Sellafield
Construction firms URS, Areva and Amec could be thrown-off the management of the £22bn nuclear-decommissioning programme at Sellafield in September, it emerged this week. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which oversees the management of Sellafield, confirmed that the Nuclear Management Partners (NMP) venture, which comprises URS, Areva and Amec, could be kicked-off the job in September when the programme is placed under review. The joint venture was appointed in 2009 on a 17-year contract, which is reviewed every five years. The result of the first review will be announced in September and will decide what happens at Sellafield from April 2014. The NDA can either continue with NMPs contract for another five years; run a fresh competition for a new parent body organisation; or bring management of the site in house. Speaking to the Financial Times this week, John Clarke, chief executive of the NDA, said there were “real disappointments” with the performance of NMP and he had expected the programme “to be further along than we are”. The management of Sellafield has also come in for criticism from the National Audit Office, which published a report in November 2012 that said “underperformance” on major projects at the site had caused £1bn of cost overruns.
Building 20th June 2013 read more »
Nuclear Subsidy
Will EDF get an inflation proofed deal for subsidies for Hinkley C? Renewable energy generators will be watching this closely. The EDF public relations team continues to pump out a lot of hopeful press briefings about prospects for Hinkley C. EDF spokespersons appear to hold out hope for concessions on this issue of inflation indexation. Representatives of the renewable energy industry will be (at least privately) hoping for a concession here as well, since it helps improve their position. Of course this goes for the vital issue of the level of ‘strike price’ that the Government will set, and that they have said will be announced in July (next month). A key reason why the Government does not want to give in the EDF’s demands is that they will be under very heavy pressure to give the same terms to renewable energy sources. EDF do not want to mention, and the Government themselves will be keen to draw attention away from the fact that inevitably nuclear power will be given better terms than onshore wind, even though EDF’s demands are still a long way from being met. I have heard it said that DECC and the Treasury are engaged in a battle to pin the blame for the failure of the nuclear new build programme. Certainly a lot of people have an interest in prolonging the notion that new nuclear power is coming. However, just as in the Samuel Beckett play characters wait (in vain) for ‘Godot’ to arrive, the nuclear hopefuls will be waiting in vain. But they seem to feel that they cannot admit to the failure of their enterprise since this questions their very existence as members of a nuclear industry that is going nowhere.
Dave Toke’s Blog 19th June 2013 read more »
GDA
Independent analysis of ONR’s nuclear reactor design approvals raises serious concerns over sufficient rigour in the final phase of the process. The Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) has received a copy of the third and final review by the independent civil nuclear engineering consultancy, Large & Associates, considering the Office for Nuclear Regulation’s (ONR) Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process to approve EDF‟s new nuclear reactor design (known as the European Pressurised Reactor or EPR). The NFLA are quite alarmed by some of its main findings.
NFLA 19th June 2013 read more »
Nuclear Skills
Manufacturing companies are being urged to join a £76m training programme based in South Yorkshire which aims to help them win work in the civil nuclear industry. The Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre at Catcliffe will run ‘Sharing in Growth’, a four-year course which covers new build, operations and decommissioning.
Sheffield Star 20th June 2013 read more »
Energy Costs
Electricity prices in Britain may be almost double those in Germany within three years due largely to the impact of a new tax aimed at supporting renewable power generation, a report by bank Credit Suisse has claimed. The bank’s analysis showed wholesale prices, which form the backbone of energy bills, would top those in Germany by 85pc in 2016-17 and would be higher in general for the next seven to 10 years. The bank blamed the roughly fivefold rise in the government’s new tax on carbon-dioxide emitting power generation over the next seven years, while also pointing to Britain’s lack of infrastructure to import power from the European mainland. Prices in the two countries had tracked one another for years, but they diverged last year as Germany spurred a boom in renewable energy generation by pouring billions into subsi dising the green sector. The Credit-Suisse figures show that in the winter of 2016/17 UK power prices will trade at an 85pc premium to German equivalents, compared with a 25pc divergence currently.
Telegraph 19th June 2013 read more »
Wylfa
Welsh Economy Minister Edwina Hart is reported as saying that “many locals are looking forward to the Hitachi project.” She did not mention that many locals are definitely not looking forward to a new nuclear power station at Wylfa, and are in fact strongly opposed to it. I am sure that this paper’s readers are familiar with the reasons for opposing nuclear power, as Japan is still living with the effects of the Fukushima disaster.
Japan Times 20th June 2013 read more »
Bradwell
Peregrine falcon chicks have hatched on the roof of a former nuclear reactor in Essex, two months after their parents decided it was a good place to nest. The reactor in Bradwell-on-sea was in the process of being decommissioned, and work had to be put on hold when the protected birds arrived.
BBC 19th June 2013 read more »
Rosatom
The UK energy secretary, Ed Davey and the deputy prime minister of Russia Arkady Dvorkovich this week signed an agreement that could ease the way for Russian-state owned Rosatom to begin building nuclear power plants in Britain.
Power Engineering International 18th June 2013 read more »
Europe
The price of emissions on the EU carbon market may heave itself out of the doldrums – at least for a time. An influential EU committee has just voted in favour of a new compromise measure that could see 900 million emissions permits held back from the market. But under the watered-down proposal, they’ll all be reintroduced much sooner than first planned.
Carbon Brief 19th June 2013 read more »
MEPs in the European Parliament’s Environment Committee have approved plans to temporarily withhold the sale of allowances in the bloc’s emissions trading system (ETS) in an attempt to force up the price of CO2 and drive green investment.
Business Green 19th June 2013 read more »
MoX
The Friends of the Earth environmental group traded jousts Wednesday with U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham over his support for the mixed oxide fuel project at theSavannah River Site. The group’s 30-second “Oink” ad, which features pigs in lobbyists’ suits, aired in Washington on Fox and MSNBC and on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show – along with stations near Columbia and the Aiken-Augusta market, said Friends of the Earth in a news release.
Augusta Chronicle 19th June 2013 read more »
Japan
Groundwater contaminated with highly radioactive substances has been detected from a monitoring well just 27 meters from the seashore within the compound of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Wednesday. Wednesday’s announcement is the latest in a series of difficulties Tepco has faced as it struggles to manage contaminated water at the wrecked plant, posing a great risk to the environment. Testing revealed strontium-90 readings of 1,000 becquerels per liter, 33 times more than the legal limit, as well as tritium readings of 500,000 becquerels per liter, 8.3 times the limit. Tepco said it believes the radioactive groundwater has yet to reach the ocean, as radiation readings in seawater samples from near the shore have not shown significant shifts.
Japan Times 20th June 2013 read more »
High levels of a toxic radioactive isotope have been found in groundwater at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant, its operator says. Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) said tests showed strontium-90 was present at 30 times the legal rate. The radioactive isotope tritium has also been detected at elevated levels.
BBC 19th June 2013 read more »
Japan’s nuclear watchdog has approved new safety requirements for atomic power plants, paving the way for the reopening of facilities shut down since the Fukushima disaster. The new measures, approved by the Nuclear Regulation Authority, will take effect on July 8 when operators will be able to apply for inspections. If plants pass the inspections – a process expected to take several months – they can reopen later this year or early in 2014.
Sky 19th June 2013 read more »
Independent 19th June 2013 read more »
Iran
The president-elect’s approach to foreign policy will be one of constructive co-operation with the aim of reducing tensions. Second, he is uniquely placed to develop a win-win compromise regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions: Mr Rohani won a landslide victory in the popular vote and he has the approval of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader.
FT 19th June 2013 read more »
Romania
Romania will sell a 10 percent stake in Nuclearelectrica, the company that operates a nuclear power plant in Cernavoda, the government said Wednesday. The sale is one of Romania’s commitments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union (EU), which have provided Bucharest with up to 25 billion euros in emergency credit. The IPO should bring Romania between 300 and 350 million lei ($91 to 107 million), energy minister Constantin Nita said.
EU Business 19th June 2013 read more »
Nuclear Weapons
US President Barack Obama has called for greater efforts to be made to reduce US and Russian nuclear arsenals. Speaking at the Brandenburg Gate during a visit to the German capital, Berlin, he said he was confident the US could maintain its security while reducing its nuclear capacity by a third. He also called for reductions in the number of tactical warheads in Europe. However Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Moscow “cannot take these assurances seriously”. The US and Russian signed a joint agreement in 2010 to mutually reduce their stockpiles of nuclear weapons to a maximum of 1,550 warheads and no more than 700 deployed launchers. Mr Rogozin, a former Russian ambassador to Nato, said Moscow “cannot take these assurances seriously” while the US is taking steps to build up its missile defence systems.
BBC 19th June 2013 read more »
President Barack Obama used a speech in Berlin yesterday to call on Russia to revive the push for a world without nuclear arms by agreeing to target further reductions of up to one third of deployed nuclear weapons.
Herald 20th June 2013 read more »
Scotsman 20th June 2013 read more »
Morning Star 19th June 2013 read more »
ITV 19th June 2013 read more »
Guardian 19th June 2013 read more »
Telegraph 19th June 2013 read more »
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) has welcomed President Obama’s ‘vital’ call for cuts in US and Russian nuclear arsenals. Speaking today (19 June) at Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate, Barack Obama said “we may no longer live in fear of nuclear annihilation, but so long as nuclear weapons exist we are not truly safe.”
Ekklesia 19th June 2013 read more »
CND 19th June 2013 read more »
Moscow wants other nuclear powers as well as Russia and the United States involved in any discussions about further nuclear arms cuts, President Vladimir Putin’s senior foreign policy adviser said on Wednesday.
Reuters 19th June 2013 read more »
Biofuels
Votes taken by European parliamentary committees this week could determine the future of EU biofuels policy, which has been strongly criticised for its negative impact on developing countries. In response to the widespread criticism, the European commission last year proposed major policy changes, including the introduction of a 5% limit on counting food crop-based biofuels towards the target for 10% of transport fuels to be generated using renewable energy by 2020. The commission said the move would stimulate the development of alternative, “second generation” biofuels from non-food crops, such as waste or straw, which emit substantially fewer greenhouse gases than fossil fuels and do not directly interfere with food production. It also proposed for the first time to take into account the impact of deforestation, peatland drainage or other land clearance caused by biofuels in their carbon footprint. Environment and development campaigners argue this factor – indirect land-use change (ILUC) – has been missing from calculations of the green credentials of biofuels. But campaigners fear that MEPs, under fierce lobbying by the biofuels industry and farmers’ unions, will weaken the commission’s proposals before a full parliamentary vote in September.
Guardian 19th June 2013 read more »
Renewables
TWO renewable energy schemes moved a step closer to fruition yesterday, with a major offshore wind farm receiving planning consent for its onshore work, while a whisky-to-energy development in Rothes entered its final stages. Mainstream Renewable Power applied for planning permission last year to build its £1.3 billion Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm off the coast of Fife. East Lothian Council yesterday granted planning permission to lay a cable to take electricity from Thorntonloch beach to a substation at the Crystal Rig onshore wind farm in the Lammermuir Hills. Mainstream expects a decision later this year from Marine Scotland on planning permission for its 90 turbines, which could produce enough electricity to power all of the homes in Edinburgh. Meanwhile, half-year results from Aim-quoted Helius Energy revealed the firm’s plant on Speyside, which will burn waste products from the whisky in dustry to generate power, will begin commercial operations within the next month.
Scotsman 20th June 2013 read more »
Renewables create more jobs than conventional energy in Germany.
German Energy Transition 20th June 2013 read more »
Energy Efficiency
Ian Marchant: Eco, the coalition’s household energy efficiency scheme, is inefficient. Costs are rising and a green backlash awaits. ‘If Eco continues unabated, householders up and down the country could face higher prices in order to finance this well-intentioned but flawed scheme.’ I am about to sign off after 10 years as the chief executive of a major British energy company, and this is my last confession: I am an Eco worrier. I’m worried for customers, because the government’s new Energy Companies Obligation (Eco), though commendably designed to tackle the issue of fuel poverty by improving energy efficiency, risks exacerbating the problem by adding unnecessary costs to energy bills. I agree with the government that energy efficiency is absolutely critical to keeping energy affordable and reducing carbon emissions in line with our legally binding target s. But for me, any programme aimed at delivering energy efficiency improvements must be both accessible to those who need it most, and cost-effective for the recipient and those who pick up the tab. Despite the best intentions, Eco is neither. Far from making the scheme easily accessible, in trying to help the most vulnerable the government has set a series of highly complicated and increasingly prescriptive eligibility criteria. Due to fears around data protection, it has then told energy companies to go out and find people themselves instead of using information from its own welfare databases. When a company does find an eligible customer, it has to convince them that insulating their home is worth the hassle. Regulations then demand up to 40 separate pieces of documentation, including personal information such as birth certificates or even evidence of disability or benefit entitlement, to prove, among other things, that they tick the right socio-economic boxes. Well-intentioned, but, hardly hassle-free.
Guardian 19th June 2013 read more »
Homes for Scotland Letter: New homes (built to some of the highest standards in Europe), have already reduced their carbon emissions by 70% since 1990 levels – an achievement no other industry has come close to. They are also highly energy-efficient. Research has found that living in a new home can result in annual savings of up to 55% on gas and electricity spending. Those urging the Scottish Government to push through further changes to new-build standards should be aware this could add as much as £10,000 to the cost of building a new home at a time when housing output is at its lowest level since 1947. Scotland is in housing crisis with a record population, households growing at more than 21,000 a year and 160,000 people on housing waiting lists. The Scottish Government estimates that 465,000 new homes are needed by 2035 to meet demand but current build levels point to a shortfall of 140,000. Additional cost burdens, such as those proposed, will further depress production, which accounts for less than 1% of Scotland’s total annual housing stock, and significantly exacerbate the shortage while ignoring the pressing need to improve the energy performance of existing housing where the overwhelming bulk of the problem lies. A policy which threatens to adversely impact the economy, employment, skills and training and the delivery of warm, sustainable housing while contributing only 0.07% to overall climate change targets does not justify the wider associated risk. A comprehensive retrofit programme to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings would have a greater impact on cutting carbon emissions and tackling fuel poverty.
Herald 20th June 2013 read more »
Climate
In one of his strongest attacks yet on groups that question whether climate change is caused by human activity, Ed Davey warned that they are seeking “to create doubt where there is certainty”. “Of course there will always be those with a vested interest in the status quo,” Mr Davey said during a speech in Brussels. “Who seek to create doubt where there is certainty. And you will always get crackpots and conspiracy theorists who will deny they have a nose on their face if it suits them. “But the truth is this: while forecasts of the future rate at which the world will warm differ, and while many accept we will see periods when warming temporarily plateaus, all the scientific evidence is in one direction.”
Telegraph 19th June 2013 read more »
Shale Gas
Professor Iain Stewart is a geologist of such distinction that he was awarded an MBE in the recent Queen’s Birthday Honours List. He’s also an experienced presenter of BBC documentaries. Given Stewart’s pedigree, Horizon: Fracking – the New Energy Rush ought to have been a compelling insight into the gas extraction technology which is sweeping America, and which will soon arrive here. Yet from start to finish, it wasn’t. Even the explanatory science, which ought to have been manageable enough, fell short of being truly enlightening.
Telegraph 20th June 2013 read more »
