Companies
GDF-Suez yesterday became the latest French company to set its sights on the UK’s nuclear industry when it unveiled plans for a joint venture to help to build new reactors in Britain. GDF-Suez, 35 per cent-owned by the French Government, said that it had formed a partnership with Iberdrola, the Spanish owner of ScottishPower. Together, they plan to build at least two new reactors in the UK on existing nuclear sites that are due to be sold by the Government. GDF-Suez and Iberdrola are expected to each control a 40 per cent stake in the venture. Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) is expected to join as junior partner, with 20 per cent. Vatenfall, the Swedish utility group, is in talks with GDF-Suez and Iberdrola about entering alongside SSE as a junior equity partner.
Times 5th Feb 2009 more >>
Scotsman 5th Feb 2009 more >>
Herald 5th Feb 2009 more >>
Independent 5th Feb 2009 more >>
Metro 4th Feb 2009 more >>
Utility Week 4th Feb 2009 more >>
BBC 4th Feb 2009 more >>
Bloomberg 4th Feb 2009 more >>
Blimey. Here’s a Government policy that seems to be actually working. Ministers declared that they were keen to encourage competition in the construction of new nuclear power stations and that’s precisely what they seem to be getting. News yesterday that GDF Suez is clubbing together with Iberdrola to bid for the sites owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority brings to three the number of consortia which have declared plans for new nuclear build in Britain. Plummeting energy prices, together with the fast falling price of emission permits, has made the commercial case for new nuclear build less compelling than it was, but the investment plans are on exceptionally long lead times, and nobody believes the present depressed price of hydrocarbons is going to last for long. Emission targets, energy prices and energy security all work in nuclear’s favour.
Independent 5th Feb 2009 more >>
New Nukes
Letter Steuart Campbell: it is unlikely that the use of lower grade ore would ever give gas the advantage. Furthermore, Prof Salter appears to ignore the availability of plutonium as a fuel and the eventual deployment of fast reactors.
Scotsman 5th Feb 2009 more >>
Nuclear Waste
Areva, a provider of technological services for nuclear power generation, and the Swiss electric utility KKL have signed a contract aimed at providing KKL with casks for the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel from the Leibstadt power plant in Switzerland.
Energy Business Review 4th Feb 2009 more >>
Nuclear Finance
The financial crisis isn’t necessarily bad news for nuclear. Lower capital cost inflation and improved government infrastructure planning could all benefit new build.
Nuclear Engineering International 4th Feb 2009 more >>
Sellafield
Cumbria County Council is backing plans to build up to three nuclear reactors at Sellafield by 2025. It says each would create around 350 permanent jobs plus thousands more during the construction phase. The council’s cabinet yesterday threw its weight behind the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s bid to nominate Sellafield as a site for a new nuclear power station.
Carlisle News and Star 4th Feb 2009 more >>
Springfields
A new managing director has been appointed at the helm of Preston’s booming nuclear fuel manufacturer. Neil Longfellow took up the role this week at Springfields Fuels Ltd, which employs around 1,500 people at Salwick, near Preston, after serving as deputy managing director at Sellafield in Cumbria.
Lancashire Evening Post 3rd Feb 2009 more >>
Disarmament
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband says he wants major world powers to begin new talks aimed at ridding the world of nuclear weapons. The British diplomatic chief says he hopes countries can agree on an international legal framework to reduce their arsenals.
AP 4th Feb 2009 more >>
Guardian 4th Feb 2009 more >>
David Miliband called for a new debate on ridding the world of nuclear weapons yesterday, saying that 40 years after the signing of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty now was the “time to show that we’re serious”.
Times 5th Feb 2009 more >>
Campaigners have turned on the speech over continued plans to replace or upgrade the Trident missile system to a cost of up to £76 billion. Greenpeace said the Trident plans “severely undermined” David Miliband’s comments. “Until the government puts plans to replace Trident on hold, anything they say about ridding the world of nuclear weapons is severely undermined,” said executive director John Sauven. Kate Hudson, chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said Mr Miliband’s speech, which accompanied a policy information paper from the Foreign Office was a “great disappointment”, which treated Trident as the elephant in the room. And the Liberal Democrats said the government’s leadership on non-proliferation was threatened by the “premature and provocative” decision to renew Trident ahead of the global disarmament conference next year.
Politics.co.uk 5th Feb 2009 more >>
Greenpeace 5th Feb 2009 more >>
Russia moved swiftly yesterday to extend a hand to President Obama over American plans for big cuts in nuclear weapons. Sergei Ivanov, the Deputy Prime Minister, said that Russia was ready to sign a new strategic missile treaty with the US.
Times 5th Feb 2009 more >>
After a long period of neglect, nuclear disarmament has re-emerged at the top of the foreign policy agenda. Barack Obama is seeking a dramatic reduction in global stockpiles over the next four years. In Britain, too, the subject is in vogue.
Telegraph 5th Feb 2009 more >>
A LEADING authority on international law has warned that nuclear weapons in Scotland increase the risk of a nuclear attack on the country. Judge Christopher Weeramantry, former vice-president of the International Court of Justice, told a conference in Edinburgh that the issue could not be left in the hands of Westminster. While agreeing that international relations were reserved to the UK Parliament, he insisted the Scottish Parliament must uphold international humanitarian and legal obligations. SNP defence and foreign affairs spokesman Angus Robertson said: “Judge Weeramantry’s comments add further weight to the argument for removing Trident from Scotland.”
Edinburgh Evening News 4th Feb 2009 more >>
Fusion
Laboratories across the world, packed with dozens of supreme eggheads, have spent millions trying to harness the power of nuclear fusion, but they have failed so far. Is Christopher’s home-made Doomsday machine – custom-built out of components from the High Street electronics shop Maplin’s – the answer? ‘I’ve only managed to get two watts out of it so far,’ he says. ‘But if I increase the power, I should be able to start a nuclear fusion reaction. Of course, I wouldn’t want to do a really big experiment here – it’s not an ideal place. And it could be dangerous.’
Daily Mail 5th Feb 2009 more >>
Iran
A senior adviser to Iran’s president says dialogue with the US will succeed only if the Obama administration accepts Tehran’s right to have a nuclear programme. Mojtaba Samareh-Hashemi, right-hand man to Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, the fundamentalist president, said in an interview with the Financial Times that Tehran was studying its options, just as the new US administration was reviewing its Iran policy.
FT 5th Feb 2009 more >>
The government believes Iran is just years away from developing a nuclear capability and London is prepared to go it alone with tougher sanctions if necessary, a minister said on Wednesday.
Reuters 4th Feb 2009 more >>
India
Areva, the French nuclear group, agreed yesterday to supply India with up to six nuclear reactors, in one of the first deals since India’s nuclear programme was brought into the international fold last year after decades of isolation. In a preliminary agreement with the state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India, Areva will provide technical co-operation on two of the heavy-duty 1600MW EPR reactors, at Jaitapur in the state of Maharashtra. The deal could be worth more than 8bn ($10.3bn).
FT 5th Feb 2009 more >>
