Opinion:
¶ “Federal legislation key to jobs-creating, swift VY clean-up” by Lissa Weinmann. We should be able to do better than having a plant in SAFSTOR for sixty years before it is cleaned up. [Green Energy Times]
¶ “German energy crisis favors the fleet” Germany’s half-a-trillion-euro energy overhaul is forcing sector players to change their business models fast, giving smaller groups a head start on the country’s ponderous utilities. [euronews]
World:
¶ Forty-three financial institutions, including the World Bank, are setting up a working party to put values on natural resources. They may decide to withdraw credit from companies that fail to protect the environment. [Scientific American]
¶ China will raise tariffs on power to subsidize renewable energy in a bid for better quality air, the country’s economic planner said on Friday. The price adjustment will exclude residential and agricultural power. [CCTV]
¶ According to a survey recently conducted by Capacent Gallup, the overwhelming majority of the Icelandic public, 81%, is in favor of raising a wind farm in Iceland. Only 7% were against the idea. [News of Iceland] (Iceland produces more electricity per capita than any other country, and gets 100% of its electricity from renewable sources. About 15% of its energy is from fossil fuels, used in transportation.)
¶ High radiation readings detected during the daily inspection on Saturday near three water tanks and one pipe stretched between the tanks and the plant, indicating new leaks, Kyodo news agency reported. [RT]
¶ Radiation at one spot at Fukushima Daiichi is 1800 millisieverts, high enough to prove lethal within four hours of exposure. Earlier reports of 100 millisieverts were from detectors that could not measure any higher. [BBC News]
US:
¶ It should be no surprise that the price of solar has been dropping. A new Tracking the Sun report from the DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Labs confirms the trend: solar keeps getting cheaper. [Energy Collective]
¶ The DOE estimates ocean power could produce up to 1400 TWh of electricity per year, enough to power millions of homes. The private sector has no clear incentive to invest, so the DOE is providing $16 million funding. [Energy Collective] (In 2008, the US used 4120 TWh.)
geoharvey 