Hinkley
New figures have revealed the cost of new build generation to consumers is reducing and that the lifetime cost of Swansea Bay tidal lagoon could be the same as the cost of Hinkley Point C. The report found that as enabling contracts are replaced by new competitive contracts, costs were being reduced and claims that the lifetime cost to consumers of its proposed Swansea Bay tidal lagoon could be the same as EDF’s Hinkley Point C nuclear plant. Over its operational lifetime of 120 years, tidal lagoon power could cost consumers an additional £25.78 per MWh on their energy bills based on a 90-year Contract for Difference (CfD). Hinkley Point C costs £25.78 per MWh, based on a 35-year CfD and operational life of 60 years but the costs are based on a load factor of 20% for Swansea Bay tidal lagoon and 91% for Hinkley Point C.
Utility Week 11th July 2016 read more »
RENews 11th July 2016 read more »
Chinese investors push for more Chinese staff and materials, as EDF insists Brexit won’t affect project. Chinese investors behind EDF’s £18bn Hinkley Point C nuclear plant in Somerset are ramping up their involvement in the beleaguered project and pushing for Chinese staff and materials to be deployed on the job, Building understands. The long-delayed plant is part-funded by China General Nuclear, which is reported to have a 33.5% stake in Hinkley, while its compatriot Chinese National Nuclear Corporation is in talks to take a stake in the project. A source close to the project told Building these Chinese investors want more involvement in the project than just putting money into it and are looking to get Chinese workers and materials on board. The source said: “[The Chinese] are keen to have a wider impact than just financing. They’re looking at getting Chinese project managers on it and so on, to progress the project quicker.” Developer EDF has encouraged Hinkley contractors to buy Chinese equipment and components, the source said.
Building 8th July 2016 read more »
THE specialist nuclear division of a marine services specialist is hoping to win lucrative contracts at Hinkley Point. Energy company EDF is expected to announce imminently that it is pushing ahead with the new nuclear power plant in Somerset, the first in the UK for almost 20 years. EDF is owned by the French state. The way is clear for it to make the final investment decision following the conclusion of a consultation with its Central Works Council last week, where French unions raised no objections. There had been fears that the unions might try to delay the project, in part because the reactor technology being used is new and untested. James Fisher and Sons described the outcome as “encouraging news”. The Barrow-based company, which is already a major player in nuclear decommissioning, has made no secret of the fact that it sees major opportunities in nuclear new build at Hinkley Point and at Moorside, Sellafield.
NW Evening Mail 12th July 2016 read more »
In Cumbria 12th July 2016 read more »
Wylfa
The Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC) is to work together with Hitachi on a proposed nuclear power station in Wales. It will support Horizon, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi, in areas such as construction costing, licensing and planning of the Wylfa Newydd facility.
Energy Live News 11th July 2016 read more »
Nuclear Police
Civil Nuclear police based at Sellafield are launching a new initiative to reassure the local community over any safety concerns or threats to the site. ‘Project Servator’ will see specially trained officers patrol the site and the surrounding area. They will work with locals to report suspicious activity in order to deter and help detect crime.
ITV 12th July 2016 read more »
Brexit – Internal Energy Market
If the UK joins the European Free Trade Association (“EFTA”) or the European Economic Area (“EEA”), or gets its own deal on similar terms, this would probably mean that the UK would remain part of the IEM and would continue to incorporate the principles of the Third Energy Package into UK law. If this happens, then little is likely to change. However, such an arrangement would probably require the UK to agree to the continued free movement of workers, as well as accepting EU laws and rules on competition policy and state aid, and to the UK having to contribute to the EU budget. Therefore it is possible – likely, even – that the UK will leave the IEM.
Scottish Energy News 12th July 2016 read more »
‘Always look on the bright side of life’. That was a theme associated with the ‘Life of Brian’ (as is strife within the popular fronts of the Labour Party these days of course, but I won’t go into that now). So what’s good about Brexit? Well, it might be a crushing blow to our British economy and environmental laws, but in other ways it might actually help….. One way Brexit will definitely help is that the green interest groups will find it easier to get their way on various environmental issues in EU institutions. The UK won’t be around to perform their usual watering-down role! Take the issue of air pollution. The UK has been an opponent of tightening up EU air pollution regulations. As the Guardian reported on June 3rd this year; ‘EU states have agreed to water down a proposed law aimed at halving the number of deaths from air pollution within 15 years, after intense lobbying from the UK that cross-party MEPs have condemned as “appalling”……Some 14,000 people will die prematurely every year across Europe from 2030 as a result, if the weakened proposal is implemented, according to figures cited by the environment commissioner, Karmenu Vella.’ The UK, under great pressure, accepted the 2009 EU Renewable target which was set as a mandatory commitment for 2020. We’re now set to get 30 per cent of our electricity from renewable energy by 2020, even if we haven’t met our target from energy as a whole. However the UK Government has strongly resisted a further rigorous target for 2030. Clearly, without the UK, the EU could set a stronger renewable energy and energy efficiency ambition! Moreover, anti-nuclear greens may be cheered by news that Chinese investors in Hinkley C are spooked by financial instability in the UK and the declining value of the £ making it even less likely that the Hinkley C nuclear power development will go ahead ahead. Now, think about it, under Brexit, the UK will have a bad environment. But at least it will be better in the rest of the EU! Progress in implementing a range of environmental initiatives in the EU will be a lot smoother and more effective! Indeed, if by some miracle the UK does remain inside the internal market, the UK will have to obey the EU environmental laws anyway, but won’t be able to have any say in making them! Ideal, you could say! But there is one pretty sure way in which the environment is likely to benefit from Brexit, and that is reducing UK energy consumption and thus reducing carbon emissions. That’s because the Brexit-inspired reduction in economic growth will reduce energy consumption. Indeed, the Government will now find that the need to build new conventional power stations is much reduced or even abolished with Brexit.
Dave Toke’s Blog 11th July 2016 read more »
Energy Costs
Twelve energy providers have pulled fixed-rate tariffs and replaced them with more expensive deals since 23 June, in signs that the pound’s fall in the wake of the Brexit vote could push up household bills. Comparison website uSwitch found a dozen dual-fuel deals had been replaced since the referendum, with new offers costing up to £105 a year more for the average customer. It said wholesale energy costs had been rising for the past three months, and that the UK’s position as a net importer of energy meant the falling pound was pushing up prices.
Guardian 12th July 2016 read more »
Energy Supply
British solar panels generated more electricity than coal-fired power stations for the first time during May. Solar panels fitted on hundreds of thousands of British homes, office rooftops or at commercial solar power farms produced 1.38 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity — a record monthly high. That was 50 per cent higher than the 0.89 TWh of electricity produced during the month by the dwindling number of coal-fired power stations, according to EnAppSys, an energy market consultancy based in Newcastle. Several coal-fired stations have shut recently after the government decided to close them all by 2025 to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Times 12th July 2016 read more »
Politics
BusinessGreen understands that a number of Tory MPs from the modernising wing of the party, including energy and climate change secretary Amber Rudd, sought assurances from May and her team that action on climate change and the wider environment would remain a priority. Such assurances were satisfactorily provided. May’s narrow focus on the Home Office for the past six years (one of the secrets of her success) may have meant her public record on the environment is close to non-existent, but she is known to have supported the Climate Change Act and has never really flirted with the climate-sceptic wing of the party. She is on record as once opposing Heathrow expansion and arguing that the Climate Change Act would boost UK security, health and economic competitiveness. There is no reason at this stage to fear a downgrading of the UK’s low-carbon ambition. The likelihood is that May will seek to continue with the current strategy of combining decarbonisation with measures to limit costs to consumers and enhance energy security. The strategy has had decidedly mixed results, driving record investment in some clean tech areas, while undermining spending in other key areas and contradictorily reining in energy efficiency and low-cost renewables investment. But a continuation of the current policy framework, especially with the promise of an ambitious fifth carbon budget and new measures to meet it, is a lot better than what would have been unleashed by the climate-sceptic government some feared would be delivered by a successful Brexit neo-con coup.
Business Green 11th July 2016 read more »
Radwaste
As can be seen above, low level doesn’t mean low risk. Nor does it mean short-lived, as is seen below. Many have half-lives of thousands and even millions of years. Rather, this is a dilute to deceive scam so popular with illegal polluters, but this is condoned by the UK Government (as well as by the US govt): “radioactive waste having a radioactive content not exceeding four gigabecquerels per tonne (GBq/te) of alpha or 12 GBq/te of beta/gamma activity.”
Mining Awareness 12th July 2016 read more »
Japan
A Japanese court on Tuesday upheld an order to keep two reactors operated by Kansai Electric Power closed, the utility said, helping keep efforts to get the country’s struggling nuclear industry up and running in limbo. The decision, which backs a petition from residents living near the Takahama atomic station west of Tokyo, means Kansai Electric must go to a higher court to try and win permission to get the reactors back online.
Reuters 12th July 2016 read more »
Submarines
Campaigners are celebrating the news that large amounts of radioactive waste from nuclear submarines will not be heading to West Cumbria.
Whitehaven News 12th July 2016 read more »
Trident
One of the first tasks to confront a new prime minister, after an audience with the Queen, is to write “the letter of last resort”. If past practice is observed, Theresa May will be asked to write to (unnamed) commanders of a Trident missile submarine on patrol in the Atlantic. The letter will tell them whether or not, after a devastating attack on Britain, she (by this point either dead, or uncontactable) would be willing to retaliate by firing a nuclear missile.
Guardian 12th July 2016 read more »
Renewables – offshore wind
The Scottish Government has announced a £7.9m collaboration with nine of Europe’s largest offshore wind developers to reduce costs, and improve efficiency and availability of offshore wind farms, easing doubts about the UK’s ability to invest in renewables post-Brexit. As part of the Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) programme, developers Dong Energy, EnBW, E.ON, Iberdrola, RWE, SSE, Statkraft, Statoil and Vattenfall have signed up to the initiative to help reduce the cost of offshore wind to below £100 per MWh by 2020. The Scottish Government’s Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy Paul Wheelhouse said: “The OWA is a collaborative programme run by the Carbon Trust, which aims to reduce the cost of offshore wind through technological innovation.
Edie 11th July 2016 read more »
Major energy companies, the Scottish government and the Carbon Trust will invest £7.9 million to slash the cost of offshore wind. The collaboration to bring new technology innovations to market will be through the Offshore Wind Accelarator (OWA) programme and aims to reduce the cost to below £100 per MWh by 2020.
Utility Week 11th July 2016 read more »
Siemens has backed away from Brexit warnings saying the UK matters whether or not it is in the EU.
FT 11th July 2016 read more »
Europe’s largest industrial combine has vowed to press ahead with investment in Britain despite the vote to leave the EU, backing away deftly from earlier suggestions that Brexit wouldcause a painful freeze on new activities. Joe Kaeser, the chief executive of Siemens, said the German engineering and technology giant remains fully committed to the UK whatever happens, but called on Theresa May to clarify Britain’s post-Brexit trade vision as soon as possible and tell the world what kind of country it will become. “We’re here for the long-term and we don’t let ourselves get jerked up and down. We’re staying because the UK is a good place to do business,” he said.
Telegraph 11th July 2016 read more »
Energy Infrastructure
A working coalition between the Scottish Government, public agencies and sector specialists has today (11 June) announced the launch of funding support aimed at the delivery of large scale transformational low-carbon infrastructure projects based in Scotland. The Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP) aims to stimulate commercial interest and investment to maximise Scotland’s low-carbon potential. Funding from the scheme will financially support up to £20m per project in cases where this represents no more than 50% of the project total capital value. Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Economy Keith Brown said: “The Scottish Government is committed to growing Scotland’s low carbon economy, creating jobs and delivering on climate change ambitions. All communities across Scotland can benefit from these opportunities. “The estimated market value of sales in Scotland’s low carbon and renewable sector in 2013/14 was £5.6bn, with around 8,000 businesses employing 21,500 people. “This fund is another example of the benefits of Scotland remaining in the EU and the single market as The Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP) is supported by the 2014 – 2020 European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).” The programme is inviting innovative projects that incorporate one or more low-carbon technologies and have the ability to demonstrate tangible economic, social and low-carbon benefits. Successful projects will present commercially viable technologies and encourage wider uptake and replication in communities across Scotland.
Edie 11th July 2016 read more »
The Scottish government has given low-carbon infrastructure projects a multi-million pound boost by launching a working coalition with public agencies and sector specialists. The Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP) aims to stimulate commercial interest and investment to maximise Scotland’s low-carbon potential. Funding from the scheme will financially support up to £20 million per project in cases where this represents no more than 50 per cent of the project total capital value.
Utility Week 11th July 2016 read more »
Hydrogen
Using ‘green’ hydrogen for heating would significantly reduce the UK’s CO2 emissions, a new report has found – but only if matched with development of significant carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities. The Leeds City Gate project report outlines the benefits of replacing natural gas in the city’s gas grid with ‘green’ hydrogen – a solution which could be rolled out to the rest of the country. The two year project, undertaken by Northern Gas Networks, Kiwa Gastec, Amec Foster Wheeler and Wales & West Utilities, assessed the prospects for using hydrogen in place of natural gas for cooking in heating – beginning in Leeds and eventually covering the entire UK. However, the report points out that generating hydrogen from fossil fuels would require that the CO2 generated during this process be securely stored in order for the hydrogen to be truly low carbon. An alternative method of producing hydrogen from water using electricity would be far more expensive – even if generated using renewable energy.
Scottish Energy News 12th July 2016 read more »
BBC 11th July 2016 read more »
Business Green 11th July 2016 read more »
Renewables – AD
The Dept for Energy (DECC) consultation on subsidies for anaerobic digestion power (AD-power) and micro-combined heat and power projects closes on Thursday, 14 July. DECC is, in effect, seeking to scale back subsidies for AD-power schemes after higher than expected supply from industry. Almost a third more biogas energy is being produced in the UK compared to this time last year, according to the latest annual figures from industry trade body, the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association, which show that the UK now has 617 MWe of biogas capacity. A DECC spokesman said: “Deployment of AD-power under the FITs scheme has exceeded expectations. “While this shows the success of the scheme in attracting investment in small-scale renewable electricity deployment, this has come at a cost to the bill payer, with the scheme projecting to spend beyond its initial projections.
Scottish Energy News 12th July 2016 read more »
100% Renewables
This April, Los Angeles City Council members Paul Krekorian and Mike Bonin coauthored legislation for a fast route to 100% clean electricity for California’s largest city — and the nation’s second-largest city. With an appreciative nod from the Sierra Club, the news reported at 11district.com follows: “LADWP is on the verge of making significant investments in its infrastructure, and with that 100-year-old power system in need of significant upgrades, the city has an opportunity to re-create its utility in a way that recognizes the potential for a fossil-free future, demonstrates global leadership in its commitment to clean energy, and protects ratepayers from the increasing costs of carbon-based fuels.” Think Progress, in its coverage, pointed out that cities are a key to addressing climate change. Urban areas are pivotal junctures of progress due to the larger capacity for change with each policy. “Under the current plan, emissions are expected to drop. Under a new plan, they could drop to zero.” As one example of the “Ready for 100” campaign, the Sierra Club worked with city councillors in a grassroots effort to encourage commitments to 100 percent renewable electricity. “In the United States, 12 cities, including both San Francisco and San Diego, have enacted 100 percent clean energy goals, and four cities are already there.”
Clean Technica 7th July 2016 read more »
Community Energy
It’s been a rough year for community energy. We’ve gone from thinking we were on the brink of a huge expansion of the movement, to wondering how we are going to be able to keep going at all. Government support (primarily through the feed-in tariff) has been vital to the success of community solar, wind and hydro projects, and so the cuts announced last autumn mean an end to the way we have done things up until now. Right now, most community energy groups are busy racing against the clock to get their final projects funded, built and plugged into the grid before deadlines hit. So 10:10 spent our time working out what we – as a movement – could do once those projects are out of the way. Since February, we have spoken with over 30 leading community energy groups and support organisations about the future of UK community energy. We focused on what potential new business models community groups might be able to use now that the feed-in tariff can no longer be relied on. These fascinating and inspiring conversations didn’t produce any silver bullets. But they did point to a whole host of new approaches communities can try out to maintain momentum behind the grassroots energy transition over the coming ‘lean years’.
10:10 3rd June 2016 read more »
Fossil Fuels
THE chief executive of global petrochemicals giant Ineos has called for an overhaul of UK energy policy and for manufacturing to be placed at the heart of the economy as Britain faces up to life on the outside of the European Union (EU). And John McNally, who runs Ineos’ sprawling Grangemouth site, urged Scottish ministers to review its current moratorium on granting consents for fracking in Scotland, declaring that industry would be transformed if companies such as Ineos were free to tap into indigenous shale resources.
Herald 12th July 2016 read more »
Climate
The UK must address a number of urgent risks due to climate change, the government’s climate advisers have warned. Flooding, heat waves, water shortages, damage to nature, food insecurity and pests are major risks for the UK that demand immediate action, according to a report released today by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC). These risks could lead to a plethora of problems for the UK by the middle of the century, including damage to vital infrastructure, an increase in mortality rates, higher food prices and disease. In some cases, the risks are already relevant today, says the report by the government’s advisory body.
Carbon Brief 12th July 2016 read more »
Guardian 12th July 2016 read more »
