New Nuclear

Road, rail and sea to be used for Sizewell C materials – and bypass could be temporary measure. The idea of making the route, including a bypass for Theberton, a temporary road is one of the options in the latest details revealed by EDF Energy in its Stage 4 consultation on the £14billion twin reactor project. The company is now seeking views on a new integrated strategy for delivery of construction materials, using sea for delivery of the largest components, mixed with road and rail. Some community leaders and campaigners see the link road from the A12 as a legacy for the area providing a quicker, direct route to Leiston.

East Anglian Daily Times 18th July 2019 read more »

RSPB has pledged to work with EDF to minimise the environmental impact of a new nuclear power station of the Suffolk coast – despite its concerns over the impact on a popular beauty spot.

East Anglian Daily Times 18th July 2019 read more »

Burnham-On-Sea charity benefits from £10k grant from Hinkley Community Fund. In Charley’s Memory (ICM), a counselling service for young people based in Burnham-On-Sea, is now coming to the end of the first year of funding from the Small Grants programme.

Burnham-on-sea.com 17th July 2019 read more »

Hinkley Point C in Somerset has reached its biggest milestone yet — the completion of the base for its first nuclear reactor, known as “J-zero” — paving the way for the start of the construction of the plant’s buildings above ground. The final 9,000m3 of concrete amounted to the largest concrete pour in the UK, beating the previous record set by the Shard in London. Reinforced with 5,000 tonnes of Welsh steel, the base has been under construction by the UK-French joint venture Bouygues-Laing O’Rourke for six months.

Machinery Market 17th July 2019 read more »

Sue Ferns, Prospect Union: The RAB model isn’t perfect, but it might be the only route to net zero. Nuclear urgently needs a new funding model to make net zero emissions possible.

Business Green 18th July 2019 read more »

The government could be about to add an extra charge onto all our electricity bills to pay for EDF’s proposed giant new nuclear power plant in Suffolk. We’d all be forced to pay this ‘Sizewell surcharge’ on our electricity bills, to help finance a private company’s building project. No one will get a choice whether to pay the charge or not — even if we choose to buy electricity from renewable suppliers. The government is about to publish its plan on this way of financing new nuclear power stations. That means if we create a huge storm now, we have a chance to force the government to listen to us — not EDF’s lobbyists — and back down. Tell the UK government to scrap its proposal to add extra costs on our electricity bills to pay for overpriced and outdated new nuclear.

Sumofus 17th July 2019 read more »

Andy Blowers asks what might happen at Bradwell if the East coast floods again as in 1953 in the BANNG Column for Regional Life July 2019. During the night of 31 January/1 February, 1953, in the moonlit dark, dead heart of winter, the Essex Coast was struck by a surging storm, flooding the creeks, overpowering the sea defences and leaving a trail of disruption, destruction and death in its wake. I recollect my own astonishment when walking to church that Sunday morning at the sight of the flooded factories of the Hythe at Colchester. I wonder what might happen to the low-lying lands around the Blackwater if such a storm surge occurs again and if, heaven forbid, a new nuclear power station had been built at the Bradwell site. What must be recognised is that, with global warming and rising seas, destructive storm surges, flooding and coastal erosion are quite likely events over the lifetime of a new nuclear plant on the vulnerable shores of Bradwell. In the circumstances it is difficult to conceive how the site can be considered potentially suitable now, let alone into the next century when decommissioning and radioactive waste management will become hazardous operations.

BANNG 12th July 2019 read more »

The government will set out plans to resuscitate the UK’s struggling nuclear ambitions with a new scheme which would leave taxpayers liable for rising costs or delays. The funding model, expected this week, could help bankroll the multibillion pound plans for a follow-on to EDF Energy’s Hinkley Point C project in Somerset, which ministers aim to build at the Sizewell site in Suffolk. It could also resurrect the dormant plans for a £16bn new nuclear reactor at the Wylfa project in North Wales, which fell apart last year due to the high costs of nuclear construction. Government officials are expected to reveal a new financial framework based on the model being used to finance the £4.2bn Thames Tideway tunnel. Under those plans, the government has allowed the super-sewer’s developers to charge customers upfront for the project, and agreed to cover cost overruns above 30% of the budget and step in as a lender if funding dries up. The nuclear plans are expected to be unveiled before parliament’s summer recess at the end of this week, alongside a long-awaited energy white paper. The policy roadmap will set out the government’s plans for the energy sector as the economy moves towards the UK’s target to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050. The industry is expected to have three months to respond to an official consultation before ministers decide whether to move ahead with the scheme. Senior nuclear industry sources have told government officials and investors that the proposed finance framework, known as a regulated asset base (RAB) model, could lead to lower costs for consumers.

Guardian 14th July 2019 read more »