Blogposts tagged 'Edf'

No easy ride for EDF's plans for new nuclear

Posted by Richardg - 25 January 2012 at 12:34pm - 11 Comments
Greenpeace protesters at  EDF Evolutionary Power Reactor in France
All rights reserved. Credit: Pierre Gleizes/Greenpeace
Greenpeace protesters at EDF Evolutionary Power Reactor in France

Despite the growing shift of support away from nuclear energy in Europe, EDF is stubbornly pushing forward plans to build a new nuclear reactor in the UK, without sufficient consideration for all the relevant risks.

Government gave nuclear lobby group Greenpeace legal papers

Posted by Louise Hutchins - 6 December 2011 at 4:59pm - 0 Comments
Setting sun shines through nuclear protest flag with radioactive symbol
All rights reserved. Credit: Greenpeace / Philip Reynaers
Setting sun shines through nuclear protest flag with radioactive symbol

If further proof was needed of the unhealthy relationship between the Government and the nuclear industry then it can be found here in the release of a tranche of documents from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) that show they are working hand in glove to thwart our legal challenge to the decision to build a new generation of nuclear power stations.

EDF found guilty of spying on Greenpeace

Posted by Louise Hutchins - 10 November 2011 at 5:28pm - 5 Comments
edf logo and van
by. Credit: Greenpeace
EDF compiled dossiers on our activists in Britain

So it turns out we’re not paranoid then – the French courts today convicted EDF, the French nuclear giant of spying on our colleagues in the French Greenpeace office. They were hacking their computers, putting viruses into their networks and compiling dossiers of our activists here in Britain.

Nuclear companies in cash crisis?

Posted by jossc - 17 June 2009 at 10:43am - 0 Comments

A new report out today casts doubt on the ability of the nuclear industry to deliver its promised new reactors.

French companies EDF and Areva, who are at the forefront of the new worldwide reactor design and building programme, have been making serious investments in foreign markets where they hope to build new reactors, including here in the UK. As a consequence they are heavily in debt.

New nuclear sites: have your say

Posted by jossc - 1 May 2009 at 9:23am - 0 Comments

Proposed sites of new nuclear power stations
Proposed sites of new nuclear power stations. See below for key

Do you live in the vicinity of one of these 11 locations, which are being proposed as potential sites for new nuclear power stations? Happy about it? If not, then you've got less than three weeks to read and respond to the information provided by the companies bidding to develop each site as part of the government's 'consultation' process.

Not only that, but if you take the information contained in the 'have your say' guide on the  government's website, you'll run the risk of being seriously misled over issues as fundamental as how much  nuclear actually contributes to the UK's energy mix, and how and where the spent fuel will be disposed of.

Government knocks the wind out of renewables

Posted by nathan - 28 April 2009 at 4:07pm - 17 Comments

Two breaking stories neatly illustrate the flawed logic which still lurks at the heart of UK energy policy. First up is that German energy utility RWE's bid to build a new nuclear plant near Kirksanton in Cumbria will mean dismantling an existing wind farm on the site. While at the other end of the country, 600 workers at the Vestas Blades wind turbine factory on the Isle of Wight could be facing redundancy.

Quelle horreur – the plots thickens around the EDF scandal

Posted by nathan - 18 April 2009 at 3:42pm - 16 Comments

On Tuesday morning I received a call from my colleagues in Paris inviting me to pop over and see them as they had had some worrying news that they needed to share. So the next day, long before the sun was stirring and the local rooster was warming his vocals, I was on my way to St Pancras heading for a lunchtime appointment in 20th Arrondissement. It turns out that the French state owned energy company Electricité de France (EDF), who have allegedly been spying on Greenpeace since 2004, are more involved in the scandal than it initially appeared.

Meaningless French letters

Posted by niall - 14 April 2009 at 2:17pm - 0 Comments

Niall: taking the wind out of EdF's sails
Niall: taking the wind out of EdF's sails?

Fellow press officers Graham and James have already written about how they spend their days. I spend mine in a similar way. So now I've got to pad this piece out for another hundred words or so.

Which is pretty much the opposite of what I normally do.

Many of the campaigners here hold a wealth of knowledge and expertise in their tip-top brains. I then take their carefully considered words, which are based on scientific evidence, honed by years of expertise, and butcher it into a couple of sentences that a fourteen-year-old should understand. So, rather than padding out, I, erm, pad in.

But some people might already know that. Not because they've got a fine feeling for the life of a press officer, thanks to James and Graham. But because they're spying on us.

EDF caught spying on Greenpeace in France

Posted by jamie - 2 April 2009 at 3:16pm - 0 Comments

With echoes of that fantastic/horrifying nuclear thriller Edge Of Darkness (don't wait for the film, see the original TV series), energy giant EDF has been busted for spying on our colleagues at the Greenpeace in France.

Five people have been indicted by the French courts, including two EDF security executives, a computer expert and the head of a private investigation firm. The charge: attempting to hack into Greenpeace computer systems in France.

Scale back investment in wind, EDF and EON tell Miliband

Posted by jossc - 17 March 2009 at 2:54pm - 2 Comments

offshore wind at work

Prepare to be unsurprised. Very unsurprised. Those lovable energy giants EDF and E.ON have put their collective boots into government plans to generate 35 per cent of our electricity from renewable sources.

According to their submissions to the latest energy consultation, the figure is not only unrealistic but also damaging to alternative schemes such as nuclear plants. So damaging that, um, they may be forced to drop their plans to build a new generation of nuclear power plants in the UK unless the government scales back its targets for wind power.

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