German nuclear damage shows atomic and renewable power are unhappy bedfellows https://www.euractiv.com/section/electricity/news/german-nuclear-damage-shows-atomic-and-renewable-power-are-unhappy-bedfellows/,By Dagmar Dehmer | Der Tagesspiegel | translated by Sam MorganJul 26, 2017, A Germany nuclear plant was damaged because its operators increased and decreased its output to respond to energy grid fluctuations. The incident supports the theory that nuclear and renewable energy generation are incompatible. EURACTIV’s partner Der Tagesspiegel reports.
The Brokdorf nuclear power station, located in northern Germany, was taken offline in February after maintenance showed its reactor’s fuel rods had begun to unexpectedly oxidise.
A regional nuclear supervisory body has now ruled that the plant can be booted back up but only in “safe mode”, according to Schleswig-Holstein’s energy transition minister.
State Minister for Energy Robert Habeck (Greens) added that the power plant’s output should not be increased or decreased at short notice to adapt to the supply of renewable energies on the electricity grid. The minister warned that “atomic energy is not a bridging technology”.
A 2011 study by Greenpeace also concluded that renewables and nuclear are not compatible and that fuel rod damage is a possible consequence.
Kiel’s nuclear supervisory authority explained that the corrosion of Brokdorf’s fuel rods was a result of the reactor’s capacity being increased from 1,440 MW to 1,480 MW in 2006.
The investigation also concluded that the decision to run the plant as a load-following power station, where output was tailored to grid fluctuations, contributed to the damage.
“According to our findings, this stress has contributed to the unexpected oxidisation of the upper parts of some of the fuel rods,” Habeck explained.
The practice of quickly increasing or decreasing electricity generation to compensate for excessive or reduced renewable output has been particularly prevalent since 2015.
In 2015, the cost of switching off wind turbines in the northern German region, when electricity networks had reached their capacity, was particularly high.
The damage at Brokdorf was discovered in February when the plant was shut down for an inspection. Oxidisation that exceeded safety levels was recorded on ten fuel rods across three fuel elements. However, evidence of increased corrosion has been present since 2011, according to Habeck’s ministry.
Brokdorf’s period of inactivity has cost plant owner EON more than €100 million, according to reports by Bloomberg.
The shutdown came at a delicate time for the company, which at the beginning of this month transferred €24 billion to the German government, as part of an agreed contribution to decommissioning costs for the country’s nuclear plants.
Operating company PreussenElektra has a soft spot for Brokdorf, which was brought online in 1986, and its website boasts that up to 90% of Schleswig-Holstein’s electricity demands can be met by the nuclear plant. Brokdorf is due to be decommissioned in 2021 as part of Germany’s divorce from atom smashing.
The operator’s own investigation suggested that the material sheathing the fuel rods could have contributed to the oxidisation problem. But the supervisory body’s report dismissed these findings. The German Greens’ nuclear policy spokesperson, Sylvia Kotting-Uhl, warned that Berlin’s environment ministry should share the findings from Brokdorf with the Swiss nuclear authority.
Switzerland’s Leibstadt facility is located on the German border and reportedly has the same problems as its northern German cousin. Kotting-Uhl accused Bern of “closing its eyes and leaving Leibstadt on, even though the problems are not solved”.
The German lawmaker insisted that the Swiss power plant is temporarily switched off “until complete clarity prevails”.
The 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster prompted Germany to announce it will phase out nuclear power by 2022. Berlin has so far shut down eight of its 17 reactors.
As a result, Germany has moved to secure its energy security by prioritising capacity mechanisms, in order to take advantage of its large-scale renewable generation capabilities.
However, in April 2017, the European Commission started an investigation into whether Berlin’s plans to set up an electricity capacity reserve comply with EU state aid rules.
September 14, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
business and costs, Germany, renewable |
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Solar grid keeps harvests high, hospitals lit in parched rural Zimbabwe, by Tonderayi Mukeredzi | Thomson Reuters Foundation, 11 September 2017, With worsening droughts drying fields and hydropower, solar energy is providing a way forward in rural areas MASHABA, – Until recently, farmers in this town in southern Zimbabwe struggled to water their crops, frustrated by poor rainfall and the regular breakdown of the diesel engines that powered their irrigation systems.
As in most areas of rural Zimbabwe, rain-fed agriculture provides most of the jobs in this part of Gwanda district, some 130km (80 miles) southeast of Bulawayo.
But sparse rains over the last decade, a worsening problem associated with climate change, have caused many harvests to fail, and cut into the country’s generation of hydropower, which provides much of its electricity.
In Mashaba, however, the community’s luck is turning. In 2015, the town installed a solar mini-grid power station that has helped green the hot, arid area transform into a hive of entrepreneurial activity. The off-grid power system, with 400 solar panels that provide nearly 100 kilowatts of reliable power, has made it possible to effectively irrigate crops, boosting farming yields and fuelling economic growth. Local leaders say schools have become more productive and medical facilities safer.
The $3.2 million mini-grid was funded by the European Union, the OPEC Fund for International Development and the Global Environment Facility as part of a drive to promote universal access to modern energy in rural areas. Its construction was overseen by Practical Action Southern Africa, a development charity.
The plant powers the Mankonkoni and Rustlers Gorge irrigation schemes, which cover 32 hectares (79 acres) and 42 hectares (104 acres) respectively; the Mashaba Primary School; a business centre with three shops; the Mashaba Clinic; and the Masendani Business Centre, which has four shops and an energy kiosk.
A board of trustees selected by the community is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the mini-grid, and community members have been trained to maintain and operate it.
The mini-grid will be co-owned by an independent power producer and the community through the trust…….http://news.trust.org/item/20170911111952-ei8xq/
September 14, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
AFRICA, renewable |
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Hinkley nuclear power is being priced out by renewables https://www.theguardian.com/environment/nils-pratley-on-finance/2017/sep/11/hinkley-nuclear-power-no-match-for-renewables, Nils Pratley
The UK should concentrate on wind- and gas-fired stations, and involve nuclear only if it can vaguely compete on price Reuters 12 September 2017
Hinkley Point C nuclear power station was conceived in the days when offshore wind cost £150 per megawatt hour and a few misguided souls, some of them government ministers, thought a barrel of oil was heading towards $200.
Successive governments swallowed the line that Hinkley represented a plausible answer to the UK’s threefold energy conundrum – keeping the lights on, reducing carbon emissions and producing the juice at affordable prices for consumers and business.
Hinkley still scores on reliability and low carbon (if one ignores the effect of spoiling the Somerset countryside with so much concrete), but the extent to which its costs are obscene is now plainer than ever. In Monday’s capacity auction, two big offshore wind farms came in at £57.50 per megawatt hour and a third at £74.75. These “strike prices” – a guaranteed price for the electricity generated – are expressed in 2012 figures, as is Hinkley’s £92.50 so the comparison is fair.
The dramatic improvement in offshore wind’s competitiveness is easy to explain because it was predicted. The turbines have become bigger and more efficient, installation costs have fallen and operators are able to use existing infrastructure. Even the post-Brexit fall in sterling has not altered the script because more of the equipment is produced in the UK these days.
By contrast, nuclear – a technology that has been around for half a century – seems to only become more expensive in a world of tighter safety regulation. Hinkley Point’s construction tripled between conception and contract, remember.
As for the argument that we must pay up for reliable baseload supplies, there ought to be limits to how far it can be pushed. A nuclear premium of some level might be justified, but Hinkley lives in a financial world of its own, even before battery technology (possibly) shifts the economics further in favour of renewables. A credible energy strategy would concentrate on wind- and gas-fired stations, and invite nuclear to the game only if it can vaguely compete on price.
The government should draw the obvious conclusion from Monday’s successful auction. One Hinkley is bad enough; a series of follow-on white elephants would be a disgrace.
September 13, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
renewable, UK |
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Solar Energy Capacity Could Outpace Nuclear by the End of Year https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/solar-power-more-energy-than-nuclear-power/ Solar is still marginal in terms of how much it actually powers. By Joe McCarthy , 10 Sept 17, From giant floating farms to solo rooftop installations, solar power is growing in both scale and potential each year.
September 11, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
2 WORLD, renewable |
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Why Nuclear Energy May Not Be Our Best Alternative Option To Fossil Fuel, Forbes, 9 Sept 17 , Michael Barnard, low-carbon innovation analyst, on Quora: “…..Nuclear ….environmentalists aren’t nuclear power’s problem.
Its first problem is that it keeps getting more expensive while alternatives keep getting cheaper. It was in global decline in terms of absolute and relative generation since 2005, with a small uptick last year due to China’s deployment. That’s because it’s expensive compared to alternatives. Until recently it was fiscally challenged by natural gas generation. A handful of years ago it stopped being competitive with onshore wind. Now it’s not cost competitive with utility scale solar. Depending on the forecast, it’s either not competitive with offshore wind today or in the next two years.
Efforts to make nuclear cheaper, like CCS, have failed. The Toshiba Westinghouse AP1000 was supposed to be a standard, easy to build, cheaper option. It’s turned out to be incredibly expensive in reality and Toshiba Westinghouse has entered bankruptcy. A recent US report on next generation fission technologies found that roughly $2 billion had been spent with no progress. Fusion’s best hope is the ITER Tokamak which is expected to go live in prototype with no generation in 2040, meaning that if it works, some commercializable technology might be contributing by 2070.
The second problem is that nuclear is an inflexible form of generation. Some of that is the technology, but regardless of that, the business case requires about 90% capacity factor for nuclear in order to make money due to the extraordinary capital cost of the technology. That’s just the reality. And inflexible generation doesn’t work with intermittent renewables. If you can’t scale the various technologies up and down cost effectively, then there’s a problem. Ontario has been a bellwether in this regard with its surplus baseload generation problems of the past few years. While people tried to blame this on wind energy, what’s really happening is that the nuclear fleet is too big and can’t be turned off, so Ontario has been paying neighbouring jurisdictions to take the excess electricity. California built a lot of pumped storage to give nuclear something to do at night. France built expensive follow-the-load nuclear which basically wastes all of the generated heat without generating electricity. As France’s new President Macron has said, he used to run that ministry and even he doesn’t know how much they spent on nuclear or how much it costs.
The third problem is that nuclear is a geographically limited solution to a global problem. There are only 30 countries with nuclear today and we mostly don’t want to expand that number for reasonable geopolitical concerns related to radioactive material supply chain security, nuclear waste security and expansion of uranium enrichment technologies which happen in many cases to be useful directly for creating nuclear weapon’s grade uranium or masking the purchase of that enrichment technology. Dirty bombs anyone? A new nuclear bomb owning dictator anyone?……
Nuclear power is a 1970’s solution and hasn’t aged well. It hasn’t become cheaper, more flexible or more ubiquitous and it won’t. It’s failing in the marketplace, not due to environmentalists. …… Should we pay much attention to expanding nuclear? No. Why bother wasting breath on something that doesn’t have a business case…….
Renewables are the answer because they are massively scalable, cheap and solving the problems of renewables is easier than solving the problems of nuclear that is down the road.
The big kerfuffle recently about whether we can get to 100% renewables by 2050 or not was very interesting for one reason. Everyone involved agreed we could easily get to 80%. The question was how hard the last 20% would be.
But getting to 80% globally is a huge advance and is much cheaper to achieve than trying to ride the dead horses of nuclear and carbon capture on fossil fuels. We have to find ways to take carbon out of the atmosphere, likely soil carbon capture with global transformation of agricultural approaches, but it can’t be considered a successful part of the solution to get our emissions to zero. https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/09/09/why-nuclear-energy-may-not-be-our-best-alternative-option-to-fossil-fuel/#25ec6e8375d0
September 11, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
2 WORLD, ENERGY |
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Energy Post 5th Sept 2017, Global energy demand will plateau from 2030, oil demand will flatten from
2020 to 2028 and go to a significant decline thereafter, the shift to
renewable energy will be quicker and more massive than most people realize,
yet the energy transition will not be difficult to finance.
These are some of the momentous conclusions of a set of major new reports from independent
energy consultancy DNV GL, under the name Energy Transition Outlook (ETO).
They are based on an independent model and output from hundreds of the
company’s experts who work in all sectors of the energy industry.
Energy Post spoke with project leader Sverre Alvik and lead author of the
renewable energy section of the report, Paul Gardner. They agree:
“changes are coming so fast they will surprise many people.” Alvik says
“we have a more optimistic view on the continued cost reduction potential
of solar and wind power and on improvements in energy intensity than many
of the reference scenarios used in the industry.” Alvik notes that “the
growing electrification in combination with the growth of renewables will
make the energy system more energy efficient, leading to important energy
savings.”
“It is possible to build a secure system with a very high
level of renewable energy”, says Gardner. “But in our projections we
don’t quite get to 100%. We see quite a bit of ‘peaking’ gas
generation to go with renewables by 2050. We have a lot of wind, a lot of
solar and a lot of gas plant that spends a lot of time doing nothing. Even
when we include the backup costs for the gas-fired power, this still looks
attractive.”
Gardner does add there is one thing that the model does not
yet take into account, namely the effect that temporary surpluses of wind
and solar power will have on the economics of renewables. “We have not
yet shown what the impact is of that.” However, he says, “we will also
need to decarbonize heat, so it makes sense to store the surplus renewable
energy, for example to heat water with it or to convert it into gas, to be
used for heating. It is not yet clear what the most economic route will
be.”
http://energypost.eu/dnv-gls-energy-transition-outlook-for-the-first-time-in-history-energy-demand-will-peak/
September 11, 2017
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2 WORLD, ENERGY |
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UK offshore wind power subsidy set to undercut nuclear, Ft.com , Campaigners for renewable energy say this is a key moment for the industry by: Nathalie Thomas and Andrew Ward , Sept 8 17 The results of an energy subsidy auction held by the government will prove offshore wind farms are a much cheaper way to meet the UK’s future electricity needs than contentious nuclear projects such as Hinkley Point, supporters of renewable technology have claimed.
The latest auction results, to be published on Monday, are expected to show a dramatic fall of as much as nearly 50 per cent in the minimum electricity price that is guaranteed by the government to offshore wind farm developers compared with the last similar subsidy round in 2015. They are also expected to show a substantial discount on the £92.50 per megawatt hour “strike price” guaranteed by the government to the French and Chinese companies behind the Hinkley Point nuclear plant in Somerset during its first 35 years of operation. The Hinkley price, which was set in 2012, rises with inflation and is now worth closer to £100/MWh. The latest subsidy auction was aimed by the government at “less established technologies” including offshore wind and energy derived from tidal currents.
Successful offshore wind projects are expected to be guaranteed electricity prices in a range of £60 to £75/MWh for 15 years linked to inflation, according to Cornwall Insight, a consultancy. This compares with the average £117.14/MWh awarded to offshore projects in the last auction in 2015. Offshore wind farm developers are seeking much lower subsidies after their costs tumbled, reflecting how the industry has matured and learnt how to construct projects more cheaply.
“This expected reduction in the price of power from offshore wind will mark a huge moment for the UK energy sector,” said Hannah Martin, head of energy at Greenpeace UK. Jonathan Cole, managing director for offshore wind at ScottishPower Renewables, said: “These ongoing cost reductions show that offshore wind is in pole position to be the foremost low carbon power source.” The low auction prices for offshore wind will be seized on by critics of nuclear power, who argue it is too expensive to compete in a world of cheap renewable energy…….
https://www.ft.com/content/77563334-9484-11e7-a9e6-11d2f0ebb7f0
September 9, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
renewable, UK |
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No2NuclearPower 5th Sept 2017, Steve Thomas, Emeritus Professor of Energy Policy at the University of Greenwich, says many of the issues that arise with Hinkley Point C (HPC)
that might derail it apply equally to the whole Government programme.
He says we are probably at the point where we are looking at a public spending
disaster. Financing HPC will stretch EDF Energy to the limit and maybe
beyond.
He thinks there is no possibility of Sizewell C being built on the
timetable that the Government is looking at. He says we are in a surreal
situation where we are planning the two largest construction projects ever
built on UK soil – HPC and Moorside – and we are contemplating buying
the equipment from bankrupt and disgraced companies using technologies that
have abjectly failed wherever they have been built.
None of the three consortia (excluding Bradwell which is further off in the future) are
financeable in their present state. Here we look at the evidence presented
by Steve Thomas and others which questions whether any of these projects
will ever be successfully completed. On the other hand continuing with
these projects will seriously damage renewable and energy efficiency
programmes and delay real action to combat climate change. http://www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/recent-additions/uk-nuclear-policies-recent-changes-and-likely-developments/
September 9, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
business and costs, ENERGY, politics, UK |
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Solar farm may spell end for China’s plan to build nuclear plant on North Korea’s border
Renewable development on site earmarked for reactors raises speculation the authorities have gone cold on the idea, SCMP, Stephen Chen Thursday, 31 August, 2017 China has set up a solar farm near the North Korean border on a site previously earmarked for a nuclear power plant, in an apparent sign that the authorities have abandoned plans to build a reactor.
The Baishan solar farm in Jingyu county, Jilin province was recently connected to the local power grid after a three-month construction period plagued with problems.
A farmer living near Baishan reservoir said solar panels had been put up over the past few months and now covered half of a large swathe of elevated land by the lake’s west bank.
The solar plant can generate up to 10 megawatts of power, provincial newspaper Jilin Daily reported in July…….
Authorities had earlier acquired the area south of Gangding village, which was once used for cultivating corn and beans, to build the Jingyu nuclear power station, according to the county government website.
The planned power plant was one of two Chinese nuclear projects proposed near the North Korean border.
Ground-clearing work on the site, meant to house four AP1000 nuclear reactors, was completed in 2013.
The reactors, if built, would have been situated less than 100km north of Chunggang, a North Korean county bordering China across the Yalu river.
Chunggang is home to an intermediate-range ballistic missile base targeting the US military base on the Japanese island of Okinawa, according to globalsecurity.org.
In the border city of Dandong in Liaoning province, construction of the Donggang nuclear power plant has also been put on hold, according to Chinese media reports……..http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2109018/solar-farm-may-spell-end-chinas-plan-build-nuclear-plant-north
September 2, 2017
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China, renewable |
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China’s amazing green shift to solar, wind and water power, REneweconomy, [good graphs] By John Mathews on 1 September 2017 Global Green Shift
China’s energy-related agencies, the National Energy Administration (NEA) and the China Electricity Council (CEC), have released data on the operation of China’s electric power system in the first half of 2017 (1H 2017), noting that renewable sources (water, wind and sun) accounted for just on 69.8% of new capacity added, with thermal sources (mainly coal) accounting for 28%, and nuclear for just on 2% (Fig. 1).
These results reveal a marked shift towards green sources of electric power, when compared with the 2016 data which show that renewable sources (WWS) added 51.9% of new capacity, while thermal accounted for 42.9% and nuclear for 5.2%.
The first half results for 2017 thus reveal that the electric power system is continuing its green shift, edging closer to placing more reliance on WWS sources at the margin, with WWS sources increasing their influence and thermal sources declining in proportion.
The trends therefore continue those analyzed previously by Dr Hao Tan and myself (http://apjjf.org/2017/10/Mathews.html)……..
When we turn to examine new capacity additions and investments in WWS sources in 2017 (1H) we see that the green shift continues to operate at a level that far exceeds what is found elsewhere in the world.
Solar
The 23.6 GW new solar PV capacity added in 2017 (1H) is another world record for China, taking the cumulative installed capacity to 101 GW by end of June 2017 (and to 112.3 GW by July 2017– which is already above the (conservative) target of 105 GW set for 2020 by the ND&RC in its 13th FYP for energy).
Some observers like the AECEA see China’s solar PV installations as likely to top 40 GW in 2017 for the full year (https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/08/22/aecea-china-installations-to-surpass-40-gw-in-2017).
The AECEA sees the 2020 cumulative total for China as likely to reach 230 GW, which would dominate the global picture.
Now the NEA in China in August has acted to raise the target for solar PV in China by 2020, setting a new target of 213 GW – or a doubling of the previous target total, which is already five times the current installed capacity in the US (https://www.ecowatch.com/china-solar-target-2476947208.html)……
Wind
The 6.0 GW new capacity added for wind in China for 2017 (1H) – or 1 GW per month (equivalent to 400 new turbines built and erected, rated at 2.5 MW each).
This is a 4.7% increase on the pro rata figure for 2016, which saw wind capacity additions reaching 17.3 GW, and the cumulative total reaching 154.6 GW, easily the largest in the world.
According to Greenpeace, China is on track to install 110 GW onshore wind capacity by 2020 – raising cumulative wind capacity to 259 GW, well in excess of the 210 GW target set for the end of the 13th FYP period in 2020……..http://reneweconomy.com.au/chinas-amazing-green-shift-solar-wind-water-power-57490/
September 2, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
China, renewable |
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Power company kills nuclear plant, plans $6 billion in solar, battery investment
Duke Energy Florida is just the latest utility to walk away from nuclear. Ars Technica MEGAN GEUSS – 8/31/2017, On Tuesday, power provider Duke Energy Florida announced a settlement with the state’s public service commission (PSC) to cease plans to build a nuclear plant in western Florida. The utility
INSTEAD INTENDS TO INVEST $6 BILLION
in solar panels, grid-tied batteries, grid modernization projects, and electric vehicle charging areas. The new plan involves the installation of 700MW of solar capacity over four years in the western Florida area.There’s excitement from the solar industry, but the announcement is more bad news for the nuclear industry. Earlier this year, nuclear reactor company Westinghouse declared bankruptcyas construction of its new AP1000 reactors suffered from contractor issues and a stringent regulatory environment. Two plants whose construction was already underway—the Summer plant in South Carolina and the Vogtle plant in Georgia—found their futures in question immediately.
At the moment, Summer’s owners are considering abandoning the plant, and Vogtle’s owners are weighing whether they will do the same or attempt to salvage the project.
Duke Energy Florida hadn’t started building the Levy nuclear plant, but it did have plans to order two AP1000 reactors from Westinghouse. Now that Westinghouse company is in dire financial straits, the Florida utility decided that its money is better spent elsewhere.
Just last week, Duke told its PSC that it would have to increase rates by more than eight percentdue to increased fuel costs. But with the new settlement that directs the utility toward solar and storage, customers will see that rate hike cut to 4.6 percent…….
overall, the changes will save residential customers future nuclear-related rate increases. Those customers will see a cost reduction of $2.50 per megawatt-hour (MWh) “through the removal of unrecovered Levy Nuclear Project costs,” the utility said.
The 700MW of solar won’t exactly cover the nameplate capacity of the Levy plant, which was supposed to deliver 2.2 gigawatts to the region. But the Tampa Bay Times wrote that Duke “is effectively giving up its long-held belief that nuclear power is a key component to its Florida future and, instead, making a dramatic shift toward more solar power.”……https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/08/florida-power-company-exchanging-nuclear-plans-for-solar-plans-cutting-rates/
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September 1, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
business and costs, renewable, USA |
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Rick Perry gets his electricity grid study. The coal and mining industries like it. WP, By Steven Mufson August 24 A much-anticipated Energy Department report on the electricity grid made recommendations for regulatory changes that would bolster coal and nuclear power plants.
The changes, if adopted, would alter the way prices are determined in electricity markets, ease environmental reviews for coal plants and speed the permitting process for a variety of energy sources.
The 187-page report rejects the notion that the coal and nuclear plants that have been forced to shut down over the past 16 years had been closed prematurely, noting that cheap, abundant natural gas had been the main factor — not environmental regulations or renewable energy sources as Republican leaders have contended…..
The Energy Department document carries little weight on its own, and most of its recommendations fall in the turf of other departments and agencies.
But the report has been seen as a test of whether the Trump administration is going to politicize government studies and disregard scientific evidence.
The in-depth look at the state of the grid quickly drew praise from coal and nuclear groups, and sharp rebukes from environmental and solar energy groups.
Among the recommendations is one that suggests that the Environmental Protection Agency ease permitting requirements for new investments at coal-fired plants, a process known as new source review…..
The report also endorsed price changes that would prevent solar and wind energy from providing energy at negative prices, which they can do thanks to federal tax credits.
This hurts other energy suppliers, especially in the nuclear industry, and the recommendation was welcomed.
“We’re very pleased with the top line recommendation for the implementation of long overdue energy market reforms,” said Joe Dominguez, executive vice president of regulatory affairs at Exelon, the nation’s largest nuclear power utility.
The report suggested that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission speed up its permitting process ……
Environmental and renewable industry groups slammed the report for failing to deal with climate change and the drive toward low carbon electricity, and noted that the final report differed from earlier drafts that had been leaked……..https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/2017/08/23/fa4a506a-883e-11e7-a50f-e0d4e6ec070a_story.html?utm_term=.00a738b7bf7a
August 26, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
ENERGY, politics, USA |
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Russia’s Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corp. is exploring an investment in Inox Group’s wind turbine manufacturing business, said two people aware of the development. The Russian government company’s interest in
India’s second largest wind-turbine maker by market share stems from its strategy to gain control over the supply chain, which in turn will help towards reining in costs and offer competitive tariffs in the country’s wind power space.
“Rosatom is exploring this investment given its interest in the Indian wind energy space. It is trying to build a
manufacturing presence. Through its unit JSC OTEK, it already has a partnership with the Netherlands’ wind turbine maker Lagerwey Wind BV,” said a person aware of the development, requesting anonymity.
http://www.livemint.com/Companies/3oXjwYjcSSF7WWiGh0MScN/Russias-Rosatom-eyes-Inoxs-wind-turbine-manufacturing-busi.html
August 26, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
renewable, Russia |
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http://reneweconomy.com.au/small-scale-solar-will-displace-2-billion-us-power-2025/ By Bloomberg New Energy Finance on 23 August 2017 By 2025, over $2 billion worth of U.S. electricity production will change hands from traditional generators to small-scale generation assets.
Worldwide, the small-scale solar photovoltaic capacity operated by homes and businesses is predicted to grow consistently as depicted by Bloomberg New Energy Finance in the New Energy Outlook 2017.
In countries like the U.S. which face stagnant electricity demand growth, the growth in distributed electricity production will take sales from generators in the wholesale markets and regulated power regions.
Australia leads the way in distributed energy, with around 45 per cent of total demand to be delivered by locally sourced distributed power solar, wind and storage, by 2040.
Clients can access the full report here.
August 25, 2017
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2 WORLD, decentralised |
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Independent 23rd Aug 2017, More than 70 per cent of the countries in the world – including the UK, US,China and other major economies – could run entirely on energy created by
wind, water and solar by 2050, according to a roadmap developed by
scientists.
And they pointed out that doing so would not only mean the
world would avoid dangerous global warming, but also prevent millions of
premature deaths a year and create about 24 million more jobs than were
lost.
One of the scientists said the social benefits of following their
roadmap were so “enormous” and essentially cost free that human society
should “accelerate the transition to wind, water and solar as fast as
possible”. Rooftop solar panels and major solar power plants; offshore and
onshore wind turbines; wave, hydroelectric and tidal schemes; and
geothermal energy would also be used to replace fossil fuels to generate
electricity, power vehicles and heat homes.
The UK is about to publish its own Emissions Reduction Plan, which is supposed to set out how Britain willmeet its international commitment in the fight against climate change – to
cut emissions by 57 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030. While the UK has
been making good progress on decarbonising electricity generation, the
transport and domestic heating sectors remain problematic. As part of its
attempts to improve air quality, the Government has announced it will ban
the sale of new fossil fuel-powered vehicles in 2040.
It remains to be seen how radical it will be in encouraging the switch from gas-central heating
to low or zero-carbon methods. Writing in the journal Joule, a team of
researchers led by Professor Mark Jacobson, of Stanford University in the
US, warned the stakes were high. http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/wind-solar-water-power-countries-entirely-powered-2050-renewable-energy-climate-change-fossil-fuels-a7908821.html
August 25, 2017
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2 WORLD, renewable |
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nuclear-news 