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☆ French winter power supply risk cut to 'medium', says RTE
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Forrest Crellin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Companies Electricite de France SA FollowPARIS, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The risk to French power supply from the start of January through the rest of winter has been reduced to 'medium' because of higher nuclear and hydropower availability as well as reduced demand from consumers, French grid operator RTE said on Tuesday. Nuclear power utility EDF (EDF.PA) has faced an unprecedented number of reactor outages this year owing to delayed maintenance and stress corrosion, reducing nuclear output to 30-year lows just as Russia's war in Ukraine hit Europe's energy supplies. Nuclear power availability topped 40 GW on Dec. 12, lifting supply to the top of the expected availability range, RTE said. The filling level of French gas stocks has dropped to about 85% after beginning the winter near full, which is higher than previous years, RTE said. There is no concern for the first part of winter thanks to high gas supply across the continent, but vigilance will be needed for the second half of winter and especially winter 2023-24, RTE added.

☆ Russia installs shield over Zaporizhzhia nuclear storage site
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Summary This content was produced in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. MOSCOW, Dec 17 (Reuters) - A shield is being set up over a storage site for spent nuclear waste at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine to protect it from shelling and drones, a Russian-installed official said on Saturday. Fighting over Europe's largest nuclear power station in 10 months of conflict has raised fears of a possible Chornobyl-style nuclear disaster. Both Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of recklessly shelling the plant, whose six reactors are all off line. Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] An excavator sift through dunes of low-grade coal near a coal mine in Pingdingshan, Henan province, China November 5, 2021. High gas prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and consequent disruptions to supply have led some countries to turn to relatively cheaper coal this year. Europe's coal demand has risen due to more switching from gas to coal due to high gas prices and as Russian gas has reduced to a trickle. However, by 2025 European coal demand is expected to decline below 2022 levels, the report said. The three largest coal producers - China, India and Indonesia - will all hit production records this year but despite high prices and comfortable margins for coal producers, there is no sign of surging investment in export-driven coal projects.

☆ Bill Gates-backed nuclear demonstration project in Wyoming delayed because Russia was the only fuel source
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

An artist rendering of the advanced nuclear power reactor demonstration project that Bill Gates' nuclear innovation company, TerraPower, plans to build in the frontier-era coal town, Kemmerer, Wyoming. TerraPower's advanced reactor demonstration will face delays of at least two years because its only source of fuel was Russia, and the Ukraine war has closed the door on that trade relationship. Wyoming Senator John Barrasso, a Republican, thinks it's a wake-up call for the U.S."America must reestablish itself as the global leader in nuclear energy," Barrasso said in a written statement. "Instead of relying on our adversaries like Russia for uranium, the United States must produce its own supply of advanced nuclear fuel." Barrasso also sent a letter to the Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to urge the United States to move faster in securing a source of HALEU.

FRANKFURT, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Coal has made a comeback in Germany this year, as Europe's largest economy turns to the dirty fuel to power it through an energy crisis. Gas generation rose slightly, despite high prices, as wind and hydro power output were low, and domestic nuclear output also fell in July-Sept. This has increased coal power generation in the European Union, which is expected to remain at these higher levels for some time," the IEA's annual coal market report said. This includes 1.9 GW of lignite and 4.3 GW of hard coal power plants which are allowed to return to the market until 2024, the IEA report said. The decommissioning of 2.6 GW of hard coal power capacity and 1.2 GW of lignite capacity has been postponed.

☆ Japan turns back to nuclear power to tackle energy crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Japan confirmed a major nuclear power policy shift on Friday to tackle an energy crisis more than a decade after the 2011 Fukushima disaster prompted it to idle most of its reactors. Public opinion has been hostile towards nuclear energy since a massive earthquake and tsunami triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, but the mood has shifted due to soaring energy costs amid the prolonged war in Ukraine and repeated power crunches in both summer and winter. Quake-prone Japan, which previously said it had no plans to build new reactors, will now seek to replace decomissioned ones and extend the lifespan of others, the industry ministry said. Under a strategic energy plan approved by the Cabinet last year, Japan aimed to reduce its dependence on nuclear power as much as possible. Further details will be discussed in parliament next year, an official at the industry ministry said.

☆ France’s Restart of Nuclear Reactors Eases Blackout Fears
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Matthew Dalton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS—France has restarted five nuclear reactors over the past week and cut electricity consumption sharply, easing fears the country will have to resort to rolling blackouts this winter. French officials have been racing to restart the reactors after a rash of outages pushed the country’s nuclear generation to the lowest level in decades, compounding the energy crisis facing Europe after Russia slashed natural-gas deliveries in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine. The government of President Emmanuel Macron warned last month that it might have to impose targeted power cuts during periods of peak demand this winter to avoid widespread blackouts.

☆ Tokyo makes solar panels mandatory for new homes built after 2025
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Kantaro Komiya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Dec 15 (Reuters) - All new houses in Tokyo built by large-scale homebuilders after April 2025 must install solar power panels to cut household carbon emissions, according to a new regulation passed by the Japanese capital's local assembly on Thursday. The mandate, the first of its kind for a Japanese municipality, requires about 50 major builders to equip homes of up to 2,000 square metres (21,500 square feet) with renewable energy power sources, mainly solar panels. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike noted last week that just 4% of buildings where solar panels could be installed in the city have them now. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government aims to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared with 2000 levels. "In addition to the existing global climate crisis, we face an energy crisis with a prolonged Russia-Ukraine war," Risako Narikiyo, a member of Koike's regional party Tomin First no Kai, said at the assembly on Thursday.

☆ Japanese capital requires solar panels for new homes built from 2025 amid efforts to address climate change
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

All new houses in Tokyo built by large-scale homebuilders after April 2025 must install solar power panels to cut household carbon emissions, according to a new regulation passed by the Japanese capital’s local assembly Thursday. The mandate, the first of its kind for a Japanese municipality, requires about 50 major builders to equip homes of up to 2,000 square meters (21,500 square feet) with renewable energy power sources, mainly solar panels. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike noted last week that just 4% of buildings where solar panels could be installed in the city have them now. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government aims to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared with 2000 levels. “In addition to the existing global climate crisis, we face an energy crisis with a prolonged Russia-Ukraine war,” Risako Narikiyo, a member of Koike’s regional party Tomin First no Kai, said at the assembly Thursday.

☆ Bill Gates-backed reactor delayed on worries about fuel from Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Timothy Gardner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The fuel, called high assay low enriched uranium, or HALEU, is enriched up to 20%, much above the up to 5% level today's reactors use. "TerraPower is anticipating a minimum of a two-year delay to being able to bring the Natrium reactor into operation," he said. The Department of Energy (DOE) is looking to downblend some of its stockpile of weapons-grade uranium to help provide fuel for the reactor projects. Levesque said TerraPower will provide a schedule update next year when it knows more about HALEU supply including the availability of DOE material for downblending. Only one company outside Russia, U.S.-based Centrus Energy Corp (LEU.A) is licensed to produce the fuel but it is years away from making commercial amounts.

U.S. scientists have achieved “ignition” — a fusion reaction that produced more energy than it took to create — a critical milestone for nuclear fusion and a step forward in the pursuit of a nearly limitless source of clean energy, Energy Department officials said Tuesday. The process imploded a tiny capsule inside the hohlraum that is filled with deuterium and tritium, creating a fusion reaction. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory"We have taken the first tentative steps toward a clean energy source," said Jill Hruby, the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration. The Inflation Reduction Act provided millions in new funding for fusion projects and the White House this year convened the first fusion summit and developed a 10-year plan to commercialize fusion technology. A technician reviews an optic inside the preamplifier support structure at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif., in 2012.

☆ Nuclear fusion breakthrough: Scientists generate more power than used to create reaction
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Fusion is the way that the sun makes power, but recreating a useful fusion reaction here on earth has eluded scientists for decades. The National Ignition Facility target chamber at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is where scientists shoot lasers and watch and measure what happens when those lasers collide on a fuel source. Reaching ignition means the fusion experiment produced more energy from fusion than the laser energy that used to drive the reaction. "For the first time on Earth, scientists have confirmed a fusion energy experiment released more power than it takes to initiate, proving the physical basis for fusion energy. But it's proven extremely challenging to sustain a fusion reaction here on earth, and scientists have been trying for decades.

☆ How nuclear fusion works, and why it's a big deal for green energy that scientists made a 'breakthrough'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

US Department of Energy scientists produced a nuclear fusion reaction with a net energy gain. The US Department of Energy officially announced the milestone in fusion energy research on Tuesday. For the first time, researchers created a nuclear fusion reaction that produced more energy than they put into it. What is fusion energy and why is it a big deal? This illustration shows how lasers heat a target to the necessary conditions for nuclear fusion to occur.

☆ U.S. to announce scientific breakthrough on fusion energy -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies U.S. Department of Energy FollowWASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy will announce on Tuesday that scientists at a national lab have made a breakthrough on fusion energy, the process that powers the sun and stars that one day could provide a cheap source of electricity, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. The scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California have achieved a net energy gain for the first time, in a fusion experiment using lasers, one of the people said. Other methods of fusion use magnets instead of lasers. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is slated to hold a media briefing on Tuesday at 10:00 EST (1500 GMT) on a "major scientific breakthrough." Private industry secured more than $2.8 billion dollars last year for fusion, according to the Fusion Industry Association for a total of about $5 billion in recent years.

☆ France copes with high power demand on nuclear supply ramp-up
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Electricite de France SA FollowPARIS, Dec 12 (Reuters) - France on Monday avoided a strain on its power grids in the face of rising demand as Paris recorded sub-zero temperature, thanks to a ramp-up in supply in nuclear as well as hydro power and strong imports from neighbouring countries. Demand rose above 80 gigawatts (GW) during peak morning hours for the first time this winter, according to a spokesperson for RTE, the country's transmission system operator. France's nuclear availability was able to supply above 40 GW as its plants returned to levels last seen in early March over the weekend. The French transmission system operator has pretty comfortable margins so far, Emeric de Vigan, vice president of power at data and analytics firm Kpler, said in a tweet. Nuclear operator EDF (EDF.PA) ramped up output at three nuclear reactors on Friday following repairs and said it hopes to start fixing stress corrosion issues at its Penly 2 reactor in mid-January.

☆ Russia installed rocket launchers at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Kyiv says; Moscow likely receiving more Iranian drones
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Residential homes were hit as Russian shelled the Kherson region 68 times in the last day, regional governor Yaroslav Yanushevych said. Kyiv is accusing Russia of installing rocket launchers at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, with Ukrainian nuclear company Energoatom saying that Grad rocket launchers have been placed close to one of the plant's six nuclear reactors. Energoatom said the move is "violating all conditions for nuclear and radiation safety." While all the nuclear reactors have been shut down, significantly reducing the risk of disaster, dangerous radiation leaks are still a threat. Meanwhile, the U.S. and U.K. are set to impose more sanctions on Russia.

REUTERS/Denis BalibousePARIS, Dec 9 (Reuters) - France's state-controlled utility EDF said on Friday three of its nuclear reactors were "ramping up" production after repairs, while a power outage tested nerves in Paris and cold weather added to the strain on supplies across Europe. EDF (EDF.PA) is racing to get nuclear reactors back online following work to tackle corrosion problems as the whole of Europe struggles to cope with the impact on its energy supplies of the Ukraine war. Compounding the impact of disrupted energy imports from Russia, a record number of outages at EDF's 56-strong nuclear fleet has taken France's nuclear output to a 30-year low, increasing the country's reliance on other country's depleted energy reserves. Later on Friday, EDF Chief Executive Luc Remont and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire are due to hold a news conference at a nuclear site. POWER CUTSGrid operator RTE, however, says the country's power supplies will be stretched even if EDF manages to stick to its repair schedule, and partial load-shedding measures cannot be ruled out this winter on cold days.

☆ EDF, Fortum agree to study nuclear newbuild in Finland and Sweden
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS, Dec 8 (Reuters) - French power group EDF (EDF.PA) and energy group Fortum said on Thursday they had signed an framework agreement to study opportunities for cooperation to develop nuclear reactor projects in Finland and Sweden, both with conventional large reactors (EPR) and small- and medium-sized reactors (SMR). EDF said it has the ambition to deploy a fleet of EPR units across Europe. The company is currently developing the 340 MWe NUWARD SMR, targeted for commercialisation as early as 2025, the statement said. Reporting by Dominique VidalonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ X-energy to go public via $2 billion blank-check deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 6 (Reuters) - X-energy has agreed to merge with blank-check firm Ares Acquisition Corporation (AAC.N) in a deal valued at around $2 billion, the companies said on Tuesday. Founded in 2009, X-energy develops small modular nuclear reactors and fuel technology for clean energy generation. The deal is expected to generate cash proceeds of about $1 billion for X-energy from the trust account of the special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Ares, assuming no redemptions. A SPAC is a listed shell company that merges with a private company, taking it public in the process. After the deal closes, which is expected in the second quarter of 2023, the combined entity will be named X-Energy Inc.

☆ Winter freeze tests French power grid
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Temperatures dropping close to zero in coming days will pose the first real test of the resilience of France's electricity grid amid warnings over possible power cuts, though President Emmanuel Macron urged the French not to panic. "Consumption is set to peak at 80 GW (versus 73 GW on Dec. 5), while wind power is expected to be below normal. Should the nuclear availability remain at 37-38 GW the supply gap risk would be much more acute than today." Meanwhile, further delays on nuclear reactors were announced at the weekend. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsReporting by Ingrid Melander and Forrest Crellin, editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Macron says "no panic" about possible French power cuts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Dec 3 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said there was no reason to panic about possible power cuts this winter, but he called on citizens to use less energy and on state utility EDF to restart nuclear reactors to prevent outages in case of cold weather. In an interview with French TV station TF1 recorded during his state visit to the United States this week, Macron denied that the risk of rolling blackouts was due to inadequate management of EDF's (EDF.PA) nuclear reactor restart programme. It is legitimate for the government to prepare for the extreme cases which would mean cutting off electricity for a few hours per day if we did not have enough power," Macron said. The head of French power grid operator RTE said on Thursday that France may face "some days" of power cuts this winter and the government has started briefing local authorities on how to handle any outages. Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Why Silicon Valley is so hot on nuclear energy and what it means for the industry
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

Pallava Bagla | Corbis News | Getty ImagesVenture capitalists in Silicon Valley and other tech hubs are investing money in nuclear energy for the first time in history. This surge of private investment will be a positive for the industry, agrees John Parsons, an economist and lecturer at MIT. Nuclear energy is "a very complex science, and it's been supported by the federal government and at these national labs. In the 1960s and 1970s, large conglomerates constructed big nuclear power plants, and those projects often ran over budget. New generations of nuclear reactors will have different sizes, different coolants and different fuels, explained Matt Crozat, senior director of policy development at the Nuclear Energy Institute.

☆ Cold weather could cause French power cuts next week
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Electricite de France SA FollowPARIS, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Cold weather could lead to power cuts in France on Monday as delays to the restart of nuclear power following repair work leave supply lagging demand, analysts said. Nuclear power supply had been expected to reach around 40 gigawatts (GW) this week, but operator EDF's (EDF.PA) delay in restarting reactors meant it rose to only around 35 GW, leaving France more reliant on imports and gas-fired production. "If we remain at 35 GW, next week Monday could become quite tight: we expect the demand at otherwise seasonally normal levels, but 35 GW of nuclear would be too low to meet a possible demand peak at 73 GW," Gerl said. The current EDF schedule shows 3 GW of nuclear power returning to the grid next week, putting total capacity at 38 GW for the first cold spell of the peak demand winter season. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsGrid operator RTE said on Thursday France may face "some days" this winter when there was too little electricity supply.

☆ Welders wanted: France steps up recruitment drive as nuclear crisis deepens
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Benjamin Mallet | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

EDF estimates that France's nuclear industry needs to recruit between 10,000 and 15,000 workers a year over the next seven years. Despite relatively high unemployment, France's manufacturing, construction, engineering and IT industries complain they can't get the workers they need. These people work with molten metal at 1,500 degrees Celsius, and sometimes have to stand upside down," said one welder in the nuclear industry, who asked not to be identified. Before the war in Ukraine, successive administrations sought to reduce France's reliance on nuclear energy, not build new reactors, they say. For a long time, France was Europe's nuclear energy champion - and its biggest electricity exporter.

More than a year after Washington, London and Canberra torpedoed a big French submarine contract, pushing Franco-US relations to breaking point, the two countries are expected to put on a show of unity on common threats from Russia and China. The French leader will try to negotiate exemptions for European companies on the model of those Mexico and Canada has already got, a French presidential adviser said. Macron wants France to build more nuclear reactors but it is struggling with corrosion issues at its ageing plants. Macron will also travel to Louisiana, ostensibly to pay tribute to the state's French heritage, but also to discuss energy issues, the French presidential advisor said. "The United States produce cheap gas but sell it to us at high price," Macron told French executives on November 8.

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