New Nukes
The future of Britain’s nuclear ambitions hangs in the balance amid increasingly fraught talks between EDF Energy and the Treasury over the price of electricity from EDF’s planned nuclear power station in Somerset. The two sides are negotiating over what price EDF should be awarded for the power it generates at Hinkley Point C, set to become the first new UK atomic plant built in a generation. But the gap between them is much wider than many in the industry were expecting. The Treasury has decided to make an opening offer to EDF of £80 per megawatt hour, the FT has learned, while EDF is holding out for a price of just below £100/Mwh – about twice the current wholesale price of power, according to people familiar with the matter. EDF insists it needs a price that will guarantee it an adequate return on Hinkley, which could cost up to £14bn, according to some industry estimates. A decent return will allow it to attract outside investors into the project. EDF has €39.2bn of debt, up from €33.3bn at the end of 2011, and analysts say its credit rating could suffer if it is forced to take 100 per cent of the UK nuclear investment on to its balance sheet. It is understood the company would like to reduce its interest in Hinkley to as little as 51 per cent.
FT 14th Feb 2013
EDF has warned again that it would only build new atomic power stations in the UK if profits were guaranteed. The Company was planning to increase capital spending to €13bn this year. But it said on Thursday that 2013 spending would be kept flat at €12bn, while plans to increase capital outlay to €14bn in 2014 and €15bn in 2015 were under review. With most of that spending allocated to maintaining and supporting EDF’s fleet of 58 nuclear reactors in France, analysts have said that this leaves less money for international investments such as the UK. Henri Proglio, EDF’s chief executive, said negotiations with the British government over the multibillion-pound nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset were “intense”. But he added that “we expect to come to a conclusion by the end of the first quarter” in talks aimed at setting a fixed price for power generated by the plant. EDF is also in talks with the UK Treasury about a government guarantee on some of the building costs. Thomas Piquemal, EDF finance director, said: “Once we finalise the contract in terms of the price [for the power], we can look at the financing structure, bringing in partners and the infrastructure debt and guarantee that may be part of the UK contract.”
FT 14th Feb 2013
A French state-controlled energy group has raised the stakes in its negotiations with the Government over nuclear subsidy by vowing that it will not go ahead with its £14 billion Hinkley Point reactor project unless the profits are guaranteed. EDF Energy is already in a stand-off because ministers are refusing to sanction the level of subsidy, funded by levies on consumers’ electricity bills, which the company insists is necessary to make the investment. Now its parent company has gone a step farther and publicly demanded a profit guarantee, which could consist of a commitment by the Government to guarantee some of the costs of the project. Henri Proglio, the chief executive of EDF, said: “We will not move on without a formal guarantee on the profitability of our investments.”
Times 15th Feb 2013
EDF is aiming to complete negotiations with the UK government over new nuclear Contracts for Difference (CfDs) by the end of the first quarter of 2013, it confirmed today. The French-owned firm plans to make an investment decision on Hinkley Point C “as soon as possible” after that. At its annual results presentation, chief executive Henri Proglio said EDF was seeking a 40-year contract for Hinkley Point C. Potential partners had come forward but nothing would be agreed until the contracts were in place and approved by Brussels.
Utility Week 14th Feb 2013
Electricity consumers are likely to pay around £50 billion extra under the deal proposed by EDF in their negotiations with the Government for a contract to build Hinkley C. EDF has revealed that it is asking for a 40 year contract to pay premium prices. This 40 year contract length means that consumers will be paying the premium under the ‘contract for differences’ (CfD) arrangements for more than twice as long compared to what the Government wants to pay developers of renewable energy schemes (only 15 years). When this 40 year contract length is combined with the premium that EDF is demanding, the amount that consumers would have to pay EDF comes to staggeringly high amounts. If the 3.2 GWe Hinkley C reactor works well with a 90 per cent capacity factor, and EDF is given a ‘strike price’ of £100, then based on todays wholesale electricity prices (around £50 per MWh), this £50 per MWh premium works out at costing consumers around £50 billion extra their normal bills over 40 years. Hence if the Government agreed to the terms we would have a truly bizarre outcome that the Government will be guaranteeing a risk free income of £50 billion over the next 40 years. Indeed there are rumours that a possible deal involves EDF being paid their premiums for projected electricity production regardless of whether they actually get generated in practice.
Dave Toke’s Blog 14th Feb 2013
Despite news that Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy was pushing ahead with its nuclear plans January will be remembered as a harrowing month for Britain’s nuclear sector.
IET 14th Feb 2013
EDF
French electricity giant EDF says its core profit rose 4.6% last year despite a tough economic climate, thanks in part to growing demand for nuclear power in the UK.
Shropshire Star 14th Feb 2013
Iberdrola
The head of ScottishPower has urged the Government to turn its attention from nuclear power to wind and gas to keep Britain’s lights on. Keith Anderson, the UK head of ScottishPower’s Spanish parent, Iberdrola, said that with the possibility of blackouts looming as soon as 2015, there was no point rushing to build nuclear reactors because they take about ten years to go online. He urged the Government to concentrate on finalising its electricity market reforms to set new subsidies for gas plants and wind farms, which take much less time to build. ScottishPower is waiting for more clarity on subsidies before deciding whether to go ahead with three gas plant projects, he added.
Times 15th Feb 2013
SCOTTISHPOWER has set itself at odds with rival SSE by pledging there will be no hiatus in its renewables programme even though the industry is waiting for details of a planned energy market shake-up. The UK accounted for 28% of profits at ScottishPower’s parent Iberdrola last year, the group revealed, just behind the 30% of earnings from its home market in Spain. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation at ScottishPower rose 3.7% to £1.2 billion in 2012, helped in part by a 7% rise in customer numbers.
Herald 15th Feb 2013
Radwaste
TALKS at 10 Downing Street have left Copeland and Allerdale more confident of being able to go it alone in the search for a safe nuclear waste disposal site. West Cumbrian community and union leaders were encouraged by Tuesday’s meeting with energy secretary Ed Davey and energy minister Baroness Verma. Copeland MP Jamie Reed said: “It’s clear the Sellafield workforce, Copeland and Allerdale borough councils and the government have a shared understanding about the problems surrounding radioactive waste management and of the need to move forward quickly. “It is equally clear the government welcomes discussions with committed, informed, credible partners and that our Copeland and Allerdale councils are now in a much stronger position than they were before the county council voted against its own policies. “It was an extremely constructive discussion with the Secretary of State and this dialogue will continue.” Baroness Verma described the meeting as “helpful”. She confirmed West Cumbria’s MRWS process had ended but added: “It is right we remain engaged with local leaders on these issues, partly to learn the lessons of the process in Cumbria, and partly because they have an ongoing interest in the management of the waste held in storage at Sellafield.”
Whitehaven News 14th Feb 2013
The future for Cumbria’s huge stockpile of higher level radioactive nuclear waste stored at Sellafield remains shrouded in confusion. Senior councillors and west Cumbria’s two MPs – Copeland’s Jamie Reed, and Workington MP Tony Cunningham – have now met with energy minister Baroness Verma and Energy Secretary Ed Davey for talks to find a solution to the problem. A spokesman for Baroness Verma refused to rule out a new process to find a site for the dump which would allow Copeland and Allerdale to remain as possible candidate communities.
Whitehaven News 14th Feb 2013
Carlisle News & Star 14th Feb 2013
I sit on the Economy and Environment Scrutiny Advisory Board for the County Council. One of our responsibilities is to reply to ‘call-ins’ by members. Basically, if any three non-Cabinet members disagree with a Cabinet decision, they can ask the appropriate Board to ‘call in’ the decision for scrutiny. The Scrutiny Board can then “test the merits of the decision”, “consider the process by which the decision has been formulated”, and if it is not satisfied, refer the decision back to the Cabinet for reconsideration (see the Council’s Constitution). Given the controversy around the decision not to proceed to Stage 4 of MRWS, which has already claimed the scalp of the responsible Cabinet member Tim Knowles, it was inevitable that a call-in request would be submitted by members of the nuclear tendency in the Council. The request has duly arrived in the names of David Southward, Frank Morgan, and Wendy Skillicorn,three Labour members with neighbouring divisions on the west coast.
Meall Dubh 11th Feb 2013
CUMBRIA County Council cabinet’s majority decision not to look for an underground nuclear waste site has been formally challenged under its own rules. Coun David Southward has requested a formal “call-in” supported by two other county councillors from Copeland seats. They claim the cabinet decision is flawed.
In Cumbria 14th Feb 2013
Whitehaven News 14th Feb 2013
Letter: I now have to praise Copeland Council for voting to proceed with the stage four investigations into the possibility of having the underground nuclear waste depository in West Cumbria. However, I am totally bewildered as to why Cumbrian County Council is against it, unless they think it will reduce the number of tourists.
Whitehaven News 14th Feb 2013
Letter: The people of Cumbria have spoken and don’t want this dump. So stop pushing and wanting to waist more money on tests. There isn’t a need for further tests we’ve said no. What part of ‘We don’t want it’ do you not understand? And a reminder to those councilors who won’t let it go, you will be wanting our vote at some point. Do you really expect to get it if you prove you refuse to listen.
Whitehaven News 14th Feb 2013
Letter: I feel that the recent behaviour of Jamie Reed MP and Cllr Elaine Woodburn is embarrassingly reminiscent of petulant children, violently upturning a board game and insisting that the rules be changed, because they have lost the game. I was at the Cabinet meeting of January 30 and I can honestly say that it was the most exciting meeting I have ever attended. There were many people representing both sides of the argument, and it was great to see democracy in action and so many people wanting to be a part of the process. I spoke against having a GDF in Cumbria. I object to the notion that people objecting to the GDF are NIMBYs, unreasonably environmentalist or unrealistic.
Whitehaven News 14th Feb 2013
Sizewell
The reactor at Britain’s Sizewell B nuclear power plant in Suffolk, is free of the manufacturing faults that led to the shutdown of two similar reactors in Belgium last year, operator EDF Energy said on Thursday.
Reuters 14th Feb 2013
Hunterston
To commemorate the 750th anniversary celebrations of the Battle of Largs, EDF Energy, the owners of Hunterston ‘B’, will make sure that the Pencil monument will be illuminated. The long campaign to light up the Pencil monument, which is now 100 years old, has been running for many years, and EDF Energy have agreed to provide some of the resources, as well as funding from North Ayrshire Council, towards the overall exciting project.
Largs & Millport Weekly News 15th Feb 2013
Emergency Planning
Consolidated Guidance – new Chapter 4 (roles of responding organisations) published.
DECC 14th Feb 2013
New Reactor Type
Dealing with the waste from atomic power remains one of the biggest challenges for the industry. A start-up company backed and chaired by Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder, believes it has found a way to turn nuclear waste into nuclear fuel while providing affordable, low-carbon electricity. TerraPower, based in Bellevue, Washington, is developing an innovative technology known as the travelling wave reactor, or TWR, which runs on depleted uranium, a byproduct of today’s water-cooled reactors. A wave reaction burns depleted uranium very slowly with no need to refuel for 40 years. Conventional reactors require refuelling every two years.
FT 14th Feb 2013
The atomic industry is shifting its focus to smaller reactors to meet surging demand from emerging economies. After more than 50 years in which the pursuit of economies of scale and more power has made nuclear plants bigger and bigger, they are now shrinking. The atomic industry is thinking small.
FT 14th Feb 2013
Czech Republic
A Czech atomic-plant expansion planned near the German border had been one of the few prizes left for Europe’s nuclear-power industry after the Fukushima disaster stopped projects from Switzerland to Romania. Russian and U.S. contractors have prepared to bid for the $10 billion contract to build two new reactors, Europe’s largest competitive tender for a nuclear project. Now a combination of cheaper European power prices and carbon credits, falling demand for electricity and concern government support may falter leaves CEZ AS’s project in doubt, analysts and investors said.
Bloomberg 14th Feb 2013
Korea
SOUTH Korea yesterday threatened an immediate military response to any signs of an attack after North Korea tested a ¬nuclear bomb. The South also issued an image of a new cruise missile being deployed just two days after the controversial test by its Communist neighbour.
Scotsman 15th Feb 2013
Iran
UN inspectors have returned from talks in Tehran with no deal on access to Iran’s nuclear sites and no date for new talks, failing to produce even a small signal of hope for wider big-power diplomacy aimed at averting a war.
Independent 14th Feb 2013
Finland
Fennovoima said that it has submitted three separate water permit applications relating to the construction of a nuclear power plant at Pyhäjoki in Northern Finland. One of the applications covers the constructions of sea route, harbor, and cooling water intake. Another permit is being applied for building cooling water outlet and covers banks related to them. Also, a permit is needed for the sea dumping area of the nuclear power plant.
Nuclear Engineering International 13th Feb 2013
Fracking
The SNP Government, of course, is likely – in this as in so many other areas – to argue that we can have the best of both worlds, with both fracking and renewable energy in our 21st century power portfolio. Out there in the real world, though, where energy prices are set, the availability of cheap gas worldwide will make investment in expensive renewables schemes less economically attractive by the day. Scotland stands, in other words, at a frightening crossroads between what seems economically unavoidable in the medium term, and what seems right for this country, in the long term; rather Alex Salmond than me, as he ponders which way to turn, and tries to ensure that in choosing the path paved with energy-industry gold, we don’t render the other one impassable, for all time.
Scotsman 15th Feb 2013
