France is leading a push to put nuclear power at the heart of the EU’s climate plans, exposing a rift in Europe over the future of splitting atoms. A decision is looming in Brussels on whether nuclear energy will be classed as a sustainable fuel, putting it on a menu of climate-friendly options which investors will be encouraged to choose from. Ministers from 10 countries, including nuclear-reliant France, weighed in on one side of the debate this week with a letter to EU leaders that said atomic energy “must be part of the solution”.

National News 16th Oct 2021 read more »

China’s energy crisis threatens lengthy disruption to global supply chain. Factory owners in China and customers around the world say that as President Xi Jinping resolutely separates the world’s second-largest economy from his dependence on coal, he prepares for the turmoil in electricity supply to become a part of his life. It is Months of shortages have cut households in northeastern China and caused power outages at factories nationwide. However, energy demand is still skyrocketing amid record demand for China’s exports, and the winter outlook below freezing will exacerbate the problem. Despite the surge in Central government intervention. Chinese manufacturers and multinationals, led by Prime Minister Li Keqiang, are being called upon to increase the energy efficiency of their factories and accelerate their investment in renewable energy.

FT 17th Oct 2021 read more »

Coal is the main source of power generation in China, but Xi has vowed to change that. The country has been the world’s biggest producer of greenhouse gas emissions for more than a decade now. A year ago, Xi pledged his country’s carbon emissions would peak by 2030, then achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Last month, he announced China would stop building new coal-fired projects overseas in a move that analysts say could be pivotal in tackling global emissions. Ending a dependency on coal at home has proved trickier. Shortly after he took office, Xi began to plan on low-carbon and sustainable development of “resource-based cities”. But since September China has been experiencing its own coal dilemma, with power shortages spread across key regions, causing a ripple effect to the global economy. To tackle the crisis, officials ordered more than 70 mines in Inner Mongolia to increase coal production by almost 100m tonnes early this month. And on 29 September Shanxi promised to supply coal to 14 other regions across China to ensure sufficient energy throughout this winter.

Observer 16th Oct 2021 read more »

President Joe Biden is likely to abandon a clean energy programme that was the centrepiece of his efforts to tackle greenhouse gas emissions at home, US media reported, because of opposition from a swing-vote Democratic senator from a state with a historically large coal industry. Funding to replace coal- and gas-fired plants with wind, solar and nuclear generation was part of a massive budget bill that Biden is struggling to get through Congress. The New York Times reported that White House staff members are now rewriting the legislation without the $150bn clean energy provision, on the expectation that they will not be able to pass the original version because of staunch opposition from the West Virginia senator Joe Manchin.

Observer 16th Oct 2021 read more »

A European Commission (EC) communication that includes a “toolbox” that the EU and its Member States can use to address the immediate impact of high energy prices fails to mention nuclear energy’s contribution, Foratom said. By including nuclear, the EU would have a unique opportunity of limiting its dependence on carbon intensive natural gas imports, thereby reducing its exposure to wholesale price fluctuations and its carbon footprint, the European nuclear trade body added.

World Nuclear News 15th Oct 2021 read more »

The European Commission (EC) has urged member states to accelerate solar deployment in order to tackle Europe’s rising electricity prices and has released a ‘toolbox’ to address the short-term impact of prices and strengthen resilience against future shocks. Speaking at a press conference earlier this week (13 October), the EC Energy Commissioner, Kadri Simson, called the current situation in Europe, which has pushed energy prices up to record levels, “exceptional” but urged member states to future proof their countries from further shocks.

PV Tech 15th Oct 2021 read more »

A.Q. Khan: A hero in Pakistan, a nuclear villain elsewhere. The scientist is also accused of enabling some of the world’s most dangerous governments to pursue their own nuclear dreams. Widely considered the “father” of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program, Abdul Qadeer Khan died last week at the age of 85. His efforts made him a national hero in his home country, an icon who made invaluable contributions in the fight to protect Pakistan from its larger neighbor and allow it to stand tall and free on the international stage. For many others, however, Khan was a criminal who enabled nuclear proliferation around the world. A.Q. Khan (as he was commonly known) was a nuclear engineer, who has born in India and emigrated to Pakistan after the bloody partition in 1947 that birthed the two countries. He studied metallurgy and, after doing graduate study in Germany, joined a Dutch company that enriched uranium for a consortium of European nuclear-engineering firms. India’s “peaceful nuclear explosion” in 1974 set off alarm bells in Pakistan, which had a violent territorial dispute with Delhi over control of Jammu and Kashmir, predominately Muslim areas that are part of India but claimed by Pakistan.

Japan Times 15th Oct 2021 read more »

Through a mix of good policies and technical innovation, coal-dependent India has kick-started a solar revolution that the world looks up to and investors are keen to take part in. But after an initial boom, the country’s renewable dream faces a reality check as India comes to grips with the parts of its economy that are harder to decarbonise. Today, India is home to four of the world’s ten biggest solar parks, and has one of the most ambitious solar targets in the world, aiming to achieve 280GW of grid-connected capacity by the end of the decade, as part of a broader 450GW renewable target. If this was the case today, India would be the world’s top solar generator, well above China which currently sits at 204GW of installed capacity.

Wired 15th Oct 2021 read more »

Nuclear: the CGT denounces “a congestion” of rejects from Mox in Orano La Hague. Due to recycling problems at the Marcoule plant, Orano La Hague has to deal with scraps from Mox. A situation denounced by Greenpeace, but under control according to Orano.

La Presse de la Manche 15th Oct 2021 read more »

Following a previously secret decision, the Finnish government will lobby the European Union to declare nuclear power as a sustainable energy source. Wind and solar have been approved as sustainable by the EU, but decisions on gas and nuclear have so far not been made. Even if plants are emission-free, nuclear is currently considered only a low-carbon energy source due to emissions caused by mining and transport. Finland has four nuclear plants, and the fifth is nearing completion after years of postponements because of technical complexities. The future of nuclear energy remains important for the country. Its industry is highly energy-intensive, and Finland has a target of being carbon neutral by 2035. Currently, 30% of Finland’s energy is produced by nuclear energy.

Euractiv 11th Oct 2021 read more »

As Britain prepares to host the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow next month, it is pursuing two contradictory policies that undermine its chances of success. On the one hand, it is seeking a unified global response to the climate crisis with nations agreeing to targets for the reduction of their coal and petroleum emissions. But at the same time, it has joined the US in escalating a new cold war directed at confronting China and Russia at every turn. The two policies have polar opposite objectives in trying to persuade China, responsible for 27 per cent of global carbon emissions, to cut back on building new coal-fuelled power stations, but at the same time demonising China as a pariah state with whom political, commercial and intellectual contacts should be as limited as possible.

Independent 15th Oct 2021 read more »