Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire

Thursday, November 13, 2014

http://www.powermag.com/japan-oks-restart-of-first-two-nuclear-units-new-delay-at-rokkasho-reprocessing-plant/?hq_e=el&hq_m=2980264&hq_l=23&hq_v=30108e0773

PennEnergy's Daily Power Update 11/13

Energy News & Insights
Marijuana growers in Boulder face electricity tax (Video) Boulder County is set to levy a tax on all energy consumed by Marijuana growers in response to the often massive level of electricity used to cultivate crops …more>>

Nuclear cleanup in Japan stymied by water woes Workers at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are stuck coping with the vast amounts of contaminated water instead of key tasks such as preparing for the dismantling of reactors …more>>

CB&I wins 760 MW combined cycle gas turbine power plant contract CB&I has been awarded a contract for the initial development phase of a 760 MW combined-cycle gas turbine power station in Pennsylvania …more>>

Groundbreaking US-China climate deal Groundbreaking US-China climate deal sets ambitious new goals to reduce emissions, aims to prod others to act …more>>


DOE funds projects to advance gasification systems Four projects have been selected by the DOE to receive funding for next-generation gasification systems that also reduce greenhouse gas emissions …more>>

Iberdrola opens its first offshore wind power farm (Video) Pioneering technology for the $2.6 billion project in Irish Sea could help reduce costs of future offshore wind projects around the world …more>>

Tribe plans $21MM solar power project near Lake Sonoma The Dry Creek Band of Pomo Indians and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have announced a $21 million solar power joint venture …more>>

Westinghouse to fuel nuclear power plants in Germany Westinghouse Electric Company has been selected to manufacture and deliver nuclear fuel assemblies for two nuclear power plants in Germany …more>>

Energy News Roundup: Climate Deal Spurs Building Spree, Dow Selling Billions in Assets & IEA Sees US Shale Cap Ex Pullback

By Jared Anderson

The US and China agreed to jointly cut carbon emissions in order to combat climate change, a historic pact that has many excited and many outraged. But China’s commitment to cap greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 means the country will need to build out power generation infrastructure in unprecedented ways. “That means building even more nuclear

Keep reading →http://breakingenergy.com/2014/11/13/energy-news-roundup-climate-deal-spurs-building-spree-dow-selling-billions-in-assets-iea-sees-us-shale-cap-ex-pullback/?utm_source=Breaking+Energy&utm_campaign=c5eaab7b5e-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f852427a4b-c5eaab7b5e-407304281

Will Islamic State Cripple the Pivot?

America’s inability to stop fighting in the Middle East has serious implications for its Asia policy.

http://thediplomat.com/2014/11/will-islamic-state-cripple-the-pivot/

The United States Is Far and Away the Leader in Carbon Dioxide Emissions

The effects of atmospheric carbon linger for centuries, so historical emissions totals are relevant context for the global climate policy debate.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/532316/the-united-states-is-far-and-away-the-leader-in-carbon-dioxide-emissions/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_source=newsletter-daily-all&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20141113

China, U.S. agree limits on emissions, but experts see little new | Reuters

China, U.S. agree limits on emissions, but experts see little new | Reuters In Oslo, Rajendra Pachauri, the head of the U.N. panel of climate scientists, said the deal was "heartening" even though it fell far short of cuts needed to avert the worst of global warming, from heatwaves to rising sea levels. For China, the targets add little to its existing commitments to wean itself off carbon, environmental experts said. "The statement is an upbeat signal to motivate other countries but the timeline China has committed to is not a binding target," said Li Junfeng, an influential Chinese climate policy adviser linked to China's state planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/12/us-china-usa-climatechange-idUSKCN0IW07Z20141112?utm_source=The+Sinocism+China+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d609e2b64d-Sinocism11_13_1411_13_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_171f237867-d609e2b64d-29615013

Related: Republicans vow EPA fight as Obama touts China climate deal | Reuters But even with China vowing to curb its carbon, Republicans were quick to question the validity of China's headline-grabbing pledge and used the announcement to rally the party as it prepares to lead Congress by promising to do what it can to rein in the Environmental Protection Agency, whose rules will achieve the bulk of promised emissions cuts. "As we enter a new Congress, I will do everything in my power to rein in and shed light on the EPA's unchecked regulations,” said Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe, a climate change skeptic and critic of U.N. climate talks who will become the chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in January.http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/12/us-china-usa-climatechange-mcconnell-idUSKCN0IW1TZ20141112?utm_source=The+Sinocism+China+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d609e2b64d-Sinocism11_13_1411_13_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_171f237867-d609e2b64d-29615013

Related: In Climate Deal With China, Obama May Set 2016 Theme - NYTimes.com A variety of polls show that a majority of American voters now believe that climate change is occurring, are worried about it, and support candidates who back policies to stop it. In particular, polls show that majorities of Hispanics, young people and unmarried women — the voters who were central to Mr. Obama’s victories in 2008 and 2012 — support candidates who back climate change policy. But Republicans are betting that despite the polls, they can make the case that regulations to cut greenhouse pollution will result in the loss of jobs and hurt the economy...Mr. Podesta, a political veteran who was also President Bill Clinton’s chief of staff, devised the 2025 targets to ensure that they could be reached without new action from a future Congress. Abandoning them would require the next president to overturn them // Podesta was at the same table at the banquet as Obama and Xi, along with Kerry and Rice. DC political rags claim he is leaving the Obama administration soon to take a top role in Hilary Clinton's presidential campaign. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/13/world/asia/in-climate-deal-with-china-obama-may-set-theme-for-2016.html?emc=edit_tnt_20141112&nlid=18733852&tntemail0=y&utm_source=The+Sinocism+China+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d609e2b64d-Sinocism11_13_1411_13_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_171f237867-d609e2b64d-29615013&_r=0

Related: China’s pledge to cut greenhouse gases eliminates excuse for other nations - The Washington Post But it’s a start, say many climate experts. “The peak could be Himalayan, but the fact that they’re even talking about it is amazing,” Turner said. “Five years ago, you couldn’t imagine someone would talk about peak emission levels.” Moreover, Xi’s pledge to ratchet up the share of non-fossil fuels from the current 8 percent to 20 percent of the country’s energy consumption could turn out to be more important than the 2030 pledge. To reach that carbon-free energy goal will require immediate and massive action.http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/chinas-pledge-to-cut-greenhouse-gases-eliminates-excuse-for-other-nations/2014/11/12/5a22b0de-6a8f-11e4-a31c-77759fc1eacc_story.html?hpid=z4&utm_source=The+Sinocism+China+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d609e2b64d-Sinocism11_13_1411_13_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_171f237867-d609e2b64d-29615013

Related: China’s Climate Change Plan Raises Questions - NYTimes.com “This is a very serious international commitment between the two heavy hitters,” said Li Shuo, who researches climate and coal policy for Greenpeace East Asia. Still, many questions surround China’s plans, which President Xi Jinping announced in Beijing alongside President Obama after months of negotiations. In essence, experts asked, do the pledges go far enough, and how will China achieve them?http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/13/world/asia/climate-change-china-xi-jinping-obama-apec.html?ref=asia&utm_source=The+Sinocism+China+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d609e2b64d-Sinocism11_13_1411_13_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_171f237867-d609e2b64d-29615013

Related: Climate Pact by U.S. and China Relies on Policies Now in Place - NYTimes Experts said that the emissions reductions in the agreement would not be enough to enable the world to keep global warming below the target of a 2-degree Celsius, or 3.6-degree Fahrenheit, rise in global temperatures that was adopted at a climate meeting in Copenhagen in 2009. Beyond the reductions, they said the deal was important for what it showed the rest of the world, particularly other large carbon emitters like India and Russia, in advance of a meeting in Paris next year to negotiate a new climate treaty.http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/13/world/climate-pact-by-us-and-china-relies-on-policies-now-largely-in-place.html?ref=world&utm_source=The+Sinocism+China+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d609e2b64d-Sinocism11_13_1411_13_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_171f237867-d609e2b64d-29615013

Related: End of China's coal boom signals cleaner and healthier future | South China Morning Post Teng Fei, an associate professor at Tsinghua University, the lead researcher on an extensive study on the impact of a 2030-carbon peak on China's economy, said the timeframe was "rather aggressive" and would require smart policies to limit damage to the economy. "Our study shows China's carbon emissions would peak after 2040 under existing measures on pollution reduction and energy conservation, so it's a rather bold move to make the peak occur at least 10 years earlier," he said.http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1638447/end-chinas-coal-boom-signals-cleaner-and-healthier-future?utm_source=The+Sinocism+China+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d609e2b64d-Sinocism11_13_1411_13_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_171f237867-d609e2b64d-29615013

Related: Why Is Beijing Downplaying the Supposedly Huge Climate Change Deal?--Foreign Policy So why isn't Beijing celebrating and advertising its new willingness to do something for the greater good? Deborah Seligsohn, an expert on the Chinese environment at the University of California San Diego, told FP that Chinese leaders "tend not to enthuse," so that may in part explain Xi's reserve. But she also said that Beijing is under fire domestically for its unsuccessful efforts to curb local air pollution, noting that people were furious that authorities managed to clear the air for the visiting APEC dignitaries but can't do it on a daily basis for their own citizens. "There may be worries that focusing on climate change rather than air pollution doesn't meet the public's main concerns," Seligsohn said via email..http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/11/12/china_us_climate_deal_enthusiasm_gap?utm_source=The+Sinocism+China+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d609e2b64d-Sinocism11_13_1411_13_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_171f237867-d609e2b64d-29615013

Carbon Breakthrough: US, China Make Milestone Agreement to Fight Climate Change

by Phil Mattingly and David J. Lynch, Bloomberg | November 12, 2014 | 2 Comments

President Barack Obama pledged deeper U.S. cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions and China will for the first time set a target for capping carbon emissions under an agreement between the world’s two biggest economies. Full Articlehttp://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/11/carbon-breakthrough-us-china-make-milestone-agreement-to-fight-climate-change?cmpid=StorageNL-Thursday-November13-2014

Dimming Hopes for Nuclear Power: Quantifying the Social Costs of Perceptions of Risks

A Huhtala, P Remes

... perceived risks of an accident play in relation to objective risk assessment. ... “nuclear renaissance”
in many countries, including the United States (eg, Blue Ribbon Commission ... construction in
the world; of these, 29 are in China and 11 in Russia (IAEA 2014).6 ...http://www.vatt.fi/file/vatt_publication_pdf/wp57.pdf

The Cold and the Dark 2014 Coping with nuclear terror

[PDF] The Cold and the Dark 2014

S Helfstein, C Roberts, A Sherlock

... Subsequent years proved ever more dangerous as nuclear tests grew larger until the de-
velopment of the hydrogen bomb in the early 1960s. The ... France 13 February 1960 China 16
October 1964 India 18 May 1974 ... teries are likely to be jammed. You are at greater risk of con- ...http://www.usma.edu/scusa/SiteAssets/SitePages/Round%20Tables/SCUSA%2066%20-%20Proliferation.pdf

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Inside SCE and Oncor's big plans to deploy utility-scale storage

http://www.utilitydive.com/news/inside-sce-and-oncors-big-plans-to-deploy-utility-scale-storage/331838/

Candu signs joint venture agreement with Chinese to build nuclear reactors

http://www.brandonsun.com/business/breaking-news/candu-signs-joint-venture-agreement-with-chinese-to-build-nuclear-reactors-282160831.html?thx=y

China now a player in South African nuclear power market

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20141112000093&cid=1201

US nuclear weapons unable to contain Russia and China

http://english.pravda.ru/news/world/12-11-2014/129012-usa_nuclear_weapons-0/#.VGPQaIdZ8tU

Nukes and Shale Win The Day in U.S.-China Climate Deal

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-12/gas-and-nuclear-win-with-new-u-s-china-climate-accord.html

ANS Update: Root cause of Vogtle and VC Summer delays

Root cause of Vogtle and VC Summer delays

By radams on Nov 12, 2014 10:21 am

This column was initially published in the October 16, 2014 issue of Fuel Cycle Week and is republished here with permission. by Rod Adams Within a few months of receiving its combined operating license in February 2012 the Vogtle 3 … Continue reading →
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IU biologists collaborate to refine climate change modeling tools

IU biologists collaborate to refine climate change modeling tools
Bloomington IN (SPX) Nov 12, 2014 - A new climate change modeling tool developed by scientists at Indiana University, Princeton University and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration finds that carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere owing to greater plant growth from rising CO2 levels will be partially offset by changes in the activity of soil microbes that derive their energy from plant root growth. So ... morehttp://www.terradaily.com/reports/IU_biologists_collaborate_to_refine_climate_change_modeling_tools_999.html