2012 June 13 « nuclear-news

Gloom in UK Parliament about the doubtful future of nuclear power

“It is a worry for the government that EDF is so downbeat. They are the only horse left in this race and if they falter it might mean the end of the whole [nuclear] programme.

The planned reforms, laid out in the government’s recent paper, have come under fire from some energy companies as a veiled subsidy for nuclear power

UK nuclear plans ‘need saving by David Cameron and Francois Hollande’ Commons committee chairman Tim Yeo says heads of state must intervene, after EDF casts doubt on its UK investment Fiona Harvey, environment correspondent guardian.co.uk, 12 June 2012 The prime minister must step in urgently to rescue the UK’s nuclear power programme, or risk it failing, a senior Tory has warned after French nuclear company EDF gave a downbeat report on the prospects for a new fleet of reactors in the UK.

Chairman of the influential energy and climate change committee and former Tory cabinet minister Tim Yeo said that Cameron must speak to his French counterpart, Francois Hollande, in order to decide what conditions are necessary for the state-owned French utility to fulfil its planned investment.

“This is something that can only be done by the heads of government of Britain and France,” he told the Guardian. “There may need to be special arrangements for nuclear [separate from the regulation and subsidy of other forms of power]. Given the size of this investment – billions and billions, with a return on investment coming well into the 2020s – this has to involve the heads of government.”
Yeo was speaking after the committee’s MPs questioned EDF Energy chief executive Vincent de Rivaz and several other energy company senior directors. De Rivaz was “very downbeat” on the prospects for new nuclear power stations, said Yeo. Continue reading →

June 13, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Connecticut welcomes Appeals Court decision discouraging decades of nuclear fuel storage

Spent nuclear fuel storage decision praised, West Hartford News, June 12, 2012 By Luther Turmelle A federal appeals court is forcing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to rethink its rules regarding how long spent nuclear fuel can be stored on site at current and former reactors.

State Attorney General George Jepsen called Friday’s unanimous decision by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia a landmark ruling. Connecticut was one of several Northeast states that challenged changes made in 2010 by the NRC to rules
governing waste storage at reactor sites.

Before the change, spent fuel could be stored on site for up to 30 years after a reactor closed. But the NRC increased the period of time to 60 years and made other changes to its rules governing the storage of spent fuel rods from nuclear power plants. Continue reading →

June 13, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA | Leave a comment