 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Britain announces new nuclear sites, plans shake-up
London (AFP) Nov 9, 2009 Britain's government named 10 sites where new nuclear power stations could be built Monday, while unveiling changes to planning rules aimed at speeding up approval for energy projects. Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said the move would help secure a new generation of low carbon energy for British homes in coming decades, as part of the fight against climate change. The 10 nuclear sites -- many of which are near existing nuclear facilities -- include three in Cumbria, northwest England, near the Sellafield reprocessing plant. A potential site in Dungeness, southeast England, was ruled out because of the possible impact on the local ecosystem, which is noted for its birdlife and bleak beauty. The new planning rules, which cover nuclear plants as well as renewable energy and fossil fuels, have raised fears that they could stifle the voice of local protestors opposed to new developments. But Miliband played down this concern, saying the current system was a "barrier" to progress. "The threat of climate change means we need to make a transition from a system that relies heavily on high carbon fossil fuels to a radically different system that includes nuclear, renewable and clean coal power," he said. "The current planning system is a barrier to this shift... that is why we are undertaking fundamental reform of the planning system which will result in a more efficient, transparent and accessible process." Miliband also said no new coal fuelled power stations would be allowed to be built without carbon capture and storage. Last year, the government decided to go ahead with a new generation of nuclear plants to replace Britain's ageing nuclear infrastructure, most of which will be decommissioned by 2023. Ministers hope the first of a new generation of stations can come on stream as early as 2017. In response to the announcement, Conservative energy spokesman Greg Clark accused the government of a "last minute scramble" to act after 12 years of procrastination in the face of looming energy shortages. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Toshiba, GE bid for French nuclear unit: ArevaParis (AFP) Nov 9, 2009 Japanese high tech giant Toshiba and US conglomerate General Electric are bidding for a unit of Areva, the French nuclear power firm, Areva said Monday of a deal that according to press reports could be worth up to nearly 7.5 billion dollars. A third offer for Areva's Transmission and Distribution unit is a joint bid by French engineering groups Alstom and Schneider Electric. ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook