Amazon just bought a 100% nuclear-powered data center
One of the US’s largest nuclear power plants will directly power cloud service provider Amazon Web Services’ new data center.
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1 in 5 new car sales globally were EVs in 2023, and that’s curbed oil demand – IEA
Without EVs, solar, wind, and nuclear, the global rise in emissions in the last five years would have been three times larger, new International Energy Agency (IEA) analysis shows.
Expand Expanding CloseIn a first, renewables beat coal in the US power sector in 2022
For the first time ever, renewable power generation – that’s wind, solar, hydro, biomass, and geothermal – exceeded coal-fired generation in the US electric power sector in 2022, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Expand Expanding CloseShould the US convert coal plant sites to nuclear? The DOE seems to think so
The US Department of Energy (DOE) yesterday released a study stating that 80% of US coal power plant sites could be converted to nuclear power plant sites in order to help the US achieve net zero by 2050.
Expand Expanding CloseCould this idea win over NIMBYs who oppose living near renewables?
As UK prime minister Boris Johnson is due to unveil his energy plan this week, a British cabinet minister made a suggestion yesterday on a news program that he thinks would win the support of communities who live near onshore wind farms. Could it work?
Expand Expanding CloseRussia could destroy nearly half of Ukraine’s renewables, worth nearly $6B
Almost half of Ukraine’s renewable energy facilities, which have a combined capacity of almost 4 gigawatts (GW) and worth of more than $5.6 billion, are in the firing line due to Russian aggression, according to the Ukrainian Association of Renewable Energy (UARE).
Expand Expanding CloseThe European Commission wants to label nuclear and gas as ‘green’ – and many say that’s greenwashing
The European Commission wants to label some natural gas and nuclear power plants as sustainable, calling them “transitional” sources of energy in rules proposed yesterday. But that label comes with strings attached, and many, from environmental groups to countries, call the proposal a greenwash.
Expand Expanding CloseUK pledges to source 100% of its electricity from clean energy – including nuclear – by 2035
British prime minister Boris Johnson will officially announce this week at the Conservative Party’s annual conference in Manchester that all of the UK’s electricity will be sourced from clean energy by 2035, according to the Times. But not everyone is happy that nuclear will be included in the mix.
Expand Expanding CloseJapan sets a new clean energy target to nearly 40% by 2030
Japan aims to increase its clean energy use to nearly 40% by 2030, according to a new Basic Energy Plan draft released by the Japanese government today. The country also plans to reduce its use of fossil fuels.
Expand Expanding CloseIowa’s only nuclear power plant will be turned into a solar farm
The Duane Arnold Energy Center in eastern Iowa, the current site of a now-idle nuclear power plant, will soon host a 690-megawatt solar farm. The new solar farm plus storage will replace the single-unit, 615-megawatt nuclear plant, which powered more than 600,000 homes.
Expand Expanding CloseEGEB: Kenyan coal project near UNESCO World Heritage site loses big-bank backing, more
In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):
- African Development Bank pulls out of an eastern Kenyan coal plant project at Lamu.
- Seoul is putting solar on all public buildings and 1 million homes.
- German steel giant Thyssenkrupp uses hydrogen as a step toward its net-zero-by-2050 pledge.
- An earthquake in France earlier this week prolongs the shutdown of nuclear reactors until December.
EGEB: 5 green energy takeaways from CNN climate-crisis town hall, Rutgers University on states, equity, and green energy, more
In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):
- 5 green energy standouts from the Democrats’ climate-crisis town hall
- Rutgers University releases new study on states, equity, and green energy.
- 3 ways cities are improving the energy efficiency of homes.
- Big oil to seal record number of green energy deals in 2019.
World’s largest solar power plant planned for Chernobyl nuclear wasteland
The world’s most famous and damaging nuclear meltdown is now being considered for the world’s largest solar power plant. The Ukrainian nuclear power station Chernobyl had a nuclear meltdown on April 26, 1986. Since then 1,600 square miles of land has been deemed an ‘exclusion zone’ as the radiation levels are too high for human health. But in a recent interview, Ukraine’s ecology minister said the government was negotiating with two US investment firms and four Canadian energy companies, which have expressed interest in the Chernobyl’s solar potential.
French minister offers shuttered nuclear plant site for Tesla’s first EU factory, will meet Tesla this month
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was in France earlier this year. During a special event for Tesla owners at the automaker’s French headquarters in Chambourcy, Musk reiterated that in the near future Tesla will need to establish some manufacturing capacity in Europe. But this time, he nonchalantly brought up the possibility to build its first European electric car factory in Alsace, a northeastern French region on the Rhine River plain bordering Germany and Switzerland.
The comment wasn’t really serious and Musk only brought it up as a potentially good option geographically speaking, but the comment certainly didn’t fall on deaf ears. Today, French Energy Minister Ségolène Royal said that she already suggested a site to Elon Musk and she will meet with “Tesla executives” later this month.
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