Court will hear appeal by environmental groups against Sizewell C nuclear power station
Sizewell C power station plans to be heard in court
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/sizewell-c-power-station-plans-be-hear-court 9 Oct 23
THE future of the government’s Sizewell C nuclear power station will be decided at a hearing in the Court of Appeal next month, it was revealed today.
On November 1 and 2, judges will hear an appeal by campaign groups against a High Court rejection of a review of the decision by then business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng to allow the development on the Suffolk coast to go ahead.
The development is being opposed by campaign groups Together Against Sizewell C (TASC), Suffolk Coastal Friends of the Earth and Stop Sizewell C.
They said the station’s huge consumption of water for its cooling system will threaten local domestic supplies, and that the project should have included a desalination plant.
TASC launched an appeal for funds and said: “Because of the short time-frame that has been forced on us we have little time to raise the £25,000 needed to cover the costs of our legal team for this appeal stage of the proceedings.” #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes #NuclearPlants
Zelensky pledged not to directly attack nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhia, says IAEA chief
“a number of fragile points apart from the reactors themselves”, including “the spent fuel area which is not fortified” as well as other storage areas holding fresh nuclear fuel.
Rafael Grossi says president personally assured him Ukraine ‘will not directly bomb or shell’ plant in counteroffensive
Dan Sabbagh, Guardian, 11 Oct 23
Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, says Volodymyr Zelenskiy has promised him that Ukraine will not attack Europe’s biggest nuclear plant as part of its counteroffensive against Russia.
In an interview with the Guardian, the nuclear watchdog chief said he was most concerned about the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant becoming engulfed in fighting between the two sides, but insisted he had obtained a commitment from the Ukrainian president.
“President Zelenskiy has personally assured me that they will not directly bomb or shell it,” Grossi said, although he added that Zelenskiy had told him “all other options are on the table” in terms of taking it back.
That means Ukraine would comply with the first of the five new nuclear safety principles – “do not attack a nuclear power plant” – initially outlined by Grossi at the UN security council at the end of May to avert “a catastrophic accident”.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station was captured by Russia in March 2022, the first time any reactor has been captured in war, prompting fears of a fresh incident in the same country where an explosion at Chornobyl spread radioactivity across Europe in 1986.
Grossi said the danger was that “anything can happen at any time” given the prevailing military situation. “I’m often asked, is [the power station] safe now? No. It’s in the middle of a war zone with a counteroffensive,” he said.
He said he believed there “were two main problems”, the most significant of which was “a direct attack, hit” on one of the less secure areas of the plant, while the secondary concern was the maintenance of water cooling, necessary even as the six reactors are in shutdown……….
Grossi said he was particularly concerned by “a number of fragile points apart from the reactors themselves”, including “the spent fuel area which is not fortified” as well as other storage areas holding fresh nuclear fuel.
“The fresh fuel halls, let me remind you, were hit in August 2022,” he added, describing the aftermath of an attack that left holes visible to satellite imagery on the roof of the power station’s key facility.
A few days later, Grossi crossed the frontlines to pay one of three personal visits since the start of the war to the nuclear plant, where he said he saw the damage caused by the attack where “a few metres down, you have the racks containing the fresh fuel”.
Though the damage was likely to have come after a Ukrainian attack, Grossi said he would not say who was responsible. “I don’t have a forensic capacity [to determine who was responsible],” he said. “The Russians would certainly say that [the Ukrainians did it].”
IAEA monitors are permanently based at the nuclear power plant, although last week Greenpeace said their number – at four – was too small and they were unable to provide effective assurances about safety because they had to give a week’s notice of their inspection requests…………..
Russia’s Rosatom nuclear agency has taken over the management of the plant, but has had to rely on a fraction of the prewar Ukrainian staff to keep it operational. Staffing levels plunged from 12,000 before the war to, Grossi said, about 2,000 today, although he added it was “growing again” with more native Russians coming onsite.
Concerns about maintaining water cooling increased sharply after the Nova Kakhovka dam downstream was blown in June, draining the Dnipro reservoir around the plant and leaving its reserve cooling water pond exposed…………………….
Grossi said he regretted how the plant had been used in military brinkmanship between the two sides. “We were not expecting a war with these kind of characteristics,” he said………… https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/10/zelenskiy-promises-not-to-attack-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-says-iaea-chief #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes #NuclearPlants
Critics are sceptical over County Council’s ‘nuclear engagement officer role’ funded by the industry
Debate ignites over County Council’s nuclear engagement officer role funded by the industry A step towards transparency or a compromise on impartiality?
By Daniel Jaines Local Democracy Reporter , My Local, Lincolnshire, 10 Oct 23
Lincolnshire County Council’s (LCC) job advert for a Policy and Engagement Officer, a role that will research the nuclear sector, has sparked controversy and concerns regarding impartiality and ethical considerations due to its funding by Nuclear Waste Services (NWS).
The job describes the role as a conduit between the council and the proposed Theddlethorpe Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) in Lincolnshire and comes with a salary of £38,296-£42,503. The appointee will be tasked with maintaining an overview of the developments proposed by NWS, ensuring senior politicians and officers are briefed and engaged, thereby helping the council in its role as the principal relevant local authority.
This includes providing advice on the potential advantages and disadvantages of the proposed investment.
The officer will be responsible for ensuring that the local community is provided with balanced information and will coordinate with local and national authorities and organisations to manage and distribute the latest information about nuclear industry developments and waste disposal.
The role also involves advocating activities that enable both the council and the area to derive financial benefits from the proposed GDF through investments in critical infrastructure, business and employment supply chains, and community grants.
The advert notes that while the post is fully funded by NWS, it will operate independently of them, and the LCC has adopted a neutral stance on the GDF.
However, the Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) has expressed concerns, stating that the LCC’s understanding of the sector’s harsh realities is lacking, and that their motivations might be economically driven due to the long-term and uncertain nature of nuclear propositions.
The campaigners believe that LCC, by accepting funding from NWS, may be perceived as aligning itself with NWS or potentially compromising its impartiality in future nuclear-related decisions and policies.
The critics suggest that this funding could be seen as LCC getting “off the fence” and taking a side in the ongoing discussions and debates related to nuclear projects in the region.
Councillor David Blackburn, Chair of the Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) English Forum, expressed his concerns about the direction in which the LCC is heading: “Whilst this may mean job security for the successful candidate, it must represent insecurity for the residents of Theddlethorpe, Mablethorpe, and Sutton.
“For the first duty listed for the post holder will be to act as ‘the main point of contact between the council and the geological disposal facility which is proposed by Nuclear Waste Services for Theddlethorpe in Lincolnshire’.
“If NWS is indeed providing ‘permanent’ funding then it must remain of the view that, despite the clear local opposition to the proposal, a GDF might go forward for Theddlethorpe in the future. Otherwise, why would they invest?”
The Theddlethorpe site, currently under consideration for a GDF by NWS, has been met with significant opposition from the local community and elected members.
Ken Smith, a Theddlethorpe campaigner, has voiced that accepting funding from NWS suggests a bias on the part of LCC towards the GDF, rather than maintaining neutrality.
“In my view, it is totally unethical,” he said. “It gives NWS a direct line to councillors. They can claim independence as much as they like, but he who pays the piper calls the tune.”
He further emphasised the need for the council to encourage companies developing renewables, given Lincolnshire’s ideal location for such technologies………………….more https://mylocal.co.uk/lincolnshire/feed/120078/debate-ignites-over-county-council-s-nuclear-engagement-officer-role-funded-by-the-industry #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes #NuclearPlants
PETITION: Stop calling uranium mined fuels “clean energy”
Scrap the rebranding of nuclear as “clean.” Even the very first step of the fuel cycle, the mining of Uranium is uniquely dirty and dangerous. The extraction of a finite resource which is far from “home grown.”
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero announced in July that “The UK’s nuclear renaissance begins with the launch of Great British Nuclear helping us deliver clean, reliable energy for generations to come.”
Future generations are being dangerously misled about the main product of nuclear power – nuclear waste. This will be just as dangerous to their lives as it is to ours. Using Greenhouse Gas Protocol methodology, the total NDA (Nuclear Decommissioning Authority) group carbon footprint for 2019/20 is 1,046,950 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)”. We believe much of this is indirectly looking after radioactive wastes at Sellafield………… #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes #NuclearPlants
Ukraine admits to conducting 3 commando raids against the city that hosts Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant
Ukraine’s nuclear admission a ‘wake-up call’ to the world – Moscow
https://www.rt.com/russia/584418-zakharova-budanov-energodar-raids/ 11 Oct 23
Kiev’s top military spy Kirill Budanov confirms launch of three botched assaults to retake Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
The acknowledgement by Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kirill Budanov, that three amphibious commando raids had been launched against the city that hosts Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, must not go unnoticed by the UN or by citizens of NATO states, Russia’s foreign ministry has said.
In an interview with Ukrainian media last week, Budanov and some subordinates described how the country’s military intelligence agency GUR had conducted commando raids on the city of Energodar and that each of these had failed.
The confession should bring people in NATO states “out of their hypnotic trance” in which they were “led to believe [by their governments] that Russia creates nuclear threats,” ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated on Monday.
Zakharova also called for a reaction from the UN, which she said “has been claiming for all these months” that they couldn’t determine the direction from which the nuclear facility was being threatened.
None of Kiev’s three commando operations managed to establish a Ukrainian foothold in Energodar but officials claimed the expeditions gave them valuable experience and contributed to a larger goal of preventing Russia from using the plant to provide electricity to the region. The Zaporozhye station is in a state of partial shutdown, with a single reactor providing power for its own consumption.
The site was the focus of a protracted diplomatic spat between Moscow and Kiev last year. Ukraine claimed that Russia kept heavy weapons at the plant and was attacking Ukrainian forces from it. Moscow denied the accusation and said Kiev’s forces regularly targeted the facility with shelling and drone strikes.
The mutual accusations turned down a notch after UN watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) deployed a permanent on-site monitoring mission in September 2022. The organization repeatedly declined to assess who was responsible for sporadic incidents involving the facility.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi attempted to mediate a Russian-Ukrainian deal to declare the vicinity of the Zaporozhye plant off-limits for hostilities, but did not succeed.
In July, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky claimed that Russia had rigged the site with explosives and could blow it up at any moment, possibly in a false-flag operation. Kiev described the purported plot as part of Moscow’s alleged “nuclear blackmail” of Ukraine and its Western backers.
Russia dismissed the allegations. IAEA monitors reported that territory outside the perimeter of the plant was mined but otherwise could not confirm Zelensky’s claims. The Ukrainian leader cited reports by his intelligence services. #Ukraine
Boss of Sizewell nuclear project calls for “curbing protestors powers’ to block them in the courts
Nuclear plant developer calls for limits on legal challenges. The
government should seek to accelerate major projects by curbing protestors
powers’ to block them in the courts the boss of Sizewell C says.
Times (not on the web) 9th Oct 2023 #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes #NuclearPlants
Zelensky fears Israel will distract from Western aid to Kiev
Rt.com 11 Oct 23
The Ukrainian president has visited NATO headquarters, concerned that the flow of Western help could be imperiled
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has voiced concerns that the security crisis in the Middle East could draw international attention away from his country. He blamed Russia for the Hamas incursion into southern Israel last week.
“If international attention shifts away from Ukraine, one way or another, it will have consequences,” the Ukrainian leader warned in an interview with France 2 on Tuesday.
“The fate of Ukraine depends on the unity of the rest of the world,” he added, expressing hope that Washington would ensure continued assistance…………………………….
On Wednesday, Zelensky made an unannounced visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels, where he reportedly sought reassurances that the Hamas raid and Israel’s retaliation would not distract from attention to Ukraine…………..
Last month, the US Congress declined to allocate money for Ukraine aid in a 45-day stopgap spending bill. The White House reportedly wants to include it in a package meant for Israel to overcome resistance from some lawmakers………
The Pentagon announced its latest $200 million package of assistance to Ukraine on Wednesday.
The Zelensky government has rejected the idea of peace talks with Russia and seeks a military victory with Western help instead. Moscow has argued that the US and its allies are using Ukrainians as “cannon fodder” in a proxy war against Russia. https://www.rt.com/russia/584640-zelensky-aid-israel-nato/
Was the massacre in a Ukrainian village in fact a false-flag provocation by the Kiev regime?
More proof of a false-flag massacre at village funeral by Kiev regime
Strategic Culture Foundation, Tue, 10 Oct 2023 https://www.sott.net/article/485035-More-proof-of-a-false-flag-massacre-at-village-funeral-by-Kiev-regime
A massacre in a Ukrainian village last week that was roundly blamed on the Russian military in Western media reports has taken a new twist that further shows the incident was actually a false-flag provocation by the Kiev regime.
Western media last week reported that 52 people were killed when a cafe was allegedly hit by a Russian precision missile on Thursday, October 5. All Western media reports cited Ukrainian officials as their source for attributing blame on the Russian military firing an Iskander missile.
The cafe was crowded with families who had attended a funeral for a Ukrainian soldier.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who was on the same day attending a summit in Granada, Spain, with European leaders, denounced the atrocity as “genocidal aggression” by Russia.
After widely reporting the slaughter in the village of Hroza in eastern Ukraine amid a torrent of condemnations of Russia, as usual, Western media have quickly shifted their focus onto other world events, primarily the eruption in violence between Israelis and Palestinians over the weekend.
However, a follow-up report by AP on the horror at Hroza inadvertently sheds more light on who actually fired the missile. There is good reason to suspect that the Kiev regime orchestrated the air strike as a false-flag propaganda stunt. In other words, the regime deliberately killed civilians in its own territory in a cynical effort to smear Russia.
The new twist is that the families of the victims are reportedly at a loss as to how Russian forces knew of the gathering of people for the dead soldier’s funeral. The village has no military bases or tactical value. It is situated nearly 30 kilometers from the frontline between Ukrainian and Russian troops in eastern Ukraine.
The follow-up AP report claims that local people suspect that an informer in the village might have given the coordinates of the funeral to the Russian military. But rather than making that deduction, a more plausible explanation for the deadly attack can be found in the acutely felt political needs of the Kiev regime.
The timing of the massacre on the same day that Zelensky was making a big pitch for more military aid from European NATO members strongly suggests that Kiev regime forces carried out the strike on Hroza village to give its president more emotive power in his set-piece appeal to European leaders.
There is precedent for such a vile act. As noted earlier, when U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kiev last month on September 6 to deliver $1 billion in American weaponry, on the same day a missile strike killed 17 people in the town of Konstantinovka in eastern Ukraine.The town is under the control of the Ukrainian military. That atrocity was immediately blamed on Russia which Zelensky and Blinken vociferously condemned at the time. It turned out later, though, that the Armed Forces of Ukraine carried out the air strike in a seeming error, according to the New York Times.
It is argued by this author that the strike on Konstantinovka was not an error, but rather a deliberate act of killing Ukrainian civilians to smear Russia and to garner support for more American military aid.
The same modus operandi is believed to explain the massacre at the village of Hroza last week.
Bear in mind that the summit in Granada addressed by Zelensky where he cited the carnage at Hroza and suitably accused Russia of depraved terrorism was held at a crucial political moment concerning American and European financial support for the Kiev regime. The U.S. Congress has temporarily suspended billions of dollars for Ukraine and the pressure is on Europe to maintain the flow of money.
The highly emotive appeal by Zelensky in Granada appeared to bolster European military support with reports that same day of Spain pledging to supply more air-defense systems to Ukraine.
Returning to the latest AP report, it was said:
“Locals say it [Hroza village] is strictly a civilian area. There has never been any military base, whether Russian or Ukrainian. They said only civilians or family came to the funeral and wake, and residents were the only people who would have known where and when it was taking place.
“Dmytro Chubenko, spokesman for the regional prosecutor, said investigators are looking into whether someone from the area transmitted the cafe’s coordinates to the Russians — a betrayal to everyone now grieving in Hroza… Many share that suspicion, describing a strike timed to kill the maximum number of people. The date of the funeral was set a few weeks ago, and the time was shared throughout the village late last week.”
This version of events stretches credulity. Would a local village inhabitant go out of their way to tell the Russian military about a family funeral gathering? Would the Russian military go to the trouble of firing an Iskander precision missile at a civilian gathering 30 kms from its front line and also knowing that Western media would predictably vilify Russia for “barbarity”?
That explanation of an alleged informer and Russian depravity does not add up.
What does add up, rather, is the Kiev regime authorities knew that a funeral for one of their own soldiers was taking place on the same day that their president was making a big appeal for more weapons at a summit in Spain.
Zelensky needed a propaganda punch for his appeal and Western media obliged as usual to paint Russia as evil barbarians. #Ukraine
Sunken Nuclear Submarine May Be Leaking Radiation Into The Ocean
The wreckage has been resting on the seabed for over 30 years, but is it now contaminating the surrounding water?
IFL Science, DR. RUSSELL MOUL 10 Oct 23
In April 7, 1989, a Russian nuclear submarine sank off the coast of Norway after a fire broke out on board as a result of a short circuit. At the time, the sub was carrying two nuclear torpedoes which it took with it to the cold depths of the Arctic Ocean. To this day, neither the vessel nor its weapons have been recovered and, unfortunately, it seems these artifacts from the Cold War have been leaking radioactive materials ever since.
A terrible accident
The Russian K-278 Komsomolets, as the submarine was called, was a nuclear-powered attack submarine that belonged to the Soviet navy. It was commissioned in 1983 and was one of the first submarines to have a titanium hull, which allowed it to dive to much greater depths than any of her competitors – the vessel could reach depths below 914 meters (3,000 feet). The K-278 was the only one of its kind to enter into service…………………………………………………………………………
What is the legacy?
For more than 30 years, K-278 and her nuclear torpedoes have rested at the bottom of the ocean in one of the richest fishing areas in the world. In that time, the seawater has slowly corroded the vessel’s hull and the casings surrounding its nuclear warheads, which have been leaking radioactive material into the surrounding ocean.
In 2019, researchers from Norway reported that some samples taken from the water at the K-278 wreckage site had about 800,000 times higher levels of radiation than what is normal for the Norwegian Sea. The samples of radioactive cesium (cesium-137) were collected from a ventilation shaft on the sunken vessel by a Norwegian remotely
…………………….. Whether the contamination is coming from the nuclear reactor or the torpedoes remains unknown. ……………………………………………………………. https://www.iflscience.com/sunken-nuclear-submarine-may-be-leaking-radiation-into-the-ocean-71037 #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes
Slovenian nuclear plant to stay closed until leak fixed.
Reuters, Tue, October 10, 2023
SARAJEVO, – Expert teams at Slovenia’s only nuclear power plant Krsko (NEK), jointly owned by Slovenia and Croatia, have narrowed down the location of the leak which led to the plant’s shut down last week, the NEK said on Monday.
The leak occurred on the connection system of the primary circuit, NEK said on its web page, adding it will analyse the cause and draw up a plan to fix it.
“All this will require more time, probably several weeks; however, it is currently too early to assess the forecast for the power plant’s return to operation,” the company said.
Since Friday, the plant had been first placed under safe state of so-called hot-standby and then under so-called cold shutdown, which allowed the teams to determine the precise location of the leak that had been found in the primary system within the containment building, the company said…………………
NEK was built in cooperation with U.S. company Westinghouse Electric Corporation and started operating in 1982. In 2016 Slovenia and Croatia agreed to prolong its lifespan by 20 years until 2043. (Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Louise Heavens) https://finance.yahoo.com/news/slovenian-nuclear-plant-stay-closed-130321224.html #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes
Labour should follow Welsh government and commit to nuclear weapon prohibition, fringe meeting hears
Labour Party Conference 2023
Morning Star 9 Oct 23
LABOUR should follow the example of its government in Wales and commit to signing the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, Beth Winter told a packed CND fringe meeting today.
The Cynon Valley MP joined her colleague Bell Ribeiro-Addy in slamming the government’s warped priorities in committing to spend hundreds of billions on nuclear warheads at a time of soaring poverty.
The Senedd voted last year to back the UN treaty, with First Minister Mark Drakeford saying the world needed to get serious about disarmament…………… more https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/labour-should-follow-welsh-government-and-commit-to-nuclear-weapon-prohibition-fringe-meeting-hears #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes
Judicial review will hear appeal against UK govt’s consent for Sizewell C nuclear
Together Against Sizewell C is delighted to announce that we now have the
date for our judicial review in the Court of Appeal, a two-day hearing has
been set for Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd November 2023.
This will give our legal team the opportunity to present TASC’s appeal against Justice
Holgate’s refusal in the High Court of our judicial review of then
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng’s decision to give development consent
to Sizewell C.
The unusually early date for the hearing is a result of
pressure from the government requesting the case be treated as a priority.
TASC continues to have the support of Suffolk Coastal Friends of the Earth
and Stop Sizewell C in this vitally important battle for the soul of the
Heritage Coast, however because of the short timeframe that has been forced
on us we have little time to raise the £25,000 needed to cover the costs
of our legal team for this appeal stage of the proceedings.
Crowd Justice 8th Oct 2023 #nuclear #antinuclear #Nuclearfree #NoNukes
https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/save-suffolks-heritage-coast-w/
Residents closest to Dounreay and Vulcan to be excluded from the nuclear emergency planning zone.
By Iain Grant, 06 October 2023 https://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/nearby-homes-to-be-outside-of-dounreay-emergency-zone-for-fi-328741/ #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclear-free #NoNukes
Residents closest to Dounreay and Vulcan are for the first time to be excluded from the emergency planning zone around the redundant nuclear sites.
It is being shrunk to reflect the perceived reduction in risk to the public presented by the adjoining plants.
The zone would be the focus of the response to what is considered a worst-case scenario involving a radiation release.
Up until the plug was pulled on Dounreay’s fast reactor programme in the mid-1990s, its zone extended to five kilometres. The equivalent at Vulcan was two kilometres.
Dounreay’s limit was subsequently cut to 1.5km and reduced further in 2020 when a new linked zone taking in both sites was set at 700 metres.
France seeks European subsidies for its nuclear industry – fears “discrimination against nuclear”
France urges swift deal on EU power reform to counter US subsidies Energy minister says bloc will lose out to Biden’s IRA if Paris and Berlin fail to resolve differences over nuclear power.
The US will be the main winner if a Franco-German divide over nuclear power prevents a long-awaited reform of Europe’s electricity market being finalised, France’s energy minister has warned. Agnès Pannier-Runacher said in an interview with the Financial Times that the sweeping overhaul of EU rules was needed as soon as possible to give businesses visibility on power prices, at a time when the US was luring industry with President Joe Biden’s clean energy subsidy programme under the Inflation Reduction Act……………….
The call comes ahead of a bilateral conference in Hamburg, starting on Monday, between French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Olaf Scholz, accompanied by their cabinet ministers. Energy issues will be high on the agenda because Paris and Berlin have been arguing for months over the EU electricity market reform, specifically over how nuclear energy will be priced and the extent to which it can be subsidised……………
Behind the scenes in recent days, Paris and Berlin have been exchanging duelling policy papers and rewritten clauses for the draft law, while marshalling support from other EU member states.
On this reform and others, France has mounted a pro-nuclear campaign now joined by other countries that use the technology, including Poland and Hungary, in an effort to ensure the sector will be treated favourably.
But its drive has hit roadblocks, particularly in Germany, over concerns France will end up riding roughshod over state aid rules and benefit from lower prices for consumers and industry that other countries cannot match………………………………………………………..
Whether France and Germany will be able to square their differences in time for the next meeting of EU energy ministers on October 17 is unclear. The risk is that the reform will not be done by the end of the year and only become harder as EU parliament elections approach……………………..
The main thing still to be ironed out in the reform is the use of a mechanism known as “contracts for difference” (CFDs) which guarantee a minimum price for energy produced, and whether they should be applied to existing nuclear plants or just new ones. The CFDs have typically been used to incentivise renewable energy projects by guaranteeing revenues for producers, and Berlin has argued they should only apply to new investments.
France’s Energy Minister Pannier-Runacher said French reactors built decades ago required billions of euros in new investments for maintenance and to extend their lifespan and therefore should not be penalised with heavy restrictions around the application of CFDs.
As well as a minimum price, the CFD mechanism allows governments to recover excess revenues if prices jump past a set threshold, raising more questions about how governments then use those funds, especially if they were to be directed at providing further energy subsidies.
France had been happy with an original proposal on market reform put forward by the European Commission in March. But subsequent amendments with more restrictions on the uses of CFDs in a version presented by the European parliament have sparked the pushback. “At a certain stage it amounts to a discrimination against nuclear. We would not be allowed to do in the French system what other countries can [with their energy assets],” Pannier-Runacher said.
Class action launched against British Government over nuclear bomb tests in Australia
By A Current Affair Staff 7 Oct 23 https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/nuclear-bomb-testing-australia-class-action-british-government/199eafe9-c774-432e-99b2-f71a96ffb696—
It’s a scandal that has spanned decades as Australian and British servicemen sent to nuclear testing sites fight to be officially recognised for their service and suffering.
Between 1952 and 1963, Great Britain carried out nuclear bomb tests in Australia and the Pacific.
Doug Brooks was at the first one.
“The only thing we were told to do was turn our backs to the blast ground zero, cover our eyes with our hands and the blast x-rayed our hands we could see the bones,” he told A Current Affair.
Tony Spruzen was at the Maralinga test range in the remote outback of South Australia.
“The brightness was so much, it’s something like I never experienced before, I could see through my eyelids, I could see the bones of my fingers,” he said.
Doug and Tony are two of the rapidly diminishing number of veterans sent to the nuclear test sites.
In total 45 tests were conducted by Britain’s Ministry of Defence – 12 of those were in Australia at the blessing of the Menzies government.
There were 22,000 servicemen in the Pacific tests. 1500 are still alive.
Now there is a new class action against the British Government.
“Well, what’s prompted it is that we’ve discovered medical records do in fact exist for these servicemen,” lawyer Matthew Jury said.
“We have a copy of these records and what that tells us is the other medical records exist which the government has been concealing for 70 years so those surviving servicemen who want answers now know that those records exist so where and the government has been concealing them.”
Jury’s firm has launched the action class and he claims records reveal the radiation levels in the blood and urine of the servicemen.
“As they have grown older they have developed extreme and aggressive forms of cancer,” Jury said.
“There have been miscarriages and other birth defects which can’t be treated by their doctors because their doctors don’t have their full medical records.”
The British Ministry of Defence hasn’t responded to requests for an interview or statement.
Watch the full story in the video player above. [on original]
1 This Month
of the week– Nuclear Reactor Information Task Force
14 May – online event From Bombs to Data Centres: the Face of Nuclear Colonialism
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
-
Archives
- May 2026 (82)
- April 2026 (356)
- March 2026 (251)
- February 2026 (268)
- January 2026 (308)
- December 2025 (358)
- November 2025 (359)
- October 2025 (376)
- September 2025 (257)
- August 2025 (319)
- July 2025 (230)
- June 2025 (348)
-
Categories
- 1
- 1 NUCLEAR ISSUES
- business and costs
- climate change
- culture and arts
- ENERGY
- environment
- health
- history
- indigenous issues
- Legal
- marketing of nuclear
- media
- opposition to nuclear
- PERSONAL STORIES
- politics
- politics international
- Religion and ethics
- safety
- secrets,lies and civil liberties
- spinbuster
- technology
- Uranium
- wastes
- weapons and war
- Women
- 2 WORLD
- ACTION
- AFRICA
- Atrocities
- AUSTRALIA
- Christina's notes
- Christina's themes
- culture and arts
- Events
- Fuk 2022
- Fuk 2023
- Fukushima 2017
- Fukushima 2018
- fukushima 2019
- Fukushima 2020
- Fukushima 2021
- general
- global warming
- Humour (God we need it)
- Nuclear
- RARE EARTHS
- Reference
- resources – print
- Resources -audiovicual
- Weekly Newsletter
- World
- World Nuclear
- YouTube
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
nuclear-news 