New nuclear plants shouldnât have to be expensive, writes David Hess of  the World Nuclear Association. To reduce nuclear costs - and project times - three things need to happen: access to cheap financing should be facilitated, regulatory barriers should be lowered, and industry should improve its performance. … [Read more...]
The secret of the great American fracking bubble
While politicians and the mainstream media trumpet fracking as a great American energy revolution, it has in fact been a financial disaster, writes Justin Mikulka of DeSmog blog. The American shale oil and gas boom, he writes, may be "one of the largest money-losing endeavors in the nation's history". Courtesy DeSmog blog. … [Read more...]
Fracking may have political support, it still needs a âsocial licenceâ
The UK government may be convinced that shale gas production is important to the country, it will need to convince the public too. Experience in Eastern Europe has shown that without a âsocial licenceâ, fracking will not get off the ground, writes Andreas Goldthau, Director of the Centre of International Public Policy in London and author of a new book on the politics of shale gas. … [Read more...]
Poland’s love affair with coal: can the EU do anything about it?
The Polish governmentâs strong commitment to coal goes against EU policy direction and against market conditions, write Anna Mikulska of the Baker Instituteâs Center for Energy Studies and Eryk Kosinski of Adam Mickiewicz University. But coal has a special place in the nationâs collective heart. To wean Poland off coal will require EU support to coal-dependent regions and for alternative energy sources, the authors argue. … [Read more...]
Japan’s new energy strategy should boost both renewables and nuclear power
Japan needs both renewables and nuclear energy in its energy mix to reduce dependence on imports and lower greenhouse gas emissions, writes David Livingston of the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center. According to Livingston, it is in the interest of the international community that the country's new energy strategy, which is expected in the middle of this year, should boost their share in the energy mix. … [Read more...]
As the energy potential of the Eastern Mediterranean grows, so does the potential for conflict
The United States and the European Union should play a more proactive role in defusing the growing tensions over energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean, writes David Koranyi of the Atlantic Council Global Energy Institute. … [Read more...]
A grand bargain with Gazprom?
Can Europe, including the Eastern part, continue to profit from cheap Russian gas without succumbing to Russian energy dominance? According to a new paper from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES), the EU should not shy away from âcountervailing measuresâ. But these should preferably take the form of a âgrand bargainâ with Russia rather than a confrontation. … [Read more...]
‘Pro-nuclear environmentalists’ in denial about power/weapons connections
Claims by self-styled 'pro-nuclear environmentalists' that "nuclear energy prevents the spread of nuclear weapons" and "peace is furthered when a nation embraces nuclear power" do not withstand scrutiny, writes Jim Green, editor of the Nuclear Monitor newsletter. Green looks at the conclusions of some studies which, he says, downplay the troubling connections between nuclear power and weapons. Courtesy Nuclear Monitor. … [Read more...]
Meet the new ârenewable superpowersâ: nations that boss the materials used for wind and solar
Countries that create green energy infrastructure now, before political and economic control shifts to a new group of ârenewable superpowersâ, will be less susceptible to outside influence in the future, writes Andrew Barron, a professor of Swansea University. Article courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
Small modular reactors for nuclear power: hope or mirage?
Supporters of nuclear power hope that small nuclear reactors, unlike large plants, will be able to compete economically with other sources of electricity. But according to M.V. Ramana, a Professor at the University of British Columbia, this is likely to be a vain hope. In fact, according to Ramana, in the absence of a mass market, they may be even more expensive than large plants. … [Read more...]
The EU wants to fight climate change â so why is it spending billions on a gas pipeline?
By funding the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the European Investment Bank (EIB) is hardly signalling to the private sector that governments are committed to a green energy transition, writes Aled Jones, Professor and Director at the Global Sustainability Institute of  Anglia Ruskin University. Article courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
Study: solar and wind wonât break the grid
A new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) shows that major power systems are able to cope quite well with increasing shares of intermittent renewables, if the right measures are taken. The study says that increased generation of these renewables does not make the grid less reliable or compromise security of supply. … [Read more...]
EU ties itself into knots with capacity market decisions [Energy Post Weekly]
On 7 February the European Commission approved six new capacity mechanisms in the name of security of supply, insisting that they will not distort the Single Market. Two problems: one, the national decisons come as the EU tries to negotiate Europe-wide power market rules for the next decade. Two, the Commission wants those market rules to exclude coal plants from public support - when it has just authorised Poland to give state aid in the form of … [Read more...]
How renewables will change the geopolitical map of the world
The rapid growth of renewable energy will have a profound effect on geopolitics worldwide, writes energy expert Walt Patterson, a fellow at Chatham House in London. In this article, he explores the many ways in which "fire-free electricity" will transform political and economic relations. … [Read more...]
Nuclear power in crisis: we are entering the Era of Nuclear Decommissioning
Nuclear power is in crisis â as even the most strident nuclear enthusiasts acknowledge â and it is likely that a new era is fast emerging, writes Jim Green, editor of the Nuclear Monitor newsletter. After a growth spurt from the 1960s to the '90s, then 20 years of stagnation, the Era of Nuclear Decommissioning is upon us. Article courtesy Nuclear Monitor. … [Read more...]
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