Hinkley
Plans to build the first nuclear reactor in the UK in almost 30 years have faced fresh criticism, after banking giant HSBC reportedly raised concerns about the level of subsidy being offered to the project. The Mail on Sunday reported yesterday that the bank, which was previously reported to be acting as an advisor to the £16bn project, has warned the deal between the government and developer EDF is “becoming harder to justify”. “We see ample reason for the UK Government to delay or cancel the project,” HSBC concluded in a note that set out eight concerns with the project. HSBC’s criticism echoes those of environmental groups who have repeatedly warned the government agreement to provide EDF with a guaranteed price of over £90/MWh for the clean power it generates over a 35 year period is excessively generous. The HSBC report warns the cost of the agreed price support will rise if wholesale electricity prices remain low, backs National Grid predictions UK energy demand will continue to fall, and raises concerns about the Europe nuclear industry’s track record for delivering new reactors on time and on budget.
Business Green 3rd August 2015 read more »
The Government is under growing pressure to abandon plans to construct the UK’s first nuclear reactor for more than 20 years, after a damning report into the viability of the project by financial analysts was swiftly followed by data showing that the legal bill has already exceeded £1 million. Analysts at HSBC bank said in a report published over the weekend that the creation of the Hinkley Point C plant in Somerset was “becoming harder to justify”, concluding that the energy produced by the reactor is likely to be too expensive and that there was “ample reason” for the Government to delay or cancel the £25 billion project. Now The Independent can disclose that the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has already paid the London law firm Slaughter and May more than £1.3m for its role in negotiating the final contract for the construction of the reactor with EDF, the French energy company given the task of developing the Hinkley site. According to official DECC figures compiled by Greenpeace Energydesk, seven separate payments totalling £1,336,565 were made to the law firm between January and April this year in return for “final investment decision enabling” services, understood to relate to the nuclear deal. the HSBC report warned that European wholesale electricity prices are expected to fall over the lifetime of the project, resulting in a “huge difference between UK forward prices and the Hinkley price”.
Independent 4th Aug 2015 read more »
Pressure is mounting on the Government over cost of the new Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, and a final decision on its construction has not been made. When the project was first announced by the Labour government in 2008, it was predicted that Hinkley Point C could produce a sizeable chunk of the UK’s future energy. It was billed as a new type of nuclear power station, capable of generating safe and reliable low-carbon electricity for five million homes. But more than seven years down the line, the Government has still not announced its final decision on whether to proceed with the £25bn project, which has been hit by a series of safety setbacks, legal challenges and other problems. Put simply, the debate boils down to the central question: should the UK really be putting its money into nuclear power in 2015? Roy Pumfrey, a spokesman for the Stop Hinkley campaign group, said the legal fees paid by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to Slaughter and May were just the latest in a long line of “daft” decisions made by ministers. “The deal that DECC has struck with EDF – that this law firm has got £1m for overseeing – is just absolutely shocking. If the British public realised what they were being stuck with, there would be a groundswell of opposition to what’s being done,” he said.
Independent 4th Aug 2015 read more »
The government has spent millions of pounds to negotiate contracts for nuclear and renewable energy which have been criticised for offering poor value or have failed to deliver on investment – according to official data. The figures, analysed by Energydesk, show that since the start of the year the UK energy ministry spent more than a million pounds in a desperate and so far unsuccessful effort to secure a Final Investment Decision on the Hinkley Point C nuclear project in Somerset by the French state-owned utility, EDF. Officials at the department – which faces severe spending cuts – also spent hundreds of thousands of pounds in the run-up to the election on legal advice to secure investment in renewable energy. However ministers have since ordered a review of all renewable energy subsidies, putting investment on hold. Slaughter and May, a law firm based in the City of London, pocketed more than £4 million from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) in the first few months of 2015, with £1.3m related to the negotiations over the final contract for the construction of a multi-billion pound nuclear power station at Hinkley.
Energy Desk 4th Aug 2015 read more »
EDF Energy has selected additional preferred bidders, marking a step ahead in making a final investment decision for the proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in the UK. The preferred bidders include Balfour Beatty Bailey joint venture involving Balfour Beatty and NG Bailey for electrical cabling and equipment installation, Cavendish Boccard Nuclear joint venture comprising Cavendish Nuclear and Boccard for mechanical pipework and equipment installation. Additional preferred bidders include ACTAN joint venture comprising Doosan Babcock, Renfrew and Crawley for heating, ventilation and air conditioning; Laing O’Rourke for construction of workers’ campus accommodation; ABB for power transmission, as well as Premier Interlink WACO for construction of temporary buildings.
Energy Business Review 3rd Aug 2015 read more »
Security company G4S has entered into a 10-year contract worth £80 million with EDF Energy to provide security services for the construction of Hinkley Point C (HPC) nuclear plant project in Somerset, UK, subject to a final investment decision.
FM World 3rd Aug 2015 read more »
Reactors
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy has developed the Stinger; a free-swimming, remote-controlled robot that replaces humans for cleaning and inspecting reactor vessels. Nuclear reactors are not the easiest thing in the world to inspect. Immersed in a pool of water for coolant and to moderate the nuclear reaction, the reactor and the water vessel that contains it requires periodic cleaning and inspection to ensure that it’s safe and operating efficiently. The trouble is, such inspections are expensive and surprisingly labor intensive.
Gizmag 3rd Aug 2015 read more »
Supply Chain
Rolls-Royce has won a leading role in a multi-billion-dollar nuclear decommissioning contract in Canada – prompting speculation the engineering giant will launch another assault on the lucrative British market. The company tried to crack the UK market by bidding for the £7bn clean-up of historic Magnox reactor sites, from Hunterston in Ayrshire to Dungeness on the Kent coast. But a team including Rolls-Royce lost out to a joint venture led by British rival Babcock International and the US engineer Fluor last year. Rolls-Royce has been quiet about its role in the contract to detoxify Chalk River Laboratories in Ontario. The reactor that is central to the site started up in 1957 and is due to shut down in three years’ time. A consortium called the Canadian National Energy Alliance (CNEA) has been named preferred bidder on the deal.
Independent 3rd Aug 2015 read more »
Energy Policy
This blog series has argued that GB does not currently have a credible energy policy, and that because of this a sensible response is to investigate a no-regrets energy policy based on the global realities of increasing RE investment, changing energy system costs and operation, and the difficulties of nuclear and CCS. Part of that no-regret policy is to better understand the issues of resource variability (Welsch et al 2015): no resource is 100% reliable. The extent to which GB has thought about a no-regret policy can be gauged to some extent by how much modelling has been done for GB on this topic, and also to find out the degree to which the modelling, which is currently available in GB, has incorporated the costs and new practices of the rapidly changing energy system in other parts of the world.There is increasing experience of managing an energy system with a high penetration of renewables; Although it is hard for any model to keep up to date, it is also important that GB has modelling and scenario capability to reflect ‘what if’ situations – particularly if in this instance it actually looks like the ‘what if’ situation is the realistic situation: ie what should Britain do / need if: we can expect 0/1/2 nuclear power plants to built by 2030, CCS is not available for industry at all before 2025, and then for only small incremental levels thereafter and not for power plants; fracking is widely unpopular and produces minimal output; solar continues to be the technology of choice for households; non traditional business models (including local authority energy companies) continue to develop rapidly; demands for local tariffs and local energy markets also increase rapidly.
IGov 3rd Aug 2015 read more »
Green groups have compared US President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan with the lack of UK Government action, claiming Prime Minister David Cameron needs to do more to meet climate change targets. Commenting on today’s (3 August) announcement of the Clean Power Plan Greenpeace UK’s executive director John Sauven said recent Conservative U-turns on environmental policy were making the UK look “parochial and small-minded.” Greenpeace said Obama’s Clean Power Plan, which will aim to cut emissions from power plants by 32% by 2030, showed a bold vision in defiance of internal opposition from politicians and fossil fuel lobbies.
Edie 3rd Aug 2015 read more »
AP1000
When the project was announced, and when the utilities building the project first applied for taxpayer loans to help finance the project, Southern Company (Georgia Power’s parent) said the two Vogtle reactors would cost about $14 billion and would be online in 2016 and 2017. That was back around 2008. Vogtle got its taxpayer loan promise in February 2010 and its construction permit in February 2012. Three and a half years later, Vogtle is more than three years behind schedule–39 months behind, in fact. And the cost of building Vogtle has, not surprisingly, gone up. Way up. Right now, it’s somewhere around $16 billion and rising fast–the over-budget portion caused by the delays alone is $2 million per day.
Green World 3rd Aug 2015 read more »
Nuclear Beer
A Cumbrian brewery has launched a controversial new brew to mark the 70th anniversary of two nuclear disasters. Hardknott Brewery has just unveiled its Nuclear Sunset beer – a product dreamed up to promote nuclear peace and commemorate the Hiroshima and Nagasaki catastrophes. Dave Bailey, former Sellafield engineer and head of Hardknott Brewery in Millom, produced the beer to highlight his concerns about the future of nuclear. While fully supportive of nuclear power as part of the solution for renewable energy, Mr Bailey has admitted he is concerned about the destructive power of nuclear weapons.
In Cumbria 3rd Aug 2015 read more »
Germany
Most of the talk about high energy prices in Germany focuses only on retail electricity rates. But firms pay different power prices, and their expenses on energy may focus more on fossil fuels for heat than electricity. Furthermore, German labor is expensive and may often be a bigger budget item than energy. Craig Morris summarizes the findings of two recent studies.
Renew Economy 4th Aug 2015 read more »
US
The final version of President Obama’s Clean Power Plan does not include aid to existing nuclear power plants at risk of closing because they can’t compete with cheaper natural gas and renewables—a list that includes some of the nation’s most controversial reactors, including Indian Point and Three Mile Island. In the draft version, EPA had proposed allowing states to count 6 percent of existing nuclear generation toward their clean energy goals, a provision designed to rescue the 6 percent of nuclear capacity considered at risk. “On further consideration, we believe it is inappropriate to base the BSER (Best System of Emission Reduction) on elements that will not reduce CO2 emissions from affected electric generating units below current levels,” EPA states in the final rule.
Forbes 3rd Aug 2015 read more »
US President Barack Obama has unveiled what he called “the biggest, most important step we have ever taken” in tackling climate change. The aim of the revised Clean Power Plan is to cut greenhouse gas emissions from US power stations by nearly a third within 15 years. The measures will place significant emphasis on wind and solar power and other renewable energy sources.
BBC 3rd Aug 2015 read more »
Independent 3rd Aug 2015 read more »
Guardian 3rd Aug 2015 read more »
Telegraph 3rd Aug 2015 read more »
Jeremy Leggett: Obama and Pope Francis are among the few individuals with enough power to directly influence humanity’s impact on climate change. It will be interesting to see how US conservatives react to them both. Politicians seeking enduring legacies have to be lucky with their timing. I believe history will show Barack Obama has. As he ratchets up the emissions reductions in the US power sector to new heights today, seeking to lead the world on climate action, he faces a barrage of Republican and energy incumbency denialist bluster, and no doubt legal action from states. But consider the march of events that favour his mission.
Independent 4th Aug 2015 read more »
The US Energy Department has launched a competition to help develop advanced nuclear reactor concepts. It aims to bring together the nuclear industry with laboratories to help provide clean, affordable and secure energy. It is looking for proposals for cost-shared advanced reactor development projects, with the potential of being demonstrated by 2035. The Energy Department will partner with industry to fund up to two awards of around $6 million (£3.9m) each in 2015. Recipients will be required to invest $1.5 million (£0.96m) as part of the cost share.
Energy Live News 3rd Aug 2015 read more »
Energy Business Review 3rd Aug 2015 read more »
Japan – Fukushima
A prosecution inquest panel concluded that the responsibility of former Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) executives who failed to take measures to prevent a nuclear accident at its tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant should be clarified through a criminal trial. The Tokyo No. 5 Committee for the Inquest of Prosecution recommended that former TEPCO Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata and two former vice presidents, Sakae Muto and Ichiro Takekuro, be prosecuted on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and injury. This was the second recommendation by the prosecution inquest panel, whose eleven members were selected from among members of the general public.
Mainichi 4th Aug 2015 read more »
Renewables
Electricity generation of renewable energy sources climbed over 20 per cent last year, according to official government data. At the same time the use of gas-fired power generation also rose, contributing to a 36 per cent decline in the use of coal-fired power in 2014. The government’s Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2015 showed a strong increase in the amount of energy generated from renewable technologies compared to the previous year, with an increase of 21 per cent to contribute 7 per cent of the UK’s total generation mix. “In 2014, there was a further switch in the main sources of electricity generation away from the use of fossil fuels to more low carbon generation. Generation from coal fell by 36 per cent, as a number of plants closed or switched to burning biomass; gas rose by 5.1 per cent, nuclear output fell by 9.7 per cent with renewables up by 21 per cent,” the report said. The 2014 data shows that renewable output doubled between 2004 and 2010, and between 2010 and 2014 increased by around two-thirds again. However, the UK has an ambitious legally-binding renewables target of 15 per cent of energy use to achieve by 2020. And green groups have voiced concern that the government’s recent cuts to renewable energy support may stifle the progress of the industry.
Utility Week 3rd Aug 2015 read more »
Renewables – Scotland
Scotland’s summer may have been a washout, but the wet and windy weather has proved to be a “belter” for renewable energy, with the amount of electricity produced by wind turbines up by more than 50% on last year. Wind power alone supplied 660,117.23 Megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity to the National Grid in July, which is enough to supply on average the needs of 72% of Scottish homes – the equivalent of 1.75m households. That is up by 58% from the same month in 2014, according to environmental campaigners at WWF Scotland. The body analysed data on wind and solar power from WeatherEnergy for the month of July, discovering that wind power alone generated more than a third of Scotland’s electricity needs for the month. The amount of electricity used by homes, businesses and industry last month totalled 1,856,789.5MWh, with wind power producing 36% of this. O n eight days in July the amount of energy generated by wind turbines was sufficient to meet the needs every home in Scotland, WWF found. The group’s Scotland director Lang Banks said: “It may have been amongst one of the wettest and windiest months in decades, but July also turned out to be a belter of a month for wind power in Scotland.”Thanks to a combination of increased capacity and much windier weather, output from turbines was up more than half compared to the same period last year – supplying power equivalent to the electrical needs of 1.75m homes.” Despite the wet weather, there was enough sunshine to allow homes with solar PV panels to generate 94% of the average electricity need in Aberdeen, compared to 87% in Inverness, 85% in Edinburgh and 79% in Glasgow.
STV 4th Aug 2015 read more »
Wind power supplied 660,117.23 megawatt-hours of electricity to the national grid in July, enough for 1.75 million homes. Scotland’s summer may have been a washout, but the weather has proved to be a boon for renewable energy, with the amount of electricity produced by wind turbines up by more than 50 per cent compared with last year. Wind power alone supplied 660,117.23 megawatt-hours of electricity to the national grid in July, enough to supply 1.75 million Scottish households. That is up by 58 per cent compared with the same month in 2014, according to environmental campaigners at WWF Scotland.
Times 3rd Aug 2015 read more »
Business Green 4th Aug 2015 read more »
Scotsman 4th Aug 2015 read more »
SCOTTISH Green MSP Patrick Harvie has written to the heads of two Holyrood committees calling for an inquiry into the impact of UK Government decisions on renewable energy and climate change targets in Scotland.The Glasgow MSP said Tory ministers had announced a range of measures in recent weeks, including the scrapping of subsidies for new onshore wind developments, cutting back on payments for solar projects and ending both the Green Deal and the Zero Carbon Homes plan. Westminster’s Energy and Climate Change Committee has announced that it is seeking written submissions on which Government policies need scrutiny over the coming years. The committee said next year will be crucial to ensure continuity of energy policy into the 2020s, maintain investor confidence, and ensure that the right framework is in place to meet decarbonisation targets.
The National 4th Aug 2015 read more »
THE true scale of employment in Scotland’s renewables sector has emerged ahead of a major-two day conference on the future of energy in Europe. A report by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills found there are an estimated 21,000 workers across the nine green energy sectors. Previous efforts to document employment in this area were based on a direct count of employees, with no analysis of the supply chain. However, the “size and performance of the UK Low Carbon Economy” report, which focuses on 2010-2013, also looked at indirect employment.
The National 4th Aug 2015 read more »
Renewables – Wave Power
The vision of a standardised offshore electricity generator for the wave industry has taken a major step forward with the announcement of £2 million new funding for a project run jointly by Aquamarine Power, Bosch Rexroth and Carnegie Wave Energy. The WavePOD (Wave Power Offtake Device) aims to develop a standardised subsea unit which can be attached to a variety of different wave energy devices and converts the movement of such a device into electricity. This is one of the major hurdles facing the industry. A tenth-scale WavePOD prototype has already been built and is undergoing a rigorous test programme at the world-leading Institute for Fluid Power Drives and Controls (IFAS) at RWTH Aachen University, Germany.
Aquamarine Power 3rd Aug 2015 read more »
Energy Storage
Tesla has announced it will make its Powerwall energy storage battery available to customers in the UK from early 2016. The company told Utility Week it is in the process of finalising its distribution partners and will make an announcement on these “as soon as possible”.
Utility Week 3rd Aug 2015 read more »
Climate
German researchers have demonstrated once again that the best way to limit climate change is to stop burning fossil fuels now. In a “thought experiment” they tried another option: the future dramatic removal of huge volumes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This would, they concluded, return the atmosphere to the greenhouse gas concentrations that existed for most of human history – but it wouldn’t save the oceans. That is, the oceans would stay warmer, and more acidic, for thousands of years, and the consequences for marine life could be catastrophic.
Guardian 3rd Aug 2015 read more »
