By Professor John Robertson Many thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this. From the Ferret today: The number of cracks in the core of an ageing nuclear reactor at Torness in East Lothian has risen to 46, prompting warnings that prolonging its operation would be “gambling with public safety”. The UK Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) told The Ferret that the cracks were detected in April 2024 and were “at the upper end of expectations”. The first three cracks were discovered at Torness in February 2022. EDF, however, insisted that the cracks did not affect normal operations or the ability to shut down … Continue reading Labour must give up on nuclear power in Scotland as Torness with 46 reactor cracks is to operate till 2028 yet its troubled French owners are required to investigate plant in France with only 1!

I think they bought that. Don’t you? Mugs. By Professor John Robertson Again, thanks to AR for alerting me to this: From Bloomberg, yesterday: French Power Slumps as Surging Renewables Push Out Atomic Plants. Day-ahead prices turn negative, trading at a four-year low. EDF halts three reactors, plans to take three more offline. French electricity prices turned negative as a drop in demand and surging renewables output prompted some nuclear reactors to power down. Who are EDF? Électricité de France, state-owned. What is their role in the UK: EDF manages the UK’s eight nuclear power station sites, five that are generating (Sizewell … Continue reading Will Scottish Labour abandon their call for new nuclear plants in Scotland after French owners of new English ones have to halt three new builds and take three older ones off line?

In the Guardian today: EDF Energy is planning to extend the life of four nuclear power stations in the UK and step up investment in its British nuclear fleet. The French energy company said it would make a decision on whether to extend the life of the four UK plants with advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGR) – Torness [East Lothian], Heysham 1 and 2, and Hartlepool – by the end of the year. This would require regulatory approval. A spokesperson for the company said it would depend on inspections, adding there would not be long lifetime extensions but “incremental”. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/09/edf-energy-uk-nuclear-power-plants The Scottish station, … Continue reading Does Scottish Labour support French energy company extending lives of unreliable, inefficient and unsafe nuclear power stations including one in Scotland?