New Nukes
The state-owned Chinese nuclear group that is in talks to invest in Britain’s new nuclear programme wants greater operational control of any new plants it finances, potentially creating a national security headache for the government. China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN), is in talks with EDF of France on sharing the cost of building a new plant at Hinkley Point, Somerset, which has an estimated price tag of £14bn. But CGN has made it clear to EDF that it will only proceed if it is given more of a say in running other plants the two companies build together in the UK, according to people familiar with the talks. Given the sensitivities surrounding nuclear power, the idea of allowing a Chinese state-backed company to take an operational role in a nuclear power station could raise a welter of national security concerns. Chinese investment in UK energy and infrastructure is growing. Last year, China’s main sovereign wealth fund bought a stake in Thames Water, while Sinopec bought a 49 per cent stake in Canada-listed Talisman’s UK North Sea business for $1.5bn. Meanwhile Cnooc’s $18bn acquisition of Nexen, another Canadian group, gave it stakes in giant North Sea oilfields such as Buzzard. China is becoming a major force in nuclear power with 17 reactors in operation and 28 under construction. Its nuclear companies are also increasingly looking to expand abroad.
FT 1st Sept 2013 read more »
Japan
Radiation surrounding Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant has increased 18 fold following a report last month that radioactive water had leaked into the ground around the plant, which was badly damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Tokyo Electric Power Co., which owns the Dai-Ichi Fukushima plant, reports that radiation around the site is at 1,800 millisieverts per hour, a level that Reuters says is “enough to kill an exposed person in four hours.”
NPR 1st Sept 2013 read more »
FT 1st Sept 2013 read more »
Guardian 1st Sept 2013 read more »
New York Times 31st Aug 2013 read more »
Renewables
Stanford University energy expert Tony Seba predicts that by 2030, solar power will make the fossil fuel-based utilities redundant while electric vehicles will put the oil companies out of business. “Utilities as we know them are over. They are the land line telephone companies of 20, 30 years ago”, he says in an interview with Giles Parkinson, founder and editor of the path-breaking Australian website RenewEconomy.
Energy Post 27th Aug 2013 read more »
