Energy News

Canadian province on track to phase out coal-fired power plants by 2014, replacing them with a mix of nuclear, gas and renewables...

It's all about nuclear. It's about refocusing on nuclear development generally, and specifically in the Southeast. It's a rising cost environment, and we are very anxious to find a way to develop nuclear in terms of being a clean source of energy, and non-carbon emitting.

AUSTRALIA'S use of coal and carbon emissions policies are guaranteeing the "destruction of much of the life on the planet", a leading NASA scientist has written in a letter to Barack Obama. The head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Professor James Hansen, has written an open letter to Barack Obama calling for a moratorium on coal-fired power stations and the use of next-generation nuclear power.

It is time to remind our citizens and our decision makers that they need to better understand the energy situation around the world. Thanks to the 40 years of organized opposition to America's primary sources of energy---fossil, nuclear, and hydro---our nation is headed for energy shortages and the economic troubles that closed plants will certainly bring.

For the past 57 years, BP has published the BP Statistical Review of World Energy. It is updated in June of every year and provides lots of data and perspectives on world energy markets. It includes a survey of reserves, production, prices, consumption and economics for oil, natural gas and coal. It contains additional information for other energy sources such as nuclear and hydroelectricity.

An article on the CNN website explores how carbon dioxide emission "permits" and "credits" can be traded as a commodity by companies in industries such as power generation.

The lights might go out in Virginia in two years. As media reports have noted, blackouts are likely in the commonwealth by 2011 because demand for electricity is outstripping supply and the state needs access to new sources of power.

He will be the first Nobel laureate to serve in a presidential cabinet. By picking Steven Chu - who shared the 1997 prize in physics for his work trapping atoms with lasers - as his candidate for energy secretary, Barack Obama looks to turn the tide on a government bureaucracy that under the Bush Administration often minimized the importance of scientific expertise. While much of the Department of Energy's attention has previously focused on nuclear weapons and waste, Chu, a firm believer in the dangers of climate change, will try to fulfil Obama's promise to create millions of green collar jobs, develop alternative energy options and make the nation more energy independent.

At least nine power companies plan to go on to the next step in the US Department of Energy's application process for federal loan guarantees for new reactors, but two others will not pursue the guarantees now.

The future of green energy in Florida and the fate of your electric bill rest in the state's choice between two words: renewable or clean. Five months of public hearings ended this month, and Florida's utility regulators now must decide whether the state should have "renewable" energy rules or "clean" energy rules. The seemingly insignificant choice of an adjective is actually a billion-dollar decision that will put nuclear power in its place in Florida's energy future.

Climate change concerns, gas price volatility and the need for new baseload generation have resulted in a dramatic revival of interest in nuclear power in the last few years. However, a nuclear renaissance must still overcome many hurdles, including safety and cost issues, a lack of skilled labor and project management inexperience. In addition, regulatory risk is high, owing to an untested licensing process and new technologies.

Leaving the lights on is about to get a lot more expensive for more than 600,000 Central Florida households and businesses. Customers of Progress Energy Inc., the area's largest electric utility, will be jolted by a 25 percent increase in power rates starting in January.

President-elect Barack Obama speaks of the vast potential of renewable energy to provide energy cost relief, create millions of new "green collar" jobs, end our dependence on foreign oil, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions with zero-carbon energy sources. Exactly how we get there from here remains an open question.

Unfortunately the world has been caught in a double bubble deflation - we have to deflate the carbon bubble at the same time as a deflating credit bubble is forced upon us. The good news, if it can be called that, is that the collapse of the credit bubble will do a lot of the work of reducing carbon emissions. As a sign of that, China yesterday reported a 9.6% fall in electricity production over the past year as its economy slips towards recession - carbon emissions there are collapsing without the Chinese Government doing a thing.

Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, will serve as one of three co-chairman of the U.S. Senate Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus, it was announced Dec. 12. The chairmanship puts the senator "in a leading role to advocate for nuclear energy issues at the Idaho National Laboratory, as well as further development of renewable energy sources like geothermal, wind and solar power," according to a release from his office.