CND Press Roundup Friday 15th July 2022

War in Ukraine / NATO

• The Strategist explores if the war in Ukraine will lead to global nuclear proliferation. It concludes: “Ultimately, when nuclear weapons proliferate, the chances of inadvertent or accidental use tend to increase, managing potential nuclear crises becomes more complicated and establishing controls that may someday help to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in world politics becomes more difficult. In short, the greater the spread of supposedly defensive weapons, the higher the risks of blowing up the whole neighbourhood. The real lesson from Russia’s war in Ukraine is that we must reinforce the existing non-proliferation treaty and refrain from actions that erode it.

Trident

• Scottish CND Co Vice-Chair Isobel Lindsay has a comment in The National (behind paywall), calling for an independent Scotland to stick by its no nuke stance.

Nuclear Energy 

• The Telegraph has a commentary predicting that France’s full takeover of indebted nuclear provider, EDF, will prove a disaster for French President Emmanuel Macron – calling the nationalisation a populist move born from deep political crisis. Ben Marlow argues that the intervention will do little to improve the firm’s financial chances because the French state already owned 84 percent of EDF – and thus full ownership amounts to nothing more than an admission of failure. What this means for Britain’s drive to secure private investment for its own nuclear fleet, remains to be seen.

• Meanwhile, US Energy Secretary said wind and solar power “could be the greatest peace plan of all.” Speaking at the Sydney Energy Forum on Tuesday, Jennifer Granholm said the switch to cleaner energy sources meant no country could be “held hostage” over its access to solar and wind resources. “No country has ever been held hostage to access to the sun. No country has ever been held hostage to access to the wind. They have not ever been weaponised, nor will they be,” she said.

UK Nuclear Energy

• I missed this one from Sky News last week but it has an interesting article on the opportunities of harnessing tidal power in Britain. Citing water and engineering expert, Professor Roger Falconer, it compares the cost-benefit between nuclear and tidal energy: Prof Falconer said one [tidal] project in west Somerset would have a capacity of 2.5GW – almost as much as the Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor just up the coast. But whereas the reactor has cost £26bn to build so far, the tidal lagoon project would cost just £8.5bn. “Yet while the west Somerset lagoon would last for 120 years, a nuclear reactor will only last 60 years,” said Prof Falconer.” And then you have radioactive waste that needs to be managed for many centuries into the future.” He said governments are put off tidal energy by the upfront cost, but by using the same funding mechanisms that are used for even more expensive nuclear projects, the cost of electricity would be around £74 per megawatt-hour (MWh). By comparison, the price of electricity generated at Hinkley Point C was set at £92.50 per MWh in 2012, rising with inflation.”

• BBC News covers the latest construction work at Hinkley Point C – with the arrival of the first of two floating cranes which will lower the cooling system of the nuclear plant into place.
   
• The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s Annual Report and Accounts 2021 to 2022 is out. Read on gov.uk.

Fukushima

• Japan will have as many as nine nuclear reactors in operation this winter, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday, seeking to ensure stable power supplies during peak demand. With five reactors currently running, the additions would boost combined capacity from nuclear power to around 10 percent of the country’s electricity needs amid concerns of a power crunch this winter.

Iran Nuclear Deal

• The Conversation has an explainer on enriching uranium and why it is central to Iran’s nuclear ambitions – and how the 2015 nuclear deal put limits on these ambitions.

• The Times of Israel reports on comments by US President Joe Biden that he would use force to prevent Iran obtaining nuclear weapons – and a retort from Tehran that they “will not accept any insecurity or crisis in the region.” Speaking after Biden’s comments to Reuters, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said “Washington and its allies should know that any mistake will be met by a harsh and regrettable response from Iran.” Biden, who is on a tour of Middle East allies as part to shore up support – and oil supplies – also signed a joint pledge with Israeli PM Yair Lapid to deny Iran nuclear arms.