leak has reopened debate about nuclear power, the magazine Der Spiegel reports. German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel described the mine as the most problematic nuclear facility in Europe. The Asse II mine in Lower Saxony shut down in 1964. Three years later it reopened as an experimental nuclear facility.
Post Chronicle 3rd Sept 2008 more >>
Der Spiegel 3rd Sept 2008 more >>
NPT
Article by Norman Dombey: Repeatedly invoked to choke off emergent nuclear powers in East Asia and the Middle East, the NPT’s actual content has remained largely undiscussed. Norman Dombey itemizes the Treaty’s provisions, and the asymmetrical burdens imposed on signatories, the better to gauge its successes and limitations.
New Left Review July/Aug 2008 more >>
Korea
South Korea has said that North Korea has started restoring its nuclear facilities after the communist country suspended operations last month to disable them. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that South Korea, the United States and other countries involved in nuclear negotiations with the North are working closely together to determine how to respond to Pyongyang’s latest move.
PA 3rd September 2008 more >>
BBC 3rd Sept 2008 more >>
FT 4th Sept 2008 more >>
Guardian 4th Sept 2008 more >>
Express 3rd Sept 2008 more >>
Senior South Korean and U.S. nuclear envoys will meet in Beijing on Friday to discuss North Korea’s initial steps towards restarting its ageing nuclear plant that can make arms-grade plutonium, officials said on Thursday.
Reuters 4th Sept 2008 more >>
India
A plan hatched in Washington and New Delhi is faltering because of objections raised in Dublin, Bern and Wellington. The US-India civil nuclear pact – one of the centrepieces of President George W. Bush’s foreign policy – goes before 45 nations for approval today and tomorrow.
FT 4th Sept 2008 more >>
Reuters 3rd Sept 2008 more >>
Fuel Poverty
Gordon Brown’s efforts to prise extra cash from the big energy companies to protect 5 million households from spiralling energy prices have hit serious trouble, with the companies warning they will pull back on a planned extra £10bn investment in renewables and nuclear power if they are forced to use their profits to ease the plight of the fuel-poor.
Guardian 4th Sept 2008 more >>
Gordon Brown’s plan to help families struggling with rising fuel bills was in tatters last night after a scheme to make energy companies pay more for pollution permits was dismissed as unworkable, The Times has learnt. The Prime Minister had hoped the scheme would raise about £500 million, which could be used to help to fund fuel vouchers for vulnerable families faced with big increases in gas and electricity bills this winter.
Times 4th Sept 2008 more >>
Coal
One of the world’s leading climate scientists yesterday called for an immediate halt to the building of all coal-fired power stations to prevent catastrophic global warming. James Hansen, a former White House adviser and Al Gore’s science adviser, giving evidence in a British court, said sticking to a “business as usual” approach would see the planet passing its climate change tipping point.
Guardian 4th Sept 2008 more >>
Renewables
The EU is studying plans for a transnational power grid in the North Sea that could provide electricity from renewable sources for 70m homes. It could cost up to 20bn (£16bn) to install. The proposed 3,850 mile offshore grid would connect more than 100 wind farms, containing 10,000 turbines, to seven North Sea countries – Britain, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway. Senior EC energy officials yesterday gave a warm but guarded welcome to the plans, which were submitted by eco-campaigners Greenpeace and drawn up by environment consultants 3E, calling them “ambitious but realistic”.
Guardian 4th Sept 2008 more >>
