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Prestige, but not real usefulness, from UK and France’s costly nuclear deterrents

France and Britain Weigh the Price of Nuclear Deterrence International Herald Tribune By HARVEY MORRIS , 27 sept 12 LONDON — There were reports on Thursday  of stirrings within the British military about the need to scale back the country’s nuclear deterrent in order to spend the money on confronting more conventional threats. Continue reading →

September 28, 2012 Posted by | France, UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

UK Renewable Energy Capacity has Grown by 42.4% Oil Price.com By Joao Peixe | Thu, 27 September 2012 The government has just released its latest quarterly energy statistics and the results are mixed.

Renewable energy has enjoyed a bountiful year, whereas coal power has also seen an increase in popularity. Continue reading →

September 28, 2012 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

UK’s new nuclear programme hangs on the question of waste disposal

Nuclear new build programme faces uncertainty, FT.com By Andrew Bounds and Jim Pickard, September 21, 2012   Britain’s nuclear new build programme is facing fresh uncertainty amid fears that Cumbria county council will postpone or even reject plans to host a permanent storage facility for the country’s nuclear waste.

Local politicians have warned that the council is increasingly wary about volunteering to store hundreds of thousands of tonnes of radioactive material underground amid the rolling hills of the north-west…….

Sir David King, former chief scientific adviser to the government, has warned that the uncertainty around nuclear waste could “really set back” the process of building new nuclear plants.
“Implementation of a final policy solution for radioactive wastes in Britain is now long overdue and . . . if we don’t manage the legacy issue with the best science this in itself could hinder nuclear new build,” he said.
At present most of Britain’s nuclear waste is in temporary storage in Sellafield, awaiting a permanent home elsewhere. If the local authorities in Cumbria say Yes – the county council and either Copeland district or Allerdale district – this would pave the way for geological surveys of the area. Yet it could still take another 15 years before a final decision is made on storage, with the repository not opening for at least two decades.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/fefcb306-040d-11e2-9675-00144feabdc0.html#axzz27ETNh6qF

September 23, 2012 Posted by | UK, wastes | Leave a comment

UK: No new nukes if no waste solution

Nuclear new build programme faces uncertainty, FT.com, September 21, 2012  
By Andrew Bounds and Jim Pickard“……In the run-up to the general election, David Cameron accused the Labour government of being “irresponsible” for failing to deal with the issue of nuclear waste: “They have to be dealt with in order to make any new investment [in nuclear power] possible,” he said, Jim
Pickard reports.
Two years later, as Mr Cameron’s administration tries to draw in private investment for a new wave of nuclear reactors, the issue is as far from resolved as ever.
Britain is not alone in its attempts to find a site for a gigantic underground repository, a construction project on the same scale as the Channel tunnel.

Governments worldwide have failed to find a permanent solution for the tens of thousands of tonnes of high-level radioactive waste currently stored in temporary facilities.

The disaster at Fukushima in Japan in 2011 highlighted the potential dangers; spent fuel rods were stuffed into cooling tanks at the site, each packed with lethal levels of radioactive isotopes.
Campaigners such as Greenpeace argue that it is foolish for governments to proceed with new nuclear plants when they have not yet resolved this legacy problem from half a century of nuclear power.
One of the few countries going ahead with a permanent repository is Sweden, where two communities competed for the project and the hundreds of jobs it provided.
By contrast, the US has a deep level repository in New Mexico, but it only accepts waste from weapons research and production. A permanent repository for civil waste was proposed for Nevada but the controversial project was scrapped by President Barack Obama. Opponents of underground repositories say spent fuel can be safely
kept for decades while more research is done on alternatives. But the Fukushima crisis has placed a question mark over that argument. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/fefcb306-040d-11e2-9675-00144feabdc0.html#axzz27ETNh6qF

September 23, 2012 Posted by | UK, wastes | Leave a comment

Doubts about China, France involved in UK’s new nuclear programme

Should China be involved in the UK’s nuclear energy infrastructure? Guardian UK, Paul Dorfman, 21 Sept 12 A more responsible way forward to this ethically questionable strategy can be found with Germany’s energy policy Government officials have been in Beijing this week with their Chinese counterparts for an “unprecedented” collaboration on energy . On the table was new nuclear power, and its role in moving the UK to a low-carbon economy.

So far, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) has been relentlessly optimistic about new nuclear, and hopes that its electricity market reform plans for a draft energy bill will do the trick, despite strong and sustained criticism from a parliamentary select committee on energy, and more recently a House of Lords working group who conclude  that the reforms are “unworkable”. But Decc is still loyal to the nuclear project and hopes the financial support implied in these market reforms will attract foreign investment.

France’s state nuclear corporation EDF and their UK junior partner, Centrica, have been centre stage in this nuclear fiscal drama. Centrica appears increasingly lukewarm, and City insiders doubt whether it will maintain a 20% stake in the nuclear consortium. Centrica’s potential departure could have something to do with the economics of nuclear power, with construction costs more than doubling from €3bn to over €6bn – and rising for each of the French-designed European pressurised reactors being built in Finland at Olkiluoto, and Flamanville in France.

Separately, since Germany’s RWE and E.ON in March pulled out of the UK’s second nuclear consortium, Horizon Nuclear Power, two Chinese nuclear state corporations, China Guangdong Nuclear Power and State Nuclear Power Technology, are considering taking on the consortium. Rosatom, the Russian state nuclear energy corporation, has also expressed an interest in the UK nuclear market.

At this point, it’s worth looking at the underlying business ethics of the Russian and Chinese nuclear industries, and questioning the wisdom of their strategic involvement in key UK energy infrastructure……http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/sep/21/nuclearpower-energy?newsfeed=true

September 22, 2012 Posted by | politics international, UK | 1 Comment

‘Not In My Backyard’ say UK Councils about nuclear waste plan

Romney Marsh nuclear waste storage plant plan rejected, BBC News, 20 Sept 12 The facility would have had nuclear waste underground with research facilities at ground level Plans to build a nuclear waste storage facility on Romney Marsh in Kent have been thrown out by Shepway council. The final decision was taken by Conservative council leader Robert Bliss after councillors voted against the proposals on Wednesday.
The issue had split residents with 63% of people rejecting it in a survey.

Councillors voted 21 to 13 against formally expressing interest in the government’s facility for the geological disposal of nuclear waste……
The public gallery was packed with residents opposed to the scheme as the full council debated the waste plant on Wednesday evening.

Lydd Conservative councillor Victoria Dawson said members had been assured the proposal would not go ahead if the community was againstit….. Kent County Council and neighbouring East Sussex County Council both opposed the plan.

The area is the site of Dungeness nuclear power station, where Dungeness A is being decommissioned and Dungeness B is due to stop generating power in 2018 or 2023.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-19656382

September 21, 2012 Posted by | politics, UK, wastes | Leave a comment

Radioactive murder of Litvinenko – a State sponsored crime?

Was Alexander Litvinenko killed by ‘state-sponsored nuclear terrorism’? The Telegraph A senior judge will examine whether Russia ordered the murder of dissident Alexander Litvinenko in an act of “state-sponsored nuclear terrorism”, his inquest heard. By Tom Whitehead, Security Editor  20 Sep 2012
The former KGB agent died from the radioactive poison polonium-210 after allegedly meeting former security colleagues in London in 2006. Allegations that the Russian authorities ordered and directed his death will now form a key part of the inquest, Sir Robert Owen, the High Court judge leading it, signalled.
Lawyers for Mr Litvinenko’s widow, Marina, said if the claims were substantiated, it meant “state-sponsored nuclear terrorism on the streets of London”.
It emerged one of the main suspects in the death, Andrei Lugovoi, could give evidence via video link from Russia, where he is resisting an extradition request.
However, details of a police investigation in to whether Mr Litvinenko, who fled to the UK in 2000, had been in regular contact with the British spy agencies while here will be kept a secret.
Mr Litvinenko, 43, was allegedly poisoned while drinking tea during a meeting with former KGB contacts at the Millennium Hotel in Grosvenor Square in November 2006. He died three weeks later in University College Hospital……
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/9555262/Was-Alexander-Litvinenko-killed-by-state-sponsored-nuclear-terrorism.html

September 21, 2012 Posted by | Legal, UK | Leave a comment

Britain’s ‘Supporters of Nuclear Energy’ (SONE) giving up on new nuclear power

SONE wants their power stations to be directly funded by the Government. 

 the effective demise of the British nuclear construction programme will probably not be recognised by the Government itself in its public relations output.

British nuclear supporters issue surrender notice, Dave Toke’s green energy blog , 17 September 2012 Supporters of British nuclear power have effectively surrendered in their efforts to secure a new programme of building nuclear power stations.

Sir William McAlpine, a member of the McAlpine family which founded the major construction company of that name, has written to the British Chancellor, George Osborne, to ask that Government proposals to subsidise nuclear power should, in effect, be abandoned.
He has written as the Chair of the ‘Supporters of Nuclear Energy’ (SONE) group, which provides much of the lobbying inspiration for nuclear power in the UK. This is also a very significant move since the McAlpine group are among the companies who are most likely to
benefit from contracts given to build new nuclear power stations. Continue reading →

September 20, 2012 Posted by | politics, UK | 3 Comments

Pro nuclear group opposes Britain’s nuclear deal with French company EDF

‘No nuclear power at any price’ says lobby group  telegraph UK, 14 Sept 12, A pro-nuclear energy group is pressing the government to halt plans to order new atomic power plants because costs have been inflated leaving householders and businesses facing an enormous bill.

The Supporters of Nuclear Energy have told the Chancellor that current pricing proposals
would give nuclear power an unnecessary subsidy and provide EDF, the French state-controlled group, with a huge return on its £14bn investment in the first two plants.

Sir William McAlpine, SONE chairman, has written to George Osborne urging him to block any price deal with companies building nuclear stations “unless and until you are absolutely satisfied the nation is getting value for money.”
SONE feels the odds are being stacked against nuclear because it is being lumped together with wind power and other subsidised renewable energy sources in the price set-up to “create a level playing field.”
The government has ruled out direct aid for nuclear power but SONE argues the formula under discussion would provide an unmerited indirect subsidy.
A copy of the letter has been sent to Ed Davey, Energy Secretary, but Sir William feels he will get more support from the Treasury becauseof the Chancellor’s recent battle over wind farm subsidies.
Drawn out negotiations on the pricing framework and the struggle to accommodate nuclear and renewable energy have contributed to delays in plant ordering. Mr Davey hopes to make a decision by the end of the year….. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/9543057/No-nuclear-power-at-any-price-says-lobby-group.html

September 15, 2012 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

UK National Nuclear Laboratory says Thorium nuclear reactors risky

The Thorium Fuel Cycle – Summary An independent assessment by the UK National Nuclear Laboratory Summary NNL believes that the thorium fuel cycle does not currently have a role to play in the UK context, other than its potential application for plutonium management in the medium to long term and depending on the indigenous thorium reserves, is likely to have only a limited role internationally for some years ahead.

The technology is innovative, although technically immature and currently not of interest to the utilities, representing significant financial investment and risk without notable benefits. In many cases, the benefits of the thorium fuel cycle have been over-stated.
http://www.nnl.co.uk/media/27860/nnl__1314092891_thorium_cycle_position_paper.pdf

September 12, 2012 Posted by | technology, UK | Leave a comment

INS (InternationalNuclear Services ) second class safety for MOX transport

INS (InternationalNuclear Services — a subsidiary of the NDA) appears hell-bent on
shipping this MOX fuel to Germany on a third-hand ship with second class safety and kept afloat on first class INS PR alone

International Nuclear Services Putting Business Before Safety http://lifeboat.com/blog/2012/09/international-nuclear-services-putting-business-before-safety by Tom Kerwick  Whilst I was checking up on C.O.R.E. (Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment) this weekend, I read of latest plans to ship plutonium MOX fuel assemblies from Sellafield to the small German port of Nordenham near Bremerhaven on the NDA’s (Nuclear Decommissioning Authority) ageing ship Atlantic Osprey. Continue reading →

September 12, 2012 Posted by | safety, UK | Leave a comment

Political problems with China’s involvement in building UK’s nuclear reactors

any Chinese involvement in EDF’s new nuclear plans would raise concerns on a number of fronts and could even require a direct UK government involvement through some kind of golden share.

China could take key role in UK nuclear infrastructure through Hinkley Point
• EDF in talks with China to share £10bn reactor costs
• French company’s debt levels rocket to £30bn
• Security concerns raise possibility of government taking ‘golden
share’ in development Terry Macalister guardian.co.uk,  2 September 2012  EDF has been holding talks with China about sharing the soaring cost of building £10bn worth of new reactors at Hinkley Point, Somerset.

The move underlines growing pressure on the French company’s internal finances and has reignited a fractious debate about Communist state-run businesses playing a critical role in sensitive western energy infrastructure.

The overtures to Beijing’s state corporations – as well as approaches to Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds – come as EDF faces growing investment demands in France and the UK that have sent debt levels rocketing to €39.7bn (£30bn)…… Continue reading →

September 3, 2012 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

UK puts Assange’s lawyer on ‘inhibited person list’

Lawyer for Assange detained at Heathrow and told she was on a ‘secret watch list’ Daily Mail, By ABUL TAHER, 1 September 2012 A lawyer acting for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says she was stopped at Heathrow and  told that she was on a secret watch-list and required special clearance before she could board her plane.

Australian Jennifer Robinson said she was left stunned after being told  by an airline crew that she was on an ‘inhibited person list’ that means she must have ‘done something controversial’.

Ms Robinson said that she could not understand why she was on the list as she had never done anything controversial or criminal. She had only represented clients around the world, one of whom was Mr Assange….. Ms Robinson, 31, said: ‘This incident raises so many questions.
‘Why would I need clearance to travel to my own country? So far I have not had a proper explanation.’
The human rights lawyer is a member of Mr Assange’s legal team, which has been fighting his extradition to Sweden on alleged sexual assault offences.
She was also his legal adviser when WikiLeaks published US military documents as well as diplomatic cables from American embassies. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2197003/Lawyer-Assange-detained-Heathrow-told-secret-watch-list.html#ixzz25RNRNfJl

September 3, 2012 Posted by | civil liberties, UK | 1 Comment

UK determined to arrest Assange, come what may

Police note lets slip Julian Assange arrest plan http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/police-note-lets-slip-julian-assange-arrest-plan/story-fnd134gw-1226457832696  By CHARLES MIRANDA in London  August 25, 2012 THE order is simple and the note brief but it points to a likelihood of a complex and lengthy impasse between Ecuador and Britain over the future of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

“Assange to be arrested under all circumstances,” the confidential Scotland Yard note seen yesterday being carried by an officer outside the Ecuador embassy reads.

And therein lies the problem. He has political asylum in Ecuador but cannot get there with Britain refusing to let him step onto public soil without immediate arrest, detention and extradition to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations.

Scotland Yard acknowledged the handwritten note was from a briefing and stressed that the force’s objective is to arrest Assange for breach of bail.

“Under no circumstances would any arrest be made which was in breach of diplomatic immunity,” Scotland Yard said.

August 27, 2012 Posted by | Legal, UK | Leave a comment

Cumbria’s huge report on proposal for underground nuclear waste bunker

NUCLEAR WASTE DISPOSAL: THE DEFINITIVE REPORT CONDENSED, in-cumbria by Ellis Butcher , 24 August 2012 The experts call it a “geological disposal facility”. Opponents call it a “nuke dump”. They all agree it’ll contain “high level and intermediate nuclear waste”.

 

A history-making vote takes place on October 11 which represents one of Cumbria’s most important ever nuclear decisions.A trio of councils, involving hundreds of community leaders, decides on whether West Cumbria takes part in a search to site a massive underground bunker containing the UK’s most toxic nuclear waste. Business Editor Ellis Butcher looks at the definitive report facing them. Continue reading →

August 25, 2012 Posted by | UK, wastes | Leave a comment

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