Flamanville
French state-owned nuclear company EDF has delayed by a year construction of its flagship next generation plant in Flamanville, putting the blame squarely on the shoulders of supplier Areva. EDF said on Tuesday that problems with delivering a number of parts, such as the lid and internal structure of the reactor vessel, would delay the project start until 2017. The news came as Areva issued a profit warning. This is the latest in the long line of delays for the plant, which uses the same next generation EPR – European Pressurised Reactor – technology as will go into the £24.5bn Hinkley Point project in the UK. The Flamanville plant, the first to be built in France for 15 years, was originally expected to be in operation in 2012. Europe’s other EPR plant in Finland is also years late and billions over budget, raising concerns about the technology.
FT 18th Nov 2014 read more »
French utility EDF announced a new one-year delay for its Areva-designed EPR nuclear reactor in Flamanville, France, which it now expects to be connected to the grid in 2017, a decade after construction started.EDF said the delay was due to Areva’s difficulties with ensuring a timely delivery of certain pieces of equipment, such as the lid and internal structure of the reactor vessel. It also said Areva had briefed it on a steam generator welding defect. Construction on the Flamanville EPR reactor started in 2007 and it had initially been scheduled to be connected to the electricity grid in 2012, but it has been delayed repeatedly. Construction on the first EPR in Olkiluoto, Finland started in 2005 and it had originally been scheduled to go live in 2009, but it is now expected that will occurr in late 2018, almost a decade later than originally planned. Construction will have lasted 13 years, if it is not delayed again.
Reuters 18th Nov 2014 read more »
Preparatory work in connection with the project review that will take place end of November with all suppliers has shown a shift in the construction schedule. The plant is now planned to start in 2017. This revision of the schedule results from difficulties encountered by Areva regarding: delivery of certain pieces of equipment such as the lid and internal structures to the vessel; the implementation of the regulation on equipment under nuclear pressure (ESPN) for which Flamanville 3 is a first-of-a-kind, in particular on a set of assembly carried out by Areva and its subcontractors. In spite of these construction contingencies, EDF reaffirms its commitment to New Nuclear in France, China and the United-Kingdom. The EPR will contribute to the country’s energy supply and is critical to ensuring the continuity of our nuclear know-how in France and internationally.
EDF 18th Nov 2014 read more »
Hinkley
One of Saudi Arabia’s biggest power companies is in talks to acquire a stake in a new UK nuclear power plant, potentially leading to billions of pounds of investment in the venture and huge revenues for the Saudis in coming decades. State-controlled Saudi Electric is one of a handful of possible minority investors in Hinkley Point C in Somerset, which will cost £24.5bn to build and is the flagship project for Britain’s efforts to replace its ageing nuclear fleet and cut its carbon emissions. The plant is due to provide 7 per cent of the UK’s electricity when it comes online in 2023. Areva, the French infrastructure group which is providing the reactor design, will have a 10 per cent holding, while two state-owned Chinese companies – China General Nuclear Corporation and China National Nuclear Corporation – will take a combined equity stake of 30-40 per cent in the consortium. The companies will share construction risk. Another nuclear industry figure said there was scepticism the Saudis would make the investment. “We’ve been here before, not long ago there was talk about the Qataris or Kuwaitis putting money in,” he said. “What this tells you is that ministers claimed to have a deal over a year ago but the Chinese still haven’t signed on the dotted line.” The government agreed the level of subsidy for the project in October 2013, at which point it was announced that Areva, CGN and CNNC would all invest in the venture. But it is thought that the Chinese companies have been pushing for a substantial share of the supply contracts, a demand that has complicated the negotiations.
FT 18th Nov 2014 read more »
Energy Policy
A new inquiry by MPs on the Westminster Parliament’s Energy Committee will explore what a UK energy system – that successfully tackles the energy trilemma – would look like by 2030. The committee has now called for evidence on: What are the greatest challenges in UK energy and climate change policy over the next Parliament (2015-2020)? And What would a UK energy system, that successfully tackles the energy trilemma, look like by 2030 and beyond? The deadline for replies – in a maximum of 500 words – is 15 December 2014.
Scottish Energy News 19th Nov 2014 read more »
Energy Costs
Energy suppliers are failing to explain properly to households how to compare electricity and gas tariffs to get the best deal, an investigation has found. Research by the consumer group Which? found that only in 5 per cent of cases are suppliers following guidelines that Ofgem introduced in April. Given such misleading information, households could switch to a worse deal or decide to stick with their current tariff even though they would be better off elsewhere, the report found.
Times 19th Nov 2014 read more »
Germany – radwaste
Germany will have to dispose of twice as much radioactive waste as previously expected as it continues to shut down its nuclear power plants, according to parts of the government’s disposal plan that were leaked on Tuesday. Some 600,000 cubic metres of waste will have to be placed in permanent underground storage instead of the anticipated 298,000 cubic metres, the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) reported. The newspaper was citing figures from a copy it obtained of the draft “National Disposal Plan” the government is currently negotiating with individual federal states. The new projection is significantly higher because of the inclusion for the first time of 13,000 tons of waste from uranium enrichment, equivalent to around 100,000 cubic metres. The waste comes from a uranium enrichment plant at Gronau, near the Dutch border in North Rhine-Westphalia. Since the so-called uranium tails can be processed into nuclear fuel, the waste was previously excluded from the calculations for the overall total. Another 200,000 cubic metres of waste accumulated during the clearance of the Asse II shaft in Wolfenbüttel in Lower Saxony. Low- and medium-level nuclear waste was stored in the former salt mine from 1967 to 1978 at a depth of 750 metres. Because of increasing seepage of groundwater into the shaft, the site’s 126,000 drums must now be removed and their contents repacked in new containers and disposed of afresh.
The Local 18th Nov 2014 read more »
US – MOX
The construction licence for the partially-built mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication plant at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina has been extended by ten years at the request of its builder. The MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) is being built by Shaw Areva MOX services to fulfil the USA’s commitments under a bilateral agreement with Russia, in which both countries have committed to dispose of some 34 tonnes of weapons-usable plutonium into MOX fuel for use in civilian nuclear reactors. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) signed an order on 13 November extending the completion deadline for the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) by ten years, to March 2025. It issued the original ten-year construction licence in March 2005.
World Nuclear News 17th Nov 2014 read more »
Iran
IRAN has vowed to resist Western pressure to make what it regards as excessive concessions over its nuclear programme, highlighting obstacles that could prevent an historic deal being reached by a November 24 deadline. US Secretary of State John Kerry declined to make any predictions for what he called a “critical week”, during which negotiators from Iran and six world powers will push to end a 12-year dispute over Iran’s nuclear activities and dispel fears of a new Middle East war.
Herald 19th Nov 2014 read more »
Iran’s foreign minister has said that “excessive demands” by the west could torpedo the chances of a deal being reached over the future of the Iranian nuclear programme at negotiations in Vienna. Speaking to journalists on his arrival at Vienna airport on Tuesday, Mohammad Javad Zarif said that after nine months of increasingly intense negotiations an agreement was still possible, but Tehran would not be to blame if the talks collapsed.
Guardian 18th Nov 2014 read more »
A nuclear agreement between Iran and six major powers can be reached by a Nov. 24 deadline, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Tuesday, but Tehran needs to show more flexibility in negotiations.
Reuters 18th Nov 2014 read more »
China and Iran are in close cooperation with each other as the countries are set to bolster bilateral ties over several matters including security and Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. Beijing’s top domestic security chief Meng Jianzhu has paid a visit to Tehran, holding a series of talks with key Iranian officials. In order to restore stability especially in the restless Xinjiang region over Islamist, Beijing said it is seeking bilateral cooperation from Iran.
IB Times 18th Nov 2014 read more »
Guardian Briefing on Iran.
Guardian 18th Nov 2014 read more »
Energy Efficiency
The amount of energy that big screen TVs can use will be capped under an EU energy efficiency drive which the European commission expects will cut consumers’ energy bills by around 8bn Euros a year. After similar energy-saving rules for vacuum cleaners provoked a storm of criticism from UK newspapers last autumn, the planned TV rules may be a test case for new ‘ecodesign’ formulas for kettles, toasters and hairdryers, due to be announced next year. The new TV standards, which could come into effect as early as June 2016, would set more challenging energy use requirements for larger TV screens, which currently benefit from a ranking methodology that only measures internal components for energy efficiency. The regulation would also affect computer monitors for the first time, increasingly used for watching television programmes, and be accompanied by a tightening of energy labels.
Guardian 18th Nov 2014 read more »
Local Authorities
OVER one hundred delegates have been debating how low carbon can benefit the Highlands. Highland Council’s second Carbon Clever Conference in Inverness is titled “Working Together for a Low Carbon Highlands”. Conference chair, and authority convener, Jimmy Gray said: “The event will showcase progress the Highlands has made in the past year to become a Carbon Clever region. “It will provide opportunities to form new partnerships and collaborations and give delegates a chance to outline key priorities for the Carbon Clever initiative over the next few years.
Scotsman 17th Nov 2014 read more »
Climate
The $10bn (£6bn) in climate aid which Britain and other rich countries are expected to formally pledge this week represents a backsliding on earlier climate finance transfers, according to observers. Countries are together expected to offer around $10bn to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) at a meeting in Berlin on Thursday, with the UK becoming one of the world’s largest contributors with an expected pledge of about $1bn. The $10bn total figure is at the bottom end of the $10-15bn target set by the UN last year for countries to meet before next month’s UN climate summit in Lima, Peru.
Guardian 18th Nov 2014 read more »
