Science and Technology:
¶ Harmless low-energy nuclear reactions may take place routinely inside compact fluorescent lightbulbs, lithium-ion batteries, catalytic converters, and bacterial processes. There are implications for generating electricity. [Forbes]
¶ Two new studies suggest the cause of health complaints by people living near wind farms could in fact be down to the scare campaign of the anti-wind groups and reports about such scares in the media. [De Smog Blog]
World:
¶ The chief executive of RWE npower, one of Britain’s biggest energy giants, has blasted Government plans to encourage new nuclear plants. [Mirror.co.uk]
¶ A secret French government report leaked to the press says the cost of an accident at a single reactor could amount to over three times the country’s GDP. [OilPrice.com]
US:
¶ Lawmakers have proposed a draft bill that would charge the largest industrial polluters a fee for, or carbon tax on, their fossil-fuel emissions. [National Geographic]
¶ Defying conventional wisdom about the limits of wind power, in 2012 both Iowa and South Dakota generated close to a quarter of their electricity from wind farms. [InvestorIdeas.com]
¶ Over 150 businesses in Vermont agree that Senate Bill 30 is an unbalanced piece of legislation that will upend decades of well-planned, statewide energy permitting, stifle jobs and restrict access to affordable, clean energy. [Green Energy Times]
¶ Legislation to boost development of small hydropower projects was introduced Wednesday in the U.S. Senate. [RenewablesBiz]
¶ The US Interior Secretary says his department is developing standards for fracking that include disclosure of the chemicals used. [FuelFix]
¶ Wind power has come to the point that it is regularly forcing some nuclear plants to sell power at negative prices. [Money Talks News]
¶ New Bedford, Massachusetts, is posturing for a leadership position in the offshore wind industry. [SustainableBusiness.com]
¶ The owner a South Carolina power and natural gas utility would save consumers almost $10 billion over 40 years by scrapping two nuclear reactors it’s constructing and instead building gas-fired plants, according to a report. [Bloomberg]
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