Hinkley
The government’s announcement yesterday of an eye-watering £92.50 strike price is nothing more than ‘grandstanding’ according to campaigners in the south west. Nikki Clark, Stop Hinkley spokesperson said “Yesterday’s announcement was much ado over nothing and despite all the fanfare and visits of the rich and famous to Hinkley, there is no legally binding agreement, nor will there be until the government get their plans past the European Commission which, according to various media outlets, would be summer 2014 at the earliest.”
Stop Hinkley 22nd Oct 2013 read more »
A POWER company director is pleased the government has given the go-ahead for the UK’s first nuclear power station for nearly 20 years – but says even more plants are needed. Darren Pearce, managing director of Fareham-based firm Powertecnique, praised plans to build the Hinkley Point C power station in Somerset. He said: ‘We’re pleased that this deal has gone ahead as it should mean a more stable grid and is still the closest solution we have to a green solution today.
Portsmouth News 24th Oct 2013 read more »
Archaeological excavations are taking place ahead of EDF Energy’s proposed development of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C.
Somerset Standard 24th Oct 2013 read more »
Inventor Sir James Dyson has warned the West that the jobs boom from the new Hinkley Point might turn into a whimper, because Britain has a dearth of engineers able to build it. And the answer is to open up our immigration system to “the brightest and the best”, and allow top engineers from all over the world to come and study and then work in Britain, he said. In a damning critique, Sir James said there was the “systemic” problem of a skills shortage in this country, and the Government “lacks ambition” because it is having to rely on French expertise and Chinese money to get the first nuclear power station built in a generation.
Bath Chronicle 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
Gulf state funds could take a stake of up to 15 percent in French utility EDF’s 16 billion pound project to build two nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in the UK, French financial daily Les Echos reported.Without citing sources, the paper said that the sovereign wealth fund of Kuwait or Qatar’s SWF could be in the running. In 2010 the Kuwait Investment Authority paid 600 million euros (511 million pounds) for a 4.8 percent stake in French nuclear group Areva.
Reuters 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
Telegraph 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
Nuclear Subsidies
The British government’s claim that any investment in nuclear power stations will not be borne by the taxpayer were met with scepticism at a public hearing of the Environmental Audit Committee. A number of expert witnesses questioned on the topic of energy subsidies in the United Kingdom voiced their uncertainties about expanding the UK’s nuclear power sector. “This is a huge public contribution towards yesterday’s energy thinking,” said Alan Simpson, a former Labour MP. Simpson compared the government’s investment in nuclear energy to France’s construction of the Maginot Line before the Second World War as a policy which required huge investment but ultimately failed.
IB Times 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
Energy Costs
David Cameron has announced a review of green energy taxes after saying they had helped push up household bills to “unacceptable” levels.The prime minister told MPs he wanted to “roll back” environmental regulations and charges which he blamed on the last Labour government.
BBC 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
David Cameron has pledged to roll back “green charges” that add an average of £112 to energy bills, as he came under fire over Sir John Major’s call for a windfall tax on the excess profits of Britain’s big six energy companies. As Ed Miliband mocked the prime minister in the wake of Major’s call for state intervention on energy prices, Cameron announced an annual competition review to examine the cost of green regulations and the level of profits.
Guardian 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
The government is going to “roll back some of the green regulations and charges that are putting up bills”, according to David Cameron. Cameron announced a review of “green energy taxes” at today’s Prime Minister’s Question Time. But what exactly does he mean – and what might be the effect of his announcement? Ever since the Daily Mail decided to turn its fire on ‘green taxes’ back in June 2011. But it became more politically significant when Ed Milband’s proposal at the Labour Party conference to impose a temporary freeze on household energy bills attracted popular support. Labour’s move is widely perceived to have put the Conservatives onto the back foot, and has certainly catapulted energy policy to the very centre of the political debate. In recent weeks energy companies have announced significant price increases, often laying the blame on government levies. It’s been headline news, creating more pressure on politicians. Cameron’s suggestion today that by cutting the levies government could bring down consumer bills is a response to that pressure. But it may also reflect political infighting between coalition partners – the Liberal Democrats have been very supportive of the government’s green agenda.
Carbon Brief 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
The Liberal Democrats have accused David Cameron of making a “panicky U-turn” after he announced a review of green energy taxes. The prime minister said household bills were at “unacceptable levels” and promised to “roll back” regulations introduced by Labour. But a senior Lib Dem source said Mr Cameron had got “cold feet” on environmental policy promises.
BBC 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
David Cameron promised yesterday to cut green levies that have increased energy bills to “a completely unacceptable level”, in a move that stunned his coalition partners. The Prime Minister told Nick Clegg half an hour before revealing that he was committed to reducing the burden of environmental levies on household gas and electricity bills. With the Liberal Democrats implacably opposed to removing green charges from consumers’ bills, senior government sources suggested that some would be paid for out of general taxation instead.
Times 24th Oct 2013 read more »
Energy companies are blaming a chunk of bill increases on government measures aimed at supporting energy efficiency and renewable power: so-called ‘green’ charges. So how much do green charges add to energy bills? It turns out that the power companies and official estimates disagree. DECC’s data on ECO suggests some companies are delivering on ECO more effectively than others. This could mean that costs rise for some companies, but not for others. The government hasn’t yet released any data on how much it thinks government levies will add to bills overall over the next twelve months. Given David Cameron’s announcement this morning that the government intends to review the tariffs, perhaps it isn’t going to. The main point of contention is between the energy companies – who say that green measures will add up to £50 over the next year – and the Committee on Climate Change, which says the figure is just £10.
Carbon Brief 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
There are various initiatives that are paid for through household bills, costing people around £112 of an average £1,267 annual bill. Schemes that help pay for windfarms, solar panels and other renewable energy cost around £53 a year, while other programmes to help poor and vulnerable customers cost around £58 a year. Are there any new schemes in the pipeline? Yes, the main one is to help pay for the cost of nuclear power and backup electricity generation under the coalition’s electricity market reforms package. This will put an extra £47 on household bills in 2020 and £114 in 2030 (again, this does not take into account reduced energy usage).
Guardian 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
The past few months have been dominated by a debate over energy prices, with all the political parties coming up with ideas to try to bring them down. The prime minister has announced a review into how the government’s climate change policies – so-called green levies or taxes – affect bills and whether they are delivering value for money. But what exactly are these green taxes and how do they affect our bills?
BBC 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
The UK government has hailed its nuclear power agreement with French and Chinese companies as a big win for Britain. But with a strike price at almost twice the current energy costs, is it really a good deal for consumers? Reaction to the Hinkley announcement has effectively split down old anti/pro nuclear lines. But on the mercenary issue of energy prices and whether this represents good value for consumers, the debate seems to have turned against the government. Ed Davey has asserted that by 2030 the consumer will be saving up to £77/year because of a battery of British-based, foreign-funded nuclear plants. This is a deal in which only the taxpayer can lose. If the figures are right, it will be remembered as a bold national investment. But there is a general feeling that locking Britain into a massive long-term agreement with EdF is an unpredictable wager with taxpayers’ money. The figures rely on a number of questionable assumptions. Because of the unquantifiable risks of major disaster, nuclear should always be second-preference to renewable energy unless it can offer a compelling economic argument. There is conjecture on whether this is ever possible. But even with an open mind I can’t see how this particular deal can be a good one for Britons.
Guardian 21st Oct 2013 read more »
Environmental groups have declared their intention to campaign against a renewal of the UK civil nuclear power programme. Though there has been controversy within the movement in recent years, some of the largest green advocacy groups continue to maintain that the evidence shows nuclear power to be both dangerous and uneconomic. Commenting on the agreement this week of a ‘strike price’ for the electricity generated by nuclear power, Friends of the Earth’s Policy and Campaigns Director Craig Bennett said: “With rocketing gas prices sending fuel bills soaring and fresh warnings over climate change, investment in low-carbon power is crucial – but nuclear power isn’t the answer.” Bennett continued: “The quickest way to end our costly fossil fuel dependency is though energy efficiency and renewable power, not new reactors that will suck up precious investment and take years to complete. “Investment in German renewables has led to a massive fall in the wholesale cost of electricity. The Government should be following this example, instead of locking the UK into costly nuclear power for decades.
Ekklesia 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
ScottishPower has taunted ministers over the threat to levy a windfall tax on energy company profits after making a loss this year, which it blamed on having to fund the Government’s expanding social and environmental programmes. Sir John Major, the former Prime Minister, urged the Government this week to levy a windfall tax on the industry, using the proceeds to help the most vulnerable to pay their energy bills. However, Keith Anderson, the chief corporate officer of ScottishPower, hit back, asking: “How do you put a windfall tax on a business which is losing money? What is it you’re taxing?
Times 24th Oct 2013 read more »
It may be true that the Prime Minister is in the invidious position of feeling pressed to match a proposal that, while superficially appealing, is both ineffectual and outright damaging. Nor was he helped by John Major’s surprise recommendation of a windfall tax, a plan hardly less harmful than Labour’s. Even so, Mr Cameron’s was a deeply unimpressive performance. Worst of all, he responded by dropping a half-formed policy bombshell of his own. In this, sad to say, he has some form. At PMQs a year ago, almost to the day, the Prime Minister stated his intention to force utilities to put customers on the best possible tariff – a plan that was both news to the Energy Secretary and soon revealed as merely an appropriation of existing policy exaggerated beyond recognition (and reality). This time around, the incarnadine Mr Cameron sounded the death knell of his once-vaunted green Conservatism and announced a review of the environmental levies added to energy bills. Expect the promised “roll back” in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement in early December.
Independent 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
Sir John Major has hit some raw nerves in the UK government with his comments on “lace curtain poverty” and the harsh impact of rising energy bills. But to pin the blame on the energy companies is wrong and runs the risk of making a bad situation worse. The former British prime minister alleges that the companies – unnamed but presumably the utilities and the suppliers of raw materials to those utilities – are profiteering. I hope he will show us all the detailed evidence. If that evidence exists, and if there is a cartel of any sort, it is a matter for Her Majesty’s constabulary.
FT 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
Major energy suppliers have welcomed the Prime Minister’s pledge of an annual review of competition in the market, claiming it would help to restore trust. Suppliers also backed the announcement of a review into “green taxes” on bills – which they have blamed for recent price rises – despite warnings from the green power sector that the Prime Minister’s comments risked “severely undermining investor confidence”.
Telegraph 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
DAVID Cameron has “lost control” of the UK Government, Ed Miliband claimed, after the biggest economic row of the Lib-Con Coalition broke out in public. Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, openly warned the Prime Minister not to undermine the Liberal Democrats’ commitment to Britain’s environment after Mr Cameron pledged to “roll back” green taxes. Downing Street made clear the PM was “determined to do what he can as quickly as possible” to cut green levies, which in turn would reduce household energy bills. An announcement is due in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement in December.
Herald 24th Oct 2013 read more »
Energy Bill
Letter Green & Development NGOs: At next Monday’s vote on the Energy Bill, we urge peers to support Lord Oxburgh’s amendments, which would set a power sector decarbonisation target in 2014 in line with the Climate Change Committee’s advice. The Bill currently fails to set any target or provide the long-term pathway that investors and businesses have demanded from the Government. With the effects of climate change already being felt by the world’s poorest communities and wildlife, the UK must remain serious about its climate commitments. A target set now would ensure the most cost-effective route to a secure, affordable and low-carbon future.
Times 24th Oct 2013 read more »
Scotland
Letter: Brian Wilson is correct in saying that in making a deal with the French EDF and their Chinese partners, we are paying the price for our own stupidity. I hope a Scottish Government will bring forward proposals for a more modern type of nuclear reactor than proposed for Hinkley Point, capable of using as fuel our own and some of the UK’s so-called nuclear waste.
Scotsman 24th Oct 2013 read more »
Nuclear Research
Roger Cashmore’s three-week schedule of the Far East took in no less than five research institutes and two energy conferences, as well as a series of meetings with fusion and fission experts in China and Japan. The UK Atomic Energy Authority recently signed Memoranda of Understanding with four Chinese research institutes, and Professor Cashmore travelled to the cities of Chengdu and Hefei to see the projects at each of them, talk to senior scientists and give lectures on the status of UK fusion research.
UKAEA 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
Energy Markets
An attempt to fix a “totally collapsed” energy policy in Britain is doomed to failure without measures to restructure the market at European level, according to a leading energy consultant. Paul Hunt, a former corporate economist for the Irish gas board, said David Cameron’s decision to call for a proper competition test was little more than a face-saving gesture that would only scratch the surface of a far deeper problem. “The European Union’s liberalised energy market model is failing, and Britain’s privatised, liberalised model which pioneered key aspects of the EU’s flawed process is on the point of total collapse since it has lost any vestige of popular support it once might have had,” said Hunt, who has done work for some of the big UK power companies. He said a restructuring of the gas and electricity industries across Europe was required at a time when the big six suppliers in the UK – four of them based on the continent – now faced financial problems after years of “making hay”.
Guardian 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
China
China is heading for a nuclear accident if it continues with current construction plans, says former state nuclear physicist and prominent critic He Zuoxiu. Some members of the nuclear power industry rely too much on theoretical calculations, when only experience can provide real accuracy. The lifetime of nuclear reactors is calculated in “reactor-years”. One reactor year means one reactor operating for one year. The world’s 443 nuclear power plants have been running for a total of 14,767 reactor-years, during which time there have been 23 accidents involving a reactor core melting. That’s one major accident every 624 reactor years. But according to the design requirements, an accident of that scale should only happen once every 20,000 reactor years. The actual incidence is 32 times higher than the theory allows. China is projected to have 71 nuclear power stations by 2020. If we use the figure of 4,922 reactor-years as explained above, then China will “most probably” suffer a major nuclear accident within the next 69 years.
China Dialogue 19th March 2013 read more »
Japan
Fukushima crisis update 19th to 22nd Oct. With another typhoon expected to hit Japan this weekend, TEPCO are no closer to solving the contaminated water crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Protective barriers around 11 storage areas at the site failed to contain contaminated water after heavy rainfall brought by last week’s Typhoon No 26. TEPCO’s forecast of rainfall of between 30 and 40 millimeters were proved wrong when 120 millimeters fell on the damaged reactors on October 21. The barriers were already full of rainwater and pumping equipment was not up to the task of clearing it. TEPCO do not know whether any of the contaminated water has reached the sea and the total amount of water that escaped in unknown. The company has now promised to install extra pumping capacity before Typhoon No. 27 arrives.
Greenpeace 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
A series of accidents at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has chipped away at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s credibility, making it likely that the government will have to step in further. Yet in the end, argues the FT’s Asia Editor David Pilling, Japan’s long-term power deficit makes it likely that more of the country’s nuclear power plants will be switched back on.
FT 24th Oct 2013 read more »
Germany
Germany is racing past 20% renewable energy on its electricity grid, but news stories stridently warn that this new wind and solar power is costing “billions.” But often left out is the overwhelming popularity of the country’s relentless focus on energy change (energiewende).
Clean Technica 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
Eastern Europe
Countries in Central and Eastern Europe are turning towards nuclear power for their future energy needs. Hungary is planning to expand its 30-year-old Paks power plant.
Deutsche Welle 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
Ireland
Ireland should consider using nuclear power to generate electricity before Moneypoint power station reaches capacity in 2025, an Oireachtas committee has heard. Nuclear energy would be a clean, safe, and cost effective means of generating electricity, representatives from Better Environment with Nuclear Energy (BENE) told members of the Transport and Communications Committee this afternoon. BENE’s Denis Duff said Ireland needed to start looking for alternatives to Moneypoint power station, which is capable of generating about 25 per cent of the country’s consumer electricity demand . He argued that wind and wave energy was unsuitable to cater for baseload requirements because it is intermittent and “likely to be very expensive”. He added that gas energy, while suitable, was “not as clean as many people think”, releasing about 40 to 60 per cent of the emissions as coal.
Irish Times 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
Iran
US and Israeli officials have publicly differed over Iran’s nuclear programme as Israel called for its effective dismantlement and the US suggested safeguards could show it was peaceful rather than military.
Herald 24th Oct 2013 read more »
Telegraph 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
Nuclear Weapons
US Air Force officers entrusted with the launch keys to long-range nuclear missiles have been caught twice this year leaving open a blast door that is intended to help prevent a terrorist or other intruder from entering their underground command post, Air Force officials said.
Guardian 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
Huffington Post 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
Climate
According to the IPCC’s calculations, 800 billion tonnes is the maximum amount of carbon we can release through carbon dioxide emissions to still have a 66 per cent chance of limiting warming to two degrees – a probability the IPCC terms “likely”. This budget allows for some additional warming to come from emissions other than carbon dioxide, including methane, CFCs, ozone, nitrous oxide and black carbon. Carbon dioxide emissions over the industrial era have put about 531 billion tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere – which means we’ve already ‘spent’ about two thirds of the budget. If emissions were to continue at current levels, the remaining budget – about 270 billion tonnes – would be exhausted in about 25 years.
Carbon Brief 23rd Oct 2013 read more »
