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Does the UK need 40 GW of firm capacity?

Whether it comes from nuclear plants or fossil fuel-fired power stations with carbon capture and storage (CCS), the UK will need 30-40 GW of new “firm” low-carbon baseload generation by 2050 to meet the net-zero emissions target, Greg Clark reportedly said, just before being replaced by Andrea Leadsom as UK … [Continue Reading]

Pushing renewables ahead

Meeting a net-zero emissions global target by mid-century — as recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – needs accelerated innovation. But the IEA says that in 2017 only 4 of 38 energy technologies and sectors were on track to meet long-term climate, energy access and air pollution goals. … [Continue Reading]

Chernobyl cancer rates revised upwards

The impacts of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 included thyroid cancers in those who were children at the time. The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) produced a report in 2008 which found that, among those exposed who had been under 14 years of … [Continue Reading]

The costs of decarbonization

The OECD’s Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has produced an updated study of System Costs with High Shares of Nuclear and Renewables. Perhaps unsurprisingly, its new report concludes that nuclear wins hands down over variable renewable energy (VRE). The agency says that “a mix relying primarily on nuclear energy is the … [Continue Reading]

An obituary for small modular reactors

Small modular reactors are being heavily promoted but the economics don’t stack up. The nuclear industry is heavily promoting the idea of building small modular reactors (SMRs), with near-zero prospects for new large power reactors in many countries. These reactors would have a capacity of under 300 megawatts (MW), whereas … [Continue Reading]

Financing renewables in the UK

As new technologies trying to compete with well-established technologies, renewables needed some interim help. In a new book, Renewable Energy in the UK: Past, Present and Future, I look at how that has been done. What stands out is that, whereas some countries have gone for direct aid or guaranteed … [Continue Reading]