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Author: Simon Taylor
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1906860726
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 256
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Book Description
The story of the rise, fall and second ascendancy of nuclear power in the United Kingdom. Britain was a pioneer in civil nuclear power and there were once high hopes in the 1950s that this could be a source of cheap electricity and a valuable export opportunity. In The Fall and Rise of Nuclear Power in Britain, Simon Taylor examines why these hopes were never realised, and how we have come to see a new rise in nuclear power in recent years. He traces the UK's nuclear energy history, from the optimism of the 1950s, through the disillusionment of the 1980s, to a new role for nuclear in the 21st century. The construction of Britain's first new nuclear power station in 20 years, Hinkley Point C, marks a major change of policy. Throughout this book, Taylor provides a comprehensive overview of energy policy, economics, politics and changing environmental priorities, keying into debates about the generation and sustainability of this controversial energy source. Will this new nuclear energy turn out to be a heroic story of UK leadership on a matter of global importance, or will it prove a hugely costly folly, as with British nuclear power in the past?
Author: Simon Taylor
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1906860726
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Get Book
Book Description
The story of the rise, fall and second ascendancy of nuclear power in the United Kingdom. Britain was a pioneer in civil nuclear power and there were once high hopes in the 1950s that this could be a source of cheap electricity and a valuable export opportunity. In The Fall and Rise of Nuclear Power in Britain, Simon Taylor examines why these hopes were never realised, and how we have come to see a new rise in nuclear power in recent years. He traces the UK's nuclear energy history, from the optimism of the 1950s, through the disillusionment of the 1980s, to a new role for nuclear in the 21st century. The construction of Britain's first new nuclear power station in 20 years, Hinkley Point C, marks a major change of policy. Throughout this book, Taylor provides a comprehensive overview of energy policy, economics, politics and changing environmental priorities, keying into debates about the generation and sustainability of this controversial energy source. Will this new nuclear energy turn out to be a heroic story of UK leadership on a matter of global importance, or will it prove a hugely costly folly, as with British nuclear power in the past?
Author: C. N. Hill
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 1908977434
Category : Electronic books
Languages : en
Pages : 366
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Book Description
Britain was the first country to exploit atomic energy on a large scale, and at its peak in the mid-1960s, it had generated more electricity from nuclear power than the rest of the world combined.The civil atomic energy programme grew out of the military programme which produced plutonium for atomic weapons. In 1956, Calder Hall power station was opened by the Queen. The very next year, one of the early Windscale reactors caught fire and the world''s first major nuclear accident occurred.The civil programme ran into further difficulty in the mid-1960s and as a consequence of procrastination in the decision-making process, the programme lost momentum and effectively died. No nuclear power stations have been built since Sizewell B in the late 1980s.This book presents a study of Government papers that have recently become available in the public domain. For the first time in history, the research reactor programme is presented in detail, along with a study of the decision-making by the Government, the Atomic Energy Authority (AEA), and the Central Electricity Board (CEGB). This book is aimed at both specialists in nuclear power and the interested public as a technical history on the development and ultimate failure of the British atomic energy programme.
Author: Jack Devanney
Publisher: Bookbaby
ISBN: 9781667854533
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 324
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Book Description
This book focuses on the Gordian knot of our time, the closely coupled problems of electricity poverty for billions of humans, and global warming for all humans. The central thesis of the book is that nuclear power is not only the only solution, it is a highly desirable solution, cheaper, safer, less intrusive on nature than all the alternatives. Just about everybody, including most pro-nuclear folks, accept the fact that nuclear electricity is inherently expensive. Nuclear power is not inherently expensive. It is inherently cheap. This book argues that conventional nuclear power should cost less than three cents per kilowatt hour. But nuclear power is expensive, prohibitively so in most parts of the planet. The reason why nuclear power is so expensive is a regulatory regime in which the regulator is mandated to increase costs to the point where nuclear power is at best barely economic. The operative buzzword is ALARA, As Low As Reasonably Achievable. In such a system, any technological improvement which should lower cost simply provides regulators with more room to drive costs up. This same regime does an excellent job of stifling competition and technological progress by erecting layers of barriers to entry. The goal is not just to make nuclear electricity as cheap as coal or gas fired electricity. The goal must be to keep pushing the cost of nuclear power down and down, allowing us to replace fossil fuels almost everywhere. Imagine what we could do with 2 cents per kWh power in electrifying transportation and producing carbon neutral synfuels. This can only be done in a harshly competitive environment. We must force the providers of nuclear power to compete with everybody. If nuclear power is to be allowed to cleave the Gordian knot of electricity poverty and global warming, then we must completely change the way we regulate nuclear electricity. This book makes the case for this change and outlines what the replacement system needs to look like. ~
Author: Great Britain: Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780101729628
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 192
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Book Description
The May 2007 White Paper "Meeting the energy challenge: a white paper on energy" (Cm. 7124, ISBN 9780101712422) set out the Government's international and domestic strategy to address the two main challenges: tackling climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions; and ensuring clean and affordable energy as the country becomes increasingly dependent on imported fuel. An online consultation on nuclear power and the role of the private sector: www.direct.gov.uk/nuclearpower2007 was produced at the same time. This White Paper sets out the Government's decision taken in response to the consultation. The Government believes it is in the public interest that new nuclear power stations should have a role to play in the country's future energy mix alongside other low-carbon sources; that energy companies should have the option of investing in them; and that the Government should take active steps to open up the way to the construction of new nuclear power stations. It will be for the energy companies to fund, develop and build the new stations, including meeting the full costs of decommissioning and their full share of waste management costs. Section 1 summarises the consultation process. Section 2 addresses the key issues that arose from the consultation and how they have been taken into account in shaping policy and reaching conclusions. Section 3 outlines the facilitative actions the Government will take to reduce the regulatory and planning risks associated with investing in new nuclear power stations. Finally there are three annexes: alternatives to nuclear power; justification and strategic siting assessment processes; regulatory and advisory structure for nuclear power.
Author: Veronica McDermott
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 348
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Book Description
"Energy crises and climate change have revived interest in the 'nuclear option' as the first decade of the twenty-first century edges towards an uncertain close. Going Nuclear is essential reading for anyone seeking co understand the origins and landmark developments of the nuclear age, why civil nuclear power became an iconic protest issue in the late twentieth century and the lessons we may draw from that as we confront the most serious environmental problems threatening our planet and human civilisation.
Author: Reinhard Haas
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3658259876
Category : Agriculture (General)
Languages : en
Pages : 385
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Book Description
This open access book discusses the eroding economics of nuclear power for electricity generation as well as technical, legal, and political acceptance issues. The use of nuclear power for electricity generation is still a heavily disputed issue. Aside from technical risks, safety issues, and the unsolved problem of nuclear waste disposal, the economic performance is currently a major barrier. In recent years, the costs have skyrocketed especially in the European countries and North America. At the same time, the costs of alternatives such as photovoltaics and wind power have significantly decreased. Contents History and Current Status of the World Nuclear Industry The Dramatic Decrease of the Economics of Nuclear Power Nuclear Policy in the EU The Legacy of Csernobyl and Fukushima Nuclear Waste and Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Plants Alternatives: Heading Towards Sustainable Electricity Systems Target Groups Researchers and students in the fields of political, economic and technical sciences Energy (policy) experts, nuclear energy experts and practitioners, economists, engineers, consultants, civil society organizations The Editors Prof. Dr. Reinhard Haas is University Professor of energy economics at the Institute of Energy Systems and Electric Drives at Technische Universität Wien, Austria. PD Dr. Lutz Mez is Associate Professor at the Department for Political and Social Sciences of Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. PD Dr. Amela Ajanovic is a senior researcher and lecturer at the Institute of Energy Systems and Electrical Drives at Technische Universität Wien, Austria.--
Author: David Edgerton
Publisher: Penguin Group
ISBN: 9780141975979
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Out of a liberal, capitalist, genuinely global power of a unique kind, there arose from the 1940s a distinct British nation. This nation was committed to internal change, making it much more like the great continental powers. From the 1970s it became bound up both with the European Union and with foreign capital in new ways. David Edgerton's fascinating perspective produces refreshed understanding of everything from the nature of British politics to the performance of British industry. Packed with surprising examples and arguments, The Rise and Fall of the British Nation gives us a grown-up, unsentimental history, one which is crucial at a moment of serious reconsideration for the country and its future.
Author: David Elliott
Publisher: Morgan & Claypool Publishers
ISBN: 1681745054
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 82
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Book Description
This book looks at the early history of nuclear power, at what happened next, and at its longer-term prospects. The main question is: can nuclear power overcome the problems that have emerged? It was once touted as the ultimate energy source, freeing mankind from reliance on dirty, expensive fossil energy. Sixty years on, nuclear only supplies around 11.5% of global energy and is being challenged by cheaper energy options. While the costs of renewable sources, like wind and solar, are falling rapidly, nuclear costs have remained stubbornly high. Its development has also been slowed by a range of other problems, including a spate of major accidents, security concerns and the as yet unresolved issue of what to do with the wastes that it produces. In response, a new generation of nuclear reactors is being developed, many of them actually revised versions of the ideas first looked at in the earlier phase. Will this new generation of reactors bring nuclear energy to the forefront of energy production in the future?
Author: Gordon Corera
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195375238
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 305
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Book Description
The riveting, inside story of the rise and fall of AQ Khan and his role in the devastating spread of nuclear technology over the last thirty years is told through this unique window into the challenges of stopping a new nuclear arms race.
Author: Jonathan Hogg
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000395162
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 171
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Book Description
This book explores aspects of the social and cultural history of nuclear Britain in the Cold War era (1945–1991) and contributes to a more multivalent exploration of the consequences of nuclear choices which are too often left unacknowledged by historians of post-war Britain. In the years after 1945, the British government mobilised money, scientific knowledge, people and military–industrial capacity to create both an independent nuclear deterrent and the generation of electricity through nuclear reactors. This expensive and vast ‘technopolitical’ project, mostly top-secret and run by small sub-committees within government, was central to broader Cold War strategy and policy. Recent attempts to map the resulting social and cultural history of these military–industrial policy decisions suggest that nuclear mobilisation had far-reaching consequences for British life. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Contemporary British History.
