Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 18TH - 24TH JANUARY 2019 | 13 This week Wylfa nuclear project 'on verge of collapse' Board of Hitachi expected to officially decide to suspend work on the plant on the Isle of Anglesey Hitachi is on the verge of putting its plans for a new nuclear power project on hold, according to Japanese press reports. Business magazine Nikkei Asian Review published a story that the board of the Japanese multinational was due to meet as Utility Week went to press, when it would officially decide to suspend work on the plant. Hitachi's UK nuclear subsidiary Horizon has been working on plans for a 2.9GW plant on the Isle of Angle- sey, which is one of a handful of sites designated in the UK government's national policy statement for a large nuclear power station. The project for the twin reactor station is the most advanced in planning terms aer EDF's Hinkley Point C, which is currently being constructed. Suspending work on the plant would deliver a heavy blow to aims of rolling out a new fleet of large nuclear reactors, coming only two months aer Toshiba's deci- sion to pull the plug on its plans for Moorside in Cumbria. Nikkei has reported that Hitachi has had trouble find- ing Japanese investors to back the project, despite the UK government's agreement to take a stake last summer. A statement from Hitachi said that while the com- pany is assessing the potential suspension of the Wylfa project, "no formal decision" has been taken. A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: "Negotiations with Hitachi on agreeing a deal that provides value for money for consumers and taxpayers on the Wylfa project are ongoing." DB ELECTRICITY Call for 'price floor' CfDs for renewables Energy and clean growth minister Claire Perry has been urged to support the continued growth of mature renewables by offering generators a new type of contract for difference (CfD). Under the arrangements pro- posed by Cornwall Insight chief executive Gareth Miller, contract holders would be guaranteed a minimum price for the electricity they produce. If the wholesale price fell below this "floor", they would be entitled to receive top- up payments to close the gap. If the wholesale price exceeded the floor, they would be allowed to keep the difference, but only once they had returned any previous top-up payments. Renewables considered by the government to be more estab- lished, such as onshore wind and solar, have been excluded from CfD auctions since the first round in 2015. But in a letter to Perry, Miller said it is "inconceiv- able" the government will be able to meet its targets for decar- bonising the power sector unless they are given access to some form of revenue stabilisation. ELECTRICITY £1bn transmission link switched on Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has switched on the £1 billion Caithness- Moray transmission link. The 1.2GW power line from Spittal in Caithness to Black- hillock in Moray features a large subsea section stretching 113km across the Moray Firth. The new link will allow more renewable power to be trans- mitted southwards from the far north of Scotland. It has already enabled turbines at the Beatrice offshore wind farm (588MW) and the Dorenell onshore wind farm (177MW) to connect to the power grid. At a total cost of £970 million, the project represents the largest single investment ever made by parent company SSE. ELECTRICITY Greencoat acquires solar portfolio Greencoat Solar completed the purchase of three solar farms in the UK from German asset manager CEE Group at the end of last year. The portfolio, which com- prises Bicester, Aston Clinton and Homestead photovoltaic (PV) farms, has a total capacity of 60.4MW, taking Greencoat Solar's aggregate installed capacity above 600MW. CEE will continue to manage the three solar farms on behalf of Greencoat; it decided to sell the assets to "refocus" on its core business in Germany and France. Moorside: Toshiba pulled the plug in November Finance & Investment Stock watch 3,600 3,400 3,200 3,000 2,800 2,600 HITACHI SHARE PRICE, FIVE DAY 19 Dec 25 Dec 28 Dec HITACHI SHARE PRICE, ONE MONTH Hitachi shares have shot up more 15 per cent following reports last Friday that the Japanese conglomerate is preparing to suspend all work on the Wylfa Newydd nuclear project being developed by its UK subsidiary Horizon Nuclear Power. At the time of going to press, Hitachi was trading at Japanese yen (¥) 3,583 (£25.76) per share, compared with ¥3,111 per share shortly before the news broke. 3,600 3,400 3,200 3,000 9 Jan 10 Jan 11 Jan 15 Jan ¥ ¥ 7 Jan 9 Jan 11 Jan

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