VERMONT:
¶ A HUGE solar project is starting up in Vermont. The 200-megawatt project will use 800,000 panels. Training for the first 500 employees will begin this winter. Other, similar projects are planned to follow. [Green Energy Times]
Technology:
¶ A new, anti-reflective surface developed at the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory increases the efficiency of solar cells dramatically. The surface uses nanostructures to achieve 18.2% efficiency. [CleanTechnica]
Back to the Future:
¶ Sailing merchant ships are appearing once again, some traditional, and some of more modern design. [CNN]
Japan:
¶ A group of farmers in Fukushima Province are growing rice with 3% of the limit for radiation, from contaminated fields. To do this, they are using techniques learned from the Chernobyl disaster or developed on their own. [The Japan Times]
¶ Nobel Prize-winning writer Kenzaburo Oe was among the leaders of a rally in Tokyo to protest the resumption of construction of a new nuclear power plant in Aomori Prefecture. [Asahi Shimbun]
World:
¶ Mexican President Calderon inaugurated the first utility-scale solar power plant in Latin America, in the northwestern state of Baja California. [Hispanically Speaking News]
¶ An 80% drop in the price of solar cells over the past five years is helping Pakistan overcome its energy crisis. [The Express Tribune]
US:
¶ Environmental groups are questioning the economics of a nuclear reactor power uprate for Prairie Island. The question has implications for other uprates. [Equities.com]
¶ Complicated laws, resistance from power companies, poor tax incentives, and an emphasis on nuclear energy have kept solar power from achieving success in sunny South Carolina. [equities.com]
geoharvey 
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