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Terrorists may have ways of bypassing nuclear power station security measures

TERRORIST THREAT TO UK REACTORS, HIGH ALERT IN PAST 24 HOURS http://www.siasat.com/news/terrorist-threat-uk-reactors-high-alert-past-24-hours-1165170/

April 2, 2017 Britain: Britain raised its terrorism alert in the past 24 hours saying that the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) group operating in Syria and Iraq may have developed ways of bypassing nuclear power station security measures.

According to Intelligence agencies, the terrorist groups have developed ways to plant explosives in laptops and mobile phones that can evade airport security screening methods.

Energy minister Jesse Norman said that the government was “fully committed to defending the UK against cyber threats, with a £1.9 billion investment designed to transform this country’s cyber security.”

The growing threat of attack on Britain’s 15 operational reactors, which account for nearly a fifth of the country’s electricity from terrorists, foreign spies and “hacktivists” remains high.
Norman said the civil nuclear strategy published in February sets out ways to ensure that the civil nuclear sector “can defend against, recover from, and remain resilient in evolving cyber threats.”

Deputy director-general Professor Malcolm Chalmers of the Royal United Services Institute, an independent think tank for defence and security, said that it was crucial for the Government to “respond rapidly”.

April 3, 2017 Posted by | safety, UK | Leave a comment

UK nuclear power plans thrown into doubt by Westinghouse bankruptcy

Westinghouse Bankruptcy Could Stall UK Nuclear Plans, Oil Price, By Leonard Hyman & William Tilles – Mar 30, 2017, “…Bankruptcy would affect the prospects for nuclear projects in the United States. Now it looks as if the fallout from such a filing could affect energy plans in the UK, as well.

Toshiba was planning to build three Westinghouse-designed AP 1000 reactors at Moorside in Cumbria (UK). Government officials said these plants were expected to provide about 7 percent of the UK’s energy needs when they come on line around the year 2030. Toshiba owns 60 percent of the project along with French partner, Engie, which owns the balance. (Engie, formerly GDF Suez, is one of the largest generating companies in the world.)

Given the possibility of a Westinghouse bankruptcy, as well as related financial woes, Toshiba has been seeking to offload its interest in the Moorside project. The CEO of Korea Electric Power Company (KEPCO) initially sounded enthusiastic about assuming Toshiba’s Moorside stake stating publicly he was ready to “jump in” after questions of the project’s debt and equity were clarified. KEPCO, however, later ruled out buying Westinghouse.

Nowhere in various press report, though, did we see KEPCO officials embrace the Toshiba/Westinghouse AP1000 reactor design.The Koreans have their own nuclear reactor designs which they have had some success exporting. Actually, they have two of them; the OPR 1000 and the larger APR 1400….

Why does this matter?

It could take the UK’s nuclear regulator, the Office for Nuclear Generation (ONR), at least four years to certify a new reactor design. The ONR’s latest Generic Design Assessment is almost complete for Westinghouse’s AP 1000.

As sophisticated designers and builders of new nuclear facilities, with their own proprietary technology, we believe there is little likelihood the Koreans will take on the AP 1000 design. Building with a new and unfamiliar design would add to their risk.

If the Koreans assume Toshiba’s Moorside stake and pursue their home-grown reactor design, this will add years to the plant’s estimated in service date. The only good news, here, is that Britain’s electricity demand has fallen so much that maybe the delay would be a blessing in disguise.

Once again, though, we wonder if the UK’s nuclear policymakers have a plan B. They never had one before. http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Westinghouse-Bankruptcy-Could-Stall-UK-Nuclear-Plans.html

April 1, 2017 Posted by | business and costs, UK | Leave a comment

EDF starts pouring concrete at £18bn Hinkley Point nuclear power plant

Hinkley Point construction gets under way, EDF starts pouring concrete at £18bn nuclear power plant, 
Ft.com by: Andrew Ward, Energy Editor , 31 Mar 17, Construction has begun of the first permanent structures at the Hinkley Point nuclear power station in Somerset, marking an important step towards Britain’s first new nuclear plant since the 1990s. EDF, the French utility leading the £18bn project, said it had started pouring concrete after receiving its first go-ahead for construction work from Britain’s nuclear regulator………

Construction at Hinkley will last eight years if a target is met to be producing electricity from its two reactors by 2025. Similar projects involving EDF’s European Pressurised Reactor in France and Finland have been beset by delays and cost overruns. About 1,600 people are already working at the site and 3 million cubic metres of earth has been moved in preparation for what will be one of Europe’s biggest construction projects. Work is also under way on a jetty to which much of the construction material will be delivered by ship, a seawall to protect the site from the sea and on-site accommodation blocks for hundreds of workers………
The government promised EDF a price of £92.50 per megawatt hour of electricity generated by Hinkley, based on 2012 prices and rising with inflation for the 35-year duration of the contract. This is more than double current wholesale prices, although EDF points out that other new forms of power generation such as offshore wind also receive hefty subsidies. Another proposed nuclear plant, at Moorside in Cumbria, took a step forward on Thursday when UK regulators gave approval to the AP1000 reactors planned for the project. However, this came a day after Westinghouse, the Toshiba subsidiary which makes the AP1000, filed for bankruptcy protection in the US, increasing doubts over the viability of the Cumbrian project. https://www.ft.com/content/cdd0d904-154e-11e7-b0c1-37e417ee6c76

April 1, 2017 Posted by | business and costs, UK | Leave a comment

Nuclear lobby super-optimism – Michael Shellenberger sees Westinghouse bankruptcy as a plus for the industry!

Britain has a chance to rethink its nuclear energy policy, Ft.com 30 Mar 17  The Westinghouse bankruptcy offers an opportunity to consolidate the industry Michael Shellenberger The bankruptcy of Toshiba-owned nuclear energy group Westinghouse on Wednesday throws up in the air ambitious British plans to use nuclear power to replace coal and, eventually, natural gas.

Britain’s plan was to build 12 reactors to replace its current nuclear estate — and to raise the share of electricity it receives from atomic fission from roughly 20 per cent to 30 per cent by 2030. But now, all bets are off. Westinghouse’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection means that its efforts to build new reactors in the UK look increasingly precarious. That might be a good thing. …..
nuclear power is not like other market products. The manufacture of food or clothes, for example, does not require guaranteeing anywhere between £5bn and £10bn for the cost of building a farm or factory……
It should scrap future nuclear deals and empower an independent commission to choose a single, experienced contractor and power utility to build the 10 or more reactors required — to a single, standard design…….

The writer is president of Environmental Progress rights.  https://www.ft.com/content/ac22b6c2-152d-11e7-b0c1-37e417ee6c76

March 31, 2017 Posted by | spinbuster, UK | Leave a comment

Britain’s nuclear regulator approves Westinghouse nuclear reactor (despite Westinghouse bankruptcy!)

Westinghouse wins UK reactor approval from nuclear regulator, Reuters,  30 Mar 17 , By Susanna Twidale and Nina Chestney | LONDON Toshiba’s (6502.T) Westinghouse, which filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, has won approval for its AP1000 reactor design, Britain’s nuclear regulator said on Thursday.The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) approval is needed before the design can be used at NuGeneration Ltd’s (NuGen) Moorside new nuclear project in north west England, which consists of three AP1000 units.

“The closure of our assessment of the generic design of the AP1000 reactor is a significant step in the process, ensuring the design meets the very high standards of safety we expect,” Richard Savage, ONR’s chief nuclear inspector, said.

“We will now focus our regulatory attention on site specific assessments, and NuGen’s application for a nuclear site license,” he added in a statement.

Westinghouse’s bankruptcy filing has raised questions over whether it will be able to complete capital intensive projects……

Britain ……has struggled to get large projects built, especially nuclear, due to the costs involved.EDF’s (EDF.PA) 18 billion pound ($22.5 billion) Hinkley Point C nuclear project in southwest England got the final go-ahead in 2016 after several years of delay, but only after securing backing from the French government.

NuGen, a joint venture between Toshiba and French utility Engie (ENGIE.PA) has also come under doubt since Japan’s Toshiba said last month it planned to pull out of the construction work at the British plant after posting a $6.3 billion writedown on Westinghouse, which has been hit by billions of dollars in cost overruns at new nuclear plants……http://www.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-westinghouse-britain-idUSKBN1711E6

March 31, 2017 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Westinghouse financial crisis impacts Britain’s nuclear power plans

UK nuclear plans could be hit by Westinghouse financial crisis https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/28/uk-nuclear-westinghouse-bankruptcy-toshiba-us

Toshiba’s US subsidiary, which has technology in about half world’s reactors, expected to file for bankruptcy protection, Guardian, , 29 Mar 17, A financial crisis at a major nuclear energy business is threatening to deal a blow to the UK’s atomic energy programme.

Toshiba’s US nuclear subsidiary Westinghouse Electric is believed to be on the brink of filing in the US for bankruptcy protection from creditors. A UK expert said the collapse would leave a considerable hole in Britain’s new nuclear ambitions as Toshiba is a key player behind plans for a new power station at Moorside in Cumbria.

Westinghouse is a behemoth in the world of nuclear vendors, with its technology in about half the world’s reactors. But it is facing a writedown of billions of dollars over its acquisition of a nuclear construction and services business. In 2015 Toshiba bought CB&I Stone & Webster, the company managing the construction of new reactors Plant Vogtle in Georgia and Virgil C Summer in South Carolina, both of which are over budget and behind schedule.

Westinghouse filing for Chapter 11 protection would potentially limit future losses for its owner Toshiba. The move will also trigger complex negotiations between the Japanese conglomerate, its American unit and creditors, and could embroil the US and Japanese governments, given the scale of the collapse and US government loan guarantees for new reactors.

The US utilities that operate the two nuclear plants are among Westinghouse’s biggest creditors, owed for work that has yet to be completed and potential penalties, sources have said. The bankruptcy filing will allow Westinghouse to renegotiate or break the construction contracts, although the utilities that own the projects would likely seek damages.

 Credit rating agency Moody’s said it welcomed the prospect of bankruptcy because it could limit Toshiba’s liabilities.

Anti-nuclear campaigners said the episode showed the world should build renewable energy rather than new nuclear. Doug Parr, policy director at Greenpeace UK, said: “The world is watching the meltdown of a major corporation and questioning the cost of new nuclear. Declaring bankruptcy in the USA might shield Toshiba from Westinghouse’s debt, but as Toshiba’s share price ricochets and its multibillion-dollar losses escalate, the beleaguered nuclear industry is being shaken to the core again.”

 Dr Paul Dorfman, a nuclear expert at UCL in London, told the Guardian: “Toshiba has fallen on its sword and this has significant consequences for the UK’s plans for new nuclear. Kepco of South Korea may come and buy into NuGen [the consortium behind the UK’s Moorside plant]. But you can’t necessarily sell off the bad bits of a nuclear corporation and keep the good bits.”

Kecpo last week ruled out buying Westinghouse but said it was in talks to take a stake in NuGen. However, Dorfman said: “While Kepco may wish to buy into NuGen they may find it both legally and financially problematic.”

He added that any unravelling of Nugen as a result of Westinghouse filing for bankruptcy would “leave a considerable hole in UK nuclear plans”.

The AP1000 reactor design of the two US plants is the same as the three planned for the Moorside power station. Within days the UK nuclear regulator is expected to approve a “generic design assessment” for the AP1000, the end of a four-year approval process.

This year Toshiba has twice delayed publishing its financial results for the third quarter of 2016, which will reveal the scale of the impairment it faces with regards to CB&I Stone & Webster. In January, chief executive Satoshi Tsunakawa said that while Toshiba would continue to maintain and operate its existing nuclear plants: “It is unlikely that we will carry out construction work for future nuclear power plant projects, in order to eliminate risk.”

But NuGen has said that while Toshiba may not build Moorside, the Japanese corporation was still committed to developing the Moorside power station. The possibility of a Westinghouse bankruptcy also raises questions over its impact on the Springfields nuclear fuel plant in Lancashire. The company owns the site on a 150-year lease from the UK government’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

In the US, the reactors that Westinghouse is building are due to be completed within the next three years.

March 29, 2017 Posted by | business and costs, politics, UK | Leave a comment

Nuclear decommissioning debacle is costly for Britain

UK nuclear decommissioning debacle costs government nearly £100m
Business secretary orders inquiry into flawed tendering process for dismantling old reactors at 12 sites as US firms get paid for out of court settlement, Guardian, , 27 Mar 17, The government has been forced to pay nearly £100m in a settlement with two US companies for mishandling the way it awarded a £6.1bn nuclear decommissioning contract.

Ministers have ordered an inquiry headed by the former boss of National Grid to find out why the procurement process was so flawed. Labour said the payout showed “dramatic levels of incompetence”.

The government body tasked with decommissioning old reactors will also terminate the contract it awarded for cleaning up a dozen of the UK’s old nuclear sites nine years early……..

The government now has the daunting task of starting a new tendering process for the 12 sites, as the deal with Cavendish Fluor Partnership will end early, in September 2019 instead of 2028…….

The contract is being terminated early because the NDA underestimated the scale of the decommissioning required to clean up the Magnox sites, which form part of the UK’s first generation of nuclear power stations.

The share price of Babcock International Group, which has a stake in the Cavendish Fluor Partnership, has fallen by more than 3% since the government announcement…….

The NDA has an annual budget of £3.1bn, two thirds of which is spent on Sellafield in Cumbria, which stores most of Britain’s nuclear waste. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/27/uk-nuclear-decommissioning-debacle-costs-government-100m

March 29, 2017 Posted by | decommission reactor, UK | Leave a comment

Babcock company down £800m after ending nuclear decommissioning contract

Babcock to take £800m hit after ending nuclear decommissioning contract, Belfast Telegraph, March 27 2017 Engineering services firm Babcock has said it will take an £800 million hit after terminating a major Government contract to decommission and manage 12 UK nuclear sites.

The 14-year contract will end nine years early in August 2019, knocking its order book and resulting in a £100 million drop in annual revenues for eight consecutive financial years from 2020/21.

Shares in Babcock slipped more than 3.4% following the news.

Babcock – which holds a 65% stake in the Cavendish Fluor Partnership (CFP) that won the original contract from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) – said the amount of work required was “materially different” than initially specified.

The company explained that the mismatch between what was requested in the contract and the work that needed to be done put the contract at risk of legal action.

The NDA revealed on Monday that it has shelled out £97.5 million to settle litigation claims by two American firms – Bechtel and Energy Solutions – over the deal.

Energy Solutions will receive £76.5 million, plus £8.5 million of costs, while Bechtel will be paid around £12.5 million in total.

The £6.1 billion contract ran into controversy last year after a High Court judge ruled that the NDA had wrongly awarded the contract to CFP.

Energy Secretary Greg Clark announced that the Government is now launching an independent inquiry into both the 2012 procurement process, as well as the reasons why the contract proved to be “unsustainable”…

The contract covered the management and decommissioning of 12 Magnox nuclear sites, which included two research facilities…. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/news/babcock-to-take-800m-hit-after-ending-nuclear-decommissioning-contract-35568664.html

March 29, 2017 Posted by | business and costs, UK | 1 Comment

As if in a department store sale day, foreign nuclear companies compete to sell their radioactive products to Britain

Foreign companies flock to build nuclear plants in the UK  A South Korean firm is just the latest to be lured by Britain’s atomic amibitions as safety concerns and cost stalk the industry, Guardian, , 26 Mar 17, Nuclear energy faces an uncertain future globally as concerns over safety and cost dog the industry. But in the UK, foreign investors are queueing up to back projects. The latest is South Korea. Its biggest power company is in talks to join the consortium backing a nuclear power station in Cumbria, in a sign of the continuing allure of Britain’s atomic ambitions to international companies. Kepco said last week it was interested in taking a stake in NuGen, which is 60% owned by Japan’s Toshiba and 40% by France’s Engie, confirming what had been an open secret in the industry for months.

Kepco’s president, Cho Hwan-eik, said that once the terms of a potential deal were ironed out, “we will be the first to jump into the race”…….

Potential investors have been drawn by the UK government’s enthusiasm and a nuclear standstill elsewhere, amid lingering safety fears in the wake of the Fukushima disaster and cost overruns at the Flamanville site in France which is using a new reactor design. As a result, South Korea has joined Japan, China and France in showing interest in British nuclear.

It’s pretty simple. We are the only people building new nuclear power stations and we have by far the biggest new nuclear programme outside China for the next 10 years,” said Peter Atherton, an analyst at consultancy Cornwall Energy. “The civil nuclear programme globally doesn’t have any orders.”

 One expert, Mycle Schneider, called the UK the “last hope” for the nuclear construction giants of the world. The Paris-based nuclear consultant said: “In Korea the political situation will dramatically change after the upcoming elections, [probably] not in favour of the nuclear industry. Success overseas will help survival at home. The Japanese industry clearly has no future at home and little prospects abroad [because of Fukushima].”

The UK has also dangled the prospect of economic support for foreign nuclear builders. French state-owned EDF, which is building two new reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset at a cost of £18bn, struck a subsidy contract with the government that will see it guaranteed twice the wholesale price of electricity for 35 years. The deal means Hinkley would be an “absolute goldmine” when operational, Atherton said.

He said UK financial support was not dissimilar to the deal Kepco has in the United Arab Emirates, where it is building four new reactors paid for by the UAE’s state-owned utility. “The economics of the project, and the economic risks of the project, fall on the host government,” said Atherton.

There is also the prospect that the UK government could take a stake in one of the new nuclear sites. Leaks to Japanese media revealed officials in London and Tokyo had discussed the UK offering state finance to a project led by Japan’s Hitachi to build reactors next to the site of an old one at Wylfa in Wales………https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/25/foreign-firms-flock-to-build-nuclear-plants-in-uk

March 27, 2017 Posted by | marketing, UK | Leave a comment

Britain will struggle with nuclear regulatory system, after leaving European Union

Top nuclear boss advising May on protecting atomic industry from Brexit blow Energy Voice , 26 Mar 17 The German head of one of the UK’s top nuclear companies is counseling Prime Minister Theresa May’s government on what needs to be done to protect a global hub for the industry from Brexit.

With European Union leaders congregating to celebrate the Treaty of Rome’s 60th anniversary, Urenco Ltd.’s Chief Executive Officer Thomas Haeberle said he’s cautiously optimistic that new rules can be negotiated to guarantee the flow of nuclear materials in and out of the U.K. after the nation leaves the bloc.

“We are making the U.K. government, which is also our shareholder, aware of the requirements our business needs to fulfill in the context of Brexit and of leaving Euratom,” said Haeberle, referring to the European Atomic Community, a part of the EU’s bedrock agreement signed on March 25, 1957 – 26/03/20

Just as bankers have made London a global financial hub, nuclear workers have turned Britain into a central cog servicing the world’s flow of atomic materials. Urenco, the world’s second-biggest maker of reactor fuel, runs a factory in Capenhurst and oversees its global distribution network from Stoke Poges outside of London.

Owned by the U.K. and Dutch governments as well as German utilities EON SE and RWE AG, Urenco has set up a working group that “deals with all the risks and the possible mitigations,” Haeberle said. He spoke with Bloomberg a week before the EU celebrates Euratom’s 60th anniversary, his first interview since becoming CEO in January 2016.

Euratom’s main function is to safeguard nuclear fuel, making sure it isn’t diverted to make weapons. The U.K. will lose that service once it departs the EU. Nuclear fuel suppliers and power plants need certification from Euratom or whatever system succeeds it to buy material on the open market.

For Urenco’s business to continue uninterrupted after the U.K. leaves the EU, negotiators will have to seal new agreements with governments around the world setting out the new regulatory system Britain will follow after it leaves Euratom……..

Companies like Urenco face a potentially “high impact” from Brexit, Moody’s Investors Service wrote in a May 22 note saying that the overall credit impact from leaving the EU will be modest. Urenco, which has 2.1 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) of outstanding debt is rated Baa1, two grades above junk by Moody’s…… https://www.energyvoice.com/otherenergy/134874/top-nuclear-boss-advising-may-protecting-atomic-industry-brexit-blow/

 

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March 27, 2017 Posted by | politics international, safety, UK | Leave a comment

Britain’s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) sounds alarm over doctored papers and security breaches at French nuclear parts supplier

UK watchdog sounds alarm over doctored papers & security breaches at French nuclear parts supplier, Rt.com  25 Mar, 2017 

Britain’s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has questioned the adequacy of a French nuclear forge which had already supplied parts for UK nuclear sites. It follows revelations of doctored paperwork and security breaches by the French producer.

The ONR report, obtained under a Freedom of Information request and seen by Reuters, gives details on the December 16 visit by an international monitoring team to a French Creusot forge, operated by the country’s state-owned nuclear supplier Areva.

In the report, the UK watchdog warned that safety procedures at Creusot were far below the required standards for a key nuclear equipment supplier. That, they said, could lead to severe consequences for EDF’s [the largest energy company in France] Hinkley Point nuclear project currently under construction in southwest Britain, which is set to receive forgings from Creusot.

“ONR should consider the adequacy of EDF’s… oversight and assurance arrangements for Areva as a key supplier to Hinkley Point, given the performance shortfalls at Creusot Forge and the associated risks to [nuclear] components manufacture,” the regulator said, as cited by Reuters.

Among the breaches was the continued use of correction fluid on documents at the foundry, despite an earlier ban.

The ONR report also inquired into why internal inspections and audits carried out in past decades at Creusor Forge had not discovered and dealt with any of the falsification activities.

Following the December findings, two EDF nuclear reactors were stopped for months, utilities worldwide started reviewing Areva-made parts, and Paris launched a probe into the suspected falsification of documents.

The inspection of the troubled facility was carried out last year by an international team from France, Canada, the US, China, Finland, and Britain…….https://www.rt.com/news/382273-nuclear-france-failure-uk/

March 27, 2017 Posted by | safety, UK | Leave a comment

Ireland demands to be consulted on potential effects of nuclear power station on England’s west coast

Ireland issues powerful demand to have say on UK nuclear plant, Sunday Times, Valerie Flynn, 26 Mar Environment minister Denis Naughten has asked the UK to consult Ireland on the potential effects of a nuclear power station on England’s west coast, 250km from Rosslare.

The Irish government has stopped short of calling for a full environmental impact assessment (EIA) of Hinkley Point C, the first new nuclear station in the UK in more than 20 years, however. Were such a study held, the Irish public could comment on the plans.

The environment department said it was a “matter for the UK to decide” whether work on Hinkley C should be put on hold while potentially affected countries such as Ireland are consulted, as recommended by a United Nations committee.

The UK has been criticised at the UN for not consulting neighbouring countries…http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/ireland-issues-powerful-demand-to-have-say-on-uk-nuclear-plant-nvb7q0rf8

March 27, 2017 Posted by | environment, UK | Leave a comment

As Toshiba’s $500m nuclear bankruptcy looms, Brtitain’s Moorside project looks doubtful

Fears for Moorside as Toshiba ‘lining up’ $500m bankruptcy backstop for Westinghouse nuclear arm,Telegraph UK  Jillian Ambrose 21 MARCH 2017 Fears that Toshiba’s struggling nuclear business Westinghouse could be on the brink of going under have been reignited following reports that it is lining up a US bankruptcy protection finance package.

The company is reportedly reviewing proposals from financial institutions and investment firms for a so-called debtor-in-possession loan to keep the company afloat while it undertakes a bankruptcy process.

According to Reuters, people familiar with the matter have said the loan is likely to be over $500m to enable the heavily indebted company to pay employees and complete the work on four nuclear power plants in the US. The projects are the first nuclear reactors to be built in the US for thirty years, but heavy delays have saddled Toshiba with writedowns of 712.5bn yen (£5bn).

The sources warned that the talks are at an early stage and that no final decision has been made to wind down the company. A UK spokesman for the company was not immediately able to comment.

A potential bankruptcy procedure raises serious questions over the future of a key £10bn nuclear project which plans to use the AP1000 nuclear reactor designed by Westinghouse.

Toshiba is a 60pc shareholder in the NuGeneration consortium, which plans to develop the Moorside project alongside France’s Engie, formerly known as GDF Suez.An early exit from Toshiba could heavily delay the start up of the 3.2GW Moorside project while NuGen scrambles to find new investment and approve a new nuclear reactor design to use in the project……
The company said it will deliver its full year results on April 11, its third scheduled date after failing to disclose the full impact of its Westinghouse woes twice before. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/03/21/toshiba-lining-500m-bankruptcy-backstop-say-reports/

March 24, 2017 Posted by | business and costs, UK | Leave a comment

Campaign groups mobilise against UK’s Bradwell nuclear power project

‘Take Bradwell off the nuclear list now’ – Campaigners call for review of Government proposed sites http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/15168807.___Take_Bradwell_off_the_nuclear_list_now______Campaigners_call_for_review_of_Government_proposed_sites/ Rebecca Creed, Chief Reporter / ,  21 Mar 17 A CAMPAIGN group fighting against a new power station at Bradwell has called for the proposed site to be removed from a Government list.

In 2011 the Government revealed a list of eight sites deemed “potentially suitable” for new nuclear stations, including Bradwell.

But Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group (BANNG), which has campaigned against a new power station, believes the list should be reviewed. It comes as the group, along with other campaigners, submitted their response to a pre-application consultation for Sizewell C in Suffolk.

Andy Blowers, chairman of BANNG, said: “The policy for new nuclear power stations is out of time and out of order and safer, less expensive and environmentally-sustainable alternatives need to be put in place.”

In January, it was announced the Government had asked nuclear regulators to begin the process of approving a Chinese-designed reactor for a new power plant.

EDF Energy signed a deal with China General Nuclear Power Corporation for Bradwell B, a greenfield site next to the former station.

The Chinese company will provide two thirds of the development costs of Bradwell B and hopes to begin construction by 2023..Up to 25,000 jobs will be created during construction, although it is unclear how many vacancies will be filled by residents.

Mr Blowers added: “In the coming months BANNG will continue its campaign to oppose the Chinese nuclear project at Bradwell, which threatens to destroy a precious environment and inflict harm on present and future generations.

“At the local level we will work with the communities around the Blackwater to thwart the project in its early stages.

“At regional level we will back Together Against Sizewell C’s legal challenge to the Government’s nuclear policy.

“And, at the national level, with other protest group leaders, we shall fight to have both Bradwell and Sizewell removed from the list of nominated sites for new nuclear power stations. The Government’s policy is misguided and in need of urgent review.”Harwich and North Essex MP Bernard Jenkin has said a new power station could threaten the eco-system of the Blackwater estuary at Mersea.

March 24, 2017 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, UK | Leave a comment

Request by UN to Britain: Pause Hinkley Nuclear Plant Work for Environmental Assessment

UN Asks U.K. to Pause Hinkley Nuclear Plant Work for Assessment https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-18/un-asks-u-k-to-pause-hinkley-nuclear-plant-work-for-assessment by Grant Smith and Alex Morales March 19, 2017 

  • UN committee calls for halt to allow environmental studies
  • EDF won approval to build 18 billion-pound plant in September

A United Nations committee asked the U.K. to suspend work on the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant pending assessment of the environmental impact.

The UN Economic Commission for Europe requested the pause, it said in a document on its website. Electricite de France SA, the French state-controlled utility, won approval to build an 18 billion-pound ($22.3 billion) nuclear plant on England’s western coast in September. To help shoulder the construction costs, EDF convinced China General Nuclear Power Corp. to take 33.5 percent of the project.

The UN committee recommended the halt until it established whether “a notification under the Espoo Convention” was useful, according to the statement. The Espoo Convention sets out the obligations of countries to “assess the environmental impact of certain activities,” according to the commission’s website.

Bouygues SA and Areva SA have received contracts for work at the plant.

March 20, 2017 Posted by | politics international, UK | Leave a comment

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