Nuclear Subsidy
The Deputy Chief Executive of Russian state-owned Rosatom says the company’s decision on whether to enter the UK nuclear power market will depend on whether EDF reaches a deal with the British government on a guaranteed minimum power price for its proposed Hinkley Point project.
Power Engineering International 14th Aug 2013 read more »
Energy Policy
First, if the UK produces more gas it seems highly probable it will use more of it, and gas is the most carbon-rich fuel the UK will use in any quantity after 2020, having already substituted it for most of the coal-fired power plants. Second, low carbon investors – Siemens, Mitsubishi and others – will be scared away from investing in developing the UK’s offshore wind industry. There is ample evidence that they were intending to invest, but it makes little sense to build wind turbine factories to supply a growing market to 2020 if that market will collapse thereafter. This is what they will judge to be the likely outcome from this outbreak of gas-mania, and the refusal to commit to a 2030 target for renewables. Under these circumstances it makes more sense to service the UK market from abroad – wave goodbye to the manufacturing supply chains that could have regenerated much of Britain’s east coast, from Aberdeen to Yarmouth.
The Conversation 14th Aug 2013 read more »
Energy Costs
Thousands of households face a rise in the cost of energy next month as popular fixed rate tariffs from the major suppliers come to an end. Bill payers face being moved back on to their supplier’s standard tariffs, which are often substanitally more expensive. Price comparison website MoneySuperMarket.com estimates the rise could be up to £280 on an annual bill. Four of the “Big Six” energy suppliers – E.ON, npower, Scottish Power and EDF Enregy – are due to end some of their tariffs.
Telegraph 15th Aug 2013 read more »
Sellafield
A Review conducted by local pressure group CORE (Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment), making a strong case for the use of signs on West Cumbrian beaches to advise the public on the presence of radioactive particles, has been sent to the Health Protection Agency (HPA now Public Health England), the Environment Agency, the Government’s Committee on the Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) and other bodies involved in Sellafield Ltd’s beach monitoring programme. Whilst the current absence of signs on local beaches stems from a combination of HPA advice that the health risk to beach users posed by radioactive particles is very low and local authority concerns that beach signs would adversely impact on the tourist trade, CORE’s Review concludes that HPA’s advice – overtaken by recent events and couched in radiological terminology that for the layperson is difficult to comprehend, is no longer valid. It also concludes that the failure to use signs advising on the presence of radioactive particles denies the public their basic human right to choose whether or not to subject themselves and their families to the risks of radiation by using the beaches.
CORE 15th Aug 2013 read more »
A HEATED row has emerged at Copeland after two senior councillors publicly backed Nuclear Management Partners (NMP) to retain the contract to run Sellafield. Council leader Elaine Woodburn and David Moore, the Conservative opposition leader and West Cumbria Stakeholders Group chairman, said in The Whitehaven News last week that NMP should be re-awarded the five-year contract – with the caveat that they must do better for the site and for the community. In response, Phil Greatorex, a Labour borough councillor for Bransty and a former member of the council’s ruling Executive, has written to all 50 councillors expressing his “astonishment” at the position of the two councillors. He said that their views do not “represent the view of the elected council body,” and points to Couns Woodburn and Moore chairing the Stakeholders Group as “a conflict of interest”.
Whitehaven News 15th Aug 2013 read more »
Letter Councillor Phil Greatorex: I was astonished to read the very public endorsement by councillors Elaine Woodburn and David Moore for the continuation of the government-owned and contractor-operated (GOCO) model for decommissioning Sellafield. I should like to make it clear that neither represents the view of the elected council body. It is universally acknowledged that diversifying our economy away from its dependency on Sellafield Ltd is the key to securing a more prosperous future for Copeland communities. As I have repeatedly stated through your paper, breaking down the captured labour market of Sellafield and delivering the decommissioning programme in such a way as to attract inward investment into the area are the overriding priorities for our economy. To date little, if any, progress has been made through the GOCO arrangements.
Whitehaven News 15th Aug 2013 read more »
Letter Elaine Woodburn: Both Coun Moore and I work extremely hard to ensure that the nuclear industry receives the degree of scrutiny that a high-hazard industry should and I’m sure Coun Moore will support me when I say we have no cause to be embarrassed by the nominal expenses we receive from holding these positions on the site stakeholder group.
Whitehaven News 15th Aug 2013 read more »
Letter Copeland Conservatives: I note with interest the letter that Labour Coun Phillip Greatorex sent to all councillors and this newspaper attacking conflicts of interest in the nuclear industry’s role in awarding the Council leader, Coun Woodburn, a ridiculous 30 per cent pay rise. However, when I highlighted the same conflict of interest in May 2012, he wrote, in a letter to this paper: “It was both unfortunate and somewhat misguided of local Tory councillor Stephen Haraldsen to highlight conflicts of interest in local government with a personal attack on my colleague, Coun Elaine Woodburn.”
Whitehaven News 15th Aug 2013 read more »
Radwaste
Letter Geoff Smith Green Party: Those of us who campaigned against the siting of an underground disposal facility for nuclear waste in West Cumbria congratulated Cumbria County Council who, despite enormous pressure, had the courage to withdraw from the process in January. This was apparently a disappointment to both Allerdale and Copeland borough councils. It is, therefore, of some concern that Baroness Verma, on her recent visit to Sellafield, met not only with management and unions to discuss the future of the site, but also with the leaders of the three councils to discuss we know not what – a request to DECC for details proved fruitless. This is the reply I received: “I’m afraid I can’t confirm who the Minister is/was meeting. This was a Sellafield visit as part of the Minister’s wider responsibility for nuclear decommissioning, safety and security. I’m not sure what information the NDA or Sellafield may be planning to publish about the visit (there’s usually some coverage of these things) but we don’t tend to give out details of Ministerial movements on visits in real time.” The two borough councils who wish to continue with the search for a West Cumbrian site remain of the same make-up as in January whilst that of the county council changed in May. The Baroness has said that volunteerism, not geology, is the major factor. The government is still insistent that geological disposal rather than improved surface storage (which, incidentally, if adopted would, in the long term, be more beneficial to employment at Sellafield) is the way forward. Any interest in volunteering shown by areas in Kent was quashed by public consultation before the decision was taken, a right denied the populace of Allerdale and Copeland. No other area of the country has shown any willingness to volunteer. Given all of the above, it is obvious that those of us concerned with the immediate blight and the long term (tens of thousands of years) of West Cumbria must be prepared to once again “man the barricades”.
Whitehaven News 15th Aug 2013 read more »
Hunterston
Fairlie Community Council are divided on the issue of a new nuclear Hunterston ‘C’ power station. During a recent meeting, Labour councillor Alex Gallagher asked if the community council backed new nuclear as part of the National Planning Framework 3, and was supported by Conservative councillor Tom Marshall. Fairlie council member John Riddell stated that it could not appear in NPF3 as Scottish Government policy opposed it. According to the minutes, Community councillor David Telford “wanted the community council to respond and ask for new nuclear at Hunterston. The community council council was divided on the issue and as there was no seconder for the motion, it was left.”
Largs & Millport Weekly News 15th Aug 2013 read more »
Emergency Planning
Results of a consultation looking at proposed changes to safety procedures should there be an incident at one of Suffolk’s nuclear power stations were last night branded “bogus” and “undemocratic”. Peter Lanyon, from the Shut Down Sizewell Campaign, claims the figures concerning those who responded are “grossly” misleading. The consultation was launched by The Suffolk Resilience Forum (SRF), which is responsible for drawing up safety procedures for the county’s nuclear sites. Among a raft of measures it proposes extending the current emergency zone around Sizewell B from 2.4km to 4km – in line with international guidelines. In a report detailing the responses it says 207 (74%) agreed with the recommendation, while some 50 (18%) were opposed and 24 (8%) were “neutral”. There had been a feeling among some that 4km was too small an area, especially as at events elsewhere, including the Fukushima disaster in Japan, people were evacuated within a 40km radius. Mr Lanyon claims the figures quoted are severely skewed as his group alone is made up of 300 members – all of whom opposed the proposals. “It is quite clear that each of the organisations that responded was counted as a single response, just as was each individual resident’s response,” he said. “So the view of each local resident carried the same weight as the view of an entire parish council or community group.
East Anglian Daily Times 14th Aug 2013 read more »
Terror
U.S. nuclear power plants are not adequately protected from threats, including the theft of bomb-grade material that could be used to make weapons and attacks intended to cause a reactor meltdown, a University of Texas report said on Thursday.
Reuters 15th Aug 2013 read more »
Germany
Germany’s renewables revolution is in fact highly successful and strong as ever, but that hasn’t stopped three myths from gaining traction in the media: 1) Germany’s supposed turn back to coal, 2) how renewables undermine grid reliability, and 3) how renewables subsidies are cratering the German economy. None of those are true, and here’s why.
RMI 15th Aug 2013 read more »
The German Federal Association of Electricity and Water (BDEW) reports that the nation’s solar photovoltaic (PV) plants produced more than 5.1 TWh in July 2013, a new record for the nation and the world. This represents a 19% increase over the previous record of 4.3 TWh in June 2013, and a 42% increase from July 2012. It is also nearly double the output of Italy in July 2013, which has the second-largest capacity of installed PV globally.
Solar Server 16th Aug 2013 read more »
China
China is to fast-track expansion and investment in energy saving technologies in an attempt to tackle its worsening pollution problems. China’s cabinet, the State Council announced plans on Sunday to make the energy saving sector a “pillar” of the economy by 2015. In a statement the council said that under the new plan the environmental protection sector will grow by 15% on average annually, reaching an output of 4.5 trillion yuan (£474 billion).
Guardian 14th Aug 2013 read more »
US
Interview with Ernest Moniz: Nuclear Power and Renewable Energy Breakthroughs: there are four AP 1000 reactors being built in Georgia and South Carolina, the first in a long, long time. We have conditional loan guarantees out there for the Georgia plants. And a huge issue for nuclear power going forward in the U.S. is the cost and schedule performance of those reactors. Frankly, if they have cost overruns like some of the recent construction in Europe — Finland and France — if they have that kind of performance, I think it is very hard to see a future for nuclear power plants unless a new technology like small modular reactors becomes available in say, the next ten years.
Oil Price 15th Aug 2013 read more »
South Korea
South Korea’s chicken farmers are the latest indicator of the electricity worries gripping the country this summer. A major scandal in the nuclear power sector has prompted reactor shutdowns and an unusually severe power squeeze, leaving farmers anxiously putting in calls to backup generator salesmen. The farmers’ sudden concern reflects the unprecedented challenges dogging the country’s power sector, stemming from a corruption scandal that has damaged South Korea’s reputation at home while threatening efforts to expand abroad.
FT 16th Aug 2013 read more »
Nuclear Weapons
Alex Salmond has been warned by a UK cabinet minister it would be “extraordinarily difficult” for an independent Scotland to join Nato at the same time as banning nuclear weapons. In a sharp escalation of the clash over Salmond’s defence policies, Michael Moore, the Scotland secretary, said it was “absolutely clear” that Scotland would have to accept Nato was a nuclear alliance as a precondition for membership.
Guardian 15th Aug 2013 read more »
The SNP’s defence plans have been badly undermined after Nato officials indicated that an independent Scotland would struggle to join the alliance if it banished nuclear weapons from its shores.
Times 16th Aug 2013 read more »
Decentralised Energy
SCOTLAND’S largest council is proposing setting up a new energy company in a bid to cut fuel poverty, improve the environment and create new jobs. Officials from Glasgow City Council are looking at different ways the authority could create its own Glasgow Energy Services Company. This could be set up in partnership with the private sector and could oversee a range of renewable energy projects across the city, which could create jobs as well as reduce emissions. The new company, which the council says has the potential to become one of the biggest in Europe, would generate energy which could then be used to power street lights and council buildings. Electricity could also be sold to the National Grid, with cash raised from this used to tackle fuel poverty. Glasgow City Council leader councillor Gordon Matheson said: “Last year, the council’s energy bill was almost £26 million.
Herald 16th Aug 2013 read more »
Fossil Fuels
Shale gas is on the rise around the globe. Countries around the world, including the UK, China, South Africa and Poland are struggling with the reality of whether to exploit the new resource and what it might mean for their energy systems. Somewhere on the agenda is a crucial question – what will it mean for greenhouse gas emissions? It’s hard to see how a significant new fossil fuel resource will be compatible with plans to radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the globe over the next couple of decades, without some serious regulatory clout and some technology breakthroughs.
Carbon Brief 14th Aug 2013 read more »
Around 100 local people have met in Llanelli to discuss plans by an energy company to extract coal gas from deep under the Loughor Estuary. Cluff Natural Resources wants to extract the gas using a process known as gasification. It involves drilling a deep hole and igniting the coal before piping the gas to the surface. The firm has been awarded a licence for the Loughor and Dee estuaries by the Coal Authority. But it will need various permits before test drilling can start.
BBC 14th Aug 2013 read more »
Cuadrilla has halted its oil-drilling operations in West Sussex in anticipation of an influx of anti-fracking protesters at the site this weekend. The company, which is pioneering the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing in Britain, said that after discussions with police it had doubled the height of its security fences and installed razor wire at the Balcombe site, and had called a halt to the stopped drilling until further notice. A spokesman said this was owing to concerns “for the health and safety of employees and protesters”.
Guardian 16th Aug 2013 read more »
Independent 16th Aug 2013 read more »
Thousands of landowners face legal action by the Church of England to secure mineral rights that critics claim could lead to dioceses benefiting from fracking.
Times 15th Aug 2013 read more »
Telegraph 15th Aug 2013 read more »
Conservative and Labour MPs in Lancashire have joined forces to demand more money for fracking in their constituencies.
Telegraph 15th Aug 2013 read more »
