Hinkley
Jonathon Porritt: A new report shows that the UK’s farms can easily generate as much power as the proposed Hinkley C nuclear plant, writes Jonathan Porritt. Not only would it all be renewable, but if could all be in place by 2020. Here he offers some friendly – but strictly confidential – advice for Energy Secretary Ed Davey. We’ve pretty much put all our low-carbon eggs into EDF’s all-encompassing nuclear basket – to the tune of £24 billion, or even £37 billion by some estimates! I’m sorry to have to tell you, Secretary of State, that there’s no way of saving face here. You’re already an object of scorn for some environmentalists, and if you now flip back again, having so assertively flopped into the nuclear camp, many people (even outside the Treasury) might start to question your judgement. However, I don’t think we need panic here. The Hinkley Point deal with EDF probably won’t come unstuck until after the next General Election, and in the meantime, you have a wonderful opportunity to buff up your residual green credentials by pressing the start button on Farm Power UK right now. And the overall cost of renewable electricity from our farms is likely to be much lower than that from nuclear power stations, while also creating much needed rural employment. Moreover the power will begin to flow pretty much immediately – reducing the chances of electricity shortages in time for winter 2015 – never mind waiting until 2023 (if we’re lucky) before a single watt is produced.
Ecologist 26th Nov 2014 read more »
Sellafield
Letter from Eddie Martin to NDA: Although you give assurances over the NDA prioritising work on the Ponds, there was no clear outline of the plans for this work. I am aware of the detailed plans that the NDA has published; plans which no doubt will have finely-honed programmes on the exact actions to be taken attached to them. Yet there is, we feel, a distinct lack of connection between taking action – such as published plans on the NDA’s website – and the declared commitment of the NDA to engage with the public. For example, not many local people can make the stakeholder meetings you refer to; let alone others from across the UK who are also very interested in Sellafield’s operations. It remains difficult to obtain clear, comprehensive and unexpurgated accounts of the “intolerable” risks which we, here in Cumbria, apparently face and, what is of equal importance, the time-frame in which those risks will be significantly reduced.
Cumbria Trust 27th Nov 2014 read more »
The Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) calls today on public health bodies to investigate and analyse further recent deposits of radioactive particles found on beaches close to Sellafield. It also calls on the same agencies to urgently consider asking the local Council to put warning signs on Seascale beach as an interim contingency public safety measure.
NFLA 26th Nov 2014 read more »
Representatives from Sellafield Ltd and the newly named Box Encapsulation Plant Delivery Team (BEPDT) comprising of Jacobs, AMEC and Balfour Beatty recently attended a ceremonial signing event for a multi-million pound contract at the Sellafield nuclear site. The framework contract, which was awarded in September, has a potential value range of between £240 million and £336 million over the duration of up to four years. The BEP project is being delivered as an integral part of the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo (MSSS) programme, which is tackling the clean up of one of the most hazardous legacy facilities on the Sellafield site.
Sellafield Sites 24th Nov 2014 read more »
Sizewell
Homeowners who say the spectre of Sizewell C has left their properties unsellable are drafting a letter to the Government calling for “relief measures” to the problems they claim to face.
East Anglian Daily Times 26th Nov 2014 read more »
Bradwell
This is the first glimpse of Bradwell power station’s makeover during its decommissioning. The site’s reactor buildings are beginning to sportanew look as demolition and weather protection work progresses.
Colchester Gazette 26th Nov 2014 read more »
Dounreay
One of the major issues faced by planners is the fact that Dounreay is still home to tonnes upon tonnes of radioactive waste, nuclear fuel and contaminated material. It may seem bizarre, but the current solution involves the toxic material being ferried back to its country of origin. It’s a huge job and will see over 150 tonnes of waste shipped back to Belgium shores over the next four years. This waste was a by-product of 240 spent fuel elements which were reprocessed at Belgium’s BR2 research reactor, a plant which produces isotopes for the medicine and industry sectors. During the reprocessing phase a huge 22,680 litres of liquid waste was produced.
Lab Mate 26th Nov 2014 read more »
Heysham/Hartlepool
Permission has been granted for a reactor at Heysham 1 to return to service following a nearly four month shutdown. Heysham 1 Reactor 1 was shut down in August earlier this year as a precautionary measure following the discovery of a crack in a boiler spine. Two reactors at Hartlepool will also be allowed to return to service. EDF Nuclear Generation Limited presented the Office for Nuclear Regulation with a safety justification for the return to service of Heysham 1 Reactor 2 and the two reactors at Hartlepool.
The Visitor 26th Nov 2014 read more »
Wylfa
Horizon Nuclear Power has signed an agreement with the UK nuclear regulator which paves the way for it to begin buying long-lead components for the planned Wylfa Newydd plant.
World Nuclear News 26th Nov 2014 read more »
Horizon 25th Nov 2014 read more »
EDF
French utility EDF’s incoming chief Jean-Bernard Levy complained on Tuesday about low energy prices in France, saying government controls were forcing the utility to fund its dividends partly through debt. Levy, set to take over as chief executive on Wednesday, told parliament his first challenge would be to restore the 84.5 percent state-owned firm’s financial health. Levy, the former head of defence electronics firm Thales, said that delays to power price increases agreed with the state have forced EDF to keep increasing its debt. “It is debt that pays the dividend, we need to rebalance power prices,” Levy said, adding that the state also needs to stabilise taxes on renewable energy.
Reuters 26th Nov 2014 read more »
Nuclear Security
For the past two months, French nuclear facilities have been subjected to a new threat – the overflight of unidentified drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). As of 20th November, drones of various sizes have made 32 flights above and around 14 nuclear reactor sites.Sites operated by Electricite de France (EdF), together with the plutonium nuclear fuel facilities at la Hague and Marcoule, the shutdown fast breeder reactor at Superphenix, and the research centre headquarters of the Atomic Energy Commission just outside Paris have all had visits from drones. In the last few days Greenpeace has begun the process of providing evidence of the new threats posed by drones and the need for urgent action. Two reports commissioned by us, and based on publicly available information, have investigated the security and safety implications of drone technology and nuclear power plants. Yesterday, Greenpeace presented evidence to the French National Assembly Committee on Science and Technology (OPCEST) that shows the drone flights have exposed a major failure in nuclear plant security and safety. A report commissioned by Greenpeace France from independent nuclear engineering consultancy Large & Associates has been sent to the head of France’s nuclear safety agency (ASN), and senior members of the government responsible for security. The research reveals that vital safety functions of a nuclear power plant are vulnerable to direct drone attack. Due to the detailed analysis in this report and the highly sensitive nature of the debate in France at present, Greenpeace has chosen not to release it. Today, Greenpeace Germany has released a report by nuclear physicist Oda Becker from Bremen, that provides a broader overview of the role drones could play in supporting an armed attack against nuclear reactors, with a specific focus on those reactors on the French border with Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Germany. The analysis shows that drones could play a critical role in assisting with a deliberate armed attack that could lead to a major accident and release of radioactivity.
Greenpeace 26th Nov 2014 read more »
French authorities have yet to uncover who is behind a series of illegal drone flights over nuclear sites following a parliamentary hearing with top military and police officials in Paris yesterday. The security authorities joined experts from the nuclear industry and research organizations to testify before lawmakers on the kinds of drone technology that may be at work and the risks they pose to atomic safety. Among attempts to explain the incidents that have confounded authorities for more than two months, anti-nuclear activist group Greenpeace alleged drones could wreak havoc on installations. Jean-Yves Le Deaut, the Socialist Party representative who led the hearings, said “German radicals”may be behind the flights, which he said aren’t inherently dangerous.
Bloomberg 24th Nov 2014 read more »
Energy Supply
The UK would face “severe economic consequences” if there was a serious disruption to the electricity supply. The cost could run into billions of pounds, according to a new report from the Royal Academy of Engineering). While the likelihood of such an outage is low, the report warns that calculating the impact of electricity blackouts is increasingly difficult. The Government says the report is right about the impacts of long blackouts but insists this will not happen. The report says that the UK has not suffered serious power interruptions for 40 years. But in that time our dependence upon electricity has increased. Our living patterns have also become more fragmented and complex.
BBC 27th Nov 2014 read more »
US – new reactors
The Georgia Public Service Commission was told Monday by the monitors it hired to keep tabs on the construction of the two new Vogtle reactors on the Savannah River that the project has fallen further behind schedule and will not even meet its revised schedule of commercial operation by the end of 2017 for the first unit and end of 2018 for the second unit.
Green World 26th Nov 2014 read more »
Iran
Iran and world powers will try to conclude a nuclear deal before a new summer deadline, a senior European diplomat said Wednesday, just days after negotiations ended unsuccessfully in Vienna.
EU Business 26th Nov 2014 read more »
North Korea
A week after a U.N. resolution condemned North Korea’s human rights record, the country has shown its commitment to preserving basic individual dignities by threatening the U.S. and Japan with nuclear war.
Metro 26th Nov 2014 read more »
Nuclear Weapons
A Cold War nuclear accident has been linked to the death 46 years later of one of the clean-up crew. Petter Lilleby, 67, died from bronchopneumonia related to lung cancer in July. Now a pre-inquest report has revealed he was involved in the clean up following the Thule Air Base crash in Greenland in 1968. On January 21 of that year, a US Air Force B-52 bomber armed with four hydrogen bombs crashed into sea ice in North Star Bay while attempting an emergency landing at the air base.
Mirror 26th Nov 2014 read more »
NW Evening Mail 26th Nov 2014 read more »
THE UK government is expected to confirm a U-turn over its refusal to attend an international conference on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons after pressure from Scotland. In a written answer to SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said an announcement on the conference in Vienna would be made in days.
Scotsman 26th Nov 2014 read more »
Submarines
Letter: I read your report on the move of two nuclear submarines from Plymouth to Faslane with interest and picked up on the worry about them being dumped on Scotland prior to decommissioning. Two nuclear vessels to move to Faslane”, The Herald, November 25). I sought information on what has happened to other old subs. There are seven in Rosyth going back to Dreadnaught in 1980 and 12 more in Plymouth. From the same site I discovered that removal of the nuclear fuel rods has been discontinued on the grounds of safety. Eight of those in Plymouth harbour are still, almost as they finished service, with nuclear fuel and reactors aboard. Fortunately all of those in Rosyth have had all the fuel removed. When a nuclear reactor is decommissioned it is not like switching off the car engine. The fuel must be removed and dealt with and then this still leaves the large bulky reactor and it’s containment compartment which are still highly irradiated.
Herald 27th Nov 2014 read more »
Renewables – Scotland
Renewable energy has become Scotland’s main source of power, new independent figures have revealed. Records from the first half of 2014, the most recent period for which data is available, show renewables generated 32% more electricity than any other single source of power in Scotland. In total, the renewables sector generated a record 10.3TWh (terawatt-hours), compared to 7.8TWh from nuclear generation – previously Scotland’s main source of electricity. The figures also show that coal and gas-fired electricity generation produced 5.6TWh and 1.4TWh respectively over the same six-month period.
Scottish Energy News 27th Nov 2014 read more »
Scotland has broken renewable energy generation records, producing 10.3TWh of electricity in the first half of 2014 and overtaking nuclear as the country’s main source of power.
Edie 27th Nov 2014 read more »
Energy Voice 27th Nov 2014 read more »
BBC 27th Nov 2014 read more »
STV 27th Nov 2014 read more »
Renews 27th Nov 2014 read more »
Click Green 27th Nov 2014 read more »
Scotsman 26th Nov 2014 read more »
Lang Banks, director of the environmental group WWF Scotland, said: “Renewables overtaking nuclear power to become the largest source of electricity is certainly historic and represents a major step on the way to Scotland becoming a 100 per cent renewable nation. Last month, while nuclear reactors were forced to shut because of cracks, Scotland’s renewables were quietly and cleanly helping to keep the lights on in homes across the country. “Wind turbines in Scotland alone generated enough electricity to supply three millions homes in the UK – equivalent to 126% of the electricity needs of every home north of the border.
Herald 27th Nov 2014 read more »
The growing role of renewables in generating Scotland’s energy requirements is most encouraging. But enthusiasm for the great green energy revolution must be tempered with realism about the limits of this sector’s contribution to our energy needs. It is true that we live in what Alex Salmond memorably called “the Saudi Arabia of renewables”. Impressive though the increased performance of renewable energy is, it is has to be borne in mind that it cannot produce base load energy, that is the energy that is demanded for our every day lives at the time it is demanded. That base load is still provided by nuclear power and by fossil fuels. The inconvenient truth for the green energy industry is that the output of wind farms is still not consistent enough to provide a reliable alternative. By their very nature they depend on the wind and we have not yet delevoped techniology to alter that. The same can be said of solar arrays, particularly in Scotland.
Scotsman 27th Nov 2014 read more »
Seventeen local energy projects from across Scotland have been awarded funding to support the development of green energy schemes, Energy Minister Fergus Ewing announced yesterday. More than 100 applications were received from community groups, charities, local authorities, housing associations, universities and businesses through the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) Local Energy Challenge Fund. The successful applicants can use the funding to develop their ideas and proposals to take them to the next stage of the Challenge Fund.
Scottish Energy News 27th Nov 2014 read more »
Renewables – tidal
In a speech yesterday at the Tidal Energy Summit Edward Davey, Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change, announced that the UK is on the forefront of the worlds tidal energy development and tidal power could be a cornerstone of the global low-carbon economy.
Scottish Energy News 27th Nov 2014 read more »
Hydrogen
A recently discovered form of carbon graphite – the material in pencil lead – has turned out to have a completely unexpected property which could revolutionise the development of green energy and electric cars. Researchers have discovered that graphene allows positively charged hydrogen atoms or protons to pass through it despite being completely impermeable to all other gases, including hydrogen itself. The implications of the discovery are immense as it could dramatically increase the efficiency of fuel cells, which generate electricity directly from hydrogen, the scientists said. The breakthrough raises the prospect of extracting hydrogen fuel from air and burning it as a carbon-free source of energy in a fu el cell to produce electricity and water with no damaging waste products.
Independent 26th Nov 2014 read more »
Micropower
There is no shortage of shouting and dire warnings about the state of the climate and our need to phase out fossil fuels. But there is a more silent revolution happening too — in micropower. Small-scale electricity generation is slowly replacing big fossil-fuel driven power plants, which are currently the world’s single largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. These micro-electricity producers are relatively small scale, inexpensive, and most importantly, produce little to no carbon emissions. Last year micropower contributed to around a quarter of the world’s energy, up from 10% in 2000.
Renew Economy 27th Nov 2014 read more »
The Conversation 26th Nov 2014 read more »
Energy Storage
This large-scale battery storage system, the first to be installed at a large PV farm, is set to put the solar park’s operator on a equal footing with conventional power plants. The lead-acid batteries installed at the part are designed to provide primary operating reserve to the high-voltage transmission network. Bernhard Beck is one step closer to his goal. “We’re now on an equal footing with conventional power plant operators,” says Belectric’s founder and general director at the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the so-called Energy Buffer Unit at the Alt Daber solar power plant.
Renew Economy 27th Nov 2014 read more »
Micro CHP
The value of the global micro-CHP market will reach €3.2 billion in 2019, up from €0.9 billion in 2014, with new fuel cell technologies disrupting the market. According to the latest forecast to emerge from Delta-ee, fuel cells are driving the growth of the global market, having increased from 0% of global sales in 2008 to over 70% of global sales in 2014. Meanwhile, the global share of engine-based micro-CHP products has fallen from 100% in 2008 to under 30% in 2013.
Penn Energy 25th Nov 2014 read more »
Green Deal
The organisation at the centre of the government’s Green Deal energy efficiency loans scheme, the Green Deal Finance Company (GDFC), has secured access to a £50m rescue package that will bring to an end fears that the firm could face liquidation.
Business Green 26th Nov 2014 read more »
Energy Efficiency
Tower blocks should be at the front of the queue when it comes to energy efficiency retrofit projects, a new study by think tank Green Alliance suggests. The report, published yesterday, outlines how many of the 400,000 UK households living in tower blocks are disadvantaged and commonly suffer from high bills due to poor building fabric.
Business Green 26th Nov 2014 read more »
Big businesses are paying for five power stations worth of electricity each year they don’t need. However even reducing their energy consumption by 1% could save over £250 million on their energy bills annually. The new Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS), launching in December, will help large organisations cut their electricity use with a detailed energy audit.
Scottish Energy News 27th Nov 2014 read more »
Climate
A new report from the World Bank has determined that warming of around 1.5°C (around 2.7° Fahrenheit) by mid-century is already locked into the atmosphere but that further warming beyond 2°C — and some of the worst projected impacts — is avoidable with immediate action. The report also warns that without coordinated efforts to transition to low-carbon energy sources, there is an increasing likelihood that temperatures could rise by 4°C or more “by the time today’s teenagers are in their 80s.” This would have drastic consequences on many of the developing countries where the World Bank operates — many of which have very young populations.
Climate Progress 24th Nov 2014 read more »
