PUBLIC OWNERSHIP AND A PLANNED ECONOMY WOULD
Money Won’t Solve America’s Power Grid Problems
Editor OilPrice.com
Mon, August 15, 2022
Despite tens of billions of U.S. dollars earmarked for grid modernization, the United States continues to face challenges in making sweeping investments in upgrading electricity systems and making them more resilient to extreme weather.
As heat waves and winter storms continue to test the reliability of the U.S. power grid, the modernization actions and investments are constrained by the shared federal and state jurisdiction over the systems, regulatory issues, and politics.
By some estimates, America would need $360 billion invested in transmission through 2030 and $2.4 trillion by 2050 in a “high electrification” scenario. Yet, it’s not only a matter of money, many analysts and industry consultants say. That’s because the U.S. currently lacks a national strategy that clearly defines the roles of policymakers, states, federal agencies, grid operators, and utilities in preparing the transmission system on a national level to handle a surge in renewable power generation, demand from EV charging, and the “electrify everything” drive at home.
“Today, oversight of the grid is the responsibility of a patchwork of federal and state authorities. The 2005 Energy Policy Act designated the Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as the primary authority over power generation and transmission across the United States. However, jurisdiction of local-level retail power distribution, which actually delivers that power to end users, remains in the hands of state and municipal governments,” James McBride and Anshu Siripurapu of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) wrote in an explainer on the U.S. power grid last month.
Therefore, the push from the federal government for a massive investment in grid modernization and a major boost of renewable energy sources could be met with resistance at a local level.
“Resistance from states and localities can delay projects for years or even kill them altogether,” CFR’s McBride and Anshu Siripurapu note.
Romany Webb, senior fellow at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, tells CNBC, “The fact that we have this split authority between the federal government and the states is one of the factors that contributes to the complexity of the sort of modernizing the grid and building out additional infrastructure.”
Moreover, in states where public utility commissioners are elected officials, there is often pushback from those officials against expensive investments that would raise electricity bills for the people electing the commissioners, Webb told CNBC.
The NC Clean Energy Technology Center based in North Carolina said in a report last month that 549 grid modernization actions were taken across America in the second quarter of 2022. However, regulators approved only $478.7 million out of the $12.86 billion in investment under consideration, according to the center’s data cited by CNBC.
The regulatory and political issues make investments in the grid more complicated, which could delay much-needed transmission infrastructure updates and thus, push further the timeline of the clean energy goals, analysts say.
The grid is in dire need of modernization, the industry and experts say.
According to the North American Electric Reliability Corp (NERC), extreme weather, inverter issues, and cyber threats pose unprecedented challenges to the grid.
“Severe weather challenged the grid, putting resilience into focus,” NERC said in its 2022 State of Reliability report last month.
Another key finding in the report was that “Large geographic areas have become dependent upon renewable resources to meet peak loads and multiple instances of the loss of solar in Texas and California in 2021 confirm that unaddressed inverter issues increased reliability risk.”
Extreme weather and supply issues have resulted in more power outages in recent years.
U.S. electricity customers experienced, on average, just over eight hours of electric power interruptions in 2020, the latest available statistics from the EIA showed. That’s the most since the administration began collecting electricity reliability data in 2013.
To solve the reliability and security issues, the U.S. needs not only trillions of dollars of investment but also improved federal-state-local community cooperation and dialogue on who should do what to strengthen the resilience of the power grid in challenging geopolitical times.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
Monday, August 15, 2022
A historic climate-fueled drought in Europe revealed ominous, centuries-old 'hunger stones' warning of hardship
Paola Rosa-Aquino
Mon, August 15, 2022
A child stands on one of the "hunger stones" revealed by the low level of water in the Elbe River in 2018.REUTERS
Carved boulders used to record historic droughts have emerged in Europe's shrinking rivers.
A growing body of research links intensifying droughts in many parts of the world to climate change.
Researchers say the current drought that Europe is experiencing could be the worst in 500 years.
An intense drought is shrinking rivers across Europe, revealing stones carved centuries ago to give future generations a warning of hard times ahead.
The Miami Herald reported that locals said the centuries-old boulders, known as "hunger stones," reappeared last week as rivers in Europe ran dry due to drought conditions.
One such stone is on the banks of the Elbe River, which begins in the Czech Republic and flows through Germany. The boulder dates back to 1616 and is etched with a warning in German: "Wenn du mich seehst, dann weine" — "If you see me, then weep," according to a Google translation of the phrase.
In a 2013 study, a team of Czech researchers wrote that these boulders are "chiselled with the years of hardship and the initials of authors lost to history," adding that the "basic inscriptions warn of the consequences of drought."
"It expressed that drought had brought a bad harvest, lack of food, high prices and hunger for poor people," researchers wrote. "Before 1900, the following droughts are commemorated on the stone: 1417, 1616, 1707, 1746, 1790, 1800, 1811, 1830, 1842, 1868, 1892, and 1893."
A view of the "hunger stone," which dates back to 1616.REUTERS
These "hydrological landmarks" last surfaced during a 2018 drought, NPR reported.
But the current drought Europe is experiencing could be the worst in 500 years, according to Andrea Toreti, a senior researcher at the European Commission's Joint Research Center.
At a news conference on August 9, Toreti said no other events in the past 500 years were "similar to the drought of 2018. But this year, I think, is worse," Euronews reported. He added there was "a very high risk of dry conditions" continuing over the next three months.
A growing body of research links more frequent and intense droughts to climate change. Rising global temperatures cause changes in precipitation and enhance evaporation. According to the European Drought Observatory, 47% of Europe is in drought warning conditions, which means there is a deficit of moisture in the soil; another 17% is on alert, which means vegetation is stressed.
Another stone on the banks of the river Elbe was marked during low water levels in 2003.
Paola Rosa-Aquino
Mon, August 15, 2022
A child stands on one of the "hunger stones" revealed by the low level of water in the Elbe River in 2018.REUTERS
Carved boulders used to record historic droughts have emerged in Europe's shrinking rivers.
A growing body of research links intensifying droughts in many parts of the world to climate change.
Researchers say the current drought that Europe is experiencing could be the worst in 500 years.
An intense drought is shrinking rivers across Europe, revealing stones carved centuries ago to give future generations a warning of hard times ahead.
The Miami Herald reported that locals said the centuries-old boulders, known as "hunger stones," reappeared last week as rivers in Europe ran dry due to drought conditions.
One such stone is on the banks of the Elbe River, which begins in the Czech Republic and flows through Germany. The boulder dates back to 1616 and is etched with a warning in German: "Wenn du mich seehst, dann weine" — "If you see me, then weep," according to a Google translation of the phrase.
In a 2013 study, a team of Czech researchers wrote that these boulders are "chiselled with the years of hardship and the initials of authors lost to history," adding that the "basic inscriptions warn of the consequences of drought."
"It expressed that drought had brought a bad harvest, lack of food, high prices and hunger for poor people," researchers wrote. "Before 1900, the following droughts are commemorated on the stone: 1417, 1616, 1707, 1746, 1790, 1800, 1811, 1830, 1842, 1868, 1892, and 1893."
A view of the "hunger stone," which dates back to 1616.REUTERS
These "hydrological landmarks" last surfaced during a 2018 drought, NPR reported.
But the current drought Europe is experiencing could be the worst in 500 years, according to Andrea Toreti, a senior researcher at the European Commission's Joint Research Center.
At a news conference on August 9, Toreti said no other events in the past 500 years were "similar to the drought of 2018. But this year, I think, is worse," Euronews reported. He added there was "a very high risk of dry conditions" continuing over the next three months.
A growing body of research links more frequent and intense droughts to climate change. Rising global temperatures cause changes in precipitation and enhance evaporation. According to the European Drought Observatory, 47% of Europe is in drought warning conditions, which means there is a deficit of moisture in the soil; another 17% is on alert, which means vegetation is stressed.
Another stone on the banks of the river Elbe was marked during low water levels in 2003.
Sebastian Kahnert/picture alliance via Getty Images
The stones are not the only hidden relic to emerge in European rivers due to drought. Receding waters due to climate change in Italy's Po River also revealed a slew of archaeological treasures.
The sunken shipwreck of a World War II-era barge resurfaced in June after the river — the country's largest — reached low levels during its worst drought in 70 years. More recently, in late July, the drought-stricken Italian river revealed a previously submerged 1,000-pound bomb from World War II.
"The bomb was found by fishermen on the bank of the River Po due to a decrease in water levels caused by drought," a local official told Reuters. Experts had to safely remove it.
The stones are not the only hidden relic to emerge in European rivers due to drought. Receding waters due to climate change in Italy's Po River also revealed a slew of archaeological treasures.
The sunken shipwreck of a World War II-era barge resurfaced in June after the river — the country's largest — reached low levels during its worst drought in 70 years. More recently, in late July, the drought-stricken Italian river revealed a previously submerged 1,000-pound bomb from World War II.
"The bomb was found by fishermen on the bank of the River Po due to a decrease in water levels caused by drought," a local official told Reuters. Experts had to safely remove it.
Time has all but run out for world's 'largest carbon capture project'
Karin Rives
Sun, August 14, 2022
In less than 60 days, the San Juan Generating Station is scheduled to produce its final kilowatt-hour of power and release its last pound of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Proponents of a $1.4 billion-plus carbon capture project at the New Mexico coal-fired plant hope the facility will be transferred to new owners and keep operating past its Sept. 30 retirement date. Retaining high-paying jobs and much-needed local tax revenue are priorities for labor unions and the city of Farmington, N.M., which owns 5% of the plant.
Enchant Energy, the three-year-old startup leading the carbon capture venture, has retained a new plant operator and is already offering power purchase contracts to customers in other states.
But after three years of negotiations between Enchant, Farmington stakeholders and the current owners of the plant, little progress has been made on resolving several crucial issues such as who should be liable for decommissioning and the environmental clean-up of the plant if the facility were to change hands. It looks unlikely they will have a deal before the plant closes Sept. 30.
Time has all but run out for world's 'largest carbon capture project' | S&P Global Market Intelligence (spglobal.com)
"There remain threshold issues, which are not resolved," Tom Fallgren, vice president of generation for PNM Resources Inc., said in an interview. "So PNM has a contractual obligation to proceed with an orderly shutdown."
These pulverizers once crushed coal for unit 3 at the San Juan Generating Station. They have since been shut down along with the unit.
PNM, the majority owner of the San Juan plant, is required by the facility's ownership agreement and state law to shutter the 46-year-old facility's last operating unit by the end of September. The utility must also file a demolition plan with San Juan County within 90 days of closing the plant — all work that is being planned out now, Fallgren said.
More than 30 workers at the coal plant took voluntary layoffs June 30 in anticipation of San Juan production winding down. PNM is focusing on operating the plant safely through September but is no longer investing in maintenance of the aging site.
More:FEUS has not finalized plans to replace its 47 megawatts from San Juan Generating Station
New plant operator ready to roll
The small group behind the San Juan carbon project, led by a former PacifiCorp executive and two investors with New York hedge fund Acme Equities, remains undeterred.
Enchant Energy is finalizing a contract with one of the nation's largest power plant operators, NAES Corp., to run San Juan. NAES has already held initial talks with local union leaders about staffing the facility.
"It's a best-case scenario," Charlie Hoock, NAES' senior vice president of power services and renewables, said in an interview. "We've gotten an abundance of qualified local people that are excited about having a job at the power plant. That's fantastic for us."
The contract with Enchant would be executed if and when the plant is transferred to the new owners. NAES could restart operations at San Juan should its last unit close before there is a deal, Hoock said.
Cindy Crane, Enchant's CEO, told S&P Global Commodity Insights the company has customers lined up to purchase San Juan's power once the facility changes hands but declined to identify them. Enchant expects to contract with third-party companies with transmission rights to get the electricity past a local switchyard and onto the grid.
Cindy Crane
"We believe reasonable parties can agree," Crane, a former CEO of PacifiCorp's Rocky Mountain Power, said of the difficult plant transfer negotiations. "We are very comfortable that the project, that [decarbonization], is economic and is financeable."
Crane said Enchant expects to do what nobody else has: equip an 847-MW coal plant with financially viable technology to capture 95% of its carbon pollution with an average plant capacity factor of 85%. Enchant markets the venture as the "largest carbon capture project in the world."
Hurdles to overcome
One of the owners has the right to take over the San Juan plant under the ownership agreement among PNM, Tucson Electric Power Co., Los Alamos County, the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems and City of Farmington.
Enchant and Farmington want to pursue a deal in which the city would take full ownership of the plant and transfer 95% of the facility to Enchant, with the city retaining its 5% share. But such a transfer, which could take months, can only happen if all other owners sign off on the deal. The owner who takes over the plant must make a formal request to assume responsibility, something Farmington has yet to do.
Transmission lines take power away from the San Juan Generating Station.
The current plant owners, which include a group of 40-plus Western municipalities, have voiced concerns over how Enchant plans to finance the operation and ultimate cleanup of the plant, considering that the company has yet to secure sufficient private investments or any federal funds.
The original price tag of $1.2 billion in 2019, when the carbon capture project was first proposed, has since grown to $1.4 billion. Crane said the latest estimate is now "slightly higher than that" due to inflation.
Much or most of the funding will come as monetized federal 45Q tax credits, grants from the 2021 infrastructure law, and loans from the U.S. Agriculture and Energy departments, Enchant reported in a February filing with the DOE. None of those grants or loans are guaranteed, however.
More:PNM plans for Sept. 30 SJGS shutdown as Enchant Energy continues negotiations with owners
Utah cities consider San Juan power
There are questions over who will ultimately buy the power that Enchant would seek to sell. About 71% of the electricity that would be produced by the plant's units 1 and 4 would be sold, and the rest would be used to operate the carbon capture facility.
The City of Logan is one of several Utah municipalities considering signing a 15-year power purchase agreement with Enchant at $33.75 per MWh, in addition to transmission and scheduling costs. But the city's Renewable Energy and Sustainability Advisory Board strongly advised against the deal in October 2021, and local environmental groups are campaigning against the plan.
For now, city officials have deferred the matter to September, said Patrick Belmont, a watershed sciences professor at Utah State University and a vice chair of the advisory board. Enchant faces too many obstacles for Logan to lean on the company for its power needs, Belmont said in an email.
"They don't have transmission rights, they don't have any way to meet the state CO2 emissions standards that go into effect in September, they have not started any of the years of work to obtain permits for the carbon capture aspects of the project," Belmont wrote. "At best, this project is a costly distraction from what we need to be doing, transitioning to clean energy sources as quickly and fairly as possible. At worst, it's a boondoggle."
Critics of the San Juan project have questioned Enchant's promises to capture 95% of the carbon pollution the plant emits. A study released Aug. 1 by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis found that the actual capture rate could be as low as 49% when methane from the San Juan coal mine feeding the plant is factored in.
The DOE is reviewing a front-end engineering study Enchant conducted with a $7.5 million grant from the agency but is not verifying the capture rate as part of that review, agency officials said.
New Mexico climate law looms large
Enchant also needs to secure multiple environmental permits required to own and operate the San Juan plant. Besides various permits under the Clean Air Act, the company would need federal and state clearance to handle hazardous waste, wastewater, cooling water, stormwater runoff and contamination from coal ash, according to a list compiled by the Western Clean Energy Campaign.
All permits would "need to be transferred to Enchant as part of its takeover of the plant, a time-consuming process that has not yet begun and that remains burdened by questions of who will assume liability for those permits," the group wrote in a memo.
None of that ensures compliance with New Mexico's landmark Energy Transition Act. Enchant said the carbon capture project will not be operational until 2025, meaning the plant would continue to operate as is, should the company assume ownership. According to the DOE, the plant generates about 2,000 pounds of climate-warming CO2 for each megawatt-hour of power it produces — nearly twice what New Mexico will allow as of Jan. 1, 2023.
Coal is seen being delivered from the San Juan Mine to the San Juan Generating Station. An extension of the coal supply contract was reached between the station's operator and the mine's owner to provide enough coal to fuel the station until Sept. 30, 2022, when PNM plans to shut down operations.
It is uncertain how that issue will be resolved. Meanwhile, workers at the San Juan coal plant are hoping for a small miracle.
"If there's no owner agreement in place, more than likely — and what I've discussed — is that they will probably file for an order to decommission the plant and take it down to dirt," said Pete Trujillo, business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 611, which still has 80 members working at the San Juan coal plant.
"Everything's at stake for these guys," said Trujillo, who worked for 30 years at the coal plant before taking the June severance package. "We're trying to maintain those jobs."
Karin Rives is a reporter for S&P Global Commodity Insights and produces content for S&P Capital IQ Pro. S&P Global Commodity Insights produces content for distribution on S&P Capital IQ Pro. This article was reprinted with permission.
This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Time has all but run out for San Juan Generating Station
Karin Rives
Sun, August 14, 2022
In less than 60 days, the San Juan Generating Station is scheduled to produce its final kilowatt-hour of power and release its last pound of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Proponents of a $1.4 billion-plus carbon capture project at the New Mexico coal-fired plant hope the facility will be transferred to new owners and keep operating past its Sept. 30 retirement date. Retaining high-paying jobs and much-needed local tax revenue are priorities for labor unions and the city of Farmington, N.M., which owns 5% of the plant.
Enchant Energy, the three-year-old startup leading the carbon capture venture, has retained a new plant operator and is already offering power purchase contracts to customers in other states.
But after three years of negotiations between Enchant, Farmington stakeholders and the current owners of the plant, little progress has been made on resolving several crucial issues such as who should be liable for decommissioning and the environmental clean-up of the plant if the facility were to change hands. It looks unlikely they will have a deal before the plant closes Sept. 30.
Time has all but run out for world's 'largest carbon capture project' | S&P Global Market Intelligence (spglobal.com)
"There remain threshold issues, which are not resolved," Tom Fallgren, vice president of generation for PNM Resources Inc., said in an interview. "So PNM has a contractual obligation to proceed with an orderly shutdown."
These pulverizers once crushed coal for unit 3 at the San Juan Generating Station. They have since been shut down along with the unit.
PNM, the majority owner of the San Juan plant, is required by the facility's ownership agreement and state law to shutter the 46-year-old facility's last operating unit by the end of September. The utility must also file a demolition plan with San Juan County within 90 days of closing the plant — all work that is being planned out now, Fallgren said.
More than 30 workers at the coal plant took voluntary layoffs June 30 in anticipation of San Juan production winding down. PNM is focusing on operating the plant safely through September but is no longer investing in maintenance of the aging site.
More:FEUS has not finalized plans to replace its 47 megawatts from San Juan Generating Station
New plant operator ready to roll
The small group behind the San Juan carbon project, led by a former PacifiCorp executive and two investors with New York hedge fund Acme Equities, remains undeterred.
Enchant Energy is finalizing a contract with one of the nation's largest power plant operators, NAES Corp., to run San Juan. NAES has already held initial talks with local union leaders about staffing the facility.
"It's a best-case scenario," Charlie Hoock, NAES' senior vice president of power services and renewables, said in an interview. "We've gotten an abundance of qualified local people that are excited about having a job at the power plant. That's fantastic for us."
The contract with Enchant would be executed if and when the plant is transferred to the new owners. NAES could restart operations at San Juan should its last unit close before there is a deal, Hoock said.
Cindy Crane, Enchant's CEO, told S&P Global Commodity Insights the company has customers lined up to purchase San Juan's power once the facility changes hands but declined to identify them. Enchant expects to contract with third-party companies with transmission rights to get the electricity past a local switchyard and onto the grid.
Cindy Crane
"We believe reasonable parties can agree," Crane, a former CEO of PacifiCorp's Rocky Mountain Power, said of the difficult plant transfer negotiations. "We are very comfortable that the project, that [decarbonization], is economic and is financeable."
Crane said Enchant expects to do what nobody else has: equip an 847-MW coal plant with financially viable technology to capture 95% of its carbon pollution with an average plant capacity factor of 85%. Enchant markets the venture as the "largest carbon capture project in the world."
Hurdles to overcome
One of the owners has the right to take over the San Juan plant under the ownership agreement among PNM, Tucson Electric Power Co., Los Alamos County, the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems and City of Farmington.
Enchant and Farmington want to pursue a deal in which the city would take full ownership of the plant and transfer 95% of the facility to Enchant, with the city retaining its 5% share. But such a transfer, which could take months, can only happen if all other owners sign off on the deal. The owner who takes over the plant must make a formal request to assume responsibility, something Farmington has yet to do.
Transmission lines take power away from the San Juan Generating Station.
The current plant owners, which include a group of 40-plus Western municipalities, have voiced concerns over how Enchant plans to finance the operation and ultimate cleanup of the plant, considering that the company has yet to secure sufficient private investments or any federal funds.
The original price tag of $1.2 billion in 2019, when the carbon capture project was first proposed, has since grown to $1.4 billion. Crane said the latest estimate is now "slightly higher than that" due to inflation.
Much or most of the funding will come as monetized federal 45Q tax credits, grants from the 2021 infrastructure law, and loans from the U.S. Agriculture and Energy departments, Enchant reported in a February filing with the DOE. None of those grants or loans are guaranteed, however.
More:PNM plans for Sept. 30 SJGS shutdown as Enchant Energy continues negotiations with owners
Utah cities consider San Juan power
There are questions over who will ultimately buy the power that Enchant would seek to sell. About 71% of the electricity that would be produced by the plant's units 1 and 4 would be sold, and the rest would be used to operate the carbon capture facility.
The City of Logan is one of several Utah municipalities considering signing a 15-year power purchase agreement with Enchant at $33.75 per MWh, in addition to transmission and scheduling costs. But the city's Renewable Energy and Sustainability Advisory Board strongly advised against the deal in October 2021, and local environmental groups are campaigning against the plan.
For now, city officials have deferred the matter to September, said Patrick Belmont, a watershed sciences professor at Utah State University and a vice chair of the advisory board. Enchant faces too many obstacles for Logan to lean on the company for its power needs, Belmont said in an email.
"They don't have transmission rights, they don't have any way to meet the state CO2 emissions standards that go into effect in September, they have not started any of the years of work to obtain permits for the carbon capture aspects of the project," Belmont wrote. "At best, this project is a costly distraction from what we need to be doing, transitioning to clean energy sources as quickly and fairly as possible. At worst, it's a boondoggle."
Critics of the San Juan project have questioned Enchant's promises to capture 95% of the carbon pollution the plant emits. A study released Aug. 1 by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis found that the actual capture rate could be as low as 49% when methane from the San Juan coal mine feeding the plant is factored in.
The DOE is reviewing a front-end engineering study Enchant conducted with a $7.5 million grant from the agency but is not verifying the capture rate as part of that review, agency officials said.
New Mexico climate law looms large
Enchant also needs to secure multiple environmental permits required to own and operate the San Juan plant. Besides various permits under the Clean Air Act, the company would need federal and state clearance to handle hazardous waste, wastewater, cooling water, stormwater runoff and contamination from coal ash, according to a list compiled by the Western Clean Energy Campaign.
All permits would "need to be transferred to Enchant as part of its takeover of the plant, a time-consuming process that has not yet begun and that remains burdened by questions of who will assume liability for those permits," the group wrote in a memo.
None of that ensures compliance with New Mexico's landmark Energy Transition Act. Enchant said the carbon capture project will not be operational until 2025, meaning the plant would continue to operate as is, should the company assume ownership. According to the DOE, the plant generates about 2,000 pounds of climate-warming CO2 for each megawatt-hour of power it produces — nearly twice what New Mexico will allow as of Jan. 1, 2023.
Coal is seen being delivered from the San Juan Mine to the San Juan Generating Station. An extension of the coal supply contract was reached between the station's operator and the mine's owner to provide enough coal to fuel the station until Sept. 30, 2022, when PNM plans to shut down operations.
It is uncertain how that issue will be resolved. Meanwhile, workers at the San Juan coal plant are hoping for a small miracle.
"If there's no owner agreement in place, more than likely — and what I've discussed — is that they will probably file for an order to decommission the plant and take it down to dirt," said Pete Trujillo, business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 611, which still has 80 members working at the San Juan coal plant.
"Everything's at stake for these guys," said Trujillo, who worked for 30 years at the coal plant before taking the June severance package. "We're trying to maintain those jobs."
Karin Rives is a reporter for S&P Global Commodity Insights and produces content for S&P Capital IQ Pro. S&P Global Commodity Insights produces content for distribution on S&P Capital IQ Pro. This article was reprinted with permission.
This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Time has all but run out for San Juan Generating Station
CDC changes guidance after dog contracts monkeypox from owners
By HealthDay News
A 4-year-old Italian greyhound in France developed lesions and tested positive for monkeypox 12 days after its owners first showed symptoms. Photo by Jeeby/Pixabay
Adding yet another wrinkle to the monkeypox outbreak, a new case study suggests that people can pass the virus on to their pet dogs.
Therefore, people who are infected with the virus should avoid close contact with their pets, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control now advises in an updated guidance.
The change reflects the first documented cases of a pet getting the virus from its owner, according to CBS News. That case happened in France, according to a new paper published in The Lancet.
"To the best of our knowledge, the kinetics of symptom onset in both patients and, subsequently, in their dog suggest human-to-dog transmission of monkeypox virus," the researchers concluded in the paper.
In this case, a 4-year-old Italian greyhound developed lesions and tested positive for monkeypox 12 days after its owners first showed symptoms. The owners are two male partners who live together but were not sexually exclusive. They routinely allowed their pooch to snooze in their bed.
The couple began having symptoms of monkeypox a few days after sleeping with other partners. Both men said once their symptoms started they'd been careful to prevent their dog from coming into contact with other people or pets, CBS News reported.
It's not new information that animals can carry monkeypox, but this is the first time a reported case has happened in domestic dogs or cats, the researchers said.
It's been long known that wild animals, including rodents and primates, can carry monkeypox in countries where the virus is endemic. Captive primates have also contracted the virus from imported animals in Europe, the researchers noted. They said there's a need for further investigation into secondary monkeypox transmission through pets.
"Our findings should prompt debate on the need to isolate pets from monkeypox virus-positive individuals," they wrote.
The World Health Organization declared monkeypox virus -- which is now spreading in places where it has not been endemic -- a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on June 23.
People with monkeypox should avoid close contact with animals, the CDC said, and any pets that have not been exposed to the virus should be cared for by friends or family in another home while the owner recovers.
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on monkeypox.
Copyright © 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
By HealthDay News
A 4-year-old Italian greyhound in France developed lesions and tested positive for monkeypox 12 days after its owners first showed symptoms. Photo by Jeeby/Pixabay
Adding yet another wrinkle to the monkeypox outbreak, a new case study suggests that people can pass the virus on to their pet dogs.
Therefore, people who are infected with the virus should avoid close contact with their pets, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control now advises in an updated guidance.
The change reflects the first documented cases of a pet getting the virus from its owner, according to CBS News. That case happened in France, according to a new paper published in The Lancet.
"To the best of our knowledge, the kinetics of symptom onset in both patients and, subsequently, in their dog suggest human-to-dog transmission of monkeypox virus," the researchers concluded in the paper.
In this case, a 4-year-old Italian greyhound developed lesions and tested positive for monkeypox 12 days after its owners first showed symptoms. The owners are two male partners who live together but were not sexually exclusive. They routinely allowed their pooch to snooze in their bed.
The couple began having symptoms of monkeypox a few days after sleeping with other partners. Both men said once their symptoms started they'd been careful to prevent their dog from coming into contact with other people or pets, CBS News reported.
It's not new information that animals can carry monkeypox, but this is the first time a reported case has happened in domestic dogs or cats, the researchers said.
It's been long known that wild animals, including rodents and primates, can carry monkeypox in countries where the virus is endemic. Captive primates have also contracted the virus from imported animals in Europe, the researchers noted. They said there's a need for further investigation into secondary monkeypox transmission through pets.
"Our findings should prompt debate on the need to isolate pets from monkeypox virus-positive individuals," they wrote.
The World Health Organization declared monkeypox virus -- which is now spreading in places where it has not been endemic -- a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on June 23.
People with monkeypox should avoid close contact with animals, the CDC said, and any pets that have not been exposed to the virus should be cared for by friends or family in another home while the owner recovers.
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on monkeypox.
Copyright © 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
French nuclear plants break a sweat over heat wave
Successive heat waves are putting French nuclear reactors under strain. But that is not pushing them into an existential crisis, as Lisa Louis reports from Paris.
The Golfech nuclear plant in southwestern France is among the nation's power stations that have run into problems
Like other European countries, France has been baking in temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for several weeks. Although that is putting French nuclear reactors under strain, this does not seem to be calling the country's nuclear-heavy energy strategy into question.
Nuclear power plants normally generate roughly 70% of electricity in France — making nuclear's share of the energy mix there higher than in any other country.
But more than half of the country's 56 reactors have been closed for several months due to planned or extraordinary maintenance.
And about a fifth of them would normally need to interrupt their activity or at least reduce it to a bare minimum, as the water temperature of the rivers into which plants discharge their cooling water exceeds a certain limit.
But the government has suspended that rule until at least September 11.
Environmental activist Jean-Pierre Delfau wants some of the reactors to at least suspend operations amid the current heat wave
Not an existential crisis for French nuclear power
Power company EDF, which runs all of France's nuclear power plants, declined an interview request with DW. A spokeswoman replied by email that the situation was "extraordinary" and that so far, environmental probes had not revealed any negative impact on the flora and fauna around the respective reactors.
Despite environmental concerns, current issues are not throwing French nuclear power into an existential crisis. The government is planning to soon nationalize EDF and construct additional nuclear plants.
That has Anna Creti, climate economy director at Paris University Dauphine, scratching her head.
"It's not quite clear how this strategy is supposed to work on a technology level, especially in the short run," she told DW.
Technology not ready
"France is banking on so-called small modular reactors (SMRs), for which there exist roughly 40 different technologies, all of them in a pilot phase," Creti said. "Getting them ready for deployment could take up to 10 years," she added.
"The government also plans to construct more pressurized-water, so-called EPR reactors — a model that has encountered numerous problems," she continued.
According to current predictions, the country's first EPR plant is to go live next year in Flamanville in the north of the country. According to developer EDF, building costs have so far at least tripled, to roughly €13 billion ($13.3 billion).
Pressurized-water, so-called third-generation European Pressurised Reactors (EPR) are being built in the town of Flamanville
The European Court of Auditors puts that figure at €19 billion — with construction taking more than 10 years longer than planned. Other EPRs in Britain, China and Finland are reported to experience construction, conceptual or production problems.
"The government has nevertheless earmarked €150 billion for refurbishing existing nuclear plants and constructing new ones," Creti said, adding that no such funding boon was announced for renewables, although Paris is working on new rules to cut red tape for development of renewables.
"Putting more money intorenewables would make sense, as theyhave become ever cheaper over the past few years, and their technology is sufficiently advanced for them to be deployed immediately across the country," she emphasized.
France is the only European country not to have reached its 2020 EU renewables targets. Renewable energies make up only roughly 19% of energy production, instead of the planned 23%.
Various reasons for France's approach
But Christian Egenhofer, associate senior research fellow at Brussels-based think tank Center for European Policy, says the EU's so-called strategic autonomy is one reason France is betting on nuclear energy. The EU is aiming for independence not only regarding defense, but also energy independence.
"We have roughly 100 nuclear power plants in Europe. We need nuclear scientists and engineers to take care of their maintenance work — or we will have to farm out these tasks to the US, China or Korea, which would pose security issues," he told DW.
He added that France's grid structure is additionally a stumbling block for a massive deployment of renewables.
"The country's electric grid is centralized around Paris, where most of the electricity is consumed. All the power is brought there and redispatched across the country. That's not suitable for decentralized renewables projects, and adapting the grid will take years," Egenhofer explained.
Nevertheless, he believes France will shift to more renewables in the long run.
France has planned to build out its renewable energy capacity
Energy shortages expected in winter
Philippe Mante is strongly hoping for that. He's in charge of climate affairs at EELV, France's green party, which is opposed to constructing new nuclear plants. For the sake of energy security, the party is not in favor of immediately dismantling existing nuclear energy plants.
"Even supporters of nuclear energy must know, given the current situation, that we need to massively and right away deploy renewable energy projects," he said in an interview with DW.
But even Mante has little expectation of that happening right away.
"I think we should all quickly buy very warm pullovers, as we are likely to face electricity shortages this winter," he said gloomily.
Neighboring countries will be watching closely. Until now, France has been Europe's biggest net energy exporter. This year, however, the country will have to import more electricity than it's exporting.
That's likely to add even more pressure to energy prices, which are already skyrocketing, due among other things to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and reduced delivery of Russian gas.
Successive heat waves are putting French nuclear reactors under strain. But that is not pushing them into an existential crisis, as Lisa Louis reports from Paris.
The Golfech nuclear plant in southwestern France is among the nation's power stations that have run into problems
Like other European countries, France has been baking in temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for several weeks. Although that is putting French nuclear reactors under strain, this does not seem to be calling the country's nuclear-heavy energy strategy into question.
Nuclear power plants normally generate roughly 70% of electricity in France — making nuclear's share of the energy mix there higher than in any other country.
But more than half of the country's 56 reactors have been closed for several months due to planned or extraordinary maintenance.
And about a fifth of them would normally need to interrupt their activity or at least reduce it to a bare minimum, as the water temperature of the rivers into which plants discharge their cooling water exceeds a certain limit.
But the government has suspended that rule until at least September 11.
'Ripple effects throughout the food chain'
For Jean-Pierre Delfau, an environmental activist at local group FNE86, that is an exasperating decision.
"I just can't understand how they can keep the reactors running although that will have a disastrous impact on the ecosystem," he told DW, as he and two other environmentalists made their way through high grass on the bank of the Garonne river to take a water sample on a recent afternoon.
The Garonne supplies cooling water for the Golfech nuclear plant in southwestern France. One of the power station's two reactors has been standing still for months, after authorities found corrosion and small cracks on pipes relevant for the plant's safety. The second reactor is still functioning.
"Due to the heat, the Garonne's water throughput is already down to 50 cubic meters per second, from several thousand in normal times," Delfau said. "The Golfech plant makes that worse, as it uses 8 cubic meters for its cooling system but only discharges 6 cubic meters back, as some of the water evaporates during the process," he pointed out.
He added that the plant's cooling processes have increased the water's temperature by 6 degrees C, which has triggered ripple effects throughout the food chain.
"The warmer water destroys microalgae that are food for certain small fish, which bigger fish feed on," explained the 79-year-old, who has been an anti-nuclear protester for more than 50 years.
"Plus, warmer water contains more bacteria. In order to make it potable, we have to add a lot of chemicals, which people then drink."
For Jean-Pierre Delfau, an environmental activist at local group FNE86, that is an exasperating decision.
"I just can't understand how they can keep the reactors running although that will have a disastrous impact on the ecosystem," he told DW, as he and two other environmentalists made their way through high grass on the bank of the Garonne river to take a water sample on a recent afternoon.
The Garonne supplies cooling water for the Golfech nuclear plant in southwestern France. One of the power station's two reactors has been standing still for months, after authorities found corrosion and small cracks on pipes relevant for the plant's safety. The second reactor is still functioning.
"Due to the heat, the Garonne's water throughput is already down to 50 cubic meters per second, from several thousand in normal times," Delfau said. "The Golfech plant makes that worse, as it uses 8 cubic meters for its cooling system but only discharges 6 cubic meters back, as some of the water evaporates during the process," he pointed out.
He added that the plant's cooling processes have increased the water's temperature by 6 degrees C, which has triggered ripple effects throughout the food chain.
"The warmer water destroys microalgae that are food for certain small fish, which bigger fish feed on," explained the 79-year-old, who has been an anti-nuclear protester for more than 50 years.
"Plus, warmer water contains more bacteria. In order to make it potable, we have to add a lot of chemicals, which people then drink."
Environmental activist Jean-Pierre Delfau wants some of the reactors to at least suspend operations amid the current heat wave
Not an existential crisis for French nuclear power
Power company EDF, which runs all of France's nuclear power plants, declined an interview request with DW. A spokeswoman replied by email that the situation was "extraordinary" and that so far, environmental probes had not revealed any negative impact on the flora and fauna around the respective reactors.
Despite environmental concerns, current issues are not throwing French nuclear power into an existential crisis. The government is planning to soon nationalize EDF and construct additional nuclear plants.
That has Anna Creti, climate economy director at Paris University Dauphine, scratching her head.
"It's not quite clear how this strategy is supposed to work on a technology level, especially in the short run," she told DW.
Technology not ready
"France is banking on so-called small modular reactors (SMRs), for which there exist roughly 40 different technologies, all of them in a pilot phase," Creti said. "Getting them ready for deployment could take up to 10 years," she added.
"The government also plans to construct more pressurized-water, so-called EPR reactors — a model that has encountered numerous problems," she continued.
According to current predictions, the country's first EPR plant is to go live next year in Flamanville in the north of the country. According to developer EDF, building costs have so far at least tripled, to roughly €13 billion ($13.3 billion).
Pressurized-water, so-called third-generation European Pressurised Reactors (EPR) are being built in the town of Flamanville
The European Court of Auditors puts that figure at €19 billion — with construction taking more than 10 years longer than planned. Other EPRs in Britain, China and Finland are reported to experience construction, conceptual or production problems.
"The government has nevertheless earmarked €150 billion for refurbishing existing nuclear plants and constructing new ones," Creti said, adding that no such funding boon was announced for renewables, although Paris is working on new rules to cut red tape for development of renewables.
"Putting more money intorenewables would make sense, as theyhave become ever cheaper over the past few years, and their technology is sufficiently advanced for them to be deployed immediately across the country," she emphasized.
France is the only European country not to have reached its 2020 EU renewables targets. Renewable energies make up only roughly 19% of energy production, instead of the planned 23%.
Various reasons for France's approach
But Christian Egenhofer, associate senior research fellow at Brussels-based think tank Center for European Policy, says the EU's so-called strategic autonomy is one reason France is betting on nuclear energy. The EU is aiming for independence not only regarding defense, but also energy independence.
"We have roughly 100 nuclear power plants in Europe. We need nuclear scientists and engineers to take care of their maintenance work — or we will have to farm out these tasks to the US, China or Korea, which would pose security issues," he told DW.
He added that France's grid structure is additionally a stumbling block for a massive deployment of renewables.
"The country's electric grid is centralized around Paris, where most of the electricity is consumed. All the power is brought there and redispatched across the country. That's not suitable for decentralized renewables projects, and adapting the grid will take years," Egenhofer explained.
Nevertheless, he believes France will shift to more renewables in the long run.
France has planned to build out its renewable energy capacity
Energy shortages expected in winter
Philippe Mante is strongly hoping for that. He's in charge of climate affairs at EELV, France's green party, which is opposed to constructing new nuclear plants. For the sake of energy security, the party is not in favor of immediately dismantling existing nuclear energy plants.
"Even supporters of nuclear energy must know, given the current situation, that we need to massively and right away deploy renewable energy projects," he said in an interview with DW.
But even Mante has little expectation of that happening right away.
"I think we should all quickly buy very warm pullovers, as we are likely to face electricity shortages this winter," he said gloomily.
Neighboring countries will be watching closely. Until now, France has been Europe's biggest net energy exporter. This year, however, the country will have to import more electricity than it's exporting.
That's likely to add even more pressure to energy prices, which are already skyrocketing, due among other things to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and reduced delivery of Russian gas.
'The way the US withdrew from Afghanistan was disgraceful' | DW interview with Hamid Karzai
A year on, ex-Afghan leader defends role in Taliban takeover
By RAHIM FAIEZ
By RAHIM FAIEZ
August 14, 2022
Passengers walk to the departures terminal of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021, past a mural of President Ashraf Ghani, as the Taliban offensive encircled the capital. On the eve of the anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Kabul, Afghanistan's former president on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022, defended what he said was a split-second decision to flee, saying he wanted to avoid the humiliation of surrender to the insurgents.
Passengers walk to the departures terminal of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021, past a mural of President Ashraf Ghani, as the Taliban offensive encircled the capital. On the eve of the anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Kabul, Afghanistan's former president on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022, defended what he said was a split-second decision to flee, saying he wanted to avoid the humiliation of surrender to the insurgents.
(AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)
ISLAMABAD (AP) — On the eve of the anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Kabul, Afghanistan’s former president on Sunday defended what he said was a split-second decision to flee, saying he wanted to avoid the humiliation of surrender to the insurgents.
Ashraf Ghani also told CNN that on the morning of Aug. 15, 2021, with the Taliban at the gates of the Afghan capital, he was the last one at the presidential palace after his guards had disappeared. He said the defense minister told him earlier that day that Kabul could not be defended.
Ghani had previously sought to justify his actions on the day Kabul fell, but offered more details Sunday. He alleged that one of the cooks in the palace had been offered $100,000 to poison him and that he felt his immediate environment was no longer safe.
“The reason I left was because I did not want to give the Taliban and their supporters the pleasure of yet again humiliating an Afghan president and making him sign over the legitimacy of the government,” he said. “I have never been afraid.”
Critics say Ghani’s sudden and secret departure Aug. 15 left the city rudderless as U.S. and NATO forces were in the final stages of their chaotic withdrawal from the country after 20 years.
Ghani also denied persistent allegations that he took tens of millions of dollars in cash with him as he and other officials fled in helicopters.
In a report issued last week, a Congressional watchdog said it’s unlikely Ghani and his senior advisers transported that much cash on the escape helicopters.
“The hurried nature of their departure, the emphasis on passengers over cargo, the payload and performance limitations of the helicopters, and the consistent alignment in detailed accounts from witnesses on the ground and in the air all suggest that there was little more than $500,000 in cash on board the helicopters,” wrote the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, which has tried to monitor the massive U.S. spending in the country over the years.
The agency added that “it remains a strong possibility that significant amounts of U.S. currency disappeared from Afghan government property in the chaos of the Taliban takeover, including millions from the presidential palace” and the vault of the National Directorate of Security. However, the report said the watchdog was unable to determine how much money was stolen and by whom.
In the end, the Taliban seized the capital without significant fighting last August, capping a weeks-long military blitz in which they rapidly captured provincial capitals without much resistance from the increasingly demoralized Afghan security forces.
In the year since the takeover, the former insurgents have imposed significant restrictions on girls and women, limiting their access to education and work, despite initial promises to the contrary. The Taliban have remained internationally isolated and largely cut off from the flow of international aid enjoyed by the Ghani government. The Taliban have struggled to govern and halt the sharp economic decline that has pushed millions more Afghans into poverty and even hunger.
Despite those challenges, the Taliban-led government planned several events Monday to mark the anniversary, including speeches by Taliban officials and several sports events.
ISLAMABAD (AP) — On the eve of the anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Kabul, Afghanistan’s former president on Sunday defended what he said was a split-second decision to flee, saying he wanted to avoid the humiliation of surrender to the insurgents.
Ashraf Ghani also told CNN that on the morning of Aug. 15, 2021, with the Taliban at the gates of the Afghan capital, he was the last one at the presidential palace after his guards had disappeared. He said the defense minister told him earlier that day that Kabul could not be defended.
Ghani had previously sought to justify his actions on the day Kabul fell, but offered more details Sunday. He alleged that one of the cooks in the palace had been offered $100,000 to poison him and that he felt his immediate environment was no longer safe.
“The reason I left was because I did not want to give the Taliban and their supporters the pleasure of yet again humiliating an Afghan president and making him sign over the legitimacy of the government,” he said. “I have never been afraid.”
Critics say Ghani’s sudden and secret departure Aug. 15 left the city rudderless as U.S. and NATO forces were in the final stages of their chaotic withdrawal from the country after 20 years.
Ghani also denied persistent allegations that he took tens of millions of dollars in cash with him as he and other officials fled in helicopters.
In a report issued last week, a Congressional watchdog said it’s unlikely Ghani and his senior advisers transported that much cash on the escape helicopters.
“The hurried nature of their departure, the emphasis on passengers over cargo, the payload and performance limitations of the helicopters, and the consistent alignment in detailed accounts from witnesses on the ground and in the air all suggest that there was little more than $500,000 in cash on board the helicopters,” wrote the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, which has tried to monitor the massive U.S. spending in the country over the years.
The agency added that “it remains a strong possibility that significant amounts of U.S. currency disappeared from Afghan government property in the chaos of the Taliban takeover, including millions from the presidential palace” and the vault of the National Directorate of Security. However, the report said the watchdog was unable to determine how much money was stolen and by whom.
In the end, the Taliban seized the capital without significant fighting last August, capping a weeks-long military blitz in which they rapidly captured provincial capitals without much resistance from the increasingly demoralized Afghan security forces.
In the year since the takeover, the former insurgents have imposed significant restrictions on girls and women, limiting their access to education and work, despite initial promises to the contrary. The Taliban have remained internationally isolated and largely cut off from the flow of international aid enjoyed by the Ghani government. The Taliban have struggled to govern and halt the sharp economic decline that has pushed millions more Afghans into poverty and even hunger.
Despite those challenges, the Taliban-led government planned several events Monday to mark the anniversary, including speeches by Taliban officials and several sports events.
Iran responds to EU draft text to save 2015 nuclear deal, seeks US flexibility
Issued on: 16/08/2022 -
Text by: NEWS WIRES
Iran responded to the European Union's "final" draft text to save a 2015 nuclear deal on Monday, an EU official said, as the Iranian foreign minister called on the United States to show flexibility to resolve three remaining issues.
After 16 months of fitful, indirect U.S.-Iranian talks, with the EU shuttling between the parties, a senior EU official said on Aug. 8 it had laid down a "final" offer and expected a response within a "very, very few weeks."
While Washington has said it is ready to quickly seal a deal to restore the 2015 accord on the basis of the EU proposals, Iranian negotiators said Tehran's "additional views and considerations" to the EU text would be conveyed later.
The EU official on Monday provided no details on Iran's response to the text.
"There are three issues that if resolved, we can reach an agreement in the coming days," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said earlier on Monday, suggesting Tehran's response would not be a final acceptance or rejection.
"We have told them that our red lines should be respected... We have shown enough flexibility ... We do not want to reach a deal that after 40 days, two months or three months fails to be materialised on the ground."
The United States said the deal could only be revived if Iran dropped "extraneous" issues, an apparent reference to Tehran's demands the U.N. nuclear watchdog close a probe into unexplained uranium traces in Iran and that its Revolutionary Guards come off a U.S. terrorism list.
Diplomats and officials told Reuters that whether or not Tehran and Washington accept the EU's "final" offer, neither is likely to declare the pact dead because keeping it alive serves both sides' interests.
Amirabdollahian said that "the coming days are very important" and "it would not be end of the world if they fail to show flexibility ... Then we will need more efforts and talks... to resolve the remaining issues."
The stakes are high, since failure in the nuclear negotiations would carry the risk of a fresh regional war with Israel threatening military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapons capability.
Iran, which has long denied having such ambition, has warned of a "crushing" response to any Israeli attack.
"Like Washington, we have our own plan B if the talks fail," Amirabdollahian said.
In 2018, then-President Donald Trump reneged on the deal reached before he took office, calling it too soft on Iran, and reimposed harsh U.S. sanctions, spurring the Islamic Republic to begin breaching its limits on uranium enrichment.
The 2015 agreement appeared on the verge of revival in March after 11 months of indirect talks between Tehran and U.S.
President Joe Biden's administration in Vienna.
But talks broke down over obstacles including Tehran's demand that Washington provide guarantees that no U.S. president would abandon the deal as Trump did.
Biden cannot promise this because the nuclear deal is a non-binding political understanding, not a legally binding treaty.
(REUTERS)
Issued on: 16/08/2022 -
01:40The Palais Coburg in Vienna, where closed-door talks on Iran's nuclear programme are taking place. Video by: Carys GARLAND
Text by: NEWS WIRES
Iran responded to the European Union's "final" draft text to save a 2015 nuclear deal on Monday, an EU official said, as the Iranian foreign minister called on the United States to show flexibility to resolve three remaining issues.
After 16 months of fitful, indirect U.S.-Iranian talks, with the EU shuttling between the parties, a senior EU official said on Aug. 8 it had laid down a "final" offer and expected a response within a "very, very few weeks."
While Washington has said it is ready to quickly seal a deal to restore the 2015 accord on the basis of the EU proposals, Iranian negotiators said Tehran's "additional views and considerations" to the EU text would be conveyed later.
The EU official on Monday provided no details on Iran's response to the text.
"There are three issues that if resolved, we can reach an agreement in the coming days," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said earlier on Monday, suggesting Tehran's response would not be a final acceptance or rejection.
"We have told them that our red lines should be respected... We have shown enough flexibility ... We do not want to reach a deal that after 40 days, two months or three months fails to be materialised on the ground."
The United States said the deal could only be revived if Iran dropped "extraneous" issues, an apparent reference to Tehran's demands the U.N. nuclear watchdog close a probe into unexplained uranium traces in Iran and that its Revolutionary Guards come off a U.S. terrorism list.
Diplomats and officials told Reuters that whether or not Tehran and Washington accept the EU's "final" offer, neither is likely to declare the pact dead because keeping it alive serves both sides' interests.
Amirabdollahian said that "the coming days are very important" and "it would not be end of the world if they fail to show flexibility ... Then we will need more efforts and talks... to resolve the remaining issues."
The stakes are high, since failure in the nuclear negotiations would carry the risk of a fresh regional war with Israel threatening military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapons capability.
Iran, which has long denied having such ambition, has warned of a "crushing" response to any Israeli attack.
"Like Washington, we have our own plan B if the talks fail," Amirabdollahian said.
In 2018, then-President Donald Trump reneged on the deal reached before he took office, calling it too soft on Iran, and reimposed harsh U.S. sanctions, spurring the Islamic Republic to begin breaching its limits on uranium enrichment.
The 2015 agreement appeared on the verge of revival in March after 11 months of indirect talks between Tehran and U.S.
President Joe Biden's administration in Vienna.
But talks broke down over obstacles including Tehran's demand that Washington provide guarantees that no U.S. president would abandon the deal as Trump did.
Biden cannot promise this because the nuclear deal is a non-binding political understanding, not a legally binding treaty.
(REUTERS)
NASA's Artemis mission prepares return to the Moon
NASA is preparing to send astronauts back to the Moon as part of the Artemis program, with the goal of eventually sending humans to Mars in the long term. The first spaceflight in this endeavor, Artemis-1, is expected to lift off without a crew on August 29 to fly in orbit around the Moon and back to Earth. But astronauts are already training at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston for subsequent lunar missions.
KARMA IS A BITCH
Target of Bolsonaro attacks to become Brazil election court chiefMarcelo SILVA DE SOUSA
Mon, August 15, 2022
Openly reviled by President Jair Bolsonaro, Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes may have to show the stuff that earned him the nickname "RoboCop" as arbiter in polarizing, disinformation-plagued elections to decide the far-right incumbent's fate.
A Supreme Court justice -- a job in which he has been a constant target of Bolsonaro's attacks -- Moraes is set to take over Tuesday as head of Brazil's Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE), the institution responsible for refereeing the South American giant's October elections and punishing violations of electoral law.
It is typically a fairly humdrum role. But these aren't shaping up to be typical elections.
Bolsonaro, who trails in the polls to leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010), has been railing against the electronic voting machines Brazil has used since 1996, alleging without evidence that they are plagued by fraud.
He has also hinted he will not leave the presidency without a fight, saying his reelection bid can only have three outcomes: "prison, death or victory."
That has many Brazilians worried Bolsonaro will try to fight the result if he loses, following in the footsteps of his political role model, former US president Donald Trump -- and putting Brazil on track for its own, possibly uglier version of last year's attack on the Capitol in Washington by Trump supporters.
That context makes Moraes's new job particularly high-profile.
"He'll have to run the TSE with an iron fist to prevent the collapse of our entire electoral system," says political analyst Andre Cesar of consulting firm Hold.
- Bolsonaro bane -
Instantly recognizable with his shiny bald pate and the stern demeanor that earned him the "RoboCop" nickname, Moraes, 53, is used to being on the receiving end of Bolsonaro's diatribes.
One of the most vitriolic came as Brazil celebrated 199 years of independence from Portugal on September 7, 2021.
Riling up a crowd of hardline supporters in Sao Paulo, Bolsonaro vowed he would no longer obey rulings issued by Moraes.
"From now on, this president won't carry out one single decision by Alexandre de Moraes. My patience is up," Bolsonaro said to cheers and chants for the Supreme Court's judges to be jailed.
Long hostile to the Supreme Court, which he accuses of blocking his agenda out of what he calls left-wing bias, Bolsonaro has singled out Moraes for particular disdain, making him a poster boy of judicial activism he says is wrecking Brazil.
The justice has earned the president's ire on a regular basis.
Moraes ordered Bolsonaro investigated for his unproven claims that Brazil's voting system is riddled with fraud; and jailed one of his biggest supporters, Congressman Daniel Silveira -- who was then pardoned by Bolsonaro -- on charges of attacking democratic institutions.
He ordered social networks to remove some of Bolsonaro's posts on grounds of disinformation; and he is the lead judge in investigations into charges that Bolsonaro leaked a classified police probe and interfered in another, into corruption accusations against his sons.
Alleging "persecution," Bolsonaro has sued Moraes for abuse of authority and asked the Senate to impeach him.
Neither effort succeed.
- Pragmatic ex-prosecutor -
Moraes, who will keep his Supreme Court spot as TSE president, was elected to head the electoral court in a secret vote by its seven members in June.
He first gained national prominence as justice minister under center-right ex-president Michel Temer (2016-2018), who appointed him to the Supreme Court in 2017.
Fellow justices call him a pragmatist with a gift for dialoging with politicians and the military.
Moraes got his start as a Sao Paulo state prosecutor, then went on to serve as state security secretary. Known as a hardliner, he was no ally of left-wing activists, who accused him of repressing social movements.
Since becoming a top Bolsonaro target, Moraes barely speaks with journalists and keeps his decisions strictly under wraps, a Supreme Court source told AFP.
But he is active on Twitter, posting last week for example in support of massive rallies in "defense of democracy" held across the country.
msi/jhb/st/dw
Simon Stiell of Grenada named new UN climate chief
Grenada's former environment minister Simon Stiell was named Monday as the new UN Climate Change chief, replacing Patricia Espinosa of Mexico, the UN secretary-general's office said.
The appointment of the long-time advocate for climate action was approved by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) under which all climate negotiations are held, including the Paris agreement.
Stiell will take up the position shortly, said a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, suggesting he would be in office for the next UN climate conference, COP27, in Egypt in November.
A member of Grenada's government from 2013 until June, Stiell has served as minister of environment and climate resilience for the last five years, calling relentlessly during COP summits for more progress in the fight against global warming.
Guterres's office called Stiell, who trained as an engineer, a "true champion for formulating creative approaches for our collective global response to the climate crisis" and said he brings unique skills honed over a 30-year career.
He will replace Espinosa, who has served two terms as head of the UNFCCC, from 2016 until July.
Until Stiell steps into the post, Mauritanian Ibrahim Thiaw remains in place as interim head of UN Climate Change, in addition to his duties as leader of the UN agency that combats desertification.Nearly 200 countries attend ambitious climate talks
© 2022 AFP
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