Nuclear Subsidies
THE business minister Michael Fallon has infuriated renewable energy executives after “inviting” them to lobby Brussels on behalf of the government’s deal to underwrite nuclear power with billions of pounds in subsidies. Fallon took the extraordinary step of drafting in the renewables industry, which is reeling from a series of subsidy cuts to technologies such as biomass and offshore wind. He gathered a group of top executives at a meeting in Westminster to urge them to make supportive submissions to the Brussels consultation. He also sent a letter, seen by The Sunday Times, highlighting the national importance of Hinkley. Fallon adds that it is “dependent on a positive state aid decision from the European Commission”, imploring executives to “support our case” by writing to Brussels. One industry source said: “The renewables industry is somewhere between bemused and appalled that Michael Fallon has asked them to lobby for Hinkley Point’s [subsidy]. He is living in cloud-cuckoo-land.”
Sunday Times 16th March 2014 read more »
Radwaste – Scotland
AN INDEPENDENT Scotland’s share of the cost of cleaning up radioactive waste from Britain’s nuclear sites could be as much as £10bn, it has been claimed. Scottish ministers accept they will have to shoulder some of the financial burden of cleaning up the toxic legacy of nuclear power. The bill for tackling Scottish sites at Dounreay, Chapelcross and Hunterston — which is currently picked up by Westminster — is about £3.5bn over the next century, according to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). This figure has generally been accepted as Scotland’s contribution to the estimated £100bn cost of cleaning up UK sites but leading nuclear experts have suggested an independent Scotland would be under pressure to pay far more. One well-placed source told The Sunday Times last week that an independent Scotland would face calls to contribute a per capita share of the £100bn bill — the equivalent of about £10bn as Scotland is home to about 10% of the UK population. This would be because Scotland, as part of the UK, has for decades received electricity generated by the country’s nuclear power stations. The view has been endorsed by John Large, an independent nuclear consultant who has advised the UK government. Large also warned that an independent Scotland could face massive charges for sending nuclear waste to Sellafield in Cumbria for reprocessing.
Sunday Times 16th March 2014 read more »
Dungeness
A grey seal that swam into an open water tank at Dungeness Power Station is still there three months later. The seal, which has been named Davina by power station workers, seems reluctant to leave her new home and is enjoying a plentiful supply of fresh fish. EDF, who own the power station, have been working closely with British Divers marine Life Rescue, an external specialist marine mammal rescue organisation, to safely rescue the seal and release it back into its natural environment.
Rye and Battle observer 15th March 2014 read more »
Hartlepool
A FLEET of 10 fire engines was sent to a blaze at Hartlepool Power Station in the early hours of Saturday. Firefighters from Hartlepool, the Headland, Billingham, Stockton, Thornaby and Coulby Newham rushed to the power station off Tees Road at 1.30am. Some lagging around a pipe in the turbine hall had caught fire as a result of some excess oil overheating and setting alight. Crews used a dry powder extinguisher to put out the fire within a short time.
Hartlepool Mail 15th March 2014 read more »
Faslane & Coulport
THE nuclear bomb and submarine basess at Faslane and Coulport near Helensburgh are seeking permission to increase the amount of radioactive waste they can discharge into the Clyde and the air, the Sunday Herald can reveal. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has submitted plans for the Faslane naval dockyard to pour more liquid waste into the Gareloch as the number of UK nuclear subs based there rises from five to 14 by 2019. The waste comes from the subs’ reactors and includes radioactive cobalt-60 and tritium. The MoD also wants to keep emitting tritium gas into the atmosphere from the nuclear weapons stored at Coulport on Loch Long. Annual emissions of tritium have doubled between 2008 and 2012, and are expected to rise with the introduction of upgraded warhead designs.
Sunday Herald 16th March 2014 read more »
Terror
America’s conspiracy theorists are having fun with the disappearance of flight MH370. And, yes, I do mean fun. While relatives of the missing passengers endure agonies of grief and probably false hope, Alex Jones of Infowars.com, never one to let human tragedy dampen down wild and lucrative speculation, is spreading the following rumour: that the Boeing 777 has been spirited away and is being turned into a “nuclear, chemical or biological weapon”.
Telegraph 15th March 2014 read more »
Protest
Dozens of people protested in central London against nuclear power today following the third anniversary of the Fukushima disaster in Japan. The crowd of around 50 protesters gathered at Hyde Park Corner before marching past the Japanese Embassy and one of the buildings housing the Tokyo Electric Company and ending near the Houses of Parliament in Westminster.
Evening Standard 15th March 2014 read more »
ITV 15th March 2014 read more »
Iran
Iranian authorities have prevented attempted sabotage at the country’s heavy water nuclear reactor, a senior official said Saturday without giving specifics as to the nature of the attempted disruption or its suspected initiator.
AP 15th March 2014 read more »
South Africa
On paper, South Africa’s long-term energy plans look solid, with coal, nuclear, gas and renewables all viable options. But none are likely to prevent potentially crippling future power crunches in Africa’s biggest economy unless a decision is made soon on when and how to add capacity to the grid. South Africa’s failure to invest in new power plants nearly two decades ago meant it paid dearly in 2008 when the grid nearly collapsed, leading to power cuts that cost the economy billions of rand in lost output and dented investor confidence.
Reuters 16th March 2014 read more »
Renewables
Christian Egal, chief executive of EDF Energy Renewables (EDF EN), who will be in Edinburgh this week to speak at an industry conference, has been pushing more of its investment northwards in the past year and he said that trend is likely to continue as the UK moves to a system of guaranteed prices for different forms of energy. Already almost half of its wind generating capacity is north of the Border. He said: “In a more competitive climate, with the need to deliver competitive energy, I would say that Scottish projects will be top of the list. The windiest projects will go through. There are some challenges in Scotland with regards to the grid connection, which is also part of the final price. It’s a matter of timing but that i s going to be delivered.”
Scotland on Sunday 16th March 2014 read more »
Energy Efficiency
The UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) will be launching a new NHS energy efficiency financing programme next month, which aims to help Trusts and Health Boards bolster their budgets by implementing energy efficiency measures.
Edie 14th March 2014 read more »
Fossil Fuels
A NEW onshore oil bonanza could be on the horizon with vast potential resources found under a swathe of southern Britain, possibly on a par with the huge shale gas reservoirs found in the north. Scientists from the British Geological Survey (BGS) are putting the final touches to a report on the oil-bearing shale rocks that stretch from Weymouth in the southwest to the Weald in the southeast and up through Oxfordshire. The report focuses on the Weald area spanning Sussex, Hampshire, Kent and Surrey and is expected to say that its rocks are just as rich in oil as the North Sea strata that have been producing oil for the UK since the 1980s. Some geologists estimate that the area could hold reserves equivalent to a third of those under the North Sea, although they emphasise that this would need to be confirmed by test drilling. The report will also say that oil found in such rocks would have to be extracted by fracking – the controversial technique where pressurised water is used to split rocks to release their hydrocarbons.
Sunday Times 16th March 2014 read more »
An internal report from Scotland’s environment watchdog, warning of a “high risk” of water pollution from drilling for underground gas, has been seized on by objectors in the run-up to a major public inquiry opening this week. The report, written by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), reveals that a flawed and potentially leaky gas borehole was planned at Cumbernauld close to exploratory water-wells dug by the makers of Irn-Bru, AG Barr, and the sausage skin manufacturer, Devro. There was also “poor borehole construction” at Canonbie, in Dumfriesshire. Environmentalists and community groups say the food industry’s reputation is under threat from the dash to exploit unconventional gas in Scotland. They are preparing to fight plans, at a public inquiry starting on Tuesday, for the UK’s first commercial drilling for coalbed methane in Falkirk and Stirling.
Sunday Herald 16th March 2014 read more »
