Dungeness
EDF Energy’s application to loosen safety limits at its 1 GW Dungeness B nuclear power plant does not pose “any safety concerns”, said the Office for Nuclear Regulation. EDF Energy has applied to extend the ONR limit on how much degradation can take place to the bricks surrounding the nuclear core at its Kent-based nuclear site. Nuclear radiation causes the graphite bricks to degrade, with the current allowable ‘weight loss’ limit set at 6.2%. EDF Energy would like to see this limit extended to 8%, it said in its application to the regulator. The regulator said EDF Energy is required to determine the rate of weight loss and cracking to the graphite bricks through “extensive research” which it will need to present to the regulator as part of its application. “If there is evidence to suggest that the limit of weight loss can be increased, and we are satisfied with the associated justification provided by the operator, we will agree to it,” the ONR added. EDF Energy was quick to point out that the safety limits themselves are “extremely conservative”, so no real risk is posed to its employees or the local community. “[W]e’re still miles away from the boundary between safe and not, we’re not operating on that boundary and have extremely conservative limits,” a spokeswoman for EDF told Utility Week.
Utility Week 4th June 2014 read more »
Energy Live News 4th June 2014 read more »
Your Ashford 4th June 2014 read more »
Folkestone Herald 4th June 2014 read more »
Professional Engineer 4th June 2014 read more »
Kent News 4th June 2014 read more »
Britain may have to stretch safety limits on nuclear power stations to keep the lights on, warned a leading energy analyst on Wednesday. Dorian Lucas, a nuclear specialist at energy consultancy, Inenco, made his comments after it was revealed that power group, EDF, had won permission to change the rules for its Dungeness B station. “Britain has no choice but to gamble with extending the safety limits of the country’s ageing fleet of nuclear power plants to avoid the looming spectre of 1970s-style blackouts,” said Lucas. The atomic power station in Kent has come to an agreement with the Office of Nuclear Regulation (ONR) that it can have the margin increased on the shrinkage of the graphite bricks inside the reactor from 6.2% to 8%. The bricks are losing weight due to decades of radiation but a spokeswoman for EDF said the new limit was only a “teeny little step” that was well within the most conservative safety case.
Guardian 4th June 2014 read more »
Hinkley
ANTI-PYLON protesters say they are “flabbergasted” that National Grid has submitted plans for its Hinkley Point C connection scheme, as EDF faces an EU investigation into the deal for the proposed nuclear power station. EDF is still awaiting the results of an investigation by the European Commission into whether a subsidy deal struck with the Government is illegal state aid, before taking a final investment decision on the power plant. But National Grid has officially submitted plans to connect Hinkley C to the National Grid at Avonmouth.
This is the West Country 3rd June 2014 read more »
Urenco
Atkins is set to deliver URENCO’s capital investment programme – establishing its place as a strategic partner for all areas of URENCO’s project and programme delivery. A capital investment programme involves investing in plant and site upgrades, as well as new facilities. Services provided by Atkins will include the provision of infrastructure and project management services to URENCO, a key player within the field of nuclear fuel supply chain, resulting in the sustainable generation of electricity for UK consumers.
Atkins 4th June 2014 read more »
AN engineering and design consultancy is supporting jobs in a deal to help the UK’s electricity provision. Atkins, which has bases in Newcastle and Stockton, will deliver a capital investment programme for Urenco. Bosses at Atkins, which also carries out project management, say the programme involves plant and site upgrades and new facilities, and will create work for up to 60 staff.
Northern Echo 5th June 2014 read more »
ONR
The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) is to take on as many as 150 extra engineers over the next two years. The recruitment programme coincides with the ONR’s switch from being an agency of the Health and Safety Executive to becoming a statutory regulatory body in its own right. The move will free the watchdog from existing employment restrictions, allowing it to offer higher wages and better conditions to new staff, said Nick Baldwin, ONR chair. “We need the brightest and the best. And we need more flexibility in terms of wages and pensions,” he said. The ONR acts as the independent regulator for the nuclear industry, holding to account those building, operating and decommissioning power stations. At present, the organisation employs 450 staff, many of whom are engineers, and that figure is expected to grow to around 600. The organisation has its headquarters in Bootle, Merseyside, with other offices in Cheltenham and London.
Professional Engineer 4th June 2014 read more »
Radwaste
NFLA Welsh Forum calls on Welsh Government to follow Scottish direction & not UK Government policy on radioactive waste management The Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) Welsh Forum responds today to the Welsh Government’s review of its policy on higher activity radioactive waste (HAW) management. (1) NFLA reiterates its call on the Welsh Government to reverse its position on supporting new nuclear build at Wylfa. It argues that the Welsh Government should choose a policy similar to the Scottish Government policy of ‘near site, near surface’ on radioactive waste management, rather than the ‘deep disposal’ policy of the UK Government.
NFLA 4th June 2014 read more »
Review of Current Welsh Policy on the Disposal of Higher Activity Radioactive Waste (HAW), NFLA Consultation Response.
NFLA 4th June 2014 read more »
Politics
The last Queen’s speech of this parliament has confirmed a number of new environmental measures set to be introduced across the UK. The Queen confirmed government’s commitment to developing a UK shale gas industry. As part of that, the government is proposing to simplify access to shale sites which will allow companies to drill for shale oil and gas in return for community payments. The new proposals would effectively mean that shale gas companies will be able to drill underneath UK properties without the owners’ permission. The government also confirmed that it plans to introduce a 5p charge on plastic carrier bags in an attempt to reduce their impact on the environment. The government has confirmed that it will include offsite green energy shortcuts in order to help housing developers meet the ‘zero carbon standard’. The government claims that ‘allowable solutions’ provide “optional, cost effective and flexible means for house builders to meet the zero carbon homes standard, as an alternative to increased on-site energy efficiency measures or renewable energy (such as solar panels).” Finally, the Queen said that the UK would prioritise a global agreement on climate change.
Solar Portal 4th June 2014 read more »
Submarines
A RETIRED naval officer has revealed a near-catastrophe on a nuclear submarine which threatened the lives of its crew three years ago. Devonport-based HMS Turbulent was operating off the United Arab Emirates when its air-conditioning plant malfunctioned, sending temperatures in the vessel soaring. The submarine’s former commander Ryan Ramsey said crew members collapsed from heat exhaustion, and operational systems began to break down. Equipment was too hot to touch. The submarine was on the surface at the time. The commander decided the submarine should dive to bring the temperature down and the plan worked. But there were 26 casualties among the crew.
Morning Star 5th June 2014 read more »
Daily Mail 5th June 2014 read more »
Express 4th June 2014 read more »
Western Morning News 4th June 2014 read more »
Uranium
A huge uranium mine in Kakadu national park has been restarted after a toxic spill forced it to shut down for six months. Energy Resources Australia (ERA), a Rio Tinto-owned company, received federal and Northern Territory approval to restart the Ranger mine from Thursday. The collapse of a leach tank at the mine last December resulted in the leak of about one million litres of radioactive and acidic slurry. ERA has said no environmental damage was caused, but processing operations have been suspended ever since.
Guardian 5th June 2014 read more »
Energy Costs
Half of all households in the UK are in credit with their energy supplier and could claim up to £1.2bn between them, according to a survey. More than 13m homes are in credit by an average of £86, said comparison site uSwitch, equivalent to 52pc of households and up from 47pc last year. Some 21pc of households are in credit by more than £100, while 260,000 households could reclaim more than £500 from their supplier.
Telegraph 4th June 2014 read more »
Japan
Tepco has begun construction on the “ice wall”, which is a key measure to prevent groundwater contamination at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. The water-blocking ice wall is a system designed to block the flow of groundwater by freezing the ground below and around the four crippled reactor units, thus preventing its mixing with contaminated water.
Energy Business Review 4th June 2014 read more »
Iran
The United States on Wednesday welcomed Iran’s recent efforts to alleviate concerns about its nuclear programme, but urged it to increase the pace of cooperation. A recent report by the UN atomic watchdog IAEA found Iran was sticking to its agreements with the agency and implementing all newly agreed measures, even addressing matters related to bomb-making for the first time in six years.
Middle East Online 4th June 2014 read more »
Switzerland
AREVA is to carry out new projects for Kernkraft Gösgen-Däniken’s Gösgen nuclear power station in Switzerland, a plant that provides approximately 13 per cent of the nation’s electric power needs. For the first project, AREVA will expand the used fuel assembly wet storage facility which was built by the group. Secondly, AREVA will modernize the electrical and instrumentation and control (I&C) systems of the emergency diesel generators.
Engineer 4th June 2014 read more »
US
Barack Obama’s new power plant rules will still allow some states to increase their share of the carbon pollution that causes climate change, officials admitted for the first time on Wednesday. Obama and supporters cast the new rules for power plants as an historic step to fighting climate change and protecting public health. But some of the dirtiest and most coal-heavy states – such as West Virginia and Kentucky – will be allowed to maintain or even increase their emissions under the plan, according to analysts.
Guardian 4th June 2014 read more »
The U.S. Department of Energy said on Wednesday it will study the environmental risk of importing spent nuclear fuel from Germany that contains highly enriched uranium, a move believed to be the first for the United States.
Chicago Tribune 4th June 2014 read more »
Fossil Fuels
Demand for fossil fuels would fall dramatically if the world gets serious on climate change, according to projections from the International Energy Agency. That would leave major oil firms unable to recoup money invested in new supplies, the IEA says. Their fossil fuel assets could lose all value and become ‘stranded’.
Carbon Brief 4th June 2014 read more »
David Cameron today received a personal insight into the inconvenience and disruption local communities could face from a combination of fracking and anti-fracking protestors, as Greenpeace sought to turn the Prime Minister’s constituency home into a “fracking site”.
Business Green 4th June 2014 read more »
Guardian 4th June 2014 read more »
Independent 4th June 2014 read more »
The government confirmed its intention to change trespass laws and allow fracking companies to drill under people’s homes without their permission in the Queen’s speech on Wednesday, but the measure was not included in the infrastructure bill as expected. Instead, ministers will wait for the result of a 12-week consultation before moving to add the measure to legislation. The proposal is highly controversial, being opposed by three-quarters of the public, and Greenpeace turned David Cameron’s Oxfordshire home into a “fracking site” on Wednesday morning. But ministers and the shale gas and oil industry see the move as essential to speeding up the exploitation of the resource.
Guardian 4th June 2014 read more »
Independent 5th June 2014 read more »
A group of 50 academics from some of the UK’s leading universities today call on politicians to fast-track a UK shale gas industry, the latest salvo in an increasingly polarised debate around fracking. In a letter to the Guardian on Thursday, the scientists argue there are “undeniable economic, environmental and national security benefits” from shale being produced in the north-west of the country. The move comes just days after Sir Paul McCartney and 150 other celebrities called on the government to immediately halt all drilling operations on the grounds that they could damage the environment. New measures were included in the Queen’s speech to allow shale companies to drill more easily under people’s homes. The government, aware of the risk of a backbench rebellion and the threat of legal actions, stressed any proposals to reform the trespass laws were “entirely dependent on the outcome of a government consultation”.
Guardian 4th June 2014 read more »
Letter: According to the independent British Geological Survey, the Bowland Basin, which covers significant parts of north-west England, currently sits on top of 1,300 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. If we extract only 10% of this valuable resource, that is enough to boost our domestic supply to meet existing demand by at least a further 25 years, according to geoscientific experts.
Guardian 4th June 2014 read more »
Events such as the Ukraine crisis and hostilities between China and Vietnam are driving home the old lesson that fossil fuels and peace don’t mix.
Guardian 4th June 2014 read more »
Climate
Extreme weather events such as the UK’s winter floods could make global action to tackle climate change more likely, a senior peer has suggested. The chairman of the Government’s climate advisory committee, Lord Deben, said it was becoming increasingly clear predictions of extreme weather were coming true, and climate “deniers or dismissers” were seeing their arguments against action debunked. But the former Tory environment secretary warned those at the other end of the scale that they had to recognise the need to cut emissions in the most cost-effective manner to maintain public support for climate action.
Guardian 5th June 2014 read more »
Limits to Growth
The Limits to Growth forecast of potential “global ecological and economic collapse coming up in the middle of the 21st Century” due to convergence of “peak oil, climate change, and food and water security”, is “on-track.” Actual current trends in these areas “resonate strongly with the overshoot and collapse displayed in the book’s ‘business-as-usual scenario.'”
Guardian 4th June 2014 read more »
