Energy Supply
The man who masterminded London’s highly successful Olympic Games has said power blackouts would be “the best possible thing” because they would force politicians to confront the looming energy crisis. Sir John Armitt, who is also advising the Labour Party on Britain’s infrastructure needs, said the country was heading towards an energy-capacity crunch because ministers had failed to ensure the construction of new power stations to take over from decommissioned nuclear and coal plants. And as Britain faces a weekend of freezing weather there were new warnings about the proximity of a capacity crunch from Dieter Helm, a leading energy academic who believes ministers have underestimated future power demand. Angry business leaders dismissed Armitt’s comments as irresponsible, but Armitt, who worked on the Sizewell-B nuclear reactor while at the construction group Laing, insisted new capacity was needed. “We are very close to being in a crisis when it comes to energy … the Central Electricity Generating Board used to say that a resilient network operated on a 25% capacity surplus. We’re down to 4% because we’ve gone slower than we should have done on nuclear.”
Guardian 10th Jan 2014 read more »
Telegraph 11th Jan 2014 read more »
Britain is almost twice as likely to suffer blackouts next year than previously feared, according to a new analysis, prompting calls from manufacturers for more gas plants to be built to keep the lights on. Last summer Ofgem forecast that the probability of blackouts had jumped from a one-in-47 chance for this winter to one-in-12 for the winter of 2014-15. It means that if several large power plants shut down unexpectedly at the same time, for emergency maintenance or because of a fault, the system would not be able to supply the whole country with electricity. However, analysis seen by The Times shows that the energy regulator’s assumptions are out of date and that Britain’s energy supply is even less secure than feared.
Times 10th Jan 2014 read more »
Energy Costs
Four of Britain’s biggest six energy providers stand accused of squeezing undue profit from customers after refusing to pass on a reduction in green taxes to all households. The suppliers, who all unveiled above-inflation price rises last year, agreed in December to reduce bills after the Government agreed to shift some environmental levies away from consumer energy prices. All six firms have now announced their intentions, with npower last Wednesday becoming the final provider to unveil reductions to its proposed price increases and variable tariffs. However, npower, Scottish Power, EDF Energy and E.on will not pass on the full reduction to customers on fixed-price tariffs. While households on fixed tariffs with these firms will receive a £12-a-year rebate in the autumn from changes to the Warm Home scheme, this falls well short of the £50 reduction to the average bill outlined by the Government.
Telegraph 10th Jan 2014 read more »
Climate vs Nukes
James Hansen’s latest press conference was positively scary. NASA’s former chief climate scientist (he recently left government to pursue a more activist role) met with environmental journalists last month at Columbia University to release a new study with the ominous title, “Assessing Dangerous Climate Change: Required Reduction of Carbon Emissions to Protect Young People, Future Generations and Nature.” Hansen departs from environmental orthodoxy, however, in arguing that there is no way to cut greenhouse gas emissions sufficiently by relying solely on green alternatives like solar and wind power. Hansen’s controversial conclusion is that we need to build a new generation of nuclear power plants. Nuclear alone, in Hansen’s view, has the potential to produce “clean” (carbon-free) electricity in the prodigious amounts that we will need it in the decades ahead. Hansen is looking to the Integral Fast Reactor, a design that has been on the drawing boards for decades. But it has yet to be built — largely because it is viewed as being too expensive. This fourth generation nuclear plant, he says, would be far safer than what we have now, and would be fueled entirely from the byproducts of current nuclear plants. Fast Reactors would potentially burn 99 percent of their fuel and produce little toxic waste. Hansen may convince some environmentalists that green nukes could help to save the planet. But– barring a major technological breakthrough – he won’t be able to convince electric utilities that nuclear plants could save them money. And, for the time being, they are the people whose opinions matter.
Reuters 10th Jan 2014 read more »
Radwaste
Leeds University is to lead a consortium of 10 universities in a research programme addressing Britain’s nuclear waste and how to deal with it. The £8m project, funded by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and scheduled to start in February, brings together the nuclear industry, the government’s nuclear advisors and academic researchers. More than 40 doctoral and post-doctoral researchers will work over the next four years on issues including how best to handle different types of spent fuels, packaging and storing waste, and dealing with nuclear sludges in ponds and silos at nuclear power stations.
Engineer 10th Jan 2014 read more »
Energy Act
An extraordinarily high count of consequent pieces of secondary legislation have been written into the Energy Act – clauses that require the practicalities of what has been outlined (often in very rudimentary terms) to be set out in Orders. And these Orders will either have to be laid down on the Parliamentary order paper and (hopefully) not objected to, or, more seriously, will be subject to finding an afternoon in a committee room to debate and agree a raft of secondary measures. The to do list now numbers no less than seventeen affirmative resolutions (the afternoon’s debate) and twenty-three negative resolutions, some of which may need to be fully debated depending on other parts of the Act. Subjects in the queue for debate include: how the Secretary of State is going to decide on a decarbonisation target; the carbon intensity of electricity generation; how to make electricity capacity regulations; the capacity agreements themselves; how auctions are carried out; the settlement body that will oversee them; a huge raft of regulations relating to CfD investment contracts and payments; how to make renewable obligation transitional arrangements; what emission performance standards will consist of; arrangements for altering licences… In short, most of the meaty content of the Act. Some of this to do list is, of course, bound by time constraints, so one might imagine that some of the entries will need to be on the statute books by the end of the year at the latest. This means that there remain fewer full weeks in the Parliamentary calendar than resolutions that need to be laid down. And this is certainly true as far as affirmative resolutions are concerned; there is roughly one committee session for every eight sitting days up to the end of the year. That is if they have been written, of course, and the first week back has gone by without anything appearing. So I wish the put-upon scribes and drafters below DECC bon voyage. The only saving thought is that there seems to be very little primary legislation now going through the House because members of the coalition are increasingly vetoing each other’s pieces of pet legislation. And because of this no secondary legislation will appear to compete with the needs of the Energy Act.
Alan Whitehead MP 10th Jan 2014 read more »
Carbon Floor Price
Greg Barker has downplayed fears the recent review of “green levies” will trigger a widespread rollback of environmental policies that could erode investor confidence in the low carbon economy. Speaking at an Aldersgate Group event in Westminster last night, Barker said the controversial Carbon Price Floor was now set to stay in place, despite widespread criticism of the policy from both business and green groups.
Business Green 10th Jan 2014 read more »
EDF
It’s official. EDF Energy is no longer part of the Big Six “cartel” of energy suppliers, as green energy tycoon Dale Vince recently described his biggest competitors. Less than a week after its 3.9pc price rise came into effect, EDF has rebranded itself as the industry’s “consumer champion”. As marketing director Martin Stead told Marketing magazine, the energy company “does not like” being tarred with the same brush as British Gas and friends. “How about we have a Big Five, and we are actually the champion trying to do the right thing for customers to bear down on the bad things the industry is doing,” he suggested.
Telegraph 10th Jan 2014 read more »
EDF Energy has been accused of a pursuing a “laughable” new marketing strategy after it saying it should be allowed to leave the much-vilified big six energy supplier group and rebrand itself as a consumer champion. The move by the French-owned company is just one of a host of initiatives launched in 2014 by major power suppliers in a bid to rid themselves of an untrustworthy image in the eyes of consumers. Martin Stead, the marketing director at EDF Energy, told the trade publication Marketing that the energy supplier does not like the continued association with its rivals. But the idea that EDF Energy should not be one of the big six and be seen instead as a consumer champion was described as “frankly laughable” by the Fuel Poverty Action group. “Perhaps EDF executives are not aware that the company made nearly a billion pounds in profits in six months last year, but still put its prices up at the end of the year, or perhaps they have never read the messages posted on their social media pages, full of customers fed up with waiting for refunds or distressed at being put on a meter,” said Clare Welton, a group spokeswoman. Dale Vince, founder of the small independent supplier Ecotricity, was also dismissive. “The public are not stupid and will judge the big six by actions not words. Just abandoning the label will not change anything. Wasn’t it EDF which was accused of blackmail before Christmas by threatening to put up prices if government did not reduce green levies?”
Guardian 10th Jan 2014 read more »
Sizewell
A bold attempt is being made to create “a legacy for Leiston” by securing a relief road to take traffic going to and from the Sizewell C nuclear power plant away from the town.
East Anglian Daily Times 11th Jan 2014 read more »
Radioactive Contamination
The Ministry of Defence has stressed it “remains committed” to playing an active role in finding a solution to radiation at Dalgety Bay. As crunch talks between the MoD and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency continued well into Monday night, the MoD said that, alongside other parties, it was committed in achieving a “long-term solution” to the radioactive contamination issues on the beach and foreshore area of the west Fife town. The two parties were locked in a meeting with key stakeholders — including senior manager (protective services) Roy Stewart, representing Fife Council — to try to thrash out plans to rid the area of the radioactive stain it has carried for 23 years. It is hoped the talks could pave the way for a swift and decisive resolution to the problem of contamination which has emerged over the years from debris from dumped Second World War aircraft stationed at Donibristle. Over the last three years 1,000 radioactive particles have been brought to the surface of the foreshore which has been fenced off to protect the community and visitors. One hundred particles are now washed up every month. Local stakeholders, including the Dalgety Bay Forum, will be involved in the next stage of consultation on the outcome of Monday night’s meeting before formal plans are announced, possibly at the end of this month.
Dundee Courier 7th Jan 2014 read more »
Today may finally be D-Day for Dalgety Bay beach, decades after radioactive debris from decommissioned Donibristle airfield was dumped. Year after year Dalgety Bay residents dreaded the latest instalment in a drawn out debate and months went by with no resolution even after a damning report named the Ministry of Defence as the sole polluter of the beach. Today the key stakeholders will gather to discuss ways in which the Fife waterfront can be rid of its radioactive stain once and for all. And action to remove the pollution must begin quickly, said MP Gordon Brown. Speaking exclusively to The Courier, the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath MP said the time had come for the MoD to fulfil their moral, and he believes, legal, obligation to fund the estimated £2 million clean-up. Failure to do so may force SEPA to declare the Fife foreshore the UK’s first tract of radioactive contaminated land.
Dundee Courier 6th Jan 2014 read more »
Politics
Tory MP Graham Evans has been named as the new parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to climate change minister Greg Barker. The Conservative MP for Weaver Vale has today been appointed as the replacement for Laura Sandys, who announced she would step down at the 2015 general election in November. Evans said he was “delighted” to be appointed and added: “I am aware that the impact of wind farms on local communities is an important one. “That is why I was so pleased that in July last year the Department for Communities and Local Government set out planning guidance which made clear that the need for renewable energy should not automatically override local concerns.” Evans has previously described onshore windfarms as “a blot on the landscape of beautiful countryside 100 per cent of the time”. However, Evans has describe himself as “an enthusiastic fan of renewable energy”, including offshore wind, and has supported the development of new nuclear saying it is “an essential part of the mix”.
Utility Week 9th Jan 2014 read more »
Japan – Fukushima
Fukushima update 7th to 9th Jan 2014.
Greenpeace 10th Jan 2014 read more »
NUCLEAR scientists at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) are to create a mini nuclear meltdown to try to better understand what causes them, according to reports. A spokesman told reporters that the team wants to learn how to improve the way such severe nuclear accidents are tackled in the future, or prevent them altogether. The experiment will take place in a JAEA research reactor in Tokaimura in Ibaraki prefecture, north of Tokyo, sometime this year.
Chemical Engineer 10th Jan 2014 read more »
The ghost towns of Fukushima: Three years after Japan’s nuclear disaster, residents are allowed home only once a month… and cannot stay overnight
Daily Mail 10th Jan 2014 read more »
When Shinzo Abe became Japan’s prime minister in an election just over a year ago, one issue was largely absent from the campaign debate: nuclear power. Shaken by the Fukushima disaster in 2011, a majority of Japanese say they favour shutting down the atomic plants that provided a third of the country’s electricity before the accident. Yet they elected the pro-nuclear Mr Abe by a wide margin, after a campaign dominated by the economy and deteriorating relations with China. Now another election – for the governorship of Tokyo – may be shaping up to be the referendum on energy policy that the national campaign was not. The opposition Democratic Party of Japan appears close to securing as its candidate Morihiro Hosokawa, a former prime minister and opponent of atomic power, setting up a showdown with a nuclear supporter backed by Mr Abe’s Liberal Democrats.
FT 10th Jan 2014 read more »
Fukushima
Fairewinds Energy Education’s Arnie Gundersen discusses the risk to the US West Coast population from the ongoing releases from Fukushima Daiichi. Should we be worried about walking by or swimming in the Pacific? How safe are California’s beaches? What about eating Pacific seafood? Linear No Threshold theory, but some (including Dr Ian Fairlie) reckon low doses are more harmful than thought by BEIR VII Report. But many bloggers have exaggerated the risks in California.
Fairwinds 8th Jan 2014 read more »
Iran
Iranian and European Union politicians made progress in resolving differences on how to implement a landmark nuclear deal during talks in Geneva on Friday.
Independent 10th Jan 2014 read more »
FT 10th Jan 2014 read more »
Telegraph 10th Jan 2014 read more »
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia – known for its massive oil resources – is making a serious push for a different kind of energy: Nuclear power. Last week the country signed a deal with France’s AREVA and EDF on a series of initiatives aimed at supporting Saudi Arabia’s nuclear energy program. Japan is also preparing a nuclear power pact with the Saudi Kingdom. The deal would allow Japanese businesses to export atomic-related infrastructure to the country. According to the World Nuclear Association, Saudi Arabia plans on building 16 nuclear power reactors over the next 20 years, with the first scheduled to come on line in 2022. So why does the world’s second-biggest oil producer need nuclear power? Nuclear power is only part of the solution. Saudi Arabia also plans on building the world’s largest solar powered desalination plant in the city of Al-Khafji. Essentially, Saudi Arabia is looking to diversify its energy mix so that it can devote more oil to exports. In fact, the Kingdom is so keen on saving its oil for export purposes that its goal is to generate almost half of its energy from renewable fuels by 2020.
Oil Price 10th Jan 2014 read more »
China
Chinese coal and nuclear energy giants are suddenly piling into the solar industry. Is this the way of the future, not only in China but around the world?
Ecologist 10th Jan 2014 read more »
Pakistan
China’s State Nuclear Power Technology Company (SNPTC) has installed the containment dome atop of the containment building of the unit 4 of the Chashma Nuclear Power Complex (CHASNUPP), located near Chashma city, Punjab, Pakistan. The installation of dome, which weighs 185t, and measures 36m in diameter, and 9m in height, 72 days ahead of schedule, represents a significant milestone in the construction of the second of two reactors being constructed by Chinese companies in the country, World Nuclear News reports.
Energy Business Review 10th Jan 2014 read more »
France
The Fukushima disaster led many countries to rethink their view on nuclear energy. Germany plans to abandon it altogether, but French President Francois Hollande also wants to cut nuclear output sharply – by a third in 20 years. It’s a big ask in a country that now relies on nuclear for 75% of its electricity. If fully implemented, the pledge would force the closure of up to 20 of the country’s 58 reactors according to Professor Laurence Tubiana a former government adviser who the president asked to facilitate a national debate, paving the way for what they call le transition energetique. This would be a huge step, but Tubiana describes it as a “logical evolution”. Even if President Hollande’s plan for the transition stalls, it seems clear at least that there will be no further expansion of nuclear in France. EDF is planning to build two new nuclear reactors at Hinkley in western England with Chinese help, but at Flamanville in Normandy a new reactor of the same EPR design is behind schedule and massively over budget. A second envisaged EPR reactor in France has been shelved indefinitely – and no other new nuclear power stations are planned.
BBC 11th Jan 2014 read more »
Renewable Targets
Reports yesterday claimed the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, was planning to drop plans to extend the EU’s renewable energy target. His words sparked a minor controversy, as they came the same day as two European Parliament committees voted to keep the target. Not wishing to be left out, eight European ministers also quickly fired off a letter to the commission, calling for it to extend the EU’s renewable energy commitment. While Barroso’s statement is the strongest indication yet that the renewable energy target could be dropped, there’s still a lot of politicking to be done. EU policymakers won’t make a final call on the new climate targets until October 2015. Until then, the commission, parliament, and member states will all be jostling to get their opinions heard. The commission is set to release a statement on January 22nd outlining its position in more detail. The parliament will then have another vote on the matter in the first week of February, before member state ministers have their say on March 21st. After all that, a decision still won’t have been made – but it will give an indication of which way this particular squabble is likely to eventually go.
Carbon Brief 10th Jan 2014 read more »
European Commissioners clashed on Friday over what the European Union’s climate and energy policy goals for 2030 should be, with time for agreement running short ahead of their planned publication this month, EU sources said. The European Union has sought to lead the global fight against climate change, but the economic crisis has sapped the appetite of business and some member states for decisive action because of concerns over competitiveness and cost. Any policy announcement on targets to succeed the 2020 EU goals on cutting emissions, improving energy efficiency and increasing renewable energy use, will require around two years of EU debate to become law. But it will send a signal ahead of next year’s UN talks to reach an international deal on cutting emissions after 2020. EU sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said 2030 carbon-cutting targets of 35% and 40% were under debate, together with a renewables goal of 24-27%.
Guardian 10th Jan 2014 read more »
Britain will be free to generate more of its energy from nuclear power and build fewer wind and solar farms after the European Commission rejected calls for a legally binding renewable energy target for 2030. The Commission has accepted Britain’s argument that EU member states should be left to decide how to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The decision is a setback for the wind industry, which had been lobbying for all EU member states to be required to set renewable energy targets. However French, Japanese and Chinese companies planning to build nuclear power stations in Britain will welcome the news. EU commissioners have agreed that a policy document due to be issued on January 22 would recommend only a single target focusing on cutting overall emissions, leaving states to choose the means of achieving their share of the reduction. This is less prescriptive than the EU’s 2020 climate policy, which includes a renewable energy target as well as an emissions reduction target. Maf Smith, deputy chief executive of RenewableUK, the wind industry trade body, said: “The EU needs to show leadership here and set a 2030 renewable energy target as a matter of priority. It would send a crucial political signal on the continuing direction of trave l away from fossil fuels to clean energy sources across Europe. “If the EU were to fail to step up to the mark on this, it would be more difficult for renewable energy developers to attract much-needed investment in their projects, as it would push up the cost of raising capital.” John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, said: “A new renewables target for 2030 is essential to further reduce the costs of new energy sources such as offshore wind and secure billions of pounds worth of investment for the UK in this vital industry.”
Times 11th Jan 2014 read more »
Renewables – Storage
Scientists in the US think they may be on the track of a new kind of battery technology that could store huge reserves of energy. One of the great problems of renewable energy generators such as photovoltaic cells and wind turbines is that they can’t respond to demand. When the sun is out, nobody needs so much heating and lighting, so the electricity goes to waste. In theory, surplus energy could be saved for hours of darkness or when the winds drop, but at a prohibitive cost. But Michael Aziz of Harvard University in Boston and colleagues report in Nature that they have tested what is, quite literally, a solution to the problem.
Climate News Network 10th Jan 2014 read more »
Microgeneration
This week’s Micro Power News includes comment by Andrew Warren on how Big 6 will profit from recent changes to ECO; news of a revolutionary LED to replace fluorescent tubes; and forecasts that 46GW of solar will be installed globally in 2014.
Microgen Scotland 10th Jan 2013 read more »
Energy Efficiency
A MAJOR overhaul of street lamps across the city will save millions of pounds and help show Edinburgh in a better light, it has been claimed. Radical plans have been drawn up to replace dull sodium bulbs with bright LEDs as part of a £30 million project to bring the Capital’s street lights into the 21st century. The energy-efficient bulbs will save nearly 40 per cent on the £2.97m spent each year illuminating the city and are likely to offer even future savings with energy prices expected double in the next decade. It is understood lighting inside tenement stairwells – paid by the public purse and costing £800,000 a year – may be given an upgrade as LED bulbs would be installed across 14,000 tenements. The roll-out comes after a successful trial in Saughton Mains and Gilmerton Dykes, where 271 lights were upgraded. The change received an 80 per cent public approval rating. To date, a £2.1m interest-free loan has been secured to transform 6000 street lights, but environment chiefs are targeting a city-wide roll-out ultimately costing around £30m.
Edinburgh Evening News 8th Jan 2014 read more »
Climate
With the very worst impacts of the recent storms beginning to tail off, Prime Minister David Cameron waded into the media debate this week by appearing to connect the dots between climate change and recent “abnormal” weather. Some newspapers suggested Cameron’s comments aren’t backed by the facts, but a close look at what he said shows his comments to be uncontroversial, scientists say.
Carbon Brief 10th Jan 2014 read more »
Two leading UK climate scientists have endorsed the prime minister’s conviction that global warming is behind the run of recent floods, saying that we are likely to experience more extremes of weather due to climate change.
Guardian 10th Jan 2014 read more »
FT 10th Jan 2014 read more »
Times 11th Jan 2014 read more »
Fossil Fuels
French energy giant Total is preparing to deliver a major boost to Britain’s search for shale gas by investing close to $50m (£30m) in exploration in the East Midlands. The deal, expected to be announced on Monday, will see Total take a stake of about 40pc in licences in Lincolnshire.
Telegraph 10th Jan 2014 read more »
FT 10th Jan 2014 read more »
Times 11th Jan 2014 read more »
