Bradwell Bradwell No2NuclearPower

Andy Blowers ponders the Sizewell C development and what may eventually befall Bradwell in the BANNG Column for Regional Life, April, 2019. To the north, forty miles from Bradwell, the tranquil, low-lying and beautiful Suffolk coastline is abruptly interrupted by bulky, stark white and grey concrete structures – huge boxes, prominent from the land and sea and familiar to passengers on incoming flights. This discordant intrusion is the Sizewell nuclear complex consisting of Sizewell A, a former Magnox nuclear station (similar to Bradwell A) now being decommissioned, Sizewell B, with its distinctive white dome, the only PWR (Pressurised water Reactor) and the last nuclear station to be brought into operation in the UK in 1995. Adjoining it at the northern end of the site is an area, larger than A and B combined, designated for Sizewell C, after Hinkley Point C in Somerset, the second of the new nuclear reactors under development by the foreign, state-backed companies, EDF of France and CGN of China. The partnership has a third project, a proposed new nuclear power station at Bradwell: Bradwell B. Although presently some way behind Sizewell, the Bradwell developers are ramping up the project with a view to operating by the early 2030s. It is a project backed by the China/UK ‘Golden Handshake’ in 2015, welcomed by Maldon District Council for the jobs it might bring and opposed by communities around the estuary, fearful of the risks to security, safety and public health that it will inevitably bring. Above all there is the environmental devastation that will be inflicted on present and future generations. Once built, these stations will operate for at least sixty years and once shut down the detritus of highly radioactive wastes, including spent fuel, will be left to decay until removed or engulfed by the rising oceans. As the Sizewell project reaches its final stages of decision making the population has, at last, woken up to the terrible misfortune that awaits this precious part of Suffolk. The population, from those living in nearby Leiston to those in villages further afield, to those who have chosen this attractive area in which to live or retire, including a host of celebrities and artists, are all campaigning against the devastation to precious environments this massive behemoth will bring. Even the developers recognise that the development ‘would not be able to take place without some significant impacts’.

BANNG 12th April 2019 read more »

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Dounreay Dounreay No2NuclearPower

PRIME Minister Theresa May is “absolutely committed” to supporting the far north and the staff affected by the rundown of Dounreay. She gave the pledge to Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross MP Jamie Stone after he urged the UK Government to work closely with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, site management and the trade unions to ensure the redeployment of skills takes place. Speaking in the House of Commons, the Liberal Democrat MP said: “At Dounreay we have a skills pool that is second to none. As the site continues to decommission, it is vital that we redeploy those skills to the maximum benefit of the local economy and the UK economy. “Can the Prime Minister give me an undertaking that the Government will work very closely with the management at Dounreay, the relevant local trade unions and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to make sure that redeployment of skills actually happens to the benefit of the UK?” Replying, Mrs May said she recognised this is “a time of concern for staff at Dounreay” and continued: “It is important that we recognise the skills that have been developed there and make sure we take every opportunity to put them to the benefit not just of local people but of the United Kingdom. “We welcome Dounreay Site Restoration’s statement of support for its staff and its intention to support them through a transition into other employment. I understand that it will develop training and support programmes to put individuals in the strongest possible position to move into another local job in one of the growing local industries, such as space or renewable energy.” The Prime Minister added: “We remain absolutely committed to supporting the region and the staff affected. We will continue to work with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd, Cavendish Nuclear, Jacobs and AECOM [American multinational engineering firm] during this time.”

John O Groat Journal 13th April 2019 read more »

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Flamanville Flamanville No2NuclearPower

Asked by the Nuclear Safety Authority, a group of experts voted Wednesday, April 10, on non-compliant welds EPR reactor Flamanville (Channel). A new delay seems inevitable. The blow to EDF Wednesday, April 10, in the evening is brutal. He predicts a new delay for the commissioning of the first French EPR reactor in Flamanville, Manche. The permanent group of experts on nuclear pressure equipment rejected the method advocated by EDF for the recovery of defective welds.

Ouest France 13th April 2019 read more »

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Radwaste Radwaste No2NuclearPower

Wrexham will be ruling itself out as a possible option to become a nuclear waste dump, with the First Minister making it clear if no local authority comes forward then there will be no disposal sites in Wales. Those who are following our new more in-depth coverage from Cardiff Bay will have seen the issue of nuclear waste being dumped raised in the Senedd chamber itself, where we pointed out Wrexham could explicitly opt out.

Wrexham.com 13th April 2019 read more »

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Carbon Permits Carbon Permits No2NuclearPower

British Steel is seeking a £100m loan from the government in order to meet EU emission rules. Previously, the company could have used EU-issued carbon credits to settle its 2018 pollution bill. However, the steel maker has been affected by a European Union decision to suspend UK firms’ access to free carbon permits until a Brexit withdrawal deal is ratified. Sources say there is no danger to British Steel sites or jobs.

BBC 13th April 2019 read more »

Times 14th April 2019 read more »

Telegraph 13th April 2019 read more »

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Chernobyl & Fukushima Chernobyl & Fukushima No2NuclearPower

Irradiated glaciers from the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear disasters now threaten the environment as they could release their stored radiation particles at any moment. In a study presented at the European Geosciences Union’s General Assembly, researchers discussed how ice and snow in glaciated areas can capture fallout from nuclear accidents and store them for long periods of time. However, these glaciers are starting to melt at a rapid pace as a result of climate change. They are now at risk of releasing their contaminants into the environment, which could poison humans and wildlife alike.

Tech Times 12th April 2019 read more »

The operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant will start removing nuclear fuel from the No. 3 reactor as early as next week through equipment controlled remotely due to high radiation levels inside the building. This will mark Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s first attempt to remove spent fuel from one of the three reactors that experienced a meltdown during the 2011 nuclear accident. All spent fuel has already been removed from the No. 4 reactor. TEPCO workers will use remote control to remove nuclear fuel assemblies kept in the pool on the upper floors of the No. 3 reactor building. Utility officials acknowledge that the process will not be easy, as they have no experience conducting such a dangerous task remotely. The 566 nuclear fuel assemblies in the storage pool will be removed under a plan expected to take two years to complete.

Asahi Shimbun 12th April 2019 read more »

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday checked on progress in reconstruction in the northeastern prefecture of Fukushima affected by the 2011 nuclear crisis. Abe attended a ceremony to open a new town hall in Okuma, one of the two municipalities hosting the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and visited a soccer facility from which the Japan leg of the Tokyo Olympic torch relay will start in March 2020. Abe also visited the nuclear plant for the first time since September 2013 for an update on its decommissioning. His visit comes after Japan’s Olympics minister was forced to step down last week over remarks deemed offensive to people affected by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which triggered the world’s worst nuclear disaster since the 1986 Chernobyl crisis. After effectively sacking the gaffe-prone minister, Yoshitaka Sakurada, Abe apologized to the public for appointing him and pledged to work to regain public trust in his cabinet.

Japan Today 14th April 2019 read more »

Chernobyl on HBO: ‘Untold true story’ behind world’s worst nuclear disaster

The ‘untold true story’ of the Chernobyl disaster is coming to Sky Atlantic next month more than 33 years after the nuclear explosion. In the early hours of April 26 1986 a planned test on Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant went disastrously wrong. Engineers had been trying to figure out how the new reactor would cope in the event of a nuclear attack which would cause a power cut to the station. Would water continue to power the turbines and cool the core long enough for the back-up diesel generators to begin?

Mirror 13th April 2019 read more »

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Taiwan Taiwan No2NuclearPower

Dr. Gwo-shyh Song, Associate Professor at the Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University and Senior Consultant with Global Aqua Survey Ltd provides an in-depth look at green energy in the country. Taiwan, an island-type country with a population density ranked second in the world, must be provided with approximately 42GW electricity autonomously each year. In 2017, power distribution for coal-fired power generation was 39.2%, gas power generation 43.4%, nuclear power generation 9.3%, hydroelectric power generation 8.1% (plus a few percentages on renewable energy). Recently, a rise in the awareness of environmental protection, under the anti-nuclear policy of the Taiwan Government ruling by the Democratic Progress Party, and peoples’ awareness of anti-air pollution resulting from thermal power generation, wind power seems to be the major antidote to this impasse in energy distribution.

Open Access Government 12th April 2019 read more »

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US US No2NuclearPower

Officials at one of the nation’s top nuclear weapons laboratories say a special indoor facility for shipping radioactive waste is back in operation after five years. Los Alamos National Laboratory said Friday the facility received federal authorization to reopen earlier this year and the first shipment was loaded up and sent off this week to the government’s nuclear waste repository in southern New Mexico. Shipments from the facility stopped in 2014 following questions about its ability to withstand a large earthquake event. The lab then developed a new strategy for operations to accommodate concerns. As plutonium manufacturing ramps up at the lab so will the amount of waste generated, and officials say successful operations at the loading facility will be crucial.

KOB4 13th April 2019 read more »

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Nuclear Weapons Nuclear Weapons No2NuclearPower

On Wednesday this week (10 April 2019)in the House of Commons, a full debate was held on UK deployment at sea of the UK’s nuclear WMD arsenal on Trident submarines. This is called CASD, or “Continuous At-Sea Deterrent’, which was the title of the debate, to mark the 50th anniversary of CASD, when nuclear-armed submarine HMS Resolution was launched into the River Clyde in Scotland, near Glasgow. MPs’ energies depleted by endless Brexit debates, were only thinly present on the House of Commons green benches. Here are a selection of deplorable bellicose warmongering statements made by Labour MPs, including the shadow defence spokesperson Nia Griffith, and a junior defence team member, Wayne David, both Welsh MPs.

David Lowry’s Blog 12th April 2019 read more »

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Hydrogen Hydrogen No2NuclearPower

Currently, most of the hydrogen consumed is produced through the process of ‘steaming’ which converts methane into H2 and Co2. In order to become an integral part of the energy system of the future with a carbon neutral characteristic, hydrogen needs to be produced by the environmentally friendly process of electrolysis which converts electricity into H2 and O2. The process, however, is relatively inefficient as a significant amount of power is lost during production and conversion. The growth in generation capacity of renewables could provide a solution to this problem. Currently, the intermittent nature of wind and solar power sometimes leads to a waste of power. Especially during moments of excessive production hydrogen could be the solution. Redundant electricity could be absorbed to produce H2 and store it for moments when prices are favorable enough to convert it back into power. Hydrogen can also be used to power fuel cell electric vehicles or FCEV. Japanese automakers such as Toyota are betting on FCEVs instead of battery cell powered EVs to become the future of the automobile industry. Batteries, however, have two advantages: charging doesn’t require additional infrastructure as the existing electricity grid is used, and prices have dropped significantly. Due to the continued decreasing costs of batteries, EVs are increasingly able to compete with traditional automobiles with internal combustion engines.

Oil Price 13th April 2019 read more »

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