Rolls Royce has made nuclear reactors for decades, small enough to fit inside nuclear submarines. Itâs now adapting that expertise for the grid. Dan Yurman runs through the details of the firm's plans, including a look at its first-of-a-kind 440MW technology. Regulatory timescales will be kept short by developing the small modular reactors (SMRs) at existing licensed nuclear sites â with Cumbria and Wales its main targets. Importantly, an … [Read more...]
German Onshore Wind hit by residential regulations: will new profit-share rules help?
5.3 GW of newly installed capacity in 2017, 2.4 GW in 2018, 0.5 GW in the first nine months of 2019. Germanyâs onshore wind power expansion has seen a dramatic slump. Thatâs completely against the trend in total renewables growth which saw its share of gross power consumption reached a record of almost 43% in 2019, up 5% on the previous year. Clearly, onshore wind is facing obstacles the other technologies arenât, and that is the rules around how … [Read more...]
Wind farms for cyclone zones: new standards and designs
Wind turbine designs and standards have been developed with todayâs major markets in mind, Europe and North America. However, the bulk of future markets are expected to be in geographic areas where the meteorological and environmental conditions are much more extreme. Think cyclones, heavy rain and lightning. IRENA estimates that Asia will lead in onshore wind installations with over half of the total global capacity installed (>2,600 GW) by … [Read more...]
South Koreaâs nuclear ambitions face safety, quality issues
Dan Yurman summarises the regulatory, academic and press coverage of serious delays to South Korean nuclear reactors being built for the UAE. According to reports, these were caused by having to replace substandard components in reactors located in both South Korea and those planned for the UAE. There are problems with staff training too. South Korea recently completed the US NRC safety review process for its 1400 MW design. But the author asks … [Read more...]
Shipping: regulations facilitating switch to LNG
How do we solve shippingâs âchicken-and-eggâ dilemma: LNG producers wait for enough ships to run on LNG, while shipping companies wait for producers to increase their supply? The âvirtuous circleâ of steady growth in LNG shipping in the North Sea/Baltic Sea area can provide an important case study for the rest of the world, according to a reportby the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. It concludes that LNG will grow as a shipping fuel … [Read more...]