French ecology minister hopes to cut down on nuclear power by 2025, PARIS, July 6 (Xinhua) — French ecology minister Nicolas Hulot expressed his hopes on Thursday to meet the commitment of reducing the share of nuclear energy in the country’s electricity output by 2025.
Unveiling an action plan for the country’s energy transition, the environmental activist said cutting electricity generated by nuclear power to 50 percent by 2025 from the current 75 percent was France’s “objective.”
“I hope (the target) will be held. My wish is to engage irreversible trajectories and dynamics,” Hulot told reporters…….http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-07/06/c_136423323.htm
July 7, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
France, politics |
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Nuclear Regulatory Commission: Contradictory Decisions Undermine Nuclear Safety, UCS, DAVE LOCHBAUM, DIRECTOR, NUCLEAR SAFETY PROJECT | JULY 6, 2017, As described in a recent All Things Nuclear commentary, one of the two emergency diesel generators (EDGs) for the Unit 3 reactor at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generation Station in Arizona was severely damaged during a test run on December 15, 2016. The operating license issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) allowed the reactor to continue running for up to 10 days with one EDG out of service. Because the extensive damage required far longer than the 10 days provided in the operating license to repair, the owner asked the NRC for permission to continue operating Unit 3 for up to 62 days with only one EDG available. The NRC approved that request on January 4, 2017.
July 7, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
general |
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Guardian 3rd July 2017, The timing of EDF’s “clarifications” is a shock. It is very early in the life of this £18.1bn (now £19.6bn, possibly rising to £20.3bn) project to be recasting the numbers.
The tricky stages of construction, like pouring the right mix of concrete, lie ahead. The additional costs
relate to mundane matters, such as “a better understanding” of UK regulators’ requirements and “the volume and sequencing of work on site”. These are planning areas in which EDF would surely have made
allowances for uncertainties. That all that slack, and more, has been used up is puzzling. Sceptics within EDF who argued that Hinkley is too big and too financially risky will feel vindicated already.
EDF’s projected rate of return on the project was never high at 9%; now it is down to 8.5% and will fall to 8.2% if the delays materialise. Still, it’s a French problem, right? Didn’t the UK government insulate us by making EDF and
its Chinese co-financier shoulder the construction risks? Wasn’t that the trade-off for the UK guaranteeing to buy all Hinkley’s electricity for 35 years at twice the current wholesale price?
Well, yes, that’s how the contract is structured, and EDF’s UK boss was full of reassurance on
Monday that UK taxpayers remain protected. But no contract of this size is ever so straightforward, as the National Audit Office pointed out in its blistering report last week. https://www.theguardian.com/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2017/jul/03/ofgem-energy-price-cap-shows-mays-help-for-millions-is-off-the-boil#img-1
July 7, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
general |
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Solar Power Portal 4th July 2017, Aldi UK has marked the fourth Solar Independence Day with the announcement
that it will install a further 11,000 solar panels across more than 50 of
its stores by the end of the year.
The supermarket has already installed
more than 85,000 solar panels on all nine of its regional distribution
centres and more than 275 stores across the UK, generating over 17,500 MWh
of electricity a year.
This deployment will now be extended by the end of
the year, bringing its total store investment in solar to almost £17
million and saving more than 8,100 tonnes of CO2 in the process. https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/aldi_uk_marks_solar_independence_day_with_new_solar_rollout_pledge
July 7, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
renewable, UK |
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Guardian 5th July 2017,The G20 nations provide four times more public financing to fossil fuels
than to renewable energy, a report has revealed ahead of their summit in
Hamburg, where Angela Merkel has said climate change will be at the heart
of the agenda.
The authors of the report accuse the G20 of “talking out of
both sides of their mouths” and the summit faces the challenge of a
sceptical US administration after Donald Trump pulled out of the global
Paris agreement
The public finance comes in the form of soft loans and
guarantees from governments, and, along with huge fossil fuel subsidies,
makes coal, oil and gas plants cheaper and locks in carbon emissions for
decades to come.
But scientists calculate that to keep global warming below 2C, most fossil fuel reserves must be kept in the ground, requiring a major shift of investment to clean energy. The new report by a coalition of NGOs
found that the G20 countries provided $71.8bn of public finance for fossil-fuel projects between 2013-2015, compared with just $18.7bn for renewable energy. Japan provided the most at $16.5bn, which was six times
more than it allotted for renewables. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/05/g20-public-finance-for-fossil-fuels-is-four-times-more-than-renewables
July 7, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
2 WORLD, climate change |
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Study: Renewables will be cheapest power source by 2030, By Sam Morgan | EURACTIV.com, Jul 6, 2017, Renewable energy sources like wind and solar are set to be the cheapest form of power generation in the G20 countries by 2030, according to a new study. The EU also announced that the Paris Agreement “cannot be renegotiated”.
Ahead of this week’s G20 summit in Hamburg, the study also found that in half the G20 countries renewables have already been cheaper or the same price as electricity derived from coal or nuclear plants for the last two years.
The study, carried out by Finland’s Lappeenranta University and published by Greenpeace Germany, calculated the costs of electricity generation in all G20 countries for the years between 2015 and 2030.
It found that wind farms generated the cheapest electricity in 2015 across large parts of Europe, in South America, the United States, China and Australia. The study also predicted that technological progress will mean that solar power will be even cheaper than wind by 2030 in many G20 nations
Greenpeace Germany’s energy expert, Tobias Austrup, said “climate protection increasingly makes economic sense across the G20 as renewable energy becomes cheaper than dirty coal and nuclear”.
He added that “any G20 country that is still investing in coal and nuclear power plants is wasting their money on technology that will not be competitive in coming years”.
At an event organised by the French Institute of International Relations on Tuesday (4 July), the French energy ministry’s executive director, Mario Pain, acknowledged that “renewables are a major part of the answer” when asked about the future of France’s electricity system……..https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/study-renewables-will-be-cheapest-power-source-by-2030/
July 7, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
2 WORLD, renewable |
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Wildfire partly on Hanford nuclear site is 85 percent contained http://komonews.com/news/local/wildfire-partly-on-hanford-nuclear-site-is-85-percent-contained by Associated Press, 6 July 17RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) – A wildfire burning in part on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is 85 percent contained and does not threaten any of the site’s nuclear facilities.
The grass and brush fire covers about 35.9 square miles in Yakima and Benton counties.
There are no evacuations or closures related to the fire, which started last Sunday.
Fire officials say a drone aircraft flew over the fire area on Tuesday, temporarily grounding aircraft assigned to fighting the fire.
July 7, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
incidents, USA |
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