U.S. official berates shale firms and investors ($FT)¹
U.K. grid orders coal-fired units to start warming up²
France ramps up nuclear generation, easing shortages
China’s shipbuilders move into LNG tanker market
India’s coal mine production rises, with spot auctions
U.S. container trade moves to east coast ports ($WSJ)
Open source tests traditional spying agencies ($WSJ)
U.S./EU diplomacy on price cap reconstructed ($WSJ)
U.S. officials claim fusion power breakthrough ($FT)
Texas crypto-mining boom turns into bust ($BBG)
Thurrock council’s $500 million loss on solar ($BBG)
G7/Russia oil price cap introduced smoothly ($WSJ)
Anti-oil protests and theory of social change ($FT)
¹ When policymakers appeal to “patriotism,” or decry its absence, it usually means they have run out of good arguments. When I hear arguments based on patriotism and its variants, I am instinctively suspicious about the speaker’s motivations, and try to work out how someone is trying to mislead or distract attention from their own failures.
² Coal-fired units need roughly four hours to reach full generation from a warm start and 10-12 hours from a cold start. The grid’s instruction to start warming up ensures the two massive coal-fired units at Drax will be available to help meet electricity consumption during the evening peak on December 12. Before privatisation of the U.K. electricity industry, the state-owned Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) would often keep at least one coal-fired power station warmed up but not generating so it could be brought into service at relatively short notice. Long ramping times for coal-fired units, and the enormous quantity of fuel burned before commercial generation starts, are one reason gas-fired units are more efficient and have largely supplanted them.
CHINA’s semiconductor (integrated circuits) trade – export earnings have grown rapidly, but the cost of imports has risen even faster, so the country’s trade balance has become increasingly adverse:
JKempEnergy.com 