Worldwide, for hydroelectric power, 2022 was a very good year. For the U.S., it was nothing special. According to the International Hydropower Association’s “2023 World Hydropower Outlook,” hydro generated 4,408 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2022, up 3.7% over 2021. Installed capacity rose 2.7% to 1,397 GW, an increase of 34 GW, including 10.5 GW of… More World Hydro, 2022 A Very Good Year; U.S. Hydro, Meh
In another pratfall for the 80-year tragicomedy of nuclear waste cleanup at the Department of Energy’s closed Hanford, Wash., nuclear weapons site on the Columbia River, a federal judge has tossed out a $45 billion, 10-15-year cleanup contract during a dispute over the award. The Tri-City Herald reported Tuesday (June 13) that Judge Marian Blank… More Judge Voids Hanford Nuclear Waste Cleanup Contract
Electric power transmission is key to the transition to cleaner generation of electricity, replacing fossil fuels with sun and wind. But the aging U.S grid and legal restrictions on solving territorial bottlenecks are serious roadblocks to moving wind and solar electricity from where it is made most successfully at large scale – mainly the western… More Debt Limit Deal Ducks Electric Transmission Issues
Hydrogen, the initial element; odorless, tasteless, invisible, ubiquitous but unavailable on its own. It’s found only strongly bound to other elements, particularly oxygen. Colorless but colorful. “Black hydrogen” is produced by electrolysis of water from coal-fired generation. “Gray hydrogen” is from reformed natural gas. “Blue hydrogen” is produced from gas, with CO2 captured and stored.… More Constellation: Pink Hydrogen on Hold
Green gear is often heavy, expensive, and favored by the well-to-do. Often loved by liberals and distained by conservatives. Sometimes virtue signaling. The average electric vehicle sold in the U.S. in 2022 cost $66,000, according to Kelley Blue Book. GM says it can’t turn a profit on EVs with a price under $40,000. For a… More EVs, Solar Roofs, Induction Stoves, Heat Pumps: Elitist Electricity or Proletarian Power?
It’s annual June “Hurricane Season” prediction time, and the hoopla accompanying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) regular look at a common weather phenomenon has become more predictable than the storms: greater death and destruction driven by a changing climate. Here are some of the headlines: Axios: Climate change to make for threatening hurricane… More Commentary: It Helps to Be a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Climate Goes
IEA: Coal Demand Grows While worldwide investment in “clean” energy – solar, wind, hydro, and by some definitions, nuclear – is growing faster than dollars spent on fossil fuels, according to the International Energy Agency’s “World Energy Investment 2023”, coal is far from down and out. The IEA report noted, “Global coal demand reached an… More Coal Collection: Dusky Diamonds’ Death Greatly Exaggerated
European energy policy is a mess, more about appearance than performance, according to a new study from a regional educational institution. James Woudhuysen, a visiting professor at London South Bank University, argues in a paper for MCC Brussels that the European Union’s “focus on the dogma of environmentalism has seriously distracted it from the foundational… More EU Energy: Appearance over Performance?
Work has begun on the largest hydroelectric dam removal project in U.S. history, with construction crews upgrading access roads for heavy equipment to reach the four Lower Klamath Project dams on the Klamath River in southern Oregon and northern California. “The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved this project — the largest dam removal in American… More Klamath River Dams Removal Begins
New Mexico Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham at a Politico energy meeting warned the Biden administration last week she will use “every tool” she has available to prevent a high-level nuclear waste site in the Land of Enchantment. She may get some help from the local oil and gas industry, whose practices have raised the… More Seismic Challenge to Holtec’s N.M. Nuke Waste Site?