*New nukes*
The threat of a cabinet split over nuclear power loomed closer on Sunday
when Margaret Beckett warned that the cost of building a new generation
of plants had not been properly explored
FT, Scotsman 21st November 2005
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/2d93bddc-59fb-11da-b023-0000779e2340.html
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=2273212005
Prime Minister Tony Blair should "give the green light" to a new
generation of nuclear reactors, his chief scientific adviser said. Mr
Blair faces stiff opposition from green groups and some in his Labour
Party if he sanctions new reactors.
Scotsman, FT, 21st November 2005 & Reuters 20th November 2005
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2272072005
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/dae15192-5a33-11da-b023-0000779e2340.html
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2005-11-20T141527Z_01_MOL051073_RTRUKOC_0_UK-ENERGY-BRITAIN.xml
<http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2005-11-20T141527Z_01_MOL051073_RTRUKOC_0_UK-ENERGY-BRITAIN.xml>
BRITAIN will start building new civil nuclear power stations under plans
backed by Tony Blair, The Times has learnt. Less than two years after a
government paper called nuclear power an unattractive option, the Prime
Minister has become convinced that building nuclear power stations is
the only way to secure energy needs and meet obligations to reduce
carbon emissions. In a controversial move, he wants planning procedures
to be quickened so that the first stations could be under construction
within ten years, far earlier than expected, advisers have told The Times.
Times, Carlisle News and Star, 21st November, 2005
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1881698,00.html
http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/viewarticle.aspx?id=303788
A RASH promise made 11 years ago has forced the Government to embrace
nuclear power. By undertaking to cut carbon emissions by 20 per cent
before 2010, the Labour Party, which was then in opposition, won
plaudits from environmentalists. The pledge went far beyond the Kyoto
commitment. Now it is plain that the target will be missed: Britain’s
carbon emissions have risen two years running. Meeting future
obligations will also be impossible unless the Government changes its
course.
Times 21st November 2005
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1881685,00.html
The Westinghouse AP-1000 pressurised water reactor has 50 per cent fewer
valves, 35 per cent fewer pumps, 80 per cent less piping and 70 per cent
less cable than Sizewell-generation plants. The nightmare in any reactor
is loss of coolant, and earlier PWRs had complex emergency core cooling
systems to prevent the nuclear core melting. The AP-1000 achieves the
same result more simply. The emergency cooling water is stored in a
reservoir at the top, so that gravity, not pumps, gets it to where it is
needed. Natural circulation and evaporation also help to cool the core.
Made of 250 modular sections that can be fabricated and shipped to the
site, the AP-1000 already has a US safety licence. Westinghouse believes
one could be built in as little as three years. It is claimed that the
advanced reactors have a longer life, of up to 60 years, and higher fuel
burn-up to make better use of fuel.
Times 21st November 2005
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1881690,00.html
Nuclear Britain Map and Graphic:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1881689,00.html
North Sea energy stocks are dwindling. Oil prices have been volatile.
Britain’s nuclear and coal-fired plants are due for increasingly rapid
decommissioning. And all this at a time when domestic energy demand is
projected to rise just as Britain tries to cut its carbon emissions to
those levels agreed at Kyoto. It is therefore encouraging that, as we
report today, the government is at last prepared to grasp the nuclear
nettle.
Times Leader 21st November 2005
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,542-1881111,00.html
Various letters about nuclear and wind, including one from Geoffrey
Minter - owner of the beach near Dounreay.
Times 21st November 2005
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,59-1881001,00.html
The employers' organisation, the CBI, says today that Britain needs a
coherent energy policy as a matter of urgency, including a decision
within the year on whether to build a new generation of nuclear
reactors. Its call follows a recent report from the EEF, the body
representing many of Britain's manufacturers, which argued that Britain
needed new nuclear power stations as part of a balanced range of
electricity-generating capacity.
Guardian & BBC, Scotsman, Telegraph, Daily Mail, Daily Express,
Independent 21st November 2005
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,11026,1647336,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4454468.stm
http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=2273392005
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2005/11/21/cncbi21.xml&menuId=242&sSheet=/portal/2005/11/21/ixportal.html
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2005/11/21/cncbi21.xml&menuId=242&sSheet=/portal/2005/11/21/ixportal.html>
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