European Commission issues smokescreen 'protection' to hide consumer exposure over Hinkley C

The European Commission, in signalling its intention to give the green light to the British Government's Hinkley C nuclear power plant deal under the 'state aid' permission procedure has failed miserably to protect British consumers against the consequences of what must be the highly likely outcome of cost overruns in building the Hinkley C plant. Instead it has issued what must be seen as a smokescreen of 'protection' to British electricity consumers by asking the British Government to introduce rules clawing back profits made by EDF. See http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/03/eu-britain-edf-nuclear-idUKL6N0RY3FE20141003?irpc=932

Observers might be forgiven for imagining that the 35 year contract for Hinkley C, underpinned by £10 billion of state loan guarantees paying higher premium prices (£92.50) than privately built onshore windfarms receive for only 15 year contracts, will give EDF and their Chinese partners big profits. However this impression is an artefact of the ludicrous propaganda perpetrated for many years that nuclear power stations are potentially profitable, competitive, operations. They are no such thing. Hinkley C is most likely to result in further major  commitments being made by British electricity consumers or taxpayers to bail out the near inevitable cost-overruns of building Hinkley C.  The fact that only state owned companies (French and Chinese) are prepared to undertake the risk of this project, and even then backed by what will emerge in the fullness of time as an effective blank cheque by the British state, is a testament to the sheer bankruptcy of new nuclear build as a commercial proposition.

The nuclear constructors may set dates for commissioning of the project, but in reality they have no idea when they will be finished. The firm probability is that they will take a lot longer to build the plant than what is said in the wishful thinking that passes for pro-nuclear reports on the subject. All three EPRs (the model being used for Hinkley C) being built in Finland, France and China are acknowledged by the constructors themselves as running considerably behind schedule. And we do not even know whether the plant will work very well when they are switched on!

Assurances that the British consumers will not face any further liabilities for building the plant are politically worthless. Why? because if, on the basis of experience, the plant are not build on time and (thus) cost, then the constructors are very likely to ask the UK Government for more financial support. The British Government is unlikely to say no in such circumstances, whatever the Department of Energy and Climate Change claim today. Are they going to allow a half-built nuclear power station to remain as a monument to British folly, to be mocked by people around the world? No, they will commit British people to spending more money on the project to complete the dinosaur, no doubt backed by a new application to the European Commission for 'state aid', which the EU Commission will be minded to accept (as usual). You think this unlikely? Well, it has happened almost exactly like this before. Sizewell B nuclear power station, using a relatively well known PWR design, was left financially stranded when British electricity industry was privatised in 1990 and the new private electricity industry said they could not finance its completion. The Government responded by levying a 'fossil fuel levy' on electricity consumers to pay for the plant to be completed. Indeed the European Commission went along with this on the condition that the levy ended in 1998.

It is about to start again. So is a new comedy show of building more nuclear power in the UK.

Daft rumours spread about wind turbines and noise without any scientific basis

Anti-wind campaigners have broken completely new ground today by using a piece of research that had absolutely nothing to do with wind power to claim that wind turbines damaged people's hearing. Even though the story was nonsense, this hardly matters for the media involved. Just like the nonsensical europhobic story about capacity power auctions (see previous blog) this is an example of how there is an expanding market to cater for growing, feverish, hysteria among the backwoodsmen right wing in British politics. I reproduce part of a media release from RenewableUK, the trade association, below, which, as far as I can see, gives a reasonable summary of this affair:

RenewableUK slams false media reports claiming wind farms affect hearing

RenewableUK says media speculation that wind farms can affect people’s hearing is incorrect and irresponsible.  

Several national newspapers wrongly claimed today that research published in the journal Royal Society Open Science showed a possible link between wind turbines and deafness.

The expert who wrote the paper, Dr Markus Drexl from the University of Munich, told RenewableUK that the media had misrepresented his work, saying “It is certainly misleading and an over-interpretation of our results to state that living close to wind farms may cause hearing impairment or deafness. Our research did not include any work at wind farms”.

RenewableUK’s Director of Policy, Dr Gordon Edge, said: “Unfortunately, some reporters got it wrong - this is a classic case of Bad Science. When you actually read the scientific paper, it doesn’t make any mention of wind farms whatsoever. That’s because the level of low frequency noise that the scientists used in their tests was significantly higher than anything that anyone living near a wind farm could possibly experience.

“The Australian government published some excellent research on this last year which stated that the modest level of low frequency sound from wind turbines is actually insignificant. It’s well understood by acoustics experts that low frequency sound doesn’t pose any health risk to communities around wind farms and frankly it’s irresponsible scaremongering to suggest otherwise.”

For further information, please contact:

·              Robert Norris, Head of Communications, 020 7901 3013 or 07969 229913, Robert.Norris@RenewableUK.com

·              Adam Wentworth, Communications Officer, 020 7901 3038 or 07791 702702 Adam.Wentworth@RenewableUK.com

Notes:

1.    RenewableUK is the trade and professional body for the UK wind and marine renewables industries. Formed in 1978, and with more than 575 corporate members, RenewableUK is the leading renewable energy trade association in the UK.

2.    Royal Society Open Science paper: http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/royopensci/1/2/140166.full.pdf

Blind British Europhobia as Times tilts at subsidies to euro power plants

If ever there was a story that perfectly reflected the increasing frenzy of europhobia in the UK it is the story in today's Times newspaper headed ' Britons may foot bill for power plants in Europe'. The story springs from the fact that under the UK Government's new 'capacity mechanism' designed to build up power plant capacity in the UK, the auctions to procure this capacity will also have to be open, heaven forbid, to plant based outside the UK.

Never mind the fact that the only reason that this will happen is if the power plant can supply energy more cheaply than British based plant; never mind the fact that four out of six of our major energy utilities are owned by non-British companies anyway; never mind the fact that trying to build a common electricity market will actually help the UK (and every one else) achieve more secure sustainable energy supplies, it just adds to the mindless anti-EU feeding frenzy that is Britain today. The fact that such a system will help the common good doesn't cut much ice either since increasing numbers of Brits (you'd think by reading the press) would rather cross the other side of the road before helping anything called 'euro'.

See http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/utilities/article4222871.ece

Of course it may not be too long before so-called 'back-up' capacity of power stations are not so important. Storage technology is developing, and some potentially revolutionary developments are in the pipeline. An HSBC report indicates that in Germany it  may not be too long before it is at least as economic to supply your power needs for solar pv using energy storage as deriving your electricity supply from the grid. See http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/energy-storage-generators-biggest-losers-50615

In the UK, of course, this may be delayed as the premium prices awarded to nuclear power stations will allow nuclear power to supply power to supplant supplies from solar pv at least until 2058 (the earliest time that the Hinkley C power station will stop receiving its 35 year projected premium price). This decision, of course, is just about to be legitimised by the European Commission (some irony here).

Bring down the Cameron Government to stop Tories betraying devolution 'vow'

The shameful efforts of the Tories and English Nationalist 'UKIP' to renege on the vow to give extra powers to the Scottish Parliament by linking the issue to so-called English devolution need to be countered by forcing the Tories out of government - now!

Of course it is important to discuss the implications for the rest of the country of giving more powers to Scottish Government. But to delay the solemn pledges given by the Westminster leaders just before last week's referendum vote would represent a political betrayal of historic proportions - and this can only be answered by getting a Government as soon as possible that can implement the measures to give more powers to the Scottish Government as quickly as possible.

The combined weight of the Liberal Democrats and the opposition parties is easily enough to overthrow David Cameron. If the Liberal Democrats do the honourable thing and stick to their policy of giving Scottish devolution without ties, and if Cameron feels unable to bring his party with him, then Nick Clegg should tell Cameron to resign - and resign himself from the Government before formally voting it out of office.

The Liberal Democrats have felt they have had to compromise on a whole series of issues - but surely, surely, on this issue there can be no compromise!

If the Liberal Democrats supported a vote of no confidence then the Cameron Government would be defeated by at least 328 votes to the Tories 304, or at most 312 if they somehow convinced the DUP to support them. If you look at the Parliamentary arithmetic, even if the SNP abstained on a devolution package implementing the 'vow' then this should also win a Parliamentary majority, even if the Tories still all voted against it.

Failing that we should have a general election as rapidly as possible to sort the matter out. The Tories should not assume that the English will support their stand. Sure, there is a lot of support for the notion that English MPs should have priority in discussing purely 'English' issues in Parliament, but there is likely to be much less English (and Welsh and Northern Irish) support for reneging on the pledges given to the Scottish votes through linking the two issues together. Let's find an answer to the West Lothian question - but only after we have redeemed the pledges made to the Scottish people before they voted to stay in the Union.

If you cannot do this now, Mr Cameron, resign! - and if he won't resign, MPs must vote to end his government!

Give more energy powers to the Scottish Government!

The Westminster parties may have promised some big new powers for the Scottish Parliament, but little appears to be promised to try to close the policy gap between Holyrood and Westminster on renewables and nuclear power. Where are the proposals to give the Scottish Government some influence on how to spend incentives for renewable energy? At the moment, when it comes to financing, Westminster decides everything whatever the Scottish Government thinks.

The Westminster parties are planning to spend a lot of money on building nuclear power stations after 2020, and the Conservatives are promising to stop incentives for onshore wind. So where does this leave a Scottish Government which opposes building new nuclear power stations and which wants some ability to make its decisions on what renewables should be supported rather than being dictated to by Westminster based Conservatives? Anti-windfarm groups like the Renewable Energy Foundation say that Scottish consumers ought to pay more for Scottish renewables. Well in that case why should Scottish consumers pay for nuclear power stations in England and Wales? See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/11108541/Scottish-no-vote-what-next-for-the-energy-sector.html

There is a plausible way of solving the problem of giving more energy powers to Scotland. One way it could be done is simply to give the Scottish Government a portion of the 'Levy Control Framework' (a capped fund for renewables spending set up by the Treasury) to spend as they choose. Then renewables developers could choose whether to use the Westminster incentives (contracts) or the incentive schemes organised by the Scottish Government. If the Tories do cut off the funds for onshore wind then the Scottish Government could fund Scottish schemes instead.

Another way in which increased Scottish powers could help renewables would be to establish a Scottish Energy regulator who could have authority over rules governing investment in network distribution. Then pro-active work could be done to help community renewables and other schemes connect to a strengthened local network. This is rather than having the schemes stopped by them being given expensive demands for local grid strengthening which cannot be economic for one scheme on its own.

Then there is a wider case to give a Scottish Energy Regulator authority over incentives for energy efficiency, powers to help reduce fuel poverty and also to regulate energy prices for the domestic sector (where such competition is ineffective, opaque and self-defeating).

Scottish Renewables, representing the renewables industry in Scotland is not advocating a Scottish Energy Regulator, but it is proposing an increase in energy powers for the Scottish Government. This includes a formal role for the Scottish Government on the board of OFGEM, a formal role for the devolved Governments in regular strategic reviews of energy policy, and a grid connection plan to ensure renewable energy can be installed on Scottish islands. See http://www.scottishrenewables.com/news/scottish-renewables-post-referendum-paper-proposes/​

Westminster urgently needs to do something to change a situation where policy on energy is made in Westminster for English preferences, but not so much for Scottish needs. Generally, the Westminster parties will lose seats to the SNP at the General Election next May if they fail to have even a debate about shifting powers to the Scottish Parliament over energy (and other things). At the last election Labour won 41 Scottish seats and the Liberal Democrats 11 to 6 for the SNP. Labour and the Lib Dems are heading to lose a lot of these seats.......

Energy After the Referendum Meeting

Energy After the Referendum

Wednesday October 1^st

Robert Gordon University, Garthdee House, Garthdee Road, Aberdeen, AB10 7QE
Room N345 Riverside East. See http://www.rgu.ac.uk/contact-us/how-to-find-us

Regardless of the result on September 18th there is a big discussion on what increased powers for the Scottish Government mean. Can a Scottish Energy Regulator keep consumer prices down and boost renewable energy and fight fuel poverty? How can the Scottish Government increase control over the extraction and use of Scottish oil and gas resources? Come along to the 'Energy after the Referendum' event to find out.

12.00 Registration & Light Lunch

12.30 Professor Peter Strachan & Dr David Toke Opening Comments

12.40 Fergus Ewing. Minister for Economy, Energy and Tourism, Scottish Government

1.15 Andrew Faulk, former Senior Policy Advocate, Scottish Consumer Focus on prospects and impacts on consumer interests of establishing a Scottish Energy Regulator

1.45 Roger Cook, Research Director, Scotland Institute on what and how more energy powers for Scotland might make a difference

2.15 Norman Kerr, Director, Energy Action Scotland on how fuel poverty can be best fought in Scotland

2.40 Break & Light Refreshments

3.05 Martyn Tulloch, Tulloch Energy, The potential for offshore unconventional hydrocarbon production in the North Sea?

3.30 Dr David Toke, University of Aberdeen on prospects for renewable energy

3.55 Round Table discussion


4.30 pm close

Event organised jointly by Aberdeen Business School of Robert Gordon University and School of Social Science, University of Aberdeen

Is there a disinformation campaign to paint nuclear as 'green'?

Green groups in the UK are now being subjected to a withering assault on their anti-nuclear position, which is amounting at worst to a campaign of disinformation or at best wishful thinking by the pro-nuclear establishment.

Today's BBC4 report that Friends of the Earth has become pro-nuclear has been quickly denounced by FOE themsleves. See https://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/radio-4-report-nuclear-power_10092014

But this reflects a growing recent trend to target green groups to get them at least to be neutral on the subject of investments or new research into nuclear power if not outrightly pro-nuclear.

The Green Party of England and Wales was the target of a well prepared effort to shift their position last Saturday, although of course the pro-nuclear amendment to the Party's policy was rejected by an overwhelming majority.

A worrying trend is that there is a drip, drip effort to insert support for technologies such as 'molten salt' (fast breeder) reactors, and thorium reactors as if such things were new. These technologies have been abandoned decades ago because they did not even function (if at all) as well as conventional nuclear reactors. But then people new on the scene do not know so much about the actual scientific evidence on the subject, allowing pro-nuclear advocates to pretend that such things are serious as economic and environmentally desirable'new' technologies.

The nuclear industry is now routinely described as 'green' in the British media, despite the opposition of actual green NGOs. Now there is a big campaign to get over that problem.

This establishment campaign is supported by various reports and studies which minimise (or in some cases entirely omit) the contribution of solar power, give exaggerated projections of future energy consumption and try and pretend that long-abandoned technologies such as fast breeders or thorium reactors (or small reactors come to that) are somehow 'new' and a serious force for the future.

Any apparent intellectual logic behind all this seems to have weight mainly because alternative scenarios do not get the same prominence or funding.

We in the wider green movement need to challenge this narrative. We have less resources, but we need to work harder. This is much more important than just opposing nuclear for its own sake, as important as that is. This is about stopping a massive diversion of resources away from real green solutions and towards dinosaur projects like Hinkley C.

See more coverage at http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/10/friends-of-the-earth-nuclear-power-bbc-report