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It’s a crisis (for renewables): The EU finally start throwing carbon credits at nuclear power

German Nuclear Power Plant

Phillippsburg Nuclear Power Plant by Lothar Neumann, Gernsbach [1]

By Jo Nova

A few days of war and a $100 oil spike was all it took for the EU to figure out the bleeding obvious after wasting a $1000 billion dollars.

Couldn’t they have seen this coming ten years ago, or a hundred?

German Chancellor Merz lamented the loss of  Germany’s nuclear plants 6 weeks ago. Ursula von der Leyen must have been shaken by events in the Red Sea:

Reducing Europe’s nuclear energy sector was ‘strategic mistake’, EU chief says

PARIS, March 10 (Reuters) – Reducing Europe’s nuclear energy sector was a “strategic mistake”, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday, as governments grapple ‌with an energy crunch from the Iran war.
Europe produced around a third of electricity from nuclear power in 1990 but that has fallen to 15%, she told an event in Paris, leaving it reliant on oil and gas imports whose prices have surged in recent days.
This is a long contorted way to avoid saying that “fossil fuels are extremely useful”:
Being “completely dependent on expensive and volatile imports” of fossil fuels ​puts Europe at a disadvantage to other regions, von der Leyen said in a speech.
“This reduction in the share of nuclear ​was a choice. I believe that it was a strategic mistake for Europe to turn its back ⁠on a reliable, affordable source of low-emissions power.”

Likewise, The Blob arrange their sentences so oil and gas are mentioned at the same sentence as “soaring energy prices”, so we are left with a bad taste, but the word that matters here is not oil or gas, but the adjective “imported“:

The continued heavy reliance on imported oil ​and gas exposed European countries to soaring energy prices in 2022, when Russia cut gas deliveries after the invasion of Ukraine.

They speak with forked tongue. Oil and gas don’t cause “soaring energy prices” — it’s a lack of oil and gas that does that.

Finally, carbon credits are flowing to nuclear power

It is a sign that the end is near for the renewables fantasy — it never made any sense that nuclear power couldn’t earn credits for low emission electricity, unless of course, it accidentally ‘solved’ the climate crisis.

In a sign of the EU’s increasing acceptance of the technology, von der Leyen said the executive Commission would offer a 200-million-euro guarantee for private investments in innovative nuclear technologies.
She said the money would come from the EU’s carbon market.
Australia can’t build a nuclear plant by 2040, but the EU will have SMRs “by the early 2030s.
There is a revival of nuclear power on all over the world.
9.8 out of 10 based on 95 ratings

62 comments to It’s a crisis (for renewables): The EU finally start throwing carbon credits at nuclear power

  • #
    Tony Dique

    Oh that made me laugh out loud. That is the moment we have been waiting for. You would not want to be holding a portfolio of wind and solar right now. Like Malcolm Turnbull does. This will be sweet justice where he is concerned.

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    • #
      Dennis

      Enough to make a ghost return to its grave?

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    • #
      Johnny Rotten

      European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen should be renamed as –

      Ursula found out Lying (again), although this time, she has to accept the “bleedin’ obvious”.

      France and Germany will now ‘lead the way’ by following economic logic for a change/once more again.

      When will most Australian ‘Pollies’ wake up to Nuclear Power.

      After all, there is a Nuclear Power Plant at Lucas Heights in NSW and AUKUS is all about nuclear powered Submarines.

      Funny/strange that…………..

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      • #
        David of Cooyal in Oz

        ” When will most Australian ‘Pollies’ wake up to Nuclear Power.?”
        Just after all order books for such units have closed…

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  • #
    Neville

    Just imagine where the EU countries could be if they hadn’t wasted TRILLIONs of $ over the last 25 years on clueless, toxic W & S experiments and EVs?
    Instead, they are running out of energy today and should be searching for more fossil fuels ASAP and ditching EVs completely.
    The Nuclear shutdowns were delusional stupidity and only stiff jail sentences could wake up these donkeys.

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    • #
      Dennis

      Imagine how much better the people would be if that squandered monies and time had been used for real benefits

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  • #
    David Maddison

    Decisions this bad are not “mistakes” or incompetence but quite deliberate decisions designed to destroy Western economies.

    Don’t let them tell you the lie that these were “honest mistakes” or that they “were following the best available advice”.

    Perpetrators must be punished. Severely.

    550

    • #
      Dennis

      All of them signed United Nations agreements and treaties and parliaments legislated and created regulations with compliance costs to enforce the climate politics agendas

      250

  • #
    Dennis

    Isn’t it amazing what loss of economic prosperity can achieved

    220

  • #
    RickWill

    It would be wasteful for Australia to begin a journey toward nuclear when it has vast quantities of the lowest cost fuel source in the world piled metres deep across easily accessible land. The resource is currently estimated at 140bn tonnes.

    501

    • #
      Dennis

      I did like the Dutton Plan to build seven nuclear generators, power stations and smaller plants, to replace coal fired power stations already shut down to replace the lost capacity and increase installed capacity nuclear for future needs and reserve generator capacity, using the existing development approved for use locations and existing transmission lines nearby.

      The Plan does not replace any technology already established, including wind and solar installations, however it does suggest that free enterprise free market principles would apply and therefore replacement up to the shareholders, and no subsided profits.

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      • #
        Forrest Gardener

        Wow. No wonder we don’t hear about that plan. It makes way too much sense.

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      • #
        Robert Swan

        I did like the Dutton Plan to build seven nuclear generators

        I didn’t.

        Amongst other things, his plan assumed the cooperation of the NSW government. The political battle would have ramped up anti-nuclear rhetoric. Likely result: nuclear uptake delayed even longer.

        The policy I would vote for is the policy of the Feds getting out of policy — in general, but especially on energy. Abolish the NEM, the AEMO, and abolish the nuclear-power ban legislation; then leave ALL the responsibility to the states. That means the states have to explain themselves to their voters and can’t finger-point when things go wrong.

        The last thing I want to see is the Feds building power stations. They’re utterly incompetent. NBN, SH2, NDIS. Is there *anything* they do well?

        431

        • #
          Russell

          And “competition” between States promotes efficiency and demotes incompetence. Diversity in any business is always a better survival strategy overall.

          110

        • #
          Bruce

          “…… Is there *anything* they do well?”

          SPILLAGE, and LOTS of it; straight into the hands of the terminally incorrigible.

          40

        • #
          Larry

          That’s a feature of the Public Service bureaucratic system, not a bug.

          40

      • #
        Ross

        The LNP nuclear power plan was dumb. (there’s that word again). All they needed to say was that they would reverse the ban on nuclear power generation when they had sufficient numbers in government. That’s it. Instead they stupidly complicated the whole debate. Then Labor went with the 2 headed fish ploy, which had the effect of making the whole subject look comical. The stage management was terrible.

        150

        • #
          PeterPetrum

          I quite agree, Ross. The whole nuclear thing was very badly “sold”. In fact it was not sold, and that was the problem. John Howard was able to sell a very unpopular, initially, GST policy by preparing well, getting his benefit story straight, making sure his colleagues were on board and well briefed before launching his campaign. Dutton just jumped in and was totally knocked out of the park by Labor and the Greens, ever mind the Teals.

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          • #
            Larry

            And by his own Party backroom, who where, and still are, a bunch of pearl clutching bed wetting “moderates”.

            70

    • #
      David Maddison

      There should be no directive for Australia to use any particular generation technology.

      Let the market place decide.

      It would be silly to build a nuclear power plant on the site of the prematurely destroyed Hazelwood Power Station, built next to a coal mine, for example. Similarly it would be silly to power an outback community with long transmission lines or diesel generators when a small modular reactor might be appropriate.

      Even unsubsidised with no forced-purchase arrangements wind and solar could be a consideration if someone thinks it could be competitive with other generation technologies or it could be sold to Leftists for three times the price of coal, gas, nuclear or real hydro (not SH2).

      Politicians should not be making such engineering or economic decisions. Leave that to market forces.

      290

      • #
        Dennis

        The exact locations were stated in Dutton Plan and based on water supply and close to existing transmission lines

        50

        • #
          David Maddison

          Why did he mandate nuclear and not let the market place decide?

          Nuclear and coal or gas are all good, but what is chosen should come down to an economic decision for any particular situation.

          130

          • #
            Dennis

            Consider politics and all sides net zero emissions and earlier emissions reduction agreements with UN IPCC.

            Then the transition to renewable energy “free” fuel.

            Nuclear power station zero emissions and controllable power station generators, reliable and had provided cheap electricity for Australians.

            50

    • #
      jpm

      Rick we have plenty of coal and it can be used and should be used. We can have new coal-fired plants operating in less than one third the time it takes to get a nuclear one operational and cheaper too!
      John

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    • #
      Geoff Sherrington

      Rick,
      Agreed, but it is prudent for Australia to start building Aussie nuclear electricity plants right now. The real difference in cost between coal and nuclear is small. A lot of the plant is much the same once you have steam. So the basic cost difference is between nuclear fuel and coal fuel at the front end. The engineering is not hard, it has 50 years of experience behind it.
      Once Australians open their eyes to the way greens have demonised nuclear at huge cost to the country, people will realise that green motives are negative – they try all the time to stop the advance of technology while offering nothing in return. They need to be singled out and identified and when recommended, prosecuted for deliberate and known economic destruction. You cannot expect to deprive people from a better world and not be punished. It is theft.
      Coal and gas is fine, but both have many other uses besides being burned and gone forever. Nuclear, apart from bombs and medical, has few competing uses and an immense raw material reserve for the future.
      Australia will have more, better technology when we get going on modern electricity generation like the more advanced countries have done. Like France did decades ago and laughed all the way to the bank. What is not to like?
      Geoff S

      110

      • #
        Larry

        Not just greens, the whole leftard spectrum have been pushing the anti nuke line since the crypto communist Oppenheimer came out against the Bomb because it might have been used against communist Russia.

        He was quite happy to have it used against nazi Germany and imperial fascist Japan.

        50

  • #
    YallaYPoora Kid

    When I was living in Europe 10 years ago the everyday citizens had swallowed the EU line on power generation, wokeness, diversity etc to a nauseating level. It was difficult to discuss these subjects without being labelled as an ill-educated barbarian from Australia (they may have been right). Our European HQ even had their head of HR come to Australia to explain we should be more diverse in Australia (head spin, reach for the bucket). We had non-stop mandatory ‘training’ to check our acceptance levels of their propaganda.
    It gives me no pleasure to say I was right given the fall of Western economies and social structure and the ruination of industries to appease our ‘great friend’ China.
    Fire up the nuclear power stations and get the West back to where it should be.

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    • #
      Dennis

      We must admit that the sales and marketing propaganda has been very professional, and climate change politics relentlessly promoted even in schools.

      The Fabian Marxist saying comes to mind – The Inevitability Of Gradualness

      160

  • #
    yarpos

    I wonder if this new found clarity of thinking will extend to realising “shadow fleet” tankers are just tankers or that gas dependency on the USA is still dependency, just more expensive. One thing at a time I guess.

    110

  • #
    Forrest Gardener

    Australia is unlikely to get any nuclear power until other nations (Chyna) demonstrate that it is possible to build a “safe and effective” power station in a matter of months.

    There is much pretending and political inertia to be overcome.

    And remember to use the words “safe and effective” as often as possible. Make every tin pot bureaucrat and politician who ever uttered that slogan live to regret their duplicity.

    Nuclear is not safe and effective you’ll hear. Neither were the injections so what’s your problem?

    180

  • #
    Ross

    “It never made any sense that nuclear power couldn’t earn credits for low emission electricity”.

    OMG !! I never knew that! That’s possibly as ridiculous as burning imported wood chips to generate electricity, but not counting the emissions. (UK, DRAX power station) It’s as dumb as signing Australia up to Net Zero when our continent was already a carbon dioxide sink. Or, duplicating a perfectly good electricity grid with another that only works a 1/3 of the time on a good day. But lets get down to real basics- its as dumb as thinking atmospheric CO2 is the control knob for the worlds climate.

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    • #
      Greg in NZ

      Scrolling through the aural pap that is NZ’s radio wasteland, a wascally wabbit Bwitish accent blathered out of the speaker sumpfink about CO2’s emissions due to war, measured in (x) tonnes and its effect on Earth’s atmosphere and temperature.

      After my initial involuntary guffaw! of laughter, I listened to the 2 guests (a Yank and a Pom) to ascertain if they knew their stuff or if they were the usual carpetbagging shysters scamming free air-time [if you chose the second option, correct].

      Pain, blood, and horrible deaths, didn’t even enter their equations: it was the manufacturing of concrete which was causing the planet to cook and the oceans to boil (followed by the use of diesel and coal). No wonder Romans spent most of their lives half-naked.

      At that point I switched the radio off: too dumb.

      240

  • #
    Jaye Patrick

    Nothing is more toxic to human advancement than Leftist politics.

    Nor do they ever volunteer to help fix the mess they made.

    260

    • #
      RicDre

      They can’t volunteer to help fix the mess they made because that would require them to admit they made a mess. The best they can do is find someone else to blame the mess on and tell them its their job to fix the mess.

      180

  • #

    It takes complete morons a surprisingly long time to work out that they are wrong and need to change their actions before they go over a cliff.

    [Adding middle name to your screen ID created a new user with zero history. Please be consistent with username, email, etc. Thanks. – LVA]

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    • #

      The problem is that there is a huge time lag between “decision” and effect. So, even if they suddenly realise that they are heading for the cliff, what they have already decided can make the fall over the cliff inevitable.

      The easiest way to understand it is this: if you enact policies that cause a downturn in the economy, simply reversing the policies do nothing to bring back all the companies, jobs and business prospects that were lost. Once the economic rot starts, it can be impossible to stop it. And, as we all know, government “action” to stop a recession usually has the reverse effect.

      40

  • #
    Ruairi

    The E.U. were sold a green pup,
    On fossil fuels and climate anthrop,
    Back to nuclear fission,
    Is their current ambition,
    As they urgently need to catch up.

    170

  • #
    The Great Walrus

    “Ursula von der Leyen must have been shaken by events in the Red Sea”

    Is something happening over in the Red Sea? I’ve been following the Persian Gulf and never thought to check.

    70

  • #
    STJOHNOFGRAFTON

    How is China with carbon credits? They are the world’s biggest industrial emitter of CO₂ but is this reflected in the amount of carbon credits they have to trade?

    50

  • #
    Michael Spencer

    Oh dear! We can’t possibly have nuclear energy in Oz! Someone might be offended. And, apart from anything else: It needs more developmental time; after all, it’s only been about a century in development so far. Just look at Oz experience: We have only been producing medical isotopes at ANSTO since about 1957, so that clearly shows we must need some more time to get to know about it.

    And as for the ITER nuclear fusion project: What would they know that our most-learned Minister for Energy & Climate Change (or is it the other way around?) doesn’t?

    And as for amateurs like Copenhagen Atomics with their production of shipping-container sized nuclear fission reactors (powered by thorium): What would they know that our very-own Climate Council doesn’t?

    (And my pet pink flying pig agrees!)

    120

  • #
    bobn

    Mistake in your article Jo. You say ‘2022, when Russia cut gas deliveries’. However Russia did NOT cut gas deliveries. The EU sanctioned Russia and REFUSED to buy the Russian gas that was freely available. Of course the Yanks and friends then committed the largest environmental crime in history (to add to their myriad other crimes against humanuty) and blew up the North Sea pipeline. Again the West shot itself in both feet. The Russians just stood by and watched the West’s stupidity. Why the West hates peace so much is a real mystery.

    67

    • #
      Dennis

      Maybe the West tries hard for peace but is forced from time to time to go to war to deal with peace invaders?

      80

    • #
      Ross

      Nord Stream pipeline- not North Sea. Which is the Baltic sea.

      80

    • #
      Larry

      “largest environment crime in history”?

      Not even close, the USSR has that beaten hands down at multiple sites pre 1990, and China is minute by minute, metric shed load by metric shed load dumping long lasting toxins into lakes of the stuff even as I type.

      A gas pipeline being blown? Puhlease.

      50

  • #
  • #
    Dennis

    Also an extract from SMR Technologies website and many articles published.

    There is an example of a new nuclear reactor project in Australia. On 3rd September 1997
    the Hon. Peter McGauran, Minister for Science and Technology, announced a replacement
    research reactor would be built at Lucas Heights. The construction licence was issued on 4th
    April 2002 by ARPANSA and the reactor entered production on 12 August 2006 – less than 9
    years from decision to production. This multipurpose reactor (later named OPAL) is a much
    more complicated project than a power reactor and was a First of a Kind (FOAK) project.
    An international example of nuclear construction is the four APR-1400 power reactors at the
    Barakah Nuclear Plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The decision to deploy nuclear
    power was announced in April 2008 and construction of the first reactor completed in
    March 2018, again within 10 years. This project was from a “standing start” with no nuclear
    regulator or nuclear experience in the UAE, unlike Australia which has been involved in
    nuclear since the 1950’s.
    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) provided extensive support to the UAE as
    they did to Australia’s OPAL project and would do again when Australia starts its nuclear
    power program.
    As with the French nuclear power program in the 1970’s, it demonstrates that nuclear
    projects can be completed in a ten-year timescale, if there is a will to succeed.
    When Australia is looking at net zero by 2050, it is clear that there would still be time for
    nuclear power to make a significant contribution to our low emissions future, particularly as
    all the existing solar and wind plants will have to be replaced before 2050.
    Development times for VRE projects and particularly supporting transmission can be long. In
    their report for GenCost 2023-24 Aurecon note that the development time for offshore
    wind is > 7 years.

    70

  • #
    Dennis

    More from SMR Nuclear Australia

    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
    SMR-NT is concerned that the Australian Governments, Federal and State, are not
    receiving the complete up-to-date information to make an informed choice about the
    engineering and economic factors for the best mix of technologies for electricity
    supply.
    For the GenCost 2023-24 report, CSIRO has again chosen not to receive expert advice
    on nuclear costs. Aurecon has again provided expert analysis of all technologies except
    nuclear. The last time that CSIRO obtained expert advice was from GHD in 2018 and,
    as raised in every nuclear inquiry since then, the accuracy of that analysis was very
    much in question, even to the extent that CSIRO admitted that the source of their high
    overnight cost was unclear.
    CSIRO has attempted to prove that nuclear is too expensive to consider by quoting the
    cancelled UAMPS CFFP, but their analysis is misleading. We suggest that CSIRO should
    engage a consultancy with nuclear experience to review their analysis before the final
    version of GenCost 2023-24 is released. For example Hatch Consulting has extensive
    nuclear experience in Canada, USA and UK.

    90

  • #
    Neville

    Here’s the latest video from the CIS and Zoe Hilton tells us why our power prices will now continue to increase every year.
    Since Labor was first elected 4 years ago they’ve changed the more accurate data to the BS and lies of modeling since 2022.
    This takes only 10 minutes to understand the truth and yet most Aussie voters haven’t got a clue.
    We should vote these idiots out at the very first opportunity.

    https://www.cis.org.au/commentary/video/the-hidden-truth-behind-soaring-power-bills-zoe-hilton/

    50

  • #
    TdeF

    Sure, nuclear fusion has zero emissions.

    What a total corruption of science is behind that statement, often from the nuclear marketing people.

    Still in the world where people do not know any carbon chemistry, it stands to reason they know no other science. We are in a world of populist science where the truth is whatever you want it to be. And laws about science subjects abound.

    “in 1897, the Indiana House of Representatives unanimously passed Bill No. 246, which proposed an incorrect value of as 3.2.
    The bill was introduced by amateur mathematician Edwin J. Goodwin but was stopped in the Senate by a Purdue University professor before it could become law.”

    If no one wants Victoria’s coal, I would like to buy it for $1. It would be a very good investment for when oil runs out.

    And now we have ‘international law’ which says that CO2 is a toxic industrial gas. And needs to be taxed out of existence and oil production stopped. But even a hint that oil prices might rise a little produce world panic.

    “The evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones” We are increasingly ruled by politicans who care nothing for the truth.

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  • #
    David Hounslow

    The whole Carbon scam started to allow the Swedish public to accept Nuclear and became a money making scam to make millions for rich people. Then the same loony Greens got scared of Nuclear but might accept modern Nuclear.

    30

    • #
      Gerry

      Is there money in it ? Or maybe I should rephrase that …can the Chinese mass produce nuclear plants or take control of the manufacture and supply of vital parts of nuclear plants ? Or maybe supply extra cheap enriched uranium?

      10