Interview:
¶ “The Energiewende – the Result of a Powerful Mass Movement from Below” Josef Goeppel, a German parliamentarian, was the first in his traditionally arch-conservative party to grasp the relevance of the Energiewende, or clean energy transition, for his constituents and party. [Heinrich Böll Stiftung] (Thanks to Roric McCorristin for bringing this to my attention.)
Economics:
¶ The Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) is used to estimate the damages from carbon emissions for the purposes of regulatory benefit-cost analyses. The central estimate for the SCC is now around $35 per ton of carbon dioxide pollution emitted today. Even that may be too low. [Energy Collective]
¶ Three out of four small businesses responding to a recent survey reported that, unlike much of the economy, sales for green products and services actually increased over the course of the recent economic downturn. [InvestorIdeas.com]
World:
¶ Irish Renewables developer Mainstream Renewable Power has announced the formation of a joint venture to deliver 600 MW of wind and solar energy in Chile by 2016. [pv magazine]
¶ The renewable chemicals industry will grow at 7.7% annually from 2013 to 2018, mainly due to rise in oil prices, requirement for environmentally friendly feedstock, and low production cost of bio-based chemicals, according to a new report. [European Coatings]
¶ Arab Gulf states sought reassurances from Iran at a U.N. nuclear agency meeting this week over the safety of its only atomic energy plant, which is located in an earthquake-prone coastal area, diplomats said on Thursday. [The Star Online]
US:
¶ The DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) says that residential and commercial consumers are choosing to buy power from such renewable sources as wind and solar. [energybiz]
¶ NREL is partnering with the U.S. Navy and others to showcase how renewable biomass sources, like switchgrass, can be used to make large volumes of biofuel more economically. [EP Magazine]
¶ Ski areas from 24 states have signed the Climate Declaration, which calls on U.S. federal policymakers and legislators to seize the economic opportunity of addressing climate change. [Environment News Service]
¶ An environmental group released a study showing serious health hazards for those living near the Browns Ferry nuclear plant. Since it started operating in the 1970s, the local mortality rate steadily rose from 1.7% to 20.5% above the US rate. [The Chattanoogan]
¶ The NRC has directed that operators of the 31 nuclear reactors, including some of the oldest in the US reactors, to overhaul vent systems to prevent build-up of hydrogen. The order replaced a 2012 order that would have required a potentially more costly remedy. [Businessweek]
¶ FirstEnergy and federal regulators spent a month investigating how a pitcher with two goldfish got left in a secure area of the Perry nuclear plant. Now, the mystery is solved: two contractors confessed they did it as a prank. [Tribune-Review]
geoharvey 
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