Sellafield
The North’s most notorious nuclear site has been issued with an improvement notice after series of safety breaches. The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) issued Sellafield, in Cumbria, with the notice after 13 safety breaches at the Magnox Reprocessing Plant at the site. Among the incidents were problems with a vessel which could have resulted in a ‘critical’ accident, failure to have alternative monitoring equipment following a power fault and failing to have substitute equipment on discharge stack alarms. Sellafield’s Magnox plant reprocesses spent fuel from across the UK, but ONR inspectors found a failure to act on operating instructions. However the plant says new measures have been introduced to address the concerns.
Chronicle Live 1st Aug 2015 read more »
Hinkley
French energy group EDF has chosen a number of national and local Somerset companies as preferred bidders for the £1.3bn deal to build Hinkley Point C. The companies set to be involved in building the first UK nuclear power plant in 20 years, have been named. French group EDF has chosen a number of national and local Somerset companies as preferred bidders for contracts worth £1.3bn to build Hinkley Point C. Firms include Balfour Beatty and Laing O’Rourke and local companies such as food producers Somerset Larder. A final investment decision is expected in the coming months, after which the contracts will be signed. The power station, which is expected to be generating electricity in 2023, will cost around £14bn to build and provide 25,000 jobs during the construction phase. More than 60% of the construction cost, it is now estimated, will be placed with UK firms – 3% more than an initial estimate.
BBC 31st July 2015 read more »
Business Green 31st July 2015 read more »
Daily Mail 31st July 2015 read more »
Energy Voice 31st July 2015 read more »
Business Reporter 31st July 2015 read more »
Three Scottish companies have been announced as preferred bidders for the contract to build the first UK nuclear power station in more than 20 years. Doosan Babcock, Clyde Union Pumps and the Weir Group are among the companies poised to win deals worth more than £1.3bn to build Hinkley Point C. The power station will provide 25,000 jobs during the construction phase. A final decision is expected in the coming months, after which the contracts will be signed.
BBC 31st July 2015 read more »
Herald 1st Aug 2015 read more »
About 100 new jobs will be created after Bristol-based company Gleeds was appointed as a preferred bidder on EDF Energy’s Hinkley Point C nuclear power project as a provider of NEC contract management services.
Bristol Post 31st July 2015 read more »
PLANS to build the first UK nuclear power station in more than 20 years have given a big boost to two local firms. Ilkley-based engineering and facilities services group NG Bailey and Horsforth-based global project management firm Turner & Townsend have been named today by French energy group EDF among the preferred bidders for contracts worth a total of £1.3 billion at the proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset.
Bradford Telegraph & Argus 31st July 2015 read more »
A LEADING environmental charity is warning Scottish firms to beware of damage to their reputations after they were named as contractor favourites for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset. French energy giant EDF yesterday announced its preferred bidders for the UK’s first such facility in more than 20 years. The list includes three Scottish firms – the Weir Group, Doosan Babcock and Clyde Union Pumps – which will find out in the coming months if they have been successful. But Dr Richard Dixon, director of Friends of the Earth Scotland, told The National: “With one false start already, active legal action in Europe and a spectacular history of cost overruns and missed deadlines, getting involved with the nuclear industry is a huge reputational risk.” He added: “Scottish engineering firms should be helping us exploit our huge potential in renewable energy rather than chasing the nuclear dream.”
The National 1st August 2015 read more »
Ms Rudd said she expects that a deal for Hinkley Point C, Britain’s first new nuclear power plant in 25 years, could be signed during the visit of China’s President Xi Jinping to the UK in October. The Hinkley Point deal has been pushed back as costs have ballooned at sister reactors under construction in Finland, France and China. Timetables have also been pushed back, most recently because of the discovery of flaws in the steel of the reactor vessel at the French plant.The main Chinese partner, China General Nuclear, is pushing for a greater portion of the supply chain, partly to lay the ground for a second reactor vessel at the Bradwell site, where it expects to lead the project. Ms Rudd said CGN has committed to a portion of the Hinkley Point supply chain coming from Britain while issues of Chinese shareholding still remain to be ironed out with lead developer, EDF of France.
FT 31st July 2015 read more »
Plans to build Britain’s first new nuclear power station in 20 years came a step closer yesterday after EDF named the British companies earmarked to win contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds. Balfour Beatty, Doosan Babcock, Laing O’Rourke and Weir were among the companies named to participate in the long-delayed project to build the French-designed reactor at Hinkley Point in Somerset. EDF Energy said that 60 per cent of the raw construction costs would be placed with British firms, although the major nuclear components, including the steel reactor vessels and other specialised equipment, would be supplied by those in France. EDF, which signalled this week that a final decision on the power plant could be made within weeks, claimed that the £14 billion construction phase at Hinkley Point would create 25,000 jobs for over a decade.
Times 1st August 2015 read more »
Heysham
A nuclear reactor at Heysham 2 power station is back up and running after being shut down. Unit 7 at Heysham 2 power station went back online at 3.45am on July 30 following an issue with a boiler feedwater pump.
Lancaster Guardian 30th July 2015 read more »
Politics
Environment and conservation groups representing millions of people have written to David Cameron to register their “major concern” at the cancellation or weakening of 10 green polices since he was re-elected. The heads of the 10 groups, which include the National Trust, Greenpeace and the RSPB, said they were shocked and worried at the changes, and rated the Conservative government’s track record on nature and climate change as woeful.
Business Green 31st July 2015 read more »
Proliferation
The focus on Iran developing atomic bombs has mainly been on the thousands of centrifuges it has which it could use to produce highly enriched uranium for bomb fuel. But as likely a source of atomic bomb fuel would be the plutonium that could be separated out of “spent” fuel from nuclear power plants—and in 2011 Iran’s first nuclear plant opened, completed by Russia. Moreover, last year Russia signed an agreement to build two more nuclear power plants in Iran “with a possibility of six more after that,” the New York Times reported. Although enriched uranium was the fuel used in the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, plutonium was the fuel in the atomic bomb that devastated Nagasaki—and virtually all atomic bombs ever since have used plutonium, not enriched uranium. Gathering plutonium for atomic bombs from spent fuel from a nuclear power plant can be accomplished by having a “hot cell”—s very common, indeed ubiquitous machine used in nuclear technology—and separating out the plutonium chemically with it. Hot cells are shielded nuclear radiation chambers. They’re used to protect technicians inspecting nuclear fuel rods from a nuclear plant or processing medical isotopes. But they have long been a concern when it comes to the proliferation of nuclear weapons because of their potential use to carry out the chemical steps of extracting plutonium from reactor fuel.
LI Politics 30th July 2015 read more »
Areva
EDF is to buy a majority share in a nuclear reactor business owned by French firm AREVA. The energy company plans to buy between 51% and 75% of AREVA NP. AREVA said it would sell at least 75% for €2 billion (£1.4bn). AREVA expects the transaction to be completed in 2016 following regulatory approvals.
Energy Live 31st July 2015 read more »
Nuclear Weapons
As Japan prepares to mark the 70th anniversary of the world’s first nuclear attack, survivors ponder how to continue warning of the horrors of nuclear war.
Guardian 31st July 2015 read more »
US – Radwaste
Federal officials said Friday that the March 2016 target to resume operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant outside Carlsbad — despite significant progress — must be pushed back due to “unanticipated issues.” “Over the past several months a number of additional activities have been identified that need to be added to the project schedule, including safety related activities that are required to be completed prior to resumption of operation.” ~ Department of Energy news release. The department said it expects a new resumption of operations date and new cleanup cost estimate – currently at $500 million – to be announced in the fall.
Cumbria Trust 1st Aug 2015 read more »
US – reactor closures
The U.S. nuclear industry has made a last-minute push to urge the Obama administration to protect the country’s 100 nuclear units in its forthcoming carbon rule and prevent the early retirement of several plants. Representatives of the Nuclear Energy Institute met on July 21 with White House officials who are currently reviewing the final version of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan. The industry contends the original version of the plan, released in mid-2014, fails to encourage states to keep some “at risk” plants from closing.
Reuters 31st July 2015 read more »
Japan – Fukushima
A trio of former top executives at a Japanese power giant are to appear in court over the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant in 2011. In a rare legal move, a citizen’s panel ruled the three Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) officials should face charges. The decision forces prosecutors who had previously declined to act to seek an indictment.
BBC 31st July 2015 read more »
Belfast Telegraph 31st July 2015 read more »
Times 1st August 2015 read more »
A Japanese judicial committee has decided that three former utility executives should face criminal charges and stand trial for their alleged negligence in the Fukushima nuclear disaster. A document released Friday showed the committee of independent citizens voted in favor of indicting Tsunehisa Katsumata, 75, who was chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Co. at the time of the crisis, along with then-vice presidents Sakae Muto, 65, and Ichiro Takekuro, 69.
Japan Today 1st Aug 2015 read more »
Japanese utility Kyushu Electric Power plans to start up one of its nuclear reactors on August 10 in the first attempt to reboot the country’s atomic energy industry. The sector was shut down in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster, but prime minister Shinzo Abe’s government has been pushing to bring some reactors back online, arguing they are key to economic growth. The 890MW No. 1 reactor at Kyushu’s Sendai nuclear station will take roughly 12 hours to go critical after the start-up begins, with power output starting two or three days later, a spokeswoman said. It will reach full power in roughly ten days after the restart, at which point regulators will make final checks ahead of commercial operations resuming in September.
Engineering & Technology 31st July 2015 read more »
Germany
A report by the German Green Party has warned that the funds set aside for the decommissioning of the country’s nuclear power plants are insufficient. The report by Professor Wolfgang Irrek and Professor Michael Vorfeld at the Hochschule Ruhr West University of Applied Sciences says Germany faces the most expensive and biggest demolition programme in the country’s history and funding it is set to prove beyond the means of the companies involved.
Penn Energy 30th July 2015 read more »
Iran
Struggle to save Vienna agreement from a congressional mauling pits the Obama administration against the Republicans, the Israeli government and a billionaire.
Guardian 31st July 2015 read more »
Renewables
Solar and wind power generators can prosper in Britain without subsidies, UK energy secretary Amber Rudd said, defending her plans to slash renewable energy subsidies and cut funds for home energy efficiency. The Conservative government has ended solar and woodchip power subsidies early and cut schemes aimed at better insulating and powering homes, citing the programmes’ inefficiencies and cost to taxpayers. The cuts have led to protests from climate change groups and, in some cases, industry. “I feel we can deliver on low-carbon electricity through less subsidy,” Ms Rudd told the Financial Times in Beijing, where she met Chinese officials ahead of climate change negotiations in Paris in December. “The point about subsidies is they should be something that provides support, ahead of going without subsidies. Nobody wants subsidies to be there permanently.” ” I will be talking to the solar industry to make sure that the support we are going to continue giving them for a little while longer does actually focus in the right area, to help become subsidy-free,” she said, adding that three onshore wind developers had already approached her about developing wind power without subsidies. Detailed proposals to do so are still on the drawing board.
FT 31st July 2015 read more »
Renewables – solar
The Cabbage White butterfly may irritate gardeners with its unrelenting taste for brassicas but it may hold the key to making solar panels more efficient. A team of experts from the University of Exeter have shown that mimicking the v-shaped posture adopted by Cabbage Whites to heat up their flight muscles before take-off, can raise the amount of solar power by nearly 50 per cent. The secret appears to be the angle that the butterflies hold their wings, approximately 17 degrees from horizontal. It could even improve the effectiveness of sunbathing. Cabbage White butterflies are known to take flight before other butterflies on cloudy days – which limit how quickly the insects can use the energy from the sun to heat their flight muscles.
Telegraph 31st July 2015 read more »
Renewables – offshore wind
Europe’s offshore wind industry has shattered previous installation records in the first half of 2015, installing 2,342.9 megawatts (MW) of electricity generation capacity, triple the same time last year. The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) revealed Thursday that installations for the first half of 2015 had reached 2,342.9 MW, tripling the grid-connected capacity of the same period in 2014. This brings Europe’s offshore wind grid-connected capacity up to 10,393.6 MW, across 82 wind farms and 11 countries.
Renew Economy 31st July 2015 read more »
Although part of the reason for the installation surge is simply coincidental – a number of projects happened to reach completion at the same time – there remains some key underlying factors driving the sector’s growth. BusinessGreen takes a look three key issues: The German Powerhouse; Investor Enthusiasm and High Power Turbines. However, it’s not all plain sailing. Although the market still has a strong pipeline of projects, Joy says the industry needs clear and stable policy from governments in order for the sector to attract the €10bn of further investment needed for all the projects to reach completion.
Business Green 31st July 2015 read more »
Local Energy
A CAMPAIGN is under way in West Lothian to make an historic town self-sufficient in renewable energy. Linlithgow – the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots – is developing a natural grid, with the aim of disconnecting from the National Grid electricity supply. And Linlithgow Natural Grid (LNG) has been examining how it could be done using a combination of solar and wind power, along with the innovative “Heat from the Street” project, which has received £25,000 of funding from the Local Energy Challenge Fund. This would capture heat from waste water flowing beneath the streets of the town, using heat pumps powered by solar electricity. An energy corridor would be created through the town by linking this mini power station with a mini district heat network, serving a cluster of public buildings. At its heart is a sewage heat recovery system from Sharc Energy Systems that captures heat from the millions of gallons of household waste water making its way to the treatment plant. “We aim to install community solar panels on blocks of Linlithgow flats and, instead of selling the production on the cheap, use it to power heat pumps to take the heat from waste water to meet sources of high local demand, particularly in public and church buildings. “And if our initial study gets us through to the next round of the Local Energy Challenge, we well receive funding to implement the project from April 2016.”
The National 1st August 2015 read more »
Only about one in eight American houses and businesses gets electricity from a cooperative — and on average, they pay about $500 less a year for the privilege. Unregulated by public commissions and unfettered by shareholders, electricity co-ops answer to their customers, who elect the companies’ boards. This structure, and their smaller size, allows co-ops to be more flexible, coming up with new and innovative ways to embrace the future of energy, advocates say. “We’re trying to power what we call a new way of thinking,” Gary Connett, direct of member services for Great River Energy, said at a Washington, D.C. event Thursday. Great River Energy, which provides wholesale electricity to a group of Minnesota co-ops, is helping its members take Minnesota’s renewable energy standard (25 percent by 2025) in stride, adding wind power from neighboring North Dakota, as well as facilitating community and rooftop solar. In one project, customers can “subscribe” to a solar panel in a community array and receive a discounted large-scale ( 85- or 105-gallon) electric hot water heater. From an environmental standpoint, this program helps transition people off fossil-fuel sources. From the co-op’s standpoint, this is a way to make electricity demand more predictable. Under the program, large hot water heaters also act as energy storage systems, helping the co-op decrease demand when electricity is at its most expensive, such as in the morning, when everyone is getting up. The co-op runs the water heaters at night, when North Dakota’s winds are howling, but air conditioners are low and lights are off.
Climate Progress 31st July 2015 read more »
Microgeneration.
This week’s Micro Power News.
Microgen Scotland 31st July 2015 read more »
Fossil Fuels
An entrepreneur seeking to produce gas by burning coal reserves in Scotland has called for “commonsense to prevail” as pressure grows on the Scottish National party to widen its moratorium on unconventional gas extraction. At least one SNP constituency group is pushing for the party’s October conference to call for a halt to coal gasification plans and other members are calling for a permanent ban on separate “fracking” techniques used to exploit shale gas reserves. “Debate on fracking hotting up. Likely to be big issue at conference,” tweeted Tommy Sheppard, the new SNP member of the UK parliament for Edinburgh East. The Edinburgh East group’s call for a halt to gasification highlights tensions over energy policy that some believe could threaten the remarkable unity the SNP has shown on policy issues in recent years. Many of the party’s huge coho rt of new members, who joined after last year’s failed independence campaign, are strongly against unconventional gas extraction, but ministers are concerned about the economic cost of a full ban.
FT 31st July 2015 read more »
