EMR
Supporters of British nuclear power have effectively surrendered in their efforts to secure a new programme of building nuclear power stations. Sir William McAlpine, a member of the McAlpine family which founded the major construction company of that name, has written to the British Chancellor, George Osborne, to ask that Government proposals to subsidise nuclear power should, in effect, be abandoned. He has written as the Chair of the ‘Supporters of Nuclear Energy’ (SONE) group, which provides much of the lobbying inspiration for nuclear power in the UK. This is also a very significant move since the McAlpine group are among the companies who are most likely to benefit from contracts given to build new nuclear power stations. The Daily Telegraph says that: ‘Sir Williams tells the Chancellor that neither the consumer nor businesses should have to pay through the nose for a subsidy system which seems to have very little justification. ‘ This is in reference to what is reported to be EDF’s demands for a high ‘strike price’ that would be well above £100 per MWh (as reported previously in this blog). It seems SONE are advocating direct financing the construction of the nuclear power stations by Government. Direct financial support from Government, involving also, as this logically means, the ‘underwriting of construction costs’ is not going to happen outside of re-nationalisation of at least a part of the electricity industry. This is very, very, unlikely. Hence nuclear industry supporters are, in effect, running up the white flag in the struggle to get a new fleet of nuclear power stations built. This looks like an attempt to organise a dignified withdrawal in the face of overwhelming odds. However, really, the effect is surrender under cover of an attempt to save face.
David Toke’s Green Energy Blog 17th Sept 2012 more >>
Energy Policy
John Browne: To listen to recent political squabbles you could be forgiven for believing that energy policy is about answering a set of simple questions: gas or renewables, subsidies or no subsidies, lights on or lights off? But none of these is a reflection of reality. The energy industry, with its long-dated assets, massive capital intensity and strategic importance to the nations security and its economy, is like no other. Complex financial instruments have got in the way of the primary aims of the bill: attract investment, encourage new entrants and lower the cost of capital. The government needs to return to its original commitment to underwrite the proposed feed-in-tariffs, a move that will lend the reforms a creditworthiness they currently lack. The energy bill should focus on getting these supply-side reforms right; it is not the place for demand-side measures. But there can be no doubt that a proper consideration of our approach to usage should form part of energy policy.
FT 17th Sept 2012 more >>
Companies
French nuclear reactor maker Areva and engineering consultancy Atkins have set up a joint venture to bid for decommissioning contracts in Britain’s nuclear sector, the companies said on Tuesday.AREVA-ATKINS Partnership UK will be based in Warrington, northwest England, and seek to secure subcontractor work with companies appointed to manage sites owned by Britain’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).
Reuters 17th Sept 2012 more >>
Building 18th Sept 2012 more >>
Wylfa
POTENTIAL investors have until the end of the month to submit their bids to build Wylfa B nuclear plant. Bidders have until September 28 to bid for Horizon Nuclear Power consortium set up by RWE npower and E-On to build the new station. Meanwhile, new Welsh Secretary David Jones said during a visit to the current Wylfa site in Cemaes Bay yesterday (Thursday, September 13) said there was a tremendous amount of interest from potential investors.
The Leader 14th Sept 2012 more >>
Nuclear Proliferation
AQ Khan, Pakistan’s renegade nuclear scientist, claims he was ordered to sell nuclear secrets by Benazir Bhutto, the country’s former prime minister.
Telegraph 17th Sept 2012 more >>
Radwaste
It is unclear whether the potential risk reduction due to lower amounts of decay heat and cesium in spent fuel pools would offset the real increase in risks, operational impacts and costs associated with accelerating the transfer of used nuclear fuel from pool to dry storage, according to a study from the Electric Power Research Institute. The study is an updated version of a 2010 report, which examines the benefits and impacts associated with accelerating the transfer of used nuclear fuel from spent fuel pools to dry storage at nuclear power plants. The report, updated in August 2012, evaluates two scenarios: one in which the transfer of fuel from spent fuel pools to dry storage would take 10 years to implement, and one in which the transfer would take 15 years.
Nuclear Engineering International 17th Sept 2012 more >>
US
Halliburton has lost a seven-inch radioactive rod somewhere in the Texas desert. The National Guard has been called in to help to find the device, which employees of the controversial US oilfield services company lost a week ago. The rod, which contains americium-241/beryllium and is stamped with a radiation warning symbol with the words “Danger Radioactive: Do not handle. Notify civil authorities if found”, was lost during a 130-mile journey between oil well sites in Pecos and Odessa last Tuesday. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) warned that the radioactive materials “could cause permanent injury to a person who handled them”. The agency said americium-241/beryllium, k nown as Am-241, is a “category 3” source of radiation and would normally have to be held for some hours before causing health problems. But the NRC still warned that “it could possibly – although it is unlikely – be fatal to be close to this amount of unshielded radioactive material for a period of days to weeks”.
Guardian 17th Sept 2012 more >>
Iran
Iran said on Monday that the electricity supply to its underground nuclear enrichment plant at Fordow was sabotaged by explosives last month, in what may be a new example of the way external agencies are using covert operations to undermine the Iranian atomic programme. In an unexpected announcement, Fereydoon Abbasi-Davani, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation, said explosives were used on August 17 to cut the electricity supply to the enrichment plant, which is at the heart of Israeli and international concerns about Iran’s nuclear weapons programme. Mr Abbasi-Davani went on to accuse the IAEA of possible involvement in the incident, saying that he suspected “terrorists and saboteurs” had penetrated into the organisation and may have had a role in the electricity cuts. Addressing a regular gathering of the International Atomi c Energy Agency in Vienna, Mr Abbasi-Davani said a similar incident had happened in the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, without citing the exact date. He noted that the day after the incident in Fordow, inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog asked for an unannounced visit to the nuclear site.
FT 17th Sept 2012 more >>
Herald 18th Sept 2012 more >>
Independent 18th Sept 2012 more >>
Guardian 18th Sept 2012 more >>
Telegraph 17th Sept 2012 more >>
Iran says nuclear plants are missile proof.
Scotsman 18th Sept 2012 more >>
Baroness Ashton, the EU’s foreign affairs representative, is to meet with Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in Istanbul in an effort to get negotiations on Iran’s atomic programme back on track.
Telegraph 17th Sept 2012 more >>
Germany
Renewable energies are of threefold importance to Germanys economy. They offer climate protection, give incentives for growth as well as job creation and provide increasing independence from energy imports. The power, heat and fuel sectors all profit from renewable energy alternatives. The political will to promote renewable energies was affirmed by the federal government after the Fukushima disaster in Japan in early 2011. In response to that disaster, the federal government committed itself to phasing out nuclear energy by 2022 and to gradually increase the share of renewable energies. This political decision is known as the “Energiewende”. This actual flyer shows several aspects and facts of this project, e.g. the development of the costs of renewable electricity genereation as well as the acceptance of renewable energies in the public opinion in Germany.
German Renewable Energies Agency 17th Sept 2012 more >>
Energy and climate policy experts globally agree that much of the push towards a clean energy transition has to come through a bottom-up approach from the local level. In Germany, such a rural and small-town revolution is currently underway where many different groups of society come together to form so-called rural energy cooperatives. The goal of these communities is clear: they strive with pride to become so-called 100% self-sustainable renewable energy communities. In the past five years alone, more than 500 new renewable energy cooperatives have sprung out of the ground. They are replacing fossil fuel imports with renewable biomass, wind and solar power and buying back the local transmission lines. To highlight some of these local successes, the Heinrich Böll Foundation in cooperation with the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER) organized a public speaking tour which brought two leading cooperative experts from Germany to the Midwestern states of Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin from June 11 to 16, 2012.
Heinrich Boll 5th July 2012 more >>
Japan
The Innovative Strategy for Energy and the Environment released by the government Friday contains contradictory policies and postpones the implementation of practical measures to achieve its stated goals. The strategy vowed to reduce the number of nuclear power plants in operation to zero by the 2030s, but at the same time it said a project to reprocess spent nuclear fuel will continue. Contradictions are evident in the strategy, as the government simultaneously tried to gain popularity and avoid conflict, in light of the approaching House of Representatives election.
Yomiuri 16th Sept 2012 more >>
Japan has announced that it plans to end its reliance on nuclear power in the 2030s. However, it appears that nuclear power plants may be able to continue to operate for decades beyond that date. The chosen Japanese energy policy outlined in the Innovative Energy and Environment Strategy on 14 September seems to lie somewhere between a nuclear share of 0% and 15% by 2040. The policy specifies that new nuclear power plants will not be built in Japan and that existing reactors will be limited to a 40-year lifespan. This could see the youngest plant (Tomari 3) operating until 2049. Two new nuclear power plants (Shimane 3 and Ohma), which began construction prior to the Fukushima accident are also likely to be completed, and under the new rule could operate well into the 2050s.
Nuclear Engineering International 17th Sept 2012 more >>
Thorium
I can’t believe that people are now so eager to swallow the hype about thorium with all its over-the-top claims of being safe, clean, cheap, inexhaustible, unrelated to nuclear weapons, and even a miraculous way of solving the nuclear waste problems created by the previous generation of — what? — safe, clean, cheap, inexhaustible, unrelated to nuclear weapons, nuclear reactors. As the old saying goes, “once burned, twice shy”. Or more explicitly, “Fool me once, same on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” If thorium was such a good idea then its promoters would be more willing to tell the truth rather than to spin fairy tales about it. (See also http://www.ccnr.org/Thorium_Reactors.html )
Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility 16th Sept 2012 more >>
Renewables
Wave and tidal energy projects in waters around Orkney are being threatened by increases in grid connection costs, it has been warned. Scottish Renewables said charges in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Marine Energy Park had climbed despite an independent review by regulator Ofgem. The industry body warned the annual grid costs could increase from £56m last year to £107m in 2020. It has called on the UK government to adjust transmission charges. Scottish Renewables claimed the current system was a threat to early-stage wave and tidal projects.
BBC 18th Sept 2012 more >>
Scotsman 18th Sept 2012 more >>
Businesses will be invited to contribute to a new government review of onshore wind energy costs and potential new community benefit schemes that could lead to further cuts to the subsidies available for the renewable energy technology. Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey agreed to launch a review of costs in early September after winning a battle with the Treasury over the depth of cuts to onshore wind subsidies under the Renewables Obligation (RO) scheme earlier in the year.
Business Green 17th Sept 2012 more >>
