U.S. energy security requires partners

Inexhaustible and inexpensive energy have long been core to popular American beliefs in what drives their economic growth and standards of living. But the notion of U.S. energy security as ready, affordable supply is deceptively simple. The reality is, in a highly globalized and interdependent world, a unilateral U.S. solution to energy security is an illusion. As long as the U.S. remains a large net energy importer, its energy security must involve others, both bilaterally and multilaterally.

Nuclear Curbs Will Hurt Climate, Energy Security Goal, IEA Economist Says

Slowing the expansion of nuclear power will harm efforts to fight climate change, push up energy prices and set back goals to secure power supplies, said Fatih Birol, chief economist at the International Energy Agency.

Cutting in half the projected new nuclear installations during the next 25 years may add 500 million tons of carbon dioxide output to the global total in 2035, equivalent to five years of extra emissions growth, Birol said today in a telephone interview from Paris.

Wind energy in Asia

In 2010, for the first time ever, more new wind power capacity was installed in developing countries and emerging economies than in the traditional wind farm markets of the OECD.

This puts an end to the assertion that wind power is a premium technology only for rich countries which cannot be deployed at scale in other markets. It is also testament to the inherent attractiveness of wind power for countries striving to diversify their energy mix, improve their security of supply in the face of rapidly growing demand, and relieve national budgets of the burden of expensive fossil fuel imports at volatile prices.

Energy prices 'to rise' with carbon floor pricing

Price comparison site uSwitch.com has warned that household energy bills could increase as floor prices are put in place for carbon emissions.

Outlined in the 2011 Budget, the pricing system is due to come into effect from April 2013 and aims "to drive investment in the low-carbon power sector".

Iran has a right to peaceful nuclear energy: India

Emphasizing Iran's right to pursue a civilian nuclear programme, India has said that Tehran should reassure the international community that its nuclear project is only meant for peaceful purposes. "India has taken a consistent stand on the Iranian nuclear issue," Hardeep Singh Puri India's envoy to
the UN said at a Security Council meeting to discuss the status of the sanctions imposed on Iran.

US energy policy: Two very different disasters will have profound effects

US energy policy for the coming decade will be shaped by two disasters less than a year apart: the Deepwater Horizon explosion and blow-out in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, and the Sendai earthquake and tsunami less than a year later.

The first has led to significant curbs on future supply of fossil fuels in the US; the second is likely to cause a significant increase in demand.

As a consequence, the price of US natural gas is likely to be pushed higher, and the country’s reliance on imported oil, which has been falling since 2006, may stop declining, or even rise.

Sustainable energy supplies are vital

Damian McGann head of Business Development UK at Santander Corporate Banking, comments on how it is becoming increasingly important to address the need for sustainable energy supplies, and how a local approach to relationship banking could be crucial for businesses operating in this sector.

With the recent instability in the Middle East, attention has again focused on the need to achieve security of energy supplies. In addition more and more countries are developing serious strategies to set about reducing carbon emissions.

Energy challenge: Oliver Letwin, Cabinet Office Minister

We need a wider range of energy sources to ensure security of supply and sustainable growth. The answer is a green economy.

It is surprising that people are still asking whether we can move to a low-carbon economy. The answer to that question is obvious and certain. Of course we can. The real question is whether Britain should make that choice and become the world’s first true low-carbon economy. I believe we should. Why? There are two compelling reasons – each as important as the other.

Oil-hungry China needs energy security rethink

Beijing’s decision to suspend approval for new nuclear facilities in the aftermath of the Japanese nuclear crisis caught world markets by surprise and suggested a Chinese energy policy in crisis. But it is vulnerability to oil market disruptions emanating from ongoing events in the Middle East, not the ability to diversify future power supply, which is currently upending China’s energy game plan.
China’s recent nuclear decision, driven by short-term politics, is not likely to change its long-term energy path. The country’s oil dependence, however, is a much more pressing concern. China’s economy is more oil intensive than either America or Europe, while half of its imported oil comes from the Middle East and north Africa, compared with one-quarter for the US. If crude stays at current prices China will spend more on oil this year than it earns selling goods to the US.

The Obama Administration Must Abandon its Nuclear Energy Policy

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Wednesday, confirmed to Congress that the Obama administration would continue to propose more than $8 billion in loan guarantees for the construction of a new fleet of nuclear power plants. As Secretary Chu cautiously acknowledged the administration's budget request during congressional testimony, reactor number four at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station was on the verge of melting down -- one of its spent fuel tanks completely drained of water.

Nuclear power plants shut down in Germany

Germany has temporarily shut down seven of its nuclear reactors while it reconsiders its nuclear strategy.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said that all reactors operational before 1980 would be taken offline, and safety checks carried out on the remaining plants.

The move comes after concerns about radiation leaks at a Japanese plant after last Friday's earthquake.

Germany can no longer pretend nuclear power is safe

The effects of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan show it is over. Done. Finished. Nuclear energy cannot be controlled by humans.

The catastrophe in Japan has sparked debate internationally on nuclear energy, but it is especially fierce in Germany. After Fukushima, it can no longer be viewed as a viable energy source for the future. German chancellor Angela Merkel must alter her pro-nuclear stance.

Done With the Wind

To power the future, many commentators today exhort us to buy lots of “green energy”—chiefly solar panels and wind turbines. They claim this is a way to avoid running out of fossil fuel, to create “green jobs” and greater energy security, and to respond to global warming. However, these arguments mostly fail on closer inspection.

We have long been fearful of our energy supply running out. In 1865, popular opinion—led by some of the world’s most esteemed scientists—held that Britain’s coal reserves would soon become exhausted.

Huge blast at Japan nuclear power plant

A powerful explosion has hit a nuclear power station in north-eastern Japan which was badly damaged in Friday's devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Opinion - why Leith needs biomass

As consultation on Forth Energy's proposed biomass plant closes today, the firm's managing director Calum Wilson uses this guest blog post to 'set the record straight'

Forth Energy is proposing to develop a modern, efficient, renewable energy plant at the Port of Leith to generate both renewable electricity and renewable heat. The development will bring jobs to the area, a boost to the local economy and deliver significant carbon saving. It will be designed to meet the highest European and Scottish safety and environmental standards and will use the best available technology.

UK To Boost Invest,Energy Security With Green Heat Scheme

LONDON (Dow Jones)--The U.K. government Thursday introduced the world's first renewable heat incentive, or RHI, as part of its broader plan to stimulate investments in low-carbon technologies and move the country to green growth and increased energy independence.

U.K. Contributes $6.4M to IAEA Nuclear Security

The United Kingdom on Tuesday inked an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency to contribute roughly $6.4 million to the U.N. watchdog's Nuclear Security Fund.

The United Kingdom made the donation pledge at last April's Global Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, according to an IAEA release. Russia agreed in December to contribute $6.5 million to the fund, according to an earlier report.

For China, Energy a Dual Security Threat

China laid out ambitious goals for slashing energy consumption and easing its environmental woes on Saturday, signaling that the government is taking note of national-security risks that come with the nation’s voracious appetite for natural resources.

Energy consumption and environmental protection are key topics in Chinese premier Wen Jiabao’s work report this year, with new targets outlining the nation’s efforts to raise its use of nonfossil fuels to 11.4%, from 8% currently. Beijing also aims to reduce energy consumption by 16% per unit of GDP over the next five years.

Gulf nuclear energy infrastructure institute launched

The US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the US State Department have announced the creation of a new Gulf Nuclear Energy Infrastructure Institute (GNEII) at the Khalifa University of Science, Technology, and Research in Abu Dhabi. The Institute will strengthen nuclear energy security, safeguards, and safety infrastructure development throughout the Persian Gulf.

The announcement comes after US President Obama's fiscal year 2012 budget request, which includes $53 million to support nuclear safeguards and security and the development of infrastructure, like GNEII, to sustain and strengthen the international safeguards system.

U.S. Strengthens Cooperation On Clean Energy And Energy Security

U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced today new steps between the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Defense to strengthen national security through the continued development of advanced clean energy technologies.

Furthering the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) announced last summer the new steps being announced today strengthen coordination and better leverage the expertise and resources of both Departments to enhance our national energy security, as well as demonstrate the Obama Administration’s leadership in transitioning America to a clean energy economy.

Private sector can boost UK's low-carbon future, report finds

Energy minister Chris Huhne has today welcomed report findings that show energy efficiency in the private sector can cut carbon, safeguard UK fuel-security and save business £6 billion a year.

The influential report tackles the problem of legally binding targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and a potentially widening gap between future energy supply and demand and encourages a greater focus on the nation’s energy consumption.

Massey Security Worker Charged

The chief of security at the Massey Energy Co. mine where an explosion killed 29 miners last April was charged Monday with lying to investigators and ordering the destruction of thousands of security-related documents.

The criminal indictment by a federal grand jury probing the blast is the first issued in connection with the worst U.S. coal-mining disaster in 40 years.