Prince William: Saving Earth should come before space tourism
William told Newscast’s Adam Fleming he had “absolutely no interest” in going as high as space, adding there was a “fundamental question” over the carbon cost of space flights.
Prince William: Saving Earth should come before space tourism https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-5890307816
By George Bowden, 15 Oct 21,
BBC News Prince William has suggested entrepreneurs should focus on saving Earth rather than engaging in space tourism.
The Duke of Cambridge said great brains and minds should be “trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live”.
He also warned about a rise in “climate anxiety” among younger generations.
William spoke to the BBC’s Newscast ahead of the first Earthshot Prize to reward those trying to save the planet.
The prize’s name is a reference to the “moonshot” ambition of 1960s America, which saw then-President John F Kennedy pledge to get a man on the moon within a decade.
Speaking about the current space race and the drive to promote space tourism, William said: “We need some of the world’s greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live.”I think that ultimately is what sold it for me – that really is quite crucial to be focusing on this [planet] rather than giving up and heading out into space to try and think of solutions for the future.”
On Wednesday, Hollywood actor William Shatner became the oldest person to go to space as he blasted off aboard the Blue Origin sub-orbital capsule developed by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Sir Richard Branson and Elon Musk are also building up space businesses.
He warned there was “a rise in climate anxiety” among young people who whose “futures are basically threatened the whole time”.
“It’s very unnerving and it’s very, you know, anxiety making,” he said.
The father-of-three challenged adults to channel their inner child to “remember how much it meant to be outdoors and what we’re robbing those future generations of”.
William also said his father, Prince Charles, had a “rough ride” when warning about climate change, adding: “It’s been a hard road for him.”
He said Charles, inspired by his father, the late Duke of Edinburgh, “talked about climate change a lot more, very early on, before anyone else thought it was a topic”.
The duke added that “it would be an absolute disaster if [Prince] George is sat here talking” about saving the planet in 30 year’s time.
Five winners of the Earthshot Prize, each receiving £1m, will be announced in a ceremony later this month.
William told Newscast’s Adam Fleming he had “absolutely no interest” in going as high as space, adding there was a “fundamental question” over the carbon cost of space flights.
Belgium’s Energy Minister calls for the government to speed up plan to shut down nuclear reactors
Another government crisis looms in Belgium — this time over nuclear
power. The government is set to decide next month whether to go ahead with
a plan to shut down all nuclear reactors by 2025 or prolong the lifespan of
the two newest reactors.
But the seven-party coalition is deeply divided on
the issue, with some warning the government could implode if the fight
escalates. It’s also a make-or-break moment for the Greens, who are in
charge of the energy file and in government for the first time since 2003.
Tinne Van der Straeten, the Green energy minister, is calling on the
government to move ahead with its plan to shut down Belgium’s remaining
reactors — a position that’s in line with the party’s anti-nuclear agenda
and that she has defended as consistent with the country’s long-term
climate goals. But her suggestion to build new gas-fired plants to replace
part of the nuclear capacity before relying fully on renewables isn’t going
down well with other parties, especially as natural gas prices soar across
Europe.
Politico 11th Oct 2021
https://www.politico.eu/article/belgium-nuclear-power-government-climate-greens/
Rebranded – ROLLS-ROYCE SMR , a new conglomerate of 9 groups (to spread the risks of uneconomic small nuclear reactors?)
The nine-strong consortium also includes the National Nuclear Laboratory and Laing O’Rourke, the construction firm, alongside Assystem, SNC Lavalin/Atkins, Wood, BAM Nuttall, the Welding Institute and Nuclear AMRC.
UK poised to confirm funding for mini nuclear reactors for carbon-free energy Guardian,
Rolls-Royce-led consortium already has £210m in private backing for plans to build 16 reactors across the country, The government is poised to approve funding for a fleet of Rolls-Royce mini nuclear reactors that the prime minister hopes will help the UK reach his target of zero-carbon electricity by 2035.
A consortium led by the British engineering firm had already secured £210m in backing from private investors for the small modular reactor (SMR) project, a sum that the government is expected to match or better. Confirmation is expected before the spending review on 27 October, according to well-placed sources.
The consortium, known as UK SMR, will rebrand as Rolls-Royce SMR to coincide with Westminster’s blessing.
Tom Greatrex, the chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA), said: “Match-funding for Rolls-Royce would be a huge signal to private investors that the government wants SMRs alongside new large-scale stations to hit net zero. It would also show investors that the government believes in nuclear as a green technology.”
Backing from the government will pave the way for the consortium’s multibillion-pound plan to build 16 SMRs around the country, the first of which could be plugged into the grid by 2031…………..
Confirmed support for SMRs could signal a concerted effort within government to reverse the scheduled decline in the UK’s nuclear power capacity. About 20% of the nation’s electricity comes from 13 nuclear reactors capable of producing 7.8GW of power. But more than half of that capacity comes from reactors due to retire by 2025, and plans to replace them have stalled.
Toshiba pulled out of a plant at Moorside in Cumbria in 2020, and Hitachi withdrew planning consent for a project at Wylfa Newydd, on Anglesey, this year. While Hinkley Point C is due to start generating electricity from 2026, only one new project, Sizewell C, is now in the works, with no final investment decision yet made.
Britain’s ability to build new nuclear reactors has been further complicated by the government’s unwillingness to allow any further involvement from the state-backed China General Nuclear. CGN has a 20% stake in Sizewell C but ministers have been looking into ways to remove it from the project before it moves to the construction phase. The Chinese company was due to take a lead role in the Bradwell reactor in Suffolk, which is now highly unlikely to go ahead.
Industry players are keen to see the government legislate to approve the regulated asset base (RAB) model, which allows private investors a more reliable stream of revenues from nuclear power plants – which typically require tens of billions of pounds to build – by piling costs on to household energy bills……..
The nine-strong consortium also includes the National Nuclear Laboratory and Laing O’Rourke, the construction firm, alongside Assystem, SNC Lavalin/Atkins, Wood, BAM Nuttall, the Welding Institute and Nuclear AMRC. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/oct/15/uk-poised-to-confirm-funding-for-mini-nuclear-reactors-for-green-energy
Orano building 5km wall around its La Hague nuclear reprocessing station
Orano has started construction of a 5 km wall around its nuclear waste
reprocessing plant in La Hague (Manche), a site with the most radioactive
material in Europe, we learned Thursday from the business.
“Orano la Hague has initiated the construction of a new internal fence at the establishment
over nearly 5 km long which will encompass all the nuclear buildings,” the
site management told AFP. “The building will be masonry in the lower part
and fenced in the upper part”, specifies the company.
Le Figaro 14th Oct 2021
Corrosion problems cause shutdown of Orano’s nuclear reprocessing station in La Hague
Orano had to shut down one of its two nuclear waste reprocessing plants,
located in La Hague (Channel), for at least two months, following in
particular a corrosion problem, we learned Friday from the site.
“The UP3 plant was shut down at the end of September and we hope to restart at the
beginning of December,” said the management of the site, confirming
information from the daily La Manche Press. This shutdown is linked in
particular to a problem with evaporators, highly irradiating tanks, under
close surveillance since 2016 due to faster corrosion than expected.
The Times Hub 9th Oct 2021
Greenpeace France denounces shipments of uranium from Orano to Russia
Greenpeace denounces shipments of uranium from Orano to Russia. An Orano spokesperson confirms that the group signed a contract with Rosatom at the end of 2020 for the sale of just over 1,000 tonnes of reprocessed uranium for the manufacture of “nuclear fuel for Russian power plants.
Ouest France 12th Oct 2021
At each stage of its production, nuclear electricity generates tons of waste and material that is difficult to reuse and as a result accumulates throughout France. These ever-increasing quantities of useless radioactive substances are a problem for the French nuclear industry and tarnish its message regarding the alleged environmental virtues of nuclear power.
To rid themselves of some of this cumbersome waste, French companies EDF and Orano have chosen to resume the sale of spent uranium to Russia – a business interrupted over 10 years ago. While nvestigating in the port of Le Havre, Greenpeace France discovered that several dozen tons of uranium
obtained by reprocessing spent fuel were loaded on board the ship Kapitan Lomonosov bound for St. Petersburg on 20 January and 12 February 2021.
Greenpeace France 13th Oct 2021
France building a pro-nuclear European alliance in lead-up to Cop26
France is building a pro-nuclear European alliance to overcome German resistance to new rules that would open the way for more [so-called] carbon-free atomic power. Nine other European countries have signed up to a nuclear power initiative at a time of spiralling energy prices, partly caused by EU
climate change policies that increase the cost of electricity generation using fossil fuels.
The countries are pushing for nuclear power, which produces no carbon emissions [if you just don’t count the full nuclear fuel chain] , and they want it to be classified as a greentechnology in EU industrial “taxonomy” ratings, which would clearprivate investment in atomic power to be linked to climate policy
subsidies.
Times 12th Oct 2021
President Macron backs nuclear energy, but France’s Greens want speedier end to nuclear power
The president 9 Macron) used the speech to state his support for nuclear energy, which accounts for about 70% of French electricity and has become a point of fierce debate in the run-up to next year’s election.
Green politicians want France to move fast to end its dependence on nuclear, highlighting the large amounts of radioactive waste it produces as well as safety issues.
Politicians on the right and far-right want more reactors. Macron said France would invest €1bn by 2030 in “disruptive innovation” to produce atomic power, which he said would focus on designing small nuclear reactors with improved waste management. He added that France should be able to produce 2m electric and hybrid cars by 2030 and build a low-CO2 aeroplane during the same timeframe.
Guardian 12th Oct 2021
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/12/macron-30bn-plan-to-reindustrialise-france
France is betting on small nuclear reactors, but obstacles remain.
| Nuclear, France still believes in it. Analysis The executive will encourage the creation of small reactors. The decision to launch the construction of 6 EPRs could come more quickly than expected, but the obstacles still remain numerous. La Criox 12th Oct 2021 https://www.la-croix.com/Economie/Nucleaire-France-croit-encore-2021-10-12-1201180081 *France – SMRs &EPRs** Nuclear: France is betting on SMR mini-reactors. As part of the France 2030 plan, the President of the Republic should announce this Tuesday a new envelope for the development of Small modular reactors (SMR). Mini-reactors with a power of 170 MW, ten times less than a conventional reactor. Les Echos 12th Oct 2021 https://www.lesechos.fr/industrie-services/energie-environnement/nucleaire-la-france-parie-sur-les-mini-reacteurs-1354051 |
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant adds space for nuclear waste disposal near Carlsbad
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant adds space for nuclear waste disposal near Carlsbad Adrian Hedden, Carlsbad Current-Argus, 12 Oct 21, An eighth panel to store nuclear waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant’s underground repository near Carlsbad was completed with waste expected to go in next year . At WIPP, low-level transuranic (TRU) nuclear waste made up of clothing materials and equipment irradiated during nuclear activities, is stored in an underground salt deposit about 2,000 feet underground.The facility stores the waste in panels, with each panel containing seven rooms where workers emplace drums of it and allow the salt to gradually collapse in for permanent disposal.WIPP has emplaced waste in seven panels so far but lost some capacity due to contamination from an accidental radiological release in 2014 that also disrupted mining and emplacement activities during a three-year shutdown of the WIPP’s core operations. But seven years since mining Panel 8 began, WIPP officials reported the work was complete in Tuesday announcement.Panel 7 was expected to be full by April 2022, per the announcement, and Panel 8 will be ready to accept waste immediately……………… The utility shaft project was paused last year when the New Mexico Environment Department denied extending a temporary authorization for construction ahead of a modification to WIPP’s permit to allow its use, citing concerns with COVID-19 infections at the site.The permit modification is under review by NMED.Also under review by NMED was a proposal by WIPP to construct two additional panels needed to restore the facility’s capacity from losses associated with the 2014 incident………. https://www.currentargus.com/story/news/local/2021/10/13/wipp-adds-space-nuclear-waste-disposal-near-carlsbad/6092842001/ |
Lincolnshire nuclear waste burial can go ahead only if the local community suports it
Plans to dispose of nuclear waste from across the UK in Lincolnshire can
only go ahead with the support of a “willing community”, officials have
said. Radioactive Waste Management (RWM), a government agency, has
identified a potential site at a former gas terminal in Theddlethorpe, near
Mablethorpe. However, opponents said the move would impact tourism and
lower house prices in the area. A working group has now been formed to
examine the proposals.
BBC 12th Oct 2021
They don’t even know if the geology of Theddlethorpe, Lincolnshire is suitable for nuclear waste burial
The mining engineer in charge of the multi-billion pound scheme to bury
nuclear waste deep under the sea bed off the Lincolnshire coast has
admitted it is not known if the site is even suitable.
Government agency Radioactive Waste Management wants to build a plant at the old gas terminal
at Theddlethorpe to receive “high-level” material for storage at a
“geological disposal facility” (GDF) in clay rock 500 metres below the
North Sea. A GDF contains solid radioactive waste encapsulated in concrete
or glass and packaged in a concrete or metal container which is stored in
underground tunnels and vaults.
If Theddlethorpe went ahead, vaults would
be constructed and rubbish dumped over the plant’s 100-year operational
life before the site is finally sealed off. Local talks and the process of
identifying a search area for the facility can now begin following the
launch of a working group on Tuesday, October 12, after the county council
agreed to join the group. But the site would probably not receive its first
trainloads of waste until the 2040s at the earliest, even if the numerous
planning hurdles were successfully cleared and the public gives its
consent. Head of siting Steve Reece said that RWM is not entirely certain
at this stage if Lincolnshire even has the right geology.
Lincolnshire Live 12th Oct 2021
https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/officials-honestly-dont-know-lincolnshire-6047422
Finland’s Greens turn a lovely shade of nuclear yellow, as they back nuclear power as ”sustainable”
—Finland lobbies nuclear energy as a sustainable source https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/finland-lobbies-nuclear-energy-as-a-sustainable-source/ By Pekka Vanttinen | EURACTIV.com, 11 Oct 2021
Following a previously secret decision, the Finnish government will lobby the European Union to declare nuclear power as a sustainable energy source.
Wind and solar have been approved as sustainable by the EU, but decisions on gas and nuclear have so far not been made. Even if plants are emission-free, nuclear is currently considered only a low-carbon energy source due to emissions caused by mining and transport.
Finland has four nuclear plants, and the fifth is nearing completion after years of postponements because of technical complexities. The future of nuclear energy remains important for the country. Its industry is highly energy-intensive, and Finland has a target of being carbon neutral by 2035. Currently, 30% of Finland’s energy is produced by nuclear energy.
As reported by the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE), the government’s alignment to lobby nuclear as a sustainable source marks a near U-turn within the Green Party sitting in the current five-party cabinet. Traditionally the party has been fiercely anti-nuclear and has resigned from previous governments over the issue. Its views have become more pragmatic, and the Greens now claim to have a technology-neutral attitude when it comes to fighting climate change.
The French are mainly for nuclear power, but not so keen on new nuclear stations
The French mainly for nuclear but against new power plants. According to
the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety, 53% of French
people consider that this energy has been a good thing for France, but they
are 45% to oppose the construction of new plants.
Le Monde 10th Oct 2021
A particular threat to health: Why it is vital to stop the dumping of mud from Hinkley Point C in the Severn Estuary.
Richard Bramhall: A particular threat to health: Why it is vital to stop
the dumping of mud from Hinkley Point C in the Severn Estuary. In 2018 the
French state-owned company Électricité de France (EDF) dug more than
100,000 tonnes of radioactively contaminated mud from the bed of the Severn
near Hinkley Point. Ignoring widespread protests they dumped it back into
the water less than two miles from Cardiff. This was to allow construction
of huge inlets and outlets for water to cool the reactors in the new
nuclear power station – Hinkley Point C – which EDF is building in
Somerset.
EDF held an old licence for the 2018 dump but it expired before
they could shift their target volume of nearly a million tonnes. They
applied to renew the dumping at Cardiff but, because of strong opposition
in Wales and more protective Welsh environment law, they switched to a site
at Portishead near Bristol.
This August the Marine Management Organisation
granted a licence for the Portishead operation and dumping immediately
began again. Campaigners on both sides of the estuary have now applied for
a Judicial Review. The legal challenge identifies many scientific and
regulatory issues.
This article concerns only one:- the health impact of
radioactive particles in the mud. Every nuclear power station in the world
vents dust particles. They are licensed to do this. Filters trap fragments
bigger than about 5 microns (thousandths of a millimetre) but thousands of
billions of smaller particles are released, as data published by the UN
show. Particles this size are inhalable and are biologically very mobile.
The greatest proportion are made of uranium.
Nation Cymru 10th Oct 2021
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
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