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]
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