Trump takes aim at climate plans US President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the Clean Power Plan could harm the US economy and leave the country behind in the battle against climate change. Siân Crampsie US President Donald Trump’s latest executive order to roll back Barack Obama’s climate change efforts threaten to undermine the country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement. Trump signed the executive order at the end of March in front of an audience of coal miners at the offices of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), promising “to lift the restrictions on American energy, to reverse government intrusion, and to cancel job-killing regulations”. The executive order takes a broad swipe at regulations ushered in during Obama’s presidential years to reduce the USA’s greenhouse gas emissions, most notably the Clean Power Plan (CPP). It instructs the EPA to begin the process of unwinding the CPP. It also initiates a review of the Department of Justice’s defence of the rule in court, and for a working group to “reconsider” the social cost of carbon. In addition, the order brings to an end the moratorium on new and modified coal leasing on public land. Trump’s move is part of his so-called Energy Independence policy. “We are going to continue to expand energy production, and we will also create more jobs in infrastructure, trucking, and manufacturing,” said Trump. “This will allow the EPA to focus on its primary mission of protecting our air and protecting our water. Together, we are going to start a new energy revolution – one that celebrates American production on American soil.” His announcement was met with swift and strong criticism from environmental quarters, including the World Resources Institute (WRI). “In taking a sledgehammer to US climate action, the administration will push the country backward, making it harder and more expensive to reduce emissions,” said Dr. Andrew Steer, President and CEO of WRI. “Climate science is clear and unwavering: mounting greenhouse gas emissions are warming our planet, putting people and business in harm’s way.” Trump’s order will force the EPA to contradict its own findings on climate change that it cited on issuing the final CPP rule in August 2016, which incorporated feedback from 4.3 million comments and months of meetings with state regulators, utilities, and officials. It will also have to overturn its 2009 finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health. The executive order does not indicate whether the USA will withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change. However, eliminating the CPP will make it difficult for the country to meet its obligations to cut its carbon emissions to 26 per cent below 2005 levels by 2025. The CPP requires a 32 per cent reduction in power plant CO2 levels from 2005 levels by 2030. “Around the globe, countries have committed to transition to a lowcarbon economy that will make the world safer and more prosperous,” added Steer. “Make no mistake: This Executive Order will undermine people’s health and the US economy. It hands moral authority and global leadership over to others, leaving America behind.” NRC accepts SMR for review Siân Crampsie Designs for the first small modular reactor (SMR) have come one step closer to approval and production following the acceptance of NuScale’s plans for review by the USA’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). NuScale announced last month that its design certification application has been accepted by the NRC, meaning that it met the requirements for a fullscale technical review. The announcement came just weeks after GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) said it had reached a deal with Advanced Reactor Concepts (ARC Nuclear) to collaborate in the development and licensing of an advanced small modular reactor (aSMR) based on mature Generation IV sodiumcooled reactor technology. NuScale, a subsidiary of Fluor Corp., submitted its 12 000-page application in December 2016 and said that it expected the NRC’s review to take at least 40 months. “There is still much to do and we firmly believe that not only will Nu- Scale be the first SMR certified by the US NRC, but that the size and simplicity of the NuScale design will change the way we think and talk about nuclear going forward,” said NuScale COO and CNO Dale Atkinson. SMR technology has gained traction as a commercially viable option for utilities due to its small-scale, modular nature. It is also carbon-free and simpler in design compared to large-scale nuclear reactor units. The first commercial NuScale power plant is planned for construction on the site of the Idaho National Laboratory for the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) and operated by Energy Northwest. Conservative estimates predict approximately 55-75 GW of electricity will come from operating SMRs around the world by 2035, NuScale said. “There is a real need to upgrade American infrastructure to provide for clean and reliable electricity to spur growth in the US,” Atkinson added. Earlier in March, GEH signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ARC Nuclear to progress a joint aSMR design for power generation applications. The first unit could be deployed in Canada, GEH said. The companies will pursue a preliminary regulatory review by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission through its Vendor Design Review process, building on earlier technology licensing success in the US. This collaborative commercialisation programme also includes the near-term goals of confirming projected construction and operating costs, as well as the identification of a lead-plant owner/operator for the joint aSMR. GEH and ARC Nuclear have each developed advanced reactor designs based on the EBR-II, an integral sodium cooled fast reactor prototype, which was developed by Argonne National Laboratory and operated successfully for more than 30 years at Idaho Falls, Idaho. THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - APRIL 2017 Americas News 3
Energy Industry Times April 2017
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