The Death of Japan’s Anti-Nuclear Movement

Asahi, an anti-nuclear newspaper in Japan, has just published a striking poll.

Fifty-one percent of respondents agree that nuclear power plants should be restarted. How does this compare to previous polling?

“After the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, about 30% said they were in favor of restarting nuclear power plants, while 50-60% said they were against,” reports Asahi. “In last year's survey, 38% ‘agree’ and 47% ‘disagree,’ narrowing the gap between the pros and cons.” Quite the leap in agreement!

What has brought the scythe to the Rising Sun’s once powerful anti-nuclear sentiment? In a word: money. As Bloomberg’s Stephen Stapczynski recently tweeted, “Japan's electricity bills are ~40% cheaper in regions with more nuclear reactors online. Tokyo must depend more on coal/LNG because its reactors are idled. That became very costly due to the global energy crunch.”

It’s both unfortunate and unsurprising that it took an energy crisis to reveal anti-nuclearism as the irrational, luxury belief that it is. But the Japanese people should be commended for coming around. Let’s hope the lesson sticks!

Russia Wants Sweden’s Nordstream Info

Russia has called on Sweden to share its findings from an investigation into the blasts that caused damage to the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines.

The investigation determined the blasts to be intentional, but did not name the perpetrator.

Russia's recent calls for information were inspired by Seymour Hersh’s recent reportage that argues the United States is responsible for the sabotage. The White House has described Hersh’s article as “utterly false and complete fiction” and it has been met with substantive criticism.

Regardless, Russia has long believed the US and NATO are responsible. “The report prompted an immediate denial from Washington and a double-down from Russia on its insistence to gain access to the conclusions of Sweden’s and Denmark’s investigation into the blasts,” reports Oilprice.com. “Moscow also called for a special session of the UN Security Council this week to discuss the sabotage.”

“The published facts should become the basis for an international investigation, bringing Biden and his accomplices to justice, as well as paying compensation to countries affected by the terrorist attack,” the speaker of the Russian parliament, the Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, said. Volodin called President Joe Biden “a terrorist who ordered the destruction of energy infrastructure of his partners—Germany, France, and the Netherlands.”

EPA Restores Trump-Repealed Coal Regs

The EPA has restored the legal basis for a 2012 regulation against mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants. The restoration comes almost three years after the Trump administration scrapped its legal foundation.

Despite the power industry’s compliance with the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, the Trump administration argued that the cost-and-benefit forecast used to justify them was flawed.

“While utilities and other electricity producers continued to abide by the emissions limits, the agency’s decision to again formally find that it is ‘appropriate and necessary’ to limit hazardous power plant releases removes a potentially serious legal vulnerability,” reports E&E News. “The Trump-era decision was a rare deregulatory move that sparked opposition from both industry and environmental groups.”

But the re-establishment of the rule might re-ignite old legal challenges: the first from red states and some power companies; the second from a Colorado-based coal company. Both challenges are pending in the US Court of Appeals in DC, according to E&E.

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Conversation Starters

1. The Czech Republic is looking into nuclear. “Czech utility CEZ will start talks with bidders for a multi-billion dollar project to build a new unit at its Dukovany nuclear power plant sooner than expected, a CEZ official said on Tuesday,” reports Reuters. “Clarification discussions will begin this week, rather than in April, with France's EDF, South Korea's KHNP, and U.S.-Canadian group Westinghouse Electric, CEZ board member Tomas Pleskac said on Twitter. ‘We want to give them more time to work up quality final offers.’”

2. Belgium and Germany are linking up. “Germany and Belgium are planning a second interconnector to increase cross-border electricity flows and safeguard energy security, but the project could take 15 years,” reports Bloomberg. “Amprion GmbH and Elia Group SA — the two nations’ transmission firms — signed an agreement on Tuesday to study the second link, after starting the first project to connect their high-voltage grids in 2020. Such interconnectors will become increasingly important for Germany, which is scrambling to cut its dependence on Russian gas and could become a net power importer in coming years.”

3. Chinese refining dropped last year. “In 2022, refiners in China processed less crude oil than they did in 2021, which was the first year-over-year decrease in processing according to data going back to 2000. Reduced refinery activity in China resulted from numerous factors, including mobility restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic and low petroleum product export quotas,” reports the Energy Information Administration. “According to China’s General Administration of Customs, refiners in China processed an average of 13.5 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil last year, a 4% decrease from 2021’s record high of 14.0 million b/d. The 2022 reduction in crude oil processing was greatest from April through August, when refiners in China processed an average of only 12.5 million b/d.”

Nuclear Barbarians: Who Lost GE? ft. William Cohan

Journalist and author William D. Cohan joined me to talk about his new book on the history of General Electric, Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon.

Crom’s Blessing