Europe's new nuclear plants hit more snags

[OKIsItJustMe]

https://climatenewsnetwork.net/europes-new-nuclear-plants-hit-more-snags/

Europe’s new nuclear plants hit more snags

April 16th, 2019, by Paul Brown

Plans for two new nuclear plants in Western Europe have met more setbacks in the last week, risking the industry’s future here.

LONDON, 16 April, 2019 ? Two new nuclear plants, one in Finland and the other in France, which for years have been limping towards start-up, have just encountered further problems, with worrying wider implications for the nuclear industry.

They are two almost completed prototype European Pressurised Water reactors (EPRs), already years late and massively over budget, whose new problems are causing further expensive delays.

The so-called third generation reactors, of 1,600 megawatts each, are the most powerful in the world and are the flagship project of EDF, the French state energy company. But they are proving extremely difficult to build and far more costly than forecast.

…

[hunter]

1. Nobody gives a shit about natural gas power plants...

... even though they will destroy life on earth as we know it.

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. Actually a lot of people care about them...

… the question is, what is the alternative?

Renewables are here today and are being deployed relatively quickly and inexpensively.
https://foreignpolicyi.org/the-global-relative-costs-of-energy-sources/

[progree]

2. Some more on the U.K. nuclear scene - this from January 2019

Progree summary: Hitachi is walking away from $2.8 billion it invested. Looks like there will be no new nuclear in the UK, Government is not willing to provide the subsidies that are needed.

Hitachi Halts Nuclear Megaproject In The UK, Oilprice.com, 1/21/19
... This brings us to the heart of the matter—the big reduction in nuclear subsidies. EDF’s nuclear project at Hinkley Point received guaranteed subsidies of £92.50 for every MW hour produced for close to the life of the plant. According to the FT the Wylfa guaranteed power price approached “only” £75 per MW hour with declining rates for additional reactors on site. Greg Clark, UK business secretary, stated in regard to these nuclear subsidies that it was impossible to be more generous to Hitachi given the falling price of renewables. And with that statement he may have sealed the nuclear industry’s fate in the UK.

.... And there seems to be a shift on the government side on two fronts. First as we already pointed out the power purchase subsidies on offer were about 20% below those offered to EDF for Hinkley Point. And second, Secretary Clark stated that he “was not prepared to ask taxpayers ....(to take) on the majority of construction risk” regarding the Wylfa project. We believe this also reflects some governmental embarrassment over the generous treatment received by EDF/Hinkley and the subsequent considerable negative treatment in the press which highlighted declining renewables prices.

So where does that leave the UK’s planned nuclear construction program which began with six planned stations: Hinkley, Moorside, Wylfa, Oldbury, Bradwell and Sizewell? Hinkley is under way, years late and massively over budget. Wylfa, Oldbury and Moorside are all now cancelled or suspended. Bradwell and Sizewell have not yet received nuclear site approvals from regulatory authorities.

At present, nuclear power constitutes about 20% of the UK’s roughly 85 MWs ((GWs??)) of installed power generation, renewables are 30% while fossil, mostly gas is 50% of capacity. We believe the government’s plan was simple. Just keep nuclear power generation at its present percentage. But to do so would require about 17,000 megawatts of capacity or about 6 new power stations. The UK’s nuclear fleet is aging rapidly and its newest reactor at Sizewell entered service in the mid 1990s. This cancellation pretty much dooms the U.K. government’s nuclear new build strategy.

More; https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hitachi-halts-nuclear-megaproject-uk-200000447.html