Nuclear power

Wednesday

James Lovelock

Why are we so afraid of nuclear power? (2021)

The scientist, environmentalist, futurist, inventor and creator of the Gaia hypothesis James Lovelock has died, aged 103. Last October, he wrote the following piece about the importance of nuclear power. May he rest in peace. The climate change summit in Glasgow will have one important part of the discussion missing: the role of nuclear power. It seems the government is in no mood for a discussion with the nuclear industry — every one of its applications to exhibit at the COP26 summit has been rejected. That’s a shame, because there are plenty of myths to be addressed. We could discuss the lessons from the plant at Fukushima, seriously harmed by a tsunami

Monday

Katy Balls

No. 10 prepares decades-long energy plan

The government’s delayed energy strategy is finally due to be released this week. The Prime Minister is due to unveil his plans on Thursday, which will supposedly ensure that the UK is self-reliant on energy supply after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Not that the proposals will lead to much change overnight. Instead, they are focussed on ensuring self-reliance in the long term – with many of the plans likely to take decades to come to fruition.  So, what’s on the agenda? Part of the reason the energy strategy has been delayed several times is a difference of opinion between the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, No. 10 and the Treasury. The Chancellor initially queried proposals for increased nuclear

Monday

Steerpike

Ed Davey’s nuclear U-turn

Sir Ed Davey has called on the government to ‘keep the British taxpayer out of’ the Sizewell C nuclear plant, arguing that a part nationalisation of the project would ‘be a total betrayal of taxpayers and cost every household in Britain a small fortune’. Ministers are reportedly considering plans to strip the Chinese state-owned energy firm CGN of its 20 per cent stake, bringing the costs onto the Exchequer’s books. Mr S is pleased to see the Liberal Democrat leader stand as a lone voice for fiscal prudence — particularly because he hasn’t always been opposed to cripplingly costly nuclear deals. Between 2012 and 2015, Davey served as secretary of

Sunday

Ian Williams

How Taishan almost became China’s Chernobyl

Days after a nuclear power plant began spewing deadly radiation, the ruling Communist party pushed ahead with a huge and self-indulgent celebration of the sort that had become a hallmark of its rule. This was no time for bad news, and the party delayed, dithered and hid the truth about the deadly events that were unfolding.  That was the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. Soviet leaders allowed Kiev’s International Workers’ Day celebrations to go ahead. The participants, meanwhile, were oblivious to events at the stricken reactor just 60 miles away. The images of those May Day celebrations have come to symbolise the party’s criminal dishonesty, and they were nearly echoed after