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  reprint Japan anticipates that by 2030 clean energy such as solar and hydro will generate slightly more of the nation’s electricity than nuclear power plants . _progress | M replaces _kt75 | mirror. visit: http://progress-m.blogspot.com . ready: 01.07.2015. close ✕ Clean energy sources will supply as much as 24 percent of Japan’s electricity in 15 years, while atomic power will account for as much as 22 percent, according to a draft report from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on what Japan’s electricity mix should look like by 2030. Though the eagerly-awaited report — the result of months of study by a ministry panel debating the electricity mix — continues to see a need for nuclear , the draft proposes a diminished role compared with before the Fukushima disaster of March 2011. Nuclear power accounted for more than a quarter of Japan’s electricity generation before the meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi reactors. Even the 22 percent level is do...

  reprint New analysis from Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and the Indian School of Business shows that, with the appropriate policies, the Budget 2015 target of 60 GW of wind power by 2022 can easily be met with minimal government financial support. In the report, Reaching India’s Renewable Energy Targets Cost-Effectively, CPI found that, in absence of any subsidies, wind power is already cheaper than the total cost of power from a new build imported coal plant, at INR 5.87/kWh for electricity from wind power and INR 6.81/kWh for electricity from imported coal. The comparison with imported coal is key because this is the fuel that additional renewable energy will likely replace, rather than domestic coal or natural gas , which are limited in supply. The analysis also finds that wind power will continue to remain competitive beyond 2022. Because the government has a constrained budget, a cost-effective policy path to achieving its renewable energy targets is crucial. Th...

_NEW: follow the development of the new web-presence wolframscharnhorst.blogspot.com ▶ TOP NEWS : Alpiq starts new business: Dismantling of Nuclear Power PLants. reprint Existing nuclear power plants are extremely valuable societal assets. Shutting them down in the absence of compelling economic or technical reasons is folly. It sometimes feels like this statement is so obvious that it shouldn’t need to be made and yet you don’t have to look far to see governments which appear not to care. subscription : rss-reader index : all reprints here In Europe, Germany and Belgium have implemented arbitrary caps on reactor lifespans as part of their phase-out policies. Green party pressure in Sweden may yet result in tax hikes which make the ongoing operation of nuclear plants there next to impossible. In Spain the Garoña plant closed due to the impact of a new tax law (the government is now in fact seeking to resurrect the plant...

_NEW: follow the development of the new web-presence wolframscharnhorst.blogspot.com reprint East–West nuclear rivalry is back. The Ukraine crisis threatens the nuclear governance . Demand for nuclear energy is growing again after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. A 2014 report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance forecasts a 69 per cent expansion in nuclear capacity worldwide from 345GW in 2012 to 583GW by 2030. Furthermore, the International Energy Agency counts that more than three-quarters of nuclear reactors under construction are in non-OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. China’s domestic appetite for energy accounts for much of this increase, with four to six reactors expected to be built every year for the next five years. Civil nuclear facilities in China incorporate technology from a variety of western suppliers, but Beijing has aggressively negotiated for intellectual property to be shared during the acqui...

_NEW: follow the development of the new web-presence wolframscharnhorst.blogspot.com reprint The global rebirth of nuclear power was meant to be well under way by now, writes Jim Green. But in fact, nuclear's share of world power generation is on a steady long term decline, and new reactors are getting ever harder to build, and finance. The only real growth area is decommissioning , but that too has a problem: where's the money to pay for it? The UK's planned Hinkley C nuclear plant is looking increasingly like a dead duck - or possibly parrot.  As the Financial Times reports today, Parliament's Public Accounts Committee has abandoned plans to examine the 'value of money' Hinkley C offers taxpayers - because no deal has been reached and none is expected before the general election in May. In other words, all that bullish talk about Hinkley C launching Britain's ' nuclear renaissance ' has melted away like a spring...

-- a _kt75 | reprint Download: Quarterly Notes on Sustainable Water Management - Q01/2014 In 2012, coal-fired and nuclear power plants together provided 56% of the electricity generated in the United States. The role of these technologies in the U.S. generation mix has been changing since 2009, as both low natural gas prices and slower growth of electricity demand have altered their competitiveness relative to other fuels. Many coal-fired plants also must comply with requirements of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) and other environmental regulations. Some of the challenges faced by coal-fired and nuclear generators, and the implications for electricity markets if the plants are retired in significant numbers, are analyzed in this discussion. Of the total installed 310 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired generating capacity available at the end of 2012, 50 GW, or 16%, is projected to be retired by 2020 in the AEO2014 Reference case. Despite those projec...

-- a _kt75 | reprint Beijing brings forward deadline for world's first thorium-fuelled facility in attempt to break reliance on fossil fuels. China is developing a new design of nuclear power plant in an attempt to reduce its reliance on coal and to cut air pollution. In an effort to reduce the number of coal-fired plants, the Chinese government has brought forward by 15 years the deadline to develop a nuclear power plant using the radioactive element thorium instead of uranium. A team of researchers in Shanghai has now been told it has 10 instead of 25 years to develop the world's first such plant. "In the past, the government was interested in nuclear power because of the energy shortage . Now, they are more interested because of smog," Professor Li Zhong, a scientist working on the project, told the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. An advanced research centre was set up in January by the Chinese Academy of Sciences with the...

-- a _kt75 | reprint Download the Quarterly Notes on Sustainable Water Management - Q04/2013 Submit your Abstract for the next issue of the Quarterly Notes Scientists in Shanghai are attempting a breakthrough in nuclear energy: reactors powered by thorium, an alternative to uranium. The project is run by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a government body with close military ties that coordinates the country's science-and-technology strategy. The academy has designated thorium as a priority for China's top laboratories. The program has a budget of $350 million. And it's being spearheaded by the influential son of a former Chinese president. But even as China bulks up its military muscle through means ranging from espionage to heavy spending, it is pursuing this aspect of its technology game plan with the blessing - and the help - of the United States. China has enlisted a storied partner for its thorium push: Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The U.S. gove...

-- a _kt75 | reprint   Tweet In the IEO2013 Reference case, world energy consumption increases from 524 quadrillion Btu in 2010 to 630 quadrillion Btu in 2020 and 820 quadrillion Btu in 2040, a 30-year increase of 56 percent. More than 85 percent of the increase in global energy demand from 2010 to 2040 occurs among the developing nations outside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (non-OECD), driven by strong economic growth and expanding populations. In contrast, OECD member countries are, for the most part, already more mature energy consumers, with slower anticipated economic growth and little or no anticipated population growth. Many economic and geopolitical circumstances add considerable uncertainty to any long-term assessment of world energy markets. Currently, there is wide variation in the economic performance of different countries and regions around the world. Among the more mature OECD reg...

-- a _kt75 | reprint compilation   Tweet Intro Nuclear Power? Today considered risky, dirty, dangerous - in other words: nuclear power per se cannot be considered sustainable. But imagine the following scenery: i) the danger of nuclear accidents is minimised and if an accident happens, the consequences can be handled in a reasonable way; ii) the issue of nuclear waste is solved, i.e. life cycle of the raw materials (uranium) is closed. - Would, under the above conditions, nuclear power still be considered a non-sustainable energy alternative? A number of articles reflected on this topic and come to the following conclusions: Paper 1 : Nuclear Power is the most practical, sustainable, and environmentally friendly energy generation option available to the United States in the near future. It is “green,”—it does not endanger the environment. It is sustainable—enough fuel to meet U.S. needs for well over a hundred years is readily available. With further te...

-- a _kt75 | note     Tweet Renewable (Alternative) Energy Carriers: Hydro, Solar, Wind Power, etc. Non-Renewable (Conventional) Energy Carriers: Nuclear, Coal, Gas, Oil Power, etc. Pros: Pros: + Zero GHG emissions: true -except in case of water dams- but excludes indirect GHG emissions, e.g. from upstream production/assembly processes + Stable energy supply + Little waste problem: basically true -except in case of solar modules (PV) + Efficient + endless availability: true -but energy generation fluctuates depending upon carrier presence (e.g. calm winds, droughts, sun shine, etc.) + Less costly than renewable energy ... ... Cons: Cons: - Contribution to GHG emissions: water dams -> read more - Seriously impact the climate (global warming, climate change): fossil fuels like coal and gas - Impact on land scape: water dams, wind and solar parks - Serious EoL problem: nuclear waste - Technological immaturity: low efficiency of e.g. solar panels - Non-renewa...

-- a _kt75 | reprint compilation   Tweet news reprint : International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Yukiya Amano said that nuclear power will make a significant and growing contribution to sustainable development in the coming decades. Amano made the comments at the International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power in the 21st Century, which was held between 27 June to 29 June in St. Petersburg. IAEA organized the conference in cooperation with the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and hosted by the Government of the Russian Federation through the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom. About 500 participants, including 38 ministers, representing 89 countries and 7 international organizations attended the conference. Participants in the conference agreed that each country had a responsibility to establish an appropriate and adequate legal framework, and to fulfil its obligations in nuclear ...