Wylfa – Amec
Trade unions are pressuring nuclear authorities and the Welsh government over whether the FTSE 100 engineering group Amec is “fit and proper” to be working on the next generation of Britain’s atomic power plants. The GMB union is enraged that a company that its officials say has not apologised for its alleged role in the construction blacklisting scandal is allowed to work on the £8bn Wylfa nuclear project in North Wales. Amec was one of dozens of construction firms that used the services of The Consulting Association, which held a secret database of more than 3,000 names who were allegedly troublemakers. Those people say they have found themselves effectively barred from working for those companies, 11 of which were named as co-defendants in a legal action concerning the blacklist brought earlier this year. The GMB, which has initiated one of several separate legal cases against construction groups, believes it is possible that blacklisting occurred on Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) sites on which Amec has had contracts. As part of the Coalition’s National Infrastructure Plan announced last week, the Government gave a loan guarantee to Hitachi and the Horizon consortium behind Wylfa. It was then confirmed that Amec would be providing technical design and specialist engineering services to Horizon. The GMB has asked the NDA to put the issue of whether Amec should be allowed to participate on new nuclear projects on its next board agenda.
Independent 9th Dec 2013 read more »
Hinkley
Ed Davey’s claim that British companies will win most of the work to build EDF Energy’s £16 billion Hinkley Point nuclear reactor was on shaky ground last night after it emerged that his remarks contradicted a government report. When the coalition and the French company announced a deal to award tens of billions of pounds of consumer-funded subsidies to Hinkley Point in October, the Energy Secretary said that up to 57 per cent of the contracts would go to UK plc. The rest would go to foreign, mostly French, companies. Yet the claim ignored the conclusions of a report commissioned by the Department for Business, published in March, which found that domestic suppliers would be able to win only 44 per cent. Indeed, consultants reviewing Oxford Economics’ report estimated privately that even that figure was unrealistic, suggesting 41 per cent, instead.
Times 9th Dec 2013 read more »
Nuclear Industry
Over the next 20 years it is estimated that £930bn will be spent globally on building new nuclear reactors. We should aim to win a large slice of that business. As unlikely as it sounds, 2013 might be remembered as the year when this country actually did something about its energy problem. These islands may be blessed with reserves of oil, gas, wind and hydro but they are not enough to stop future power blackouts. In October, the Energy Secretary, Ed Davey, struck a deal to build the first new nuclear power station in Britain since 1995. That project, at Hinkley Point in Somerset, was swiftly followed by last week’s announcement that the Government had agreed to underwrite plans for a new reactor at Wyfla in north Wales. It could be the start of a new nuclear fleet, which is good news for anyone who is worried about Britain’s energy future. But it’s just the start of the change we need. Government and industry need to move swiftly: quick decisions are needed on how much of the nuclear supply chain will stay in Britain. Construction jobs are important but this opportunity should be used to support a home-grown nuclear supply industry that can service the needs of Britain’s nuclear ambitions and then export those skills and products to the world. It is too good an opportunity to miss.
Telegraph 8th Dec 2013 read more »
Energy Supplies
FAMILIES face power cuts at Christmas and New Year because the Government has failed to allow for the predicted Arctic weather, according to the UK’s leading energy supply expert. Professor Ian Fells fears a bitterly cold winter will push the National Grid beyond breaking point when demand for ¬electricity peaks. He said coal and gas-fired stations will have to run at full capacity to try to keep the lights on and they still may not generate enough to prevent homes being blacked out. Professor Fells said: “It may be the case that power shortages will occur over Christmas and the New Year when families are at home and annually there is a spike in energy usage.” The Emeritus Professor of Energy Conversion at Newcastle University added: “There is no doubt that if we take the weather forecast for one of the coldest winters on record seriously then if we only have two per cent spare capacity, which is what Ofgem (the energy regulator) have reported, that is a serious matter.
Express 8th Dec 2013 read more »
Britain is at risk of power cuts next winter unless major investment takes place in Britain’s energy infrastructure, according to industry figures. Amid ongoing criticism of power companies’ profits and prices, npower’s chief executive Paul Massara said that the margins between demand and supply were narrowing and he did not know if the lights would remain on over next winter. Speaking to the BBC for a Panorama programme to be screened tonight, he said: “The amount of spare generation that is around at the peak day has gone down from about 15 per cent to this winter [when] we’ll be at about 5 per cent and I think next winter will be even smaller,”
Independent 9th Dec 2013 read more »
Britain’s unilateral carbon tax should be scrapped before it causes blackouts, pushes up household bills and makes the UK uncompetitive, ScottishPower argues. Keith Anderson, chief corporate officer, warns that the “carbon price floor” (CPF), which taxes companies for burning fossil fuels, will make Britain’s remaining coal plants “largely uneconomic by around the middle of the decade”. With Britain’s spare power margin already forecast to fall as low as 2pc by 2015, the carbon tax will force more closures and “threatens to make us even more vulnerable to the risk of blackouts”, he warns.
Telegraph 8th Dec 2013 read more »
Keith Anderson: The measures announced last week by Ed Davey, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, to limit increases in household energy bills were welcome. They will bring real savings to hard-pressed consumers and demonstrate an acknowledgement by Government that there are some costs for which it is responsible. But, perhaps most importantly, they provide a platform from which we can have a more rational, considered debate about UK energy policy. If we want to make energy bills more affordable, not just this winter but for many winters to come – whilst still giving energy companies the confidence and incentive to come forward with desperately needed investment – then we need imaginative long-term initiatives. Firstly, we need to continue reducing gas consumption. This winter, 90pc of us will heat our homes using gas, which accounts for about 60pc of a typical household bill. Gas consumption has already fallen by about 18pc in the last four years, largely due to energy efficiency measures, but we need to ensure this trend continues. Secondly, we need to get better at managing our journey towards a lower carbon economy. Abolishing the CPF or freezing it would help to reduce upward pressure on bills. Thirdly, we need to become smarter about smart meters. Finally, we need to focus more of our limited resources on those who need it most. At present, more than £4bn a year is spent helping pensioners and others with the cost of their bills through a range of measures, including the Winter Fuel Allowance, ECO and the Warm Home Discount scheme. However, we believe that only around £1.5bn of this actually goes to those in fuel poverty.
Telegraph 8th Dec 2013 read more »
Energy Costs
Labour’s plans to freeze fuel prices could bankrupt investors in energy companies, the head of the OECD has told Panorama. Forcing firms to absorb wholesale price increases could put investors in financial danger, said Angel Gurria, the organisation’s secretary-general. Labour leader Ed Miliband has vowed to freeze energy bills for 20 months if his party wins the 2015 election. Labour said the “big six” energy firms have been overcharging people.
BBC 9th Dec 2013 read more »
Guardian 9th Dec 2013 read more »
Telegraph 9th Dec 2013 read more »
Central Europe – Energy Policy
Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, also known as the Visegrad Group, are all in the process of making profound mistakes concerning their energy supplies, which will cost these countries dearly for decades to come, as Paul Hockenos warns. While most of Europe is investing in renewable energies and planning for low-carbon power supplies, the Visegrad states are stuck in backward thinking. The Central Europeans are committing themselves to a future of coal, nuclear energy, and imported gas and oil – just when low-carbon clean energy has become affordable. Indeed, the cost of fossil fuels and nuclear power have soared in recent years – and, by all accounts, will continue to. But renewables have plummeted in price; at the same time, clean-energy technology improves by the year. Now that it is cost-effective even for countries with modest means and moderate sunlight, it makes no sense to continue investing in conventional energies.
Renew Economy 9th Dec 2013 read more »
France
Nuclear power will always provide at least half of France’s electricity, the country’s industry minister was reported as saying in China on Sunday, defying calls by the green arm of the government to exit nuclear altogether.
Euronews 8th Dec 2013 read more »
Japan – Fukushima
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Dec. 6 it detected the highest estimated radiation level for an outdoor location at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. The reading of 25 sieverts per hour was taken on steel piping near an exhaust stack for the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors, TEPCO said. The utility earlier said high radiation levels of at least 10 sieverts per hour were found on the piping.
Asahi Shimbubn 7th Dec 2013 read more »
Iran
The Obama administration is facing a critical week in Congress as it tries to fend off new Iran sanctions legislation that it believes could damage vital talks over Iran’s nuclear programme. A group of leading senators from both parties is close to agreeing the text of a new round of sanctions, which could be announced early this week if they overcome the final sticking points, according to Senate aides.
FT 8th Dec 2013 read more »
Renewables – offshore wind
Dong Energy, the company that claims to be the biggest developer of windfarms in the world, believes it is “game on” in the North Sea with nothing to hold back new investment. The upbeat message from the Danish firm’s British chairman, Brent Cheshire, comes days after the government announced a better than expected subsidy regime for large offshore wind farms. Cheshire said he hoped the injection of public money would get a payback quickly with offshore wind being able to compete without subsidies as early as 2020. Part of this dramatic swing from high cost to being highly competitive would derive from Dong finding ways to slash its operating costs by up to 40% through a range of innovations, including use of larger turbines and schemes that will allow standardisation of products and processes, he said.
Guardian 8th Dec 2013 read more »
Letter: Maf Smith: Simon Jenkins’ article on wind turbines suggests a lack of knowledge on the subject. At various points in the article Jenkins claims that wind energy is not green, creates “almost no jobs”, and that it doesn’t matter where wind turbines are sited as they receive payment no matter the supply of wind. In fact, carbon payback of construction of wind occurs in three to six months, there are over 16,000 direct jobs and around 14,000 indirect jobs in the wind industry, and payments only occur for energy generated by wind turbines – not installed capacity. In a final piece of confusion, he states that offshore turbines are less efficient than onshore – despite them having a higher load factor, the generally accepted measurement for efficiency. Jenkins is clearly no fan of the look of wind turbines, but the majority of people are, and the debate should focus on the real facts. Wind energy works, and it is an important part of meeting our energy needs today and into the future.
Guardian 8th Dec 2013 read more »
Letter: If wind turbines do not work, could Simon Jenkins explain how Denmark is a net exporter of electricity? If subsidies are such an evil, why does he not rail against the obscene amounts of our cash given to the nuclear industry, which has yet to finish a UK project on time, within budget and capable of generating its promised output? Rather than sending cash abroad, subsidies should be made available to communities wanting to put up their own turbine for local micro-generation projects to provide local cheaper power.
Guardian 8th Dec 2013 read more »
Renewables – grid
Energy from surplus wind power can be used to pump water uphill and will provide “battery” power to even out energy supply and demand, researchers say. Norwegian hydropower schemes linked to Europe’s large wind farm projects could successfully act as a backup when wind power fails to deliver enough energy, according to SINTEF, the largest independent Scandinavian research organization. With both on- and off-shore wind power being seen as key to reducing the EU’s carbon emissions by 80-95% by 2050, a big hurdle for the technology is solving the problem of intermittent power production. Sometimes there will be too much power on offer, and at others too little. A northern European offshore power grid is being developed to link wind farms and carry the electricity to population centres where it is needed in Sweden, Denmark and Germany. But the key problem remains how to maintain a regular supply of energy. If the existing Norwegian hydropower schemes were refurbished and updated and connected to the same grid they could act as a giant “blue-green battery” for the system and provide all the necessary backup power, according to SINTEF.
Climate News Network 8th Dec 2013 read more »
Energy Efficiency
Energy companies and their successful lobbying efforts have come under fire from consumer groups after it emerged that even fewer households will have their homes insulated under an abbreviated government-backed scheme. The coalition announced cutbacks last week to the Energy Company Obligation insulation scheme as part of plans to knock about £50 off the average energy bill. The number of solid wall insulations due to be carried out, which cost about £9,000 each, was slashed from 80,000 properties per year to 25,000 — cuts that followed months of industry lobbying, led by British Gas, which has the biggest quota and has made the least progress meeting it. Yet the actual number of such insulations carried out could be only half the 25,000 figure claimed. In an attempt to encourage companies to stop dragging their feet, suppliers who meet a third of their targets by March next year — more than halfway through the scheme — will have to carry out only half the measures required. The Department of Energy and Climate Change has also removed the threat of fines of up to 10 per cent of turnover if a supplier misses its 2015 target. Companies will have another two years to make up any shortfall and avoid any fines.
Times 9th Dec 2013 read more »
