geoharvey

Japan:

¶   Work on removing debris continues at Fukushima Daiichi. Progress is slow, and has to carefully considered. The beam that fell into Unit 3′ s spent fuel pool slipped when touched by a hydraulic fork, and fell on top of the fuel, evidently without damaging it. [World Nuclear News]

World:

¶   The UK city of Peterborough has plans to become energy independent by 2020. [NewNet]

¶   Renewable power output in the UK rose 6.5% in the second quarter over last year, despite a 31% drop in the output of hydro. The combined output of solar PVs, wave and tidal plants was 470 GWh, an 861% increase over last year. [Power Engineering]

US:

¶   Renewable power saves soldiers’ lives, saves money for the military, and makes the military stronger. Nevertheless new proposals continue to come before congress to prevent the military from pursuing it. [The Hill]

¶   The purchase by a Chinese company of four US wind farms has been blocked by President Obama for security reasons. All four wind farms were close to US military bases. [CNN]

¶   Environmentalists agree that the area around San Onofre needs to be examined for geological faults, but object to the damage to ocean wildlife that will be done by 250 decibel blasts every 15 seconds for 12 days. They say other ways of mapping fault lines exist. [Los Angeles Times]

¶   Renewable Energy Trust Capital, Inc. believes it can lower the cost of capital for solar projects dramatically, cutting the cost of generating solar power by up to 20 percent. [Sacramento Bee]

¶   A renewable energy plant at the City of San José Water Pollution Control Plant in California is now coming online. It uses a 1.4 MW fuel cell for power, and biogas from a waste digester for fuel. [Fuel Cell Today]

Japan:

¶   Local officials from Takahagi, Ibaraki, are opposing attempts by the central government to use part of a national forest in the city as a nuclear waste dump. Government assurances of safety are regarded as without value. Other cities have answered similarly. [The Japan Daily Press]

World:

¶   Sunny Bangchak, 44-megawatt project in Thailand, achieved grid connection on September 4. It is the largest PV installation yet in Southeast Asia. The hot and humid climate required panels adapted for the environment. [Bikya Masr]

US:

¶   The natural gas industry is trying to make friends with the renewable industry by claiming to be less destructive than other “brown” fuels, and so a better ally for the changeover to renewables. [GigaOM]

¶   Google is continuing to act on its promise to use renewable power sources by building a 48 MW wind farm in Oklahoma. [TheHostingNews.com]

¶   Georgia Solar Utility, Inc. has proposed plans to deploy 2 GW of renewable energy within the next four years. The company will use a mutual type company so ratepayers will profit from dividends. This represents a $7 Billion economic stimulus for the state. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   Georgia Power is seeking to acquire 210 MW of additional solar capacity through long-term contracts over a three-year period. [Solar Industry]

¶   The US House of Representatives passed the “Coal Miner Employment and Domestic Energy Infrastructure Protection Act,” which protects companies engaging in exploitation of fossil fuels.  Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is betting heavily on solar power. [PlanetSave.com]

¶   Solectria Renewables will provide its Megawatt Solar Stations for the 5 MW True North solar farm in Salisbury, Massachusetts. This solar farm is the largest solar installation in New England and the first direct-to-grid solar farm in Massachusetts. [Your Industry News]

Japan:

¶   The Nuclear Regulation Authority plans to have a set of requirements for plant restarts finalized by next March. Reactors will have to be in compliance with those regulations before they will be allowed to restart. [Asahi Shimbun]

World:

¶   UK renewable energy capacity has grown 42% in the past year. [Business Green]

… Britain is expected to be a net energy exporter by 2020 because of the growth in renewables. [Reuters]

¶   Scotland has set an ambitious goal of getting 100% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. They are now ahead of schedule. [reNews Europe]

¶   Europe now has over 100 GW of wind power generation installed. [Business Review Europe]

¶   Solar is becoming a mainstream power source in Europe. [PublicServiceEurope.com]

¶   The IAEA expects more modest growth in the nuclear power industry than it predicted in the past. [Reuters]

US:

¶   A cooperative model makes solar a considerably cheaper power source than conventional grid sources in Massachusetts communities. [SustainableBusiness.com]

¶   Renewable power is growing rapidly in the US. The reasons for growth are not so much because it is good for the environment, but because it is cost-effective. [Businessweek]

¶   UniStar is appealing the NRC decision not to allow its proposed reactor at Calvert Cliffs to proceed. The law says a reactor in the US must have the majority of owners from the US, and UniStar is entirely foreign-owned. [Power Engineering]

¶   Sales of solar PVs have increased for US companies by 45%, manufacturing has increased 9%, but prices have declined. The average price per watt has fallen below $1.  [FuelFix]

¶   GE has announced $1.2 billion in new orders for a new series of gas turbines designed to start quickly to compliment renewable resources. [SmartPlanet.com]

Technology:

¶   The US Navy is working on technology to convert carbon dioxide in seawater into fuel for its ships. The object is to increase both range and security. Nevertheless, there was an attempt in congress to curtail the research. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The National Renewable Energy Lab has produced a bacterium that makes ethylene through photosynthesis. It exudes the ethylene, which makes harvest much more efficient.  [Platts]

Japan:

¶   There will be no more nuclear reactors going online in Japan between now and next summer, according to the chief of the Nuclear Regulation Authority. [The Daily Yomiuri]

¶   TEPCO says the steel beam that fell into the Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 spent fuel pool did not damage anything. [The Daily Yomiuri]

World:

¶   Total SA, one of the five largest oil companies in the world, warns that the environmental impact of oil drilling in the Arctic would be too great to be done. The company’s CEO says, “Oil on Greenland would be a disaster.”A leak would do too much damage to the image of the company”. [CNN]

¶   Mecca will be the first city in Saudi Arabia to run entirely on solar power. [EcoSeed]

¶   So far this year, the Co-operative Bank, which operates in the UK, has loaned £232 million for renewable projects. Last year’s total, for the entire year, was £79 million. [AOL Money]

US:

¶   The US military is going renewable. The reasons are simple: reduce casualties, improve logistics, and improve security. [Business Insider]

¶   A proposed federal law would prevent the NRC from granting a renewal of an operating license until ten years before the old license expires. This would prevent Seabrook from getting renewal until 2020. [Boston Globe]

¶   The NRC approved a 17% uprate for St. Lucie Unit 2. The reactor has been down since early August, preparing for the uprate. [World Nuclear News]

¶   GE-Hitachi has won NRC approval for a new uranium enrichment plant in North Carolina. [Power Engineering]

Japan:

¶   The new Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority will not use the results of stress tests performed by its predecessor. Instead, it will establish its own, new criteria on whether nuclear reactors will be allowed to restart. This means the utilities will have to start the process of restarting over from the beginning, and they do not know where to start yet. [The Japan Times]

¶   Japanese utilities are lobbying hard to restart nuclear power generation. Four of them are likely to go bankrupt if the plants are not restarted. The government is waffling on the subject. Seven and a half million people have signed petitions to abandon nuclear power. Renewable power generation is growing at about twice the rate needed to achieve government goals. [IBTimes.co.uk]

¶   TEPCO has started removing steel debris from Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3. [The Denki Shimbun]

World:

¶   The man responsible for institutional investment of €100 billion at Union Investment expressed “some concern the sector overall may not be enough to absorb the general investment demand, particularly from larger allocators.” [Investment Europe]

¶   The European Commission’s Joint Research Center says renewable energy generation is the only set of power sources that offers price reductions. All others offer price increases. [pv magazine]

¶   Germany now has over 30GW PV of solar capacity. [PV Insider and News Analysis]

¶   A report from GlobalData says renewable power generation in the UK will equal thermal by 2025. [IBTimes.co.uk]

¶   Denmark is now getting 40% of its power from renewable sources. [Reuters]

¶   Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing, talking of the country’s goal of 100% electrical generation by 2020, said, “We are confident, that the target, while being ambitious, is achievable.” [Deutsche Welle]

¶   The World Bank will join a United Nations initiative aimed at increasing the poor’s access to electricity and clean household fuels. [inAudit]

US:

¶   A poll taken for the wind industry indicates 67% of those responding said they would prefer to have their electricity sources supplied by renewable power sources, versus 9% for fossil fuels and 8% for nuclear. [Huffington Post]
… A poll taken for the nuclear industry came up with somewhat different figures, showing 65% support nuclear. [World Nuclear News]

¶   A cavern below the sinkhole at Bayou Corne has been found to have 1300 feet of debris at the bottom. The cavern was full of natural gas, which has been bubbling up to the surface around the area. [The Advocate]

Japan:

¶   The Japanese power industry is working on pushing the ruling Japanese Democratic Party out of  power in the next election. The issue is how the government has handled TEPCO and nuclear power. [The Japan Times]

World:

¶   In Australia, poorer families are investing more in solar than wealthier. Right now, over 10% of the population is getting electricity from solar, and 18% are getting some form of power from solar systems. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The nuclear plants at risk from tsunami include many in Asian countries not equipped to deal with disaster as well as the Japanese were at the time of the Fukushima disaster. [EcoSeed]

US:

¶   An article on waste at data centers that appeared in the New York Times provides some insight into why fossil fuels are a thing of the past. [Triple Pundit]

¶  Last month’s shutdown at Millstone is seen as a wake-up call on global warming. Global warming is threatening the nuclear plants’ access to cool water. [The Connecticut Mirror]

¶   Cooperative solar projects are catching on in Delaware. [The News Journal]

¶   Total Energy Today, a trade event in Houston sponsored by Shell and Halliburton, is providing three days of events dealing with energy, with an “all of the above” approach. [CleanTechnica]
… The schedule shows out of about 50 talks and symposiums, 14 deal with renewable energy, 7 with fossil fuels, 7 with finance, 6 with the grid, and 1 with nuclear. [Schedule for Total Energy]

Japan:

¶   Radiation levels at the town of Futaba, 5.6 km northwest of Fukushima Daiichi,  had already gone above safe limits before the first explosion at the plant. [The Japan Times]

¶   A crane knocked a steel beam 7 m. long (23′ 4″), weighing 470 kg. (1034 lbs.), into the Unit 3 spent fuel pool. [NKH]

¶   The town assembly of Okuma, Fukushima, approved a reconstruction plan, under which no residents may return home for at least five years. [The Daily Yomiuri]

US:

¶   A large plastic bin washed ashore in Hawaii, the first debris from the tsunami following the Tohoku Earthquake of 2011 to hit the islands. A Japanese official confirmed that it came from the Fukushima Daiichi plant. [BigPond News]

¶   A better system for transmission and distribution is key to developing renewable electric generation in the US. [The Sun]

Video:

“Can Non-Fossil Fuel Renewables achieve 15.7 Terawatts?” [Accuweather.com] (Spoiler: the answer is yes.)

Japan:

¶   The Atomic Energy Society of Japan, a pro-nuclear association of nuclear engineers, conducted a survey of members. Answers to a number of questions were reported. Asked whether nuclear power poses a threat to the future of mankind, 70% said no; the news report does not mention the fact that this means 30% of members of the pro-nuclear association answered some other way. [Asahi Shimbun]

¶   Japan’s new Nuclear Regulatory Authority says it is unlikely any more reactors will go online this year. [The Japan Times]

World:

¶   A study published in the journal Natural Hazards, discusses nuclear power plants in areas threatened by large tsunamis. It lists 23 nuclear power plants with 74 reactors as being at high risk. [Science Daily]

US:

¶   There are now two NRC safety engineers claiming the agency is concealing danger of flooding downstream from dams that could fail. They believe a dam failure would be certain to cause one or more meltdowns much like those at Fukushima. [AllGov]

¶   Coalition Against Nukes representatives met with legislators on Thursday, and then with NRC Chairman Macfarlane and member Maguire yesterday. CAN members attending the meetings say they believe nothing will come of them, because the NRC is totally captured. [The Hill]

¶   The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill called the “Stop the War on Coal Act.” [Power Engineering]

Technology:

¶   Researchers at Murdoch University, in Perth, Western Australia, have found a way to make water-based sodium based batteries, similar to lithium batteries. [Climate Spectator]
… Media seems to have been slow picking this up, and my web searches did not catch it early on. Murdoch University issued a news release on August 8, in which they say that though the technology is probably too bulky for portable devices, it should work fine for utility-scale energy storage. [Murdoch University News Release]

Japan:

¶   Two agencies regulating nuclear power in Japan have been closed. The Fukushima Disaster revealed, and was to a large extent caused by, their monumental failures. [The Japan Times]

¶   The new Japanese Nuclear Regulatory Agency has opened up shop. [Power Engineering]

¶   The Japanese government’s pledge to abandon nuclear has loopholes. [Asahi Shimbun]

World:

¶   China’s first goal for 2015 was 5 GW of solar capacity. That turned out to be unrealistic, because they  are installing 7 GW in 2012 alone. They have increased the goal for 2015 three times so far, and it is now 21 GW.  But that may be wrong because it looks like they might have 40 GW in 2015. If that happens, they may increase their 2020 goal from 50 GW to 100 GW. [OilPrice.com]

¶   The Australian Capital Territory is setting a goal to get 90% of its power from renewable energy by 2020. [Climate Spectator]

US:

¶   A study by a “think tank” says closing Indian Point would cost billions to the economy of New York. Critics say the study did not consider all the facts. Its author is a highly experienced economist who has worked as a consultant to the power industry for thirty years. [The Journal News | LoHud.com]

¶   The desert Southwest can provide power all over the country, but there have to be more and better transmission lines to do it. [Washington Post]

¶   The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity says the EPA will shut down 204 coal generating plants in 25 states. They believe this is not good. [L.A. Biz]

Technology:

A group of Japanese companies is beginning testing of a plant that will produce hydrogen from sewage. [International Environmental Technology]

Japan:

¶   Japan is now third among nations for solar power capacity. Since the nation started pursuing renewable energy aggressively, over 99% of all projects approved were solar. [OilPrice.com]

¶   The questions of whether to recycle spent fuel and how to dispose of it are unanswered problems for Japan. [The Japan Times]

World:

¶   The EU is planning to limit the use of food-based biofuels.  [Hydrocarbon Processing]

¶   Iran has the potential to produce 20 gigawatts of wind power, and is getting around sanctions to install turbines. [Green Prophet]

US:

¶   More than 300 public interest groups sent a letter to the U.S. Senate Friday opposing S.3512, the Coal Ash Recycling and Oversight Act of 2012. This bill would remove responsibility for coal ash management from the federal government and hand it to the states. [Environment News Service]

¶   The “No More Solyndros Act,” and has been passed by the US House of Representatives, would prevent the DOE from making loan guarantees for renewable power. Subsidies continue for fossil fuel and nuclear power. [GreenerIdeal]

¶   A number of studies indicate USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and the Renewable Fuel Association are wrong to claim ethanol reduced gasoline prices by $0.89/gal in 2010 and $1.09/gal in 2011. [Global Warming]

¶   Seabrook’s scram on Friday was because of a bad computer card (punch card maybe?). Since the reactor was scheduled to be shut down for refueling on Sunday, refueling began early. [Foster’s Daily Democrat]

Japan:

¶   Japan went through summer with nearly no power from nuclear plants, and the lights stayed on, contrary to predictions of pro-nuclear alarmists. [Wall Street Journal]

¶   For the first time since the Fukushima Disaster, a case of thyroid cancer has been reported in one of the children there. The government says the cancer was not caused by the disaster. [The Japan Daily Press]

World:

¶   Britain and France want assurances from Japan that they will not be stuck with Japanese nuclear waste they are reprocessing, as Japan turns away from nuclear power. [Asahi Shimbun]

¶   The government of Denmark had set a goal of 200 megawatts of solar capacity by 2020. The country has already met that goal. [Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark]

¶   Ontario’s Atikokan generating plant has stopped burning coal, and is switching from coal to biomass. [NewNewsleger.com]

US:

¶   The State of Pennsylvania is giving $20 million in financial incentives for use of natural gas, which Governor Corbett wants to support. The governor’s position is that support incentives for solar are too expensive and not good for the taxpayers. [Examiner.com]

¶   New York State will not renew the Power Purchase Agreement with Indian Point when it expires. [Power Engineering]

¶   A security worker at Indian Point is suing the owner and operators, claiming the owner’s emphasis on profit has left the plant without proper security. In mock attacks to test security, the terrorist side wins half the time. [The Daily Voice]

¶   It will be months before San Onofre restarts, if it does. [MarketWatch]

¶   Members of the NRC testified before a senate committee, giving an update on the NRC’s review of the Fukushima Disaster. [Power Engineering]
… NRC Chairman Allison Macfarlane’s testimony is given here. [Power Engineering]

¶   Release of a small amount of radioactive steam exposed nearly 50 workers at Peach Bottom. According to reports, no one received significant exposure, no radiation escaped the containment  building, and the level of radiation in the building quickly returned to normal. [Yorkdispatch.com]

Technology:

¶   Bioplastics are seen as a way to sequester carbon and reduce costs at the same time. [Green Energy News]

Japan:

¶   TEPCO is bringing in outside experts to monitor reforms. Part of the purpose is to help convince Japanese people to allow Kashiwazaki-Kariwa reactors to restart. [Reuters]

¶   The Science Council of Japan is calling for a new review of nuclear waste disposal. It began the process on 2010, but wants to start over in a way that engages the public. [The Daily Yomiuri]

¶   Debris removal at Fukushima Daiichi is moving along very slowly. [The Daily Yomiuri]

¶   Tests sponsored by the government of Fukushima Prefecture indicate that about 0.5% of the children have thyroid abnormalities. [Asahi Shimbun]
… (Though the article above does not say so, the result it gives contrasts sharply with reports from large-scale private tests, some of which indicate abnormalities in a third to half the children. [Arnie Gundersen speech given earlier this year])

World:

¶   IKEA will soon be selling  a thin-film solar system along with a homeowner service package, which includes a full site survey, installation, fitting and a guarantee. [Energy Live News]

¶   Masdar, the state-owned, Abu Dhabi, green energy company, says it will install 41 gigawatts of solar power in Saudi Arabia by 2030. [OilPrice.com]

US:

¶   Entergy is suing the State of Vermont over a new tax on electrical generation introduced this year. [vtdigger.org]

¶   Based on an MIT study, Principal Solar, Inc., a solar holding company, predicts solar grid parity in the US by 2014, in a paper called “Investing in the Power of the Sun: The Capitalist Case for Solar Energy.”

Technology:

¶   Solar modules made by Kyocera and installed in a French village twenty years ago are still operating at 91.7% of their original output. [Wall Street Journal] (This link is broken – the story can be found at global.kyocera.com/news/2012/0903_skok.html )

Japan:

¶   The Japanese government is postponing announcing an energy policy because of lack of consensus. [The Japan Times]

¶   The new Japanese safety standards will address problems from extreme events. [The Indian Express]

World:

¶   Mining companies are increasingly turning to renewable sources for their energy. One reason to do this is to cut carbon emissions. [OilPrice.com]

¶   The German solar market is changing the way it does business, but growth rapid continues. [Your Industry News]

¶   The UK government is cutting subsidies for large solar projects. [Energy Efficiency News]

US:

¶   Climate change is making it harder to produce electricity from all large-scale conventional sources. [Washington Post]

¶   New US solar installations are predicted to approach 4 gigawatts in 2012. [Digitimes] (This is about double what was installed last year, and four times what was installed in 2010)

¶   The US Chamber of Commerce and others have filed briefs supporting Entergy in its suit against Vermont over Vermont Yankee. [Brattleboro Reformer]

¶   Vermont towns are studying how to tax large renewable energy installations. [North Adams Transcript]

¶   Entergy is asking New York state regulators not to allow an electric cable to be put across the bottom of the Hudson River, because of the effect it would have on sturgeon. The power line would bring power from Canada that could replace the power lost if Indian Point closes. Entergy’s Indian Point plant is accused of killing sturgeon by heating the river. [New York Post]

Japan:

¶   Reporting on the announcement of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) on the future of nuclear power in that country is quite varied as to what it means. Some media report that the country will be nuclear free by the 2030s, and others say the goal is 15% reliance by 2030. The actual bottom line appears to be that the DPJ is proposing that no new nuclear plants will be built, existing plants will be decommissioned at age 40, and no plants will be allowed to restart unless they are declared safe, including seismic study. [The Japan Daily Press] and [Economic Times]

¶   TEPCO is planning to hire experts to persuade reluctant residents and government that Kashiwazaki Kariwa, the largest nuclear plant in the world, was safe to restart. [GMA News]

World:

¶   Spain’s oldest nuclear plant will be retired in July of 2013. It will be 42 years old. [Expatica Spain]

¶   A study by a company specializing in waste management and biomass says 107 new gasification plants should be built in the UK by 2030. [Hub 4]

US:

¶   A new bill before the California Legislature would make it possible for renters and home owners to form energy groups generating up to 20 megawatts of renewable power. [JD Supra]

¶   The NRC sent mid-cycle grades on nuclear power plants. Of 103 reactors graded, 62 met all safety requirements, 34 had minor issues to resolve, 6 had what was at called a “degraded level of performance,” and 1 reactor, Browns Ferry, was at a lower, unnamed level below “degraded.” One reactor, Fort Calhoun, which has not run for over a year, did not receive a grade because it has special problems and is getting continuous NRC oversight. [Power Engineering]
… Two things worth noting: First, embattled Vermont Yankee was one of the 62 that met all NRC safety requirements. Second, the 34 reactors with minor issues include one at Crystal River and two at San Onofre, all of which are being evaluated to see whether they are broken beyond repair. [see reports of Sept 1 and August 31]

¶   The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management have released the draft environmental documents needed for a transmission line to carry power from renewable resources in parts of the Tehachapi Mountains and Mojave Desert. The transmission capacity will be 1.1 gigawatts. [North American Windpower]

¶   The National Academies is conducting the study on the Fukushima Disaster, mandated by Congress, for the NRC. The committee formed to address the issue is expected to deliver a report in April of 2014, but has been told it may take five years for key details to be understood, as the buildings will be too unsafe to enter before that time has passed. [Platts]

¶   The NRC has directed its staff to revise the Waste Confidence Rule within 24 months. The old rule has been struck down by the courts, and the NRC will not issue new licenses until it is revised. [Power Engineering]
… The license for Indian Point Unit 2 expires in September of 2013, which makes the situation interesting.  [see report of August 10]

Technology:

¶   Hybrid solar cells, which combine both organic and inorganic semiconductors, have long been researched, but do not have much power output. Now, researchers at Vanderbilt University have found that the addition of a protein extracted from spinach provides a large increase in power. [NBCNews.com]

¶   Robots might save the cost of solar electricity by adjusting solar panels to face the sun. In a large solar array, it can be less costly than giving each panel an independent tracking system. [Forbes]

Japan:

¶   The Japanese Government estimates ending nuclear power in that country by 2030 will require investing ¥50 trillion ($638 billion) on other power sources.  That is about $37.5 billion per year. [The Japan Times]
… The average residential electric bill will increase would be from about $124 to $259 per month, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, which is the most vocal supporter of nuclear power in the Japanese government. [Wall Street Journal]

World:

¶   A small fuel cell CHP system is up and running in Güssing, Austria. [Cogeneration & On-site Power Production Magazine]

¶   Levels of methane in the atmosphere are declining, despite increases in drilling activity. It is believed that better controls may be the cause. [Environmental Expert]

US:

¶   The State of New York says the Indian Point nuclear plant is unnecessary. The Independent Systems Operator was reported to have drawn the opposite conclusion (see August 28 Energy News), but a close reading of their conclusions, and the fact that they are constrained not to base those conclusions on expectations of new power sources, shows they may agree with the state. [newjerseynewsroom.com]

¶   The Electricity Reliability Council of Texas sees solar as a solution to brownouts and blackouts that peak demand has caused during hot times in recent summers. [Austinist]

¶   The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources has adopted the final Massachusetts Renewable Portfolio Standard Class I regulations. It is defining classifications of waste and implementing changes on eligibility and use. [Waste Management World]

¶   US utility, Direct Energy, is offering its customers the option of buying electricity that is 100% renewably produced. [NewNet]

¶   A group of young Republicans, Young Conservatives for Energy Reform, is trying to change the party’s stands on energy, decreasing dependency on fossil fuels for the sake of both security and prosperity. [Inside Climate News]

¶   A new utility in Georgia will build a solar farm to replace a closing coal plant, if the laws giving a monopoly on electrical generation to the coal plant owner can be changed. [Revmodo]

Japan:

¶   The energy and environment committee of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan has proposed abandoning nuclear for generating electricity by the early 2050s, rather than a target of 2030. The proposal includes closing all reactors more than forty years old, restarting only those reactors that have passed strict safety requirements, and building no new reactors. [Asahi Shimbun]

¶   The governments of both Osaka Prefecture and the city of Osaka have formally asked the central government to close the only two reactors running in Japan. Among other things, they criticized the central government for failing to fulfill its obligations on safety. [The Japan Daily Press]

¶   The government is proposing that it promote four specific underdeveloped renewable power sources: offshore wind, tidal and wave energy, geothermal, and biomass.  Combined, these sources produce about 1% of the electricity generated today, and the goal is to increase that to 10% by 2030. [Power Engineering]

¶   The Japanese Environment Ministry has chosen a national forest in Tochigi Prefecture (between Fukushima and Tokyo) as a site for nuclear waste disposal. [The Daily Yomiuri]

World:

¶   Chempolis, a Finnish company, is setting up a biorefinery in India. The company says biorefining can cut Indian oil imports by 25%. [Utility Products]

¶   A third of farmers polled by Barclays said they were planning on investing in renewable energy production over the next two years. Renewable generating is seen as a way of diversifying. [FarmersWeekly]

¶   In Northern Ireland, the green economy is producing more jobs than automotive, financial services, and telecommunications combined. [H&V News]

US:

¶   Ocean Power Technologies is setting up the first commercially licensed grid-connected wave-energy generator in the US. [New York Times]

¶   The political positions of US presidential candidates are very different, and there may be no more glaring difference than their positions on coal. Obama has supported environmental limits. Though he had also done so as governor, Romney now supports relaxation of them. [Resource Investing News]

Technology:

Elon Musk, founder of Tesla, sees a future when solar power supplies the energy for automotive transportation. [TheGreenWebsite.co.uk]

Japan:

¶   Two components of the new Japanese energy policy are that no new nuclear reactors will be built there, and the reactors will not continue to run after they reach a retirement age of forty years. [publics.bg] 

World:

¶   The Metsamor nuclear power plant, in Armenia, is of great concern to the country’s neighbors. It is rated as one of the oldest and least reliable reactors of Soviet design, and it sits in an active earthquake zone. [News.Az]

¶   With a large house, a heated pool, and a number of heated outbuildings, Scottish businessman Paul Basford was facing utility bills of £23,000 ($36,550) per year. Since he decided to use renewable resources, he has been selling power worth a multiple of that. [Brechin Advertiser]

US:

¶   As a new coal-fired generating plant comes online in Indiana, its customers can expect a rate hike of 40% to 100%. [Care2.com]

¶   A community solar bill, designed to add two gigawatts of  renewable power in California, was killed in committee.  The bill would have enabled cooperatives to buy power from shared solar, wind, biomass, geothermal and small hydro power systems. It was killed after intense lobbying by large utilities. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The Prairie Island Indian Community is petitioning the federal government for a deeper look at the risks of on-site storage because outdoor casks holding spent fuel rods likely will remain in place for decades longer than ever intended. Storage casks have leaked in the past, and long-term storage increases the chances of leakage. [Equities.com]

Japan:

¶   Officials in the government of Japan say that the new energy plan due out this month will initially aim to reduce dependence on nuclear power to 15%, with review every five years, and an ultimate target of eliminating nuclear power altogether. [The Japan Times]

World:

¶   Energy storage is an important issue for heavy reliance on renewable power. Since excess energy can be used to make hydrogen, which can be stored and used as fuel, Germany is doing a lot of research in hydrogen technology. [Hydrogen Fuel News]

¶   The Indian government may auction a third of the solar projects planned by 2017 during the current financial year. The hope is find sufficient investments to double the nation’s sun-powered capacity while reducing government subsidies. Solar power is important as an environmentally clean answer for power shortages. [Chicago Daily Herald]

¶   Greenpeace is urging Indian telephone companies to use solar power for cell towers, rather than diesel. [Utility Products]

¶   The Indian State of Odisha state has stopped operations at six mines belonging to Coal India, the world’s largest coal mining company, after their environmental clearances expired. [Reuters]

¶   Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is being accused of being directly responsible for a recent coal allocation scam. In the scam, five blocks of coal, worth $3.3 billion, were allocated without auction. [Oneindia]

US:

¶   After a long environmental fight, two coal-burning generating plants in Chicago were shut down in the last week. [Chicago Tribune]
… Three more coal plants will be closed this week in West Virginia. First Energy, which owns them, will also close coal plants soon in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. The closures are happening because of emissions, particularly of mercury. [WTRF]

¶   A biomass plant being built in Gainsville, Georgia, will produce 100 MW of electricity, enough for 70,000 local homes. It will be fueled by $30 million worth of locally purchased wood scraps each year. It will provide 700 jobs, and $5.5 million each year in tax revenues.  [Gainsville Sun]

Not Energy, but Interesting:

Lamboo, Inc., a company based in Illinois that manufactures engineered bamboo for structural and industrial applications, has designed a ship tender built of renewable material, the world’s first to be made of laminated bamboo. [Galesburg Register-Mail]