Climate Crisis
Nuclear not any cheaper, faster or safer
From an article published on Nasdaq: “Nuclear energy takes many years to develop. The median construction time of the nuclear reactors in operation in 2020 was seven years, and the industry has a terrible track record of cost overruns. An MIT team estimated that over five decades of nuclear plant development across 107 plants in the U.S., the…
Read MoreThe Diablo Canyon nuclear plant: assessing the seismic risks of extended operation
By Edwin Lyman, Director of Nuclear Power Safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Read MoreKeeping the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant open is a dangerous waste of effort and money
A business column by Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times.
Read MoreNo need for nukes in Germany
Germany has plenty of sustainable ways to meet the energy emergency caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine, with the emphasis firmly on renewables Even Germany’s nuclear companies, such as RWE, are looking forward to a renewable energy future, rather than backwards at the nuclear past. From Climate Energy Weekly (CLEW): German energy company RWE will…
Read MoreA 100% renewable energy payoff
A new Stanford University study, published in Energy and Environmental Science, shows how 145 countries could attain 100% renewable energy economies within six years. That transition would also create millions more jobs than “business-as-usual” scenarios, the study finds. An excerpt: “The world is undergoing a transition to clean, renewable energy to reduce air pollution, global…
Read More‘Significant harm’
Nuclear power can’t avoid harm to environment despite inclusion under ‘Taxonomy’ The European Parliament has chosen to include nuclear power and gas under the European Commission’s Taxonomy Delegated Act. This effectively — and absurdly — classifies nuclear power and gas as environmentally sustainable economic activities. Inclusion in the Taxonomy theoretically allows nuclear and gas access…
Read MoreEU Parliament “greenwashing” nukes and gas
Sound science and sustainable economics could globally accelerate renewable energy policy to abate the climate crisis. Instead, on July 6, 2022, members of the European Union (EU) Parliament decided to let politics trump science and voted 328 to 278 to reject a resolution that would have blocked nuclear power and natural gas from being included…
Read MoreSierra Club Michigan Chapter letter to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, expressing opposition to Palisades bailout and restart
Half of French reactors not operating
Half of France’s 56 reactors are currently offline and 12 of them are closed due to corrosion problems that are waiting inspection. The corrosion caused cracks in the pipes of a back-up water injection system, a problem French nuclear safety authorities said could take years to fix. France’s nuclear plants delivered just 37 percent of…
Read MoreA German first for offshore wind
From Clean Energy Wire For the first time, offshore wind energy in Germany is being used to stabilise the country’s electricity system in case of grid fluctuations. The offshore wind farm Riffgrund 1, operated by Danish energy company Ørsted, will act as a so-called secondary reserve for the grid, meaning “offshore wind power is just…
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