Volume 13 Issue 3
February 21, 2022 – February 27, 2022
Zihan Lin ‘23 | Andrew Ji ‘25 | Wilder Crosier ‘25 | Sunay Joshi ‘24 | Riti Bhandarkar ‘23
France’s Macron Bets on Nuclear Power to Fight Climate Change
February 10, 2022 | Mathew Dalton | The Wall Street Journal
Under President Emanuel Macron, France is buying big into nuclear energy in spite of many other Western countries pulling back on the technology. On Thursday Macron announced France energy plans which include six new reactors, as well as the possibility for eight additional reactors to come online by 2035. Though nuclear power is clean and renewable, critics argue it is too dangerous and costly. Indeed, nations like Germany, Belgium, and the United States have been taking their nuclear plants offline in recent years. Macron however believes nuclear power is essential for the world’s transition to renewable energy. –WC
Can Quebec’s Dams Power New York City? Blackstone Is Betting $4.5 Billion on It.
February 18, 2022 | Ryan Dezember | The Wall Street Journal
Blackstone is investing $4.5 billion into the construction of the Champlain Hudson Power Express, which will connect Hydro-Québec’s hydropower in Quebec to New York City through underwater transmission lines. Blackstone began the endeavor in 2010, after acquiring Transmission Developers Inc. The project, which is projected to be completed by late 2025, would provide enough electricity to power 20% of New York City’s energy needs. However, the project has faced its fair share of regulatory hurdles; for instance, EPA restrictions forced the line to make a 115-mile detour around a chemical contamination site in the Hudson. Blackstone still has to receive approval from the New York Public Service Commission, due to opposition from a Hudson river protection organization called Riverkeeper. -SJ
UK green economy has failed to grow since 2014, according to official data
February 17, 2022 | Richard Partington | Guardian Energy
The number of green jobs in the UK is on a fall, according to official data. Questions around whether this is the result of the pandemic that brought down the UK economy to the lowest point in 100 years were shattered by decreasing green business turnovers before the pandemic. Low-emission vehicles and infrastructure jobs doubled while onshore wind and solar faced the steepest decline. Critics suggested the government has neither set an ambitious goal nor provided enough funds. A UK spokesperson responded with the growth of the UK economy and the remarkable decrease in emission in the last three decades. The UK government promises to invest more heavily in offshore wind and nuclear power as the country recovers from the pandemic. -ZL