Over a dozen people (and Paddington Bear) sang “Trains and boats and Planes are bringing nuclear waste to my home…” outside Carlisle station to, as Marianne Birkby, a member of Radiation-Free Lakeland put it, “show our solidarity with all the other groups throughout the UK…who have taken part in this coordinated action to oppose nuclear trains.” Nuclear trains pass through Carlisle station, oftentwice a week, often carrying three rod-containing flasks. Three full flasks contain an amount of radioactivity equivalent to that produced by the Hiroshima bomb. 100 people also stopped to sign a letter to Cumbria and Lancashire County Council regarding the lack of independent radiation monitoring.
(Photo shows the demonstrators at Carlisle.)
DOUBTS OVER HINKLEY GROW
Meanwhile the doubts that Hinkley C will ever be built grow, in spite of approval by the UK regulator, the UK Government and the European Commission, as the two companies involved in the project, each almost 90% owned by the French state, face severe financial problems and doubts grow about the viability of the design of the two European Pressurised Water Reactors (EPR) intended to constitute Hinkley C.
To quote an article by the Climate News Network, published by the website, Eco-Business on 25th November: “Plans to build two giant nuclear reactors in south-west England are being reviewed as French energy companies now seek financial backing from China and Saudi Arabia − while the British government considers whether it has offeredvast subsidiesfor a whiteelephant.
«A long-delayed final decision on whether the French electricity utility companyEDF[Electricité de France] will build two 1.6 gigawatt EPRs at Hinkley Point in Somerset − in what would be the biggest construction project in Europe − was due in the new year, but is likely to driftagain.
«Construction estimates have already escalated to £25 billion, which is £9 billion more than a year ago, and four times the cost of putting on the London Olympics lastyear.
«Two prototypes being built in Olikuoto, Finland, and Flamanville, France, were long ago expected to be finished and operational, but are years late andcosts continue to escalate. Until at least one of these is shown to work as designed, it would seem a gamble to start building more, butneither of them is expected to produce power untilat least 2017.
«With Germany phasing nuclear power out…and France reducing its dependence on the technology, all the industry’s European hopes are on Britain’s plans to build 10 new reactors. But British experts, politicians and businessmen have begun to doubt that the new nuclear stations are a viableproposition.
«Steve Thomas, professor of energy policy at the University of Greenwich, London, said: ‘The project is at very serious risk of collapse at the moment. Only four of those reactors have ever been ordered. Two of them are in Europe, and both of those are about three times over budget. One is about five or six years late and the other is nine years late. Two more are in China and are doing a bit better, but are also runninglate.’
«Tom Greatrex, the British Labour party opposition’s energy spokesman, called on the National Audit Office to investigate whether the nuclear reactors were value for money for Britishconsumers.
«Peter Atherton, of financial expertsLiberum Capital, believes the enormous cost and appalling track record in the nuclear industry of doing things on time mean that ministers should scrap the Hinkleyplans…
«Since the decision was made to build nuclear power stations, renewable energy has expanded dramatically across Europe and costs have dropped. Nuclear is now more costly than [on-shore] wind and solar power. In Britain alone, small-scale solar output has increased by 26% in the lastyear.
«… there are a number of other nuclear companies − from the US, China, Japan and Russia − keen to build stations of their own design in Britain, but would want the same price guarantees as EDF for HinkleyPoint. With a general election in the UK looming in May next year, no decisions will be reached on any of these projects any time soon. And a new government might think renewables are a betterbet.»
MONEY PROBLEMS
On November 19th the Guardian reported that, “Hinkley Point C nuclear plant’s future is in doubt as crisis hits shareholders…Shares in [AREVA] plunged by almost a quarter after Areva warned it must suspend future profit predictions because of problems centred on a similar power station project in Finland…
«As well as providing the design [for Hinkley C], Areva currently holds 10% of the equity in the Hinkley Point C project, which has been predicted by the European commission to cost almost £25bn – if it is built on time by 2023.»
Reuters also covered the story and added that EDF is alsoin trouble, reporting that EDF’s net financial debt stood at over 30½ million euros in June 2014. The new CEO came into office in November said that EDF planned to be more selective about foreign investment, but added that«The completion of the Flamanville plant and the plan to build two 1650 megawatt EPR reactors in Hinkley Point in western England will be a top priority for him.»
SÉBASTIEN BRIAT
I have been reminded that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Sébastien Briat, aged 21, was an anti-nuclear activist from Meuse, France who was taking part in a nuclear protest when he was struck and killed by a train carrying 12 containers of waste from German nuclear power plants, which had been reprocessed in France and was heading to Gorleben, Germany for storage.. Briat was one of at least 4,500 people who attended the protest, which the New York Times said was "prompted by concerns about the safety of the nuclear material."
NUCLEAR TRAINS
and Nuclear Power
The monthly mailing of the Nuclear Trains Action Group of London Region CND.
NTAG, Mordechai Vanunu House, 162 Holloway Road, London N7 8DQ; tel. 020-7607 2302.
e-mail:
web: www.nonucleartrains.org.uk
Editor: David Polden December 2014
NEXT NUCLEAR TRAIN STALL AND LEAFLETTING
Saturday January 31st, 11am-1pm: outside Shepherd’s Bush overground station (At entrance to Westfield Shopping City), to protest against nuclear trains going through Brixton. Leafletting, informing, petitioning, banners. [NOTE: This was previously advertised as on January 24th, but has been moved because CND’s “Wrap up Trident” action is taking place in London on the 24th.]
REGULAR FRIDAY SOLIDARITY VIGIL
Every Friday (since August 2012) 10am-12.20pm, outside Japanese Embassy, 101-104 Piccadilly (Green Park tube); then walk to offices of Tokyo Electric Power Company [TEPCO], the owners of Fukushima, in nearby Berkeley Square for further vigil, 12.30-1pm. Vigil in solidarity with anti-nuclear movement in Japan. Organised: Kick Nuclear and Japanese Against Nuclear, UK.
NEXT GENERAL PLANNING MEETING
Monday January 5th, 7pm at the CND office; address at top.
COORDINATED NUCLEAR TRAIN ACTION
The week starting 22nd November there were actions at several nuclear train stations around the country. This is the third time this year such a coordinated series of actions has been organised.
In Brixton, on Saturday 22nd, we (NTAG) had an information stall and leafletting outside Brixton tube station very near a bridge over Brixton High Street that carries nuclear trains from Dungeness. Since it was drizzling we set up the stall and leafletted under that very bridge and the six of us managed to give out about 500 leaflets in spite of the weather. (It’s a very busy spot.)
Jo Smoldon reported on behalf of Stop Hinkley that they held a leafletting session, also on 22nd November, in Bridgwater. Bridgwater is the railhead for Hinkley Point, where lorries carrying flasks of highly-radioactive spent fuel rods from Hinkley B nuclear power station drive along country roads to have their flasks lifted by crane onto flat-bed trucks for onward transport to Sellafield in Cumbria where the rods are intended to be reprocessed to separate out the plutonium they contain.
She also reported that they were joined by the local Green Party candidate, Julie Harvey-Smith, at the event. It was suggested that Stop Hinkley and the local Green Party might combine forces at the next event, to publicise that if you are against more nuclear power and nuclear waste production the Green party is the one you should vote for. Perhaps other anti-nuclear campaigns around the country should think of working with their local Green Party candidates to this end in the run-up to the general election next May.
On the 24th there was leafletting by six outside Wigan North-West station organised by Greater Manchester CND and Merseyside CND, where freight timetables were available, showing when the next train carrying the fuel rods would pass through Wigan NW.
On the 26th, in an action organised the Close Capenhurst Campaign & Merseyside CND again, seven people gave out some 500 leaflets outside Chester Station. Trains carrying spent fuel rods from Wylfa power station go through Chester station. The leaflets also mentioned the link between the fuel rods and the nearby Capenhurst uranium enrichment facility. There were also copies of the freight railway timetable available, this time giving the time of the next nuclear train through Chester station.
«Finding the vast sums of capital needed to finance the project is proving a problem. Both EDFand French company,Areva, which designed the EPR, have money troubles. Last week, Areva suspended future profit predictions and shares fell by 20%.
«Chinese power companies have offered to back the project, but want many of the jobs to go to supply companies back home − something the French are alarmed about because they need to support their own ailing nuclear industry. Saudi Arabia is offering to help too, but this may not go down well inBritain.
«On the surface, all is well. Preparation of the site is ..under way…with millions being spent on earthworks and new roads. The new reactors would be built next to two existing much smaller nuclear stations − one already closed and the second nearing the end of its life. The new ones would produce seven per cent of Britain’selectricity.
«But leaks from civil servants in Whitehall suggest that the government may be getting cold feet about its open-ended guarantees.The industry has a long history of cost overruns and cancellations of projects when millions have already been spent – including an ill-fated plan to build a new nuclear station on the same site 20 yearsago.
«The Treasury is having a review because of fears that, once this project begins, so much money will have been invested that the government will have to bail it out with billions more of taxpayers’ money to finish it − or write off hugesums.
«The whole project is based on British concern about its ageing nuclear reactors, which produce close on 20% of the country’s electricity. The government wanted a new generation of plants to replace them and eventually produce most of the country’spower.
«In order to induce EDF to build them, it offered subsidies of £37 billion in guaranteed electricity prices over the 60-year life of the reactors. This would double the existing cost of electricity in theUK.
«TheEuropean Commission gave permissionfor this to happen, despite the distortion to the competitive electricity market. But this decision is set to be challenged in the European Court by the Austrian government and renewable energy companies, which will further delay theproject.
NUNUCLEAR POWER STATIONS WORLDWIDE
Supplement 8: THE AMERICAS
(In previous supplements I’ve covered the whole of Africa, Asia, Australasia and Europe, as well as the US.)
Canada
As of October 2012[update], about 15% of Canada's electricity was produced by nuclear power. From 1966, 23 civil nuclear power reactors all of the type Canada Deuterium Uranium (“CANDU”) were built, 16 of them at three sites in Ontario, two at a site in Quebec province and one in New Brunswick. The two in Quebec province have subsequently been closed down, plus two others, making 19 now operating. No new nuclear power stations have come on-line since 1993, and proposals for four new reactors have been deferred. However there is a programme of refurbishing existing stations to extend their lives and so far seven reactors have been refurbished and reopened, with predicted closing dates of up to 2037.
Mexico
Operates two 800MW Boiling Water reactors, at one site, which came on-line in 1989 and 1994. They produce about 4% of Mexico’s electricity. There were very ambitious government plans for building up to 10 new nuclear reactors, but these were watered down so that the 2012 energy policy only called for two new nuclear reactors both at the existing site, as a first step towards expanding nuclear capacity.
Argentina
First commercial reactor started operating in 1974. It currently has three operational reactors that produce about 4-10% of its electricity. The Embalse Nuclear Power Station is a 600MWh Canadian “Candu 6” reactor, and the Atucha 1 plant, a 335MWh Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) German design. In 2001, the plant was modified to burn Slightly Enriched Uranium, making it the first PHWR reactor to burn that fuel worldwide. Atucha was planned to be a complex with various reactors. Atucha 2, similar to Atucha1 but generating 692MWh, began produce energy in June 2014 and is expected to produce 745MWh. Plans for an Atucha III were announced in 2011.
Argentina also has some other research reactors, and exports nuclear technology. Nucleoeléctrica of Argentina and are negotiating over the contracts and project delivery model for a new 740MWe Candunuclear power plant.