Posted by pfairley on December 28, 2012
The Arctic is melting faster than predicted. Is now the time to shut down the low-carbon nuclear power plants in France — the 20th Century’s staunchest proponent of nuclear energy? Is natural gas produced via hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking’ a gift that is buying time for a transition to renewable energy or a curse that reinforces fossil fuel dependence? Will carbon belching heavyweights such as the U.S. and China ever get serious about cleaning up their energy systems?
Such questions are top order in France, whose President kicked off a Grand Débat on energy this month. The national debate launched by François Hollande, the Socialist who put Nicolas Sarkozy out of work six months ago, could well set France on a path to put nuclear power out to pasture. It could also lift France’s current moratorium on fracking.
No surprise then that France 24‘s English network dedicated one of its year-end debates to Energy in 2013. Your editor was honored to be at the table, along with:
Part One focuses on the what, why and why nots of fracking to produce shale gas and shale oil. Part Two backs out to consider the fate of nuclear and renewable energy in a ‘fracked’ world awash in cheap oil and gas.
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Posted in Climate Change, Climate Science, Climate skeptics, Energy Economics & Policy, Energy Efficiency, Energy politics, Energy vision, Environmental Journalism, Media, Natural gas, Nuclear Power, Nuclear safety, Renewable Energy, Shale gas, Solar energy, Wind power | Tagged: fracking, france, France 24, Francois Hollande, hydraulic fracturing, Natural gas, nuclear energy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by pfairley on October 21, 2011
The Society of Environmental Journalists’ Miami conference energy tour forged forward today, pursuing better understanding of South Florida’s energy options in spite of a disinvitation by local nuclear reactor operator Florida Power & Light. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Nuclear Power, Nuclear safety, Urban Energy | Tagged: #sejmiami, Fukushima, miami, nuclear energy, Nuclear Power, nuclear reactor, nuclear safety, philip stoddard, SEJ, society of environmental journalists | Leave a Comment »
Posted by pfairley on August 6, 2011
The hand-wringing over China’s high-speed train wreck last month may have just begun if the government’s current explanation for the crash proves out. At present official fingers are pointing to a failure in the trains’ signaling system. The firm that installed them, it now appears, provides similar equipment for the nuclear reactors that China is building just as fast as it is adding rail lines. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Nuclear Power, Nuclear safety | Tagged: China, coal-fired power, high-speed rail, Nuclear Power, nuclear reactors | Leave a Comment »
Posted by pfairley on June 1, 2011
Italy is hurtling towards a referendum on nuclear power this month that could deliver yet another blow to the beleaguered low-carbon energy option, following recent reversals in Switzerland, Germany and Japan. Political graffiti and propaganda that I recorded last week on the walls of Genoa mirror opinion polls that show Italian voters souring rapidly on nuclear energy. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Nuclear Power, Nuclear safety | Tagged: Fukushima, Genoa, Italy, japan nuclear emergency, no al nucleare porcodio, nuclear energy, Nuclear Power, silvio berlusconi | Leave a Comment »
Posted by pfairley on April 4, 2011
Amidst the stubbornly disappointing string of news emanating from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, there are signs that its melting nuclear fuel rods are inspiring some important and long-overdue developments in global power systems. And there’s good news for both nuclear supporters and critics.
Hopeful spinoff number one: Berlin is getting serious about upgrading the balkanized and inadequate transmission grid that represents a serious liability for Germany’s renewable energy ambitions.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision last month to shut down Germany’s oldest nuclear reactors and temporarily scrub life extensions for the rest was widely seen as a sop to voters in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Well, Merkel’s Conservative Democrats lost the state to the Green Party, and she hasn’t looked back. Last week a document leaked from Germany’s Economy Ministry and reported by Bloomberg revealed plans to revamp the power grid–a precondition to replacing nuclear energy with solar, wind and other renewable power sources. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Integrating renewables, Nuclear Power, Nuclear safety, Power Grids, Renewable Energy, Wind power | Tagged: China, DENA, fukushima daiichi, Germany, japan nuclear emergency, nuclear safety | Leave a Comment »
