Climate, habits affect EV battery life

EU Nuclear Reactor Life Extension focuses on energy security, carbon-free electricity, and safety as ageing reactors face gas shortages, high power prices, and regulatory approvals across the UK and EU amid winter supply risks.

Key Points

EU Nuclear Reactor Life Extension is the policy to keep ageing reactors safely generating affordable, low-carbon power.

✅ Extends reactor operation via inspections and component upgrades

✅ Addresses gas shortages, price volatility, and winter supply risks

✅ Requires national regulator approval and cost-benefit analysis

Shaken by the loss of Russian natural gas since the invasion of Ukraine, European countries are questioning whether they can extend the lives of their ageing nuclear reactors to maintain the supply of affordable, carbon-free electricity needed for net-zero across the bloc — but national regulators, companies and governments disagree on how long the atomic plants can be safely kept running.

Europe avoided large-scale blackouts last winter despite losing its largest supplier of natural gas, and as Germany temporarily extended nuclear operations to bolster stability, but industry is still grappling with high electricity prices and concerns about supply.

Given warnings from the International Energy Agency that the coming winters will be particularly at risk from a global gas shortage, governments have turned their attention to another major energy source — even as some officials argue nuclear would do little to solve the gas issue in the near term — that would exacerbate the problem if it too is disrupted: Europe’s ageing fleet of nuclear power plants.

Nuclear accounts for nearly 10% of energy consumed in the European Union, with transport, industry, heating and cooling traditionally relying on coal, oil and natural gas.

Historically nuclear has provided about a quarter of EU electricity and 15% of British power, even as Germany shut down its last three nuclear plants recently, underscoring diverging national paths.

Taken together, the UK and EU have 109 nuclear reactors running, even as Europe is losing nuclear power in several markets, most of which were built in the 1970s and 1980s and were commissioned to last about 30 years.

That means 95 of those reactors — nearly 90% of the fleet — have passed or are nearing the end of their original lifespan, igniting debates over how long they can safely continue to be granted operating extensions, with some arguing it remains a needed nuclear option for climate goals despite age-related concerns.

Regulations differ across borders, with some countries such as Germany turning its back on nuclear despite an ongoing energy crisis, but life extension discussions are usually a once-a-decade affair involving physical inspections, cost/benefit estimates for replacing major worn-out parts, legislative amendments, and approval from the national nuclear safety authority.

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US power grid modernization addresses aging infrastructure, climate resilience, extreme weather, EV demand, and clean energy integration, using AI, transmission upgrades, and resilient substations to improve reliability, reduce outages, and enable rapid recovery.

Key Points

US power grid modernization strengthens infrastructure for resilience, reliability, and clean energy under rising demand.

✅ Hardening substations, lines, and transformers against extreme weather

✅ Integrating EV load, DERs, and renewables into transmission and distribution

✅ Using AI, sensors, and automation to cut outages and speed restoration

The power grid in the U.S. is aging and already struggling to meet current demand, with dangerous vulnerabilities documented across the system today. It faces a future with more people — people who drive more electric cars and heat homes with more electric furnaces.

Alice Hill says that's not even the biggest problem the country's electricity infrastructure faces.

"Everything that we've built, including the electric grid, assumed a stable climate," she says. "It looked to the extremes of the past — how high the seas got, how high the winds got, the heat."

Hill is an energy and environment expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. She served on the National Security Council staff during the Obama administration, where she led the effort to develop climate resilience. She says past weather extremes can no longer safely guide future electricity planning.

"It's a little like we're building the plane as we're flying because the climate is changing right now, and it's picking up speed as it changes," Hill says.

The newly passed infrastructure package dedicates billions of dollars to updating the energy grid with smarter electricity infrastructure programs that aim to modernize operations. Hill says utility companies and public planners around the country are already having to adapt. She points to the storm surge of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

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"They thought the maximum would be 12 feet," she says. "That storm surge came in close to 14 feet. It overcame the barriers at the tip of Manhattan, and then the electric grid — a substation blew out. The city that never sleeps [was] plunged into darkness."

Hill noted that Con Edison, the utility company providing New York City with energy, responded with upgrades to its grid: It buried power lines, introduced artificial intelligence, upgraded software to detect failures. But upgrading the way humans assess risk, she says, is harder.

"What happens is that some people tend to think, well, that last storm that we just had, that'll be the worst, right?" Hill says. "No, there is a worse storm ahead. And then, probably, that will be exceeded."

In 2021, the U.S. saw electricity outages for millions of people as a result of historic winter storms in Texas, a heatwave in the Pacific Northwest and Hurricane Ida along the Gulf Coast. Climate change will only make extreme weather more likely and more intense, driving longer, more frequent outages for utilities and customers.

In the West, California's grid reliability remains under scrutiny as the state navigates an ambitious clean energy shift.

And that has forced utility companies and other entities to grapple with the question: How can we prepare for blackouts and broader system stress we've never experienced before?

A modern power station in Maryland is built for the future
In the town of Edgemere, Md., the Fitzell substation of Baltimore Gas and Electric delivers electricity to homes and businesses. The facility is only a year or so old, and Laura Wright, the director of transmission and substation engineering, says it's been built with the future in mind.

She says the four transformers on site are plenty for now. And to counter the anticipated demand of population growth and a future reliance on electric cars, she says the substation has been designed for an easy upgrade.

"They're not projecting to need that additional capacity for a while, but we designed this station to be able to take that transformer out and put in a larger one," Wright says.

Slopes were designed to insulate the substation from sea level rise. And should the substation experience something like a catastrophic flooding event or deadly tornado, there's a plan for that too.

"If we were to have a failure of a transformer," Wright says, "we can bring one of those mobile transformers into the substation, park it in the substation, connect it up in place of that transformer. And we can do that in two to three days."

The Fitzell substation is a new, modern complex. Older sites can be knocked down for weeks.

That raises the question: Can the amount of money dedicated to the power grid in the new infrastructure legislation actually make meaningful changes to the energy system across the country, where studies find more blackouts than other developed nations persist?

"The infrastructure bill, unfortunately, only scratches the surface," says Daniel Cohan, an associate professor in civil and environmental engineering at Rice University.

Though the White House says $65 billion of the infrastructure legislation is dedicated to power infrastructure, a World Resources Institute analysis noted that only $27 billion would go to the electric grid — a figure that Cohan also used.

"If you drill down into how much is there for the power grid, it's only about $27 billion or so, and mainly for research and demonstration projects and some ways to get started," he says.

Cohan, who is also author of the forthcoming book Confronting Climate Gridlock, says federal taxpayer dollars can be significant but that most of the needed investment will eventually come from the private sector — from utility companies and other businesses spending "many hundreds of billions of dollars per decade," even as grid modernization affordability remains a concern. He also says the infrastructure package "misses some opportunities" to initiate that private-sector action through mandates.

"It's better than nothing, but, you know, with such momentous challenges that we face, this isn't really up to the magnitude of that challenge," Cohan says.

Cohan argues that thinking big, and not incrementally, can pay off. He believes a complete transition from fossil fuels to clean energy by 2035 is realistic and attainable — a goal the Biden administration holds — and could lead to more than just environmental benefit.

"It also can lead to more affordable electricity, more reliable electricity, a power supply that bounces back more quickly when these extreme events come through," he says. "So we're not just doing it to be green or to protect our air and climate, but we can actually have a much better, more reliable energy supply in the future."

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Texas Electricity Prices are shifting as deregulation matures, with competitive market shopping lowering residential rates, narrowing gaps with regulated areas, and EIA data showing long term declines versus national averages across most Texans.

Key Points

Texas Electricity Prices are average residential rates in deregulated and regulated markets across the state.

✅ Deregulated areas saw 17.4% residential price declines since 2006

✅ Regulated zones experienced a 5.5% increase over the same period

✅ Competitive shopping narrowed the gap; Texas averaged below US

Shopping for electricity is becoming cheaper for most Texans, according to a new study from the Texas Coalition for Affordable Power. But for those who live in an area with only one electricity provider, prices have increased in a recent 10-year period, the study says.

About 85 percent of Texans can purchase electricity from a number of providers in a deregulated marketplace, while the remaining 15 percent must buy power from a single provider, often an electric cooperative, in their area.

The report from the Texas Coalition for Affordable Power, which advocates for cities and local governments and negotiates their power contracts, pulls information from the U.S. Energy Information Administration to compare prices for Texans in the two models. Most Texans could begin choosing their electricity provider in 2002.

Buying power tends to be more expensive for Texans who live in a part of the state with a deregulated electricity market. But that gap is continuing to shrink as Texans become more willing to shop for power, even as electricity complaints have periodically risen. In 2015, the gap “was the smallest since the beginning of deregulation,” according to the report.

Between 2006 and 2015, the last year for which data is available, average residential electric prices for Texans in a competitive market decreased by 17.4 percent, while average prices increased by 5.5 percent in the regulated areas, even as the Texas power grid has periodically faced stress.

“These residential price declines are promising, and show the retail electric market is maturing,” Jay Doegey, executive director for the Texas Coalition for Affordable Power, said in a statement. “We’re encouraged by the price declines, but more progress is needed.”

The study attributes the decline to the prevalence of “low-priced individual deals” in the competitive areas, while policymakers consider market reforms to bolster reliability.

Overall, the average price of electricity in Texas (which produces and consumes the most electricity in the U.S.) — including the price in the deregulated marketplace, for the third time in four years — was below the national average in 2015.

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AEMC Storage Charging Rules spark industry backlash as Tesla, Snowy Hydro, and investors warn transmission charges on batteries and pumped hydro could deter grid-scale storage, distort the National Electricity Market, and slow decarbonisation.

Key Points

AEMC Storage Charging Rules are proposals to bill grid storage for network use, shaping costs and investment.

✅ Charges apply when batteries draw power; double-charging concerns.

✅ Tesla and Snowy Hydro warn of reduced viability and delays.

✅ AEMO recommends exemptions; investors seek certainty.

Tesla, Snowy Hydro and other big suppliers of storage capacity on Australia’s main electricity grid warn proposed rule changes amount to a tax on their operations that will deter investors and slow the decarbonisation of the industry.

The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) will release its final decision this Thursday on new rules for integrating batteries, pumped hydro and other forms of storage.

The AEMC’s draft decision, released in July, angered many firms because it proposed charging storage providers for drawing power, ignoring a recommendation by the Australian Electricity Market Operator (AEMO) that they be exempt.

Battery maker Tesla, which has supplied some of the largest storage to the National Electricity Market, said in a submission that the charges would “kill the commercial viability of all grid storage projects, causing inefficient investment in alternative network”, with consumers paying higher costs.

Snowy Hydro, which is building the giant Snowy 2 pumped storage project and already operates a smaller one, said in its submission the proposed changes if implemented would jeopardise investment.

“This is a major policy change, amounting to a tax on infrastructure critical to achieving a renewable future,” Snowy Hydro said.

AEMO itself argued it was important storage providers were not “disincentivised from connecting to the transmission network, as they generally provide a net benefit to the power system by charging at periods of low demand”.

Australia’s electricity grid faces economic and engineering challenges, similar to Ontario's storage push as it adjusts to the arrival of lower cost and also lower carbon alternatives to fossil fuels.

While rule changes are necessary to account for operators that can both draw from and supply power, how they are implemented can have long-lasting effects on the technologies that get encouraged or repelled, including control of EV charging issues, independent experts say.

“It doesn’t have to be this way,” said Bruce Mountain, director of the Victoria Energy Policy Centre. “In Britain, where the UK grid transformation is underway, the regulator dealing with the same issues has said that storage devices don’t pay the system charges when they withdraw electricity from the grid,” he said.

The prospect that storage operators will have to pay transmission charges could “drastically” affect their profitability since their business models rely on the difference between the price their pay for power and how much they can sell it for. Gas generators and network monopolies would benefit from the change, Mountain said.

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An AEMC spokesperson said the commission had consulted widely, including from those who objected to the payment for transmission access.

“The market is moving towards a future that will be increasingly reliant on energy storage to firm up the growing volume of renewable energy and deliver on the increasing need for critical system security services, with examples such as EVs supporting grid stability in California as the ageing fleet of thermal generators retire,” the spokesperson said, declining to elaborate on the final ruling before it is published.

“The regulatory framework needs to facilitate this transition as the energy sector continues to decarbonise,” the official said.

AusNet, which operates the Victorian energy transmission grid, said that while “technological neutrality is paramount for battery and hybrid unit connections to both the distribution and transmission networks,” it did not back charging storage access to networks in all cases.

“[Ausnet] supports a clear exemptions framework for energy storage providers,” a spokesperson said. “We recommend that batteries and other hybrid facilities should have transmission use of system charges waived if they provide a net benefit to network customers.”

We are not aware of anyone that supports the charging storage access to networks in all circumstances.

“Batteries and hybrid facilities that consume energy from the network should be provided no preferential treatment relative to other customers and generators.”

Jonathan Upson, a principal at Strategic Renewable Consulting, though, said the AEMC wants electricity flowing through batteries to be taxed twice to pay network charges – once when the electricity charges the battery and then again when the same electricity is sent out by the battery an hour or two later but this time with customers paying.

“The AEMC’s draft decision has the identical rationale for eliminating franking credits on all dividends, resulting in double taxing of company profits,” he said.

Christiaan Zuur, director of energy transformation at the Clean Energy Council, said that while much of AEMC’s draft proposal was constructive, “those benefits are either nullified or maybe even outweighed” by uncertainty over charges.

“Risk perception” will be important since potential newcomers won’t be sure of what charges they will pay to connect to the grid and existing operators could have their connection agreements reopened, Zuur said.

“Investors focus on the potential risk. It does factor through to the integral costs for projects,” he said.

The outcome of new charges may prompt more people to put batteries on their premises and draw power from their own solar panels, Mountain said, with rising EV adoption introducing new grid challenges, cutting their reliance on a centralised network.

“Ironically, it encourages customers to depend less and less on the grid,” he said. “It’s almost like the capture of the dominant interests playing out over time at their own expense.”

Separately, the latest edition of the Clean Energy Council Confidence Index shows leadership by state governments is helping to shore up investor appetite for investing in renewable energy amid 2021 electricity lessons even with higher 2030 emissions reduction goals from the federal government.

Overall, investor confidence increased by a point in the last six months – from 6.3 to 7.3 out of 10 – following strong commitments and policy development from state governments, particularly on the east coast, the council said.

“The results of this latest survey illustrate the economic value in policy that lowers the emissions footprint of our electricity generation, supporting regional centres and creating jobs. Investors recognise the opportunities created by limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees,” said council chief executive Kane Thornton.

Among the states, NSW, Victoria and Queensland led in terms of positive investor sentiment.

Correction: this article was amended on 30 November. An earlier version stated Ausnet supported charging storage for network access. A spokesperson said it backed a waiver on charges if certain conditions are met.        

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Honda Canada EV Supply Chain accelerates electric vehicles with Ontario assembly, battery manufacturing, CAM/pCAM and separator plants in Alliston, creating green jobs, strengthening domestic manufacturing, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions across North America.

Key Points

A $15B Ontario initiative for end-to-end EVs, batteries, and components, creating jobs and cutting emissions.

✅ Alliston EV assembly and battery plants anchor production.

✅ CAM/pCAM and separator facilities via POSCO, Asahi JV.

✅ $15B build-out drives jobs, R&D, and lower emissions.

The electric vehicle (EV) revolution is gaining momentum in Canada, with Honda Canada announcing a historic $15 billion investment to establish the country's first comprehensive EV supply chain in Ontario. This ambitious project promises to create thousands of new jobs, solidify Canada's position in the EV market, and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Honda's Electrifying Vision

The centerpiece of this initiative is a brand-new, world-class electric vehicle assembly plant in Alliston, Ontario. This will be Honda's first dedicated EV assembly plant globally, marking a significant shift towards a more sustainable future. Additionally, a standalone battery manufacturing plant will be constructed at the same location, ensuring a reliable and efficient domestic supply of EV batteries.

Beyond Assembly: A Complete Ecosystem

Honda's vision extends beyond just vehicle assembly. The investment also includes the construction of two additional plants dedicated to critical battery components, mirroring activity such as a Niagara Region battery plant in Ontario: a cathode active material and precursor (CAM/pCAM) processing plant and a separator plant. These facilities, established through joint ventures with POSCO Future M Co., Ltd. and Asahi Kasei Corporation, will ensure a comprehensive in-house EV production capability.

Jobs, Growth, and a Greener Future

This large-scale project is expected to create significant economic benefits for Ontario. The construction and operation of the new facilities are projected to generate over one thousand well-paying manufacturing jobs, similar to GM's Ontario EV plant announcements that underscore employment gains across the province. Additionally, the investment will stimulate growth within Ontario's leading auto parts supplier and research and development ecosystems, bolstered by government-backed EV plant upgrades that reinforce local supply chains, creating even more indirect job opportunities.

But the benefits extend beyond the economy. The transition to electric vehicles plays a crucial role in combating climate change. By bringing EV production onshore, Honda Canada is contributing to a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, aligning with Canada's ambitious climate goals for transportation.

A Catalyst for Change

Honda's investment is a significant vote of confidence in Canada's potential as a leader in the EV industry, as recent EV manufacturing deals put the country in the race. The establishment of this comprehensive EV supply chain will not only benefit Honda, but also attract other EV manufacturers and solidify Ontario's position as a North American EV hub.

The road ahead for Canada's EV industry is bright. With Honda's commitment and this groundbreaking project, and with Ford's Oakville EV plans underway, Canada is well on its way to a cleaner, more sustainable future powered by electric vehicles.

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NB Power copper thefts highlight risks at high-voltage substations, with vandalism, fatalities, infrastructure damage, ratepayer costs, and law enforcement alerts tied to metal prices, stolen electricity, and safety concerns across New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Key Points

Substation metal thefts causing fatalities, outages, safety risks, and higher costs that impact NB ratepayers.

✅ Spike aligns with copper price near $3 per pound

✅ Fatal break-ins at high-voltage facilities in Bathurst

✅ Repairs, delays, and safety risks for crews, customers

New Brunswick's power utility is urging people to stay away from its substations, saying the valuable copper they contain is proving hard to resist for thieves.

NB Power has seen almost as many incidents of theft and vandalism to its property in April and May of this year, than in all of last year.

In the 2018-2019 fiscal year, the utility recorded 16 cases of theft and/or vandalism.

In April and May, there have already been 13 cases.

One of those was a fatal incident in Bathurst. On April 13, a 41-year-old man was found unresponsive and later died, after breaking into a substation. It was the second fatality linked to a break-in at an NB Power facility in 10 years.

The investigation is still ongoing, but NB Power believes the man was trying to steal copper.

The power utility has been ramping up its efforts -- finding alternate ways to secure its properties, and educate the public -- on the dangers of copper theft, as utilities work to adapt to climate change that can exacerbate severe weather.

“We really, really, really want to stress that if you’re hitting the wrong wire, cutting the wrong wire, breaking in to or cutting fences, a lot of very bad things can happen,” said NB Power spokesperson Marc Belliveau.

In the 2017-2018 fiscal year, there were 24 recorded cases of theft and/or vandalism.

It also comes at a financial cost for NB Power, and ratepayers -- on average, $330,000 a year. About two-thirds of that is copper. The rest is vehicle break-ins or stolen electricity.

“We’ve done analysis,” Belliveau said. “Often the number of break-ins correspond with the price spiking in copper. So, right now, copper’s about $3 a pound. If it was half of that, there might be half as many incidents.”

New Brunswick Public Safety Minister Carl Urquhart says he knows the utility and police are working to dissuade people from the dangers of the theft, and notes that debates around Site C dam stability issues reflect broader infrastructure safety concerns.

“We all know of incident after incident of major injuries and death caused by, simply by, copper,” he said.

Last November, a Dawson Settlement substation was targeted during a major, storm-related power outage in the province.

It meant NB Power had to divert crews to fix and secure the substation, delaying restoration times for some residents and underscoring efforts to improve local reliability across the grid.

Belliveau says that’s “most frustrating.”

“We’re really trying to take a more proactive approach. And certainly, we encourage people that if you know somebody who’s thinking of doing something like that, to really try and talk them out of it because it’s unbelievably dangerous to break in to a substation,” he said.

Nova Scotia Power, connected through the Maritime Link, was not able to provide details on thefts at their substations, but spokesman David Rodenhiser said "the value of the stolen copper is minor in comparison to the risk that’s created when thieves break into our high-voltage electrical substations."

It's not just risky for the people breaking in, and public opposition to projects like Site C underscores broader community safety concerns.

"It also puts the safety of the workers who maintain our substations at risk, because when thieves steal copper, the protective safety devices in the substations don’t work properly," Rodenhiser said.

Additionally, in Nova Scotia, projects like the Maritime Link have advanced regional transmission, and Nova Scotia Power’s copper components have identifying markers, which make that copper difficult to fence. Anyone who buys or sells stolen propery is at risk of criminal charges.

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