Science and Technology:
¶ A team of researchers at MIT is developing an alternative to zirconium-based nuclear fuel rod cladding with the hope of reducing the risk of hydrogen production by roughly a thousandfold. The new cladding material is a ceramic compound called silicon carbide. [Eureka! Science News]
World:
¶ France will likely miss a goal for renewables to make up 23 percent of energy consumption by 2020 unless power users stump up billions of euros, according to the state auditor. [Businessweek]
¶ The UK may have missed its 2011/12 target of producing 4.04% of energy from renewable sources, as provisional figures put it at 3.94%. Conventional hydropower is not mentioned as a renewable. Changes in policy have led to uncertainty in the market. [Resource Magazine]
US:
¶ Blue Sky West, a wholly owned subsidiary of First Wind Energy, has proposed what would be the largest wind farm in New England to the Maine Government. The farm would carry 162 wind turbines and have a capacity of up to 191 MW across several towns in Central Maine. [CleanTechnica]
¶ The US biodiesel industry reached a new production record for the first half of the year and is on pace for its best year ever, according to new EPA figures. [KTIC]
¶ The Ivanpah Valley of the Mojave Desert in California will soon be home to the largest solar thermal energy plant in the world. More than six years in the making, the plant is now slated to begin generating power before summer’s end. [National Geographic]
¶ Maryland’s Governor O’Malley has announced an aggressive plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions and boost renewable energy. Under the plan, Maryland would meet the goal of reducing emissions 25% by 2020. [CleanTechnica]
¶ The NRC has issued an information notice to US nuclear power plants concerning cracking resulting from stress and age in the local plant’s steam generator tubes. The warning is based on issues discovered at the Seabrook Station nuclear power plant last year. [Hampton Union]
¶ Vermont Yankee nuclear plant officials said Thursday two recent high radiation readings in the reactor building at the Vernon plant were false alarms. [Boston.com]
¶ Omaha Public Power District and the US NRC held a public meeting to talk about the progress in ongoing efforts to bring the Ft. Calhoun nuclear power plant back online. Over one-third of the issues that need to be addressed were not ready for the NRC inspection team to evaluate.[KVNO News]
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