Concern in UK over nuclear regulator paid through private company
Nuclear regulator paid through private firm will not have contract renewed Paul Brown’s friends accuse ministers of panicking after revelations about Student Loans boss’s tax arrangements Rajeev Syal guardian.co.uk, 24 February 2012 One of Britain’s leading nuclear regulators will not have his contract renewed after he was identified as receiving payment through a private company rather than the staff payroll.
Paul Brown is the chief operating officer of the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and was a senior director at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)…. The ONR, an agency of the HSE, is responsible for the regulation of the UK’s nuclear sector. It must also oversee new safeguards being drawn up after the Fukushima meltdown triggered by the earthquake in
Japan last year. Continue reading
How a nuclear bomb in space could bring devastating cyber war
Terror bomb detonated in space ‘could cripple Britain’s electronic networks and jeopardise national security’ Daily Mail, By IAN DRURY 22nd February 2012 Rogue states and terror groups could launch nuclear attacks in space to cripple Britain’s electronic networks and jeopardise national security, a report warns today. Continue reading
Decentralised renewable energy taking off in Britain’s small businesses
London Small and Medium Enterprises plan to generate their own renewable energy – and one in eight already do London Loves Business 20 February 2012 A number of London’s SMEs have invested in generating their own energy and even more plan to follow within the next five years, according to a survey.
About 13 per cent of the capital’s small and medium-sized firms now generate at least some of their own energy, higher than the national average of six per cent, Opus Energy’s research found.
The amount of SMEs based in London that could be producing their own energy by 2017 is set to rise to 38 per cent, if they carry out investment plans. One in 10 of London’s firms said they hoped to start generating renewable power on their business’ premises within the next
12 months…. http://www.londonlovesbusiness.com/news/london-firms-plan-to-generate-renewable-power/1737.article
Britain’s opportunity to lead in exporting marine energy technologies
UK could become leading exporter of wave and tidal power, say MPs New report from Energy and Climate Change Committee calls on government to establish long term goals for marine energy guardian.co.uk, 20 February 2012 The government will today be called on to increase its support for wave and tidal power in a new report from MPs warning the UK is at risk of repeating mistakes which allowed the country to lose its early lead in the developing wind power industry.
MPs on the Commons’ Energy and Climate Change Committee (ECC) on Monday released a report on the future of marine renewables, which will claim the UK could become a leading exporter of wave and tidal power equipment and expertise if the government adopts a more visionary approach to developing marine energy.
Seven of the the eight full-scale prototype devices installed worldwide are in UK waters, making the country the current world leader in the development of wave and tidal energy technologies. Continue reading
New nukes for UK – a desperate effort to save France’s nuclear industry?
the world is experiencing a ‘glut’ of gas according to the IEA
it is now looking increasingly likely that there will be no new nuclear power stations in Britain
The decision on whether or not new nuclear is actually built in Britain will be taken in Paris, not London. And very possibly by a new French President less in thrall to the nuclear industry.
No More Nukes?, (UK) February 17, 2012 by tomburke It is just David Cameron’s bad luck to have chosen to back a nuclear future for Britain at a moment when it is becoming increasingly unlikely that it will happen. And it is entirely appropriate that he should find himself doing so in Paris since that is where the fate of DECC’s nuclear policy will be determined.
The idea of replacing Britain’s aging AGRs with Areva’s EPR was always inspired by a French government seeking to close an emerging decades long gap in domestic nuclear orders. The justification for British homeowners and businesses being forced to pay for a French industrial policy was a supposed electricity generation gap.
Without French nuclear power stations, Britons would be freezing in the dark by 2015 according to energy ministers. This was always nonsense but has been made totally ridiculous by several recent developments. Continue reading
Protestors occupy Hinkley nuclear site, accuse EDF of pre-empting permission
Activists occupying new nuclear site accuse EDF of ‘ignoring democracy’ John Vidal, environment editor guardian.co.uk, Friday 17 February 2012 The energy company has started work on the £10bn Hinkley Point C power station without permission to build Environmental activists have occupied the site of what is planned to be Britain’s first new nuclear power station since 1995, and on Friday accused EDF of “ignoring democracy” and starting work on the £10bn project without permission to build the station….. Continue reading
Monumental mess of UK’s monumental nuclear reprocessing project
Sellafield faces nuclear option as overspending threatens plant’s future, The Independent UK, 13 Feb 2010 Britain’s biggest single nuclear project has run into serious trouble, with missed deadlines and cost overruns threatening the future of the nuclear reprocessing operation at Sellafield in Cumbria.
Nuclear authorities have ordered a review of a monumental construction project at Sellafield that is millions of pounds over budget and more than four years late following a series of delays and financial mismanagement. Continue reading
Anti nuclear campaign against Hinkley nuclear site
Anti-nuclear campaigners set up camp at Hinkley C site, BBC News 12 Feb 12, Protesters have set up camp in an abandoned farm on the site of the proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset.
They are angry West Somerset Council has given EDF Energy the go-ahead for preparatory work before planning permission has been granted…. The South West Against Nuclear protesters arrived at the site in the early hours of Sunday……
A planning application for a new power station was submitted to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) in October. Further public consultation is taking place and a final decision will be made by the energy secretary.
Protester Zoe Stone said: “We are concerned EDF’s preliminary works are going to destroy a protected nature reserve, a site of Special Scientific Interest and all before they even have planning permission to build a power station….. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-17002517
320.000 UK homes get electricity from offshore wind turbines
World’s biggest offshore wind farm officially connected to the Grid, Environmental News Network, 10 Feb 2012, The world’s biggest offshore wind farm was officially opened today after record-fast construction in the middle of the Irish Sea. The 102 turbines of the two connected Walney wind farms cover an area of 73 square-kilometres and were formally connected to the National Grid in a ceremony today.
With a capacity of 367.2MW, the huge project can provide low-carbon, green electricity to 320,000 homes. The generating capacity of each turbine, supplied by Siemens Wind Power, is 3.6MW, and the rotor diameter of the turbines is 107m for Walney 1 and 120m for Walney 2, with a maximum height of 150m from sea level to blade tip….. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/43984
England’s Conservative Party – a shambles of Climate Change Denialists
In the main, the Tories are a coalition of climate change sceptics ….. Despite the fact that 60 per cent of voters think it is ‘right’ to ‘subsidise wind farms to encourage more use of wind power’.
Far from being ‘intermittent’ wind turbines operate between 70-80 per cent of the time, currently providing power for the equivalent of 3.3 million homes.
Climate change sceptics and rural romantics – the Tories are a shambles on renewable energy Left Foot Forward, by Kevin Meagher, February 7th 2012 It took less than 24 hours from the resignation of Chris Huhne for the Tories to strike. A hundred and one Tory backbenchers have written to David Cameron calling for an end to public subsidies designed to support Britain’s wind power industry.
They claim that subsidies should be drastically cut and draft planning guidance strengthened to make it easier for objectors to block wind farm schemes. Continue reading
UK assesses the nation’s coming dangers from climate change
UK ranks top risks posed by climate change, SMH, David Stringer, January 27, 2012 Coastlines, working patterns and even the country’s most famous meal are under threat from climate change, Britain says in its first-ever national assessment of the likely risks. Continue reading
UK’s Dounreay nuclear site still radioactive
Contamination found at nuclear site, Google News, (UKPA) 27 Jan 12, Traces of radioactive contamination have been found on the shoes of workers demolishing a former nuclear power station. It was detected on around a dozen people on Thursday as they prepared to leave a building which they were preparing for demolition.
Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL), which is overseeing the decommissioning of the site in Caithness, has launched an investigation.
It said that the building is in a “controlled” area, where contamination is possible, and controls are in place to manage it.
Dounreay’s nuclear reactor was shut down in 1994 and work to decommission the site has been under way since then as part of a £2.6 billion project. It was the only plant in Britain to use liquid metal instead of gas or water in the cooling circuits.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5gVcbsn-jVhJMOoqqQOYXqz-NAfaA?docId=N0166121327661398947A
Conflict of interest? Just where does the climate denialists’ money come from?
Bid to out the money behind the voice against climate change, SMH Graham Readfearn January 27, 2012 – A British journalist’s court bid to unmask the financial backers of a group of climate change sceptics is being used to raise questions about how think-tanks are funded in Australia and whether they deserve tax exemptions.
The UK’s Charity Commission, which regulates charities in the UK, is being asked to release a document that would show the start-up funders of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, chaired by former UK chancellor Lord Nigel Lawson.
Launched in November 2009, the foundation has consistently challenged the mainstream scientific view that human emissions of greenhouse gases represent a significant risk to the planet and societies.
Later today, freelance journalist Brendan Montague will appeal to the UK’s Information Rights Tribunal for the release of a bank statement provided to the Charity Commission by Lord Lawson, which Mr Montague believes will identify the source of a $50,000 seed donation.
The case has raised the issue of how think-tanks engaged in public policy debates are funded and whether potential conflicts of interest should be declared. None are required by law to publicly disclose their funders. Continue reading
EDF’s nuclear plans for Britain are fraught with problems
No easy ride for EDF’s plans for new nuclear, Greenpeace by Richardg – 25 January 2012 Despite the growing shift of support away from nuclear energy in Europe, EDF is stubbornly pushing forward plans to build a new nuclear reactor in the UK, without sufficient consideration for all the relevant risks….. the French state-owned company EDF Energy is trying to build a new nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point in Somerset.
EDF applied for planning permission in late October, less than three weeks after Britain’s nuclear watchdog – the Office of Nuclear Regulation – published a long list of improvementsneeded to protect Britain’s nuclear reactors. Given the scale of the recommendatons in the list, it is not possible for EDF to have incorporated all those improvements into its proposals in just three weeks. Lessons are still being learned following Fukushima (such as ‘don’t delete the minutes of the disaster response meetings’). EDF’s rush to apply for planning permission betrays their cavalier attitude and suggests they can’t have fully considered the implications of the Fukushima disaster.
We are seriously concerned that the flood defences, the emergency response plans and other vital safety features (such as a secure supply of off-site electricity during an emergency) aren’t fit for purpose. There’s a distinctly slap-dash feel to the application: as though EDF were more concerned with keeping the wheels on their nuclear gravy train than with making sure their plans stood up to scrutiny.
We’re not the only ones with concerns about the proposals. EDF’s planning application is also facing fierce opposition from local campaign groups, nuclear experts and Members of Parliament. Local councils have made their own representations, pointing out problems withtraffic levels, waste storage and the impact on tourism.
With 1,200 people registering to comment on their ill-thought out proposals, EDF shouldn’t expect an easy ride. We’ll keep you posted. http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/climate/no-easy-ride-edfs-plans-new-nuclear-20120125
UK govt not happy with GE Hitachi’s plan for plutonium waste
the UK stockpile of waste plutonium – the biggest civilian stash in the world
UK Nuclear Watchdog Toughens Stance On Waste Reuse, Planet Ark 25-Jan-12, BRITAIN by Oleg Vukmanovic Britain’s nuclear watchdog has hardened its stance against a proposal by U.S.-Japan joint venture GE Hitachi to dispose of UK radioactive waste in a plutonium-burning reactor but has not ended talks.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which advises the government on how best to manage the UK’s growing plutonium stockpile, is considering a number of options including the fast-reactor design proposed by GE Hitachi in November.
The NDA has repeatedly ruled the multi-billion pound 600 megawatt (MW) reactor out of the running on the grounds that the technology lacks credibility for the purposes of plutonium disposal. Continue reading
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
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