Flickering lights cast shadows on EDF sale

Poland Offshore Wind Energy accelerates as PGE exits nuclear leadership, PKN Orlen steps in, and Baltic Sea projects expand to cut coal reliance, meet EU emissions goals, attract investors, and bridge the power capacity gap.

Key Points

A shift from coal and nuclear to Baltic offshore wind to add capacity, cut EU emissions, and attract investment.

✅ PGE drops lead in nuclear; pivots $10bn to offshore wind.

✅ PKN Orlen may assume nuclear role; projects await approval.

✅ 6 GW offshore could add 60b zlotys and 77k jobs by 2030.

PGE, Poland’s biggest power group has decided to abandon a role in building the country’s first nuclear power plant and will instead focus investment on offshore wind energy.

Reuters reports state-run refiner PKN Orlen (PKN.WA) could take on PGE’s role, while the latter announces a $10bn offshore wind power project.

Both moves into renewables and nuclear represent a major change in Polish energy policy, diversifying away from the country’s traditional coal-fired power base, as regional efforts like the North Sea wind farms initiative expand, in a bid to fill an electricity shortfall and meet EU emission standards.

An unnamed source told the news agency, PGE could not fund both projects and cheap technology had swung the decision in favour of wind, with offshore wind competing with gas in some markets. PGE could still play a smaller role in the nuclear project which has been delayed and still needs government approval.

#google#

A proposed law is currently before the Polish parliament aiming at facilitating easy construction of wind turbines, mindful of Germany’s grid expansion challenges that have hindered rollout.

If the law is passed, as expected, several other wind farm projects could also proceed.

Polenergia has said it would like to build a wind farm in the Baltic by 2022. PKN Orlen is also considering building one.

PGE said in March that it wants to build offshore windfarms with a capacity of 2.5 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.

Analysts and investors say that offshore wind farms are the easiest and fastest way for Poland to fill the expected capacity gap from coal, with examples like the largest UK offshore wind farm coming online underscoring momentum, and reduce CO2 emissions in line with EU’s 2030 targets as Poland seeks improved ties with Brussels.

The decision to open up the offshore power industry could also draw in investors, as shown by Japanese utilities’ UK offshore investment attracting cross-border capital. Statoil said in April it would join Polenergia’s offshore project which has drawn interest from other international wind companies. “

The Polish Wind Energy Association (PWEA) estimates that offshore windfarms with a total capacity of 6 GW would help create around 77,000 new jobs and add around 60 billion zlotys to economic growth.

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Kenya Nuclear Power Plant Project advances with environmental impact assessment, selecting Tana River County under a build-operate-transfer model to boost grid capacity, support manufacturing growth, and assess reactor technology for reliable baseload energy.

Key Points

A $5B BOT nuclear facility in Tana River to expand Kenya's grid, aiming to start operations in about seven years.

✅ Environmental impact study published for public review by NEMA

✅ Preferred site: Tana River County near coast; grid integration

✅ BOT concession; reactor tech under evaluation for baseload

Kenya’s nuclear agency submitted impact studies for a $5 billion power plant, and said it’s on course to build and start operating the facility in about seven years, as markets like China's nuclear program continue steady expansion.

The government plans to expand its nuclear-power capacity fourfold by 2035, mirroring policy steps in India to revive the sector, the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency said in a report on the National Environment Management Authority’s website. The document is set for public scrutiny before the environmental watchdog can approve it, aligning with global green industrial strategies that weigh nuclear in decarbonization, and pave the way for the project to continue.

President Uhuru Kenyatta wants to ramp up installed generation capacity from 2,712 megawatts as of April to boost manufacturing in East Africa’s largest economy, noting milestones such as Barakah Unit 1 reaching 100% power as indicators of nuclear readiness. Kenya expects peak demand to top 22,000 megawatts by 2031, and other jurisdictions, such as Ontario's exploration of new nuclear, are weighing similar large-scale options, partly due to industrial expansion, a component in Kenyatta’s Big Four Agenda. The other three are improving farming, health care and housing.

The nuclear agency is assessing technologies “to identify the ideal reactor for the country,” it said in the report, including next-gen nuclear designs now being evaluated.

A site in Tana River County, near the Kenyan coast was preferred after studies across three regions, according to the report. The plant will be developed with a concessionaire under a build, operate and transfer model, with innovators such as mini-reactor concepts informing vendor options.

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Lawa Hydropower Station approved on the Jinsha River, a Yangtze tributary, delivers 2,000 MW via four units; 784 ft dam, 12 sq mi reservoir, Sichuan-Tibet site, US$4.59b investment, Huadian stake, renewable energy generation.

Key Points

A 2,000 MW dam project on the Jinsha River with four units, a 784 ft barrier, and 8.36 billion kWh annual output.

✅ Sichuan-Tibet junction on the Jinsha River

✅ 2,000 MW capacity; four turbine-generator units

✅ 8.36 bn kWh/yr; US$4.59b total; Huadian 48% stake

China has approved construction of the 2,000-MW Lawa hydropower station, a Yangtze tributary hydropower project on the Jinsha River, multiple news agencies are reporting.

Lawa, at the junction of Sichuan province and the Tibet autonomous region, will feature a 784-foot-high dam and the reservoir will submerge about 12 square miles of land. The Jinsha River is a tributary of the Yangtze River, and the project aligns with green hydrogen development in China.

The National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China, which also guides China's nuclear energy development as part of national planning, is reported to have said that four turbine-generator units will be installed, and the project is expected to produce about 8.36 billion kWh of electricity annually.

Total investment in the project is to be US$4.59 billion, and Huadian Group Co. Ltd. will have a 48% stake in the project, reflecting overseas power infrastructure activity, with minority stakes held by provincial firms, according to China Daily.

In other recent news in China, Andritz received an order in December 2018 to supply four 350-MW reversible pump-turbines and motor-generators, alongside progress in compressed air generation technologies, for the 1,400-MW ZhenAn pumped storage plant in Shaanxi province.

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NRC Special Inspection at River Bend reviews failures of portable emergency diesel generators, nuclear safety measures, and Entergy Operations actions after Fukushima; off-site power loss readiness, remote COVID-19 oversight, and corrective action plans are assessed.

Key Points

An NRC review of generator test failures at River Bend, assessing nuclear safety, root causes, and corrective actions.

✅ Evaluates failures of portable emergency diesel generators

✅ Reviews causal analyses and adequacy of corrective actions

✅ Remote COVID-19 oversight; public report expected within 45 days

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has begun a special inspection at the River Bend nuclear power plant, part of broader oversight that includes the Turkey Point renewal application, to review circumstances related to the failure of five portable emergency diesel generators during testing. The plant, operated by Entergy Operations, is located in St. Francisville, La., as nations like France outage risks continue to highlight broader reliability concerns.

The generators are used to supply power to plant systems in the event of a prolonged loss of off-site electrical power coupled with a failure of the permanently installed emergency generators, a concern underscored by incidents such as the SC nuclear plant leak that shut down production for weeks. These portable generators were acquired as part of the facility's safety enhancements mandated by the NRC following the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi facility in Japan, and amid constraints like France limiting output from warm rivers, the emphasis on resilience remains.

The three-member NRC team will develop a chronology of the test failures and evaluate the licensee's causal analyses and the adequacy of corrective actions, informed by lessons from cases like Davis-Besse closure stakes that underscore risk management.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they will complete most of their work remotely, while other regions address constraints such as high river temperatures limiting output for nuclear stations. An inspection report documenting the team's findings, released as global nuclear project milestones continue across the sector, will be publicly available within 45 days of the end of the inspection.
 

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Meaford Pumped Storage Project aims to balance the grid with hydro-electric generation, a hilltop reservoir, and transmission lines near Georgian Bay, pending environmental assessment, permitting, and federal review of impacts on fish and drinking water.

Key Points

TC Energy proposal to pump water uphill off-peak and generate 1,000 MW at peak, pending studies and approvals.

✅ Balances grid by storing off-peak energy and generating at peak.

✅ Requires reservoir, break wall, transmission lines, generating station.

✅ Environmental studies and federal review underway before approvals.

Plans for a $3.3 billion hydro-electric project in Meaford are still in the early study stages, but some residents have concerns about what it might mean for the environment, as past Site C stability issues have illustrated for large hydro projects.

A one-year permit was granted for TC Energy Corporation (TC Energy) to begin studies on the proposed location back in May, and cross-border projects like the New England Clean Power Link require federal permits as well to proceed. Local municipalities were informed of the project in June.

TC Energy is proposing to have a pumped storage project at the 4th Canadian Division Training (4CDTC) Meaford property, which is on federal lands.

A letter sent to local municipalities explains that the plan is to balance supply and demand on the electrical grid by pumping water uphill during off-peak hours. It would then release the water back into Georgian Bay during peak periods, generating up to 1,000 megawatts of electricity.

The project is expected to create 800 jobs over four years of construction, in addition to long-term operational positions.

According to the company's website, the proposed pump station would require a large reservoir on the military base, a generating station, transmission lines infrastructure, and a break wall 850 metres from shore.

Some residents fear the project will threaten the bay and the fish, echoing Site C dam concerns shared with northerners, and the region's drinking water.

Meaford's mayor says the town has no jurisdiction on federal lands, but that a list of concerns has been forwarded to the company, while Ontario First Nations have urged government action on urgent transmission needs elsewhere.

TC Energy will tackle preliminary engineering and environmental studies to determine the feasibility of the proposed location, which could take up to two years.

Once the assessments are done, they need to be presented to the government for further review and approval, as seen when Ottawa's Site C stance left work paused pending a treaty rights challenge.

TC Energy's website states that the company anticipates construction to begin in 2022 if it gets all the go-ahead, with the plant to begin operations four years later.

Input from residents is being collected until April 2020, similar to when the National Energy Board heard oral traditional evidence on the Manitoba-Minnesota transmission line.

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Medicine Hat Bitcoin Mining Deal delivers 42 MW electricity to Hut 8, enabling blockchain data centres, cryptocurrency mining expansion, and economic diversification in Alberta with low-cost power, land lease, and rapid construction near Unit 16.

Key Points

A pact to supply 42 MW and lease land, enabling Hut 8's blockchain data centres and crypto mining growth in Alberta.

✅ 42 MW electricity from city; land lease near Unit 16

✅ Hut 8 expands to 60.7 MW; blockchain data centres

✅ 100 temporary jobs; 42 ongoing roles in Alberta

The City of Medicine Hat has agreed to supply electricity and lease land to a Toronto-based cryptocurrency mining company, at a time when some provinces are pausing large new crypto loads in a deal that will see $100 million in construction spending in the southern Alberta city.

The city will provide electric energy capacity of about 42 megawatts to Hut 8 Mining Corp., which will construct bitcoin mining facilities near the city's new Unit 16 power plant.

The operation is expected to be running by September and will triple the company's operating power to 60.7 megawatts, Hut 8 said, amid broader investments in new turbines across Canada.

#google#

"The signing of the electricity supply agreement and the land lease represents a key component in achieving our business plan for the roll-out of our BlockBox Data Centres in low-cost energy jurisdictions," said the company's board chairman, Bill Tai, in a release.

"[Medicine Hat] offers stable, cost-competitive utility rates and has been very welcoming and supportive of Hut 8's fast-paced growth plans."

In bitcoin mining operations, rows upon rows of power-consuming computers are used to solve mathematical puzzles in exchange for bitcoins and confirm crytopcurrency transactions. The verified transactions are then added to the public ledger known as the blockchain.

Hut 8's existing 18.7-megawatt mining operation at Drumheller, Alta. — a gated compound filled with rows of shipping containers housing the computers — has so far mined 750 bitcoins. Bitcoin was trading Tuesday morning for about $11,180.

Medicine Hat Mayor Ted Clugston says the deal is part of the city's efforts to diversify its economy.

We've made economic development a huge priority down here because we were hit very, very hard by the oil and gas decline," he said, noting that being the generator and vendor of its own electricity puts the city in a uniquely good position.

"Really we're just turning gas into electricity and they're taking that electricity and turning it into blockchain, or ones and zeroes."

Elsewhere in Canada, using more electricity for heat has been urged by green energy advocates, reflecting broader electrification debates.

Hut 8 says construction of the facility is starting right away and will create about 100 temporary jobs. The project is expected to be finished by the third-quarter of this year.

The Medicine Hat mining operation will generate 42 ongoing jobs for electricians, general labourers, systems technicians and security staff.

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