News February 2018

Bradwell

27 February 2018

Energy service giant Wood will provide technical assistance as part of a project to construct a new nuclear power station in the UK. The Aberdeen-headquartered company has inked framework agreement with General Nuclear System Limited (GNS), a joint venture between China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) and EDF Energy. The Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency are currently conducting a generic design assessment (GDA) of the UKHPR1000 reactor proposed for Bradwell in Essex. Wood began working with CGN nearly four years ago and has helped to produce a number of key documents for submission to UK regulators in relation to Bradwell. Bob MacDonald, CEO of Wood’s specialist technical solutions business, said: “This agreement advances our strategy to secure a key position in every UK nuclear new build. It also cements our role as a key partner in delivering the GDA for the UK HPR1000 reactor.

Energy Voice 27th Feb 2018 read more »

Radwaste

27 February 2018

The UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) is to carry out an expert peer review of a Canadian research programme on microbiologically influenced corrosion of canisters that will be used to dispose of used nuclear fuel. The NNL has been contracted by Canada’s National Waste Management Organisation (NWMO) to review its work on the potential for corrosion of the copper-clad canisters. Although copper is highly resistant to corrosion, under anoxic conditions – that is, where no oxygen is present – sulphate-reducing bacteria have the potential to produce sulphide, which can lead to microbiologically induced corrosion (MIC) of copper. Waste management organisations and regulators therefore need to understand the levels of sulphide that will be present in a geological disposal facility, to understand its potential to migrate to the canister surface and the potential for it to cause copper corrosion, the NNL said.

World Nuclear News 26th Feb 2018 read more »

Radhealth

27 February 2018

There are many reasons to object the the plan for the first deep coal mine in the UK for 30 years. The North Western Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority has voiced concerns. They highlight the following concern which is uniquely perilous to this area of the Irish Sea: “Offshore Subsidence – resuspension and dispersal of radioactive contaminants. The documentation has confirmed to NWIFCA that a risk of subsidence exists and therefore there remains an overwhelming concern over the potential for disturbance and resuspension of radioactive contaminants and sediments.”

Keep Cumbrian Coal in the hole 26th Feb 2018 read more »

Brexit

27 February 2018

Jeremy Corbyn has vowed the Labour Party would make sure the UK remains part of the EU’s internal energy market (IEM) and the Euratom nuclear co-operation treaty after Brexit. In a speech focussed on the country’s future trading relations, the Leader of the Opposition said continued membership of the IEM is essential to the development of the UK’s low carbon economy. He suggested this was because expertise, equipment and new technologies must be able to be freely traded across borders if the renewable power and energy efficiency sectors are to grow. Mr Corbyn said the UK must remain part of Euratom to regulate and ensure access to nuclear materials in the energy and health sectors. He added: “We can only tackle climate change, pollution and environmental degradation by working together and many of our closest allies in that struggle are in Europe. “The importance of getting our Brexit settlement right is vital in this area both in terms of Britain’s industrial role in reducing climate change and in terms of protecting jobs and industry.” He also promised to seek to negotiate a number of exemptions from the rules of the wider EU single market, for instance to nationalise the energy sector.

Energy Live News 26th Feb 2018 read more »

Proliferation

27 February 2018

The last thing the Middle East needs is another country with the potential to build nuclear weapons. Yet that could happen if the United States mishandles Saudi Arabia’s plans to enter the nuclear power business and erect as many as 16 nuclear reactors for electricity generation over 25 years. The Saudis aren’t saying they want to become the second country, after Israel, to have a nuclear arsenal in the increasingly unstable region. They insist the reactors would be used only to generate energy for domestic purposes, so they can rely on their huge reserves of oil to generate income from overseas. Still, there are growing signs that the Saudis want the option of building nuclear weapons to hedge against their archrival, Iran, which had a robust nuclear program before accepting severe curbs under a 2015 deal with the United States and other major powers.

New York Times 25th Feb 2018 read more »

Energy Demand

27 February 2018

National Grid’s ability to accurately gauge Britain’s peak electricity demand has been called into question because of concerns over its access to detailed information from small generating facilities. The company, which owns and operates the transmission network that carries electricity around the UK, is struggling to get hold of data showing how much power is being generated by smaller plants that connect to local distribution networks rather than its central grid. One of National Grid’s key roles is to balance supply and demand of electricity and advise the government on how much capacity is needed at peak times to ensure there are no blackouts. As the UK’s electricity system moves towards more low-carbon sources of generation, the amount of power coming from “distributed” or “embedded” generation, which bypasses the central grid, is growing. Electricity from embedded generation currently supplies around 10GW at peak demand times – about 17 per cent of demand, according to National Grid. The level of output, however, changes depending on the time of day and the weather. In January the total volume exported by these sites represented about 7 per cent of Britain’s total electricity generation for the month, according to ElectraLink.

FT 27th Feb 2018 read more »

Utilities

27 February 2018

A wave of job cuts across the energy sector could be an unintended consequence of the Government’s price cap as companies scramble to cut costs. The Government today introduced the Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill in Parliament, which tasks industry regulator Ofgem with creating a cap on the most expensive standard tariffs until 2020 with a potential extension to 2023. While this could help eradicate the £1.4bn the Government believes households are being overcharged on their gas and electricity bills, there are concerns energy firms may have to slash costs to cope with the cap, which will be set by industry regulator Ofgem.

Telegraph 26th Feb 2018 read more »

Flamanville

27 February 2018

[Machine Translation] Flamanville EPR: defects affect secondary circuit welds. The welds of the Flamanville EPR would not meet all the technical requirements. ASN will give its opinion in the second half of 2018. It also mentions dysfunctions in the organization of the site. On February 22nd, EDF announced that it had detected defects in the secondary circuit welds of the EPR reactor under construction in Flamanville (Manche). In question: the quality of realization of the welds of the circuit which evacuates steam of the steam generators towards the turbine. Thirty-eight of the 66 welds in the circuit are affected. Questioned on the subject in the National Assembly, Pierre-Franck Chevet, president of the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), described the subject as “serious” . This Friday, the ASN publishes a note in which it indicates to have auditioned February 7 EDF and Framatome about the site of the EPR. The gendarme of the nuclear indicates that it “informed EDF and Framatome that it will collect the opinion of the permanent group of experts for GP ESPN nuclear pressure equipment [about the anomalies of welding]” . But, assures EDF, “[the] pipes are in compliance with the regulation of nuclear pressure equipment” . The company “

Actus Environnement 23rd Feb 2018 read more »

Nuclear Accident

27 February 2018

Finland’s Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) says tiny amounts of radioactive iodine-131 were measured in the air Kotka, east of Helsinki in late January. The same isotope was then measured again last week north to Kajaani. The levels were very low, ranging from 0,7 to 1,6 micro-becquerel per cubic meter air, STUK says in a news release. From where the radioactivity is coming is still unknown. Radioactive iodine-131 has a half-life of only eight days so the measurements are proof of a rather recent release. The source could be a nuclear reactor, a facility producing isotopes for medical purposes or by releases from a nuclear weapons related test. Norway’s Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA) on Monday confirms detection of radioactive iodine also at several of the country’s air-measurement stations.

Barents Observer 26th Feb 2018 read more »

Ireland

27 February 2018

The imminent all-Ireland electricity market changes and ambitious green policy plans promise huge decarbonisation gains, but Brexit and clean energy target uncertainty could yet undermine investment. In May, in the face of on-going Brexit-related uncertainty, a new all-Ireland electricity market goes live with the aim of better aligning the whole island with European markets and enabling the free flow of energy across borders. By encouraging the free trade of energy across borders, the Integrated Single Electricity Market (I-SEM) for the island of Ireland is very much at the foundation of what could effectively constitute a single market for electricity across Europe. Add to this fact the impact the policy overhaul is likely to have on electricity generation, consumer bills and decarbonisation across Ireland, and you have a “very radical and swift transition” in energy policy, according to Mateusz Wronski, head of product development at Aurora Energy Research and lead author of a new report on the impact of imminent Irish energy reforms.

Business Green 27th Feb 2018 read more »

News February 2018

Bradwell

Radwaste

Radhealth

Brexit

Proliferation

Energy Demand

Utilities

Flamanville

Nuclear Accident

Ireland

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