Opinion:
¶ “The Experts: What Renewable Energy Source Has the Most Promise?” [Wall Street Journal]
World:
¶ The world needs “strong, credible and long-term commitments” to reduce heat-trapping greenhouse gases across the economy and prevent catastrophic global warming, says a new report released Wednesday by the International Energy Agency. [Vancouver Sun]
¶ Ickworth House, a UK National Trust site in west Suffolk has been included in a multimillion pound pilot scheme to slash fossil fuel use. [East Anglian Daily Times]
¶ A German village is running a biodigester in a configuration providing combined heat and power. The available heat has attracted industrial jobs. [FarmersWeekly]
¶ Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh expressed serious concern over the “painfully slow” progress of climate change talks, and said India had launched itself to double the renewable energy capacity to 55000 MW by 2017. [The Hindu]
¶ Though global investment in renewable energy dropped 11%, to $269 billion in 2012, renewable energy installations grew by a record 88,000 MW, according to a report released today by the Pew Charitable Trusts. [National Journal]
US:
¶ A project to build one of the world’s largest solar energy complexes on contaminated farmland in California’s Central Valley has finally moved from the drawing board to the review process. The land is contaminated by minerals from irrigation. [Natural Resources Defense Council]
¶ Solar power and other distributed renewable energy technologies could lay waste to U.S. power utilities and destroy the utility business model, which has remained virtually unchanged for a century. [Grist.org]
¶ In a media conference call, renewable fuel industry leaders said today that U.S. agriculture is making impressive strides in sustainability, allowing producers to provide food, feed, fuel, fiber and fuel in an environmentally sensitive manner. [Agri-Pulse]
¶ Experts in renewable energy say the recent drop in investment is not a cause for alarm. [NJBIZ]
¶ Two European renewable-energy experts will visit Brattleboro next week to discuss the challenges and economic opportunities they’ve found in moving away from dependence on fossil fuels. [Brattleboro Reformer]
¶ NRG Energy Inc, one of the biggest power generators in the United States, could offer at least three plants in response to New York’s request for proposals for units that could replace the giant Indian Point nuclear plant, NRG said Wednesday. [MSN Money]
¶ If the US stops using coal, shuts down a quarter of existing nuclear reactors, and trims its use of natural gas by 2050, the increased reliance on wind, solar and other renewables will not result in a less reliable electricity grid, according to a new report. [InvestorIdeas.com]
¶ Faulty steam generators are not the only problems facing the San Onofre nuclear power plant. The state will soon require all power plants to change their “once–through” ocean cooling systems to avoid killing marine life. [KPBS]
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