Sellafield
A controversial nuclear fuel plant that was closed down two years ago left taxpayers with a £2.2bn bill instead of turning a healthy profit, an government report has admitted. An internal report revealing the full extent of the failure of the SellafieldMixed-Oxide (MOX) plant concluded that the facility was “not fit for purpose” and its performance over a decade was “very poor”. The report is embarrassing for the Government which is proposing to build a new MOX plant at Sellafield to deal with Britain’s civil plutonium stockpile – the biggest in the world. Campaigners and MPs claimed yesterday that the report’s account of the events at Sellafield fatally undermined the case for any further attempts to profit from the MOX process, which uses reprocessed plutonium to make fuel for civil nuclear power plants.
Independent 9th June 2013 read more »
Nuclear Subsidy
Earlier this week we lamented this Government’s failure to deliver on its promise to be the greenest ever. Today, as we report the latest developments in the complex negotiations between Whitehall and the energy company EDF regarding the plans for a new nuclear power station off the north Somerset coast, it is difficult not to again reach the conclusion that the Government is making a meal of energy strategy. It is clear that new doubts are emerging about this country’s ability to do the deal with the French power firm over its Hinkley Point proposition. Why? Because we have a minister as near as damn it telling us so. Energy Minister Michael Fallon insists that talks with EDF are progressing, but at the same time he concedes that there remain ‘five or six’ sticking points and stresses that the Government will not do a deal at any price. Quite where this current position leaves the nation’s energy strategy is unclear. Of course, the talks are ongoing and may well reach an entente cordiale. Both sides have plenty to lose if they cannot do a deal. But if they reach an impasse – and remember the clock is ticking on this project – then alternative means of keeping the lights on are looking few and far between.
Western Daily Press 8th June 2013 read more »
Lobbying
Sunday papers can hold many horrors for MPs – but the image that strikes most fear into Parliamentarians is the uniquely grainy, strangely-angled still that screams “undercover footage”. Today, like last week, a Sunday paper publishes claims of an MP allegedly agreeing to break Commons rules by carrying out lobbying activity for money. This time the person who it is claimed chomped on hooked bait was Tim Yeo, and the ‘businesspeople’ who had the odd habit of leaving their bags on their laps during a meeting were from the Sunday Times. The allegations are extremely serious – that in return for money he offered access and influence. To sum up the main charge in his own words, “really almost everyone you needed to get hold of in this country, I should be able to help you do that” because “I’ve got a really very close relationship with really all the key players in the UK in government and the departments”.
Conservative Home 9th June 2013 read more »
Conservative MP Tim Yeo, who chairs the Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee, is alleged to have used his position to help a private company influence Parliament. Sunday Times investigators secretly filmed the former environment minister. The paper alleges he coached the boss of a firm, owned by a company that was paying Mr Yeo, before the businessman gave evidence to his committee.
BBC 9th June 2013 read more »
THE Tory MP in charge of scrutinising new energy laws has been caught boasting about how he can use his leadership of a powerful Commons committee to push his private business interests. Tim Yeo told undercover reporters — posing as representatives of a firm offering to hire him — that he was close to “really all the key players in the UK in government” and could introduce them to “almost everyone you needed to get hold of in this country”.
Sunday Times 9th June 2013 read more »
The chairman of a Commons committee has boasted of how he can promote businesses in which he has an interest. Tim Yeo told undercover reporters a suggested fee of £7,000 a day was ‘in the right ball-park’ (Sunday Times) TIM YEO watched silently as the sharp-suited freight executive testified to his powerful committee of MPs in the House of Commons. It was unlike the vocal Tory MP to take a back seat in his role as chairman of the energy and climate change select committee (ECCC) – but, for today, he had excused himself from joining his colleagues in questioning the executive to avoid accusations of a conflict of interest.
Sunday Times 9th June 2013 read more »
The Sunday Times claims the Energy Select Committee Chairman Tim Yeo admitted in secret filming that he coached a paying client on how to influence his committee. Mr Yeo rigorously denies any wrongdoing.
ITV News 9th June 2013 read more »
Companies
The British Gas owner is planning an initial bid for the supplier, which is being sold by the Irish state and could fetch £1bn, ahead of a first round deadline this week. Bord Gáis has about 775,000 customers in Ireland and owns a modern gas-fired power station, 13 operational wind farms and several wind farms under development. It is understood the assets are being sold as one entity but that few potential bidders want the entire portfolio. Centrica is keen to acquire the customers and believes it can use its experience running British Gas to improve the supply arm, which currently makes only a low profit margin. It is also believed to want some power generation assets but does not want Bord Gáis’s entire wind farm portfolio, having already been selling down its stakes in UK wind farms
Telegraph 8th June 2013 read more »
US
It was announced recently that the troubled San Onofree nuclear plant in the US is to be shut permanently. The plant has had a large number of problems and it has been reported that a leak at the plant was fixed using masking tapes and a broomsticks. However, this is only one of the major set backs for the pro-nuclear lobby in the USA.
Peter Lux 8th May 2013 read more »
North Korea
President Obama and China’s Xi Jinping, find common ground on NKorea’s nuclear posture as Obama warns about cyber threats.
Reuters 8th May 2013 read more »
Telegraph 9th June 2013 read more »
Iran
Iran’s eight presidential candidates quarrelled about talks with world powers over the country’s disputed nuclear programme on Friday as they held their final televised debate before next week’s election. Iran’s president does not have control of nuclear development policy, but does generally enjoy a close relationship with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that may prove influential. The issue has come to the fore alongside the Islamic republic’s ailing economy as a major focus of campaigning in the run-up to the 14 June vote. Western sanctions have severely cut the nation’s revenues.
Independent 9th June 2013 read more »
Renewables
Most parts of Scotland have welcomed the arrival of three consecutive days of sunshine with the kind of enthusiasm more usually associated with the Beliebers. But in the Stirlingshire village of Fintry, balmy days evoke mixed feelings. The community may be only 25 minutes’ drive from Glasgow but it is remote and rural, and has no mains gas, so when plans for a wind turbine were unveiled nearby, the community negotiated a second for its own use. For the past five years, the turbine has sold power to the grid and raises revenue for the community to spend on energy-saving projects. In Fintry, there is no such thing as an ill wind. Fintry is the exception rather than the rule. Wind turbines pepper Scotland from Shetland to the Solway Firth but they tend to invoke despair rather than cheer among those forced to live in their shadow. Their relentless march across the landscape in a bid to fulfil the Scottish government’s target of generating 100% equivalent of Scotland’s energy requirements from renewables by 2020 and 50% by 2015 has left communities feeling under siege.
Sunday Times 9th June 2013 read more »
Climate
Take a stand. We may be too late to stop the climate from shifting, but we can likely stop the most catastrophic effects of climate change. People of all ages are stepping up to block extraction, transportation, and burning of fossil fuels and to challenge the clout of the fossil fuel lobby. Some are doing it to protect their community’s water or air or their own health; others are motivated by concern for climate stability and the lives of generations to come.
Guardian 8th June 2013 read more »
