[Top News] from [REUTERS]
[Green Business]
Martin Roberts
MADRID
Wed Dec 23, 2009 11:27am EST
Spain mulls extending nuclear plant working lives
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Cabinet studied a bill on Wednesday that would allow nuclear power stations to keep running after the 2020s when their 40-year working lives are mostly due to expire.
An Industry Ministry statement said it had drawn up the bill tabled at a weekly cabinet meeting to establish a "transparent, stable and predetermined" legal framework for nuclear plant operating permits.
The bill proposes an "extraordinary procedure" to allow nuclear plants to run for more than 40 years unless the CSN nuclear watchdog should rule they are unsafe.
Earlier this year, the government agreed to allow the aging Garona plant to run until 2013, by which time it will have been working for 42 years.
Prior to the decision, the CSN nuclear watchdog queried the legality of renewing the nuclear plant's operating permit for the four years to 2013 rather than a standard 10 years.
The government also had the option of closing the plant forthwith, but decided to keep it open in order not to add to Spain's long and growing dole queues.
Apart from Garona, Spain's other seven nuclear plants -- which provide about 20 percent of the country's electricity -- will not turn 40 until between 2021 and 2028.
NO NEW PLANTS
Although the Socialist government had recently suggested it would extend the plants' working lives, it has also repeatedly said it will not support building new ones.
Neither major party proposed building new nuclear plants in elections last year, however the opposition Popular Party says it will keep Garona working past 2013 if it is returned to power.
Greenpeace spokesman Carlos Bravo said the bill ran contrary to another recent bill which proposes underpinning long-term economic growth with booming renewable energy sources.
"The Ministry bill contradicts the provisions of the Sustainable Economy Bill. This makes no sense, it is incoherent," he said.
Spain has become the world's third-largest producer of wind power and the second-biggest of solar in a bid to cut its heavy dependence on imported fuels and greenhouse gas emissions.
The bill also proposed a long-delayed call for bids from local authorities to house a centralized site for storing nuclear waste for up to 60 years.
The country's nuclear power stations no longer have room to store much more than the 6,700 tonnes of spent fuel rods they have accumulated.
The government has estimated the ATC -- as the project is known in Spanish -- will cost 540 million euros ($773 million) and cover 20 hectares.
The United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, last year recommended Spain step up efforts to find a dedicated site for storing high-level nuclear waste.
(Editing by Keiron Henderson)
[Green Business]
Edith Honan
NEW YORK
Wed Dec 23, 2009 3:45pm EST
NYC urges ban on shale gas drilling in watershed
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City urged the state to ban natural gas drilling in its watershed on Wednesday, becoming the most powerful opponent to date of a process that critics say is poisoning drinking water.
Shale gas trapped deep underground is considered one of the most promising sources of U.S. energy, but environmentalists and small-town neighbors of drilling operations -- and now the biggest city in the United States -- are seeking to limit its exploitation.
The drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," involves blasting through rock with a mixture of water, sand and a proprietary list of chemicals used to split the shale formation and free trapped gas.
Steven Lawitts, the city's top environmental official, called fracking techniques "unacceptable threats to the unfiltered fresh water supply of nine million New Yorkers," putting the city at odds with the gas industry, which considers shale drilling completely safe.
"Based on all the facts, the risks are too great and drilling simply cannot be permitted in the watershed," said Marc LaVorgna, a spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The 2,000-square-mile (5,200-square-km) watershed is tiny compared to the largest known U.S. shale formation, which extends below the surface in much of Pennsylvania and parts of New York, Ohio and West Virginia.
The opposition from New York City adds heft to the ranks of fracking critics and could embolden state and local authorities elsewhere, though many are strapped for cash and badly need the revenue that comes with drilling.
Geologists say the Marcellus Shale formation could satisfy U.S. natural gas demand for a decade or more, providing a relatively clean form of fossil fuel and helping promote U.S. energy independence.
New York state Governor David Paterson, who will play a major role in deciding the future of drilling next year as he slashes state services to close a $3.2 billion budget deficit, said he was still listening to "all points of view."
"We've actually extended the public comment period because of the grave concern that so many who we trust, like the mayor, are raising in this issue," Paterson told reporters.
'FRACK ACT'
Major natural gas producers and oilfield service companies like Schlumberger Ltd and Halliburton Co have a stake in shale gas production, and Exxon Mobil cited the potential for unconventional gas production in its $30 billion bid to take over XTO Energy this month.
The deal includes a clause that would allow Exxon Mobil to back out if the U.S. Congress bans or severely regulates the process used to extract gas from shale rock.
Some companies like Chesapeake Energy Corp had announced they would not seek to drill in the New York watershed, which lies about 90 miles north of the city.
Terry Engelder, a Penn State University professor of geosciences, said New York City's demand may improve prospects for passage of the "Frack Act," federal legislation that would require gas companies to disclose the chemicals they use.
"It shines a brighter light on the Frack Act because New York is a significant enough fraction of the U.S. population that care will be taken," he said.
Ray Deacon, an analyst with energy-focused Pritchard Capital, acknowledged the reluctance of companies to provide details on the fracking fluid because "it's kind of the secret sauce that makes the rock break apart."
Shale drilling companies say the industry maintains strict safeguards to prevent any danger to water supplies. But neighbors of drilling in several states report fouled water and increased illness since drilling began.
Earlier this year, New York state proposed new rules that would allow drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation. New York City is asking the state to exclude the watershed from the areas that can be drilled.
[Green Business]
Alister Bull and Tabassum Zakaria
WASHINGTON
Wed Dec 23, 2009 7:59pm EST
Obama says disappointment at Copenhagen justified
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that disappointment over the outcome of the Copenhagen climate change summit was justified, hardening a widespread verdict that the conference had been a failure.
"I think that people are justified in being disappointed about the outcome in Copenhagen," he said in an interview with PBS Newshour.
"What I said was essentially that rather than see a complete collapse in Copenhagen, in which nothing at all got done and would have been a huge backward step, at least we kind of held ground and there wasn't too much backsliding from where we were."
Sweden has labeled the accord Obama helped broker a disaster for the environment, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the summit was "at best flawed and at worst chaotic," and climate change advocates have been even more scathing in their criticism.
The talks secured bare-minimum agreements that fell well short of original goals to reduce carbon emissions and stem global warming, after lengthy negotiations failed to paper over differences between rich nations and developing economies. Some singled out China for special blame.
British Environment Minister Ed Miliband wrote in the Guardian newspaper on Monday China had "hijacked" efforts to agree to significant reductions in global emissions. Beijing denied the claim and said London was scheming to divide developing countries on the climate change issue.
Obama did not point any fingers, but did say the Chinese delegation was "skipping negotiations" before his personal intervention.
"At a point where there was about to be complete breakdown, and the prime minister of India was heading to the airport and the Chinese representatives were essentially skipping negotiations, and everybody's screaming, what did happen was, cooler heads prevailed," Obama said.
Obama forged an accord with China, India, Brazil and South Africa in the conference's final hours after personally securing a bilateral meeting with the four nations' leaders.
"We were able to at least agree on non-legally binding targets for all countries -- not just the United States, not just Europe, but also for China and India, which, projecting forward, are going to be the world's largest emitters," he said.
(Editing by Sandra Maler and Todd Eastham)
[Green Business]
Martin Roberts
MADRID
Wed Dec 23, 2009 11:27am EST
Spain mulls extending nuclear plant working lives
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Cabinet studied a bill on Wednesday that would allow nuclear power stations to keep running after the 2020s when their 40-year working lives are mostly due to expire.
An Industry Ministry statement said it had drawn up the bill tabled at a weekly cabinet meeting to establish a "transparent, stable and predetermined" legal framework for nuclear plant operating permits.
The bill proposes an "extraordinary procedure" to allow nuclear plants to run for more than 40 years unless the CSN nuclear watchdog should rule they are unsafe.
Earlier this year, the government agreed to allow the aging Garona plant to run until 2013, by which time it will have been working for 42 years.
Prior to the decision, the CSN nuclear watchdog queried the legality of renewing the nuclear plant's operating permit for the four years to 2013 rather than a standard 10 years.
The government also had the option of closing the plant forthwith, but decided to keep it open in order not to add to Spain's long and growing dole queues.
Apart from Garona, Spain's other seven nuclear plants -- which provide about 20 percent of the country's electricity -- will not turn 40 until between 2021 and 2028.
NO NEW PLANTS
Although the Socialist government had recently suggested it would extend the plants' working lives, it has also repeatedly said it will not support building new ones.
Neither major party proposed building new nuclear plants in elections last year, however the opposition Popular Party says it will keep Garona working past 2013 if it is returned to power.
Greenpeace spokesman Carlos Bravo said the bill ran contrary to another recent bill which proposes underpinning long-term economic growth with booming renewable energy sources.
"The Ministry bill contradicts the provisions of the Sustainable Economy Bill. This makes no sense, it is incoherent," he said.
Spain has become the world's third-largest producer of wind power and the second-biggest of solar in a bid to cut its heavy dependence on imported fuels and greenhouse gas emissions.
The bill also proposed a long-delayed call for bids from local authorities to house a centralized site for storing nuclear waste for up to 60 years.
The country's nuclear power stations no longer have room to store much more than the 6,700 tonnes of spent fuel rods they have accumulated.
The government has estimated the ATC -- as the project is known in Spanish -- will cost 540 million euros ($773 million) and cover 20 hectares.
The United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, last year recommended Spain step up efforts to find a dedicated site for storing high-level nuclear waste.
(Editing by Keiron Henderson)
[Green Business]
Edith Honan
NEW YORK
Wed Dec 23, 2009 3:45pm EST
NYC urges ban on shale gas drilling in watershed
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City urged the state to ban natural gas drilling in its watershed on Wednesday, becoming the most powerful opponent to date of a process that critics say is poisoning drinking water.
Shale gas trapped deep underground is considered one of the most promising sources of U.S. energy, but environmentalists and small-town neighbors of drilling operations -- and now the biggest city in the United States -- are seeking to limit its exploitation.
The drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," involves blasting through rock with a mixture of water, sand and a proprietary list of chemicals used to split the shale formation and free trapped gas.
Steven Lawitts, the city's top environmental official, called fracking techniques "unacceptable threats to the unfiltered fresh water supply of nine million New Yorkers," putting the city at odds with the gas industry, which considers shale drilling completely safe.
"Based on all the facts, the risks are too great and drilling simply cannot be permitted in the watershed," said Marc LaVorgna, a spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The 2,000-square-mile (5,200-square-km) watershed is tiny compared to the largest known U.S. shale formation, which extends below the surface in much of Pennsylvania and parts of New York, Ohio and West Virginia.
The opposition from New York City adds heft to the ranks of fracking critics and could embolden state and local authorities elsewhere, though many are strapped for cash and badly need the revenue that comes with drilling.
Geologists say the Marcellus Shale formation could satisfy U.S. natural gas demand for a decade or more, providing a relatively clean form of fossil fuel and helping promote U.S. energy independence.
New York state Governor David Paterson, who will play a major role in deciding the future of drilling next year as he slashes state services to close a $3.2 billion budget deficit, said he was still listening to "all points of view."
"We've actually extended the public comment period because of the grave concern that so many who we trust, like the mayor, are raising in this issue," Paterson told reporters.
'FRACK ACT'
Major natural gas producers and oilfield service companies like Schlumberger Ltd and Halliburton Co have a stake in shale gas production, and Exxon Mobil cited the potential for unconventional gas production in its $30 billion bid to take over XTO Energy this month.
The deal includes a clause that would allow Exxon Mobil to back out if the U.S. Congress bans or severely regulates the process used to extract gas from shale rock.
Some companies like Chesapeake Energy Corp had announced they would not seek to drill in the New York watershed, which lies about 90 miles north of the city.
Terry Engelder, a Penn State University professor of geosciences, said New York City's demand may improve prospects for passage of the "Frack Act," federal legislation that would require gas companies to disclose the chemicals they use.
"It shines a brighter light on the Frack Act because New York is a significant enough fraction of the U.S. population that care will be taken," he said.
Ray Deacon, an analyst with energy-focused Pritchard Capital, acknowledged the reluctance of companies to provide details on the fracking fluid because "it's kind of the secret sauce that makes the rock break apart."
Shale drilling companies say the industry maintains strict safeguards to prevent any danger to water supplies. But neighbors of drilling in several states report fouled water and increased illness since drilling began.
Earlier this year, New York state proposed new rules that would allow drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation. New York City is asking the state to exclude the watershed from the areas that can be drilled.
[Green Business]
Alister Bull and Tabassum Zakaria
WASHINGTON
Wed Dec 23, 2009 7:59pm EST
Obama says disappointment at Copenhagen justified
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that disappointment over the outcome of the Copenhagen climate change summit was justified, hardening a widespread verdict that the conference had been a failure.
"I think that people are justified in being disappointed about the outcome in Copenhagen," he said in an interview with PBS Newshour.
"What I said was essentially that rather than see a complete collapse in Copenhagen, in which nothing at all got done and would have been a huge backward step, at least we kind of held ground and there wasn't too much backsliding from where we were."
Sweden has labeled the accord Obama helped broker a disaster for the environment, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the summit was "at best flawed and at worst chaotic," and climate change advocates have been even more scathing in their criticism.
The talks secured bare-minimum agreements that fell well short of original goals to reduce carbon emissions and stem global warming, after lengthy negotiations failed to paper over differences between rich nations and developing economies. Some singled out China for special blame.
British Environment Minister Ed Miliband wrote in the Guardian newspaper on Monday China had "hijacked" efforts to agree to significant reductions in global emissions. Beijing denied the claim and said London was scheming to divide developing countries on the climate change issue.
Obama did not point any fingers, but did say the Chinese delegation was "skipping negotiations" before his personal intervention.
"At a point where there was about to be complete breakdown, and the prime minister of India was heading to the airport and the Chinese representatives were essentially skipping negotiations, and everybody's screaming, what did happen was, cooler heads prevailed," Obama said.
Obama forged an accord with China, India, Brazil and South Africa in the conference's final hours after personally securing a bilateral meeting with the four nations' leaders.
"We were able to at least agree on non-legally binding targets for all countries -- not just the United States, not just Europe, but also for China and India, which, projecting forward, are going to be the world's largest emitters," he said.
(Editing by Sandra Maler and Todd Eastham)
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