Amazon CEO says unions are ‘slower and more bureaucratic’ in leaked employee all-hands meeting

Audio from a Tuesday meeting was obtained by The Verge

By Mitchell Clark and Zoe Schiffer Apr 20, 2022

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge


In an all-hands meeting with employees on Tuesday, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy addressed the mounting efforts to unionize the company’s fulfillment centers. The discussion was sparked by an employee who asked about the company’s position on unions, per a recording of the meeting obtained by The Verge.

Jassy argued that unionization would make employees of the company feel less empowered. “One of the things that’s unique about Amazon is that we have unusual empowerment for our employees,” he said. “If they see something they can do better for customers — or just for themselves — to get together, get in a room, decide to change it, and change it, and do it quickly. We encourage that type of speed. You know, you’re part of the union it’s much slower and much more bureaucratic, much harder to do that.”

Jassy prefaced the statement by making clear that “the decision to join a union is employees’ decision. It always has been, and always will be.”

“[WHEN] YOU’RE PART OF THE UNION IT’S MUCH SLOWER AND MUCH MORE BUREAUCRATIC, MUCH HARDER TO DO THAT”

The all-hands came after weeks of news stories about ongoing union elections at its fulfillment centers in Bessemer, Alabama (where the results are currently being disputed), and Staten Island, New York (where employees voted to unionize one facility and another election is scheduled for next week.)

Jassy also reiterated Amazon’s position that employees having to go through unions ruins their relationship with management. “We think there’s real value in having a connection between teammates and managers where you build a different type of connectivity,” he told employees, “a different type of bond, as opposed to having all of your voice filtered through one person.”


Many of these points have been brought up by Amazon spokespeople in previous comments, but it’s noteworthy to hear them straight from the CEO. Jassy avoided the topic of organization efforts entirely in his first letter to shareholders, though he did touch on the company’s injury rates and the difficulty of hiring employees. He had previously addressed the topic in an interview with CNBC using similar language.

Jassy also addressed recently filed objections to the JFK8 election, saying that “in the cases where we have facilities that are exploring a union” the company wants people to have “an unfettered opportunity to vote.... [Amazon] didn’t feel like that happened at JFK8, which is why we filed the objections we did.”

He ended his answer by acknowledging that the company needs “to keep improving the employee experience and our fulfillment centers every day.”

The comments conflict with many common perceptions among warehouse workers. In interviews for other stories, current and former Amazon employees have complained of overly prescriptive and optimized decisions from existing management. Several prominent Amazon Labor Union organizers also say they have been fired for political activity, including Christian Smalls and Gerald Bryson. (Earlier this week, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Bryson’s firing was illegal and ordered Amazon to reinstate him.)

Amazon and the Amazon Labor Union didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment about Jassy’s statement.

The unionization vote at Amazon’s LDJ5 facility is scheduled to begin on April 25th.

Exxon sees carbon capture market at $4 trillion by 2050

Sabrina Valle
Tue, April 19, 2022

Logo of the Exxon Mobil Corp is seen at the Rio Oil and Gas Expo and Conference in Rio de Janeiro

By Sabrina Valle

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp. estimates there will be a $4 trillion market by 2050 for capturing carbon dioxide and storing it underground, the company said in a presentation on Tuesday.

That is about 60% of the $6.5 trillion market the U.S. largest crude producer estimates for oil and gas by then.

Carbon capture is an important emissions reduction technology, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). It involves the capture of CO2 from fuel combustion or industrial processes, transporting it via ship or pipeline, to be stored underground in geological formations or used as a resource to create products.

Large oil companies have been investing to make carbon capture and storage (CCS) a relevant business as international bodies such as Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) point the technology as key to mitigate the effects of global warming.

Exxon is under public pressure to reduce its total emissions as its energy transition strategy does not include renewable sources of energy like solar and wind. It has recently hired Dan Ammann, who led the Cruise self-driving unit of General Motors Co until December, to lead its Low Carbon business starting on May 1.

U.S. oil producer Occidental Petroleum, developing the world's largest project to extract CO2 from the air, has previously estimated CCS could become a $3-5 trillion global industry. The technology could generate as much in earnings and cash flow for Occidental than oil and gas today, Chief Executive Vicki Hollub said at a conference in March.

(Reporting by Sabrina Valle; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

CO2 pipelines are coming. A pipeline safety expert says we’re not ready

Companies want to build pipelines to capture and store carbon, but a report warns that regulators aren’t prepared

By EMILY PONTECORVO

PUBLISHED APRIL 19, 2022 

Image of carbon capture technology which uses fans and filters to remove the green house gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The big fans suck in air from the atmosphere and take out the green house gas carbon dioxide. This technology can solve the problem of climate change and help with the climate crisis.

(iStock/Getty Images/IGphotography)

A year ago, a different kind of pipeline project was announced in the Midwest. Most pipelines pick up oil or gas from a well and deliver it to customers who burn it, emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This one would run almost in reverse. A company called Summit Climate Solutions planned to capture carbon dioxide from ethanol refineries in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and the Dakotas, and then transport it via the proposed pipeline to a site in North Dakota where the CO2 would be buried deep underground.

In the months since, two more companies have proposed similar CO2 pipeline projects in the Midwest, and another wants to expand an existing pipeline in the South. The sudden boom is being driven by federal and state incentives for carbon capture and storage, or CCS, as well as a new low-interest loan program for CO2 pipelines passed by Congress last year and general support from the Biden administration to grow the "carbon management" industry in an effort to reduce carbon emissions.

But as the number of pipeline proposals multiplies, a new report commissioned by the Pipeline Safety Trust, a nonprofit advocacy group, warns that CO2 pipeline regulations aren't up to the task of keeping communities safe

"The country is ill prepared for the increase of CO2 pipeline mileage being driven by federal CCS policy," writes report author Richard Kuprewicz, an independent pipeline safety consultant hired by the Pipeline Safety Trust. "Federal pipeline safety regulations need to be quickly changed to rise to this new challenge, and to assure that the public has confidence in the federal pipeline safety regulations."

Pipeline safety is overseen by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, or PHMSA, a subdivision of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The agency began regulating carbon dioxide pipelines in 1991. Today, there are just over 5,000 miles of CO2 pipelines in the U.S., most of which deliver CO2 to oil fields, where companies pump it underground to stimulate oil production. But researchers assert that capturing carbon dioxide from industrial facilities and sucking CO2 directly from the air will be essential tools to tackle climate change. In order to deliver that CO2 to sites where it can be permanently sequestered underground, they estimate the U.S. could need between 30,000and 65,000 miles of pipeline.

The most concerning finding in the new report, according to Bill Caram, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust, is that regulations for assessing the potential impacts of a CO2 pipeline rupture were not developed specifically for CO2. Every pipeline developer has to identify potential "high consequence areas" where an accidental release would have significant negative impacts on human health or the environment. High consequence areas for oil and gas pipelines are well defined, but the report notes that CO2 has different considerations and likely a much larger radius of concern. CO2 is heavier than air, and a plume of CO2 can travel for miles, depending on wind and terrain, and settle into low-lying areas. The report warns that such an event would be difficult for people in the vicinity and first responders to detect, since CO2 is colorless, odorless, and nonflammable.

"If I had to pick one finding of the report that would keep me up at night as a public safety advocate, it's that one," said Caram.

The residents of Satartia, Mississippi, learned this the hard way in 2020 when a CO2 pipeline ruptured and a plume of CO2 settled over the town, causing people to feel dizzy, nauseous, and disoriented. Many passed out. Forty-nine people went to the hospital. PHMSA has yet to release an incident report detailing the cause of the rupture.

"That incident happened over two years ago," said Caram. "It's crazy that communities are being asked to bear the burden of the risk of these pipelines when this report sits unreleased with all these unanswered questions."

In addition to urging PHMSA to update how potential impact areas are assessed, the Kuprewicz report recommends that PHMSA require pipeline operators to inject an odorant into CO2 pipelines, as is standard for natural gas pipelines, to help alert the public to potentially dangerous leaks. It proposes new requirements for informing and training local officials and emergency responders on the unique dangers posed by a CO2 release. It also recommends setting purity standards for the CO2 transported by pipelines, as impurities can introduce additional risks.

A spokesperson for PHMSA did not comment on the missing Satartia report or the concerns raised in Kuprewicz's report. But the agency did say it was reviewing his findings and working on new measures to strengthen safety standards for CO2 pipelines, as the White House instructed PHMSA and other agencies that oversee CCS projects to do in interim guidance put out in February.

Similar to Kuprewicz, the White House guidance calls for CO2 pipeline-specific emergency planning and training. It cites a need for new tools to monitor and improve safety but stops short of describing which tools are needed. It also notes that the impacts of climate change, like flooding and storms, should be taken into account in the design, construction, and maintenance of CO2 pipelines.

Lee Beck, global director for carbon capture at the Clean Air Task Force, a nonprofit that advocates for CCS deployment, said the Pipeline Safety Trust report "provides important insights and raises really important questions." But from her perspective the Biden administration's guidance document shows it "is well aware of what needs to be done to ensure regulatory safety." Beck also noted that since 2010, there have only been 66 reported CO2 pipeline incidents and no reported fatalities. According to PHMSA data, the incident rate per mile of CO2 pipeline in 2020 was about half that of crude oil pipelines.

But Caram is concerned that PHMSA does not have the funding or capacity to effectively make new rules. "I would consider them a notoriously underfunded and understaffed agency," he said.

Rory Jacobson, the deputy director of policy at the nonprofit Carbon180, also raised this issue. "Ultimately, PHMSA will need Congress to enhance its regulatory capacity, funding, and jurisdiction to effectively and lawfully oversee the implementation of newly-passed carbon management policies," he said in an email. Carbon180 advocates for policy to support carbon removal, a category of climate solutions designed to suck carbon directly out of the atmosphere, some of which would utilize CO2 pipelines.

Other pipeline proponents emphasized the industry's track record on safety. "PHMSA and the natural gas and oil industry have decades of experience ensuring the safe transportation of CO2," said Robin Rorick, the vice president of midstream policy at the American Petroleum Institute, in a statement. The oil and gas industry group has been a key player in developing regulations for CO2 pipelines, since oil companies buy CO2 for enhanced oil recovery. Rorick did not comment on the report's findings.

Jesse Harris, a spokesperson for Summit Carbon Solutions, the company that is developing the Midwest carbon dioxide pipeline, said that PHMSA "clearly specifies multiple layers of protection for CO2 pipeline operations to ensure public safety." He added, "We look forward to continuing to meet and in many cases exceeding all local, state, and federal requirements."


Emily Pontecorvo is a contributing writer from Grist.org.
MORE FROM EMILY PONTECORVO

Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.

THE REALITY IS THAT CCS IS NOT GREEN NOR CLEAN IT IS GOING TO BE USED TO FRACK OLD DRY WELLS SUCH AS IN THE BAKAN SHIELD IN SASKATCHEWAN
https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-myth-of-carbon-capture-and-storage.html

ALSO SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=CCS

Baker Hughes Acquires Mosaic Materials to Advance Next-Generation Carbon Dioxide Capture

Technology features high-capacity and high-selectivity for capturing CO2 in a proprietary metal-organic framework (MOF)

Particularly suited to low purity CO2 streams, including atmospheric CO2, through direct air capture and capture within confined and air-tight environments

Further development of Mosaic’s technology creates pathway towards achieving lower carbon removal costs and helping to enable CO2 utilization

HOUSTON and LONDON - April 20, 2022 – Baker Hughes, an energy technology company, has acquired Mosaic Materials Inc. to further develop and scale its next-generation capture technology for carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction from stationary sources and CO2 removal (CDR) from the atmosphere.

Mosaic’s metal-organic framework (MOF) technology is a proprietary adsorbent material that acts like a high-capacity molecular sponge to selectively capture CO2. Baker Hughes will draw from its existing advanced capabilities, including modular design and material science, to develop and scale Mosaic’s innovative technology, enabling direct air capture (DAC) with a solution that requires significantly less energy to operate and provides lower total cost of ownership.

Both carbon capture of emissions from power and industrial facilities, as well as carbon dioxide removal such as DAC, will be needed to meet climate goals and emission reduction targets. Creating economical, scalable and energy-efficient DAC systems that can effectively capture CO2 from the atmosphere is important for supply into the CO2 utilization market, including eFuels.

“Removing carbon through a multi-pronged approach, including direct air capture, is critical to overcoming climate change,” said Rod Christie, executive vice president of Turbomachinery & Process Solutions at Baker Hughes. “This is why we are investing in several emerging technologies, including Mosaic Materials, to develop a comprehensive and diversified portfolio that can significantly and efficiently reduce as well as eliminate CO2, across multiple industries, including hard-to-abate sectors.”

Mosaic’s technology is the latest addition to Baker Hughes’ portfolio of carbon capture utilization and storage solutions, which includes post-combustion capture, compression, subsurface storage and long-term integrity and monitoring. The Mosaic DAC technology can serve a variety of sectors across the energy and industrial value chain, including refining, aviation, shipping, municipalities, steel and cement manufacturing. DAC can work in tandem with emissions controls to lower the aggregate amount of CO2 that is emitted. While emissions capture and improved energy efficiency at industrial sites can reduce current greenhouse gases, DAC can also cut legacy emissions in the atmosphere.

“Joining Baker Hughes provides Mosaic Materials with the means and additional engineering expertise required to scale and commercialize our cost-competitive direct air capture technology,” said Nathan Gilliland, CEO of Mosaic Materials. “We believe our technology can enable more efficient direct air capture versus other DAC offerings. Together with Baker Hughes, we can now embark on accelerating the development of this compact but powerful system.”

Alameda, Calif.-based Mosaic’s metal-organic framework also has ongoing agreements with the U.S. Navy and NASA for its technology to be used to improve breathing air quality within confined spaces such as submarines and space missions.

About Baker Hughes

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ: BKR) is an energy technology company that provides solutions for energy and industrial customers worldwide. Built on a century of experience and conducting business in over 120 countries, our innovative technologies and services are taking energy forward – making it safer, cleaner and more efficient for people and the planet. Visit us at bakerhughes.com.

About Mosaic Materials

Mosaic Materials is dedicated to reducing the cost and environmental impact of fossil fuels through the application of proprietary, highly efficient gas separation technologies. We utilize porous solids known as metal-organic frameworks to selectively remove impurities such as CO2 from gas mixtures in an array of applications from submarines to power plants. Visit us at mosaicmaterials.com

THE REALITY IS THAT CCS IS NOT GREEN NOR CLEAN IT IS GOING TO BE USED TO FRACK OLD DRY WELLS SUCH AS IN THE BAKAN SHIELD IN SASKATCHEWAN
https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-myth-of-carbon-capture-and-storage.html

ALSO SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=CCS

USA funds nuclear-coupled carbon capture studies

21 April 2022

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded nearly USD5 million to two separate cost-shared projects that aim to study the use of direct air capture (DAC) technology at nuclear power plants. The studies - one led by Constellation at its Byron plant, and the other led by Battelle Memorial Institute at Southern Company's Farley plant - ultimately aim to leverage the plants' carbon-free energy to remove CO2 from ambient air.

Byron's cooling towers could also help sequester atmospheric carbon (Image: Constellation)

Constellation and its project partners have been selected to receive USD2.5 million of DOE funding, with non-DOE funding of USD625,000 for a total of USD3.125 million, to examine the technical and commercial viability of a DAC and sequestration system developed by Carbon Engineering, co-located with the two-unit Byron pressurised water reactor plant in Illinois. Constellation's partners in the project are 1PointFive Inc, Worley Group Inc, Carbon Engineering Ltd, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The study will involve the use of Carbon Engineering's DAC technology, licensed to 1PointFive, within plant operations at Byron and its twin 495-foot-tall (150 metres) hyperbolic cooling towers. A chemical solution would be added to water flowing through the main condenser on the non-nuclear side of the plant. After travelling through the condenser, the water would travel out to the cooling towers, where CO2 in the air will attach itself to the chemical solution and become captured and sequestered.

The project could capture 250,000 tons of CO2 every year, using waste heat from the nuclear power plant to increase the overall energy efficiency of the CO2 removal process. According to DOE, the CO2 captured during the study will be transported by pipeline to an underground geological formation in Illinois for dedicated and permanent storage. However, CO2 sequestered in this way could potentially be used in net-zero-emission industrial processes ranging from creating sustainable aviation fuel to supplying CO2 to the beverage industry, and the study will also focus on the potential for a nuclear plant to become the centre of a carbon capture hub, partnering the DAC technology with storage of CO2.

The collaboration leverages the clean energy expertise at nuclear plants to further advance climate-saving projects, Constellation CEO Joseph Dominguez said. "We need many new solutions to address the climate crisis and exploring this technology at one of our clean energy centres is a positive step driving us toward a carbon-free future," he added.

"A project like this will give nuclear power, which already delivers the most carbon-free electricity of any source in the nation, an even bigger role in helping America accelerate the transition to a carbon-free future," Constellation Chief Nuclear Officer Dave Rhoades said.

The study is expected to conclude in 2023.

The Byron plant had been scheduled for closure for economic reasons in 2021, but Exelon - which has since separated its competitive energy businesses to form Constellation - reversed its decision to retire the plant last September after Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed into law the state's new energy legislation package.

NuDACCS in Alabama

The Battelle-led Nuclear Direct Air Capture with Carbon Storage (NuDACCS) project has been awarded USD2.499 million, with non-DOE funding of USD864,446 for a total value of USD3.364, to conduct a FEED (front-end engineering design) study for the deployment of a technically advanced DAC system developed by AirCapture LLC at Southern Company's Farley pressurised water reactor plant in Alabama. The project will define system costs, performance and business-case options for leveraging available thermal energy from the nuclear plant to separate CO2 from ambient air for off-site geologic storage, in support of eventual system construction.

Battelle will be collaborating in the study with AirCapture, Carbonvert Inc, Sargent & Lundy, Southern Company and the University of Alabama.

The awards were announced on 14 April by the DOE's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News  

THE REALITY IS THAT CCS IS NOT GREEN NOR CLEAN IT IS GOING TO BE USED TO FRACK OLD DRY WELLS SUCH AS IN THE BAKAN SHIELD IN SASKATCHEWAN
https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-myth-of-carbon-capture-and-storage.html

ALSO SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=CCS

Why Germany is resisting calls to ease energy crunch by restarting nuclear power

by scceu

April 20, 2022


It sounded like a fair question. With sanctions against Russia likely to disrupt Germany’s energy supply, why, asked MP Marc Bernhard, couldn’t Berlin just restart its mothballed nuclear power stations?

“If we reactivate the three plants that were switched off last December they could, together with the three that are still operating, replace all the coal we import from Russia or 30 per cent of the Russian gas,” the Alternative for Germany MP told Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, in the Bundestag earlier this month.

Scholz gave him short shrift. “If the world were as simple as you make out in your question, we’d have a very good life,” he said.

Yet Bernhard is far from alone in raising the issue. Germany decided to phase out nuclear power after Japan’s Fukushima disaster in 2011 and the last reactors were due to be shut down at the end of this year. But with EU sanctions now being imposed on Russia’s coal, and some demanding an embargo on its oil and gas, there are growing calls to plug the resulting energy gap with nuclear power.

The government says it will not change its position. It cites technical reasons but the biggest argument could be political, especially for the Greens, who control the economy ministry.

“It would be suicide for the Greens to say we were wrong about nuclear power,” said Thomas O’Donnell, a Germany-based energy analyst and nuclear physicist. “So they’re forced to continue with the old battle plan.”

Attractive as the idea might appear to its advocates, ministers and analysts argue that the reality of a return to nuclear is more complicated.

Could a nuclear restart solve Germany’s looming energy crunch?

Germany’s high dependency on Russian gas is particularly great in heat generation and in industry. Yet nuclear power plays no role in either. The three plants that are still in operation — Isar 2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim 2 — don’t make much of a contribution to Germany’s energy balance: they have an installed capacity of just 4.3 gigawatts and supply on average about 30 terawatt hours a year of power — just 5 per cent of Germany’s total electricity production.

“There are some individual wind farms on the drawing board that have more than 4.3GW capacity,” said one official.

What are the legal difficulties of extending the plants’ lifespans?

Any decision to prolong their lives would require a new comprehensive risk assessment, and, according to the government, the risks associated with nuclear power have grown — witness the danger posed to critical infrastructure by cyber attacks.

The war in Ukraine, during which Russian forces fired on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station and the electricity supply to the inactive Chernobyl plant was interrupted, has also highlighted some of the external risks to which nuclear power is exposed.
Do the plants have fuel supplies?

The three existing plants have no fresh uranium fuel rods that would allow them to continue operating beyond year-end, the government says. New fuel assemblies would, it says, take 12-15 months to produce, and the earliest they would be ready is summer 2023. Russia is the second biggest uranium supplier to EU nuclear plants, according to Eurostat.

Scholz referred to the issue in his duel with Bernhard, the AfD MP. If the current reactors’ lives were extended “you need new nuclear fuel which just isn’t freely available”, the chancellor said, adding that nuclear reactors were not like cars that you just fill up when they run low on fuel.

Would the plants require a new operating licence?

The last time the final three nuclear plants underwent a safety inspection was in 2009, so a new one would have to be carried out which might trigger demands for “massive investments” in safety technology, the government said.

The cooling tower of Emsland nuclear power plant. Required safety inspections would amount to relicensing, a highly bureaucratic process 

© Ole Spata/dpa

That would amount to a relicensing of the plants, a highly bureaucratic process: they would be required to meet the latest scientific and technological standards, which could end up being so demanding that they would make no business sense for potential operators.

What is the operators’ view on extending the plants’ lives?

The companies have made it clear they have no appetite to keep the plants going. Frank Mastiaux, chief executive of EnBW, which operates Neckarwestheim 2, told the Financial Times a life-extension beyond a few weeks “is not possible with the technical set-up we have today”, adding: “We have no legal framework whatsoever to run it one minute into the year 2023. It’s beyond our control.”

Eon, which operates Isar 2, takes a similar view. “There is no future for nuclear in Germany — period,” said chief executive Leo Birnbaum. “It is too emotional. There will be no change in legislation and opinion.”

The operators have also made clear that, if an energy emergency arose and the government forced them to restart the plants, they would insist it assumed all risks and costs. “They’re not prepared to encumber their shareholders with the disaster risks,” said one official. But that kind of blank cheque could prove impossible for any chancellor to take on.

“The problem is that the operators just don’t trust the government,” said O’Donnell. To restart plants they would need “political guarantees that nuclear will continue to be legal in Germany” and the policy would not be reversed again in future — a tall order for any government.

The arguments against may be persuasive but there are plenty of German politicians eager to offer voters relief from high energy prices who are continuing to plead for a nuclear reprieve.

“If the federal government says on the one hand that we soon won’t have any more energy and prices are exploding, then it should do everything in its power to curb [prices] and acquire energy,” Markus Söder, the powerful prime minister of Bavaria, said earlier this month. “Letting the nuclear power stations run for longer would at least contribute to that.”

Ukraine regulator's communications with Chernobyl restored

20 April 2022

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said the re-establishment of direct phone communication between the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) and Chernobyl was an "important step in the process of resuming Ukraine's regulatory control of the site".

Drone footage of Chernobyl (Image: Chernobyl NPP)

Russian forces took control of the Chernobyl site and exclusion zone on 24 February, before leaving at the end of March. Direct contact with SNRIU was lost from 10 March, although it continued to receive information about the situation through senior off-site management of the plant.

"This was clearly not a sustainable situation, and it is very good news that the regulator can now contact the plant directly when it needs to," the IAEA's Grossi said.

The IAEA says that reliable communication with the regulator is one of "seven indispensable pillars" of nuclear safety and security that the director general outlined at the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine.

Grossi plans to lead a team of IAEA experts to Chernobyl before the end of the month "to conduct nuclear safety, security and radiological assessments, deliver vital equipment and repair the agency's remote safeguards monitoring systems". Footage, including some taken from drones, filmed since the Russian departure, appears to show that they built trenches and other fortifications in parts of the exclusion zone.

The IAEA is still not receiving automated monitoring transmissions from the Chernobyl area - they stopped in early March - although it continues to receive them from Ukraine’s other nuclear power plants.

In its daily updates, Ukraine's nuclear power plant operator Energoatom said all four of its plants were operating within usual safe limits on Wednesday. Seven of the country's 15 operational reactors are currently connected to the grid, with the other eight shut down for regular maintenance or held in reserve.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

KANADA NUKE NEWZ

OPG, TVA partner to advance SMRs

20 April 2022

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) have announced plans to work together to develop advanced nuclear technology including small modular reactors (SMRs) in both Canada and the USA, creating a North American energy hub.

OPG's Hartwick (L) and TVA's Lyash announced the partnership at the NEI in Washington, DC (Image: TVA)

The companies said their "pioneering partnership" will develop advanced nuclear technology as an integral part of a clean energy future, driving decarbonisation and advancing energy security in North America. The agreement allows the companies to coordinate their explorations into the design, licensing, construction and operation of SMRs.

OPG and TVA share a common goal to decarbonise energy generation while maintaining reliability and low-cost service, TVA President and CEO Jeff Lyash said. "Advanced nuclear technology will not only help us meet our net-zero carbon targets but will also advance North American energy security."

"Nuclear energy has long been key to Ontario's clean electricity grid, and is a crucial part of our net-zero future," said Ken Hartwick, OPG's president and CEO. "Working together, OPG and TVA will find efficiencies and share best practices for the long-term supply of the economical, carbon-free, reliable electricity our jurisdictions need."

Nuclear generation accounts for significant portions of both companies' carbon-free energy portfolios: OPG operates the Darlington and Pickering nuclear power stations in Ontario, while TVA operates the Browns Ferry plant in Alabama, and the Sequoyah and Watts Bar plants, both in Tennessee. Both are also actively exploring SMR technologies. OPG is planning to deploy an SMR at Darlington - the only site in Canada with an accepted environmental assessment and site preparation licence for new nuclear, while TVA holds the only Early Site Permit issued to date by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission for SMR deployment at its Clinch River site near Oak Ridge in Tennessee.

OPG last year selected GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy's BWRX-300 SMR for deployment at Darlington, where it says Canada's first commercial, grid-scale, SMR could be completed as soon as 2028. TVA has not yet specified a technology for construction at Clinch River, but the company has been in discussions with GE Hitachi concerning the BWRX-300, with Lyash in February saying he believed light-water reactor designs which are closely related to TVA's existing large units are closer to commercial deployment within the next decade. TVA has also partnered with Kairos Power in its project to deploy the Hermes low-power demonstration reactor at the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge.

No exchange of funding is involved, the companies said, but the collaboration agreement will help OPG and TVA reduce the financial risk associated with the development of innovative technology, as well as future deployment costs.

"TVA has the most recent experience completing a new nuclear plant in North America at Watts Bar and that knowledge is invaluable to us as we work toward the new facility at Darlington," Hartwick said. "Likewise, because we are a little further along in our construction timing, TVA will gain the advantage of our experience before they start work at Clinch River."

Lyash described the agreement as a "win-win" for all those served by OPG and TVA, as well as the Canada and the USA. "Moving this technology forward is not only a significant step in advancing a clean energy future, but also in creating a North American energy hub," he added.

Kairos consortium formed to help develop its reactor technology

20 April 2022

Bruce Power, Constellation, Southern Company and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) have joined Kairos Power Operations, Manufacturing and Development Alliance. The consortium’s goal is to advance the development of the company’s advanced fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR) technology.

Artistic rendering of the Hermes low-power demonstration reactor (Image: Kairos Power)

As well as advising on the development of the KP-FHR technology, the alliance will seek to pool knowledge regarding the siting and development of Kairos Power’s User Facility, a full-scale non-nuclear demonstration reactor and operations/maintenance training facility and the siting and development of Kairos Power’s KP-X, a 140 MWe commercial reactor operating at grid scale.

Kairos Power CEO and co-founder Mike Laufer said "partnering with an incredible team of nuclear owners and operators" was a "significant step forward".

"In order for advanced nuclear reactors to play a significant role in the fight against climate change, we are focused on the delivery of a safe and affordable technology through iterative hardware demonstrations.

"By aligning with industry leaders, we will gain confidence through these iterations that our advanced reactor technology will meet the evolving operational needs of our customers in the years to come," he said.

Mike Rencheck, president and CEO of Bruce Power, said: ​"As a leading producer of clean, reliable and affordable nuclear energy, Bruce Power is pleased to partner with Kairos Power and our industry peers and apply our extensive expertise and experience as a nuclear operator to this exciting and innovative consortium."

"Collaboration is critical as we face the climate crisis. Creating a consortium of industry experts to consult on the salt-cooled reactor project is the right way to advance the next generation of nuclear technology," Constellation CEO Joseph Dominguez said.

Jeff Lyash, president and CEO of TVA, said: "We believe advanced nuclear technologies will play a critical role in our nation’s drive toward a clean energy future and look forward to working with Kairos Power and all consortium members as we pursue the shared goals of safe, low-cost carbon-free energy."

Kairos Power's construction permit application for the Hermes low-power demonstration reactor is currently under formal review by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Hermes is a demonstration version of the Alameda, California-based company's KP-FHR, a 140 MWe fluoride salt-cooled high temperature reactor using TRISO (TRI-structural ISOtropic) fuel pebbles with a low-pressure fluoride salt coolant. It is scheduled to be operational in 2026.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

 

IEA highlights concerns over Belgian nuclear phase-out

21 April 2022

Belgium's planned phase-out of nuclear energy is likely to lead to greater use of gas-fired generation and increased emissions, according to a new policy review by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

(Image: IEA)

The IEA said that since its last energy policy review in 2016, Belgium has made progress on its energy transition. From 2010 to 2020, the share of renewable energy in Belgium's total final energy consumption increased from 6% to 12%, driven by growth in renewable electricity generation, mainly from wind and solar photovoltaics, and an increased use of bioenergy, mainly for industrial and building heating and for transport. Progress on renewable energy has been especially pronounced for offshore wind, it noted. In 2021, Belgium had the sixth-highest offshore wind capacity in the world and is planning for a major expansion of offshore wind deployment.

However, the country has so far made limited progress on reducing its reliance on fossil fuels, with government estimates suggesting demand may increase through 2030 at least. In 2020, oil accounted for 46% of total energy demand, followed by natural gas (27%), and a small share (3%) from coal.

Due to the high share of fossil fuels in its energy supply, Belgium has seen only limited reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in recent years, according to the IEA latest review. From 2011 to 2019, energy-related greenhouse gas emissions fell by just 3.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide to reach 90 Mt CO2.

Though the government's Long-term Strategy for Energy and Climate aims to put Belgium on a path aligned with the climate goals of the Paris Agreement and the European Union, it does not include a clear target for national climate neutrality by 2050.

Belgium plans to phase out most nuclear electricity generation - which has historically accounted for about half of the country's electricity production - by 2025, raising concerns over its electricity security and greenhouse gas emissions.

"More aggressive policies are needed to reduce Belgium's fossil fuel dependency and accelerate emissions reductions, especially given that the nuclear phase-out will increase the carbon intensity of electricity generation," the IEA said.

Belgium has seven nuclear reactors located at two nuclear power plants: Doel in Flanders (four reactors) and Tihange in Wallonia (three reactors), with a combined generation capacity of 5.94 GW.

The country's federal law of 31 January 2003 requires the phase-out of all nuclear electricity generation in the country. The law was amended in 2013 and 2015 to provide for the Tihange 1, Doel 1 and 2 reactors to remain operational until 2025. In response to Russia's military action in Ukraine and goals to reduce fossil fuel dependency, the federal government decided in March this year to take the necessary steps to extend 2 GW of nuclear capacity (Tihange 3 and Doel 4) by ten years, including modifying the 2003 law. Under this new arrangement, most of Belgium's nuclear generation capacity will be phased out by 2025.

"Phasing out most nuclear electricity generation will have a large impact on the Belgian electricity system, including higher greenhouse gas emissions and potential challenges to maintaining security of electricity supply," according to the IEA. "Achieving a timely extension of 2 GW of nuclear capacity will be challenging, given the regulatory and technical constraints associated with lifetime extensions of nuclear reactors. The government has indicated that the extension cannot be completed by the winter of 2025, but hopes to have the 2 GW operational in 2026."

The IEA recommends the Belgian government acts promptly to ensure that the extension of 2 GW of nuclear capacity by ten years can be completed in a timely and cost-effective manner. It should also ensure that envisaged reforms of the management and investment policy of the decommissioning and waste management funds do not hamper the timely availability of these funds. The government should finalise the national long-term strategies for high-level waste management.

Next steps include the definition of key milestones and identification of a disposal site, with associated preliminary studies, while ensuring timely involvement of relevant stakeholders and local communities. In addition, it should develop a national nuclear sector plan that provides long-term visibility on remaining nuclear activities and fosters collaboration among national and international organisations in key areas (especially decommissioning and long-term management of high-level radioactive waste) and ensures the continued availability of a skilled workforce.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

 

Applications open for US nuclear credit programme

20 April 2022

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has opened the applications process for the first award cycle of the USD6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) programme to support the continued operation of US nuclear reactors under threat of premature closure.

The USA's existing fleet of nuclear reactors is a vital resource to achieve net-zero emissions economy-wide by 2050, but shifting energy markets and other economic factors have resulted in the early closure of 12 commercial reactors across the United States since 2013, DOE said.

The CNC programme - part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Joe Biden in November 2021 - aims to address those challenges by allocating credits to "certified" reactors which can show that they are projected to close for economic reasons and that closure will lead to a rise in air pollutants and carbon emissions, and for which the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has "reasonable assurance" that the reactor will continue operating safely.

US nuclear power plants contribute more than half of the nation's carbon-free electricity, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said. "We're using every tool available to get this country powered by clean energy by 2035, and that includes prioritising our existing nuclear fleet to allow for continued emissions-free electricity generation and economic stability for the communities leading this important work."

Following on from a Request for Information period earlier this year, the first CNC award cycle will prioritise reactors that have already announced their intention to cease operations, DOE said. The DOE has now issued guidance for the owners or operators of such plants on how to formulate and submit their sealed bids for allocation of credits. For this first CNC award period, DOE is accepting certification applications and bid as a single submission to implement the programme on a more rapid timeline, it said. Future award cycles will not be limited to nuclear reactors that have publicly announced their intentions to retire. 

Applications for certification and sealed bids for credits under the first award cycle must be submitted no later 19 May. The second award cycle is due to begin in the first quarter of fiscal 2023.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News