Science and Technology:
¶ A tweak to an automobile’s engine software can improve by as much as 20% the estimated fuel efficiency when using gasoline with ethanol or methanol, according to a non-profit group pushing gasoline alternatives. [Businessweek]
World:
¶ South Africa has started to focus on renewable power, especially solar. The country how has an investment in solar of $5.7 billion and can now boast that it is the world’s fastest growing investor of clean energy. It is moving away from 86% reliance on coal. [Day News]
¶ Fred. Olsen Renewables has announced that the Rothes II Wind Farm in Scotland has commenced operation. The wind farm has an installed operational capacity of 41.4 MW, equivalent to generating enough electricity to power over 20,500 homes. [Domestic Fuel]
¶ South Korea announced Friday it has placed an import ban on all fisheries products from eight Japanese prefectures deemed effected by radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster. [The Japan Times]
¶ After a tank leaked 300 tons of radioactive water without anyone noticing, TEPCO says that it will install water-level gauges on all flange-type tanks storing radioactive coolant water at the Fukushima Daiichi by the end of November to beef up monitoring. [The Japan Times]
US:
¶ Today, policies like Renewable Portfolio Standards and Net Energy Metering are helping to fuel solar’s explosive growth. The industry now employs 120,000 Americans at 5,600 US companies. What’s more, solar power now generates enough electricity for 1.5 million homes. [Business Insider]
¶ Under a Renewable Energy Standard more than 1,000 renewable energy projects have been built in Ohio during the past five years, including a $600 million wind farm. Now the Public Utilities Commission knows what it actually cost: The wholesale price of power went down. [Grist]
¶ About 700,000 Entergy customers in Louisiana are paying an average of $5.81 each month for repairs the Waterford nuclear plant. The total cost of repairs would be enough to replace the 28-year-old nuclear plant with a new natural gas plant. [The Advocate]
¶ Two weeks after an electrical malfunction caused the shutdown of the Pilgrim nuclear reactor, the plant is still not at full power. The owners said the delay was standard procedure, but it turns out that the plant is operating without one of its three recirculating pumps. [Capecodonline]
¶ Southern California Edison wants customers to pay more than $2 billion over the next seven years to cover the company’s capital investment in the shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant. The utility says it needs the money to compensate shareholders. [Las Vegas Sun]
… San Diego Gas & Electric is seeking $808 million from customers to recover its investments in the recently retired San Onofre nuclear plant, the utility said Friday. SDG&E owns a 20% stake in the plant. [U-T San Diego]
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