Technology:
¶ Two students of Renewable Energy Engineering at Oregon Tech. are trying to commercialize a technology they developed which uses a Cassegrain reflector to concentrate sunlight on a photovoltaic cell. They say they convert 40% of the power of sunlight into electricity, and capture additional thermal power to provide an overall efficiency of 72%. [Ubergizmo]
Japan:
¶ The Japanese Economy Minister, disagreeing with the statement reported yesterday from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, says dropping nuclear power could be good for Japan’s economy, by spurring renewable energy production. [Wall Street Journal]
¶ The CEO of Softbank, Masayoshi Son, says the least expensive approach to electricity costs is to phasing nuclear power out completely. [The Japan Times]
¶ The Japanese Defense Minister wants to keep nuclear plants going because they would make it easy to make nuclear bombs, thus being a military deterrent. [The Japan Times]
¶ The Japanese oil corporation, Inpex, is going into the solar market with the construction of a two megawatt photovoltaic array. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
World:
¶ French grid operator Reseau de Transport d’Electricite says France will face increasing generating shortfalls after 2015, as older coal and nuclear power plants are closed. [BusinessWeek]
¶ And accident in which two workers were burned by steam has raised concerns about the safety of the oldest nuclear plant in France. [OilPrice.com]
¶ The European Union is investigating allegations that Chinese solar panels are being sold in Europe for less than it costs to make them, an anti-competitive practice called “dumping.” [WBRC]
¶ The Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland, addressing a conference on offshore energy, said that offshore wind and waves would provide 70,000 jobs for Ireland, and produce cumulative economic benefit of €150 billion by 2050. [Mayo Today]
¶ John Hayes has landed the top job as energy and climate change minister for the UK. He is quoted as saying, in 2009, “Wind turbines are a terrible intrusion in our flat Fenland landscape. Renewable energy needs to pass the twin tests of environmental and economic sustainability and wind power fails on both counts.” Now he says, “What I have said in the past is on record, but I can’t prejudice policy before it has happened. In my new role I will be researching all aspects of energy conservation and renewables – it’s a very important job.” [Spalding Guardian]
US:
¶ A new coal plant going online in the Midwest is pushing electricity prices for its customers, by much more than its planners originally hoped. Some communities in the area, however, are contracting for renewable power for their electricity and seeing a rate decrease as a result. [CleanTechnica]
¶ The US DOE is providing a loan guarantee for a North Carolina ethanol plant that will be using giant miscanthus as feedstock. Giant miscanthus is a grass that can be grown on marginal lands with little fertilizer, producing significantly more ethanol per acre than corn does. It is a non-invasive perennial. [agprofessiona.com]
¶ The NRC is investigating a mistake in emergency planning at the Columbia Generating Station. Faulty computer modelling would have produced bad results, providing operators with faulty information on radiation releases in event of an accident. Fortunately, no such accident occurred during the eleven years the system was in use. [KPLU News for Seattle and the Northwest]
¶ Physicians for Social Responsibility have sent a letter to the NRC, citing 19 experts as saying the NRC is putting U.S. nuclear non-proliferation policy at risk if it decides not to require a formal nuclear proliferation assessment as part of the licensing process for a uranium laser enrichment facility in Wilmington, N.C. [MarketWatch]
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