Science and Technology:
¶ Extreme weather brought about by climate change could make the nation’s critical energy infrastructure vulnerable, according to a US DOE report. Thermal plants, including nuclear, coal, and natural gas, are most threatened. [Houston Business Journal]
¶ Japan’s Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry will build a large-scale experimental facility to reduce nuclear waste by transmuting it into other elements by bombarding it with neutrons from an accelerator. [The Japan News]
World:
¶ Plans to build the world’s largest offshore wind farm equipped with 288 turbines have been approved for the Triton Knoll site off the coast of Lincolnshire near Skegness. The £3.6 billion project will generate 1.2 GW of electricity. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
¶ Parts of a Japan’s largest floating wind farm are being moved towards waters off Fukushima. A 2 megawatt wind turbine, 30 stories high, left Tokyo, followed by the massive floating substation. Power generation is due to start in October. [New Tang Dynasty Television]
¶ Spain’s government plans to slash subsidies for renewable-energy providers and raise electricity bills to reduce pressure on public coffers. The move is expected to produces defaults by solar-power firms and pressure banks. [NASDAQ]
¶ Kyushu Electric Power Co. filed Friday for government safety assessments on two reactors, raising to 12 the number of units for which restarts are being sought in the wake of the introduction earlier this week of new safety requirements. [The Japan Times]
¶ Since the Fukushima Disaster, public attitudes worldwide remain hardened against nuclear power. One major exception is the UK, but Germany, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and even France are moving away from it. [The Conversation]
¶ A day after Atomic Energy Regulatory Board gave the green signal for commissioning of Unit 1 of the controversial Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant , authorities set in motion work on taking it to First Approach to Criticality. [The New Indian Express]
¶ One day after a rare public protest, Chinese authorities say they were abandoning plans to construct a uranium processing plant in southeastern China, where residents raised concerns about its safety and potential environmental impact. [New York Times]
US:
¶ Georgia Power must purchase more solar power for its energy system under a plan approved by state utility regulators, a move sought by renewable energy proponents but denounced by a commissioner who argued it could raise costs. [Marietta Daily Journal]
¶ The nuclear renaissance lies in ruins, say authors of an industry report, because the economics don’t work. [MINING.com]
¶ The government has confirmed that, based on the latest estimates, the Uranium Processing Facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, won’t become operational until 2025 — and that’s just the first phase of what’s now become a three-phase project. [Knoxville News Sentinel]
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