Dungeness
A nuclear power station operator has defended its decision not to be more open about safety concerns by saying that it has a responsibility not to “scare people in their beds”. EDF, the French company that operates most of Britain’s nuclear power stations, was accused by environmental groups yesterday of being secretive about a two-month closure last year of its plant at Dungeness in Kent while its flood defences were being improved. Doug Parr, chief scientist at Greenpeace, said that it was worrying that EDF, which is planning to build a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point, in Somerset, “does not feel the need to tell the wider community about serious safety worries over flooding”. He added: “It implies a culture of secrecy and makes you wonder what else is going on that we don’t know about.”
Times 20th March 2014 read more »
The spotlight on Dungeness nuclear power station on the Kent coast has intensified after it emerged that concerns about flooding at the site were so high that the regulator gave it a week to come up with an action plan or suspend operations. The deadline was imposed after an EDF study into the rate at which sea water could come over the top of the site’s primary sea defence prompted the group to report to the regulator that it “no longer had confidence in this aspect of their safety case”. Following the revelation in The Independent that energy giant EDF quietly shut one of the station’s two reactors for a period of months last year, a document put together by the industry regulator shows that on 14 December 2012, EDF “agreed to provide [nuclear regulator] ONR with a justification for continued reactor operation or to place the site into the safest state by 21 December 2012”.
Independent 19th March 2014 read more »
EDF is today facing questions over the “transparency of the nuclear industry”, after it emerged that the company closed a reactor at its Dungeness site while carrying out urgent work to improve the facility’s flood defences. Green groups slammed the nuclear operator for failing to provide more detailed information on the shutdown and the flood risks the site faces. “With Dungeness perched on shifting shingles next to rising seas, this is a stark warning of the risks climate change poses to our infrastructure,” said Friends of the Earth campaigner Guy Shrubsole. “It’s astounding that the shut-down of EDF’s reactor wasn’t better publicised and calls into question the transparency of the nuclear industry.”
Business Green 19th March 2014 read more »
Guardian 19th March 2014 read more »
The NFLA is alarmed and concerned to hear of another serious nuclear safety incident that has been seemingly understated for some considerable time. It calls for an urgent review into wider openness and transparency in the nuclear industry. In an exclusive article published in today’s Independent, it has emerged that the Dungeness nuclear reactor in Kent was quietly shut down for five months in 2013 over serious concerns about whether its sea defences could survive a severe flood incident and endure a Fukushima-type water inundation.
NFLA 19th March 2014 read more »
EDF Energy “betrayed the public” after safety fears led to the closure of both reactors at Dungeness B nuclear power station in Kent, campaigners have said. They were taken offline for two months last May while extra sea defences were installed after a review into Japan’s Fukushima disaster highlighted risks. Barrie Botley, of Kent Against a Radioactive Environment, said not enough details were given at the time.
BBC 19th March 2014 read more »
EDF has failed to be open and transparent by shutting down its Dungeness plant in Kent for two months without properly informing people, environmentalists have said. The energy company put a one-line statement on its website in May last year saying unit 22 at Dungeness station had been taken offline on 20 May for maintenance work that included completing improvements to flood defences for extreme events. Yet five months earlier, EDF had privately admitted to the industry’s watchdog, the Office of Nuclear Regulation (ONR), that the shingle bank between the reactors and the sea was “not as robust as previously thought”, according to the environmental website ClickGreen.
Energy Central 19th March 2014 read more »
Hinkley
EDF has appointed HSBC to advise on the financing for the 16 billion-pound ($27 billion) project to build the U.K.’s first nuclear power plant since 1995. The bank will help structure the debt funding the construction of the plant at Hinkley Point, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because the financing is private. EDF, Areva SA and two Chinese companies agreed to build the power station in October after reaching a deal with the U.K. government that guaranteed prices for the power that will be generated. The consortium plans as much as 10 billion pounds of financing for the plant, according to an Oct. 21 presentation on EDF’s website.
Bloomberg 19th March 2014 read more »
Sizewell
There is new hope today that four traffic-blighted villages on the A12 in east Suffolk could soon get by-pass to ease their misery. Preparatory work could start as early as next year in a bid to ensure the road is in place before the major construction phase of a Sizewell C Power Station gets underway. Work on the road is crucial to the development of Sizewell C – and a construction timetable for the road of 2018-21 has been drawn up by Suffolk County Council
East Anglian Daily Times 19th March 2014 read more »
Oldbury
NUCLEAR protestors marked the third anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster with a memorial overlooking Berkeley and Oldbury power stations. Severnside Together Against Nuclear Development (STAND) held a memorial for the victims of the 2011 Japanese tragedy. The Fukushima Daiichi failure of three of the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant’s six nuclear reactors occurred when the plant was hit by a tsunami triggered by an earthquake.
Gloucestershire Gazette 18th March 2014 read more »
Horizon
Expanding Horizon Nuclear Power is creating 250 more jobs – taking its target total to 400 – as it plots a move into new headquarters at Gloucester Business Park. Hitachi-owned Horizon already employs almost 150 staff and was on record as expecting to see that figure double, but it has now announced staff numbers will reach 400 – with room for further expansion. The company, formed in 2009, is behind the development of nuclear power stations at Wylfa on Anglesey and near Oldbury on Severn in South Gloucestershire and is expected to create thousands more jobs based at these two sites. With energy giant EDF already in the city at Barnwood Horizon’s commitment to Gloucester further cements the city at the heart of the next generation of nuclear power plants.
Gloucester Citizen 19th March 2014 read more »
Faslane
A POLITICIAN has expressed ‘deep concern’ at plans to increase the amount of nuclear waste dumped into the Gareloch from Faslane. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has submitted plans for the Faslane naval dockyard to pour more liquid waste into the Gareloch as the number of UK nuclear subs based there rises from five to 14 by 2019. During topical questions in the Scottish Parliament chamber on Tuesday, SNP MSP Stuart McMillan asked Richard Lochhead, the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, what the Scottish Government’s position is on the proposed waste discharge increase. Mr Lochhead responded saying all discharges will be within safety limits. He said: “Although that more stringent regime should, in theory, benefit our environment, the MoD has indicated that the actual levels of discharges from the site may increase over the next few years due to the increasing number of submarines that will be based there, albeit that the discharges are expected to be well within the new limits.”
Helensburgh Advertiser 19th March 2014 read more »
Nuclear Costs
Nick Butler: Osborne said: “We need to cut our energy costs. We’re going to do this by investing in new sources of energy: new nuclear power, renewables, and a shale gas revolution.” This must be a speechwriter’s joke. A line written in where the content bears absolutely no relationship to reality. New nuclear at £92.50 a megawatt hour will double the current wholesale price of electricity. New offshore wind on the Department of Energy & Climate Change’s own figures, which many feel are too low, will cost more than £120/Mwhr. These are not secret figures. They are well known in the Treasury, as is the risk of generating capacity failing to meet demand. There was no mention of that little problem. But the real joke is the much-promised shale gas revolution. One shale gas well has been fracked in the UK. Two applications are pending but because of the length and complexity of the process it is quite possible that no more wells at all will be drilled in the UK this year. This is in danger of becoming a revolution that never happens. What is surprising is the lack of urgency in government.
FT 19th March 2014 read more »
Kirsty Gogan: One of the biggest challenges we face in making the case for low carbon nuclear energy is “the economics don’t stack up”. Well-regarded analysis on behalf by the Committee for Climate Change, and helpfully aggregated in this graph below, by the UKERC, demonstrates that nuclear is among the most cost-competitive of all low carbon technologies (similar to the best estimates for on-shore wind). Yet the economics of nuclear remain very challenging. Here’s your guide to why the costs of building nuclear appear to be rising over time, instead of coming down, as we expect from other technologies.
Business Green 20th March 2014 read more »
Politics
Chancellor unveils £7bn support package to help industry with rising energy costs, fueling concerns decarbonisation efforts could be undermined. Chancellor George Osborne today surprised industry by accompanying his heavily trailed freeze of the carbon price floor with the unveiling of a new £7bn support package to help manufacturers cope with the rising cost of energy, prompting accusations this year’s Budget marked a return to “dirty business as usual”. In a speech that made no mention of climate change or the green economy, Osborne’s main environmental announcements centred on moves to maximise the exploitation of North Sea oil and gas reserves and cut industrial energy costs by exempting carbon intensive firms from environmental taxes and green levies. In comments that will anger environmentalists, Osborne promised the government will review the whole oil and gas tax regime to “make sure it is fit for the purpose of extracting every drop of oil we can”.
Business Green 19th March 2014 read more »
The government promised a £7bn packet of measures to cut energy costs for manufacturers and bring some benefits for homeowners, which centred on freezing a newly introduced green tax, the carbon floor price. The move delighted hard-pressed manufacturers but angered environmentalists, while some independent energy analysts warned that the move was a short-term boost that would worsen longer-term energy insecurity.
Guardian 19th March 2014 read more »
The Government has responded to calls from British industry to reduce their uncompetitive energy bills by promising a £7bn package of cuts by 2019, chiefly based on lower green taxes. After intense lobbying by UK manufacturers, who the Chancellor admitted are paying twice as much for energy as US rivals, the Government unveiled four measures to ease the pain. Some £4bn of benefits will come from capping the carbon price floor, a tax on electricity generated from fossil fuels, at £18 per ton of CO2 from 2016-17 for the rest of this decade – a saving of almost £50,000 a year for a mid-sized manufacturer.
Telegraph 19th March 2014 read more »
The Government is to pay £500 million a year in wind and solar farm subsidies in a bid to make British business more competitive Taxpayers will foot the bill for heavy industry’s green energy levies after the Chancellor took action to cut manufacturers’ costs and boost their global competitiveness. George Osborne announced that from 2016 the Government will pay £500 million a year in wind and solar farm subsidies on behalf of heavy industry. Insisting that investment in renewables would not be hit, taxpayers will have to make up the shortfall.
Times 19th March 2014 read more »
Carbon Floor Price
Hardly a month has gone by since David Cameron told MPs he believed ‘man-made climate change is one of the most serious threats this country and this world faces. Yet the Prime Minister’s newly rediscovered climate convictions has already failed their first test – in today’s budget. One of the few widely trailed measures which occurred today is the freeze to the carbon price floor at £18 a tonne of CO2 rather than rising, as it was intended to £30/t CO2 by 2020. The carbon floor price – effectively an increasing annual tax on companies burning fossil fuels to generate electricity – was introduced by Osborne in 2011 and came into force in January 2013. The Chancellor said at the time it “re-affirmed” the aim to be “the greenest Government ever.” By freezing the carbon price floor in George Osborne’s statement, the Chancellor is commending to the House a climate-blind budget that will provide a nice shiny path for coal by giving it a multi-billion pound rebate.
IGov 19th March 2014 read more »
A new green levy costing households £15 per year was announced on the day the Chancellor claimed he would cut energy bills by the same amount. Power stations will be paid subsidies funded by the new levy on consumer bills to form a national generating reserve which will fire up during peak demand to keep the lights on. More of these flexible power stations will be needed as back-up when the system becomes more reliant on intermittent sources such as wind farms. The Department of Energy and Climate Change said the plan, quietly published on its website yesterday, would cost each household £15 a year until 2030. Only hours before, George Osborne had promised that households would save the same amount from 2019 after he froze another green levy, the carbon tax.
Times 20th March 2014 read more »
Scotland
THE remainder of the UK (RUK) could buy power from abroad if an independent Scotland cannot sell its energy at a competitive price, Westminster’s Energy Secretary has warned. Ed Davey rejected the SNP’s claim that Westminster would continue to pay for Scotland’s energy if it leaves the UK. Scotland would become just one of many countries RUK could turn to for the cheapest and most reliable deal, he told a renewable energy industry gathering in Edinburgh. The UK could buy wind from Ireland, geo-thermal from Iceland, hydro from Norway and develop the untapped potential in England and Wales, he said. Scotland provides “a very small proportion” of RUK’s energy demand at around 4.5%, he added. And “there are no guarantees” Scotland could maintain this level once it has paid to upgrade its grid, subsidised its remote areas and powered its own homes, he said.
Herald 19th March 2014 read more »
England’s lights would go out without Scotland’s large and growing supply of renewable energy, according to Scotland’s energy minister. Fergus Ewing hit back after the UK energy secretary, Ed Davey, said independence for Scotland would force up energy bills for Scottish households. “England does require Scotland’s electricity to keep the lights on,” Ewing told the Guardian. He gave the go-ahead on Wednesday for the third largest offshore wind farm in the world, big enough to power 1m homes, as well as new financial support for floating wind turbines to exploit deep water sites. Ewing, a Scottish National Party minister, contrasted the 20% spare electricity margin in Scotland with the 2-5% margin in the UK as a whole.
Guardian 19th March 2014 read more »
Nuclear Security
World leaders are expected to call next week for more action to minimise civilian use of highly-enriched nuclear fuel to help prevent al Qaeda-style militants from obtaining atomic bombs, a draft summit statement shows. Holding a third nuclear security summit since 2010, in The Hague on March 24-25, leaders from 53 countries – including US President Barack Obama – will say much headway has been made in reducing the risk of nuclear terrorism in the past four years. But they will also make clear that many challenges remain and stress the need for increased international cooperation to make sure that highly-enriched uranium (HEU), plutonium and other radioactive substances do not fall into the wrong hands.
Nation 18th March 2014 read more »
Thorium
The nuclear race is on. China is upping the ante dramatically on thorium nuclear energy. Scientists in Shanghai have been told to accelerate plans (sorry for the pun) to build the first fully-functioning thorium reactor within ten years, instead of 25 years as originally planned. “This is definitely a race. China faces fierce competition from overseas and to get there first will not be an easy task”,” says Professor Li Zhong, a leader of the programme. He said researchers are working under “warlike” pressure to deliver. Good for them. They may do the world a big favour. They may even help to close the era of fossil fuel hegemony, and with it close the rentier petro-gas regimes that have such trouble adapting to rational modern behaviour.
Telegraph 19th March 2014 read more »
Guardian 19th March 2014 read more »
Japan – Fukushima
Hugh Cortazzi who served as Britain’s ambassador to Japan from 1980-1984. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seems determined to bring as many as possible of Japanese nuclear power stations back into use so that Japan’s economic recovery can be boosted. The economic case is clear, but the environmental and political objections cannot be so easily set aside. The history of nuclear power development in Japan was not reassuring even before the Fukushima disaster. Tokyo Electric Power Co. and the government nuclear energy authorities have been accused of bamboozling the public with arguments and so-called evidence, which was full of holes.
Japan Times 18th March 2014 read more »
US – MOX
South Carolina sued the U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday over the federal government’s plans to scrap a plutonium recycling plant that has been under construction for years in the state, arguing it violates a nuclear non-proliferation treaty with Russia.
Reuters 18th March 2014 read more »
US – Radwaste
An additional release of radiation occurred at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant on March 11, nearly a month after the first radiation leak was reported. Department of Energy officials said in a news release Tuesday afternoon that new air sampling data showed a “very small” radiation release on March 11.
Carlsbad Current-Argus 18th March 2014 read more »
Iran
Iran and world powers locked horns on Wednesday over the fate of a planned Iranian nuclear reactor that could yield plutonium for bombs, diplomats said, although Tehran’s foreign minister voiced optimism that their July 20 deadline for a deal is within reach.
Reuters 19th March 2014 read more »
Iran’s foreign minister has said he sees “signs” of a comprehensive deal on its nuclear programme, after talks with world powers, Iranian media report.
BBC 19th March 2014 read more »
France
Security at France’s nuclear power stations will be increased, the government announced this week, after dozens of Greenpeace activists stormed the country’s oldest plant to highlight how vulnerable it is.
The Local 19th March 2014 read more »
Renewables
The renewable energy industry faces a “shelf” in its growth in 2019 as the current targets and budgets that are driving its expansion come to an end, delegates to an industry conference have been warned. Speakers at the Scottish Renewables conference in Edinburgh said the UK government needs to extend the pricing guarantees offered by its recent electricity market reform (EMR) into the next decade to give investors in wind farms and other green energy projects more certainty.
Scotsman 19th March 2014 read more »
Tom Greatrex: A renewed commitment is vital to power renewable energy sector. Energy industry specialists, investors and others have been in Edinburgh at the Scottish Renewables conference. The trade body is keen to highlight the success the renewable energy sector has been in Scotland. It is right to do so. When UK grid infrastructure work is included, almost 12,000 people in Scotland are employed in the wider renewable energy sector, with enticing prospects for growth and development. Yet there are worrying signs that the sector may be entering a more troubled period. Recently, developers cancelled plans for the UK’s largest offshore wind farm off the coast of Argyll. Investment has dwindled to a trickle, storing up problems for the future and leading developers to question whether they would not be better off taking their manufacturing and associated supply chain jobs overseas. The Coalition’s mixed messages are causing some in the ind ustry to question whether the Government sees a long-term role for renewables.
Herald 19th March 2014 read more »
Renewables – Biomass
With more than seven million birds reared annually, Bernard Matthews is taking a major step towards reducing its environmental impact by installing nearly 200 biomass boilers at its turkey farms across the UK. Last week, the poultry giant secured £24.5m investment from the Green Investment Bank and Equitex, which will finance the installation of 179 boilers across its 21 farms in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Lincolnshire.
Business Green 19th March 2014 read more »
Renewables – offshore wind
The Scottish Government has delivered a major green infrastructure boost, announcing that formal assent has been granted to two offshore wind farms proposed for the outer Moray Firth. The adjacent Moray Offshore Renewables Limited (MORL) and the Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Limited (BOWL) were both granted approval, paving the way for the development of the world’s third largest offshore wind farm boasting up to 326 wind turbines. The development, sited off the Caithness coast, is expected to provide 1,866MW of new clean energy capacity, while delivering enough power for up to one million homes and providing a £2.5bn boost to the Scottish economy.
Business Green 19th March 2014 read more »
Four businesses have been awarded more than £4 million under moves to lower the costs of generating offshore wind energy. The Government said the grants will support research and development into offshore wind power. Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said: “The UK is already the world leader in offshore wind, with more deployed than any other country. “The benefits that offshore wind can bring are clear, from enhancing our energy security, reducing our dependence on imports and helping reduce our carbon emissions. “Innovation is critical to cutting the cost of this low-carbon power source, which could in turn lead to lower bills for hardworking consumers.” High Voltage Partial Discharge has been given £900,000 to trial technology to give an early warning of faults in cables; 2-B Energy has been awarded almost £2.8 million to develop a two-bladed turbine; SgurrControl will have £667,000 to work on a control system to reduce the stress placed on turbine blades; and Ocean Resource Ltd has been given £216,000 to develop an offshore wind turbine that is assembled on-shore.
Herald 19th March 2014 read more »
Fossil Fuels
At the end of 2013 the government voted down an amendment to the energy bill that would have placed a limit on the carbon emissions from our oldest, dirtiest coal-fired power stations. Their argument for doing this was that other measures were making the economics of coal unattractive which was naturally pushing coal off the system. However generation from coal has been increasing. In 2012 44 per cent of electricity was generated coal – a 30 per cent increase on the previous year and it fell only slightly last year despite two major plants coming offline. Coal is not going away but has become our largest source of power. One way in which they may help coal is if they remove or freeze the carbon price floor, as has been widely rumoured. Although this is an inefficient policy that has been criticised by industry groups, consumer groups, and even green groups, without it the economics of coal are substantially improved.
Energy Desk 18th March 2014 read more »
A public inquiry is under way into an energy company’s plans to drill for gas in central Scotland. The Coal Bed Methane development at Airth near Falkirk would see Dart Energy release natural gas from deep coal seams by pumping out water. The proposals include the drilling of 22 wells, and they have been met with local objections. Australian firm Dart asked Scottish ministers to rule on its plans and a panel began hearing evidence at the Inchyra Hotel near Polmont yesterday. Friends of the Earth said Scotland had abundant renewable energy sources and did not need what it described as “risky new gas”. Dart said that, if approved, gas would be delivered into the national grid.
Herald 19th March 2014 read more »
Fraser Nelson, political editor of the Conservative weekly magazine, The Spectator, has deployed his Daily Telegraph column to make the argument for the US to use the power of its energy resources, based mainly on fracked shale gas, to counter the current Russian military movement into Crimea. The fault in this argument is the shale gas revolution in America has peaked, and costs are rising rapidly to extract remaining reserves. On 27 February the authoritative Bloomberg business news service reported independent shale gas producers “will spend $1.50 drilling this year for every dollar they get back.”
David Lowry 7th March 2014 read more »
