20 July 2010

New Nukes

Early decisions and radical changes are needed to the UK’s electricity market to secure the large-scale private sector investment required for nuclear new build to proceed, a new report concludes. The report from global consultancy KPMG was commissioned by German utility RWE. The report has not been published in full yet, but summary conclusions were released Monday. It says that early decisions need to be implemented if the UK is to achieve its transition to low carbon electricity generation. “Positive investment decisions on the scale of new nuclear generation required under most scenarios are unlikely to be achieved under the current framework,” the report says. “A carbon price floor may provide some benefits to investors in new nuclear generation but will not be effective on its own in achieving positive investment decisions of the scale required,” the report says.

Platts 19th July 2010 more >>

KPMG Press Release 19th July 2010 more >>

An early and radical reform of UK electricity markets is needed to provide a framework to secure large-scale private sector investment in nuclear energy in the UK, consultancy group KPMG has warned. Such investment, it says, will be needed for the country to meet its ambitious emission reduction targets.

World Nuclear News 19th July 2010 more >>

R&D

The UK government announced last week that it was cutting yet more money from of the energy R&D budget. Some £34m is to be axed, affecting low-carbon technology programmes including offshore wind, wood fuels, building insulation and geothermal energy. This represents a reduction of just under 20% of total public expenditure on low-carbon technologies. This figure is on top of the cancellation of the £80m loan to Sheffield Forgemasters that would have paid for much of the installation of a new press to make the huge parts necessary for new nuclear power stations.

Guardian 20th July 2010 more >>

Companies

Revived talks on a reverse takeover of International Power by French group GDF Suez, the world’s biggest utility business, were given an early boost with the biggest shareholder in the British power generator supporting the deal. IP has expanded rapidly since being hived off by National Power after privatisation. Its strong balance sheet and expanding operations in developing markets make it an attractive target for a group which has been on an investment and acquisition binge since the French government approved Suez’s takeover of Gaz de France. GDF has a generating presence in Britain with a Teesside power plant but has teamed up with Iberdrola, the Spanish owner of Scottish Power, to break into the nuclear power business in Britain in competition with EDF, the state-owned energy group.

Telegraph 20th July 2010 more >>

Times 20th July 2010 more >>

Nuclear Subsidy

The government’s case for cancelling an £80m loan to a Sheffield engineering company has been undermined after it emerged that David Cameron and Nick Clegg wrongly accused its directors of being unwilling to dilute their shares. The loan, approved by the previous government, was designed to help Sheffield Forgemasters expand further into providing parts for nuclear power stations. It was made on the basis the company raised further capital by selling 40 per cent of its shares to private equity.

FT 20th July 2010 more >>

Hinkley

Anti-nuclear campaigners claimed yesterday the chances of new nuclear reactors operating in the West by 2018 have been hit by a planning delay. Hinkley Point in Somerset in Somerset has been earmarked for the first wave of new reactors, while Oldbury, South Gloucestershire is being considered for a later project. Energy Minister Charles Hendry has revealed the National Policy Statements (NPS) will pave the way for a new generation of nuclear power will not be presented to Parliament until next spring. The Western Daily Press reported on Wednesday how Mr Hendry told MPs they would have been agreed by Parliament before the winter. Now he says they “have decided to take a further look at the appraisal of sustainability (AoS) of our draft energy policy statements to make sure that they are fit for purpose. Taking this decision now is essential to safeguard our long-term goal of a sustainable and secure energy supply.”

Bristol Evening Post 17th July 2010 more >>

Iran

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said the US must stop using “cowboy logic” if it wants dialogue with Iran over its nuclear programme.

BBC 19th July 2010 more >>

US

It’s not clear we’d see a nuclear boom even with a carbon price. A recent MIT report on “The Future of Nuclear Power” concluded that under the House cap-and-trade program, nuclear power plants would still have difficulty attracting financing, partly because they’re prone to cost overruns and delays. (Just look at the EPR reactor being built in Finland.) That’s why the nuclear industry is asking for government loan guarantees on top of carbon pricing. They argue that once the first wave of new plants get built remember, there hasn’t been a new reactor ordered since the 1970s then the costs will start tumbling down. That’s a hard argument to assess.

New Republic 16th July 2010 more >>

China

After more than a century as the country that consumes the most energy, the United States has been knocked off its perch by China.

Telegraph 20th July 2010 more >>

Trident

ANTI-NUCLEAR campaigners are planning to stage the biggest blockade ever held in Plymouth to protest against Trident.

Hundreds of protesters are intending to block all six entrances to Devonport Naval Base and the adjoining dockyard on November 1. The protest, which organisers describe as a non-violent event, will see anti-nuclear activists from across the country descending on Plymouth.

Plymouth Herald 20th July 2010 more >>

With the number of nuclear-armed states threatening to grow, Britain probably does need to maintain a nuclear deterrent. But the weapons involved are so horrific that any semi-rational adversary is likely to be as deterred by a 1 per cent chance of nuclear annihilation as by a 100 per cent certainty. Britain’s recent government white paper on nuclear weapons emphasised the need for a “credible” nuclear deterrent, such as Trident, but an all-but incredible one would be just as effective. Instead, Britain’s official thinking is still based on ideas derived from the cold war: a time in which it seemed essential to convince the Kremlin that, if the Soviet Union were ever to nuke Britain, what was left of Britain could definitely strike back.

FT 20th July 2010 more >>

Letter: It’s time to press Liam Fox further over his belief that we should continue with the replacement of Trident to “ensure we have the precautions to protect Britain from nuclear blackmail by any other state”. There are a number of key questions which can, and should, be answered now. Are we prepared to use Trident? Under what circumstances? Would it be used in a pre-emptive strike or in retaliation? Would it be used against a “rogue” state such as Iran, or against a terrorist group such as al-Qaida within another state? It is not enough simply to say that we do not know what the threats will be over the next few decades. We are long past the game of bluff that played out during the cold war, and a reliance on the hope that no one will call our bluff is no longer sufficient to keep us safe in this increasingly complex world.

Guardian 20th July 2010 more >>

The strategic defence and security review set up by the government will be “skewed” unless it includes the future of the Trident missile system, a former Liberal Democrat leader and spokesman on defence and foreign affairs said today.

Guardian 20th July 2010 more >>

Solar

Larry Hagman, forever known as J.R. Ewing from “Dallas” (but better remembered by me as Major Tony Nelson, master of Jeannie the genie) is doing a series of ads for SolarWorld, one of the biggest PV manufacturers. Hagman has the largest solar array of any residence in the US, maybe the world. He has also been an outspoken advocate for solar for a number of years, and serves on the board of Solar Electric Light Fund, an NGO bringing power and wireless communication to the developing world.

Climate Change 15th July 2010 more >>

Low Carbon Technology

Low-carbon technologies must continue to get government support, or risk falling into the “valley of death” where they never reach market, according to the latest report from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC). The independent body set up to report on progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, recommended that the UK must protect funding for green industries and identified offshore wind, carbon capture and storage and smart grids among the six priority areas that should be nurtured in order for the UK to meet its ambitious carbon-reduction targets.

Guardian 20th July 2010 more >>

One of the energy industry’s biggest shareholders has threatened to block all new investments in British renewables unless the Government increases the returns available to investors and gives greater certainty over its future policy. Neil Woodford, the head of investment at Invesco Perpetual which holds more than £4.5 billion of shares in energy companies including National Grid, Centrica, United Utilities, SSE, Drax and International Power fired a warning shot at coalition plans for a green energy revolution. He accused officials of a fundamental lack of understanding of the challenges facing the sector. In a letter to the chairman of the energy regulator Ofgem, Mr Woodford said: “Unless reforms to the electricity market are appropriately structured and give greater clarity and incentives around renewable investment, we will not support this incremental investment . . . and will seek to achieve our desired returns from rising prices in an increasingly constrained supply market.”

Times 20th July 2010 more >>