Posts Tagged ‘coal power’

January 24 Energy News

January 24, 2013

Science, Technology, and Economy:

¶   Nobel laureate Dr. John Byrne challenged nuclear power as a source of sustainable energy. [TwoCircles.net]

World:

¶   Asked about the future of farming in the UK, 42% of farmers and landowners expressed concerns, but 95 per cent believe that renewable energy will play a vital role in the future of farming in the UK. [SourceWire]

¶   A new proposal would have giant wind turbines in central Ireland providing power to the UK. [BBC News]

¶   The European parliament is criticizing Bulgaria, Lithuania, and Slovakia for failing to provide properly for decommissioning nuclear power plants, thereby putting European citizens at risk. [Balkans.com Business News]

¶   The two reactors at the Ohi nuclear power plant in Japan are facing shutdown for maintenance and safety checks. They are the only operating reactors in Japan, and it is not known when, or even whether, they will restart. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   Duke Energy has installed the largest battery storage system in North America at a windpower complex in Texas. [Power Engineering Magazine]

¶   A freak snowstorm in South-western Pennsylvania was produced by the Beaver Valley nuclear plant. [Washington Post]

¶   Two coal-burning generating plants are going offline in Nova Scotia. [CBC.ca]
… And five more coal-burning generating plants belonging to MidAmerican Energy are going offline or converting to other fuel sources in Iowa by 2016. [Power Engineering Magazine]

¶   Green Mountain Power, National Life Group, and Green Lantern Capital partnered to put up four new solar projects in Vermont. Tracking mounts were provided by AllEarth Renewables. [Solar Industry]

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December 8 Energy News

December 8, 2012

Japan:

¶   The Japanese government set up a panel to monitor the Nuclear Regulation Agency and other administrative bodies for assurance that they are following the recommendations made by Diet committees that investigated the causes of the Fukushima Disaster. [The Japan Times]

World:

¶   Saudis are planning to export electrical power generated in their solar farms to Europe and Egypt. [Zawya]

¶   Scientists studying ice cores from Greenland can find a history of the fuels of the industrial revolution in them. [LiveScience.com]

US:

¶   An Atomic Safety and Licensing Board ordered owners of the San Onofre nuclear plant to hand over documents withheld when the company submitted a plan to restart one of its damaged reactors. [Thegardenisland.com]

¶   Scientists conducted what is described as a sub-critical nuclear test, in which high explosives were detonated around plutonium. The purpose was to test the effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear weapons. This was the 27th in a series of such tests since 1997. [The Republic]

¶   Advocates for industries that receive tax benefits for renewable energy are pressing lawmakers continue them, because they are due to expire this month. Supporters of wind power have been particularly active. [The Coloradoan]

¶   An old US Navy training area on an island in San Francisco Bay is being transferred to the city, but there is disturbing news about the amount of radiation from nuclear contamination on the island and the fact that residents of nearby poor neighborhoods may have been exposed. [The Bay Citizen]

¶   NRG Energy has abandoned plans for an 800 megawatt coal-fired electric plant between Houston and Dallas, saying the economics of the plant are poor. [FuelFix]

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October 5 Energy News

October 5, 2012

Japan:

¶   It seems no one in Japan wants to take responsibility for deciding on reactor restarts. The Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary says that the new Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has the ultimate responsibility. The NRA has said it will only decide on matters of science, and not make decisions about whether reactors should restart. [The Japan Times]

¶   The Ampere Down movement is gaining supporters in Japan. People are replacing circuit breakers with new ones rated for fewer amps, and living within the resulting limitations. Electricity bills go down as power is saved. Also, more Japanese are choosing to live off the grid. [The Japan Daily Press]

World:

¶    The EU’s report on the results of stress tests has issued, and as expected, says practically all nuclear plants are in need of safety upgrades. [Telegraph.co.uk]
… The EU’s energy commissioner says nuclear operators should have to buy liability insurance to cover damages from accidents, just like everyone else. [Financial Times]

¶   Developing wind resources in Ireland could produce 30,000 jobs and €18 billion in revenues for the state by 2020. [Irish Examiner]

US:

¶   Southern California Edison is proposing to run San Onofre Unit 2, the less damaged of the two reactors, at 70% power. [Wall Street Journal]
… The NRC says the review needed to restart San Onofre will take months. [Reuters]
… Unit 3 will remain offline for at least until next summer. [Los Angeles Times]
…Workers at San Onofre say they are working in a climate of fear and distrust. [Inside Climate News]

¶   According to the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, 205 coal-fueled generating plants will shut down by 2015 because of environmental regulations. [CoalGuru.com]
(Bear in mind, the cause is the regulations, not the pollution.)

¶   Amid fears that natural gas is spreading through the local aquifer from the area of the Bayou Corne sinkhole, testing is being done on gasses bubbling out of the water farther away, and wells will be drilled, to discover the extent of the problem. [The Advocate]

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September 8 Energy News

September 8, 2012

Japan:

¶   Since the parliament is out of session, Prime Minister Noda will appoint commissioners to the new Nuclear Regulatory Commission without parliamentary review. Some people are not pleased. [The Japan Times]

¶   TEPCO and the government are urged to accept help from the international community to deal with the spent fuel pool of Fukushima Daiichi’s Unit 4. The pool is referred to as a “sleeping dragon,” that could restart the catastrophe at any time. [The Japan Times]

World:

¶   European carbon emissions have declined in the past year. The causes were a mild winter and increased use of renewable energy. [PublicServiceEurope.com]

¶   The Sizewell B reactor, in Suffolk, England, is being examined for cracks similar to those in the Belgian Doel 3 reactor. While Sizewell B was not manufactured by the same company as Doel 3, it has similarities, notably that it is a pressurized water reactor, the only one in the UK.  [East Anglian Daily Times]

¶   A new type of generating plant, intended for coal but flexible enough to burn gas or biofuels, is being touted as an intermediary step to alternative energy in Germany. [Spiegel Online]

US:

¶   The US electric production capacity is negatively affected by the heat and dry weather of the summer. The solution: depend more on sun and wind. [OilPrice.com]

¶   Gas bubbles have been found to be coming up in areas as much as three miles for the sinkhole that appeared  in Corne Bayou on August 3. The source of the bubbles is unknown, and they may be unrelated to those at Corne Bayou. Investigations are underway. [Examiner.com]

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