China’s nuclear power delay – problems with its new Westinghouse Advanced Reactor
China’s First Advanced Nuclear Reactor Faces More Delays Start-Up Now Unlikely Until 2016 at the Earliest WSJ By CHUIN-WEI YAP And BRIAN SPEGELE Jan. 15, 2015 BEIJING—China’s ambitions to be a leader in nuclear technology have been dealt a fresh blow, as construction of its most advanced reactor is facing a new delay.The project—which China is developing with Westinghouse Electric Co. of the U.S.—faces new development problems and now isn’t expected to start up until 2016 at the earliest, the chief engineer at China’s state-owned reactor technology company said Thursday.
“We discovered some new problems during tests so we need to delay it more until next year,” Wang Zhongtang, chief engineer of China’s State Nuclear Power Technology Corp., said on the sidelines of an industry conference. Mr. Wang didn’t specify the nature of the latest problems found at ongoing trials for the reactor, nor did he provide a more precise time frame for its launch.
The delay is the second for the project, which had been slated to start by the end of 2013. It marks another setback for China’s clean-energy ambitions, as technical hurdles loom over Beijing’s aim to triple its nuclear power capacity by 2020…
….the delays have illustrated shortcomings in China’s nuclear sector, particularly when dealing with immature and first-of-a-kind technologies such as those found in the AP1000 reactor, said Li Ning, a nuclear-industry expert at China’s Xiamen University.
Chinese officials “are certainly very frustrated,” said Mr. Li. “I think they feel Westinghouse oversold the system, oversold the technology, promised more than they could really deliver.”………
China’s ambitions and vast market remain vital for the global nuclear industry. French nuclear engineering firm Areva S.A. , which lost out a key bid in 2007 to Westinghouse to build four reactors for China, is still seeking business there…….http://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-first-advanced-nuclear-reactor-faces-more-delays-1421297393
India should not buy Russia’s unsafe nuclear reactors
Reactors from Russia are unsafe and unreliable, India shouldn’t buy them: Russian environmentalist Vladimir SlivyakDiaNuke.org, 9 Jan 15 DiaNuke.org interviewed the eminent environmentalist Vladimir Slivyak whose group EcoDefense has been facing repression in Russia for exposing the lack of nuclear safety and environmental impacts. His report on the status of nuclear industry in Russia, prepared on the request of an environmental group in Africa which is also an important market that the Russian nuclear giant Atomsroyexport is eyeing, has been published recently.
The Russian President in his recent visit to New Delhi, offered 21 more reactors to India. Why is the Russian nuclear industry is in such hurry when there is a global shift away from nuclear after Fukushima?
Unfortunately, Russia hasen’t learnt any lessons from Fukushima. Development of nuclear power industry remains the priority for Russian government……..
It is also about making other countries dependent on Russian services and supplies, including nuclear fuel and also so called treatment of high-level radioactive waste, such as spent nuclear fuel, which is usually taken back to Russia. Making someone dependent in such a sensitive field as nuclear power, where not many producers existing, has global political importance for Russian authorities……….
Rosatom promises are far bigger than its technical capability to build reactors. The only explanation I can think of is that they don’t believe that all these reactors will be actually ordered. And Rosatom’ $100billion portfolio is not about real orders actually. It looks great on paper and allows Rosatom managers to report about big success to the government and continue to benefit from big governmental subsidies. But let’s see how their promises are interacting with reality. Couple of years ago there was contract signed with Vietnam and it was said publicly construction will start soon. And last year it appeared that this plan is postponed until 2020. Contract with Turkey was signed before Vietnam and reported to be another big breakthrough, but no construction started until now. And the most of so-called “orders” of Rosatom in other countries are, in fact, not real contracts, but just talks and wishful thinking. Rosatom often gives away totally unreliable information on new reactors, and it was many times proven to be false.
It doesn’t mean Rosatom is not capable of building reactors in India at all. Rather it means that if they do, they would have to postpone many other plans for long, they will try to do it as fast as possible which will likely affect safety of new reactors.
We often hear from the Russian Ambassador and the industry leaders from Russia visiting India that the Russian reactors are safest in the world. What is your take?
Rosatom is promoting its new reactor design, the VVER-TOI, to international customers even though this design has never been tested in practical operation in Russia. No assessments of this design have been done by independent experts, either. It remains unclear if safety has been improved in the new design, as Rosatom claims. But even industry experts put Rosatom’s claims of increased safety in doubt and argue over the effectiveness of new safety systems.
Existing Russian reactors, likewise, do not demonstrate a high level of safety………http://www.dianuke.org/russian-reactors-are-unsafe-and-unreliable-india-shouldnt-buy-them-russian-environmentalist-vladimir-slivyak/
2015 – A Critical Year for New Nuclear Power in UK
nuClear News Jan 15 “………Last month we reported that it was still unclear exactly who would invest in EDF Energy’sWomen on the move – into employment in renewable energy
An increasing female presence in Renewable energy By Sarah Brooks Linked In 12 Jan 15 The energy sector has always been regarded as male dominated. As of 2013, females contributed to just 21% of the workforce for traditional energy sources such as oil, gas and petroleum. However in the renewables sector females appear to be getting ahead. In Scotland alone 28% of the employees of the renewable energy industry were female.As the renewable industry is considered to be a relatively new source of energy and is still continuously undergoing development and investment, it opens up opportunities for females who would not normally be given a chance to work in the energy sector. Scotland are leading in the renewable sector in the UK, in 2012 almost 30% of electricity generated came from renewable sources compared to just 8% in England and Wales.
If the rest of the UK continue to develop similar to Scotland the number of careers for women within the sector will only increase. Although females are beginning to enter the energy workforce, it is questioned whether these are still mainly in sales and business based roles rather than technical. As of 2010, only 6% of the engineering workforce in the UK were female. Granting this, in 2013 16% of the graduates in engineering degrees were female, which was a small improvement from years prior.
This slight growth over the recent years can be shown through the fact in 2013 50% of the females employed by engineering industries were aged 25-30 years old. This is indication there will be a gradual influx of a younger generation of females into technical roles within the renewable sector as engineers begin to graduate and build their careers within the industry. Initiatives are in place to help encourage and support females to pursue engineering and technical roles. A survey carried out by Atkins in 2013 on females in engineering careers found over 50% of the sample felt they were put off at school for pursuing engineering as it being portrayed as ‘too difficult’ and ‘male dominated’………
Despite the renewable energy industry still being largely dominated by males, there is still huge opportunity for females to get on board not only in business support roles but technical too. With females being gradually encouraged to pursue an engineering career we can expect to see a gradual influx of women in the renewable workforce over the next few years…….https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/increasing-female-presence-renewable-energy-sarah-brooks
USA’s nuclear industry’s future in doubt – as shown in the costs of Exelon’s New York reactor
Troubled New York reactor’s costs test the future of nuclear power Tulsa World 6 Jan 15 NEW YORK — Exelon Corp., the biggest U.S. owner of nuclear reactors, needs to almost double power prices to keep a New York plant running in a move that promises to show just how far regulators will go to keep uneconomic plants operating.
After recording losses that exceeded $100 million from 2011 to 2013, Exelon will need to charge about 83 percent more than wholesale prices to earn a profit at its Ginna plant, based on company cost estimates. State regulators have set a Jan. 15 deadline for a new power contract that’s rich enough to keep the Rochester-area plant running.
Last month, Entergy Corp. shut Vermont’s only operating reactor citing low power prices. Ginna is one of 10 other nuclear plants that can’t compete in current markets, Moody’s Investors Service said in November. Retiring the reactors, which account for 10 percent of the nation’s nuclear output, would undercut a push to produce power without greenhouse gases as renewables such as wind and solar are just emerging……..
Exelon isn’t alone in its struggle with at-risk plants. Four U.S. nuclear reactors were shut in 2013 because they weren’t profitable or needed repairs that owners decided were too costly. Entergy’s Vermont Yankee was closed after it failed to find a buyer. ……
A single-unit reactor like Ginna needs as much as $71 a megawatt-hour to earn an 11 percent return and $56 to $64 to break even, based on 2016 forecasts, Exelon said. http://www.tulsaworld.com/washingtonpost/business/troubled-new-york-reactor-s-costs-test-the-future-of/article_dc3a470f-42d8-5bfb-9a27-14706b30cadb.html
Ginna nuclear plant would have to double its charges to consumes, to be profitable
US Nuclear Plant Would Have To Charge Double To Stay Profitable, Simply Info January 6th, 2015 Bloomberg has an interesting article about the major problem for US nuclear reactors. The economics are killing them. They blame subsidies other power generation gets (conveniently avoiding mention of the considerable subsidies nuclear power receives) and other (cheaper) power sources.
What was so startling in this Bloomberg article is that Ginna nuclear plant would have to charge consumers double the current retail power rates in order to turn a profit. This was vs. all other power sources (gas, coal, renewables)……….http://www.fukuleaks.org/web/?p=14282
Top renewable energy investment trends for 2015
UK watch: Tracking renewable energy investment trends, Renewable Energy Focus 05 January 2015 KATHARINE EARLEY As we head into 2015, Renewable Energy Focus contributor Katharine Earley speaks to Triodos Bank about investment trends, including crowd-funding, community-owned energy and businesses opting for on-site energy generation.With renewable energy set to be one of the key winners to emerge from the EU’s new three-year, £250bn investment plan, 2015 could be a promising year for renewables. We caught up with ethical investment pioneer Triodos Bank to understand what trends it foresees for the year ahead.
“We could see some real strides forward for renewable energy in Europe, particularly if the EU’s investment plan focuses on grid infrastructure,” Matthew Clayton, executive director of Triodos Renewables, explained. “As we move from centralised power plants to smaller, distributed energy generation, government investment could really help to address this important systems issue. Coupled with private investment in energy efficiency and generation, such a move could lead to more rapid progress.”
For Triodos’ part, its renewables company, owned by some 5,000 shareholders, operates 11 onshore wind and hydroelectric projects across the UK with a capacity of 53MW, enough electricity to power 34,200 homes. Founded in 1994, the company has seen a 35% increase in shareholders and a 50% increase in generating capacity in the past three years. Its projects generated more than 100m kWh of clean electricity in 2013. Having already raised £2m from its latest share offer, it is now extending the offer until 30th January 2015.
So what does Clayton see as the reasons for this prosperity?
“Investor confidence has grown as the nature of the projects become more robust,” he explained. “The technology is proven and is also decreasing gradually in price. Interestingly, we’re seeing interest from a wide range of investors, from individuals through to institutional investors. And we want to make investing in renewables accessible – that’s why we’re inviting minimum investments of £50 through our current share offer………..
1. More projects will be developed to supply a business
“We’ll see more projects developed with a direct supply of renewable electricity to a business,” Bazin stated. “This helps the developer to achieve a better price for the power and reduces electricity losses during transmission. Meanwhile, the business purchasing the energy benefits from greater security of supply, lower cost compared to using major utilities and a boost to its efforts to reduce its environmental footprint.”
According to Bazin, this direct supply of electricity will be a key component of roof-mounted solar projects, which are high on the UK government’s agenda in 2015. This type of direct supply model also helps to raise awareness of the positive impact of renewable energy among building users, he confirms.
2. Community-owned energy will gather momentum
At least AREVA is selling some wind turbines, though not nuclear reactors
Iberdrola awards AREVA its largest renewable energy business to date January 6, 2015
Source: Iberdrola Iberdrola has signed with Areva its largest renewable energy contract to date, valued at approximately €620 million, for the supply of wind turbines to its Wikinger offshore project.
The French company will supply 70 M5000-135 5MW wind turbines, worth €550 million. For the first time, Iberdrola will be installing 5-MW turbines in a wind facility.
Under the terms of the contract, AREVA will also provide maintenance services, valued at €70 million, for a 5-year period which may be extended for another five years…..http://www.pennenergy.com/articles/pennenergy/2015/01/iberdrola-awards-areva-its-largest-renewable-energy-business-to-date.html
Nuclear company AREVA really in a state of bankruptcy, but tax-payers will bail it out
AREVA goes from bad to worse, nuclear giant headed for bankruptcy http://sansdrapeauxnibanderoles.wordpress.com/ Sortir du Nulcleaire , France January 4 15 , Translation by Noel Wauchope The French group AREVA, world No. 1 nuclear power is bankrupt. Its shares collapsed: they have lost 55% since the beginning of the year. Already over-indebted, AREVA’s losses for 2014 would exceed € 1 billion- Nuclear power has become too risky and too expensive, civil nuclear is no longer sold on the world market: AREVA has not delivered a reactor for 7 years.
- The sites of two EPR reactors in Finland and France drag on, their cost has tripled, now reaching 9 billion euro.But the Finns will not pay the additional costs and now require penalties. It’s a total financial fiasco.
- The delivery of nuclear fuel in Japan remains suspended because the reactors have remained closed there since the accident in Fukushima. This fuel export shortfall adds to the worsening finances of AREVA.
- After Fukushima, Siemens left AREVA to convert to renewable energy. They held a 20% stake in the group.
- The Uramin case in 2007: the acquisition of uranium mining in Niger, Central African Republic and Namibia, which soon proved unworkable. Between the purchase, retro-commissions and the unsuccessful operation, AREVA has accumulated € 3bn loss. The proposed remedies: the taxpayer on the front line
Economically, closure of Vermont Nuclear Plant points to the coming transformation of USA’s electricity system
Even optimistic projections of the cost of building new nuclear reactors leaves them four times as costly as energy efficiency and twice as costly as wind and gas. Many analysts believe that solar power will be significantly less costly than nuclear in the next decade. Moreover, nuclear power never lives up to the optimistic cost projections of its boosters. Reactors under construction in the U.S. and Europe are way behind schedule and over budget.
The problem with new reactor construction costs is well known, but the really stunning development is the problem that nuclear power has in terms of operating costs
the “dinosaurs” in the electricity sector have enough political clout to slow or prevent the change in the environment. Nuclear power is a major obstacle, demonstrated by its steadfast opposition to and an all-out attack on renewables and efficiency. Shuttering old, uneconomic reactors like Vermont Yankee is important not only because it removes an economic obstacle to change, but also because it shows the political will to transform America’s electricity system.
Why Closing Vermont Yankee Won’t Raise New England’s Power Bills Forbes Staff , Contributor Mark Cooper 31 Dec 14 Mr. Cooper is a senior fellow for economic analysis at Vermont Law School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment. Critics of the closing of the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor have forecast a 40 percent jump in New England winter heating bills as a result of the shutdown. The facts suggest they have it wrong in more ways than one. Continue reading
Uranium company desperate to get funding
Uranium company struggles to find funding Nuclear industry feels sting from oil boom KRQE News, By Angela Ollison December 29, 2014, HOBBS, N.M. (KRQE) – An Idaho based company is struggling to find funding for a $125 million dollar uranium deconversion plant in southeastern New Mexico.
The president of International Isotopes told the Hobbs-News Sun that with oil prices falling and a surplus on the market, no one wants to invest in nuclear projects……..http://krqe.com/2014/12/29/uranium-company-struggles-to-find-funding/
Vermont Yankee has only half the $1.24B needed to get rid of the nuclear plant corpse
Nuclear plant predicts $1.24B decommissioning cost http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2014/12/nuclear-plant-predicts-1-24b-decommissioning-cost.html?cmpid=enl-poe-weekly-december-22-2014 12/22/2014 MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant has made formal its prediction that decommissioning the reactor will cost $1.24 billion.
The plant currently has about half that amount saved up to dismantle the reactor and complete other tasks. It’s expected to be at least the early 2040s before the fund has grown enough to pay for full decommissioning.
Vermont Yankee owner Entergy Corp. announced in August of 2013 that it would shut down at the end of this year because the plant was no longer economical to operate.
Vermont looks to renewable energy – shuts down Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant
The shutdown came just after noon as the Vermont Yankee plant completed its 30th operating cycle when workers inserted control rods into the reactor core and stopped the nuclear reaction process, the plant’s owner said………..
The plant will sit for decades while its radioactive components cool and its decommissioning fund grows. It’s expected to cost nearly $1.25bn to dismantle the plant, which likely won’t occur until the 2040s or later.
Vermont governor Peter Shumlin, who had pushed for the closing of the plant, said the closing is a positive step for the state.
“Today, thanks to investments in renewable energy such as solar, Vermont’s energy future is on a different, more sustainable path that is creating jobs, reducing energy costs for Vermonters and slowing climate change,” Shumlin said……..
Vermont Public Service Commissioner Chris Recchia said Monday the state hasn’t received power from the plant in almost three years. “We are moving full speed ahead with local, sustainable no-carbon renewable in Vermont.”
Marcia Blomberg, a spokeswoman for ISO New England, which manages the regional electric grid, said the loss of power from Vermont Yankee wouldn’t pose a problem, but the region faces long-term challenges from the loss of number of older power plants……..http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/29/vermont-shutters-nuclear-power-plant-yankee
USA Energy companies waking up to the renewable energy future
Another Wake-Up Call For Energy Companies CleanTechnica December 30th, 2014 by Tina Casey “…Electricity generated by solar, wind, or geothermal offers a more solid fiscal footing, since once the equipment is up and running the fuel is virtually free.
Consumers have been getting the message about prices as well as community benefits. According to the latest Pew energy poll (h/t to fuelfix.com), Americans favor alternative energy by a whopping 60 percent to 30 percent margin.
Speaking of Republicans, that figure includes self-identified Republicans, which is the only demographic group in the survey to favor fossil energy over renewables. Did I say Republicans too many times in this article?
Where was I? Oh, right. Utility companies such as Duke Energy have been taking that message to heart and are rapidly increasing their renewable energy portfolios, as chronicled endlessly here at CleanTechnica and our sister site PlanetSave.
As for energy extraction companies, earlier this week we made the point that energy is fungible. If you think of energy to the energy industry as mobility to the auto industry, you can see why the reality is that the transition to a more safe and sustainable business model can be painful, it is doable.
Some extraction companies are doing it faster than others. For example Chevron (yes, that Chevron) is heavily invested in solar energy, and Saudi Aramco is busily transitioning its host nation’s domestic energy profile into renewables.
On the other side of the coin, there are still plenty of fossil-invested companies that don’t seem to be interested in any kind of transition at all, and that have been aggressively lobbying against renewables.
That would be Koch Industries and Exxon, for starters. If you can think of some other examples, drop us a note in the comment thread.
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Electricity Utilities must change their business model as distributed energy races ahead
Report: Distributed-Renewables Disruption Will Reduce Utility Revenues By Up To $123 Billion A Year By 2025 Clean Technica, December 29th, 2014 by James Ayre
The ongoing growth of distributed renewable energy generation throughout the US and Europe will see utility-company revenues reduced by as much as $123 billion a year by 2025, according to a new report from the consulting company Accenture.
That new report — titled the Digitally Enabled Grid report — clearly states that if the utilities wish to maintain a market share comparable to that of today, the companies will need to “fundamentally transform their business models.”………
As noted by the report, solar PV is actually already at grid parity in some parts of the US, the EU, and Australia. The expectation is that Japan will follow in that direction as well in a few years.
While the utility companies certainly have their work cut out for them, they aren’t facing extinction like some have predicted — according to de Miguel anyways. “While the ‘death spiral’, as commonly defined, is a myth, the demand disruption caused by the growing adoption of energy demand-disrupting technologies is a very real threat to utilities’ business models. And in addition to the financial pressure, this will cause significant operational challenges for utilities, increase technical stress on the grid and open the market to new competition for energy products and services.”
Given the growing number of executives at the utility companies that seem to be aware of the issues (see graph below), it seems pretty likely that some of the companies will institute major changes of some sort in the relatively near future………..
Those interested can find the full report here. http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/29/report-distributed-renewables-disruption-will-reduce-utility-revenues-us123-billion-year-2025/
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of the week– Nuclear Reactor Information Task Force
14 May – online event From Bombs to Data Centres: the Face of Nuclear Colonialism
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