mspohr
Well-Known Member
Fossil fuel firms ‘have humanity by the throat’, says UN head in blistering attack
António Guterres compares climate inaction to tobacco firms dismissing links between smoking and cancer
www.theguardian.com
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Prediction: Coal has fallen. Nuclear is next then Oil.
- Thread starter nwdiver
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- Energy Environment Policy
www.theguardian.com
mspohr
Well-Known Member
Nuclear dying in France
French Nuclear Power Crisis Frustrates Europe’s Push to Quit Russian Energy French Nuclear Power Crisis Frustrates Europe’s Push to Quit Russian Energy
But the industry has tumbled into an unprecedented power crisis as EDF confronts troubles ranging from the mysterious emergence of stress corrosion inside nuclear plants to a hotter climate that is making it harder to cool the aging reactors.
But the few new nuclear reactors that EDF has built have been dogged by huge cost overruns and delays. An EDF-made pressurized water reactor at Hinkley Point, in southwest England, won’t start operating until 2027 — four years behind schedule and too late to help Britain’s swift turn from Russian oil and gas. Finland’s newest EDF nuclear power plant, which started operating last month, was supposed to be completed in 2009.
French Nuclear Power Crisis Frustrates Europe’s Push to Quit Russian Energy French Nuclear Power Crisis Frustrates Europe’s Push to Quit Russian Energy
But the industry has tumbled into an unprecedented power crisis as EDF confronts troubles ranging from the mysterious emergence of stress corrosion inside nuclear plants to a hotter climate that is making it harder to cool the aging reactors.
But the few new nuclear reactors that EDF has built have been dogged by huge cost overruns and delays. An EDF-made pressurized water reactor at Hinkley Point, in southwest England, won’t start operating until 2027 — four years behind schedule and too late to help Britain’s swift turn from Russian oil and gas. Finland’s newest EDF nuclear power plant, which started operating last month, was supposed to be completed in 2009.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
No miracle tech needed: How to switch to renewables now and lower costs doing it
A new system could result in a 63 percent lower annual energy cost worldwide.
thehill.com
The world is experiencing unprecedented fuel price increases, energy blackmail between countries, up to 7 million air pollution deaths per year worldwide and one climate-related disaster after another. Critics contend that a switch to renewable energy to solve these problems will create unstable electricity grids and drive prices up further. However, a new study from my research group at Stanford University concludes that these problems can be solved in each of the 145 countries we examined — without blackouts and at low cost using almost all existing technologies.
The study concludes that we do not need miracle technologies to solve these problems. By electrifying all energy sectors; producing electricity from clean, renewable sources; creating heat, cold, and hydrogen from such electricity; storing electricity, heat, cold and the hydrogen; expanding transmission; and shifting the time of some electricity use, we can create safe, cheap and reliable energy everywhere.
Oil prices post a loss for the month, but log strong first-half gains
Oil futures fell on Thursday, as a weekly increase in U.S. gasoline and distillate supplies raise worries over the demand outlook and major oil producers...
www.marketwatch.com
Demand destruction... esp as the commercial sector starts to adopt EVs. With V1G, utilities can ensure they do not need to curtail renewable production and we can use even less fossil fuel... more demand destruction.
California budget passes, with no gas tax holiday, except for diesel:
calmatters.org
California budget approved: What to know about record spending plan
Gov. Newsom and legislative leaders agree to a record California budget that includes another round of tax rebates.
calmatters.org
mspohr
Well-Known Member
I doubt that the 3 cent tax rise will have any effect on individual budgets. (Though it may give gas stations license to increase prices by more than that.)California budget passes, with no gas tax holiday, except for diesel:
California budget approved: What to know about record spending plan
Gov. Newsom and legislative leaders agree to a record California budget that includes another round of tax rebates.
OTOH, The direct payments (up to $1050) to individual families will have a significant impact.
Also:
To reach Californians who do not file taxes, the state will also increase Supplemental Social Security grants by about $39 per month for individuals and $100 for couples, while welfare grants through CalWORKs will increase by an additional 10 percent for the next two years.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
All columns show year to date numbers through late June. So the trend is down the last few years and not likely ever to start rising again
RT
Switzerland’s 20 million kWh ‘water battery’ is now operational - Interesting Engineering
It is the equivalent of 400,000 electric car batteries.
interestingengineering.com
mspohr
Well-Known Member
How the gas industry aims to rebrand as ‘clean’ energy to appeal to Black and Latino voters
Its focus: convince younger, liberal and non-white audiences that gas is a “clean” energy solution. “If we replace coal with renewables partnered with natural gas,” a Black actor in a white lab coat says in one digital advertisement, “[the result will be] reliable, affordable energy for all Americans.” She ends by saying, “Natural gas: accelerating the world’s clean energy future.” Versions of that advertisement were seen more than a million times across Facebook and Instagram from February to May 2022, according to public data. The ads are part of a larger public opinion and influence effort being led by Natural Allies, which has grown from a nascent pilot campaign to a fully fledged industry group with a two-year, $10m budget.
Its focus: convince younger, liberal and non-white audiences that gas is a “clean” energy solution. “If we replace coal with renewables partnered with natural gas,” a Black actor in a white lab coat says in one digital advertisement, “[the result will be] reliable, affordable energy for all Americans.” She ends by saying, “Natural gas: accelerating the world’s clean energy future.” Versions of that advertisement were seen more than a million times across Facebook and Instagram from February to May 2022, according to public data. The ads are part of a larger public opinion and influence effort being led by Natural Allies, which has grown from a nascent pilot campaign to a fully fledged industry group with a two-year, $10m budget.
10-15 years ago, I was convinced that gas was a decent alternative to coal.
But today - it's clear that solar, wind, batteries and long distance, high capacity transmission lines are the way to go.
I guess this is why Japan had always been reluctant to give up gas: The World’s Third-Largest Economy Is Facing A Looming Energy Crisis | OilPrice.com
All that access to offshore wind and they always thought renewable energy was a pipe dream for them. Very poor executive planning on their part.
Edit:. Not to mention all those onsens!!
All that access to offshore wind and they always thought renewable energy was a pipe dream for them. Very poor executive planning on their part.
Edit:. Not to mention all those onsens!!
Japan needs floating turbine technology to mature. It doesn't have much shallow continental shelf.
Certainly, they could do some geothermal (23GW) but in general the geothermal hot spots have been tourist areas where they have onsen.
Of course, for the past few years, they haven't had many tourists, so now would be the time!
Islands are better off with underwater turbines. It's more consistent and water is more dense, so more energy.
Ah! I just remembered! Didn't they build an entire airport island out in the sea? I think they have access to more offshore wind capacity than they'll admit. Let's see if the Akita Noshiro wind farm grows bigger than its planned 140MW capacity: Japan's first offshore wind farm installs its first turbine
Yes, they did build an airport on reclaimed land. It was extremely expensive and it's having problems with it sinking and sinking unevenly.
I can't imagine they're particularly enthusiastic about building an extremely, tall, thin structure on top of reclaimed land.
Floating hasn't been done at large scale yet. It's not so much having floating (tethered) turbines that's the challenge, it's that they have to be able to build, maintain and disassemble them and that's difficult in deep water.
It's only recently that fixed-base offshore wind became economical, so it's not surprising that floating is lagging, but fortunately, the rewards of solving the problem are high, so floating is a problem being actively worked on more now.
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