Green World Blog
News, views & musings for our nuclear-free, carbon-free future
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The great nuclear bailout list: who’s a pawn, who’s toast.
Washington DC residents rally outside the District Building September 17, 2015 against Exelon’s proposed takeover of Pepco. Photo by Tim Judson When a nuclear power utility says one of its reactors is economically troubled and it may close early, should you believe it? For that matter, when a nuclear power utility says anything at all,…
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Nuclear advocates fight back with wishful thinking
The IEA/NEA’s new report doesn’t say what the NEA wishes it did. It must be rough to be a nuclear power advocate these days: clean renewable energy is cleaning nuclear’s clock in the marketplace; energy efficiency programs are working and causing electricity demand to remain stable and even fall in some regions; despite decades of…
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Ukraine’s nuclear giant attacks activists, not safety problems
The sprawling South Ukraine nuclear complex. Life isn’t easy in Ukraine these days. There’s an ongoing low-grade war in the eastern part of the country that constantly threatens to explode as Russian troops continue building their forces in the region. In the rest of the country, there’s serious economic contraction–far worse to Ukraine’s economy, on…
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Renewables as baseload power? Yes.
Some specifications of Chile’s upcoming Copiapo 24/7 solar power plant. As pointed out in the article itself, some environmentalists and clean energy advocates remain skeptical that a nuclear-free, carbon-free energy system is attainable; and we’ve had a few strong and interesting responses to my recent post The archaic nature of baseload power–or why electricity will…
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More woes for Exelon as DC PSC rejects its takeover of Pepco
It hasn’t been a very good week at Exelon headquarters near Chicago. First, four of its reactors–from New Jersey to Illinois, couldn’t clear the PJM capacity auction, putting their future in jeopardy. And this morning came the worst news of all for the company: The Washington DC Public Service Commission unanimously rejected its attempt to…
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Three Exelon nuke sites fail to clear PJM auction….bye, bye Quad Cities?
Bye, bye, Quad Cities. The site’s failure to clear the PJM capacity auction is likely to presage its permanent shutdown. And that can’t come too soon for these aging Fukushima-clone reactors. Exelon’s troubled nuclear fleet ran into still more trouble Friday, when three of its nuclear sites–totaling four reactors–failed to clear the PJM capacity auction…
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The archaic nature of baseload power–or why electricity will become like long-distance.
The old grid, beholden to massive, polluting baseload power plants, is being replaced by a nimbler, high-tech 21st century system oriented toward variable renewable energy. There are no shortage of skeptics out there, even some among environmentalists and clean energy advocates, who are unconvinced that renewable energy can ever be the dominant–perhaps even sole–source of…
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EPA took nuclear out of the Clean Power Plan
Thousands joined the nuclear-free, carbon-free contingent at last September’s People’s Climate March in New York City. The unexpectedly large turnout–followed by tens of thousands of comments and petitions to the EPA–helped open the agency’s eyes to first understand our position and then realize it made a lot of sense. Yesterday, an amazing thing happened. Yes,…
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Vogtle: at $65 billion and counting, it’s a case study of nuclear power’s staggeringly awful economics
Vogtle Units 3 (left) and 4, July 30, 2015. After 41 months of construction, the project is 39 months behind schedule. Photo by High Flyer, special to Savannah River Site Watch. Georgia is one state that you would think would be wary of nuclear power economics. The first two reactors at Georgia Power’s Vogtle site,…
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Former Exelon CEO says Exelon should shut those reactors
Current Exelon executives put their fingers in their ears when former Exelon CEO John Rowe (above) speaks. Exelon executives must feel like former Exelon CEO John Rowe is kind of like the crazy uncle who has to be invited to the party even though whenever he opens his mouth to speak the entire room will…
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