UK ‘s Minister for Nuclear and Networks very upbeat about nuclear energy’s future
In February, Andrew Bowie
became the UK’s first-ever
Minister for Nuclear and Networks
2 Andrew Bowie
became the country’s first-ever U.K.,”
Minister for Nuclear and Networks nuclear minister in February,
TOKYO — The U.K. government is “absolutely committed” to boosting nuclear power as a key energy source, but national security is paramount as Chinese investment in new plants raises concerns, the minister in charge of the sector told Nikkei Asia.
Most of the U.K.’s existing nuclear plants are to be retired by the end of this decade, while a new generation of reactors is still under construction………
“The British government is absolutely committed to new nuclear, after about three decades of underinvestment. We are reinvesting and reinvigorating an industry which has not had the attention that it should in the U.K.,” Minister for Nuclear and Networks Andrew Bowie said in a recent interview. “On the whole, we are open to investors from overseas,” he added……………….
The UK government has announced plans to build as many as eight new reactors. However, major projects already underway are mired in controversy over funding from Chinese investors, given tense relations between London and Beijing……………
Now uncertainty looms for Hinkley Point C, which broke ground in 2016 under a joint investment by EDF and CGN as the first new nuclear power station built in the U.K. in nearly 30 years. The plant is home to the only two reactors now under construction, according to data from the International Atomic Energy Agency……….
“The pendulum has swung” on British nuclear policy, the minister said, but the pronuclear plans could fall victim to politics, with a general election due within 15 months………… https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Energy/U.K.-committed-to-nuclear-power-despite-China-funding-concerns2
Japan’s controversial nuclear waste water plan could impact the UK’s decarbonisation agenda
House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee drily warned that this new nuclear power station “may not now represent good value for UK taxpayers”.
Andrew Warren, 15 August 2023
The UK government has already broken with precedent and
contributed £870m towards Sizewell C’s development costs. Poverty
campaigners have noted that this is a near identical sum to that spent on
the government’s now-abandoned Warm Front programme, energy upgrading the
homes of low-income families. Such largesse would certainly have gone a
long way towards helping reduce the rocketing number fuel poverty numbers
in England.
The government has also been employing Barclays Bank to try to
drum up the estimated £30bn needed to build the power station from UK
pension funds.
Already, three massive pension funds – BT, NatWest, People’s
Pension – have publicly stated that they will not be getting involved. As
the People’s Pension Fund laconically acknowledged this month: “Direct
investment into nuclear power infrastructure projects is not part of The
People’s Pension investment strategy. We will not be investing directly
into Sizewell C.”
Meanwhile, a recent report from the House of Commons
Science, Innovation and Technology Committee drily warned that this new
nuclear power station “may not now represent good value for UK taxpayers”.
Such financial concerns come in addition to the apparently insoluble
problem of how to deal with the ever-growing amounts of storing, let alone
disposing of, nuclear waste. The problem of knowing what do with
contaminated cooling water off Japan is only adding to the question marks
over the wisdom of putting many further billions of pounds into the
apparently spendthrift nuclear basket.
Business Green 15th Aug 2023
Anger as Hinkley Point C allowed to discharge sewage into Bristol Channel and drop fish protection
AN Exmoor parish council chairman is demanding
the Environment Agency explain why it has dropped a requirement for Hinkley
Point C nuclear power station to use acoustic fish deterrents (AFDs) in its
water intakes in the Bristol Channel.
Anti-nuclear campaigners fear 11 billion fish could be killed during the 60-year lifetime of the £27 billion power station if AFDs were not used. The Environment Agency has confirmed
it has agreed to applications to vary licences for NNB Generation Company
(HPC) Ltd, the vehicle through which EDF is building the power plant. But
the decision has been criticised by Katherine Attwater, who chairs
Timberscombe Parish Council, is a member of the campaign group Stop
Hinkley.
West Somerset Free Press 16th Aug 2023
Gwynedd anti-nuclear march ‘sent powerful message’.
By Alex Bowen , Tuesday 15th August 2023 https://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/news/gwynedd-anti-nuclear-march-sent-powerful-message-organiser-says-632417
A 70 km long anti-nuclear march ‘sent a powerful message’ according to its organiser.
The march from Trawsfynydd to the Eisteddfod in Boduan, Pwllheli, was organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament Cymru, with support from anti-nuclear groups CADNO, People Against Wylfa B (PAWB), Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA).
Dylan Lewis-Rowlands, National Secretary of CND Cymru, said: “Communities and people all across Gwynedd showed their support as we discussed the issue of nuclear power with them – it’s link to military nuclear development, the billions in investment and years in time it has diverted from renewable and community owned energy generation and storage, and the implications nuclear development here in wales will have on the rest of the world.”
Sam Bannon, march organiser, added: “We sent a powerful message. As we marched through the Eisteddfod, people came out of their tent stalls to applaud. The strength of feeling was clear – and this is a strong message to decision makers.”
Dylan Lewis-Rowlands, National Secretary of CND Cymru, said: “Communities and people all across Gwynedd showed their support as we discussed the issue of nuclear power with them – it’s link to military nuclear development, the billions in investment and years in time it has diverted from renewable and community owned energy generation and storage, and the implications nuclear development here in wales will have on the rest of the world.”
Sam Bannon, march organiser, added: “We sent a powerful message. As we marched through the Eisteddfod, people came out of their tent stalls to applaud. The strength of feeling was clear – and this is a strong message to decision makers.”
Dylan Lewis-Rowlands, National Secretary of CND Cymru, said: “Communities and people all across Gwynedd showed their support as we discussed the issue of nuclear power with them – it’s link to military nuclear development, the billions in investment and years in time it has diverted from renewable and community owned energy generation and storage, and the implications nuclear development here in wales will have on the rest of the world.”
Sam Bannon, march organiser, added: “We sent a powerful message. As we marched through the Eisteddfod, people came out of their tent stalls to applaud. The strength of feeling was clear – and this is a strong message to decision makers.”
Dylan Lewis-Rowlands, National Secretary of CND Cymru, said: “Communities and people all across Gwynedd showed their support as we discussed the issue of nuclear power with them – it’s link to military nuclear development, the billions in investment and years in time it has diverted from renewable and community owned energy generation and storage, and the implications nuclear development here in wales will have on the rest of the world.”
Sam Bannon, march organiser, added: “We sent a powerful message. As we marched through the Eisteddfod, people came out of their tent stalls to applaud. The strength of feeling was clear – and this is a strong message to decision makers.”
“These events are crucial because they raise awareness and force those of us to think afresh on the issues at hand, and ask these difficult questions. For the last 10-15 years we’ve been sold this idea that nuclear is a fantastic element and the industry will create well paid jobs, save the environment, and all sorts of arguments which say it will help, but none of them stand up under scrutiny. These events give us the chance to push back against that whitewashing.
“There’s not enough being done to protect Wales from nuclear energy, our own government is promoting it and they’re trying to attract new nuclear into North West Wales. They’re selling nuclear energy as an ideal scenario for us which will solve all of our problems, without telling us the whole truth behind it.”
Risks of further delays at Hinkley Point C, EDF warns
EDF has admitted there is a risk of further delays to two nuclear reactors
at Hinkley Point C due to construction setbacks. The French energy giants
behind the new nuclear power station along the Somerset coast remarked last
year that the plants may start 15 months late. In an earnings presentation
in late July, EDF said the increased risk of a 15-month delay is due to
“performances on civil works and challenges on mechanical, electrical,
heating, ventilation and air conditioning” and “progress is below the
planned trajectory and action plans have been set”.
EDF has targeted June
2027 as the first operation of Unit 1, also known as Hinkley Point C, and
has already factored in construction delays and other factors. Originally
scheduled to be generating energy in 2025, Hinkley Point C has faced
several delays due to reduced workforce and workflow challenges caused by
the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as increasing costs.
Somerset Live 14th Aug 2023
https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/risks-further-delays-hinkley-point-8663204
Is it “Hello” or “Goodbye” to Great British Nuclear Power?
13 August 2023 https://www.banng.info/news/regional-life/hello-or-goodbye-great-british-nuclear/
Andrew Blowers contemplates this question in the BANNG column for Regional Life, August, 2023
The frenzied relaunch of Great British Nuclear (GBN) as the vehicle to produce 24GW of nuclear power (i.e. a quarter of Britain’s electricity) was long on rhetoric and short on commitment. The prospect of low carbon nuclear power sometime in the future – albeit costly, slow, accident-prone and with a legacy of dangerous wastes – seemed a soothing distraction from the present reality of heatwaves, wildfires, warming oceans and rapidly melting ice.
But, nuclear power cannot escape the reality of an insecure and unsafe future with global warming and sea-level rise. In the immediate future, individual nuclear stations will be affected by floods, storms, heatwaves and droughts. Increasing temperatures will affect cooling systems reducing power output as thermal efficiency decreases. In the longer-term, nuclear power may face an existential crisis especially where stations, like Bradwell, are sited on coasts prone to flooding, erosion and storm surges as sea-level rises.
One day this summer my grandson and I built a fortified sandcastle on West Mersea beach. With a willing suspension of disbelief, it can be imagined as a nuclear power station, let’s call it Bradwell B. My grandson is standing on the ‘nuclear island’ which is ringed by a high wall to protect it from the sea.
But, as time goes by, the sea rises (by as much as 3 or 4 metres in the next century) and surges threaten the doomed station, until the walls are breached, the island invaded and power station and highly radioactive wastes are cast into the waters. The station, like our sandcastle, will eventually be no more.
Despite the long-term risks from climate change, developers seem still to be eyeing up the prospects for building at Bradwell. By a process called ‘adaptive management’ they envisage increasing the height of the walls, to the point where the nuclear island becomes, literally, an island. If such an idea sounds crazy, that’s because it is.
In 1953 The Great Tide surged down the East Coast, flooding the Essex coastlands, leaving death and destruction in its wake.
Back then, the floods receded and the land was reclaimed. Under climate change there will be no turning back and the land and all that is upon it will be gone for ever.
Sooner or later, GBN will signify “Good-Bye” Nuclear.
Scottish ministers test attitudes to building radioactive waste facilities near homes
The Scottish Government said the work was ‘very long-term’ and no decisions had been made regarding locations
Ministers are looking to test public attitudes to radioactive waste management, including potentially building facilities near where people live.
The Scottish Government has budgeted up to £30,000 to commission a survey of public
opinion, documents published online show. Questions will cover topics such
as trust in the government and the nuclear industry, as well as “attitudes
towards constructing facilities for radioactive waste in proximity to where
people live, if proven to be safe and resulting in significant economic
benefits”.
The move forms part of the Higher Activity Waste Implementation
Strategy, which was published in 2016 and sets out long-term plans for
disposing of such material. The Scottish Government said it was a “very
long-term programme of work” and no decisions had been made regarding
locations.
A tender document says the work “will help improve Scotland’s
environment by informing radioactive waste policy makers about the views of
Scottish citizens, as storage and disposal options are considered as part
of Scottish ministers’ obligations to manage the nuclear legacy clean-up
programme”.
It adds: “The nuclear waste landscape in Scotland remains
complex, with a mixture of civilian and military nuclear waste liabilities
requiring careful management to help protect people and the environment.
The Scottish Government is responsible for developing national radioactive
waste plans to help manage this nuclear legacy and in 2016, published its
Higher Activity Waste (HAW) Implementation Strategy. This strategy included
an illustrative timeline towards construction of a national nuclear waste
repository and a commitment to undertake various research activities such
as carrying out public attitude surveys and developing near-surface
disposal concepts.”
Scotsman 13th Aug 2023
Plush new building for UK’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA)
A government agency is moving into a plush 53,000 sq ft building at the
Harwell Science Campus. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) will
have a new office space after Vale of White Horse District Council granted
permission for the building in June. It will be occupied by the NDA but has
been designed to provide flexibility. In addition to workspaces, the
planning consent also includes breakout areas inside and outside of the
building for staff and visitors, enhanced landscaping and tree planting, as
well as car and cycle parking on site.
Oxford Mail 11th Aug 2023
https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/23714472.new-office-space-occupied-harwell-science-campus/
Anti-nuclear protesters at Faslane charged after blocking entrance
Anti-nuclear protesters blocked the entrance of a naval base in Helensburgh
on Wednesday for several hours. Three activists were arrested and charged
with breach of the peace on August 9 at HMNB Clyde, commonly known as
Faslane. A Royal Navy spokesperson said: “We can confirm that three
individuals were arrested yesterday outside of HMNB Clyde and charged with
breach of the peace. “At no time did the individuals gain entry to the
site and the safety and security of the Naval Base and our vessels were not
compromised.
STV 10th Aug 2023
Company involved in decommissioning of the Dounreay nuclear plant has gone into administration
A COMPANY, which was involved in the decommissioning of the Dounreay
nuclear plant, has gone into administration. James Fisher Nuclear (JFN) had
a base at Bower in premises previously occupied by Nicolson Engineering and
was part of Nuclear Decommissioning Ltd (NDL) – a joint venture which was
set up to decommission the Caithness site and others throughout the UK. JFN
was acquired by Myneration, a wholly-owned investment vehicle of Rcapital
Partners, from Cumbria-based James Fisher & Sons in March. It is based in
Preston, Lancashire.
John O’Groat Journal 10th Aug 2023
Welsh groups call on the National Eisteddfod to reject funding from USA nuclear and arms company Westinghouse
The National Eisteddfod receives sponsorship money for the Science Pavilion
from nuclear power and arms company Westinghouse from the United States.
Westinghouse recently announced that they are setting up an office at
M-Sparc, Gaerwen, Ynys Môn to develop nuclear decomissioning skills.
In 2017, Toshiba Westinghouse went bankrupt after having to abandon building
new nuclear reactors at the V.C.Summer site in South Carolina 40% into
construction.
Six directors were charged with financial fraud in the U.S.
Federal Court. The Westinghouse Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility on a
secretive corner of their site produce radioactive tritium gas. This
tritium is then sent to the Savannah River site in South Carolina where it
is prepared to be inserted in all U.S. nuclear weapons.
CADNO, CND Cymru, Cymdeithas y Cymod, Cymdeithas yr Iaith and PAWB calls on the National Eisteddfod to reject any sponsorship from Westinghouse in future
Eisteddfodau from Westinghouse due to their connection to terrifying arms
of mass destruction.
PAWB 10th Aug 2023
Hinkley Point C unrest continues as steel erectors down tools
An unofficial one-day stoppage of work took place yesterday, as the new
nuclear power station site Hinkley Point C continues to be embroiled in
labour disputes and unrest. Steel erectors working for contractor William
Hare downed tools in response to existing shift rotation patterns on the
site, wanting to change the current 11/3 and 10/4 rotation to a regular
10/4 arrangement. The unrest follows a spate of similar walkouts at Hinkley
Point C. On the supply side, 150 platers, welders and sheet metal workers
at Darchem Engineering in Stockton-Upon-Tees (a Hinkley Point C supplier)
secured a pay boost worth up to 13% after seven weeks of walk-out action.
PBC Today 9th Aug 2023
Redundancies made as loss-making nuclear services firm sold for just £3 enters administration
The business employed hundreds of people
Jon Robinson,North West Business Editor, 9 AUG 2023
A loss-making nuclear decommissioning services firm that was sold earlier this year for just £3 has entered administration.
JFN Limited was acquired by UK private equity firm Rcapital from Cumbria-based James Fisher & Sons in March.
UK government backs Sizewell C nuclear, but their target investors are backing away.
Sizewell C was dealt another blow this weekend when The People’s Pension,
which has six million members, said it has no plans to back the plant. I
In a letter seen by The Mail on Sunday, the group said: ‘Direct investment into
nuclear power infrastructure projects is not part of The People’s Pension
investment strategy and we will not be investing directly into Sizewell C.’
Alison Downes of the Stop Sizewell C campaign group said: ‘The Government
may be throwing money at Sizewell C, but their target investors are rapidly
backing away. The People’s Pension has seen the writing on the wall and
won’t let their savers anywhere near this expensive, risky project.’
This is Money (at the end) 6th Aug 2023
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-12376007/Rolls-Royce-win-nuclear-power-race.html
Hinkley nuclear site workers win after unofficial walkouts
Hinkley nuclear site workers win after unofficial walkouts. “It’s a
rank and file thing, it’s not the unions that are pushing for it,” said
one Hinkley worker. Rank and file workers in construction are fighting
significant battles on major projects this summer—and winning. Workers at
Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant construction site in Somerset have
launched effective, and unofficial, resistance as bosses prepare to bring
in thousands of extra workers.
Socialist Worker 8th Aug 2023 https://socialistworker.co.uk/news/hinkley-nuclear-site-workers-win-after-unofficial-walkouts/
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14 May – online event From Bombs to Data Centres: the Face of Nuclear Colonialism
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