UK approves new nuclear power plants

international | environment | other press

Thursday January 10, 2008 12:18

by neighbourly

Despite the cost of building them, the delay in bringing them online, the cost of cleaning up the old ones, the cost of disposing of all the waste so far, the need to invest in carbon capture or at least print up colourful brochures for the next generation on climate change, the general un-Scottishness of a post-nuclear "chernobyl style" disaster UK (most of Scottish people & many Welsh ones too would peel & die) the government of the UK has decided to approve new nuclear power plants.

Because of the Scottish thing, their PM AlexSalmond has gone radge & insists not a single nuke will be build the Caledonian side of the border. Nobody remembers the name of the Welsh PM so all attention is on the Taoiseach to say something rousing.

UK approves new nukes

If you live in the UK this could mean cheaper lecky bills unless you're already extracting it illegally from your neighbours or have found a way to live without it & are only reading this article thanks to battery power & wifi. The illustration is of course the international symbol for ion radiation. It is a good idea not to touch anything you find with that symbol on, unless it's a young person in an ironic t-shirt, perhaps a student of semiotics - use your instincts.. The logo of course is not to be confused with the international symbol for laser radiation which you can find by looking directly inside any CD player.

2023 is the set date for the closure of most of the UK's existing nuclear power stations, but as can be seen from the chart below there is already a backlog of stations which are now past their operational safety date.

name_________megawatts___due to Close
Calder Hall_________ 194___2003
Chapelcross________196___2005
Dungeness A_______450__2006
Dungeness B______1110___2018
Hartlepool________1210___2014
Heysham 1_______1150___2014
Heysham 2_______1250___2023
Hinkley Point B____1220____2016
Hunterston B_____1190___ 2016
Oldbury _________434___2008
Sizewell A ______420 ___2006
Sizewell B ______1188 ___2035
Torness______1250___2023
Wylfa_________980___2010

Here is a good refutal of the 5 key points the UK government is using to justify the decision by Tom Burke of the Sustainable Energy Awareness & Campaign group / site E3G
http://www.e3g.org/index.php/programmes/climate-article...ence/

Here is a hearwarming interactive map from the UK "no2nuclear power" group which helps you to understand how very very unScottish simulated melt-downs would be. You'll note as well that northern Ulster get's fried too. That might be a good thing - you'd have to ask them.
http://www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/Chernobyl-UK.php

here's something from SKY news which speaks of "Green fury" counterpointed the thoughts of a happy builder. http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30400-1300003,00...f=rss
here's something else from the Yorkshire evening post which talks of a "Green light" http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/latest-national-n...70.jp & without mentioning local builders does mention the investment opportunities which would be afforded electricty operators who wanted to get on the fry Ulster gravy train. Which is what it's all about at the end of the day. Today's decision will not mean one joule or to be precise one watt of new electricity this side of 2020 & will sooner or later mean doing some deal with Sarkozy to guarantee French contractors works. Meanwhile he'll have covered his country in windmills & closed down most of France's reactors on time & within budget. I don't know what he thinks about Scottish people - you'd have to ask him.

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Comments (6 of 6)

Welsh Minister

by Nein Danke!

Thu Jan 10, 2008 12:45

The First Minister of Wales is Rhodri Morgan. (I only know that because over Christmas I read a book on Rudolf Hess, and Morgan, it seems, supports the theory that Hess was murdered)

The Welsh administration is opposed to any new nuclear power stations in Wales.

How are the modern industrialised nations supposed to source their energy from?

by Weary

Fri Jan 11, 2008 10:49

Ok climate change is a reality so fossil fuels are out.
Ok wind, hydro and solar energy are clean but not consistently reliable.
Ok nuclear power is reliable but dirty and sometimes lethal accidents occur.

So where are the hundreds of millions of European citizens supposed to get their power from?

Are Europeans expected to wear three layers of clothes in winter, wash in the rivers, gather berries, kill and salt their own meat and live to the ripe old age of 38?

from toshiba I expect!

by wageslave

Fri Jan 11, 2008 12:06

http://www.counterpunch.org/hoffman12282007.html

So far the UK nuke plans have spun on "energy security" not "nuclear installation security".

Sat Jan 12, 2008 08:45

Odd considering that 40% of the UK's energy needs are supplied by gas & even if Russia with its 23% world reserves of gas can top 100$ a cannister by 2020 the 8% of UK energy supplied by nukes won't be cheaper or augmented.
But some people think about multiple coats, picking berries & dying at 38?

Well chew on this factoid. The newest UK nuke (Sizewall B) only got anti-terrorist protection in 2006. { i think I wrote a stern letter on behalf of the London Irish } Do go on with your incisive comments. move & shake. why not?

cheaper lecky bills ????

by Mike - Judean Popular Peoples Front

Fri Jan 25, 2008 16:59

"If you live in the UK this could mean cheaper lecky bills "

Obviously YOU havent paid a mainland UK electricity bill anytime in the last 18 years.

If you had you would know about the "non-fossil fuel levy". Ostensibly a fund for building windmills although in practice a massive hidden subsidy to prop-up the loss making nuclear industry.
.

I'm depressed by the level of discussion about nuke waste

by AuntieNuke

Fri Jan 25, 2008 21:04

Nuclear has experienced a new lease of life, ignoring historical lessons. New technology in this area is being touted like crazy.

e.g.
http://sfreporter.com/articles/publish/outtake-112107-n...e.php

http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/12/20/04...29200

and the ensuing nuke discussions are just so naive regarding the waste issue. "we could do this...etc" , ideal world solutions that will in practice, never be implemented by corrupt, lazy and inept governments, bent on saving / making money and not caring about the long term welfare of its citizens.

http://europe.theoildrum.com/node/3450

The fact is, when money gets tight, the things we should do, like get people off trollies in hospitals, disposing of our waste etc are the things that get cut , wheras high wages to people in power and bureaucrats are not.

Here is a couple of examples of the kind of thing that happens to nuke waste in the real world with real human beings when the money gets tight.

http://www.bellona.org/reports/The_Arctic_Nuclear_Challenge (pdf)
I suspect this to be a US funded russia bashing site in disguise but you can make your own mind up. Wish I had a report like this on the US nukes!!

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/031200-01.htm

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UK approves new nuclear power plants

Comments (6 of 6)