Energy Market Reform
Britain’s homes to go all electric by 2030. Consumers are facing big increases in their energy bills to pay for a £130 billion plan to create a new generation of “green” power stations over the next decade. Ministers will reveal the cost and shape of Britain’s energy generation in the next few weeks. It will entail the construction of new nuclear plants and “cleaner” gas-fired and coal-fired power stations. Several billion pounds are also to be spent on building a national grid for carbon dioxide a network of pipes to collect the waste gas from such power stations and pump it underground. Charles Hendry, the energy minister, said consumers could expect to pay significantly more for their power in coming years as the nation’s ageing coal-fired and nuclear plants have to be replaced.
Sunday Times 5th Dec 2010 more >>
Radwaste
SOUTH Lakeland residents have been given a chance to quiz geologists and nuclear experts about the potential implications of storing radioactive waste under western Cumbria. A drop-in session was held at Kendal Town Hall on Tuesday as part of a county-wide consultation programme following the Government’s controversial decision to expand nuclear power. Although there is no suggestion a radioactive waste dump would be built beneath South Lakeland, the West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Waste Safely Parnership says there could be positve and negative implications for the district. While it would create job opportunities for South Lakelanders, there could also be an impact on tourism.
Westmorland Gazette 2nd Dec 2010 more >>
Radiation Free Lakeland 2nd Dec 2010 more >>
A pending treaty between Russia and the United States could provide a solution but faces resistance in both countries.
The agreement, which could go into effect this month, would enable the two nations to cooperate on civilian nuclear energy by removing Cold War restrictions in that sector. It would allow the United States to transfer its spent nuclear fuel to Russia — an idea that has been under discussion for more than a decade. U.S. fuel that was used in power plants in third countries and remains under U.S. control could also be sent to Russia. Altogether, as much as 80 percent of all spent nuclear fuel scattered across the globe is U.S.-obligated. Russian environmentalists have fiercely opposed the pact, which they say will turn their country into a nuclear wasteland. Formally, this fuel would be reprocessed, but in practice it would simply be buried.
Oil Price 4th Dec 2010 more >>
Hinkley
French energy company EDF is “jumping the gun” by applying to destroy over 400 acres of Somerset countryside – even before it has permission to build on the site – according to the local campaign group Stop Hinkley.
Stop Oldbury 4th Dec 2010 more >>
Bristol Indymedia 3rd Dec 2010 more >>
France
WHAT solar panels are to Germany and wind turbines are to Denmark, nuclear reactors are to France: not just a power source but a pitch for global leadership in a field that is green and sexily high-tech. Electricit de France (EDF), a giant state utility, runs all 59 of the country’s nuclear plants and more than anyone else in the world. Together with Areva and Alstom, two firms involved in many aspects of nuclear-power production, EDF is trying to compete for business overseas. But Team France is ailing.
Economist 2nd Dec 2010 more >>
Electricite de France SA, the biggest operator of atomic plants, was given approval by the country’s nuclear watchdog to run a 30-year-old reactor for another decade, the first owned by the utility to get such an extension.
The Autorite de Surete Nucleaire, or ASN, said the 900- megawatt Unit 1 at the Tricastin plant in southern France underwent inspections in 2009 that found it “suitable” to operate for 10 more years, according to a statement from the overseer of safety at EDF’s nuclear installations.
Bloomberg 3rd Dec 2010 more >>
Iran
Sophisticated cyber-worms, motorcycling assassins: but who is behind the increasingly sinister campaign against the Iranian energy programme?
Observer 5th Dec 2010 more >>
Sunday Herald 5th Dec 2010 more >>
TEHRAN’S intelligence chief has accused the UN nuclear watchdog agency of sending spies instead of inspectors to monitor Iran’s nuclear activities. State TV quoted intelligence minister Heidar Moslehi yesterday saying that the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency’s inspectors have engaged in espionage and the agency must take responsibility for their actions.
Scotland on Sunday 5th Dec 2010 more >>
India
French President Nicolas Sarkozy began a four-day trip to India on Saturday, pitching for new nuclear energy contracts while stressing his hosts’ increased power in world affairs.
Yahoo 4th Dec 2010 more >>
Energy Efficiency
Utility companies are locked in a battle with the Government over the extra liabilities they may be forced to accept under the Coalition’s £3bn of “Green Deal” loans. There is concern in the energy industry, from RWE npower to Centrica, that utilities will be responsible for collecting debts in the event of customers defaulting on their loans – and have to account for this possibility. A key worry among utilities is that they would be left with the burden of defaults, even if they are merely collecting payments for another provider – such as a supermarket or home improvements firm.
Telegraph 5th Dec 2010 more >>
