Tag: nuclear-energy

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Scottish MP backs dangerous reduction in safety standards to expand UK nuclear power

johnrobertson834

From Policy Mogul today: Government roadmap includes exploring a new power station as big as Hinkley C and Sizewell C  UK becomes first country in Europe to launch high-tech nuclear fuel programme with up to £300 million investment into UK production, pushing Putin out of global market  Measures such as smarter [sic] regulation will help quadruple UK nuclear power by 2050 up to 24GW – the biggest expansion for 70 years  Minister for Nuclear Andrew Bowie said:   “The government’s investment in nuclear will ensure the UK remains at the forefront of technological developments.  “Our plans will give investors the confidence to back … Continue reading Scottish MP backs dangerous reduction in safety standards to expand UK nuclear power

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Does Scottish Labour support French energy company extending lives of unreliable, inefficient and unsafe nuclear power stations including one in Scotland?

johnrobertson834

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?

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Energy-rich Scotland doesn’t need costly and dangerous nuclear power

johnrobertson834

Leah Gunn Barrett Two recent letters responding to Tory nuclear energy minister, Andrew Bowie, and Paul Wilson in The Scotsman, who call for more nuclear power plants in Scotland. The first appeared in the Edinburgh Evening News on December 7th, but The Scotsman chose not to publish the second. I wonder if Andrew Bowie, the clueless, youthful ministerial cheerleader for nuclear power, is concerned at all about leaks coming from a huge silo of radioactive waste at the crumbling Sellafield nuclear site.  Norway, Ireland and the US certainly are. Norway is worried that an accident could lead to a radioactive … Continue reading Energy-rich Scotland doesn’t need costly and dangerous nuclear power

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Scotland and nuclear power – Research suggests small modular reactors increase waste quantity by up to 30 times

johnrobertson834

stewartb Small modular reactors (SMRs i.e. nuclear reactors that produce <300 MW electricity) have been getting a lot of attention because of claims of inherent safety features and reduced cost [from GMB, Cons and Labour]. It is possible that it will be SMRs that the UK government pushes towards Scotland. Adversely critical or sceptical voices on SMRs don’t get much coverage by the media. The peer reviewed academic paper on SMRs referenced below notes that ‘remarkably few studies have analyzed the management and disposal of their nuclear waste streams.’ Comparing three distinct SMR designs to a conventional 1,100-MW elec pressurized … Continue reading Scotland and nuclear power – Research suggests small modular reactors increase waste quantity by up to 30 times