This year has been catastrophic for nuclear power, and just when it seemed the situation couldn't get any worse for the industry, it did, writes Jim Green, editor of Nuclear Monitor: there are clear signs of a nuclear slow-down in China, the only country with a large nuclear new-build program. According to Green, if this program stalls, nuclear power looks headed for an irreversible decline. Courtesy Nuclear Monitor. … [Read more...]
The spectacular success of the German Energiewende- and what needs to be done next
While a government is being formed in Berlin, which will have important implications for the future of the Energiewende, author and scholar Professor John Mathews of Macquarie University in Australia, looks back on what Germany has achieved so far with its unique energy policy and concludes that it has been a spectacular success, whatever its detractors may say. But he also has some advice to offer: the German government, he writes, should be … [Read more...]
Interview Claude Fischer Herzog: “EU needs a nuclear industrial policy”
Europe is in danger of losing its leading position in nuclear power, warns Claude Fischer Herzog, Director of ASCPE-Les Entretiens EuropĂ©ens et Eurafricains, a prominent Paris-based pro-nuclear civil society organisation. Fischer calls on the EU to develop an industrial policy of which nuclear power will form an integral part. … [Read more...]
U.S. Energy Department sees sizable increase in world energy use till 2040
Whereas DNV GL in its recent Energy Transition Outlook forecasts an energy demand peak in the 2030s, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) will have none of this: it projects a 28% increase in world energy use by 2040. Consequently, it sees a much slower transition to a low-carbon energy system. … [Read more...]
Chasing electrification: progress is too slow
Shell scenarios show that the rate of electrification of the energy system needs to triple over the coming years to achieve the Paris goals. This is a much more challenging task than most people realize, writes David Hone, Chief Climate Change Advisor for Shell. … [Read more...]
Nuclear power, weapons and national security
The nuclear power industry, under pressure economically, is arguing that it deserves government support because it is essential for “national security”, notes Jim Green, editor of the Nuclear Monitor newsletter. Green explains why he finds this argument disingenuous and unconvincing. … [Read more...]
100% renewable energy for 139 nations detailed in Stanford report
Mark Z. Jacobson, the famed professor at the Stanford School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences, and 26 of his colleagues have compiled a report that shows exactly how 139 nations could transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050 without throwing millions of people out of work. In fact, they contend that the changeover would actually spur job growth while dramatically reducing carbon emissions, writes Steve Hanley. Article courtesy of … [Read more...]
The perils of falling in love with energy technology
Renewable energy and fossil fuel advocates have one thing in common – an unhealthy tendency to fall in love with a particular energy technology, writes Hal Harvey, founder and CEO of think tank Energy Innovation. Policymakers for their part often fall in love with particular policies. But according to Harvey, what matters is setting ambitious goals, adopting policies that reward performance and let the dynamics of the market work out how to get … [Read more...]
Study finds advanced nuclear reactors will have competitive costs
A new study of contemporary nuclear industry cost projections, previously unavailable to the public, provides new insight into a potential path breaking cost trend for the next generation of advanced nuclear plants, writes Dan Yurman, specialized nuclear energy reporter who runs the blog NeutronBytes. … [Read more...]
Nuclear and coal lobbies threaten to scupper renewables in South Africa
South Arica’s state utility Eskom is undermining the development of renewable energy in South Africa, writes Professor Hartmut Winkler of the University of Johannesburg. According to Winkler, the country’s coal and nuclear lobbies are behind the opposition to renewables. The struggle is part of a wider political confrontation over control of key parts of the South African economy. Courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
Trends in electricity prices in Europe: expect more volatility
Electricity prices in Europe will become volatile, variable renewable energy will grow but will still be supplemented significantly by conventional power plants. These are of some of the main outcomes of the power price scenario EU Energy Outlook 2050, released by Energy Brainpool. One of the major question marks for the power sector will be the development of e-mobility, write Carlos Perez-Linkenheil and Simon Göß. … [Read more...]
Can renewables avoid the fate of nuclear power?
Not so long ago, nuclear power was seen as “the new energy” that would drown the world in cheap electricity. It didn’t turn out that way. Now the same promise is made for renewables. Andreas de Vries looks at went wrong in the nuclear case and warns that the renewables sector could be in for a disappointment if it does not avoid making the same mistakes. … [Read more...]
The fall and rise of nuclear power
The United States has allowed itself to fall behind in nuclear power technology and market development, writes author and thorium expert Robert Hargraves. Regulations have unnecessarily driven up costs of nuclear power and scared the public. According to Hargraves, to revive the nuclear sector, the first steps that needs to be taken are to fight historical fear-creating radiation regulations with science, and to replace the federal regulator, the … [Read more...]
The woman who is building a nuclear power plant
Minna Forsström is responsible for a unique project: the first Russian-made nuclear power plant to be built in the E.U. outside of the former Soviet Union. In a personal interview with Energy Post, she reveals how her company, Fennovoima, has coped with extremely demanding regulatory challenges (“you can’t expect to submit a project and have it approved all in one go”), why they chose to work with Rosatom (“they have huge engineering capacity and … [Read more...]
Some irony: Trump’s Paris exit will hurt nuclear and coal power
Ironically, Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement will hurt two sectors that his administration would like to protect: the nuclear and the coal power industry, writes Washington DC-based energy author Dennis Wamsted. This is because without a Federal climate policy, neither nuclear power nor carbon capture and storage (CCS) will get the support they need. … [Read more...]
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