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Power plant rejects nuclear future
The company which owns Didcot Power Station has rejected the idea of a nuclear plant on its site.
Industrial areas in Didcot and Harwell are two possible places for the UK's next generation of nuclear power plants, according to a Government paper published last week.
The report into potential sites for nuclear plants was researched by leading energy experts Jackson Consulting, for the Department of Trade and Industry.
But energy provider RWE npower, which owns Didcot Power Station, said it had no intention of going nuclear, or selling its coal-fired Didcot 'A' station when it closes in 2015.
Last week, report author Ian Jackson tipped Didcot's coal-fired power station rather than the former nuclear research centre at nearby Harwell for an Oxfordshire site.
The nuclear expert said: "Would it surprise me if a nuclear power station was built at Didcot? No, it wouldn't.
"I think from an economic prospective, it has a number of attractions.
"It is not impossible that the Harwell site itself could be used. If you look at the resources Oxfordshire offers, you see there is a good, experienced labour force. Harwell was one of the best nuclear research establishments in the world.
"But Didcot does look the more logical industrial choice."
The report urges the Government to use the sites of existing nuclear power for new plants - particularly Hinkley Point, Sizewell, Bradwell and Dungeness.
Didcot emerged as a possible place because the power station is due to close in 2015, leaving cooling towers and a skilled labour force.
The town is considered under a second tier of options, offering "key opportunities for nuclear development".
But RWE npower said it had no plans to go nuclear.
A spokesman said: "We have no intention of developing the site for a nuclear power station.
"The land is privately owned by us and it is not our intention to sell it.
"There are existing nuclear plants which are due to close down at the same time at Didcot which are better suited to nuclear power stations."
A final decision on whether the Government will build more nuclear plants will be taken in October - with any decision on sites a long way off.
But Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling said it would be a profound mistake to rule out nuclear energy, given the pressure on North Sea oil and gas supplies.
8:30pm Wednesday 30th May 2007
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CommentPosted by: Robert Palgrave, Woking on 8:10pm Thu 31 May 07
There really is no need for nuclear power in Europe because there is a simple mature technology available that can deliver huge amounts of clean energy without any of the headaches of nuclear power.
I refer to 'concentrating solar power' (CSP), the technique of concentrating sunlight using mirrors to create heat, and then using the heat to raise steam and drive turbines and generators, just like a conventional power station. It is possible to store solar heat in melted salts so that electricity generation may continue through the night or on cloudy days. This technology has been generating electricity successfully in California since 1985 and currently provides power for about 100,000 Californian homes. CSP plants are now being planned or built in many parts of the world.
CSP works best in hot deserts and, of course, there are not many of these in Europe! But it is feasible and economic to transmit solar electricity over very long distances using highly-efficient 'HVDC' transmission lines. With transmission losses at about 3% per 1000 km, solar electricity may, for example, be transmitted from North Africa to London with only about 10% loss of power. A large-scale HVDC transmission grid has also been proposed by the wind energy company Airtricity as a means of optimising the use of wind power throughout Europe.
In the 'TRANS-CSP' report commissioned by the German government, it is estimated that CSP electricity, imported from North Africa and the Middle East, could become one of the cheapest sources of electricity in Europe, including the cost of transmission. That report shows in great detail how Europe can meet all its needs for electricity, make deep cuts in CO2 emissions, and phase out nuclear power at the same time.
Further information about CSP may be found at www.trec-uk.org.uk and www.trecers.net . Copies of the TRANS-CSP report may be downloaded from www.trec-uk.org.uk/r
eports.htm . The many problems associated with nuclear power are summarised at www.mng.org.uk/green
_house/no_nukes.htm .
There really is no need for nuclear power in Europe because there is a simple mature technology available that can deliver huge amounts of clean energy without any of the headaches of nuclear power.
I refer to 'concentrating solar power' (CSP), the technique of concentrating sunlight using mirrors to create heat, and then using the heat to raise steam and drive turbines and generators, just like a conventional power station. It is possible to store solar heat in melted salts so that electricity generation may continue through the night or on cloudy days. This technology has been generating electricity successfully in California since 1985 and currently provides power for about 100,000 Californian homes. CSP plants are now being planned or built in many parts of the world.
CSP works best in hot deserts and, of course, there are not many of these in Europe! But it is feasible and economic to transmit solar electricity over very long distances using highly-efficient 'HVDC' transmission lines. With transmission losses at about 3% per 1000 km, solar electricity may, for example, be transmitted from North Africa to London with only about 10% loss of power. A large-scale HVDC transmission grid has also been proposed by the wind energy company Airtricity as a means of optimising the use of wind power throughout Europe.
In the 'TRANS-CSP' report commissioned by the German government, it is estimated that CSP electricity, imported from North Africa and the Middle East, could become one of the cheapest sources of electricity in Europe, including the cost of transmission. That report shows in great detail how Europe can meet all its needs for electricity, make deep cuts in CO2 emissions, and phase out nuclear power at the same time.
Further information about CSP may be found at www.trec-uk.org.uk and www.trecers.net . Copies of the TRANS-CSP report may be downloaded from www.trec-uk.org.uk/r
eports.htm . The many problems associated with nuclear power are summarised at www.mng.org.uk/green
_house/no_nukes.htm .
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