Utility Week

4 | 23rd - 29th September 2016 | UtILItY WeeK Heysham 2 ends record run the heysham 2 nuclear power plant's record- breaking run ended on 16 September, as one of its reactors was taken out of service for planned maintenance. 940 Number of days the plant had been in continuous operation. 22 Number of years the record held for, by the pickering nuclear plant in Canada. 14TWh Amount of power generated during the run. 7.5m tonnage of CO2 abated. 7yrs heysham 2 is now scheduled to operate until 2030, an extension of seven years. sTory by NUMbErs Hinkley go-ahead marks the 'relaunch of nuclear' Seven days... T he government's deci- sion to proceed with Hinkley Point C marks the "relaunch of nuclear in Europe", the boss of EDF Energy has claimed. Chief executive Vincent de Rivaz (pictured) said Hinkley would "transform" the pros- pects for the industry and have "global implications" for the battle against climate change. "Hinkley Point C is a first," he said, speaking at the World Nuclear Symposium in London. "The momentum it creates restarting the nuclear new- build industry will help future projects – including ours – to be even more competitive." Following an un expected review of the project over the summer, the government announced on 15 September it had revised the terms of the deal with EDF and China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) to ensure EDF could not sell its controlling stake without the consent of ministers. Additionally, the government will take a "special share" in all future nuclear projects to make sure they cannot be sold without its consent. "Ministers will impose a new legal framework for future foreign investment in critical infrastructure, which will include nuclear and apply a"er Hinkley," it said in a statement. The government said the changes would bring Britain "into line with other major economies" and allow it to implement a "consistent approach to considering the national security implications of all significant investments in critical infrastructure, including nuclear energy, in the future". It added the UK would nevertheless remain "one of the most open economies in the world". TG See analysis, p18 "They are making themselves a laughing stock with this absurd proposal" GMB slams Ofwat's residential retail review, saying the proposal to introduce competition into the water market is "removed from reality". National media Florida sinkhole causes aquifer leak About 980 million litres of contami- nated water leaked into Florida's main underground source of drink- ing water, state officials said, aer a huge sinkhole opened up under a phosphate fertiliser plant near Tampa, damaging the stack where wastewater was stored. The water contained phospho- gypsum, a slightly radioactive byproduct from the production of fertiliser. The phosphate company Mosaic said the leak posed no risk to the public. BBC News, 17 September Water shortages spark protests in Tunisia Activists are warning of a potential "thirst uprising" in Tunisia fol- lowing protests over severe water shortages aer one of the North African nation's driest summers on record. Residents in the interior are suffering long water supply cuts, reservoirs are running dry and farmers are seeing significant losses, adding to social tensions in a country still struggling with insta- bility since its 2011 revolution. Daily Mail, 19 September Oil investment crashes to 60-year low Oil discoveries have slumped to the lowest level since 1952 and the global economy is becoming dan- gerously reliant on crude supply from political hotspots, the world's energy watchdog has warned. Annual investment in oil and gas projects has fallen from $780 billion to $450 billion over the past two years in an unprecedented collapse, and there is no sign yet of a recovery next year. The International Energy Agency said wells are depleting at an average rate of 9 per cent annually. Daily Telegraph, 14 September

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