Redirect Sizewell C funding to the Warm Homes Plan, say campaigners.
Alison Downes, https://stopsizewellc.org/sizewellcvswarmhomes/
Campaigners call on Rachel Reeves and Ed Miliband to stop Sizewell C, redirect its funding to generate ‘Warm Homes’ jobs in every constituency by the next election.
Building Sizewell C would likely cost around £40bn over the next 15 years. Deducting money already spent, if Sizewell C is cancelled now, the public money saved by 2030 would be £7.1bn.
A paper from Stop Sizewell C and the Green New Deal Group calls for this saving to be added to the £6.6bn the government is committed to spend in the current Parliament on energy efficiency in the nation’s homes. Turbocharging this ‘Warm Homes Plan’ by more than doubling its budget will generate long term, secure jobs, particularly for young people across the UK. It will be quick to implement, so by the next election new jobs and cheaper, warmer, healthier homes will have appeared in every constituency.
Alison Downes of Stop Sizewell C said: “The taxpayers’ money being ploughed into risky, expensive Sizewell C – which will inevitably soar higher due to cost overruns and building delays – would be far better spent improving the lives of households nationwide, bringing down their bills, and helping the UK meet its net zero target”.
Colin Hines of The Green New Deal Group said: “At absolutely no extra cost to the nation’s finances Rachel Reeves and Ed Miliband could stop funding the nuclear white elephant that is Sizewell C and not only improve the living conditions for homes in every constituency, but create jobs in every constituency, thereby improving their chances of winning the next election.”
Nuclear Severnside…is this our future?
STAND (accessed) 23rd March 2025,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz9CaHbM-9o
The Severn Estuary, in Gloucestershire, is set to be a major hub for the
Government’s plans to expand nuclear power in the UK. This video, by STAND
(Severnside Together Against Nuclear Development)
https://www.nuclearsevernside.co.uk, explains the Government’s proposed
expansion of nuclear power by building the completely unproven technology
of SMRs (Small Modular Reactors. It also explains why they will be
disastrous for the economy, increase the cost for electricity bill payers,
rob renewable sources of power generation such as wind, solar and tidal of
essential resources, fail to secure energy security and come far too late
to help mitigate climate change or meet the country’s carbon emission
targets.
Dounreay learns what its share of £4bn decommissioning cash will be
Dounreay has been allocated a total spend of £221 million for the coming
financial year. Its share of the £4 billion budget overseen by the Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is a good outcome for the site, according
to Dave Wilson, managing director of operators NRS.
“It’s a really, really good settlement given the current financial challenges,” he said
at the latest meeting of Dounreay Stakeholder Group (DSG) on Wednesday. Mr
Wilson said it was just over £5 million up on the previous year after
taking account of inflation. He said: “It’s a very positive settlement
for Dounreay and will make sure the site is safe, secure and able to
continue to protect the environment.” The funding would underwrite the
ongoing clean-up of the site and the upgrading of its ageing
infrastructure.
John O’Groat Journal 22nd March 2025, https://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/dounreay-learns-what-its-share-of-4bn-decommissioning-cash-377633/
Ministry of Defence under fire over nuclear clean-up in Scotland
Pete Roche, a Scottish-based nuclear consultant and critic, was concerned that no money had been set aside to cover decommissioning military sites, especially given the pressures on the budget for cleaning up civil sites.
Rob Edwards, March 23, 2025, The Ferret
The Ministry of Defence has been accused of trying to avoid responsibility for cleaning up a military nuclear site on the north coast of Scotland by making it “someone else’s problem”.
The Ferret can reveal that discussions to transfer ownership of Vulcan, a former submarine reactor testing site next to Dounreay in Caithness, to the UK and Scottish governments’ Nuclear Decommissioning Authority are at an advanced stage. The aim is to complete the deal in 2027-28.
But no decision has been taken on who will pay for the site’s multi-million pound clean-up, including dismantling and disposing of two defunct, radioactive reactors. Unlike some civil nuclear sites, military sites do not have any funding set aside for decommissioning.
Campaigners are concerned that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) could escape paying for the pollution it has caused at Vulcan and other military sites. They are demanding transparency, and calling on the Scottish Government to block any “backroom transfer” that undermines Scotland’s interests.
The 26-strong UK group of nuclear-free local authorities is planning to raise the issue with UK nuclear minister, Lord Hunt, at a meeting on 31 March. It will be urging him to extract a promise from the MoD to fully fund the decommissioning of Vulcan.
The MoD promised to deliver “value for taxpayers’ money” on the Vulcan clean-up. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) said financing would be agreed with the UK Government “as part of the usual funding process”.
Construction work at Vulcan began in 1957, with one reactor operational from 1965 to 1984, and another from 1987 to 2015. They were used for onshore testing of five different designs of reactors to power the UK nuclear submarine fleet.
In 2012 the second Vulcan reactor suffered a mishap, and started leaking radioactivity into its cooling water. When the leak was disclosed two years later, it triggered a bitter argument between the Scottish and UK governments.
The then first minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, accused the Conservative UK defence minister, Philip Hammond, of deception. Hammond had told MPs that there had been “no measurable change in the radiation discharge” from Vulcan.
But an investigation by the Sunday Herald revealed that there had in fact been a tenfold rise in emissions of radioactive gases. Hammond subsequently corrected the official parliamentary record……………………………………………………..
There are seven defunct nuclear submarines awaiting decommissioning at Rosyth in Fife and a further 15 at Devonport in Plymouth. Other MoD nuclear sites in Scotland that may eventually need to be cleaned up are the Faslane nuclear submarine base and the Coulport nuclear weapons depot on the Clyde near Helensburgh.
The Scottish Government reports, however, have little to say about how the Vulcan clean-up will be paid for. According to another January 2025 update, a paper on “post-transfer funding options” was “being socialised” within the NDA – though it is unclear what this means.
The costs of decommissioning the more recent civil nuclear power stations, including Hunterston B in North Ayrshire and Torness in East Lothian, will be covered by the UK Government’s Nuclear Liabilities Fund. It has secured more than £20 billion from private power companies.
But there is no equivalent fund for cleaning up military nuclear sites. Uncertainty over how Vulcan’s decommissioning will be funded has triggered widespread fears that the MoD could be seeking to wriggle out of its responsibilities.
‘Unacceptable’ for MoD to evade nuclear responsibilities
Alba, the breakaway nationalist party launched in 2021 by former SNP leader, Alex Salmond, is “deeply concerned” that the MoD may “offload” defence nuclear liabilities “without transparency or adherence to the polluter pays principle.”
The party’s national organiser, retired Royal Navy commodore Rob Thompson, said: “It is unacceptable for current and future Scottish taxpayers to bear billions in clean-up costs while the MoD evades responsibility.
“The Scottish Government must urgently clarify its due diligence processes, civil-defence cooperation policy and use its veto to oppose any backroom transfer that undermines Scotland’s interests.”………………………………………………..
The Nuclear Free Local Authorities highlighted reports in February that £2.8 billion given to the NDA by the UK Government to clean up the biggest and dirtiest nuclear site at Sellafield in Cumbria was “not enough”.
“We will be raising directly with nuclear minister, Lord Hunt, how important it is that he secures from his colleague, the defence secretary, a promise to fully finance decommissioning work at Vulcan,” said the group’s secretary, Richard Outram.
“It is our view that the principle that the polluter pays should apply equally to both the nuclear industry and the defence ministry.”
Pete Roche, a Scottish-based nuclear consultant and critic, was concerned that no money had been set aside to cover decommissioning military sites, especially given the pressures on the budget for cleaning up civil sites.
“The UK Government must increase the NDA’s budget sufficiently if it is expected to take on the MoD’s decommissioning work as well,” he said.
Tor Justad, chairperson of Highlands Against Nuclear Power (HANP), is a member of the Dounreay Stakeholder Group, which covers Vulcan. It was important that details of the transfer to the NDA were “clarified as soon as possible and that the full costs of returning the land to a brownfield site should be paid for by the MoD,” he said……………………………….
https://theferret.scot/nuclear-clean-up-vulcan-mod/
Leak is Sellafield’s ‘biggest environmental issue’
BBC 21st March 2025,
The head of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) called the silo “Britain’s most hazardous building” He said it was the “single biggest environmental issue” facing the nuclear plant
A longstanding leak at “Britain’s most hazardous building” is a nuclear plant’s “single biggest environmental issue”, a select committee has heard.
The leak in the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo (MSSS) – built more than 50 years ago at Sellafield in Cumbria – started in 2019 after first occurring in the 1970s.
Labour MP Luke Charters told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday that every three years the silo leaked enough material to fill an “Olympic-sized swimming pool”.
Sellafield head Euan Hutton said the leak did not “pose a detriment to the public”.
The silo contains Magnox fuel cladding, mostly made up of magnesium, which was removed from nuclear fuel rods.
It was built in the 1960s, with three further extensions built in the 1970s and 1980s.
The leak is being caused by a crack in the underground portion of the silo, Mr Hutton told the committee.
He said the team had “excellent ground modelling and monitoring” which showed the activity was staying in the ground beneath the facility.
The head of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) called the silo “Britain’s most hazardous building” and said the best way to the stop the leak was “to empty the silo as efficiently and quickly as we can”.
He said it was the “single biggest environmental issue” facing the nuclear plant
Mr Hutton said the team hoped to empty the silo by about 2059……………………………… https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgy77y21djo
Government ramps up nuclear threats ahead of CND Barrow protest
As CND prepares for its national demonstration at the BAE Shipyard, Barrow-in-Furness, on Saturday, 22 March, the government is ramping up nuclear threats to prop up Britain’s failing nuclear weapons programme and justify military spending hikes in next week’s budget.
The recent visit to the BAE Shipyard in Barrow and nuclear base at Faslane by Keir Starmer and John Healey, saw the Defence Secretary claim the weapons could do “untold damage” against countries like Russia in the event of a conflict.
It was also announced that the Port of Barrow, which has built submarines for Britain’s nuclear weapons programme since the 1950s, will be given royal status. This status applies to the dockland where the arms manufacturer’s shipyard is based and not the wider Barrow area.
CND’s protest comes ahead of the Chancellor’s Spring Statement, where it’s expected that billions of pounds will be added to the military budget while brutal cuts are made to overseas aid, and services helping some of the country’s most vulnerable people.
The government argues that increasing the military budget will help revitalise “left behind” industrial towns and the wider economy. But military spending has one of the lowest employment multipliers of all sectors. Towns like Barrow need sustainable and varied forms of employment that put its people and the planet first.
Britain’s nuclear weapons accounts for at least 14% of the MoD’s military expenditure but the most recent annual report by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) found that key parts of its nuclear weapons programme are either failing or have major issues. CND is calling on the government to scrap Britain’s nuclear programme once and for all and develop an industrial strategy that generates sustainable economic growth that benefits everyone.
CND 21st March 2025
https://cnduk.org/government-ramps-up-nuclear-threats-ahead-of-cnd-barrow-protest/
Nuclear bosses quizzed by MPs over Sellafield’s £130 billion century-long clean up
by Business Crack, March 21, 2025
The Public Accounts Committee examined the decommissioning of Sellafield
at a hearing yesterday morning. In the session, which lasted over two
hours, Euan Hutton, chief executive at Sellafield Ltd and David Peattie,
group chief executive office at Nuclear Decommissioning Authority were
among those giving evidence. It also saw Lee McDonough, director general,
net zero, nuclear and international at Department for Energy Security and
Net Zero, Clive Maxwell, second permanent secretary at Department for
Energy Security and Net Zero, and Kate Bowyer, chief financial officer at
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, appear in front of the committee.
The hearing follows a National Audit Office report that found while management
of major projects have begun to improve, four projects underway when the
office last reported in 2018 were significantly over budget and behind
schedule. It added while Sellafield has demonstrated that it can remove its
most hazardous waste, progress is not quick enough.
MPs covered several
topics at the hearing yesterday relating to the £130 billion century-long
clean up of the Sellafield and work at the site.
Topics included: How realistic targets and goals set for decommissioning are; Whistleblowing ands urrounding policies; Balancing safety with value for money; Public safety
– in particular covering the Magnox Reprocessing Plant; The select
committee heard that a leak from Magnox started in the 2019 and every three
years, it leaked enough material to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
But Mr Hutton said the leak, caused by a crack in the underground section
of the silo, was not detrimental to the public. He said it was monitored
closely and that showed the leak was staying beneath the surface.
Mr Peattie said it was Britain’s most hazardous building and the best way to
stop the leak was to empty the silo as quickly as possible. It is hoped it
will be emptied by 2059. Concerns around Sellafield’s ability to meet its
long and short term targets were also raised. Milestones for substantially
emptying three of the legacy ponds and silos have been pushed back by
between six and 13 years.
Business Crack 31st March 2025 https://businesscrack.co.uk/2025/03/21/nuclear-bosses-quizzed-by-mps-over-sellafields-130-billion-century-long-clean-up/
UK nuclear deterrent could do ‘untold damage’, Healey warns
John Healey said the UK should not ‘fight shy’ of the fact it has such weapons, which are the ‘ultimate guarantor’ to any hostile state if it attacks.
The Standard 20th March 2025
Britain could do “untold damage” to adversaries with its nuclear deterrent, the Defence Secretary has said as military officials discussed plans to safeguard any ceasefire for Ukraine.
John Healey said the UK should not “fight shy” of the fact it has such weapons, which he described as the “ultimate guarantor” in a stark warning to Moscow
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned Moscow would face “severe consequences” if it breached any peace deal with Kyiv amid fragile diplomatic efforts to secure a truce to end the war.
Sir Keir and Mr Healey met defence officials from 31 allied countries at the Northwood military headquarters in London on Thursday to firm up proposals for a so-called coalition of the willing to help enforce any agreement.
Mr Healey also laid the keel for Dreadnought, the first submarine being built to replace the Vanguard-class nuclear-armed submarines, in a ceremony in Barrow-in-Furness watched by Sir Keir Starmer.
In an interview with The Times newspaper afterwards, he said: “Our nuclear deterrent is there as a deterrent. It is the ultimate guarantor to any would-be adversary. We have the power to do untold damage to them if they attack us.”
He added: “We should not fight shy of the fact we are a nuclear power, that we do have an independent nuclear deterrent.”
The Prime Minister said the military planning involved offering support to Ukraine by air, sea and land if a deal were reached.
But he ruled out redeploying UK troops from countries such as Estonia to commit to Kyiv, saying: “There’s no pulling back from our commitments to other countries.
“The mood in the room – because this came up in the private briefing I had – was that this actually will help reinforce what we’re doing in Nato in other countries, so they see it as an opportunity rather than a question of moving troops around.”
Thursday’s gathering of defence allies marked a turning point in which the “political intention” among western allies to provide safeguards for Ukraine’s future becomes “reality” with discussions of how best to deter future Russian aggression.
Sir Keir said: “It is vitally important we do that work because we know one thing for certain, which is a deal without anything behind it is something that Putin will breach. “We know that because it happened before. I’m absolutely clear in my mind it will happen again.”
He added: “The point of the security arrangements is to make it clear to Russia there will be severe consequences if they are to breach any deal.
“That’s why we need a forward-leaning European element, which is what I’ve been working on intensely – obviously with the French – that brings these allied countries together, and beyond.”
Calls this week between US President Donald Trump, Mr Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have failed to produce the 30-day ceasefire envisaged by the White House……………………………………………. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/john-healey-keir-starmer-volodymyr-zelensky-ukraine-donald-trump-b1218001.html
Labour ‘utterly wrong’ to double down on costly and immoral nuclear weapons, Scottish Greens say
Chris Jarvis Bright Green 19th March 2025, https://bright-green.org/2025/03/19/labour-utterly-wrong-to-double-down-on-costly-and-immoral-nuclear-weapons-scottish-greens-say/
Scottish Labour is utterly wrong to be doubling down in its support for costly and immoral nuclear weapons that tie us even closer to the extremist Trump administration, the Scottish Greens Co-leader Patrick Harvie has said.
Harvie’s comments followed Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s support for Trident at last week’s First Minister’s Questions in Holyrood.
Harvie said: “Nuclear weapons have always been a moral abomination. It is utterly wrong for Labour to be doubling down in their support.
“But now, even those who have supported Trident in the past must surely realise that the US is not a reliable ally, and it is simply unsafe to continue nuclear cooperation with them.
“We urgently need to move away from the extremist Trump administration, but maintaining these weapons of mass destruction would leave us tied to him and his dangerous foreign policy.
“Nuclear weapons are incapable of discriminating between military and civilian targets. Their use would cause mass murder and environmental damage on a scale never seen before.
“They are an extortionate and destructive money pit that has already soaked up hundreds of billions of pounds that could have been spent addressing the genuine security needs we have, or, better still, on tackling the cost of living crisis that is plunging thousands of families into totally avoidable poverty.”
BAE: Barrow MP hits out at planned nuclear protest
The MP for Barrow and Furness has hit back at plans for an anti-nuclear
protest outside BAE Systems this weekend. The Cumbria and Lancashire
district of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) will begin their
national ‘Peace Not Weapons’ tour on Saturday, March 22. This will involve
leafletting across Barrow’s town centre, with the main rally coming
together on the High Level Bridge over the Devonshire Dock. Michelle
Scrogham, however, has voiced her opposition to the demonstration,
particularly given the global climate.
NW Evening Mail 19th March 2025, https://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/25016245.michelle-scrogham-utterly-barrow-nuclear-protest/
Whistleblowers at nuclear sites may face bullying and threats, MPs warn
Members of public accounts committee raise concerns about culture and call for greater examination
Anna Isaac, Guardian 20th March 2025 https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/mar/20/whistleblowers-at-nuclear-sites-may-face-bullying-and-threats-mps-warn
Nuclear whistleblowers who try to draw attention to cultural and safety issues face bullying, MPs have warned.
Members of parliament’s public accounts committee have said they are concerned about the way people who raise concerns about culture and safety on nuclear sites are treated.
“There is generally a problem with whistleblowing and a safety culture,” said Rachel Gilmour, a Liberal Democrat MP, when quizzing nuclear bosses on Thursday.
“That relation between bullying and safety within a nuclear context” needs greater examination, Gilmour said, adding that her office was seeking to raise the issue further with regulators.
The Guardian’s Nuclear Leaks investigation has revealed claims of bullying, sexual harassment and drug use at the nuclear waste dump, Sellafield, which could put safety at risk.
Gilmour’s interjection followed a refusal by Euan Hutton, the chief executive of the Sellafield site, to apologise for its treatment of an HR consultant, Alison McDermott, when asked to by Anna Dixon, a Labour MP. Hutton also refused to say whether he considered the cost of the case against McDermott to be a good use of public funds.
Sellafield, in Cumbria, spent about £750,000 in its pursuit of McDermott’s claim that she was wrongfully dismissed after raising concerns of a “toxic culture” at the Sellafield site.
McDermott was found by a judge to have blown the whistle by raising reports of harassment. The judgment was made in 2023, after an appeal over the findings of an employment tribunal.
However, her wrongful dismissal claim was not upheld. Sellafield, along with the oversight body the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), sought to recoup costs of £40,000. A judge reduced these to £5,000. McDermott told the Guardian she intends to appeal against this decision.
Dixon said she was “disappointed” by Hutton’s response. She said it was “critical for a safety culture” that people feel able to speak up.
Hutton acknowledged there had been problems faced by staff but that there had been progress in recent years.
Hutton also acknowledged major cybersecurity failings at the site, which were also first revealed by the Guardian.
He said that “as an organisation we let ourselves down”, by failing to meet standards, but he repeated denials that the world’s largest plutonium store had been subject to “successful” cyber-attacks.
Sellafield was ordered to pay nearly £400,000 after pleading guilty to leaving data that could threaten national security exposed for four security.
House Of Commons Public Accounts Committee: Decommissioning Sellafield – Seafield is the most dangerous place in the U.K
House Of Commons Public Accounts Committee: Decommissioning Sellafield.
Admissions that Seafield is the most dangerous place in the U.K. and an
accident involving the high activity waste storage tanks would be
catastrophic. Witness(es): Clive Maxwell, Second Permanent Secretary,
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; Lee McDonough, Director
General, Net Zero, Nuclear and International, Department for Energy
Security and Net Zero; David Peattie, Group Chief Executive Officer,
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; Kate Bowyer, Chief Financial Officer,
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; Euan Hutton, Chief Executive, Sellafield
Ltd
Parliament TV 20th March 2025 https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/7f124fa5-c2e2-4c68-bce8-557763429471
UK will not shy away from nuclear weapons, John Healey tells Russia
Defence secretary warned the weapons could do ‘untold damage’ as construction began on the successor to Trident
Larisa Brown, Defence Editor |Bruno Waterfield, Brussels, Thursday March 20 2025, The Times
Britain has the power to do “untold damage” to adversaries such as Russia with its nuclear deterrent, the defence secretary has warned, as he marked the build of the next generation of nuclear submarines.
John Healey said he took Vladimir Putin’s threats to use his nuclear arsenal seriously and the UK should not “fight shy” of the fact it has such weapons.
On a visit to a submarine yard, he also said that France could follow the UK’s example and commit its nuclear weapons to defend Nato and protect the security of Europe. At the moment, France will only officially use its weapons to protect itself.
In an interview with The Times, he said: “Our nuclear deterrent is there as a deterrent.
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/defence/article/britain-nuclear-power-damage-russia-cd8bv0d
Hinkley Point C nuclear will cost at least £75 billion – highly unlikely that Sizewell C will be any cheaper.
KEEPING REEVES SWEET: AXE SIZEWELL C!
Jonathon Porritt, 19 Mar 25
“…………………………… , Ed Miliband’s still a total sucker for the propaganda of both the fossil fuel industry (with the latest research from Fossil Free Parliament reminding us that DESNZ Ministers notched up an unbelievable 104 ministerial meetings with various fossil fuel companies between July and September last year) as well as the nuclear industry.
I’ll return to Ed’s mystifying obsession with the fossil fuel industry’s mega-scam of Carbon Capture and Storage in my next blog. For now, let’s just stick to his nuclear nonsense.
Knowing that he will have to give something big and bold back to the Treasury if he’s going to be able to protect things that really matter in his overall portfolio, the blindingly obvious thing to give up is Sizewell C. He knows the Treasury already despises the nuclear industry, deep down, after literally decades of its over-claiming and under-performing. So give them some red meat. A lot of red meat.
The UK Government has already spent around £3.7 billion on preparing the groundworks for Sizewell C. I saw the consequences of that for myself when I was in the area a couple of weeks ago, and I was genuinely shocked. The devastation is unbelievable – including more than 21,000 trees cut down. And that’s BEFORE a Final Investment Decision (FID) has actually been secured. Prospective investors (even in the Middle East) seem to be a lot less keen on Sizewell C than Ministers keep telling us.
Worse yet, Labour has promised another £2.7 billion in the next financial year – to go on doing exactly the same, again, before an FID is secured. Axing Sizewell C at this point, however painful that might be politically, would be a huge, short-term win for the Treasury.
In fact, this would be a much, much bigger prize for UK taxpayers in the longer term. Sizewell C has been described by EDF as a “Hinkley Point look-alike, with a lot of lessons learned”. There’s mighty little evidence that the UK nuclear industry has ever learned a single lesson from its unparalleled record of failure, but let’s just live with that for the time being.
The latest estimate for the “overnight cost” of Hinkley Point C in Somerset is £46 billion. Please don’t be fooled by that ever-so-opaque terminology: “overnight” simply means the cost of construction. It’s the figure the industry loves to trot out to the UK’s limitlessly gullible media (including the BBC and The Guardian), without acknowledging that it doesn’t include the cost of the capital EDF has had to raise to build this monstrous white elephant in the first place. EDF has indicated in the past that cost of capital can add as much as 60% to the overnight cost.
Yes, that’s right: Hinkley Point C will cost at least £75 billion.
It’s highly unlikely that Sizewell C, on the Suffolk coast, will be any cheaper – indeed, it’s already clear that the engineering challenge at Sizewell C is much greater than at Hinkley Point C.
And who will pay for Sizewell C? Well, it’s either YOU as a taxpayer (depending on the size of the stake that the UK government will eventually have to take in Sizewell C in order to secure that ever-elusive Final Investment Decision), or YOU as an energy consumer, through the chosen mechanism of a Regulated Asset Base. From the moment construction at Sizewell C starts, consumers’ bills will start rising.
Axing Sizewell C will obviously be a huge hit to the nuclear industry. Which means it’s probably too much to kill off the industry’s accompanying fantasies about Small Modular Reactors at the same time. At the moment, subsidising SMRs is relatively small beer for the taxpayer, and it’s got as much to do with keeping Rolls Royce on board as it has with any serious attempt to crack the huge technological challenges associated with these new reactors.
Once free of Sizewell C, DESNZ could then double down on all those parts of its portfolio which will deliver real economic value before the next election: solar and wind, storage (batteries plus a lot more), reconfigured grids, and low-carbon manufacturing………………………………..
https://jonathonporritt.com/poor-old-ed-miliband/
Sellafield decommissioning to continue for at least a century – robot dogs play a part
Robot dogs could help decommission Sellafield nuclear plant after successful trials.
Operators working from the Westlakes Science Park in Whitehaven, around
eight miles from Sellafield, remotely operated “safely and securely” a
custom Boston Dynamics Spot Quadrupedal Robot ‘dog’ that could carry
out tasks such as remote inspections, data gathering and clean-up work.
Energy generation at the plant stopped in 2003, but the painstaking
decommissioning process typically takes decades and presents radioactive
hazards to workers. Sellafield is unusual in that the decommissioning
challenge also encompasses early nuclear research and nuclear weapons
programmes that took place on the site.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is not expecting full site remediation to be completed until 2125.
Engineering & Technology 20th March 2025
1 This Month
22 June – Virtual Event –Climate Change: New Data, New Debate
Monday, June 22, 2026 2:30 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. CT
YouTube. Register here
Protect Sazan Island from the Trump family! https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/protect_sazan_island_from_the_trump_family_loc/?bqFCVab&v=174511&cl=22707147157&_checksum=5e9dde668860e8231c33699735e16a1fbf22ab2cb01da50c999fe8732b9775ef&utm_source=email&utm_medium=blast_email&utm_campaign=174511
25 June- THE PUKE ON NUKES
Thursday, June 25, 2026
7pm Central Time (8pm ET, 6pm MT, 5pm PT) UTC – 5
From NRC & DOE Deregulation to Techno-Fascist Billionaires Going Nuclear, Plus a Few Songs from Atomic Cabaret REGISTER
26 June – Radiation Trainwreck at the NRC / Join the Protect Better Campaign – https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/4ZlZ5_qLSHGiLSCg8FF6Bg#/registration
Cuba Is Not a Failed State – It Is a Besieged State
PETITION: “Global Appeal to Endorse Palestinian Right of Return of Refugees”
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
-
Archives
- June 2026 (193)
- May 2026 (306)
- 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)
-
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 