Sellafield
The bill faced by taxpayers for the clean-up of Sellafield and Britain’s other nuclear sites will be £6.6bn more than previously thought, in a sign of the challenges the country faces in dealing with its atomic legacy. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority said it had raised its best estimate for the undiscounted cost of the clean-up over the next 120 years to £110bn, a 7 per cent increase, with Sellafield alone accounting for £79.1bn of that. It also raised its total discounted estimate of the costs by 10 per cent to £64.9bn. John Clarke, the NDA’s chief executive, said the increase reflected the cost of additional work at Sellafield, which with an annual budget of £1.8bn is the largest of the 19 sites for which the agency is responsible. “In Sellafield we’ve got large concrete boxes that had radioactive waste tipped into them from the 1950s,” he said. “Now we have to figure out what’s in these facilities, and how to get it out and treat it.” The NDA’s revised cost estimates for the clean-up come in its annual report and accounts, which were presented to parliament on Monday.
FT 23rd June 2014 read more »
THE BILL for cleaning up the UK’s nuclear waste has reached an estimated £110bn, according to a new report from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. The figure represents a £6.6m increase on bill quoted in last year’s annual report, owning to the way the clean up costs are calculated and a rise in the cost of the Sellafield plant in Cumbria. The NDA believes the actual cost of UK nuclear clean up over an 100 year plus period could be anywhere between £88bn and £218bn.
City AM 24th June 2014 read more »
The bill for cleaning up Britain’s nuclear waste has topped £110bn, after a £6.6bn increase in the cost estimate for work required over the next 120 years. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority said that the biggest increase derived from a fresh assessment of the work required at Sellafield, the country’s biggest and most toxic nuclear site. Sellafield, in Cumbria, is now estimated to cost £79.1bn to clean up, but the NDA warned that the total would “increase significantly next year” once it had fully assessed a new “performance plan” for the site.
Telegraph 23rd June 2014 read more »
ITV Border 23rd June 2014 read more »
Wylfa
DU Construction, the largest construction company on Anglesey, is investing £470,000 on a new operational centre to prepare it to maximise opportunities from the Wylfa Newydd nuclear power station development and other projects on the island. It is being supported by £210,000 from the Welsh government’s economic growth fund.
Construction Index 24th June 2014 read more »
Nuclear Liabilities
Former Institution of Civil Engineers president Jean Venables has been appointed chair of the Nuclear Liabilities Fund (NLF) from 1st July. She succeeds Lady Balfour of Burleigh who has served 17 years as a trustee and 12 years in the chair. The NLF holds the purse strings for nuclear decommissioning at the former British Energy (BE) nuclear plants, now owned and operated by EDF Energy. The £9bn fund is independent but works collaboratively with government, EDF and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).
Construction Index 24th June 2014 read more »
DECC 23rd June 2014 read more »
Electricity Market Reform
This is the government response to the consultation Electricity Market Reform: Consultation on proposals for implementation (published October 2013) and addendum to this document, Supply Chain Plan Consultation (published November 2013). The consultation sought views on the proposals for implementing the key mechanisms for reforming the electricity market – Contracts for Difference (CFDs) and the Capacity Market – as well as their institutional and delivery arrangements. The Supply Chain Plan consultation set out proposals for implementing the key eligibility criteria of a supply chain plan for larger projects taking part in the allocation process for a CFD.
DECC 20th June 2014 read more »
Small Reactors
Mini-nuclear reactors are being looked at as a cheap nuclear energy option for the UK. Experts are due to report to the Government over the summer about Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), Energy Minister Michael Fallon said in a statement to the Commons. The National Nuclear Laboratory is leading research into the “potential high value commercial opportunities for UK firms”, he said. MPs on the energy select committee are quizzing scientists about the small reactors tomorrow morning (23 June). Unlike traditional, large nuclear plants which churn out gigawatts of power but are built in stages on location, much smaller plants sized between 10 to 300 megawatts (MW) could be made in a factory as a whole unit. Several could be clustered on one site.
Energy Live News 23rd June 2014 read more »
Chernobyl
Families from Underwood and Eastwood are playing their parts in bringing sunshine into the lives of the children from Belarus affected by the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster which took place in 1986.
Eastwood & Kimberley Advertiser 23rd June 2014 read more »
Germany
On the border to Denmark, Schleswig-Holstein is a largely rural state – and Germany’s windiest area. It is home to the country’s only Energiewende Minister, and it will produce as much green electricity as it consumes total electricity over the year for the first time in 2014. Two years ago, we reported on the state’s plans to go 300 percent renewable, a target that then-Environmental Minister Peter Altmaier did not doubt the state could reach. He merely wondered who the state would sell to given all of the other targets for 100 percent renewables in power supply elsewhere in the country. This year, Schleswig-Holstein will cross a symbolic milestone towards that goal by producing as much renewable electricity as the state consumes in electricity (including conventional) over the year as a whole – meaning that the figure is a net calculation, not that the state can do without interconnections to Denmark and other parts of Germany. Indeed, the state needs the grid both to sell its excess renewable power and to purchase conventional electricity.
Renewables International 17th June 2014 read more »
Hungary
Hungarian lawmakers approved Monday a multi-billion-euro loan from Russia for an upgrade of the country’s only nuclear power plant, a deal critics say increases Hungary’s dependence on Moscow. In January, Prime Minister Viktor Orban struck an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin for Russia’s atomic energy corporation Rosatom to build two new reactors at the Paks plant — located about 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of Budapest. The loan agreement, which was signed in March but required approval by Hungary’s parliament, stipulated that Moscow would lend Budapest up to 10 billion euros ($13.7 billion) — around 80 percent of the estimated cost.
EU Business 23rd June 2014 read more »
Iran
Iran is moving to finalise plans with Russia to build at least two more nuclear power plants on the Islamic republic’s southern Gulf shores, media reports said on Monday. The announcement came as Russia’s Rosatom deputy chief Nikolai Spassky arrived in Tehran for a two-day visit during which he will meet senior nuclear officials.
Middle East Online 23rd June 2014 read more »
Renewables – solar
Land remediation and regeneration firm Harworth Estates has announced the installation of 30MW of solar generation across four former colliery sites in the North and Midlands. Three developments already have approval – Welbeck Colliery in Mansfield, Gelding in Labley and a third in Bilsthorpe – with a fourth at Askern in South Yorkshire awaiting planning consent. The installation at Welbeck Colliery, the first to come online, will cover almost 32 acres at the brownfield site, comprising more than 44,000 individual panels. Work is expected to start on the remaining sites later this year.
Edie 23rd June 2014 read more »
Researchers in Denmark recently claimed a major breakthrough in the production of organic photovoltaic (OPV) solar cells. Unlike traditional silicon solar cells, used in rooftop solar panels and large-scale solar farms, OPVs use organic semiconductors — made from plastics and other flexible materials — and are much lighter, more flexible and less expensive. Because they use environmentally friendly materials and can be produced quickly with lower processing and materials costs, OPVs can be used in much more innovative ways, according to Jade Jones, Solar Analyst with GTM research. The flexibility of OPVs has its proponents thinking of potential uses that never would have been possible — solar cells on electronics, backpacks, clothing, windows. Jones said she’s even heard of researchers talking about using them for curtains.
Climate Progress 23rd June 2014 read more »
Britain and Germany have broken records for generating solar electricity in the last few weeks, according to new industry figures. Germany generated over half its electricity demand from solar for the first time ever on 9 June, and the UK, basking in the sunniest weather of summer during the longest days of the year, nearly doubled its 2013 peak solar power output at the solstice weekend. France, Italy, Denmark and other countries are also believed to have generated record amounts in June. According to UK trade body the Solar Trade association (STA), the total UK installed solar capacity generated from homes, buildings and solar farms is now about 4.7 gigawatts compared to 2.7GW in July last year. It is not possible to tell exactly how much solar powe r was generated in Britain because electricity from small-scale household units is not centrally measured, but the STA estimated on Monday that 3.9% of the UK’s electricity demand was met by solar photovoltaic systems (PV) over the 24 hours of Saturday. This means solar’s contribution peaked at a record 7.8% of daytime electricity, on 21 June, said the association. “Britain has virtually doubled its capacity in the last year, with 80,000 more installations, including several thousand larger scale commercial ones,” said Ray Noble, a consultant at the UK National Solar Centre. “There are now 530,000 installations in the UK, of which 510,000 are domestic small scale ones. Last weekend we estimate they generated about 8% of daytime electricity in total,” said Noble. “We think that this is likely to double again within a year. There is nothing to stop it getting to 30-40% of UK electricity at this time of year,” he said.
Guardian 23rd June 2014 read more »
Renewables – Scotland
WINDFARMS are to be banned in Scotland’s national parks and national scenic areas, under new planning guidelines announced by the Scottish Government. The move, part of the National Planning Framework, will offer protection to nearly a third of Scotland’s land area, including new wild land areas identified by Scottish Natural Heritage.
Scotsman 24th June 2014 read more »
Herald 24th June 2014 read more »
Energy Efficiency
Lots of energy efficiency measures – such as home insulation and low-energy fridges – could cut European gas imports by 40% according to a draft analysis by the EU commission. The leaked draft comes just as Russia cut off its gas supply to Ukraine. Around half the EU’s gas supply from Russia comes through the nation. Seven European countries including Germany are now calling for an ambitious and binding 2030 energy efficiency target – and European Commmisioners are meeting today to discuss the issue.
Energy Desk 18th June 2014 read more »
Fossil Fuels – Scotland
Measures to reduce the impact of fracking on local communities have been introduced by the Scottish government in an attempt to allay concern over the development of new sources of energy. A ban on wind farms in national parks and national scenic areas, which cover 19 per cent of the country’s land mass, was also laid out in new planning guidelines yesterday but were criticised by environmental groups for not going far enough to protect local residents or Scotland’s landscapes. The Green Party said that a failure to introduce fixed buffer zones around unconventional gas projects would leave communities exposed to a pollution threat. The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCoS) said that failing to include all designated “wild land” regions in the new restrictions would lead to continued speculative development in scenic areas.
Times 24th June 2014 read more »
Climate
Only one in five Brits believe the Government is doing enough to fight climate change, according to a new report by renewable heating organisation Innasol. Less than one in 10 of the 2,050 people surveyed said they knew that heating is the country’s main carbon dioxide polluter, despite heating being the single largest use of energy in the UK.
Trillion Fund 23rd June 2014 read more »
Fighting climate change would help grow the world economy, according to the World Bank, adding up to $2.6tn (£1.5tn) a year to global GDP in the coming decades. The findings, made available in a report on Tuesday, offer a sharp contrast with claims by the Australian government that fighting climate change would “clobber” the economy. The report also advances on the work of economists who have argued that it will be far more costly in the long run to delay action on climate change. Instead, Tuesday’s report found a number of key policies – none of which included putting an economy-wide price on carbon – would lead to global GDP gains of between $1.8tn and $2.6tn a year by 2030, in terms of new jobs, increased crop productivity and public health benefits.
Guardian 24th June 2014 read more »
