Latest news with #Schneider
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
German government shows cracks over nuclear energy
Representative Image (AI-generated) It was only a relatively petty dispute over the organization of an EU event in Brussels. And yet, revealed how differently Economy Minister Katherina Reiche — of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) — and Environment Minister Carsten Schneider — of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) — think about renewable energy, climate protection and nuclear power. In mid-June, Reiche was looking for a way to spend the evening in Brussels after a long meeting with her EU counterparts. There were two options: a meeting with representatives from countries that want to continue to expand renewable energies, and a meeting with pro-nuclear states. Twelve of the 27 EU states operate nuclear power plants, with France having the highest proportion — 55 reactors. Reiche ultimately attended the meeting of these countries, even though the government of former Chancellor Angela Merkel moved to phase out nuclear energy after the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan. Germany's last power plant went off the grid in spring 2023. Renewables or nuclear power? The fact that Reiche nevertheless chose to attend the meeting with the nuclear countries angered her SPD colleague. Schneider is officially responsible for nuclear safety in Germany as the environment minister, including issues relating to the interim and final storage of nuclear waste. "We have decided to phase out nuclear power. This has also been accepted by society," Schneider said. Officially, Germany is focusing on transitioning to renewable energies, and a large proportion of its energy is now generated from wind or solar power. "There are no further commitments [to the nuclear industry], nor will there be any," said Schneider. France, Germany backing all forms of energy: The disagreement between the Economy Ministry and the Environment Ministry on nuclear energy issues was already apparent. At the end of May, Reiche said in Brussels that she was "open to all technologies" when it came to energy production. The specific trigger was a joint paper by the governments in Paris and Berlin, which stated that the energy policy in both countries would be implemented "based on climate neutrality, competitiveness and sovereignty." In other words, according to the wishes of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, all forms of energy are to be promoted in the EU as long as they are low-emission. In France, this applies above all to the many nuclear power plants. In fact, nuclear power plants emit little or no greenhouse gases during operation and are therefore considered climate-friendly by their proponents. The dangers of the technology lie in controlling the nuclear chain reaction and the nuclear waste it produces, which remains radioactive for many thousands of years. According to the EU treaties, each member state has the right to choose its own energy mix. Major plans for new gas-fired power plants: There is also likely to be more disagreement between Reiche and Schneider on the issue of new gas-fired power plants. Shortly after taking office, the CDU minister announced plans to build 20 new gas-fired power plants. The previous government had also announced new construction to compensate for the often-fluctuating supplies from solar and wind power — but not in such large numbers. This is also a cause for concern for Schneider, who is responsible for meeting Germany's climate targets. In mid-May, the German government's expert council on climate issues warned that the goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2045 must be backed up by a truly concrete plan from the government. A warning from climate experts: The economy and environment ministries have often clashed on issues of climate protection and energy policy. At the moment, the government's climate goals are being helped by the rather weak economy and the resulting lower production, especially in industry, according to the council. A member of the panel, Marc Oliver Bettzüge, director of the Institute of Energy Economics at the University of Cologne, told the newsmagazine Der Spiegel: "At this point in time, it is not clear how the federal government intends to achieve the goal of climate neutrality by 2045." Building new gas-fired power plants is likely to make this plan even more difficult. Although gas-fired power plants emit less greenhouse gases than coal-fired one
DW
7 hours ago
- Politics
- DW
German government shows cracks over nuclear energy – DW – 06/28/2025
The economy minister attended a meeting of EU states using nuclear energy, even though Germany shut down its last reactor in 2023. The environment minister was quick to insist Germany will stick to its nuclear phaseout. It was only a relatively petty dispute over the organization of an EU event in Brussels. And yet, revealed how differently Economy Minister Katherina Reiche — of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) — and Environment Minister Carsten Schneider — of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) — think about renewable energy, climate protection and nuclear power. In mid-June, Reiche was looking for a way to spend the evening in Brussels after a long meeting with her EU counterparts. There were two options: a meeting with representatives from countries that want to continue to expand renewable energies, and a meeting with pro-nuclear states. Twelve of the 27 EU states operate nuclear power plants, with France having the highest proportion — 55 reactors. Reiche ultimately attended the meeting of these countries, even though the government of former Chancellor Angela Merkel moved to phase out nuclear energy after the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan. Germany's last power plant went off the grid in spring 2023. The fact that Reiche nevertheless chose to attend the meeting with the nuclear countries angered her SPD colleague. Schneider is officially responsible for nuclear safety in Germany as the environment minister, including issues relating to the interim and final storage of nuclear waste. "We have decided to phase out nuclear power. This has also been accepted by society," Schneider said. Officially, Germany is focusing on transitioning to renewable energies, and a large proportion of its energy is now generated from wind or solar power. "There are no further commitments [to the nuclear industry], nor will there be any," said Schneider. The disagreement between the Economy Ministry and the Environment Ministry on nuclear energy issues was already apparent. At the end of May, Reiche said in Brussels that she was "open to all technologies" when it came to energy production. The specific trigger was a joint paper by the governments in Paris and Berlin, which stated that the energy policy in both countries would be implemented "based on climate neutrality, competitiveness and sovereignty." In other words, according to the wishes of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, all forms of energy are to be promoted in the EU as long as they are low-emission. In France, this applies above all to the many nuclear power plants. In fact, nuclear power plants emit little or no greenhouse gases during operation and are therefore considered climate-friendly by their proponents. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The dangers of the technology lie in controlling the nuclear chain reaction and the nuclear waste it produces, which remains radioactive for many thousands of years. According to the EU treaties, each member state has the right to choose its own energy mix. There is also likely to be more disagreement between Reiche and Schneider on the issue of new gas-fired power plants. Shortly after taking office, the CDU minister announced plans to build 20 new gas-fired power plants. The previous government had also announced new construction to compensate for the often-fluctuating supplies from solar and wind power — but not in such large numbers. This is also a cause for concern for Schneider, who is responsible for meeting Germany's climate targets. In mid-May, the German government's expert council on climate issues warned that the goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2045 must be backed up by a truly concrete plan from the government. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The economy and environment ministries have often clashed on issues of climate protection and energy policy. At the moment, the government's climate goals are being helped by the rather weak economy and the resulting lower production, especially in industry, according to the council. A member of the panel, Marc Oliver Bettzüge, director of the Institute of Energy Economics at the University of Cologne, told the newsmagazine : "At this point in time, it is not clear how the federal government intends to achieve the goal of climate neutrality by 2045." Building new gas-fired power plants is likely to make this plan even more difficult. Although gas-fired power plants emit less greenhouse gases than coal-fired ones, 20 new plants would jeopardize the climate you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter, Berlin Briefing.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
‘New era in astronomy.' Penn State helps develop world's most powerful survey telescope
Professors at Penn State helped develop the world's most powerful survey telescope, which released its first images earlier this week from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. The images capture cosmic phenomena at an 'unprecedented scale,' the observatory said in a press release. For the next 10 years, the observatory will conduct the 'Legacy Survey of Space and Time,' an international project to create an ultra-wide, ultra-high-definition time lapse record of the universe, a release from Penn State says. The university has been an LSST member institution since 2005, and faculty members have had roles on the LSST board and other committees and collaborations. Donald Schneider, distinguished professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State and the university's representative on the LSST-Discovery Alliance Institutional Board, has been interested in this project since he first heard about it around 2000. J. Anthony Tyson, now the Rubin Observatory LSST chief scientist, came up with the general concept of a telescope that could take deep pictures of the entire sky every night to look for things that moved, changed in brightness, and other aspects, Schneider told the CDT. Penn State joined the collaboration and had roles in both the science collaboration and in project management, he said. The Rubin Observatory on the Cerro Pachón mountaintop in Chile uses a 3,200-megapixel camera the size of a car to scan the entire visible southern sky every three to four nights. 'The sky will be imaged in six different filters covering the range from blue to near-infrared light. By stitching the resulting clips together, the LSST collaboration will produce the most detailed time-lapse view of the cosmos that has ever existed,' the university said in a release. W. Niel Brandt, the Eberly Family Chair in Astronomy and Astrophysics (and professor of physics at Penn State and co-chair of the LSST Active Galactic Nuclei Science Collaboration), said in a release between the impressive camera and the wide field of view, the Rubin Observatory will 'launch a new era in astronomy.' It will allow them to better detect real-time changes in the sky and rare events, he said. Schneider said the telescope has a large mirror, about 320 inches across, so it can gather a lot of light and detect very faint objects over a large part of the sky. 'You've heard of the James Webb and the Hubble Space Telescope, they can go very deep. They can actually go deeper than the Rubin telescope can, but only over a tiny fraction of the area,' he told the CDT. 'So, when the Rubin takes a picture, it takes 45 full moons. … Every time it takes a picture, it takes that much sky. With the Hubble Space telescope or the James Webb, it's just a tiny fraction of the moon that they can take a picture of.' The first pictures released on Monday were 'spectacular,' Schneider said. Looking at a picture on your TV or computer screen doesn't give the full effect because there aren't enough pixels, so the image is super compressed. 'It's just so compressed, there aren't enough pixels on the TV to show what the picture does. They're 3.2 billion pixels … your eye just can't grasp it, and the TV just can't display it. You need something the size of a basketball court to display it,' he said. 'It takes seven of those pictures every minute throughout the night, so you can imagine how many basketball courts you would have to rent in order to display a night's worth of data.' The facility is jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director, said in a press release the Rubin Observatory will 'capture more information about the universe than all optical telescopes throughout history combined.' The telescope was designed with many science programs, but one that may be particularly interesting to the public is about near-earth asteroids. Schneider said they know where the big asteroids are, but there are still rocks out there that he thinks are the size of a football field or larger. If one of those hits earth, it would be a bad situation, so Schneider said they need to be able to track them so they can find them early and adjust their orbits. When the first images from the telescope were released this week, he said one thing that impressed him the most was a chart that showed all of the new asteroids they discovered from just one picture. The data gathered during the survey will be public, so you don't need to be a professional astronomer to learn from the project. 'There's a great opportunity for amateur astronomers, or just people that are casually interested in astronomy, or high schools, for example,' he said. 'It would be great lab experiments. You know, you get your part of the sky, what's there? What's interesting? So I'm very excited by this opportunity.'
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN proposes 1 final move to complete Seahawks offseason
The Seattle Seahawks have been committed to improvement this offseason. After acquiring a slew of talents this offseason, including quarterback Sam Darnold and wide receiver Cooper Kupp, general manager John Schneider has stayed vigilant in his pursuit of upgrades. Earlier this week, Schneider signed cornerback Shaquill Griffin, proving he's still monitoring the market for talent. ESPN recently wrote an article proposing one final move all 32 clubs should make this offseason. For the Seahawks, they have Schneider shifting his attention back to the offensive line. ESPN says the Seahawks should sign veteran free-agent guard Brandon Scherff. "The interior offensive line was a major problem for the Seahawks in 2024, and while first-round rookie Grey Zabel should stabilize the left guard position, the other positions are still in flux," Aaron Schatz wrote. "Olu Oluwatimi is penciled in at center, where he was below average in both pass block win rate (92.4% versus NFL center average of 93.8%) and especially in run block win rate (64.5% versus 72.8%) last season." Schatz is correct that the interior offensive line is the Seahawks' biggest concern. First-round guard Grey Zabel is an instant starter on the left, and Olu Oluwatimi and Jalen Sundell are competing at center. Right guard appears to be an even bigger projection. "The current leader at right guard is 2024 third-round pick Christian Haynes," Schatz continued. "Why not bring in a former Pro Bowler who can provide some stability and veteran leadership? Scherff is still available and could take the right guard position, kicking Haynes over to battle Oluwatimi for the center position at training camp." Scherff would represent a big-time upgrade for the Seahawks at right guard.
Time Magazine
2 days ago
- Business
- Time Magazine
TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2025: Schneider Electric
For more than 20 years, Schneider Electric has been guided by an ambitious goal: to drive the global energy transition forward through electrification, digitalization and automation. Schneider's products and services support everything from smart energy and building management to industrial automation and EV charging. The France-based multinational supports the sustainability practices of 40% of the Fortune 500. 'We accompany customers from strategy to execution,' says Chief Sustainability Officer Esther Finidori. One example of what that looks like: Schneider helps its customers buy renewable energy from suppliers, accounting for 60% of such purchasing in the U.S. market. 'It's complicated for corporations today to source renewable energy,' Finidori says. But with its global profile, Schneider says it has helped customers avoid 679 million metric tons of CO2 emissions since 2018—equivalent to taking over 130 million cars off the road for a year. Today, the company's decarbonization solutions are in 40% of commercial buildings and homes, 50% of hospitals, and 33,000 wastewater facilities around the world. One prominent building example is JFK Airport's New Terminal One in New York City, construction of which began in September. Schneider is providing software and other tech to help build a 12-megawatt microgrid with over 13,000 solar panels—touted as the largest rooftop solar array in New York City and in any U.S. airport terminal. The microgrid will power half of the terminal's daily operations. Schneider is also helping ensure that the power-hungry data centers proliferating amid the AI boom are energy-efficient. Last year, in collaboration with AI chip giant Nvidia, the company introduced the first publicly available AI data center reference designs. Disseminating those designs is important 'because this is how we'll achieve efficiency and scale while making sure the best practices are widely adopted,' Finidori says. Schneider is achieving sustainability and efficiency not only for its customers, but in its own operations and the supply chain that supports its $38.8 billion in annual revenue. With 130,000 employees spread across 108 countries, the company's carbon footprint is complex. But Schneider aims to achieve net-zero operations by 2030 and net zero across its value chain by 2050. (During the last five years, it's cut emissions in its entire value chain by about one-fifth.) 'We want to demonstrate it's feasible to decarbonize fast and everywhere by doing it in our own operations first,' Finidori says. The company—which ranked #1 on TIME's World's Most Sustainable Companies of 2024 and 2025 lists—is on track, Finidori says. From 2021 to 2024, Schneider, which links its sustainability goals to employee pay, more than halved its operational emissions. The winning change strategy is clear: '[E]lectrification of everything—heating, industrial processes, our fleet—as well as sourcing renewable energy,' she says.
