Europe
Kirsty Alexander argues nuclear power’s vital role in aiding decarbonisation is being hampered by “institutional bias”. The level of institutional bias, manifesting in technology tribalism, is a major barrier to a realistic strategy for decarbonisation. Once again, the European Commission failed to acknowledge that nuclear energy provides two thirds of low carbon power in the EU. The contribution nuclear energy already makes and has the potential to make in the transition from fossil fuels is repeatedly ignored. Too frequently, climate solutions are framed entirely in terms of growth in renewables, which is convenient for the manufacturers of wind and solar, but not for the public goals of decarbonisation. The depth of institutional bias against nuclear is staggering.
Business Green 3rd Feb 2014 read more »
Power markets across 15 European nations from the U.K. to Finland will be linked from today in their biggest transformation since liberalization in the 1990s. Network operators and energy exchanges will for the first time hold a single auction at noon Paris time to determine next-day power prices across countries that account for 75 percent of Europe’s electricity supply. The move is intended to smooth price differences between nations through better control of cross-border flows, the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators, or ACER, said Jan. 30.
Bloomberg 4th Feb 2014 read more »
New Nukes
Scientific Alliance: Ten myths concerning nuclear power: Civil nuclear power’s historical links with nuclear weapons (and Chernobyl, Fukushima and suchlike) colours our perceptions of this important source of energy. We don’t eschew high explosives for their many valuable uses because they can kill people when abused. We keep driving cars despite the daily death toll. The fruits of technology always present us with the Faustian dilemma of use for good or evil. The safe application of knowledge depends on the effectiveness of democracy, regulation and governance. Civil nuclear power suffers from its unfamiliarity to the public.
Scotsman 5th Feb 2014 read more »
National Nuclear Laboratory
The National Nuclear Laboratory has signed deals with three major French nuclear organisations in a bid to advance reactors. These agreements aim to strengthen the co-operation and close working which already exists between the UK and France on existing and advanced reactors. It is hoped that the deals will help the nuclear industry meet climate objectives by developing fuel cycle technologies. Through a letter of intent, NNL and Areva will work more closely together on developing nuclear fuel cycle technology, building on NNL’s involvement in the UK’s Nuclear Fuel Centre of Excellence.
NW Evening Mail 3rd Feb 2014 read more »
Politics
The Conservatives entered the 2010 elections promising voters that if they wanted to ‘go green’ they needed to ‘vote blue’. But the Conservative party’s climate change agenda has suffered a number of setbacks since David Cameron set foot in number 10 four years ago. Now a group of Tory politicians has made a bid to reboot the party’s environmental agenda – but they’re being very careful how they talk about the plans. Instead of promoting policies explicitly aimed at tackling climate change or preserving the UK’s green and pleasant land, the report proposes ways to make the economy less wasteful and more efficient. It certainly has some eye-catching policy proposals. For example, it recommends a ban on chucking plastics, wood, textiles and food into landfill sites. It says materials should be recycled and re-used instead – a process it describes as “sweating assets”. The language of “resource efficiency”, a “circular economy” and “putting a value on a unit of energy saved” is a long way from the brand of green conservativism Cameron promoted in 2010.
Carbon Brief 4th Feb 2014 read more »
Scotland
SCOTLAND’S dash for green power would “grind to a halt” if the country became independent, Labour’s shadow energy secretary has warned. Writing in The Herald, Caroline Flint said the best way to unlock Scotland’s “immense” renewable energy potential was within a shared UK market. She said: “About one-third of total British investment in renewable energy comes to Scotland.
Herald 5th Feb 2014 read more »
Alex Salmond’s ruling Scottish National party believes that if Scotland votes for independence in September, the rest of the UK will have to continue sharing the market for electricity and the cost of funding renewable energy such as wind power. “Scottish generation is now essential to ensuring the lights stay on across these islands: without Scottish generation and Scottish renewable energy, the spare capacity margin across the GB grid would already be in negative figures,” the Scottish government said last year. But assurances that Scotland can count on a continued single electricity market with the UK and an unchanged flow of funding for renewable energy are facing increasing challenge. Although Scotland accounts for only about 9 per cent of UK electricity sales, Scottish projects get 37 per cent of funding under the UK “Renewables Ob ligation” system, amounting to more than £500m a year. “There is a risk that renewables in Scotland will no longer be supported by the rest of the UK. If that’s the case, Scottish consumers will have to make up the difference,” one energy executive told the Financial Times, adding that by some estimates the average annual electricity bill could rise by over £300.
FT 4th Feb 2014 read more »
Nuclear Weapons
The Navy is investigating alleged cheating on tests by senior enlisted sailors training on naval nuclear reactors at Charleston, S.C., officials said on Tuesday. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is conducting the probe. The allegations involve alleged cheating on tests related to the nuclear reactors that provide propulsion for Navy submarines and aircraft carriers.
Daily Mail 4th Feb 2014 read more »
Guardian 4th Feb 2014 read more »
Nuclear disarmament campaigners gathered in Oxford to discuss the scrapping of the UK’s Trident nuclear deterrent. Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament vice-president Dr Rebecca Johnson, who has been touring the country, delivered a talk at the event on Thursday evening. Her recent campaign is targeted at the decision due to be made in 2016 by the Government on whether to replace Trident. Dr Johnson has served on the Scottish Government’s Working Group on Nuclear Weapons and acted as a consultant for the United Nations and the European Parliament in the past.
This is Oxfordshire 4th Feb 2014 read more »
Iran
An initial agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear program was “not perfect” but bought time to try to secure a comprehensive deal, U.S. officials said on Tuesday in response to sharp criticism from Congress.
Reuters 4th Feb 2014 read more »
Poland
On 28 January, Poland’s government adopted a revised nuclear programme which indicates that the country is ready to go ahead with its plans to build the country’s first nuclear power plant. It is expected to go online in 2025. The government’s intention to go for the nuke option had already been flagged up in 2005, with a deadline of 2020, but preparations slowed down in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster and the global financial slowdown. Poland has gone for this option to better balance its energy production, which is heavily dependent on coal production, and to conform with the tightening environmental requirements of the European Union.
Modern Power Systems 3rd Feb 2014 read more »
Carbon Targets
The UK cut greenhouse gas emissions enough to meet its first carbon budget, according to new figures released today by the government. However, the latest official data also suggests CO2 emissions are on the rise again as the UK recovers from recession and the energy industry struggles to engineer a switch away from carbon intensive coal power.
Business Green 4th Feb 2014 read more »
The Scottish Government should refocus on its climate change plans following the publication of new data today showing UK-wide carbon emissions are on the rise, said WWF Scotland. The environmental group issued the warning following the publication of finalised Government figures showing that UK climate emissions (for all Greenhouse Gases) rose 3.2% between 2011 and 2012, or 4.4% (when measured as CO2 equivalent). The largest increases were experienced in the residential sector. Scotland has missed its last two targets to reduce climate change emissions. Commenting on the findings, WWF Scotland director Lang Banks said: “This data should ring alarm bells for Scottish Ministers. Increased UK-wide emissions in 2012 are a bad omen for Scotland, indicating that we could be on track for a third missed climate change target in a row.
Click Green 4th Feb 2014 read more »
Renewables – public opinion
The British public love renewables, are concerned about climate change and are broadly supportive of the green economy. How do we know this? Because for the past two years the Department of Energy and Climate Change has undertaken a quarterly survey designed track public attitudes on a range of energy and climate issues. Today sees the publication of the eighth wave of results following a survey undertaken in mid-December, and despite a vociferous and vocal media campaign against virtually every aspect of the green economy the public remains as enthusiastic as ever.
Business Green 4th Feb 2014 read more »
Green Deal
As ministers promise to inject fresh momentum into the faltering Green Deal energy efficiency scheme this year, the finance company which provides its loans has said it is doing everything in its power to boost uptake. The Green Deal Finance Company (GDFC) has been blamed in some quarters for the slow start to the scheme, which saw government fall a long way short of its goal of delivering 10,000 loans in the first year of the scheme. The latest figures reveal that just 1,612 households have Green Deal Plans in progress, representing just one per cent of the 129,000 assessments that have been carried out since the scheme was launched this time last year.
Business Green 4th Feb 2014 read more »
Energy Efficiency
Glasgow City Council has become the first local authority to switch to low energy street lights through a new loan scheme from the Green Investment Bank (GIB). The city plans to convert its 70,000 streetlights to LEDs in a bid to reduce costs, energy consumption, and light pollution, as part of a scheme that the GIB hopes will be adopted by other councils across the UK.
Business Green 4th Feb 2014 read more »
Scotsman 5th Feb 2014 read more »
CCS
Setbacks or delays in developing Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) solutions for gas-fired power plants could result in rapid growth of new nuclear capacity to meet emissions target, the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecast. “Our analysis suggests that if CCS is delayed, climate stabilisation would have to rely on a rapid expansion of nuclear power,” Maria van der Hoeven, executive director of the IEA told delegates at the GE Oil & Gas annual meeting in Florence today.
Gas to Power Journal 4th Feb 2014 read more »
Letter TUC etc: Contrary to the views expressed by Cuadrilla’s chair, John Browne, carbon capture and storage is a critical part of the world’s future low-carbon energy portfolio. Browne may argue that there are few places in the world where CCS can be made to work. But one of them is Canada, which has built the world’s first power plant CCS installation at Boundary Dam, Saskatchewan. Despite slipping behind Canada, the UK has two world-leading CCS demonstration projects under way at Drax and Peterhead. And there will be others as soon as the government has resolved its low-carbon energy policy.
Guardian 4th Feb 2014 read more »
Smart Meters
British Gas has been accused of misleading its customers about the savings they can make from installing smart meters. The meters, which the Government estimates will cost £11 billion to install in millions of homes and businesses, transmit gas and electricity usage to suppliers, meaning that customers should no longer receive estimated bills. British Gas claimed last month that the meters were “part of a free nationwide upgrade” for its customers. It also claimed that “savings of up to £75 a year are being made” by householders who have already had the meters installed. However, smart meters are not free because the energy companies plan to pass on the cost to customers in their bills. British Gas did not initially reveal results from its own survey, which showed that the average saving per customer was only £21 a year. The company did not include that figure in its press release about the results of the survey of 1,500 customers with smart meters. It chose instead to state three times that the savings “were up to £75” because customers had “greater insight” into their energy use. Homes are given a monitor that displays how much energy is used and this encourages some people to switch off appliances.
Times 5th Feb 2014 read more »
Fossil Fuels – coal bed methane
Opponents of a controversial scheme to extract coalbed methane gas from near Airth are appealing for funds so it can fight a public inquiry. Concerned Communities of Falkirk (CCoF), an umbrella group of volunteers who represent several community councils from across the district, is campaigning against proposals drawn up by Dart Energy to drill 22 new bore holes across Letham Moss to let them extract natural gas from underground. Residents across the district have already voiced their concerns about the plans – which could operate for a minimum of 25 years – and raised fears about its impact on the environment. But Dart Energy claims the scheme could power hundreds of homes and lead to a cash windfall for nearby communities. A public inquiry examining Dart’s plans will begin on March 18 and is expected to last for around three weeks.
Falkirk Herald 29th January 2014 read more »
Fossil Fuels – Fracking
Shale gas exploration company Cuadrilla has said it will apply to drill and frack a total of eight wells at two new sites in Lancashire. The company already has three sites in the north-west – including the only site, near Blackpool, where modern hydraulic fracturing techniques have been used so far in the UK. Cuadrilla is not currently fracking at any of these sites owing to setbacks including small earth tremors caused by the drilling, and concerns over migrating birds. Planning permission will be needed to drill and frack at the proposed new sites of Roseacre Wood and Preston New Road, both close to the company’s existing operations. An application for planning permission will be submitted this summer and if successful, drilling could begin next year.
Guardian 4th Feb 2014 read more »
Times 5th Feb 2014 read more »
Independent 5th Feb 2014 read more »
Cuadrilla’s plans to frack in Lancashire could be blocked by hostile landowners – despite the offer of benefits that could exceed £6,000 a household for communities living near two proposed drilling sites.
Telegraph 4th Feb 2014 read more »
Letter Dr Robin Russell-Jones: Studies by Professor Tom Wigley have shown that fugitive emissions of methane from fracking have to be kept below 2% if shale gas is to have any advantage over coal from a climate change perspective. There is currently no UK legislation that limits the amount of methane released by fracking. The Environment Agency is relying on Alarp (as low as reasonably practicable), a poorly defined principle that has to include costs. And if there is any disagreement between industry and the regulatory authority over costs, there are no prizes for guessing which side the environment secretary, Owen Patterson, will support.
Guardian 4th Feb 2014 read more »
