Hinkley nuclear site workers win after unofficial walkouts
Hinkley nuclear site workers win after unofficial walkouts. “It’s a
rank and file thing, it’s not the unions that are pushing for it,” said
one Hinkley worker. Rank and file workers in construction are fighting
significant battles on major projects this summer—and winning. Workers at
Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant construction site in Somerset have
launched effective, and unofficial, resistance as bosses prepare to bring
in thousands of extra workers.
Socialist Worker 8th Aug 2023 https://socialistworker.co.uk/news/hinkley-nuclear-site-workers-win-after-unofficial-walkouts/
Fish Hell – impacts of sea water nuclear cooling systems
12 July 2023 https://www.banng.info/news/regional-life/fish-hell/
Varrie Blowers looks at the devastating impacts of sea water cooling systems on the marine environment in the July 2023 edition of Regional Life
What amounts to a ‘fish hell’ is being proposed at the Hinkley Point C (HPC) new nuclear power station. This provides an indication of what might happen on the Blackwater if a new nuclear station or so-called Small Modular Reactors were ever built here.
In 2019, conservation groups predicted that the gigantic twin cooling water intake tunnels at HPC would kill up to 250,000 fish a day. Eels, small fish and the fry of many species, such as salmon, whiting and cod, and microorganisms will be sucked into the cooling system through the 5mm mesh installed to prevent larger fish being swallowed up into this fish hell, to be discharged in heated water after hideous suffering. If this seems outrageous, things may be about to get worse.
To gain Planning Permission HPC’s developer, Electricité de France (EDF), was required to instal Acoustic Fish Deterrents (AFDs) in the intake pipes to give some warning to fish to keep away. EDF does not now want to instal these, most likely for financial reasons. Without AFDs, Stop Hinkley! argues that up to 500,000 fish a day will be sucked into the cooling water intakes. That suggests 11 billion fish and other marine life will be destroyed in the c.60 years life of the station.
Conditions may be different in the Bradwell B context but any nuclear development that requires cooling water from the estuary would severely affect marine life. Affected, too, would be the many wildfowl and migratory birds that depend on fish and other marine life for food in estuaries like the Severn and Blackwater, which support important and protected habitats.
In other sobering news, an ‘unheard of’ heatwave in our coastal waters has been reported. Before you jump into the sea, consider the impacts of warmer water on our marine life. If the heatwave continues through the summer, experts believe ‘we could see the mass mortality of kelp, seagrass, fish and oysters’ (Guardian, 20 June).
Dounreay inspectors raise further red flag about sodium storage
John O’Groat Journal, By Iain Grant, 5 Aug 23
The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has issued an enforcement letter to Magnox Ltd after recording a breach of its nuclear site licence.
Sodium was used to cool the prototype fast reactor (PFR) whose closure in 1994 sounded the death knell for the experimental power plant.
Since its removal from the redundant plant, some of the highly volatile liquid metal has been stored in drums.
ONR’s latest concern follows an inspection at the end of April.
The agency has concluded that the storage arrangements do not comply with good practice. Its latest report states: “The dutyholder has failed to safely protect the drums against degradation via air and moisture ingress; large stocks of the inventory are not available for inspection due to the way in which it has been stored; and a number of the storage vessels of the material are not identified on the site maintenance system.
ONR found that Magnox – a wholly owned subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority – had breached the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 and its nuclear site licence.
It followed up its enforcement letter with a ‘holding-to-account’ meeting on site in June with Magnox directors.
According to ONS, this was arranged to ‘further secure a commitment to return to compliance.”
In June, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) had fired off a warning letter about a minute leak of radioactive tritium from a sodium drum stored at the PFR in November last year…………………………………………….. https://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/dounreay-inspectors-raise-further-red-flag-about-sodium-stor-322156/
Hinkley Point scaffolders begin industrial action over pay and shift patterns
Hinkley Point scaffolders begin industrial action over pay and shift
patterns. Over 300 scaffolders working at Hinkley Point C near
Burnham-On-Sea have begun unofficial strike action, voicing their concerns
about pay rates and shift patterns at the site.
The scaffolders working for
BYLOR began their protest on Wednesday and are now planning to take one day
a week off work as a form of unofficial strike. Tensions have reportedly
been escalating on site for some time, with workers expressing
dissatisfaction over their current compensation package.
Burnham-on-sea.com 5th Aug 2023
For Scotland, energy is our best argument for independence
,,,,,,,,,,, the Government’s obsession with nuclear power – the most expensive method ever devised for generating electricity. The Government claims nuclear is renewable. It isn’t. At current rates, there is maybe 90 years’ supply of uranium left – less if we use more. The Government claims it is clean. It isn’t. The toxic radioactive waste needs to be isolated from living things, including us, for centuries. The Government claims it provides energy security. It doesn’t. The UK has no uranium. Yet the UK Government, supported by its Labour opposition, is preparing to rapidly expand nuclear power at vast expense to the taxpayer.
The National, By Tommy Sheppard, 6th August 23
SOMETIMES I wonder what it’s going to take to make the UK Government take climate change seriously. We’ve spent this miserable, sodden Scottish summer watching holiday destinations in the Mediterranean combust. The news is full of floods and typhoons. Records are broken every day. Across the world people are drowning and burning.
All of this is going to get worse. Beyond the headlines, a catastrophe unfolds as the ice melts and sea levels rise. Famine and more mass migration result. The climate emergency is here now.
……………………………….We have created the climate crisis. And we can fix it, but only if our political leaders are prepared to take hard decisions and apply a degree of honesty and common sense which has so far escaped them.
……………….. We need to stop burning oil and gas……………..
Let’s start with new oil and gas exploitation. Of all the utter bollocks talked by Sunak’s government, this takes the biscuit. Despite committing to a policy of reducing oil and gas, we’re told it’s okay to massively increase drilling and extraction in the North Sea. This is an affront to common sense. The dogs in the street know you cannot reduce something by having more of it.
To be clear, what is now being considered is massive. Bigger than before…………………………
And then we’re told that if the UK does not allow this, some other country will, so it’s futile not doing it. This counsel of despair has been rejected by – among others – the Tory chair of the Climate Change Committee, Lord Deben,……………………….
Let’s be clear, the best way to capture carbon is to plant trees. Photosynthesis is how CO2 is taken out of the atmosphere. And one of the factors in rising CO2 levels is that these islands, like most of the world, have lost half the tree cover they used to have.
CARBON capture can never replace nature in sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. …………………………………………………………………………………
We can’t have a conversation about the deceitfulness of UK energy policy without discussing the Government’s obsession with nuclear power – the most expensive method ever devised for generating electricity. The Government claims nuclear is renewable. It isn’t. At current rates, there is maybe 90 years’ supply of uranium left – less if we use more. The Government claims it is clean. It isn’t. The toxic radioactive waste needs to be isolated from living things, including us, for centuries. The Government claims it provides energy security. It doesn’t. The UK has no uranium. Yet the UK Government, supported by its Labour opposition, is preparing to rapidly expand nuclear power at vast expense to the taxpayer.
……………………………………………. More than most countries, Scotland is blessed with renewable energy sources in abundance. We just need the political and financial commitment to develop them at a scale never before seen. That commitment won’t come from this UK Government, nor it seems the next one.
So, perhaps more than any other area of policy, the need for Scotland to have control over its energy production makes a compelling case for our political independence. https://www.thenational.scot/politics/23703825.tommy-sheppard-energy-best-argument-independence/
UK’s Radioactive Waste Management holds meetings in Lincolnshire, seeking a location for nuclear waste dump
Geologists and nuclear scientists will be speaking about nuclear waste
disposal as part of a consultation. A former gas terminal in Theddlethorpe,
near Mablethorpe in Lincolnshire, was identified as a potential location
for an underground disposal site.
Radioactive Waste Management (RWM), a
government agency, is looking at the suitability of possible sites across
the country. The discussion sessions will take place at venues in
Lincolnshire. The events aim to give people an opportunity to find out what
is involved in geological disposal and the process of finding a potential
site for a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) in the area, according to the
agency.
The GDF would see waste being stored under up to 1,000m of solid
rock until its radioactivity had naturally decayed.
” The sessions will feature a model of what
the GDF could look like as well as items including fuel rods, geological
rock samples, maps and information boards. The events take place on 4
August at Louth Town FC in Louth from 17:00 BST to 20:00, on 5 August at
Mablethorpe Community Hall from 11:00 to 14:00, on 8 August at Gayton Le
Marsh Village Hall from 17:00 to 20:00, on 9 August at Legbourne Village
Hall from 17:00 to 20:00 and on 11 August at St Mary’s Church Hall,
Mablethorpe from 17:00 to 20:00.
BBC 4th Aug 2023
UK government pours yet another lot of tax-payer £millions into Sizewell C nuclear project
The UK Government has announced a further £170 million investment in
Sizewell C, with hopes that it will speed up preparations to enable
construction on the new nuclear power station.
Late last year it was rumoured that Sizewell C could be on the chopping block as the UK
Government scrambled to find cost savings, however now the Government is
looking to spend a further £170 million to ensure construction can begin
as soon as possible. That’s on top of the £700 million that’s already
been pledged towards the construction of Sizewell C by the UK Government.
The additional £170 million is set to be used to prepare the Sizewell C
site for future construction, procure key components from the project’s
supply chain, and expand its workforce.
Electrical Review 3rd Aug 2023
Together Against Sizewell environmental group angry at the coming destruction of marine life, as acoustic fish deterrent will not be installed at Hinkley Point C nuclear
A notification from the Environment Agency distributed on the first of
August, starts with an encouraging statement reminding us that it is
responsible for regulating environmental protection at nuclear sites,
ensuring that people and the environment are properly protected.
But behind the corporate speak of ‘permit variation’, the addition of ‘new
limits and conditions’ and ‘discharge activity’ within the Water
Activity Discharge permit for Sizewell C’s so-called sister plant at
Hinkley Point C in Somerset, lies the cold, stark fact that the Environment
Agency, which claims to ‘protect and improve the environment’, has
removed the requirement to install an acoustic fish deterrent (AFD) at the
head of its seawater intake in the Bristol Channel.
In doing so the EA has condemned millions of fish and other marine creatures to their fate of
impingement, injury and death adding to the many millions of fish fry, fish
eggs, small fish and other marine biota that will be killed when entrained
in the cooling system of the plant.
Moreover, this situation is due to be repeated at Sizewell, meaning that Sizewell Bay fish stocks and marine creatures will likewise face decimation should the plant ever be built. A
spokesperson for Together Against Sizewell C (TASC), said today, ‘Our
spineless environmental regulator has simply rolled over to do the nuclear
industry’s dirty work, directly contradicting its promise to protect and
improve the environment and making itself complicit with the ceaseless
attack on this country’s biodiversity.
It is shocking that our young
people have to witness such shameless sacrifice of millions of creatures on
the altar of wildly misplaced government policy which is recognised by its
own Science and Technology Committee as fantasy. When will we have a
regulatory system in the UK which is capable of demonstrating enough spine
to put the environment above corporate greed and the arm lock of government
policy? The Environment Agency should be ashamed of itself.’
Together Against Sizewell C 2nd Aug 2023
Environment Agency allows Hinkley Point C permit variation to remove fish deterrent system
EA allows Hinkley Point C permit variation to remove fish deterrent
system. The Environment Agency has allowed an amendment to a permit linked
to the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in Somerset, allowing the firm
to remove previous plans for an acoustic fish deterrent (AFD) system from
the development, despite warnings that the move could result in the death
of millions of fish each year.
ENDS 1st Aug 2023
Ministers diverted £136m from electric car fund to Sizewell C nuclear project despite infrastructure concerns
i’s revelation comes as Rishi Sunak faces criticism for watering down some of the Government’s green policies
inews UK By Ben Gartside, August 2, 2023
The Government diverted £136m away from its electric vehicle (EV) supply chain fund to the UK’s main nuclear reactor project Sizewell C, i can reveal.
The Automotive Transformation Fund, a Government initiative designed to make it easier for car manufacturers to build and develop electric vehicles in the UK, spent just 5 per cent of its initially allocated funding in the year to March 2023, according to Government documents seen by i.
Given an initial budget of £191m, just £7m was spent and 76 per cent of the funding arrangement was transferred to the Sizewell C project, the construction of the UK’s first new nuclear power station in more than 30 years.
i‘s revelation comes amid mounting concerns about whether the UK has sufficient infrastructure for electric cars and as Rishi Sunak has faced criticism for watering down some of the Government’s green policies…….
The documents, published by the now defunct Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, show that £136m was moved for “investment in Sizewell C”, while another £10m was surrendered back to the Government altogether.
A later document from the replacement Department for Business and Trade said the money was reallocated “for a number of reasons” but did not specify why.
……………………………………An energy department spokesperson did not respond to i‘s questions about whether the money went towards buying out the Chinese government stake on the project.
Details on Sizewell C’s spending are closely guarded, but the project is expected to spend £912m this financial year, with construction yet to start.
…………………… some environmental groups argue that the UK’s nuclear projects have been plagued by delays and ballooning costs, and that there are better, less expensive options for delivering electricity more sustainably, including renewables.
The revelation that the Government diverted funding away from its electric vehicle supply fund towards the Sizewell C project may further alarm carmakers, who are already concerned about targets that are being imposed on the industry for the making of EVs and the readiness of Britain’s infrastructure.
………………………….There is concern that there will not be enough EV chargers to meet demand by this deadline unless capacity is significantly ramped up…………………………. more https://inews.co.uk/news/ministers-electric-car-fund-sizewell-c-nuclear-project-infrastructure-concerns-2520848
UK government must come clean, to tax-payers and consumers, on the financial figures before signing up to new nuclear programme
Full report. See in particular paras 41 -44. “The Government should show
how this offers value for money to taxpayers … So far, the Government has
not published financial figures which allow the cost of this risk transfer
to be known. The Government must publish figures, before signing contracts
for new gigawatt-scale nuclear, which allow a proper assessment of value
for money to be made, including setting out the level and potential cost of
construction risk to be borne by the consumer or taxpayer …
The Government should publish details of how the estimated savings from using
the RAB model for funding Sizewell C were calculated, and provide clarity
for the funding structure, by publishing the Heads of Terms for the agreed
RAB funding model for that project.”
Science, Innovation, Technology Committee 31st July 2023
https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/41092/documents/200069/default/
Campaigners against Sizewell C nuclear plan welcome call for financial clarity from Science, Innovation and Technology Committee
Campaigners against the Sizewell C nuclear power plant project in Suffolk
welcomed the committee’s call for Government clarity on the financing of
gigawatt-scale nuclear projects. A spokesperson for the Stop Sizewell C
campaign said:
“We’re appalled that the committee has ignored
legitimate concerns about whether nuclear can deliver reliable, affordable
electricity.” The group said it supported “the committee calling for
the Government to publish Sizewell C’s cost and value for money, as doing
so will expose just how unjustifiable this slow, risky, expensive project
is”.
A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said:
“We have already made clear we will publish a nuclear roadmap and consult
on alternative routes to market by the end of the year.
Nation Cymru 31st July 2023
Another kick in the teeth for UK taxpayers as EDF pockets another £170m of public money for their Sizewell C White Elephant.
In another lame attempt to prop up French adventurism into the UK’s energy sector, the UK
government has handed a further £170m from the public purse (note 1) to
EDF. With the CGN buy-out costing UK plc close to £700m and subsequent
‘encouragements’ to tempt reluctant investors to part with funding for
the doomed development at Sizewell, this brings the total amount of public
money handed over to EDF close to £1bn. East Suffolk residents could be
forgiven for thinking that Sizewell C is ‘shovel ready’: it is not. It
is, in fact, a long way from the Final Investment Decision (FID), the point
at which construction can begin. Even if the UK government and EDF can each
stump up £6bn the project will still be 60% short of the estimated £30bn
– a matter of £18bn to find. But that’s not all: dozens of licences
and permits have yet to be issued by the regulatory authorities, including
the site licence from the Office of Nuclear Regulation, and there is the
small matter of finding 2.2 million litres of mains water every day for 60
years of operation here in the driest county in the country, already
experiencing drought conditions.
TASC 31st July 2023
As UK’s Hinkley nuclear plants costs rise to £32 billion ($41.5 billion) EDF Sees Higher Risk of Delays.
Electricite de France SA said the risk of further delay to two nuclear reactors in southwest England has risen because of construction setbacks.
Author of the article:
Bloomberg News, Francois de Beaupuy, https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/edf-sees-increased-risk-of-delay-to-new-uk-atomic-reactors
EDF flagged last year that the plants may start 15 months late. The reactors at Hinkley Point have been touted by the UK government as sparking a nuclear renaissance, boosting energy independence and reducing reliance on fossil fuels. But the work has been plagued by multiple holdups and cost overruns.
The increased risk of a 15-month delay is due to “performances on civil works and challenges on mechanical, electrical, heating, ventilation and air conditioning,” EDF said Thursday in an earnings presentation. “Progress is below the planned trajectory and action plans have been set.”
The reactors, costing as much as £32 billion ($41.5 billion), are due to start operating in 2027 and 2028. The ballooning budget has fueled controversy over the vast sums needed for new nuclear developments, even as other low-carbon technologies such as offshore wind have also faced inflationary pressures.
Hinkley Point’s setbacks come as EDF seeks to arrange financing for a second pair of atomic plants — at Sizewell in eastern England — that would use the same design. Delays and cost overruns may deter investors who also face increasing demands for capital from renewables, which provide swifter returns.
The debt-laden French utility has a 66.5% stake in Hinkley Point, while China General Nuclear Power Corp. owns the rest. As funding requirements now exceed contractual commitments, shareholders will be asked to provide additional equity voluntarily starting in the fourth quarter.
“The probability that CGN will not fund the project beyond its committed equity cap is high,” EDF said Thursday. “Financing solutions are being investigated, in the event that CGN does not allocate its voluntary equity.
UK has no coherent plan to develop nuclear energy
In a major report, the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee calls
on the Government to develop and publish a Nuclear Strategic Plan to turn
high level aspirations into concrete steps to deliver new nuclear. The
Committee says that the Government is right to look to nuclear power to
meet our future electricity needs and that this requires a substantial
programme of nuclear new build.
But the Report warns that the Government
target of 24 GW of nuclear generating capacity by 2050 and the aspiration
to deploy a new nuclear reactor every year are more of a ‘wish list’
than the comprehensive detailed and specific strategy that is required to
ensure such capacity is built.
The Government’s stated aim of 24 GW of
nuclear capacity is ambitious: it is almost double the highest installed
nuclear capacity the UK has ever achieved. It could involve new
gigawatt-scale nuclear power, small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced
modular reactors (AMRs), and further development of nuclear fusion. It
would require substantial progress on technologies, financing, skills,
regulation, decommissioning and waste management.
Science, Innovation, Technology Committee 31st July 2023
1 This Month
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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