New Nukes
Ed Miliband, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, will give the go-ahead for a new generation of power stations and explain how new planning guidelines will speed up the time it takes for them to come into operation. In a major series of policy statements on Monday Mr Miliband will say that “saying no” to nuclear is no longer an option.
Telegraph 8th Nov 2009 more >>
The hidden cost of Britain’s new generation of reactors could be the destruction of the Kalahari desert in Namibia and millions of tonnes of extra greenhouse gas emissions a year. Tomorrow, Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, will release a batch of plans covering every aspect of Britain’s strategy to replace its ageing nuclear power stations. The documents are expected to set out the government’s case on the need for nuclear power, based on the demand for secure, low-carbon energy supplies, the suitable sites and designs for new reactors, and how the decommissioning and safe storage of radioactive waste can be guaranteed. Britain’s claims that a new generation of nuclear power will be low-carbon are also dented by the Namibian government’s plans to build a coal-fired power station to provide electricity for the mines. This will use more than 2.4m tonnes of coal a year from South Africa, and could produce more than 10 million tonnes of CO2 emissions a year.
Observer 8th Nov 2009 more >>
NUCLEAR power stations could be built on new greenfield plots as well as those sites shortlisted by ministers, Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, will announce tomorrow. He has decided the 11 potential sites unveiled earlier this year may not be enough to meet burgeoning power demand. Tomorrow he will reveal a raft of additional sites that could also be candidates for new nuclear power stations. Britain gets 15% of its electricity from nuclear power but the government wants to increase this to 25% by 2025. This will be compounded by a 55% increase in demand by 2050, which will all have to come from low-carbon sources. Renewables could not meet such a huge increase and nuclear is the only option.
Sunday Times 8th Nov 2009 more >>
Terror
Thousands of staff at nuclear power stations across the UK have been told to inform on colleagues who might become “vulnerable” to blackmail or bribery by terrorists because of changes in their personal lives. Moves by the government’s nuclear security agency to step up the vetting of civilian nuclear workers have been condemned by trade unionists and critics as “Orwellian”. But the agency insists the measures are justified by the threat of terrorism. On Monday the UK government is due to give the green light to a major new programme of nuclear power stations in England and Wales. No plants are likely to be proposed in Scotland because of opposition from the Scottish Nationalist government in Holyrood. The secretive Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) is charged with regulating security measures at 31 nuclear sites in the UK. In its latest annual report, made available online, the OCNS reveals that it provided security clearances for nearly 15,000 nuclear workers in 2008-09. Personal details of staff were vetted to try and ensure that they would not leak sensitive information which could render nuclear plants more vulnerable to attack. But the OCNS director, Roger Brunt, made it clear that he wanted to go further. Several initiatives had been launched to “raise the level of awareness of vetting issues within the civil nuclear industry,” he said.
Sunday Herald, 8 November 2009 more >>
robedwards.com, 8 November 2009 more >>
Sizewell
ANTI nuclear power campaigners have blasted British Energy plans to build more spent fuel storage at Sizewell B. The energy giant is this month set to consult on proposals to build a new dry storage facility to manage the plant’s spent fuel from 2015, when an existing fuel storage pond is due to reach capacity. Under proposals, a 110 metre long dry storage unit, which the company says is the “most suitable option” for the plant, will be built on car parking spaces at the Sizewell site near Leiston. But vocal campaigners say the move would increase the risk of nuclear disaster or terrorist attack and the subsequent danger of fallout.
East Anglian Daily Times 7th Nov 2009 more >>
Disarmament
The SNP have stepped up the pressure on Westminster to dump the UK’s arsenal of nuclear weapons. Backbench Nationalist MSP Bill Kidd set out plans to host a meeting of opponents in the Scottish Parliament this Friday. He says it will act as a counter to the 55th annual NATO Parliamentary Assembly which gets under way in Edinburgh the same day.
STV 8th Nov 2009 more >>
DMITRY Medvedev said yesterday he expected to sign a major new nuclear arms deal with America by the end of the year. The Russian president said talks were going quickly with the US but other members of the nuclear club, including the UK, France and China, must now join disarmament efforts.
Scotland on Sunday 8th Nov 2009 more >>
Test Veterans
Norfolk nuclear test veterans have claimed the Ministry of Defence is stalling so long over paying them compensation for what happened to them more than 50 years ago that many will die before they see their money.
Norwich Evening News 7th Nov 2009 more >>
Israel
Reports in Der Spiegel suggest that the Israeli air strike against claimed nuclear facilities in Syria were targeted after Mossad successfully hacked a laptop left in a London hotel bedroom. The report says that in late 2006 a senior Syrian diplomat staying in London left his laptop unattended in an London hotel, giving Mossad the chance to install a Trojan on the computer that allowed communications to be monitored.
V3.net 7th Nov 2009 more >>
Iran
A senior Iranian officialhas ruled out a proposal that would see it ship uranium abroad for enrichment, intensifying pressure on Tehran to reject the UN-backed plan altogether.
Observer 8th Nov 2009 more >>
Renewables
Britain’s claim to be a world leader in green energy investment has been called into question by an authoritative new study that will embarrass ministers as they prepare to launch an important climate change initiative tomorrow. A report from Deutsche Bank says that the UK does not have the right climate change strategy to attract international investment and is lagging behind other countries, such as Germany, France and China.
Observer 8th Oct 2009 more >>
