World:
¶ The UK government has unveiled a long-term strategy that it says will add weight to the UK’s already dominant position in the offshore wind industry, while potentially boosting the economy by £7 billion by 2020. [Blue & Green Tomorrow]
¶ Shares in Finnish refiner Neste Oil jumped 21% on Thursday after it forecast higher full-year profits for its biofuels unit and reported strong quarterly results. Neste has built three renewable diesel plants, as it also seeks to move away from traditional oil refining. [Reuters]
¶ Radioactive cesium levels were much higher in water deep underground at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant than in samples taken closer to the surface, TEPCO said on August 1. [Asahi Shimbun]
¶ A fight broke out in Taiwan’s parliament ahead of a vote on a referendum on a nuclear plant. Several Taiwanese lawmakers exchanged punches and threw cups and bottles of water at each other on Friday. [BBC News]
US:
¶ In Florida, INEOS Bio announced that its Indian River BioEnergy Center is producing cellulosic ethanol at commercial-scale. First ethanol shipments will be released in August. The $130 million, 65-employee operation has an annual capacity of 8 million gallons. [woodworkingnetwork.com]
¶ Pear Energy has announced it is the first company to offer 100% clean, renewable energy nationwide. Available to both homeowners and businesses, Pear Energy makes it easy to apply conventional utility dollars to clean energy without service interruptions or contracts. [MRO]
¶ The US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory has determined solid figures regarding the land use requirements of solar farms per annual gigawatt hour of power produced. [Energy Matters]
¶ The University of Maine, Maine Maritime Academy and two partner organizations are sharing a federal grant to develop a system that could help capture renewable energy from the motion of ocean waves and offshore winds. [The Tribune]
¶ Duluth-based Minnesota Power has cut a deal that will mean it hits its 25% renewable quota 10 years early. It will expand of its Bison wind farm in North Dakota to the utility’s wind power capacity by 50% to supply 25% of power from renewable sources in 2015. [MinnPost.com]
¶ The downsizing of America’s nuclear fleet appears to be accelerating. Duke Energy, the largest U.S. utility company based in Charlotte, NC, said it would abandon the Levy nuclear reactor project in Florida. [Forbes]
¶ As the power company awaits regulators’ decision on a pending rate increase request for its Minnesota customers, Xcel CEO Ben Fowke said they would need another rate increase for 2014 because of major investments in its nuclear power plants. [MENAFN.COM]
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