History:
¶ Seventy-five years ago this month, in April 1938, a paper was published with the title, “The artificial production of carbon dioxide and its influence on temperature.” [Raw Story]
Opinion:
¶ “Pull plug on Florida nuclear tax” Mark Cooper, an economic analyst with the Vermont Law School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment, discusses laws that allow billing ratepayers in advance for the construction of nuclear reactors. [Clean Energy News]
World:
¶ According to a report published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, 70% of new power generation capacity added between 2012 and 2030 will come from renewable technologies. Wind and solar will account for 30% and 24% respectively. [pv magazine]
¶ New employment figures show that there are currently in excess of 15,000 working in the energy industry in the Scottish Highlands and Islands. [Scotsman] (According to the National Records of Scotland, the population in the Highlands was 222,370 in 2011.)
¶ In the Netherlands, because of hundreds of local initiatives, the solar energy market is growing from the grassroots level, increasing as much as 250 percent in 2012. [InvestorIdeas.com]
¶ Germany—the world’s number four economy and Europe’s number one—has lately provided an impressive model of what a well-organized industrial society can achieve. [EarthTechling]
¶ Once again, a problem with rats has forced the operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to shut down power to one of the facility’s fuel pools. [Radio Australia]
¶ A UN nuclear expert warned today that Japan may need more than 40 years to decommission its tsunami-crippled nuclear plant, saying damage at Fukushima Daiichi is so complex that it is “impossible” to predict how long the cleanup may last. [Morning Star Online]
¶ After a rough stretch of weeks that included storage containers leaking radioactive water and power failures, the U.N. nuclear watchdog has called on the operators of Japan’s battered Fukushima nuclear campus to improve its “essential systems.” [Nature World News]
US:
¶ A new study prepared for the Civil Society Institute suggests that the power grid could integrate and balance many times the current level of renewables with no additional reliability issues. [NJ Spotlight]
¶ Investment in renewable energy in Oregon totals over $9 billion as of the end of 2012. A combination of wind, solar and geothermal projects generates more than $79 million in public revenue and creates an estimated 4,600 jobs. [Oregon Business]
¶ The Watts Bar nuclear power plant has added security patrols after a weekend incident in which an officer exchanged gunfire with a man who then fled on a boat. The FBI and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are investigating the incident. [WXIA-TV]
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