Archive for September 27th, 2012

September 27 Energy News

September 27, 2012

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]