The Financial Times, a newspaper of record for business and politics, has become almost passionate about climate change. “Even now, when weather records are being broken, when climate change is demonstrably here, not in the future, we seem frozen. We still go about our carbon-greedy lives: snapping up the last air-conditioning unit, booking another flight, … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, August 16-17, 2026
Category: nuclear energy
Small reactors, big promises — but can SMRs deliver?
Tim Schauenberg writes on the Deutsche Welle website questioning whether SMRs can live up to the considerable claims being made for them, particularly on cost, timing, safety and climate impact. Schauenberg looks at what's behind the SMR hype. The big catch with small modular nuclear reactors Many politicians and tech companies are now pushing to build new nuclear power … Continue reading Small reactors, big promises — but can SMRs deliver?
The growing cost of climate-proofing France’s energy system
A news item on the IN Power website discusses how the state-owned electric utility, Electricité de France (EDF), plans major investment in resilience across French generation assets. The €8.7 billion programme covers nuclear, hydropower, and island operations through 2040. EDF assigns €8.7bn to French generation resilience IN Brief: EDF’s €8.7 billion plan covers nuclear, … Continue reading The growing cost of climate-proofing France’s energy system
Energy in Demand News, July 26-27, 2026
As this week’s Energy in Demand was being prepared, more than 280,000 people had been ordered to flee or lock down as huge wildfires swept Spain and France, prompting Madrid to declare a national emergency and the French authorities to order the total evacuation, by land and sea, of one of the country’s best-known holiday … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, July 26-27, 2026
Blog by Grace Waters: Why France’s nuclear plants are shutting down during peak summer demand
France relies on a highly nuclear-dependent grid because it provides the nation with predictability. Most of the country’s electricity comes from its reactor fleet, which represents a bet on carbon-free baseload power that’s paid off for decades. But that same fleet has a weak spot that heat waves keep exposing. Most reactors depend on river … Continue reading Blog by Grace Waters: Why France’s nuclear plants are shutting down during peak summer demand
The nuclear mirage behind the AI boom
On the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists website Molly Langabeer and M.V. Ramana challenge the narrative that Big Tech's investment in nuclear power will solve AI's growing electricity demand. Their the announcements are far larger than the actual investments, while renewables—not nuclear—are meeting demand. There is definitely a mismatch between rhetoric and reality. Data centers … Continue reading The nuclear mirage behind the AI boom
Energy in Demand News, July 19-20, 2026
The EU has big plans to electrify. It has set its first-ever electrification target: 46% by 2040. Electrification has hovered just under 24% for more than a decade. Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen told reporters in Brussels on Friday: “With this plan, we are putting Europe on a course to become the world’s first electro-continent.” Check … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, July 19-20, 2026
Why Poland must balance nuclear ambitions with renewable growth
Julia Damasceno writes on the Regard sur l’Est website about some of the challenges in Poland’s energy transition. Is Poland’s Nuclear Plan the Best Route to a Green Transition? To understand the complexity of Poland’s ecological transition, it is essential to place it within its broader climate and energy context. This helps shed light … Continue reading Why Poland must balance nuclear ambitions with renewable growth
“They (the tech bros) love nuclear, and they’re going to be very angry when they discover what everybody discovers, which is nuclear is kind of expensive and long and complicated”
Giles Parkinson writes on the Renew Economy website about the hype about small modular reactors and how renewable energy is much more the future solution than these small nuclear reactors. Okay, not everyone agrees obviously. Nuclear needs to build up to 8,000 SMRs just to catch up with wind and solar. By 2035, they … Continue reading “They (the tech bros) love nuclear, and they’re going to be very angry when they discover what everybody discovers, which is nuclear is kind of expensive and long and complicated”
Reaction to European Commission’s AccelerateEU plan to increase EU energy independence
To address rising energy costs and further reduce dependency on volatile fossil fuel markets, due to the escalating Middle East conflict, the Commission presented a comprehensive plan of actions and measures on 22 April 2026. An overview of the plan is available here. Italy's PM Giorgia Meloni and Belgium's PM Bart De Wever among those … Continue reading Reaction to European Commission’s AccelerateEU plan to increase EU energy independence
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 