Times 1st July 2017, Turbines for the world’s first floating wind farm are set to arrive in
Scottish waters within weeks after taking to the seas off Norway. Five
turbines for the £200 million Hywind project, being built by Statoil, the
Norwegian energy group, were floated near Stord island on the country’s
southwest coast. They will be towed on a four-day journey to a location 16
miles off Peterhead.
The five turbines, standing 175m above sea level, are
kept afloat by ballasted steel cylinders that extend 78m beneath the waves.
Each will be attached to the seabed by chains. Together they should
generate up to 30 megawatts of power, enough to supply 20,000 homes.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/turbines-sail-closer-to-the-wind-8bfzgdxnl
July 3, 2017
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The tumbling cost of offshore wind power could mean that it turns out to be
25 per cent cheaper than energy from Hinkley Point nuclear plant when
subsidies are awarded to new projects this year, the industry regulator has
suggested.
Developers behind a series of proposed offshore wind farms are
vying to secure government contracts that will guarantee a price for the
electricity they generate for 15 years. Dermot Nolan, chief executive of
Ofgem, said he hoped the winning projects would emerge at a price of “£70
or less” per megawatt-hour (MWh).
That would compare with £92.50/MWh that
was last year awarded to Hinkley Point for a 35-year contract, fuelling
debate about the merits of the project and future nuclear plants. The
difference between the guaranteed price and wholesale price, currently
£43/MWh, will be subsidised by consumers through energy bills, with
payouts for Hinkley forecast to hit £30 billion.
Just a few years agooffshore wind was one of the most expensive technologies in the market. In
2014 the government awarded some projects a price of £150/MWh.
Technological advances, including bigger, more efficient turbines,
economies of scale in manufacturing and the introduction of a competitive
“reverse auction” process to award subsidies to the cheapest projects have
helped to bring costs down rapidly.
Times 30th June 2017
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/offshore-wind-power-could-be-25-cheaper-than-hinkley-s-nuclear-qk77fqhd9
July 1, 2017
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renewable, UK |
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Independent 29th June 2017, The Government has been strongly criticised for its lack of action on
climate change by its own independent advisers, who warned that global
warming was “happening, not waiting” and it was “neither justifiable nor
wise to delay further”.
While the UK has been at the forefront of the world’s efforts to combat the risks from the rising temperatures, the
Committee on Climate Change – chaired by former Conservative Cabinet
Minister John Gummer, now Lord Deben – said there was now a “risk of
stalling” just when the economy was poised to take advantage of the shift
to a low-carbon economy.
A new Clean Growth Plan setting out how Britain
will cut carbon emissions in the late 2020s and early 2030s was now
“urgently needed”. Such a plan was legally required to be published as soon
as possible after the Government announced new targets last year, but is
not now expected until September.
One leading environmentalist said the
CCC’s report raised a “very serious red flag” about Ministers’ inaction,
while the Government admitted “there is a need to do more”. Claire Perry,
the newly appointed Climate Change Minister, told Parliament this week that
she wanted the Clean Growth Plan to be “as ambitious, robust and clear” as
possible, describing the document as “vitally important”. The CCC’s
report said many existing Government policies were “running out” and
new ones were needed. It recommended a string of different measures
including policies to boost electric vehicle ownership, which the report
said should make up around 60 per cent of new car and van sales by 2030. To
achieve those targets, the Government needed to provide some financial
support, preferential tax rates and ensure the “effective roll-out of
charging infrastructure”. Other measures included helping to develop a
carbon capture and storage system, looking for ways to remove carbon from
the atmosphere, having a contingency plan to delays to planned project –
“for example of new nuclear power plants” – and the tight regulation
of fracking operations to ensure a rapid response to leaks.
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/government-climate-change-experts-unjustifiable-lack-action-environment-global-warming-fossil-fuels-a7813741.html
July 1, 2017
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Guardian 29th June 2017, The government must reverse its opposition to new building regulations that
ensure homes, hospitals and schools do not overheat as the number of deadly
heatwaves rises, according to its official climate change advisers. The
Committee on Climate Change (CCC) recommended the new regulations in 2015
but ministers rejected the advice, citing a commitment to “reduce net
regulation on homebuilders”.
Without action, the number of people dying as
a result of heat is expected to more than triple to 7,000 a year by 2040,
the CCC warns in its annual report on the UK’s pr ogress on tackling global
warming. Earlier in June, Britain experienced its longest period with
temperatures above 30C since 1976. Heatwaves are known killers in the UK
and the number of hot days is rising. On the hottest day of the year in
2016 there were almost 400 extra deaths, while a heatwave in 2006 led to
680 people dying and another in 2003 contributed to the deaths of about
2,000 people.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/29/failure-to-update-building-regulations-could-triple-heatwave-deaths-by-2040
July 1, 2017
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The National 30th June 2017, RENEWABLE electricity generation in Scotland has reached a record high. A
new UK government report shows that generation was up by 13 per cent in the
first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year. There was
also a 16 per cent increase in capacity with more than half of all gross
electricity consumption in Scotland coming from renewables.
Scotland’s total installed renewable capacity – the amount of renewable electricity
the country is capable of producing – now stands at 9.3GW, which is four
times what it was just a decade ago.
The renewable electricity sector also supports 26,000 jobs and has a turnover of £5 billion which is set to grow
further as new capacity comes on stream. Acting director of WWF Scotland Dr
Sam Gardner said: “It’s fantastic news that Scotland’s renewable
electricity generation is at an all-time high and re-affirms the vital role
it plays in powering the country. The renewable electricity sector
continues to play a vital role at the heart of Scotland’s economy,
delivering jobs and attracting investment.” However, he added: “If we are
to replicate these benefits in the wider economy the Energy Strategy from
the Scottish Government should make clear the steps it plans to take to
remove fossil fuels from the heat and transport sectors. “The Scottish
Government now needs to set out clear policies for how it will replicate
its amazing progress on renewable electricity in the heat and transport
sectors to ensure we hit the 50 per cent target by 2030.”
http://www.thenational.scot/business/15381373.Record_renewable_levels_in_Scotland_as_minister_describes__vindication__of_policies/
July 1, 2017
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Kepco confirms talks with Toshiba over UK nuclear — but only with its own reactors, Telegraph Jillian Ambrose 28 JUNE 2017 South Korea’s largest power company is in talks with Toshiba to prop up its plans to build Europe’s largest new nuclear plant in the UK.
Jong-hyuck Park, an executive from Kepco, confirmed the group’s interest in buying a stake of the embattled Moorside nuclear project on the sidelines of an industry event, but said Kepco would want to use its own reactor design.
The South Korean state-backed utility is one of the world’s strongest nuclear developers and has harboured an interest in Moorside since 2013. Its appetite for a UK nuclear project was revived following the collapse of Toshiba’s US nuclear business, Westinghouse, which was supposed to provide the reactor design for the project.
A deal with Toshiba, the last remaining group behind the NuGeneration venture, could rescue the £10bn project. But a change in reactor design would also derail the 2025 start date by at least two years in a further blow to the UK’s new nuclear ambitions.
Earlier this week a French newspaper reported that EDF’s internal review of the Hinkley Point C new nuclear plant is expected to show a €3bn (£2.6bn) overspend and a two year delay, which would also push the start-date back to 2027.
The slow progress in securing new investment in baseload power generation raises questions over the UK’s energy supplies in the middle of the next decade. More than two thirds of the country’s power generation capacity will have retired between 2010 and 2030.
Moorside was plunged into doubt in recent months due to the Japanese conglomerate’s financial woes which threatened to derail the use of the Westinghouse 1000 reactor and cost the project its junior partner Engie. ….
Kepco’s renewed interest in Moorside emerged the same day that South Korean president Moon Jae-in suspended construction of two of Kepco’s partially built nuclear reactors to consult on whether they should move forward.
The decision comes following Mr Moon’s pledge to stop building nuclear reactors, and rid the country of nuclear power entirely by 2060. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/06/28/kepco-confirms-talks-toshiba-uk-nuclear-but-reactors/
June 30, 2017
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Clacton & Frinton Gazette 27th June 2017, A CAMPAIGN group has described process used to dissolve the FEDs at
Bradwell as an “outrage” and an “insult”. Members of the Blackwater
Against New Nuclear Group (BANNG) had their say on the process which saw
radioactive waste dissolved in acid at the site.
Chairman, Andy Blowers said: “It is nothing short of an outrage and an insult to the Blackwater
environment and communities that the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
(NDA) persisted despite all the signs that dissolution with nitric acid was
a failing technology.” BANNG Secretary, Varrie Blowers added: “The NDA
obviously believes that the end justified the chaotic means. While FED
dissolution may not have finished, it is hard to imagine that anyone can
think that the FED at Bradwell has been dealt with successfully, given all
the operational difficulties and the outages experienced.”
BANNG believe the reason the process has now been completed is because of the
re-characterisation of the waste, rather than it being fully dealt with.
They point to only one third of Intermediate Level Waste being treated, as
opposed to the full amount, with two thirds being reclassified as Low Level
Waste. Barry Turner, Vice-Chair of BANNG, said: “The Bradwell FED
dissolution plant has turned out to be an expensive one-off and has been
used to dissolve only one-third of the waste and not the originally
expected 100 per cent.” http://www.clactonandfrintongazette.co.uk/news/north_essex_news/15372952.Process_used_to_remove_radioactive_waste_an__outrage__and__insult__to_the_area__says_campaign_group/
June 30, 2017
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Bristol Energy Co-op 27th June 2017, Bristol Energy Cooperative (BEC) launches a new crowdfund to continue its
journey to become a major generator of community-owned clean energy. The
crowdfund target of £1,150,000 will enable BEC to repay previous loans and
invest in new micro-renewable generation and storage schemes. These include
a 100kW Tesla battery storage project at a new sustainable housing site.
This bond offer builds on the popularity of BEC’s energy schemes where
surplus profits are reinvested into the community. BEC has a proven track
record of funding and developing renewables, including raising the
ambitious sum of £10m last year.
http://www.bristolenergy.coop/news–events/our-new-crowdfund-launches-to-continue-the-energy-revolution
June 30, 2017
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Times 27th June 2017,The lesson of the Hinkley Point C saga is not to repeat it. Contractors
started pouring concrete for the Hinkley Point C power station three months
ago and could be still at it in ten years‘ time.
By then, there is a chancethat the economics of energy will have suffered a surprise upheaval making
nuclear power genuinely affordable, but that chance is slim to vanishing.
It is more likely that current trends driving down the cost of renewable
and gas-fired power stations will continue.
Hinkley Point C will meanwhile be vulnerable to the sort of delays and cost-overruns that have plagued
every other reactor so far built to the same design, none of which is yet producing power. If experience is any guide, electricity from Hinkley Point will command more than twice the price of power from other sources,
including low-carbon renewables.
The value of subsidies to honour that “strike price”, which is meant to compensate the contractors for taking on
the risk of the project, will have more than quintupled since being agreed.
Hinkley Point C will create jobs but in a white elephant that will be technologically out of date before being connected to the grid. It is being built in part to keep the lights on without relying on highly polluting coal, but mainly because technology moves faster than bureaucracy. In complex matters politicians tend to rely on bureaucrats’ advice, and many
backed the plan before Theresa May gave her final approval last year.
Not one had the courage to cancel it when it was still possible to do so without exposing taxpayers to the risk of multibillion-pound compensation claims.
Sources close to an internal review of the project under way at EDF, the lead contractor, say that its budget is already edging up towards £20 billion from last year’s £18 billion estimate. Its completion date is now expected to be 2027 rather than 2025. The value to EDF and its Chinese partner of the “contract for difference” agreed in the deal has risen from
£6 billion to £30 billion as the price of gas and renewables, especially solar, has fallen.
The most alarming figure in the NAO report is an estimate of £22 billion that investors in Hinkley Point C could claim in
compensation were it to be scrapped. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/comment/nuclear-options-n9b7sc5bq
June 28, 2017
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Reuters 26th June 2017, The cover of the reactor vessel EDF is building in Flamanville, France, may not be able to function more than a few years unless the utility can do additional tests which so far it has not be able to, nuclear regulator ASN said in a report.
While the long-awaited report, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, concludes the European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) is fit for service, EDF may have to replace its vessel cover soon after its
scheduled start-up in 2018. The requirement is a major blow for EDF, which
will have to start planning for a costly replacement of a key part before
the reactor even starts up.
The reputational damage could also add to concerns in Britain about its 18 billion pound ($23 billion) project to
build two similar EPR reactors in southwest England.
The French regulator had ordered a deep review of the Flamanville vessel following the discovery
in 2015 of carbon concentrations in the base and cover of the containment vessel, which make its steel more brittle. The report – led by the IRSN, the ASN’s technical arm – is being reviewed by a group of independent experts on Monday and Tuesday.
This autumn, ASN will partly base its final ruling on Flamanville on the experts’ recommendations. The ASN report
states that while the base of the vessel is fit for service despite the need for increased monitoring over its lifetime, manufacturer Areva NP has not been able to conduct sufficient tests on the cover as it is no longer accessible. These controls are indispensable in order to ensure the reactor’s safety over its 60-year lifetime, the report says.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/edf-flamanville-nuclear-idUKL8N1JN2OC
June 28, 2017
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France, safety, UK |
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UK funds off-site nuclear module construction project, Power Engineering, 06/27/2017, By Tildy Bayar Engineering firm Cammell Laird has won £200,000 ($255,000) in UK government funding to develop nuclear modules. The company said the funding from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) would go toward a project that aims to work out the best way to build and test large modules at off-site locations before transporting them to nuclear sites for installation.
The Fit for Modules project is supported by the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (Nuclear AMRC), Arup, Fraser Nash and Laing O’Rourke……
“The [UK] nuclear new build programme estimates a potential spend of up to £100bn over 30 years,” he said. “It is therefore imperative that as an industry we make the programme work from a cost and schedule perspective, stripping out waste and any unnecessary expense.”
He added that the project could “lay the foundation blocks for the UK to develop a complete industry specializing in off-site modular build”.
“If we can make a success of building modules for the domestic nuclear sector we can spin that expertise out to export markets as the UK looks to ramp up exports post-Brexit.”
In March the firm announced a partnership with the Nuclear AMRC to open a development centre for modular manufacturing methods for new-build reactors of all sizes, drawing on “a host of innovative technologies to significantly reduce costs and lead times for nuclear new build”.http://www.powerengineeringint.com/articles/2017/06/uk-funds-off-site-nuclear-module-construction-project.html
June 28, 2017
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Russian hackers trade passwords used by managers at British nuclear power plants – including ‘Rad1at10n’ and ‘Nuclear1’ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4635420/Russian-hackers-trade-passwords-UK-nuclear-plant-staff.html,
- The passwords of two senior EDF nuclear plant managers were traded online
- French-owned firm EDF Energy operates all 15 of Britain’s nuclear reactors
- Comes as thousands of government officials – including MPs – were hacked
By Iain Burns For Mailonline, 25 June 2017 Two senior managers at nuclear plants operated by EDF Energy had their passwords listed on Russian hacking sites.
The passwords – ‘Nuclear1’ and ‘Radiat10n’ – are thought to have been used on the business site LinkedIn.
They were being traded by hackers who had easily guessed the letters and numbers.
EDF, which operates Britain’s 15 nuclear reactors, did not comment about the breach.
But the French-owned firm did say, according to The Times, that it is ‘continually reviewing its defences and preparedness in this area’.
The lists on which the passwords appeared were traded privately before being made public.
It comes as around 1,000 British MPs and parliamentary staff, 7,000 police employees and more than 1,000 Foreign Office officials were all understood to have had confidential information traded online without their knowledge.Even some of the prime minister’s closest government ministers, including education secretary, Justine Greening, and business secretary, Greg Clark, are thought to have been affected by the hack.
The huge database was being sold for just £2, with the low price justified by the fact it had already spent months being passed around. Its original price is likely to have been much higher.
Hackers can easily guess many passwords, especially those which are merely a word associated with a certain person but with ‘3’ instead of ‘E’ or ‘1’ instead of ‘I’.
There have been warnings that the hacked passwords could be used to blackmail workers in sensitive jobs, or even to break into government servers.
June 27, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
incidents, secrets,lies and civil liberties, UK |
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Nuclear plant to cost consumers ‘billions more’ News 24 24 June 17 London – A highly-controversial UK government deal for the new Hinkley Point nuclear power plant will cost British energy consumers billions more pounds than forecast, the country’s National Audit Office said on Friday.
“The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s deal for Hinkley Point C has locked consumers into a risky and expensive project with uncertain strategic and economic benefits,” the NAO said in a report.
Under the project, UK energy users will have sums added to their bills for a period of 35 years.
The NAO said the combined cost of such payments is set to surge to $38bn.
“Delays have pushed back the nuclear power plant’s construction, and the expected cost of top-up payments under the Hinkley Point C’s contract… has increased $38bn,” the report said……
The contract for a French-Chinese consortium to build Britain’s first nuclear plant in a generation was signed in September after a string of controversies threatened to scupper the huge deal.
China’s involvement
The British government had delayed agreement over concerns about China’s involvement, while there were also questions about how the French state-owned power giant EDF would fund the construction of Hinkley Point.
But Britain finally gave the go-ahead last September for the complex, which is expected to provide seven percent of the country’s power needs. Beijing’s state-run China General Nuclear Corporation is set to finance £6bn of the cost of the Hinkley Point plant, with French state-owned power giant EDF providing the remaining £12bn.
Critics have focused on an electricity price guarantee to be paid to EDF of £92.5 for every megawatt hour of power produced by Hinkley for the next 35 years, rising with inflation, despite falling energy prices…….http://www.news24.com/World/News/nuclear-plant-to-cost-consumers-billions-more-20170624
June 26, 2017
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Green Party 23rd June 2017,Lucas: “Consumers and taxpayers are going to be ripped off by this absurd
project” Caroline Lucas, the co-leader of the Green Party, has responded to
a report by the National Audit Office on Hinkley Power Station.
The report says that the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s
deal for Hinkley Point C has locked consumers into a ‘risky and expensive
project’ with uncertain strategic and economic benefits. The multibillion
pound project at Hinkley is currently supported by both Labour and the
Coservatives, but opposition to the plans is expected to grow as the costs
soar.
Caroline Lucas, co-leader of the Green Party, said: “The National
Audit Office’s damning report confirms what many of us have been saying
for a long time: the Hinkley deal is overpriced and risky. Not only are
consumers and taxpayers going to be ripped off by this absurd project but
it will also divert resources away from building the clean energy
infrastructure we need, and threaten our climate change targets because of
the snail’s pace at which it will be built.
“The fight against Hinkley isn’t over – and we will be joining campaigners in continuing to
highlight the major shortcomings of this project. This is a crossroads for
Britain – and the signing of this deal has seen us swerve down the wrong
path. By reversing this decision we can put the resources needed into
building a decentralized energy system where Britain puts to use its most
abundant resources: the sun, sea and wind.”
https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2017/06/23/caroline-lucas-nao-report-on-hinkley-is-damning/
June 26, 2017
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politics, UK |
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Britain’s Brexit plan will plunge its nuclear power plants, cancer
treatment centres and leading research facilities into chaos within two
years, according to a secret government assessment.
Times 26th June 2017, The UK plans to pull out of Euratom, Europe’s nuclear body, at the same time as it leaves the EU
in 2019. A bill to replace European safeguards with a British system of
oversight was published in last week’s Queen’s Speech.
However, experts say that this would not match the regime provided by the EU body, meaning that
plants, research facilities and hospitals may be unable to import
radioactive material after Brexit. Officials from the Department for
Business, Enterprise and Industrial Strategy have warned that it will take
seven years to replace the current set of agreements, The Times has been
told.
The delay would partly be caused by the fact that work on new
international treaties, for example with the US and Japan, cannot start
until new inspections standards are approved. Ministers have suggested
that, as with financial regulations, there could be a transition period
after Brexit to allow a new regime to be put in place, but experts say that
the complexity of the task is still not sufficiently realised.
The Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) will today step up calls for David Davis, the
Brexit secretary, to consider asking for Britain to remain an associate
member of Euratom instead. That option will worry some Tory MPs, because
some lawyers believe that it would require oversight by the European Court
of Justice or even for Britain to continue to take part in elections to the
European parliament. Tom Greatrex, the NIA chief executive, said the plans
did not “come anywhere close” to matching the scale of the problem.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/experts-warn-of-chaotic-fallout-from-post-brexit-nuclear-plan-mh8prkkdv
June 26, 2017
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