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news & information about the UK nuclear industry

News May 2019

Climate

Scotland faces numerous catastrophic impacts from the climate crisis which could leave the country with polluted waters, abandoned villages, dying forests and few remaining birds, the head of the country’s environment agency is to warn. Outlining the apocalyptic scenario the country could face within the next decade, Francesca Osowska, head of Scottish Natural Heritage, will call for urgent action to tackle the environmental degradation already taking a heavy toll on Scotland. Some of the biggest impacts include enormous wildfires which burned across swathes of the country in April and May, with one in Moray described as one of the largest wildfires seen in the UK in recent years.

Independent 30th May 2019 read more »

The record-breaking 2018 summer heatwave in Japan in which more than 1,000 people died “could not have happened without human-induced global warming”, a study finds.

Carbon Brief 30th May 2019 read more »

Hinkley A

A key part of decommissioning the Magnox sites is dealing with radioactive waste. At Hinkley Point A Site, and other Magnox sites, a proportion of the waste that needs to be managed is called intermediate level waste (ILW). This ILW needs to be packaged and stored in Interim Storage Facilities (ISFs), before its eventual disposal at a national Geological Disposal Facility (GDF). The work followers several years of discussion and engagement with local stakeholders around the country about Magnox’s waste strategies across all our sites. Several public drop-in sessions will be held to allow you to find out more – the details of which are below.

Magnox Ltd 28th May 2019 read more »

Bridgwater residents only have a few days to have their say on proposals to transport nuclear waste through their town. Magnox Ltd currently operates the Hinkley Point A site near Stogursey, which includes a small area where nuclear waste is stored before being moved elsewhere for processing. The company has applied to Somerset County Council for permission to store waste from other nuclear power stations at the Hinkley site – which would involve moving it through Bridgwater on agreed routes. It is staging four drop-in sessions in June where residents of Bridgwater and the surrounding villages can have their say on the plans before county councillors make a final decision. Magnox’s proposals relate to “intermediate-level waste”, which includes cladding around nuclear fuel and materials which have become contaminated in the process of decommissioning a nuclear reactor.

Somerset Live 29th May 2019 read more »

Hinkley C

Why the world’s largest crane is in Bristol A crane strong enough to lift 32 single-storey houses in one go has been shipped to Bristol Port. The world’s largest crane is on a journey to Hinkley Point, where it will undertake all the heaviest lifts required to construct the nuclear power station. The SGC-250 crane was built last year in Belgium by heavy lift equipment business Sarens and was divided into parts and shipped to Avonmouth Dock from Ghent. It will be stored at the port until it makes the short onward journey to the construction site in Somerset.

Bristol Post 29th May 2019 read more »

Dounreay

A DECISION on the future of Caithness Horizons museum and gallery in Thurso will be made by Highland Council today. The facility closed in February this year after encountering financial problems but since then discussions have been taking place to try and find a way of getting it reopened in time for the summer season. At a meeting in Inverness today, councillors will be urged to back a phased funding package of over £200,000 to carry out vital works which would allow Horizons to open its doors to the public again after months of uncertainty. The day-to-day running of the building would be taken over by High Life Highland. Councillor Struan Mackie, Thurso and Northwest Caithness, backs the plan and is urging his colleagues to do the same. Under the proposal, £77,000 would be spent on the building this year with a further £127,000 in 2020. The work – mostly health and safety related –is required by the board of High Life Highland. Councillor Mackie said: “Caithness Horizons is a vital part of our tourism offering, not just in west Caithness but across the far north. “The tourist season is ramping up with more and more people travelling to the county. The street signs are still up, many internet sites still point visitors towards the museum, and too many visitors have already left the town disappointed. We have to act.” He points out that one of the key funders, Dounreay Site Restoration Limited, has “gone above and beyond the call of duty” in providing revenue support of £75,000 for the next three years but on condition the council matches such funding.

John O Groat Journal 29th May 2019 read more »

Sellafield

THE leader of Allerdale council has pledged to investigate claims of a “nuclear laundry” operating on a Workington industrial estate. Radiation Free Lakeland has alleged that the Energy Coast Laundry at Lillyhall has been operating without having gone through proper planning scrutiny. But bosses who run the laundry have insisted that they deal only with “none active” basic clothing worn by Sellafield workers and contractors – and that stringent safety procedures are in place.

Carlisle News & Star 30th May 2019 read more »

Nuclear Waste

New councillors appointed to Copeland council’s nuclear panel will receive their first briefing early next month. The Strategic Nuclear Energy team is one of the authority’s most important committees, working with the Government and companies including Sellafield. The first meeting since borough council elections will be held on Tuesday, June 4 and will see members given an overview of the roles and responsibilities of the committee. Members will be discussing some huge issues in the coming months including the Government’s search for a host community for a nuclear waste store.

In Cumbria 29th May 2019 read more »

Energy Costs

UK power prices turn negative for nine hours, balancing costs spike during ‘extraordinary’ weekend. Unusually low demand, some 2GW below forecasts, combined with high wind generation to send prices spiralling, and National Grid was even forced into instructing onshore and offshore wind farms to turn down their generation. Between the hours of 12:00pm and 9:00pm on Sunday 26 May, the UK endured an extended period of negative pricing, with wholesale power prices falling to as low as -£71.26/MWh.

Current News 28th May 2019 read more »

Electricity generated by onshore wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies will in the next year be consistently cheaper than from any fossil fuel source, a report showed on Wednesday, boosting the case for energy sources that don’t emit carbon. The trend for cut-price renewable energy is already set but the report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) gives fresh evidence of the speed of the decline, driven by increased production runs and technology improvements. “Onshore wind and solar PV are set by 2020 to consistently offer a less expensive source of new electricity than the least-cost fossil-fuel alternative without financial assistance,” said IRENA, a government-backed body that aims to support countries in their transition to sustainable energy sources.

Reuters 29th May 2019 read more »

Taishan

A next-generation EPR nuclear reactor in China has carried out its first chain reaction, French energy giant EDF announced Wednesday, becoming the second using the much-delayed European technology to reach the milestone. The fission reaction at the Taishan 2 reactor on Tuesday follows the Taishan 1 becoming last year the first of its kind to advance to the operational stage.

Phys.org 29th May 2019 read more »

Daily Mail 29th May 2019 read more »

World Nuclear News 29th May 2019 read more »

US

Two nuclear power plants pressing Ohio lawmakers for bailouts may actually be among the most profitable single reactors in the U.S., according to a report sponsored by an oil and natural gas trade group. The costs of running FirstEnergy Solutions’s Davis Besse and Perry plants are almost 25% below the industry average for single-reactor sites, making them some of the best performers in the U.S., a report by Paul Sotkiewicz, former chief economist for the largest U.S. power grid operator, showed. The plants are averaging $28 million and $44 million a year in net profits, respectively, and out-of-market aid would only increase that, said Sotkiewicz, whose analysis was sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute

Bloomberg 28th May 2019 read more »

The Ohio House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday that could cost power consumers about $190 million per year to save the state’s two nuclear power reactors from early retirement.

Reuters 29th May 2019 read more »

Dallas To Cut Electricity Costs With New Renewable Energy Contract. The City of Dallas has entered into a new electricity contract with TXU Energy to power all city facilities with wind and solar energy for 10 years. The city will initially draw power and renewable energy credits from the Foard City Wind Farm in west Texas. TXU Energy has also agreed to source some or all the city’s power from future renewable energy assets developed in north Texas, if possible, at no additional charge. The contract also provides $1.5 million for energy-related projects and $300,000 for community programming.

Wind Power 28th May 2019 read more »

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