THE ENERGY INDUSTRY T I M E S
October 2017 • Volume 10 • No 8 • Published monthly • ISSN 1757-7365 www.teitimes.com
Is nuclear dead? View of the future
Despite numerous setbacks and
challenges, some argue the nuclear
renaissance is far from dead.
Page 13
There are several technologies
that will have a huge impact in
transforming the industry.
Page 14
News In Brief
Electricity industry has
reached ‘critical watershed’
The entire electricity industry and
its supporting infrastructure have
reached a critical watershed and
dramatic changes are in progress,
says a new report from DNV GL.
Page 2
Eletrobras set for sale
Brazil could net over $6 billion
from the sale of state-owned
power company Eletrobras, the
government has said.
Page 4
Australia pushes renewables
with storage
The state government of South
Australia has unveiled three calls
under its A$150 million ($119
million) Renewable Technology
Fund.
Page 6
UK backs new offshore wind
farms
The offshore wind industry has
called on European governments to
help the sector maintain its current
growth and cost trajectories.
Page 7
South Africa reports
progress on PPAs
A dispute between South African
utility Eskom and renewable energy
developers could be resolved by the
end of October, paving the way for
delayed projects to go ahead.
Page 8
Uniper cool on Fortum deal
Uniper appears set on rejecting
a takeover approach made by
Fortum in spite of assurances by the
Finnish company that it would be
“a constructive strategic partner” to
the firm..
Page 9
Technology: Twin powers
A full-scale demonstrator of a
two-bladed wind turbine capable of
withstanding hurricane conditions
is due to be installed next year.
Page 15
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Final Word
Listen and learn if you’re
going digital,
says Junior Isles.
Page 16
Nuclear still
an option
despite
difficulties
Gutierrez believes
Westinghouse will come
out of Chapter 11 “leaner,
stronger and more
competitive”
Problems at projects in the US and Europe have not dampened the optimism of nuclear
advocates. Junior Isles reports
Nuclear power must remain part of the
energy mix, despite the ongoing challenges
facing new build projects in
several countries, say its supporters.
At this year’s World Nuclear Association
(WNA) conference in London,
UK, Agneta Rising, the WNA’s Director
General, presented the organisation’s
‘Harmony’ report, stating that
substantial growth in nuclear capacity
is needed if the world is to meet its
2°C target for global warming.
The Harmony programme is aimed
at delivering 1000 GW of new nuclear
capacity by 2050. But while such nuclear
additions may be needed to avoid
the catastrophic effects of climate
change, such a target appears ambitious
given the challenges that new
build projects continue to face.
The reactors being built at the Vogtle
and VC Summer power stations were
supposed to herald a renaissance for
nuclear power in the US but have instead
become reminders of the financial
and technological problems afflicting
the industry.
Further, the projects, intended to be
the US showcase of the AP1000 reactors,
have pushed technology supplier
Westinghouse into Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection and caused a
financial crisis at its parent company,
Toshiba.
Speaking at the WNA conference,
Jose Gutierrez, President and CEO,
Westinghouse Electric Company,
blamed the problems on regulatory
issues, the delivery model used to engineer
and procure the project, as
well as the fact that the projects are
using first-of-a-kind technology.
He added: “It’s important to realise
that the contracts were signed in the
context of the nuclear renaissance…
but it didn’t happen. After that we
were obliged to make some changes in
the design because of new regulatory
requirements. In 30 years we didn’t
have any nuclear construction projects
in the US. That means we had a lack
of recent knowledge and experience
to support new build in the US.”
However, Gutierrez remained optimistic
that the company would come
Continued on Page 2
China has sights set on UK nuclear
China continued to demonstrate its
ambitions to become a major force in
the global power industry with confirmation
that China General Nuclear
(CGN) will bid for an equity stake in
the troubled Moorside nuclear power
project planned for Cumbria in the
United Kingdom.
CGN, alongside another Chinese
state-backed company CNNC, already
shares a one-third stake in the
Hinkley Point C power station in
Somerset, which is being built by
French developer EDF. This deal
also involved a plan for the Sino-
French partners to build a further
plant at Bradwell in Essex using Chinese
reactor technology.
The Moorside project ran into difficulty
after US nuclear technology
provider Westinghouse filed for
Chapter 11 protection this year, following
cost overruns at two prototype
AP1000 reactors it is supplying
in the US. Its Japanese parent, Toshiba,
has since been engulfed by financial
problems.
Moorside is being built by NuGen,
originally a partnership between Engie
of France and Japan’s Toshiba.
However, Engie pulled out when financial
problems hit Toshiba following
the Westinghouse bankruptcy.
NuGen is now urgently seeking new
backers for the £15 billion project.
CGN is the second Chinese firm,
along with China’s State Nuclear
Power Technology Corporation, to
join a growing list of foreign investors
eyeing a stake in Moorside.
The UK is one of a number of countries
being targeted for investment by
Chinese power companies.
In September, China Huaneng
Group, the nation’s largest power
producer, said it is planning to increase
its overseas generation capacity
by 60 per cent in three years, with
a substantial portion in nations covered
by China’s Belt and Road Initiative,
according to the chief of its
Hong Kong unit.
Huaneng is the state-owned parent
of Hong Kong and Shanghai-listed
Huaneng Power International, which
owns some of the most efficient
plants of the group.
China Huaneng, which has a global
generating capacity of 160 GW –
roughly a tenth of China’s total – has
invested in plants overseas with a
combined generating capacity of 10
GW since it was set up over three
decades ago.
Huaneng Group Hong Kong General
Manager Chen Xi said it aims to
raise this to 16 GW by 2020. Chen
noted that Huaneng commissioned
1.32 GW of coal-fired plants in Pakistan
this year, meeting a quarter of
the nation’s power supply gap. It
plans to commission a 0.4 GW hydropower
project in Cambodia before
year end and has projects either
planned or under construction in
Myanmar, Singapore and Australia.
Chen said this year has been a harvesting
year for Huaneng in the Belt
and Road countries but noted it has
“faced plenty of challenges and difficulties”.
He said project financing
and unforeseen circumstances are
some of the tough tasks his company
has faced.
THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES is published by Man in Black Media • www.mibmedia.com • Editor-in-Chief: Junior Isles • For all enquiries email: enquiries@teitimes.com