Novel treatment technology 'could reduce UK nuclear waste burden'

by University of Manchester

Credit: DOI: 10.1039/D1EE00332A

Researchers at The University of Manchester have developed a novel treatment technology that may help to significantly reduce the UK's nuclear waste burden.

The management of radioactive graphite waste is one of the major challenges of nuclear power plant decommissioning throughout the world, particularly in the UK, as well as in France and Russia.

More than 300,000 tons of nuclear graphite waste worldwide, and around 100,000 tons in the UK, await disposal in a Geological Disposal Facility that is yet to be built.

Dr. Tatiana Grebennikova, Dr. Clint Sharrad and Professor Abbie Jones have found a novel and non-destructive method of removing radioactivity from this type of waste and downgrading it from the category of 'higher activity waste' to that of a much lower level. This breakthrough could therefore significantly speed up disposal of such material and reduce the overall cost of dealing with our legacy waste.

The treatment developed uses electrolysis to drive the removal of radioactive species from irradiated nuclear graphite into a molten salt medium. Molten salts have an advantage over, for example, water in that molten salts have a wide electrochemical window, which means we can readily access electric potentials that can better force the removal of these nuclear graphite isotopes.

Using this method the team was able to reduce the radioactivity of UK Magnox grade graphite so that reclassification of the graphite from Intermediate Level Waste to Low Level Waste is possible, making it far easier and cheaper to dispose of.

Professor Abbie Jones, Chair in Nuclear Graphite, said: "The UK nuclear industry has built all but one of its reactors (>40 in total) using graphite as core moderator material and structural components. As these cease to operate, this will result in a volume of graphite waste equivalent to ~ 1300 double decker buses (~ 100'000 tons). As most of the advanced modular nuclear reactor technologies proposed for future low carbon energy production may also use nuclear graphite, technologies that can minimize the burden of this waste are vital.

"We have submitted an international patent with The University of Manchester on this technology and are planning follow-on research to determine if we can decontaminate nuclear graphite to levels even further than observed thus far. We will also use our ongoing links with the International Atomic Energy Agency to explore the feasibility of upscaling this technology for the treatment to address further extensive legacy nuclear graphite waste worldwide."

Dr. Clint Sharrad, Reader in Nuclear Decommissioning Engineering, added: "If we are successful in industrializing this technology, it could lead to up to £1 billion in savings for the UK taxpayer by reducing disposal costs for current graphite legacy wastes, as well as improved sustainability of advanced reactor technology where graphite will be deployed again.

"The nuclear sector as a whole is already exploring and developing innovative technologies to decommission legacy facilities quickly and safely. Our work has shown how innovation can be successfully achieved by possessing a willingness to work across disciplines and research areas."

The paper, titled "Electrochemical decontamination of irradiated nuclear graphite from corrosion and fission products using molten salt," was published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science.Nuclear waste could be recycled for diamond battery power

More information: Tatiana Grebennikova et al, Electrochemical decontamination of irradiated nuclear graphite from corrosion and fission products using molten salt, Energy & Environmental Science (2021). DOI: 10.1039/D1EE00332A

Journal information: Energy & Environmental Science 

Provided by University of Manchester 

Removing massive amounts of fish (and their poop) has altered ocean chemistry: study


Daniel J. Rowe

CTVNewsMontreal.ca

 Digital Reporter
 Tuesday, October 12, 2021 

Overfishing has altered the ocean's biochemistry

Tuna are assorted in lines at a fish market after being landed at Shiogama port, Miygagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, Thursday, April 14, 2011. (AP / Kyodo News)

MONTREAL -- There are not a lot of fish in the ocean. Well, there are, but not as much as there were.

McGill University Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences professor Eric Galbraith led a study that found that overfishing has altered the ocean's chemistry and may play a part in climate change.

There would now be twice as many fish in the ocean as there were in the 1990s, when fishing was at its peak, said Glabraith, which has changed the chemical composition in the deep ocean.

"The important message here is that this is another benefit to be gained from reducing overfishing," he said. So, if you reduce fishing pressure, this aspect of the ocean will go back fairly quickly within a few decades to what it was naturally."

Galbraith said it's the first time anyone has tried to put a number on the total amount of fish in the ocean using computer models to realistically simulate how fast fish can grow and adding fishing data to see how many are being taken out of the ocean.

As a result of taking five to 10 billion tons of fish out of the ocean, the ocean's circulation system -- how nutrients and carbon naturally move around the ocean -- was affected, Galbraith's study found.

"So these fish were all swimming around, they were eating, they were pooping and poop was sinking down into the deep ocean," he said. "Fish poop contains a lot of carbon, and so it [fishing] would have been removing carbon from the upper part of the ocean and sticking it down in the deep ocean."

Removing that carbon removes CO2 from the ocean's surface, which pulls carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere in the same way trees do.

Though Galbraith admits that researchers do not know the exact number of how much that removed CO2 has changed the atmosphere, it is clear that something happened.

"This paper is really just a realization of: 'Whoa!' The fishing had much more of an impact on how the ocean chemistry function than we realized," he said.

When it comes to climate change, Galbraith said the effect of fishing is of a similar magnitude as the more commonly studied effects of how global warming has altered ocean circulation.

"It's another thing to try to understand better," said Galbraith. "It's an impact that we weren't aware we had had. I think the good part is that it's an impact that we can undo, relatively easily by just fishing less."

Overfishing is an issue that has been studied for centuries, but typically from an economic standpoint.

The Grand Banks of Newfoundland, for example, was overfished in the late 20th century leading to the Canadian Grand Banks fishery closing in 1992 due to the collapse of cod and other fish stocks.

Galbraith's study, however, shows that overfishing's impact extends to the whole system of life in the oceans and the chemistry of the water itself.

"This is the tragedy of overfishing, is that when you fish too hard, you reduce the amount of fish that are there, which makes it more difficult to catch fish which makes fish more expensive, and you end up having less fish to eat. So this is also telling us that another benefit of reducing overfishing would be that we would move the natural circulation system back closer to how it used to be."

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Professor Eric Galbraith of McGill University led a study that found what the removal of fish (and their poop) has had on the ocean.

Scientists propose using CO2 to create Martian fuel

MINING.COM Staff Writer | October 12, 2021

UC chemical engineer Jingjie Wu holds up the reactor where a catalyst converts carbon dioxide into methane. (Image by Andrew Higley, courtesy of UC Creative + Brand).

Astronauts roaming Mars could save half the fuel for a return trip home by making what they need on the red planet once they arrive.


According to engineers at the University of Cincinnati, space explorers could follow the updated version of an old process that involves using a carbon catalyst in a reactor to convert carbon dioxide into methane.

In detail, the UofC researchers have developed a process based on the “Sabatier reaction,” which is a process the International Space Station uses to scrub the carbon dioxide from the air the astronauts breathe and generate rocket fuel to keep the station in high orbit.

But since the Martian atmosphere is composed almost entirely of carbon dioxide, astronauts could treat it like a gas station and easily pump carbon dioxide through the reactor and produce methane for a rocket.

In a paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the experts explain that the process of capturing and transforming CO2 also holds promise to help mitigate climate change, while producing fuel on Earth as a byproduct.

“The Biden Administration has set a goal of achieving a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas pollutants by 2030 and an economy that relies on renewable energy by 2050,” senior researcher Jingjie Wu said in a media statement. “That means we’ll have to recycle carbon dioxide.”

Wu and his students, including lead author Tianyu Zhang, are also experimenting with different catalysts such as graphene quantum dots — layers of carbon just nanometers big — that can increase the yield of methane.

“The process is 100 times more productive than it was just 10 years ago. So you can imagine that progress will come faster and faster,” Wu said. “In the next 10 years, we’ll have a lot of startup companies to commercialize this technique.”

Wu pointed out that his students are also applying this technique with different catalysts to produce ethylene. Called the world’s most important chemical, ethylene is used in the manufacture of plastics, rubber, synthetic clothing and other products.

Breakthrough for Rio Tinto’s smelter hydropower project in British Columbia

MINING.com Editor | October 12, 2021 

Kemano T2 Break through. Image from Rio Tinto.

In a major milestone for Rio Tinto’s Kemano T2 hydropower project in British Columbia, the tunnel boring machine has broken through to the other side.


The Kemano T2 Project is completing a second tunnel to carry water into the Kemano Powerhouse, to ensure the long-term reliability of the power supply for Rio Tinto’s BC Works smelter in Kitimat.

The tunnel boring machine cut 7.6 kilometres through the rock in remote mountains over 30 months, completing the route for a 16 kilometre tunnel that was started in the early 1990s.

“This is a significant milestone towards finishing the second tunnel and securing the long term reliability of hydropower for Rio Tinto’s smelter in Kitimat, which produces some of the world’s lowest carbon aluminium,” said Kemano T2 Project Manager Alex Jones in a media release.

“Boring this tunnel is a highly-skilled and technical feat that has been achieved in an extremely remote location that is only accessible by air or sea. We thank all of our partners who are supporting this important project – from our employees, to contractors, First Nations, government and community members,” said Jones.

The 1,300 tonne Herrenknecht tunnel boring machine is named tl’ughus by the Cheslatta Carrier Nation after a legendary giant monster snake and is decorated with artwork by Haisla Nation students. It is 190 metres long and more than six metres in diameter.

The tunnel will be filled up with water in the middle of next year, with the project expected to be complete in the second half of 2022.

BC First Nations say river’s health can be restored without shutting down Rio Tinto smelter

Nelson Bennett - Business in Vancouver | October 13, 2021 

Rio Tinto’s aluminum works in British Columbia, Canada. Image: Rio Tinto

Sometime in the spring of 2022, several Nechako River First Nations hope the British Columbia Supreme Court will rule in their favour in a lawsuit against Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. that would address their concerns about the health of the river.


But they are also hoping for a compromise that would restore river flows to the Nechako without having to remove the Kenney Dam and shut down Rio Tinto’s BC Works aluminum smelter in Kitimat.

Chief Priscilla Mueller of the Saik’uz First Nation said Rio Tinto has lately shown some willingness to listen to the concerns of First Nations, which are focused mainly on the negative impact the dam and low river flows have had on salmon and sturgeon.

“We’ve never had a relationship with Rio Tinto, and I really believe now that we’re building a relationship,” Mueller said. “They’ve been out to our Nechako First Nations communities and those meetings were positive.”

The Nechako River was dammed in the 1950s to generate power for the Kitimat aluminum smelter.

Depending on the time of year, the Kenney Dam can reduce river flows to 25% of what they would be without the dam. In drier years, that can be a serious problem for fish.

“We literally have no salmon left,” Mueller said. “And the sturgeon, everybody knows that they’re becoming extinct. Today, we have to buy our salmon, which is very, very sad for our communities. This was our livelihood.”

The Nechako First Nations’ BC Supreme Court case claims that the dam has had a negative impact on their Aboriginal rights. If the court rules in their favour, it could have economic fallout for Kitimat’s biggest employer: the BC Works aluminum smelter, which employs roughly 1,000 people.

Somewhere between the interests of industry and jobs and the interests of the environment, fish and First Nations, there may be a compromise. Ideally, for the river and its fish, the Kenney Dam would be removed, allowing the river to be restored to normal flow levels. That’s not what the First Nations expect the BC Supreme Court will order. But they hope the court will recognize the impacts the dam has had on the river, fish and livelihoods of Nechako First Nations and recommend a plan to restore at least some of the river’s natural flow levels.

“There is a real opportunity to keep the smelter running 100% and restore natural flow in the river, and that’s what the nations are trying to get to,” said Alex Grzybowski, an adviser to the Nechako First Nations.

Rising river levels concern

The biggest concern about river levels is in the springtime, when levels would typically be at a seasonal high. In drier years, to maintain sufficient river flows, water could be spilled over the dam. Rio Tinto would have to forgo some power generation, but could buy the power it needs from BC Hydro. The Kemano Generating Station already produces more power than the smelter needs. Rio Tinto sells some of that surplus power to BC Hydro. Since the new Site C dam is expected to produce a power surplus, there should be sufficient generating capacity to sell power to the Rio Tinto when water needs to be held back in the spring.

Should such an arrangement be agreed to – or enforced by the court – it would require an amendment to, or replacement of, the 1987 Settlement Agreement, which governs Nechako water flows and release. Rio Tinto is bound by that agreement.

A new governance model being proposed by the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako (RDBN) and the Saik’uz, Stellat’en, and Nadleh Whut’en First Nations appears to anticipate some new agreement for the Nechako – one that includes First Nations.

Earlier this year, the RDBN and the Nechako First Nations signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at giving those parties a seat at the Nechako River governance table.

Rio Tinto appears to be at least listening to the concerns of the Nechako First Nations.

“For the past three years we have been working with a variety of parties at the Water Engagement Initiative for the benefit of the Nechako River,” a spokesman for Rio Tinto said in a written statement. “We are committed to working with the Nechako First Nations, other First Nations, government and stakeholders to review all aspects of the Nechako Reservoir management process.”

(This article first appeared in Business in Vancouver)

GREEN MINERALS DON'T MAKE MINING SUSTAINABLE

Chile offers incentives to miners to take on more lithium projects

Bloomberg News | October 13, 2021 

Maricunga salt flat in Chile (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Chile is offering new contracts to tap the world’s biggest reserves of lithium in a effort to reclaim market share as demand for the battery metal surges.


The government is making bidding rules available to local and foreign firms for five quotas of 80,000 metric tons apiece. Winners will get seven years to explore and develop projects and 20 years of production. The state will charge a royalty for the allocation of quotas and variable payments during production.

The South American nation has been losing market share as new frontiers open up ahead of an expected quadrupling of demand for the key ingredient in rechargeable batteries. The two incumbents in the giant Atacama salt flat, SQM and Albemarle Corp., are expanding, but Chilean authorities are looking to accelerate supply growth by opening up other new areas.

Automakers and battery manufacturers are seeking to shore up supplies of commodities seen as critical to the development of electric cars, with lithium carbonate prices in China reaching record highs. Confidence is growing that the market is finally shaking off a glut that dragged down prices in 2018.

“The increase in global lithium demand and the challenge to promote new technologies to help fight climate change and transition to cleaner energy represents an opportunity to boost Chile’s lithium industry and strengthen its strategic position, benefiting the country and its people,” the mining ministry said Wednesday in a statement.

While Australia is the largest supplier of lithium, Chile boasts the most reserves worldwide by a large margin.

(By James Attwood, with assistance from Yvonne Yue Li)

POSTMODERN METAL ALCHEMY

Silver-infused bacteria make fuel cells more efficient
MINING.COM Staff Writer | October 13, 2021 

Silver. (Reference image by James St. John, Flickr).

A new study published in the journal Science describes the development of microbial fuel cells — a technology that utilizes natural bacteria to extract electrons from organic matter in wastewater to generate electrical currents.


It has been known that populations of bacteria can help decontaminate groundwater by breaking down harmful chemical compounds, but the new research also shows a practical way to harness renewable energy from this process.

Led by a team at the University of California – Los Angeles, the study is focused on the bacteria genus Shewanella, which can grow and thrive in all types of environments — including soil, wastewater and seawater — regardless of oxygen levels.

ONCE INSIDE THE BACTERIA, SILVER PARTICLES ACT AS MICROSCOPIC TRANSMISSION WIRES, CAPTURING MORE ELECTRONS PRODUCED BY THE BACTERIA

Shewanella species naturally break down organic waste matter into smaller molecules, with electrons being a byproduct of the metabolic process. When the bacteria grow as films on electrodes, some of the electrons can be captured, forming a microbial fuel cell that produces electricity.

However, microbial fuel cells powered by Shewanella oneidensis have previously not captured enough currents from the bacteria to make the technology practical for industrial use. Few electrons could move quickly enough to escape the bacteria’s membranes and enter the electrodes to provide sufficient electrical currents and power.

To address this issue, the researchers added nanoparticles of silver to electrodes that are composed of a type of graphene oxide. The nanoparticles release silver ions, which bacteria reduce to silver nanoparticles using electrons generated from their metabolic process and then incorporate into their cells. Once inside the bacteria, the silver particles act as microscopic transmission wires, capturing more electrons produced by the bacteria.

“Adding the silver nanoparticles into the bacteria is like creating a dedicated express lane for electrons, which enabled us to extract more electrons and at faster speeds,” Xiangfeng Duan, the study’s co-corresponding author, said in a media statement.

With greatly improved electron transport efficiency, the resulting silver-infused Shewanella film outputs more than 80% of the metabolic electrons to an external circuit, generating power of 0.66 milliwatts per square centimetre — more than double the previous best for microbial-based fuel cells.

With the increased current and improved efficiencies, the research showed that fuel cells powered by silver-Shewanella hybrid bacteria may pave the way for sufficient power output in practical settings.

In a world fighting climate change, fossil fuels take revenge
Bloomberg News | October 11, 2021 | 

Refinery. (Reference image from Pxfuels).

With its chimneys towering 200 meters above the industrial heartland of England, West Burton A power station is a relic of the fossil fuel age. When fired up, its boilers burn thousands of tonnes of coal each day, spewing out the carbon dioxide that’s warming up the planet.


After more than 50 years of operation, it will close next year, part of a global transition into green energy sources like wind and solar. It’s only rarely used, but for several days in September, it was this old, polluting facility that kept the lights on in the U.K.

West Burton isn’t an oddity. Across the world, fossil fuels are making a remarkable comeback as a super-charged recovery from the pandemic boosts demand. For all the green energy promises and plans, that transition is in its infancy, and the world still leans heavily on fossils. It’s an addiction built up over two and a half centuries, and it runs deep.

In Europe, where electric vehicles are becoming ever more popular, gasoline sales are booming, reaching a 10-year high in some countries. In the developing world, from Brazil to China, natural gas consumption is stronger than ever. The global hunger for energy has collided with constrained supply, itself the result of a tangle of factors, sending power prices surging in many countries.

Adding it all up, fossil fuel demand is already flirting with pre-pandemic levels, which means emissions are on the rise too. On current trends, the combined consumption of coal, natural gas and oil is likely to hit an all-time high by mid-2022.

“This is the revenge of the fossil fuels,” said Thierry Bros, an energy expert and professor at Sciences Po in Paris.

The situation points to a daunting new phase for the energy transition, with growing tensions among the disparate policy objectives of simultaneously reducing emissions, keeping prices low, and guaranteeing security of supply. The pace of the effort could even be at risk if soaring prices dent public support for climate policies.

It’s a dark backdrop just days ahead of the start of a United Nations summit in Glasgow, COP26, which many believe is the last opportunity to avert catastrophic climate change.

“The climate crisis is real, and energy transition is a necessity, and we must accelerate it — but it’s not a flick of a switch,” said Amos Hochstein, U.S.’s top energy diplomat. “If we want to solve climate change we need to do so while at the same time insulating the global economy from extreme energy shocks.”

Price squeeze

Governments can’t ignore the price squeeze, and many have stepped in to cushion the impact with subsidies and tax cuts. But with constant warnings about irreparable damage to the planet, few see officials rolling back from their emissions commitments.

More than 70% of people around the world are worried that climate change will harm them personally at some point, according to the Pew Research Center. The figure is lower in the U.S., though still at 60%. In Germany, the Green party just had its best ever result in an election, and is likely to form part of the next government.

For several years, the world has grown complacent about fossil fuel consumption. From oil to coal, peak demand has been the buzzword, always about to happen, but never actually materializing. Then many assumed that some of the drop in consumption during the pandemic was structural, driven by social changes like work-from-home and the hope of a greener recovery.

But outside jet-fuel, still hamstrung by travel restrictions, oil demand is today higher than it was in 2019. The car has returned to city centers as people avoid public transport. Many countries are desperate for gas as it’s become the swing fuel that offsets the ups-and-downs of solar and wind in electricity generation. Coal is on the up too, even if the medium-term outlook for the dirtiest fossil fuels remains decidedly somber.

Under the short-term cyclical factors — the super-fast rebound and supply constraints — a bigger longer-trend is also shaping the market. As governments work to reduce emissions, investors are pulling out of dirty businesses, and companies are cutting spending and closing facilities. With cleaner energies not fully ready to take up the slack, that’s created an imbalance, as well as volatile prices.

“We’re at a fairly critical junction,” said Russell Hardy, the head of Vitol Group, the world’s largest independent oil trader. “The hydrocarbon industry is going to suffer a bit of under-investment as we go forward as people focus their capital on greener projects.’’

The market is already flashing red. The cost of coal has surged above $200 a tonne, surpassing the 2008 peak during the last commodity boom, and natural gas in Europe and Asia is at an all time high. U.K. benchmark electricity prices last month surged at one point to more than 400 pounds per megawatt hour, about 10 times normal, prompting West Burton A to come into action.

The demand surge has challenged many assumptions about how quickly the world would decabornize. Faced with an energy crisis, many consuming nations zoned in on older fuels. The White House urged the OPEC cartel to increase oil production fast, and the International Energy Agency asked Russia to pump more gas. China ordered banks to prioritize loans to coal miners to boost supplies.

“I’m concerned hydrocarbon demand is not falling fast enough to match the potential under investment in fossil fuels,” said Jason Bordoff, dean of the Columbia Climate School and a former senior energy official in the Obama administration.

Coal is paradigmatic. For nearly a decade, it appeared in terminal decline as investors shunned miners and European countries shut down coal-fired power plants.

And yet, the world’s dirtiest fossil fuel won’t go away. Global consumption peaked in 2014, but rather than fall rapidly, as many expected, it stabilized in a gentle plateau. And now, just as the fight against climate change intensifies, it’s growing again, with the resurgence largely driven by China.

Oil is another case where hopes of an early peak in demand are quickly fading. In 2020, Bernard Looney, the head of British oil giant BP Plc, said it was possible that Covid marked the moment of peak oil. That view has since shifted, with BP predicting in August that demand will reach pre-Covid levels in the second half of 2022.

All of this means carbon dioxide emissions are rising too. The IEA estimates that they’ll post their second largest annual increase ever this year, reversing most of the decline during the lockdowns of 2020. On current trends, emissions will hit a fresh record in 2022 despite all government pledges bring them down, and quickly.

According to the IEA, about $750 billion will be spent on clean energy and efficiency worldwide in 2021, “far below what is required” to meet decarbonization targets. Total energy investment, including green and fossil fuels sources, will hit $1.9 trillion.

As political leaders prepare for COP26, the energy price spike has polarized views about the green transition, already an enormous challenge that involves rewiring the whole global economy. Climate change deniers and fossil fuel industry lobbyists have seized on it to campaign against green energy. On the other side, some climate activists say it shows the need to go even faster.

“Inevitably, it wasn’t going to be a transition without tension,” said Morgan Bazilian, an energy expert and professor of public policy at the Colorado School of Mines. “The balancing act politically is becoming a lot harder.”

(By Javier Blas)

US coal use is rebounding under Biden like it never did with Trump

Bloomberg News | October 12, 2021 

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Donald Trump vowed to revive the coal industry, but it’s President Joe Biden who’s seeing a big comeback of the dirtiest fossil fuel.


U.S. power plants are on track to burn 23% more coal this year, the first increase since 2013, despite Biden’s ambitious plan to eliminate carbon emissions from the power grid. The rebound comes after consumption by utilities plunged 36% under Trump, who slashed environmental regulations in an unsuccessful effort to boost the fuel.

That’s going to increase emissions at a time when Biden and other world leaders prepare to gather in Scotland in a few weeks, hoping to reach a deal on curbing fossil fuels in a last-ditch effort to save the world from climate change. The boom is being driven by surging natural gas prices and a global energy crisis that’s forcing countries to burn dirtier fuels to keep up with demand. It’s also a stark reminder that government policy can steer energy markets, but it can’t control them.

“Over the short term, the market will always dominate,” said Jeremy Fisher, senior adviser for the Sierra Club’s environmental law program.

As the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, reopening economies are driving a huge rebound for power demand. But natural gas is in short supply, creating shortfalls at a time when wind and hydro have been unreliable in some regions. Europe and Asia have been hit the worst, with skyrocketing markets, blackouts in places like India, power shortages in China and the threat of outages in other countries. Energy prices are also soaring in the U.S., though not to the same extremes.

The situation is driving up coal demand around the world, and in the U.S., utilities are cranking up aging power plants and miners are digging up as much as they can.

The shift means that coal will supply about 24% of U.S. electricity this year, after falling to 20% in 2020, an historic low after years of efforts to push utilities toward clean power and amid cheap natural gas supplies. That resurgence may look even more extreme when the Energy Department releases its latest monthly report Wednesday.
’Markets have spoken’

“The markets have spoken,” said Rich Nolan, chief executive officer of the National Mining Association. “We’re seeing the essential nature of coal come roaring back.”

In 2021, the U.S. utilities are poised to burn 536.9 million short tons of coal, up from 436.5 million in 2020, the Energy Information Administration forecasts.

Coal from the central Appalachia region has climbed 39% since the start of the year to $75.50 a ton, the highest since May 2019. Prices in other regions are lower, but also on the rise.

Demand for coal will likely remain strong into next year, said Ernie Thrasher, CEO of Xcoal Energy & Resources, the biggest U.S. exporter of the fuel. Supply is already constrained, and Thrasher said he’s hearing some utilities express concern that they may face fuel shortages over the next several months as colder weather pushes energy demand higher to heat homes.

“It won’t be easy this winter,” he said.

Kevin Book, managing director of research firm ClearView Energy Partners, said the current crisis has added fodder to the debate over efforts to move away from coal.

“The goal of policy, if you listen to what’s being said in Western countries in the context of climate discussions, is not only to stop building new coal but to eliminate the existing capacity to burn coal,” Book said. “This is a moment in time when that idea is going to be challenged.”
Short-lived boom?

While the coal boom is dramatic, the moment may be short-lived.

Global pressure to curb carbon emissions remains strong, and in the long-term, “policy absolutely matters,” said Cara Bottorff, a senior energy sector analyst at the Sierra Club.

Coal consumption plunged under Trump largely because utilities shifted to gas, which was far cheaper at the time, and increasingly embraced renewables as the cost of wind and solar fell. The decline was also the result of key policy decisions from his predecessor Barack Obama. And though Trump sought to revive the industry, legal challenges and the risk of an unpredictable regulatory environment discouraged long-term investments in coal.

Coal mining and generating capacity declined 40% over the past six years, according to B. Riley Securities.

Similarly, Biden’s policies will likely eventually lead to further reductions in coal use. He’s pursuing structural changes including tax incentives and new market rules that will drive decisions at energy companies.

“The transition is well underway, but it won’t be over tomorrow,” said Dennis Wamsted, an analyst for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

(By Will Wade, with assistance from Jennifer A Dlouhy)

LEFT AND RIGHT AGREE HE HAS TO GO

Kenney's approval drops to 22 per cent, lowest among Canadian premiers

Commissioned by ARI, the latest online survey was done between Sept. 29 and Oct. 3 and queried 5,011 adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum. A sample of this size carries a margin of error +/- 2.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Dave Dormer
CTVNewsCalgary.ca 

Digital Producer
Updated Oct. 13, 2021 

CALGARY -

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney's approval rating has dropped to 22 per cent, the lowest among provincial leaders in Canada, according to numbers released Wednesday by Angus Reid.

That's a drop of nine per cent compared to a similar poll done in June, which then showed Kenney's approval at 31 per cent.

Almost all provincial leaders saw a drop in popularity between June and this week, save for Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose approval went up one per cent..

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs each saw their approval drop nearly 20 points in the last quarter to 43 and 38 per cent respectively, down from 61 and 55 per cent.

Quebec Premier François Legault also had his approval drop 10 points, to 56 per cent, the same as B.C. Premier John Horgan, who fell seven points.

Some critics in Alberta have called on Kenney to resign, pointing out former premier Alison Redford did in 2014 after an approval rating of just 18 per cent, but the current situation is a slightly different one, says Mount Royal University political scientist Lori Williams.

"He's got a lot of control within the party so I think it's important to appreciate the difference between where Jason Kenney is, and where Alison Redford was, for example," she said.

"Because Alison Redford really didn't ever have the support of caucus, she only had one person endorse her for the leadership and she never really brought the rest of caucus on side with her after winning the leadership. Whereas, Jason Kenney is very strategic, and he's sort of playing the numbers and apparently thinks he still has some chance of winning party members over."

A leadership review is planned for April 2022, during the UCP annual general meeting in Edmonton, with the timeline having been moved up from the fall.

Some UCP caucus members have criticized health measures for going too far, while others say it’s been too little too late.

And it's that division that is causing Kenney many of his problems, says Doreen Barrie, an adjunct assistant professor of political science at the University of Calgary,

"Jason Kenney has several problems but most of them are internal, his caucus is split between those who want more stringent measures and those who want less, and I think he's been able to gain peace is by threatening to call an election and take the party down with him," she said.

Another issue, said Barrie, is that "there is no graceful exit available to Kenney."

"He's flailing around, hoping that this equalization referendum and the Senate election will buy him some time, but I think these are weapons of mass distraction, they're meaningless really, both of these initiative's, so he really doesn't know what to do."

CTV Calgary has reached out to Kenney's office for comment on the poll.

HE IS HIDDING IN HIS MOTHERS BASEMENT IN CALGARY

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