Bradwell
The government is close to finalising a deal that will allow Chinese state-owned companies to build and operate a nuclear reactor in Essex. EDF told investors last week that it expected to conclude an agreement with Britain to build a new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point, Somerset, with two junior Chinese backers. However, the controversial and much-delayed project is only the first in a package of deals between the UK, EDF and the French energy group’s partners China General Nuclear Power Group and China National Nuclear Corporation. Second in the sequence is a new reactor at Sizewell, Suffolk, which will be followed by a plant at Bradwell, Essex.
Times 7th Sept 2015 read more »
CHINA is set to build a prototype nuclear reactor at an Essex site, with the government expected to give the project the go-ahead next month. French energy firm EDF has been trying to offload its Bradwell development site in Essex since 2009, when it first began the sale process as a condition of its purchase of British Energy. The sale of Bradwell comes as part of a wide-ranging civil nuclear co-operation agreement between the UK and China, reached during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to the UK in June 2014.
City AM 7th Sept 2015 read more »
DAVID Cameron is poised to sign a landmark deal next month to allow China to build a prototype nuclear reactor in Bradwell, Essex – which would become the first Chinese-operated facility in the West.
Express 6th Sept 2015 read more »
Sizewell
Disappointment was voiced last night over renewed uncertainty for Suffolk residents waiting for a decision on Sizewell’s new nuclear reactors. The Government had originally hoped new powerstations at Sizewell and Hinkley Point would be up and running by 2025 to help plug an emerging gap in energy supply – now both are delayed. delays have at last led Jean-Bernard Levy, EDF’s chairman and managing director, to admit that Hinkley Point C will not start generating power in 2023 as planned. Inevitably, every delay for Hinkley has a knock-on set-back for Sizewell C because agreement for Hinkley is the trigger which will set the ball rolling for the £16billion Suffolk project. Only when the financial investment decision at Hinkley is announced will the long-awaited and eagerly-anticipated second stage of public consultation on Sizewell take place, giving fuller details of projects such as park-and-ride schemes, road improvements and worker accommodation sites. It is now nearly three years since the first consultation and while there has never been a timetable for Sizewell C, the company cannot have expected the project to have taken so long. An EDF spokeswoman said the latest announcements would have no impact on Sizewell C and the company remained committed to nuclear power for the UK equally as strongly as it is for France.
East Anglian Daily Times 5th Sept 2015 read more »
Nukes vs Climate
BUILDING new nuclear power plants to create a carbon-free world “doesn’t make sense” and just serves as a distraction from the risks, Canadian author Naomi Klein says. The activist and author of This Changes Everything, was asked what she thought about the possibility of building a nuclear power plant in South Australia, which a Royal Commission in the state is currently considering.
News.co.au 4th Sept 2015 read more »
Small Reactors
Recently, a small, mostly unknown private player in the nuclear power arena was unveiled to a select group of equity analysts. That company, NuScale Power, is at the forefront of a major technological breakthrough that could change the way the world generates nuclear power. Moreover, the firm is probably the only viable investment choice for investors interested in this tech. Best of all, investors can invest in the company through a unique arrangement that mitigates risk. This is a major opportunity for long-term investors. Let’s start at the beginning. NuScale Power makes small modular reactors (SMRs) which are a type of nuclear reactor which is built in a factory and designed to be safer and more economical for use in power applications.
Oil Price 6th Sept 2015 read more »
Turkey
A senior manager at Turkey’s first nuclear power plant in the Mediterranean province of Mersin has resigned from his post, claiming that even though Turkey needs nuclear technology, it should not be done with contracted Russian company Rosatom. Faruk Uzel, who worked as the Public Diplomacy and Government Relations Manager for the Akkuyu Nuclear Joint Stock Company for four years, resigned from the company, saying the project should not proceed with Russian state-owned Rosatom, as they were unprofessional.
Hurriyet Daily News 4th Sept 2015 read more »
Renewables – solar
Panasonic, one of the world’s largest electronics companies, has urged the UK government to think again about its plans to cut subsidies for homeowners who install solar panels. The Japanese company, which is a major supplier of solar panels in Britain, said it normally tried to avoid intervening in political decisions but could not stand by and watch the industry being attacked. Amber Rudd, the energy and climate change secretary, said 10 days ago that she would consult on plans to reduce financial support for solar energy installations in a bid to ease the burden on bill payers. The strong words from Panasonic follow warnings of a wholesale collapse in the industry from the panel installer Solarcentury. The proposed changes to the Fits come shortly after the early phase out of the renewable obligation subsidy, a support mechanism for larger renewable electricity projects.
Guardian 6th Sept 2015 read more »
Fuel Poverty
China’s success in lifting people from subsistence should be repeated elsewhere, writes Nick Butler. For one person in six, worldwide energy is not a tradeable commodity but a matter of survival – and it takes the form not of electricity from the socket or petrol from the pump but wood or dung collected by hand. The number of people living and dying in conditions of absolute poverty is falling – but only slowly, because population growth, especially in sub Saharan Africa, cancels out many of the gains being made elsewhere. According to the most recent forecast from the International Energy Agency, almost a billion people will still lack electricity, even in 2030. That number could be higher still if recent forecasts of population growth in Africa and India prove to be right. Eliminating energy poverty does not have to rely on governments with Beijing’s level of centralised authority. Developing countries including Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are tackling energy poverty in rural areas, where more than half the villagers have no connection to the electricity grid. Power can come in different ways, from pico-power systems that can generate just 0.01kW (enough for lighting and simple two-way mobile links) to standalone home systems or local grids. The smaller systems are predominantly solar powered; the bigger ones can also use hydro, wind and biomass.
FT 6th Sept 2015 read more »
Greenpeace
A French secret service diver who took part in the operation to sink Greenpeace ship the Rainbow Warrior 30 years ago has spoken publicly for the first time to apologise for his actions. Jean-Luc Kister, who attached a mine to the ship’s hull, says the guilt of the bombing, which killed a photographer, still weighs heavily on his mind. “We are not assassins and we have a conscience,” the former agent told investigative website Mediapart. “I have the weight of an innocent man’s death on my conscience … It’s time, I believe, for me to express my profound regret and my apologies,” Kister said.
Guardian 6th Sept 2015 read more »
