Opinion:
¶ There are fundamental factors at work that ultimately will make fossil fuel subsidies unsustainable worldwide, leading to their decline and allowing other forms of energy to compete more easily. [Forbes]
Science and Technology:
¶ The Solar Impulse leaves from Washington on a journey to New York City planned for Saturday, depending on the weather. It will take hours for the journey — top speed is 45 mph (73 kph). It is the last leg of a transcontinental crossing. [Huffington Post]
World:
¶ Plans have been submitted to Marine Scotland for a proposed 213-turbine wind farm in the Firth of Tay. The proposed Inch Cape wind farm development would have installed capacity of more than 1,000 megawatts (MW). [Business7]
¶ According to a survey by Nottingham Trent University, Forum for the Future and Farmers Weekly, 40% out of 700 responding farmers are now using renewables, compared to 5% in 2010. Of the others, 61% say they are likely to within five years. [Energy and Environmental Management Magazine]
¶ Former French Environment Minister Delphine Batho said her support for a ban on shale drilling and reducing dependence on nuclear power cost her her job. [Businessweek]
¶ China expects to resolve a muli-billion dollar solar trade spat with the European Union by next month, a senior Chinese industry official said on Friday, after a newspaper reported that Beijing has made a new offer with EU to settle the dispute. [WA today]
¶ TEPCO notivied Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) they intend to apply to restart reactors idled after the Fukushima Disaster, and four additional regional utilities also have notified the authority of similar plans. [Bloomberg]
… The mayor of the city that hosts the biggest nuclear power plant in the world had some harsh criticism for TEPCO for announcing it will apply for a government safety assessment of two reactors before informing local authorities. [The Japan Times]
… The NRA says that it will take a “long time” to uphold safety culture, which the it is convinced not to be the current priority in nuclear industry. [The Japan Daily Press]
US:
¶ The Energy Information Administration has released a new infographic on the history of energy in the US, starting in 1776, showing the rise of coal, hydro, oil, nuclear, and now renewables. [EIA.gov]
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