Weekend press: South Korean state energy monopoly in talks to build new UK nuclear plant

In our latest round-up of sector coverage in the national media, there are multiple stories about investment in UK energy. This includes interest from South Korea’s state energy company in the proposed Wylfa nuclear plant and work beginning on the redevelopment of a Scottish port as a distribution hub for North Sea wind power. Meanwhile, 27 new bathing sites have been designated across the country.

South Korean state energy monopoly in talks to build new UK nuclear plant

South Korea’s state energy monopoly is in talks with the UK government about building a new nuclear power station off the coast of Wales, in what could be a big boost to Britain’s plans for a new nuclear fleet.

Kepco has held early-stage discussions with British officials about a new facility at the Wylfa site in Anglesey, and a ministerial meeting is expected this coming week, according to people briefed on the matter.

In his March Budget, chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the government would buy the mothballed site and another from Hitachi for £160mn. In 2019, the Japanese industrial group scrapped its plans to develop a nuclear project at Wylfa, writing off £2.1bn in the process.

Hunt’s move was designed to facilitate a fresh deal with a new private sector partner to build a power station at Wylfa, which could boost the government’s plans to replace Britain’s current ageing fleet of nuclear power stations.

A consortium including US construction group Bechtel and US nuclear company Westinghouse has already proposed building a new plant on the Wylfa site using Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactor technology.

One industry executive with knowledge of the situation said: “Kepco is certainly interested in the project and the company is in talks with the UK government about it.”

Energy minister Andrew Bowie is expected to meet Kepco this week to discuss the proposals, a government official said. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (Desnez) said: “Wylfa has excellent potential and we welcome the interest of all parties who are looking to invest in UK nuclear projects.”

Other industry figures pointed to increasingly active engagement between London and Seoul on a possible investment at Wylfa in recent months. “The Koreans are all over Desnez,” said one.

One UK government official briefed on the matter said talks were “very much early stages” but that Claire Coutinho, energy secretary, would “very much welcome all interest” in nuclear investment.

Another industry figure said Wylfa’s future would depend on a decision by GB Nuclear, the government quango which now owns the site.

GBN could give the go-ahead for a large reactor or reactors at Wylfa or judge that it is a suitable site for building a cluster of new “small modular reactors”. Supporters of SMRs claim their modular design would make them relatively quick and cheap to build.

The Financial Times

New swimming sites for England but are they clean?

England will get dozens of new monitored bathing sites, the government said on Monday, in the largest ever expansion of wild swimming areas.

Twenty-seven new locations, most of them on rivers, have been designated, which means summer pollution testing.

But the official designation of a bathing site doesn’t mean it is clean.

Most of the more than 400 existing swimming spots meet minimum standards but the two river sites currently on the list are both rated “Poor”.

The new bathing sites range from a beach in Dorset to Derwentwater in the Lake District and the River Nidd in North Yorkshire.

Alison Biddulph is a wild swimmer from Shropshire and has led the successful efforts to get three sites along the River Severn and the River Teme designated. She says the designations are “fantastic news” but has done some testing already and is expecting the Environment Agency to rate the sites as “Poor”.

“We definitely have issues in the rivers in Shropshire,” she said. “Not just sewage but also agriculture and particularly chicken farms. I’m hoping this will kick start some action locally to clean the waters.”

“I am fully committed to seeing the quality of our coastal waters, rivers and lakes rise further for the benefit of the environment and everyone who uses them,” said Water Minister Robbie Moore.

Last year out of the 423 bathing sites measured in England, 405 met at least the minimum standard of the Bathing Water Regulations. But the number rated as “Excellent” fell and the number rated as “Poor” rose to its highest level since 2015.

Designated sites are tested by the Environment Agency throughout the bathing season, which lasts from 15 May to the end of September.

The samples have to be processed within 24 hours so are sent by courier to an EA laboratory at Starcross near Exeter, where a team of scientists analyse them.

“We’re looking for two different types of bacteria, e. coli and intestinal enterococci,” says Jonathan Porter, a microbiologist at the Environment Agency.

“Those are used to indicate the possible presence of faecal material – poo – in the water, which could have come from many different sources, humans, farm animals, birds, or dogs.”

The results are then published on the Environment Agency’s Swimfo website and the site given a rating. Too much bacteria linked to poo and the bathing site gets a “Poor” rating which means a sign advising people not to swim is put up.

Wolvercote Mill Stream in Oxford is a good example of what may lie ahead for the 16 new river bathing sites. It was designated two years ago but in both 2022 and 2023 its water quality was rated as “Poor”. But the official designation and the testing regime that comes with it does seem to be focusing attention, albeit slowly.

“It’s in the law that if a designated bathing water site fails, then the water company, the local authority and the Environment Agency have to work together to improve that water quality,” Claire Robertson from campaign group Thames21 says. “If we hadn’t had the designation we wouldn’t have had the investigation and the promises of upgrades we’ve had.”

Those promises have yet to produce cleaner bathing water. And the clock is ticking. If a bathing site is rated “Poor” for five years in a row it loses both its designation and its testing regime.

BBC News

Scottish port redevelopment gets under way after £100mn credit injection

Construction has begun on the redevelopment of Ardersier port near Inverness as a distribution hub for North Sea wind power after a £100mn credit injection from the development banks of Scotland and the UK.

The deal, which marks the first joint funding arrangement between the Scottish National Investment Bank and the UK Infrastructure Bank, follows last year’s investment of £300mn from US private equity firm Quantum Capital Group.

The project, managed by port owner Haventus, aims to transform the brownfield site on the Moray Firth, which until 2001 served the North Sea oil industry, into a location for transporting and maintaining turbines and other equipment to offshore windfarms.

It comes as the UK targets 50 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030. At present, offshore wind power stands at about 14 GW.

About 300 construction workers are now on site to build a new 650-metre quay wall and associated quayside for a facility envisioned as the largest dedicated offshore wind deployment port in Scotland. Construction is scheduled for completion at the end of next year.

As an energy transition facility, the port plans to host offshore wind developers that need to gather and assemble vast physical structures before installation in Scottish waters. Offshore wind developer BW Ideol plans to set up a manufacturing facility for the concrete bases needed for floating wind platforms. A light industrial district within the port will be used by firms servicing the industry.

The Financial Times

Sales of new petrol motorcycles set to be banned from 2040

The sale of new petrol-fuelled motorcycles is set to be banned from 2040, under plans due to be announced by ministers as part of the Government’s net zero crackdown.

The move would affect all vehicles classed as “L3” and upwards, including scooters and light, medium and higher-powered motorcycles. There are around 1.3m motorcycles registered in the UK.

It is expected to be revealed soon, according to industry sources, although it is not clear whether Downing Street has signed off on the policy yet.

The change would also be accompanied by a plan to ban sales of new petrol-fuelled mopeds earlier, from 2030.

That reflects the already-high numbers of electric mopeds being sold. They accounted for roughly half of UK moped registrations last year.

By contrast, the market for electric motorcycles is far less developed and represented less than 2pc of total sales in 2023.

They also suffer from some of the same “range anxiety” issues as electric cars, with many e-motorcycles currently limited to ranges of less than 100 miles while not all are compatible by default with electric car charging stations.

The Motorcycle Action Group, which represents riders, has claimed banning new petrol motorcycle sales is “unworkable” and will “terminate most British motorcycle manufacturing” if implemented.

The Government insists no final decision has been taken on banning sales of petrol motorcycles.

But the Department for Transport is taking steps to make low-powered electric motorcycles a more attractive transport option and views them as “dynamic, efficient and affordable… and too often overlooked”.

The Daily Telegraph

Britain’s nascent battery industry receives shot in the arm from Government and foreign investors

Britain’s nascent battery industry has received a shot in the arm from the Government and foreign investors.

The taxpayer-owned UK Infrastructure Bank has invested £25 million in Invinity Energy Systems, which is based in Scotland.

The AIM-listed group makes vanadium flow batteries, which are used for energy storage but are too heavy to be used in technology such as electric cars.

Being able to store huge amounts of electricity produced in the power grid will be key to renewable energy use in the future.

Invinity raised £56 million in total, including from a Korean firm and retail shareholders.

The money could support dozens of new jobs.

The firm already has a large customer base, including the Royal Thai Armed Forces and the University of Central Florida.

Daily Mail

Are heat pumps more expensive to run than gas boilers?

The Guardian has launched a series exploring the myths and realities surrounding heat pumps. Read the first one here.

Utility Week’s weekend press round-up is a curation of articles in the national newspapers relating to the energy and water sector. The views expressed are not those of Utility Week or Faversham House.