Electricity Market Reform
Brussels is threatening to block a subsidy scheme for gas-fired power stations that the Government hopes will keep the country’s lights on. Under coalition plans, gas plants will compete for subsidies to pay them for acting as back-up suppliers when demand is high and the wind is not blowing. Energy companies say that the subsidies, which would be funded by levies on consumers’ bills, are vital to avert a growing risk of blackouts. However, the European Commission has warned that the Government’s plans, included in the new Energy Bill, contradict its aim of creating an internal energy market. The subsidy plans, known as the capacity market, provide insurance policies against the possibility of blackouts by providing financial incentives to ensure there is enough capacity to meet demand. European officials instead want Britain to keep the lights on by importing more electricity from the Continent through its interconnectors — even though capacity is limited — and by rationing supply.
Times 18th Nov 2013 read more »
Nuclear Investment
South Korea could become the next nation to take a stake in the British nuclear industry as the financing deal with France and China for a new reactor at Hinkley Point in Somerset creates a wave of wider interest. The move could trigger controversy because the Korean atomic industry has been hit by a scandal over fake safety certificates but the UK and South Korea have vowed to help restore credibility and build closer links in this sector.
Guardian 17th Nov 2013 read more »
Energy Costs
Energy Secretary Ed Davey has dashed the hopes of gas and electricity suppliers that a key green tax could be abolished – and has said the companies might be ‘too profitable’. His comments will infuriate City investors and the energy groups, coming just days after some issued warnings of lower-than-expected profits and swingeing job cuts. Davey publicly warned the industry last week that it must not treat customers as ‘cash cows’. But speaking to The Mail on Sunday he went further, saying of energy firms: ‘Potentially, they could be too profitable.’
Mail on Sunday 17th Nov 2013 read more »
Britain’s manufacturers have called on the chancellor to cut business energy costs to support the economic recovery. Energy prices for UK businesses are rising faster than in other countries, squeezing manufacturers’ margins and threatening to choke off investment, the EEF manufacturing group said. The lobby group said increased costs not borne by competitors in other countries could determine whether companies invest in workers or materials and whether they do so in Britain or elsewhere. The warning from business comes as figures show household finances suffering their biggest squeeze since April after a series of large price rises by energy suppliers.
Guardian 18th Nov 2013 read more »
Nigel Farage: We will never reduce energy bills as long as we are in hock to the green lobby. It’s time to scrap all current green taxes – and future subsidy schemes too.
Independent 17th Nov 2013 read more »
Japan
The operators of Japan’s Fukushima power plant will begin the unprecedented task of removing highly radioactive nuclear fuel rods from a damaged reactor on Monday. The operation, which is expected to take at least a year, marks a significant milestone in the plant’s decades-long decommissioning process. Workers face the task of removing more than 1,500 nuclear fuel assemblies from the spent fuel pool of Reactor No 4, which is housed in a building severely damaged by explosions in the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Telegraph 17th Nov 2013 read more »
Germany
German parties negotiating the formation of a coalition government want to make utilities pay more to dismantle their nuclear power plants and protect taxpayers from billions of euros in related costs, documents obtained by Reuters show.Such a move, if adopted by a coalition of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD), would be a blow to E.ON, RWE, Vattenfall and EnBW who have already put aside 30 billion euros in provisions.
Reuters 14th Nov 2013 read more »
The cost of electricity from renewable energy is now comparable to that from fossil fuels, says energy expert Frank Peter. As a result, coal and gas power stations in Germany are losing economic viability.
Deutsche Welle 14th Nov 2013 read more »
Iran
Israel has expressed its “grave concerns” that the West was poised to sign a deal with Iran over its nuclear programme that would give it “practically nothing” in return.
Telegraph 17th Nov 2013 read more »
Guardian 17th Nov 2013 read more »
After several false starts, Western negotiators are cautiously hopeful of a breakthrough deal with Iran this week to curb Tehran’s nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.
Independent 17th Nov 2013 read more »
Nuclear Weapons
More than 50,000 nuclear weapons have been eliminated since the historic Reykjavík Summit between the then U.S. President Ronald Reagan and his counterpart from the erstwhile Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, which culminated into a groundbreaking Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in December 1987. But 17,300 nukes remain, threatening many times over the very survival of human civilization and most life on earth, as the 2013 Nagasaki Appeal points out.
In Depth News 17th Nov 2013 read more »
Renewables
Alan Simpson: This is a story that rises in hope and admiration. It could just as easily be sunk by the cynicism or shallowness of government. The Dancing Ladies of Gigha are not an Abba tribute band. They are a small example of the triumph – and tragedy – of Britain’s engagement with the community energy revolution taking place around us. Gigha is a tiny Scottish island and the “ladies” in question are community-owned wind turbines. Nothing new there. What makes them noteworthy is that, as an alternative to laying additional and expensive new cabling to the mainland, the community are constructing a 75,000-litre battery store for up to 100 kilowatts of their own electricity. This isn’t a lot, and doesn’t compare with storage experiments in Australia that hold up to three megawatts of electricity. But it will provide backup power to the island for up to 12 hours. By 2030 these will be owners of maybe five million solar roofs, 10 million heat pumps and up to 30 million electric vehicles. All will want to feed into, as well as draw from, the energy grid. DECC may want to domesticate the public but the sheer pace of technology change will emancipate the energy sector in ways that are beyond the power of Big Energy to resist. Britain’s tragedy lies in the absence of a leadership willing to drive this revolution. Our energy debate, and what passes for “consultation,” is a hostage to smaller minds.
Morning Star 16th Nov 2013 read more »
The popularity of on-site renewable energy generation is growing among businesses. Is it a revolution or a response to fuel tariffs? There used to be one reason alone for companies to stick a wind turbine in the car park or a solar panel on the roof, and that was a photo opp for marketing and the annual report. It looked good to be green but added to costs rather than lowered them. But as more businesses are choosing to invest in on-site renewable energy than ever before, the reasons appear to be changing. A recent report found that on-site generation by UK businesses increased by 53% in 2012 alone, with almost 90% of that coming from solar and wind. And the motivation now is one of energy security. According to the latest DECC figures, the annual average price of gas and electricity (including the climate change levy) has increased by 121% and 93% respectively since 2002 for non-domestic customers. Meanwhile costs of renewable technologies have gone down, performance has improved, plus incentives and funding structures such as feed in tariffs (FITs), Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) have come in.
Guardian 18th Nov 2013 read more »
Climate
Scientists can now explain the “pause” in global warming that sceptics have used to bolster their arguments. Sceptics had claimed we have nothing to fear from climate change because it has stopped being a problem. A new study has found that global temperatures have not flat-lined over the past 15 years, as weather station records have been suggesting, but have in fact continued to rise as fast as previous decades, during which we have seen an unprecedented acceleration in global warming.
Independent 17th Nov 2013 read more »
