Energy news in general

MattMattMattUK

michaels said:

Thanks. Interesting that new nuke can start to load follow although would be interested in whether that impacts the economics?

It does impact economics because there is no fuel, at least in terms that matter economically. Most of the cost is in the build, with a chunk in end of life, operating levels for staff do not vary based on generation capacity and the life of the fuel element is not materially impacted by lowering or raising generation, so for all meaningful measures the cost of the generation is fixed. When looking at fossil fuel plants more than half the cost of generation is the input fuel, it can higher than 90% of the cost, but when running at lower power outputs they reduce their maintenance needs, plants often contain multiple turbines and several of them will be switched off when power needs are less. 

Taking Sizewell C as an example, that is two EPR reactors each with a nameplate capacity of 1,600 MWe generation capacity, they are most efficient when run at 100% of that capacity and as the cost are fixed if they were run at 50% capacity that effectively doubles the cost of the energy generated. The real differential there though is that for nuclear there are large upfront costs, but the annual cost after that per MW is actually very low, less than 3% of a fossil fuel plant. 

The upfront cost per MWe of a nuclear plant is around £3.8 billion, for a natural or liquified natural gas plant is is around £6 million per MWe. Over the lifecycle a gas plant will cost around £94-96 million per MWh, modern EPR reactors will cost around £104 per MWh, although if built via government funding rather than commercial and built at scale to replace all the fossil fuel plants then that could be brought down to £70-80 per MWh.

Scot_39

Yet more evidence of the impact of UKs chosen geographical distribution of wind farms on curtailment and so its costs

https://envirotecmagazine.com/2025/08/11/turned-down-renewables-could-have-powered-all-scottish-homes-in-h1-2025/


"Northern Scotland alone accounted for over 86% of GB’s curtailed volume."


The inevitable consequence of building GW of power generation literalky 100s of miles from even Scotlands major population centres, let alone Englands target market - without local demand or transmission capacity to match.

But with integrated planning, if you like a farm to door approach - generation big grid transmission and local distribution most of that could have been avoidable.

And the bit about Ireland currently not paying such costs - but sadly about to - shows UK not the only financing / contract model.

MattMattMattUK

Scot_39 said:

Yet more evidence of the impact of UKs chosen geographical distribution of wind farms on curtailment and so its costs

https://envirotecmagazine.com/2025/08/11/turned-down-renewables-could-have-powered-all-scottish-homes-in-h1-2025/


"Northern Scotland alone accounted for over 86% of GB’s curtailed volume."


The inevitable consequence of building GW of power generation literalky 100s of miles from even Scotlands major population centres, let alone Englands target market - without local demand or transmission capacity to match.

But with integrated planning, if you like a farm to door approach - generation big grid transmission and local distribution most of that could have been avoidable.

And the bit about Ireland currently not paying such costs - but sadly about to - shows UK not the only financing / contract model.

The UK has barely managed to build a high speed* line covering the 130 miles from London to Birmingham, whilst also making it the most expensive train line per mile ever built, the Japanese built a proper high speed line through mountains, with more than 50% built either in tunnels or on bridges, for a third of the cost per mile, whilst going 35% faster. It is not the lack of integrated planning, it is the lack of even slight thinking things through. 

For wind generation the cost of the transmission network upgrades and the transmission losses meant that the north of Scotland was never a sensible site. The North Sea, especially of the coast of Norfolk and Essex, the coast off the west of Cornwall and parts of Wales are all good sites for wind, both in terms of weather, but also demand and linking to existing transmission infrastructure to get the energy to where it is needed. 

*actually more like medium speed by international standards, and positively slow compared to Japan and China.

The_Green_Hornet

Swarm of jellyfish shuts nuclear power plant in France

A swarm of jellyfish has forced the shutdown of one of the largest nuclear power plants in France after entering the water intake systems used to cool the coastal reactors.

Three reactors at the Gravelines nuclear power plant in northern France shut down automatically late on Sunday, according to the French nuclear company EDF, after the filter drums of the pumping stations became packed with a “massive and unpredictable” swarm of the marine creatures.

The entire nuclear plant, capable of powering about 5m homes, was brought offline when a fourth reactor shut down shortly after the free-swimming invertebrates jammed the power plant, which had already lost its two other reactors for planned summer maintenance work.

Swarm of jellyfish shuts nuclear power plant in France | France | The Guardian

tghe-retford

We now have a confirmed date that Radio Teleswitch must (potentially) switch off by. Several sources according to Lewis from the Ringway Manchester YouTube channel (an expert in radio) state that BBC Radio 4 Long Wave will cease broadcasting on September 26th, 2026. Arqiva has been informed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXQ7qXQxHgU

Ydun's Medium Wave blog is a highly respected blog so I would suggest that it's legit: https://mediumwave.info/2025/08/01/united-kingdom-523/

Chrysalis

QrizB said:

This'll interest some of the regulars on the thread:

https://wastedwind.energy

It's a site run by Octopus that shows the costs of wind energy curtailment.

I'm still unconvinced by their CEOs advocacy of regional wholesale pricing, but it's good to have the data available.

Reading that site is why the idea didnt get the popularity it needed.

They see fixing the grid as something that will help but too complicated, when in reality, that is the fix that we need to get on with doing.
Instead they pushing the idea of a radically unequal market as "the fix".

What they should have done, is pushed for the wholesale changes, but at the retail level would be price stability measures preventing radically different prices from region to region, whilst accepting that was a plaster  and the proper fix is fixing the grid away from clustered regional grids to a true national grid that has the capability to shift energy from point A to B without constraints.

michaels

Chrysalis said:

QrizB said:

This'll interest some of the regulars on the thread:

https://wastedwind.energy

It's a site run by Octopus that shows the costs of wind energy curtailment.

I'm still unconvinced by their CEOs advocacy of regional wholesale pricing, but it's good to have the data available.

Reading that site is why the idea didnt get the popularity it needed.

They see fixing the grid as something that will help but too complicated, when in reality, that is the fix that we need to get on with doing.
Instead they pushing the idea of a radically unequal market as "the fix".

What they should have done, is pushed for the wholesale changes, but at the retail level would be price stability measures preventing radically different prices from region to region, whilst accepting that was a plaster  and the proper fix is fixing the grid away from clustered regional grids to a true national grid that has the capability to shift energy from point A to B without constraints.

Don't we want pricing that will encourage supply to be made available to where the supply demand imbalance is greatest and demand movement to where there is excess supply? Won't that incentivise supply being built where it can get to demand rather than be curtailed and at the same time support the till out of distribution

QrizB

michaels said:

Don't we want pricing that will encourage supply to be made available to where the supply demand imbalance is greatest and demand movement to where there is excess supply? Won't that incentivise supply being built where it can get to demand rather than be curtailed and at the same time support the till out of distribution

Except the plan is to complete the grid reinforcement programme in the next 5-6 years, after which the best place for supply will be where it can generate the most electricity at the lowest cost.

And no-one is going to start building a wind farm (or an aluminium smelter) in a location that's favourable today but will lose that advantage in 5-6 years.

Yarrows

Also, don't we already have a similar system, just based on where the generation was when it was mostly coal- and gas-fired rather than where it is now? Or is that too simplistic a way to explain why I pay more than much of the rest of the country?

Scot_39

QrizB said:

michaels said:

Don't we want pricing that will encourage supply to be made available to where the supply demand imbalance is greatest and demand movement to where there is excess supply? Won't that incentivise supply being built where it can get to demand rather than be curtailed and at the same time support the till out of distribution

Except the plan is to complete the grid reinforcement programme in the next 5-6 years, after which the best place for supply will be where it can generate the most electricity at the lowest cost.

And no-one is going to start building a wind farm (or an aluminium smelter) in a location that's favourable today but will lose that advantage in 5-6 years.

By which time our energy will be so expensive due to those accelerated - and well ahead of Paris accord intermediate and final deadlines - we wont be building any - or potentially still running any existing - EIIs - like aluminium smelters - in UK

For example, UK's last coal plant - 2024 - Germany's last coal plant 2038.  Both all within the COP / Paris rules.  Spot the difference.

Its not just consumers suffering under EMs 95% by 2030 plan and that of our past energy ministers. 

You know the ones that have already made our energy the most expensive amonst similar international comparisons - and accelerating that differential almost daily.