EDF
Electricite de France SA, the operator of 58 atomic reactors in France, dropped to a record in Paris trading after newspaper Les Echos said the utility may have underestimated the cost of storing its most radioactive waste. EDF fell as much as 7.3 percent to 11.59 euros on Tuesday, the lowest since the stock began trading in the French capital in 2005. The shares were down 3.5 percent at 1:15 p.m. local time. France is seeking to store long-life radioactive waste from EDF’s reactors, as well as from Areva SA and atomic-research organization CEA, at a site near Bure, which straddles the Meuse and Haute-Marne regions. Andra, the agency that manages nuclear waste, has put the cost of building and operating a deep storage facility at about 30 billion euros ($32.6 billion), Les Echos reported, citing people it didn’t identify. EDF, Areva and the CEA last year estimated the bill at about 20 billion euros. “This report is clearly negative for all nuclear operators, and most specifically for EDF and Areva, but the risks of project-cost revaluation is not new,” Xavier Caroen, an analyst at Bryan Garnier & Co., said in a research note.
Bloomberg 12th Jan 2016 read more »
Les Echos 12th Jan 2016 read more »
Shares in French utility EDF sank to all-time lows on Tuesday after the country’s Andra nuclear waste agency said that storage costs could be higher than EDF’s estimates, although EDF disputed Andra’s figures. Mirroring German utilities E.ON and RWE , which saw their shares hit decade lows late last year over worries about nuclear decommissioning costs, shares in EDF fell as much as 7.3 percent before closing down 4.4 percent at 11.96 euros. Andra said costs for the Cigeo deep geological storage project could be as high as 30 billion euros or as low as 20 billion depending on assumptions about different cost factors in coming years. The energy ministry’s decision on the 10 billion-euro gap in estimates could have a huge impact on the already stretched balance sheet of EDF, whose 58 nuclear power plants produce the bulk of France’s nuclear waste. EDF already needs to borrow money just to pay its dividend and is set to spend tens of billions of euros on upgrading its ageing reactors, building new reactors at Hinkley Point in Britain and buying the reactor arm of Areva.
Reuters 12th Jan 2016 read more »
Wylfa
Horizon Nuclear Power has announced the starting date for the next stage of public consultation on its proposed multi-billion Wylfa Newydd power station on Anglesey. It begins on January 25, with a series of events set to take place throughout spring. The first stage of consultation was conducted in 2014. Another, larger, consultation will follow later this year.
Utility Week 12th Jan 2016 read more »
Hinkley
Burnham-On-Sea’s MP James Heappey will be leading a debate in Parliament this Thursday on National Grid’s controversial proposed pylons line ahead of next week’s decision on the scheme.
Burnham-on-sea.com 12th Jan 2016 read more »
New Nukes
It seemed nuclear was never far away from the headlines in 2015, and 2016 promises to be more of the same. 2015 was a pivotal year for the industry with continued progress on nuclear new build and, importantly a commitment in the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) for the research and development of new nuclear technology. As we enter 2016, all the indications are that civil nuclear power will remain the Government’s priority and momentum will be maintained. With regard to new build, all three developers are moving forward in their projects. EDF Energy is close to a Final Investment Decision for Hinkley Point C following the Strategic Investment Agreement signed in October 2015. This will be the green light for the project, allowing Hinkley Point C in Somerset to jump forward into its construction phase, providing 25,000 jobs to the UK and delivering significant contracts to local and national companies. Meanwhile the other two programmes, Horizon Nuclear Power and NuGeneration, are progressing rapidly through milestones that will ultimately lead to their own final investment decisions.
Politics Home 13th Jan 2016 read more »
Politics
David Cameron is to be questioned about his broken pledge to spend £1bn developing carbon capture technology when he appears before a Commons committee. Before his appearance before the liaison committee at 4pm on Tuesday, the prime minister was accused of double standards for abandoning a commitment to hold a competition to encourage the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS), which could lead to decarbonisation of coal and gas, at the same time as professing to be serious about tackling climate change. Just a year ago, Cameron had told the same group of MPs, made up of select committee chairs, that CCS was “absolutely crucial” for the UK , before funding for a £1bn trial was later scrapped. Angus MacNeil, the chair of the energy and climate change committee, and Huw Irranca-Davies, the chair of the environmental audit committee, plan to challenge Cameron about the government’s decision, arguing it undermines the commitment to tackling climate change.
Guardian 12th Jan 2016 read more »
David Cameron has defended his government’s record on the environment and climate change, saying suggestions of backsliding are “total and utter nonsense”. The prime minister also told the liaison committee, made up of MPs who chair select committees, that the government needs to do “more of everything” to deal with the flooding that has repeatedly hit the UK in recent years. Cameron, who pledged in 2010 to lead the “greenest government ever”, has faced concerted criticism over a series of reversals to green policies, including cuts to renewable energy subsidies and energy efficiency programmes. In November, the government cancelled its £1bn competition for carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, despite the project being in the Conservative party’s election manifesto. Cameron said that spending on low-carbon energy was set to double to £11bn in this parliament and that there had been an “absolute revolution in renewable energy” during his premiership, with 98% of solar energy installed since 2010. Subsidies for solar power will be slashed this week, but Cameron said: “You do have to think as prime minister that every penny you put in is a penny on energy bills.” The SNP’s Angus MacNeil, chair of the energy and climate committee, challenged this, saying onshore wind was the cheapest clean energy, but was being drastically restricted by the government. Friends of the Earth chief executive Craig Bennett said: “If dismantling a dozen green policies and putting 19,000 solar workers on notice isn’t ‘backsliding on green commitments’, I don’t know what is.”
Guardian 12th Jan 2016 read more »
Cameron was pushed by MPs on the government’s plans to roll out new gas-fired power stations and cut subsidies for the cheapest renewables, such as wind and solar power, in the wake of the Paris Agreement, which commits countries to delivering net zero emissions during the second half of the century. The Prime Minister also hinted the government may have had a change of heart over the Swansea Tidal Lagoon project, which has been in formal negotiations for funding with the Department of Energy and Climate Change since the Chancellor George Osborne floated it as a flagship green energy project in the 2015 Budget. Cameron said his enthusiasm for tidal technology is “waning”, claiming that there are no tidal projects on the table with an attractive enough strike price for investment.
Business Green 12th Jan 2016 read more »
Radwaste
A team led by Battelle Memorial Institute has been selected by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to drill a 16,000 feet (4880 metre) test borehole into a crystalline basemat rock formation in North Dakota as part of studies into the feasibility of using boreholes for nuclear waste disposal.
World Nuclear News 8th Jan 2016 read more »
Successful tests of a promising technology for moving and storing low level radioactive sealed sources are paving the way for a new disposal method for dealing with small volumes of radioactive waste around the world. The method, which involves placing and covering sealed sources in a narrow hole a few hundred metres deep, would allow countries to safely and securely take charge of their own disused radioactive sources. The proof of concept for the technology was tested in Croatia late last year — without the use of actual radioactive material.
IAEA 11th Jan 2016 read more »
Uranium
Investors in uranium producers and explorers could be in for a banner year of growth and opportunity, making the nuclear fuel an outlier compared to other mined commodities whose prices continue to stagnate. Those with positions in companies like Cameco, Paladin Energy and Uranium Energy Corp could finally see their patience rewarded after many quarters of lost market capitalization due to weak uranium prices.
Oil Price 12th Jan 2016 read more »
ONR
The nuclear safety regulator is facing a leadership crisis and is ill-equipped to deal with a mounting workload linked to China’s plans to invest £8 billion in the British industry, experts have warned.
Business Matters 12th Jan 2016 read more »
France
There is disagreement between France’s radioactive waste generators and the country’s radioactive waste management agency on the cost of building and operating a national repository for the disposal of high- and intermediate-level waste. The French energy minister must now decide a ‘reference cost’.
World Nuclear News 12th Jan 2016 read more »
UAE
A group of nine engineering graduates from Emirati universities has joined the United Arab Emirates’ Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) under the regulator’s scheme to develop the country’s base of nuclear experts.
World Nuclear News 12th Jan 2016 read more »
Canada
The government of the Canadian province of Ontario has announced that a CAD 12.8 billion ($9 billion) project to refurbish the four Candu units at Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) Darlington nuclear power station will start in October. The province has also approved the continued operation of OPG’s Pickering plant to 2024.
World Nuclear News 12th Jan 2016 read more »
Trident
Jeremy Corbyn has stepped down as the chairman of the Parliament’s Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) group amid a battle in the Labour Party over his continued opposition to the renewal of Trident. The Labour leader has been heavily criticised by moderate MPs for his role in the campaign for unilateral disarmament. Mr Corbyn faces tensions within his own party over the renewal of the UK’s nuclear deterrent, after three senior party moderates calling support for Trident a “fundamental red line”.
Telegraph 12th Jan 2016 read more »
LABOUR leader Jeremy Corbyn has been savaged by a trade union boss in the latest row over Trident jobs. GMB general secretary Paul kenny accused Mr Corbyn of throwing jobs ‘down the swanee’, with his determination to scrap the nuclear programme.
Plymouth Herald 12th Jan 2016 read more »
Weapons Transport
A CONCERNED resident says movement of warheads in difficult driving conditions put lives at risk. CONCERN has been expressed for public safety after a nuclear convoy was filmed rumbling through residential areas of West Dunbartonshire. Renton man Les Robertson shot video of the mult-vehicle convoy as it moved past the Co-Op store in Balloch and through the Vale of Leven on Saturday at tea time.
Daily Record 12th Jan 2016 read more »
A local SNP politician says he’s “seriously concerned” after reports of nuclear weapons being driven through Stirling last weekend. Stirling MSP Bruce Crawford lodged a motion at Holyrood, “condemning the risk to public safety”.
Central FM 13th Jan 2016 read more »
Renewables – Scotland
An industry body has called for Scotland to triple the amount of renewable energy it produces within the next 15 years. Scottish Renewables said it should be possible for the country to source half of all its energy from sources such as wind farms or hydro schemes by 2030. That goal would include heat and transport, and electricity generation. Today the figure stands at 15% but Scottish Renewables said the new 50% target would be achievable. Scotland is already expected to meet a target of producing the equivalent of 100% of its electricity demand from renewable energy schemes by 2020.
BBC 13th Jan 2016 read more »
STV 13th Jan 2016 read more »
Herald 13th Jan 2016 read more »
Scottish Energy News 13th Jan 2016 read more »
It’s becoming increasingly clear that, when 2020 arrives, Scotland will have missed its much-vaunted 100 per cent renewable electricity target. Though the reasons for that may be up for debate, few people would deny that the 100 per cent target has provided a hugely powerful focus for government and industry and helped create the green energy industry we have today; one that provides half of our electricity and supports 21,000 jobs. With almost exactly four months to go until May’s Holyrood elections, and four years until the end of the decade, now is the time to set ourselves new challenges. In the manifesto we publish today ahead of that election, we set out the case for extending our horizons beyond existing targets for 2020 and for the setting of a new vision for renewable energy in Scotland to 2030. At its heart, that vision should be designed to continue the development of our established renewable technologies while supporting the growth of new parts of the industry.
Herald 13th Jan 2016 read more »
Anne Schiffer, energy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Sco tland, said: “This call from Scottish Renewables is welcome as we need a holistic approach to the renewable energy transition in Scotland that integrates electricity, heat and transport. We also need to make sure that communities don’t miss out. Therefore we are calling on the Scottish Government to increase the current 500MW target of community and locally owned energy by 2020 to 1GW and also set an ambitious target of 2GW by 2030.”
Blue and Green Tomorrow 13th Jan 2016 read more »
Scottish Renewables manifesto.
Scottish Renewables 13th Jan 2016 read more »
Fuel Poverty
Energy companies were under pressure to cut their prices last night as it emerged that almost five million pensioners will turn down their heating during the cold spell because they cannot afford the bills. Nearly half of over-65s will risk their health by rationing energy use in the coming days when temperatures plummet, a study has found. The Met Office has forecast snow across northern England and Scotland tonight as a blast of Arctic air brings freezing conditions to the rest of the country.
Times 13th Jan 2016 read more »
Energy Storage
An industry row over the best way to develop energy storage and the role of DNOs broke out at a select committee hearing this week. On one side, industry experts claimed that giving DNOs ownership and operation of energy storage projects would be the best way to develop the nascent technology. On the other side, Tempus Energy chief executive Sara Bell slammed DNOs for their lack of innovation and said they couldn’t be trusted to lead the development of storage. The Energy and Climate Change select committee, which was hearing evidence on smart grids, was trying to identify barriers to the uptake of energy storage. Energy storage, which is not yet available on a wide scale, would mitigate the fluctuations of renewable generation.
Utility Week 12th Jan 2016 read more »
CCS
Stuart Haszeldine: The UK must regain its low-carbon agenda before it loses 10 years’ worth of development and reputation as a leading voice in climate change action. The Commons Liaison Committee, composed of chairs from expert committees in the UK Parliament, have quizzed Prime Minister David Cameron about how he intends to deliver his ambitious climate change commitments while simultaneously cancelling one of the UK’s largest growth industries in renewable energy and, notably, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). David Cameron told the same committee in 2014 that “CCS is absolutely vital to decarbonisation”, especially if gas plays a role in future UK energy provision.” The UK claims to be part of a highly ambitious international coalition on climate change action. The climate deal reached in Paris last November at the COP21 talks commits the UK to help keep global warming to less than 2°C in perpetuity.
Scottish Energy News 13th Jan 2016 read more »
Fossil Fuels
As householders across the UK continue the great flood clean-up, many are battling with insurance companies. Some are discovering that they now face an insurance “double whammy” – especially if they live in one of the areas covered by the new fracking licences announced by the Government before Christmas. Many of the UK’s best known insurance companies will not insure against fracking-related damage, an investigation by The Independent on Sunday and the campaign group Spinwatch has found.
Independent 10th Jan 2016 read more »
