Hinkley
EDF and its Chinese partners are on the brink of a deal to build the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant and are preparing to sign a heads of terms agreement during next week’s visit by Chinese president Xi Jinping. Although the deal is not yet done, with negotiations expected to go to the wire, sources say they are optimistic they will be ready to unveil a major pact that will make clear the first new UK nuclear plant in a generation will go ahead. Such an agreement would, however, stop short of a final investment decision on the £24.5 billion plant, which would be subject to further formalities and be expected to follow in coming months. The French and Chinese companies are understood to be working on a five-pronged agreement setting out the terms of their cooperation on Hinkley; on a second EDF-led plant at Sizewell; on a Chinese-led plant at Bradwell in Essex; on cooperating to get Chinese reactor technology approved for use in the UK; and on projects elsewhere in the world. The key issue thought still to be outstanding is the precise size of the stake in Hinkley to be taken by the Chinese state nuclear groups, China National Nuclear Corporation and the China General Nuclear Power Group.
Telegraph 14th Oct 2015 read more »
Britain’s first new nuclear power station for 20 years, in Somerset, will waste billions of pounds without solving the country’s energy needs, a new report claims. A report by anti-nuclear campaigners Together Against Sizewell C (TASC) says new plants like Hinkley – the biggest single building project in the Westcountry’s history – are unnecessary. Pete Wilkinson, chairman of TASC says the Government has a legal obligation to justify its “increasingly bizarre and incomprehensible obsession with nuclear power”. TASC is threatening to take legal action if the Government fails to review its national policy statements for energy. Using data from the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) the TASC study says every alternative to nuclear would “without exception” be an improvement, costing less, preventing power cuts, causing less pollution and meeting emissions targets. Local campaign Stop Hinkley welcomed publication. Spokesman Roy Pumfrey added: “There are plenty of ways of providing our energy needs which are cheaper than any Government scenario for energy involving nuclear power. “The total savings to the UK economy of going for much more energy saving instead could be very large indeed and more successfully reduce greenhouse gases and provide energy security. “Nuclear power only hampers the achievement of these objectives.”
Western Morning News 14th Oct 2015 read more »
Stop Hinkley Press Release 14th Oct 2015 read more »
Theo Simon of Stop Hinkley Campaign lists some of the scandals surrounding Osborne’s nuclear white elephant – the Honkley C nuclear power station which EDF have still not committed to build.
Theo Simon 14th Oct 2015 read more »
New Nukes
On the face of it, the UK’s policy to pursue nuclear power at all costs, while destroying the renewable energy sector, is totally illogical, write Philip Johnstone & Andy Stirling. But then it may make perfect sense – if only you accept that it’s really all about maintaining the country’s role as a nuclear weapons state for generations to come. And the ‘deep state’ has a way of getting its way.
Ecologist 14th Oct 2015 read more »
Dounreay
DOUNREAY has announced its new supercompactor has crushed its 1000th drum of low level waste since the plant’s re-start in July. Located at the Waste Receipt Assay Characterisation and Supercompaction facility (WRACS) the plant broke down in July 2011 when a stress fracture in one of the main support columns in the supercompactor occurred. Procuring and installing a replacement supercompactor took longer than DSRL initially predicted and resulted in a backlog of over 16,000 drums of waste. However with the facility fully operational, the backlog is expected to be completed by summer 2016. The WRACS facility receives 200 litre drums of solid low level waste. The contents of each drum are checked and the drum assayed prior to it being crushed by the supercompactor. The crushed drums known as pucks are then placed into half height ISO containers ready for grouting and disposal in the low level waste vault.
John O Groat Journal 13th Oct 2015 read more »
WORKERS decommissioning the Dounreay nuclear site feel undermined, undervalued and are deeply concerned about health and safety, claiming managers give higher priority to hitting targets than their duty of care. The GMB union is now seeking an urgent meeting with the Scottish Government to discuss the findings of a survey of its members at the Caithness plant. The survey revealed concerns over a perceived lack of control shown through recent safety incidents. The union said one worker had summed up the feelings of many with the statement: “How many fires, people getting hurt, improvement notices, environmental non-compliance, main entrance barriers getting damaged, stress cases and bullies, fuel/oil spills and missed equipment does it take…” The high turnover of senior management; low levels of staff morale; high sickness levels, and th e poor value to the taxpayer of the decommissioning programme, have also been highlighted in the survey. In addition the workers’ sense of alienation was exacerbated by discontent over pay issues and bonuses.
Herald 15th Oct 2015 read more »
Moorside
West Cumbrian Radiation Free Lakelanders had a stall at last saturday’s beautiful setting of the Wasdale Show. There was lots of interest in the Stop Moorside petition which has now been signed by over 8300 people. There was also huge interest in the ongoing Resistance to the insanity of making Cumbria an ever expanding and increasingly dangerous “Nuclear Heartland.” “Nuclear Heartland” is how Cumbria is being promoted by the nuclear mafia made up of multinational companies who hide their nuclear interests. Companies such as Toshiba and Engie (GDF Suez) who are greenwashing their nuclear agenda with increasingly cynical bribes of “Green Grants”
Radiation Free Lakeland 14th Oct 2015 read more »
Sellafield
A new three-step method for treating nuclear waste could speed up decommissioning of the Sellafield nuclear site and help save hundreds of millions of pounds. Developed by a team led by Sellafield Ltd and the National Nuclear Laboratory, the method focuses on the so called intermediate-level waste, the type of waste which requires shielding but doesn’t need to be cooled. Intermediate-level waste, usually including resins, chemical sludge and metal nuclear fuel cladding, has previously been treated in a 22-step mechanical and encapsulation process developed about 50 years ago. The new simpler technique was developed after a major advancement in the understanding of the long-term behaviour of the waste.
Engineering & Technology 14th Oct 2015 read more »
Cumbria
The drive to make Cumbria a centre of nuclear excellence is set to be ramped up in the coming months, delegates at the n-eboc ‘15 conference heard yesterday. Paul Howarth, managing director of NNL, has been brought in to chair the Centre of Nuclear Excellence (CoNE) group, a collective of public and private sector organisations, and he is promising to take it to the next level. During the Nuclear Energy Business Opportunities Conference in Lillyhall, Mr Howarth told in-Cumbria that his aim is to make sure Cumbria is seen nationally and globally as the go-to place for nuclear expertise. For the past couple of years the CoNE group – which includes Sellafield, NuGen, Allerdale and Copeland District Councils – has regularly met with the aim of putting Cumbria at the heart of nuclear expertise. They hope to attract inward investment and ensure that all businesses connected with nuclear in the area thrive. The group will also help identify what infrastructure should be put in place, such as new roads, to help Cumbria’s nuclear sector thrive.
inCumbria 14th Oct 2015 read more »
Politics
Former Greenpeace deputy political director Joss Garman will leave his current role with left-leaning think tank IPPR where he currently serves as associate director for energy, transport and climate change. Prior to joining IPPR Garman campaigned on behalf of Greenpeace for seven years, during which time he contributed opinion pieces to publications including the Guardian, the Independent and political and environmentalist blogs. Garman’s appointment is expected to drive forward the policy points outlined by Nandy in her first high profile address as shadow energy leader at the Labour Party conference two weeks ago.
Utility Week 13th Oct 2015 read more »
Plutonium
The UK government is expected to provide more direction in the coming months on its preferred solutions to recycle the world’s largest civil plutonium stockpile as third and fourth generation reactor technologies compete to re-use some 140 metric tons of separated material, industry experts told Nuclear Energy Insider. The UK government is deciding whether to re-use or dispose of the world’s largest stockpile of used civil plutonium stocks, located at the Sellafield reprocessing and waste facility in Northwest England. The stocks are currently estimated at around 130 metric tons and are expected to rise to 140 metric tons when reprocessing operations are completed. The U.K.’s specific plutonium stockpile challenge has presented developers with specific opportunities to deploy third and fourth reactor technologies, overseen by a government which has firmly backed the widespread construction of new nuclear capacity. The government would prefer to re-use the plutonium rather than dispose of it, and it has labelled Areva’s CONVERT plan as the “preferred option.”
Nuclear Energy Insider 8th Oct 2015 read more »
Carbon Pricing
French owned energy firm EDF on Tuesday urged the adoption of a carbon price floor in the run-up to a climate warming conference in Paris, backing a government proposal to that effect for the sector in France.
Energy Daily 13th Oct 2015 read more »
Electricity Supplies
The UK National Grid is expected to confirm today (15 Oct) that Britain will face the highest risk of blackouts in almost a decade this winter, with the amount of ‘spare’ electricity expected to fall to just 1.2% – if temperatures plunge as forecast. Last night, Tanuja Randery, President UK & Ireland, Schneider Electric – the energy management and automation supplier – warned: “The electricity supply over demand margin is at its tightest during the coldest hours of winter. It is the management of energy during these critical winter hours that will determine if the UK is plunged into darkness.
Scottish Energy News 15th Oct 2015 read more »
Chernobyl
An inspirational woman born with missing limbs due to radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster has told how she’s defied the odds. Tatsiana Khvitsko has gone on to become a half marathon runner and body builder despite being born disabled and abandoned-at-birth. The 24-year-old, from Belarus, had a rough start in life after her parents sent her to an orphanage shortly after she was born.
Mirror 14th Oct 2015 read more »
Japan – reactor restarts
Japan on Thursday restarted a second nuclear reactor after a shutdown triggered by the 2011 Fukushima crisis, as the government pushes to return to a cheaper energy source despite widespread public opposition. Utility Kyushu Electric Power said it restarted the number-two reactor at Sendai, about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) southwest of Tokyo at 10.30am (0130 GMT). The same power plant’s number-one reactor was restarted in August, ending a two-year nuclear power hiatus. Campaign group Greenpeace criticised “the Abe government’s disregard for public safety,” and argued that Japan has demonstrated that it does not need nuclear power. “Nuclear energy will not make any significant contribution to Japan’s energy mix – not now or in the foreseeable future,” said Mamoru Sekiguchi, energy campaigner at Greenpeace Japan. “Rather than risking the safety of Japanese citizens for a dangerous and outdated energy source, the Japanese government should be creating policies that support the transition to safe, clean renewable energy,” he said.
Guardian 15th Oct 2015 read more »
Germany
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet approved a draft law on Wednesday which ensures that utility companies remain liable for costs associated with the shutdown of the country’s nuclear power plants. The legislation closes a legal loophole, preventing firms from evading decommissioning costs by spinning off their nuclear assets. Under current laws, German energy companies are only liable for five years for units they have spun off.
Reuters 14th Oct 2015 read more »
Deutsche Welle 14th Oct 2015 read more »
To stand in the Black Forest in the south-west of Germany and watch 100m-diameter wind turbines turning on wooded ridges is to see the Energiewende in action. Germany’s effort to produce up to 95 per cent of its energy needs with renewables such as wind and solar by 2050 is under way. It is partly working. The good part is on display in Baden-Wurttemberg, a prosperous state that is home to companies such as Mercedes-Benz, Robert Bosch and SAP. Here, a new Mittelstand of small and medium-sized enterprises has sprung up around renewables that last year accounted for 26 per cent of Germany’s power generation. Nearly half of this was produced by farmers and co-operatives that operate wind and solar farms. The other part is to be found in the former East Germany and the Rhineland, w here lignite mines produce the “brown coal” that generates nearly as much electricity as wind and solar. Germany’s reliance on lignite and coal as it phases out nuclear power stations undermines one of the project’s main aims – to reduce greenhouse emissions. Instead, despite the surge in renewable energy, these emissions are rising.
FT 14th Oct 2015 read more »
US
The chain reactor operator Entergy has announced it will close the Pilgrim nuke south of Boston. The shut-down will bring U.S. reactor fleet to 98, though numerous other reactors are likely to face abandonment in the coming months. But Entergy says it may not take Pilgrim down until June 1, 2019—nearly four years away. Entergy is also poised to shut the FitzPatrick reactor in New York. It promises an announcement by the end of this month.
Ecowatch 14th Oct 2015 read more »
Sweden
German utility Eon has decided that units 1 and 2 of the Oskarshamn nuclear power plant in Sweden will be shut down permanently. Unit 3 is unaffected by the decision, which was announced today by OKG AB, of which the EOn group is the major shareholder.
World Nuclear News 14th Oct 2015 read more »
Reuters 14th Oct 2015 read more »
Egypt
Russia’s state-owned nuclear firm Rosatom is in final stages of talks for a contract to build a nuclear power station in Egypt, a senior official of the company said on Wednesday.
Reuters 14th Oct 2015 read more »
Disarmament
Maria Eagle: Nuclear disarmament: I’m not ruling it out.
New Statesman 14th Oct 2015 read more »
Renewable Subsidies
British taxpayers will no longer have to fund renewable energy by the mid-2020s, according to a senior official, in the latest sign of the government’s determination to scale back on green subsidies. Stephen Lovegrove, the lead civil servant at the Department of Energy and Climate Change, told a conference in London on Tuesday that he expected the UK to be largely free of renewables subsidies in 10 years’ time. “By the mid-2020s, we would like to see the government retreat as much as is possible from [renewables] subsidies,” Mr Lovegrove told the energy security conference, which was organised by the Center on Global Energy Policy. “The current administration is aiming to be more discriminating about the types of low-carbon technology it wishes to support. There is a cost being imposed on consumers which distorts the UK’s competitiveness an d the pound in people’s pockets when they get home.”
FT 14th Oct 2015 read more »
Renewable Financing
The future of crowdfunding for renewables projects has been thrown into question after a prominent business closed its door to new green energy loans following cutbacks in government support for the sector. Julia Groves, chair of the UK Crowd Funding Association, has left her role as chief executive of Trillion Fund after it ceased its main activity as a crowdfunding and lending platform for renewables businesses last month. Trillion, which says it now plans to offer crowdfunding services in other sectors, is the latest business affected by policy moves that included the scrapping of a climate change tax exemption and a decision to end subsidies for onshore wind power. This month, two UK green energy companies went into administration, with their failures being widely blamed on government policy.
FT 14th Oct 2015 read more »
Renewables – solar
Letter: Gregory Barker, the former energy minister, offers some advice to Amber Rudd, the new energy secretary. I was the minister who slashed the tariffs for solar photovoltaics in 2011. So with the government cutting tariffs again, you might expect me to be taking the latest screams from solar businesses with a pinch of salt. But I am not. The current proposals are catastrophic. Instead there needs to be a clear vision and sense of ambition radiating from the top. Amber Rudd, the energy and climate change secretary, has impressed many with her grip but somehow the impression has been allowed to take hold that the government has had a change of heart on renewables. I do not believe that to be the case but a clear message of intent to support the clean energy revolution needs to be sent out. Rather than stretch the subsidy out to 2020, it should end subsidies for solar altogether by 2018 and replace subsidy with net metering. This needs to be coupled with a new government scheme to support batteries in homes for use with solar panels, utilising unspent money from the DECC’s innovation budget. These measures, taken together, could propel Britain to the forefront of global growth in decentralised energy. They would empower consumers, break the grip of the “Big Six” and unleash massive investment.
Times 15th Oct 2015 read more »
One of Britain’s leading solar entrepreneurs is set to announce that his business has gone into liquidation, in the third high-profile casualty for the sector this month. Howard Johns, the former chairman of the Solar Trade Association and a government adviser on renewable energy, is expected to blame the collapse of Southern Solar on the government for failing to support the industry properly. Earlier this month the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) denied that proposed cuts of 87% in solar subsidy levels have tipped solar companies into crisis.
Guardian 14th Oct 2015 read more »
Renewables – Hydro
Scottish hydro specialists Green Highland Renewables has commissioned a 750kW hydro scheme at Allt Choire a’ Bhalachain on the south side of Loch Garry – the firm’s 15th completed project in the Highlands. The switch-on of the £3 million scheme means the company has now delivered more than 10MW of completed hydro developments – providing enough energy to power around 8,000 homes.
Scottish Energy News 15th Oct 2015 read more »
Renewable Heat
The largest renewables trade body in the UK has highlighted the conclusions of a new report by think tank Policy Connect on the supply of low carbon heat in the UK. Both groups warn that much greater action is needed by the government to promote the decarbonisation of the heat sector. The report concludes that at present, the country is on track to fall short of its low carbon heat targets. The Policy for Heat- Transforming the System report and the Renewable Energy Association (REA) have called for an extension of the government’s renewable heat incentive (RHI). This is identified as the best tool to support this transition.
Scottish Energy News 15th Oct 2015 read more »
Fossil Fuels
A new survey shows that public support for the extraction and use of shale gas has dropped over the last year with concerns about the potential impact on the environment beginning to outweigh the economic benefits.
Scottish Energy News 15th Oct 2015 read more »
