NEW DEPT. OF ENERGY NUCLEAR REPORT RELEASED

Just out a few minutes ago.

Some of the absolute sharpest minds in nuclear put in months of work on this report and it shows.

Key highlights for me, below... First the basics.

Want to know why Microsoft is prepared to pay $16 billion over twenty years for one of the nation's smallest and oldest reactors to turn back on?

This is why. Expect every major energy-using company in America to have to learn chart this soon.

BREAKING: PROTESTER ATTEMPTING TO BLOCK IMPENDING DEMOLITION AT GERMAN NUCLEAR PLANT

Only a half hour before scheduled implosion of cooling towers at Grafenrheinfeld nuclear plant, a protester has photographed himself near the base of the towers.

Will they blow it anyway?

https://twitter.com/energybants/status/1824468608992338215

Thousands of people have gathered to watch Germany blow up its own critical infrastructure.

But this protest may end up delaying the blast, scheduled for 15 minutes from now.

I've confirmed the protester is a German and is involved in the pro-nuclear scene in the country.

Depressing to watch electricity production crashing in Germany year by year.

We can all see what they're doing to themselves.

Maybe other EU nations enjoy seeing the decline of Germany?

It's almost unfathomable to me as an American to watch Europe sleepwalking into this.

1/4 Fossil fuel prices have collapsed.

Germany has taken renewable subsidies out of power bills & and placed them into the national budget to attempt to stop electricity price rises.

Yet, load this quarter is flat from last year, with Germany now a power-importing nation.

2/4

Incredible: German electricity demand has fallen to the lowest levels since before reunification in 1990, as its economy falters.

Germany intentionally turned off its extraordinarily cheap and reliable baseload nuclear power, rapidly, during a generational energy crisis.

Putin didn't make them do it.

America didn't make them do it.

Even German public opinion has turned dramatically back in favor of nuclear.

German leaders made this choice, to turn them off and keep them off.

Look at these graphs of annual electricity. It's like Germany is committing WW2-style bombing raids against its own infrastructure.

If Germany were electrifying, for either climate or growth reasons, then we would expect electricity demand to grow, not fall.

We should be seeing all time records in electricity production and demand, not the lowest numbers in over three decades.

Now electricity is too expensive for many industries to justify using for expanding or even maintaining production, so electricity demand is dropping.

But Germany's own generation of electricity is plunging even faster than its demand is, turning Germany from a net exporter to a net importer of power.

Many commenters have celebrated the falling energy costs in Germany for this year and next. But those falling costs are coming along with falling demand for power, not increasing demand.

And costly renewable subsidies are no longer paid directly on power bills, but instead from the national budget, lowering the apparent cost of power even further, which should be stimulating demand.

Yet electricity remains so persistently expensive relative to pre-crisis years that, in combination with expensive natural gas, it just isn't worth it for Germany's major energy consumers.

Germany's courts have, for now, rejected adding more and more subsidies for energy production infrastructure to be paid for by national debt.

Even though this is a crisis for Germany, the courts seem wise in rejecting subsidies for expensive new energy when cheap nuclear plants could just be turned back on.

Leading opposition parties have already stated their intention of restarting Germany's nuclear plants should they win power.

This would take about a year each, but each nuclear plant would prop up a meaningful fraction of Germany's bleeding industrial sector.

In my view, there is no longer any other budget-neutral or budget-positive energy move available to German leaders, without destroying Germany's climate agreements to turn on lignite coal full blast.

I have to keep writing this over and over and over again:

France badly mismanaged its nuclear fleet as it tried to foolishly ape German energy policy.

France has had some of worst nuclear fleet availability on Earth.

Germany had among the highest.

https://twitter.com/Montebianco114/status/1743590780856381778

ZAPORIZHZHIA NUCLEAR: LOSS OF KAKHOVKA DAM

Zaporizhzhia NPP, Europe's largest, draws cooling water from a reservoir whose dam is now severely damaged.

All six reactors are off & cold. Almost no cooling water needed.

Unfolding event, but not a serious risk for nuclear accident. Nuclear reactors produce an immense amount of heat when operating.

Massive amounts of water are passed through to keep them at the right temperature, and this water gets heated up and is used to make steam and then the steam to make electricity.

Zaporizhzhia's reactors are off.

First night of Germany's grid without nuclear: it's bad.

It's night. No sun. Wind has dropped to almost nothing.

Most of German "renewables" right now is richly-subsidized bioenergy with half the net CO2 emissions of an efficient gas power plant.

Importing nuclear from France. It's hard to express how insane this situation is.

Highlighting just wind production now, Germany's 66.5 GW of installed wind is only producing as much as the 3 reactors that turned off last night used to produce.

400% expansion of wind would only provide half present need!

NOBEL LAUREATES, CLIMATE SCIENTISTS CALL ON GERMAN CHANCELLOR TO SAVE NUCLEAR PLANTS

In an open letter, Nobel Physics winners Klaus von Klitzing and Stephen Chu, plus dozens more scientists and economists, call on Schulz to reverse course.

German press *heavily* covering this. The letter explains nuclear's crucial role in energy security and climate protection.

Text and signatories were released this morning by international environmental NGO @letsreplanet a day before scheduled nuclear phaseout in Germany.

English version:

replanet.ngo/post/open-lett…

I talk to people about energy around the world

Nuclear is very "lumpy"

What happens to a reactor in Japan exerts a powerful force on what people think about ALL nuclear

"Illegal wind turbines on indigenous land" is not something city folk realized is happening

Now, they will.

https://twitter.com/KetanJ0/status/1630975022893342721

I'm from a part of the USA where reversing wind industry abuses is a legal issue for native tribes

I can assure you the vast majority of people supporting the massive expansion of wind energy are unaware of this

Due to Greta, they are about to learn more about their own country

Germany: we must turn off our reactors because of the meltdowns in Japan of reactors unlike those we operate induced by geology we don't have

Japan: alright ten years moping is enough let's get back to nuclear to lower those power bills

Something's rotten in German leadership.

https://twitter.com/SStapczynski/status/1630398002639822850

I say something's rotten in German leadership because both Germany and Japan now have majorities in favor of continuing nuclear power.

Both nations have severe domestic energy supply deficits made up by massive imports.

I guess Germany has vast lignite mines unlike Japan?

EU "NUCLEAR ALLIANCE" BEING PREPARED:

France is now fully defecting from Germany's suicidal energy policies. Remarkable turnaround after 2 decades of self-sabotaging energy appeasement.

Energy ministers from 12 EU countries reliant on nuclear energy will discuss forming a bloc!

https://twitter.com/EURACTIV_FR/status/1629865773911924736

The 12: Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden

Very interesting to see Italy and Croatia, two countries that import nuclear electricity and may be signaling interest in building their own

In 1985, the world's leading nuclear energy company, Westinghouse, completed a nuclear plant for a growing country that desperately needed the electricity.

The plant has yet to be run.

Welcome to the maddening, but hopeful, story of the Philippines's Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. A few months ago I was invited by Philippine Congressman @markcojuangco to see something few have ever seen: a nuclear plant frozen in time, completed including a trained operating staff, but never turned on.

I couldn't say yes fast enough. Here are some pictures, with captions.

SOURCES: DEAL REACHED TO KEEP REACTORS AT BOTH TIHANGE AND DOEL NUCLEAR PLANTS ONLINE FOR TEN MORE YEARS

The Belgian government has been negotiating with French gas-focused energy provider Engie to keep 2 of 7 reactors on, one at each plant.

Negotiations have been tough.

Cont: Belgium's now executing the end stages of
perhaps the rich world's most disastrous energy policy, closing half of its electricity by 2025. Which half? The cheap secure low-carbon half.

But energy crisis and war has forced a softening

Even as another 1000MW is closing in 3 weeks

YOUR CHANCE TO SAVE GERMANY'S REACTORS

A petition was written by 19 active German professors to repeal the nuclear phaseout.

If it gets 50,000 legit signatures from anywhere in the world in the next 3 days, parliament MUST respond.

How to help? Read on!
epetitionen.bundestag.de/content/petiti… FIRST: you need to register to sign German government petitions.

It's fast and easy. You have to love how much Germany values global input on its actions. In this case, lucky for them, and lucky for all of us!

Click below, fill, submit, check your email
epetitionen.bundestag.de/epet/registrie…

It gets worse.

The UK has only 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas storage.

That's 2% of its annual consumption.

The UK produced just 43% of its own gas last year, down from 99% in 2004.

The rest? Has to be bought. From abroad. By selling pounds. £15-50B/yr going forward.

https://twitter.com/MacroAlf/status/1574383765371211782

Whipped up this lil chart to show you how the UK played itself.

In a catastrophic blunder, during the brief period of gas self-sufficiency, UK invented "electricity markets" that "chose" to build gas turbines, then failed to build nuclear plants as domestic gas supplies crashed.

BREAKING: GERMANY TO POSTPONE NUCLEAR CLOSURES

From @bopanc at the Wall Street Journal.

"Temporary" move that is easy because reactors are ready to roll with no modifications or upgrades or even new fuel at the moment.

Expect extensions beyond this.

wsj.com/articles/germa… This has been building since the start of the invasion in February.

Germany's political establishment suddenly woke from a decades-long trance.

Sensing the mood, nuclear operators finally spoke up truthfully about their reactors being in top condition.

https://twitter.com/energybants/status/1548269133300543499?t=4zx5ngRx2Fkzca9hkzK1_g&s=19

BREAKING: Extraordinary, powerful new interview.

Joachim Bühler, CEO of safety inspection association TÜV, says Germany's working nuclear plants, plus 3 plants closed in December, can operate safely now and long term.

The German government does not want the public to know this. Key facts shared by TÜV's Bühler:

Minister Habeck said everything was on the table, so TÜV assessed closed reactors too.

TÜV's inspectors are in the plants every day.

The plants are in great shape.

Unlike in France, German safety inspections happen during reactor operation.

GERMANY ANTINUCLEAR RESOLVE CRACKING UNDER PRESSURE FROM ALLIES

EU makes Germany a deal it can't refuse?

"BREAKING: In order to secure an agreement on the EU emergency plan, federal government has signaled its willingness to extend the life of the 3 German nuclear power plants"

https://twitter.com/arndhenze/status/1551261556536737794

They're kicking and screaming all the way. Look at this catty backbiting:

"@fbrantner: “In the stress test...we will also take into account the difficult situation in France...because there are very many nuclear power plants that are not in operation"

https://twitter.com/arndhenze/status/1551262026206420992

BELGIAN PRIME MINISTER: FRAMEWORK SET FOR REVERSING NUCLEAR PHASEOUT

De Croo & Green Party Energy Minister announce progress in negotiations w/ nuclear operator Engie to save reactors at both plants.

We've been fighting to hear this news for years.

premier.be/fr/declaration… Belgium gets half its electricity from nuclear power, from seven reactors at two plants.

Successive Belgian governments have announced and then postponed nuclear closures for two decades.

There is no replacing this power except by imported gas.

Reactors start closing in weeks.

Lots of folks are about to discover, to their shock, that wind and solar power does not come from nature.

It comes from mining, human labor, supply chains, and engineering.

The wind and the sun did not get more expensive last year.

Fossil fuels, minerals, and people did.

https://twitter.com/nicholagroom/status/1547628814125019138

Wind and solar achieved extraordinary cost declines for many years.

Some of these cost declines are turning out to have been too good to be true.

The more severe problem is that as wind & solar usage rises, the *value* of wind & solar electricity drops.

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Germany: how about we burn trees while begging and praying that Moscow sends us some gas

Japan: MAXIMUM POWER

https://twitter.com/financialjuice/status/1547513456856801280

Note: the English language headlines going around are a distortion of what PM Kishida actually said.

Although he has indeed asked for the maximum available nuclear capacity to be online throughout winter, most of these reactors have already been in operation off & on since 3/11

Palisades was licensed to operate until 2031.

Its owner @Entergy accepted an early buyout of the plant's power purchase agreement; Michigan citizens are now going to pay money for power they won't get in addition to extremely high replacement power costs.

WHAT'S NEXT:

https://twitter.com/asascott1975/status/1527777152179085312

The plant will be handed off to the undertaker of the US nuclear industry, Holtec.

Michigan Public Service Commission, and the Governor of Michigan, and the Secretary of Energy, and the Whitehouse all want to save the plant.

Is it possible? Physically, yes. But tough.