Month: September 2022

German Nukes to be “On Standby”

Germany’s biggest problem with gas is the need for home heating, especially if winter gets cold. Nuclear has very little bearing on that, unless there is a massive switch to. heat pump technology.

Reuters:

 Germany plans to keep two of its three remaining nuclear power stations on standby, beyond a year-end deadline to ditch the fuel, to ensure enough electricity supply through the winter during a gas crunch.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a statement on Monday the move did not mean Berlin was reneging on its long-standing promise to exit nuclear energy by the end of 2022.

Habeck said a stress test by power grid operators had shown there could be hours of crisis in electricity supply over the winter given tightness in the European energy market.

“It remains very improbable that we will have crisis situations and extreme scenarios,” Habeck said. “I have to do everything necessary to fully guarantee security of provision.”

The move is especially hard to swallow for Habeck’s Greens, which grew out of the 1970s anti-nuclear movement, although the exit was initiated by former conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Habeck said the government still deemed nuclear power as a high risk technology generating radioactive waste that would burden future generations.

While all three of Germany’s remaining nuclear reactors would still go offline by Dec. 31, the southern plants Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim 2 would remain in reserve for any emergency until mid-April.

Both plants have a 1,400 megawatt (MW) capacity and are separately operated by E.ON (EONGn.DE) and EnBW (EBKG.DE).

New Flood Victims Often Have no Insurance, Climate Exposing New Risk Areas

Above, massive flooding in North Georgia spotlights a problem – many folks who never needed flood insurance before, are now exposed to new risks.

Guardian:

Flood maps used by the federal government are outdated, the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or Fema, said on Sunday, considering a series of devastating floods caused by excessive rainfall induced by climate change.

Deanne Criswell told CNN’s State of the Union: “The part that’s really difficult right now is the fact that our flood maps don’t take into account excessive rain that comes in. And we are seeing these record rainfalls that are happening.”

Criswell was questioned about the situation in Jackson, Mississippi, where city water facilities failed in the aftermath of heavy flooding on the Pearl River, leaving residents without drinkable or usable water.

On Sunday, thunderstorms and heavy rain pounded parts of north-west Georgia, sparking flash floods. Local news reports showed roads under water and homeowners struggling.

The Georgia governor, Brian Kemp, declared a state of emergency in Chattooga and Floyd counties, directing all state resources to help with “preparation, response and recovery activities”.

The National Weather Service (NWS) reported rainfall of up to an inch an hour. Up to 12in was estimated to have fallen, according to Kemp’s executive order.

“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation,” the NWS said. “Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order.”

In the Netherlands: Climate Change Rotting Foundations

Bloomberg:

Inside Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, Rembrandt’s masterpiece The Night Watch appears to be hanging straight, as do other famous works by Vermeer and Van Gogh. While standing outside the gargantuan red-brick building, however, eagle-eyed engineers noticed the museum was sinking 15 centimeters (6 inches) to one side.

Like most buildings built before 1970 in this marshy country, the Netherlands’ national museum rests on a foundation of wooden poles — about 8,000 of them. But as dry summers caused groundwater levels to plunge, the poles were exposed and fungi began to rot the foundations. It required a team of specialist hydrogeologists to fix the problem.

While the Dutch have long feared that climate change would see their homes engulfed by rising sea levels, Europe’s record drought is showing that too little, not too much water, could spell disaster. As many as one million Dutch houses built on pile foundations face similar problems to the Rijksmuseum and are at risk of collapse.

Only a small group of engineers have the expertise to tackle the issue and it may cost as much as 100 billion euros ($100 billion) to fix all households that are sinking due to retreating groundwater, according to Peter Boelhouwer, professor of housing systems at the Delft University of Technology. With Europe in the throes of what appears to be its worst drought in at least 500 years, the problem may not be confined to the Netherlands, with wooden pile foundations also used in parts of Sweden, Germany and extensively in Italy’s Venice. 

The fungi, which need oxygen to survive, “literally eat away the wooden poles, to the point they lose stability,” said Maarten Kuiper, a hydrogeologist at engineering company Dareius, which was hired to help save the Rijksmuseum. “They really are slow and silent killers.”

As a changing climate continues to ravage the continent, the Dutch are having to rethink their strategy of water management — trying to lock in groundwater instead of keeping the sea out.

Kuiper and his team installed an infiltration system at the museum, directing water from a pond to prevent soil from drying out. “We’re controlling the groundwater levels via pumps and pipes,” he said. “We’re measuring it each hour.”  

Such a system could be used to protect homes, with a water pump and sensors installed for housing blocks, said Kuiper. That would reduce the period that foundations are exposed to the air during dry spells and slow the rot. Without such remediation, homes could collapse within a decade unless pilings are replaced, he said.

Continue reading “In the Netherlands: Climate Change Rotting Foundations”

MTG’s District Drowns, While She Blocks Climate Solutions

Associated Press:

SUMMERVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Flood watches were in effect in the U.S. southeast early Monday as forecasters warn of the possibility of torrential downpours on Labor Day across already saturated ground.

Among the hardest-hit areas in this weekend’s storms was northwest Georgia, where 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain fell in some spots, forecasters said.

The flooding knocked out water service to parts of Georgia’s Chattooga County, authorities said.

“Our main thrust right now is getting our water situation back in hand,” said Earle Rainwater, who owns Rainwater Funeral Home in Summerville and serves as the Chattooga County coroner.

“Without water, you can’t do anything,” he said Monday. “We don’t have water except for bottled water and what’s in the creeks.”

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Sunday declared a state of emergency in Chattooga and Floyd counties. That directed all state resources to help with “preparation, response and recovery activities.”

In Chattooga County, several people had to be rescued from their homes on Sunday, especially in lower-lying areas of the county, Rainwater said. “They used Jon Boats, they used kayaks, they used anything that would float.”

Waves of showers and storms were expected to develop Monday in the region, as moisture from the Gulf of Mexico continues to stream across the South, the National Weather Service said. Some training storms — storms that drop several inches of rain as they move over the same areas like train cars — were also possible, the weather service said.

Parts of Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia were under flash flood watches through Monday evening. The chance for flash flooding also extended to the northeast, into Pennsylvania and parts of southern New England, the weather service said.

Russians Shut Off European Gas

Interesting deep dive from Aljazeera above features spokesman for Russian point of view.
Little discussion of longer term transition to renewables – focus on immediate crisis.
Strong point that sanctions against Russia have backfired, at least in the energy sector, by spiking prices so high that Russia’s revenues have not suffered as much as hoped.

Austerity measures and storage on the European side were making things look brighter for a brief minute last week, Russia noticed, and dropped the hammer.

Reuters:

European gas prices rocketed as much as 30% higher on Monday after Russia said one of its main gas supply pipelines to Europe would stay shut indefinitely, stoking renewed fears about shortages and gas rationing in the European Union this winter.

The benchmark gas price surged as high as 272 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) when the market opened after Russia said on Friday that a leak in Nord Stream 1 pipeline equipment meant it would stay shut beyond last week’s three-day maintenance halt.

The Dutch TTF October gas contract had eased to 256 euros, up 23% on the day by 0723 GMT but almost 400% higher than a year ago. This year’s price surge has squeezed struggling already consumers and forced some industries to halt production.

Europe has accused Russia of weaponising energy supplies in retaliation for Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Russia says the West has launched an economic war and sanctions have hampered pipeline operations.

Bloomberg:

Germany is unlikely to meet its target for filling natural gas storage sites to 95% by the start of November following the latest Russian supply cut, according to people familiar with the matter. 

While Europe’s largest economy is ahead of schedule in its efforts to boost winter reserves, Russia’s decision last week to keep the key Nord Stream pipeline halted jeopardizes further refilling, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. 

Failure to hit the target would be a blow to Germany’s efforts to secure sufficient power for its industries and households and ease worsening inflationary pressures. Klaus Mueller, president of the Federal Network Agency energy regulator, warned last month that even with storage at the target level, that would cover only 2 1/2 months of demand if Russia stopped flows.  

It’s still unclear whether Germany will reach its November gas-storage goal, a spokeswoman of the Economy Ministry acknowledged. “We will have to see that in the coming weeks.” 

Swelling gas inventories in Germany and fellow European Union states had been a relief to the market, raising hopes the continent could build a working buffer for this winter. Germany’s gas storage sites are almost 86% full, just ahead of its intermediate target of 85% by Oct. 1. 

Continue reading “Russians Shut Off European Gas”

Music Break: Military choir of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name”

Below, original by Rage Against the Machine.

This contrast is a bizarre comment on Trumpism, I think.