geoharvey

Opinion:

¶   “Stop the fossil-fuel subsidies” Every country in the world would benefit from the honest pricing of energy. [Washington Post]

¶   “Can America Blow Away Nuclear Power?” As wind power produces increasingly long periods of negative prices, nuclear power generators suffer most. We might ask whether this is fair. [Insider Monkey] (I suspect more people would answer ‘yes’ than the author expects.)

World:

¶   Japan’s Prime Minister Abe says that restarting the two undamaged reactors at Fukushima Daiichi and the four reactors at Fukushima Daini would probably not be possible because of local opposition, even if the reactors were safe. [The Daily Yomiuri]

US:

¶   The governor of Maine says the Renewable Energy Standard in that state limits the amount of renewable energy that can be used, and so prevents citizens from getting access to less expensive renewable energy. [St. John Valley Times]

¶   In a recent poll, would-be car buyers were 23% more likely to say they would choose an electric car, if they knew it would be supplied by, wind or small-scale hydroelectric power. [MetroNews Canada]

¶   The US Department of Agriculture is seeking applications to provide assistance to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. [PoliticalNews.me]

World:

¶ The German government is to help Greece develop its renewable energy sector under an agreement signed Thursday by the two countries and an EU taskforce for the debt-laden country. [Capital.gr]

¶ Renewable sources supply 12.5% of India’s electricity. [Press Information Bureau]

¶ When Scotland set its new record for electric power production, the amount it achieved was sufficient for 100% of the country’s residential power demand. [Power Engineering Magazine]

¶ Nuclear power generation is well established, but efforts worldwide to develop permanent disposal sites for highly radioactive waste remain nascent at best. In the US, the Blue Ribbon Commission hopes to have a site operating by 2048. [POWER Magazine]

¶ A report from TEPCO says, “We must sincerely accept that we were unable to draw on human wisdom to prevent [the Fukushima Disaster].” In effect they are saying they should have foreseen the waves that destroyed the plant. [New York Times]

¶ TEPCO is setting up an internal safety organization that is, in theory, independent of the rest of the company. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶ The DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory is looking at an investment practice called securitization to reduce it’s levelized cost of energy down. This could save as much as 16% on an industrial-sized solar project. [Clean Energy Authority]

¶ Two additional water infiltration areas have been discovered at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant’s switchgear rooms. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

Science and Technology:

¶   Closing a nuclear reactor in California has prevented an estimated 4,319 cases of cancer in the past 20 years, according to a new study published in the journal Biomedicine International. [Healthline]

¶   A research project called Combined Power Plant 2 (Kombikraftwerk2) shows how it is possible to provide power using renewable energies while maintaining a stable grid and without increased risk of blackout. [Phys.Org]

¶   Chemists at the University of Calgary, in Canada, have found an efficient way to turn electricity from wind and solar energy into hydrogen, which can be stored and used as needed for stable electrical power. [Huffington Post]

World:

¶   China is now getting more electricity from wind power than from nuclear. [Arabian Gazette]

¶   The Swiss supreme court on Thursday ruled that the country’s Muehleberg nuclear power plant can continue operating beyond the end of June, overturning a cut-off date for decommissioning. [Expatica Switzerland]

¶   The Dutch power grid is undergoing a radical change. With solar photovoltaic panels becoming increasingly cheaper and energy prices continuing to rise, solar energy generated on private roofs is now cheaper than grid energy. [InvestorIdeas.com]

¶   An investigation found that an Osaka non-profit organization has been getting ¥20 million ($212,500) per year from Kansai Electric Power Company to spread pro-nuclear power propaganda. [The Japan Daily Press]

¶   Tohoku Electric has announced that they are cancelling their plans to build a new nuclear power station in Fukushima Prefecture. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   A Gallup poll of Americans on power found 76% supported solar, 71% supported wind, 46% supported production of oil, 37% supported nuclear, and 31% supported coal. [Solar Industry]

¶   Federal regulators have cited the TVA with three violations at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant over thousands of parts the utility purchased that are not documented as nuclear-grade quality. [Chattanooga Times Free Press]

World:

¶   The International Monetary Fund argues that the world “misprices” fossil fuels to the tune of some $1.9 trillion per year, through subsidies, and a big step toward fighting global warming is to stop that practice. [Washington Post]

¶   Feldheim, Germany’s first village powered by 100% renewables, has local energy costs of 16.6 euro cents per kWh are just a little more than half of the 27-30 cents Germans pay on average. [Business Spectator]

¶   The European Commission is trying for a 40% reduction in carbon emissions for 2030. [E2B]

¶   New figures released by Ofgem show wind energy costs UK households 2.67 pence per day. Wind accounted for almost 59% of renewable energy generation in the UK in 2011-2012. [This is Scunthorpe]

¶   Scotland set a record for renewable energy generation last year. The total for the year increased 7% over the previous year. The power generation for the country was 39% from renewables. [Businessweek]

¶   Observed Danish CO2 emissions fell 10.3% in 2012 compared with the previous year. [The Copenhagen Post]

¶   A recent study examining the potential for rooftop photovoltaics in Tokyo to replace nuclear capacity reveals some of the answer is already in place – pumped hydroelectric storage. [Energy Matters]

¶   The Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority will finally start the first official investigation into the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis. [Morning Star Online]

¶   The capital of Taiwan lies inside the evacuation zones of two operational nuclear power plants. Two legislators have proposed moving the capital. [Taipei Times]

US:

¶   Energy analysts at international investment bank Citigroup question assumptions that gas and renewables will compete with each other. [RenewEconomy]

¶   A Maryland-based company wants to build two 2,250-foot-tall solar wind generating tunnels in the Arizona desert that would use downdrafts to provide a gigawatt of renewable energy to the grid. [KCET]

¶   The Brattleboro, Vermont town schools can look forward to saving 10 percent on electricity because of a $130,000 solar net metering credit purchase. [Commons]

¶   The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant reported a failed underground flood seal, compromising the flooding-prevention design of a nerve center where cables from the plant’s control room are routed to the rest of the plant.[Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

Science and Technology:

¶   A study published in the Journal of Power Sources challenges a common belief on the intermittent nature of windpower, coming to the conclusion that fossil fuel and nuclear generating facilities may not be necessary for baseload support after all. [Midwest Energy News]

World:

¶   A study by the German VDE Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies indicates that power storage will only become crucial as Germany approaches having 80% of its power from renewable sources. [KCET]

¶   A report on coal power in Alberta says it costs $300 million for health expenses and leads to nearly 100 premature deaths each year. [Globe and Mail]

¶   Italy got 28.2% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2012. [Electric Light & Power]

¶   Pacific Islands are getting $530 million in funding for renewable energy projects. [NewNet]

¶   Two UK government ministers published a strategy for nuclear power aiming at new construction of 16 GW of nuclear reactors in the next decade. The report does not include details on what the power produced would cost. [Economic Times]

¶   South Korean temporary nuclear waste storage facilities are 70% full. There is no permanent solution in sight. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶   With a fair amount of political drama, the Vermont senate advanced a heavily modified version of a bill on windpower. [Vermont Public Radio]
… The bill was gutted. The parts wind advocates found most objectionable were removed. [vtdigger.org]

¶   The Vermont Supreme Court has dismissed a petition by the New England Coalition to shut down the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

¶   Kyocera Solar and VGI Energy are teaming up to bring solar power to affordable multifamily housing units in Urban Chicago. [Energy Collective]

Science and Technology:

¶   Weird looking marine animals called tunicates may become important for providing both renewable fuel and food for farmed fish. [AZoCleantech]

¶   Vincent Callebaut Architects has designed a series of six sky-high “farmscapers,” futuristic residential and business towers equipped with wind turbines and solar cells to create renewable energy. [New York Daily News] (Personally, I think tunicates are prettier.)

World:

¶   Under budget and ahead of schedule, the Niagara tunnel project has been completed, providing Ontario with a new source of hydro power. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶   Some German nuclear plants have been closed because they were old. The rest of the plants are being closed for safety reasons. What remains is a continued search for an answer to the question of how to deal with the waste. The solution is to form a commission. [Deutsche Welle]

US:

¶   Ernest Moniz, who has been appointed to be energy secretary, has an unusual number of connections to the fossil fuel and nuclear industries, leading some to believe he cannot be even-handed on renewable energy issues. [Facing South]

¶   Vermont’s new commissioner of the Public Service Department wants the NRC to provide more details about the federal agency’s 2012 decision to relicense the nuclear plant, after two equipment failures in one week. [vtdigger.org]

Science and Technology:

¶   New research could help create nuclear batteries that have controllable energy release like conventional batteries but with many times the storage capacity. [The Engineer]
… (The article says the battery depends on natural decay of Bismouth-212. It does not say so, but the radioactive daughter isotopes have extremely short half-lives, and decay into lead-208, which is stable, in minutes.)

World:

¶   The Australian Federal Government has decided to maintain the Renewable Energy Target to ensure at least 20% of Australia’s electricity comes from sources such as solar and wind power by 2020. [eco-business.com]

¶   Pacific countries spend 10% of their GDP on diesel to generate electricity and the region’s leaders are in Auckland lobbying for funds to create renewable energy projects. [TVNZ]

¶   A Democratic Progressive legislator is accusing the Taiwan Power Co of deliberately overestimating future demand and underestimating the future capacity to support projections that a nuclear plant is needed. [Taipei Times]

US:

¶   Proponents of both sides on the fracking debate are in agreement for a voluntary set of tough new standards for hydraulic fracturing in the Northeast that could lead to a major expansion of drilling. [Casper Star-Tribune Online]

¶    Pennsylvania produces 1% of the worlds greenhouse gas emissions, and has new bills to increase the percentage of renewable power in the state’s energy portfolio. An opinion piece from a legislator addresses the need. [The Mercury]

Opinion:

¶   Three expert predictions on renewable energy for 2050: Solar will prevail, Europe will lead, and the world will be 80% to 100% run on sustainable power. [Big Think]

¶   “Accident Highlights Nuclear Peril” A rat gnawing on a cable showed both how vulnerable and how dangerous Fukushima Daiichi is, more than two years after the disaster there. [The Japan Times]

News Analysis:

¶   “Life After Oil and Gas” A reviews of the news leads to a question of how much New York State really needs fossil fuels, as demand can be nearly entirely met with from renewable sources. [New York Times]

World:

¶   United Nations buildings across the world are more efficient and less dependent on fossil fuels. The offices in New York are getting 100% of their electric power from wind. [Electric Light and Power]

¶   Anti-nuclear statements by the Mayor of Taipei show internal disunity of the Kuomintang, Taiwan’s ruling party. [Taipei Times]

US:

¶   Thanks to recent opportunities in community solar and crowdfunding, we may see a renewable energy market in America where everyone wins. [EarthTechling]

¶   In Washington State, officials of the Cowlitz County Public Utility District, who vehemently fought a losing battle against an energy mandate six years ago, are now fighting to prevent changes to the it. [Longview Daily News]

World:

¶   Associated Press reports that Suntech, one of the largest manufacturers of solar panels in the world, has been pushed into bankruptcy following a missed $541 million payment to bondholders. [New York Injury News]

¶   About 75% of Germans polled said they prefer an unrestricted shift to green energy and rejected the plan to cap electricity price increases proposed last month by the environment and economic ministers. [Electric Light & Power]

¶   The European Commission wants to impose huge fines on several of its member states for failing to put EU renewable energy laws into national legislation. [Energy Live New]

¶   The UK’s renewable energy industry welcomed new figures that show support for wind power last year cost consumers less than three pence per day. [Business Green]

¶   The mayor of Taipei City, considered a star of the ruling Kuomintang, has spoken out against a fourth nuclear being built for Taiwan. [Focus Taiwan News Channel]

US:

¶   Massachusetts is set to have 250 MW of solar capacity four years ahead of the state’s 2017 goal, and showed a price decline of 29% year over year from 2011, so the goal could be expanded. [WWLP 22 News]

¶   Google has spent billions on renewable energy projects. The investment has not been just to benefit the environment. It was made with a goal to making a profit in the future. [NASDAQ]

¶   The CEO of Dominion Resources is warning against excessive reliance on natural gas, as prices will increase. [Fox Business]

¶   The owners of the San Onofre nuclear plant may seek changes to its operating license as they look for the quickest way to return the facility to service. [Reuters]

¶   Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE, says his company is backing a broad range of energy options, including coal, natural gas, solar, wind and nuclear but is cautious about the outlook for nuclear. [The Australian]

World:

¶   Regional demand in Africa and the Middle East for solar photovoltaic power will reach 1000 MW in 2013, a 625% year-to-year increase from 2012′s 136 MW. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Motions that state-owned Taiwan Power Co suspend construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District were passed yesterday by the legislature’s Economics Committee. [Taipei Times]

US:

¶   Only a year after being given a D rating on power by Greenpeace, Apple is 100% renewable for its data centers. [Businessweek]

¶   The California grid will support 33% renewable power by 2020. [Electric Light & Power]

¶   The NRC decision on vents for boiling water nuclear reactors is controversial. The new vents’ filters will be under study for a year before a decision is made on whether they are required. [RenewablesBiz]

¶   Restarting one of the crippled San Onofre nuclear reactors this summer would cost Southern California Edison’s customers three times as much as keeping it shut down. [YubaNet]

¶   Anti-nuclear organizations in three states say Entergy is not financially qualified to operate nuclear reactors and are calling for the NRC to enforce its regulations on the matter. [vtdigger.org]

¶   The cost of a plant to turn weapons-grade plutonium into nuclear fuel has risen from $4.9 billion to $7.7 billion. The project was supposed to be finished in 2016, but that date has been pushed back to 2019. [Businessweek]

¶   Entergy is taking the State of New York to court to prevent it from interfering with the relicensing process for the Indian Point nuclear plant. [Courthouse News Service]

Opinion:

¶   We can protect the environment and develop renewable energy at the same time in Vermont, and Senate Bill 30 will make that a more difficult goal. [vtdigger.org]

Science and Technology:

¶   Green energy produces more jobs than fossil fuels or nuclear. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   In a statement from GDV, the German insurance trade body, Germany’s insurers said they want politicians and regulators to ease rules restricting their ability to invest in renewable energy and infrastructure. [Business Spectator]

¶   If renewable energy grows at its current rate until 2020, Germany will have to struggle with “dramatic over-production of electricity”, according to the Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Environment Ministry. [Electric Light & Power]

¶   The global market for utility-scale renewable energy storage technologies is projected to reach $33.6 billion by 2018, primarily driven by the growing contribution of solar and wind energy. [Renew Grid]

¶   The power outage that stopped cooling for four spent fuel pools at Fukushima Daiichi, a matter of grave concern possibly leading to much worse problems, was caused by a rat gnawing on a cable. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶   A San Antonio-based refiner has agreed to purchase algae-derived “green” crude oil from Sapphire Energy’s algae farm in Columbus, N.M. [San Antonio Express]

¶   The US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory released a study saying the US can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector by over 80% by 2050. [Fuel Cell Today]

¶   The American Legislative Exchange Council has joined with other agenda-driven political groups to dismantle the Renewable Portfolio Standard in every state that has one. [Natural Resources Defense Council]

¶   The Vermont Senate has delayed a vote on Senate Bill 30, which would make it more difficult to build wind farms, apparently to allow absent supporters to return before the vote is taken. [Vermont Public Radio]

¶   Changes in the energy marketplace have forced Entergy Nuclear to write down the value of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant from $517 million to $162 million. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

¶   Vermont’s Governor Shumlin is confident the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant will be closed down, if not by courts then by economic necessity. [Vermont Public Radio]

Science and Technology:

¶   Teenager Sara Volz  built an efficient algae-based biofuel lab under her bed. It won her a $100,000 four-year scholarship from the Science Talent Search. [ExtremeTech]

World:

¶   The German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg plans to install a further 1,000 wind turbines by 2020 to meet its renewable energy targets. [Utility Products]

¶   A refuelling problem at a nuclear reactor in New Brunswick could cost the utility $400,000 to $600,000 a day in replacement power. [Brandon Sun]

¶   The Japanese NRA is giving an exemption to the Ohi nuclear plant so it can continue running to the end of summer. Ohi is Japan’s only operating facility, but it is sitting on an active geological fault. [The Japan Daily Press]

¶   Power has been restored, and cooling systems for all spent fuel pools at Fukushima Daiichi are running once again. [The Associated Press]

¶   The Hinkley Point nuclear plant in Somerset has been given per mission for construction, but it is still very unclear whether work will ever begin because of economics. [Construction News]

¶   Former state nuclear physicist He Zuoxiu says China is heading for a nuclear accident if it continues with current construction plans, and it is highly probable that it will happen before 2030. [chinadialogue]

US:

¶   The US could cut fuel emissions from vehicles by 80% by 2050, according to a National Research Council report. [Los Angeles Times]

¶   The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities announced that New Jersey now has over 1000 MW of installed solar capacity. [The Sparta Independent]

¶   An attempt to kill the renewable energy standard in Kansas has failed. [Topeka Capital Journal]

¶   The NRC voted 3 to 2 to require improvements to the emergency vents at 31 American boiling water reactors. [New York Times]

¶   The NRC says a decision on a restart of a reactor at San Onofre, expected in April, will be delayed until May or June. [abc7.com]

World:

¶   The spent fuel pools for Fukushima Daiichi’s Units 1, 2, and 4 have all lost cooling because of a power loss. The cause of the power loss is unknown, and temperatures are rising. [AFP]
… TEPCO says power has been partly restored. [Businessweek]

¶   Suntech, one of China’s leading solar panel manufacturers, has defaulted on a $541 million bond payment. [The Guardian]

¶   A poll says 62% of people in Scotland would favor large-scale wind projects in their local council area, more than double the number (24%) who said they would support shale gas. Nuclear got 32% support. [Energy Live News]

¶   In Germany, renewable power is growing fast, nuclear is falling. A series of graphs illustrate the point. [RenewEconomy]

US:

¶   Thanks to technology advances, competition and state Renewable Portfolio Standards, the average price utilities spend for renewable energy has come way down. [SustainableBusiness.com]

¶   Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont are working together to fast-track a joint solicitation aimed at creating a significant buyer’s market for renewable energy and driving down its costs in New England [Platts]

¶   The Electric Reliability Council of Texas says the cost of integrating wind to the grid is cheap – $0.50 per MWh. [Greentech Media]

¶   The NRC is concerned about the potential for flooding at two nuclear plants owned by the TVA. [Greenville Daily Reflector]

¶   A report on San Onofre says the plant could hit the full-power mark, but it would be too risky to remain at that level for more than 11 months. The owners say that means the plant meets the NRC safety parameters for restart. [Albany Democrat Herald]

Opinion:

¶   “Fossil-fuel interests unfairly trash renewable energy.” [The Providence Journal]

Science and Technology:

¶   Solar power, having now surpassed the 100 GW threshold, has finally arrived. It is good to go, in many places, without subsidies. [Triple Pundit]

World:

¶   Global clean energy investment reached $250 billion in 2012. [Times of India]

¶   Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark are planning together for a future where renewable energy will meet most of the local demand. The renewable power source most talked about is tidal. [Channel Television]

¶   The UK’s Southwest is falling behind in building renewable resources, and could miss out on 24,000 new jobs as a result. [Insider Media]

¶   A deal on the price of power from nuclear reactors in Somerset, expected Tuesday, is still far away. [This is Money]

¶   Only 29 Japanese local governments have been able to produce required evacuation plans for nuclear emergency. The other 127 are late. [The Daily Yomiuri]

US:

¶   Southern California energy providers called for specific legislation federal lawmakers can enact, not only to support California policies, but to benefit the entire country, environmentally and economically. [ThinkProgress]

¶   The U. S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has cleared the way for a 130-square-mile research are for offshore wind off the coast of Virginia. [MarineLink]

¶   The NRC is having a webinar tomorrow on the question of pressurized thermal shock at the Palisades reactor. Participants need to register today. [Michigan Radio]

World:

¶   The Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is planning 30,000 MW of renewable power for the time of 2012 to 2017. [Press Information Bureau]

¶   The Bank of America is talking about putting put $50 billion up for support of the renewable energy sector in Bangladesh. [Financial Express Bangladesh]

¶   Abu Dhabi has opened a 100 MW concentrated solar plant, increasing its solar output by a factor of ten. [Businessweek]

¶   A new UK tax on gas and coal-fired power stations will increase profits for wind farms. [Telegraph.co.uk]

¶   The CEO of Areva has been lobbying the European Commission for support for new nuclear stations while demanding cuts in both renewable energy subsidies and aid for poor people needing fuel. [The Independent]

¶   The decision to build a nuclear plant in Somerset will be announced March 19. The costs are believed to include an unbreakable contract for construction and power at double the current rate. [Express.co.uk]

¶   Windfarms do not cause illness, other than the alarm spread by opponents, an Australian study has found. [The Guardian]

¶   The record for the most radioactive fish found near Fukushima Daiichi has been broken once again. [Times LIVE]

US:

¶   Clean Line Energy Partners wants to build a $2 billion, 500-mile high-voltage transmission lines to move wind-generated electricity from Iowa to Chicago. [Sioux City Journal]

¶   The 10th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals rejected a challenge by the energy industry attempting to force the Secretary of the Interior to issue oil and gas leases on public lands in Utah and Wyoming. [Kansas City infoZine]

¶   Wisconsin is missing out on a wave of solar power development that’s going on around the country. Wisconsin utilities seem to want to make sure that continues. [MENAFN.COM]

¶   Cleanup at the Hanford nuclear reservation is mired in arcane issues, slowing things down for years and costing billions. [OregonLive.com]

Science and Technology:

¶   Researchers from the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, are working on technology that could turn carbon dioxide into liquid and gaseous fuels. [Hydrogen Fuel News]

¶   Scientists at Transatomic Power, a nuclear reactor design company with affiliation to MIT, claim to have developed a “Waste-Annihilating Molten Salt Reactor” that uses nuclear waste efficiently. [Nature World News]

¶   We have more information on the reliability of wind power, continuing comments in an article that was referenced here on March 12, “Is baseload power more reliable than wind?” [Climate Spectator]

World:

¶   Highland councillors are being advised by planning officials to back controversial plans to construct the world’s largest offshore wind farm off the Scottish coast. The project will cost £4.5 billion and have 339 turbines. [Power Engineering Magazine]

¶   A royal advisor has slammed Government proposals to guarantee a minimum price for the electricity generated by EDF Energy for the next 30-40 years, saying it was a “£50 billion bet on the wholesale price of energy”. [East Anglian Daily Times]

¶   Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party has dropped six of eight members who voted to completely phase out the use of nuclear power from the all-new post-Fukushima energy policy advisory board to the government. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   A report from Pike Research says we can expect US grid storage capacity to expand by 56 GW over the next decade, driven by wind and solar installations. [The Green Optimistic]

¶   The Vermont Senate will debate a bill next week that would give towns much more authority to ban projects. Many environmentalists object to the bill. [Rutland Herald]

¶   Owners of the San Onofre nuclear plant want to collect $768.5 million from Southern California utility customers to pay for the steam generator replacement project that failed. [U-T San Diego]

¶   Several Cape Cod towns have ballot referendums on closing the Plymouth nuclear plant. [Cape Cod Today]

World:

¶   Danish farmers are increasingly interested in investing in renewable energy, particularly solar, simply because it is very good business to do so. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶   An independent panel said the operator of Japan’s tsunami-crippled nuclear plant misinformed investigators and blocked equipment inspections last year, but that it was not part of a cover-up. [Washington Post]

US:

¶   A report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory says that wind power may be a good hedge against rising prices for natural gas, and now is a good time to make that hedge. [Energy Collective]

¶   American wind power’s generation increased 117% last year, and produced more than 10% of the electricity in nine states, up from five states in 2011. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   The renewable energy market is expected to double by 2022, despite low prices for natural gas. [U.S. News & World Report]

¶   The federal government approved three renewable energy projects combine to produce enough energy for 340,000 homes. NextEra Energy as a 750 MW solar project; the others are a 150 MW solar farm and a 200 MW wind farm. [Chicago Tribune]

Opinion:

¶   Renewable power is under attack because it works and is threatening financially to fossil fuel and nuclear interests. [Deming Headlight]

World:

¶   The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development recognizes the significance of Italian policies for renewable energy in its “Environmental Performance Review: Italy 2013” report. [solarserver.com]

¶   The European Commission’s draft paper on energy targets says the EU must cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40% and increase renewable energy to 30% by 2030. [Reuters]

¶   After taking a hit in 2011 from losing nuclear power plants, E.ON has returned to making a solid profit in 2012. [Expatica Germany]

¶   India’s leading solar project developer, Welspun Energy Ltd., has commissioned Asia’s largest solar power facility in the state of Rajasthan ahead of schedule. [Ecoseed]

US:

¶   Some environmental groups are blocking renewable energy projects [by focusing narrowly on local damage without weighing global impact]. [Forbes]

¶   A study to be published in the journal Energy Policy, finds it possible to power New York state by wind, water and sunlight, while creating jobs and cutting costs. [Siliconrepublic.com]

¶   As national standards require increased use of renewable transportation fuels by 2022, Maine is positioned to be a leader in wood-based cellulosic ethanol production and use. [Bangor Daily News]

¶   Five companies are interested in developing wind farms in the ocean off North Carolina. [News & Observer]

¶   The New York State Senate passed legislation to help encourage the installation of renewable energy technologies by making them more cost efficient and accessible. [Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production Magazine]

Opinion:

¶   “Reuters Goes All CleanTechnica On Solar Power & Utility Profits.” The director of CleanTechnica, reflects on an article from Reuters, known for dry and neutral reporting, that says utilities will be dinosaurs of the energy world. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶   A dynamic technology from Siemens should make it possible to store wind and solar-generated electricity that would previously have gone unused by converting excess power into hydrogen. [PACE Today]

¶   New Energy Technologies, working with the US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is developing a solar cell that can be an invisible coating on window glass. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   A World Development Movement report says close links between senior government ministers and the oil industry favor a high carbon energy policy pushing the planet to the brink of climate catastrophe. [Greenwise Business]

¶   Problems abound as Japan commemorates the second anniversary of the tsunami and Fukushima Disaster. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   Nearly one in six U.S. nuclear reactors experienced safety breaches last year due in part to poor oversight by federal regulators, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. [Oakland Press]

Opinion:

¶   “Graph of the Day: Even France could go 100% to renewables” [RenewEconomy]

¶   “Analysis – Renewables turn utilities into dinosaurs of the energy world” [Interactive Investor]

Science and Technology:

¶   “Where has all the ice gone?” The Earth Policy Institute tracks glacial melting. [InvestorIdeas.com]

¶   The power from solar and wind generators can be stored in the form of hydrogen. At Hanover Messe, 130 companies show off their technologies. [Nanotechnology News]

¶   Controlled whirlwinds can be used to generate electrical power. [Geekosystem]

World:

¶   Italy’s ERG more than doubled its core earnings in the fourth quarter, helped by an improved performance at its renewable energy and power and gas businesses, as it shifts from volatile refining. [Climate Spectator]

US:

¶   The US has a trade surplus in the solar trade with China, according to Pew Charitable Trust. [United Press International, Asia]

¶   Palo Alto, California, has instituted 100% renewable energy purchases. [Virtual-Strategy Magazine]

¶   As coal plants retire, and new sources of power come online, the grid is being upgraded. PJM has $5 billion in upgrades in the pipeline. [Platts]

¶   The Union of Concerned Scientists released its report on near-misses in nuclear plants. [The Advocate]

Science and Technology:

¶   Initial marketing tests show customers are strongly inclined to buy algae-based diesel fuel. [Autochannel]

Economics:

¶   The massive global increase of installed solar PV-systems has an enormous impact on the position of energy utilities, which need to compensate with changes to their business models. [InvestorIdeas.com]

¶   Fossil fuels are the fastest growing energy source. [Commodities Now]

World:

¶   In the UK, Hinkley Point’s nuclear power plans are under threat, as talks between owner EDF  and the Government reach crisis point, and could fail at any time. [South West Business]

¶   In Gujarat, India, forty-five hundred farmers walked out of a public meeting on a new nuclear power plant in protest. [Times of India]

¶   Weekly anti-nuclear rallies are continuing in Japan. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶   The sequester means a cut of 8.7% in renewable energy grants. [Greentech Media]

¶   The proposed New Hampshire moratorium on wind power is being held in committee over the summer. [New Hampshire Public Radio]

¶   There may be more storage tanks leaking at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation than the six we have already been told about. [OregonLive.com]

¶   There are mixed reactions to the appointment of Ernest Moniz, an advocate of both nuclear power and hydro fracking, to the position of Energy Secretary. [Energy Collective]

¶   Fire safety improvements the NRC required at the Oconee nuclear plant for 2012 are still not completed. The owners, who already failed to get the NRC to give them until the end of 2014, now say they cannot do them until 2016. [Anderson Independent Mail]

Economics:

¶   The fossil fuel industry’s party is about to end, according to Deutsche Bank and Standard and Poor’s. [RenewEconomy]

Science and Technology:

¶   Alta Devices has reached 30.8% solar cell efficiency from the company’s first implementation of a new generation solar cell technology. [SYS-CON Media]

World:

¶   Renewable energies can give hard-pressed farmers in the UK an important alternate source of income. [meatinfo.co.uk]

¶   Members of the UK parliament’s Energy Select Committee are warning that the government needs to plan for what happens if it cannot get new nuclear reactors built. [Telegraph.co.uk]

US:

¶   The greatest obstacle to taking advantage of the rich wind resources of  Texas is a need for new transmission lines. [El Paso Inc.]

¶   Some conservative lawmakers are souring on nuclear power because of its high costs. [NBC 29 News]

World:

¶   Tokelau, which has a grid supplied 100% by solar power, is taking on the fossil fuel industries. Their cry is, “We are not drowning, we are fighting.” And they are asking the rest of the world to join them in their fight. [Bay Area Indymedia]

¶   The CEO of Vestas, the world’s largest wind turbine company, met with the President of the Philippines, to talk about more wind power. The Philippines already has ambitious goals for renewable power. [4-traders]

US:

¶   Tidal power is making progress in Maine. [Co.Exist]

¶   The US budget sequestration is reducing available incentives for clean energy. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Warren Buffet is putting substantial amounts of money into investments in renewable energy. [MINING.com]

¶   The sequester is reducing the budget for nuclear waste cleanup, which is delaying progress at the Hanford site in Washington, where six tanks are known to be leaking highly toxic radioactive material. [Idaho Business Review]

¶   The US may eventually phase out nuclear power for economic reasons. [Newsroom America]