March 9 NEC Energy News
¶ “Germany Rules Out Prolonging Its Nuclear Power Plants” • Berlin has ruled out extending the lifetime of its existing nuclear fleet, brushing aside energy security concerns after Moscow threatened to halt gas supplies to Germany in retaliation for Western sanctions in the Russia-Ukraine war. Closing the nuclear fleet is too far along to be reversed. [EURACTIV.com]
¶ “Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Has Lost Contact With The UN Atomic Watchdog” • The UN’s atomic watchdog said Tuesday that the Chernobyl nuclear plant is no longer transmitting data, as remote data transmission from safeguards monitoring systems has been lost. The IAEA also expressed concern for workers held by Russians at the Ukrainian facility. [The Week]
¶ “Russians Are Advancing On Another Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine’s President Says” • President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Ukraine says Russian forces are advancing toward a third nuclear power plant. It was just last Friday that Russia seized control of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine’s port city of Zaporizhzhia. [NPR]
¶ “Europe Plans To Reduce Russian Gas Imports By 66% This Year” • Europe is planning to reduce consumption of Russian natural gas this year as it prepares for a complete break with its single biggest energy supplier over the war in Ukraine. EU officials outlined a plan to achieve energy independence from Moscow “well before 2030.” [CNN]
¶ “War in Ukraine: Fitch Ratings warns Russian bond default ‘imminent'” • Fitch Ratings has warned Russia is likely to soon default on its debts, as it downgraded the country’s bonds further into “junk” territory, almost to the bottom grade. The warning came after the EU, US, and UK said they will reduce or ban imports of Russian oil or gas. [BBC]
¶ “Vice Admiral McGinn: Renewable Energy Will Save Us From Dictators Whose Power Comes From Fossil Fuels” • Vice Admiral Dennis V McGinn wrote a piece for The Hill responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He argued that renewable energy will save us from dictators powered by fossil fuels and called for the US to up its game on renewables. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Hydrogen Truck Maker Nikola Leads EV Stock Rally As Biden Cuts Off Russian Oil” • Nikola, which aims to replace diesel-fueled semis with trucks powered by batteries and hydrogen, was one of the biggest stock market gainers among EV makers after President Biden said the US was cutting off imports of Russian oil because of its invasion of Ukraine. [Forbes]
For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.