What would it mean to have an essentially limitless amount of energy? If we can harness fusion power, we can have energy that is clean, safe, sustainable, and secure. It will be the power of a sun on earth. The dream of fusion energy has been a scientific goal for decades, but it has remained… Keep reading →
A quarter of the nation’s electricity would still come from coal in 2030, so it’s hard to view the Obama administration’s proposed Clean Power Plan as the wholesale remaking of the U.S. power sector that the increasingly dire science on global warming would seemingly compel. Nevertheless, a new U.S. Energy Information Administration analysis shows the… Keep reading →
The Asahi Shimbun reported in March on the decision of four big Japanese electric utilities to decommission a total of five nuclear reactors that have been in operation for more than 40 years. Respective plans have been submitted to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). “This is the first application of the regulation… Keep reading →
Global investment in renewable energy sources in 2014 rose almost 17 percent year-on-year to $270.2 billion with investments in developing countries growing by 36 percent, finds a new UNEP Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2015 report prepared by the Frankfurt School-UNEP Centre in collaboration with Bloomberg (BNEF). Overall, the research underscores the positive role… Keep reading →
Back in March it was first reported by the major German TV network ARD (Tagesschau.de) that German utility E.ON was contemplating mothballing one of the most efficient power plants in Europe, a gas-fired high-efficiency combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant called ‘Irsching 4 and 5’ in the southern state of Bavaria – which only went… Keep reading →
Everyone knows how Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas has been a complicating factor (to say the least) for Western political leaders in their reaction to Vladimir Putin’s Ukrainian adventures. And now energy analysts are seeing the Russian president lining up similar leverage with nuclear power, in Eastern Europe and beyond. “Gazprom cutting Ukraine’s energy just… Keep reading →
A very hopeful development, maybe even a game changer – by and large, that’s how climate-change activists were greeting the surprising news out of Beijing of cooperation between the U.S. and China on capping and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Back in Washington, Republicans, about to take control of both houses of Congress, were outraged. In a… Keep reading →
Southwestern Energy agreed to acquire Marcellus and Utica acreage and equipment from Chesapeake Energy for $5.4 billion. “The early drilling in both the liquids-rich Marcellus and emerging Utica plays has confirmed the resource potential and the economic strength of a long-term development program,” Southwestern CEO Steve Mueller said in a written statement. [Fuel Fix] A… Keep reading →
The EPA’s newly-announced rule to limit carbon emissions from existing power plants would appear to set the stage for non-carbon emitting technology like nuclear, but historically low-priced natural gas has rendered many of the nation’s smaller nuclear facilities economically uncompetitive. “Already, five nuclear units have either shut down or have announced that they will do… Keep reading →
Robert Bryce – Senior Manhattan Institute Fellow – gave a vibrant talk yesterday in New York City at a gathering called to launch his latest book “Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper,” which he describes as a “rebuke to the catastrophists.” The premise is that technology and innovation are helping people live healthier, longer, more fulfilled… Keep reading →
