Opinion:
¶ “Policy Blueprint for a Renewable Energy Future: America’s Power Plan” There is a deep irony at work in the intersection of energy and the environment. The biggest threat to our planet is climate change, but renewable energy to solve the problem needs large amounts of land. [Today’s Energy Solutions]
¶ “Why Are We Still Propping Up Fossil Fuels?” There are many misconceptions out there about renewable energy, but probably the biggest is that there is something inherent to renewable energy that makes it flimsy, unreliable, anemic and generally inferior to fossil fuels. [Wall Street Journal]
Science and Technology:
¶ Soitec, a leader in concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) efficiency and commercial development, this month announced that it had set a 31.8% CPV commercial module efficiency record. The new module is already in commercial production. [CleanTechnica]
¶ Today, the vast majority of plastics are still made using non-renewable fossil fuels, especially petroleum. With concerns about environmental impact and climate change increasing, some researchers have begun to look for alternatives. [Phys.Org]
World:
¶ Angela Merkel solidified her grip on power in Germany while losing her junior coalition party. Although an unlikely prospect, a CDU-Green team-up would likely prove the best option for Germany’s solar industry. [pv magazine]
¶ Former NRC chairman Jaczko, invited to Tokyo by a Japanese anti-nuclear citizen’s group, said the leaks of contaminated water at Fukushima Daiichi had been known since early in the crisis, and have worsened only because the Japanese government TEPCO acted too slowly. [The Japan Daily Press]
US:
¶ The Massachusetts clean energy industry kept booming this year, increasing green jobs by 11.8% from 2012 to 2013, according to the 2013 Massachusetts Clean Energy Industry Report. The state now has nearly 80,000 clean energy jobs. [CleanTechnica]
¶ The largest utilities in Massachusetts have signed long-term contracts to buy wind-generated electricity at prices below the cost of most other sources, including coal and nuclear, administration officials announced yesterday. [Concord Monitor]
¶ U.S. pellet producers, land owners and other forestry organizations are heeding the call of international customers and local citizens to demonstrate how the pellet industry is addressing sustainable land management concerns. [Biomass Magazine]
¶ In Arizona, utility APS has an office dedicated to monitoring solar power in real time. As plants get bigger and provide energy to more customers, the up-to-the-minute information the Solar Monitoring Room offers becomes more crucial every day. [Cronkite News]
¶ The California Public Utilities Commission has issued proposals denying reimbursement to the owners of the San Onofre nuclear plant for replacement power they bought while the plant was temporarily shutdown for a year and a half. This would leave ratepayers off the hook. [89.3 KPCC]
¶ The National Academy of Sciences announced Monday that it has started planning for a pilot study of cancer risks around a nuclear fuel facility and six nuclear power plants, including the Millstone Power Station in Waterford, Connecticut. [TheDay.com]
¶ The owners of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant formally notified the NRC that the plant is shutting down. An Entergy Corp. executive wrote to the NRC on Monday to submit formal notification of intent to shut the Vernon reactor down in the fourth quarter of next year. [The Republic]
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