Energies: between wind and atom, a clarification is needed. By noting the protest against wind power, Emmanuel Macron implicitly questions the objective of a sharp decline in nuclear power. If so, the head of state must agree to conduct the debate transparently during the presidential campaign.

Le Monde 30th July 2021 read more »

ASN validates the continuation of the Superphénix reactor dismantling operations following its periodic review.

ASN 28th July 2021 read more »

European Commission approves France’s €30bn renewables incentive program. Paris intends to secure 34 GW of solar, onshore wind and hydroelectric generation capacity by 2026 by offering generators premium payments – determined by competitive reverse-bidding among developers – to top-up the market electricity price.

PV Magazine 29th July 2021 read more »

For Australia’s part, our experience with technology-orientated pathways gives us confidence that with the right investments and partnerships, a prosperous net-zero world is well within our reach. On the ground, our real-world rollout of renewables has made clear to Australian firms and families the immense benefits of investing in clean technology. Because of their embrace of our new energy future, Australia’s emissions are down over 20 per cent on 2005 levels and green technology continues to be taken up at record levels right across our nation.

Telegraph 29th July 2021 read more »

Devastating floods triggered by “record-breaking” rainfall have so far killed at least 99 people and affected more than 13.9 million in central China’s Henan province, according to state media. The disaster – which came hard on the heels of floods in Germany and heatwave in North America – has sparked discussion worldwide. An expert has told Carbon Brief that global warming has exacerbated extreme weather events, “in particular, heavy rainfall and flooding”. Separately, China’s climate envoy has said that the country’s goal of achieving “carbon neutrality” before 2060 refers to the neutralisation of “all greenhouse gases” (GHG), not just carbon dioxide (CO2), local media reported. Carbon Brief understands that this is the first time a Chinese official has publically clarified the scope of the nation’s climate pledge, which was announced by President Xi Jinping last September. Elsewhere, two stories involving China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN), China’s largest state-owned nuclear company, have attracted widespread attention. The Financial Times reported on Monday that the UK government was considering “remov[ing]” the firm from “all future power projects in the UK” following “chilling in relations” between London and Beijing in recent years. The report triggered a wave of media discussion and further political reactions. It came after CGN’s French partner last week indirectly hinted that CGN should consider closing their jointly owned nuclear plant in China amid an investigation.

Carbon Brief 29th July 2021 read more »

China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) has launched a district heating demonstration project at the Qinshan nuclear power plant in Zhejiang Province. The project, in cooperation with the Haiyan County Government, will “provide a nuclear energy solution to solve the heating problem in southern China,” the company said.

World Nuclear News 29th July 2021 read more »

The combination of all renewable energy sources in the United States generated the second largest share of electricity generation in 2020, behind natural gas, a new record for the renewable sector at the same time as coal generation continued its multi-year plunge. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) published new figures on Wednesday as part of it’s ‘Today in Energy’ series, revealing that renewable energy sources generated a record 834 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2020, or about 21% of the country’s total generated electricity.

Renew Economy 29th July 2021 read more »

As one of the US’s windiest states, Wyoming has enormous potential to help power the country’s green revolution, but renewable energy in the west has long been dogged by a fundamental problem of transmission. Wind and solar farms tend to be located in remote areas separated from populated cities by hundreds of miles of rugged terrain, a tangle of government regulations and resistance from landowners who don’t want power lines buzzing over their yards. After more than a decade of trying, a corporation that made billions drilling for oil is poised to add a critical piece in the renewable energy puzzle. This month, TransWest Express LLC announced that it had acquired almost all the permits, permissions and partnerships needed to begin seeking customers for a 732-mile high voltage power line that would carry 20,000 GWh of renewable energy a year – roughly three-quarters of the energy needed to power Los Angeles – from southern Wyoming to a distribution hub near Las Vegas where it could tap into the grid that feeds Phoenix and Los Angeles.

Guardian 28th July 2021 read more »