News

Could Pembrokeshire be home to ‘hugely ambitious’ fusion power plant?

Published

3 years ago

December 7, 2020

A LOCATION is needed host a prototype nuclear fusion power plant, which a government-backed programme plans to build by 2040.

The UK government is asking Pembrokeshire communities to put themselves forward as the site of a future fusion power plant.

Communities are being asked to step forward with proposals to house a prototype fusion power plant in a move that could propel them on to the global stage in a world first.

The site does not need to be near existing nuclear power stations but will need 100 hectares of land and a plentiful water supply. Ministers say the project would bring thousands of skilled jobs and be part of its planned “green industrial revolution” to tackle the climate crisis.

The UK programme is called Step – the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production – and communities will have until the end of March 2021 to submit their nominations and will need to demonstrate that their local area has just the right mix of social, commercial and technical conditions to host the new plant – such as adequate land conditions, grid connection and water supply.

Nuclear fusion replicates the intense atomic reactions that power the sun and uses a hydrogen isotope found in seawater as fuel. It cannot produce a runaway chain reaction like conventional nuclear fission, which involves splitting atoms rather than fusing them together. The level of radioactive waste is also far lower. No exclusion zone will be needed around the site, officials said.

However, the technical challenges are enormous and the programme’s leaders acknowledge it is “hugely ambitious”. This is because fuel heated to 10 times the temperature of the sun has to be magnetically levitated to stop it melting the reactor vessel. Scientists and engineers have pursued the dream of limitless and clean fusion energy for more than half a century, but the first power stations remain decades away.

The project has been granted £222m to date by the government.

Communities have until March 2021 to submit their nominations, with the successful site chosen by the end of 2022.

“We want the UK to be a trailblazer in developing fusion energy,” said Alok Sharma, the business and energy secretary. He said communities had an “incredible opportunity to secure their place in the history books” by potentially helping the UK to be the first country in the world to commercialise fusion power.

The UK has the largest working fusion reactor in the world – called Jet – at the Culham Science Centre near Oxford. However, a far larger €20bn (£18bn) fusion reactor called Iter is being assembled in France, backed by the world’s biggest countries. It expects to create its first super-heated plasma by 2025 and reach full power by 2035, with the aim of demonstrating that more energy can be taken out than is put in.

The goal of Step is to show that a smaller and less expensive plant can create fusion power. Key to this is the spherical shape of the chamber that contains the plasma, which is more compact than the doughnut-shaped chamber being used at Iter.

However, this compactness means the Step system must have a much more efficient cooling system. Technology to achieve this is being tested in the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (Mast) experiment, also at Culham. But the Culham site is too small to host the Step project.

Prof Ian Chapman, the chief executive of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, which is leading Step, said: “Step is about moving from research and development to delivery. It will prove that fusion is not a far-off dream, but a dawning reality.”

Tim Luce, the chief scientist at Iter, said: “It is gratifying to see the UK make a firm commitment to continuing its historic leadership in magnetic fusion development. Step promises lower costs but faces various engineering and physics challenges, such as large stresses in the magnet structure and high heat fluxes to the wall. [But] first plasma in 2040 appears to be a realistic goal, assuming favourable and timely results in the present generation of spherical tokamaks.”

The UK is a participant in Iter due to its membership of Euratom, but it will leave the group after Brexit. However, officials say they are hopeful that the UK can rejoin Iter as an associate country.

The timetable for Step is to have a concept design by 2024, then a detailed engineering design allowing the start of construction in 2032 and operations to begin in 2040.

Education

Lib Dem leader meets student union after scrapping of teacher training

Published

1 hour ago

April 29, 2024

Tom Sinclair

Last week, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds visited Aberystwyth University to meet students following the announcement that the University will be scrapping their Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) program.

The announcement comes after the publication of an Estyn inspection report last year, which found that the institution had “been too slow” when it came to prioritising student support.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have now called for the University to produce and implement an action plan that will enable the reintroduction of this course at the earliest opportunity, as well as for the Uni to rectify any similar shortcomings in other training programs.

Commenting, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said:

“Aberystwyth university has long been seen as a cornerstone of education here in Wales, and its role in shaping the future of Welsh-medium education is pivotal.

However, the decision by the Education Workforce Council to withdraw accreditation for their teacher training program now puts this at risk.

The report published by Estyn rightfully identified several flaws in the Uni’s approach to supporting student teachers, along with requiring the University to make significant improvement.

The decision of the EWC suggest that these improvements have not been made.

We are now calling on the University to get their act together, fix the shortcomings in this program and begin plans to reintroduce the course as soon as possible.

Commenting, a spokesperson for the Welsh Young Liberals said: “There was an overwhelming lack of support, especially for Disabled Students, which has been consistent since 2020.

Previous lecturers were always late, and assignments were marked late and inconsistently.

As a joint honours student my timetable is very erratic, and this has an adverse effect on my wellbeing.

This does not however, mean that the course should be cut, Aberystwyth university should be looking to improve the course and help deliver the next generation of teachers.”

Commenting, the Welsh Liberal Democrat PPC for Ceredigion Mark Williams said: “The reputation of Aberystwyth University as a well-respected centre of education is rightfully a source of pride for many residents here in Ceredigion.

This is why it is so dis-heartening to hear that the Uni have failed to take the recommendations in the 2023 Estyn report seriously, leading them into the embarrassing position of losing their accreditation which risks delivering a severe blow to the future of Welsh-medium education.

The lack of foresight from the Uni in this regard is deeply worrying and I hope that, for the sake of both the students and the wider community, they take all the steps needed to restart the course at the earliest opportunity.”

Crime

Manslaughter charge following death in Carmarthenshire

Published

2 hours ago

April 29, 2024

Tom Sinclair

DYFED-POWYS POLICE have confirmed Jason Thomas, 39, from Llanelli, has been charged with manslaughter following an incident on Saturday, March 25.

Police were called to a property in Robinson St, Llanelli to concerns for the welfare of a man.

Liam Rhys Morgan-Whittle, 22, was taken to hospital where he sadly passed away.

Jason Thomas was quickly arrested and later released on conditional bail while the police investigation continued.

He will appear at Llanelli Magistrates Court on Thursday, May 30, it has been confirmed.

***Passed away: Liam Rhys Morgan-Whittle***

News

£10,000 legal row over English-only parking charge notice continues

Published

2 hours ago

April 29, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE LANGUAGE campaigner Toni Schiavone will appear in court in Aberystwyth for the fourth time on Monday, 13 May over his refusal to pay an English-only parking charge notice, after the parking company One Parking Solution won an appeal to reintroduce the case in January.

This is despite the judge, Gareth Humphreys, warning that the company should carefully consider the value of continuing with a case that has already been “long, beyond unfortunate” and has cost the parking company over £10,000 in legal fees to date.

Cymdeithas yr Iaith have called on the court to rule that English-only parking charge notices are insufficient as ruled by the judge Mervyn Jones-Evans in a recent case in Caernarfon, and on the Welsh Government to legislate to ensure the rights of Welsh speakers in the private sector are respected.

Toni Schiavone received the English-only notice for not paying for parking in a car park in Llangrannog in September 2020.

The original case was thrown out of court in May 2022 because a representative from the parking company was not present, and the second case in August 2023 was also thrown out because the case was presented late and under incorrect rules.

On 26 January this year, One Parking Solution won an appeal enabling them to continue prosecuting Mr Schiavone, after the judge ruled that there were no grounds to throw the first two cases out of court.

Speaking at the hearing in January, Toni Schiavone said he had received a letter with costs of £10,156.70 a the day before from One Parking Solution, and that the company had acted “disrespectfully, unreasonably and vindictively.” According to research by Cymdeithas yr Iaith, translating the notice into Welsh would have cost only £60.

Siân Howys, Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith’s Welsh Language Rights Group said:

“It is disappointing that One Parking Solution have decided to resubmit this case, but the real reason Toni must appear in court yet again is because the rights of people who live in Wales to use the Welsh language are not ensured in statute. We have seen other cases of this recently as HSBC and the energy company OVO have weakened or even abolished their Welsh-medium services, without any serious response from our Government.

“We call on our members and supporters to be present on 13 May to support Toni, and to demand that the right to use the Welsh language in all aspects of life is respected through legislation.”

On 30 January, the Welsh Government voted against Heledd Fychan MS’s motion on behalf of Plaid Cymru in the Senedd to set Welsh Language Standards on a statutory basis for institutions in the private sector, such as banks, supermarkets and private car parks.

During the debate, Siân Gwenllian MS referred to Toni Schiavone’s case as an example of the need to legislate to ensure the rights of Welsh speakers. Discussing the parking company, she said:

“Once again, the response is arrogant and insulting.

“Why must Welsh speakers continue to campaign and demand services through the medium of Welsh?

“It is high time that the basic rights of Welsh speakers were respected through statute, and that in all aspects of life.”