Latest news with #AGRs
The Herald Scotland
10 hours ago
- General
- The Herald Scotland
Why Torness nuclear power plant is not all it's cracked up to be
The risk of a nuclear accident is thought to be relatively high in new reactors as they are broken in. Three Mile Island and Chernobyl were both in their break-in phase when accidents occurred. Then the risk lowers in mid-life. But as reactors become older, as with any other sort of equipment, there is an increased risk of age-related failures. The Fukushima reactors began commercial operation between 1971 and 1975, so were over 40 years old when the meltdowns occurred. Torness and Hunterston B are both Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors (AGRs) which opened in 1976 and 1989 respectively. There were an estimated 586 cracks across the two Hunterston B reactors when it was eventually forced to close in January 2022. There are a similar number of cracks in just one of the two reactors at Torness, with cracks also starting to appear in the other reactor. Cracking in the graphite core of these reactors is a problem because graphite debris could build up in the fuel channels comprising the operator's ability to keep the fuel cool and misshapen bricks could make inserting the control rods difficult. In a worst-case either of these could lead to a meltdown. The late John Large, a nuclear engineering consultant, explained that cracks also cast doubt on the safety of these reactors in the event of an emergency like an earthquake. A cracked and deteriorating core has lost its residual strength. If the core is wobbled by a small earthquake the core could become misaligned, and the fuel modules could get stuck in the core. Then the fuel temperature would get raised and could undergo a melt. If the radioactivity gets into the gas stream and the reactor is venting because it's over pressurised then you have a release the radioactive gas into the atmosphere and you have dispersion and a contamination problem. Pete Roche (Image: NQ) Clearly, it's time for the ageing Torness reactors to be closed. Keeping them open any longer would be gambling with public safety. We also have to bear in mind that there is a significant design difference at Torness, compared with Hunterston, which could make the cracking problem worse. The Torness reactors have seal rings between the graphite bricks that make up the reactor core. The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) says there could be 'a systematic failure' of the seal rings after cracking. In January 2020, ONR brought forward the date when it expected to start seeing cracks appearing at Torness by six years but the closure date was only brought forward by two years from 2030 to 2028. Logically, we might have expected Torness to close in 2024. Then, in January 2024, in a bizarre switch, EDF changed its mind, and reverted to a 2030 closure date 'subject to plant inspections and regulatory approvals'. READ MORE on the Future of Torness series: Torness was only ever expected to operate for 30 or at most 35 years, so it is now past its sell by date. With cracks appearing in both reactors the precautionary principle dictates that it is time to shut up shop. Jobs at Torness won't disappear immediately when the station closes. It took over three years to empty Hunterston B of fuel. After that it will take almost a century to dismantle the buildings, decommission the reactors and eradicate the radiation from the land and buildings, in fact, when Hunterston B transfers its ownership from EDF to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) next April, the Scottish Parliament has been told the NDA will probably need to recruit more staff to help with the decommissioning work. As far as building new reactors at Torness, or anywhere else in Scotland, whether large or small, is concerned, that would be the last thing Scotland needs. It is perfectly feasible to supply 100% of Scotland's energy (not just electricity) from renewable sources. Future of Torness logo (Image: NQ) In fact, a recent study by renowned energy modelling academics at the LUT University in Finland, showed that not only is a 100% renewable energy mix feasible for the whole UK but it would save well over £100 billion in achieving net zero by 2050, compared to the UK Government's current strategy. What we need to balance variable renewables and reduce payments for turning off renewables is not always on 24/7 nuclear reactors, but more energy storage and flexibility in electricity demand. Nuclear power is too slow, too inflexible and too expensive to play a role in cutting carbon emissions.
Fashion Value Chain
12 hours ago
- Health
- Fashion Value Chain
60% of Indians Sleep less than 6 Hours Nightly as Sleep Supplements Surge 650%
Three out of five Indians arent getting adequate nightly sleep, with a quarter reporting their sleep has worsened since the pandemic, according to a new trend report from AGR Knowledge Services. Rather than seeking medical help, most are turning to online solutions and supplements, creating a booming marketplace for sleep aids. The report, 'The Modern Sleep Bazaar: How Sleep Debt Became Indias Wellness Opportunity,' analyzed digital conversations, search queries and consumer sentiment to map the countrys growing sleep crisis and the commercial response. When Rest Takes a Backseat: Indians Sleep Less Than 6 Hoursâ Key findings include: Sleep gummies saw 650% spike in search interest over the past year Online searches for 'how to sleep 8 hours in 4' and similar quick-fix terms are increasingly common Interest in natural ingredients like melatonin, magnesium, ashwagandha and chamomile has surged Over 30-40 brands are active in Indias sleep supplement space, but few are established players â 'What were seeing is a fundamental shift from treating sleep aids as one-off solutions to integrating them into nightly rituals,' said Suyog Keluskar, President of the Social Media Intelligence wing of AGR Knowledge Services. 'Consumers arent just buying products-theyre buying peace of mind and turning sleep into an active wellness practice.' The research reveals significant gaps in the market. While consumers are actively searching for solutions, their digital conversations show heavy emphasis on safety concerns, dependency risks and product effectiveness-indicating demand for more transparency from brands. The trend represents a major opportunity for established health and wellness companies to enter the space with credibility, particularly as search behaviour shows consumers are looking for reassurance as much as results. This transformation reflects broader changes in how Indians approach wellness, with sleep joining fitness and nutrition as an active health pursuit rather than a passive necessity. AGRs social listening methodology combines AI technologies with industry expertise to extract insights from real-time online / social media conversations, revealing consumer emotions, fears and aspirations beyond surface-level mentions and hashtags. To request the copy of the report, write to kushal@ AGR executives are also available for interviews and additional data insights.
Business Mayor
04-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Scottish nuclear plant emptied of fuel as UK winds down ageing gas-cooled reactors
Unlock the Editor's Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The first of the UK's seven advanced gas-cooled reactor nuclear power stations has been emptied of fuel, kick-starting a decommissioning process that will cost at least £27bn in total and take almost a century. EDF said on Thursday it had defuelled Hunterston B, on the west coast of Scotland, paving the way for the transfer of the site and 250 staff from the French power company to the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority next April. The site provided most of Scotland's energy for more than 40 years from its launch in 1976 until its final closure in 2022. Andy Dalling, station manager at Hunterston B, said the process was 'on time and to budget and marked the first time this type of station has been defuelled'. 'That means lessons we've learned over the past three years will be applied to the rest of the fleet,' he added. EDF owns seven advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs) plants in the UK, which were built between the 1960s and 1980s and differ from newer nuclear plants that use water for cooling. Just four are still operating. The uranium fuel has been packaged into 350 large flasks, which will be stored by the NDA at the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria for at least 50 years until a longer-term underground facility has been built. Although the process took just three years and £400mn, it will take almost a century to eradicate the radiation from the land and buildings, EDF has said. The decommissioning of the seven AGRs is separate to a much wider £105bn decommissioning programme, which will cover an additional 17 closed nuclear sites over the next 120 years, according to the NDA. The closures will leave the UK with just one nuclear power plant still running by 2030 — Sizewell B in Suffolk, which is also managed by EDF and uses a pressurised water reactor. The NDA said it was 'acutely aware of the costs associated with delivering our mission'. The cost of decommissioning nuclear power plants is under scrutiny as the UK presses ahead with new nuclear projects, including the £40bn Sizewell C, which is expected to get government go-ahead this spring, and the £46bn Hinkley Point C, which is still under construction and will open by 2030 at the earliest. EDF has a 72.6 per cent stake in Hinkley Point C and is tipped to take a 10- 20 per cent stake in Sizewell C, though discussions with the government are ongoing. The decommissioning on both Hinkley and Sizewell C is expected to be shorter, with separate funds planned to cover the costs. Steve Thomas, emeritus professor of energy policy at Greenwich university, said the cost of decommissioning should be taken into account when the government decided on new nuclear plants as 'no scheme can be guaranteed to meet a cost more than a century into the future'. Although EDF has owned Hunterston B and the seven other AGR nuclear plants since 2009, the cost of decommissioning is being paid for through the ringfenced Nuclear Liabilities Fund (NLF), which was set up in 1996 after privatisation and is valued at £20.6bn. Decommissioning costs have soared over the past three decades, with the fund requiring cash injections from the Treasury, including £5bn in July 2020 and a further £5.6bn in March 2022, according to the NLF. Recommended The last of the AGR reactors is expected to be defuelled and transferred to the NDA by 2035, though they may receive further life extensions. Hunterston worked for 20 years more than was originally intended. Although controversial, nuclear power complements the intermittency of renewable energy such as wind and solar power. But there are concerns that the UK has no permanent and safe facility for storing the waste. Most of the waste is stored at Sellafield, where 140 tonnes of plutonium is held in decaying containers and ageing buildings, though in line with regulatory requirements. The government is seeking a site where treated high-hazard waste could be safely disposed of underground with three potential locations in Cumbria and Lincolnshire identified.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
EDF signals ageing British nuclear fleet can run into ‘the 2030s'
EDF has signalled that Britain's fleet of ageing nuclear power plants can keep running into the next decade amid a scramble to hit Ed Miliband's clean power targets. The company on Monday said it aimed to 'maximise output' from the remaining gas-cooled nuclear reactors to '2030+', providing this can be agreed with regulators. It is the strongest sign yet that EDF, which is owned by the French state, believes the plants can go even further beyond their planned lifespans after extensions were most recently announced in December. Further extensions would deliver a boost to Mr Miliband, the Energy Secretary, as he seeks to make the electricity grid at least 95pc reliant on 'clean' sources of power – including wind, solar, batteries and nuclear – in just five years. On Monday, EDF pointed to the ability of nuclear plants to keep the lights on when output from wind and solar farms was low due to 'dunkleflaute' periods of gloomy, low-wind weather. EDF said: 'This winter there have been prolonged periods of dull, calm weather leading to low output from wind and solar. 'At times, gas provided more than 60pc of our power needs, pushing up electricity prices and adding to our carbon emissions. 'A low carbon future needs a renewables dominated mix along with new British nuclear, for lower electricity costs, energy security and thousands of great jobs which will help to transform communities across the country.' Two of EDF's oldest nuclear power stations, Heysham 1 in Lancashire and Hartlepool in Teesside, have had their shutdowns postponed from spring 2026 to 2027, while the other two, Heysham 2 and Torness in East Lothian, were extended from 2028 to 2030. But in a newly-published fleet update, EDF says there is a potential opportunity for all four plants to remain online until at least 2030. The company said keeping them going for longer would help Britain 'achieve its 2030 clean power targets', support thousands of jobs and 'preserve valuable skills' needed as the country builds new nuclear power plants such as Hinkley Point C, Sizewell C and potentially small modular reactors (SMRs). It added: 'The ambition is to continue generating from these stations for as long as it is safe and commercially viable to do so.' Heysham 1, Heysham 2, Hartlepool and Torness all use advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs) and came online in the 1980s. EDF also owns Sizewell B, in Suffolk, a newer type of plant switched on in the 1990s. Combined with Sizewell B, which EDF hopes to run into the 2050s, the plants collectively generated around 13pc of Britain's electricity needs last year. Seven AGR power plants were in operation originally, with EDF having already shut down Hunterston B, Hinkley Point B and Dungeness B for de-fuelling. All seven plants would have shut by 2023 under plans made when the French company first acquired them in 2009. In Monday's fleet update, EDF said the continued operation of the remaining four AGRs would 'most likely be determined by the condition of the graphite making up the reactor cores'. Hairline cracks can occur in the graphite over time, potentially impeding control rods which must be dropped to lower output – or shut the reactor down in emergencies. To continue operating, EDF must prove to regulators that this will not happen and that it could still shut down the reactors amidst a 'one in 10,000 years' earthquake, much larger than any the UK has ever experienced. An internal note sent to staff in the UK, EDF stressed that it believed the AGRs could technically go for longer than their latest extensions suggested. Hartlepool and Heysham 1's reactors are the oldest, having opened in 1983 and 1984. Out of an abundance of caution, the company said it opted for short extensions for the two plants last year because of 'important milestones' coming up in 2025. These include reactor core sampling and feedback due from the Office for Nuclear Regulation on the safety case 'for operation beyond 2027'. On their current dates for shutdown, EDF told staff: 'While our ambition remains to generate beyond these revised forecasts at all four stations, we will continue to take informed and conservative decisions, utilising the skills and expertise across the company and keeping nuclear safety as our over-riding priority.' Across the country, EDF's UK nuclear business employs 5,000 staff although the company estimates that a total of 31,000 jobs are supported by its power stations when supply chains and contractors are included. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
