Hinkley
A conference was held in London on 5th March 2015. The event was hosted by Green MEP Molly Scott Cato and three other Green MEPs: Rebecca Harms, Claude Turmes and Michel Reimon. The conference brought together experts from all over the world to discuss the impacts of Fukushima and nuclear power on Europe in light of the recent decision of the European Commission to allow the UK government to heavily subsidise a new nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point C.
Molly Scott Cato 12th March 2015 read more »
Bradwell
Campaigners are calling for power plant waste to be contained rather than discharged into the River Blackwater. Magnox, which manages the Bradwell power plant site, recently announced it had recommenced the release of liquid waste into the river after an eight month break. The reason it had suspended its waste discharges for the last eight months was because of a “small” acid leak into a containment hold. Magnox received a warning letter from the Environment Agency, but stressed there was not a release of radioactivity into the environment and therefore no danger was posed to the public.
Clacton Gazette 23rd March 2015 read more »
ONR
ONR Annual Plan 2015/16. Hazard reduction and remediation at Sellafield legacy facilities is ONR’s first priority and will continue to be so for many years to come. The possible consequences of a serious accident would be extremely significant and could extend beyond the UK. The age of the facilities on site and the way in which waste has been stored do not meet modern standards. Unique challenges are therefore posed.
ONR 23rd March 2015 read more »
Nuclear Skills
A new nuclear skills college has been created to help British companies make the most of the rowing nuclear industry. Four education providers have been named as partners in the National College for Nuclear. Announcing the creation of the College Business Minister Matt Hancock said this formed a key part of the government’s strategy to address a future national skills shortage in the nuclear industry. The college is a partnership between Lakes College, Sellafield Ltd and the University of Cumbria, which will create the Northern hub and Bridgwater College, EDF Energy and University of Bristol, which will be the Southern hub. The National College for Nuclear will be a virtual college, specialising in training and development for the nuclear industry.
Western Morning News 23rd March 2015 read more »
Radwaste
Radiation Free Lakeland and others are asking: Just whose idea was it to plan to scrap democracy in order to dump nuclear wastes? Was the bright idea given to Government by the PR firm Copper Consulting? Copper Consultancy a PR firm with offices in London, Bristol, Suffolk and most recently Cumbria, told the Department of Energy and Climate Change that: “allowing local authorities to determine the outcome of a process which is designed to deliver a national Government policy may not be the most appropriate route.” This piece of work is a response to Cumbria County Council and the majority of Parish Council’s saying no to geological disposal of nuclear wastes.
Radiation Free Lakeland 23rd March 2015 read more »
World Nuclear
The much-hyped nuclear power revival was derailed by Fukushima. Four years later, nuclear is all the rage again — but challenges like safety, cost, and proliferation remain.
Foreign Policy 23rd March 2015 read more »
Scottish Energy Supply
One of Europe’s biggest coal fired power stations looks set to close after its owner Scottish Power failed to win a crucial contract from National Grid to balance demand in Scotland. National Grid confirmed today that it had awarded a £15m contract to SSE’s Peterhead gas-fired power station to provide voltage support services between April 2016 and September 2017. The deal will see Peterhead provide services before upgrades to the high-voltage transmission network are completed in 2017.Scottish Power, which was bidding for the same contract, has repeatedly threatened to close Longannet (pictured) if it did not win the contract, saying that it had exhausted all other options for keeping the plant open. It argues that the UK’s transmission charging regime, which encourages developers to invest in generation capacity close to the largest centres of population in central and southern England, discriminates against Longannet.
Business Green 23rd March 2015 read more »
Scottish Power has announced plans to close its huge coal-fired power station at Longannet in Fife early next year. The move comes after the energy firm failed to win a crucial contract from National Grid. Scottish Power said it was “extremely disappointed” at National Grid’s decision. It had previously indicated Longannet would have to shut if it lost out in a contest to help maintain voltage levels in the nation’s electricity supply. The SSE-operated gas-fired power station at Peterhead won the contract at the expense of Scottish Power and a third bidder.
BBC 23rd March 2015 read more »
STV 23rd March 2015 read more »
Guardian 23rd March 2015 read more »
Scotsman 24th March 2015 read more »
Herald 24th March 2015 read more »
Dundee Courier 24th March 2015 read more »
Murdo Fraser, the Scottish Conservative energy spokesman, said the announcement was a serious blow for the workforce and the wider economy, adding: “We have always known Longannet was going to have to close but it’s disappointing this has been brought forward.”It illustrates once again why the Scottish Government has to change tack on energy policy. The SNP is anti-fracking, anti-nuclear and obsessed with developing intermittent wind power. “This approach will have serious issues in relation to security of supply and could mean we will have to start importing power from England unless we can find a way to fill this gap.”
Telegraph 23rd March 2015 read more »
The SNP’s “obsession” with renewables helped to seal the fate of the huge Longannet power station in Fife, which is to close next year, opposition politicians claimed last night. Both Labour and the Conservatives hit out at the Scottish government’s energy policy, which is heavily weighted towards wind energy, after it emerged that the coal-fired plant was to close after losing a contract with the National Grid to Peterhead, a gas-fired power station run by SSE. Thomas Docherty, the Labour MP for Dunfermline and West Fife, said that the SNP’s infatuation with renewables had helped to drive Longannet out of the energy market. He said that the closure was “extremely disappointing”. Murdo Fraser, the Scottish Conservatives’ energy spokesman, said that the news “illustrates once again why the Scottish government has to change tack on energy policy”.
Times 24th March 2015 read more »
Tom Greatrex, the shadow energy minister, believes the Scottish Government has our energy mix wrong, leaving Scotland reliant on power from elsewhere when demand is high and the wind is not blowing. The Scottish Government and Scottish Power on the other hand blame the transmission charging regime in the UK which they say leaves Longannet having to pay more to hook up to the National Grid than other power stations of its kind in England. Neither argument is the whole truth. Mr Greatrex is right that Scotland does sometimes have to import its energy (as reported in The Herald this week, in the three years from 2012 to 2105, Scotland relied on English power on one in five days). The closure of Longannet will als o undoubtedly increase the pressure (on Boxing Day, the power station was providing 40 per cent of our electricity). But such figures have to be put in the bigger context and across the year Scotland still remains an energy exporter rather than importer. The argument that the closure is down to transmission charges, as suggested by the Scottish Government and Scottish Power, also fails to entirely stack up. Yes, the charges paid by Longannet are much higher than a power station in the south of England would pay, but the SSE-run Peterhead power station, which beat Longannet to win a National Grid contract to maintain voltage in the electricity supply, faces the same charges and many of the same economic challenges. The transmission charges have certainly not helped Longannet’s viability, but they alone do not explain why the plant is closing next year. The challenge for the Scottish Government is to develop a strategy for the years after the phasing out is complete and that will require hard decisions for a government that has imposed a moratorium on fracking and still refuses to countenance new nuclear power stations. With Longannet gone by next year and wind still not providing most of the power in Scotland, these controversial options must still be on the table as part of a balanced energy policy based on a rational mix of sources and focused on renewables. The Scottish Government is blaming transmission charges for the end of a power station, but it must now show lead ership on what happens after its closure.
Herald 24th March 2015 read more »
Richard Dixon: WITH the announcement of the closure of Longannet power station we are probably already in the final year of coal power in Scotland, with the plant expected to stop generating next March. We should celebrate the end of the coal age here, which means an end to our largest source of climate emissions, our major contribution to acid rain in Scandinavia, importing coal from dodgy foreign mines and the smog that regularly blankets the Forth Valley. In Germany the big energy companies were caught out by planning for the old ways of doing things, but with solar power starting to come in cheaper than coal they are mothballing fossil fuel power stations. With Scotland aiming for 100 per cent of the electricity we use to come from renewables by 2020, and more and more communities creating their own renewable energy schemes, we are one of the leading nations in Europe for clean energy. The government needs to work with the unions, the power industry and the oil and gas sector to plan for the changes that are coming to make sure that we manage a smooth transition from dirty energy jobs into clean energy jobs.
The National 24th March 2015 read more »
SSE’s Peterhead power station has been awarded a National Grid contract to provide peak demand back-up electricity supplies. Its gas-fired power station was selected following a competitive tendering process and its £15million contract will run from April 2016 to September 2017. The contract allows National Grid to call upon 385MW of Peterhead’s 1180MW capacity to provide voltage support. It does not prevent this capacity from business as usual participation in the electricity market.
Scottish Energy News 24th March 2015 read more »
Daily Record 23rd March 2015 read more »
An online ‘people power’ campaign aimed at setting off an ‘energy price war’ has been launched in Scotland. One Big Switch aims to harvest 20,000 members to sign up to its online campaign to then negotiate a ‘major energy user’ bulk supply discounts from Scottish Power and SSE. These discounts are then shared among the 20,000 members – potentially resulting in lower household fuel bills. Members have to register by 17 April in order to form a recognised ‘bloc’.
Scottish Energy News 24h March 2015 read more »
Japan
Japan’s Board of Audit says it could take the government up to 30 years to recoup the funds it provided to help compensate victims of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. The government issued bonds worth nine trillion yen, or about 75 billion dollars, to help the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, pay compensation. The money is mainly intended to help those who have been forced to evacuate and to cover the costs of decontamination work. The funds were given to TEPCO through the government-backed Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation. The government plans to recover the funds through an annual pay-back by TEPCO as well as contributions from other power companies, and gains on the sale of TEPCO shares owned by the government-backed organization. The Board of Audit says that if TEPCO pays back about 416 million dollars a year, the same amount as fiscal 2013, recovery would take up to 30 years, or until fiscal 2044. It says the earliest would be in 21 years, or in fiscal 2035.
NHK 23rd March 2015 read more »
Iran
The alternatives to striking a nuclear deal with Iran are not attractive, Prime Minister David Cameron warned on Monday, while saying a pact with Tehran should not be reached at any price. “Obviously we should not do a deal at any price, but I do think the alternatives to doing a deal are not alternatives that are attractive and frankly they are not attractive for Iran,” Cameron told the British parliament.
Reuters 23rd March 2015 read more »
Unable to find support from its US allies, Israel is turning to France to help head off what it sees as a bad and dangerous nuclear deal with Iran.
Guardian 23rd March 2015 read more »
Iran’s hardliners have voiced their opposition to a deal over the country’s nuclear programme, accusing the foreign minister of walking into a “trap”. As the clock ticks towards the deadline of next Tuesday for a final agreement to settle the confrontation over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, hardliners in Iran increasingly share the unease of Republicans in the US Congress. Both sides fear that their respective negotiators are giving too much away.
Telegraph 23rd March 2015 read more »
Australia
Quickly following the state government’s announcement of a Royal Commission to look at nuclear energy prospects for South Australia, an opposition senator has launched his vision for the future. If implemented, it would see the state make a technological leap to put it in front of the rest of the world in sustainability, write Ian Hore-Lacy and Ben Heard. Senator Sean Edwards has put forward a proposal for leaping boldly ahead of present nuclear power technology and utilising some of the world’s used fuel from present reactors to fuel fast reactors, via a reprocessing plant. The whole venture would be supported by relieving overseas governments of their used fuel, effectively high-level waste. South Australia would be paid to take this, and would use it to fuel next-generation reactors for power production.
World Nuclear News 23rd March 2015 read more »
Turkey
Turkey’s first nuclear power plant is unlikely to be ready before 2022, energy officials said on Monday of the $20-billion project that has been beset by regulatory hurdles and complicated by Russia’s financial woes. Dependant on imports for almost all of its energy, Turkey has embarked on an ambitious nuclear programme, commissioning Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) in 2013 to build four 1,200 megawatt (MW) reactors.
Reuters 23rd March 2015 read more »
Jordan
The Government of Jordan will sign a nuclear agreement with Russia later this month to build its first nuclear power plant. The agreement will be signed as part of the contract awarded to Russian state-owned Rosatom in October 2013 to build two nuclear reactors. The two reactors will require an investment of around $10bn, and have a total capacity of 2,000MW, The Jordan Times reported.
Energy Business Review 23rd March 2015 read more »
Nuclear Weapons
Nato’s supreme commander in Europe has accused Russia of turning up the political pressure on any country wanting to become part of the western missile shield, after Moscow threatened Denmark with nuclear weapons.
Scotland 24th March 2015 read more »
A POLISH man stole secret documents about Britain’s nuclear submarines from a neighbour and tried to sell them to his Government for £50,000, a court heard.
Express 24th March 2015 read more »
Daily Mail 24th March 2015 read more »
Guardian 23rd March 2015 read more »
Renewables – solar
A number of leading members of the Solar Trade Association (STA) – which speaks on behalf of the UK solar energy industry – have launched a new Scotland branch. STA Scotland is set to become a leading voice for solar in Scotland, advising and developing policy with the Scottish Government and raising awareness of the benefits of solar. The Solar Trade Association estimates that there are 25,000 hectares of south-facing commercial rooftops in Scotland that could be put to use to generate clean, home-grown energy. STA analysis has shown that solar panels in Glasgow generate over 90% of the energy the same number of panels would produce in London, showing how strong the case for solar is in Scotland.
Scottish Energy News 24th March 2015 read more »
Solar power could provide up to 4% of the UK’s electricity by the end of the decade, the government has said. The plummeting cost of solar panels has caused the government to revise upwards its forecast for solar energy use, Energy Secretary Ed Davey said. He said this had contributed to the government’s decision to reduce solar subsidies from this month. But the solar industry said the cuts were a mistake and would prevent it from competing with fossil fuels. Leonie Greene, said: “We need subsidies for another few years – maybe five – before we can compete with fossil fuels in the UK. Only 35% of the cost of solar is the price of the panels – the majority cost is the installation and that will only come down if we have a large and thriving competitive industry in the UK. The government’s decision to pull out subsidies is an own goal – it will delay the moment when solar can compete with fossil fuels.”
BBC 24th March 2015 read more »
Energy Efficiency
Law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn has advised the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) on the development of its new product, the Green Loan and advised the bank in relation to its first deployment of the Green Loan in the pathfinder LED street lighting project with Glasgow City Council. The Green Loan is being used to finance the first wave of the council’s plan — the replacement of 10,000 street lanterns along its main arterial roads, leading into the city – at an expected cost of £6.3 million.
Scottish Energy News 24th March 2015 read more »
BBC 23rd March 2015 read more »
Energy Storage
Heriot-Watt University and Gaia Wind – a leading Scottish manufacturer of small scale wind turbines – have teamed up to research a solution to balancing energy supply for wind power. Communities in places not connected to a grid or where the electricity grid has limited capacity face serious challenges to utilise local electricity sources effectively. Most local energy sources are variable and at the same time the local demand varies rapidly over time causing obvious balancing issues.
Scottish Energy News 24th March 2015 read more »
Fuel Poverty
The Eaga Charitable Trust is inviting grant applications for its next funding round for research into fuel poverty. The Cumbria-based Trust provides financial support for work that contributes to understanding and addressing the causes and effects of fuel poverty. It aims to promote a sound evidence base to underpin decision-making in relation to the public’s health and wellbeing and combating fuel poverty.
Scottish Energy News 24th March 2015 read more »
Carbon Capture and Storage
At least 10 European power plants were supposed to begin piping their carbon emissions into underground tombs this year, rather than letting them twirl into the sky. None has done so. Missed deadlines, squandered opportunities, spiralling costs and green protests have plagued the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology since Statoil proposed the concept more than two decades ago. But in the face of desperate global warming projections the CCS dream still unites Canadian tar sands rollers with the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and Shell with some environmentalists. In many ways, the debate over carbon capture and storage is a struggle between two competing visions of the societal transformation needed to avert climate disaster. One vision represents the enlightened self-interest of a contributor to the problem. The other cannot succeed without eliminating its highly entrenched opponent. The battle is keenly fought by technological optimists on both sides. But if Norway’s fractious CCS experience is any indicator, it will be decided on the ground by the grimmest of realities.
Guardian 23rd March 2015 read more »