Hinkley
The contract for site-preparation works at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station has been awarded to Kier Bam. The contract announcement, worth more than £100m, was made today by Vincent de Rivaz, chief executive of EDF, at the companys National Supply Chain event. EDF outlined billions of pounds of opportunities for further contracts on its nuclear new-build programme, which includes the construction of a twin-reactor nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C in Somerset with Centrica.
The Engineer 13th Dec 2011 more >>
GDA
Generic designs for two nuclear reactors proposed for construction in the UK have been granted interim acceptance by regulators. The Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency said in a joint statement Wednesday they are satisfied with how the designers of both EDF and Areva’s UK EPR and Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactors plan to resolve a number of remaining issues. Neither reactor can be built in the UK until these issues are resolved, they said. For both designs, ONR has issued interim Design Acceptance Confirmations, or iDACs, and the Environment Agency has issued interim Statements of Design Acceptability, or iSoDAs. Having completed the planned assessment of the safety cases for the generic designs, the regulators published on Wednesday reports for each design summarising the basis of their decision, together with their technical assessment reports. They also published documents explaining how the designers plan to resolve issues identified in a report written by the UK’s chief inspector of nuclear installations, Mike Weightman, on the Fukushima accident in Japan. “It is for the designers now to satisfy us that they have resolved these issues. We will not allow industry to build the reactors until they have done so,” Kevin Allars, director for nuclear new build at ONR, said in the regulators’ joint statement. The assessment involved more than 60 expert engineers, scientists and regulators at both agencies. Gaining approval for the generic designs is one part of a larger requirement placed on the designers and prospective operators of new power plants before any reactors can be built. Any prospective operator of a new power station also needs to apply for and be granted a nuclear site license by ONR and environmental permits from the Environment Agency. It would also need to complete a process of preparing safety reports to support ONR’s consideration as to whether to grant so-called “consent” to start installation, as well as receive other permissions from bodies including the Infrastructure Planning Commission.
Platts 14th Dec 2011 more >>
Energy Live News 14th Dec 2011 more >>
Construction Index 15th Dec 2011 more >>
The Engineer 14th Dec 2011 more >>
Generic designs for two nuclear reactors proposed for construction in the UK have been granted interim acceptance by the independent nuclear safety, security and environment regulators.
HSE 14th Dec 2011 more >>
EDF
EDF Energy must battle to pass the trust test with customers, says chief executive Vincent de Rivaz. His comments come in the wake of a recent poll suggesting EDF received the highest rise in customer complaints compared to other Big Six suppliers over three months this autumn. At his firms New Nuclear Opportunities conference in London yesterday, the French energy boss was vocal about the need to regain consumer trust. Mr de Rivaz told ELN: We have challenges, I know them. We will address them and we will win the trust battle because we need it.
Energy Live News 14th Dec 2011 more >>
Areva
On 12 December French nuclear energy giant Areva SA, the worlds biggest supplier of nuclear fuel and services, asked that trading in its shares be suspended shortly before the opening of the Paris Stock Exchange, the company said. Areva SA shares subsequently fell 5 percent before modestly rebounding 1 percent on 13 December. Since the beginning of the year Areva SA shares have lost 47 percent of their value.
Oil Price 13th Dec 2011 more >>
Supply Chain
SHEFFIELD Forgemasters is on the brink of securing lucrative work in the civil nuclear power sector, it was revealed yesterday. The company is upgrading its American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) civil nuclear accreditation to help it capitalise on market opportunities. The company, which has held ASME accreditation for the manufacture of components for civil nuclear power since 1992, is developing a programme to gain accreditation that will cover fabrication for civil nuclear power stations.
Yorkshire Post 15th Dec 2011 more >>
Sheffield Forgemasters International has completed a contract for a seven-figure sum to supply South Koreas civil nuclear power development programme. The firm, which is the only UK company to boast certification from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers to make civil nuclear castings and forgings has supplied forgings for the reactor coolant pumps that will be used in South Koreas new wave of nuclear power plants.
Sheffield Star 14th Dec 2011 more >>
Northern England could become one of the worlds leading nuclear manufacturing hubs, according to a report from Manchester University.
The Engineer 14th Dec 2011 more >>
Energy Prices
Claims that the costs of wind farms and other low-carbon technology will lead to sharp rises in fuel bills are wrong, government advisers say. The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) says increases in bills over the past few years have been largely due to higher wholesale gas costs. Members said their “best estimate” was that green policies would add £110 to bills per household in 2020. It emerged recently that an estimated 1.5m people are in fuel debt in the UK. The combined gas and electricity bill for typical households could go up from £1,060 in 2010 to £1,250 in 2020, according to analysis by the committee. But further energy efficiency measures – such as loft and wall cavity insulation – could see the projected 2020 bill fall to £1,085 per household, it said. CCC chief executive David Kennedy said the committee had analysed the impact of investing in technolo gy including offshore and onshore wind, nuclear and carbon capture and storage. Mr Kennedy said the cost of this investment was “significantly” outweighed by the benefits – including a reduced reliance on imported fossil fuels.
BBC 15th Dec 2011 more >>
Times 15th Dec 2011 more >>
FT 15th Dec 2011 more >>
Guardian 15th Dec 2011 more >>
Japan
Japan is poised to declare its crippled nuclear plant virtually stable nine months after a devastating tsunami, but the facility still leaks some radiation, remains vulnerable to earthquakes and shows no prospect for cleanup for decades. The announcement is expected to refer to cold shutdown “conditions”- less definitive phrasing than a cold shutdown. That’s partly because the operator cannot measure temperatures of melted fuel in the damaged reactors in the same way as with normally functioning ones, although the company believes they have reached a stable state. The complex still faces numerous concerns, including the vulnerability of the spent fuel pools, which sit on the top floor of the damaged reactor buildings, and the vast amount of contaminated water that has collected in the reactor basements and nearby storage areas. Another severe earthquake could damage the spent fuel pools, which might cause the water to leak and allow the fuel to overheat. Unit 4’s spent fuel pool, which contains the largest number of fuel rods, is the biggest concern because of structural damage to the building beneath it, although TEPCO says it has reinforced the structure. Removal and storage of those fuel rods from pools at four of the reactor units is also part of the next step toward eventual decommissioning.
AP 14th Dec 2011 more >>
Japan Today 15th Dec 2011 more >>
Fukushima Crisis Update 9th – 12th Dec 2011
Greenpeace International 13th Dec 2011 more >>
Iran
Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mark Hoban, moved a Statutory Instrument in the House of Commons on Tuesday 13 December on restrictions on the Iranian banking sector.
UK Parliament 14th Dec 2011 more >>
Iran is to transfer its nuclear production across a series of underground and bomb-proof secret facilities as it steps up efforts to thwart an apparent Western sabotage campaign.
Telegraph 14th Dec 2011 more >>
Daily Mail14th Dec 2011 more >>
An explosion at a steelworks in the Iranian city of Yadz, in which two North Korean weapons experts are believed to have been killed, was “not previously associated” with Irans nuclear weapons programme, Iranwatch editor Valerie Lincy told Metal Bulletin.
Metal Bulletin 14th Dec 2011 more >>
US representatives have endorsed harsher sanctions against Iran as it seeks to weaken Tehran economically and derail its suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Telegraph 15th Dec 2011 more >>
China
The Ministry of Environmental Protection of China has finally come up with a set of draft safety rules to ensure not only the efficiency but also safety of the country’s nuclear plants once it goes online again. Once China’s State Council stamps its approval on the nuclear safety guidelines, the country’s nuclear projects most likely will immediately resume operations. Approvals to facilitate new nuclear projects may also be fast-tracked.
IB Times 14th Dec 2011 more >>
Fusion
The international nuclear fusion research project ITER is to get 1.3 billion in for 2012 and 2013 in a deal endorsed by Parliament on Tuesday. The deal was struck on 1 December by negotiators representing EU Member States and Parliament, then backed by the Budgets Committee as a whole on 6 December.
Wired Gov 14th Dec 2011 more >>
Renewables
YouGov poll for Sunday Times finds over half of people want more wind turbines, while nearly three quarters support increased solar panel rollout.
Business Green 14th Dec 2011 more >>
Guardian 14th Dec 2011 more >>
A PRIVATE investment deal worth £1 million between Tecsola plc and Knowes Housing Association to instal solar panels at KHA properties in Faifley, Clydebank, will alleviate fuel poverty for tenants who live in the development. The injection of cash by Tecsola, a private equity investment company, has enabled Edison Energy to instal solar PV panels on 117 of Knowes’ properties. The deal will help KHA tenants who will receive free electricity. The installation was completed by December 12 to ensure that the solar panels qualified for the pre-December 12 feed-in tariff.
Herald 15th Dec 2011 more >>
