Hinkley
The UK and Chinese governments have signed two nuclear agreements that ‘pave the way’ for Chinese investment in the Hinkley Point C project, enable UK companies to work in China, and that could allow construction of a Chinese-owned, Chinese-designed nuclear reactor to operate in the UK. The first agreement was published in the form of a joint statement from the UK and Chinese governments. The key paragraph reads: “The UK Government welcomes investment and participation from Chinese companies in the Hinkley Point C project and progressive involvement more generally in the UK’s new build nuclear energy programme. This could include leading the development of other nuclear power station site(s) in the UK and the potential deployment of Chinese reactor technology in the UK, subject to meeting the stringent requirements of the UK’s independent nuclear regulators.” The second agreement, about enhancing cooperation in the field of civil nuclear industry fuel cycle supply chain, was between the UK government’s Department of Energy and Climate change, the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Agency’s International Nuclear Services business, the China Atomic Energy Authority and China National Nuclear Corporation. It says that INS and CNNC will cooperate on fuel cycle and transportation, decommissioning of nuclear facilities, and radwaste management and disposal, technical R&D, personnel training, and have regular meetings. Separately, Rolls Royce announced a memorandum of understanding with China’s State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation. The MoU will explore possible collaboration in areas such as engineering support, provision of components and systems, supply chain management and instrumentation and control technology. Rolls-Royce said it has been supplying instrumentation and control and other instrumentation since 1994, when Qinshan and Daya Bay nuclear power plants started operation. It employs 2000 people in greater China, including joint ventures.
Nuclear Engineering International 18th June 2014 read more »
Hartlepool
HARTLEPOOL is leading the way in finding the nuclear workers of the future – amid national claims that youngsters had never heard of the industry. A new study claimed many youngsters do not feel they are studying subjects relevant to the nuclear industry. But Hartlepool is making up for the shortfall with a huge array of ways for teenagers to get involved.
Hartlepool Mail 19th June 2014 read more »
Wylfa
Wylfa nuclear power station has been shut down for five-and-a-half months, the Daily Post can reveal. Faults with apparatus followed by a leak in a pipe mean two attempts to restart the Anglesey plant since a shutdown in January have been abandoned. The power station has generated no power since January 6, when the power station was shut down for planned maintenance work. Wylfa is now expected to reopen in July, when the shutdown will have been twice as long as planned.
Daily Post 19th June 2014 read more »
Radwaste
THE Copeland community should be given the power to decide how a cash pot it receives for hosting the low-level waste repository (LLWR) is spent, a meeting has heard. The benefits package paid to the community is currently being renegotiated between the LLWR, near Drigg, and the planning authority Cumbria County Council. The figure has been set at £1.5million a year, since 2009, paid into the Copeland Community Fund (CCF), which distributes the cash locally. And a meeting of the West Cumbria Sites Stakeholders Group (WCSSG) heard this week that members wish for the same “successful” setup to remain under the new contract.
Whitehaven News 19th June 2014 read more »
Proliferation
This report reassesses the assumptions currently driving U.S. and international nonproliferation policies. It spotlights the analysis and insights of some of the world’s top security scholars. It contends that nuclear weapons proliferation is more likely to occur with the spread of civilian nuclear technology and that such nuclear proliferation constitutes a threat to international security—certainly if there is nuclear weapons use, but even if there is not. It makes the case that civilian nuclear power programs actually afford a major leg up for any nation seeking development of a nuclear weapons option. Optimism that we can easily persuade states to forswear making these nuclear fuels because of the cost and complexity doing so, moreover, is misplaced. The United States sat on intelligence regarding A. Q. Khan in Pakistan and acted only very belatedly regarding intelligence concerning North Korea’s uranium enrichment program. Such reticence, moreover, is hardly new. Consider the case of Israel’s acquisition of U.S. nuclear weapons material in the 1960s. Israel promised Presidents John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon that it would not acquire nuclear weapons. When intelligence emerged that Israel had illicitly acquired U.S. weapons-grade uranium and developed nuclear arms, Nixon and, to a lesser extent, Johnson glossed over or excused it. This sad history is detailed in Victor Gilinsky’s history and backgrounder to the now famous meeting between Nixon and Golda Meir in l969.
Non Proliferation Education Centre 19th June 2014 read more »
Small Reactors
Not beautiful, safe or cheap: a message to the United States, where the Obama administration has pledged to waste money financing the Small Modular Reactor (SMR). SMRs are supposed to be small and prefab – constructed from parts made in a central location and slapped together onsite like a cheap prefab home. Those parts can then be shipped out and built by staff who don’t necessarily have the skills to build larger, more complex reactors. The trouble is, this is merely old nuclear technology in new clothes. So why is the US Department of Energy (DoE) is giving $217 million dollars over five years to NuScale, a SMR manufacturer. Let’s note, with a weary shake of the head, that this is yet another public subsidy for the failing economics of nuclear power, and take a look why this is a bad investment of taxpayer dollars by the Obama administration.
Greenpeace 19th June 2014 read more »
Utilities
Npower must put right its “major” billing errors affecting 400,000 customers by August or suffer a ban on telephone sales, as it faces a possible fine running into tens of millions of pounds. Ofgem has today imposed monthly targets to correct the errors and launched an investigation into internal complaints procedures.
Telegraph 19th June 2014 read more »
Energy Secretary Ed Davey says npower customers have ‘suffered for too long’ over billing errors.
Telegraph 19th June 2014 read more »
Poland
Energy security has been a much-debated issue lately. However, it is too often considered through the prism of macroeconomics, pipelines, and huge infrastructure projects. This is notably the case of Poland, often portrayed as being reluctant to ambitious climate objectives, with much of the Brussels talk revolving around our Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his proposal for an ‘Energy Union’, the creation of more gas storage and links or extracting indigenous fossil fuels. So much for national business. What if one decided to take a closer look at what is actually happening across Polish cities and local communities? What if you were to use a magnifying glass? It turns out what you would see through the microscope is not so ‘micro’ after all, and worthy of some Brussels consideration. Over 800 municipalities across the country have submitted applications to the National Fund for environmental protection and water management, to be granted financial support for the development of low-carbon energy plans. There is a growing momentum accelerating the energy transition at the local level. What used to be large, monolithic energy systems are increasingly converging into a wide variety of scaled-down initiatives, where “consumers” are becoming active, energy-aware “citizens” and where local authorities play a crucial role, given their competences and proximity with local stakeholders.
Euractiv 18th June 2014 read more »
Australia – radwaste
Australia has dropped a plan to place its first nuclear waste dump on Aborigine land, after a long-running legal case ended. Aboriginal landowners had argued that the proposed site, at Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory, was next to an area they considered sacred. Both sides agreed to discontinue the legal case after the government said it would not proceed with the plan. It is now looking for other sites to locate the nuclear waste.
BBC 19th June 2014 read more »
France
The French government is proposing legislation that would cap its use of nuclear power at current level of 63.2 gigawatts a year and instead shift its reliance to renewables, Energy Minister Segolene Royale said June 18. During his successful campaign for president in 2012, Francois Hollande promised to reduce reliance on nuclear energy to 50 percent by 2025 from today’s 75 percent reliance, which is the largest proportion of any country.
Oil Price 19th June 2014 read more »
Submarines
Britain’s longest serving nuclear submarine was given its final send off today after nearly thirty years in service. Plymouth-based HMS Tireless has spent much of its time working in secret all over the world.
ITV 19th June 2014 read more »
Nuclear Weapons
When the victorious Allied leaders met at Potsdam in July 1945 US President Harry Truman triumphantly announced to the Soviets that his country had a new and devastating weapon. Stalin did not bat an eyelid. He already knew of the existence of the atomic bomb and his scientists were hard at work developing their own, thanks to Dr Klaus Fuchs, described by Daily Express headline writers following his trial five years later as “the cleverest spy ever known”. Fuchs was the man who gave the bomb to Russia. At the heart of America and Britain’s atomic projects his efforts accelerated the Cold War and its chilling arms race. The mathematical genius handed over every piece of information he had on the A-bomb and even more powerful H-bomb project.
Express 20th June 2014 read more »
Depleted Uranium
US forces fired depleted uranium (DU) weapons at civilian areas and troops in Iraq in breach of official advice meant to prevent unnecessary suffering in conflicts, a report has found. Coordinates revealing where US jets and tanks fired nearly 10,000 DU rounds in Iraq during the war in 2003 have been obtained by the Dutch peace group Pax. This is the first time that any US DU firing coordinates have been released, despite previous requests by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Iraqi government.
Guardian 19th June 2014 read more »
Renewables – onshore wind
New analysis of the ground vibrations produced by wind turbines has removed a significant constraint on the construction of wind farms in Scotland. Trade association RenewableUK welcomed the study published by the Eskdalemuir Working Group (EWG), saying it would unlock the potential to install more than a gigawatt of onshore wind energy in Scotland. The EWG, which includes representatives from governments and industry, commissioned a study on the safeguarding approach being used by the Ministry of Defence at the Eskdalemuir Seismic Array (EKA) in Dumfries and Galloway, which monitors international compliance with the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
Engineering & Technology 19th June 2014 read more »
Trillion Fund has today launched what it describes as the “UK’s biggest, peer-to-peer financed wind energy project to date”, revealing plans to raise £5m this year to fund the installation of a number of mid-sized wind turbines across the UK. The company announced yesterday it has teamed up with E2Energy, a joint venture between community-scale wind turbine specialist Endurance and turbine installer Earthmill, to crowdfund the new projects.
Business Green 19th June 2014 read more »
Renewables – solar
Labour has warned the government that its cuts to solar farm subsidies could result in a 30 per cent reduction in projected deployment in the next three years. The figures come from the government’s impact assessment on the latest round of proposed changes to subsidies, which were announced last month as part of the government’s push to shift the solar market in favour of rooftop solar as opposed to large ground-mounted arrays.
Business Green 19th June 2014 read more »
THE first solar park in West Cumbria – consisting of over 30,000 panels – could be built near Egremont
Whitehaven News 19th June 2014 read more »
Renewables – wave power
Wave energy company Aquamarine Power has successfully removed both cylinder modules from their Oyster 800 wave machine as part of a comprehensive summer refit – with the firm aiming to recommence Oyster power generation in the autumn. The 800kW test machine, located at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, has already clocked up three full winters at sea – a world first – and has generated multiple megawatt hours of electrical power. The single Oyster 800 unit at EMEC has now achieved over 20,000 hours of operations in all sea conditions, proving survivability through even the worst winter storms.
Aquamarine Power 19th June 2014 read more »
Energy Efficiency
The UK Energy Efficiency Deployment Office (EEDO) came into being in March 2012. The European Energy Efficiency Directive came into force in November 2012. On June 26 2014 we shall begin to see the first fruits of both entities, each intended to revolutionise the effectiveness of “the fifth fuel”. Next week the Department of Energy and Climate Change will set out how the UK will be implementing one of the key Articles of that 2012 Directive. Put simply, Article 8 requires each government in the European Union to introduce a programme of regular energy audits in every large enterprise. These audits cover every aspect of any business that consumes energy.
Business Green 19th June 2014 read more »
The amount of work completed under the Energy Company Obligation (Eco) fell by 56 per cent, according to the latest government statistics. A total 42,090 measures were been installed under Eco during April, down from 95,388 in the previous month. The Department of Energy and Climate change (Decc) said this was likely to be in response to the incentives for energy companies to deliver Carbon Saving Target (CERO) measures by the end of March 2014. The total number of Eco measures installed by the end of April was 818,701.
Utility Week 19th June 2014 read more »
The Energy and Climate Change select committee (ECCC) is set to probe government efforts to reduce demand in response to the rising risk posed to the UK’s security of supply. The cross-party committee said on Wednesday that the inquiry will scrutinise plans to reduce demand, through both short-term and permanent measures, which are needed by the UK to manage its shrinking generation capacity margins. A statement from the ECCC said there is concern that the government’s demand side response (DSR) and electricity demand reduction (EDR) policies “will fail to ensure that demand-side measures reach their full potential.”
Utility Week 19th June 2014 read more »
The government’s new Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF) appears to have got off to a strong start, after the government reported that over 1,700 applications for funding have been made to the energy efficiency incentive scheme during its first full week of operation. Launched last week, the GDHIF is the government’s latest attempt to drive consumer interest in its Green Deal energy efficiency financing scheme. It offers households completing energy efficiency improvements cash payments worth up to £7,600 from the £120m fund, as long as they undertake approved energy efficiency improvements.
Business Green 19th June 2014 read more »
UK’s recent performance appears relatively good by international standards, with household energy consumption falling by ~2% per year since 2005 and with the UK being one of the least energy intense economies in the G8. However, this position results in part from the offshoring of energy intensive manufacturing and the combined effect of the challenges faced by the Green Deal and the changes to ECO are likely to slow the rate of improvement in the household sector in the medium-term. Driving the energy efficiency revolution requires more integrated policy making and cross-departmental cooperation to tackle the multiple cross-cutting issues involved. This requires the government taking a more active role. There is significant progress with the government estate, but this should not be confused with broader initiatives on public sector procurement and greener government – which forms a necessary part of leading by example. The issue of trust was also highlighted, together with the potential catalytic role of smart meters in facilitating broader systemic change. Government and dominant business interests may hold the energy efficiency revolution back as there is an unwillingness to challenge perceptions and consider more radical options.
Sussex Energy Group 19th June 2014 read more »
What is needed for the UK to achieve an energy efficiency revolution? This was the topic of the Centre for Innovation and Energy Demand’s (CIED) launch event, which untied in discussion a panel of 5 heavy hitting speakers alongside a room of 90 professionals from across the industry in the impressive surroundings of Portcullis House, Parliament.
Sussex Energy Group 19th June 2014 read more »
Fuel Poverty
According to official statistics, the number of people in fuel poverty in England dropped from 3.2m to 2.4m households in a single day last year. Rather than a policy breakthrough, however, this sudden jump was down to a simple re-classification. The old definition of fuel poverty – a household spending more than 10% of income to adequately heat the home – was ditched in England in favour of “low-income high costs” model, where households facing fuel costs above the national median and where the cost of meeting them pushes them below the official poverty line are considered to be in fuel poverty. This amendment to the energy bill also ushered in another change. The target to eradicate fuel poverty by 2016 has been abandoned. But Derek Lickorish, chair of the Fuel Poverty Advisory Group, expects government to set a new target before parliament’s summer recess in July. “I am waiting with baited breath,” he says.
Guardian 19th June 2014 read more »
Green Investment Bank
Green Investment Bank boss calls for his borrowing restrictions to be lifted. Shaun Kingsbury says he could raise up to £60bn to fund low carbon energy infrastructure if allowed to turn to capital markets. The prediction comes just days before Gib will report a financial loss but the bank has already helped raise £4.8bn for windfarms and other projects during its first 18 months. The institution has spent only £1.3bn of its £3.8bn seed capital but says project developers have been able to raise £3 from the private sector for every £1 provided by Gib.
Guardian 19th June 2014 read more »
Fossil Fuels
The head of one of the world’s leading groups of democratic nations has accused Russia of undermining projects using hydraulic fracturing technology in Europe. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato), and former premier of Denmark, told the Chatham House thinktank in London on Thursday that Vladimir Putin’s government was behind attempts to discredit fracking, according to reports.
Guardian 19th June 2014 read more »
Independent 19th June 2014 read more »
“The idea we’re puppets of Putin is so preposterous that you have to wonder what they’re smoking over at Nato HQ. Mr Rasmussen should spend less time dreaming up conspiracy theories and more time on the facts,” a Greenpeace spokesman said. “Fracked gas will probably cost more than Russian imports – there’s little chance fracking will generate more than a small fraction of Europe’s gas needs and it won’t even do that for at least 10 years.”Friends of the Earth’s head of campaigns, Andrew Pendleton, was equally dismissive. “Perhaps the Russians are worried about our huge wind and solar potential, and have infiltrated the UK Government,” he said.
Times 19th June 2014 read more »
Leaks and spills in Britain’s offshore oil and gas industry rose by almost a fifth last year, with 115 reported incidents of hydrocarbons escaping from oil rigs and pipelines. Data from the industry body Oil & Gas UK (OGUK) revealed that in the 12 months to March 2014, the number of releases occurring in Britain’s North Sea and Continental Shelf rose by 19pc. This reverses three years of declines following the offshore industry’s commitment in 2010 to reduce leaks. This pledge set a target of cutting releases by 50pc from the then current level of 187.
Telegraph 19th June 2014 read more »
Corporate Watch’s new cutting edge report provides the most comprehensive and accessible guide yet to unconventional fossil fuels. The endless pursuit of economic growth, coupled with the decline in conventional energy sources, is driving ever more extreme forms of energy extraction around the world, with ecologically and socially disastrous consequences. From the dangers of fracking to the devastating effects of tar sands extraction, this guide brings together everything you need to know about unconventional fossil fuels in one place for the first time. It gives an in-depth yet accessible analysis of their social and environmental effects, and includes information on where they are found, the companies trying to profit from them and the growing resistance movements against them. The report also contains a unique ‘carbon budget’ climate change assessment of unconventional fossil fuel production, and stand-alone factsheets on each of the types of unconventional fossil fuel.
Corporate Watch 18th June 2014 read more »
