Nuclear Subsidies
This memorandum looks at the background of State aid and considers the possible options open to potential investors in the UK nuclear industry to maximize the likelihood of a positive outcome for their project. Ultimately, projects such as Hinkley Point C are unlikely to be prohibited on State aid grounds. Nevertheless, the eventual outcome may well mean less advantageous terms for the project. This could be with regard to a number of features of the support package, including: the duration of the Contract for Differences, the level of the guaranteed revenue under the Contract for Difference (its “strike price”), sharing any benefits with the UK in the post-Contract for Differences period, or the level of fee for the credit guarantee. While the Commission’s decision can be appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union, such an appeal is unlikely due to the political nature of State aid decisions and, in any event, would take a long time. While each project is considered by the Commission on a case-by-case basis, the outcome of the Hinkley Point C decision will likely have a flow-on effect to the support package available for potential investors in future UK nuclear new build. Indeed, all EU nuclear power projects will likely be impacted by the framework set in the decision. This increases the importance of paying early and close attention to State aid in the context of structuring new nuclear power projects in Member States.The State aid process is a major challenge for all participants in the UK’s nuclear new build industry. However, there is a high degree of self-help available to participants who can work closely with the UK Government to anticipate and provide solutions to concerns. Helping influence the real-time development of EU policy in the nuclear space will be the best way for participants to achieve better visibility on what is a very obscure process and ultimately to improve the likelihood of achieving the right outcome for their projects.
Mondaq 13th Aug 2014 read more »
Hinkley
The Court of Appeal has rejected a further challenge launched by An Taisce, the national trust for Ireland, to a decision by the UK government to grant consent for the construction of a nuclear power station in Somerset, concluding that the likely environmental impacts had been properly assessed. Lord Justice Sullivan stated that the energy secretary was not writing an academic dissertation on the concept of the likelihood of significant effects. An expert report had calculated that the probability of an accident at the reactor was as low as 1 in 10 million years of reactor operation. It was common ground that the probability of a severe nuclear accident was very low, the judge noted. In his opinion it was not necessary for the government to have concluded that there was a zero probability of risk. Rather, the conclusion that there was a very low probability was sufficient to comply with the directive.
Planning Resource 15th Aug 2014 read more »
GDA
Regulators Quarterly Report giving information on the work that has been undertaken so far during Step 2 of the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) of Hitachi-GE’s UK Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (UK ABWR), as well as the regulators’ preparation for potential other GDAs, during the period April – June 2014. The regulators anticipate re-starting the GDA of the Westinghouse AP1000 in the next period, and have made preparations in terms of securing resource, developing a mobilisation plan and working with their legal teams on the funding model for the project.
ONR 14th Aug 2014 read more »
Sizewell
School’s out for the summer and the bookings at the Sizewell B visitor centre are on the rise with parents looking for educational activities for the kids. The visitor centre at the power station has recorded an increase in the number of family trips to the site since schools broke up with over 550 visits booked over the summer break and more expected as parents look for educational activities in the last few weeks of the school holidays. Parents looking for something to do with the children, come rain or shine, have poured through the visitor centre doors looking for activitities that stimulate young active brains.
EDF Energy 13th Aug 2014 read more »
Energy Costs
A recent article in The Economist covers a study comparing the costs of solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, and natural gas. Alas, the study starts with a fundamental misunderstanding of how our electricity system works, and goes downhill from there. And The Economist’s attention unfortunately helps to perpetuate those errors. Here are five examples of what went wrong. Frank concludes that natural gas combined cycle plants, followed by nuclear, are the way to go. Even using Frank’s methodology, however, and just changing inputs to better reflect the real world, as Lovins reports his colleague has done, leads you to a very different conclusion, with wind and solar ahead of gas and nuclear.
Union of Concerned Scietists 13th Aug 2014 read more »
Economist 26th July 2014 read more »
Amory Lovins: Readers of The Economist may have been surprised to read in its 26 July 2014 “Free exchange” section on page 63, or in its online version, the “clear” conclu¬sion that solar and wind power are “the most expen¬sive way of reducing green¬house-gas emissions,” while “nuclear plants…are cheaper,” so governments are foolish to boost renewables and mothball nuclear.
Rocky Mountain Institute 7th Aug 2014 read more »
Utilities
RWE is continuing to mothball fossil fuel power plants as they face growing competition from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar panels, the German energy giant confirmed in its half-year results today. Peter Terium, RWE AG chief executive, said conventional power plants were “losing ground” across the energy sector, with German power plant operators due to close 11GW of capacity by the end of 2018.
Business Green 14th Aug 2014 read more »
RWE, Germany’s second-biggest utility by market value, posted a 62 per cent drop in profit on Thursday and announced plans to shut down more power stations. The utility blamed the expansion of renewable energy in Germany, which it said had left many of its power stations unable to cover their operating costs. Wind and solar power, which have preferential access to the grid in Germany, have squeezed the margins of conventional power generators such as RWE and Eon.
FT 14th Aug 2014 read more »
While green electricity generation blooms like algae in Germany, RWE (Europe’s second-largest electricity producer by generation capacity) still depends heavily on fossil fuels and nuclear. Excess capacity, partly caused by the nationwide switch to renewables, means German wholesale energy prices are near seven-year lows, at 34 per MWh. RWE moans that power prices are too low, forcing it to repeatedly cut generation capacity. That has hurt. RWE is highly sensitive to pow er prices. Generation accounted for half of operating earnings in 2012. So far this year it has provided less than a quarter. Management would like some help. It will not get any.
FT 15th Aug 2014 read more »
More than 62,000 households deserted npower in the first six months of the year as complaints about the energy company with the worst track record on customer service continue to stack up. Npower, which supplies 5.37 million households, receives more complaints than any other supplier after it botched the introduction of a new billing system.
Times 15th Aug 2014 read more »
SSE argues that imposing one national charge for delivering electricity and gas to the home would make bills much simpler to understand than the current system, where suppliers levy 14 regional charges. If adopted, the idea would prove contentious, as it would create clear winners and losers. It would result in lower bills for those living in sparsely populated regions with difficult terrain where the cost of building pylons and gas pipelines is higher per customer.
Times 15th Aug 2014 read more »
Australia
Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory can still apply to offer their land as a nuclear waste dump despite the collapse of government attempts to nominate Muckaty Station, the industry minister has said. Ian MacFarlane met traditional owners, members of the Muckaty Aboriginal Land Trust and community members in Tennant Creek on Thursday, where he announced that the option to volunteer their land for a radioactive waste management facility would remain open until 30 November this year.
Guardian 14th Aug 2014 read more »
Korea
South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Friday urged the creation of a nuclear safety consultative group in Northeast Asia, given the high number of nuclear power plants in the region and public concerns over safety.South Korea operates 23 reactors supplying about a third of the country’s power, but Japan’s 2011 Fukushima disaster, North Korean nuclear tests and a series of domestic nuclear scandals have heightened public fears about nuclear radiation.
Reuters 15th Aug 2014 read more »
Nuclear Weapons
There would be no insurmountable technical or financial obstacle to relocating Britain’s Trident nuclear missile base to England out of an independent Scotland, a report by a leading thinktank says on Thursday. Any local opposition might delay but not stop relocation, and the favoured site would be Devonport in Plymouth, it says. Some opponents of Scottish independence have suggested it would mean the end of the Trident nuclear weapons system and that the cost of moving the submarine base at Faslane and the nuclear warhead depot at Coulport would be prohibitive.
Guardian 14th Aug 2014 read more »
THE debate over the future of Trident shows how destabilising a yes vote could be in the Scottish independence referendum to the whole country. A report published today says it might “only” cost £3.5bn to relocate the four nuclear submarines from their dock at Faslane, on the Clyde, but that is an unnecessary £3.5bn for the English, the Welsh and the Northern Irish to fork out. In these austere times, that is money most people would rather have spent on public services, such as hospitals. The cost, though, is almost academic. Alex Salmond says an independent Scotland would want Trident moved within five years, but the practicalities would be very different. Just the planning debate about where to site the base would take a decade or more – we can’t even get quick consent about something as simple as a high-speed railway so the discussions around the siting of a nuclear base are bound to be contentious and lengthy. In an ideal world the people of Teesside wouldn’t really want a nuclear power station near Hartlepool, now it is there employing 750 skilled people, very few people would vote against it on a point of principle. Scotland must be a foreign country if it can afford to give up so many well paid jobs so easily.
Northern Echo 14th Aug 2014 read more »
A report by a leading thinktank says that Britain’s nuclear missiles could be moved to the South West if Scotland votes for independence – and their warheads stored in the Fal Estuary. The report, compiled by the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), says the location, just between Falmouth and Truro, is the option “given most credence to date” and would provide “good shelter and a comparatively isolated location,” to store the warheads.
West Briton 14th Aug 2014 read more »
THE people of Falmouth, and more specifically Flushing and Mylor, have more to fear than most if Scotland gains its independence in September, according to a new report from the Royal United Services Institute. With Scotland declaring itself a nuclear free zone, warheads currently stored at Coulport could be moved to Falmouth to be stored in a specially built nuclear munitions facility built on the headland between Trefusis Point, Flushing and Penarrow Point, Mylor Churchtown.
Falmouth Packet 14th Aug 2014 read more »
A report suggesting that moving the UK’s nuclear deterrent out of Scotland would not be impossible raises questions about the location to which such a facility would be moved. The move is not simply a case of finding another deep water location in a relatively low-populated area, but more about the infrastructure involved in running such a complex nuclear programme. There are two sites where a facility of this kind could be set up, but both have their downfalls. They are Devonport near Plymouth and Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. According to independent nuclear engineer John Large, an overseas location, such as Gibraltar or Malta, could be considered. The process of moving the Trident system would take up to 15 years.
ITV 14th Aug 2014 read more »
ITV 14th Aug 2014 read more »
Community Energy
The future of community-owned green energy projects that ministers say are crucial to break the dominance of the ‘big six’ is being put at risk by the Financial Conduct Authority, according to co-operatives and the Labour party. Thousands of towns and villages have clubbed together around the UK in recent years to set up energy co-ops to generate clean electricity from wind turbines and solar panels. Ed Davey, the energy secretary, last year visited a community solar scheme on a tower block in south London and has said he “want[s] to see nothing short of a community energy revolution”, while the former climate minister, Greg Barker, said such projects were needed to “break the grip of the dominant big energy companies”. But in the past six weeks the FCA, which registers new co-ops, has blocked several new energy co-op applications on the grounds that they would not have enough member participation, despite having authorised previous ones set up along the same lines.
Guardian 15th Aug 2014 read more »
As a Dream Fund winner in 2011, the Kingussie Micro Hydro project received an amazing £65,386 from our players to generate ‘green’ energy for the Kingussie community. Run by the Kingussie Community Development Company (KCDC) and the Kingussie Vicinity Community Council, this fantastic project is getting underway this summer after nine long years of development. This marks a very exciting time for project founders as their dream of a sustainable and energy-efficient community is finally becoming a reality.
Postcode Lottery 14th Aug 2014 read more »
Renewables
Renewable energy technologies contributed nearly one fifth of the UK’s power mix in the first quarter of the year, as a result of high winds, rainfall, and a surge in new construction in the solar farm industry. According to new government figures released today, UK renewables saw a record quarter, producing 18.1 TWh, an increase of 43 per cent on the same period in 2013.
Business Green 14th Aug 2014 read more »
Renewables – small hydro
Work has started on a £3m hydroelectric project in northern Scotland with developers Green Highland Renewables confident that the scheme will come online in 2015. The 750kW scheme at Allt Choire a’ Bhalachain on the south side of Loch Garry is one of two projects in the area being developed by the Perth-based company on land managed by Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS). The other scheme, a 1.3MW development at Allt Ladaidh, will commence construction in early 2015. Green Highland Renewables was appointed by FCS in 2010 to develop a number of sites for hydroelectricity and has gained planning permission for three locations, with around 20 more prospective projects in the pipeline.
Business Green 14th Aug 2014 read more »
Renewables – solar
As our Farm Power project develops, we’ve been looking into the potential of farms to contribute to the UK’s energy system. We think that sustainable farm-based energy could – if correctly supported – make a significant contribution. Just as importantly, we also think that energy production can complement the broad suite of ‘asks’ society might want from our countryside (from food production through to biodiversity and recreation).Given that the debate around food and energy is typically framed as food vs energy, this latter point is something that we’re really keen to explore. So, given that today is #SolarIndependenceDay, here are some thoughts on farm-based solar: Solar PV is oft-downplayed in future energy projections, but it is perhaps the most dynamic technology in the UK at the moment. Indeed, over 1GW of solar PV was installed in the first three months of 2014 alone, bringing the total installed capacity in the UK close to 4.5GW. The Government has stated it would like to see some 20GW of solar PV installed by 2020 (albeit with a strong preference towards rooftop installations), arguing that any more than this will stress the country’s grid infrastructure. Other stakeholders are much more bullish in their predictions – the highest estimate/prediction for installed solar capacity in the UK that we’ve found is 75GW (as proposed by the Centre for Alternative Technology’s “Zero Carbon Britain” report).
Forum for the Future 4th July 2014 read more »
Review
THE location, a small petrol station in the far north of Scotland. The date, 5 April 1985. Willie MacRae, a nationalist politician on his way to counter government plans to dump Dounreay’s nuclear waste into the sea (sic), has been delayed by flooding.
Edinburgh Evening News 13th Aug 2014 read more »
Climate
It is common knowledge in the climate change scientific community that governments around the world had better be planning for a one-meter rise in global sea levels by the end of this century. What isn’t common is for a world-renowned scientist to warn that there could be a greater rise than that before 2100 – in addition to a catastrophic two to three-meter rise by 2200, and worsening increases thereafter.
Truthout 13th Aug 2014 read more »
Fossil Fuels
Scotland’s energy minister will oppose moves to remove the right of householders to object to fracking companies drilling beneath their homes. The UK government is consulting on plans which would make it easier for firms to drill under residential areas. Companies would be given automatic access rights, but only at a depth of more than 1,000ft (300m). Fergus Ewing told BBC Scotland any decision should be taken at Holyrood, rather than Westminster.
BBC 15th Aug 2014 read more »
Several hundred anti-fracking protesters have taken over a field near a proposed exploration site for shale gas in the Fylde area, east of Blackpool. The “No Dash for Gas – Reclaim The Power” camp has positioned itself close to one of two planned drill sites by energy firm Cuadrilla and is expected to remain for six days. Inga Wilde, a campaigner at the camp said: “Blackpool is the first location for fracking in the UK, the first test site. So we’d like to stop fracking here and fracking everywhere else in the country.” Last summer the same group occupied a site near Balcombe village in West Sussex, stopping Cuadrilla’s test drilling for oil.
Guardian 14th Aug 2014 read more »
A wind farm requires 700 times more land to produce the same amount of energy as a fracking site, according to analysis by the energy department’s recently-departed chief scientific advisor. Prof David MacKay, who stood down from the Government role at the end of July, published analysis putting shale gas extraction “in perspective” showing it was far less intrusive on the landscape than wind or solar energy. His intervention was welcomed by fracking groups, who are battling to win public support amid claims from green groups and other critics that shale gas extraction will require the “industrialisation” of the countryside.
Telegraph 14th July 2014 read more »
Transport
Ford is planning to build a solar canopy covering 360 parking spaces at their world headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan near Detroit. The company, which is teaming with DTE Energy, will spend roughly $5 million to construct the 1.038 megawatt project, which when completed in 2015 will be the largest solar array in the state. Thirty of the spaces covered by the solar canopy will include charging stations for plug-in electric vehicles, or EVs, with the most likely of these being the hybrid Ford Fusion Energi and the recently announced C-Max Solar Energi.
Climate Progress 14th Aug 2014 read more »
