The UK may have to run stress tests on its nuclear power stations every six years under new plans put forward by the European Commission.

The EU’s governing body proposed the legally binding reviews last week in yet another example of worldwide efforts to tighten up safety in the wake of the Japanese nuclear disaster in 2011.

The triple blowout at the Fukushima power plant sent shockwaves around the world and several nations have completed an “about-turn” on nuclear, with Germany intending to close its nuclear plants and Japan reluctant to turn its own back on.

Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger said: “It’s up to Member States to decide if they want to produce nuclear energy or not. The fact remains that there are 132 nuclear reactors in operation in Europe today. Our task at the Commission is to make sure that safety is given the utmost priority in every single one of them.”

The European Union wants all power plants designed so that “if a reactor core is damaged, this has no consequences outside the plant”; an EU-wide safety review at least once every 10 years; and an emergency response centre at each power station which is protected against radioactivity and earthquakes or flooding.

On top of this member states would have to make sure that an accident does happen, any radioactivity released in the environment is “practically eliminated”.

The UK Government said it would need to consider proposed changes to rules governing all its plants’ safety, the Nuclear Safety Directorate, “in detail” before reaching a position on the plans.

A DECC spokesperson added: “We can however confirm that where there is robust evidence to support the need for changes the UK will of course work with the Commission and other Member States to ensure the EU nuclear safety regime is appropriately enhanced.”

The entries flooded in, the votes were cast and now it’s finally done – the TELCA judges have made their final decision on the winner of Best Consultancy of the Year for I&C and SME energy customers.

The top independent judging panel met to sift through the shortlisted entries and tussle over who they felt most deserved the accolade – and there may be one or two surprises.

The top secret decision will be kept under wraps until the awards ceremony at the London Film Museum in two weeks’ time.

Consultancies for the I&C and SME Best Consultancy categories were shortlisted after a public vote by UK business energy users – and the judges say there was at first disagreement about who to give the top gongs to.

Janet Wood, journalist and editor of New Power magazine said: “It’s very important to the judges to make sure that the right people win, We had a good discussion and we had some quite mixed opinions on some of the entries but we came to robust conclusions that we were all happy with.”

Angela Knight, Chief Executive of industry trade body Energy UK said: “We’ve actually had a very good discussion, a lot of applications, a lot of content. I enjoyed the discussion and everybody had a different piece to bring to the table.”

Mervyn Bowden, chair of the judging panel said: “We set out right from the start to ensure that the judges were independent in the process, the public voting has contributed very constructively and overall I’ve been very satisfied with the robustness of the process.”

Find out the latest news on the energy market from Magali Hodgson, npower’s Product and Services Optimisation Manager, in this weekly update.

If you are blocked from seeing this video and would like your own download, please email geoff.curran@energylivenews.com.

A British demolition firm has been awarded a contract to dismantle a series of gas containers in Battersea in London.

One of them set to be demolished by Coleman and Company is situated only a few metres away from the Victoria underground line and is equivalent to a 40-storey building in height.

The firm said the contract has helped boost its order book to more than £12 million.

Mark Coleman, Managing Director of Coleman and Company said: “In recent years we have focused on developing some unique skills to tackle the most challenging demolition tasks. For example, our approach to dismantling highly flammable gas holders has been recognised worldwide and this month we are presenting in Milan at the EDA (European Demolition Association) on the topic.”

The project starts later this year and is expected to take more than 12 months to complete.

In an attempt to squeeze out as much economic benefit as possible from the region’s oil and gas, today the Government set up a review of the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).

It’s the first time for more than 20 years the Government has commissioned such a review. Led by Scottish businessman Sir Ian Wood – reportedly Scotland’s second richest man who recently hung up the reins at North Sea exploration firm Wood Group – it will look at how to keep momentum in the sector.

So far around 41 billion barrels of oil and gas have been produced from the UKCS.

Energy Secretary Ed Davey said: “Our offshore infrastructure is getting older and we are seeing a decline in the rate of exploration and in the amount of oil and gas that is being recovered. All these issues need to be addressed if we are to stimulate innovation in this sector”.

Sir Ian Wood said he will have an eye out for what will “make a real difference to improving our economic recovery including optimising use of and extending life of infrastructure, production efficiency and maximising the use of key technologies.”

He went on: “The values involved in UK oil and gas are so large that even modest increases in key production metrics over time will deliver significant economic benefits.”

The initial conclusions from the review will be published in the autumn.

You may find it hard to believe given the intense scrutiny energy firms get from the press – but when I and the chief executives of seven other leading European energy companies sent a letter to EU leaders on 21 May calling for a revitalised energy policy, there was little media frenzy.

Yet our letter is remarkable for its stark message about the urgency of the situation and the call for a co-ordinated approach to capacity mechanisms across Europe. In other words, we need action – and sharpish.

Why should a supplier be concerned?

That may seem strange for companies historically operating in liberalised markets. RWE npower has been the largest investor in new gas fired generation over recent years and we’ve built two of the most efficient power stations in Europe, at Staythorpe and Pembroke, based on that market. But there’s little point dwelling on how it used to be.

The reality is that much of the coal plant which ran last year is closing and there is little investment currently underway in new plant. Taken alongside the rise of intermittent renewables, this will fundamentally change the UK market.

Europe’s energy industry needs a decision now

The Government has recognised something needs to be done to address the capacity issue sooner rather than later – it’s no good reacting after power stations have closed and more plant may well exit the market given the current outlook. An early decision can give certainty before more existing plant is withdrawn or mothballed.

One of the most effective ways of avoiding this outcome is to give reassurance that the Energy Bill will set up a new capacity mechanism. Crucially the design of this capacity mechanism should be non-discriminatory.

Poorly designed capacity market? At your peril

It is extremely important that the design is right – as a poor design will undermine its effectiveness. The design must pass the very simple test of whether it produces capacity at the lowest price to consumers, as they will ultimately bear the cost.

Any capacity mechanism needs to clear prices at the lowest possible level and so it needs to be non-discriminatory, to enable all plant regardless of fuel type and age to bid in on an equivalent basis.

Existing plant can contribute to security of supply more economically than new construction, particularly where it is needed to operate as back up for the variable output of renewables. A discriminatory capacity mechanism would just drive up the cost.

What to do? Act ASAP

The UK consumer and industry above all need to have certainty that the lights are going to stay on. The lack of new investment coming on stream, the current poor economic outlook for existing plant and the higher percentage of intermittent supply mean that we sorely need a capacity mechanism.

This has been proposed in the Energy Bill – a decision is needed soon on its introduction and design to avoid further uncertainty and risk.

Europe is only “just starting” its journey towards developing shale gas, according to shale gas research experts at Chevron.

Speaking at the Unconventional Oil and Gas (UGOS) conference in London this morning, Dr Steve Garrett, Manager for Chevron’s Global Technology Centre said “it does take time” for an industry to get off the ground.

Pointing to the United States’ seemingly overnight success, he said even that took years to get going.

He told the conference: “It seemed to ramp up quickly but if you look at the timeline it goes back to 2005, it took eight to 10 years. We’re just starting on that journey in Europe.”

Dr Garrett said there was some “exciting research” in the pipeline, earlier mentioning research at Leeds and Manchester universities including analysing the microporous rock and how gas moves through rock.

He added he could “see a very interesting business prize at the end of it”.

Abu Dhabi’s national energy company has acquired oil and gas assets in the North Sea from BP.

TAQA has taken over as operator of the Harding field and production platform in the Central North Sea, which is expected to add 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The company acquired the BP assets for $1,058 million, (£685.2m) including an allocation for tax allowances, as part of a deal signed in November last year. TAQA paid a deposit of $632m (£413.2m) at the time of signing the agreement.

Carl Sheldon, CEO at TAQA said: “We are delighted to announce the completion of this acquisition which extends the average life of our UK reserves and opens up a bright future for our North Sea business. This investment is a great strategic fit for TAQA.”

One of the most memorable theme tunes for a choccy biccy from my childhood goes something like this: “If you liiike a lot of choc-late on yer biscuit, join our club!”

Even if those bars have gone out of fashion I’ll never forget that nonsensical little ditty – and it came back to me this morning on discovering the news that the UK has itself joined a club – not for chocoholics though.

Switch chocolate with “wind farms”, biscuit with “country” and you’ve got yourself… The Renewables Club!

Led by Germany’s environmental minister Peter Altmaier, ten countries and a plus one have – ahem – clubbed together to promote the cause of green energy.

Ministers and “high-level representatives” from China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Morocco, South Africa, Tonga, UAE, the UK (and the Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency or IRENA, of course) met in Berlin over the weekend to agree to, basically, keep promoting renewable energy.

I wonder what the gathered members will get up to? Perhaps like every good scout group they’ll get patches for every new achievement, a wind farm christened, solar farm opened, hydropower photo call attended.

Maybe they’ll swap stickers of their favourite wind installations or trade mini figurines of their preferred turbine designs, or squabble over the “best” country for renewable energy in between breaks for milk and cookies?

Maybe not – at the press conference Altmaier declared decisively, “As members of the Club we aim to lead by example… We in Germany do not stand alone with our Energiewende, but are a part of a strong group of leaders.” Next January they’re scheduled to meet in Abu Dhabi for a spot of sun-bathing – I mean, solar energy supporting.

After all,  every club has to have a good day out for its members!

The United Kingdom was the second largest emitter of carbon dioxide in Europe last year according to new provisional figures for the European Union.

The UK’s absolute emissions hit 472 million tons last year, suggest early estimates of CO2 emissions from energy use for 2012 published by Eurostat this week.

The EU fact body says its provisional figures show CO2 emissions fell in 23 Member States in 2012. Malta, the UK, Lithuania and Germany were the only nations whose emissions rose last year. Maltese emissions went up 6.3%, the UK’s by 3.9%, Lithuania saw a rise of 1.7% and Germany’s rose 0.9%.

Altogether however the EU cut its carbon emissions from energy use by 2.1% last year, the estimates suggest, after a fall of 4.1% in 2011.

In 2012, Germany was the Member State with the highest level of CO2 emissions in absolute terms with 728 million tons, followed by the UK, then Italy (366 million tons), France (332 mn tons), Poland (297 mn tons) and Spain (258 mn tons).

These six Member States together accounted for more than two thirds (70%) of the EU27′s total carbon emissions in 2012.