Hinkley
This could be the week that EDF’s new nuclear ambition in Britain collapses, and with it, the climate-killing policies of our government. And this could be the week that YOU help make this happen! On Tuesday Feb 16 in France, EDF’s board will meet and try to make their postponed ‘final decision’ about whether to go any further with the ill-fated Hinkley C new nuclear plant. The Board of the state-owned company is split, with union reps warning that the Somerset project could bankrupt EDF, who already face massive financial difficulties. The repeatedly delayed decision is now on a knife-edge – bad news for the Tories, but brilliant news for renewables and everyone who wants a safe, clean, affordable and democratic power supply. So the people who work on the campaign against Hinkley C want you to help us tip the balance, by joining a protest at an EDF premises on Monday 15th Feb, or doing one of your own; By emailing French representatives and executives; By spreading information far and wide.
Theo’s Blog 8th Feb 2016 read more »
The group South-West Against Nuclear (SWAN) are calling for an international day of action and occupation of EDF offices/facilities on Monday15th Febuary to demand that EDF withdraw from the Hinkley C project & give up their nuclear ambitions in the UK. On the following day, February 16th cash-strapped EDF will meet to decide whether to continue with their new nuclear plant at Hinkley C in Somerset or not. It could go either way. The EDF occupations we are calling for on the 15th of February are part of the Groundswell year of action for climate justice. Justice that we believe is being denied by government collusion with the nuclear industry. Nuclear Power is not needed, clean reliable safe renewable energy is.
South West Against Nuclear 6th Feb 2016 read more »
Wylfa
Gwynedd holiday parks offer to house Wylfa Newydd workers.
Daily Post 8th Feb 2016 read more »
NDA
The Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) has submitted today its response to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s (NDA) consultations on its Draft Strategy 2016 – 2021 and its Draft Business Plan 2016 – 2019. The NDA Draft Strategy sums up its key priorities for the next five years in the decommissioning of nuclear reactors and the safe management of radioactive waste. The Business Plan explains what resources it will spend on each priority. NDA was awarded a budget of £3 billion in the latest Government Spending Review, but is expected to make £1 billion in ‘efficiency savings’ by 2020. In its submission, NFLA raise continuing concerns over NDA strategies that are increasingly moving towards a ‘dilute and dispersal’ policy of radioactive waste management instead of ‘concentrate and contain’ policies. This is leading to more radioactive waste being spread into the environment by diverting it to landfill sites, discharging into estuaries, seas and atmosphere using dissolution plants, metal recycling plants and incinerators – masquerading as what is called the environmentally-friendly sounding ‘waste hierarchy’.
Nuclear Free Local Authorities 8th Feb 2016 read more »
Radwaste Policy Briefing No.61.
NFLA 8th Feb 2016 read more »
Energy Policy
Catherine Mitchell: Innovation and Energy Governance – lessons to be learned from New York State?.
IGov 5th Feb 2016 read more »
Europe
The European Commission (EC) should establish clear guidelines on investment for nuclear new build in the forthcoming Illustrative Programme for Nuclear Energy (Pinc), the Brussels-based industry group Foratom said. In contrast to renewable energy projects, which enjoy “clear guidelines”, investments in the nuclear sector are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and this deters potential interest in new build, Foratom director-general Jean-Pol Poncelet said. The EC is mandated to periodically issue a new Pinc to indicate targets and programmes for nuclear production and any necessary investment. The new document is expected to be published on 29 February 2016, nine years after the release of the last Pinc in 2007. Foratom also said the current EU emission trading system (ETS) does not provide “sufficient incentive” for developing low-carbon energy.
Nucnet 8th Feb 2016 read more »
An EU Council of Ministers working group has recommended the European Atomic Energy Community’s (Euratom’s) participation in the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) be extended for a further ten years. The final adoption of this decision by the Council of Ministers is expected soon.
World Nuclear News 8th Feb 2016 read more »
Uranium
Today, Friday 5 February at 08:30 CET, WikiLeaks releases a collection of documents that open up a corrupt multi-billion dollar war by Western and Chinese companies grab uranium and other mining rights in the Central African Republic (CAR) and escape paying for the environmental consequences. Among the hundreds of pages in this publication are detailed maps of mining rights, mining contracts with illegal kickbacks and secret investigative reports. The documents have been long sought by fraud investigators. In December 2015 a case was filed against Areva, alleging corruption related to the €1.8 billion purchase of three uranium mines in 2007. Effective oversight process by the local authorities is subverted either by duping state officials with deceiving front companies, such as the UN registered World Sports Alliance (WSA), now recycled into a cover for mining companies, or by corrupting them through the payment of ‘cash bonuses’. After a profitable exploitation of resources, companies such as Areva – a French multinational group specialising in nuclear power – abandon the country, leaving behind nuclear contamination without having launched any of the promised investments.
Wikileaks 5th Feb 2016 read more »
Switzerland – radwaste
Two Swiss expert groups have today released reports supporting the repository siting proposals put forward by the country’s national radioactive waste disposal cooperative Nagra. However, they call for further investigations to be carried out in the Nördlich Lägern region.
World Nuclear News 8th Feb 2016 read more »
US
America’s crumbling nuclear power plants, dozens of them built to the design that spectacularly failed at Fukushima, must be closed down to prevent catastrophe, writes Harvey Wasserman. So let’s hear Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton speak out on the topic and make it a core issue in the Presidential race!
Ecologist 8th Feb 2016 read more »
Belgium
Cracked pressure vessels haven’t kept Belgium from restarting two nuclear reactors that many experts consider unsafe. Now, a lawsuit contesting that decision is underway. They are not safe: That is the basic argument brought forth by the Brussels-based lawyers Pierre and Maxime Chome on behalf of the NGO Nucleaire Stop Kernenergie, which is seeking to shut down two nuclear reactors in Belgium. Last year, authorities turned off the reactors Doel 3, near Antwerp, and Tihange 2, close to the border with Germany, after tiny cracks were found in their pressure vessels. However, the reactors were restarted at the end of 2015, when Belgium’s nuclear authority assessed that they were safe after all.
Deutsche Welle 8th Feb 2016 read more »
India
India has ratified an international convention on nuclear energy accident liability, with the foreign ministry submitting documents ratifying the ‘convention of supplementary compensation for nuclear damage’, which seeks to establish a uniform global legal regime for the compensation of victims in the event of a nuclear accident.
Domain-B 5th Feb 2016 read more »
Trident
Replacement for ageing Trident submarines moves closer as BAE gets funding for advance work on new vessels.
Telegraph 8th Feb 2016 read more »
Anger as Trident is compared to World War Two spitfires by Shadow Defence Secretary Emily Thornberry as Labour row over nuclear deterrent intensifies.
Daily Mail 8th Feb 2016 read more »
Renewables – solar
Ikea has quietly stopped selling solar panels to UK householders after the government signalled a drastic cut in solar subsidies and just two years after a media-friendly national launch. The world’s biggest furniture retailer expanded the solar offering to all its 17 UK stores in 2013-14 following a successful pilot at its Lakeside store in Essex. The company’s UK head of sustainability said at the time: “We know that our customers want to live more sustainably and we hope working with Hanergy [Ikea’s technology partner] to make solar panels affordable and easily available helps them do just that.” But in November last year the company decided not to renew its contract with the Hong Kong-headquartered firm, two months after the government announced a dramatic reduction in solar subsidies.
Guardian 8th Feb 2016 read more »
Renewables – Scotland
Scottish wind turbines exported 1,125,544MWh of electricity to the UK National Grid last month – enough to supply, on average, the electrical needs of 123% of Scottish households (2.98 million homes). Wind turbines generated enough output to supply 100% or more of Scottish homes on 22 out of the 31 days of January, according to data analysis provided by WWF Scotland. Scotland’s total electricity consumption (i.e. including homes, business and industry) for January was 2,354,117MWh. Wind power therefore generated the equivalent of 48% of Scotland’s entire electricity needs for the month. Lang Banks, Director, WWF Scotland, said: “With this kind of flying start to the year, I have little doubt that 2016 will be another record year for renewables. However, what happens in the longer term will be down to our political leaders.
Scottish Energy News 9th Feb 2016 read more »
Wind power provided almost half of Scotland’s entire electricity needs last month, new research has shown. There were 22 days in January when the amount of electricity generated from the wind was sufficient to power every home in the country. WWF Scotland analysed data on renewable power provided by Weather Energy, and found wind turbines supplied a total of 1,125,544 Megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity to the national grid. While this is 14% lower than in January 2015, it still amounts to 48% of Scotland’s total electricity consumption, which includes power used by homes, businesses and industry for the month.
STV 8th Feb 2016 read more »
The National 8th Feb 2016 read more »
Scotsman 8th Feb 2016 read more »
Aberdeen Press & Journal 8th Feb 2016 read more »
SeeRenewables 8th Feb 2016 read more »
Business Green 8th Feb 2016 read more »
Local Energy
Labour’s London Mayor candidate Sadiq Khan has outlined his ambition to ignite a ‘clean energy revolution’ in the capital, pledging to be the ‘greenest mayor ever’. Khan’s plans, announced on a visit to the Islington Bunhill Energy Centre, were headlined by ‘Energy for Londoners’ – a not-for-profit company that will take a lead on clean and green energy across the city. Among other things, the new company would develop a dedicated solar strategy to take advantage of London roofs and land; create further district heating schemes and issue Green Bonds in order to to invest in green projects across the city. “I want to be the greenest Mayor London has ever had,” said Khan.” I want my daughters to grow up in a city that is cleaner and greener, in which people aren’t dying because the air is so filthy. But I also want London to be at the cutting edge of new green technologies, generating the growth and jobs of the future. “Energy for Londoners will bring a renewed focus to our drive to make London a cleaner, greener city.
Edie 8th Feb 2016 read more »
Business Green 8th Feb 2016 read more »
Fossil Fuels
The government has issued a fresh denial that the UK is at risk of blackouts after one of the country’s biggest coal power stations announced plans to close. The French company Engie said it would shut its Rugeley power station in the summer, putting 150 jobs in doubt and affecting 190 contractors. The Staffordshire coal power plant is the latest to pull down the shutters due to low power prices and higher carbon costs, as the energy secretary, Amber Rudd, moves to phase out coal by 2025. The closure will fuel fears of a supply crunch because it removes a gigawatt (GW) of energy from the National Grid – enough to power 500,000 homes.
Guardian 8th Feb 2016 read more »
Telegraph 8th Feb 2016 read more »
CCS
Energy minister Andrea Leadsom has rejected calls for the government to develop a national strategy for carbon capture and storage (CCS), describing it as “unnecessary”. She was debating an amendment to the Energy Bill put forward by MPs from Labour and the SNP which sought to create one by June 2017. Its follows the government’s eleventh hour decision to axe a £1 billion competition to help develop the technology in November. Last month industry experts called on the government to provide “clarity on the future of CCS.
Utility Week 8th Feb 2016 read more »
A team of AGR experts in Norway and Scotland has advised the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate and the UK National Grid on CCS and has delivered technical support including C02 transport, injection and storage. Now AGR – a global oil and gas services and software company – has finalised a new two-year framework agreement to act as technical advisors to Norwegian state-owned Gassnova, as the country progresses with its national Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) development.
Scottish Energy News 9th Feb 2016 read more »
Climate Change
Our greenhouse gas emissions today could lead to tens of metres of sea level rise that persist for hundreds of thousands of years. The paper aims to tackle the “misleading impression in the public arena” that human-caused climate change is merely a 21st century problem. Our carbon emissions over just a few centuries will remain in the atmosphere for “tens to hundreds of thousands of years,” the paper says. This means our impact on temperatures and sea levels will be around for more than just a few human generations. Using computer models of the climate, ice sheets and the carbon cycle, the researchers projected changes in temperature and sea levels for the next 10,000 years. The results are stark. Under four different scenarios of global carbon emissions, the projections suggest a rise in the Earth’s average temperature of between 2C and 7.5C above pre-industrial levels, which would eventually see global sea levels rise by 25-52m.
Carbon Brief 8th Feb 2016 read more »
Guardian 8th Feb 2016 read more »
