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Sound and fury, but not science, behind UK’s anti wind energy lobby

But ‘the biggest threat to our valued landscapes is climate change. Onshore wind is the cheapest source of low-carbon power, and restricting its development would jeopardise our firm commitment to offer value for money to the consumer, as well as green energy. 

Bashing wind,  Environmental Rsearch, 28 July 12 A new report from the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) says on-land wind projects can threaten the ‘beauty and tranquility of much-loved landscapes.’… Continue reading →

July 30, 2012 Posted by | climate change, UK | Leave a comment

 Centrica Says Needs Price Clarity Before Making Nuclear Decision, Bloomberg By Josephine Forster and Kari Lundgren – Jul 25, 2012 Centrica Plc (CNA), the biggest supplier of gas and electricity to British households, said it needs more clarity on power prices before
deciding to participate in building new nuclear reactors in Britain. Continue reading →

July 29, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, UK | Leave a comment

Soaring costs for new nuclear power leave UK govt with a dilemma

The government will publish draft strike prices next year, but has promised to give developers such as EDF and Centrica temporary assurances to bridge the gap and allow them to move ahead with Hinkley Point.

The price they come up with is bound to come under intense scrutiny. Critics will see a high level as a massive subsidy for nuclear, but if it is too low EDF and Centrica could walk away.

Strike price key to new nuclear plants FT.com By Guy Chazan and Rebecca Bream, 23 July 12, When the Blair government first backed the idea of a new generation of nuclear plants in 2007, energy companies insisted they could build them without any public subsidy. Five years later, that claim seems painfully naive.
In the intervening years, the cost of new reactors has risen so fast that constructing them without any government support has become unthinkable.

The evidence for this change is not hard to find. Continue reading →

July 24, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, politics, UK | Leave a comment

Scotland alarmed at British governments snide subsidies for nuclear power

Coalition ‘must not sign a blank cheque’ for wind farms and nuclear Telegraph UK 23 July 12, British households cannot afford a “blank cheque” for wind farms and nuclear under the Coalition’s energy reforms, Consumer Focus has warned  ”

….Last night, Scottish ministers added their criticism with serious concerns that the reforms will “subsidise nuclear at the expense of renewable energy”.
Fergus Ewing, the Scottish energy minister, argued that wind farm companies could go abroad, rather than investing in Britain.
“As Tim Yeo has said, it is too important for the UK Government to mess up,” he said…

.. Dr Cable said the cost of building offshore wind farms would only need to fall by a quarter to make them competitive with traditional forms of power generation……..
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/rowena-mason/9421745/Coalition-must-not-sign-a-blank-cheque-for-wind-farms-and-nuclear.html

July 24, 2012 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

UK’s “Contracts For Difference” a sneaky way for taxpayer to fund new nuclear reactors

overt Government support for nuclear power could fall foul of EU state aid rules…..

it [ the European Union] may take a dim view of subsidies for nuclear. 

“widespread perception that [Electricity Market Reform], and specifically CfDs, are a fig leaf over support for new nuclear”..

Energy reforms would herald a power vacuum Complex energy reform “is a fig leaf over support for new nuclear”, the Energy Select Committee finds – but ministers may still end up with no nuclear to show for it. The Telegraph, By Emily Gosden  23 Jul 2012  The Energy Select Committee pulls few punches in its assessment of the draft Energy Bill on Monday…..

The report dissects the fiendishly complicated legislation, highlighting a litany of design faults.
But it also offers a diagnosis as to why ministers have produced such complex and flawed policy: because they have designed it to accommodate the awkward demands of new nuclear.

The cornerstone of the reforms is the proposal to establish a “Feed-in Tariff with a Contract for Difference (CfD)” – a mouthful of a name that belies a simple concept. Continue reading →

July 24, 2012 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

China, Japan, USA, France, Russia all keen to market nuclear reactors to UK

Two consortiums interested in reactors  http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/19dd4f1e-d425-11e1-942c-00144feabdc0.html#axzz21Vo4ZRkh By Rebecca Bream, Anousha Sakoui and Jim Pickard  London July 22, 2012 The management of Horizon, the energy group, and government officials are to start detailed talks with potential investors, including Chinese state-owned power groups, about building nuclear reactors in Anglesey and Gloucestershire.


At least two consortiums have told the government and Horizon, which is being sold by German energy groups Eon and RWE, that they are interested in bidding for the venture, which plans to build new reactors near the sites of existing nuclear plants at Wylfa, Anglesey,
and Oldbury, Gloucestershire.

The first is led by Toshiba Westinghouse, the Japanese-owned nuclear reactor manufacturer, in partnership with State Nuclear Power Technology Corp of China and Exelon, the US power generator.
The second comprises Areva, the French state-controlled reactor manufacturer, and China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp, possibly in partnership with other energy groups and investors. Continue reading →

July 23, 2012 Posted by | marketing, UK | Leave a comment

There’s money to be made in nuclear decommissioning

Olympic Park builder eyes nuclear wind-down deal http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/olympic-park-builder-eyes-nuclear-winddown-deal-7965171.html MARK LEFTLY   MONDAY 23 JULY 2012 The US group that led construction of the Olympic Park and a New York-listed rival are the latest companies considering bids to oversee the UK’s £5bn nuclear decommissioning programme. Continue reading →

July 23, 2012 Posted by | decommission reactor, UK | Leave a comment

Revelations of UK government’s deceit over true state of its nuclear energy programme

 “The government has been colluding with the nuclear industry to try to media manage the collapse of their hopes,”

 “In reality the cost of new nuclear power has doubled in recent years and continues to rise. Instead of trying to pull the wool over the public’s eyes, the government should accept their nuclear dream is over and back renewable energy.”

Emails reveal UK government’s moves to protect nuclear power from bad news
Government officials worked closely with E.ON and RWE to soften the impact of a major blow to plans for a new nuclear programme Rob Edwards guardian.co.uk,  19 July 2012 Government officials worked closely with two energy companies to soften the impact of a major blow to ministers’ plans for a new programme of nuclear power stations, internal emails reveal.

The revelation is further evidence of how Westminster has collaborated with the industry to try and protect nuclear power from bad news, first exposed by the Guardian in the aftermath of the Fukushima accident in Japan last year. Continue reading →

July 20, 2012 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, UK | Leave a comment

Dispute over UK plan for underground nuclear waste bunker

Kent and Shepway councils in Romney Marsh nuclear waste row, BBC News 19 July 12 The facility would have nuclear waste underground with research facilities at ground level Two council leaders have clashed over a report opposing plans for a nuclear waste facility on the Romney Marsh. The report, co-authored by Kent County Council leader Paul Carter, has been criticised by Shepway council leader Robert Bliss as emotive and inaccurate.


Mr Carter said he believed the report, which said the facility would blight the area, was factually correct but Mr Bliss said it was a knee-jerk reaction.

Earlier, Kent County Council voted to “totally oppose” the facility. The area is already the site of Dungeness nuclear power station, where Dungeness A is being commissioned and Dungeness B is due to stop generating power in 2018 or 2023…….

Public consultation On Thursday, Kent County Council voted to oppose the establishment ofa nuclear research and development facility in the county. It also agreed that if Shepway council decided to progress the proposal further, Kent council should review whether or not to hold acounty-wide referendum…

The facility would place nuclear waste in secure containers underground in vaults and tunnels, and at ground level, buildings would house research, office, transport and other facilities. The Shepway consultation is asking people whether it should find out more information about a possible facility on the Marsh. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18917732

July 20, 2012 Posted by | politics, UK, wastes | Leave a comment

Britain also involved in murders of Iran’s nuclear scientists

Murdoch’s media is currently banking on the false intelligence provided by MI6 that “Iran is two years from having a nuclear bomb” in order to convince the world public opinion about launching a new war with Iran.

Britain MI6 behind assassination of Iran nuclear scientists: Analyst
http://presstv.com/detail/2012/07/15/251070/mi6-behind-nuclear-assassinations-in-iran/
An American military analyst says Britain’s foreign intelligence agency, MI6 has facilitated assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists in cahoots with the Western media machine. Continue reading →

July 16, 2012 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, UK | Leave a comment

UK to sell out of nuclear power company URENCO

Nuclear sale set to net billions for UK  The Government is holding a “beauty parade” for bankers to advise it over a potential sale of the UK’s multi billion-pound stake in nuclear power giant Urenco. Telegraph UK,  By Emma Rowley, Rowena Mason, and Helia Ebrahimi  15 Jul 2012 Continue reading →

July 16, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, UK | 2 Comments

After one MOX nuclear reprocessing disaster, Britain plans another one!

Pete Wilkinson, an independent environmental consultant, said it “beggared belief” that ministers were going down this path after losing an estimated £600m from operating an original MOX plant.

“It would be interesting to see the commercial arrangements which justify turning Britain into a nuclear waste dump for plutonium that no-one else wants.”

UK nuclear authority takes ownership of German plutonium UK risks becoming a ‘nuclear laundry’ looking after unwanted waste from other countries, warns industry expert Terry Macalister guardian.co.uk, 13 July 2012  Britain risks being turned into a “nuclear laundry” by taking ownership of German plutonium in return for cash, the government was warned on Friday.

The move came along with confirmation that ministers were moving towards a controversial decision to build a new mixed oxide fuel (MOX) plant despite having just agreed to close an existing one which lost millions of pounds.

Britain has the largest stockpile of plutonium in the world but has taken permanent control of a further 4 tonnes under a deal with German nuclear power companies.. Continue reading →

July 14, 2012 Posted by | Reference, reprocessing, UK | Leave a comment

UK’s secretive discussions on the unknown cost of new nuclear power

“Discussions are happening in smoke-filled rooms, over champagne and croissants, to establish a price that we will all pay,” said Ian Marchant, chief executive officer of the U.K.’s second-largest energy supplier SSE Plc (SSE), which dropped plans to develop reactors in
September. “There is no transparency as to what that price will be.”

“What you have is a whole bunch of people saying they know what a new reactor will cost and they don’t,” 

U.K. Seen Doubling Power Price to Guarantee New Reactor  Bloomberg News, By Kari Lundgren on July 13, 2012. “……The future of the U.K.’s nuclear industry will be decided on one number: the price the government’s willing to guarantee Electricite de France SA will get
for generating atomic power. Continue reading →

July 14, 2012 Posted by | UK | Leave a comment

Britain’s disastrous record in technology to manage nuclear waste

Minister admits total failure of Sellafield ‘MOX’ plant http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/minister-admits-total-failure-of-sellafield-mox-plant-793489.html BY GEOFFREY LEAN    It was a deeply embarrassing moment for the Government, though it passed almost without notice.

Late last month, the Energy Minister, Malcolm Wicks, had to admit to one of the most comprehensive and catastrophic failures in British industrial history – and one that has led directly to the plans to ship weapons-ready plutonium to France.

Answering a question from Dai Davies, the independent MP for Blaenau Gwent, Mr Wicks confessed that a new plant at Sellafield, built amid great controversy at a cost of £473m, had comprehensively failed to work. Continue reading →

July 12, 2012 Posted by | reprocessing, UK | 2 Comments

Britain looks at dubious technical “fixes” for its radioactive pile at Sellafield

It is the task of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) to clean all this up. The plans are to pay the French company Areva, who have proved their technology works, to build a new mixed oxide fuel (MOX) plant.
The other option is to let the US-Japanese GE-Hitachi build a new fast PRISM reactor on the site to burn the plutonium and produce electricity. This is a more elegant engineering option but the reactor is totally unproven and is decades away from completion.

Sellafield: The dangers of Britain’s nuclear dustbin RT, 10 July, 2012“…….Cold war legacy   Behind the razor wire, security guards and public relations campaigns,
Sellafield is home to some of the most radioactive buildings in Europe.
The UK has the largest stockpile of Plutonium anywhere in the world and it’s all stored at Sellafield. Plutonium is used for the manufacture of nuclear weapons and is extremely radioactive with a half-life of 25,000 years. Continue reading →

July 11, 2012 Posted by | - plutonium, Reference, technology, UK, wastes | Leave a comment

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