Protestors want the licence from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) which permitted the dredging to be scrapped, amid worries the mud could be contaminated from discharges from Hinkley. In the assembly on Wednesday, Cardiff North AM Julie Morgan asked why the dumping site was chosen “when it’s only two kilometres from the shore”, and what the benefits to south Wales were. ……..
Kenya postpones its nuclear power plans
Kenya now pushes nuclear power plant plan to 2036, https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/economy/Kenya-now-pushes-nuclear-power-plant-plan-to-2036/3946234-4777866-b05oauz/index.html, By PATRICK ALUSHULA, SEPTEMBER 25, 2018 Kenya was already hunting for a partner to produce nuclear power by 202.
Kenya has postponed its plan to build Sh968 billion nuclear power plant by nine years to 2036 in favour renewable energy projects and coal plant.
Updated power development plan prepared by the Ministry of Energy and covering the period 2017 to 2037, now show that the earliest the country can build the nuclear plant is 2036 and not 2027 as initially planned.
In the revised plan, the first unit is expected to be completed in 2036, followed by another in 2037, making it the last project in the ministry’s 20-year plan for power generation expansion.
“All energy sources were considered in the system expansion planning. However, it is noteworthy that nuclear was not brought on board in both optimised and fixed MTP cases,” reads the updated plan shared by the Ministry.
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In addition to the delay, the plan size has been scaled down. Initially, Kenya was to construct two nuclear power plants, each with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts (MW) at a total cost of $4.05 billion (Sh405 billion) per plant.
However, the new plan is to have each plant with a capacity of 600MW at a cost of $4.84 billion (Sh484) billion.
The Ministry did not explain why the cost had gone up despite cutting the capacity of each unit by 40 per cent.
Kenya was already hunting for a partner to produce nuclear power by 2022 to help match-up rising demand and diversify from hydropower and geothermal.
It joins South Africa South Africa, which in August cancelled plans to add 9,600 MW of nuclear power by 2030 and will instead aim to add more capacity in natural gas, wind and other energy sources.
Japan’s Environment Ministry forced to change its forecast in order to make the nuclear industry look better
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Ministry retracts estimate of ratio of nuclear power in fiscal 2050,THE ASAHI SHIMBUN, September 24, 2018
The Environment Ministry was forced to retract its trial calculation that the ratio of nuclear power generation to Japan’s total electricity generation will be less than 10 percent in fiscal 2050.
The ministry made the retraction in February in response to backlash from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which is supervising the electric power industry, several sources of the two ministries said. At the time, the economy ministry was proceeding with a revision of the government’s basic energy plan. It apparently feared that the trial calculation could influence discussions on the future ratio of nuclear power generation, the sources added. “We didn’t put pressure (on the Environment Ministry),” an economy ministry official said. However, an Environment Ministry official said, “We couldn’t help but retract (the original trial calculation).” After the retraction, the contents of the basic energy plan were decided as had been worked out by the economy ministry and were approved in a Cabinet meeting in July. The Abe administration regards nuclear power generation as “an important baseload electric source” and is promoting the restarts of nuclear reactors. Under the policy, the economy ministry has apparently adopted a stance of concealing data that is inconvenient for the administration. The Asahi Shimbun obtained the trial calculation, which was shown to the economy ministry by the Environment Ministry. According to the estimate, the ratio of nuclear power generation to Japan’s total electricity generation will be 21 percent in fiscal 2030 in accordance with the Abe administration’s policies. The ratio will decrease to 11 to 12 percent in fiscal 2040 and to 7 to 9 percent in fiscal 2050. In addition, the ratio of renewable energies will increase to 57 to 66 percent in fiscal 2040 and further to 72 to 80 percent in fiscal 2050. The Environment Ministry compiled the trial calculation by setting up a team with Mitsubishi Research Institute Inc. and experts to examine measures to reduce greenhouse gases. In the trial calculation, the team assumed that renewable energies will be introduced as much as possible. The Asahi Shimbun obtained the trial calculation, which was shown to the economy ministry by the Environment Ministry. According to the estimate, the ratio of nuclear power generation to Japan’s total electricity generation will be 21 percent in fiscal 2030 in accordance with the Abe administration’s policies. The ratio will decrease to 11 to 12 percent in fiscal 2040 and to 7 to 9 percent in fiscal 2050. In addition, the ratio of renewable energies will increase to 57 to 66 percent in fiscal 2040 and further to 72 to 80 percent in fiscal 2050. The Environment Ministry compiled the trial calculation by setting up a team with Mitsubishi Research Institute Inc. and experts to examine measures to reduce greenhouse gases……….http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201809240032.html |
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Cost of Georgia’s Vogtle nuclear power project is becoming a big worry to law-makers
Cost of Georgia nuclear plant draws scrutiny from lawmakers, https://business.financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/cost-of-georgia-nuclear-plant-draws-scrutiny-from-lawmakers Financial Post, The Associated Press, Ben Nadler, 21 Sept 18, ATLANTA — A group of ranking Georgia lawmakers is sounding the alarm about cost overruns from construction at a nuclear power plant near Augusta.
The two additional reactors being built at Plant Vogtle, approximately 30 miles (50 kilometres) south of Augusta, are years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. The lawmakers said they want a “cost cap” established to protect Georgians from getting gouged on their electricity bills.
In August, the plant’s owners, which include Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power Corporation and Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, learned that the plant would require an additional $2.3 billion, bringing the total cost estimate to $27 billion.
That new overage initiated a clause in the ownership agreement where ninety per cent of ownership must agree to move forward. A down vote from any one of those organizations would mean the multibillion-dollar project is abandoned.
Georgia Power’s parent company, Southern Company, pledged that its shareholders would absorb its share of the costs. That leaves Oglethorpe Power and MEAG with a decision: pay up or pull out.
The letter lawmakers sent Wednesday was signed by 20 members of the Georgia General Assembly, including Rep. Terry England, chairman of the House appropriations committee, and Sen. Butch Miller, president pro tempore of the Senate. It said that unlike Georgia Power, the other organizations “don’t have the luxury of shareholders to absorb these additional costs and will have to increase rates even higher.”
They asked the owners to “ensure prior to voting in support of moving forward … that a cost cap is established to protect all Georgia electric ratepayers from this and future overruns.”
But Gov. Nathan Deal took a different stance. A day before the lawmaker’s letter was sent, Deal sent a letter to Oglethorpe Power encouraging completion of the project.
“Given the project’s critical economic impact to the State of Georgia, I strongly encourage (the project’s) co-owners to continue work and complete the construction,” Deal said. “I am counting on the project co-owners to follow through on the commitments you made to the citizens of Georgia, ratepayers and myself.”
The plug was pulled on a similar project in neighbouring South Carolina in July 2017 when the V.C. Summer plant was abandoned after going billions of dollars over.
USA Democrats’ Bill to ban new low-yield nuclear weapons
Democrats trying to ban low-yield nuclear warhead https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2018/09/20/democrats-trying-to-ban-low-yield-nuclear-warhead/
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UK: Labour parliamentarians raise concerns about Nuclear plant mud dumping
Nuclear plant mud dumping worries raised by Labour AMs , BBC News, 19 September 2018
Two senior Labour AMs have raised concerns in the Senedd about the dumping of mud from a nuclear plant site into the sea near Cardiff.
Julie Morgan and Jane Hutt – both close to leadership frontrunner Mark Drakeford – said constituents had safety worries about dredging 300,000 tonnes of mud from Hinkley Point.
Dumping began last week. AMs were told the mud poses no risk to human health.
Campaigners have called for more tests, and are seeking an injunction.
Ms Morgan and Ms Hutt quizzed Rural Affairs Secretary Lesley Griffiths following a topical question raised by independent AM Neil McEvoy.
The project to build the new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset includes dredging mud and sediment from Bristol Channel near the sites of the decommissioned Hinkley Point A and B nuclear plants, and disposing of it just over a mile out to sea from Cardiff Bay.
A good move – Malaysia rejecting nuclear energy
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No to nuclear energy a good move Science has yet to find ways to manage its waste to prevent cataclysmic outcomes, says PM Malaysian Reserve , By LYDIA NATHAN 20 Sept 18 BLOOMBERG
Malaysia will have to figure out a substantial and safe way to dispose of nuclear waste if the country were to opt for nuclear energy to generate electricity. Association of Water and Energy Research Malaysia president S Piarapakaran, who supports Prime Minister (PM) Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s decision to not rely on nuclear energy for the country’s power generation, said the biggest issue would be the containment of energy from leaking. The government would also have to determine the cost that would be incurred, apart from finding methods to manage such a project successfully. “A worst-case scenario we’re looking at is leakage in a case of nuclear exposure that could cause various types of cancer to develop rapidly ending in death, or a more severe and long-term outcome, which is severe genetic inflammation that causes mutation,” he told The Malaysian Reserve (TMR) in a telephone inter- view yesterday. Piarapakaran said mutation as a result of nuclear radiation is also a serious issue as it could last for generations. “In some cases, babies are born with organs outside of their bodies. They are sick all their lives and cannot develop normally,” Piarapakaran said, adding that the cost of management will only increase over the years. “Waste management is becoming more expensive and we won’t know the exact cost 30 or 40 years from now,” he said. The PM’s call for the country to not rely on nuclear power was announced at the launch of the Conference of the Electric Power Supply Industry 2018 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre earlier this week………https://themalaysianreserve.com/2018/09/20/no-to-nuclear-energy-a-good-move/ |
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Brexit has brought Britain to a standstill
Bloomberg 19th Sept 2018 , . “The country—as an
administrative entity—has virtually stopped working.” The energy issue
has been particularly badly hit. “There are the micro-processes of
government that are in turmoil because of the revolving doors of ministers,
and then there’s been the internal party fighting and squabbling, which
is then consuming all of the political oxygen,” says Mary Creagh, a
lawmaker for the opposition Labour Party and chair of Parliament’s
Environment Committee. “It means the normal decision-making of government
is not happening and has not happened for two years.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-19/brexit-has-brought-britain-to-a-standstill
administrative entity—has virtually stopped working.” The energy issue
has been particularly badly hit. “There are the micro-processes of
government that are in turmoil because of the revolving doors of ministers,
and then there’s been the internal party fighting and squabbling, which
is then consuming all of the political oxygen,” says Mary Creagh, a
lawmaker for the opposition Labour Party and chair of Parliament’s
Environment Committee. “It means the normal decision-making of government
is not happening and has not happened for two years.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-19/brexit-has-brought-britain-to-a-standstill
Effect of Hurricane Florence on nuclear power stations – ruins the Trump administration’s case for supporting nuclear power
The Energy 202: Hurricane Florence blows hole in Trump team’s case for helping coal and nuclear power, critics say, WP, By Dino Grandoni,18 September 18 Hurricane Florence has blown a hole in the Trump administration’s argument that bolstering nuclear and coal-fired power is essential to providing reliable electricity to homes and businesses, especially during times of crisis, according to energy experts long critical of the plan.
For months, the Department of Energy has considered throwing a lifelineto that sector of the power market to make the electric grid more resilient to natural and man-made disasters. The Trump administration has been preparing to use a Cold War-era law, once marshaled by President Harry S. Truman to secure U.S. steel production, to compel regional grid operators to buy electricity from nuclear and coal plants.
The rationale is that only these two types of generation regularly have enough fuel on site to run for when national security is threatened. Wind turbines and solar panels only generate electricity when the weather is right while natural gas stations often have their fuel pipelined in from afar.
But hours before the once powerful hurricane made landfall in North Carolina on Friday, Duke Energy shut down its two reactors at the Brunswick Nuclear Plant near Wilmington, N.C. in anticipation of high winds. The temporary shutdown illustrates how many other factors beyond just fuel stored on site affect grid reliability.
“There are so many flaws to their argument, we hardly need this to add,” said David Hart, professor of public policy at George Mason University. “There are lots of better ways to get reliability than to stockpile a lot of fuel.”
……..The Energy Department has yet to detail exactly what the plan to bolster coal and nuclear will look like after Trump ordered aid in June. The request comes as expensive coal and nuclear assets are retiring across the country in the face of competition from cheaper natural gas and renewable energy resources……..https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2018/09/18/the-energy-202-hurricane-florence-blows-hole-in-trump-team-s-case-for-helping-coal-and-nuclear-power-critics-say/5ba022621b326b47ec9596b9/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.66a830d4f690
USA Bill to allow private-public partnerships for new nuclear power technologies
Ars Technica 16thSept 2018 , Though economics might not favor nuclear power in the US, policy makers do.
Last week, the House passed a bipartisan bill that originated in the Senate
called the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act (S. 97), which will
allow the private sector to partner with US National Laboratories to vet
advanced nuclear technologies.
The bill also directs the Department of
Energy (DOE) to lay the ground work for establishing “a versatile,
reactor-based fast neutron source.” The Senate also introduced a second
bill called the Nuclear Energy Leadership Act (S. 3422) last Thursday,
which would direct the DOE actually establish that fast neutron reactor.
That bill also directs the DOE to “make available high-assay, low-enriched
uranium” for research purposes. The Nuclear Energy Leadership Act has not
yet made it past a Senate vote.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/09/us-congress-passes-bill-to-help-advanced-nuclear-power/
European governments handing out €58 billion to support back-up power plants – mainly fossil fuels and nuclear
Euractiv 13th Sept 2018, Figures compiled by the environmental pressure group Greenpeace highlight the lack of transparency about the amount of cash disbursed by national governments to support back-up power plants – mainly fossil fuels and nuclear. €58 billion – this is the total amount of money thrown at so-called “capacity mechanisms” across the EU, according to new research by Greenpeace, published on Thursday (13 September).
If the figure looks big, it’s because it covers both past, existing and planned “capacity mechanisms” – or national support schemes put in place
across the 28-country bloc to remunerate power plants for remaining on standby in case of demand peak. According to Greenpeace, countries handing
out the most capacity mechanisms are Spain and Poland (€17.9 billion and €14.4 billion respectively), followed by Belgium, Ireland and the UK (all
around €6 billion) and Germany (around €3 billion).
https://www.euractiv.com/section/electricity/news/greenpeace-study-throws-light-on-europes-hidden-energy-subsidies/
across the 28-country bloc to remunerate power plants for remaining on standby in case of demand peak. According to Greenpeace, countries handing
out the most capacity mechanisms are Spain and Poland (€17.9 billion and €14.4 billion respectively), followed by Belgium, Ireland and the UK (all
around €6 billion) and Germany (around €3 billion).
https://www.euractiv.com/section/electricity/news/greenpeace-study-throws-light-on-europes-hidden-energy-subsidies/
Yucca Mountain Halted Again as GOP Aims to Retain Senate
Yucca Mountain Halted Again as GOP Aims to Retain Senate
Nevada’s Dean Heller among blockers this time, Roll Call, Jeremy Dillon, 12 Sept 18 ……….
Nevada says ‘no’
“……..Nevada has long opposed hosting the nation’s nuclear waste, especially since it does not have nuclear power plants within its borders. Opponents say the site and the movement of waste there represent significant public health and safety risks that could expose Nevadans and others to deadly radioactivity in the event of accidents or groundwater leakage.
….. Heller wasn’t the only Nevada lawmaker to oppose restarting the Yucca project. His challenger, Democratic Rep. Jacky Rosen, was equally eager to show Nevada voters she had what it takes to stop the project. Cortez Masto also mounted opposition on the Hill………http://admin.rollcall.com/news/policy/yucca-mountain-halted-gop-aims-retain-senate
British government ploughs on with nuclear new-build plans, but there are all sorts of risks
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But although the government’s broad commitment is secure, little remains of its original vision of a series-build approach that would cut costs and build a domestic industry. In practice, the UK has become something of a test bed for Asian reactor exporters, rather than a new rebirth for European nuclear, with Chinese and Japanese companies leading projects. The UK nuclear new-build programme has been a casualty of both global nuclear industry failures and a changing domestic power industry, which has seen dramatic falls in the cost of offshore wind and a boom in interconnection. Nuclear still has strong political backing – in fact, it seems that the government will have to take some kind of stake in future projects. That is partly because the projects are seen as so risky by investors, and partly because successive reports by parliamentarians and UK financial watchdogs, like the National Audit Office, have pointed out that the government’s insistence that it had transferred that risk to the private sector had been a major factor in raising costs, because the government could secure cheaper finance for the project than the private sector. Far from giving the go-ahead for a series, the influential National Infrastructure Commission said this year in its National Infrastructure Assessment that “Government should not agree support for more than one nuclear power station beyond Hinkley Point C before 2025.” Continue reading |
New Jersey’s nuclear subsidy means a loss to electricity consumers
Consumers lose in nuclear subsidy plan, New Jersey’s nuclear subsidy idea was a loser from the start. Legislators earlier this year bowed to Public Service Enterprise Group’s insistence on financial help from consumers to keep South Jersey nuclear plants afloat — meaning to make them more profitable — and signed off on a $300 million plan.
Of course, lawmakers told us that the money merely represented a maximum, and that a Board of Public Utilities review would determine how much assistance — if any — the plants would receive. That process began last week, and officials have been tossing around a lot of political-sounding comments about extensive scrutiny of the nuclear applications — as if awards weren’t already essentially a done deal.
In a press release, BPU President Joseph Fiordaliso said the board and its staff take their responsibilities seriously, and will determine whether subsidies are warranted. Yet legislators and the governor have already decided they are; that was the whole argument in favor of the subsidies bill, that the plants wouldn’t stay open without help, that New Jersey needs nuclear power, and that the $300 million figure was an appropriate number to put in place. The final subsidies may not hit that number on the nose, but we can certainly assume they won’t be far off.
It’s also no secret New Jersey consumers will be forced to foot the profitability bill not only for PSEG’s South Jersey plants, but also for nuclear plants in other states that contribute to the PJM Interconnection regional energy grid.
What will those states be doing to benefit us? Nothing, basically…………https://www.northjersey.com/story/opinion/editorials/2018/09/12/editorial-nj-consumers-lose-nuclear-subsidy-plan/1270890002/
environmentalists have maintained that the subsidy bill will prop up an outdated source of power at the expense of wind and solar energy, one more part of the governor’s often confusing, hopscotch approach to satisfying the state’s energy needs. Rival power companies have called the nuclear subsidy unfair to a company that reported $558 million in net income for the first three months of this year. And large power users said the subsidy would drive up costs and discourage innovation.
All of this, however, begs the question: Why couldn’t the amount of the subsidies have been determined before legislators created the pot of cash from which they will be taken? The plants aren’t losing money; they’re just not generating enough profit. PSEG won’t open its books to the public. Yet lawmakers felt compelled to announce to one and all upfront that as much as $300 million might be needed to get the job done. That taints everything moving forward………https://www.northjersey.com/story/opinion/editorials/2018/09/12/editorial-nj-consumers-lose-nuclear-subsidy-plan/1270890002/
UK government rejects the call to guarantee funding for Moorside nuclear power project
Cumbria Crack 11th Sept 2018 , The Government has rejected a plea by Workington MP, Sue Hayman, to save
the Moorside nuclear power station project, as the developer, NuGen,
confirms the loss of 70 jobs. Sue, the co-chair of the All Party
Parliamentary Group on Nuclear Energy, wrote to the Secretary of State for
Business, Greg Clark MP, at the end of July, when NuGen announced it was
consulting on job losses, calling on him to guarantee Government support
for the project.
Mr Clark said in June that he “will consider direct Government investment” in the proposed Wylfa
nuclear power station in Wales, but he has refused to make any similar
commitment to Cumbria. In a response to Sue’s letter, energy minister
Richard Harrington MP said: “The Secretary of State and I understand the
potential importance of the Moorside project to the local area. However
(…) the proposed sale of NuGen is principally a commercial matter for
Toshiba and it would not be appropriate for me to comment on those ongoing
negotiations.”
https://www.cumbriacrack.com/2018/09/11/government-rejects-mps-plea-to-save-nuclear-new-build/
Cumbria business chief in a stew over possible abandonment of £15bn Moorside nuclear project
Carlisle News & Star 12th Sept 2018 , Business chief blames Government policy for “frightening off” Moorside
investors. Cumbria Chamber of Commerce boss urges ministers to change tack
to save £15bn project. Rob Johnston, chief executive of Cumbria Chamber of
Commerce, told in-Cumbria that the Government’s use of a regulated asset
base (RAB) model to finance Moorside was a risk of killing the
transformation project. Repeating previous calls for the Government to
invest directly in Moorside to ensure it happens, he placed the blame for
the delays squarely at the door of its Nuclear Sector Deal published back
in June.
http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/business/Business-chief-blames-Government-policy-for-frightening-off-Moorside-investors-47c201f1-f162-4f96-b702-629bb2ff41a3-ds
Building 12th Sept 2018 , The company behind the £10bn Moorside nuclear power station in Cumbria is
cutting more than 60 of its 100 staff as its parent Toshiba continues its
struggle to sell the company. NuGen was originally a joint venture between
Toshiba and French multinational Engie but ran into trouble last year when
Toshiba’s US subsidiary Westinghouse – which had been due to supply the
nuclear reactor for Moorside – filed for bankruptcy.
1 This Month
Shut down the radiation-damaged Heysham nuclear reactors now
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
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