Hinkley
The only councillor to vote against an application for land clearance work on the site of the proposed Hinkley C nuclear power station yesterday said developers must bring a planned village bypass forward. Councillor Anthony Trollope-Bellew opposed the application because of the impact he believes it will have on Cannington. Developer EDF plans to build a bypass to take main construction traffic if it wins approval for the station from the Infrastructure Planning Committee. West Somerset District Council Planning Committee passed the site works application on Thursday, with conditions, and urged that the bypass be built early.
Western Daily Press 30th July 2011 more >>
The race to dominate Britain’s nuclear future began yesterday as EDF submitted applications to build its first plant in Britain. The energy company, which was given council planning permission on Thursday for preparatory work on the site, filed applications to the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency.
This is Money 30th July 2011 more >>
EDF Energy
EDF Energy reported a strong first half-year in the UK, with an increase in nuclear output offsetting lower sales figures. The company blamed a loss of industrial customers and mild weather for its sales slump of 8.5% to 4,390 million.
Utility Week 29th July 2011 more >>
Electricite de France SA, Europes biggest power generator, reported a 6 percent increase in first- half profit and said annual spending on French nuclear reactor maintenance and upgrades could more than double. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose to 8.62 billion euros ($12.4 billion) from 8.14 billion euros a year earlier, EDF said today in a statement. That was in line with the 8.58 billion-euro median estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. EDF has been struggling to raise atomic output in France, where the former monopoly operates 58 reactors and is building an EPR model at Flamanville in Normandy. After the meltdown at the Fukushima reactor in Japan, the utility faces increased spending on safety in addition to technical upgrades needed to prolong the lives of aging plants.
Business Week 30th July 2011 more >>
Companies
Gazprom, Russias state-owned gas giant, is in talks to take a big stake in British power plants owned by RWE, German parent of the utility Npower. The deal would be the realisation of the Kremlin-controlled groups long- held ambition of breaking into the UK electricity market. The British government has indicated it would not block the deal. At a meeting in London nine days ago energy minister Charles Hendry told Alexander Medvedev, Gazproms deputy chief executive, he would welcome new entrants to the British energy industry, according to sources close to the discussions. His stance is a departure from the previous governments position. Five years ago it considered legislation to block a rumoured takeover by Gazprom of Centrica, owner of British Gas.
Sunday Times 31st July 2011 more >>
Electricity Prices
Npower and E.ON are set to become the latest energy suppliers to announce price hikes this week, a rise prompted by the 30 per cent increase in the wholesale cost of gas, so far this year.
Independent on Sunday 31st July 2011 more >>
Germany
Ulrich Beck: I was a member of the special expert commission appointed by Chancellor Merkel in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan. This article presents some of the panels recommendations, which have become the foundation of Mrs Merkels policy of switching to alternative energy sources by 2021. Following Chernobyl and Fukushima, anyone who still maintains that French, British, American, or Chinese reactors are safe fails to see that based on the weight of the evidence we ought to draw the exact opposite conclusion. After all, if anything is clear, it is that another nuclear disaster is a certainty. The only question is where and when. In the long run, nuclear power will become more expensive, while renewable energy will become cheaper. But those who continue to leave all options open will not invest in the latter. To the Germans, energy revolution is spelled j-o-b-s. What is denounced by many as a hysterical overreaction to the risks of nuclear energy is in fact a vital step toward ensuring that a turning point in energy generation becomes a step toward greater democracy.
Dissent 30th July 2011 more >>
Japan
Living near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, Hisayuki Sakagami might have once been seen as a bit odd, generating his family’s electricity through solar power and small windmills. Although Sakagami was forced to evacuate from his home after the nuclear crisis unfolded in March, he has been busy helping victims in ways only he and his peers can. They recently installed 24 solar panels at no charge at evacuation centers in the stricken areas in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures.
Asahi 31st July 2011 more >>
Renewables
A tight deadline on a government subsidy scheme that proved too popular has prompted a mini-boom in solar panel installation. At its sewage works in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, Thames Water yesterday switched on a hastily built solar power farm. The previous day Toyota hooked up to the national grid a 17,000-panel field next to its plant in Derbyshire. Near Poole in Dorset, Farm Power finished a 300kW array at Slepe Farm on Monday that the developer said was put up in record time. The projects were part of a mad dash by developers to meet the deadline for a 25-year subsidy scheme that runs out at midnight tonight. The great British sun run was inspired by the feed-in tariff the government introduced last year to guarantee income for homes and business installing solar panels.
Sunday Times 31st July 2011 more >>
