Technology:
An assistant professor at Purdue University has invented a power inverter that is much less expensive and lighter, enabling less expensive renewable power. [Power Engineering Magazine]
Japan:
¶ Three Japanese firms are planning a submarine pipeline to bring natural gas from Russia to Japan. The pipeline will be 870 miles long, beginning on Sakhalin Island and ending near Tokyo. [The Japan Daily Press]
World:
¶ Stephan Kohler, who heads the German agency overseeing the country’s electricity grid, said that the current strong expansion of wind, solar and other renewable power sources will easily top the official target of 35% by 2022, and will hit nearly 50% by 2025. [Las Vegas Sun]
¶ South Korea shut down two nuclear reactors after discovering that they had parts with forged quality certificates. The plant operator found that 7,682 items had forged certificates. [CNN]
¶ The Group of 20 (G20) key global released a new manual on practices dealing with natural disasters. The Fukushima Disaster is an example of why disaster preparations must go beyond traditional practices. [Global Times]
¶ Smaller-scale renewable energy projects in Scotland are estimated to be generating £200m worth of power per year. Scotland now has about 280 independent, commercial-scale projects with a total capacity of 750 MW. [Click Green]
US:
¶ Hurricane Sandy has put global warming back into focus as a political issue. [CTV News]
¶ The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission ordered Xcel Energy to submit a study on financial viability of operating the state’s largest coal-burning power plant with added pollution control or to explore renewable alternatives. [Minnesota Daily]
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