Opinion:
¶ Nuclear Power and Superstorms Don’t Mix. [Time]
Technology:
¶ ABB, a Swiss engineering company, has designed a new high voltage DC circuit breaker, solving one part of the problem of long distance electricity transmission. [Power Engineering International]
¶ Japanese researchers are proposing solar PV systems that double as sails for ships. [The Japan Daily Press]
¶ An old process that turned sugar into acetone for making gunpowder has been revisited for making fuels, with some success. [Economic Times]
Japan:
¶ Geothermal power may have an important place in the energy future of Japan. [The Green Optimistic]
¶ Seven Japanese companies have combined forces to open the largest solar and wind power project in the country to date. The PV capacity is 50 MW and the wind capacity is 6 MW. [PV-Tech]
World:
¶ The UK’s National Audit Office, says an “intolerable risk” is being posed by hazardous waste stored in run-down buildings at Sellafield nuclear plant. It says there is no long-term plan for waste, and costs of plant-decommissioning has also spiraled out of control. [BBC]
¶ Norwegian energy firm Statkraft will expand its Lower Roessaaga hydro power plant’s capacity by 90 MW. Hydro power already accounts for 95% of the electricity produced in the country. [Reuters Africa]
¶ Spain is signing into the Desertec Sahara Solar Project. [Businessweek]
US:
¶ The Obama victory is likely to extend renewable energy tax credits. [Businessweek]
¶ The NRC will consider a request by Friends of the Earth to keep San Onofre shut down until its licence is formally amended and current safety concerns have been addressed. [KCET]
¶ A new hybrid generating system, based on sun and wind, will be first built in California. [Hydrogen Fuel News]
¶ A study by Clean Power Research shows that solar power in New Jersey and Pennsylvania delivers value to the electric grid that exceeds its cost by a large margin, making it a bargain for energy consumers. [Melodika.net]
¶ Energy efficiency and increasing use of other power sources has cut US dependence on coal for electricity from 50 percent to 34 percent in just five years. Carbon emissions and acid rain have been reduced, air quality and human health have improved, and the cost of electricity has gone down. [Bangor Daily News]
geoharvey 