UK cuts China from Sizewell nuclear project, takes joint stake
- Reference: 1669800614
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/11/30/uk_energy_storage/
- Source link:
The UK will spend £700 million ($843 million) on Sizewell, a funding figure that will be matched by French partner EDF.
The move cuts out China General Nuclear from construction of the new power station, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak [1]saying in his first foreign policy speech yesterday that Britain's "golden era" of China relations is over.
[2]
Against the backdrop of ongoing anti-government lockdown protests, Sunak said: "We recognize China poses a systemic challenge to our values and interests, a challenge that grows more acute as it moves towards even greater authoritarianism."
[3]
[4]
Nuclear plants take a significant amount of time to build and bring online, with the plant expected to start producing electricity only in 2035.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said: "Today's investment in Sizewell C represents the biggest step on our journey to energy independence – the first state backing for a nuclear project in over 30 years. Once complete, this mega project will power millions of homes with clean, affordable, home-grown energy for decades to come."
UK response to the European energy crisis
The news comes the day after the country awarded £32 million ($38 million) funding to five projects that are developing new energy storage tech and the UK's National Grid decided not to switch on a blackout prevention scheme that pays consumers not to use electricity.
The National Grid told The Register yesterday it "no longer needed the service to manage margins," although it had earlier expected to do so.
[5]
Critics have said the UK's response to the energy crisis has not been robust enough, with some [6]blaming power vacuums created by change in government and the death of the Queen, and others stating that future funding isn't that helpful when current storage capacity isn't where it should be.
Europe's largest battery energy storage installation went live in the UK earlier this month, with the capacity to store up to 196MWh of electricity. The [7]Pillswood project , based in Hull near England's North Sea coast, aims to provide load balancing services to the UK grid. It is claimed the project, developed by Harmony Energy Limited, will store enough energy to power around 300,000 homes for two hours – not that many or that long relative to the country's consumption, but a step in the right direction.
Rolling blackouts
The National Grid earlier this year included [8]scenarios [PDF] in its [9]outlook for the winter that included rolling electricity blackouts of up to three hours.
The Electricity System Operator said: "Electricity storage will need to increase significantly to support the decarbonization of our electricity system, with as much as twelve-fold and seven-fold increases in capacity (GW) and volume (GWh)."
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Graham Stuart, when asked earlier this month what recent steps his department has taken to increase energy security, [10]stated : "We are confident in our plans to protect households and businesses in the full range of scenarios this winter, in light of Russia's illegal war in Ukraine.
[11]
"To strengthen this position further, we have put plans in place to secure supply this winter. This includes supporting coal plants to remain open, ensuring an additional 2.4GW of generating capacity to be used as a last resort over the coming months. We continue working closely with key international partners, to monitor and share information on energy supply, demand, and preparedness for the winter."
At least one of the coal plants he's referring to is owned by Germany's Uniper, which is keeping its Ratcliffe coal power station in Britain open to help the country maintain its electricity supplies this winter.
The fresh funding includes money going to projects developing thermal and liquid flow batteries, which the government claimed would help increase the resilience of the local electricity grid while also maximizing value for money.
The money pot is part of the second phase of LODES, the Longer Duration Energy Storage competition, meant to help participants to develop technologies that can store energy as heat, electricity, or as a low-carbon energy carrier like hydrogen.
Moves in Europe to maintain energy supplies
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, and Vladimir Putin reduced gas supplies to Europe before suspending flows altogether in September, Europe has been preparing for a winter energy crisis.
The UK, which has some of the continent's lowest gas storage capacity, brought its [12]Rough gas storage facility in the North Sea back online last month, though it will only be operating at a fifth of its previous capacity.
This comes after decisions taken in the UK over the past decade or so that grid-scale storage (of electricity or gas) between seasons was no longer cost effective. The Rough site was closed in [13]2017 after Centrica decided it did not make sense from a "commercial perspective" to pay for expensive repairs and the government refused to help.
Meanwhile, over in Europe...
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen earlier this year called for cuts to electricity use across the bloc and windfall taxes on energy firms to tackle high prices, and asked for electricity consumption to be cut at peak hours by at least 5 percent.
Germany, with its oversized reliance on Russian gas, has made many of these moves, with the city of Hanover turning off the heating and switching to cold showers in all public buildings.
The German government has since [14]increased its stake in Uniper SE to 99 percent, taking the historic step of fully nationalizing the country's biggest gas importer.
The EU held an emergency meeting in September as the energy crisis became a pressing issue in the region.
Von der Leyen [15]said at the time: "We are facing an extraordinary situation, not only because Russia is an unreliable supplier, as we have witnessed over the last days, weeks, months, but also because Russia is actively manipulating the gas market."
Germany, the financial powerhouse of the European Union that is heavily reliant on Russian gas due to decisions made over a [16]period of decades , has come under fire over plans to keep two of its three last nuclear power plants open until mid-2023 — beyond the original end-of-2022 deadline – and calls to stop the decommissioning altogether.
You can't just switch a nuclear plant off and on again
Anger intensified after government officials appeared to suggest keeping the nuclear plants as an "emergency reserve" – a phrase widely derided by engineers, with the operator of one of the reactors [17]telling Der Spiegel in a remarkably subdued statement that any plan "to send two of the three operational reactors into a cold reserve status, to power them up if and when necessary, is not technically feasible."
Energy minister and deputy chancellor Robert Habeck, incidentally a member of the anti-nuclear Green Party (the green part of the current government's "traffic-light" coalition), then reportedly accused one of the plant's operators of not understanding the government's plan.
Meanwhile, [18]JPMorgan's European offices have carried out power outage simulations, tests to help the bank prepare for a potential loss of power.
In a speech to the Eurogroup Press Conference, Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni [19]said :
We know that the key cause of these problems is Putin's war against Ukraine and we should have this very clearly in mind and repeat this to citizens and on public occasions. Putin's war and his weaponization of Russia's energy exports' aim is to divide Europe and to weaken the resolve of the collective West to support Ukraine. The Russian government will try to use our economic difficulties. And he will fail.
The Kremlin shut off its natural gas flow to Europe via the key Nord Stream 1 pipeline in September and said it wouldn't reopen it until the West lifts sanctions against Moscow put in place after Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
German [20]gas reserves at the time of publication stood at 98 percent of storage levels, with consumption standing at 21 percent, 3 percent lower than the average consumption in the past four years.
[21]Lessons to be learned from Google and Oracle's datacenter heatstroke
[22]Never mind the Saudis: Here's a new OPEC for EV battery metals
[23]2050 carbon emission goals need nuclear to succeed, says International Energy Agency
[24]European silicon output shrinking, metal smelters closing as electricity prices quadruple, trade body warns
Energy is an issue in the US as well, where a heat wave recently strained California's grid to the point that [25]energy authorities in September asked residents not to charge their electric vehicles during "flex alerts" designed to reduce stress on the grid. However, despite the States having less exposure to pricing surges and supply issues in energy markets than Europe has, the Biden administration passed measures in the [26]Inflation Reduction Act to help. These included some funds to help people with energy bills, along with a large chunk of climate legislation.
President Biden also [27]plans to release [28]15 million barrels of oil from the US strategic reserves in an attempt to stop gasoline/petrol prices from rising now that OPEC and its allies plan to cut production. ®
Get our [29]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-63787877
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y4eMM1hAsknD8txtoV3cMgAAAMA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y4eMM1hAsknD8txtoV3cMgAAAMA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.energymonitor.ai/sectors/opinion-while-eu-and-us-act-uk-is-unprepared-for-winter-energy-crisis
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/24/uk_battery_energy_storage/
[8] https://www.nationalgrideso.com/document/263951/download
[9] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/oct/06/national-grid-warns-households-could-face-three-hour-power-cuts-this-winter
[10] https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2022-11-09/83759
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y4eMM1hAsknD8txtoV3cMgAAAMA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/oct/28/uk-biggest-gas-storage-site-brought-back-online-winter
[13] https://www.centrica.com/media-centre/news/2017/cessation-of-storage-operations-at-rough/
[14] https://www.uniper.energy/news/agreement-on-amended-stabilization-package-federal-government-acquires-99-stake-in-uniper
[15] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_22_5389
[16] https://www.dw.com/en/russian-gas-in-germany-a-complicated-50-year-relationship/a-61057166
[17] https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/habeck-s-meltdown-nuclear-energy-standby-proposal-has-germany-s-greens-seeing-red-a-8825c5c4-91bf-41c9-a4d9-4d6a91856ce2
[18] https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/europes-banks-dim-lights-they-brace-winter-blackout-2022-09-07/
[19] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_22_5441
[20] https://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/EN/Areas/Energy/Companies/SecurityOfSupply/GasSupply/start.html
[21] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/22/google_oracle_heatstroke/
[22] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/31/car_battery_cartel_proposal/
[23] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/01/2050_carbon_emission_goals_need/
[24] https://www.theregister.com/2022/01/22/eu_silicon_metals/
[25] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/01/california_ev_heatwave/
[26] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/07/doe_supercomputering_grant/
[27] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-is-the-strategic-petroleum-reserve
[28] https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/10/19/remarks-by-president-biden-on-actions-to-strengthen-energy-security-and-lower-costs/
[29] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Local generation
A mix is always good. A lot of the unicorn renewable schemes completely ignore the cost and losses of the transmission infrastructure.
Unfortunately we are playing catchup after decades of government kicking this issue down the road...
Re: Local generation
By "decades of government kicking this issue down the road" you mean Labour abolishing the nuclear industry by not building a new nuclear power station after 1995, and then the Lib Dems blocking the building of a new nuclear power station when they held the energy brief in the coalition because it "wouldn't come online until 2021 or 2022".
Of course the Tories aren't blameless either, going along with the centre-left consensus of making decisions that are designed to look good but be harmful - such as the dash for unreliables. And including China in Sizewell C was impressively daft too. And their cowardice in blocking fracking rather than standing up to Putin and the "environmental" NGO's he funded.
Re: Local generation
I was being apolitical as this is an issue that has spanned many govts and will no doubt span many more. The issues surrounding nuclear date back to the 40s and will tar the industry for a very long time.
Re: Local generation
My post was not party political - I called out all three main parties for their culpability.
Re: Local generation
Yes the dash for the bomb and discarding any nuclear technology if it did not create weapons grade material
Re: Local generation
>A lot of the unicorn renewable schemes completely ignore the cost and losses of...
We shouldn't forget that wind turbines (for example) have a design life. Already there are waste heaps of end-of-life turbine blades that currently aren't recyclable. We will in the coming decade see similar waste heaps of batteries.
Re: Local generation
Wind mills are recyclable. It is just cheaper to not do it.
Re: Local generation
How do you recycle composite blades?
Re: Local generation
You can burn off the resin and get the fibreglass/carbon and other stuff that would survive the heat back and re-use it. You can also chemically strip the resins or you can just crunch them up and use them as filler for concrete or the such.
Re: waste heaps of batteries.
No we won't. Lithium Iron batteries are recyclable. There are installations up and running in many countries
This is just one of them https://northvolt.com/recycling/
Please get yourself educated on this subject.
Re: waste heaps of batteries.
Pretty much everything CAN be recycled however sometimes the cost and/or environmental impact are worse.
There is a hoo-har going on in the US about plastic recycling where companies are turning plastic bottles back into raw feed stock using thermal and chemical processes. The results of which are barely better or even worse than simply throwing the bottles away. However it is painted as 'green' as it is 'recycling'.
You can recycle turbine blades (not sure why they don't just re-skin them and put them back?) but the power and chemicals involved are not good. Better initial design would resolve a lot of this.
As you say lithium batteries can be recycled but most small batteries are ending up in landfill as there is no easy way to get them to the recyclers. Things like those disposable e-cigs are just getting binned along with a lot of small electronic devices as it is simply easier for people to bin it.
I foresee landfill mining for metals being a big thing soon.
Re: waste heaps of batteries.
Turning plastics back into more plastic - at the cost of chemical and energy usage - may yet be better than letting them sit in landfill or floating on the high seas when the entirety of the costs are considered
There has been an underlying problem with rubbish in general when environmental costs of production have not been born by the manufacturer in first place
Re: waste heaps of batteries.
The issue is that the methods being used to turn old plastic into new plastic sometimes makes worse waste. Some of the byproducts from the replaticification process are being burnt as they are that toxic.
I fully agree that the best method is to simply not use it in the first place. I for one am pretty bad as I can never remember to grab a drink from home and often buy a bottle of water. I did see a cafe in London which had a filtered water fountain for anyone to use for free. Bloody good idea.
Re: waste heaps of batteries.
Replying to myself, the cafe with the free water was called Pure
https://www.pure.co.uk/thoughtful/
Design life
'We shouldn't forget that wind turbines (for example) have a design life."
So does every other form of generating electricity. Almost all of these involve moving parts.
Re: Design life
Indeed. Look at the enormous issue of decommissioning nuclear plants. Huge amounts of waste to deal with, some normal, some radioactive. Vs turbine blades, which are environmentally neutral to bury. And even then, companies are now building turbine blades specifically with the idea of being recycled at the end of their use.
Re: Design life
Most of a nuclear power station is neutral to bury. Only a very small % needs special treatment. And the upside is the nuclear power station can work when there is no wind.
Re: Design life
Indeed. Look at the enormous issue of decommissioning nuclear plants. Huge amounts of waste to deal with, some normal, some radioactive.
The NHS probably produces more radioactive waste than our nuclear industry. All those patients given thyroid treatments and having to poop their radioactive waste into containers for safe disposal. Nuclear plants practically aren't that difficult. Shut it down, manage the heat from any decay, lock it up with big 'KEEP OUT!' signs until radioactive decay does it's thing and drops to safe levels. Which would be even easier if 'safe' levels were redefined. But the nuclear industry is rightly safety paranoid. Bigger problem is overcoming decades of radiation FUD from our ecofreaks who don't understand they're getting more radiation exposure standing outside an NPP than they would inside.
Oh, and what about solar panels? Disposing of those is rather more challenging because of the toxic materials used in them. And of course producing them, but that's done overseas, so not a problem for our 'environmentally conscious' ecofreaks.
Re: Design life
"Almost all of these involve moving parts."
At the sub-atomic level everything does. (Above absolute zero).
Re: Local generation
unicorn renewable schemes
It's a fancy name for a scheme to siphon tax payer money to party mates.
Re: Local generation
Transmission losses are indeed a thing, but please attribute the losses to the respective networks appropriately.
Approx 1.7% is lost on Transmission National Grid TO network. A further 5-8% is lost in distribution (so, NGED, UKPN, etc.) Source: https://www.nationalgrideso.com/electricity-transmission/document/144711/download
Reducing losses at Transmission level is not at all simple. Under "normal" operation the networks are running at relatively low temperatures anyway - parallel circuits mean low currents and therefore low temperatures & resistances. Distro networks are worse because, besides sheer volume of equipment connected, they also include long-runs to small demands on single circuit. E.g. the low voltage connections covering long distances to the wilds of Scotland - lossy, but not cost effective to run a parallel cct on. (Barely cost effective for a single cct TBH, but that is a different argument!)
If all generation came from "green" sources then the losses wouldn't technically matter. I do agree that distributed generation is a really good way to reduce demand on the networks; and by extention demand for gas/coal/imports. But home generation systems are not subsidised (beyond being zero-VAT) and the now-paltry FIT that doesn't remotely reflect the resell price of the energy generated.
I sort-of agree on the "people involved" argument. My parents had a completely off-grid place for a while; and they very quickly learned to work within the limits of what the windmill-and-battery could do rather than run the diesel at huge cost. They've moved elsewhere since, but the subsequent owner hasn't a clue and apparently has the diesel on practically all the time.... Noting that with current energy prices, running Red Diesel would be more or less cost neutral to buying retail (and noting that legally you should not be putting red diesel in a generator anymore).
Re: Local generation
The reasons for central generation still apply, it is still more cost-effective than having lots of lower efficiency units everywhere.
The main 'advantage' of getting folks to do so is more of a voluntary taxation arrangement to reduce stress on the centrally managed system. In strict economic terms it does not pay.
Re: Local generation
With retail prices as they are, it is barely more cost effective...
The system is pretty well managed in the grand scheme, but the retail market that accompanies it is a dividend-fest and most definitely price gouging compared to it's actual costs. (Particularly among renewable generators).
Re: Local generation
Because a local grid works so well for Texas, eh.
Re: Local generation
1) There are interconnectors from Texas to the other grids
2) the Texas grid is defined by political not technical reasons
Re: Local generation
The NY grid is interconnected and that didn't stop 2 (or is it now 3) MAJOR blackouts.
Major interconnects should really be for exceptions not the norm. In the way that it is best to rely on having your own cup of sugar 90% of the time but occasionally you need to borrow some. If you constantly rely on borrowing that cup of sugar there can be occasions when it is not available and cornflakes without sugar are just nasty!
To quote Scotty, the more complex the plumbing the easier it is to block up the drains.
looks like fantasy
Well looks like our kids are fucked.
Their senario pdf is full of fantasy bollocks
Re: looks like fantasy
So, basically, no different from any normal government policy.
Re: looks like fantasy
All government is terrible. Lets vote for more of it...
Re: looks like fantasy
As opposed to... ?
Re: looks like fantasy
I'll give you a clue, it's the antonym of "more".
Re: looks like fantasy
Well good luck with finding a candidate standing on a ticket of making them self redundant...
Re: looks like fantasy
Don't vote... but the buggers still get in!
Re: looks like fantasy
If there is a party that will shrink the state, vote for them. Unfortunately there currently isn't.
Failing that, vote for the party that you believe will grow the state by the least. That is probably still the Conservative party. Although probably not by much.
Re: looks like fantasy
Hm... the Conservative Party's approach seems to be more about handing the reigns (and purse-strings) of state over to the private sector (i.e., their mates). Not sure that really counts as "shrinking the state".
Also
On monday the National Grid came close to emergency blackouts thanks to low wind speeds. The concern is enough gas to supply the power those monuments dont. Of course it is a shock to see that the coal plants will remain open to provide the reliable energy we desperately need.
Yet still there will be some people under the influence of green madness!
Re: Also
I don't think the answer to a quadrupling in the cost of fossil fuels is greater reliance on fossil fuels...
Re: Also
@SkippyBing
"I don't think the answer to a quadrupling in the cost of fossil fuels is greater reliance on fossil fuels..."
But are fossil fuels quadrupling in price? And of course we get reliable energy, the thing we actually want. However we go about it we need to generate the energy we need. That part is non-negotiable. Monuments dont seem to be achieving it so rule themselves out as the answer unless someone can get them to work.
Re: Also
'But are fossil fuels quadrupling in price?'
For natural gas no, it appears to be worse.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1174560/average-monthly-gas-prices-uk/
Re: Also
@SkippyBing
"For natural gas no, it appears to be worse."
He didnt say for gas he said fossil fuels. And we do have natural gas under our feet we could extract should we wish (without saying we should or not).
Re: Also
I know how you just love to [1]agree with the EU , but gas really, really is a fossil fuel.
[1] https://fortune.com/2022/08/08/eu-calls-natural-gas-green-critics-dont-buy-it/
Re: Also
That was a VERY VERY strange decision.....
Re: Also
@Androgynous Cupboard
"I know how you just love to agree with the EU, but gas really, really is a fossil fuel."
The point is the misleading comment I responded to. Yes gas is a fossil fuel. But fossil fuels is not gas. Just because one has shot up in price does not mean all fossil fuels have quadrupled in price.
As for the EU, they have little choice. The green madness stands on natural gas. Without it the entire monuments to a sky god idea fails.
Re: Also
Putin funded NGOs to spread misinformation about fracking. As a result, cowardly government blocked fracking in Britain (and Poland). And Putin maintained his stranglehold on Europe's gas supplies.
And no, before somebody taken in by Putin's NGO's chimes in, gas prices aren't global - gas isn't fully fungible which is why gas is cheaper in America.
Re: Also
Yes, pity those gullible ill-informed fools taken in by Putin, like [1]Dr Chris Cornelius, exploration geologist and the founder of Cuadrilla who goes to great lengths to explain why it's not viable in the UK.
You should read it. It's an interesting, apolitical article and you might learn something. Here's a quote that's particularly relevant to your most-definitely-not apolitical comments:
We are not here to disparage fracking and the incredibly important role this technology plays and will continue to play in the global energy transition. But in the case of the UK, there are other low-carbon energy opportunities such as tidal and shallow geothermal heat that are perpetually drowned out by socio-political “fracking soundbites”
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/21/liz-truss-fracking-britain-economic-political-low-carbon-cuadrilla
Re: Also
If it wasn't viable, people wouldn't be trying so hard to ban it or make it unviable through destructive regulation.
If it's not viable then some private firms lose money. Who cares?
Clearly it's viable, otherwise people wouldn't be trying to stop it.
Re: Also
"Clearly it's viable, otherwise people wouldn't be trying to stop it"
I faced the same problem when I proposed pulping babies to manufacture an elixir of life.
Other logical fallacies are available
Re: Also
"If it's not viable then some private firms lose money. Who cares?"
You can bet you bottom dollar that private firms will be getting some kickback from the Govt. for trying - they don't really care if it works or not, they still get their cash.
Re: Also
Another interesting link on this topic
[1]https://dwarshuis.com/aardbevingen-groningen/visualisatie/view/?lang=en is a visualization of the earthquakes - all earthquakes - experienced in the Groningen gas field in the Netherlands - "Europe's largest gas field". I'll sum up for you: at first there were none, then there were lots.
I'm not a geologist so I'm not going to attempt to draw parallels between the UK geology and that of the Netherlands. What's clear is that there were very expensive and damaging consequences of extracting gas under a heavily populated area that were not anticipated by those who approved, or sunk, the wells.
It's a long animation but worth watching. And to put an IT angle on it, it was part of a presentation at CSS days 2022 in Amsterdam.
[1] https://dwarshuis.com/aardbevingen-groningen/visualisatie/view/?lang=en
Local generation
I'd personally like to see a policy tilt towards local generation on a mix of tech, depending on what's appropriate, and a network of local grids and energy storage.
It's said that 7-10% of energy is lost by putting it through the National Grid. Plus, it's been shown that people consider the amount of energy they use, if they're involved in its generation.