New report promotes nuclear energy for IrelandNuclear NewsPower & OperationsDecember 22, 2020, 3:00PM|Nuclear News StaffJust released by a group called 18 for 0, the 47-page preliminary study Nuclear Development in Ireland makes the case for bringing nuclear energy to the Emerald Isle.Electricity generation from nuclear fission is prohibited by Ireland’s Electricity Regulation Act of 1999.Why 18 for 0? “Ireland is planning to achieve 70-percent electricity from renewables by 2030,” state the authors of the study. “Our independent research showed that adding 18-percent nuclear electricity to this mix would reduce surplus fossil fuel emissions to zero.”Major findings: Among other contentions, the study says that:■ The current national strategy for power generation is not sufficient to keep Ireland on a pathway to become a net-zero emissions society—innovative change to current energy policy is urgently required.■ No technology that is currently permitted in Ireland is commercially available at the scale required to fully decarbonize the power sector by 2050—legislative change is also required.■ A hybrid electricity system powered mainly by renewable and nuclear energy is likely to be significantly superior to one that prioritizes renewables alone, as it would offer lower emissions, lower cost of electricity and capital cost, lower use of limited resources (land and materials), a more reliable and stable power supply, and less reliance on imported fossil fuels.■ An 18-percent nuclear power program in Ireland could directly provide 1,300 high-skilled, long-term domestic jobs in addition to approximately 4,000 ancillary jobs.Tags:hybrid electricity systemirelandnet zerorenewablesShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
Canada unveils ambitious plan for SMRsDeclaring small modular reactors to be “the next innovation that will help us reach net-zero emissions by 2050,” Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Seamus O’Regan last week introduced his government’s SMR Action Plan at a virtual event live-streamed on YouTube.Go to Article
Japan should revive its nuclear industry, says new reportThe Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center has issued a report, Japan’s Nuclear Reactor Fleet: The Geopolitical and Climate Implications of Accelerated Decommissioning, contending that Japan’s reaction to the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident has led to an increased dependence on carbon-emitting energy sources that ultimately undermine the country’s recently announced climate goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.Recommendations: Released just a few months prior to the 10-year anniversary of the accident on March 11, 2011, the report recommends that Japan:Use its existing nuclear fleet in the near and long term to 2050,remain involved in global civil nuclear trade,develop a role for advanced nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors, which it should deploy as soon as feasible,rebuild its nuclear energy workforce and public trust in nuclear power, andregain its leadership position in the climate battle.Go to Article
Nuclear scores point in U.K. green planThe United Kingdom, the first of the world’s major economies to adopt a legally binding commitment to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, has released a blueprint to help realize that goal—one that includes a substantial role for nuclear energyThe Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution will mobilize a total of £12 billion (about $16 billion) of government investment to create and support up to 250,000 highly skilled green jobs in the United Kingdom and spur over three times as much private sector investment by 2030, according to the UK government on November 18.In addition to nuclear, offshore wind, hydrogen production, carbon capture, and vehicle electrification are also earmarked for significant investment in the 38-page document.Go to Article
To fight climate change, accept nuclear energy“The world needs a mix of renewable power sources, including one that can carry on producing power when the others can’t—the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow,” British journalist Jonathan Gornall writes in an opinion piece posted Wednesday on the Asia Times website. Gornall argues that the residents of Suffolk County in the United Kingdom would be better served by the expansion of the Sizewell nuclear power plant than by leaving a wooded area untouched.Go to Article
Bruce Power unveils net zero by 2050 strategyThe Bruce nuclear power plant. Photo: Bruce PowerSpeaking last week at a virtual event of the Empire Club of Canada, Bruce Power president and chief executive officer Mike Rencheck announced “NZ-2050”—the company’s strategy for helping Canada achieve its stated goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.Canada’s only private sector nuclear generator, Bruce Power operates the Bruce Nuclear Generation Station, located in Kincardine, Ontario. The plant houses eight units, all CANDU pressurized heavy-water reactors, with a total output of 6,288 MWe.Go to Article
NIA says we need both nuclear and renewables to protect the climateResponding to a paper published in Nature Energy, the Nuclear Innovation Alliance (NIA) wrote in an October blog post that nuclear is a carbon-free energy source with an important role to play in decarbonizing the global economy.Go to Article
Popular Mechanics takes the wind out of renewables studyA wind farm in East Sussex, England, is flanked by 400-kV power lines from the Dungeness nuclear power plant. Photo: David Iliff/Wikimedia CommonsA paper out of the University of Sussex that correlates the carbon output of 123 countries with their nuclear power programs has received a critical look from Popular Mechanics, which takes to task some of the researchers’ premises in an article by Caroline Delbert.In the paper, the researchers make the claim that nuclear and renewable energy programs do not tend to coexist well together in national low-carbon energy systems but instead crowd each other out and limit effectiveness. Delbert, however, points out that suggesting that nuclear power plants don’t play a significant role in reducing carbon emissions is “wild and baseless.”Go to Article
Nuclear plays key role in new jobs recovery planA recently published paper on clean energy policy for economic recovery calls for the preservation of the current U.S. nuclear reactor fleet and the deployment of advanced nuclear technologies.The paper, Energy Transitions: The Framework for Good Jobs in a Low-Carbon Future, was released last week by the Labor Energy Partnership (LEP), formed earlier this year by the Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) and the AFL-CIO. According to a joint press release from the two organizations, the LEP was established to “develop policy solutions for a 21st century energy system that creates and preserves quality jobs while tackling the climate crisis.”The LEP is jointly chaired by Ernest Moniz, founder and chief executive officer of EFI and former U.S. energy secretary, and Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO.Go to Article
Entergy takes net-zero pledge, teams with Mitsubishi to decarbonize with hydrogenPaul Browning, Mitsubishi Power, and Paul Hinnenkamp, Entergy, sign the joint agreement on September 23. Photo: EntergyNew Orleans–based Entergy Corporation last week announced a commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, joining a growing list of major energy companies to make that promise—including Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Southern Company, Xcel Energy, and Public Service Enterprise Group. And, like those companies, Entergy says that it sees nuclear playing an important role in the realization of that goal.Go to Article
Ameren signs up for net zero, plans to extend Callaway operationAmeren Corporation has announced the establishment of a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 across all of its operations in Missouri and Illinois, according to a recent news release from the company.This goal is included in subsidiary Ameren Missouri’s latest integrated resource plan (IRP), filed on September 28 with the Missouri Public Service Commission. (In Ameren Missouri’s 2017 IRP, carbon emissions were to be reduced 80 percent from 2005 levels by 2050.)Go to Article