EMR
Energy giant EdF Energy wants the government to speed up its reforms to the energy market to enable the firm to make its final investment decision for its proposed nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point C. EdF Energy special projects director Jeremy Western said yesterday that there were still areas within energy market reform where the government needed to do more work. There are three priorities for government, Western told the Nuclear Forum Conference. The three areas where Western urged more government action was to create a tangible counterparty to sign contract for difference feed in tariffs (CFD Fits). The CFD Fits are a key part of the energy market reform (EMR) guaranteeing a price of electricity signed between the operator and government. However, it is still not clear who will sign the agreement on behalf of the government. Western also said there was still work to be done to ensure the transitional agreements the CFD Fits agreed between EdF Energy and the government were legally robust. He also said that the government still had a lot of work to do to ensure EMR reached Royal Assent in spring 2014.
New Civil Engineer 20th June 2012 more >>
Energy Supplies
The slow-burning drama over Britain’s future energy supply has had everything: entrances and exits; rows and romance (well, joint ventures at least). Now, according to the chief executive of Centrica, it needs a dose of something else: realism. It’s true: tougher times means homes and businesses are spending less on fuel. Energy bills close to an all-time high have made sure of that. There is also the hope that many of our ageing nuclear reactors can have their lives extended. Gas imports can plug the gap, but that will leave the country at the mercy of foreign supply and fluctuating wholesale prices. Mr Laidlaw warned a year ago that some green targets may have to be sacrificed in the interests of safeguarding the security of our energy supply the closer to the crunch we get. “I think at the moment, if you look at the renewables targets we are going to struggle to make them,” he said, referring to the aim of deriving 15 per cent of supply from renewable sources such as wind, wave and solar by 2020. The proportion stands at just 3 per cent today. The trouble is, the targets are legally binding. Does that mean Britain will face a fine? His stance is at odds with that of Ian Marchant, the boss of rival domestic supplier SSE, who hit out recently at the reforms, saying Britain “will live to regret” handing a subsidy to the French that would cause higher energy bills. “Frankly, coming from where he’s coming from, having said he’s not going to participate in nuclear and having invested a lot in a wind portfolio, it was fairly obvious that he would want a programme that doesn’t incentivise nuclear but does incentivise wind.”
Independent 23rd June 2012 more >>
New Nukes
The Institute of Directors (IoD) today publishes the second report in its Infrastructure for Business series: Britains Nuclear Future, making the case for nuclear energy as a clean, cheap and safe way to meet our energy needs. New polling of IoD members, released exclusively with the report, also shows that nuclear power remains extremely popular among business leaders, with little to no change in opinion in the aftermath of the Fukushima accident.
Institute of Directors 22nd June 2012 more >>
Wiltshire Business 22nd June 2012 more >>
Billions of pounds should be invested in new nuclear power stations to keep the lights on, the Governments former chief scientist said yesterday. Such a move would be a massive U-turn for the Government its policy is to back new nuclear but not subsidise it and trigger a major split with the Liberal Democrats. But Professor Sir David King said without heavyweight Government intervention, a new generation of nuclear reactors will simply not be built.
Western Daily Press 22nd June 2012 more >>
Americans from coast-to-coast are pushing to end the nations addiction to polluting, 19th century fossil fuels — coal, oil, natural gas — by embracing renewable, job-generating energy sources such as wind and solar. With clean energy prosperity in sight, there are well-meaning people who suggest that nuclear power could be part of the solution. The Sierra Club respectfully but vehemently disagrees with them, and a growing group of concerned volunteers has, in fact, begun accelerating the Clubs efforts to address this dangerous industry.
Tree Hugger 22nd June 2012 more >>
Sellafield
A decommissioning milestone has been reached at Sellafield Ltd a year ahead of schedule. The first oxide fuel has been removed from the pile fuel storage pond, where it has been for more than 40 years, and transferred to the active handling facility. The move starts an 18-month programme which will see the transfer of the rest of the fuel for repackaging into modern containment vessels.
NW Evening Mail 22nd June 2012 more >>
Cumberland News 22nd June 2012 more >>
NDA
WEST Cumbrian John Clarke is the new chief executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. John, who has taken over following the departure of Tony Fountain in December, was born and brought up in Seascale, spending much of his working life at nearby Sellafield, where he was a member of the executive team for eight years. His appointment has been welcomed by Britains biggest nuclear union, Prospect.
NW Evening Mail 22nd June 2012 more >>
Dungeness
Baseload power for delivery Monday traded higher than the day-ahead price at Thursday’s close as wind power generation is set to fall from the highs see at the end of the week, while nuclear output dropped off following an unplanned outage at EDF Energy’s Dungeness B-21 unit. In addition, EDF Energy’s 550 MW UK Dungeness B-21 nuclear generation unit shut down in the early hours of Friday morning due to a technical fault, the company said in a statement. The unplanned outage occurred at 05:45 BST (0445 GMT) when the unit automatically shutdown following a fault on the main boiler feed pump. “Dungeness B has a pretty bad reputation so I don’t think anyone is expecting it return to service any time soon,” a trader said.
Platts 22nd June 2012 more >>
Radwaste
Petition launched. A majority of Cumbrian Parish and Town Councils have voted NO to the Dump. We the undersigned agree and say end this process now.
i-Petitions 21st June 2012 more >>
Small Reactors
Global Energy Considerations & The Role of Nuclear – Think Smaller, Think Modular?
Douglas Westwood 7th June 2012 more >>
Europe
The European Commission has closed an antitrust investigation of the arrangement that prevents Siemens from selling nuclear products and services, following its withdrawal from the Areva NP business. The Commission has accepted an agreement between the two companies to allow Siemens to sell core products and services later this year.
Nuclear Engineering International 22nd June 2012 more >>
Sweden
Swedish police have said they have no clues about possible perpetrators or motive two days after a small amount of explosive material was found on a forklift truck at the countrys biggest nuclear power plant.
Scotsman 23rd June 2012 more >>
France
France’s nuclear availability has been cut further because of delayed unit restarts, according to the weekly medium-term availability forecast published today by grid-operator RTE. Three of utility EdF’s nuclear units, with a combined capacity of 2,715MW, will start later than previously forecast. The restart of the 915MW Cruas 4 unit has been pushed back by two weeks until week 29, while the 890MW Dampierre-en-Burly B4 unit will start one week later than previously forecast, in week 28. The 910MW Gravelines 5 unit, which was expected to go back on line in week 29, is now forecast to restart in week 32.
Argus Media 22nd June 2012 more >>
Japan
Few developed nations face greater challenges in meeting their citizens’ energy needs than Japan. The country’s nuclear power sector – which for decades compensated for the archipelago’s lack of fossil fuel sources – has been down and out since last year’s nuclear meltdown at Fukushima. Two signs of a revived energy sector are welcome. Nuclear power is being switched back on after the country’s reactors have been off-line. New incentives for renewable power generation have been introduced. But there is need for caution along both these policy tracks.
FT 22nd June 2012 more >>
Fukushima Update 19th to 21st June.
Greenpeace International 23rd June 2012 more >>
Lithuania
The Lithuanian parliament on June 21 approved the concession agreement for the Visaginas nuclear power plant, a planned 1,350-MW Hitachi-GE ABWR to be built at the Ignalina nuclear site. Parliament approved the concession agreement previously signed in March between Lithuanias Energy Ministry and Hitachi. The law approving the agreement still has to be signed by Lithuanias president.
i-Nuclear 22nd June 2012 more >>
e-Gov Monitor 22nd June 2012 more >>
Iran
Iran says it has detected a “massive” cyber attack targeting its nuclear facilities. Ministers claimed the US, UK and Israel were behind the attack.
Computer Business Review 22nd June 2012 more >>
OECD NEA
An OECD report has highlighted the contribution nuclear already makes to the energy mix as well as how it can fit into future low-carbon networks. The report is aimed at informing the policymaking of the body’s member governments. Entitled The Role of Nuclear Energy in a Low-Carbon Energy Future, the document seeks to point out the contribution made by the world’s 433 operating power reactors, assess their lifecycle carbon emissions and look ahead at the barriers to their wider deployment. The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) counts 30 industrialised countries as its members.
World Nuclear News 22nd June 2012 more >>
A new report has found that the Fukushima Daiichi incident has slowed nuclear growth by about 10% compared with projections before the accident. The Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development’s Nuclear Energy Agency published the report, “The Role of Nuclear Energy in a Low-carbon Energy Future”, (NEA no. 6887) in June.
Nuclear Enginnering International 22nd June 2012 more >>
Microgeneration
This week’s Micro Power News includes news of the new Scottish Microgeneration Strategy; a community wind farm being promoted by Turkey producer Bernard Matthews; a new solar panel manufacturing plant opening in the Black Country; a small hydro plant in London; Devon wind Co-operative; And a must watch video of a talk by Jeremy Leggett.
Microgen Scotland 22nd June 2012 more >>
Commenting on the announcement that SunSolar is to build a 30MW solar photovoltaics manufacturing plant in Oldbury, Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said: This announcement is fantastic news for Oldbury, bringing new jobs and investment, and a huge vote of confidence in the outlook for the solar industry in the UK. I want to see many more UK businesses taking the lead in the growing global market for green energy.
DECC 22nd June 2012 more >>
The country’s first “wood fuel co-operative” is offering green-minded small investors the chance to watch their money go up in smoke and still earn a decent return. Woolhope Woodheat is a “groundbreaking” project that aims to bring green heat to Herefordshire by installing woodchip boilers in larger buildings that are expensive to run, and sourcing the fuel from local, sustainable woodlands. It is inviting members of the public to join the co-op by investing a minimum of £250, and says the projected return on your investment averages out at 6.1% or more, provided you are happy to sign up for the long term. According to the share offer document, the co-op will generate money from the sale of heat, and also receive income from the government’s Renewable Heat Incentive scheme, which will enable it to pay interest to members and return their original investment at the end of the investment period. The co-op wants to raise £324,000 to get the project under way.
Guardian 22nd June 2012 more >>
Renewables
David Cameron’s plans for green jobs and growth were dealt a blow last night after the worlds biggest wind turbine maker scrapped plans for a giant factory in Kent that would have created 2,000 jobs. Vestas, a Danish company, said it would no longer proceed with its flagship Sheerness project amid concerns about political support for wind power in Britain.
Telegraph 23rd June 2012 more >>
Guardian 22nd June 2012 more >>
