EMR
French energy giant EDF is increasingly likely to face a windfall tax on its eight UK nuclear power plants – especially if it fails to agree a deal to build new reactors, analysts have warned. The group’s existing nuclear plants are in line to make windfall profits thanks to the imposition of the carbon price floor – a tax on carbon emissions that was introduced in April and is due to rise each year. EDF advocated the introduction of the tax, which was supposed to encourage investment in new “green” plants such as nuclear and wind farms that have low carbon emissions, by making dirty old coal and gas plants less economic to run. However, it has proved insufficent incentive for new nuclear plants and ministers are now in talks to offer EDF billions of pounds in subsidies to build the proposed £14bn Hinkley Point plant in Somerset, through a long-term contract guaranteeing them a price for the power it will generate. The government has also offered to give financial guarantees for £10bn of debt to fund the construction of the plant. The talks have dragged on months longer than expected and ministers have warned there is still no guarantee a deal will be done. Meanwhile, the carbon tax is expected to increase the market price of power in coming years, handing windfall profits to existing nuclear plants and wind farms which do not have to pay the tax. In a research note on EDF, Citigroup analyst Sofia Savvantidou said she saw the risk of “a nuclear tax on existing nuclear”.
Telegraph 15th July 2013 read more »
Energy Costs
RWE npower CEO Paul Massara has today called on government and industry to come together to give consumers a clear message about rising energy costs, to help rebuild trust and give consumers the information required to take action. A report launched today by npower sets out how energy bills are expected to rise between now and 2020, to explain precisely what is driving energy costs up, where a customer’s money goes, and why action needs to be taken to save money and reduce consumption.
nPower 16th July 2013 read more »
Energy Explained.
nPower 16th July 2013 read more »
Green policies will drive a £240 rise in energy bills by 2020 unless households cut their power consumption, npower has warned. The energy giant says it wants to tackle the “myth” that suppliers are to blame for rising bills, after finding consumers believed they made far higher profits than they actually did. A household’s energy bill will rise from £1,247 today to £1,487 by 2020 in real terms – not taking into account inflationary increases – if usage remains static, npower warns in a report. Costs caused by government policies such as subsidies for new wind farms and energy efficiency schemes will be the main driver, adding £144, it claims. Greg Barker, the energy minister, said: “Global gas prices not green policies have been primarily pushing up energy bills. That is why it is vital we crack on with securing investment in a diverse energy mix that includes renewables and new nuclear, as well as gas.”
Telegraph 16th July 2013 read more »
Household energy bills are likely to rise £100 a year more than the government projects, says the energy firm RWE Npower. It says official predictions of future energy savings are over-optimistic and warns the average bill will rise £240 a year by 2020. The firm says it supports government plans to renew power networks and build more renewables such as wind and solar. But it says there must be more honesty about the costs of this investment. It comes as a new poll by Cardiff University suggests that the public is willing to pay extra for clean and reliable energy. The report is issued coincidentally as the academic body, the UK Energy Research Centre, warns that plans for a clean energy future risk being undermined by lack of trust. A poll of about 2,500 people commissioned through Cardiff University suggests that the public is worried about dependency on fossil fuel imports (82%); keen to reduce use of fossil fuels (79%); supportive of power from the sun (85%) and wind (75%); and concerned about climate change (74%). The report’s authors say people are willing to pay extra to obtain a stable energy supply. The lead author, Prof Nick Pidgeon, said people would also pay more overall to avoid sudden peaks in prices. He said the researchers had not tested specific figures in the poll because projections about future energy costs were “notoriously slippery”.
BBC 16th July 2013 read more »
The government needs to launch an independent review of the energy sector similar to the Vickers report on banking as part of a bid to break the dominance of the big six power providers and rein in soaring household bills, according to Which? The consumer group is also calling for Centrica, SSE and others to be prevented from controlling both power stations and retail supply businesses while it also wants all wholesale power deals to be published by independent brokers and closely monitored by the watchdog Ofgem. These and other recommendations are contained in a scathing new report, titled The Imbalance of Power: Wholesale Costs and Retail Prices, which followed a year-long investigation and unearthed conflicts of interest, a lack of transparency and flimsy price reporting systems which have left consumers with “little confidence” that gas and electricity charges are fair.
Guardian 16th July 2013 read more »
Old Nukes
Two nuclear power stations have together passed the one million hours of operation milestone. EDF Energy’s Hunterston B in Scotland, and its sister station, Hinkley Point B in Somerset, passed the mark this week. Both of the plants, with a combined capacity of 1,760MW, started generating electricity in February 1976.
Utility Week 12th July 2013 read more »
Significant progress was made last year in strengthening nuclear safety around the world, the U.N. atomic watchdog said in its annual review, despite the “challenge” posed by a large number of ageing reactors.The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published the report shortly before a protest on Monday by Greenpeace activists targeting one of France’s oldest nuclear power plants and demanding its closure.The EDF’s Tricastin plant was built more than 30 years ago – an age which it shares with many other atomic energy facilities, the IAEA survey showed.
Reuters 15th July 2013 read more »
Energy Policy
Understanding why and how it is that some countries are able to implement policies which lead to deeper and faster change in sustainable practices and outcomes is an important step in enabling an acceleration in the transition to a sustainable energy future. This paper presents a tentative, provisional framework for analysing energy system transition, differential outcomes and the reasons for them. It suggests that energy system rules (in enabling or blocking change) and incentives (in making change economic or not) play an important role in shaping change. A provisional hypothesis is that the UK’s ability to make the transition to a sustainable energy system is constrained by the nature of its institutional system and policy paradigm; and because of this, a critical precondition for more innovation in the UK is the implementation of an appropriate governance system. A key insight is a need to understand ‘how and why’ policies are implemented, of ‘how and why’ changes in practices and outcomes are driven, and the links between the two. A provisional Theory of Managed Energy Transition is put forward that seeks to: firstly identify the linkages of politics, actors and agency to the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of energy policy implementation and delivery; and secondly, relate these to changes in practice and outcomes.
IGov July 2013 read more »
Companies
Customers wait 17 minutes on average to connect to Npower’s customer service department, according to a consumer watchdog in a survey of energy companies’ call centres.
Telegraph 16th July 2013 read more »
France
Over 20 Greenpeace activists climbed fences to break into an EDF nuclear power plant in southern France on Monday and demanded its closure, the environmental campaign group said. The activists, dressed in red, broke into the Tricastin plant at dusk and unfurled a yellow and black banner on the wall saying above a picture of President Francois Hollande: “Tricastin, nuclear accident – President of the catastrophe?” “With this action, Greenpeace is asking Francois Hollande to close the Tricastin plant, which is among the five most dangerous in France,” Yannick Rousselet, in charge of nuclear issues for Greenpeace France, said in a statement.
Euro News 15th July 2013 read more »
More than 20 Greenpeace activists climbed fences to break into an EDF nuclear power plant in southern France and demanded its closure, the environmental campaign group has said. The activists, dressed in red, broke into the Tricastin plant at dusk on Sunday and unfurled a yellow and black banner on the wall with the words: “Tricastin, nuclear accident – president of the catastrophe?” above a picture of the president, François Hollande. “With this action, Greenpeace is asking François Hollande to close the Tricastin plant, which is among the five most dangerous in France,” Yannick Rousselet, in charge of nuclear issues for Greenpeace France, said in a statement.
Guardian 15th July 2013 read more »
Guardian 15th July 2013 read more »
Morning Star 15th July 2013 read more »
Evening Standard 15th July 2013 read more »
BBC 15th July 2013 read more »
In France, Greenpeace activists got past security and climbed reactor structures at the Tricastin nuclear power plant. They unfurled a banner which read: ACCIDENT NUCLÉAIRE AU TRICASTIN FRANÇOIS HOLLANDE : PRÉSIDENT DE LA CATASTROPHE? (Nuclear Accident: François Hollande The President Of The Disaster?). Earlier this morning, other activists projected a crack onto the superstructure of the plant illustrating that French President, Hollande, needs to shut down 20 nuclear reactors in the country by 2020 in keeping with his promise to cut nuclear power from three-quarters to half by 2025. The projection of the crack, by the way, is not foreshadowing an eminent condition. Cracks have been found in the reactor vessels of several plants in France, and throughout the world.
Greenpeace 15th July 2013 read more »
Energy supplier EDF Energy plans to sue 29 protestors for trespassing at one of their French nuclear plants. Hot on the heels of their climb up the Shard last week, protest group Greenpeace struck again today, targeting EDF’s Tricastic nuclear station in southern France. Police arrested the activists after they had managed to unfurl a banner reading “Nuclear Accident: François Hollande, President of Catastrophe?” on the side of the power station (pictured). Other activists projected images of a ‘crack’ forming on one of its reactors.
Energy Live News 15th July 2013 read more »
Iran
Benjamin Netanyahu has again warned that Israel will not wait “until it’s too late” to stymie Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and that scientists in the Islamic Republic could be ready to make a push towards producing a bomb within a few weeks.
Independent 15th July 2013 read more »
China
Media rebuke authorities in Jiangmen for failing to consult the public over a controversial nuclear processing plant. Many media outlets are discussing how authorities in Jiangmen, Guangdong province, on Saturday were forced to cancel plans to build a state-run nuclear fuel processing plant after three days of peaceful street protests by thousands of residents. On Sunday, the deputy mayor of Jiangmen even presented a document to the protesters confirming the closure in order to dispel suspicions that the project might still go ahead, says Hong Kong’s Ming Pao.
BBC 15th July 2013 read more »
PV manufacturer Risen Energy and CGN Solar Energy Development have announced joint plans to develop 100MW of solar power projects in China. CGN Solar Energy Development, a wholly owned subsidiary of China General Nuclear Power Group – known as China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corporation until May 2013 – will own around an 80% stake in the projects, with Risen holding the remainder. The announcement was made in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange by Risen Energy.
PV Tech 15th July 2013 read more »
Saudi Arabia
French nuclear giants Areva and EDF are to help train workers for Saudi Arabia’s planned nuclear power industry. The two French companies have signed a cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia’s National Institute of Technology “with the aim of contributing to the development of technical nuclear skills in Saudi Arabia.”
World Nuclear News 15th July 2013 read more »
US
The cost to US power companies of covering insurance liability for potential nuclear accidents has risen by 8%. The new rates were set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to take account of inflation. Based on the Price-Anderson Act, the US nuclear power industry has about $13 billion in liability insurance protection to be used to compensate any public harm in the event of an accident at a nuclear power plant. This insurance protection consists of two tiers: The first provides $375 million in liability insurance coverage per incident, and the second provides for a further $12.6 billion per incident if required.
World Nuclear News 15th July 2013 read more »
Trident
As the government reviews renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent, Ian Searcey dives into the ITN archives and pulls up two items from the beginnings of the Royal Navy’s atomic programme.
Channel 4 News 16th July 2013 read more »
A group of former defence secretaries and military chiefs have voiced their support for a £25 billion replacement of Britain’s nuclear deterrent system, ahead of a long-awaited report which is expected to argue the case for a scaled-down Trident force.
Independent 16th July 2013 read more »
York Press 16th July 2013 read more »
The UK’s nuclear weapon system on the Clyde could be downgraded to a “part-time” deterrent, a long-awaited report is expected to suggest today. Ministers are to publish the results of a high-level review of alternatives to a like-for-like replacement for the ageing Trident. The analysis was a key concession to the Liberal Democrats when they entered into Coalition government with the Conservatives in 2010. Party leader Nick Clegg has said that it would be wrong to spend large amounts of money replacing a Cold War system designed to “flatten Moscow”.
Herald 16th July 2013 read more »
Conservatives have a Cold War fixation with keeping Britain’s nuclear deterrent, Lib Dems will say today. The war of words with their Coalition partners comes as the party publishes its long-awaited review into the alternatives to Trident. The document is expected to recommend building two new nuclear submarines to replace the current four – ending the policy of having a continuous at sea deterrent (CSD).
Daily Mirror 16th July 2013 read more »
The first shots in a debate that Ministry of Defence officials have tried to stifle will be fired on Tuesday when the Liberal Democrat leadership will propose alternatives to a like-for-like replacement of the Trident nuclear missile fleet. Philip Hammond, the defence secretary, reflected widespread concern among his senior officials about the prospect of a public debate over the future of Britain’s nuclear arsenal by saying on Monday that downgrading it would be “reckless”. The Trident alternatives document – promised under the 2010 coalition agreement – will be published despite a rearguard action by MoD officials against the release of figures on the cost and performance of a like-for-like replacement. They were deeply concerned that releasing the figures would set an embarrassing precedent, Whitehall sources said.
Guardian 15th July 2013 read more »
Independent 16th July 2013 read more »
Telegraph 15th July 2013 read more »
Former defence ministers and Forces chiefs including Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Bob Ainsworth and Lord Stirrup demand a continuous nuclear deterrent . Read the letter in full.
Telegraph 15th July 2013 read more »
Tensions between the coalition partners over the future of Britain’s nuclear weapons system were being exposed today as the Liberal Democrats called for the current Trident system to be downgraded despite Conservative opposition. The government’s review into the options for replacing Trident were due to be published at 11am by the prime minister, and an hour later, the Lib Dems were to say which option they backed.
FT 15th July 2013 read more »
Q&A UK Trident Review: Why is the future of Britain’s nuclear weapons suddenly the focus of debate? The UK needs to take a decision over the future of its nuclear deterrent within the next three years. Ministers must decide once and for all whether to replace the four Vanguard class submarines that carry Trident II missiles tipped with nuclear warheads. Those submarines are coming to the end of their service lives and need replacing. Full replacement would cost about £20bn and account for at least one third of the UK’s defence equipment budget in the 2020s.
FT 15th July 2013 read more »
CCS
The scale of the task for the UK energy industry of getting carbon capture and storage technology off the ground was revealed on Tuesday – nearly half of the population has never even heard of the technology, let alone have an opinion on it. About 42% of people had no knowledge of CCS, which is posited by the government’s climate advisers as a way of helping the UK take carbon out of electricity generation, while continuting to use fossil fuels such as gas, within the next two decades. There are still no functioning commerical scale CCS units on power stations, however, and a long-running government competition offering as much as £1bn to a company willing to build one has suffered numerous setbacks.
Guardian 16th July 2013 read more »
Climate
New research has for the first time combined records of past climates and models of the future to estimate how much sea levels will rise even if global temperatures peak. Each degree of global warming could commit earth to 2.3 metres of sea level rise over the next two thousand years, it suggests. The new modelling shows that the giant ice sheets covering Antarctica and Greenland are likely to be the main drivers of sea level rise in the coming millennia, with mountain glaciers contributing less over time as they shrink. The effect of water expanding as it warms, which is one of the biggest drivers of sea level rise today, is likely to be less important as ice sheet melt speeds up.
Carbon Brief 15th July 2013 read more »
Guardian 15th July 2013 read more »
