Guardian 23rd July 2019 The government has confirmed plans for consumers to begin paying for new nuclear reactors before they are built, and for taxpayers to pay a share of
any cost overruns or construction delays. In a consultation document
launched on Monday night, officials said the model is “essential” to
attract private investors to back the UK’s new nuclear ambitions at a
price that is affordable for bill payers. The public purse would also
compensate nuclear investors if the project was scrapped. The new funding
structure could be used to prop up EDF Energy’s £16bn plans for a new
nuclear reactor at Sizewell B in Suffolk, which was left in doubt after
fierce criticism of the costs surrounding the Hinkley Point C project in
Somerset.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jul/23/new-uk-nuclear-plants-government-cost
July 25, 2019
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business and costs, politics, UK |
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Nuclear funding proposal ‘essential’ for restarting Wylfa, BBC, 23 July 2019
July 25, 2019
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business and costs, politics, UK |
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Leaked government analysis reveals UK demand for new nuclear power plants, Times, 23 July 19, Britain needs to build a fleet of nuclear or carbon-capture power plants equivalent to a dozen Hinkley Point Cs to hit climate change targets, a leaked government analysis suggests.
Up to 40 gigawatts of non-intermittent low carbon power stations could be needed in 2050 to reduce Britain’s emissions to “net zero”, ministers believe.
Just one is under construction: EDF’s 3.2-gigawatt Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset.
Greg Clark, the business secretary, disclosed the estimates to industry in a private meeting on Monday as his department published plans for a new funding model to support such plants.
The proposed “regulated asset base” (RAB) model would see consumers pay for the plants on their bills during construction, but would expose them and taxpayers to the… (subscribers only) https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/reforms-in-funding-planned-to-meet-demand-for-nuclear-power-plants-j3n0mln0l
July 25, 2019
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politics, UK |
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Consumers on hook for cost overruns at nuclear plants, Emily Gosden, Times 23rd July 2019 ,Energy consumers and taxpayers could have to pay for cost overruns at new nuclear plants after the government backed a funding model proposed by EDF.
The business department said last night it believed the “regulated asset
base” model that the French energy giant wants for its proposed Sizewell
plant in Suffolk could reduce consumer bills compared with the subsidy
contract used to back the £20 billion Hinkley Point plant EDF is building
in Somerset.
A consultation document published last night confirms that
consumers would, however, be asked to start paying for the plants on energy
bills while they were still under construction and to share in the risks of
cost overruns.
In the case of an extreme overrun, the government –
effectively the taxpayer – could either have to step in and pay the extra
cost or scrap the project and pay compensation to investors. Under the
regulated asset base model, the developer would receive a regulated price
to give it a return on its investment expenditure, including during the
construction period, and this would be levied on energy bills.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/17cbe1b8-acbd-11e9-b657-11944f524f2a
July 25, 2019
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TASC 22nd July 2019 Together Against Sizewell C (TASC) has called for plans for a twin nuclear
reactor development at Sizewell to be scrapped after the fourth
consultation documentation reveals no new data upon which to judge the true
environmental, social or infrastructure impact.
Having reviewed the documentation, TASC expressed extreme disappointment, although not
surprise, at the lack of extra detail included. Chris Wilson, TASC Press
Officer, said “Many respondents to the stage 3 consultation asked for
more environmental information.
Yet, despite EDF promising that the
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) would play a “key role” in
finalising their proposals, we now know that these will not be available
until the Development Consent Order (DCO) is submitted to the Planning
Inspectorate. Therefore, the environmental impact on people, places, flora
and fauna, will not be available for public consultation before EDF submit
their DCO. This makes the job of making an accurate assessment of EDF’s
plans impossible”.
https://www.tasizewellc.org.uk/
July 25, 2019
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environment, opposition to nuclear, UK |
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New UK nuclear plants could be paid for upfront through energy bills, Consumers face financial burden of future projects even before they are built Ft.com, David Sheppard and Harry Dempsey, 22 July 19,
The UK government has thrown its backing behind proposals to finance new nuclear plants by having taxpayers pay upfront through their energy bills as it looks to reinvigorate a sector beset by cancellations and high costs. The consultation on the new financing model, which aims to lower overall costs by having consumers fund future nuclear projects before they are built, comes as the government targets cutting carbon emissions to net zero by 2050.
Half of all new nuclear projects planned in the UK have collapsed in the past year after failing to secure the necessary private financing, including Hitachi’s decision to suspend the £20bn Wylfa plant in north Wales and Toshiba’s cancellation of its development in Moorside, Cumbria. Seven of the UK’s eight existing nuclear plants are set to close by 2030.
But the proposal is likely to face criticism for loading risks on to consumers and the government at a time when renewable alternatives to nuclear like wind and solar are rapidly becoming cheaper. Boris Johnson, who is widely expected to become prime minister later this week, has in the past supported nuclear projects but also criticised their high costs.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which is launching a three-month consultation on the proposals, said it believed the new financing model had the “potential to reduce the cost of raising private finance . . . thereby reducing consumer bills”.
France’s state-backed EDF Energy has been a vocal champion for the proposed model, known as Regulated Asset Base or RAB, after the cost of its Hinkley Point project in Somerset was heavily criticised for its cost to consumers.
BEIS said using an RAB model for future projects was suitable as companies such as EDF would look to replicate the Hinkley Point design in future plants. EDF said on Monday that its proposed Sizewell C plant would be a “near replica” and therefore “cheaper to construct and finance”. …..
Greenpeace UK’s chief scientist Doug Parr criticised the proposal saying it would shift liabilities from private investors to taxpayers. “The nuclear industry has gone in just 10 years from saying they need no subsidies to asking bill payers to fork out for expensive power plants that don’t even exist yet, and may never,” Mr Parr said.
The government is expected to release its highly anticipated energy white paper in summer, which will indicate future electricity generation plans, with the UK’s 2013 energy strategy widely seen as defunct due to the faltering nuclear projects. https://www.ft.com/content/e2cf07ae-acaa-11e9-8030-530adfa879c2
July 23, 2019
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 Times 20th July 2019 Nuclear power plant will suck fish to their deaths, The Times, Ben Webster,, Oceans Correspondent, July 20 2019 It has been described as a giant plughole under the sea, sucking in 130,000 litres of water a second along with vast numbers of fish. The twin inlet tunnels stretching two miles out into the Severn estuary are so big that a
double-decker bus could drive through them. The system will cool a new
nuclear power station being built at Hinkley Point in Somerset but
conservation groups say it will kill up to 250,000 fish a day and must be
altered or scrapped. They say that EDF, the French state-owned energy
group, has grossly underestimated the system’s impact on marine life in the
estuary, a special conservation area.
A 5mm mesh will be installed to
prevent larger fish being swallowed but the groups, including the Blue
Marine Foundation, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust and Somerset Wildlife Trust,
say many fish will be fatally injured when pressed against it. Small fish,
eels and the fry of many species, such as salmon, whiting and cod, will be
sucked through the mesh and into the cooling system.
The groups say it
could damage the population of twaite shad in the UK, a small herring-like
fish that used to spawn in the estuary by the millions but has dwindled to
tens of thousands.
EDF says the system will kill about 650,000 fish a year.
It has asked to vary its original permits and planning permission for the
power station to allow it to remove an “acoustic fish deterrent” from the
cooling system. It argues that, even without it, the impact of the system
on fish populations will still be “negligible”. EDF says fish will be
adequately protected by other measures, one which will slow the water
entering the system and another which will return to the sea the fish
sucked in.
Conservation groups argue that scientific analysis they obtained
of the cooling system shows far greater harm to marine life. This analysis
is partly based on measurements of fish swallowed by the cooling system of
Hinkley Point B, a nearby nuclear power station which consumes a quarter of
the sea water that will be extracted to cool Hinkley C.
They want the
government to reject EDF’s application and, if the company cannot mitigate
the damage, force it to use other ways to cool the station, such as cooling
towers or ponds.
James Robinson, of the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, said:
“The authorities must decide if it’s worth building a giant plughole to
suck millions of sea animals to their deaths, in one of our most important
protected marine areas, in order to produce electricity.” Charles Clover,
director of Blue Marine Foundation, said the groups would also challenge
plans by EDF for a similar system at its proposed new nuclear power station
at Sizewell in Suffolk.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/e0c7e83e-aa68-11e9-89e4-5e7e89de8df9
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July 22, 2019
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environment, technology, UK |
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Guardian 19th July 2019 Britain’s first climate “citizens assembly” opened its final session
on Saturday morning at which more than 50 Londoners will decide on
carbon-cutting measures they want their district to enact in order to
confront climate change.
Camden’s Citizens Assembly, convened to
interrogate what locals, neighbourhoods and the council can do for the
environment, is deliberating action that would reduce fossil fuel usage in
homes and public buildings and on roads. The wishlist will be considered by
the council as it draws up an environment action plan for 2020.
The outcome
of the assembly will be closely watched by other councils planning to
follow suit this year, and by Westminster which will hold its own national
climate assembly in the autumn. Council officials say there is a clear
intention to implement at least some of the recommendations.
“I hope
there will be some concrete action that we can take forward as a
council,” said Georgia Gould, the council leader. “That’s the idea of
it being an open process – you are letting go of that control. Our
climate is in a crisis and we need to act in radical new ways and this
assembly is part of developing those new ideas.”
July 22, 2019
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climate change, UK |
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The Energyst 18th July 2019 The GB electricity system operator has suggested demand-side response (DSR) is more reliable than nuclear power in its latest Capacity Market auction
guidelines. National Grid ESO has given DSR a de-rating factor of 86 per
cent, while nuclear is de-rated to 81 per cent.
DSR is also deemed to be
marginally more reliable than biomass, coal and most interconnectors, per
the guidelines. Industry participants suggested the move reflected the
expertise of DSR providers in managing their portfolios. “Presumably [the
de-rating factors] reflects recent reliability of the UK nuclear fleet, and
superior performance of aggregators in delivering contracted response,”
wrote Jon Ferris, strategy director at energy blockchain firm Electron.
His comments were welcomed by the Association for Decentralised Energy.https://theenergyst.com/national-grid-dsr-more-reliable-than-nuclear/
July 22, 2019
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ENERGY, UK |
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National Grid ESO 12th July 2019 Reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 is achievable but requires immediate action across the energy system. National Grid Electricity System
Operator’s Future Energy Scenarios report maps out credible pathways and
scenarios for the future of energy for the next 30 years and beyond.
Based on input from over 600 experts, it looks at the energy needed in Britain,
across electricity and gas – examining where it could come from, how it
needs to change and what this means for consumers, society and the energy
system itself.
The report outlines five potential energy futures –
including net zero by 2050 – and is intended to stimulate debate rather
than provide definitive predictions. It highlights the importance of
different parts of the energy industry working together and details the
critical actions needed to accelerate the decarbonization of the system.
The analysis shows the positive role electric vehicles can play in
decarbonization, with a predicted 35 million electric vehicles by 2050
providing greater flexibility and supporting increased energy from
renewable sources. During periods of oversupply EVs could be used to store
excess electricity with the potential to store roughly one fifth of GB’s
solar generation for when this energy is needed. It also outlines large
scale changes in how power is generated, including growth in wind and solar
generation as coal plants close. There are domestic actions too – homes in
2050 will need to use at least one third less energy for heating than
today, with over 7 million hybrid heat pumps installed by 2050 to provide
continued flexibility.
https://www.nationalgrideso.com/news/pathways-2050-national-grid-eso-publishes-2019-future-energy-scenarios
July 18, 2019
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ENERGY, politics, UK |
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BANNG 12th July 19 Blowers asks what might happen at Bradwell if the East coast floods again as in 1953 During the night of 31 January/1 February, 1953, in the moonlit dark, dead heart
of winter, the Essex Coast was struck by a surging storm, flooding the
creeks, overpowering the sea defences and leaving a trail of disruption,
destruction and death in its wake. I recollect my own astonishment when
walking to church that Sunday morning at the sight of the flooded factories
of the Hythe at Colchester.
I wonder what might happen to the low-lying
lands around the Blackwater if such a storm surge occurs again and if,
heaven forbid, a new nuclear power station had been built at the Bradwell
site. What must be recognised is that, with global warming and rising seas,
destructive storm surges, flooding and coastal erosion are quite likely
events over the lifetime of a new nuclear plant on the vulnerable shores of
Bradwell. In the circumstances it is difficult to conceive how the site can
be considered potentially suitable now, let alone into the next century
when decommissioning and radioactive waste management will become hazardous
operations.
https://www.banng.info/news/the-return-of-the-great-tide/
July 18, 2019
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climate change, UK |
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East Anglian Daily Times 14th July 2019 Anti-nuclear campaigners have disputed the number of jobs that a new power
station on the Suffolk coast will create – and say it will not provide
enough long-term opportunities. EDF Energy says the Sizewell C nuclear
plant is expected to provide 25,000 jobs over the 10-year construction
period with 5,600 workers on site at its peak, and says it is “absolutely
committed” to creating local jobs, skills and training opportunities. It
says the project will provide up to £200million a year to boost the
county’s economy, and create 900 full-time jobs once operational.
But Together Against Sizewell C (TASC) has cast doubt on the job numbers. EDF
has already said that £14billion Sizewell C will be 20% cheaper to build
because Hinkley construction techniques will be mirrored, grid connections
are already available and it will use different finance models. However,
TASC fears this could mean a transfer of skills, with possibly a large part
of Hinkley C’s experienced workforce moving to Sizewell.
https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/sizewell-c-edf-energy-tasc-1-6159158
July 15, 2019
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employment, UK |
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New UK nuclear funding model could leave taxpayers liable, Guardian, Jillian Ambrose, Energy correspondent 14 Jul 2019
Ministers are expected to announce plans to bolster nuclear industry this week, The government will set out plans to resuscitate the UK’s struggling nuclear ambitions with a new scheme which would leave taxpayers liable for rising costs or delays.The funding model, expected this week, could help bankroll the multibillion pound plans for a follow-on to EDF Energy’s Hinkley Point C project in Somerset, which ministers aim to build at the Sizewell site in Suffolk.
It could also resurrect the dormant plans for a £16bn new nuclear reactor at the Wylfa project in North Wales, which fell apart last year due to the high costs of nuclear construction.
Government officials are expected to reveal a new financial framework based on the model being used to finance the £4.2bn Thames Tideway tunnel.
Under those plans, the government has allowed the super-sewer’s developers to charge customers upfront for the project, and agreed to cover cost overruns above 30% of the budget and step in as a lender if funding dries up.
The nuclear plans are expected to be unveiled before parliament’s summer recess at the end of this week, alongside a long-awaited energy white paper.
The policy roadmap will set out the government’s plans for the energy sector as the economy moves towards the UK’s target to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050.
The industry is expected to have three months to respond to an official consultation before ministers decide whether to move ahead with the scheme…..
The plans would hand developers an upfront regulated return on their investment at each new phase of the project. This could encourage more investment from infrastructure and pension funds and better borrowing terms for the developer.
Government officials are under pressure to find a new way to finance nuclear projects after the National Audit Office condemned the 35-year deal to support the Hinkley Point project through energy bills at a cost of £92.50 for every megawatt-hour of electricity it produces.
The average electricity price in the UK last year was between £55 and £65 per megawatt-hour.
The watchdog accused ministers of putting energy bill payers on the hook for a “risky and expensive” project which offers “uncertain strategic and economic benefits”.
The new financing plan has already raised concerns that applying the Tideway model to a nuclear project that costs £20bn and takes around a decade to build could leave taxpayers exposed to a far higher financial risk.
Nuclear projects have suffered high-profile delays and multibillion-pound cost overruns in recent years, making them almost impossible to finance without state intervention.
EDF said last month that its struggling French nuclear project at Flamanvillecould be delayed by another three years to repair eight faulty weldings discovered at the site.
The latest delay could push Flamanville’s start date, originally in 2012, to 2022. The project was expected to cost about €3bn when construction began but the latest estimates put its cost at almost €11bn……… https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/14/new-uk-nuclear-funding-model-could-leave-taxpayers-liable-edf-sizewell
July 15, 2019
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Somerset County Gazette 14th July 2019 Jo Smolden: AT a time when climate change discussions are in everyone’s minds, and individuals are looking at what energy they are
using and the waste they are producing, the French company EDF is moving
thousands of HGVs full of aggregate across the county and making the
biggest pile of concrete this country has ever seen at Hinkley next to the
Severn Estuary.
Taking into account the carbon footprint of such large
infrastructure projects, remember this starts with uranium mining where
around 1% is usable, the rest is immediately radioactive waste for
indigenous people to deal with. The end of the nuclear process is high
level, dangerous, radioactive waste having to be looked after for hundreds
of thousands of years.
Should we not be questioning how something with such
a huge carbon footprint is being dumped on the next generations to somehow
deal with?
The biggest concern of all this having been planned using last
century technology so long ago, is the impact of global warming and sea
level rise predictions of today. Is the base of the structure high enough
to keep the nuclear reactor and waste stores safe for the next 160-plus
years? There is no flexibility with nuclear, do we want such a hazardous
fixed structure on our coastline? So many questions and EDF can’t
possibly reassure us with any of this as they have committed themselves, to
this white elephant.
https://www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/news/17755677.letter-39-no-flexibility-nuclear—want-coastline-39/
July 15, 2019
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climate change, UK |
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NUCLEAR FEAR Security scares at Sellafield nuclear waste plant raise fears of disaster ‘worse then Chernobyl’, Sun, John Siddle, 14 Jul 2019,
SECURITY scares at Sellafield raise fears of a disaster “worse than Chernobyl”, campaigners warn.
The Sun on Sunday can reveal there have been 25 safety breaches logged at the massive nuclear waste plant in the past two years. The 6km razor-wired compound stores a 140 tonne plutonium stockpile and handles radioactive waste generated by the UK’s working reactors.
The clean-up site in Cumbria has been dubbed the most hazardous place in Europe. Nuclear bosses insist safety is an “overriding priority”.
Other alerts were triggered when potentially harmful uranium powder was spilled and acid was discovered leaking from a bust pipe
Janine Smith, from the campaign group Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment, said locals lived in fear of a serious incident.
‘COULD BE WORSE THAN CHERNOBYL’She said: “One safety breach is one too many. There just shouldn’t be any. Just one error could be catastrophic.
“It’s not like making a mistake inside a chocolate factory. The buildings at
Sellafield are all so close together that if something was to happen at that site it would be a disaster.
“We just keep our fingers crossed, and everything else, that we don’t ever have to witness a nuclear disaster in this country. It could be worse than Chernobyl”.
According to the logs, the bomb squad was called in October 2017 when potentially unstable chemicals sparked an emergency scare.
A month later, in a separate incident, a worker was found to have been exposed to a low level of radiation……
‘ONE ERROR COULD BE CATASTROPHIC’The Environment Agency has taken enforcement action against Sellafield ten times since September over compliance breaches.
A spokesman said: “Nuclear facility operators must adhere to the highest waste control standards.
“Where Sellafield has fallen short of these standards, the impact has generally been extremely small and we have taken firm and appropriate action.”
The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) also hit Sellafield with an improvement notice this year after a high-voltage cable was sliced, causing a power loss……….https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9502371/security-fears-chernobyl-sellafield/
July 15, 2019
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incidents, UK |
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