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UK nuclear power project a bonanza for Japanese companies, Hitachi-GE and others

Hitachi sees over 1tn yen in business for Japan companies  http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Deals/Hitachi-sees-over-1tn-yen-in-business-for-Japan-companies

TOKYO — A nuclear power project in the U.K. will generate more than 1 trillion yen ($8.42 billion) in orders for Japanese businesses, it was learned Sunday, giving a shot in the arm to exports by an industry suffering from a lack of orders at home since the Fukushima accident of 2011.

More than 3 trillion yen is budgeted for the project if joint venture Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy constructs four advanced boiling water reactors — and an even higher sum if six reactors get the nod. Hitachi has invited 40 or so Japanese companies to a meeting at the British Embassy here to explain details.

       Hitachi has not revealed the invitees. But Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal and JFE Holdings unit JFE Steel, both strong in pipes used to transfer heat from the reactors, appear likely to attend. So does Japan Steel Works, with a wealth of experience in forged steel products used in reactors.

Also expected are water supply pump manufacturer Ebara as well as Kurita Water Industries and KubotaShimizu and Kajima, which have experience building housing structures for nuclear plants in Japan, will also likely go.

While Hitachi-GE will handle the reactor core, Japanese companies are expected to undertake key technologies for operating the nuclear plant, giving Japan about 40% of the project total.

(Nikkei)

January 30, 2016 Posted by | business and costs, Japan, UK | Leave a comment

Britain axes nuclear protective jobs: who will guard Hinkley IF it goes ahead

safety-symbol-Smflag-UKIf the nuclear button is finally pressed on Hinkley, who will guard the site? Independent, 29 Jan 16 Parliamentary Business “……..It seems astonishing now but Hinkley Point’s French owner vowed that the new plant – Hinkley’s third since “A” opened in the 1960s – would be built and generating 7 per cent of the UK’s electricity needs by Christmas next year. EDF Energy’s UK boss, Vincent de Rivaz, made that promise in 2007, before the timetable slipped back first to 2019 and then to 2025.

The last completed British nuclear station was Sizewell B in Suffolk, which opened in 1995, while older plants have stopped generating electricity or are preparing for decommissioning. Hinkley C is supposed to be the catalyst for a new fleet of reactors across the UK. ……

Despite the problems, it was still a bit of a shock to see EDF’s board delay a meeting this week in which directors would have made what has been coined a “final investment decision” on  the project. After all these years, EDF still doesn’t seem to be fully confident that billions of pounds of investment is worth the risk, and has delayed a decision for at least a month.

…….Mr Lewis took the opportunity to put the boot into George Osborne, saying: “The Chancellor promised he would protect the police but now we know they need to be protected from his cuts. Hundreds of the front-line officers who protect sensitive nuclear power stations and radioactive materials are facing the axe, even though these are top terrorist targets.”

……….. we should be training more of these specialist officers before these new reactors are built. As the CNC puts it, this is “a unique force with a unique role”. Instead, we seem happy to lose 16.35 per cent of those few who know how to protect nuclear sites. ……..http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/if-the-nuclear-button-is-finally-pressed-on-hinkley-who-will-guard-the-site-a6840836.html

January 30, 2016 Posted by | safety, UK | Leave a comment

The nuclear revolving door: Former Labour MP appointed boss of nuclear industry trade body

 revolving-door1

STV News 27 Jan 16  A former Labour MP has been appointed chief executive of the trade body for the civil nuclear industry.Ex-MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West Tom Greatrex will take up the post at the Nuclear Industry Association next week, succeeding Keith Parker.

Mr Greatrex was an opposition spokesman on energy until he lost his seat in last May’s general election.

He said: “I am delighted to be joining the Nuclear Industry Association at such an exciting time……http://news.stv.tv/west-central/1340504-former-labour-mp-appointed-boss-of-nuclear-industry-trade-body/

January 28, 2016 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

French unions unhappy with arrangements for UK’s Hinkley nuclear build

text Hinkley cancelledNew nuclear power: It’s consumer protection vs corporate profit, http://www.carolinelucas.com/latest/new-nuclear-power-its-consumer-protection-vs-corporate-profit January 27, 2016 The Government’s policy of burdening bill payers with eye watering subsidies for new nuclear power has received another blow. Just before a crucial board meeting at EDF (the French state owned energy giant relied on by the Government to invest in and operate Hinkley Point) French trade unions spoke out about their concerns.

When even staff working for EDF are raising serious doubts about numerous aspects of the proposal, UK Ministers’ cavalier attitude to Hinkley Point C needs to change, more urgently than ever.

In advance of an EDF board meeting due to take place today, where the company was rumoured to be making a final investment decisionFrench unions threw a welcome spanner in the works.

They’ve raise no fewer than 15 questions about the project, suggesting it would be difficult to complete on time and that financing it could threaten EDF’s survival. The good news, for now, is that EDF has, again, delayed the decision.

But the concerns of French unions are worth a closer look. They include pending legal cases, the lack of evidence Hinkley can be built on time, and the partnership with the Chinese nuclear energy company when no other investors appear to be interested.

Most telling of all is the following question: “what happens if the UK government decides to look after consumer interest?”

This shows that the Conservative Government’s pro-nuclear policy flies in the face of everything they say about looking after the interests of consumers and billpayers.  Indeed, studies show that solar power coupled with energy storage and smart grid technology could generate the equivalent to Hinkley Point C at half the cost – to the Govt and to you and I.  Wind power, even with backup, ischeaper than nuclear power too.

The Government’s obsession with outdated, inflexible, expensive nuclear power stations is looking more economically and environmentally reckless by the day.  So I’ve tabled some more urgent parliamentary questions on Hinkley.

The first question relates to the problems with a similar model of nuclear power station being built at Flamenville in France. It’s already 6 years behind schedule, €7.5 billion over budget, and subject to safety tests following some serious flaws in the reactor vessel and bottom. The ruling on these safety concerns has itself been delayed. I’m pressing the Government on whether the agreement to proceed with Hinkley is conditional on the Flamanville plant demonstrating it’s capable of operating.

My second question is about the huge cost of new nuclear to consumers. It picks up on Ministers’ mindboggling double standards when it comes to subsidies for nuclear power verses solar power, onshore wind and other renewable technologies.

In the Commons earlier this month, the Energy Secretary again attempted to justify her huge cuts to solar subsidies on grounds that “subsidies for low carbon power should be temporary, not part of a permanent business model”.  So my question asks exactly when she expects nuclear power stations to meet the same standards and operate on a subsidy free basis.  Some renewable technologies are nearly there already, with the costs of others on a clear downward cost trajectory.  Energy storage, interconnection and smart grids make Ministers appear stuck in the last century as they desperately argue about baseload

The cost and climate change arguments against new nuclear power grow stronger every day. This week, workers have made their voices heard. It’s surely time the UK Government started to work for us rather than big energy companies and consign new nuclear to the dustbin of history. Ministers need to start listening to the many voices cautioning against Hinkely and instead back 21st century clean technologies.

In other major nuclear news this week, tomorrow sees a Special Parliamentary seminar co-organised by Nuclear Free Local Authorities and Nuclear Consulting Group: “UK Energy Policy: Late Lessons from Chernobyl, Early Warnings from Fukushima” The keynote speaker will be Naoto Kan, Former Prime Minister of Japan at the time of Fukushima.

January 28, 2016 Posted by | employment, France, UK | Leave a comment

EDF in a’panic’ over decision to be made on UK’s Hinkley nuclear power station

text Hinkley cancelledHinkley Point: EDF set for decision on nuclear plant amid claims of board ‘panic’, The Independent, Sources in France say decision on whether to give the green light to controversial project would be made on Wednesday Geoffrey lean , 24 Jan 16

  • The final decision on whether to build Britiain’s first nuclear power station in decades is set to be made by energy giant EDF this week, amid claims of “panic” among the French firm’s board over the viability of the £18bn project.
  • Sources in France said the decision on whether to give the green light to its controversial plant at Hinkley Point, Somerset – on which ministers are depending to “kick-start a major new generation of nuclear power stations” – would be made on Wednesday. But the largely state-owned company refused to comment, or even to confirm or deny that the meeting is taking place.

    This secrecy reflects the extreme sensitivity about the decision with practicalities and politics pulling in opposite directions. The project suffered a serious blow last week when French regulators delayed a decision on what to do about safety flaws in a similar reactor. But cancelling it would be a huge humiliation for British ministers, and could cause a cross-Channel diplomatic row.

  • The “final investment decision” by EDF’s board – repeatedly delayed over the past two years – is the project’s only remaining hurdle.

    Last October the government persuaded China to invest heavily in the plant, filling a funding shortfall, and the Energy Secretary Amber Rudd is awaiting the decision before signing a deal to allow the company to charge double the present price for the electricity generated from Hinkley’s twin reactors. Three similar European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) projects are planned for Britain if it succeeds…….

  • there are signs of last minute jitters. Union leaders are reportedly warning the company of “financial, industrial and legal risks” in the project, while the French financial journal Boursier.com has suggested that there is “panic on board”.

    Last week the French nuclear regulator delayed until the end of the year a decision on what to do about “very serious” weaknesses detected in the pressure vessel of a similar EPR being built at Flamanville, Normandy. The same fault – which could lead to a nuclear accident – was detected in the vessels for the Hinkley reactors, which had been built and will now have to be replaced.

  • The Flamanville plant is five years behind schedule and its cost has trebled, while the only other EPR being built in Europe, in Finland, is almost a decade late, and the cost has more than doubled. Two other EPRs being built in China are also thought to be over-running while the cost of Hinkley has already soared.

    EDF’s share price has plunged to record lows, and the company is considering selling billions of pounds of assets to fund building Hinkley. On top of all that, Austria is taking Britain to the European Court, alleging it is subsidising the plant illegally.Some British experts believe that, faced with all these difficulties, EDF will defer a final decision again. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hinkley-point-edf-set-for-decision-on-nuclear-plant-amid-claims-of-board-panic-a6830456.html

January 24, 2016 Posted by | business and costs, France, politics, UK | Leave a comment

Senior Tories agree with Jeremy Corbyn on ditching Trident nuclear weapons system

submarine-missileflag-UKNot just Jeremy Corbyn – senior Tories also think ditching Trident might be a good idea https://tompride.wordpress.com/2016/01/18/not-just-jeremy-corbyn-senior-tories-also-think-ditching-trident-might-be-a-good-idea/18 Jan 2016  by Tom Pride

Perhaps the Cameron government should be more careful before labelling Jeremy Corbyn a national security ‘threat’ just for saying Trident should be scrapped. Because there are several influential people in the Tory Party who think Trident should be scrapped too.

Former Conservative Defence Secretary Michael Portillo agrees with Jeremy Corbyn:

“Our independent nuclear deterrent is not independent and doesn’t constitute a deterrent against anybody that we regard as an enemy. It is a waste of money and it is a diversion of funds that might otherwise be spent on perfectly useful and useable weapons and troops. But some people have not caught up with this reality.”

And Tim Montgomerie – who has been called one of the most influential Tories outside the cabinet – has also floated ditching Trident (from the Times last March): In fact, in 2009 Montgomerie praised the willingness of the Tory Party to discuss the scrapping of Trident as “tough thinking”.

Veteran Tory MP and former Tory Party chairman David Davis has alsoquestioned the affordability of Trident.

And before he was Prime Minister, David Cameron himself refused to rule outscrapping Trident.

But it’s not just senior Tories who agree with Corbyn.

Field Marshal Lord Bramall, General Lord Ramsbotham, General Lord Ramsbotham and General Sir Hugh Beach have denounced Trident as “irrelevant”.

And in 2009, that well-known hotbed of radical socialism, the Daily Telegraphdiscussed reasons why Trident should be scrapped.

Even the Daily Mail has in the past pondered getting rid of Britain’s nuclear deterrent.

OK. I think I’ve just about got the hang of this Trident discussion thing now.

Scrapping Trident is only a threat to national security when it’s not being proposed by a Tory?

Oh shit. Our nuclear deterrent runs on Windows XP. No, really, it does.

January 22, 2016 Posted by | politics, UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Inquiry into Litvinenko’s radiation murder points to Putin as instigator

LitvinenkoDyingflag-UKVladimir Putin ‘probably’ ordered KGB defector Alexander Litvinenko’s death by radioactive poisoning: inquiry, SMH, January 22, 2016   London: Russian President Vladimir Putin “probably” ordered the murder of defected KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko in London, an official inquiry in Britain has found.

The finding will put pressure on the British government to take fresh measures against Russia, possibly including targeted sanctions and travel bans. It may also harm potential co-operation in military action against ISIS, and upcoming peace talks on the Syrian conflict.

Litvinenko died in November 2006 after a radioactive poison was slipped into his tea at a London hotel.

 “The FSB operation to kill Mr Litvinenko was probably approved by [then FSB head Nikolai] Patrushev and also by President Putin,” Sir Robert Owen, who led the year-long inquiry, said.

The inquiry examined expert evidence and heard testimony from forensic scientists and family members, as well as secret evidence that was not disclosed in the public report – but believed to be from Western intelligence agencies.

Sir Robert said he was “sure” that Litvinenko was deliberately poisoned with the radioactive element polonium 210, which he ingested on November 1, 2006.

That afternoon Litvinenko had met two men for tea at the Pine Bar of the Millennium Hotel in Mayfair, London.

The men were Andrey Lugovoy and his associate Dmitri Kovtun – former Russian army officers. Lugovoy was a former KGB agent.

Forensic evidence showed the Pine Bar was “heavily contaminated” with polonium 210, the inquiry found………http://www.smh.com.au/world/vladimir-putin-probably-ordered-kgb-defector-alexander-litvinenkos-death-inquiry-20160121-gmba0w

January 22, 2016 Posted by | Russia, secrets,lies and civil liberties, UK | Leave a comment

EDF Directors might delay UK Hinkley nuclear decision yet again

AREVA EDF crumblingHinkley Point – Edf to decide whether to build nuclear power station next week By Central Somerset Gazette   January 19, 2016   A DECISION on whether a nuclear power station is built at Hinkley Point could be announced next week.

Reports in the French press indicate that the board of directors of the French state electricity generator EDF will meet on January 27 to make a final investment decision on the construction of two nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point near Bridgwater.

The final investment decision on the project has been delayed due to the lengthy negotiations with Chinese partners.

However even now there are concerns that the board might defer the decision for the ninth time……….

EDF is also locked in negotiations surrounding a complex deal to buy a French nuclear reactor builder, Areva, and in the disposal of it’s stake in eight current British nuclear power stations, five in the US, one in Finland and a number of Polish coal fired plants

Preparation of the site stopped last year when negotiations over the financing of the power station stalled.

Campaigners opposed to the building of Hinkley Point C are sceptical that the project will ever see the light of day.

Stop Hinkley spokesperson Roy Pumfrey said: “I’ll believe it when I see it. This is the ninth time EDF has said a final investment decision is imminent. Just last October the chairman of EDF, Jean-Bernard Levy, said work would be starting before the end of 2015. It would be completely reckless of the Board to give the go-ahead to this £25 billion project when the company is in such a parlous state.” http://www.centralsomersetgazette.co.uk/8203-Hinkley-Point-Edf-decide-build-nuclear-power/story-28559932-detail/story.html

January 22, 2016 Posted by | business and costs, France, politics, UK | Leave a comment

Nuclear waste plans an abuse of democracy in Britain

This is basically an engineering project like no other. Its timescale will dwarf the oldest cathedrals.

Timeline-human-&-radioactive

 

this time they have legislation in place to make sure the county council can’t stop it. It’s an abuse of democracy.

text-wise-owlHardest sell: Nuclear waste needs good home By Greig Watson BBC News 18 January 2016 “…….Steadily produced since the end of World War Two, the question of what to do with the nuclear waste from civil, military, medical and scientific uses has been causing equal measures of fear and frustration for decades. With a new generation of nuclear power stations on the way, a fresh search is under way for a community ready to take on the challenge.

Campaigner Eddie Martin says: “It’s very worrying, scary even. They have been looking for somewhere to put this material for decades and it keeps coming back to Cumbria.”…….

Nuclear power stations have been built in 31 countries but only a handful ,including Finland, Sweden, France and the US have started building permanent storage facilities.

All of these are purpose-built caves hundreds of metres below ground, known as a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF). Once the waste is treated and sealed inside containers, it is stacked in the caverns. GDFs are expected to remain secure for thousands of years.

Dr Robert says GDFs or deep boreholes are two possible options for the disposal of radioactive waste but there are still challenges to overcome, particularly in predicting their behaviour over hundreds or thousands of years.

“While there are natural examples of radiation being contained – think of the mines where uranium for nuclear fuel has been sat happily for millennia – the mix of isotopes in radioactive waste is much more complex so we need to know how the nuclear waste interacts with its storage material, be it glass, concrete or metal……… Continue reading

January 19, 2016 Posted by | politics, UK, wastes | Leave a comment

NuScale revs up its marketing propaganda for Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs)

nuclear-marketing-crapMini-nuclear plants in UK by 2025, Fluor’s NuScale Says by Alex Morales, Financial Review, 18 Jan 16  

UK ambitions to build small modular nuclear plants may be realised as soon as 2025, according to Fluor Corp’s NuScale unit, which is seeking to be a pioneer in the market.

emperor new clothesNuScale plans to submit its 50-megawatt reactor design for approval by US nuclear authorities towards the end of 2016. That would leave it well placed to seek the UK equivalent, called Generic Design Assessment, in 2017, Tom Mundy, executive vice-president for program development at the US company, said in an interview in London.

“Assuming the GDA is submitted and takes four years, we’d be looking at approval in 2021,” Mr Mundy said. “There’s then a 36- month construction time, so it’s plausible to expect that if all things line up, we could have a UK plant built by 2025.”

Britain is trying to secure new baseload power as it closes down all its coal-fired plants by 2025. Conventional nuclear power is proving expensive and time-consuming, while most companies don’t think it’s profitable to build new gas-fired stations. The Treasury in November said it will plow £250 million ($515 million) into research and development over the next five years aimed at building one of the world’s first small modular nuclear reactors in the 2020s………..

The global market for small modular reactors may total as much as £400 billion by 2035, according to a report in late 2014 by the National Nuclear Laboratory, which advises the UK government. It identified reactor designs that may meet UK requirements coming from NuScale, Toshiba.’s Westinghouse unit, China National Nuclear and the mPower venture by Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises. and Bechtel Group.

NuScale won’t manufacture its own reactors and has investigated the UK supply chain, according to Mr Mundy. Once established in Britain, the company could then export its modules to other European countries, he said………

When Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced the R&D funding for modular reactors, it  was stated that a competition for funding will be held “early next year”. The Department of Energy and Climate Change said no fixed timetable has been set. Mr Mundy said he doesn’t doubt the government’s intentions.

“Nuclear power has a long legacy in this country, and our reactors are based on tried-and-tested light-water technology,” Mr Mundy said. “I’m optimistic that with what the chancellor said and the indications from DECC we’re going to continue to move forward.” http://www.afr.com/business/energy/nuclear-energy/mininuclear-plants-in-uk-by-2025-fluors-nuscale-says-20160118-gm89c4#ixzz3xd3bnLxN

January 19, 2016 Posted by | marketing, technology, UK | Leave a comment

Jeremy Corbyn suggests submarines without warheads

Jeremy Corbyn hints at no-nuke subs in Trident compromise

Labour leader suggests Corbyn, Jeremy to protect defence jobs while maintaining his stance on disarmament, Guardian, , 17 Jan 16Jeremy Corbyn has suggested the UK could have Trident submarines without nuclear weapons, a move that would mean disarmament while protecting defence jobs in Scotland and Cumbria……..

The shadow defence secretary, Emily Thornberry, later confirmed that the idea would be considered as part of the defence review, launched on Friday. Thornberry said it was the “Japanese option” to maintain submarines and nuclear capabilities without actually having operational nuclear weapons……..http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jan/17/jeremy-corbyn-trident-compromise-no-nuclear-warheads

January 18, 2016 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Crisis in Britain’s nuclear safety regulator

Nuclear watchdog risks meltdown, critics warn, The Times UK, 12 Jan 16 The nuclear safety regulator is facing a leadership crisis and is ill-equipped to deal with a mounting workload linked to China’s plans to invest £8 billion in the British industry, experts have warned.

The Office for Nuclear Regulation is responsible for ensuring the safety and security of 15 nuclear reactors, hazardous sites such as Sellafield and the transport and disposal of high-level nuclear waste. It also oversees the safety case for new reactors.

In recent months it has been plagued by desertions, including the departure of Andy Hall, the Chief Inspector, and Alasdair Corfield, the finance director. Neither has been….. –  (Subscribers only)

rats leave ship

  http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/utilities/article4662825.ece

January 13, 2016 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Jeremy Corbyn – inconveniently sensible on nuclear weapons

Corbyn, JeremyCorbyn says the Trident isn’t worth the money. It is a costly weapon that can never be used. British security concerns should be focused on terrorism, economic turmoil and catastrophic climate change; nuclear weapons are irrelevant to all that. Corbyn argues, sensibly, that the Cold War era is long gone

Jeremy Corbyn talks common sense on nuclear weapons, WP.  By Katrina vanden Heuvel  January 12 The new leader of the British Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, has sparked a political firestorm by challenging the myths around nuclear weapons and Cold War deterrence. Corbyn announced that he would never use a nuclear weapon. He followed that apostasy by declaring that he opposed renewal of the British nuclear Trident submarine program.“I am opposed to the use of nuclear weapons. I am opposed to the holding of nuclear weapons. I want to see a nuclear-free world. I believe it is possible,” Corbyn declared.

Several Labour shadow ministers suggested they might resign if that became Labour’s policy. Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron and the right-wing British press have been pillorying Corbyn as a threat to national security for his heresy.

Corbyn’s aides argue this is not a new version of the debate over unilateral disarmament that wracked Labour in the 1980s. Rather, they insist the question is whether renewing the fleet is worth the money. Corbyn’s doubts are shared by some current and retired military officers. The British fleet of four Trident submarines is slated for retirement in the late 2020s. It will take almost that long to develop a successor. Renewing and operating the Trident program will cost an estimated 167 billion British pounds over the next four decades. The Army has already been reduced to below 82,000 soldiers, the lowest number since the 1700s. Renewing the Trident fleet would likely force more cuts.

Corbyn says the Trident isn’t worth the money. It is a costly weapon that can never be used. British security concerns should be focused on terrorism, economic turmoil and catastrophic climate change; nuclear weapons are irrelevant to all that. Corbyn argues, sensibly, that the Cold War era is long gone….

The Corbynites are sensitive about being accused of unilateral disarmament, since the party’s adoption of that position in the 1980s at the height of Cold War tensions was electorally damaging. Yet a British commitment to give up nuclear weapons unilaterally might just be the highest and best use of the Trident fleet…..

Corbyn is now taking a beating in the conservative tabloids for his blasphemies. Yet he is talking common sense. No leader in his right mind would use nuclear weapons. The British people would be better off spending the money that renewal would cost elsewhere. The reality is that the British nuclear arsenal will have greater global significance if it is dismantled rather than renewed. Corbyn is meeting fierce resistance, even inside his own party, but he is raising questions that deserve a full debate. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/jeremy-corbyn-talks-common-sense-on-nuclear-weapons/2016/01/12/52e8c886-b88f-11e5-b682-4bb4dd403c7d_story.html

January 13, 2016 Posted by | politics, UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Is it just Hinkley that’s finished or the whole of EDF?

AREVA EDF crumblingNo2Nuclear Power Jan 2016 “………French utility EDF is considering selling assets protest-Hinkley-Cworth over 6 billion euros (£4.5 billion) this year, according to French daily Les Echos – notably it is considering selling a stake in its eight British nuclear plants to fund plans to build Hinkley Point C. But it could only sell a 29% share of EDF Energy (which is supposed to be worth 9 billion euros in total). This would leave EDF with a 51% stake, because Centrica already owns 20%. The paper said a sale had been studied but the process had not been launched. The company needs 55 billion euros to upgrade its ageing nuclear plants, plans to invest 18 billion pounds in Hinkley and spend several billion euros to buy Areva’s reactor unit. (1)

Further delays at the Taishan EPR being built in China are hammering another nail in a coffin, says Dr David Toke, reader in Energy Politics at Aberdeen University. The only debate now is whether the coffin will house just the Hinkley C project or the whole of EDF. The Taishan plant’s construction began in 2009 and was supposed to be finished in 2013, but is now not expected to open until 2017. EDF will have to sell-off profitable assets to fund Hinkley C, something that is almost universally regarded as at least a rather large gamble or, increasingly, a probable disaster that will sink EDF. Given that the EPR is proving to be such a turkey in three multibillion projects (Olikuoto, Flamanville and now Taishan) what sort of business decision can it be to fund a fourth project that could break the company? (2
Disagreements over valuation and charges related to a Finnish EPR are likely to delay EDF’s acquisition of Areva’s nuclear reactor business. In late July, EDF agreed to buy 51 to 75% of the Areva NP reactor unit based on a value of 2.7 billion euros for the entire division. But EDF has revised that valuation down to 2.2 billion to 2.3 billion euros and won’t make a firm offer for Areva NP until early 2016. There was a “substantial” disagreement between the two sides on the value of the unit and that the talks “remain very complicated”. “The disagreements are about the amount, but especially about Finland,” another source said, adding that the French government prefers to clear the Finland issue with Areva before finalizing the sale of Areva NP. Finnish utility TVO has a 2.6 billion euro ($2.8 bln) claim against the Areva-led EPR consortium at the International Chamber of Commerce’s arbitration court. Areva-Siemens has a 3.4 billion euro counter-claim. (3)
According to the Guardian, possible buyers of a stake in UK reactors might include the stateowned Chinese companies, who are already committed partners of the Hinkley Point C project. EDF could unveil details of a sell-off plan on 16th February, when it is scheduled to release annual financial figures and is expected to give a final investment decision on Hinkley. (4)
Industry sources told the Guardian that the possible sell off was only one of a number of different options that were under consideration as the group looked at financing Hinkley Point C and other projects. They said it was still likely EDF would give the go ahead to Hinkley next month even though it did not have all the financing in place.
EDF is also said by Les Echos to be considering disposing of its 49.99% stake in three nuclear power plants in the US which are operated by Exelon (Two reactors at Calvert Cliffs Maryland; two at Nine Mile Point, New York, and one at RE Ginna, New York) The sale of EDF’s stake in No2NuclearPower nuClear news No.81, January 2016 12 these five reactors could be complicated. At least two of those reactors are at risk of closure due to economic pressures, and Exelon is having trouble with its nuclear business more broadly. Exelon might not be willing to take on more liability. EDF is also considering selling 50% of its holding in power transmission business RTE. It cannot sell more than half because 50% is allocated to its decommissioning fund, which is segregated. There is of course a risk in selling half because if it turns out to be worth less than EDF has claimed it is worth for the decommissioning fund, EDF would have to top up the decommissioning fund by the shortfall.
Meanwhile the National Audit Office says over a third of major government infrastructure projects are at risk of delays and spiraling costs. 37 of the 106 projects due to be completed within the next five years have been branded “unachievable” or “in-doubt” by a government body set up to monitor them. It is not known whether Hinkley Point is one of the projects the NAO considers to be at risk. (5) http://www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/nuclearnews/NuClearNewsNo81.pdf

January 13, 2016 Posted by | business and costs, France, UK | Leave a comment

Dangers in transporting nuclear weapons through residential areas

radiation-truckflag-UKFears voiced as nuclear weapons are transported through the Vale of Leven (incl video)  Daily Record, 12 JAN 2016 BY MARTIN LAING  A CONCERNED resident says movement of warheads in difficult driving conditions put lives at risk

CONCERN has been expressed for public safety after a nuclear convoy was filmed rumbling through residential areas of West Dunbartonshire.

Renton man Les Robertson shot video of the mult-vehicle convoy as it moved past the Co-Op store in Balloch and through the Vale of Leven on Saturday at tea time.

However, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence denied there was any threat to public safety and said the police had been involved in helping to organise the movement of materials to the Clyde naval base at Faslane and Couplort.

Mr Robertson wrote to the Lennox Herald this week to highlight his fears that the transportation of live nuclear warheads through the area put lives at risk.

He said: “On Saturday, January 9, a nuclear warhead convoy, consisting of four warhead carriers and support vehicles, travelled through West Dunbartonshire on route to Coulport.

“Trident warheads are carried in large crates inside the large green trucks. They are fully assembled and complete. The core of the warhead is a ball of plutonium and uranium. This is surrounded by specially developed conventional high explosives which would be ignited to create the critical mass necessary for a nuclear detonation when launched and targeted.

“The Ministry of Defence says there is little risk of a nuclear detonation during transport but, in an accident, the highly volatile conventional explosive could be set off, causing the warhead to jet plutonium. It estimates that in a serious accident a circle some 550 metres in radius would be affected by blast and fragments of explosive.

“Given the terrible driving conditions on Saturday evening, the risk of an accident was heightened yet a convoy carrying its deadly cargo was allowed to travel close to a busy supermarket in Balloch and heavily populated housing schemes including the Haldane and Dalvait.”……… To view the video, go to www.lennoxherald.co.uk.

January 13, 2016 Posted by | safety, UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment