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2003-04-15 The Future of the Hydrogen Economy: Bright or Bleak?

Ulf Bossel, Baldur Eliasson, and Gordon Taylor

I found on the Internet an early version of this paper, authored by Ulf Bossel and Baldur Eliasson. I had been doing desk research in the same general area, and offered a number of comments and contributions over a period of some months. Eventually I became a co-author of the final version, dated 2003-04-15.

2016-08-30 If it's jobs they want, Labour and the unions must back renewables, not Hinkley C

If the unions were so bothered about jobs, they should be supporting renewables, not nuclear. But could it be that those are the 'wrong kind of jobs' - not unionised ones? Photo: Centre for Alternative Technology (www.cat.org.uk) via Flickr (CC BY).

Four of Britain's major unions are big supporters of nuclear power, writes Ian Fairlie - all because of the jobs. Now Labour's shadow energy minister has joined them in backing Hinkley C - even though renewable energy is a far better job-creator than nuclear, and already employs three times more people.

2016-08-23 Go-ahead Given for World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm: 1.8-GW Hornsea Project Two

Havvindparken Sheringham Shoal (Photo: Harald Pettersen/Statoil) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

“Overall we see a great future for offshore wind in the UK for the right type of projects,” a DONG Energy spokesperson told Renewable Energy World. “At DONG Energy we currently have four projects under construction in the UK, which will provide another 2.7 gigawatts of offshore wind power.”

2003-01-19 Energy Solutions for 60% Carbon Reduction

This study was prompted by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution Report No. 22, "Energy - the Changing Climate", and by the U.K. Government Cabinet Office Performance and Innovation Unit Energy Review.

2016-08-19 Nuclear accident in New Mexico ranks among the costliest in U.S. history

Bécs 219 János Korom: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

Ralph Vartabedian

When a drum containing radioactive waste blew up in an underground nuclear dump in New Mexico two years ago, the Energy Department rushed to quell concerns in the Carlsbad desert community and quickly reported progress on resuming operations.
But the explosion ranks among the costliest nuclear accidents in U.S. history, according to a Times analysis. The long-term cost of the mishap could top $2 billion, an amount roughly in the range of the cleanup after the 1979 partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania.

2016-08-18 Time to listen to the ice scientists about the Arctic death spiral

A photograph of the Arctic ice, Patrick Kelley, http://www.flickr.com/photos/usgeologicalsurvey/4370267907/in/set-72157623467470824CC by 2.0

Ice scientists are mostly cheerful and pragmatic. Like many other researchers coolly observing the rapid warming of the world, they share a gallows humour and are cautious about entering the political fray. Not Peter Wadhams. The former director of the Scott Polar Research Institute and professor of ocean physics at Cambridge has spent his scientific life researching the ice world, or the cryosphere, and in just 30 years has seen unimaginable change. When in 1970 he joined the first of what would be more than 50 polar expeditions, the Arctic sea ice covered around 8m sq km at its September minimum. Today, it hovers at around 3.4m, and is declining by 13% a decade. In 30 years Wadhams has seen the Arctic ice thin by 40%, the world change colour at its top and bottom and the ice disappear in front of his eyes.

2016-08-04 Is China's Role in a UK Nuclear Plant Really a Cybersecurity Risk

Hinkley Point A Power Station, Rick Crowley - geograph.org.uk - 1951616.jpg https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Last week, the UK delayed plans to build the proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, which would have been the first nuclear plant to be built in the UK in 20 years.
While the government did not give a specific reason for the hold-up, one reason suggested is that it has reservations over China’s role in the construction. The state-owned China General Nuclear Power Corporation has agreed to a 33 percent stake in the project, and some suggest that the new British government may be concerned about the cybersecurity of the plant. Nick Timothy, Prime Minister Theresa May’s chief of staff, has previously said that experts think the Chinese government could use its involvement to introduce vulnerabilities into systems, which would allow it to tamper with Britain's energy production in the future.

2016-07-19 Offshore wind powers ahead as prices drop 30% below nuclear

Offshore wind turbine under construction at Burbo Bank, North Sea. Photo: The Danish Wind Industry Association / Vindmølleindustrien via Flickr (CC BY-NC).

The cost of offshore wind power in the North Sea is 30% lower than that of new nuclear, writes Kieran Cooke - helped along by low oil and steel prices, reduced maintenance and mass production. By 2030 the sector is expected to supply 7% of Europe's electricity.

2016-07-18 Fukushima reactor makers not liable: Japan court

IAEA fact-finding team leader Mike Weightman examines Reactor Unit 3 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. IAEA Imagebank Photo Credit: Greg Webb / IAEA https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

A Japanese court on Wednesday turned down a class action lawsuit seeking damages from nuclear plant makers Toshiba, Hitachi and GE over the Fukushima meltdown disaster, the plaintiffs, one of the companies and a report said. About 3,800 claimants in the suit, hailing from Japan and 32 other countries including the United States, Germany and South Korea, had sought largely symbolic compensation from the nuclear power plant manufacturers.

Under Japanese liability law, nuclear plant providers are usually exempt from damage claims in the event of an accident, leaving operators to face legal action. The plaintiffs' lawyers, however, had argued that that violated constitutional protections on the pursuit of happy, wholesome and cultured livelihoods.

2016-05-14 British share of renewables setting records (24.7 % of Electricity)

Pie chart showing 24.7% of uk electricity produced from renewables

A provisional estimate from the British government shows the amount of electricity generated from renewable energy set a record last year.

A monthly update from the British Department of Energy and Climate Change finds the share of electricity generated from renewable energy was a record 24.7 percent last year, which marked an increase of 5.6 percent from the previous year.

On a quarterly basis, the DECC said fourth quarter data show the share of renewables increased year-on-year by 5 percent.

"The increase reflects increased capacity, particularly in solar photovoltaics and onshore and offshore wind," the government's report said.

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