Difference between revisions of "Hinkley Point C"

From ScienceForSustainability
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Line 1: Line 1:
 
[[Category:EXPORT]]
 
[[Category:EXPORT]]
 
[[Category:Energy]]
 
[[Category:Energy]]
[[Category:Nuclear]]
+
[[Category:Nuclear Power]]
 
[[Category:UK]]
 
[[Category:UK]]
 
[[Category:European Pressurised Reactor]]
 
[[Category:European Pressurised Reactor]]

Revision as of 15:50, 22 October 2016

Hinkley Point nuclear plant delayed, says EDF Roger Harrabin; BBC; 4 Sep 2015

The French energy company said Hinkley Point C in Somerset will not start generating power in 2023 as planned. EDF says it will provide a revised timetable for the £24.5bn plant when it takes a final investment decision on the project. The news comes as a report for the OECD says that the UK's projected nuclear costs are the highest in the world.

New Hinkley Point nuclear power station may be further delayed Terry Macalister; Guardian; 3 Sep 2015

France’s EDF gives no definite schedule for construction of £24.5bn plant, which still awaits firm’s final investment decision. The news came as the French energy group said a more advanced sister project at Flamanville in Normandy would now not start operating until 2018, at a cost of €10bn (£7.3bn). It was originally slated to open in 2005 and cost €3bn.

We are pro-nuclear, but Hinkley C must be scrapped George Monbiot, Mark Lynas, and Chris Goodall; Guardian; 18 Sep 2015

If the Hinkley C nuclear project fails, it could mean that taxpayers had to cover £17bn of the £24.5bn construction cost.

Pro-nuclear environmentalists in call to scrap Hinkley C plans Terry Macalister; Guardian; 18 Sep 2015

Three leading environmentalists who broke ranks to give their support to a new generation of nuclear plants have now urged the government to scrap plans for Hinkley Point C. George Monbiot, Mark Lynas and Chris Goodall say the soaring cost and delays to the Hinkley project leave ministers with no option but to pour the estimated £24.5bn worth of investment into other low-carbon technologies.

The quality of Hinkley Point's enemies suggests it's an idiotic venture Damian Carrington; Guardian; 21 Sep 2015

  • well-known energy analyst Peter Atherton ... said the deal is “one of the worst ever signed by a British government”, who are buying the “most expensive conventional power station in the world”.
  • HSBC agree, noting the high costs and vast delays to EDF’s two other new plants in France and Finland: “We see ample reason for the UK government to delay or cancel the project.”
  • Financial Times ... costs are far too high, more expensive than every kind of renewable energy, bar offshore wind. “Backing out might upset the French and embarrass the government. But a wish to spare ministerial blushes is no excuse for saddling the country with costs it cannot afford,” concluded the FT editorial.
  • Lord Turnbull, who knows his way around Whitehall, having led the civil service, recently told Osborne the Hinkley deal was a “bottomless pit and a big white elephant”.
  • Lord Howell is a former Conservative energy secretary, a fracking fan and also happens to be Osborne’s father-in-law. He warned the reactor design planned for Hinkley C has never “been completed successfully” and that it was “one of the worst deals ever” for British consumers and industry. Paul Massara, boss of RWE NPower, one of the UK’s Big Six, said: “We will look back and think that nuclear was a expensive mistake.”
  • George Monbiot, Mark Lynas, and Chris Goodall declared: “Hinkley C bears all the distinguishing features of a white elephant: overpriced, overcomplicated and overdue.

Hinkley Point C nuclear project expected to get go-ahead next week Terry Macalister; Guardian; 22 Jul 2016

EDF likely to greenlight construction of power plant in Somerset, providing boost to UK government amid Brexit fallout.

Nuclear Options Euan Mearns; Energy Matters; 4 Aug 2016

This post provides an overview of the 6 main reactor designs that are vying for the global market today focussing on the large, >1 GW Generation III reactors. While the post focusses on the UK, the part on generic designs should be of interest to all readers

The Hinkley Point C Pantomime Euan Mearns; Energy Matters; 29 Jul 2016

The board of EDF, the French State controlled owner of UK and French power stations and vendor of the new Gen 3 EPR (European Pressurised Water Reactor) voted narrowly to approve the Hinkley C reactor project on Thursday (by 10 votes to 7). Contracts were supposed to be signed today (Friday). But then in an unexpected move the UK Government has called the project in for re-evaluation. Clearly, they did not expect the French to proceed. What on Earth is going on?

U.K. Approves EDF’s £18 Billion Hinkley Point Nuclear Project Francois De Beaupuy; Bloomberg; 14 Sept 2016

expert reaction to news that the UK government has approved plans for Hinkley C nuclear power plant Science Media Centre; 16 Sept 2016

economics

Comparing the cost of electricity generation from Hinkley Point C with solar and flexibility mechanisms Solar Trade Association; Oct 2015

Hinkley Point C or solar; which is cheaper? Roger Andrews; Energy Matters; 11 Jan 2016

7TWh for just solar
3.5TWh with equal generation by wind -- still more than 100 times current installed UK energy storage capacity and the equivalent of roughly four hundred more Dinorwigs

Hinkley Point C contract terms World Nuclear News; 8 Oct 2014

If wholesale prices rise above an agreed 'strike price', payments from the generator will be returned to consumers. If they fall below this price, the generator will receive a top-up payment. Customers pay nothing until the power plant is operational.

The strike price for Hinkley Point C remains set at £92.50/MWh or £89.50/MWh if the planned new nuclear power plant at Sizewell goes ahead. These figures are in 2012 prices. If it does go ahead, there will be a payment from Sizewell C to Hinkley Point C equivalent to £3/MWh upon the final investment decision being taken with respect to Sizewell C reflecting the fact that the first-of-a-kind costs of EPR reactors are shared across the Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C sites. The Hinkley Point C contract will last for 35 years, the strike price is fully indexed to inflation through the Consumer Price Index and the project will be protected from certain changes in law. As proposed in October 2013, the CfD already contained a series of 'gainshare' mechanisms in which customers would benefit if the project construction costs or equity returns were more favourable than forecast.

Final contracts signed for Hinkley Point C project World Nuclear News; 29 Sep 2016

The documents were signed by UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Greg Clark, EDF chairman and CEO Jean-Bernard Levy and China General Nuclear (CGN) chairman He Yu. Attending the ceremony were French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and National Energy Administration of China administrator Nur Bektri. The agreements signed included the Contract for Difference (CfD) and the Secretary of State Investor Agreement. The CfD - the ratepayer-backed guaranteed price for electricity generated by Hinkley Point C - was originally agreed in October 2013 and guarantees the plant will get £92.50 per MWh for for its first 35 years of operation.