Going green isn’t going to be a walk in a pristine park. Decarbonizing the world means massive increase in the mining and extraction of minerals like lithium, nickel, and cobalt. It will also mean international tensions, and perhaps elevate the importance in the world of China, as the major processor of the mineral ores. That’s… More Green energy transition blind spots
Don’t look to the oldest non-carbon electric generating technology, and currently the leading green power generation, to make a significant contribution to meeting the global goal of keeping world temperatures from increasing beyond 1.5 degrees. In a new report, the International Hydropower Association (IHA) says waterpower is not on the path to meeting that goal.… More Hydro pessimism about contribution to 1.5 degrees
The most significant impact of this week’s 6-3 Supreme Court ruling in West Virginia v. the Environmental Protection Agency is to doom any international effort to significantly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. That may be bad or good news depending on who you are, or where you live, or for whom you work. But to… More Commentary: 1.5 degrees? 2 degrees? Forget about it
The majority owners of Georgia Power’s troubled Vogtle 3 and 4 nuclear construction venture have sued Georgia Power for some $700 million, claiming that the lead utility on the $30 billion two-unit, 2,200-MW plant has violated a contract designed to limit additional costs being passed to the two public power systems that together own 52.7%.… More Vogtle 3,4 owners sue to freeze their costs
Molten salt reactors appear to be the new big thing in civilian nuclear power. The hype over reactors that feature combining the coolant and the neutron moderator in one salty liquid to produce very high temperatures, and also lend itself to small packages, is everywhere. They will be cheap. They can run on nuclear waste.… More Molten salt reactors: where’s the beef?
By Henry Sokolski With the current crisis in Ukraine, it’s tempting to view Chinese compliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) as an academic indulgence. Giving in to this inclination, however, would be wrong. As dangerous as Russia currently is, China will be more threatening in the long run. As we are learning with Russia’s… More Commentary: arresting Chinese nuclear adventurism
The Tennessee Valley Authority’s newest nuclear power plant is also one of its oldest, and it’s showing its age. TVA’s Watts Bar 2, which came on line six years ago, after construction was mothballed in 1985 during TVA’s nuclear power crisis that shut down the entire fleet, is getting new steam generators. TVA starting building… More TVA replaces steam generators on newest, older plant
The organization that represents the European Union’s major interests in the giant international fusion energy research and engineering project ITER, located in Caderache, France, has seen the firing of a long-time, key manager and upset among the technical and support staff of the multi-billion-dollar project. Fusion for Energy (F4E) has fired its long-time director, Johannes… More Troubled times for big fusion
The giant federal government-owned Tennessee Valley Authority faces its greatest threat in decades, as its largest electric distribution system, the city of Memphis, is looking an outsider, possibly the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, based in Carmel, Ind., to take over and oust TVA. Memphis Light Gas and Water (MLGW) has long chafed at TVA’s iron… More MISO goes after Memphis, TVA’s largest distribution muni
Despite going public a month ago, NuScale Power may have a tough time meeting its planned 2029 target for generating power from its nuclear project in Idaho, according to analysts looking at the company that is now traded on the New York Stock Exchange. NuScale, headquartered in Oregon, had been largely financed by Fluor Corp.,… More NuScale goes public, but will that generate success for its small modular reactors?