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News May 2020

Romania & CGN

Romania’s economy ministry has asked state-owned power producer Nuclearelectrica to end negotiations with China General Nuclear (CGN) about the construction of two reactors at its plant on the river Danube, the company said. Nuclearelectrica has two 706 megawatt reactors, which account for roughly a fifth of Romania’s power production, and wants to add two more. CGN filed a non-binding bid to partner with Romania in the project in 2014, but negotiations, which included price guarantees, have advanced very slowly. The firm will make the decision at a shareholders’ meeting on June 12 following the ministry’s request to “initiate the procedures regarding the ceasing of negotiations with CGN, as well as the ceasing of the legal effects,” it said. Western governments have grown increasingly concerned about possible security threats posed by investments made by Chinese firms in their economies, including telecoms and nuclear power.

Reuters 28th May 2020 read more »

Euractiv 27th May 2020 read more »

Liberal prime minister Ludovic Orban announced in January that the Government would exit the deal with its Chinese partner. He invoked the European Union’s Green Deal rather than security issues or cost concerns circulated previously as the main reason behind a potential end of the deal with CGN to expand Romania’s only nuclear power plant.

Romania Insider 27th May 2020 read more »

Iran

France, Germany and Britain on Saturday criticised a U.S. decision to end sanctions waivers allowing work on Iranian nuclear sites designed to prevent weapons development. “We deeply regret the U.S. decision to end the three waivers,” the three European countries said in a joint statement. “These projects, endorsed by U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, serve the non-proliferation interests of all and provide the international community with assurances of the exclusively peaceful and safe nature of Iranian nuclear activities.” The waivers had allowed Russian, Chinese and European companies to work on the conversion of Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor, the provision of enriched uranium for a Tehran research reactor, and the transfer of spent fuel abroad.

Reuters 30th May 2020 read more »

Island Energy

A Scottish energy giant is facing a battle for control over a lucrative power deal in the Shetland Islands. Scottish and Southern Electricity (SSE) has been lobbying energy regulator Ofgem to approve a subsea cable to export green energy from its proposed Viking wind farm to the mainland. However, a Scandinavian power giant argues that its alternative of a liquefied natural gas power station would be far cheaper and ensure a stable energy supply for islanders. SSE, which has been working in partnership with the islands’ council, argues that by connecting wind farms on the Shetland Isles to Noss Head near Wick on the Scottish mainland, low-carbon electricity can be transmitted to the National Grid and help secure Shetland’s future energy supply. Lerwick Power Station, Shetland’s main power source, is expected to cease operations in 2025. Ofgem confirmed in April that it was minded to approve the 600MW subsea cable. Now Denmark-based power station specialist BWSC claims the subsea link is unnecessary and is proposing to build a new power plant for Shetlanders.

Times 31st May 2020 read more »

Climate

Temperatures in some California cities this week broke decades-old records. The heatwave that cooked Las Vegas over the past few days brought temperatures over 100F (38C). And in Phoenix, highs this weekend are expected to approach or exceed 110F (43C). This year is on track to be one of the hottest on record, and public health officials worry that in cities across the US, summer heatwaves will collide with the coronavirus pandemic, with deadly consequences for poor, minority and older populations. Even before the pandemic hit, heat was killing more Americans than all other natural disasters combined. People who live in cities are especially vulnerable to heatwaves because of a phenomenon called the “urban heat island effect” – cities with populations of 1 million or more can be up to 5F hotter than surrounding areas due to high population density, a lack of greenery and shade, and because materials like steel, concrete and asphalt tend to absorb more heat. Analyses have also found that cities’ poorest neighborhoods tend to be hotter, and that many low-income families have been struggling to cope for years. In some neighborhoods of Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, up to a third or more of households lack air conditioning. Due to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, many more are unable to pay to run their ACs. And even as cities begin reopening after lockdown, many of the malls, public libraries and recreation centers where overheated Americans traditionally went to cool down remain risky, especially for older people and others with a heightened risk of dying from Covid-19.

Guardian 30th May 2020 read more »

Climate Protest

Several Extinction Rebellion protesters have been arrested in London after flouting a ban on gatherings with a silent demonstration to demand the Government take urgent action to tackle climate change. The actions in and around London were part of a nation-wide day of protests calling for a Citizen’s Assembly on the recovery of the UK from Covid-19 as lockdown restrictions continue to be eased. “We’re here today because over the last couple of months, the crisis that’s happened with Covid-19 has shown us what we can really do to face an emergency, and what our governments can do when they are motivated,” one protester, who gave the name Sarah, told the Press Association. “We’re asking to build on some of the positive changes which have happened over the last couple of months: the drop in pollution, people cycling and walking more, people getting outside.”

iNews 30th May 2020 read more »

Sizewell

The cost of Sizewell C is put at £18 billion ($22bn), while the estimated cost of Hinkley Point C is between £21.5bn and £22.5bn. The application for a Development Consent Order for Sizewell C follows four rounds of public consultation which began in 2012. More than 10,000 residents and organisations in Suffolk contributed their views.

Nuclear Engineering International 28th May 2020 read more »

Hinkley Mud

ACOALITION of high-profile environmental groups has urged First Minister Mark Drakeford to insist on the further testing of mud from a nuclear power station in Somerset before it is dumped in the Severn Estuary off Cardiff. In 2018 around 120,000 tonnes of mud from adjacent to Hinkley Point power station were dumped in the face of significant public opposition amid concerns that it could be radioactive and pose a threat to health. This was denied by Natural Resources Wales, which licensed the dumping, the Welsh Government and EDF, the French company which owns the power station. Now there are plans to dump a further 600,000 tonnes of mud in the same location. A letter signed by 34 NGOs, policy analysts, experts and campaigners, including Greenpeace UK, the leading environmentalist Sir Jonathon Porritt, the Welsh Anti-Nuclear Alliance, the Low Level Radiation Campaign, Nuclear Free Local Authorities and the Nuclear Consulting Group, was yesterday delivered to First Minister Mark Drakeford. The letter seeks his assurance that he will respect the requirements of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016, ensure that the mud sampling programme aimed at establishing whether there are radioactive substances present is expanded, and appoint an expert group which includes members nominated by environmental groups when conducting the assessment of the mud. Low Level Radiation campaign secretary Richard Bramhall said: “The law requires Natural Resources Wales and the Welsh Government to take full account of uncertainties. There is abundant evidence in the scientific literature that uranium and plutonium particles are blown ashore and cause cancer, leukaemia and birth defects, yet Westminster’s advisory committee COMARE refuses to address them and EDF’s tests can’t detect them. If this isn’t an uncertainty, what is?” Pete Wilkinson, an associate of the Low Level Radiation Campaign and chair of Together Against Sizewell C, said: “The number and diversity of those who have been willing to put their name to this letter indicates that this issue is of national importance. The evidence points to the fact that the relationship between radioactive dose and risk is not necessarily linear and this letter seeks recognition of that uncertainty and a considered, science-based approach to the EDF application.” A Welsh Government spokesman responded: “We have received the letter and will respond in due course.”

Western Mail 28th May 2020 read more »

Hinkley

A huge £1.7billion has been spent with businesses in the West of England as part of Hinkley Point C power station’s construction, a new report on the project has found. EDF Energy said it had “smashed” its target of £1.5billion five years ahead of schedule after spending with more than 1,100 companies in the region.

Business Live 29th May 2020 read more »

Dounreay

A new leak of radioactive material triggered a fresh nuclear safety concern at the Dounreay site in Caithness, it can be revealed. It has emerged that a mixture containing uranium radionuclides leaked from a transport drum storage area at the complex this year. The quantity was initially thought to meet the criteria for informing government ministers of the incident. However, a later investigation by the operators of the site found that the volume did not meet that threshold, and that there had been no risk to staff or the environment. The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), which has highlighted the incident in its latest site report for Dounreay, intends to follow up the investigation.

Press & Journal 28th May 2020 read more »

Green Recovery

Dozens of business leaders, climate advocates, investors, and researchers have urged the International Energy Agency (IEA) to align its energy system projections with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C scenario ahead of an upcoming report that is set to guide governments’ coronavirus recovery efforts. In an open letter published today, leaders from Ikea and Unilever, the C40 alliance of mayors, key architect of the Paris Agreement Christiana Figueres, and former president of Ireland Mary Robinson have called on the influential agency to update its energy modelling before it publishes a seminal report on Covid-19 recovery. The IEA’s flagship World Energy Outlook series of reports has long steered major investment decisions made by governments, companies, and investors around the globe, and its upcoming special report “could be the most influential ever”, according to the signatories to the letter. The analysis, due to be published on 18 June, is expected to include recommendations to governments on how to stimulate economies and revive a moribund energy investment climate following the pandemic while also generating jobs and building a more resilient and cleaner energy sector.

Business Green 29th May 2020 read more »

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