Why Won’t The UK Gov’t Tell The Costs Of Green Energy?

via The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF)
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Britain’s government seems to have specifically removed quantitative estimates of the costs of wind and solar power from an official report.

The report was  published roughly one year late and has seemingly had most of its cost estimates removed. The few stats that remain are entirely qualitative and do not include numerical approximations, like dollars per megawatt hour, which would normally be considered the principal output of such research.

This means that instead of giving a dollar figure, the report makes statements such as labeling operating expenses on wind and solar power systems “small relative to the direct costs.”

“Given the sensitive nature of the subject, it is entirely reasonable to suspect deliberate suppression of embarrassing estimates,” Dr. John Constable, the GWPF’s energy editor, said in a press statement. “BEIS should without delay publish the unredacted study so that the interested public can assess the true cost of renewable energy.”

U.K. residents pay a whopping 54 percent more for electricity than Americans, and energy taxes cost residents roughly $6.6 billion every year. Green energy subsidies in the U.K regularly exceed spending caps, accounting for roughly 7 percent of energy bills, according to a government study.

Subsidies for green energy will make up 25 percent of power bills by 2020, according to a U.K. Parliament committee. The House of Lords committee warned U.K. power prices increased by 58 percent over the past decade, harming industry and costing families.

“In 2014, 10 percent of the cost of electricity for domestic users was due to climate change policies,” the committee reported. “The Government’s own analysis indicated that this is expected to rise to around a quarter by 2020. This is not transparent however as the cost of the policies is incorporated into electricity bills.”

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via The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF) http://www.thegwpf.com

March 29, 2017 at 01:44AM

US Coal Production On The Rise As Gas Prices Go Up

via The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF)
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After falling in six out of seven quarters since mid-2014, coal production rose in the third and fourth quarters of 2016.

Among the coal supply regions, the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming saw the largest increases in the second half of 2016. The increases in coal production were driven by an increase in coal-fired electricity generation, which occurred as natural gas prices increased.

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Electricity generation accounts for more than 90% of domestic coal use. During the third quarter of 2016, warmer-than-normal temperatures led to increased electricity generation—the highest on record for those three months combined—which resulted in higher consumption of coal compared to the first half of 2016. In the fourth quarter, even as electricity generation declined, because natural gas prices remained higher than in previous quarters, the natural gas share of electricity generation fell and coal consumption increased slightly. During December, the coal share of monthly electricity generation surpassed that of natural gas for the first time since January 2016.

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via The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF) http://www.thegwpf.com

March 29, 2017 at 01:14AM

Fresh doubt over Moorside power project as Toshiba’s nuclear unit Westinghouse files for bankruptcy

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By Paul Homewood

 

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From the Telegraph:

 

Toshiba’s nuclear unit Westinghouse has filed for bankruptcy protection, throwing fresh doubt on the UK’s plans to build Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.

The move, which had been expected, follows a series of heavy losses that have plagued the Japanese parent company.

Toshiba is expecting a loss of £3.5m for April-December of last year, including a £5bn hit from its embattled nuclear business.

The UK’s plans to build a giant 3.8GW nuclear power plant in Moorside in Cumbria have been at risk due to Toshiba’s struggles.

Toshiba is a 60pc shareholder in the NuGeneration consortium, which plans to develop the Moorside project alongside France’s Engie, formerly known as GDF Suez.

Toshiba has been struggling because of the difficulties in the nuclear arm Credit: EPA/CHRISTOPHER JUE

The new plant is slated to use the AP1000 nuclear reactor, which is made by Westinghouse.

Toshiba acquired Westinghouse in 2006 with much fanfare, making nuclear power an important part of its strategy.

But after the nuclear disaster in Fukushima in March 2011, costs in the business ballooned due to growing safety concerns and regulations, and a souring of sentiment toward nuclear power in some countries, such as Germany.

Toshiba has been eager to get Westinghouse, which has debts of £7.9bn, off its books to improve its plight.

The company reiterated its view that at the root of the problem was the acquisition of US nuclear construction company CB&I Stone and Webster in 2015.

An artist’s impression of how the Moorside nuclear plant in Cumbria may look Credit: PRESS ASSOCIATION

Toshiba, which has delayed the reporting of its financial results, said it would monitor Westinghouse’s rehabilitation proceedings and disclose information as quickly as possible.

Its chairman has resigned to take responsibility for the company’s troubles.

The Japanese company’s reputation has also been tarnished in recent years by a scandal over the doctoring of accounts to meet unrealistic profit targets.

Toshiba has said it will no longer take on new reactor construction projects and will focus on maintaining the reactors it already has. But it is also involved in the decommissioning of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, which suffered multiple meltdowns after the March 2011 tsunami.

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March 29, 2017 at 12:30AM

Donald Trump Declares ‘New Age Of American Energy’

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US President Donald Trump set out to obliterate his predecessor Barack Obama’s legacy on climate change as part of a bid to unleash America’s energy potential. Mr Trump last night signed a sweeping executive order slashing measures from the Obama era, a move that was welcomed by the oil and coal industries as a bold […]

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March 29, 2017 at 12:14AM