Sellafield
The first radioactive sludge has been removed at Sellafield nuclear reprocessing site in the UK, marking a major step forward in its clean-up. Around 1,500 cubic meters of radioactive sludge will be emptied from First Generation Magnox Storage Pond (FGMSP), which was constructed to store, cool and prepare used Magnox nuclear fuel for recycling into new fuel. The sludge has to be carefully removed, while leaving the water in place to provide a radioactive shield for the stored nuclear fuel.
Energy Business Review 24th March 2015 read more »
AP1000
Arnie Gundersen: My week in the UK was exciting and full of surprises. I spoke to hundreds of people in London and Cumbria who are committed to a new energy future for Europe. They know that the dated model of big business centralized electricity production is ending, and they see a clean, disaster free viable alternative in locally distributed generation. Still, it seems that the established British utilities are so fixated on nuclear power that they just offered to charge their customers twice the current market price for electricity for the next 35-years, so that a French nuclear company could build a fancy and untried new nuclear design at Hinkley Point. The United Kingdom is anything but united when it comes to how it will produce electricity in the 21st century! Three new AP1000 reactors are proposed to be built in Cumbria within sight of “Cockcroft’s Folly”. Since 2010, I have repeatedly said that the AP1000 design suffers the same design flaw as the old Windscale reactor. Like Sir John, I believe that filters must be added to the top of the AP1000 shield building to prevent huge amounts of radiation from being released during a meltdown. I call this problem “the chimney effect” and wrote a paper about it entitled “ Nuclear Containment Failures- Ramifications for the AP1000 Containment Design”. The Independent, a major newspaper in the UK, courageously wrote about my concerns with the headline: Nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen warns of ‘Chernobyl on steroids’ risk in UK from proposed Cumbria plant .
Fairwinds 19th March 2015 read more »
Letter in Keswick Reminder: two main Speakers, Dr Ian Fairlie and Arnie Gundersen, put forward some very disturbing facts that should support our community in Cumbria being wary of contemplating the radio-active substances on its doorstop. I’d previously been led to believe that the radiation level was minimal – even when accidents did occur – but hearing the data on child leukaemia and how vulnerable the Japanese were, after the tsunami hit their nuclear plant, I don’t think anyone should be complacent burying nuclear waste anywhere.
Radiation Free Lakeland 24th March 2015 read more »
Radwaste
ALL MPs whether pro or anti nuclear should be interested in keeping the established planning powers of their local authorities. Please ask, tweet, email, ring your MP to FIND THE PINK SLIP IN THEIR VOTING BUNDLE AND VOTE NO Wednesday 25th 2015. 2.30pm . There’s no debate and it is assumed MPs AGREE with passing this planning power for a dump to the Secretary unless they go and use their pink voting slip which means NO.
Radiation Free Lakeland 24th March 2015 read more »
The US Energy Department will seek interim storage facilities for commercial nuclear waste and a permanent geologic repository for radioactive material from the country’s nuclear weapons programme, energy secretary Ernest Moniz said on 24 March. The announcement follows more than three decades of contentious debate about a planned geologic repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The Department of Energy (DOE) halted work on that project in 2010 due to political opposition in the state. The department is now pursuing a “consent-based” approach designed to build support at the local and state levels before new waste facilities are designated.
Nature 24th March 2015 read more »
Waste Transport
Track vulnerable to waves, landslides and storms includes sections that carry nuclear waste to Sellafield in Cumbria and from Wylfa in north Wales, says author of a new book on UK coastal railways. Hundreds of miles of railway lines around Britain’s coast are becoming increasingly vulnerable to waves, landslides and storms triggered by climate pollution, an expert has warned. Professor Robert Duck from the University of Dundee says that numerous sections of railway in Wales, Cumbria, Devon and elsewhere are at risk of being washed away because they skirt so close to the sea. Three lines had to close in 2014 after being damaged by waves, most memorably at Dawlish on the south coast of Devon where the track was left hanging in mid-air. Trains on some of the vulnerable coastal tracks carry nuclear waste to the Sellafield nuclear complex in Cumbria and from the Wylfa nuclear site in north Wales. They are also vital lifelines for hundreds of communities.
Guardian 24th March 2015 read more »
Energy Costs
The cost of funding government environmental levies will continue to rise according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Programmes such as the Renewables Obligation, Contracts for Difference and Feed in Tariffs cost a total of £3.1bn in the year 2013-14, adding roughly £89 to the typical customer’s annual energy bill. However, according to the OBR’s projections this will increase to £9.4bn by 2019-20 – more than doubling the impact on consumers and pushing the annual cost north of £220 per customer.
Scottish Energy News 24th March 2015 read more »
A Labour victory would wipe up to £10 billion off the combined value of Centrica and SSE, Britain’s two biggest quoted energy companies, analysts have warned. In Deutsche Bank’s worst-case scenario, an Ed Miliband-led government would reduce the value of Centrica, which owns British Gas, by up to 41 per cent and that of SSE by 34 per cent. The bank’s analysts have advised clients to sell shares in Centrica, abandoning their previous “hold” recommendation, because the election looked too close to call. Labour has promised a two-year price freeze on energy bills, something that npower – Centrica and SSE’s German-owned rival – has said has deterred the industry from cutting prices as wholesale costs fall. Critics of Labour’s policy say that the uncertainty makes investment in energy generation riskier and more costly.
Times 25th March 2015 read more »
Energy Security
Scottish Renewables’ chief executive Niall Stuart has condemned National Grid’s transmission charges as ‘ludicrously punitive’ following the news that Longannet power station is to shut. While some green groups, such as WWF Scotland, have welcomed the news that Scotland’s most polluting power station is to close, Stuart instead fears it will damage the UK’s energy security. “Instead of having Longannet make a fair and reasonable contribution to the overhead of running our electricity network, we now have a situation where National Grid will have to pay another power plant to fill the gap left behind.” “Scottish Renewables has long campaigned for a fairer transmission charging regime to reduce the gulf in charges for energy projects on the Scottish mainland compared to those paid south of the border. “All generators understand that they have to make a fair and reasonable contribution to the overhead of the national grid, but it seems incredible that we are allowing these charges to undermine the economics of an existing power station at a time when we barely have enough capacity to meet the UK’s electricity needs over coming winters.”
Edie 24th March 2015 read more »
DEPUTY First Minister John Swinney has called for reform of the UK’s “fundamentally flawed” transmission charging regime after it was announced that Longannet power station is likely to close early next year. Operator Scottish Power said yesterday that the coal-fired plant in Fife will “in all likelihood” close by March 2016 after losing out on a short-term National Grid contract. Neil Clitheroe, chief executive of Scottish Power retail and generation, said the current transmission charging regime was a “major barrier” to any future investment in thermal power generation in Scotland.
Scotsman 25th March 2015 read more »
Scotland
A new report published today by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) concludes that Scotland has continued to make good progress towards meeting ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but that the Scottish Government will need to strengthen key policies to meet future targets.
Committee on Climate Change 24th March 2015 read more »
Business Green 24th March 2015 read more »
Guardian 24th March 2015 read more »
Nuclear Skills
Attrition rates in the UK’s ageing nuclear workforce are “high and growing” with more than 8,000 new employees a year needed every year for the next six years if the country’s ambitious new-build programme is to succeed, a government report says. The report, ‘Sustaining Our Nuclear Skills’, warns of “substantial challenges” that must be overcome if the UK is to meet its targets for new nuclear reactors and the decommissioning of redundant ones. It says the nuclear industry’s own research forecasts that the workforce must grow by 4,700 people a year over the next six years. But over the same period 3,900 people a year are expected to leave the sector, mostly due to retirement. This means that the sector must recruit 8,600 people every year. The report says that for the first time in decades, the UK’s nuclear sector is set to expand. The government has begun an ambitious programme to build up to five or more civil nuclear reactors by 2030, while at the same time carrying out a large programme of decommissioning work. Over almost the same period, the Ministry of Defence will develop the Successor nuclear submarine class. These programmes, coupled with the UK’s extensive existing nuclear operations, will drive an expansion of the nuclear workforce from 70,000 to 98,000 by 2021.
Nucnet 24th March 2015 read more »
World Nuclear
The World Nuclear Association figures there are over 45 countries actively looking to embark on nuclear power programs. They range from first-world economies to developing nations, with Iran’s program being the most advanced. Here are seven that the World Nuclear Association considers to be the next junior members of the world nuclear power club: UAE; Turkey; Lithuania; Belarus; Poland; Vietnam; Bangladesh.
Oil Price 24th March 2015 read more »
If nuclear power is going to succeed in the 21st century, there will need to be major innovations in controlling costs and enhancing safety. The generation of nuclear reactors constructed in the 1970’s and 1980’s are showing their age. In just the past week, several U.S. reactors faced some equipment problems, forcing them to shut down. The Fermi 2 nuclear power plant outside of Detroit was taken offline after a water leak on March 19. The Oyster Creek nuclear plant in New Jersey was forced to temporarily shut down due to an electrical problem. These problems are minor, to be sure, but illustrate some of the issues plaguing America’s nuclear fleet, the world’s largest. Tougher safety standards are raising costs of compliance. Japan is weighing a return to nuclear power after shuttering more than 50 nuclear reactors after Fukushima. But four Japanese utilities decided earlier this month to permanently decommission a total of five older reactors after the costs of making safety upgrades were deemed to be too high.
Oil Price 24th March 2015 read more »
Nuclear’ has become a dirty word, and understandably so when applied to weapons but less so when applied to energy. There are arguments that can be made to justify the latter view, of course. PFZW does not invest in any company associated with nuclear power because of concerns over possible links with nuclear weapons and the issues over dealing with radioactive waste. Even countries can choose to damn the concept. Germany closed all its nuclear power stations following the Fukushima disaster. Yet the biggest existential issue facing the world is global warming caused by the build-up of carbon dioxide, primarily from the generation of power. Alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and tidal do not appear to have the capacity to be able to supplant completely the carbon dioxide-producing fossil fuels, or even make a major dent in their usage.
IPE 24th March 2015 read more »
Japan
For the past three years, all Chika Akimoto wanted to do was to hang out with kids of her age at school. But that didn’t happen. Instead, she was the sole pupil at Kawauchi Elementary School here through the fourth to sixth grades. On March 23, the 12-year-old graduated to move on to the next stage in her education. She will be attending Kawauchi Junior High School from April, but that, too, will be a lonely experience as she will be the only first-year student there. This village had a population of around 3,000 people prior to the triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in March 2011. Everybody evacuated, and relatively few residents returned.
Asahi Shimbun 24th March 2015 read more »
Germany
A report commissioned by the German Government showed that energy companies will not be able to handle costs associated with the planned closure of nuclear reactors in the country by 2022. Major power utilities, including E.ON, RWE, EnBW and Vattenfall have set aside around $42bn in provisions for early decommissioning of the facilities. The report by law firm Becker Buettner Held recommended part of the provisions to be taken over by the government in order to avoid a burden on taxpayers. Reuters cited the report as saying: “A long-term financing need cannot be guaranteed by leaving the funds with the operators.”
Energy Business Review 24th March 2015 read more »
Hungary
Hungary has reached an agreement with the Euratom Supply Agency (ESA) regarding Russia’s planned supply of nuclear fuel for the country’s Paks power plant, the prime minister’s chief of staff, Janos Lazar, told national news agency MTI late on Tuesday. The European Commission will also soon approve the fuel agreement, Lazar said after talks in Brussels with the EU’s Commissioner for Climate and Energy, Miguel Arias Canete. Under the agreement, Russia will supply fuel for the plant for the first 10 years, Lazar said.
Reuters 25th March 2015 read more »
Iran/Israel
ISRAEL has denied claims that it spied on Iran’s nuclear talks with the United States in a bid to scupper a deal. The Wall Street Journal first reported the claims from unnamed current and former US officials who said the spying operation was intended to help build a case against a deal. However, an Israeli official immediately branded the ¬reports “utterly false”.
Scotsman 25th March 2015 read more »
Independent 24th March 2015 read more »
Telegraph 24th March 2015 read more »
Daily Mail 24th March 2015 read more »
The microwave radiation from spies was so intense that delegates had to walk some distance from where the talks were being held to use their mobile phone.
Guardian 24th March 2015 read more »
Nuclear Weapons
The UK’s Trident nuclear missile system has the power of 1,500 Hiroshima bombs, writes Angie Zelter – and to use it would be a monstrous and probably suicidal crime against humanity. Should we spend £130 billion renewing it? Or on schools, hospitals, libraries, social care and cycleways? The inspiring ActionAWE campaign is waking people up to the choice we face.
Ecologist 24th March 2015 read more »
Trident
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament said a survey of 500 candidates from parties including the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Greens, SNP and Plaid Cymru, showed overwhelming opposition to renewing the nuclear deterrent. CND said opposition to spending tens of billions of pounds for new nuclear weapons was increasing among candidates across the political spectrum.
Herald 25th March 2015 read more »
Renewables – heat pumps
More than one million homes across Britain could be heated using green Scandinavian-style technology that takes heat from nearby rivers and canals and pumps it into the home, the Government will announce today. The Energy Secretary Ed Davey is to leading a new drive to promote water-source heat pumps – carbon-free devices that extract thermal energy from waterways to heat water for radiators and showers. He has identified more than 4,041 rivers, estuaries, coastal sites and canals containing water warm and accessible enough to heat homes. More than one million homes are close enough to water to make use of the devices – with hotspots including buildings around the River Ouse in Selby, the River Trent in Nottingham and the Thames in London. Installing a water source heat pump reduces the need for dirty gas-fired domestic heating, and could allow the average household to reduce its carbon footprint by as much as 50 per cent.
Independent 25th March 2015 read more »
Renewable Investment
A row has broken out over the level of investment in clean energy during parliament’s last term between Ed Davey, the secretary of state for energy and climate change, and Labour’s shadow environment secretary Caroline Flint. At the Greener Britain Hustings last night Flint asked Davey to explain how 2014 investment in renewables was at the same level as it was in 2009, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (NEF), to which Davey replied (twice) “You’re just completely wrong”. Davey spoke about a new DECC (Department of Energy and Climate Change) report which shows over £40bn invested in low carbon energy investment since 2010. He insisted this would prove that the figures Labour are using are “completely false”. Davey recently said the government’s boost to renewables fulfilled the “greenest government ever” promise.
Energy Desk 24th March 2015 read more »
The value of so called “green bonds” to finance environmentally sustainable energy and transport projects is expected to tripple to around $100bn (£67bn) this year spurred on by demand from Chinese investors. Stephen Williams, head of capital financing in Asia at HSBC expects green bonds to increasingly be used by Beijing to help finance the construction of more renewable energy in the world’s second-largest economy and a transition towards more environmentally sustainable growth.
Telegraph 24th March 2015 read more »
Fossil Fuels
The UK fracking industry needs a new regulator to give the public more confidence in the fledgling sector, an industry-backed body has concluded. Current regulation, involving a number of government departments, is “complex and relatively unapproachable”, says a report by the Task Force on Shale Gas. It said a new regulator should independently monitor fracking sites.
BBC 25th March 2015 read more »
The former chief of the Environment Agency is “hugely sceptical” on the prospects of fracking for shale oil in the UK, saying it is far from clear that the process should be used to extract quantities of oil from downlands in the south-east of England. Lord Smith of Finsbury, better known as Chris Smith when he was a Labour MP and minister, said: “The environmental case for shale oil is much more adverse than for shale gas. It’s much more difficult to make the case for shale oil.” Smith chairs the taskforce on shale gas, an independent group funded by fracking companies to examine how shale gas exploration should be overseen, which on Wednesday advocated that a new single regulator should be put in charge of all inland gas and oil extraction in the UK, whether from shale fracking or other methods.
Guardian 25th March 2015 read more »
