Heysham/Hartlepool
Four UK nuclear reactors that were shut down for safety reasons may not be back online until the end of the year, EDF Energy has said. The reactors at the Heysham 1 and Hartlepool power stations were shut in August following a routine inspection. EDF said there could be a “phased return to service between the end of October and the end of December, 2014”. Earlier this week National Grid announced it was seeking emergency supplies of electricity this winter. It cited concern over potential shortages of power. BBC industry correspondent John Moylan said that today’s announcement from EDF means “up to a quarter of the nuclear fleet being offline as the UK enters winter”.
BBC 4th Sept 2014 read more »
EDF Energy (EDF.PA) said on Thursday it expects two of its nuclear power stations in Britain, currently offline for inspections, will be brought back to service between the end of October and end of December.
Reuters 4th Sept 2014 read more »
HARTLEPOOL nuclear power station, closed after a safety scare last month, may not re-open until the end of the year, power company EDF has announced in the past hour. The energy giant closed Hartlepool and its sister plant in Lancashire after finding a boiler defect at Heysham in June. The company said all the boilers associated with the two nuclear reactors at Heysham 1, and with the two nuclear reactors at Hartlepool, would be inspected to make sure they were safe.
Northern Echo 4th Sept 2014 read more »
Centrica has issued a second profit warning in less than a month as the unexpectedly long shutdown of two U.K. nuclear plants reduces its electricity output. Centrica said its earnings per share will now fall by 0.6 pence a share to 0.9 pence a share, a steeper decline than the 0.3 pence a share it had previously forecast.
Wall St Journal 4th Sept 2014 read more »
Reuters 4th Sept 2014 read more »
Wylfa
A council weighing up moves to close schools and cut jobs amid plans to slash £20m off its budget spent more than £6,500 sending its leader and two officials on a nuclear fact-finding mission to Japan. Anglesey leader Ieuan Williams made the trip in June accompanied by officers John Idris Jones and Dylan Williams to the offices of Hitachi, who plan to build a new nuclear power station on Anglesey. The figures for the cost of the trip are to go before a meeting of the authority’s executive committee on Monday. At the same meeting councillors will discuss the future of six primary schools in the south west of the island amid concerns over surplus places running at almost 50%.
Wales Online 3rd Sept 2014 read more »
Radwaste
Public meetings are being held on Anglesey to discuss the disposal of nuclear waste in the UK. Local councillors have stressed the meeting does not mean a waste site would be welcomed on the island. A replacement nuclear power station is due to be built on Anglesey. The Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) is inviting people to find out more about the work it is doing when it visits the Magnox Power Station at Wylfa. Local senior councillors have said previously the authority has never shown any interest in locating a nuclear waste disposal site on Anglesey.
BBC 4th Sept 2014 read more »
Scotland
Lang Banks: The referendum in Scotland has led to a mass engagement in politics, but the vote on the 18th of September isn’t the end, it’s the start. If you can, imagine yourselves on the other side of the referendum. It’s easy to imagine that once such a big question has been asked on 18 September, Scotland’s future will be settled. No, it won’t, not quite. Whatever the outcome of the referendum, we know that some kind of change will come. Once Scotland has decided its constitutional direction (the shape, the size, the way it operates, the way it makes decisions), Scotland must also decide its policy direction (what we want to do with our powers, how we look after our people or our environment, what we spend, what we build). It’s one thing having certain powers in your toolbox, it’s another thing to use the powers that we have in a way that ac hieves real-world outcomes. It is the policy questions that, once Better Together and Yes Scotland have disbanded after September 18th, the political parties that want to form the next Scottish Government will have to answer. For example, if Scotland gets new powers over North Sea oil, what are the policies the next Government will put into place to ensure a planned transition away from oil? What are the policies the next Government will put in place to ensure that we meet our climate change targets? Where will climate change come in the next Government’s priority list? Where do environmental considerations fit in the next Government’s list of tax and spend priorities? Will the next Government bring forward a programme of green infrastructure projects that will help cut our emissions rather than add to them? These are the real questions that haven’t been answered by either side of the constitutional debate, but must be answered in the debate around the 2016 election. It is then that voters decide which party has the vision to move Scotland forward in a more sustainable manner.
Open Democracy 3rd Sept 2014 read more »
PRISM
The problem with nuclear waste is that it needs to be stored for many thousands of years before it’s safe, which is a tricky commitment for even the most stable civilization. To make this situation a bit more manageable, Hitachi, in partnership with MIT, the University of Michigan, and the University of California, Berkeley, is working on new reactor designs that use transuranic nuclear waste for fuel; leaving behind only short-lived radioactive elements.
Gizmag 3rd Sept 2014 read more »
Urenco
London-based nuclear fuel maker Urenco reported a 19 percent rise in first half core profit but warned that weak uranium prices will keep pressure on its business along with poor demand and swelling inventories.Urenco, jointly owned by the German, British and Dutch governments, has been struggling with slower demand for its products since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster that triggered the shutdown of various stations around the world.
Reuters 3rd Sept 2014 read more »
Uranium
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has arrived in India for a two-day visit, with a deal on uranium sales high on the agenda. Mr Abbott will stop first in Mumbai before meeting India’s newly-elected PM Narendra Modi in Delhi on Friday. He says he is “hoping to sign” an agreement allowing Australian uranium exports to India. Australia, which holds an estimated 40% of the world’s uranium, already exports it to China, Japan, Taiwan and the US. The country has not sold uranium to India in the past because it is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. But the two nations began talks on a deal in 2012, after the previous Labor government overturned its long-standing ban.
BBC 4th Sept 2014 read more »
IB Times 3rd Sept 2014 read more »
Finland
Finland will delay the commissioning of its biggest nuclear power project Olkiluoto 3 EPR to late 2018, which is almost a decade later than the proposed initial timeline. Disagreements between Areva-Siemens, the consortium constructing the reactor, and its client Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) over the plant’s instrumentation and control (I&C) system has been the reason for the delay. The project has been delayed several times due to surging costs and disputes between Areva-Siemens and TVO.
Energy Business Review 3rd Sept 2014 read more »
India
The prime ministers of India and Japan have welcomed the “significant progress” made in negotiating a nuclear cooperation agreement between the two countries, saying talks will be accelerated to conclude such a deal.
World Nuclear News 4th Sept 2014 read more »
Europe
The European Council has this week increased the 2030 target for renewables in Europe from 27 per cent to 30 per cent. The move, although widely viewed as a positive step, has drawn criticism from some quarters for failing to introduce nationally binding targets that are likely to have more of a positive impact than an EU-wide target. The CEO of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA), James Watson, has instead urged EU member state heads to confirm their commitment to increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix when the leaders meet in Paris in October.
Renew Economy 4th Sept 2014 read more »
Ukraine
As Ukraine looks like a country teetering on the edge of war, there’s an important factor to keep an eye on: The country’s 15 nuclear reactors. “There haven’t been many conflicts in states with nuclear power facilities in the past, so we’re really entering unknown territory here,” said Jeffrey Mankoff, Deputy Director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Russia and Eurasia Program. NATO has already shown its concern, sending a small team of civilian experts to Ukraine in April to advise the government on the safety of its infrastructure.
Washington Post 3rd Sep 2014 read more »
South Korea
As South Korea cautiously considers nuclear reprocessing as an option in dealing with its waste from reactors, the experience of France suggests that it should make the choice, but for safety and environmental reasons rather than political arguments related to fears of nuclear proliferation. Under a nuclear accord with the United States signed in 1973, South Korea is prohibited from reprocessing spent nuclear fuel or enriching uranium to produce nuclear fuel without consent from Washington. Used nuclear fuel contains plutonium, and reprocessing spent fuel may give access to the material for nuclear weapons. Despite growing voices in South Korea for the accord to be revised, negotiations for the purpose have hardly made progress as Washington worries that such a move by Seoul would give Pyongyang an excuse to continue its nuclear arms development program. North Korea has already conducted three nuclear detonations since October 2006. For officials from the Paris-based AREVA, the world’s largest nuclear company, the answer was more clear. “Recycling is a choice for sustainable management of energy resources,” said Rene Charbonnier, deputy director of AREVA’s reprocessing facility in La Hague, Normandy, on Aug. 27
Yonhap 3rd Sept 2014 read more »
Israel
Israel is to supply up to $15bn of natural gas from its Leviathan field over 15 years to Jordan, easing an energy crunch in the kingdom and marking the biggest such bilateral deal its nascent offshore industry has yet seen.
FT 3rd Sept 2014 read more »
Japan
In another departure from her husband’s policies, Mrs. Abe reiterated that she believed Japan should exit nuclear power if alternate energy sources can be found, given the risks shown by the March 2011 Fukushima disaster, the world’s worst atomic accident since Chernobyl. “Once an accident occurs, it is a terrible thing that cannot be undone,” she said. “If there are alternative sources of energy, I would like them to stop (nuclear power). I’d like them not to restart off-line reactors.” But she added that she had not made this point forcefully to her husband because of the delicateness of the issue. Surveys show that many Japanese oppose reactor restarts and a big majority favour at least a gradual exit from atomic power. Abe’s government has said it will proceed with restarting reactors that clear new safety standards.
Reuters 4th Sept 2014 read more »
Iran
The United Nations nuclear watchdog is expected to issue a report this week showing little progress is being made in its long-running investigation into suspected atomic bomb research by Iran, diplomats said on Wednesday.
Reuters 3rd Sept 2014 read more »
France
A French court this week upheld a ban on a Muslim engineer from entering nuclear sites citing his links with Islamist networks, in a move blasted by his lawyer as “Islamophobic”. The 29-year-old, who works for a subcontractor to French energy giant EDF, had worked freely at nuclear power facilities throughout 2012 and 2013. But in March this year the man, who cannot be named under French law, had his pass to enter the Nogent-sur-Seine nuclear power station revoked.
France24 3rd Sept 2014 read more »
Trident
A YES vote can banish nuclear weapons from Scotland, John Swinney has told church leaders in Glasgow. He said the SNP will set out a written constitution for a nuclear-free Scotland and save £100 million on not replacing Trident.
Evening Times 4th Sept 2014 read more »
One of the biggest targets for Scotland’s independence campaign sits behind a high, intimidating wall of reinforced security fencing and curling banks of razorwire in the southern Highlands: Faslane naval base, home to Britain’s nuclear missile fleet. Stretched along the shoreline of a secluded sea loch underneath the gnarled mountains of Argyll, Faslane has been a focus for often large protests for decades. Tens of thousands of peace campaigners have laid siege to its gates, hacked at its fence and blocked nearby roads in protest; some have sneaked in by sea, once clambering inside a Trident submarine. And in two weeks time, Scotland’s voters may just decide to get rid of it.
Guardian 4th Sept 2014 read more »
Recent research by WMD Awareness pointed towards serious misinformation of young voters on this issue. According to their survey, conducted by ComRes, young people radically underestimate the lifetime costs of renewing Trident: of the 4,207 people surveyed, a third (34%) believe that renewing Trident will cost up to £5 billion. In fact, it’s estimated to cost up to £100 billion. That’s roughly equivalent to four million students’ tuition fees, or 1.5 million affordable homes. Not only do we young voters fail to gauge the financial burden Trident imposes accurately, the research also found that we don’t know much about the legal implications of our warheads either. Almost half of the respondents (45%) didn’t know whether or not the UK government is legally bound to work towards disarmament under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. We certainly are – indeed, the international community’s failure to do so has been the subject of much criticism recently. So much so that the Marshall Islands – a tiny Pacific nation that has faced years of devastation as a result of nuclear testing – has attempted to bring legal action against nuclear armed-states, including the UK and Russia, for failing to disarm.
Huffington Post 3rd Sept 2014 read more »
Renewables
Our fleet of onshore and offshore wind turbines is now regularly generating more electricity than coal or nuclear plants. That’s not bad for a source of electricity which first came to the UK in 1991 when the Delabole wind farm opened in Cornwall. To put that in context, that’s only three years since Torness Nuclear Power Station began operating. Fast forward 23 years, and for the first time wind is starting to outperform coal and nuclear. We’ve now seen a number of days when wind power produces more electricity than either over a 24-hour period.
Edinburgh Evening News 3rd Sept 2014 read more »
Edie 3rd Sept 2014 read more »
Renewables – community hydro
A RESERVOIR is set to spark a new energy supply after a host of investors rushed to back the scheme. The £35,000 project to harness the power of the Harlaw Reservoir will be completed by the end of the year, with electricity being produced from the spring. It has been funded by 240 shareholders – 70 per cent of which come from Balerno, Currie and Juniper Green – who are now in line to pocket dividends. Harlow Hydro (HH) will also generate a profit of £54,000 a year for the Balerno Village Trust (BVT), which will spend the cash on community projects such as the renovation of the Ravelrig Walled Garden.
Edinburgh Evening News 1st Sept 2014 read more »
Video of “Golden Spade” event (featuring this website editor and his dog)
Edinburgh Reporter 3rd Sept 2014 read more »
Renewable Heat
This summer, the Scottish Government published a “heat map”, highlighting areas of high heat demand and supply so that local authorities and developers can better plan district heating systems, but also identify ways they could recover heat (where it is being wasted by industry, for example) or install renewable energy generation. Scotland has thus far failed to make sufficient progress towards its much-trumpeted low carbon future, but with political will – and investment – measures such as this could help turn that aspiration into reality.
Herald 4th Sept 2014 read more »
Energy Storage
Investment pundits think that Tesla Motors is on the verge of achieving something big: A battery cheap enough to make electric vehicles cost-competitive with conventional cars. Daniel Sparks at Motley Fool is reporting that the company is on the right track towards developing a battery that costs only $100 per kilowatt-hour — a cost widely believed to be the threshold where electric vehicles can finally be cost-competitive.
Renew Economy 4th Sept 2014 read more »
Demand Side Management
The decision by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) to hold annual auctions for demand side response (DSR) measures in the capacity mechanism will ensure the best value for money for bill payers and taxpayers, MPs have been told. Appearing in front of the Energy and Climate Change select committee, energy minister Matthew Hancock dismissed fears that annual auctions would stunt the development of the DSR sector. He said that the yearly contracts would allow the sector to “flourish” while ensuring the best value for money for consumers and the taxpayer.
Utility Week 2nd Sept 2014 read more »
CHP
One of the UK’s largest NHS hospitals is set to save more than £80m over the next 25 years with the opening of a new decentralised energy centre. Addenbrook’s in Cambridge is working with energy consultants Utilyx to install the centre, which will help the renowned teaching hospital meet its sustainability targets by providing high efficiency and low carbon heating, hot water and electricity.
Edie 3rd Sept 2014 read more »
Fossil Fuels
There are many reasons policymakers across the world have been casting envious glances at the US’s shale gas boom: from falling energy prices to curbing emissions. But a range of geological, economic, and social obstacles have made it tricky to replicate elsewhere. A new report from the World Resources Institute (WRI) thinktank, covered by Vox yesterday, highlights another: water availability. Getting shale gas or oil out of the ground can be very water intensive. Known as fracking, it involves shooting large amounts of water and chemicals into the shale rock to create fractures through which the resources can be pumped. The International Energy Agency estimates it could require anywhere between a few thousand to 20 million litres of water per well.
Carbon Brief 3rd Sept 2014 read more »
Climate
Scientists are doing the public a disservice in their attempts to communicate certainty in climate change science, often giving a “false sense of debate” by being overly precise, says broadcaster and physicist Professor Brian Cox. Climate scientists are 95% certain that humans are the main cause of the current global warming the world is experiencing. But Cox said this level of accuracy had been manipulated by “nonsensical”, politically-motivated climate sceptics.
Guardian 3rd Sept 2014 read more »
