Latest news with #energysecurity
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
Trump fast-tracks Utah uranium mine, but industry revival may wait for higher prices
In the southeastern Utah desert famous for red rock arches and canyon labyrinths, the long-dormant uranium mining industry is looking to revive under President Donald Trump. Hundreds of abandoned uranium mines dot the West's arid landscapes, hazardous reminders of the promise and peril of nuclear power during the Cold War. Now, one mine that the Trump administration fast-tracked for regulatory approval could reopen for the first time since the 1980s. Normally it would have taken months, if not years, for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to review plans to reopen a project like Anfield Energy's Velvet-Wood mine 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Moab. But the bureau's regulators green-lit the project in just 11 days under a 'national energy emergency' Trump has declared that allows expedited environmental reviews for energy projects. More permits and approvals will be needed, plus site work to get the mine operating again. And the price of uranium would have to rise enough to make domestic production financially sustainable. If that happens, it would mean revival — and jobs — to an industry that locally has been moribund since the Ronald Reagan era. 'President Trump has made it clear that our energy security is national security," Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in announcing the fast-tracking policy in April. 'These emergency procedures reflect our unwavering commitment to protecting both.' More fast approvals appear likely. Trump's order also applies to oil, gas, coal, biofuel and hydropower projects — but not renewable energy — on federal lands. Conditions are ripe for more U.S. uranium mining Global uranium prices are double what they were at a low point seven years ago and, for the past year, the U.S. has banned uranium imports from Russia due to that country's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. More domestic mining would address a major imbalance. The U.S. imports about 98% of the uranium it uses to generate 30% of the world's nuclear energy. More than two-thirds of U.S. imports come from the world's top three uranium-mining countries: Canada, Australia and Kazakhstan. Less government regulation won't spur more U.S. uranium mining by itself. The market matters. And while spot-market prices are up from several years ago, they're down about a third from their recent high in early 2024. While some new uranium mining and processing projects have been announced, their number falls far short of a surge. That suggests prices need to rise — and stay there — for a true industry revival, said John Uhrie, a former uranium executive who now works in the cement industry. 'Until the price goes up dramatically, you're not going to be able to actually put these places into operation,' Uhrie said. 'You need significant capital on the ground.' Still, the industry is showing new life in the Southwest. Anfield Energy, a Canadian company, also looks to reopen the Shootaring Canyon uranium mill in southern Utah near Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. It closed in the early 1980s. A uranium mill turns raw ore into yellowcake, a powdery substance later processed elsewhere into nuclear fuel. Anfield officials did not return messages seeking comment on plans to reopen the mill and the Velvet-Wood mine. Energy Fuels, another Canadian company which ranks as the top U.S. uranium miner, opened the Pinyon Plain mine about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the Grand Canyon in late 2023. And just off U.S. 191 in southeastern Utah is a hub of the industry, Uranium Fuels' White Mesa mill, the country's only uranium mill still in operation. In Moab, uranium has a long — and mixed — legacy These days, Moab is a desert tourism hot spot bustling with outdoor enthusiasts. But the town of 5,200 has a deeper history with uranium. Nods to Moab's post-World War II mining heyday can been spotted around town — the Atomic Hair Salon isn't just named for its blowout hairstyles. The biggest reminder is the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action project, a 480-acre (194-hectare) site just outside town. The decades-long, $1 billion U.S. Department of Energy effort to haul off toxic tailings that were leaching into the Colorado River upstream from the Grand Canyon and Lake Mead should wrap up within five more years. That mill's polluting legacy makes some Moab residents wary of restarting uranium mining and processing, especially after the Trump administration cut short their ability to weigh in on the Velvet-Wood mine plans. 'This was a process I would have been involved in,' said Sarah Fields, director of the local group Uranium Watch. 'They provided no opportunity for the public to say, 'You need to look at this, you need to look at that.'" Grand Canyon Trust, a group critical of the Pinyon Plain mine as a danger to groundwater, points out that the U.S. nuclear industry isn't at risk of losing access to uranium. 'This is all being done under the assumption there is some energy emergency and that is just not true,' said Amber Reimondo, the group's energy director. Supply and demand will decide uranium mining's future Hundreds of miles to the north, other nuclear energy projects point to the U.S. industry's future. With Bill Gates' support, TerraPower is building a 345-megawatt sodium-cooled fast reactor outside Kemmerer in western Wyoming that could, in theory, meet demand for carbon-free power at lower costs and with less construction time than conventional reactor units. Meanwhile, about 40% of uranium mined in the U.S. in 2024 came from four Wyoming 'in-situ' mines that use wells to dissolve uranium in underground deposits and pump it to the surface without having to dig big holes or send miners underground. Similar mines in Texas and Nebraska and stockpiled ore processed at White Mesa accounted for the rest. None — as yet — came from mines in Utah. Powering electric cars and computing technology will require more electricity in the years ahead. Nuclear power offers a zero-carbon, round-the-clock option. Meeting the demand for nuclear fuel domestically is another matter. With prices higher, almost 700,000 pounds of yellowcake was produced in the U.S. in 2024 — up more than a dozen-fold from the year before but still far short of the 32 million pounds imported into the U.S. Even if mining increases, it's not clear that U.S. capacity to turn the ore into fuel would keep pace, said Uhrie, the former uranium mining executive. "Re-establishing a viable uranium industry from soup to nuts — meaning from mining through processing to yellow cake production, to conversion, to enrichment to produce nuclear fuel — remains a huge lift," Uhrie said. ___
Telegraph
a day ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Miliband's heat-pump plans under threat from Reeves's cuts
Ed Miliband could be forced to reduce funding for his flagship heat-pumps policy under spending cuts planned by Rachel Reeves. The Energy Secretary's department is facing significant cuts to fill an estimated £30 billion black hole in Britain's public finances. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is one of several 'unprotected' departments and may have to find billions of pounds of savings from its policy areas. Officials are reportedly looking for savings among Labour's 'warm homes' policies, which include funding for home insulation. The Telegraph understands another policy within the same net zero portfolio is the flagship heat-pump subsidy, which provides up to £7,500 to homeowners looking to install a ground or air source heat pump. Cutting heat-pump funding would mark the latest blow to Mr Miliband, who has already seen several government net zero initiatives rolled back amid concerns they were acting as a brake on growth. After Donald Trump imposed blanket tariffs of 25 per cent on car imports – since lowered to 10pc – Sir Keir Starmer announced that planned electric vehicle restrictions would not apply to some smaller manufacturers, in a concession to the British luxury automotive industry. The fight for net zero has been a source of contention within Labour in recent months, coming to a head last month when Sir Tony Blair warned Sir Keir that his current green policies were 'doomed to fail'. Mr Miliband hit back at the former prime minister this week, accusing him of having a 'defeatist' attitude towards net zero. The Energy Secretary increased the budget for heat-pump installations after taking office last year by adding £55 million to last year's spending plans left by the previous government and doubling the size of the pot to £295 million for this year. Demand for the grants has grown each year after the Conservatives increased the amount that each homeowner can claim. Despite admitting that heat pumps may never be cheaper than gas boilers, Mr Miliband has supported further expansion of the policy and is pushing for fossil-fuel-powered heating to be stripped from all new-build properties before 2027. Labour's manifesto promised an extra £6.6 billion in net zero investment for private homes, for 'insulation and other improvements such as solar panels, batteries and low carbon heating to cut bills'. However, both the heat-pump scheme and home insulation upgrades could be reduced if Ms Reeves follows through with double-digit cuts to the DESNZ budget in her June 11 spending review. It has also been reported that a planned £8.3 billion cash injection for the state-owned GB Energy company over the course of the parliament could be reduced. Health and defence priorities It is understood that no final decisions have been taken, and that Mr Miliband will be left to decide how to allocate the settlement he receives from the Treasury. The review will set departmental budgets for day-to-day spending for the next three years, and capital investment budgets for the next five years. Downing Street has been clear that it will prioritise the budgets of the NHS and the Ministry of Defence, which is set to receive an uplift to at least 2.7 per cent of GDP by the end of the parliament. But Ms Reeves is facing a crisis in the public finances, with the Treasury falling about £30 billion short of the money required to run the Government at current levels, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. Speaking on a podcast released on Friday, Mr Miliband attacked Sir Tony for adopting a 'defeatist' attitude on tackling climate change. In a significant intervention last month, the former prime minister said that net zero was 'doomed to fail' and that it was wrong that people were 'being asked to make financial sacrifices and changes in lifestyle when they know that their impact on global emissions is minimal'. The comments prompted fury inside Downing Street and Sir Tony later appeared to back down, saying Sir Keir Starmer's net zero approach was 'the right one'. Mr Miliband told The Rest is Politics podcast: 'The report itself, he wrote a foreword to the report, is perfectly unobjectionable... but what is disappointing about Tony's foreword, and I have huge respect for Tony, is I think it is incredibly defeatist, which is not what Tony is. It is really defeatist.' Separately on Friday, the head of the Government's official environmental advisory body said he was 'concerned' over the budget for nature restoration ahead of the spending review. Tony Juniper, chairman of Natural England, said the 'very tight' spending settlement expected in light of current economic stresses will pose 'big challenges' for those working to reverse the country's decline in nature. He said: 'I am concerned about the budget side in particular because the job that we need to do is very significant. 'We will work within the envelope that we have, recognising the country does face very serious economic stresses at the moment,' he said. 'But it does concern me naturally in terms of the scale of the task ahead and what we need to do.'
Free Malaysia Today
2 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Singapore clears 1GW of solar imports from Indonesia
The move is part of efforts to shore up energy security via cross-border links. (Bernama pic) SINGAPORE : Singapore took a step toward importing up to 1 gigawatt of solar power from Indonesia, part of the tiny city-state's efforts to shore up energy security via cross-border links. The country's Energy Market Authority granted a conditional license to Indonesia's Singa Renewables Pte Ltd. – a joint venture between France's TotalEnergies SE and Royal Golden Eagle Pte. Ltd., according to a statement. It will also partner with Singapore Energy Interconnections Pte. Ltd. to explore building a subsea power cable between the neighbours, the statement said, without providing an investment amount or timeframe for the project. It's the latest of several planned connections in Southeast Asia aimed at carrying low-carbon energy across borders. Singapore, which depends on imported liquefied natural gas for most of its electricity, has signed deals worth billions with countries as far away as Australia to bring in up to 6 gigawatts of clean power by 2035. The country has approved 3.4 gigawatts of mostly solar energy imports from Indonesia. Earlier this week, it said it's exploring bringing in wind power from Vietnam. In February, it inked a hydropower deal with Malaysia. The subsea cable project 'strengthens its partnership with Indonesia in contributing to the Asean power grid which aims to integrate the power systems of member states in the region,' the companies said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which both countries are members. The announcement came as Singapore and France signed a wide-ranging deal during President Emmanuel Macron's visit to the city-state to enhance cooperation in clean energy, defence and cyberspace.
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Singapore Clears 1GW of Solar Imports from Indonesia
Singapore took a step toward importing up to 1 gigawatt of solar power from Indonesia, part of the tiny city-state's efforts to shore up energy security via cross-border links. The country's Energy Market Authority granted conditional license to Indonesia's Singa Renewables Pte Ltd. — a joint venture between France's TotalEnergies SE and Royal Golden Eagle Pte. Ltd., according to a statement. It will also partner with Singapore Energy Interconnections Pte. Ltd. to explore building a subsea power cable between the neighbors, the statement said, without providing an investment amount or timeframe for the project.
CNA
2 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Energy Market Authority chairman Richard Lim to step down in September
SINGAPORE: Energy Market Authority (EMA) chairman Richard Lim will step down in September after leading the energy authority's board for five years. Mr Lim will relinquish his appointment as chairman on Sep 30, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Friday (May 30) in a press release. He will be succeeded by Mrs Tan Ching Yee, former Permanent Secretary (Finance). 'Under Mr Lim's leadership, EMA has undertaken important moves to strengthen Singapore's energy security,' said the ministry. These include the set-up of Meranti Power to develop fast-start power generation and the establishment of the centralised gas procurement framework. 'He has also been instrumental in advancing Singapore's energy transition, such as the deployment of solar energy, the pursuit of low-carbon electricity imports from the region and ongoing studies on the feasibility of other low-carbon technologies such as hydrogen and geothermal energy.' Dr Beh Swan Gin, Permanent Secretary at MTI, expressed the ministry's 'deep appreciation' for Mr Lim's contributions. Mr Lim 'has been instrumental in guiding EMA since April 2020 as chairman', he said. 'I am confident that Ching Yee will build on Richard's contributions and steer EMA to new heights.' NEW CHAIRPERSON Mrs Tan, 60, will be appointed EMA's deputy chairperson from Jun 1 to Sep 30, before assuming the role of chairperson from Oct 1, said MTI. Her appointment in the position ends on Mar 31, 2027. Mrs Tan has held various appointments at MTI, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and the former Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. In 2016, she was concurrently appointed as Permanent Secretary (Finance) and Permanent Secretary (Prime Minister's Office) (Special Duties). During the COVID-19 pandemic, she oversaw critical relief measures for families and businesses through the use of reserves, said MTI. She also represented Singapore as G20 Finance Deputy and Sherpa for nine years, advancing Singapore's international interests at global and regional forums. 'In her various leadership roles, she has consistently emphasised people and leadership development," said the ministry, adding that she nurtured a culture of excellence and teamwork. Mrs Tan, who began her career in public service in 1986, retired from the sector on May 1. She was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 2008 and the Meritorious Service Medal in 2018.
