Sizewell: good value for consumers' money?
Abstract For consumers, the overriding issues in electricity policy are always likely to be those which affect prices, both in the near future and over the longer term. It is therefore the ‘need and economics’ part of the overall case for Sizewell that consumers’ representatives chose to scrutinize. This paper argues that there are no compelling short-term reasons to start construction of Sizewell at the earliest possible time. Further, long-term considerations suggest that there are good reasons not to make an early commitment to the Westinghouse fourloop design of PWR, either for Sizewell or for subsequent orders.
NUCLEAR POWER IN THE US AND UK: THE ROLE OF SITING IN SAFETY PHILOSOPHY
Reactor safety has featured prominently in the nuclear debate in the US and UK throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s. Public acceptability of nuclear power will largely be related to the resolution of safety issues. In view of the proposal by the UK Central Electricity Generating Board to build PW Rs, this paper discusses the safety philosophies which have evolved in both countries. Whereas UK safety authorities have consistently advocated siting as a means to minimise the residual risks of nuclear generation, their UK counterparts consider siting to be only of marginal relevance as a safety measure. This is borne out from a cluster analysis of 109 sites using 12 demographic variables. A sixfold classification illustrates the predominance of remote sites in the US and high population density sites in the UK. A search for more remote, safer sites in the UK is advocated.
An assessment of the Impact of Devolution on Women Empowerment in Nakuru County
-Women have been grossly marginalized in organs of decision-making and governance structures. The Constitution of Kenya has sought to bridge this gap by providing both women and men the right to equal treatment, including the right to equal opportunities in political, economic, cultural and social spheres. However, gender equality has not been achieved and women are still lagging in terms of decision making processes. The main objective of the study was to detemine the impact of devolution on women empowerment in Nakuru County. The study found that substantive women representation, development of programs and accessibility of services had a positive effect on the women empowerment in Nakuru County. The study also found out that increased accessibility of Services by women influenced women empowerment, this study also concludes that the introduction of development programs had the greatest impact on women empowerment in Nakuru County. The study recommends that more programs targeting women should be introduced as these have the greatest impact on women empowerment. The findings may be used to make conclusions and recommendations.