News not in mainstream media:
¶ Six US nuclear reactors were shut down over the weekend. Three of these did so unexpectedly. Additionally, one that was down for refueling had problems found with the reactor head. The current status is that 15 US reactors are not generating. [US Nuclear Power Report]
World:
¶ According to Oxfam, European biofuel targets will cost drivers more and cause starvation in poor countries. [Telegraph.co.uk]
¶ The UK will soon be importing electrical power from Ireland, through a transmissions system linking the two countries. Ireland is projected to produce much more wind power than it will consume, and will help the UK meet its energy goals. [H&V News]
¶ A Solar electric system funded by New Zealand Aid and installed by engineering students from the University of Canterbury, makes electrical power reliable enough in Tonga for students to use computers. [Radio New Zealand International]
¶ A building under construction in Germany is set to provide the first real-life test for a bio-reactive façade. The system uses live micro-algae growing in glass louvers both to provide shade. The algae are harvested for biomass. [Architecture and Design]
US:
¶ Solar installations in the US are being led by major retail chains to provide for local operations. The chains, motivated largely to save expenses, include Walgreens, Walmart, Costco, Kohl’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, Ikea, and Staples. They are installing solar power in all states. [Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal]
¶ Seismic activity has returned at the Bayou Corne sinkhole. Drillers have hit gas pockets at depths as small as 50 to 90 feet. There is fear that natural gas is escaping into the Mississippi River Alluvial Aquifer, as there are 51 oil and gas-related caverns in the 1-mile by 2-mile salt dome storage facility. [Examiner.com]
¶ Protesters took to boats on the Connecticut River to protest Vermont Yankee’s thermal pollution. The waste thermal energy VY gives off is sufficient to heat every home in Vermont, and most of it winds up in the river, where it kills fish and other aquatic life. [Brattleboro Reformer]
¶ Subsidies for renewable energy are changing. Some have expired, and some are coming to an end, unless they are to be extended. Some have been extended. They exist at all levels of government, and [Wall Street Journal]
geoharvey 
Leave a comment