The collapse of a project to build a new nuclear power station at Wylfa, Wales may accelerate government approval of a new station at Sizewell, government and industry sources say. The government is disappointed after Japan’s Hitachi pulled out but insists it is committed to new nuclear as way to decarbonise the UK power supply. It is looking at options to replace China’s CGN as an investor in Sizewell. That could include the government taking a stake in the plant. Of six sites originally identified over a decade ago for replacements for the UK’s ageing nuclear fleet, only one is under construction, three have been abandoned and two are waiting approval. One major sticking point over Sizewell has been the involvement of Chinese state-owned company China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) in the UK’s new nuclear plans. Industry sources and within the government say Chinese involvement in designing and running its own design nuclear reactor on UK soil “looks dead”, given revived security concerns and deteriorating diplomatic relations after the government’s decision to phase out Chinese firm Huawei’s equipment from a new generation of telecommunication networks. If a mobile network is considered too sensitive, it’s hard to argue that a nuclear power station is not.
BBC 16th Sept 2020 read more »
The collapse of a project to build a new nuclear power station at Wylfa, Wales may accelerate government approval of a new station at Sizewell, government and industry sources say. One major sticking point over Sizewell has been the involvement of Chinese state-owned company China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) in the UK’s new nuclear plans. Industry sources and within the government say Chinese involvement in designing and running its own design nuclear reactor on UK soil “looks dead”, given revived security concerns and deteriorating diplomatic relations after the government’s decision to phase out Chinese firm Huawei’s equipment from a new generation of telecommunication networks.
Yahoo Finance 16th Sept 2020 read more »
This is Money 16th Sept 2020 read more »
Boris Johnson is to hold a “nuclear summit” with Rishi Sunak and Alok Sharma to consider new subsidies after the collapse of a project to build two new reactors. Last night sources hinted that the government could take stakes to attract new investors. The prime minister is to meet Mr Sunak, the chancellor, and Mr Sharma, the business secretary, in the coming weeks to discuss the level and nature of government support, officials confirmed. The meeting had been planned before yesterday’s announcement, they added. Maintaining and developing Britain’s civil nuclear industry is deemed essential to meet the ambitious target of reducing net carbon emissions to zero by 2050. An energy white paper is due to be published this autumn. Ministers are privately hopeful of finding a new partner for Wylfa Newydd, on Anglesey, as the site is said to be one of the most attractive in the world and has broad local support. Rolls-Royce, which wants to build a new fleet of compact nuclear power stations, known as small modular reactors, has offered a partnership with a buyer. The future of a new reactor at Sizewell, Suffolk, may be more problematic. The state-owned China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN), took a 20 per cent stake in its development phase with a view to winning permission to build a reactor of its own in Bradwell, Essex.
Times 17th Sept 2020 read more »
Can the UK decarbonise without nuclear power? Cancellation of Hitachi nuclear plant in Wales threatens to derail Downing Street’s plans for eliminating CO2. And although “renewables such as wind and solar power are growing in importance”, these are “intermittent energy sources which cannot meet countries’ needs on their own”, according to International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Mariano Grossi. “That means more use of nuclear power will be needed,” he told a UN climate summit in December. Bret Kugelmass, founder of the Washington D.C.-based Energy Impact Center, told Choose Energy in July that “eliminating annual emissions” is “likely impossible without nuclear, and would require incredible unforeseen leaps forward in a range of other technologies”. But with Hitachi now pulling the plugs on the plant in Wales, Downing Street may need to come up with alternative options.
The Week 16th Sept 2020 read more »