February 3 Energy News — geoharvey
Opinion: ¶ “Mission Possible Partnership: Joining Forces to Decarbonize Heavy Industry” • How should investors with net-zero ambitions evaluate potential investments? What standards can be used to judge decarbonization plans? RMI’s Center for Climate-Aligned Finance was set up to help investors and clients together to solve the decarbonization puzzle. [CleanTechnica] Heavy industry (Ant Rozetsky, Unsplash) […]
February 3 Energy News — geoharvey
Gross domestic product is destroying nature, says landmark UK government report — RenewEconomy
Dasgupta Review up-ends economic assumptions about biodiversity loss, which is increasingly becoming a mainstream financial concern. The post Gross domestic product is destroying nature, says landmark UK government report appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Gross domestic product is destroying nature, says landmark UK government report — RenewEconomy
Australia’s path to zero emissions starts with the power grid — RenewEconomy
It’s going to be a year of net zero talk. 2050 is a long time away, but net zero begins with the grid, and it must happen very soon. The post Australia’s path to zero emissions starts with the power grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Australia’s path to zero emissions starts with the power grid — RenewEconomy
“Apprehended bias:” Community group wins High Court appeal against Queensland coal mine — RenewEconomy
High Court supports community group appeal against thermal coal mine expansion, saying previous decisions had been affected by “apprehended bias”, including media coverage. The post “Apprehended bias:” Community group wins High Court appeal against Queensland coal mine appeared first on RenewEconomy.
“Apprehended bias:” Community group wins High Court appeal against Queensland coal mine — RenewEconomy
Australia’s climate policies rated worst of major developed economies — RenewEconomy
Australia gets poor rating on climate policies from BNEF scoreboard, and even worse rating on clean transport. The post Australia’s climate policies rated worst of major developed economies appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Australia’s climate policies rated worst of major developed economies — RenewEconomy
Next three years will be huge for big wind and solar projects in Australia — RenewEconomy
Fully operational wind and solar in Australia’s main grid will almost double from today’s level in three years, adding an average of more than 500MW a month. The post Next three years will be huge for big wind and solar projects in Australia appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Next three years will be huge for big wind and solar projects in Australia — RenewEconomy
Morrison is offering more of the same: indefinite climate delay as time runs out — RenewEconomy
Morrison is gearing up to evolve his climate rhetoric, but leave his policy unchanged. That’s a very big problem. The post Morrison is offering more of the same: indefinite climate delay as time runs out appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Morrison is offering more of the same: indefinite climate delay as time runs out — RenewEconomy
Signs of life at new NSW solar farm, with first generation entering the grid — RenewEconomy
Signs of first generation from Genex’s new solar farm in NSW, as it parts ways with lead contractor for Kidston solar farm in Queensland. The post Signs of life at new NSW solar farm, with first generation entering the grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Signs of life at new NSW solar farm, with first generation entering the grid — RenewEconomy
Nuclear news to 1st February Australia
Crisis within a crisis: Responding to COVID-19 around the world.
Climate crisis: world is at its hottest for at least 12,000 years – study. Scientists say temperatures globally at highest level since start of human civilisation.
Still, the global nuclear lobby keeps up its unrelenting propaganda on nuclear power as the (false) cure for climate change. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0poNgL57kc&feature=emb_title Also distressing is the move for nuclear reactors to be permitted to operat for 100 years, a cunning, but dangerous, way to avoid costs of decommissioning them,
A bit of good news –. Oh dear, I had trouble finding it this week – had to revert to one a few weeks back – What went right this week: hope for stabilising the climate.
AUSTRALIA
Kimba nuclear waste dump issue is in limbo in the Australian Senate. The Australian government’s Radioactive Waste Bill does not meet required IAEA standards. Resource Minister Pitt should withdraw the Bill as the process for a Kimba nuclear waste dump has failed.
Australian Labor Party’s removal of Mark Butler as Shadow Minister for Climate Change & Energy. – an ominous sign for the nuclear-free movement Labor’s climate spokesman, Mark Butler, dumped as Labor’s climate action push collapses at a truly pivotal moment. Joel Fitzgibbon Demands Labor’s Climate Change Policy Be Solely Based On Keeping Him In A Job.
Rupert Murdoch gets a very dodgy ”Australia Day Award’‘, the honour coming from miners and bankers!
INTERNATIONAL
Avoiding a ‘Ghastly Future’: Hard Truths on the State of the Planet.
The most dangerous situation humanity has ever faced – Doomsday Clock stays at 100 seconds to midnight. Who’s next? Experts worry about East Asia and the Middle East getting nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons proliferation can be contagious.
Nuclear wastes – deliberately left to our grandchildren.
Why nuclear power is a bad way to balance renewable energy .
French parliamentarians nominate Julian Assange for Nobel Peace Prize.
Resource Minister Pitt should withdraw the Bill as the process for a Kimba nuclear waste dump has failed
George Gear , 30 Jan 21, Reports have said that there is a possibility of a federal election this year. This means clearing the decks of issues that have the potential to embarrass the government or be a distraction.
One of these is the radioactive waste site at Kimba in SA.
The selection process for the radioactive waste facility project has now been going on for over 4 years.
The government’s bill to site the facility in Kimba will not pass the senate.
The proposed Kimba facility will not get a license to operate a radioactive waste facility as it does not meet
International Atomic Energy Agency standards of burial below ground. Australia is a founding member of the
IAEA. Their standards are our standards.
The minister will not declare Kimba because of the litigation that would follow will add years to the project. The
Barngarla traditional owners have been sidelined from the decision and will litigate. They have the resources to
do it with assets of $300M according to their Adelaide lawyers.
This will still be an issue at the next election unless it is settled. It is a major factor in SA where the government
has marginal seats. Press reports have opposition to the plan in SA at 70%.
Minister Pitt, in February, should announce that he respects the fact that the senate will not pass his bill and he
has decided to withdraw it. The cross bench have actually given the government a “get out of jail free” card. The
senate is now in control of the issue. I say that the government should take back control in the way I have
suggested.
At the same time he announces that negotiations with another nominee in the self selection process has begun.
Leonora did nominate in the process. No names at this point……..
The trouble with the process to date is that it hasn’t followed the science. The PM and Premiers did this with the
Corona Virus. The outcome is positive and they were all rewarded. The waste facility is not being ruled by science
which says that the waste has to be buried underground “at depths of twenty to hundreds of metres.” This
standard has been established by scientists.
The starting point should have been talking to the regulator to confirm the standards need to get a licence to
store the waste. This still hasn’t been done and has been left to the end of the process. Imagine if the bill had
passed the senate and the proposed facility on application to the regulator ARPANSA was refused a license. The
press would have had a field day at the governments expense.
The Australian government’s Radioactive Waste Bill does not meet required IAEA standards
Peter Remta, 30 Jan 21, National Radioactive Waste Management Amendment (Site Specification, Community Fund and Other Measures) Bill2020 I understand that Minister Pitt has brought on the bill for debate in the Senate on Thursday 4 February 2021 as he has been threatening the opposing senators that if the bill fails to pass it will become a trigger for the federal government to call early election by means of a double dissolution.
establishment of the facility at Napandee which will only show up the inefficient and disingenuous conduct of the government and its agencies such as ANSTO and even ARPANSA.
*****
Below is the email message I sent out yesterday which includes in red my suggested draft for an amendment to the Labor
Party’s proposed amendment to the bill The effect of this draft is to require such strict compliance with the codes and standards prescribed by the International Atomic Energy Agency that would be possible for the government to continue with establishing the facility
*****
3A Section 4Insert:
Joint Convention means the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, done at Vienna on 5 September 1997, as amended and in force for Australia from at any time and includes without limitation the Safety Standards established or adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency which provide the fundamental principles,requirements and recommendations to ensure nuclear safety for the purposes of among other things giving full effect to the Joint Convention.
Kimba nuclear waste dump issue is in limbo in the Australian Senate
Julian Assange nominated by French parliamentarians for Nobel Peace Prize
 A Nobel Peace Prize for Julian Assange! https://melenchon.fr/2021/01/28/un-prix-nobel-de-la-paix-pour-julien-assange/ Thursday 28 January 2021, I decided to nominate journalist Julian Assange for the Nobel Peace Prize, as I have the power to do as a parliamentarian. Julian Assange is a hero of freedom. The WikiLeaks initiative has raised awareness of war crimes and serious human rights abuses. It is right that the peoples of the world express their gratitude to him.
On January 4, 2021, British justice refused his extradition to the United States, but maintained his imprisonment. More than ever, Julian Assange needs the protection of the peoples of the world. Granting him the Nobel Peace Prize would allow that.
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Fears that a USA ”interim” nuclear waste dump may become permanent
 Is Waterford’s nuclear waste dump status permanent? January 31. 2021 The Day , By Paul Choiniere p.choiniere@theday.com Paul_Choiniere
The highly radioactive nuclear waste being stored at Millstone Power Station The lack of concern about the nuclear waste storage problem was one of my takeaways from the editorial board’s meeting last week with leaders from Millstone-owner Dominion Energy, held virtually of course. Chief Nuclear Officer Dan Stoddard seemed too comfortable with the status quo, which has altered Millstone from a nuclear station to a nuclear station and nuclear waste storage facility. I would have felt more comfortable if Stoddard expressed some level of anger over the failure of the federal government to meet its obligation to remove the material and place it in safe storage for the thousands of years it will continue to emit dangerous levels of radiation. But instead of voicing any urgency to get the stuff out of there, Stoddard offered assurances that the metal canisters, encased in concrete, that secure the spent nuclear fuel rods and block the radiation “will be secure for decades and certainly longer.” Only when I reminded him that leaving the material there for decades was not the deal Waterford and Connecticut agreed to when the plants were licensed, did he say he was “sure” that “eventually” the federal government would meet its obligation and remove the nuclear waste. I don’t know why he is so sure. The deal when nuclear reactors were built across the country was that the fuel rods, when their energy was spent, would be temporarily stored in storage pools within the plants. In time they would be placed in canisters and transferred to Yucca Mountain in Nevada, on which the Department of Energy has spent $7.5 billion, collected from electric ratepayers, to build a safe depository deep within the mountain. …….. An alternative idea has surfaced of moving waste to a couple of other sites, rural locations in Texas and New Mexico have been discussed, before a consensus can be reached on what do with it. But I see no urgency, anywhere, to tackle the challenge. No one wants to deal with the outcry that would result as this stuff is moved across the country from nearly a hundred locations, even if the science shows it can be done safely. And as Stoddard told us, the situation is causing no fiscal pain for Dominion and other nuclear energy companies. The U.S. Department of Energy was required by a law passed by Congress to begin removing and permanently disposing of the spent fuel in 1998. When that didn’t happen, energy companies sued, and won. As a result, DOE is obligated to cover all the costs of storing the nuclear waste on site. There are 31 storage containers at Millstone, each with 32 spent nuclear fuel assemblies. Dominion has built a concrete pad large enough for 135 canisters. On a pad in Haddam, along the Connecticut River, 43 steel-reinforced concrete casks hold all the fuel from the 28 years Connecticut Yankee operated. These containers are monitored and secured and extremely robust in their design. They are safe, for now. But their contents will continue to emit dangerous levels of radiation for hundreds and thousands of years. Who knows what dystopian future might await humankind. Who could possibly assure, over that expanse of time, that tons of nuclear waste located along Long Island Sound and a major river that flows through all of New England will remain safely contained. No one can. Which is why the stuff should be entombed deep in a geologically stable depository as planned. Follow the science. https://www.theday.com/article/20210131/OP04/210139981 |
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If it doesn’t respect the science, Labor might as well put a drover’s dog in climate role — RenewEconomy
Unless Labor decides to become an opposition, and promote science-based climate and energy policies, they are wasting everyone’s time. The post If it doesn’t respect the science, Labor might as well put a drover’s dog in climate role appeared first on RenewEconomy.
If it doesn’t respect the science, Labor might as well put a drover’s dog in climate role — RenewEconomy
1 This month
17 October, Free Public Talk on Nuclear Issues in South Australia
David Noonan will speak on public interest concerns over the new Roxby Downs Indenture Act 2026 on BHP copper-uranium mining and ore processing in SA, and on how AUKUS may face SA with a High-Level nuclear waste agenda.
Dr Jim Green will discuss international developments in the field of nuclear power including ‘small modular reactors’ and Generation 4 ‘advanced’ nuclear reactor concepts.
Help Aunty Sue Protect Her Land and Sacred Sites From Destructive Rocket Testing.
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Australians deserve the truth
about
AUKUS – https://aukuspublicinquiry.com/
PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
