Here in Canada, we love summer. Our winters are cold, and our summers are relatively short. Each year as our long dark winters come to an end, we are eager to shed our heavy clothing for shorts and T-shirts, get outside and enjoy the sunshine. So, who would imagine that Read more
As we reported last month at COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Government Pledge to triple global nuclear by 2050 added six new signatories bringing the total number of countries who have signed the pledge to 31. Support for nuclear power to both meet countries’ clean energy and energy security Read more
In our last post we looked at the pledge signed by more than 20 countries at COP28 in Dubai to triple the amount of nuclear globally by 2050. This month we consider the pledge made by more than 120 companies in the nuclear industry to meet this challenge and support Read more
A recent article caught our eye – “Stanford study warns against overnight charging of electric cars at home” in California. This study noted that most electric vehicle (EV) owners tend to charge their vehicles at home during the evening or overnight (which should come as no surprise to anyone), leading Read more
Early last month, Vogtle Unit 3, the first new nuclear plant to be built in the United States in decades, went critical, meaning it started to nuclear fission and move down the path to producing its first electricity and becoming operational. This was great news as the project has had Read more
In the early 1990s, deregulating electricity generation seemed like a good idea. Led by the UK, many markets rushed to dismantle their vertically integrated electric utilities with the goal of creating competition to benefit their customers, the electricity using public. The view was that utilities had become fat and lazy Read more
We live in strange times. Globally, populism is growing in response to a deep-seated anger with so-called liberal elites. Experts are no longer respected over louder voices that support peoples’ strongly held views. There are no facts, only beliefs. While most of the world continues to support the Paris agreement Read more
Yes, you read that right. For years, there have been efforts to demonstrate that people who live near nuclear plants or work at nuclear plants are getting sick from all that darn radiation they are receiving. Over the years these stories have been debunked as study after study has shown Read more
When we look to the future, people the world over are hopeful for an era of abundant reliable electricity supplying all of our energy needs; all at a reasonable cost and with little to no impact to the environment. Unfortunately, in many western countries the politics of electricity planning has Read more
It was with great fanfare that Tesla launched its home battery recently. Headlines like “Tesla launches Powerwall home battery with aim to revolutionize energy consumption” were the norm as the public read about this revolutionary jump forward in energy storage. A recent article on where famed author Margaret Atwood is Read more
Quite often we hear about the problem of attracting financing to support new build nuclear projects. In fact financing will be a topic of major interest at a number of upcoming nuclear conferences. While it is easy to agree that financing nuclear projects is a big challenge, in my Read more
Recently, the 2014 edition of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Energy Technology Perspectives (ETP) was issued. The ETP is issued on a two year cycle; the current edition takes the World Energy Outlook 2013 forecasts and looks to the longer term out to 2050. With climate change now becoming even Read more
As we come to the end of another year, it is not a nuclear issue that I want to discuss but rather the broader issue of our need for reliable electricity. Last month I started with a quote from the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2013 highlighting how important energy has Read more
As I started to read this year’s World Energy Outlook (WEO 2013) from the International Energy Agency (IEA), it was the very first line in the executive summary that caught my interest. The report starts out with “Many of the long–held tenets of the energy sector are being rewritten.” It Read more
I have just done my first pass of the Word Energy Outlook 2012 issued by the IEA this November. Many of you will have seen some of the headlines – one of the most intriguing is that the US is expected to become the world’s largest oil producer by 2017 Read more
Has it been that long since my last blog entry? Been extremely busy this winter and of course, busy is good! But on the other hand, I have a set of topics piling up that I would like to write about. Earlier, I blogged when I read Jeff Rubin’s book Read more
Late in November I blogged about a recent phenomenon being experienced in some systems – Surplus Baseload Generation (SBG). This is being experienced in Ontario, Canada due to falling electricity demand and the increased use of variable renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. At that time, I started Read more
As usual at this time of year I find myself asking “Where did the time go?” Seems like just yesterday the year was beginning. And in this case, it was a very busy year. I am thankful to have been busy as we have been going through the worst economic Read more
System operators have recently seen something rather new – SBG – or “Surplus Baseload Generation”. This is due to falling demand related to the current economic situation and a newer phenomenon; the displacement of base load by variable load renewable generation. With governments everywhere and the public strongly supporting new Read more
Last month, the supply of uranium was severely interrupted when BHP declared force majeure on its deliveries of uranium as the main haulage system failed at Olympic Dam. Production has been reduced to about 20% of nominal and it is expected to take a number of months to repair and Read more