Radwaste
Seeking views of stakeholders who wish to contribute to the the second Triennial Review of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management. Consultation closes 10th March 2015. The government has announced the second Triennial Review of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) and is seeking the views of stakeholders who wish to contribute to the review. Triennial Reviews of non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) are part of the government’s commitment to ensuring that NDPBs continue to have regular independent challenge. The review will examine whether there is a continuing need for CoRWM’s function and its form and whether it should continue to exist at arm’s length from government. If there is evidence of a continued need for the body, the review will also examine whether CoRWM’s control and governance arrangements continue to meet the recognised principles of good corporate governance.
DECC 27th Jan 2015 read more »
In 2014 the NDA conducted a review of the 2010 UK nuclear Low Level Waste (LLW) strategy. Following the 2014 NDA review, DECC (on behalf of UK and Devolved Governments) are consulting on proposed changes to the UK Strategy for the Management of Solid Low Level Radioactive Waste from the Nuclear Industry with the aim of publishing an agreed final strategy in Autumn 2015.. Consultation closes on 21st April 2015. The review revealed widespread recognition that the policy had delivered a step change in LLW management and concluded that the nuclear strategy and implementation arrangements were generally considered to be working well and there was a clear appetite for stability and continuity. While the scope and direction of the original strategy remain unchanged, the consultation document reflects the progress that has been made since 2010. It also reflects the expected direction for Low Level Waste (LLW) management in the future. Central to the strategy is the implementation of the waste hierarchy, which supports the provision of continued capability and capacity for the safe, secure and environmentally responsible management and disposal of LLW in the UK managing LLW in the UK.
DECC 27th Jan 2015 read more »
Hinkley
A thousand extra workers are joining the workforce at Hinkley B nuclear power station in Somerset over the next ten weeks – giving a boost to the local economy as a £40 million major reactor maintenance programme gets under way.
Western Daily Press 26th Jan 2015 read more »
Nuclear Street 26th Jan 2015 read more »
CHANGES will be made to the way in which organisations can apply for grants from the Hinkley Point C Community Impact Mitigation (CIM) fund in an attempt to increase the number of successful applicants. The changes are being discussed as seven applications have already been turned down and five more applications looked set to be turned down at a council meeting last night.
Somerset County Gazette 26th Jan 2015 read more »
New exhibition revealing huge archaeological dig at Somerset’s Hinkley Point.
Culture24 27th Jan 2015 read more »
Small Reactors
The case for using small modular reactors in Britain may have recently been underscored by the media attention paid to an ex-minister’s anti-renewable climate-change proposal. But a NNL study illustrates how SMRs could fill a need not met by conventional nuclear power plants.
Nuclear Energy Insider 14th Jan 2015 read more »
Energy Futures
Right now in the energy sector, everyone is transfixed by the big fight going on in the oil industry between conventional and unconventional production, OPEC vs non-OPEC, Saudi Arabia versus the frackers. It is one of those times when energy breaks through onto the front pages, and suddenly everyone is an expert. Every energy story has to be rewritten to fit around the main narrative of the Great Oil Price Crash. Of course it is an important story. As we explained in our December press release, the oil price crash will have a range of impacts on the clean energy sector, more severe in the case of businesses directly competing with oil, like biofuels and displacing diesel generators, more moderate elsewhere. But it is probably not the most important story of the past 12 months for the clean energy sector. The bounce-back in global clean energy investment, up 16% to $310bn after two years of decline, was probably the single most significant development of 2014. EON’s historic announcement that it is splitting into two, selling off its bulk generation and concentrating on its renewable and consumer-facing activities, is another contender. NextEra’s acquisition of Hawaiian Electric Industries was described by its chairman and CEO as “a postcard from the future of the electric industry”.
Renew Economy 28th Jan 2015 read more »
Politics
Lib Dem MP Tessa Munt has resigned as a parliamentary aide to Business Secretary Vince Cable after voting against the government on fracking.
BBC 27th Jan 2015 read more »
With one hundred days to go until the election, analysts are eagerly looking for ways to differentiate between the parties. New data suggests MPs’ views on energy and climate change could do just that. Political analysts Dods asked 100 MPs what they thought about the scientific consensus around climate change and their energy preferences. Here’s what they had to say.
Carbon Brief 26th Jan 2015 read more »
Litvinenko
The assassination of Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko was an act of nuclear terrorism on the streets of London, a public inquiry was told. It heard how the lives of the public were put at risk from the hit, which was ordered by Vladimir Putin in an act of revenge after Mr Litvinenko – a vocal opponent of the president’s regime – became a marked man. The 43-year-old died eight years ago after drinking tea laced with radioactive polonium-210.
Mirror 27th Jan 2015 read more »
Independent 27th Jan 2015 read more »
Ham & High 27th Jan 2015 read more »
Daily Star 27th Jan 2015 read more »
Scotsman 27th Jan 2015 read more »
Sweden
A spokesman for Sweden’s nuclear power regulator Stralsakerhetsmyndigheten, known as SSM, said the agency had stopped processing plans for new nuclear power plants in the country to comply with statements from the new minority-run government, which took over after September’s elections. State-run utility company Vattenfall also said it was putting plans for new nuclear power plants on hold.
Nuclear Street 27th Jan 2015 read more »
Japan
A scenario with 25% nuclear power would best suit Japan’s policy goals, according to the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ). In the time to 2030 it would be cheaper than a non-nuclear scenario and would help the country return to a positive trade balance. Japan will need to use every available power generation technology up to 2030, according to a recent presentation by the IEEJ. Its Energy Data and Modelling Center produced three scenarios for Japan’s future energy mix. In each, the share of mostly imported fossil fuels remained in the 50-65% range while proportions of renewables and nuclear were varied more widely.
World Nuclear News 27th Jan 2015 read more »
Trident
ONLY a quarter of people in Britain think the UK should scrap its nuclear weapons compared with nearly half in Scotland, a poll has suggested. The divide in opinion on nuclear weapons on either side of the border is evidenced in a YouGov poll for the Times, where 56 per cent of UK respondents want to replace Trident compared with 42 per cent in Scotland. Just 25 per cent of UK respondents want it scrapped compared with 48 per cent in Scotland, the poll of 1,656 adults on January 25 and 26 found. When Scotland’s 144 respondents are removed, support for Trident south of the border rises to around three-fifths while support for scrapping it falls further. Scottish opinion on nuclear weapons could have a material impact on UK politics following the general election, with a resurgent SNP offering to prop up a UK Labour government in exchange for concessions on issues like Trident.
Scotsman 28th Jan 2015 read more »
Defence officials have secretly started examining plans to move Britain’s nuclear-armed submarines from Scotland to Wales, the Daily Mail can reveal. The Scottish Nationalists, on course for an unprecedented breakthrough at May’s General Election, insist they want the Trident fleet removed from its base on the west coast of Scotland. David Cameron refused to allow any contingency planning for Scottish independence to take place before last September’s referendum, not wanting to give the impression that the UK Government was even contemplating defeat.
Daily Mail 28th Jan 2015 read more »
Up to 2,000 people marched through London last Saturday against the renewal of Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons. The government has tried to push discussion of the £100 billion project into the next parliament. But the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru and Green Party forced a vote with an opposition day debate last week. Only 37 out of 401 MPs who attended voted against renewal. The Labour Party leadership supported renewal, while most Labour MPs abstained—only 19 voted against. The last time there was a vote on Trident in 2007, 95 Labour MPs rebelled against the then Labour government. Protesters assembled for the Wrap Up Trident protest where they symbolically surrounded Ministry of Defence (MoD) with a seven-mile long knitted scarf.
Socialist Worker 27th Jan 2015 read more »
Energy Storage
Investment bank says wide deployment of battery storage will hasten the demise of fossil fuels and utilities that remain focused on centralised generation. It tips rapid fall in costs and a $400bn storage market by 2030. Investment bank Citigroup predicts that the wide deployment of battery storage technologies will hasten the demise of fossil fuels across the globe in the coming decade, including oil, coal and gas. And it also warns that the battery phenomenom will be even more profound than the solar revolution currently sweeping the globe, and will sweep aside any traditional utilities that remain focused on centralised generation.
Renew Economy 28th Jan 2015 read more »
Renewables
A new expert body has been formed to advise governments and organisations around the world on how best to ditch fossil fuels and make the switch to 100 per cent renewables. Made up of a dozen world renowned energy experts, analysts and consultants, the International Energy Advisory Council (IEAC) was launched this week to assist with the design and implementation of forward-looking, sustainable energy policy, as part of the global effort to mitigate climate change. The group’s firm focus, however, is the replacement or avoidance of the world’s incumbent centralised fossil-fuel and nuclear-energy systems with a combination of energy efficiency and decentralized renewable energy systems.
Renew Economy 28th Jan 2015 read more »
Renewables – solar
The breakneck growth of Hanergy Group, the world’s largest solar company by market value, has helped to make its founder China’s fifth richest man. Shares in its $18bn Hong Kong-listed subsidiary, Hanergy Thin Film Power Group, have risen more than 300 per cent since the start of 2014. Hanergy is building factories across China and has snapped up four overseas developers of thin-film technology – a still evolving application – since 2009. Founder Li Hejun has told investors that Hanergy Group is destined to become the industry leader although, as yet, only a 10th of the world’s solar production is of this thinner, lighter technology because costs are higher than for other panels. The Financial Times, in analysing recent financial statements of the company, has found some unconventional practices behind Hanergy Group’s soaring fortunes. It has been racking up enviable revenues largely through sales between its listed subsidiary, HTF, and itself.
FT 28th Jan 2015 read more »
Green Gas
Biomethane capacity in the UK has grown to a level that means it should now be seen as a ‘serious contender’ to the renewable energy market, the Renewable Energy Association (REA) has said. There are now 28 biomethane to grid projects connected to the gas distribution network with a combined capacity of 1.8 billion kWh of gas per year.
Edie 27th Jan 2015 read more »
Energy Efficiency
Smart thermostats promise significant savings on your bills by providing better control of your heating. We tried and tested the main four models – Nest, Hive, Tado and Honeywell Evohome – for usability and cost efficiency.
Guardian 27th Jan 2015 read more »
Zero Carbon houses
A £60m zero carbon housing development in Cambridge has been given the green light following the approval of a planning application. The scheme, which will be a joint venture between Cambridge City Council and housebuilders Hill, will comprise of 208 new homes. Of these, half will be affordable properties, owned and managed by Cambridge City Council, while the remaining 104 will be private properties sold through Hill. The property sizes range from one-bedroom apartments to four-bedroom houses.
Construction News 27th Jan 2015 read more »
Fossil Fuels
MPs vote to increase restrictions on fracking; Conservatives and Labour claim credit for creating a positive investment environment for UK shale gas industry; Government agrees to obligation to outline how fracking fits within the UK’s climate targets; Industry react positively to amendments. Environmental groups fear changes are superficial; Opposition fails to remove a clause obligating the UK to “maximise” oil and gas extraction; Infrastructure bill leaves House of Commons with watered-down proposal for building new zero-carbon homes.
Carbon Brief 27th Jan 2015 read more »
Climate
Reducing global appetite for beef in favour of chicken would do more to prevent global warming than building wind farms and nuclear reactors, Government analysis shows.
Telegraph 28th Jan 2015 read more »
We can fly, drive and prosper while avoiding dangerous global warming – but only if billions remain in poverty and huge changes are made in areas such as energy and agriculture, new analysis from Decc’s Global Calculator shows.
Guardian 28th Jan 2015 read more »
