CND Press Roundup Thursday 5th May 2022

War In Ukraine

• CND’s Carol Turner has a blog post for Labour Outlook on the return of US nuclear weapons to Lakenheath: “The prospect of a nuclear war in Europe and beyond is closer than it’s been for decades. US nuclear weapons in Britain puts us all on the front line. Not surprising perhaps, CND is ahead of the parliamentary pack, keeping the public updated as more information comes to light.”

• The Irish government has condemned a video clip from a recent programme on Russian TV – which suggested the British Isles could be drowned in a sea of radioactive water caused by the detonation of an underwater nuclear weapon. While Ireland was not mentioned by name by the presenter, it did appear on graphics of the simulation beside Britain. Ireland’s Taoiseach Micheal Martin branded the video “sinister” and has asked for an apology from the Kremlin. The Russian embassy in Dublin said in a statement: “The views and presentations in the TV show are that of the editors. The official position of Russia has always been that there can be no winners in a nuclear war and that it must never be unleashed.”

• Reuters looks at the war in Ukraine’s impact on discussions in European capitals on using nuclear energy as a panacea to reliance on fossil fuels. It notes critics who “point to the fact that nuclear energy may be carbon-free. But the extraction, processing and transportation of uranium produces emissions ‒ as does building and dismantling plants, and storing waste. Decommissioning nuclear plants, and the subsequent clean up, also considerably adds to their overall costs.”

• The Telegraph continues with its obsession of stories related to nuclear bunkers (this was from a few days ago) – with one journalist taking a tour of a Finnish underground facility – as Helsinki looks set to apply for NATO membership. Located 25 metres below ground, the bunker comes equipped with a sports centre and a soft play area for children.

• Politico reports on the EU’s mulling of a ban on uranium exports from Russia as part of the ratcheting up of sanctions against Moscow. It says such a move “could hit the supply of uranium that fuels the bloc’s Russian-built power reactors, as well as new nuclear projects managed by Russia’s Rosatom Western Europe subsidiary, based in Paris.”

UK Nuclear Energy

• Further delays and cost—overruns are expected to be announced at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant project, according to a statement from its owners, EDF. The French state-run nuclear company said a litany of factors including “Covid, Brexit, lower civil productivity, the Ukrainian conflict and supply chain disruption” had all contributed to a decision to conduct a review of the costs and scheduling. It will be completed over the coming weeks. Since getting the green-light in 2016, the cost of the project has ballooned from an estimated £18 billion to between £22 and 23 billion with no end in sight.

• Nuclear Free Local Authorities has made an official complaint about comments made about the Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk by Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng. NFLA are accusing Kwarteng of misconduct, after he told the BBC’s Today programme that the government would pledge to cover 20% of the plant’s costs – despite the project not yet receiving a final planning decision. Kwarteng is expected to make the decision by May 25th. Chair of the NFLA Steering Committee, Councillor David Blackburn, said government guidance meant ministers should “avoid expressing views on the merits of a proposed scheme which is (or is likely to be) the subject of an application, in a way that might be, or might be perceived to be, prejudicial to the eventual determination of such an application.”

• Bloomberg has some coverage on the UK government’s new love affair with nuclear energy – interviewing energy minister Greg Hands. “We want the UK nuclear industry in a fantastic renaissance, to be able to avail itself of a variety of developers and financiers,” Hands said. Bloomberg notes that financing is by far the biggest hurdle for new nuclear projects at a time when it has to compete for investor capital with genuine renewables that provide a faster return. But Hands extols the virtues of its new regulated asset base (RAB) funding model: “Traditionally, the problem with nuclear has always been that you put a lot of money in, and you don’t get any return for at least 10 years. In the RAB model, you allow the investor to get a return from really the point at which construction starts rather than the point at which electricity is connected.”

Iran Nuclear Deal

• A rise in the price of oil has given Iran some breathing room in regards to its negotiations on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, officials have told Reuters. “Our nuclear programme is advancing as planned and time is on our side. If the talks fail it will not be the end of the world,” one senior Iranian official said. However, some analysts say Tehran is overestimating its position in the longer term. Henry Rome, Iran analyst at consultancy group Eurasia, said: “Iranian leaders probably consider stronger domestic economic performance, limited US enforcement of oil sanctions and broader Western distraction given the Ukraine war as reasons not to be desperate to secure a deal. Although, they likely remain open to a deal at the right price.”

• Meanwhile, the US State Department said it was preparing for two eventualities – where there is a mutual return to compliance with the nuclear deal, and one where there isn’t. “A mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA is very much an uncertain proposition, we are now preparing equally for either scenario,” Department spokesperson Ned Price told a press conference on Wednesday.