Technology:
¶ Scientists at the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory have learned things about relationships between biomass cell wall structure and enzyme digestibility that could lead to optimizing sugar yields and lowering the costs of making biofuels. [Ethanol Producer Magazine]
Japan:
¶ New tapes released by TEPCO, from the days after the beginning of the Fukushima Disaster, show how information was lost as corporate managers went into denial. [New York Times]
… Meanwhile, radioactive water was rising in buildings to the point it would flow to the sea and nothing was being done. [Asahi Shimbun]
¶ Many cleanup workers at Fukushima Daiichi have received doses of radiation well above acceptable limits of safety. [Asahi Shimbun]
World:
¶ In the UK, political disagreements and shifting government positions have hindered investment in renewable energy. [Power Engineering International]
US:
¶ The American Automobile Association is calling for the government to stop the sale of the E-15 blend of ethanol and gasoline, saying it can damage car engines. [Radio Iowa]
¶ The US Senate has passed a bill allowing the military to buy biofuels and renewable power, even if it costs more than conventional fuel. [PennEnergy]
Vermont:
¶ The Vermont Public Service Board told Entergy it will take the company’s failures to fulfill promises and provide truthful information into account when it makes a final decision on granting a Certificate of Public Good for Vermont Yankee. [Reuters]
¶ Vermont Yankee is losing its contract to use the Vernon Dam as a backup power source, as the owners of the dam have refused to renew it. Entergy wants to install a backup generator. [vtdigger.org]
¶ The trial of six elderly women for trespassing at Vermont Yankee provided some interesting moments. [Consortium News]
geoharvey 