N-Base Briefing 480


N-Base Briefing 480
7th January 2006
ISSN 1478-4661

New Build News - Special incentives

Energy minister Malcolm Wicks has said there will have to be a "special relationship" between Government and private investors, with special incentives, if new nuclear power reactors are to be built in the UK. Speaking at the Social Market Foundation about the forthcoming energy review Mr Wicks said any new reactors would not be "a public expenditure programme". There had to be market investment with incentives and a special relationship, the nature of which had to be discussed during the review.

The nuclear industry is pressing for quicker and cheaper licensing regulation for new reactors and changes to the planning laws to prevent lengthy public inquiries. Both of these are under consideration, with new planning laws being considered for England, Wales and Scotland. The industry is also calling for a long-term commitment from Government of a guaranteed market so investors are not deterred by the possibility of a change in policy resulting in a reduced return on investments.

The industry's message to Government is clearly spelt out in a report presented to the environmental audit committee of the House of Commons by British Nuclear Fuels. The report, 'Activities to Underpin a Predictable Timetable for Replacement Nuclear Build', calls for new licensing rules to allow for US-style pre-licensing of reactor designs, new planning laws and also possible changes to energy market regulations to allow a higher price to be paid to suppliers of 'baseload power' – i.e. nuclear generators.

Labour move

A group of Labour MPs led by former minister Alan Whitehead is preparing an energy manifesto that rejects nuclear power. Mr Whitehead said that no-one would invest in new nuclear reactors in a free energy market, with no government assistance, no minimum price for nuclear and no guaranteed market.

Welsh reactor ?

The Western Mail newspaper has quoted Government sources as saying the Department of Energy wants to build a new reactor at Wylfa on Anglesey, where the existing Magnox reactor is scheduled to close in 2010.

Nuclear plea

The All Ireland Forum of the Nuclear Free Local Authorities has called on Northern Ireland Secretary of State Peter Hain to oppose any plans to build a nuclear reactor in Northern Ireland.

Concerns over new waste plan

Some of the residents living closest to the site of a proposed new low level waste facility at Dounreay have expressed concern and opposition to the plans. The UKAEA held a public meeting in the nearby village of Reay just before Christmas when 26 local residents took the chance to view the plans.

According to reports in the local newspapers there was general support for the proposal to extend the Dounreay site towards the north-east and build three new below surface vaults for low level waste containers on the site's former runway.

The new facility will take back some agricultural land currently leased to tenants and will be within a few hundred yards of residents in Buldoo and Balmore.

However, it has emerged that the UKAEA held a separate private meeting with residents from Buldoo, who will live closest to the new facility, and these residents have expressed concerns at the proposals. Residents fear their views might not be taken into account by the UKAEA and that local house prices and general environment will be damaged.

The residents said there were other sites for the proposed facility that were inside the existing boundary – but the UKAEA is proposing the facility should be in a separate licensed site, probably because the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is looking to run the new facility under a separate contract from the one to manage the rest of the Dounreay site.

A UKAEA spokesman said they would listen to the views of residents and the project team would "look seriously" at alternative sites for the facility.

The UKAEA propose lodging a planning application for the new facility in March with 2011 as the date for the facility to become operational.

Particles consultation

Public meetings are being held this week in Thurso and Wick as part of the UKAEA's consultation process on what should be done about the radioactive particle contamination of the seabed and local foreshore and beaches. The consultation closes on 30th January. The owner of the Sandside beach, Mr Geoffrey Minter, said the consultation was "pointless" because the UKAEA has not consulted him about the various options proposed for the beach where 58 particles have already been found. He said no work on the beach to try and solve the problem was possible without the agreement of the landowner.

New Year messages

The chief executive of the UKAEA, Dipesh Shah, in his New Year message to staff said the authority "cannot tolerate some of the lapses we have seen in safety culture – albeit confined to certain areas of some of our sites". He committed the UKAEA to addressing and solving the safety issues. Mr Shah also said he was confident that the UKAEA and a commercial partner could win the contract to continue managing the decommissioning of Dounreay. Meanwhile the UKAEA chairwoman, Barbara Thomas Judge, said she supported the idea of new reactors being built at Sellafield and Dounreay – although a UKAEA spokesman said afterwards these were the chairwoman's personal opinions, not those of the authority.

Radioactive scrap

Radioactive material in 16 small containers has been found in a scrap metal depot in un Mo i Rana in Norway's Nordland region. The containers belong to the Norwegian military which apparently cannot trace another 88 similar containers.

Drigg fears

Residents living near the Drigg national nuclear waste facility are opposing plans to expand the site. British Nuclear Fuels presently stores the containers in below surface vaults, but these are expected to be full by 2008. Now the company has asked for temporary permission until 2010 to stack up to 950 containers above the existing vaults. Residents are concerned this will result in increased radiation levels outside the low- level waste dump. A report from BNFL says levels will increase from 0.15 to 0.25 micro-sieverts per hour. The Drigg and Carleton Parish Council has opposed the plan, but county council officials are recommending permission be granted.

Dump concerns

Highland Council's waste management spokesman, Bill Fulton, has called on the Scottish Executive to give a clear policy statement on the possibility of a nuclear waste dump being sited in Scotland. Mr Fulton is particularly concerned about potential sites on the islands of Sandray and Fuday in the Western Isles and Dounreay and nearby Aultnabreac in Caithness. Caithness Against Nuclear Dumping has also warned that any proposal to consider the two Caithness sites for a national waste dump would be strongly resisted.

Design approved

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has certified the standardised design for the Westinghouse AP1000 reactor.

Torness alert

The emergency services were called to the Torness nuclear power station just before Christmas after a fuel element couldn't be positioned correctly in the site's spent fuel pond. A spokesman said there was probably debris from graphite sleeves that prevented the element fitting into the pond's holding frames. The emergency services stood down after a few hours and the station continued operating during the alert.

Warning signs

Signs warning visitors about radioactive contamination are to be erected at Dalgety Bay by Fife Council. The contamination comes from the former RAF base in the area and a recent survey for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency found nearly 100 radioactive hotspots.

Norwegian pension sale

The Norwegian Government has sold shares its state pension fund had in seven companies with connections to the production of nuclear weapons. The Government said the fund's ethics council had recommended the sale. Among the companies are UK firm BAE Systems.

Decommissioning costs

A report in the Independent newspaper says new estimates from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) due to be published this year will put the cost of decommissioning the UK's state-owned civil nuclear sites at a minimum of GBP70 billion. The Sellafield and Dounreay sites are the two largest decommissioning project for the NDA. The NDA has said the likely increase in costs are due partly to dealing with 'higher hazard' materials at Sellafield. The estimate does not include the cost of decommissioning military or privately owned sites.

Pension plan

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is consulting the public on its plans for the pension scheme for workers employed in decommissioning sites. Some estimates have put the cost to the taxpayer at GBP800 millions but this has been strongly rejected by trades union officials. The pensions will concern an estimated 15,000 workers who are expected to be transferred to private employers from British Nuclear Fuels and the UK Atomic Energy Authority. Details of the NDA consultation are available at www.nda.gov.uk