Hinkley
Austria’s environment minister would back legal steps to annul any European Union decision to clear British plans to build a nuclear plant with French utility EDF. The project at Hinkley Point in southwest England is crucial for Britain’s plan to replace a fifth of its ageing nuclear power and coal plants over the coming decade. France sees it as a major export contract that will boost its nuclear industry. A European Commission official said earlier this week that EU state aid regulators would clear the plan to build the 16 billion pound ($26 billion) plant. However, Britain’s plans are divisive within the European Union. Britain wants to offer EDF a guaranteed power price of 92.50 pounds ($151.3) per megawatt-hour for 35 years, more than twice the current market rate. Critics say Britain’s plans would distort competition. A group of more than 20 academics, politicians and renewable energy officials has written to the Commission warning it is likely to face legal action for rushing through the decision.
Daily Mail 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Austrians look set to launch a legal challenge to the planned new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset if European Commissioners approve the project. Opponents to the deal argued it could break rules on state aid. The deal is expected to be approved by the college of commissioners in the next couple of weeks. But it is argued that European targets for renewable energy will be compromised if Britain’s planned new generation of eight nuclear plants goes ahead.
Western Daily Press 26th Sept 2014 read more »
Main construction work on the UK’s first nuclear power plant in a generation could begin as early as December, Building can reveal. Contractors delivering the civils packages on EDF’s £16bn Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant project are being told to prepare to start on site in December this year, according to market sources. The news comes as the European Commission (EC) announced it was set to approve a deal between the developer and the UK government on how the project will be funded. Building understands firms appointed to the project are being told the developer will make a “broad” final investment decision in November, after the project receives approval from the EC, which is expected next month. Sources close to the project said firms building the plant were being told to prepare to start on site in the South-west in December.
Building 26th Sept 2014 read more »
Green MEP for the South West Molly Scott-Cato to meet with Stop Hinkley and Green Campaigners at Hinkley Point on Friday 26th September in an urgent call to the EU. Responding to leaked reports, that the £16bn Hinkley Point project is on the verge of getting the green light after a spokesman for EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said on Monday that Brussels will “propose . . . to take a positive decision in this case”, Somerset campaigners will demonstrate at Hinkley Point this Friday. Across Europe there has been great dismay about the anticipated decision, Austria has announced that it will launch a fresh legal challenge if the European Commission approves Britain’s plan to build the new nuclear plant and other European countries are likely to follow suit.
Stop Hinkley 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Hunterston
NORTH Ayrshire Council will seek to block plans to allow Hunterston B nuclear power station to receive and store radioactive waste from other nuclear power plants. The Council’s Cabinet agreed on Tuesday to respond to a Scottish Environnment Protection Agency consultation on the proposals by objecting to them on the grounds they are contrary to the Scottish Government’s policy of disposing of radioactive waste ‘near site and near surface’. A report presented to the Cabinet also highlighted concerns about lack of information provided in the consultation process about receipt of Intermediate Level Waste material on site at Hunterston, and the transfer of material off site to other locations. The council has written to the Office for Nuclear Regulation requesting further information but so far has not received a reply. The report states: “No details have been provided regarding the likely transport movements of the waste material (mode, frequency) and the associated safety measures in place to ensure safe passage.“The proposals may lead to increased road vehicle movements to and from the Hunterston B site, to the potential detriment of the local road network.
Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald 25th Sept 2014 read more »
A LOCAL authority is attempting to block an energy giant’s plan to increase the amount of radioactive waste it can move in and out of its Scottish plants because it fears the area could become a “nuclear dump”. The Scottish Government has said that long-term management of higher-activity radioactive waste should be in near-surface facilities, as near as ¬possible to the site where the waste is produced. North Ayrshire Council has said the application, if allowed, would go against the national policy. Pete Roche, an Edinburgh-based energy consultant and a former Government radiation adviser, has backed the council’s stance. He said: “What they want to do is move waste back and forwards between Torness and Hunterston so they can fill up containers that wouldn’t fill up quickly enough otherwise. “It seems to me that it would mean introducing a new risk that they don’t need to put up with. “The community around Hunterston do not want waste brought in from elsewhere, and I think technically, this would allow them to bring waste from areas other than Torness.” The type of waste covered by the application would not be spent nuclear fuel, but intermediate level waste could include items that had been in direct contact with such material. “It’s pretty hazardous stuff they’re talking about,” Mr Roche added. “There are many different types of intermediate waste and it’s not clear what would happen if there was an accident with it, but if it did happen, I certainly wouldn’t want to be around the corner.”
Herald 26th Sept 2014 read more »
Electricity Demand
The UK’s demand for electricity is falling and generation is becoming less carbon intensive, new government statistics show. The Department of Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC)quarterly energy statistics show gas partially replaced coal power between May and July this year. Low carbon energy sources such as wind, solar and nuclear generated almost five per cent more electricity than in the same three months last year, the data shows.
Carbon Brief 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Nuclear Status
Nuclear energy is growing around the world. About 70 new reactors are under construction worldwide (NEI), with more than 600 others planned by mid-century. Five reactors are under construction in the United States. On the other hand, nuclear weapon states have declined slightly in the last twenty-five years (see figure below). Several old players have dropped their nuclear weapons programs or given their weapons back to Russia, including South Africa, Kazakhstan, Belarus and the Ukraine. The latter now regrets that decision very much.
Forbes 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Three years after Japan closed all of its nuclear plants in the wake of the Fukushima meltdown and Germany shut its industry, developing countries are leading the biggest construction boom in more than two decades. Almost two-thirds of the 70 reactors currently under construction worldwide, the most since 1989, are located in China, India, and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region. Countries including Egypt, Bangladesh, Jordan and Vietnam are considering plans to build their first nuclear plants, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance in London. Developed countries are building nine plants, 13 percent of the total.
Bloomberg 26th Sept 2014 read more »
Nuclear Waste
Anti-nuclear campaigners are protesting outside Chester Railway Station this Saturday over concerns about trains carrying highly-radioactive used fuel rods within feet of passengers. Close Capenhurst group says these trains regularly travel through Chester en route to Sellafield in Cumbria and claim flasks containing the radioactive waste leak low level radiation, which could be harmful, especially to children. The group has highlighted a YouTube video which shows one of the trains passing under a footbridge near Chester station as a mother pushes a pushchair directly above one of the nuclear flasks.
Chester Chronicle 24th Sept 2014 read more »
Nuclear Decommissioning
The UK government has arranged a web-conference for UK companies that specialise in the nuclear sector. It will provide an overview of the commercial opportunities in waste management and decommissioning in Emerging Europe. The Emerging Europe region comprises nine markets and 110 million consumers (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia), offering a range of business opportunities across a wide number of sectors. The region offers a number of decommissioning and waste management opportunities worth an estimated £3.4 billion. The markets are low-risk, close to home and all offer considerable long-term growth potential for UK businesses.
Scottish Energy News 26th Sept 2014 read more »
Decommissioning means Dispersal to the Environment. Decommissioning should mean CONTAINMENT of the waste on the existing site. The industry is already sending radioactive scrap metal to Studsvik, the radioactive scrap metal dealers in Lillyhall, Cumbria and now they want to send even higher activity radioactivity scrap metal, the really nasty stuff, intermediate level. This is an area of Cumbria that was previously clear of nuclear Crapola. It is way past time to Lock the Gate on Nuclear.
Radiation Free Lakeland 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Nuclear Skills
Bristol University will create a new hub for nuclear energy research and education for the south of England after securing £2.4m from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). The hub will support the training of the next generation of nuclear engineers through the development of a Masters programme. It follows on from the university’s Bristol-Oxford Nuclear Research Centre (NRC), which was formed in 2011. The university has also invested more than £5m in the project, with the facility set to open in early 2016.
Insider Media 26th Sept 2014 read more »
Europe
Europe should only push ahead with its planned cuts to carbon emissions if the rest of the world agrees to a global climate change deal at a crunch summit in Paris next year, according to the EU’s energy chief. Next month, EU leaders are expected to sign off on a package of targets for 2030 that will include a 40% cut in Europe’ emissions, legally enforceable Europe-wide targets of a 27% market share of renewables, and 30% improvement in energy efficiency. But Europe only accounts for around 10% of global emissions, and industry leaders have complained bitterly that emissions-cutting obligations will hurt their competitiveness if other regions do not follow suit.
Guardian 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Japan
A new system being considered by the government to guarantee a certain price for electricity generated by nuclear power — even after the retail sale of power is deregulated — would amount to the subsidization of nuclear energy by consumers. It contradicts not only what the government has long touted as the cost advantage of nuclear power over other energy sources but also the government’s pledge in the basic energy plan to reduce as much as possible the nation’s dependence on nuclear power to meet its energy needs. In the METI’s latest proposal, the government effectively acknowledges that nuclear energy will no longer be an economically competitive source of power when power industry deregulation moves forward. If the government accepts the premise that nuclear power may no longer be economically competitive, it needs to explain to consumers why they would end up paying the added costs of maintaining such an energy source.
Japan Times 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Germany
A recent study commissioned by Agora Energiewende comes to the conclusion that the German Energiewende does not need new electricity storage within the next 20 years. Instead, flexible fossil-fueled power plants and other intermediate options can deliver the needed power and grid stability at a lower price. Matthias Lang sums up the finding of the report.
Renew Economy 26th Sept 2014 read more »
US
The nuclear industry, especially the nation’s largest nuclear utility Exelon, is laying down the gauntlet and acknowledging its game plan–which is following just about exactly the scenario a NIRS paper published last week described. At a hearing before the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) on Tuesday, Exelon finally revealed the bribe it wants the state to approve in order to keep Exelon’s unprofitable reactors running: a rate increase that would add $580 million per year to Exelon’s coffers. That amounts to a stunning 8% rate increase for northern Illinois ratepayers just to keep five currently unprofitable reactors operating. For southern Illinois ratepayers, whose rates are lower than those upstate, the percentage increase would be even higher. And even then Exelon admits it might not keep all those reactors operating, and that it might want even more money for certain reactors, most likely the central Illinois money pit known as the Clinton reactor.
Green World 24th Sept 2014 read more »
Finland
Finland’s government has rejected an application from utility Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) to extend a permit for a new nuclear reactor in the west of the country, Economy Minister Jan Vapaavuori told reporters on Thursday.TVO had requested a five-year extension to the Olkiluoto 4 reactor project because it was dealing with delays and overruns at its predecessor, Olkiluoto 3.TVO, whose biggest owners include paper companies UPM-Kymmene and Stora Enso as well as utility Fortum, has until next summer to submit a construction plan for Olkiluoto 4 to the government.
Reuters 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Iran
Six world power have never been so close to a deal with Iran that would resolve the decade-long nuclear standoff once and for all, but the final phase of the negotiations will be the hardest, Germany’s foreign minister said on Thursday.
Reuters 26th Sept 2014 read more »
The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, has said that if an agreement can be reached in the coming weeks on Iran’s nuclear programme it would clear the way for much greater Iranian cooperation with the west on combating the threat of Islamist extremism in the Middle East.
Guardian 25th Sept 2014 read more »
South Africa
A US$50 billion agreement with Russia to build up to eight nuclear reactors has raised the alarm in South Africa about the speed and secrecy with which the ‘strategic partnership’ was announced. A former senior official in South Africa’s Eskom power company told Africa Confidentialthat ‘concerns about the accountability and value for money’ of the Russian deal ‘were ten times greater than the scandal over the $6 bn. arms deal’ with European suppliers in the late 1990s.
Africa Confidential 26th Sept 2014 read more »
China
Meiya Power, a subsidiary of the China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) focused on renewable energy, has raised US$227 million in its over-subscribed IPO in Hong Kong.
PV-Tech 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Jordan
The Jordan Atomic Energy Commission has signed project development agreement with Russian state-run nuclear corporation Rosatom on construction of a nuclear power plant in the province of Zarqa in Central Jordan. The agreement is intended for the first stage of the two-unit nuclear power plant construction project, which has total capacity of 2000MW. The first phase of the project is expected to pave the way for a nuclear power plant construction contract, which is planned to be signed within 18 to 24 months.
Energy Business Review 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Nuclear Weapons
It is 30 years since a film about a nuclear attack on Sheffield first terrified the nation. Daniel Dylan Wray looks back at the impact of Threads.
Yorkshire Post 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Renewables – solar
New data released by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) shows that backing British solar power will boost jobs, drive economic growth and dramatically reduce the UK’s overall energy bill. The study was carried out by CEBR to quantify the economic impact of Britain’s solar boom and suggests that, with stable policy, large-scale solar projects are on track to becoming the cheapest way to generate electricity in the UK. It concludes that bold Government action to back British solar could create 60GW of generation capacity by 2030.
Edie 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Solar Portal 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Business Green 25th Sept 2014 read more »
An extraordinary heart-shaped solar farm is set to be built on the Pacific island of New Caledonia. The 2MW “Heart of New Caledonia” is being built by solar company Conergy and should start producing power for 750 homes from early next year. The plant, comissioned by local beverage company Froico SA, is expected to save around two million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over its projected 25-year lifetime and reduce the French overseas territory’s dependence on oil, gas and coal, which generate the majority of its power today.
Business Green 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Solar electricity generation rose by more than 67 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2014, as the UK’s solar boom gained momentum. Around 1.2 terrawatt hours (TWh) of electricity was produced by the country’s solar farms and rooftops, up from 0.7TWh a year before, as capacity expanded, quarterly energy statistics from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) revealed today.
Business Green 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Renewables – Wind
RenewableUK yesterday launched a fresh attack on Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, accusing him of “unprecedented interference” in the planning system in an attempt to block wind farm developments that have often secured local support. An analysis by the trade association revealed that Pickles has now intervened in 50 wind farm planning applications since June 2013, issuing holding directions on three projects, calling in two projects that were at the final stage in the local authority planning process, and recovering 45 projects which were at the appeal stage. The interventions have seen Pickles pull rank on local planning authorities and councils, giving himself the final say over whether the projects will proceed.
Business Green 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Renewables – tidal
The small but growing marine power industry made a significant step forward as promoters of a tidal project off the coast of Wales signed a deal to sell electricity to one of the big six firms, EDF Energy. Tidal Energy Ltd (TEL) said it could be providing “green, sustainable and predictable” power within a matter of weeks from a device to be installed in Ramsey Sound, off the coast of Pembrokeshire. The 12-month deal with EDF, supported by a generous renewable-energy subsidy scheme, allow assessment of the viability of the firm’s 150-tonne DeltaStream unit, which uses giant underwater turbine generators.
Guardian 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Renewables – Scotland
Scottish Renewables has set out the nation’s renewable energy industry’s asks ahead of devolution discussions, in a report entitled ‘Harnessing Scotland’s Energy’. The trade body’s chief executive Niall Stuart said in a speech to the organisation’s Marine Conference in Inverness: “Given the importance of the contribution that Scotland and the other devolved nations will make to the UK’s energy ambitions, and the growing importance of the sector to all our economies, we believe that it is time for a more coordinated and strategic approach to the formation of energy policy across the UK.
Edie 25th Sept 2014 read more »
WWF Scotland director Lang Banks said: “Coming off the back of recent calls by the UN for more action on climate change, it’s fantastic to hear that Scotland is continuing to generate record amounts of clean, renewable electricity. “Even more encouraging is the fact that this looks like being yet another record year for renewables in Scotland. “This is good news for all those concerned with cutting carbon emissions, creating jobs and keeping the lights on. “However, if we’re to meet our aim of generating 100% of our electricity needs from renewables by 2020 then we’ll need to see continued government support in both Holyrood and Westminster. “This is especially the case for offshore wind power, where we need to see a major roll-out of sites in Scottish waters in the next few years.”
BBC 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Figures released yesterday by the Department of Energy and Climate Change show that Scotland’s renewable electricity generation in the first half of 2014 was 30 per cent higher compared to same period in 2013. This overall increase is primarily due to a 50 per cent increase in hydro generation and a 20 per cent increase in wind output.
Scottish Energy News 26th Sept 2014 read more »
ALMOST half of Scotland’s electricity consumption now comes from renewable sources – and the amount of green energy generated here rose by almost a third in a year, thanks to bad weather. But a target for an increase in “renewable heat” technologies remains worryingly out of reach despite the new figures, according to industry group Scottish Renewables. Fresh statistics from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) estimate renewables met a record-breaking 46.4 per cent of electricity use in 2013, up from 39.9 per cent in 2012. The Scottish Government says this indicates Scotland is on track to meet its targets of 50 per cent by 2015, and 100 per cent by 2020. The 30 per cent growth in green energy in the first half of this year compared to the same period of 2013 was largely due to hydro-electricity generation growing by 50 pe r cent because of high rainfall. Wind power rose by 20 per cent. However, the DECC’s figures also showed just three per cent of the country’s warmth came from “renewable heat” – biomass, solar thermal panels, energy from waste and heat pumps – in 2012. That figure in 2011 was 2.6 per cent. With a target of 11 per cent by 2020, the sector has been left behind, according to Stephanie Clark, Policy Manager at Scottish Renewables.
Herald 26th Sept 2014 read more »
Scotsman 26th Sept 2014 read more »
MINISTERS at both Holyrood and Westminster must jointly pledge to improve the grid connections to Scotland’s islands within the next few years, a green energy boss has said. Niall Stuart, chief executive of Scottish Renewables, said the two governments must commit to getting Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles connected by 2020. Such a move would help power companies harness wind energy from the islands, and would also boost the development of wave and tidal power. Mr Stuart, speaking at the Scottish Renewables’ marine conference in Inverness, said: “If there is one obvious failure of the current regulation of our industry it is the lack of grid connections to Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles – home to the country’s best wind resources and key to the development of wave and tidal power. “We want to see the Scottish and UK governments commit to getting the islands connected before 2020. No ifs. No buts. No maybes. This will allow the islands to contribute to the cleaning-up of our energy sector, while benefiting from the jobs and investment that would follow.”
Scotsman 26th Sept 2014 read more »
Community Energy – Scotland
The Scottish Government’s Local Energy Challenge Fund was originally launched in August this year and is delivered by Local Energy Scotland as part of the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES). The LECF is the newest strand of CARES with £20 million being made available to private, public and third sector organisations in order to support large-scale local low carbon demonstrator projects which show a local energy economy approach linking local energy generation to local energy use. This could include projects looking to develop innovative distribution and storage solutions, and with an overall aim to create more local value and benefit.
Scottish Energy News 26th Sept 2014 read more »
Micro-CHP
Scientists are scrambling to develop efficient, reliable batteries that can make solar and wind power less dependent on fossil-fuel back up, but an efficient miniature power plant may beat batteries to the punch, panelists at a smart-grid symposium said in Chicago Tuesday. Miniature combined heat and power plants (Micro-CHPs) are in development that could provide backup electricity for rooftop solar, using natural gas already piped to most homes, the panelists said. Instead of waste heat vanishing up a smokestack at a power plant miles away, they would employ waste heat the way gas is used in homes now: to heat water and heat rooms. They might even store heat for later use.
Forbes 24th Sept 2014 read more »
Local Energy
Cities could put a massive dent in global warming if they got serious about cutting their carbon emissions, with or without the help of national governments. That’s the word from a new report put out Tuesday by the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40), a network of major cities around the world, along with the Stockholm Environment Institute and Michael Bloomberg, the United Nation’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change. The top line number from the paper is that city governments could cut the world’s annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 3.7 billion tons in 2030 and 8 billion tons in 2050 on their own, with no national direction.
Climate Progress 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Energy Efficiency
A switch to energy-efficient appliances and equipment would reduce global electricity consumption by more than 10%, cutting US$350bn (£214bn) off annual electricity bills and reducing global CO2 emissions by 1.25 billion tonnes. That’s according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which has announced a new initiative to accelerate the transition to more efficient appliances in a bid to reduce global energy demand and mitigate climate change. The Efficient Appliances and Equipment Partnership will promote the benefits of efficient lighting, air-conditioners, refrigerators, electric motors, distribution transformers among others.
Edie 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Demand Management
It has been shown in other countries that remotely turning off domestic fridges or freezers for a short period of time during peak energy demand periods has no negative impact on food quality and can significantly reduce demand. Households with smart meters could opt into this service and receive payments for helping to reduce demand – as well as slightly lower bills. Unfortunately innovative solutions such as this have not been tested and consequently we must enter this winter hoping that we don’t have a cold snap and that the Heath Robinson approach to energy management holds together.
Business Green 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Green Deal
It has already been battered in the press, but the government’s controversial Green Deal scheme could be about to face a killer blow. After months of largely negative headlines, the flagship energy efficiency scheme is now on the brink of disarray as it emerges the Green Deal Finance Company (GDFC) is being forced to consider liquidation in the coming weeks.
Business Green 25th Sept 2014 read more »
Fossil Fuels
The Scottish Government has condemned UK plans to allow fracking companies to drill below people’s land without their agreement. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said it will press ahead with proposals to simplify underground access for oil and gas developers despite the objection of 99% of respondents to a consultation. The UK-wide plan would give companies the right to drill at depths of 300 metres or more under private land without negotiating a right of access. Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said decisions on oil and gas drilling in Scotland should be made by the people who live there, and powers relating to the issue should be included in the current devolution process.
STV 26th Sept 2014 read more »
Herald 26th Sept 2014 read more »
A curious thing happened on the way back from the UN’s Climate Change Summit. In his speech to Tuesday’s one-day gathering of world leaders in New York, David Cameron stressed Britain’s commitment to push for a legally binding international agreement on tackling climate change in 2015. Activists responded that the Prime Minister should live up to his rhetoric and commit to phasing out highly polluting coal power within a decade. And then, rather unexpectedly, he appeared to come close to doing just that. A post on Twitter from the UK’s team at the UN attributed to Mr Cameron a firm commitment to phase out existing coal power stations over the next 10 to 15 years. The low-key nature of the announcement instantly made environmental groups suspicious and they are now pressing for more details. But it shows why many campaigners feel confused and frustrated by the U K Government when it comes to the matter of tackling climate change. How committed are ministers to leading internationally on this issue?
Herald 26th Sept 2014 read more »
