Hello followers of my brother Trevor. I'm his younger sister and wanted to let you all know that he sadly died on Thursday 20 March. He was so passionate of all things environmental and will be greatly missed. Rest in Peace Trevor, you were greatly loved by many.
France will provide a government loan to EDF, to build six new reactors that will provide ~10 GW of power. Construction is expected to start in 2027. Operation is expected by 2038. Article link in reply.
The plants will have a contract for difference (CFD) arrangement where their revenues (effective power sale price) will be assured. The set price is to be 100 euros per MW-hr, at most. That is actually expected to be a competitive price for future clean, firm (non-intermittent) power.
I'm guessing that this favorable government loan will be considered "state aid" and will thus have to be approved by the EU. (Renewable energy projects are exempt from EU state aid requirements. 😡 Still not tech-neutral!)
We deep dived the thermodynamic scandal that is the Canada-Germany Hydrogen Alliance in this report.
Summary of findings
Energy losses: Steep energy losses make the proposed hydrogen exports economically suspect, as most of the energy spent to produce, export, and deliver hydrogen from planned Canadian projects is lost before reaching end-users.
Fugitive emissions: The carbon intensity of these hydrogen exports is much higher than advertised, as inefficiencies and extra energy inputs to transport and deliver the hydrogen raise its estimated minimum carbon intensity to over 2 kg of CO2 per kg of hydrogen delivered (meriting at most a 15% Hydrogen Investment Tax Credit). However, the current proposed method of counting carbon ignores these emissions, creating significant risk to Canadian taxpayers while failing to incentivize innovation in truly low-carbon solutions.
Avoidable burden: Germany could produce 15 times more hydrogen than the largest proposed Canadian export project using its shuttered fleet of nuclear power reactors, resulting in cheaper, lower-emissions, and more secure supplies of hydrogen without the ecological impact and subsidy spending on Canadian shores.
Local disruption: Local communities remain divided on potentially overstated benefits. Despite the significant ecological impact of these projects, the federal government has refused to offer a federal impact assessment. Moreover, interconnecting major wind-hydrogen-ammonia projects presents risks to the electric grid that are downplayed by project developers.
Subsidy leakage: The primary beneficiaries of subsidy spending on these projects are the subsidiaries of foreign companies and suppliers, 6 while the beneficiary of the end product is Germany (if they decide to buy). Canada stands to capture little if any of the benefit of its generous spending on ammonia exports to Germany, a country that has failed to steward its own low-carbon energy supplies.
Europe's pro-nuclear nations, including Sweden, are calling for more support of baseload power generation, which is necessary for grid reliability. Article link in reply.
They also point out that EU policies are still not tech-neutral. The EU sets targets for renewable generation, but does no such thing for nuclear. What they need to do (IMO) is to have targets for overall "clean" (vs. "renewable") generation.
The UK first started to subsidise windfarms in 1990! We were told that wind technology was immature and needed a helping hand
Now, in 2025, the UK Government thinks wind subsidies need to increase from 15 to 20 years (most of the life of a windfarm)
The UK is the second worst place in the WORLD for solar. After Ireland!!! @ed_miliband stop giving away prime agricultural land to this nonsense
It's a massive waste of natural resources and promotes ongoing use of forced labour in the Chinese solar supply chains
@HughButler35@ShackelWill UNF can be used in Gen IV breeder reactors that are in development. There are easier ways to produce weapons-grade Pu239 than separating it from UNF via most types of Nuclear Reactors that weren't built to produce PU239, in mind.
@HughButler35@ShackelWill 1/ Many things, such as mercury, are toxic forever. Not so with Radioactive Elements (REs), the longer the half-life of REs the less Rad they're emitting. UNF is heavy & solid & stays at the last place it was placed. Don't eat UNF & you'll be ok. https://t.co/pv7euVuyEI.
Let's start with uniquely dangerous.
The main concern associated with spent nuclear fuel – radioactivity – diminishes with time.
About 40 years after it's done making power, the heat and radioactivity of the fuel bundle will have fallen by over 99%.
Anti nuclear activism groups like the Australian Conservation Foundation are spending hundreds of thousands on anti nuclear ads like these.
Most people think donating to these groups helps the koalas. Instead it goes to disinformation campaigns like these.
Support Nuclear for Australia:
https://t.co/qVSTrVtIiS
@HughButler35@ShackelWill Civil UNF has never harmed anyone & never will. If you think stored UNF is a danger to people & the environment, explain how.
Another example of how new nuclear construction depends on climate (decarbonization) policies. Things like repealing the IRA's clean power supports, and this example of a state delaying decarb targets, make it hard to (economically) justify new nuclear construction.
Big ovation followed the Hungarian 🇭🇺 opposition figure Peter Magyar's words: "The spring is here, The spring of the Hungarians, and We, together will end Orban's winter"
@Jordan_W_Taylor The Wave Power (WP) is the modern-day equivalent of W Heath Robinson or in America Rube Goldberg machines. It's all, "anything but Nuclear Power (NP)" silliness. If u want abundant clean & reliable energy, with a small environmental footprint, go with what we know works, NP.
China just LEAPFROGGED Western chip technology overnight.
• Their new system BREAKS a $200 billion monopoly on advanced chips
• U.S. officials said it was IMPOSSIBLE just 6 months ago
• Western tech giants are SCRAMBLING to respond
🧵 What this means for your smartphone, AI, and the coming TECH WAR:
@CheckerOH@Tostadub@bitcloud@dodds_brett@EmmaJam12345 It's available. NP exists, now, & there's encouraging improvement in innovation & materials in NP tech. With the energy demand for data centers & insecurities with the availability of Fossil Fuels (FFs), an easy economic case can be made for the fast deployment of NP.
I can't believe this needs to be said: the U.S. should not be developing plans to forcefully seize territory from friendly nations without any provocation.
https://t.co/hUFCy3yk9z
@CheckerOH@Tostadub@bitcloud@dodds_brett@EmmaJam12345 Yes, if there's a will, there's a way. It only took France 15 years after the 1973 oil crisis to go from 0-75% NP clean Electricity Generation (EGen). We need a similar WW2 industrial effort to fast-track NP deployment. It can be done, as explained in the book, I recommended.