Bruce Power Begins Loading Fuel Bundles into Unit 2
"Pending further regulatory approvals, Unit 2 is expected to synchronize with the province's electrical grid by the end of the year, followed by Unit 1 early next year. Once restarted, Units 1 and 2 at Bruce A will produce 1,500 megawatts of cost-effective, safe and reliable nuclear power. The reactors have been undergoing a first-of-a-kind refurbishment and the project has represented the largest investment in CANDU technology in a generation by Bruce Power. "
Cold Air Currents: Articles of interest
Thursday, June 30, 2011
UK substituting coal for gas in electricity production
Electricity companies switch from gas to coal | Business | The Guardian
"Statistics from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) show power providers used 8% more coal for electricity production in the first quarter of this year and 21% less gas."
"Statistics from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) show power providers used 8% more coal for electricity production in the first quarter of this year and 21% less gas."
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Google's Green Energy Wish List - Energy Policy For Dummies
Google's Green Energy Wish List - NYTimes.com
An interesting article in the New York times, but it is also interesting that the article is already behind the times, and is dishonest.
Here's why.
The Google tool noted in the article is a poor imitation of a tool calculating emissions reductions on the Guardian website last year, which demonstrated how immensely difficult the task was.
Similarly, the article indicates a very dumbed down version of portions of what was recently covered at the Equinox Summit - the presentations from that summit are accessible at the Waterloo Global Science Initiative's website.
Here's the healthy take -aways from the NY Times report on Google's initiative:
"At the top of Google’s list was better electric cars and gas-electric hybrids because they could create large savings by 2030. While big advances in clean energy generation could have big benefits by 2050, in 2030 these would not show major financial benefits when compared with electricity from coal and natural gas, the study predicted."
"If batteries could be sold at a cost of $100 per kilowatt-hour of storage, then pure electric cars, hybrid electrics like the Toyota Prius and plug-in electrics like the Chevy Volt could capture 90 percent of the vehicle market, the study said. "
And here's a good point followed by a blind stupidity:
"...the study found that in the absence of a shift in government policy, improvements in energy storage might end up simply allowing greater use of coal. “Basically it’ll allow you to run the cheapest thing you’ve got, more’’ said Bill Weihl, whose title at Google is green energy czar. "
It's nice to see that somebody acknowledges that storage would allow cheaper generation to be stored, and shouldn't be made to service the ridiculous stuff - it would be nicer to see acknowledgement that plants, of all flavours, running in baseload mode are far cleaner than peaking plants, and cleaner than intermittent plants, but it's a start.
The Guardian tool was honest, and included nuclear as an option. As millions used it, and challenged it, the people who did the math on both the enormity of the task in reducing emissions, and the technologies that might help, gravitated to nuclear generation - and that's been true from George Monbiot and Mark Lynas through to the attendees that drafted the communique from the WGSI conference.
The google project takes elements of science and twists them with a consultant's tool to steer people away from planning a future with more wealth for more people with much fewer GHG emissions - and towards carbon taxes to fund the flavour of the day as determined by Google and McKinsey and Company.
There's no attempt to be fair in presenting the options - and there's really no attempt to seriously address GHG emissions because of it.
An interesting article in the New York times, but it is also interesting that the article is already behind the times, and is dishonest.
Here's why.
The Google tool noted in the article is a poor imitation of a tool calculating emissions reductions on the Guardian website last year, which demonstrated how immensely difficult the task was.
Similarly, the article indicates a very dumbed down version of portions of what was recently covered at the Equinox Summit - the presentations from that summit are accessible at the Waterloo Global Science Initiative's website.
Here's the healthy take -aways from the NY Times report on Google's initiative:
"At the top of Google’s list was better electric cars and gas-electric hybrids because they could create large savings by 2030. While big advances in clean energy generation could have big benefits by 2050, in 2030 these would not show major financial benefits when compared with electricity from coal and natural gas, the study predicted."
"If batteries could be sold at a cost of $100 per kilowatt-hour of storage, then pure electric cars, hybrid electrics like the Toyota Prius and plug-in electrics like the Chevy Volt could capture 90 percent of the vehicle market, the study said. "
And here's a good point followed by a blind stupidity:
"...the study found that in the absence of a shift in government policy, improvements in energy storage might end up simply allowing greater use of coal. “Basically it’ll allow you to run the cheapest thing you’ve got, more’’ said Bill Weihl, whose title at Google is green energy czar. "
It's nice to see that somebody acknowledges that storage would allow cheaper generation to be stored, and shouldn't be made to service the ridiculous stuff - it would be nicer to see acknowledgement that plants, of all flavours, running in baseload mode are far cleaner than peaking plants, and cleaner than intermittent plants, but it's a start.
The Guardian tool was honest, and included nuclear as an option. As millions used it, and challenged it, the people who did the math on both the enormity of the task in reducing emissions, and the technologies that might help, gravitated to nuclear generation - and that's been true from George Monbiot and Mark Lynas through to the attendees that drafted the communique from the WGSI conference.
The google project takes elements of science and twists them with a consultant's tool to steer people away from planning a future with more wealth for more people with much fewer GHG emissions - and towards carbon taxes to fund the flavour of the day as determined by Google and McKinsey and Company.
There's no attempt to be fair in presenting the options - and there's really no attempt to seriously address GHG emissions because of it.
Monday, June 27, 2011
AWARE Simcoe - Elect to Protect! - ‘Bad thing happen when good people are silent’
AWARE Simcoe - Elect to Protect! - ‘Bad thing happen when good people are silent’
Farmers David Vander Zaag and Norm Wolfson described key aspects of the huge project – 2,400 acres (an area the size of Orangeville), 240 feet deep (a greater drop than Niagara Falls), the management of 600 million litres of water a day in perpetuity (removal to allow extraction and then return to the watercourses at a different temperature and with surface contaminants), 300 trucks an hour.
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What question is mega quarry an answer to?
Farmers David Vander Zaag and Norm Wolfson described key aspects of the huge project – 2,400 acres (an area the size of Orangeville), 240 feet deep (a greater drop than Niagara Falls), the management of 600 million litres of water a day in perpetuity (removal to allow extraction and then return to the watercourses at a different temperature and with surface contaminants), 300 trucks an hour.
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What question is mega quarry an answer to?
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Another Country, Another Gas Industry Demand For Subsidies To Back-Up Wind
Energy giants want billions for back-up to windfarms | This is Money
'The building of new gas-fired capacity must be incentivised so that gas can fulfil its role as a bridging fuel.'
To that end, energy companies are asking the Government for 'capacity payments'. This ensures firms are paid a fee all year round for keeping a plant on standby.
'The building of new gas-fired capacity must be incentivised so that gas can fulfil its role as a bridging fuel.'
To that end, energy companies are asking the Government for 'capacity payments'. This ensures firms are paid a fee all year round for keeping a plant on standby.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
A Very Dishonest Defence Of Ontario's Solar Programs
This is a disturbingly poor letter, from Manish Nayar, described as a managing partner at OYA Solar, that the Windsor Star chose to publish on it's website.
Manish mistakenly states, “... many of us don't realize that our peak electricity demands are sometimes bought on the spot market for prices in excess of $2/kWh.”
We don't realize that because it is false. There are 3 hours since the IESO files begin, in 2002, when the market price exceeded $1/kWh, which is $1000/MW (you move the decimal point 3 places over because Mega is 1000 times more the kilo).
Manish also says, “Last week, the IESO paid $2.78/kWh for peak electricity demand.”
Actually, the amount of $278.13/MWh equates to 27.8 cents/kWh. That price occurred while demand was at a relatively moderate level (<20,000MW). Demand is only one driver of price; another is supply.
For examples of how erratic supply can impact pricing, see my Wind Jerks piece.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Wind Supply Issues in US Northwest Indicative of Problems everywhere
A recent presentation was put on the web: Wind Energy Development in the Pacific Northwest: Checking Facts, Connecting Dots
Wind isn't expected to be useful there, and it might harm their valuable hydro equipment.
Wind isn't expected to be useful there, and it might harm their valuable hydro equipment.
Canada 1 Step Closer to Paying For McGuinty's FIT program
ICTSD • WTO Dispute Roundup: Environment Issues Taking Centre Stage
The Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, in a 1 June press release on the dispute, cited concern over the “possible proliferation of such protectionist measures all over the world” as their motivation for seeking the WTO’s assistance on this matter. They noted that their consultations with Canada in October did not provide them with the intended result, given that Canada “raised a local content requirement from 50 percent to 60 percent on 1 January 2011.”
The Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, in a 1 June press release on the dispute, cited concern over the “possible proliferation of such protectionist measures all over the world” as their motivation for seeking the WTO’s assistance on this matter. They noted that their consultations with Canada in October did not provide them with the intended result, given that Canada “raised a local content requirement from 50 percent to 60 percent on 1 January 2011.”
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Opinions on where to Spend on Electricity
Solution to Canada’s power deficit ain’t blowing in the wind | iPolitics
“We shouldn’t be putting a disproportionate emphasis on subsidies that develop technologies that are going to answer two to five percent of our problem, when we have available, in terms of hydro, in terms of gas — the potential to fill the need in a much more cost-efficient way,” Burney continued.
“We shouldn’t be putting a disproportionate emphasis on subsidies that develop technologies that are going to answer two to five percent of our problem, when we have available, in terms of hydro, in terms of gas — the potential to fill the need in a much more cost-efficient way,” Burney continued.
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