NEI Nuclear Notes

Who said it? “It’s a great pleasure to be back here again and a real pleasure to open something that’s going to have serious and important consequences in the years to come. “Something is going to have to be done to supply the huge increase in the amount of energy we need. There has to be some part of the energy sector delivering nuclear. It’s not just about the UK. Nuclear will be used globally.” Okay, we know he’s British and he gets invited to open things – in this case the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre. Give up ? The Duke of York said that it would make a significant difference to Britain in the future if it didn’t build up its own civil nuclear manufacturing capabilities. “We must deliver at least some part of the supply chain. The ability to harness the knowledge, skills and innovation of the UK in a facility like this is hugely important,” he said. Prince Andrew is currently fourth in line to the throne of England and is probably better...

The British Green Party tried something interesting this weekend: About 200 anti-GM activists have protested outside an agricultural research centre where a genetically modified wheat crop is being grown . Scientists at Rothamsted Research in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, had been concerned that members of campaigning group Take The Flour Back would attempt to destroy GM wheat crops. GM in this case means genetically-modified. The wheat in Harpenden has been modified with a gene from the peppermint plant in the hope that the wheat can better resist aphids. The test crop is intended to test that idea. The Guardian provides some of the questions the scientists want to answer : Does a crop that produces a steady waft of aphid alarm pheromone repel the pests? Or are the insects indifferent if the chemical is not released in bursts, as happens in nature? Does the pheromone attract aphid predators to the crops, as suspected? Can the wheat be grown with less pesticide? What are...

The U.K. government Tuesday published its long-awaited draft energy bill, which contains mechanisms and incentives designed to encourage around GBP110 billion investment in low-carbon energy such as offshore wind farms and new nuclear power stations. That sounds good. The Nasdaq story shows that the government really wants to sell it: "If we don't secure investment in our energy infrastructure, we could see the lights going out, consumers hit by spiraling energy prices and dangerous climate change," said U.K. Energy and Climate Change Secretary Edward Davey. The story doesn’t really make a case for nuclear – except that it is absolutely necessary if the country wants to achieve its emission reduction goals: The government needs to ramp up low-carbon power from offshore wind farms, nuclear power stations and gas and coal plants fitted with carbon capture technology to meet legally binding targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 34% by 2020 from 1990 leve...

From Mohamed ElBaradei , the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency: "There will be, in the short term, a slowdown in some countries. But others like France, India or China [won't see] an impact on their [nuclear] programs," he says. A little more: "For example, China and India are expanding by five to eight times their use of nuclear energy by 2020 or 2022. Brazil is expanding its nuclear-power program. South Africa is looking seriously to do so," he says. "All these large emerging countries, with large populations and development challenges, have to rely on nuclear energy. Lots more at the link. The article says the ElBaradei has political ambitions in his native Egypt, but I’ve read in various other places that his international profile might make that difficult because Egyptian voters might not think he is attuned to homeland issues. Well, we’ll see. I make no bones about finding ElBaradei an altogether admirable figure. He gathered en...

The other day, we ran a bit noting that the British government issued a report that cleared the way for new nuclear build in the United Kingdom. I used it to make a larger point, but it is rather a point in itself. For one thing, it has led to a very substantial change of heart for the Liberal Democratic Energy Minister Chris Huhne. In the most pro-nuclear speech by a Cabinet minister for years, Mr. Huhne, who campaigned against nuclear power before taking office, told the Royal Society: ‘Nuclear energy has risks, but we face the greater risk of accelerating climate change if we do not embark on another generation of nuclear power. Time is running out. Nuclear can be a vital and affordable means of providing low-carbon electricity.” The British government is currently a coalition between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats . The latter, which doesn’t quite line up with the American Democratic party (it’s a little further to the left by U.S. standards), but close enough, is ...

The analysts at the Commonwealth of Australia Bank want you to know : "But it is a case of one step backward, two steps forward," they said in a review of the sector. "Nuclear growth plans remain intact in China, India, Russia, South Korea, the U.S. and U.K. among others, and dominate the medium- term uranium industry outlook." The Australians maintain an interest as a large exporter of uranium, but the salient point is that the accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi has not dimmed interest in nuclear energy in many countries. One can see that in any number of stories, but it’s interesting to see it aggregated where its abandonment would cause financial pain – as it would in Australia – even if it has no nuclear facilities of its own. But uranium? it has a lot of that. You can read more about uranium mining in Australia here . Obviously, not speeding ahead is good policy. But so is not stopping. --- Speaking of which : Developers of major energy ...

Because you get to do fun things like this: Ground was broken yesterday on the UK's Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who used virtual reality to operate a digger. And what might this freshly dug Centre do? The new facility is intended to "help UK companies become global leaders in the production of components and systems for the new generation of nuclear power stations" said the University of Sheffield. The other main collaborators in the project are the University of Manchester, the government and Rolls-Royce as lead industrial partner. Rolls-Royce again – see the post below for more on that company. But what about Queen Elizabeth? It turns out she’s been hanging around nuclear energy plants as long they’ve been in England. Here she is in 1956: The Queen has opened the world's first full-scale nuclear power station, at Calder Hall in Cumberland. A crowd of several thousand people gat...

The current British government is a coalition between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, an awkward marriage considering that the Conservatives favor increased use of nuclear energy and the Liberal Democrats most definitely don’t. As part of the coalition agreement – or compromise – the liberals got much of what they want in energy policy, as laid out by new Energy Minister Chris Huhne (who is a Liberal Democrat): The UK is blessed with a wealth of renewable energy resources, both on and offshore. We are committed to overcoming the real challenges in harnessing these resources. We will implement the ‘Connect and Manage’ regime [this has to do with connecting off-the-beaten-path energy sources to the electricity grid] and I am today giving the go ahead to a transitional regime for offshore wind farms. Ah, wind. And a little more: We also need incentives for small-scale and community action. We are currently consulting on a new micro-generation strategy. I am today...

Great Britain released last week its analogue of the Obama administration’s energy bill, called the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan. It’s goal is to cut carbon emissions 34% by 2020, using 1990 levels as a baseline. That’s more ambitious than the American plan, but starts from a different place economically and industrially. To put it another way, it’s easier for the Brits to contemplate such a steep decline in such a short time – and it still qualifies as very optimistic. Here’s what the report say about nuclear energy : The Government is streamlining he planning and regulatory approvals processes for new nuclear power stations. It is currently assessing sites where developers would like to bring new nuclear power stations into operation by 2025, and this assessment will be included in a draft National Policy Statement for nuclear power, which the Government will consult on later in 2009. So it’s in the mix. How much in the mix? We think the balance of nuclear and renewables ...

We always wish our windy friends well, since we like the aesthetics of windmills and they answer to the need for renewable energy sources, but sometimes you just have to wonder : The wind industry is suffering from increasing capital costs [this is in the UK] and needs three to four manufacturers competing to bring down construction costs, the association said. Costs of building wind capacity are forecast to rise for the next few years and then decline from current levels until 2015, the group [ The British Wind Energy Association } said. Without putting too fine a point on it, if costs are going to increase over the “next few years,” that about gets us to 2015. Frankly, we imagine wind has the, er, wind at its back and its costs will decrease as economies of scale kick in. Which renders this whole story kind of silly. “We could see prices fall by as much as 20 percent from today’s 3.1 million pounds ($5.1 million) per megawatt” of installed capacity, McCaffery said. “Gov...

Nuclear energy is nothing – nuclear energy is everything. --- University of Greenwich Professor of Energy Studies Stephen Thomas would like a word with you about the utter failure of the nuclear renaissance – not just here but in Europe , too. "We've been waiting in vain on a 'Nuclear Renaissance' in Europe since the early 1990s. Even before the recent collapse in energy prices and the financial downturn, it was clear that all of the talk of a new resurgence in the prospects for nuclear reactors was just that: talk. It is for this reason that I find it so odd that the case for more nuclear power is being built in the United States on an entirely mythical notion of some kind of international 'race' that the U.S. supposedly is losing. In reality, the nuclear power industry in Europe is in the midst of the same kind regulatory and financial uncertainty that makes the future of the industry murky at best in this nation. I think he means England by “thi...

The value of carbon capture and clean coal as an alternative to nuclear energy proved to be a winning argument for the Dutch, but the Guardian takes a far dimmer view of its use in Britain. The government says that the [carbon capture] demonstration project will take "at least 15 years" to assess. It will take many more years for the technology to be retro-fitted to existing power stations, by which time it's all over. On this schedule, carbon capture and storage, if it is deployed at all, will come too late to prevent runaway climate change. The article admits that carbon capture is feasible and most of its component technologies are in use, though not especially effectively. Frankly, though, author George Monbiot (really, the British government) underestimates industry. If carbon capture technology proves truly effective, then those 15 years will melt away to many fewer - there's a very strong motivation to find solutions to carbon emission issues and a l...

More here .

From Investor's Business Daily : Most of France's electricity has been generated by nuclear power for years, and now Great Britain is again looking to atomic energy. Why can't we increase nuclear output in this country? Why indeed?

Details from the BBC .

Visit Blaney's Blarney .

Ireland's minister of energy and natural resources is working to shut down potential uranium mining there , saying it would be hypocritical for a country that doesn't use nuclear power to do so. Dave's Rants responds with some inconvenient truths.

From Reuters : The lives of Britain's nuclear power stations must be extended where possible to meet the country's needs for CO2-free power, the chief executive of British Energy said on Tuesday. "I think it's imperative that we maximise the stations we have," Bill Coley told Reuters on the sidelines of the Unite Nuclear New Build conference in London. "I'm talking about extending their lives -- not just British Energy's stations, but all the stations in the UK." Sounds like an idea that should gain traction elsewhere in Europe. For more discussion, click here .

In Britain, EDF has decided to shutter some coal capacity to make way for natural gas and nuclear. Ruth Sponsler has some thoughts.

From the BBC : Nuclear power is needed to help reduce carbon emissions and to ensure secure energy supplies, Tony Blair has said. He spoke as the Energy White Paper was published, proposing a large increase in renewable energy. The White Paper says there should be a mix of energy - and Mr Blair said that nuclear power must be "on the agenda". Industry Secretary Alistair Darling told MPs a decision on nuclear power was needed by the end of the year. A consultation will run until October. For a copy of the white paper, click here . For a set of "key points" from Darling's statement, click here . For more from 10 Downing Street, click here . Related news, here and here . UPDATE : Nice quote from Darling : “To say no to nuclear and there are many people saying no to new wind farms, that’s daft, it would needlessly expose the country,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning. “I came to this as a nuclear sceptic, but the facts have changed.” Indeed they ...