Wylfa
A steam leak shut down a turbine at a nuclear power plant that had just reopened after a five-month shut down. The 490-MW Unit 1 at the Wylfa nuclear power plant in Wales was operating normally and shut down following normal procedures, according to the BBC. A spokesperson for plant operator Magnox said in the article that the steam release was not part of the nuclear reactor equipment. The reactor restarted earlier in July after a five-month shutdown. The reactor was down January 6 for a planned maintenance outage, but repairs to a turbine and a gas circulator delayed two restart efforts. The unit is scheduled to permanently shut down on September 30, but Magnox requested a 15-month life extension. Wylfa 2 was shut down in April 2012 after 41 years of operation.
Power Engineering 7th July 2014 read more »
BBC 7th July 2014 read more »
Daily Post 7th July 2014 read more »
A Welsh delegation say they have returned from a visit to Japan with a greater sense of co-operation, a deeper understanding and renewed commitment to realising the opportunities provided by a proposed new nuclear build on Anglesey. The visit which included seeing an Advanced Boiling Water Reactor under construction, took place as plans for a new nuclear power station on Anglesey, Wylfa Newydd, continue apace. Anglesey Council’s Head of Economic and Community Regeneration, Dylan Williams; Anglesey Energy Island Programme Director, Dr John Idris Jones; and County Council Leader, Councillor Ieuan Williams, were among the group who were invited to visit Japan by Horizon Nuclear Power and Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy Ltd (Hitachi GE).
News Wales 7th July 2014 read more »
Sizewell
A poster campaign hit a stumbling block on the day of its launch after unknown culprits tore down the notices lining a Suffolk road. The B1122 Action Group was formed by residents of Middleton, Theberton and Yoxford to voice concerns of disruption if the road becomes the official route for Sizewell C construction traffic. But just hours after members put up posters carrying their message, they discovered almost half of them had been removed.
East Anglian Daily Times 7th July 2014 read more »
Waste Transport
PLANS to ship radioactive waste from Torness power station by road have been described as “crazy” by a former Government advisor. French nuclear firm EDF Energy is applying for new authorisations to allow to move the dangerous waste between its two nuclear power stations at Torness and Hunterston in North Ayrshire. Opposition fear it would mean containers will be increasingly moved, heightening the risk of accidents. Applications made to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) by the power giant, go out to consultation this month. Both include the stipulation “the ability to receive radioactive waste from other EDF power stations for the purpose of interim storage, loading of containers and onward transfer.” Energy consultant Pete Roche, a former government radiation adviser based in the Capital, warned it was a “nightmare vision with waste trucks criss-crossing the country.” He said: “Transporting nuclear waste is always going to be a risk, so the more you transport it, the greater the danger. “The Scottish Government should force EDF Energy to operate according to its sensible policy of requiring waste to be treated as n ar to where it is produced as possible instead of allowing this crazy plan putting the central belt of Scotland at risk.”
Edinburgh Evening News 6th July 2014 read more »
Areva
Areva has proved that financing nuclear industry projects can be an attractive prospect for the banking sector, Jérôme Guttieres, vice president of the French group’s financial operations and treasury department, tells World Nuclear News. Areva has finalized a project financing transaction for Société d’Enrichissement du Tricastin (SET), which owns and runs the Georges Besse II enrichment plant. The company said on 30 June it has arranged a loan of €650 million ($888 million) over ten years with support from a group of ten international banks. The scheme enables Areva to benefit from favourable financing conditions, said Guttieres, whilst retaining access to cash generated by plant activity. It also makes it possible for Areva to diversify its sources of finance without any impact on the average duration of its debt.
World Nuclear News 7th July 2014 read more »
Energy Policy
The House of Lords EU Committee will this week take evidence from Ed Davey MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change in a one-off session on the EU’s energy and climate change policy. Areas the Committee will cover with Mr Davey include: Is he confident that the Government’s proposed energy capacity mechanism can be delivered and does he believe the European Commission will give the plan state aid approval? How significant is the European Council’s decision to include energy and climate change as one of the overarching priorities for the EU and how will the European Commission turn that aspiration into action? What action is being taken to persuade Member States still heavily reliant on coal to accept ambitious carbon reduction plans? What is the Government doing to facilitate energy interconnections between Member States? Is he confident an ambitious international agreement on climate change can be reached next year and following his recent visit to Washington DC and what is the level of support for such an agreement in the US?
House of Lords 7th July 2014 read more »
Japan
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it has no idea when it can resume the cooling system for one of the spent fuel pools. [TEPCO] halted the cooling system at the No.5 reactor on Sunday after workers found seawater leaking from a pipe. Seawater is used to lower the temperature of coolant water […] they are still considering how to repair the pipe. […] TEPCO says the temperature will reach the company’s safety limit of 65 degrees in a little over a week. The operator plans to channel seawater into the pool to curb the rise in temperature.
Ene News 7th July 2014 read more »
Fox News 7th July 2014 read more »
Typhoon Neoguri reached sustained winds of over 150 miles per hour Sunday, making it a ‘super typhoon,’ as it continued to gain force and approach Japan’s southern and western islands. It is likely to cause heavy rains and strong winds across much of Japan, and threaten at least two nuclear power plants in its path. Heavy rains from another storm have already been setting records in Kyushu, Japan’s southern and southwestern-most major island, where Neoguri is likely to make first landfall. Kyushu is home to two nuclear plants, which have been shut down for safety in advance of the storm’s arrival. A nuclear plant on nearby Shikoku island has been shut down for safety, as well. After making landfall, the storm is expected to move north through virtually all of Japan, losing strength as it travels up the island.
Climate Progress 7th July 2014 read more »
More than 500,000 people have been told to evacuate and nuclear power plants have been shut down as a powerful typhoon heads to japan.
Mirror 8th July 2014 read more »
Trident
I was at the surreal press conference on 1 July launching the Trident Commission report. with an eminences grises of a panel including ex Tory defence & foreign secretary Sir Malcom Rifkind in the chair, Labour’s last defence secretary Lord Browne of Ladyton, Lib Dem former leader and member of the Intelligence & security committee, Sir Ming Campbell, Professor Alyson Bailes and ex UK Ambassador to the UN, Sir Jeremy Greenstock. It was the Establishment in aspic. I pointed out despite the Commissioners saying they were in favour of multilateral nuclear disarmament, the only nuclear disarmament they could cite were unilateral withdrawal of ancient nuclear weapons systems (atomic artillery, free-fall bombs) and some warheads deemed no longernecessary by the MOD, so really they were praising CND’s unilateralist approach, so long decried by those who defend nuclear weapons to death. I said they were muddled in stating – correctly – the UK had a responsibility under the NPT to negotiate complete nuclear disarmament, but then claiming UK retention of nuclear WMDs was crucial as an insurance just-in-case of changed strategic security situation.
David Lowry 5th July 2014 read more »
Letter Dr Julian Lewis MP: Even the Liberal Democrats, who endlessly promoted nuclear cruise missiles on Astute-class submarines as an alternative to Trident – a strategy mooted by Mark Campbell-Roddis – have been forced to abandon this notion.
Telegraph 8th July 2014 read more »
Renewables – solar
The UK’s solar industry has called on Prime Minister David Cameron to back further financial support for the sector. A letter signed by over 150 companies will be handed to the PM’s office at midday today, and comes as the Department for Energy and Climate Change closes its consultation on proposed changes to support for solar power. The Solar Trade Association (STA), who organised the letter, said in a statement that the current policy framework threatens the industry’s potential to become ‘subsidy-free’ and contribute £78 billion per annum to the UK economy by 2020. “The government is now proposing to tilt the playing field against large-scale solar, while not taking sufficient action to unlock commercial rooftop solar – that is unacceptable,” said the STA’s chief executive Paul Barwell.
Utility Week 7th July 2014 read more »
More than 150 businesses have called for Prime Minister David Cameron to support the UK solar industry in a letter to Downing Street. The letter, signed by a coalition of 150 businesses including brands such as IKEA, KYOCERA, Interface and Triodos Bank, warns against destabilising the lucrative solar power market in the UK, when the global solar market could be worth £78billion per annum by 2020. The warning comes on the day the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) closes its consultation on proposed changes to subsidies for solar power. The proposals, the signatories argue, will have a damaging effect on the solar industry.
Edie 7th July 2014 read more »
Environmental charity, Friends of the Earth (FoE) has urged UK ministers to rethink changes to solar support. The campaigning group said changes to the renewable energy obligation (RO) “risk derailing Britain’s renewable energy revolution”, and would prevent the ability to keep down energy bills and sustain energy security. “Solar power is already cheaper than new nuclear, could soon be less expensive than gas, and can be installed safely and discreetly in the heart of our communities” says Alasdair Cameron, Friends of the Earth’s energy campaigner.
Solar Portal 7th July 2014 read more »
The government and leading solar industry players are workign together to develop a range of new initaives designed to encourage more businesses to install solar panels on their rooftops, in line with government plans to shift the focus of the market away from solar farms towards buildings-mounted arrays. Climate Change Minister Greg Barker last week revealed he would host a roundtable in early September with landlords, estate agents, lawyers, large retailers and solar developers, which aims to identify and overcome the barriers to the deployment of solar technolgies on commercial and industrial rooftops.
Business Green 7th July 2014 read more »
Renewables – wave and tidal
The Crown Estate has given approval to four new demonstration wave and tidal projects in Scotland. It said that, for the first time, local organisations would play a role in developing the zones which have been approved. The Scottish zones and sites are in the Stronsay Firth in Orkney, the Mull of Galloway, Islay and Harris. The Crown Estate said it is attempting to “further technology development and commercialisation”.
BBC 8th July 2014 read more »
The UK’s fledgling wave and tidal power industry will receive a boost today as the Crown Estate unveils 11 new sites for developers to test out and commercialise their devices. The seabed landlord has agreed to lease out areas of the seabed across Scotland, Wales, and England for the development of five 10-30MW capacity project sites and six new demonstration zones.
Business Green 8th July 2014 read more »
Energy Efficiency
A new manifesto published by the Sustainable Energy Association (SEA) has calculated that the UK could save £12.1billion per year by 2050 by focusing energy policy on greener buildings.
Edie 7th July 2014 read more »
Business Green 7th July 2014 read more »
According to the prevailing myth, switching fluorescent lights on and off repeatedly uses more energy than leaving them on. It is false. Busting myths such as this, as well as practical advice and “virtual tours” of the office to show where energy savings can be made, are some of the features of Empower, an app being made available to the Nationwide Building Society’s 17,000 staff as part of a campaign by the UK mutual to reduce its carbon footprint. LSI Architects’, meanwhile, uses Sefaira, an energy app that records and models the effectiveness of different energy saving measures early in the building design process. It gives clients detailed information on the running costs of buildings, according to Ben Goode, a partner at the company. The applications are two examples of how digital technology and data are improving sustainability programmes. Environmental impact can be measured, controlled and communicated like never before.
FT 7th July 2014 read more »
Demand Management
Step inside the cramped, white-painted offices of KiWi Power and it looks more like a tech startup than an energy business – as exemplified by the open shirt and beaded necklace sported by co-founder Ziko Abram. In fact, it is the firm’s tech-savvy product that offers a way out of the long-term threat of blackouts and shortages. A lack of investment in new power plants plus an accelerating closure programme for existing sites has meant spare capacity to deal with surges in demand caused by cold weather, gas import int erruptions or plant failures has fallen from about 25% in the early 1990s to 5%-10% this year. However, higher than expected demand could see that margin fall to about 2%, industry regulator Ofgem admitted last week. The decrease has led to warnings from the industry of serious consequences unless the government encourages the building of new plants. The chairman of British Gas owner Centrica said this year that threats to impose price caps or break up the UK’s biggest energy supplier was raising the real possibility of “the lights going out in the Britain”. This is where Abram comes in. KiWi makes a laptop-sized piece of equipment that helps 650 plants or buildings in Britain save on energy bills by using less power. The firm monitors the energy being used by its customers and can cut their power usage at short notice. This could mean turning off lights or air conditioning during peak times of national energy demand for up to an hour at a time – if agreed by the customer. This is known as demand reduction (DR) and KiWi users – including several NHS hospitals, Marriott hotels and industrial groups – are paid by the National Grid for the energy they save.
Guardian 7th July 2014 read more »
Grid Connections
The UK could cut the cost of household energy by £1 billion if it doubled its current links to Continental European power markets through the increased use of power interconnectors, National Grid chief executive Steve Holliday said.
Utility Week 7th July 2014 read more »
Fossil Fuels
The American shale gas revolution shaved more off global carbon emissions than all the world’s windfarms and solar panels put together in 2012 according to Chris Faulkner, boss of US fracking firm Breitling Energy. We think he’s wrong. Even with some pretty heroic assumptions, he’s only almost right. Let’s see why. Faulkner made his claim at a fringe meeting of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. He had been invited to speak by UK Conservative MP David Davis, a long-standing critic of climate change policies in general and wind energy in particular. Faulker said: “In 2012, the shift to gas has managed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 300 million tonnes. Compare this to the fact that all the wind turbines and solar panels in the world reduce carbon dioxide emissions, at a maximum, by 275 million tonnes. In other words, the US shale gas revolution has by itself reduced global emissions more than all the well-intentioned solar and wind in the world.”
Carbon Brief 7th July 2014 read more »
