Essay:
¶ “Life in a Real Nuclear Wasteland” Strange illnesses in one of the most contaminated towns in the world challenge what we think we know about the dangers of radioactivity. [Slate Magazine]
Science and Technology:
¶ The DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Stanford University have teamed up to produce a super-thin solar cell. The cell is first printed on water and transferred to its final surface. [The Green Optimistic]
World:
¶ A new financial crisis may be looming, as fossil fuel companies plow hundreds of billions each year into finding assets they will probably be unable to use, and so may turn out to have no value. [Blue & Green Tomorrow]
¶ Renewable power in Germany continues to grow quickly. For a period of three hours on April 18, output of renewable power in Germany exceeded the combined output of coal, gas, and nuclear. [RenewEconomy]
¶ Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced that a battery with a storage capacity of around 60 megawatt hours will be installed in Hokkaido, to help provide a stable electricity supply generated from solar as well as wind power sources. [EcoSeed]
¶ In the Pew Charitable Trust’s fourth annual report, Who’s Winning the Clean Energy Race? 2012 Edition, Pew and Bloomberg New Energy Finance found that while investment dropped from 2011 to 2012 in G20 countries, it was up by more than 50 percent in non-G20 countries. [Greentech Media] (In G20 countries, costs dropped, so even with less investment, more capacity was added.)
¶ Électricité de France (EDF), which has been negotiating to build the nuclear plant at Hinkley Point, has not got agreement on a long-term price of electricity and is unlikely to decide on the project for at least another three months. [New Civil Engineer]
… EDF is preparing to let the talks fail. [Businessweek]
US:
¶ States, not Congress, are taking the lead on climate change laws – from a new cap-and-trade program in California to widespread adoption of renewable electricity standards. Moves to weaken those standards aren’t gaining traction in state capitals. [Christian Science Monitor]
¶ Both reactors at Arkansas Nuclear One remain shut down since the accident on Easter. Unit 2 is expected to return to service in a few weeks, but there is no forecast on Unit 1. [KARK]
¶ The Senate Energy Committee has endorsed the nomination of physicist Ernest Moniz to lead the Energy Department by a vote of 21-1. [Businessweek]
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