Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
     Bilbao y León said that people tend to think of the energy systems of the future as being a version of the current system. However, she said that the technology is definitely going to be very different. “Very importantly I think that we are going to see a lot of coupling of systems … electricity is obviously going to be very important as we try to electrify a lot of energy, but clearly there are going to be additional energy vectors … all these technologies are going to make this system more complex … we can have different energy products depending on what is needed at different times to ensure the reliability and the resiliency and the flexibility of the system.”
     Ballout spoke about scenarios that Électricité de France SA (EDF) has been developing for more than fifteen years, mainly for internal use. This year EDF has made its scenario for net-zero publicly available. “It’s fundamentally different from the other scenarios we’re developing because we start with the constraints and the end. We start with net neutrality in 2050 and we go backwards. So we try to find the most economically efficient pathway to achieve this neutrality. And when I say economically efficient, I think of welfare maximization, the minimization of the cost and the optimization of the resilience of the system.”
Ballout continued, “And that’s how we come to a mix that shows we have to multiply by six our renewable capacity in Europe [by 2050] – we’ve been talking about 15 Western European countries. We will have between 120 and 150 gigawatts of nuclear capacity. We will enhance significantly the production of biofuels and CCS. We see this path will take us to a significant increase of flexibility needs … it’s a very important part of the resilience of the system.”
     Wilmshurst said that it was clear that nuclear and renewables will have an important role together in the future electricity system. “If we have an idealistic view that renewables can expand and expand and expand, the transmission grid needs to expand and expand, get more complicated, and when it gets more complicated the potential for it be less reliable increases.”
     However, Wilmshurst noted that financing is a hurdle for nuclear deployment in most countries. “A great part of nuclear being perceived as expensive is the financing cost. So why is the financing cost so high? Because you have to build the nuclear plant – it takes a long time, it’s complicated – but that huge capital investment upfront alone then gives you the facility that runs for many decades to recoup the investment.”
     Wilmshurst went on to say that “If we get deployment plans together with a clear picture … all of a sudden, the deployment experience increases, deployment risk goes down, the confidence in the financial markets that the projects can be delivered on time increases. Finance starts flowing. If we don’t make a decision to move, we don’t start doing things, we don’t learn as well. There’s hesitancy in the markets to invest.”
     Ballout said nuclear and hydro play a critical role because outages of plants can be scheduled during periods where the demand is lower. “But that’s why we say we have to continue financing and investing in hydro and nuclear. The nuclear fleet is capable of ramping up when suddenly you don’t have sun or wind. It’s possible technologically and technically speaking and at the same time it is possible to ramp down in order to leave room for renewables to produce and that’s really the very important message for us.”

Ambient office = 102 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 100 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 102 nanosieverts per hour

Tomato from Central Market = 122 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 144 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 136 nanosieverts per hour

Part 1 of 2 Parts
    Massive growth is expected in the global demand for electricity, which will require an expansion of both generation and the transmission system. This was conveyed by speakers at a side event at the World Energy Congress 2024. They said that nuclear power will play an important role, in ensuring the resilience of the future electricity system.
     The session was called Building low-carbon resilient electricity system. It was co-organized by World Nuclear Association, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) on the sidelines of the World Energy Congress, held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, on 22-25 April.
     When he was asked about the biggest challenges to the global electricity system, World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León said that many developed countries have “very robust and reliable energy systems” that have been constructed over the years. However, when adding new generation, particularly intermittent renewable generation, “we have forgotten to ensure the resiliency of the system. We are finding ourselves close to breaking point where any most-needed capacity … is really going to require major investment into the grid itself.”
     Neil Wilmshurst is the Senior Vice President, Energy System Resilience and Chief Nuclear Operator at EPRI. He said that in the developed Western world, the challenge is integrating renewables, reliability, and resilience in the context of increasing demand. He pointed out that even conservative estimates put future electricity demand at twice or three times the current demand. “If you look at the amount of hydrogen people say could be in demand in the US, it would take the entire current generation capacity of the US to produce it. That is the kind of magnitude of generation we’re talking about. Then you throw on top of that the coming load from data centers.” Meanwhile, electricity demand in developing countries in the third world is also rapidly expanding. He said that a major challenge will be simultaneously increasing electricity supply in the developed world while also electrifying the developing world.
     Iva Brkic is the Secretary of UNECE’s Sustainable Energy Division. He noted that a recent International Energy Agency report estimated that there was a need to add or refurbish a total of more than fifty million miles of grids by 2040. This is the equivalent of the existing global grid. She said that “We need to double it in the next 14 years to meet our targets. So where are those resources going to come from? Where are the critical raw materials that we need to identify, to secure the supply chains, to really build that infrastructure? Now we add another layer to this – keeping the resiliency but also the reliability of that grid.”
     Brkic said that the effects of climate change are already being experienced around the world. “How can we ensure that the system that we are now redesigning and building and modernizing can withstand those impacts of climate change – the heatwaves, the droughts. This is something that we need to pay attention to. At the UNECE, we like to think also about the aspects of balancing between delivering on energy security, affordability and environmental sustainability. And when we think now about modernizing the electricity system, it’s also about balancing those aspects and creating resiliency while actually cleaning the energy system.”
     Wassim Ballout is an energy analyst at EDF’s Corporate Strategy Division. He said that the electricity sector is still one of the highest emitters of CO2, with many countries relying heavily on fossil fuels for electricity production. “One of the biggest challenges will be to satisfy this significant demand growth with decarbonized production. Not only decarbonizing the existing production but also to cope with the significant increase … the challenge would be to invest in all low-cost, low-emission technologies and to have a technological neutral approach and have good incentives to do that.”
Please read Part 2 next

Ambient office = 118 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 115 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 116 nanosieverts per hour

Roma tomato from Central Market = 85 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 90 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water 83 nanosieverts per hour

Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
     Libront added, “Obviously, we are aware of the importance of ESG policies in our lives, the need to gradually move away from fossil fuels, the need to diversify energy sources and to take advantage of the opportunity of nuclear power.
     Libront explained that “Building an insurance strategy is important so that the Polish market becomes a strong partner for foreign insurers and reinsurers whose insurance capacity it will use. For our partners, the strategy means a good understanding of Poland’s energy transition path and the development of Poland’s nuclear power industry, the conditions, risks, and opportunities. Finally, the insurance strategy guarantees the nuclear industry optimal protection and good conditions for cooperation with the insurance market.”
     He said that having the right strategy in place is also about beginning work on the shape and organization of a national nuclear pool or other national association of insurers. This pool will take over the management of insurance risks once the plants are up and running and nuclear fuel is in the reactors. Smartt Re has thrown its support of the development of just such a national nuclear pool.
     Exploring what shape such an organization might take, Libront revealed that this depends on the decisions of the insurance market itself and that various solutions are already in place around the globe. Smartt Re is supporting a scenario where there is one nuclear pool operating in Poland. Discussions on this have already begun.
     Libront highlighted that Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń Wzajemnych Polski Zakład Ubezpiecze Wzajemnych
(TUW PZUW) , the mutual arm of Polski Zakład Ubezpiecze (PZU) the biggest insurer in Poland, has signed an agreement of cooperation with the British Nuclear Risk Insurers. Around the world, such associations of insurers and reinsurers work together to be responsible for insured risks. Smartt Re’s role as a specialized reinsurance broker is to leverage its international reach and relationships to facilitate networking, know-how adoption and knowledge exchange.
     This is especially important given that other nuclear pools want to also be involved at the planning stage of the construction of a nuclear power plant in Poland, with a so-called “watching line”. Libront explained that this is a small share that allows them to observe from the front row the progress of the construction of the nuclear power plant, in the insurance of which they will have a decisive share once it is operational.
      On the power of international collaboration in supporting the future of nuclear energy, Libront noted that, as the industry evolves, not only are the biggest government investments to be insured, but also those supported by the private sector, micro-reactors, all companies, subcontractors, services and infrastructure.
     He went on to say that “That’s not only construction and erection, but also third-party liability. All these entities will have to deal with the issue of adequate insurance coverage. Intra- and inter-sectoral collaboration, both domestically and in the European arena, is necessary for the financial security of these strategic investments for Poland.”
     He finished by saying that “We can draw on various international experiences and it is good to see that various parties, including the nuclear power industry and the public administration, are already involved in discussions about potential solutions initiated by the insurance industry.”

Ambient office = 118 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 80 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 72 nanosieverts per hour

Red bell pepper from Central Market = 93 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 93 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 86 nanosieverts per hour

Part 1 of 2 Parts
     A major issue with nuclear power is the question of who will pay if and when there is a major nuclear accident. This issue is being hotly debated in the global industry. Many nuclear experts believe that the maximum amount nuclear owners and operators must pay in the case of a major nuclear accident is far too low. Currently, the rest of the cost will be borne by the taxpayers.
     Recently, the U.K. became the first country in Europe to invest in the next generation of nuclear fuel, with the government awarding two hundred million dollars to Urenco to build a uranium enrichment facility.
     Tomasz Libront is the CEO of the Polish reinsurance broker Smartt Re which specializes in covering difficult-to-insure risks in key sectors including nuclear, conventional and renewable energy. He offered an overview of the Polish insurance market today, noting that it has the capacity to insure the risk of nuclear power plants under construction up to a maximum of seven hundred and fifty million dollars gross.
     Libront said, “It is still difficult to determine the needs of the domestic nuclear sector, but with the scale of planned investments, the Polish market will need much more capacity. How much? It all depends on the insurance strategy adopted and agreements with foreign reinsurers. It can be assumed that the insurance capacity needed will be determined by the value of the probable maximum loss (PML) – which is difficult to estimate accurately at such an early stage of investment, but certainly exceeds the current capacity of the Polish insurance market by several times.”
     Libront examined what can be done to encourage greater investment and capacity into the sector. He emphasized the importance of having a comprehensive, long-term strategy in place. He believes that the role of reinsurance and insurance players in the Polish market is not only to provide insurance and reinsurance capacity but also to collaborate to ensure that they play an important role in the current energy transition.
     Libront continued, “Our motto at Smartt Re is to be like a compass in the difficult world of reinsurance. So, we enable the collaboration and integrate all the stakeholders. For example, our April’s Nuclear Insurance Day conference brought together the perspectives and experiences of the worlds of reinsurance, insurance, nuclear industry, and public administration from Poland and abroad in the search for sources of resilience and financial security for the Polish nuclear power sector.”
     Smartt Re’s path to the insurance of nuclear power facilities has taken it through the world of conventional power including coal, natural gas, solar and wind renewable power to non-carbon nuclear. Libront noted that it has not been an easy journey. There have been many difficulties with conventional energy insurance and reinsurance since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015.
     With a better understanding of where the Polish economy is going in terms of the energy transition, Libront was sure it would be easier to get the right coverage. However, now the capacity is limited. Where there is the appetite for such risk, the prices are skyrocketing.
Please read Part 2 next