October 27 NEC Energy News
¶ “Nuclear Reactors Can Become Dirty Bombs – And You Don’t Even Need a War” • The alarming stories about the Ukrainian reactors captured by Russians potentially being used as dirty bombs drives home one clear message: nuclear power plants and their high-level nuclear waste are inherently dangerous and their use should be discontinued. [Common Dreams]
¶ “Europe Has So Much Natural Gas That Prices Just Dipped Below Zero” • EU gas storage facilities are close to full, tankers carrying liquefied natural gas are lining up at ports, unable to unload their cargoes. Europe now has more natural gas than it knows what to do with. So much, in fact, that spot prices briefly went negative earlier this week. [CNN]
¶ “First Comes The Sub-Zero Gas Prices In Texas, Then The Flaring” • A glut of natural gas in the Texas shale patch has grown so large prices have fallen below zero. This is raising fears among environmentalists that drillers are burning off more of the fuel at wells. Flaring gets rid of gas that companies can’t or aren’t willing to put into pipelines. [Regina Leader Post]
¶ “GM Says It Will Power All Of Its US Sites With Clean Energy By 2025” • General Motors said it has deals to power all of its US sites with clean energy by 2025. GM’s clean energy portfolio now includes sourcing agreements from sixteen renewable energy plants. GM reports that that portfolio has produced over $75 million of positive cash flow since 2017. [Electrek]
¶ “Biden–Harris Administration: 389 School Districts Getting Nearly $1 Billion From EPA’s Clean School Bus Program” • Under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, nearly $1 billion of the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program rebate competition was awarded to 389 school districts in 50 states; Washington, DC; and several Tribes and US territories. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Northern Maine Transmission Line Gets Key Vote From State Regulators” • State regulators gave initial approval to a proposed transmission line connecting a massive renewable energy project in Aroostook County to the New England grid. They held off on issuing contracts to give Massachusetts officials time to decide on picking up some of the costs. [Maine Public]
¶ “TVA Developing Plans For 20 Small Nuclear Reactors To Power Tennessee Valley By 2050” • To decarbonize and electrify America’s economy, the head of its biggest public power utility thinks several hundred new nuclear reactors may be needed in the next generation, including 20 or so new smaller reactors in the Tennessee Valley. [Chattanooga Times Free Press]
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