Hinkley
Hinkley Is it value for money? Tim Yeo Well, it is only if it leads on to some lower costs in the future. Hinkley by itself, Hinkley as a one-off, is not terribly good value for money and we know that because the price is quite high. But if you haven’t built a nuclear power station for over 20 years, and you’re insisting it’s done by the private sector, you’ve got to pay. And if Hinkley is the first of a series then it could become value for money and, therefore, maybe an essential step. I do think nuclear, like the renewables, is an area where we need to focus on costs much more, because if the world has a revival of nuclear power, which in some places looks very likely, the Chinese are building, the Koreans are building, and not just in Korea, and several EU countries including us are also keen to build, I mean some of the Eastern Central European countries are quite far advanced. If you can get volume then you should be able to reduce costs significantly, and I think, because of our strong history of innovation in this country, we’ve often gone for first-of-a-kind technologies, which is exciting and can be beneficial. But in the short-term, it’s going to be expensive. Maybe, if we want to get better value for money, we should say: we won’t be proud, we don’t have to the first, let’s look at a technology which has been tried and tested somewhere else and buy it in volume. That may be one thing. The other thing I’ve suggested recently, and I believe this very strongly, is because the UK has this fantastic credit rating, you we can borrow more GB than almost any other borrower in the world, and because the construction period is so long in a nuclear power station the cost of capital during that five or six years is a significant part of the final cost of the power. And if we said, OK, if the government can find a way with the bankers of deciding how to share the risk, if we said if the government would fund the construction, and so during the period until it becomes operational the government would be the borrower, and then hand it over, it’s kind of a turnkey thing, well, here you are, let’s sell it to EDF for £10 billion quid or something, actually you can reduce the cost that way as well simply by using the credit rating, that we can borrow so much more cheaply than any commercial company can.
Carbon Brief 30th March 2015 read more »
Wylfa
Wylfa nuclear power station should start generating power again later this week after no problems were found during a shutdown. Reactor 1 had been taken ‘off-line’ on March 7 after the operator was unable to remove a fuel element during re-fuelling.
Operators Magnox launched an investigation and said the site on Anglesey would be shut down for four weeks.
Wales Online 30th March 2015 read more »
Nuclear Transport
Specialist Birkenhead marine firm, Flynn Refrigeration, has completed a retrofit and conversion project on a vessel that transports nuclear materials around the world. Working under contract to ship managers, Serco, Flynn has delivered a package of improvements to the refrigeration and air-conditioning system onboard International Nuclear Services’ (INS) MV Oceanic Pintail.
Liverpool Echo 31st March 2015 read more »
NDA
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) estate has measured that over 21% of its spend is with SMEs which equates to over £330m. In 2012, the Government set itself and all public bodies a target to increase the proportion of spend with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to 25% by the end of the current Parliament. This challenge was set to reflect the demographics of the UK business sector and to encourage public sector buyers to use companies best suited to deliver a project irrespective of their size.
H&V News 30th March 2015 read more »
Uranium
Areva Resources Namibia said it is optimistic about resuming mining operations at its Trekkopje Uranium mine as the price of uranium continues to recover internationally, the company’s managing director Hilifa Mbako said on Wednesday.The company halted operations at its mine in the Namibia Desert north-east of Swakopmund in June 2013 when the uranium price plummeted following the Fukushima nuclear disaster earlier in March. The price of uranium went down as low as $28 per pound, but Mbako told reporters the price has since recovered to $39.25 a pound.
Star Africa 26th March 2015 read more »
Scottish Energy Supplies
The Scottish government will launch an investigation into the future security of the country’s energy supply, following the announcement that Longannet will close next year. The parliamentary inquiry will consider supply, demand, the transmission network and market functioning as well as seeking to answer questions about the role of new generation on meeting demand and the impact of demand-side response on peak demand. Scottish select committee convener Murdo Fraser said: “It is imperative that this inquiry starts a debate in Scotland about how we can secure Scotland’s energy supply and looks at the implications of the likely early closure of Longannet. “There are a number of wider issues at play here from the move away from fossil fuels to renewable energy, significant reform to the UK electricity market as well as the capability of the UK transmission network to meet demand. “It is the role of this committee to establish the facts, question the experts, and scrutinise the actions of the UK and Scottish governments, who all have a responsibility to secure Scotland’s supply.” In its inquiry, the committee will investigate whether or not there is sufficient generation to meet demand to the end of the decade and if the tools are in place to facilitate the switch from fossil fuels to renewables.
Utility Week 30th March 2015 read more »
THE UK Government should issue a reprieve for the 1000 plus jobs that could be lost when Longannet power station closes next year, an SNP candidate in Fife has said. The election candidate for Dunfermline and West Fife, Douglas Chapman, said the UK could use its “broad shoulders” to save the plant which is set for closure in less than a year. Chapman said that although councils had been asked to send letters requesting a meeting with the UK Government, no letters had been sent. “If they wanted to, the UK Government could use the ‘broad shoulders’ of the UK to save Longannet from premature closure and save these 1,000 Scottish jobs.
The National 31st March 2015 read more »
Politics
Ukip’s energy spokesman has been branded an idiot after urging people to “strike a blow against climate hysteria” and turn all their lights on for Earth Hour.
Roger Helmer, Ukip’s MEP for the East Midlands, instigated the less-than-successful boycott with a tweet shortly before the event in which 172 countries and 7,000 cities take part.
Independent 29th March 2015 read more »
Companies
Engineering group Rolls-Royce has beefed up its reactor inspection operations through the purchase of US nuclear utility operator ROV Technologies. Vermont-based ROV, which specialises in remote visual inspection services for boiling water reactors and pressurised water reactors, was acquired for an undisclosed sum, Rolls-Royce said on Monday.
Share Cast 30th March 2015 read more »
Hungary
Its currency is wounded and its economy besieged by sanctions, yet Russia still has money to spare for potential allies overseas. Even as it scrabbles for foreign funds, Moscow is poised to make a 10 billion (7.3 billion pounds) euro loan to Hungary, one of the European Union members most sympathetic to it. Budapest plans to draw on the first tranche of the loan this year, a Hungarian government commissioner told Reuters. Officially the loan is to finance the expansion of the Paks nuclear power plant, Hungary’s only atomic power station, which supplies about 40 percent of the country’s electricity. But critics say there is another motive as well: Russia buying favour with a European Union (EU) government.
Reuters 30th March 2015 read more »
Switzerland
Switzerland’s government has adopted a total revision of the federal ordinance on civil nuclear liability. The ordinance governs the enforcement of the country’s new civil nuclear liability law, which was passed by parliament in 2008 but has yet to come into force. The Federal Council adopted a revision of the ordinance on 25 March, the Swiss Federal Energy Office (SFOE) announced. Under the revision, the minimum coverage to be provided at the national level increased from CHF 1 billion ($1 billion) to €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion), which corresponds to provisions of international civil liability.
World Nuclear News 30th March 2015 read more »
India
India’s first indigenously designed 500 MW fast breeder reactor is expected to generate power from September and the focus is on not missing the deadline, a top official of the Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd.
Zee News 24th March 2015 read more »
Bulgaria
Bulgaria has offered Westinghouse a 49% stake in a new nuclear reactor that the US multinational would build on the site of the Kozlodui nuclear power plant, writes Dnevnik, the EurActiv partner in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian government wants Westingouse to build the 7 th reactor at the Kozlodui central, but also be a strategic investor in the project, and stay involved in it as a stakeholder, Minister of Energy Temenuzhka Petkova is quoted as saying at a conference in Sofia on Thursday (26 March). Bulgaria has asked Westinghouse to finance 49% of the cost of the project, and offred a 49% stake in exchange, she said. Asked how Bulgaria would gather the remaining 51%, Petkova answered that she first wants to know what Westinghouse’s decision is.
Euractiv 27th March 2015 read more »
Iran
High-level negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme enter their last day on Tuesday before a deadline for agreeing the outline for a comprehensive settlement, with top diplomats still struggling to overcome persistent obstacles.
Guardian 31st March 2015 read more »
Talks have resumed in Switzerland ahead of Tuesday’s deadline for a preliminary nuclear deal with Iran. Foreign ministers from six world powers are meeting their Iranian counterpart, amid hopes of a breakthrough after almost 18 months of negotiations. They want to impose limits that would prevent Iran from producing enough fuel for a nuclear weapon within a year. Iran, which insists its nuclear programme is peaceful, wants to see crippling sanctions lifted in return.
BBC 31st March 2015 read more »
President Bush’s former National Security Advisor, Stephen Hadley, supports a military strike against Iran if talks fail and the Islamic Republic moves towards developing a nuclear weapon. Mr Hadley sounds sceptical that a satisfactory deal can be reached. He says this isn’t the deal many had expected – too many compromises have already been made.
BBC 31st March 2015 read more »
In a slip-up of speech on Fox News on Monday, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida nearly raised the specter of a “nuclear strike” on Iran, before correcting himself. Rubio went on Fox’s The Five to attack President Barack Obama for “aggressively seeking a deal with Iran”, as negotiators in Switzerland raced to reach a framework agreement on the country’s nuclear program in advance of a deadline Tuesday.
Guardian 30th March 2015 read more »
Foreign ministers from Iran, the US and five other world powers including Britain were tonight preparing for a final 24 hours of intense negotiations that could change the Middle East’s political landscape for years to come.
US officials said the talks in Lausanne over Iran’s nuclear programme, whose deadline for a “framework” agreement is midnight tomorrow night, would go “to the wire”.
Both Israel and Saudi Arabia have repeatedly claimed that Tehran is intent on acquiring a nuclear arsenal, regardless of whatever pledges it makes, and that its hand will merely be strengthened by the lifting of economic sanctions as part of an agreement. Both see Iran with nuclear weapons as a direct threat to their existence which must be confronted.
Independent 30th March 2015 read more »
Guardian 30th March 2015 read more »
Costa Rica
This month, Costa Rica’s state-run electricity company announced that the country had gone 75 days using only renewable resources for electricity. Costa Ricans are the first in the world to power their country for so long without the use of fossil fuels, and the record-breaking achievement was quickly picked up by news agencies all over the world. Costa Rican residents have certainly benefited from the clean energy, with electricity prices set to tumble between 7% and 15% in April. But despite the world’s congratulatory backslaps for the renowned green country, its clean energy production is not likely to last at this scale, nor is it a model that would work in many other parts of the world. Costa Rica gets most of its electricity from hydroelectric plants and a recent period of unusually heavy rain allowed the country to reach the milestone. This clean power is bolstered by geothermic energy from the country’s volcanoes and a small amount of wind and solar power. Most years, these sources allow Costa Rica to generate approximately 90% of its electricity without burning fossil fuels.
Guardian 30th March 2015 read more »
Saudi Arabia
For decades, energy in the Arab world has been synonymous with oil. Plentiful hydrocarbons and heavily subsidised power and fuel have been a birthright for more than a generation. But this is set to change. Investors and energy experts say that a combination of factors mean the region’s other plentiful energy resource – the sun – could become an important contributor of power. The cost of solar panels has dropped radically over the past five years. Solar photovoltaics (PVs) have plunged by 75 per cent in price since the end of 2009 and, globally, the cost of electricity generated by solar PVs has fallen 50 per cent since 2010. “Only four years ago, solar power didn’t make sense, because it was not competitive” says Paddy Padmanathan, president and chief executive of Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, one of the region’s biggest renewables developers. “But in t he past 18 months, there has been a big change.”
FT 31st March 2015 read more »
Trident
A GROUP of Christian activists blocked the entrance to Britain’s main nuclear arsenal yesterday, chaining themselves together, praying and demanding an end to the Trident nuclear programme. Lying in the gateway to Burghfield Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), the anti-nuclear campaigners marked the beginning of Holy Week and of the general election campaign period. As a final decision on the renewal of Trident is expected to be taken in 2016, protesters also called on all parties to state their intentions on the matter.
Morning Star 31st March 2015 read more »
Renewables
Almost four in five Scots want the next UK government to continue to implement renewable energy measures such as wind and wave power, according to a new survey. Almost two-thirds also want the next government to continue policies that help cut emissions and tackle climate change. A YouGov poll commissioned by industry body Scottish Renewables questioned 1008 people on February 24 and 25. It found that 79% backed the continued development of renewable energy sources compared to just 26% who back fracking for shale gas, 45% who support new nuclear power stations and 49% in favour of the building or extension of coal and gas-fired power stations.
STV 31st March 2015 read more »
Business Green 31st March 2015 read more »
Holyrood 31st March 2015 read more »
The adoption of targets for 100 per cent renewables by 2050 could deliver combined energy savings of more than $500 billion a year to the major economies of the EU, the US and China, and create millions of new jobs, a new study has found. The study, released this week by NewClimate Institute and commissioned by Climate Action Network, also found that if all countries took action on renewables at this scale, global warming would not cross the 2°C threshold beyond which scientists predict would result in dangerous and irreversible changes to the earth’s climate.
Renew Economy 31st March 2015 read more »
Renewables – marine
Scotland’s marine energy sector has benefited from funding of almost £3.7million to further test and develop new marine energy prototypes in the seas around Scotland. Government grants have been made to three companies – Albatern, Nova Innovation and Sustainable Marine Energy – to support total project costs of £7 million for the development of new wave and tidal energy devices.
Scottish Energy News 31st March 2015 read more »
THE company behind a £50 million project to build the world’s largest tidal stream energy facility off the coast of Caithness yesterday signed a deal with US defence giant Lockheed Martin to build the first turbine. Atlantis, majority owner of the MeyGen project, said Lockheed will manufacture the steel turbine housing and assemble parts including the gearbox and generator. The companies, which have worked together for several years, said they were looking to use local firms where possible on the turbine build. The 18-metre rotor diameter turbine will be one of the largest capacity single rotor turbines ever built. The turbine will be one of four devices in the first phase of the MeyGen project and is scheduled to arrive in Scotland for installation in 2016. Atlantis eventually plans to have up to 269 turbines on the seabed in the Pentland Firth between C aithness and Orkney.
Scotsman 31st March 2015 read more »
Renewables – solar
Manchester schools are to begin generating their own electricity using solar power. Parrs Wood High School in Didsbury and Chorlton Park Primary, have completed the first phase of an ambitious project, and feasibility studies for the two schools are expected to see solar panels installed on their roofs later this year. The panels are expected to generate around 190,000kw of green energy across both schools per year – the amount of electricity used by 10 UK households – and reduce more than 100 tonnes of carbon emissions per year. They are also expected to provide benefits of around £36,000 a year, either in electricity saved or energy which can be sold on to the National Grid – providing more money that can be reinvested into other Manchester projects.
Manchester City Council 27th March 2015 read more »
Renewables – tidal
David Tudor explains how The Crown Estate is seeking to work with government and industry to pave the way for the world’s first tidal lagoons. THe Crown Estate is playing a strategic part in helping the understanding of the scale and location of potential development opportunities and how they may interact with each other and their surroundings.
Business Green 30th March 2015 read more »
Biomass
Plans for a £25m biomass plant and heat network at the University of St Andrews have received a major boost after the scheme secured the final £11m financing required to start construction. The Scottish Government confirmed Friday that money would be invested through the Scottish Partnership for Regeneration in Urban Centres (SPRUCE) fund, which is a joint Scottish Government and European Regional Development initiative, managed by Amber Infrastructure.
Business Green 30th March 2015 read more »
Geothermal
Cornwall-based Geothermal Engineering has pushed forward with plans to deliver geothermal heat from exhausted oil and gas wells drilled by fracking firm Cuadrilla. Geothermal Engineering confirmed on Friday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Cuadrilla to design a system that could deliver both shale gas and renewable heat.
Business Green 30th March 2015 read more »
Energy Efficiency
Millions of draughty homes are the result of the collective failure of successive governments to tackle energy efficiency, according to UK consumer watchdog Which?. In a report published on Tuesday, Which? calls for a radical new approach to energy efficiency to deliver on historical promises to tackle fuel poverty, high energy bills and climate change. Major consumer-funded programmes have been rolled out in the UK for low-energy bulbs, insulation and new boilers since 2002. Yet the country’s housing stock remains the least energy-efficient in Europe. Which?’s executive director, Richard Lloyd, said: “With millions of homes still not insulated, energy efficiency is a collective failure of successive governments. The next government must grab this issue by the scruff of the neck and commit to an aggressive energy efficiency strategy as soon as it takes power.”
Guardian 31st March 2015 read more »
More than seven million homes have poorly insulated lofts and the rate at which they are being improved has fallen by almost 90 per cent in two years, according to a report by a consumer watchdog. Only 177,000 lofts were insulated last year, down from 1.3 million in 2012, Which? found using government data. The number of homes gaining cavity wall insulation fell by 45 per cent over the same period and the rate of solid wall insulation fell by 40 per cent. The report attributes the decline partly to the failure of the government’s Green Deal scheme, which was intended to persuade millions of homeowners to take out loans to insulate their homes, but which signed up fewer than 10,000 in its first two years. The Which? report says Britain’s housing stock is among Europe’s least energy efficient.
Times 31st March 2015 read more »
Grid Connections
The British and Norwegian Prime Ministers have ‘warmly welcomed’ the new North Sea Network (NSN) interconnector with the final investment decision announced by the National Grid and their Norwegian counterpart, Statnett. The (£1.4bn) project will connect the two countries’ electricity markets directly for the first time by a subsea 730km subsea cable, which has the capacity to transmit 1.4 GW of electricity.
Scottish Energy News 31st March 2015 read more »
CCS
The UK and Scottish Governments have put up £4.2 million for industrial research and feasibility work for a carbon-capture-storage power station in Grangemouth. The findings of the industrial research feasibility work will be shared across industry and academia, increasing understanding of how to develop and deploy CCS at commercial scale.
Scottish Energy News 31st March 2015 read more »
Fossil Fuels
Doctors and other health professionals have today urged the government to impose an immediate moratorium on fracking for shale gas and oil after a report showed the controversial drilling technique generates “numerous” public health risks. Health charity Medact unveiled a report today warning the risks of air pollution and water contamination from shale gas extraction include cancer, birth defects and lung disease.
Business Green 30th March 2015 read more »
Significant quantities of known coal and tar sands reserves will need to be kept in the ground to avoid the worst climate change impacts, the former chief of the UK Environment Agency has said. But he said that lower carbon fuels such as gas would need to be extracted and burned while the world economy moves away from fossil fuels. Chris (now Lord) Smith, a former Labour MP and minister, said: “We will have to leave carbon in the ground, but leaving all fossil fuels in the ground is for the fairies.”
Guardian 30th March 2015 read more »
At a time when the UK Government is taking measures to shore up the oil industry and protect it from falling prices, less has been said about a recent report that concludes that, if dangerous global warming is to be avoided, we need to leave unextracted most of the world’s present and still to be discovered fossil fuel reserves. Apparently, more than 80 per cent of coal, 50 per cent of gas and 30 per cent of oil reserves are “unburnable” if we are to achieve the goal of limiting global warming to no more than 2C. This nicely sums up what the writer Naomi Klein describes in her recent magnum opus, This Changes Everything: Capitalism versus The Climate, as the Catch 22 situation in the war between our economic system and our planet.
Herald 31st March 2015 read more »
