Science and Technology:
¶ Scientists are more convinced that human activity is behind the increase in global temperatures since the 1950s, which has boosted sea levels and the odds of extreme storms, according to a leaked draft of an upcoming U.N. report. [CNN]
World:
¶ The Federal Republic of Germany just broke its monthly solar generation record by clocking over 5.1 TWh in July, according to data from the EEX Transparency Platform. The July solar record is 42% higher than last year’s. [inhabitat.com]
¶ PV will account for 3.6% of installed power generation globally by 2020, according to market analyst and advisor, Frost & Sullivan’s Annual Renewable Outlook 2013. It accounted for 0.7% in 2010. [PV-Tech]
¶ The Australian government appears to have made a remarkable concession following the release of the 100% renewables report by the country’s energy market operator – a renewables future will be no more costly than the largely fossil fuel alternative. [RenewEconomy]
¶ Renewable energy facilities that newly started operating in fiscal 2012 in Japan totaled 2.08 million kilowatts in capacity, which is worth two nuclear reactors, the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry said Tuesday. [ECNmag.com]
¶ Six more young people from Fukushima prefecture in Japan have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer since Japan’s worst nuclear accident in 2011. There are now a total of 18 cancer cases among people who were 18 or younger at the time of the Fukushima Disaster. [Hindu Business Line]
¶ Japan is poised to declare a toxic water leak at the Fukushima nuclear plant a level 3 “serious incident,” its gravest warning since the aftermath of the massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami that sent three reactors into meltdown. [CNN]
US:
¶ Green building is growing fast in the US, and may represent more than half of all commercial and institutional construction as soon as 2016, according to a new report from the US Green Building Council (USGBC), “LEED in Motion: People and Progress,” [CleanTechnica]
¶ Work commences in September on 448 turbines in Iowa, creating 460 construction jobs, then 48 permanent jobs. They will churn out $12 million a year in property tax and generate $3.2 million annually for their property owners. Call them YIMBYs: Yes in my backyard. [Muscatine Journal]
¶ The federal government has created a new renewable energy zone along the southeast shore of the Salton Sea that could eventually host thousands of megawatts of solar and geothermal energy on previously disturbed lands. [The Desert Sun]
¶ Siemens Energy has been awarded received an order for 116 units of its SWT-2.3-108 wind turbines from Portland General Electric Company in the US state of Oregon. Each has a capacity of 2.3 megawatts (MW) and a rotor diameter of 108 meters. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
¶ San Francisco-based renewable power producer Pattern Energy Group said Tuesday it has started building a 218 megawatt wind power facility in the Texas Panhandle. The facility will be able to produce wind energy for up to 60,000 Texas homes. [FuelFix]
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