Opinion:
¶ “Obama’s Climate Plan to Ditch Coal Will Be Good for Business. Really.” [Businessweek]
¶ “Redesigning The Electricity Market For Wind And Solar” The world’s energy markets do need to be redesigned, otherwise they cannot cope with the impact of wind and solar. [CleanTechnica]
Science and Technology:
¶ Water is essential to thermoelectric power generation, but drought and growing competition for water from myriad other uses can have major effects inside the power plant, impacting operations and, ultimately, reliability. [POWER magazine]
World:
¶ Farmers in Fukushima Prefecture are turning to “solar sharing,” a process in which they can generate solar power on the same land where they grow crops and sell the power to utilities. [The Japan News]
¶ A massive brawl erupted among lawmakers in the Taiwan Legislature yesterday, as members of different parties fought for control over the rostrum, ahead of a scheduled discussion on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant referendum. [AsiaOne]
¶ TEPCO shareholders rejected a proposal to look into pursuing claims for compensation against companies that supplied parts for the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, including General Electric Co. [Businessweek]
US:
¶ President Obama unveiled an aggressive new climate change strategy that would limit pollution from existing coal-fired power plants. He also said the Keystone XL pipeline would not be approved if it raises carbon emissions. [CNN]
… During the speech announcing the plan, he called for more solar and wind power projects to help curb the country’s appetite for fossil fuel and reduce the U.S.’s carbon pollution to 17 percent below 2005 levels. [AltEnergyMag]
¶ The NRC is interested in comments on a draft study examining if faster removal of spent reactor fuel from pools to dry cask storage significantly reduces risks to public health and safety. [Southern Maryland News Net]
¶ Even though Southern California Edison (SCE) decided to shut down the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) earlier this month, customers are still footing the bill for the plant. [89.3 KPCC]
¶ Vermont and New York are joining Friends of the Earth, a national environmental group, in criticizing the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s response to a nuclear plant closing in California. [News 12 Long Island]
¶ A new study released by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on the environmental impact of Indian Point’s nuclear power plant finds the plant is safe and there is no need for a shut down. [YNN Hudson Valley]
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