Solar survival during Hurricane Ian

While the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Ian in Florida last week lost power, water and communications connections, one community gave us the perfect demonstration of resiliency and survival. Babcock Ranch, located just 12 miles northeast of the now devastated city of Ft. Myers, is a town powered 100% by solar energy. Its 700,000 solar…

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Nuke extensions won’t help Germany

Would not reduce CO2 emissions says ifo Institute From Clean Energy Wire: Calculations by the ifo Institute for Economic Research suggest that postponing the decommissioning of Germany’s three remaining nuclear power plants would not help the climate.  “Extending the operating lives of nuclear power plants in Germany only saves small amounts of natural gas, but will hinder…

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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…

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No 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…

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A 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…

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‘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…

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EU 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…

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