Iran
Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi says his country is now capable of making the fuel plates and rods used inside nuclear reactors. Western analysts have previously said the Islamic republic did not possess such technology.
BBC 8th Jan 2011 more >>
Iran has produced a ‘stockpile’ of 40KG of 20% enriched Uranium, according to the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi.
The Global Herald 9th Jan 2011 more >>
Climate
Homeowners living near rivers and the coast face losing up to 40 per cent of the value of their homes as flood risk makes them uninsurable. More than a million homes and 300,000 businesses are at risk, including those in parts of London, Southend, Brighton, Reading, Birmingham, Nottingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Hull, Middlesbrough, Blackpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh, the Environment Agency says. The insurance industry points to evidence that climate change and rising sea levels will increase the likelihood of floods. It has an agreement with the Government – which runs out in 2013 – committing it to provide cover for customers, as long as flood risk is properly managed.
Independent 9th Jan 2011 more >>
Carbon Capture & Storage
The EU is to spend more than £1bn on helping Britain capture and get rid of carbon dioxide – a move which could extend the productive life of North Sea oilfields to 50 years and raise £60bn in tax revenues. A new study by Durham University academics estimates that the extra tax revenues will be raised by the UK Treasury if carbon capture is adopted by North Sea oil companies. Professor Jon Gluyas, the director of Durham University’s Centre for Research into Earth Energy Systems, carried out the study, Evaluation of the enhancement of North Sea oil recovery using carbon dioxide. This is now being considered by both the UK’s Department of Energy and the EU as part of their funding plans for North Sea oil regeneration. Brussels has given British power engineering companies until February to come up with plants that will take CO2 produced by factories and power stations and transport it, via pipelines, out to depleted oil or gas fields in the North Sea.
Independent 9th Jan 2011 more >>
