Hinkley
A group of MPs have slammed a plan to build a £25billion nuclear power station, as opposition to the Government’s nuclear energy policy gathers steam. An Early Day Motion that calls the plan to build at Hinkley Point, in Somerset, as ‘an act of desperation’ has been signed by 16 MPs in just 10 days. Paul Flynn, MP for Newport West, which lies across the Bristol Channel from the planned site, has tabled the motion.
Daily Mail 1st Nov 2015 read more »
Dounreay
Honey contaminated with “elevated” levels of nuclear waste has been found near a former atomic power station. Samples taken from hives close to the Dounreay plant, near Thurso on the Caithness coast, tested positive for the radioactive substance caesium-137. The reading was 14 times higher than has been found in honey in the UK in recent years. The finding has prompted calls for an investigation into whether the reading is a sign of wider contamination from the plant, which is still being decommissioned after closing in 1994. John Large, an independent nuclear energy consultant, said: “Bees are key indicators of what is happening in the environment. They forage in a three-mile radius around the hive and anything in the soil is drawn up into plants and into the nectar they collect. “This reading is within the limit for human consumption, but caesium-137 should not be turning up in honey at all.”
Times 2nd Nov 2015 read more »
Bradwell
Controversial Chinese deal agreed. A deal to use Chinese nuclear technology and thousands of local workers to build a new power station at Bradwell has been agreed. Power company EDF Energy last week signed the heads of terms with China General Nuclear Power Corporation for “Bradwell B”, a greenfield site next to the former station.The Chinese company will provide two thirds of the development costs and hope to begin construction by 2023.
Harwich & Manningtree Standard 1st Nov 2015 read more »
ABWRs
The designs of Horizon Nuclear Power’s planned power stations at Wylfa and Oldbury have cleared the third of four regulatory approval hurdles. The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has completed step three of its generic design assessment (GDA) of Hitachi-GE’s UK advanced boiling water reactor (ABWR) nuclear power station design that Horizon plans to use. Horizon Nuclear Power engineering director Mark Lunn said: “This is an important step forward for our Wylfa Newydd Project and keeps us firmly on track to start generating in the first half of the 2020s. The hard work will continue but we have made strong progress towards delivery of the secure, sustainable and affordable power that will come from our development.”
Construction Index 2nd Nov 2015 read more »
Building 2nd Nov 2015 read more »
Energy Supplies
The energy industry is going through a tremendous transformation. We used to have a pretty good idea of what future needs would be. We would build assets that would last decades and that would be sure to cover those needs. That world has ended. Our strategy is now centered around agility and flexibility, based on our inability to predict or prescribe what our customers are going to want. That is what Steve Holliday, CEO of National Grid, the company that operates the gas and power transmission networks in the UK and in the northeastern US, said in an interview with World Energy Focus. Not particularly new. But then he went on to say that he believes the idea of using large coal-fired or nuclear power stations for baseload power is ―outdated. ―From a consumer’s point of view, the solar on the rooftop is going to be the baseload. Centralized power stations will be increasingly used to provide peak demand.
Renew Economy 2nd Nov 2015 read more »
Belgium
An explosion occurred overnight at a nuclear power plant in Doel, northern Belgium, local media reported, adding that the blast caused a fire. The exact damage from the incident remains unknown. The blast happened around 11pm local time on Saturday. The fire started in Reactor 1 of the plant, but was soon extinguished by personnel. The explosion didn’t cause any threat to nature, Els De Clercq, spokeswoman from Belgian energy corporation Electrabel that runs the plant, told Het Laatste Nieuws. There was no fuel present at the time of the incident as the reactor had been shut due to its expired operational license.
Russia Today 1st Nov 2015 read more »
Australia
Australia’s new prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, may not see widespread nuclear energy in his country’s future, but isn’t shutting the door on the industry altogether. Turnbull, a Liberal, said Oct. 28 that he supports efforts by a political opponent, Premier Jay Weatherill of the Labor Party, to conduct a formal exploration of Australia’s nuclear power options through a royal commission.
Oil Prce 1st Nov 2015 read more »
Nuclear Weapons
Scientists and nuclear experts from around the world gathered in Nagasaki on Sunday to push for the abolition of nuclear arms and other weapons of mass destruction, 70 years since the U.S. atomic bombings of two Japanese cities.
Japan Times 1st Nov 2015 read more »
NHK 1st Nov 2015 read more »
Trident
Jeremy Corbyn stunned his opponents last night after Labour in Scotland voted to scrap Britain’s nuclear weapons system. Seventy per cent of delegates to the Scottish Labour conference in Perth defied UK party policy in the biggest setback to moderate Labour MPs since the leftwinger’s leadership poll victory. Almost half the shadow cabinet publicly support the renewal of Trident, including Tom Watson, the deputy leader, Hilary Benn, the shadow foreign secretary, Maria Eagle, the shadow defence secretary and Lord Falconer of Thoroton, the shadow justice secretary. Yet Mr Corbyn cheered the defiance of Scottish members, with his spokesman saying it was “a clear sign that Labour’s democracy has opened up” and that their views would be taken into account in a defence policy review. The Labour leader is likely to use the vote to isolate members of the parliamentary party in the first concrete sign that voting members will turn out in large numbers to back his positions.
Times 2nd Nov 2015 read more »
FT 1st Nov 2015 read more »
Guardian 1st Nov 2015 read more »
BBC 1st Nov 2015 read more »
Herald 2nd Nov 2015 read more »
CND Press Release 1st Nov 2015 read more »
Renewables – AD
Scotland’s anaerobic digestion (AD) industry could double in size within the next two years after new figures revealed that farming biogas in the country grew by more than two thirds last year. Research released by the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA) this week shows that 11 AD plants were completed last year – a 69% increase on 2013 – bringing the total number of operational plants to 27. And this positive growth looks set to continue, with ADBA reporting on the implementation of a further 43 plants that are currently awaiting planning permission, which could see the sector grow by 200% in the next two years if approved.
Edie 30th Oct 2015 read more »
Renewables – offshore wind
The world’s largest floating offshore wind development will be installed off the coast of Scotland after the application has been granted a marine licence by the Scottish Government. Statoil propose developing a pilot park of five floating 6 MW turbines- with a generating capacity of 135GWh of electricity each year – about 15 miles offshore from Peterhead. It is expected that the Hywind Scotland development could power up to 19,900 houses.
Scottish Energy News 2nd Nov 2015 read more »
BBC 2nd Nov 2015 read more »
Herald 2nd Nov 2015 read more »
Scotsman 2nd Nov 2015 read more »
Renewables – solar
Edinburgh Community Solar Co-operative is encouraging investors to move quickly after the UK government announced plans to remove community energy projects from its Enterprise Investment Scheme, which allows investors to claim income tax relief of 30% on their investment. The co-operative was launched in September and has raised more than £100,000. The scheme aims to raise £1.4 million to install solar panels on 25 public buildings across the capital. If fully subscribed, the scheme will offer an index-linked 5% return to investors. The project qualifies for the UK Government’s Enterprise Investment Scheme – delivering a potential return of around 7%, depending on individual investor tax-circumstances.
Scottish Energy News 2nd Nov 2015 read more »
Renewables
If you have been a faithful investor in US renewable energy companies, such as say, SolarCity, you may think that after a 30 per cent decline in its shares this year, the worst case is already priced in. Sorry, but things can get even worse. Consider, for example, the smoking heap of investors in Drax Group, which owns coal plants that have been, or were to have been, converted to biomass-fuelled green goodness. In July, the UK government announced small changes in the allocation of exemptions from energy tax for certain categories of as-yet-unbuilt renewables plants, such as biomass-fuelled generators.
FT 30th Oct 2015 read more »
Energy Storage
We’ve all heard the usual complaints about renewable energy’s intermittency problem: the sun doesn’t always shine, the wind doesn’t always blow. But this ignores one of the biggest technological developments of our climate-stressed times: storage. Big battery storage is taking off stateside, and not just because of renewables, but also because grids want ways to hold onto energy to be deployed at peak times – without having to build big expensive power plants. There are a bunch of ways to store energy – from hydrogen fuel cells to pumped hydro – but it’s the lithium-ion battery that’s winning the market, turning both commercial and residential buildings into power-providers. The Powerpack has already started transforming grids in California. Orange County’s biggest landlord, Irvine Co., announced this autumn the installation of Tesla Powerpacks in up to 24 of its office buildings later this year. The scheme is expected to provide Southern California Edison with 10MW reserve capacity – enough to power 10,000 homes – and reduce peak power demand by 25% across their portfolio. Taking up no more room than five parking spaces, the system also allows the building owner to buy electricity when it’s cheap and store it for peak times. The UK’s National Grid chief Steve Holliday agrees that the era of large power stations is over, arguing that energy markets “are clearly moving towards much more distributed production and towards microgrids”. He still believes that big power stations will provide peak demand but says renewables such as rooftop solar will increasingly provide the baseload. Bloomberg New Energy Finance has said that by 2020, global investment for stationary-grid energy storage is expected to be worth $5.1 billion, a 17-fold increase from investment levels in 2013. Tesla may be sold out of batteries until mid-2016, but they’re not the only player in the market. But with major companies like Wal-Mart, Amazon, and Target also piloting Powerpack installations, the company has certainly carved out a place for itself. To continue making these batteries Tesla is building its “gigafactory” in Nevada, which will start producing batteries in 2016. Analysts say that this factory alone will reduce the costs of lithium-ion batteries by 50%.
Energy Desk 30th Oct 2015 read more »
Complementary research by Frost & Sullivan values the global market for utility-scale, grid-connected storage at $460m in 2014 and estimates that it will reach $8.3bn in 2024. “Battery storage has the ability to import flexibility to the grid in a variety of applications,” says Ross Bruton, analyst at Frost & Sullivan. The home storage market is growing particularly fast, says Lux Research, with nearly 14,000 ba ttery units installed in the first nine months of 2015 – more than double the annual number of residential units deployed in 2014. Tesla will begin to ship its Powerwall before the end of this year, and Lux expects Tesla to overtake all other residential storage suppliers, with 29,000 home units to be installed during 2016.
FT 1st Nov 2015 read more »
Fuel Poverty – Scotland
IT will take 28 years to eradicate fuel poverty unless the Scottish Government dramatically increases investment in energy efficient housing, according to the Scottish Greens. The party’s co-convenor and energy spokesman Patrick Harvie MSP said it was a “scandal” that many were unable to afford to heat their homes in “energy-rich Scotland”. He added that the Scottish Government would fail to meet its target to eradicate fuel poverty by November 2016 and needed to act now to help those who were struggling. The Scottish Government hit back, saying it was tackling fuel poverty despite the “main drivers” being reserved to Westminster. The Scottish Greens claim if spending on energy efficiency continues at its current rate, it will take 28 years to help the 940,000 homes in Scotland in fuel poverty.
The National 2nd Nov 2015 read more »
Fossil Fuels
The UK’s climate change credentials are under fire again after it emerged it had spent £2.2bn in poor countries to help build coal power plants and other fossil fuel energy projects responsible for global warming. That is more than double the £1bn spent on cleaner, renewable sources of power in developing countries, according to research by the Overseas Development Institute think-tank for the Catholic aid agency, Cafod.
FT 1st Nov 2015 read more »
Independent 1st Nov 2015 read more »
