Hartlepool/Heysham
Two reactors at EDF Energy’s Hartlepool site in the North East have been shut down after a defect was found in one reactor at a sister site in Lancashire earlier this year. A third reactor in Lancashire, Heysham 1 Reactor 2, has also been shut down in a “conservative decision”. This follows the planned outage of Heysham 1 Reactor 1 last year which led to an “unexpected result” on a boiler spine. More detailed inspection of the spine in an outage in June has confirmed a defect in the location and this reactor is currently shut down. EDF said although other boiler spines have not previously indicated any similar defects, the three reactors which have been shut down are of a similar design and tests will take places over the next few days.
Insider Media 11th Aug 2014 read more »
EDF Energy said on Monday that four of its nuclear reactors require inspection following the discovery of a defect on a boiler at reactor 1 of the Heysham 1 nuclear plant. The inspection will cut over a quarter of the UK’s nuclear fleet from service, or 2.5 GW of power from the UK energy mix. The operator first discovered a fault in the boiler spine of one of the Heysham nuclear units during a maintenance period in 2013. Further investigations continued this year while the unit ran at reduced load, and with the affected boiler isolated, before a maintenance outage in June confirmed the defect. The operator has now opted to perform a full inspection of the affected 660 MW Heysham 1-1 reactor as well as those of a similar design, including: the 610 MW Heysham 1-2, 620 MW Hartlepool 1 and 620 MW Hartlepool 2 nuclear units.
Utility Week 11th Aug 2014 read more »
Two other EDF Energy nuclear units are already offline – Dungeness B21 and Hunterston B8 – due to maintenance and a statutory outage. Those units have a combined capacity of almost 1.2 GW. Dungeness B21 is scheduled to come back online on Tuesday.
Reuters 11th Aug 2014 read more »
Telegraph 11th Aug 2014 read more »
The owner of Britain’s ageing nuclear power stations discovered a safety problem with a reactor last year but waited nine months before shutting down similar reactors to check if they had the same defect. Dr David Lowry, an environmental consultant, said: “EDF Energy has a duty to be candid with the British public about safety problems. By withholding information for nine months, it seems to have tried to retain a positive public attitude to nuclear power as it presses ahead with plans to a build two giant new reactors at Hinkley Point, whose £16 billion-plus costs will be heavily subsidised by British taxpayers.”
Times 11th Aug 2014 read more »
FT 11th Aug 2014 read more »
Guardian 11th Aug 2014 read more »
BBC 11th Aug 2014 read more »
Herald 11th Aug 2014 read more »
Dundee Courier 11th Aug 2014 read more »
Western Daily Press 11th Aug 2014 read more »
Western Morning News 11th Aug 2014 read more »
Northern Echo 11th Aug 2014 read more »
The Journal 11th Aug 2014 read more »
Hartlepool Mail 11th Aug 2014 read more »
Herald 11th Aug 2014 read more »
New York Times 12th Aug 2014 read more »
ITV 12th Aug 2014 read more »
Daily Mail 12th Aug 2014 read more »
French nuclear giant EDF Energy has been forced to shut down one quarter of its nuclear fleet in the UK, but the national grid operator says it is not an issue because there is plenty of back-up – from wind energy. EDF Energy says it was forced to shut down four nuclear reactors – equivalent to one quarter of its total nuclear generating capacity – after discovering a fault in a boiler unit, the Financial Times reports.
Renew Economy 12th Aug 2014 read more »
Tonights BBC Northwest news treated us to some brilliant propaganda in the form of Malcolm Grimston saying “there is nothing to worry about.” Malcolm Grimston is the guru who is an expert on the “public perception of nuclear.” He is wheeled out by the BBC when the nuclear industry has a bad bit of news to impart and wants a safe pair of hands. The contrast between BBC Northwest’s often critical stance on fracking and its entirely toadying approach to nuclear is becoming difficult to ignore. Local architect Mo Kelly has been doing the job that our supposed investigative journalists should be doing. The following is correspondence sent to the Garstang Courier: Please find my letter dated 2 July 2014 sent to Fiona Finch at Garstang Courier, which to my knowledge was not published at the time. My letter gives more detail around what EDF are now acknowledging is not an “anomaly” but more specifically – a “fault ” in a boiler (a “crack in a boiler” according to ITV lunchtime news) Please note Ian Stewart Station Director of Heysham 1’s reply to me at the Local Community Liaison Council meeting of 23 May 2014. I asked the question ” Would Heysham 1 have to be decommissioned if the anomaly cannot be resolved ie. if the fault cannot be rectified?” and Ian’s answer to me was “Yes”.
Radiation Free Lakeland 11th Aug 2014 read more »
ENERGY giant Centrica, which owns a 20 per cent stake in EDF Energy’s nuclear operations, yesterday warned that its earnings per share would be lower this year after a boiler defect caused its French peer to shut down four of its ageing reactors in the UK.
City AM 12th Aug 2014 read more »
Supply Chain
A NORTH Yorkshire company has clinched a second order to manufacture parts for a nuclear power plant being constructed in China. Ellis has secured the order for its Emperor cable cleats and ProTect cable straps to be installed in the Areva European Pressurised Reactor plant in the Guangdong province. The order was placed at the start of the second phase of the Taishan Nuclear Power Project, a joint venture between EDF and China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group.
Yorkshire Post 11th Aug 2014 read more »
Good Energy
Renewable energy supplier Good Energy saw its customer base increase by 16 per cent from the beginning of 2014, to stand 36 per cent higher compared to the end of H1 2013, the company said. Good Energy’s trading update for the six months ending 30 June 2014 saw an 82 per cent increase in the number of gas customers, and a 35 per cent increase in electricity customers, compared to the same time last year. The total number of customers has increased from 97,000 to 132,000, the company said.
Utility Week 11th Aug 2014 read more »
Scotland
Richard Dixon: A previous environment minister suggested to me that the powers to meet Scotland’s climate targets lay one-third in Scotland’s hands, one-third in the UK’s and one-third in Europe’s. The UK Government, supposed to be the “greenest ever”, is rapidly moving backwards on key areas like renewables and home insulation, while selling a dream of cheap shale gas and rigging the whole electricity market to pay tens of billions of pounds for new nuclear plants that will probably never be built. An independent Scotland could concentrate on developing our huge renewable energy resources and dealing once and for all with fuel poverty. An independent Scotland would have more power to meet our climate targets and there would be no-one else to blame if we did not. I’ve seen Scottish ministers at work at the annual United Nations’ Climate Change meetings. They have done a good job of telling the story about Scotland’s climate change targets and about the impressive growth of renewable energy in our country. But they have had to do this in side meetings and by seeking out environment ministers from other countries. A lthough Scotland has an official place as part of the UK delegation at these meetings, the reality is that Scotland has no official voice to tell its mostly very positive story. An independent Scotland would have that voice, not only in the UN but also in Europe.
Herald 11th Aug 2014 read more »
Nuclear Weapons
A MOVING tribute to the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was held in Haverfordwest on Wednesday (August 6). Organised by Pembrokeshire Peace Group, the event was one of several around Wales to remember those who died when atomic bombs were dropped on the two cities in 1945.
Western Telegraph 11th Aug 2014 read more »
Renewables
The remnants of Hurricane Bertha may have brought summer flooding and travel disruption to parts of the country, but they have also delivered a boost to the electricity grid as wind power output hit near record highs. Wind power met almost 16 per cent of power demand this morning, and according to figures from trade body EnergyUK wind met 13.1 per cent of demand over the past 24 hours.
Business Green 11th August 2014 read more »
Community Energy
The spades and shovels were out at Kingussie recently to mark the start of work on Kingussie Community Development Company’s new hydro scheme, on the River Gynack, a tributary of the River Spey.
Community Energy Scotland 11th Aug 2014 read more »
Short documentary covering the launch of the community led Dingwall Wind Co-op, as part of the Community Power series of short documentary films.
FoE Scotland 11th Aug 2014 read more »
Energy Efficiency
Over 175,000 homes in the capital could be in line for energy efficiency improvements under a new warm home push from the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. The mayor’s office has awarded Capita Symonds a £3 million contract to deliver energy-saving improvements worth at least £50 million over the next three years. Commenting on the need for increased efficiency in the capital’s housing stock, Johnson said: “Many families are rightly concerned at the cost of their energy bills so I’m delighted to be able to put in place a programme of energy-saving measures for homes across the capital. This will result in renovations that lower energy bills for thousands of residents.”
Next Energy 11th Aug 2014 read more »
Fossil Fuels
Another week, another fracking fiasco. The Government has just published a report on the likely effects of the drilling on Britain’s countryside communities – including its possible impact on house prices – that is so heavily redacted it might instead be devoted to a military assessment of options for intervention in Iraq.
Telegraph 11th Aug 2014 read more »
Up to 1,000 anti-fracking activists are expected to arrive outside Blackpool this Thursday to protest against shale gas extraction. The Reclaim the Power camp, organised by some of the same campaigners who held the weeks-long protest against fracking in West Sussex last summer, is targeting drilling sites owned by Cuadrilla, the UK’s most high-profile shale explorer. The protests outside the village of Balcombe last year saw lorries stopped from entering a Cuadrilla drilling site, more than 2,000 people marching and the arrest of Green party MP, Caroline Lucas.
Guardian 11th Aug 2014 read more »
Telegraph 11th Aug 2014 read more »
Anti-fracking demonstrators planning to set up a protest camp near Blackpool have asked not to be photographed because they are “enjoying a week away from techno-gadgetry overload”. A group calling itself Reclaim the Power has issued instructions to journalists reporting on the camp, which is will run from Thursday until August 20.
Times 12th Aug 2014 read more »
The government has released a report on the potential local impacts of shale gas in response to a freedom of information request. Several parts are heavily redacted, leading to accusations that the government is trying to hide fracking’s possible downsides. But the Department of Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) says it’s concerned there is a risk that “disclosure of early thinking, could close down discussion”. Such sensitivities are very real – although many people support the idea of fracking for shale gas, polling suggests opposition rises as the idea of the technology gets closer to home.
Carbon Brief 11th Aug 2014 read more »
