Hinkley
Energy secretary warns there is no guarantee on when or even if a deal will be reached that allows work to start on the £10bn nuclear project. Energy secretary Ed Davey has dashed hopes of an imminent deal with EDF over the construction of Hinkley C nuclear power station, warning he is willing to see the project fail if a deal can’t be reached. In an exclusive interview with Building, Davey said he could give no guarantee over when or even if a deal will be reached that allows work to start on the £10-14bn nuclear project. Davey also implied that the two other consortiums looking to build nuclear plants in the UK – Hitachi and GDF Suez/Iberdrola – may actually be the first to start on site, despite the fact both those consortium are thought to be at least four years away from construction.
Building 2nd Aug 2013 read more »
Energy Supplies
For all the talk of a dash for gas, the government-backed race for a new generation of power stations has had few willing participants thus far. So the suggestion last week by the chief executive of Drax, the UK’s biggest coal-fired power station, that she might invest in new gas plants was a surprise. Nonetheless, her words were hedged with a caution shared by the rest of the energy industry. “We could start to look at it. But it would depend very much on the details of the government’s energy market reforms,” said Dorothy Thompson. But even with the caveats, this was the biggest expression of enthusiasm for new gas power that the UK has seen in some time. The government is desperate to bring new gas-fired energy generation on stream, as a way of avoiding shortfalls in electricity supply when ageing coal and nuclear power stations are taken out of service. But there is a marked absence of building projects and a distinct chill where new investment is concerned. At least 14GW of new gas-fired power stations have received planning consent, according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change. So in theory construction work on this new dawn of gas power could start immediately. But there is only one such station being built – the 800MW Carrington plant in Manchester, owned by Irish utility ESB – and none of the big companies have active plans to begin work on any others.
Observer 4th Aug 2013 read more »
Energy Policy
David King, former Chief Scientist for the UK Government and perennial nuclear power champion has boosted establishment support for solar power by urging a major effort to ensure that solar pv can supply ‘bulk power’ at unsubsidised prices by 2025. George Monbiot DID attack David King for his support for nuclear power. This was back in 2005 when Tony Blair announced the need for new nuclear power stations, and David King joined in to support this argument.George quoted a report from Amory Lovins which pointed out how uneconomic nuclear power was compared to renewable energy sources such as wind power. What has changed since 2005? Well, the nuclear industry’s PR campaign that there was a new cheap generation of nuclear power stations has proved to be as nonsensical as all of such claims over the last 50+ years. But solar power has gotten a lot cheaper. So it is a pity that George Monbiot changed his view and decided to support nuclear power and started making prominent attacks on the viability of solar pv.
Dave Toke’s Blog 3rd Aug 2013 read more »
Japan
After nearly 30 months of failure, Tokyo Electric Power Co. is still providing little reason for confidence in its ability to deal with the radioactive water leaking at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. The utility continues to face criticism for its delay in releasing vital information about conditions at the crippled plant. Fishermen and residents have lost patience over the many setbacks in TEPCO’s preparations to decommission the reactors. And now, the Nuclear Regulation Authority is raising doubts about the utility’s latest plan: constructing underground walls to prevent the contaminated water from reaching the Pacific Ocean.
Asahi Simbun 3rd Aug 2013 read more »
Nuclear Submarines
Britain’s ageing nuclear submarines have been issued with ‘Code Red’ safety warnings after inspectors found radioactive leaks and a chronic shortage of Royal Navy engineers trained to repair faulty reactors, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. An official watchdog discovered major safety issues with both the UK’s nuclear-powered submarines and facilities used to repair nuclear missiles, raising the risk of a catastrophic accident involving radioactive material. Last night, experts described the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DNSR) report for 2012-13 as the most worrying they had seen.
Daily Mail 3rd Aug 2013 read more »
Nuclear War
To those of a certain age, there’s something oddly familiar about the speech released this week that the Queen would have delivered to the nation in the event of nuclear war. Drafted by civil servants in 1983 as part of an extensive government exercise in precaution and preparation, it has a cadence, style and language that goes back to the early 1960s era of the cold war.
Guardian 3rd Aug 2013 read more »
Renewables
Infinis, a green energy company that operates gas sites and wind farms, is being auctioned for about £1.5bn. Infinis runs 143 plants that extract gas from decaying organic matter in landfill sites. It employs more than 400 people and last year generated a profit of £18m on turnover of £152m.
Sunday Times 4th Aug 2013 read more »
THE unreliability of wind power could mean an independent Scotland would have to import energy from England – leaving it with the highest household bills in the world, it was claimed yesterday. In an interview with Scotland on Sunday, Sir Donald Miller, former chairman of both the South of Scotland Electricity Board and of ScottishPower, has described the SNP’s current energy policy on producing 100 per cent of Scotland’s needs from renewables as “disastrous”. First Minister Alex Salmond has claimed that an independent Scotland would be the “Saudi Arabia of renewables”. But Sir Donald warned that Scots could face the highest bills in the world once a single UK energy market ceased to exist and they had to pay for imported power. Sir Donald said: “So long as the nuclear stations at Hunterston and Torness are operational Scotland might just about muddle through, but without them would be reliant on energy coming from England. It would be importing energy back when the wind is not blowing strongly enough, and that would be for most of the time.”
Scotland on Sunday 4th Aug 2013 read more »
Fossil Fuels
THE seabed around Britain is to become the latest battleground for unconventional energy after plans to set fire to billions of tonnes of coal beneath the North Sea were branded “irresponsible” by environmentalists. Algy Cluff, 73, a wealthy oil tycoon, believes he can solve Britain’s impending energy crisis by igniting coal seams under the seabed to produce gas. The multi-millionaire has secured several underground coal gasification (UCG) licences, including in the waters off Fife. He hopes to begin drilling within five years.
Sunday Times 4th Aug 2013 read more »
AN OIL entrepreneur who plans to ignite subterranean coal seams in the North Sea and pipe the gas to shore has been branded “irresponsible” and “foolish” by environmentalists. John Gordon Cluff, 73, widely known as Algy, wants to pioneer the technique off the Scottish coast. He believes burning billions of tonnes of subsea coal will produce enough gas to fuel Britain cheaply and efficiently for hundreds of years to come.
Sunday Times 4th Aug 2013 read more »
A new political row has broken out over the Coalition’s support for shale gas fracking, with a high-ranking Liberal Democrat warning that the process risks “damaging the countryside” for decades.
Telegraph 3rd Aug 2013 read more »
A MINISTER promoting the controversial policy of fracking for shale gas has caused alarm with comments that the process will test the thickness of “rectory walls” in the Tory heartlands. Michael Fallon, the Conservative energy minister, was describing how some of Britain’s largest reserves lie under the Weald in rural southeast England. “The beauty … is that of course it is underneath the commentariat,” said Fallon, referring to prominent shale supporters in the media. “We are going to see how thick their rectory walls are, whether they like the flaring at the end of the drive.”
Sunday Times 4th Aug 2013 read more »
When the US deregulated the oil and gas industry a decade ago, cowboy companies were drawn into fracking and mistakes were made. “And those stupid mistakes have haunted the industry ever after,” an insider said last week. “You can do this safely. But you have to have proper regulation.” France, with the benefit of large-scale nuclear energy, has banned the process. But in the UK, the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering told Sir John Beddington, then the government’s chief scientist, that fracking was safe if properly regulated. “Our main conclusions are that the environmental risks of hydraulic fracturing for shale can be safely managed provided there is best practice,” said Professor Robert Mair of Cambridge University, who chaired the joint report.
Sunday Times 4th Aug 2013 read more »
Planning authorities have been banned from considering whether renewable energy plants would be a better fit for their communities, if they receive an application for a fracking mine.
Guardian 3rd Aug 2013 read more »
Despite safety pledges and the promised energy bonanza, many fear the environmental consequences of Scotland’s dash for gas. Anderson lives just outside Larbert, the Forth Valley village a couple of miles north east of Falkirk. It is just down the road from Bathgate where, more than 150 years ago, what is still considered to be the world’s first oil refinery was set up, built on the reserves of shale oil which were found under Scotland’s Central Belt. Today, the energy business is once again examining central Scotland’s rich underground wealth. Specifically, right now, it is focusing on a few thousand feet of ground beneath the homes in Larbert and the surrounding Forth Valley basin where, trapped in coal seams, are huge amounts of natural gas.
Scotland on Sunday 4th Aug 2013 read more »
Leader: a Scottish Government source admits that unconventional gas, because its reserves are mainly in England, is not a priority, despite known deposits in Scotland and commercial interest in exploiting them. What k ind of nationalism is that? The SNP government’s ambition to have all Scottish electricity generated by renewables by 2020 is proving hugely expensive and probably unattainable. A two-year study by the John Muir Trust has shown Scottish wind turbines operate, on average, at just 24 per cent of capacity. The Scottish Government has refused to countenance renewing nuclear power. The only secure future for Scotland’s energy needs lies in a mixed policy: nuclear, conventional gas, unconventional gas and renewables. Putting all our energy eggs in one basket is a recipe for financial disaster and dependence on non-Scottish sources to keep the lights on.
Scotland on Sunday 4th Aug 2013 read more »
