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Seaver Wang

@wang-seaver.bsky.social

2.5K followers 370 following 1K posts

Director, Climate and Energy at the Breakthrough Institute. 王思維. He/him. Oceanographer turned solution seeker. Ecomodernism is the way. PhD in Earth and Ocean Sciences.

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Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · Jul 22

Should a US national critical minerals reserve program act more like the National Defense Stockpile or more like the Strategic Petroleum Reserve? Major new report by my team deep dives into this question, looking at 15 minerals relevant to energy.

My thoughts🧵:

thebreakthrough.org/issues/energ...

Taking Inventory of Critical Mineral Stockpiling

The Breakthrough Institute is an environmental research center based in Berkeley, California. Our research focuses on identifying and promoting…

thebreakthrough.org

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Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 6h

I certainly agree that's the current mood... Short-term I suppose the best hope is to code things as heavily AI/reindustrialization as possible, long-term just make sure good ideas are ready at hand...

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Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 7h

Shower thought: a special federally-supported engineering-procurement-construction task force for transmission line reconductoring? Traveling the country reconductoring lines, getting really good at it, bringing the cost down, and disseminating that knowledge to practitioners.

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Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 11h

Such alignment will push developers and technologists to pursue new generation locations, characteristics, and capabilities that fill the current gaps in our clean energy system problem-solving.

Check out my full piece here:
www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/its-time-t...

It's Time to Raise the Bar for Corporate Clean Energy Buying

Walking the walk on “100% clean powered”

www.breakthroughjournal.org

Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 11h

Corporate sustainability is a bit silly, but we may as well align it with our key clean energy innovation + deployment needs. The GHGP2 standard should:
- credit all low-carbon power, not just renewables (nuclear and CCS deserve credit)
- require hourly + regional accounting

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Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 11h

“A California data center billing itself CO2-free by buying solar output in Wyoming that reduces some daytime Wyoming coal plant use is not catalyzing anything new. Deploying solar to provide midday power is at this point a solved problem—the lowest-hanging fruit.”

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Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 11h

“Symbolic accounting would only encourage companies to buy easy initial quantities of solar + wind around the world... When such strategies inevitably confront diminishing returns, failure to establish more versatile clean energy sources will come roaring back with a vengeance.”

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Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 11h

“if sustainability-minded companies are actually committed to decarbonization, they must incentivize clean electricity where and when it is most needed—in other words at the times of day when its marginal value is highest and in the regions where new demand actually resides.”

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Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 11h

In practice, the portfolio of capabilities to ensure round-the-clock clean power for a city, a university, or a steel recycling plant costs a higher all-in price.

Loose accounting + low-priced clean electricity certificates to satisfy green pledges = taking the easy way out

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Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 11h

But the energy transition's focus is shifting away from early deployment. Meanwhile, issues of inflated clean power certificates are emerging, with Norway for ex exporting several times the certificates as its actual power exports (33 TWh in 2024).

www.aib-net.org/facts/market...

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Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 11h

Say, eight years ago when renewable deployment was still ramping up, loose accounting was arguably forgivable with corporate PPAs being a major if not the major driver helping wind and solar projects break into most markets.

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Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 11h

Some firms like Amazon + Meta vocally support keeping loose accounting rules in place, with support of some renewable energy trade groups. Other companies like Google + Microsoft champion a “24/7” clean energy vision and favor hourly + regional matching.

heatmap.news/climate/scop...

The Obscure Philosophical Battle That Could Reshape the Clean Energy Economy

New rules governing how companies report their scope 2 emissions have pit tech giant against tech giant and scholars against each other.

heatmap.news

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Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 11h

The alternative to hourly + regional matching?

Loose accounting lets companies buy e.g. noon solar generation to claim "clean powered", when in fact doing 24/7/365 clean is *not* cheap/easy. This basically procrastinates key decarbonization challenges.

www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/its-time-t...

It's Time to Raise the Bar for Corporate Clean Energy Buying

Walking the walk on “100% clean powered”

www.breakthroughjournal.org

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Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 11h

New piece from me weighs in on the important brewing debate over corporate Scope 2 clean electricity crediting (GHGP2).

I argue that it’s obviously better for clean energy innovation to require companies to buy hourly and regionally-matched clean power to make green claims. 🧵

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Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 1d

At any rate, this exercise essentially originated from my regular Japanese news article reading practice coupled with a question in my mind re: the status of Japan's ongoing builds, so I may have missed some factors at play.

If so, please chime in and let me know!

END of thread 🧵

Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 1d

One can't help but wonder if a greater sense of urgency could hit all the safety benchmarks while achieving restart + operation of idled + in-progress units faster.

If anti-terror facilities at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is a holdup, for ex, why not just increase security presence?

Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 1d

The last 3 units that have not applied for restart are Onagawa-3, Hamaoka-5, and Shika-1.

Overall, suffice to say that even accepting that all the new safety facilities are necessary, these regulatory and local govt approvals have been agonizingly slow.

Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 1d

This all leaves 8 reactors that have not yet applied for restart approval, with 5 units comprising Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Units 1-5.

Local political negotiations currently stipulate that if Kashiwazaki-Kariwa 6+7 are restarted, at least some of Units 1-5 must be decommissioned.

Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 1d

Tsuruga-2 was denied restart approval in Nov 2024, citing an active geologic fault.

Shika-2 is undergoing more earthquake study after a small quake on Jan 1 2024.

Tohoku Higashidori just agreed to erect a tsunami seawall offering 12.4 meters protection

news.ntv.co.jp/n/rab/catego...

大間原発　2030年の運転開始目標「厳しい」（2025年9月12日掲載）｜青森放送NEWS NNN

日本テレビのニュースサイト「日テレNEWS NNN」は政治、経済、国際、社会、スポーツ、カルチャー・エンタメ・芸能、ライフなど、ニュース速報のほか天気、地震、津波、台風など防災・気象情報を配信しています。

news.ntv.co.jp

Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 1d

Lastly Tomari-3 in Hokkaido received approval at the end of this July to restart from the Nuclear Regulation Authority and aims to restart operation "as early as possible" in 2027.

7 units have applied for restart: Tsuruga-2, Tomari 1+2, Tohoku Higashidori, Hamaoka 3+4, Shika-2

Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 1d

So 14 units are now operating.

Among idled, non-decommissioned units, 4 have restart approval

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa 6+7 have approval but face local opposition + are still building anti-terror facilities.
Tokai-2 will complete safety facilities Dec 2026

www.renewable-ei.org/activities/c...

原子力発電の2030/2040年度の見通し、シナリオ別に見る現実性｜コラム｜自然エネルギー財団

日本政府は2025年2月18日に閣議決定した第7次エネルギー基本計画で、今後のエネルギー政策の方向性を示した。前回の第6次の計画では原子力発電に対する依存度を可能な限り低減することを公約したが、第7次では一転して最大限に利用することを宣言した。表現の違いはあるものの、いずれの計画を見ても原子力発電の比率は高すぎる。第6次では2030年度に20～22％、第7次では2040年度に20％の目標を掲げた。...

www.renewable-ei.org

Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 1d

As of Jan 2023 regarding Japan's nuclear unit restarts, 10 units were operating.

Since then, 4 more have restarted:
- Takahama-1, Takahama-2 in 8/2023, 10/2023
- Onagawa-2 in 12/2024 (1st restart on Tohoku's east coast!)
- Shimane-2 in 1/2025

Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 1d

In summary, of Japan's three in-progress nuclear builds:
- Shimane-3 has good prospects for restart. Targeting 2030 operation
- Oma has a risk of further regulatory/legal delays but is targeting 2030 startup
- Higashidori is starting almost from scratch and debatably in-progress

Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 1d

I'll note that the Shimane nuclear power plant has built one hell of a tsunami protection barrier onsite to protect all three units!

One can engineer solutions to address safety risks instead of just hand-wringing and wailing about them, who knew?

www.asahi.com/articles/pho...

再稼働めざす島根原発2号機、進む安全対策　15メートルの防波壁も：朝日新聞

中国電力は、12月を予定する島根原発2号機（松江市鹿島町片句）の再稼働に向け、準備を進めている。今月、重大事故を想定した訓練の様子を報道機関に公開。原発敷地内では安全対策工事がほぼ完了していた。　同…

www.asahi.com

Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 1d

Just over a week ago, Chugoku Power held press conferences to mark the release of their 2040 Vision Plan. Statements by representatives sound notably more confident than for the Oma project regarding Shimane-3's goal of generating power by 2030.

news.web.nhk/newsweb/na/n...

news.web.nhk

Seaver Wang @wang-seaver.bsky.social · 1d

Unit 1 onsite is older and is being decommissioned.

There are still some unit-specific safety design details and local govt approvals to resolve, but Chugoku Power is aiming to fully align with safety regulations by 2028.

www.chugoku-np.co.jp/articles/-/6...
www.jaif.or.jp/journal/japa...

島根原発3号機、進む審査　中電の申請から7年 | 中国新聞デジタル

中国電力が建設中の島根原発（島根県松江市）3号機の稼働に必要な原子力規制委員会の審査を申請し、10日で7年になる。島根2号機の再稼働を優先して滞っていた審査は昨年の後半から本格化。自然災害の評価など...