Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 14TH - 20TH SEPTEMBER 2018 | 19 This week BEIS awards funding for AMR research Eight companies to undertake feasibility studies as part of R&D of advanced modular reactors The government has awarded grants of up to £300,000 to eight companies to undertake feasibil- ity studies as part of a £44 mil- lion research and development programme for advanced modu- lar reactors (AMRs). A total of £4 million was available to conduct the studies, which will form the first phase of the two-stage programme. The successful applicants will bid for a share of up to £40 million for development activities in the second phase. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said AMRs typically differ from conven- tional reactors by using substances such as molten lead or salt for cooling instead of pressurised or boiling water. Developers are hoping to minimise costs by mass- producing the reactors in offsite factories, oen in modu- lar form. These modules could then be combined to form larger plants. Potential benefits include increased flex- ibility when compared with conventional reactors and additional functionality, such as the ability to produce hydrogen or provide heat to homes and businesses. The companies that have secured funding are: Advanced Reactor Concepts; Blykalla Reaktorer Stockholm; DBD Ltd; Moltex Energy; Tokamak Energy; U-Battery Developments; Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation; and Westinghouse Electric Company UK. The AMR programme was announced by energy minister Richard Harrington in December aer the gov- ernment quietly dropped a competition to find the "best value" small modular reactor (SMR) design for the UK. TG WATER Severn Trent builds infrastructure team Severn Trent's multi-billion pound capital infrastructure programme is being bolstered by a recruitment drive for its recently formed capital design department. The water firm plans to bring most of its engineering design in-house. The new department will be tasked with designing and supporting the delivery of "essential upgrade" projects. A team of engineering and design specialists, reported to be around 150 people, are expected to join Severn Trent by early next year. The company has already appointed Ian Kirkaldy as head of capital design, who was chief engineer at Southern Water from November 2013 to April 2016. He said: "To be leading the new team is really exciting… now it's all about being prepared for 2019 by recruiting designers and engineers at a range of levels." ELECTRICITY Upgrades will save networks £40m Four electricity network companies have joined forces to replace the loss of mains protection systems for 800MW of distributed generation in the south of England. The upgrades are expected to reduce network costs by £40 million annually. Loss of mains protections are designed to take generators offline to prevent power island- ing if the local electricity network is disconnected from the rest of the grid. Modelling by National Grid found a standard protection system known as "vector shi" is highly sensitive to disturbances on the wider network. To resolve the issue, it teamed with UK Power Networks, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks and Western Power Distribution to fund the installation of a more resilient alternative at 70 sites. ENERGY Costs 'will increase without nuclear' Excluding nuclear from the energy mix dramatically increases the cost of decarbonising the power system, according to a report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The study, launched last week in London, concludes that as the rate of carbon reduction accelerates, the cost of relying on non-nuclear technologies rises. At the launch, study co-chair Jacopo Buongiorno of MIT said the main cost of relying on other low-carbon sources is the storage required to cope with fluctuating generation levels from intermittent low-carbon sources generation. He said: "If you exclude nuclear, you end up having to build a lot more capa- city for the renewable sources." Harrington: announced programme in December Finance & Investment Stock watch 200 180 160 140 120 CENTRICA SHARE PRICE, FIVE DAY Jan 2018 May 2018 Sep 2018 CENTRICA SHARE PRICE, ONE YEAR Centrica shares shot up nearly 4 per cent in value in the opening volley of trades on 6 September to almost 149p each aer Ofgem announced the new retail price cap would be set at £1,136 per year for dual fuel customers paying by direct debit. The increase suggests the level of the price cap was within market expectations. 155 150 145 140 6 Sep 7 Sep 10 Sep 11 Sep pence pence

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