World:
¶ Eleven European companies have joined forces for development of power-to-gas, a concept to use electricity to make natural gas. Renewable electricity is used to make hydrogen, which is catalyzed with carbon dioxide to make methane. [Fox Business]
¶ Finnish forest products company, UPM, has begun testing of a synthetic diesel oil called BioVerno. It is a biofuel is made from residues of the forest industry products that will have 80% less greenhouse gas emissions than fossil fuels. [IHB]
¶ A fund for developing deep-water wind turbine foundations has been announced by the Scottish Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism. The fund promotes development of foundations for wind turbines at depths greater than 30 metres. [Offshore Technology International]
¶ Russia’s Energy Ministry submitted a draft renewable energy law aimed at supporting the deployment of renewable energy sources including solar, wind and hydroelectric power plants across the country. [Energy Tribune]
US:
¶ As natural gas pushes coal and nuclear plants to close, the Northeast needs to diversify its electric power sources so it is not relying on a single fuel. Wind and Solar are the best resources to use. [AOL Government]
¶ Dominion Virginia Power plans to switch to a GE Hitachi boiling water reactor as the unit it would use, if it builds a third reactor at North Anna. The final decision to build the reactor has not yet been made. [Lynchburg News and Advance]
¶ The Washington and Oregon chapters of Physicians for Social Responsibility have commissioned an economic study of the possibility of shutting down the nuclear power plant near Richland. [Yakima Herald-Republic]
¶ A bipartisan quartet of senators released a draft of a bill to change how the US stores nuclear waste. The bill would produce intermediate storage sites for spent nuclear fuel now kept commercial nuclear facilities. [The Hill]
… According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, the bill fails to address current unsafe waste management practices at nuclear power plants across the country. [Union of Concerned Scientists]
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