geoharvey

Opinion:

¶   “UK Risks Looking ‘Economically Insane’ on EDF Nuclear Deal” At a cost of 16 billion pounds ($26 billion), Hinkley Point C will be the most expensive power plant per megawatt produced. EDF is set for returns of as high as 35% and the contract may create cash dividends of as much as £80 billion at the expense of UK consumers. [Businessweek]

Science and Technology:

¶   Copper foam batteries — a new, cheaper-to-manufacture, faster-to-charge, and longer-lasting alternative to the batteries in common use today — may soon be headed to the commercial market. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   The leaders of British Columbia, California, Oregon, and Washington just formally joined forces to reduce emissions and transition toward renewables by signing the Pacific Coast Action Plan on Climate and Energy. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Prime Minister David Cameron’s review of green levies won’t touch renewable subsidies for solar power and wind, a statement from the Department of Energy and Climate Change suggests. The department’s tacit support for the Renewables Obligation and Feed-in Tariff has reassured some green energy trade groups. [Energy Live News]

¶   Three counties in the southwest of England are the top UK domestic solar producers. Devon has 17,564 installations on people’s homes, producing 61,683 kW of energy. Cornwall is second with 9,584 domestic schemes which generate 35,572 kW of electricity. Wiltshire was a distant third with 5,234. [This is Cornwall]

¶   Dutch utility Eneco has been granted the final permit for its 210 MW Q4 West wind farm in the North Sea off Bergen aan Zee. The 70-turbine plan is around 26 kilometers offshore and immediately west of the company’s already consented Q4 project, which totals 78 MW. [reNews]

¶   In Brazil, wind is emerging as a prize for energy planners who see the howling gusts that arrive from the east as a way to offset fresh limits imposed on hydropower. A string of wind-turbine parks is being built in the nation’s windiest stretches, in what planners here see as the beginning of an extraordinary transformation. [Washington Post]

¶   Offshore wind power installations are on track for a seventh consecutive annual record in 2013. Developers added 1,080 MW of generating capacity in the first half of the year. Although still small compared with the roughly 300,000 megawatts of land-based wind power, offshore capacity is growing at close to 40% a year. [Treehugger]

¶   A new update from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in India has proclaimed the country has passed the 2 GW landmark for grid-connected solar. The figures showed that, as of September 30, 2013, the total solar installed capacity was just over 2000 MW, while off-grid power amounted to just south of 140 MW. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Anti-nuclear protesters, many wearing business suits, marched in Tokyo district in the evening of Oct. 30. The group started at a park near Shinbashi Station at 7 p.m and marched nearly 2 kilometers in the business district, shouting slogans such as “No to restarts,” “Stop contaminated water” and “Stop export.” [Asahi Shimbun]

¶   South Korea may be thinking about reducing its dependence on nuclear power, but a new report from the International Atomic Energy Agency said the country would struggle to provide enough energy if it did so. South Korea has no natural energy resources to fill the holes left by a declining use of nuclear power, IAEA said. [PennEnergy] (Presumably the IAEA believes that in South Korea the sun never shines, the wind never blows, the tide never changes, the earth has no warmth, rivers do not flow, …)

US:

¶   In an important decision, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has found ground mounted solar photovoltaics to be an “accessory use” permitted as of right in all zoning districts. Contrary zoning interpretations had been risking stalling parts of the clean energy sector. [CleanTechnica]

¶   RGS Energy, the commercial and utility division of Real Goods Solar, and St. Albans Solar Partners have completed a new 2.2 MW solar farm ahead of schedule. The energy produced by the PV system in Vermont is expected to generate approximately 3.1 million kWh annually, enough energy to power more than 400 homes. [RenewablesBiz]

¶   New York state Attorney General Schneiderman is criticizing the NRC’s assessment of waste storage risks and calling on the NRC to strengthen its proposed assessment of the environmental, public health and safety risks of storing highly radioactive nuclear wastes on-site at the more than 100 reactors around the country. [Long Island Exchange]

From the REV Conference:

¶   The Board of Directors of REV presented a near-term goal of “20 by 2020” at their conference and exposition Tuesday, calling it critical to address climate change, strengthen our local economy and meet the state’s clean energy goal of 90 percent by 2050 goal. [Vermont Biz]

Science and Technology:

¶   Nearly a third of the world’s economic output will come from countries facing “high” to “extreme” risks from the impacts of climate change within 12 years, according to a new report, the Climate Change Vulnerability Index, from UK-based risk analysis firm Maplecroft.[CNN]

¶   Temperature anomalies develop in the earth beneath cities. In the past decades, groundwater in conurbations heated up considerably. This heat can be utilized to produce electricity. [Daily Fusion]

World:

¶   Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd., a Dublin-based renewable-energy developer, will build three wind farms totaling 360 megawatts in South Africa. Mainstream is investing about 9 billion rand ($910 million) in the project. [Businessweek]

¶   Sunlabob Renewable Energy and Fondation Energies pour le Monde have announced the completion of a solar-powered mini-grid that is now delivering reliable, affordable electricity to nearly 500 people in a remote village in Luang Prabang Province, Laos. [pv magazine]

¶   Honda is aiming to be more proactive in using renewable energy to minimize the environmental footprint of its business activities. Honda Energy do Brasil will be the first automaker in Brazil to start wind power generation business. [4-traders]

¶   The £165 million Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant began burning straw on Tuesday, October 22, and is due to be fully operational from January next year. The plant will burn up to 50 bales of straw an hour creating enough electricity to power 65,000 homes [This is Lincolnshire]

¶   On September 1, 2013 Ukrainian renewables produced more than 1 billion kWh. The amount of energy from renewable sources for the first 8 months of this year in the Ukraine is 32% greater than what was produced in the whole entire year of 2012. [Ukrainian Biofuel Portal]

¶   Huge interest in large-scale solar PV and wind energy generation has delayed proceedings in the third round South Africa’s national renewable energy program. Final decisions have not been taken after a total of 93 bids were made. [RenewEconomy]

¶   While nuclear power advocates within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are unhappy about their former leader Koizumi repeatedly calling for abolishing all nuclear plants, opposition politicians woo him to counterattack the pro-nuclear Abe administration. [Asahi Shimbun]

¶   Switzerland’s state-controlled energy company BKW said its Muehleberg nuclear plant would go offline in 2019, as the country seeks to exit nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster. [Straits Times]

US:

¶   Two US Senate Democrats, Mark Udall of Colorado and Tom Udall of New Mexico, have unveiled a bill requiring utilities to generate 25% of their electricity from renewable energy sources, including wind and solar, by 2025. [Platts]

¶   The Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant, near Omaha, is being heated up to test its pressurized steam pipes for leaks after an outage that dates to April 2011, federal regulators said Tuesday. [DesMoinesRegister.com]

¶   Nuclear safety experts say there are problems with how employees are screened and trained at the Dresden nuclear plant. Two people are being charged with conspiracy to rob a bank at a time they were employees. Other employees have had troubles with police. [Nuclear Street – Nuclear Power Portal]

Finance:

¶   The upgrades to the outlook for the solar PV market continue, with analysts at Deutsche Bank now suggesting that some module manufacturers expect the global market to rise as high as 50 GW in 2014. [reneweconomy]

World:

¶   The first Energy Efficiency Market Report was just released by the International Energy Agency. In 2010, the most recent data year, savings from energy efficiency was greater than the output from any fuel source, including coal, oil, nuclear and gas. [theenergycollective]

¶   According to latest energy statistics, Britain is more than halfway to hitting its 2020 renewable-generated electricity targets. Figures for the second quarter of 2013 show that 15.5% of Britain’s generated electricity came from renewables, and offshore windpower increased 50% from 2012. [Seawork International]

¶   Scotland’s renewable energy sector has received a further boost, after the government late last week approved an extension to one of the country’s largest onshore wind farms. Nine wind turbines will be added to the Mid Hill wind farm, bringing the total to 34 and the capacity to 102 MW. [Business Green]

¶   In terms of purchasing power, Berlin has the most expensive electricity in Europe. But steep electricity prices have not dampened Germany’s support for the policies driving high prices. Distributed power is mostly owned by local people and organizations who benefit from the policies. [Forbes]

¶   A vast program of financing solar, wind and other renewable electricity technologies for developing countries using the UN’s new Green Climate Fund is being proposed. A report by the World Future Council suggests feed-in tariffs in developing countries as an effective financial tool. [Responding to Climate Change]

¶   It started with a few bogus safety certificates for cables shutting a handful of South Korean nuclear reactors. Now, the scandal has snowballed, with 100 people indicted and Seoul under pressure to rethink its reliance on nuclear power. [Reuters India]

¶   Attempts by TEPCO to restart reactors in another nuclear power complex was blocked on Monday by Japan’s nuclear regulator which suggested TEPCO to improve its management in crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant first. [Xinhua]

¶   Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka held a rare meeting Monday with Tokyo Electric Power Co. President Naomi Hirose to discuss ways to get a grip on the radioactive water spilling from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶   This summer, there were waiting lists for bus tours of the Lake Winds Energy Park in Ludington, in Michigan. The tour was created in response to the sheer number of people who would stop their cars and take pictures of the energy park’s 56 industrial sized pinwheels. [CleanTechnica]

Finance:

¶   Al Gore has spent most of this week flooding the media with the idea that oil and gas stocks are sub-prime investments, saying the are absurdly overvalued and encouraging investors to dump their holdings in fossil fuel companies. Some investment managers agree. [Motley Fool]

World:

¶   Challenged by the surge in distributed renewables and a strong decline in revenues, one of Europe’s largest utilities, RWE, is reportedly planning to transform itself completely from a traditional electricity provider into a renewable energy service provider. [theenergycollective]

¶   The market for renewable chemical ingredients, replacing petrochemicals, is booming. The overall renewable chemical ingredient market is expected to top $83 billion by 2018, compared with $57 billion this year, according to the research firm Markets and Markets. [DesMoinesRegister.com]

¶   The first phase of Dubai’s $3.3 billion Mohammed Bin Rashid Solar Park has gone live as part of a push to diversify energy supplies in the UAE. The initial 13 MW photovoltaic plant is the biggest of its type in the Middle East and North Africa. [Utilities-ME.com]

¶   Africa’s biggest wind farm, at Ashegoda in Tigray, Ethiopia, has been inaugurated after a three-year construction period. The 120 MW wind farm is expected to produce a total of 400,000 MWh per year. [The Ecologist]

¶   Starting early November, TEPCO engineers will remove 1,533 rods of highly irradiated spent fuel from the damaged storage pool alongside the Number 4 reactor and move them, without exposing them to air, to safer longer-term storage. The project will take 18 months. [South China Morning Post]

US:

¶   2013 has been slower for the wind industry in Kansas than last year, its backers say, but they pointed to signs it will improve in 2014. Records were set in 2012, when capacity increased to 2,713 megawatts, a gain of more than 1,441 megawatts. [Topeka Capital Journal]

¶   Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority has approved a plan for UIL Holdings, parent company for United Illuminating, to install solar panels on nine acres at an old landfill in Bridgeport. The plan is to use approximately 1000 solar panels for about 5 MW of power. [Ct Post]

¶   A 15 MW solar to be built by SolarCity for Hawaiian Electric, will be the state’s largest utility-scale solar project and will trim annual oil use by 1.8 gallons while saving $64 million over its lifetime. The fact that Hawaii uses oil for power is why power is so expensive there. [EarthTechling]

¶   Aroostook County, Maine is becoming a major hub for wind power development. Two companies are installing major wind farm. One, at 250 MW, will be New England’s largest, but the other, of 150 MW, is not far behind. [Kennebec Journal]

¶   Entergy, Pilgrim’s owner and operator, has poured $500 million into the 41-year-old plant since buying it in 1999, yet various problems have forced the operation to shut down six times this year, making it No. 1 in the U.S. fleet of 100 commercial nuclear reactors for shutdowns. [Capecodonline]

Opinion:

¶   “Solar expert tells Cameron – UK solar can build Hinkley Point C in two years” A leading UK solar energy generator has written an open letter to David Cameron, urging the government toward immediate deployment of sustainable energy technologies. [Energy and Environmental Management Magazine]

World:

¶   Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Goldwind has orders for 4.2 GW, including overseas orders of 151.75 MW, with a further 3.62 GW of deals waiting to be inked. The company has also had a marked increase in profits. [reNews]

¶   Senior officials of the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change are seeking to exploit a loophole that will allow the UK Government to extend the legally binding renewable energy targets for 2020 by a further two years. [Click Green]

¶   Poland could halve its demand for coal by 2030 with a shift to renewable energies that would end its image as a laggard in European Union efforts to slow climate change, according to a study by researchers in Germany and Poland and environmental groups. [Reuters]

¶   A 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit the Pacific Ocean about 200 miles east of Japan’s main island, the US Geological Survey reported. The Japanese Meteorological Agency issued and then cancelled a tsunami advisory for the area around Fukushima Daiichi. [CNN]

US:

¶   The Energy Information Administration issued a report that shows continued declines in America’s carbon intensity. It says US cut carbon dioxide emissions by 3.8% last year – a decline that came even as population and economic productivity increased. [theenergycollective]

¶   The US DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy has a new program aiming to accelerate widespread EV adoption by improving driving range and reliability. Some research will be done by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. [Today’s Energy Solutions]

¶   In California, Imperial County officials have approved a deal that aims to restore the declining Salton Sea. The deal hinges on generating $3 billion in revenue from selling renewable geothermal energy. This may have risks of causing earthquakes. [Neon Tommy]

¶   Carrying colorful signs, chanting songs and faking their own deaths, dozens of members of the University’s Student Climate Culture club and other participants rallied for divestment at the board of trustees’ October meeting this afternoon. [Vermont Cynic]

¶   In the race for commercial solar power, Wal-Mart is way out ahead. The company now has almost twice as much capacity as second-place Costco. A better comparison: Wal-Mart is converting more sun into energy than 38 US states. [Bloomberg]

¶   The GAO has concluded that no one has taken responsibility for assessing and managing risks to the US lithium-7 supply. The isotope is needed to run 65 US nuclear power plants, and the only current sources are Russia and China. [Chemistry World]

¶   In Vermont, the Shumlin administration is recommending that Vermont Yankee be allowed to continue operating through the end of next year, but with conditions that include setting aside at least $60 million for a site restoration fund. [BurlingtonFreePress.com]

Science and Technology:

¶   A new report explains how ‘wrong time’ renewable energy generated by solar or wind could be used to liquefy air as a means of storing energy, which could then be used to generate electricity when needed, and provide a convenient and low-cost fuel for vehicles. [Click Green]

World:

¶   Aquamarine Power, based in Edinburgh, is currently testing their second full-scale prototype, the Oyster 800, at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney. It is planning to put up to 50 such machines off the island of Lewis, as part of a 40 MW system. [Your Renewable News]

¶   The world’s largest and most powerful offshore wind turbine is now standing at Energy Park Fife in Scotland and is due to become operational later this year. The 7 MW Fife turbine will deliver enough electricity to power 4,800 homes. [Your Renewable News]

¶   Citing the nation’s renewable energy solicitations, Frost & Sullivan (Mountain View, California, U.S.) forecasts that renewable energy will grow from 1% of South Africa’s energy supply in 2012 to 12% in 2020. [solarserver.com]

¶   TEPCO said Monday that rainwater from a weekend storm became contaminated as it collected behind barriers meant to stop radiation leaks. The toxic water overflowed those barriers at several locations, with some of it possibly spilling into the Pacific Ocean. [New York Times]

¶   Radiation cleanup in some of the most contaminated towns around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant is far behind schedule, so residents will have to wait a few more years before returning, officials said Monday. [The Japan Times]

¶   Taxpayers will underwrite the Hinkley Point nuclear generator to the tune of up to £1 billion a year – with no guarantee of lower power bills. Energy Secretary Ed Davey also failed to say how many people would get work from the construction of the £16 billion plant. [Mirror.co.uk]

¶   A backlash was growing yesterday over the agreement with French-owned energy giant EDF to build a nuclear power plant which could put British electricity bills up for 35 years, with a £1billion per year subsidy going to French and Chinese companies. [Express.co.uk]

¶   Energy Minister  Fergus Ewing responded today to the UK Government’s announcement about the nuclear plant, saying “Nuclear energy cannot be relied on for our energy needs,” and pointing out that UK subjects will be paying for the plant past mid-century. [The Edinburgh Reporter]

¶   The UK nuclear deal sets the wholesale price of power from the plant at £92.50/MWh for 35 years. Solar providers anticipate solar is set to require around £86/MWh for 15 years in the year 2019/20, with the price going down from there. [Click Green]

US:

¶   Suniva, Inc., a metro-Atlanta based manufacturer of high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells and modules, is celebrating six years as America’s leading U.S.-based solar manufacturer. [Your Renewable News]

¶   Some low-income neighborhoods across the US are getting a helping hand from a nonprofit solar installer, which leads teams of volunteers and green job trainees in installing solar PV systems exclusively for low-income homeowners. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Three coastal nuclear power plant sites in the path of Sandy — Millstone Power Station in Connecticut and the Salem and Hope Creek nuclear plants in New Jersey — were identified as being the country’s most vulnerable nuclear plants to storm surge in a research paper. [The Rushville Republican]

Travel:

¶   The Thumb of Michigan, where the wind is strongest and most consistent, offers a scenic drive that can be a jaw-dropping experience. It has 618 wind turbines already operating or scheduled to go into service by next year. [Livingston Daily]

World:

¶   JinkoSolar, a global leader in the solar PV industry, has announced signing a strategic agreement with a local authority in Jiangsu Province, to develop 120 MW distributed PV power plant within 3 years. Once built, it will be the largest distributed PV power plant in China. [Your Renewable News]

¶   London-based Albion Ventures is pumping £9.3m into a 2 MW hydropower scheme on the Allt A’Chonais in the Scottish Highlands. The project will be developed by Perth-based Green Highland Renewables, and is projected to produce an average 7 GWh of electricity per year. [reNews]

¶   A 900 kW wind turbine is being installed at Gòb Sgùrabhal, on the Isle of Barra. The island now joins the group of islands with wholly community-owned wind turbines from Gigha in the south, through Tiree, South Uist, Lewis to the Orkney Isles. [Stornoway Gazette]

¶   The largest producer of resins in the Americas, Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem, has announced the launch of a new line of green low density polyethylene, completing its line-up of polyethylene made from renewable sources. [Packaging Europe]

¶   Spanish multinational electric utility company Iberdrola has signed a $116 million-turnkey agreement for the construction of a wind farm in Kenya. The wind farm will have a power capacity of 61 megawatts and will be located 40 kilometers northwest of Nairobi. [EcoSeed]

¶   Highly radioactive water has leaked from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan after unexpectedly heavy rain on Sunday, its operator said. Water with high levels of the toxic isotope Strontium-90 overflowed containment barriers around water tanks. [BBC News]

¶   French power utility Electricite de France SA confirmed Monday it has reached an agreement with the U.K. government to build a new nuclear power plant, the first in the country in almost 30 years, for a total cost of £16 billion ($25.88 billion). [4-traders]

US:

¶   Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and Shedd Aquarium kicked off the institution’s clean-energy initiative, beginning installation of 913 PV panels on the aquarium’s marine mammal pavilion. Shedd’s Master Energy Roadmap aims to cut energy consumption in half by 2020. [AZoCleantech]

¶   In Colorado, Fort Collins Utilities’ Solar Power Purchase Pilot Program, or SP3, will add approximately five megawatts of solar PV systems, quadrupling the amount of solar capacity in the community. [The Coloradoan]

¶   Xcel Energy has received approval from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to add 750 MW from its four wind power projects including Courtenay wind farm, Odell wind farm, Pleasant Valley project and Border winds project on its Upper Midwest grid. [Energy Business Review]

Opinion:

¶   “Transformative Solar Energy Storage Policy for California” This week the California Public Utilities Commission will vote on a far-sighted proposal that would require the incumbent  utilities to collectively buy more than 1.3 GW of energy storage by 2020. [Energy Collective]

¶   “Thoughts on the Required Power Storage in California” California utilities will have to invest in at least 1.3 GW of storage. Actually, 1.3 GW of storage is not much problem. A 1 GW storage plant was built in Massachusetts forty years ago and is still making money. [geoharvey]

Science and Technology:

¶   A new report from the World Health Organization’s cancer research agency announced the classification of outdoor air pollution and particulate matter (commonly known as soot pollution) as known human carcinogens. [Energy Collective]

World:

¶   Sweden now imports about 700,000 tons of garbage per year to help produce electricity and heating for cities such as Helsingborg, a historic coastal hub of about 100,000 people in southwestern Sweden. But is it green to burn garbage? [The Climate Network]

¶   Generating electricity from the burning of straw, the 38 MW Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant is one of the very first of its type to be built in the UK. It will generate electricity for 65,000 homes and support employment of up to 80 people when it becomes operational. [Sleaford Today]

¶   Leave it to British wits to put to rest any notion that the world’s winter energy woes have been eliminated by the North American natural gas boom. Great Britain’s largest energy supplier, British Gas, announced a 10% price hike just before the cold season. [National Geographic]

¶   An Taisce will go to the High Court in London in December to seek a judicial review challenging the legality of the decision by Ed Davey, the British energy minister, to grant permission to build the Hinkley Point C plant, which will be 150 miles from the Irish coast. [Irish Independent]

US:

¶   The Long Island Power Authority has issued a competitive procurement call for up to 280 MW of “on island” renewable energy capacity including offshore wind, solar and fuel cells by 2018, along with a request for 1630 MW for new peaking resources by 2019. [reNews]

¶   Microgrids are emerging as a credible threat to the dominance of America’s 100-year-old-plus utility monopoly, possibly making these electricity power transmission lines obsolete. NRG Energy Inc. CEO David Crane calls a “mortal threat” to the industry. [Women Citizen]

¶   All Power Labs makes machines that use gasification to turn out carbon-negative energy, with a carbon-rich charcoal by-product that just happens to be an extremely efficient fertilizer. [CNET] (Pictures of the equipment: [CNET])

¶   Westinghouse, developer of the AP1000 power plant, and Georgia Power, which commissioned two units for Vogtle Power Station, have been at odds over costs for two years. The project is now at least 18 months behind schedule and $900 million over budget. [Pittsburgh Post Gazette]

Opinion:

¶   “Finally, someone must pay the price for nuclear energy” The great hoax of nuclear power, an endless supply of cheap electricity, is now before us. Someone has to pay both for decommissioning and the ultimate disposal of the nuclear waste. [The Desert Sun]

Science and Technology:

¶   Superconductors could cut carbon emissions by boosting power transmission, transforming wind energy, creating more efficient supercomputers for climate models, enabling renewable energy storage, aiding train travel, and more. [environmentalresearchweb]

Investment and Finance:

¶   Alternative energy is a long-term investment, but returns are already rolling in, says Edward Guinness, co-manager of the Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy Fund, which is up a whopping 67% year to date. [Resource Investor]

World:

¶   Two of Germany’s big four utilities expect a stabilization of retail power prices over the coming years as falling wholesale prices for electricity will finally feed through after the boom in renewables added additional costs to household power bills over recent years. [Platts]

¶   The Chief Executive Officer of Pakistan’s Alternative Energy Development Board has said about 5,000 MW of electric capacity will be added to the national grid through renewable sources including wind‚ solar and biomass during the next three years. [The Nation]

¶   The high cost of electricity is undermining economic growth in the Caribbean region says OAS Assistant Secretary General, Albert Ramdin. He advised the Caribbean officials to explore renewable energy sources in order to address high energy costs. [The St. Kitts-Nevis Observer]

¶   Coal may still be king – but not for long. Fast-changing economics mean renewables worldwide will represent 34% of all installed capacity by 2030, according to a report from the World Energy Council and Bloomberg New Energy Finance. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Energy bills would be even higher than at present without renewables, Scotland’s energy minister has warned. Bills would be £166 a year higher by the end of this decade without energy such as wind, wave and tidal, according to figures from the UK’s DECC. [The Blairgowrie Advertiser]

¶   An overwhelming majority of Germans polled after the election, some 84%, said the new government should push for a quick switch to an energy system powered 100 percent by renewable sources of energy. [Deutsche Welle]

US:

¶   In light of the devastating impacts of superstorm Sandy, a broad coalition of environmental and renewable energy groups is calling on the Governor to fight climate disruption by making significant commitments to advance wind power for New York. [Long Island Exchange]

¶   Waste Management of Illinois broke ground on a new renewable natural gas facility in East St. Louis. The plant will create high purity methane from decomposing trash in a landfill, which will be used to power vehicles that run on compressed natural gas. [kplr11.com]

¶   A new report from the SUN DAY Campaign citing federal government data says new solar capacity in 2013 is 77.36% higher than that for the same period in 2012. Renewable sources now account for 15.68% of total installed U.S. operating generating capacity. [North American Windpower]

¶   Officials in Ridgewood, New Jersey celebrated a switch to less-expensive power to run the village’s water-pollution control plant on Friday. The plant will be powered with biogas and is expected to significantly reduce the village’s demand on the electric-power grid. [NorthJersey.com]

¶   For more than a decade, nuclear engineer Dr. Walter Tamosaitis has spoken out about the potentially catastrophic hazards at the nuclear waste treatment plant at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southeastern Washington state. Now he is out of a job. [WTSP]

Science and Technology:

¶   According to Jacques Amouroux, a chemical engineer at the Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris, carbon dioxide recaptured could be set to work again. It can be turned back into fuel, used in the manufacture of plastics, or otherwise reused. [Responding to Climate Change]

World:

¶   China State Grid Corp., the nation’s largest power distributor, is boosting efforts to build more electricity networks to enhance the grid’s ability to handle power from new sources such as wind. [Businessweek]

¶   An increasing number of Croatian Adriatic islands want to be independent in terms of energy and are turning towards renewable energy sources which, when owned by citizens, are becoming a strong lever for local sustainable development. [Dalje.com]

¶   A 140 MW wind farm in Germany has come online with a 1 MW electrolysis system to make hydrogen. The hydrogen system stores up to 27 MWh of energy, and increases the efficiency of the wind park by using wind energy that otherwise would be wasted. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶   TEPCO revealed on Friday that their monitoring instruments at Fukushima Daiichi detected 400,000 becquerels per liter of beta-emitting radioactive substances, including strontium. This level is 6,500 times higher than readings taken a day earlier. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   Energy efficiency has contributed more to meeting US energy demand than all other resources combined over the past 40 years – more than coal, oil, or nuclear, concludes a report from the Natural Resources Defense Council. [SustainableBusiness.com]

¶   In a decision unprecedented in the United States, on October 17, 2013 the California Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously to adopt an energy storage requirement for the state’s investor-owned utilities. [The National Law Review]

¶   The Omaha Public Power District has approved a plan to buy 400 megawatts of wind power from a proposed wind farm near O’Neill, Nebraska. If all works out, the project would more than double OPPD’s portfolio of renewable energy sources. [Omaha World-Herald]

¶   If you build transmission lines, wind projects will come. Pattern Energy Group announced it has broken ground on its Panhandle Wind project, one of the first wind farms in the region to use Texas’ new Competitive Renewable Energy Zone transmission lines. [FuelFix]

¶   D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments and Bright Plain Renewable Energy have announced the completion of construction of two solar power arrays in Lake County, Indiana. Both are 2.7 MWdc projects. [PennEnergy]

¶   The New York Public Service Commission approved several projects to keep the electricity flowing should the Indian Point nuclear plant shut down, including building and upgrading transmission and power lines between the region and areas farther upstate. [The Journal News | LoHud.com]

¶   Two authors of a 2003 report that found densely packed spent fuel pools like the one at Vermont Yankee create an increased risk of catastrophic release of radioactivity are calling on the NRC to speed up transfer of the plant’s spent fuel back to dry casks. [The Recorder]

¶   Florida State regulators have approved a controversial settlement over who pays for Duke Energy’s $5 billion in nuclear failures. Customers will pay up to $3.2 billion of the costs related to the shuttered Crystal River nuclear plant and the canceled Levy County project.  [Tampabay.com]

World:

¶   A former chairman of the Australian Coal Association, who has accused the fossil fuel industry of “stuffing up” effective action on climate change, is fighting an insurgent battle to gain a seat on the board of the mining giant BHP Billiton. [The Guardian]

¶   The world invested $300 billion in energy efficiency in 2011, the most recent year for which the report provides information. That’s about the same amount funneled into renewable energy or fossil-fuel power generation. [FuelFix]

¶   Research done by the World Energy Council finds onshore wind and hydro are already competitive with coal and gas and expects solar to follow suit as deployment increases. The cost of onshore wind and hydroelectricity is already matching coal and gas. [Business Green]

¶   Wednesday brought word that First Solar would install 250-megawatts worth of solar PV in the California desert. But the more interesting solar energy announcement on the day might have been that construction had started on a 100 MW plant in Canada. [EarthTechling]

¶   Scotland’s renewable energy sources are now producing 40% of the country’s electrical demand. This is not insignificant, as Scotland’s latitude places northern parts of the country closer to the Arctic Circle than to London. [OilPrice.com]

¶   Britain will welcome Chinese companies taking stakes, including potentially majority ones, in British nuclear-power projects, U.K. treasury chief George Osborne said Thursday. Mr. Osborne is in China this week as part of a five-day visit. [Wall Street Journal]

¶   A typhoon that swept through Japan has caused more radioactive leaks at the troubled Fukushima plant. Workers there say they have detected high levels of radiation in a ditch leading to the Pacific Ocean and suspect heavy rains lifted contaminated soil. [Yahoo News Canada]

¶   US and European diplomats said discussions on nuclear matters with Iran, the first since Hassan Rouhani was elected president and pledged to repair Iran’s global standing, went into more detail than previous rounds and took place in a better atmosphere. [Businessweek]

US:

¶   The US biodiesel industry is on pace to produce more than the 1.28 billion gallons set under the Renewable Fuels Standard for this year, says a new report from research and consulting firm GlobalData. [Oil & Gas Financial Journal]

¶   As the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed lower targets for the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard, proponents of biodiesel are wondering why their green fuel is targeted a 20% reduction. [Domestic Fuel]

Science and Technology:

¶   Hydropower can dramatically alter rivers and destroy the habitat of migratory species such as salmon, but now scientists have shown that it is perfectly possible for rivers to produce more fish and more electricity at the same time. [eco-business.com]

World:

¶   Siemens has installed a “market-ready” version of its 6 MW gearless wind turbine at SSE’s test site in Hunterston, Scotland. They will carry out final testing of the turbine, which uses direct drive technology, before it goes into production. [reNews]

¶   India’s Welspun Energy, which will commission the world’s second-largest solar power plant and two other projects by December, will invest an additional $1.6 billion in new solar and wind projects over three years. [Business Spectator]

¶   Global investment in clean energy fell to roughly $46 billion to $47 billion in the third quarter of this year as project finance for renewables stalled owing to policy uncertainty, overcapacity and cheap natural gas. [South China Morning Post]

¶   The CEOs of Europe’s ten biggest energy companies called for the European Union and member states to stop subsidizing the renewable energy sector, saying the priority access given to the sector could cause widespread blackouts over the winter. [European Voice]

¶   Tens of thousands of people rallied against nuclear power Sunday, marching in front of government offices in Tokyo, in what appeared to be the largest demonstration since Japan’s last active reactor went offline for maintenance on September 15. [The Japan Times]

¶   The U.K. is “extremely close” to announcing a deal with Electricite de France SA to build Britain’s first nuclear power station since 1995, Energy Secretary Ed Davey said. There are only two or three remaining issues are resolved. [Bloomberg]

¶   South Korea intends to scale back plans to increase its reliance on nuclear energy amid growing public opposition to atomic power after the Fukushima disaster and a domestic scandal over faked safety documents. [South China Morning Post]

US:

¶   Oklahoma utility company PSO has signed a trio of long-term power purchase agreements with wind farms totalling nearly 600 MW. The power will be generated in three wind farms in the northwestern part of the state. [reNews]

¶   With little fanfare, Texas is just weeks away from wrapping up a nearly $7 billion effort to add vast amounts of wind power to its energy grid. Once finished, the build-out will stretch nearly 3,600 miles and will carry up to 18,500 MW of wind power. [Texas Tribune]

¶   Maine Governor Dannel P. Malloy has announced two major clean-energy projects that he said will lower rates for state residents. One is a 250 MW wind farm, and the other is a 20 MW solar farm. Power is expected to be sold wholesale at about 8¢/kWh. [Patch.com]

¶   Bowdoin College is hoping to build the largest solar power complex in Maine. The 1300 kW solar power complex would generate much of the energy used to provide power for the school’s largest athletic facilities. [Daily Journal]

Analysis:

¶   “Myth-busting Germany’s energy transition” Major English-language media have been propagating a false narrative about the stunning success of Germany’s transition to renewable energy: the Energiewende. [SmartPlanet.com]

Economics and Finance:

¶   “How to lose half a trillion euros” European utilities generating with nuclear and coal are under existential threat from solar and wind generation. Coal and nuclear plants need to run at full power, and are not flexible enough to deal with rapid changes in supply and demand. [The Economist]

¶   According to the new study by academics at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford University, the fossil fuel companies cannot afford to ignore the fossil fuel divestment campaigns currently spreading around the world. [Vincennes Sun Commercial]

World:

¶   Jim Yong Kim, head of the World Bank, and Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), held a joint news conference in which they stressed that climate change must be the main priority of both institutions. [Truthdig]

¶   The UAE recently gave Morocco $100 million to support its program of building solar and wind power plants. This is reported to be part of a partnership to finance development projects in Morocco worth more than $5 billion over five years. [gulfnews.com]

¶   Taylor Hopkinson, a Glasgow-based Scottish renewables recruitment specialist, has seen turnover soar by 124% to £1.65 million as employment in the UK renewables industry continues to expand. [Herald Scotland]

¶   British finance minister George Osborne will sign a deal in China next week allowing a Chinese state-run nuclear power company to help build a new plant in Britain. The Chinese could then partner with France’s EDF for a planned new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point. [Business Recorder]

US:

¶   The growing popularity of the Agriculture Department’s Rural Energy for America Program, which helps farmers with renewable energy, could be its undoing. In the debate over the new farm bill, some conservative groups say the program unfairly undercuts coal. [Green Bay Press Gazette]

¶   Legislation is moving through both houses to tweak the tax code to let clean energy developers form a master limited partnership, or MLP, a type of publicly traded company structure not subject to corporate taxes. [Kitsap Sun]

¶   The US Government Accountability Office reports that potential shortage of lithium-7, mainly sourced from Russia and China, would impact 65 of the country’s pressurized water reactors. The GAO has not yet posted the report because of the government shutdown. [EV World]

Opinion:

¶   Ralph Nader: “Atomic Energy — Unnecessary, Uneconomic, Uninsurable, Unevacuable and Unsafe” The fact that it continues to exist at all is a result of a ferocious lobby, enlisting the autocratic power of government, that will not admit that its product is unfit for use. [Huffington Post]

Economics and Investment:

¶   In the US, there is rising anxiety about how falling electricity demand will affect utilities’ long-term business models. But in Denmark, electric companies operating in a long-term no-growth market continue to invest in further lowering customers’ energy use. [Midwest Energy News]

Science and Technology:

¶   The number of patents issued for renewable-energy technologies has risen sharply over the last decade. The increase was greatest for renewable energy, especially solar and wind. Patents in fossil-fuel technologies showed modest increase, while nuclear was flat.  [The Almagest]

¶   Unlike other contraptions that harvest the up and down motion of the waves to harvest energy, Samuel Etherington came up with a novel design that absorbs forces from all directions of the waves — up and down, side to side, and everything in between. [NBCNews.com]

World:

¶   Renewable energy has been on a tear the past few years, with growth in many countries spurred by subsidies. Now the heads of 10 European utility companies say EU subsidies should end, because they’ve got more renewable energy than they know what to do with. [Motherboard]

¶   Projections from the International Energy Agency indicate that renewable energy is about to take off to historic highs.  Renewable energy growing faster than natural gas, which renewables will pass around 2015. They will be catching up with coal in around 2035. [SustainableBusiness.com]

¶   Just as energy bills start to rise for some UK customers, Ikea has announced it will start to sell solar panels. Solar panel installation can cut energy bills for the average three-bedroom house by £768 a year, and pay for itself in eight years. But there is more. [Financial Times]

¶   The UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation raised doubts about the dose estimates of the Japanese government and TEPCO, the plant operator, in a summary of a report submitted to the Fourth Committee of the U.N. General Assembly on Oct. 12. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   The number of wind energy turbines in Huron County, Michigan is set to more than double in size from the 2012 totals by next summer, Jeff Smith, director of the Huron County Building and Zoning Office said Friday. [Huron Daily Tribune]

¶   Over the coming year, a task force comprised of technical experts, activists and business leaders will be responsible for studying the possible implementation of a net zero emissions policy for Cambridge, Massachusetts, City Manager Richard Rossi has said. [Cambridge Chronicle]

¶   The EPA is considering rolling back the Renewable Fuels Standard, a move that could threaten the vitality of Nebraska’s ethanol industry. The unprecedented strategy surfaced Friday in internal EPA documents provided to national news outlets by industry sources. [Lincoln Journal Star]

Opinion:

¶   “‘Green taxes’ fight energy bills not fuel them” Despite “green taxes” being only a small part of the reason for rising bills in the UK, and despite their being the only part of the rising costs that actually helps reduce future bills, they are under continuing assault. [The Guardian]

Science and Technology:

¶   GE has announced PowerUp, a customized software-enabled platform that will increase a wind farm’s output by up to 5%. For the average U.S. wind farm operator using GE’s 1.5-77 turbine, a 5% increase in energy output translates to up to a 20% increase in profit per turbine. [Your Industry News]

World:

¶   Ontario regulators have granted renewable energy approvals to three feed-in tariff projects, allowing developers to proceed to construction. The three wind farms have a combined capacity of 209 MW. Under the permits the proponents have three years to complete their wind farms. [reNews]

¶   The Asian Development Bank will provide $500 million to build a power transmission system needed to deliver clean electricity from wind and solar power projects in Rajasthan in Northwest India to the state and national grids. [Your Renewable News]

¶   SSE, one of Britain’s so-called ‘Big Six’ utilities has announced a price increase of 8.2%, which would add £93 to an annual dual fuel bill. Some comment blames renewable subsidies, but think-tank IPPR argues network charges and wholesale gas prices are far more important causes. [Power Engineering International]

¶   Data compiled by the Japanese Agency for Natural Resources and Energy shows that Japan installed 1.82 GW of solar PV capacity during the second quarter of 2013, as published this week by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. [pv magazine]

¶   The head of Ontario’s provincial government has set aside plans to build two new reactors, saying the current demand for power does not justify the expense. Ontario’s Energy Minister said the province’s surplus of electricity generation made investment in new reactors unnecessary. [Nuclear Street]

¶   Key Austrian political leaders said Wednesday they were pleased with the European Commission’s move to reject automatically including nuclear as a “low-carbon” technology in revamped environmental subsidy guidelines for member states. [UPI.com]

¶   Nuclear power’s rate of growth over the last 25 years is less than 10% of what it was over the previous 25. Now, it is the only mainstream energy technology that does not show significant growth. Its share of global primary energy supply has fallen from 6.4 percent in 2002 to just 4.5 percent in 2012. [Fierce Energy]

US:

¶   Silver Ridge Power and Google have announced that Google became a partner and will invest approximately $103 million in Silver Ridge Power’s 265.7 MW Mount Signal Solar project. The project is under construction in Imperial County, California. [Your Industry News]

¶   The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced that it would not recommend the state’s Climate Change Advisory Committee debate or vote on a plan that considers increasing the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard. [Your Renewable News]

¶   The oil industry fired yet another volley in its war against the Renewable Fuel Standard by filing a lawsuit with the D.C. Circuit Court against the Environmental Protection Agency over the volume requirements of the Renewable Fuel Standard. [AgInfo.net]

¶   North Dakota regulators have approved plans for a $300 million wind farm in southwestern Adams County, after discussion about whether the state already generates enough of the renewable energy because its current goals have already been met. [Finance and Commerce]

Opinion:

¶   “How Our Inability to Calculate Risk Opened the Doors for Fukushima” The fact is, we don’t know what we don’t know. In our energy policy and planning across the world, we act as if we know future fossil fuel supplies precisely–just as we acted as if we knew the risks of nuclear power rather precisely. [OilPrice.com]

¶   “Are Utilities Doomed If Consumers Become More Self-Reliant?” Consumers are increasingly exploring ways to supply their own energy – e.g., distributed generation and microgrids – and many observers claim that these alternatives may begin a death spiral for traditional utility business models. [Renew Grid]

World:

¶   The world must eliminate emissions from burning fossil fuels in the second half of this century to lower the economic cost of climate change, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said on Wednesday. Worldwide, we need to invest 2% of our GDP to do this. [CBC.ca]

¶   The EU will meet its 2020 targets to reduce carbon emissions and increase use of renewable energy, according to a report by the European Environment Agency. The report says that carbon emissions across the EU’s 28 countries will be 21% lower than 1990 levels by 2020. [EUobserver.com]

¶   A Philippine Department of Energy official yesterday said the construction of three biomass plants and one solar farm in Negros Occidental will stabilize the energy requirements of the Visayas, with industrial booms expected in Bacolod, Iloilo and Cebu. [Visayan Daily Star]

¶   Iran will established three new wind farms, each with a power generation capacity of 350 MW, the managing director of Iran Power Generation Transmission and Distribution Management Company said on Wednesday. [Tehran Times]

¶   Leading energy companies have warned the UK risks failing to deliver on its flagship offshore wind development program, unless ministers demonstrate “a clearer ambition” for the high-profile project. [Business Green]

¶   The long-awaited deal between the government and EDF over the energy firm’s planned new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point is expected to be announced before the end of this month. Reports say a deal had been struck, with Hinkley Point to receive £93/MWh ($148/MWh, 150% of the cost of UK  windpower). [Building.co.uk]

¶   Radiation levels in seawater just outside one of the damaged Fukushima reactors spiked this week to the highest level in two years. The same day six workers were exposed to highly radioactive water, radiation levels jumped 13 times the previous day’s reading, the highest levels since late 2011. [Reuters India]

US:

¶   MidAmerican Solar and First Solar, Inc. are marking a major milestone at Topaz Solar Farms, located in San Luis Obispo County, Calif. This week, the five millionth solar module was installed on one of the largest solar projects under construction in the world. [Your Renewable News]

¶   What started out as a rate-reform bill that had been pushed by California’s utilities ended up as a law to increase the state’s renewable energy offerings. Among the big winners are the rooftop solar businesses, which expect to see more people buy their product now that the law has passed. [energybiz]

¶   Vermonters have embraced renewable power faster and with more gusto than anyone in the state ever anticipated. That’s brought increased energy independence to some but ironically has put others in “a bit of a purgatory,” as one solar installer describes it. [Seven Days]

¶   IKEA is increasing the size of its Boston-area store in Stoughton, MA. At the same time, it will increase the size of the solar array on the store’s roof. The 51,516-square-foot solar addition will consist of a 312-kW system, and will produce 383,200 kWh, bringing the store’s total to 1,078,200 kWh/year, [Your Renewable News]

¶   The US NRC is shutting down because the agency has depleted its carryover funds. Resident inspectors at the nation’s 100 nuclear reactors will remain in place to address immediate safety and security issues, but the agency’s daily reactor status report will not be available. [Reuters]

¶   A panel of current and former politicians and nuclear regulators on Wednesday called for the closure of the 685-megawatt plant in Plymouth. Former Japanese Prime Minister Kan, former NRC chairman Jaczko, Arnie Gundersen, and former NRC commissioner Peter Bradford were among the panelists. [The Patriot Ledger]

Science and Technology:

¶   California-based Rennovia announced that they have produced a 100% bio-based nylon polymer. Compared with petroleum-based adipic acid, which is used in making nylon polymer 6,6, using their bio-based version could reduce climate change emissions by 85%. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   Siemens Canada has received an order from Samsung Renewable Energy, Inc. and Pattern Energy Group LP for wind turbines for their Grand Renewable Energy Project in Ontario, Canada. The Grand Renewable Energy park will consist of 100 MW of solar power and 150 MW of wind power. [EcoSeed]

¶   Güssing once very poor and dying, is still growing with new approaches to renewable power. The town of 4000 now has 60 new companies, 1,500 new jobs, and annual revenues of $17 million due to energy sales, all resulting from the growth of the renewable energy sector. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Renewable-energy technologies like solar and wind power, which in many countries have begun to shake up the mix of energy sources, are now also challenging the traditional distribution system. Advocates of distributed generation, envision what they consider a better way. [New York Times]

¶   Canada’s National Research Council has launched a research program aimed at accelerating the deployment of energy storage systems, seen as crucial to the further uptake of renewable energy in Canada. The program seeks to improve the reliability and economy for solar and wind power. [PV-Tech]

¶   Carbon markets are more than 16 times cheaper at cutting greenhouse gases than renewable subsidies paid to power producers, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. [Businessweek]

¶   Former NRC chairman Jaczko says Entergy should shut the Indian Point nuclear power plant instead of continuing to fight local officials who oppose the facility. He says the best solution is for all the interested stakeholders to think about a way to shut plant down on a reasonable time frame. [Businessweek]

¶   Britain’s plans to use public money to subsidize a new generation of nuclear power suffered a setback on Tuesday when EU policy-makers decided to exclude atomic electricity from a list of funding guidelines. Omitting nuclear energy from the guidelines means decisions have to be made on an individual basis. [Reuters]

¶   Turkey’s first nuclear power plant is likely to be delayed by at least a year, a source close to the plans said on Tuesday, as bureaucratic hurdles hamper the $20 billion project. The 4,800 MW plant, being built by Russia’s Rosatom, is already behind schedule, even though it is not scheduled to operate until 2019. [Chicago Tribune]

¶   In its second accident in three days, a worker at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accidentally removed a pipe connected to the contaminated water treatment system. It has resulted in the worker and five others being exposed to radiation, as well as the leakage of several tons of water. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   A co-owner of a Vermont mountaintop wind power project is complaining that his turbines were ordered to stop sending electricity to the grid in favor of power produced by fossil fuel and nuclear plants. David Blittersdorf said the decision to curtail wind was counter to common sense and unsustainable. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

¶   When we hear about the huge growth of solar installations in the US, the talk is mostly about solar PV, but there’s enormous potential in solar thermal – used for heating and cooling. Currently, there’s 9 gigawatts (GW) of solar thermal installed in the US, 1 GW less than solar PV. [SustainableBusiness.com]

¶   A pipeline explosion in rural northwestern Oklahoma was sending flames shooting into the night sky early Monday. No injuries have been reported, and residents within two miles of the blast have been evacuated. [CBS News]

¶   A federal court has ruled that Exelon Corp., the biggest U.S. nuclear operator, cannot use $1.69 billion of claimed liabilities associated with decommissioning three nuclear power plants to generate tax benefits. [Bloomberg]

¶   As costs and competition from cheap natural gas force more old nuclear plants to shut down, their owners now complain the electricity market is rigged against them. A president of sales at Entergy said it was a mistake for the market to force decisions scrapping plants based on the everyday cost of power.[New York Times]

Opinion:

¶   Microgrids might offer solutions both to the question of how we should adapt to climate change and the question of how to prevent climate change. In the process of doing so, they might offer solutions on reliability, security, costs, and employment. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶   A discovery that water droplets can jump off a surface while acquiring an electric charge may lead to new power generation methods, and more efficient power plants. MIT researchers think that this new discovery could be utilized for clean energy from the atmosphere. [CleanTechnica]

¶   During an experiment at the US National Ignition Facility in late September, the amount of energy released through the fusion reaction exceeded the amount of energy being absorbed by the fuel – the first time this had been achieved at any fusion facility in the world. [BBC News]

World:

¶   Western Australia has some of the best solar and wind resources in the world. But for the foreseeable future they are likely to go largely undeveloped because the state government has indicated that it will not support any new large-scale renewable energy developments on its main grid. [RenewEconomy]

¶   A campaign to persuade investors to take their money out of the fossil fuel sector is growing faster than any previous divestment campaign and could cause significant damage to coal, oil and gas companies, according to a study from the University of Oxford. [The Guardian]

¶   Quakers in Britain have announced their support for a Christian charity that is calling for churches and the religious community to divest from fossil fuels. Operation Noah is a faith-motivated movement that is working to encourage the complete decarbonisation of the British economy by 2030. [Blue & Green Tomorrow]

¶   Another incident at the Fukushima nuclear facility was announced by operator TEPCO, as a worker had accidentally switched off power to the cooling pump for the No. 1 reactor. The cooling process was immediately resumed as the backup pump kicked into gear and took over the process. [The Japan Daily Press]

¶   Another toxic water leak was discovered at Fukushima nuclear power plant, according to TEPCO. This leak is similar to one found in August. The operator does not know the exact amount of water that leaked from the 450-ton tank. [The Tokyo Times]

US:

¶   The three largest California utilities, Edison International, PG&E Corp. and Sempra Energy, said they’re putting up hurdles to some battery backups wired to solar panels because they can’t be certain the power flowing back to the grid from the units is actually clean energy. [Bloomberg]

¶   California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill to restructure utility rates, increase the state’s use of renewable power and create a new way to pay solar homeowners for their excess electricity. The new law has a number of important provisions for renewable energy. [San Francisco Chronicle]

¶   Even with lower costs, the barriers to development of renewable power can still be too high for low-income communities. Solar non-profits, like GRID Alternatives, identify neighborhoods that could benefit from green energy, and volunteers rally together to help install solar panels on qualifying homes. [Huffington Post]

Science and Technology:

¶   The price of solar photovoltaic cells has dropped 99% in the past quarter century. So in an increasing number of markets around the country, solar is at or very close to grid parity. The Graph of the Day shows a decline in the price per watt from $76.67 to $0.72 since 1977, a 99% plunge to grid parity. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Designed to capture ocean currents, Safrema Energy’s Nexus turbine can be placed into a river without having to build a dam, giving the Nexus a much smaller environmental impact. Safrema Energy claims that the Nexus can produce power at 2.6 cents per kWh, with no subsidies. [ENGINEERING.com]

¶   The growth of wind power, if undertaken with reasonable care, should pose no risk to any particular bird species in Canada, according to a new peer-reviewed study. The study also suggests that highly publicized bird mortality figures out of the U.S. and Europe could be on the high side. [EarthTechling]

World:

¶   More than 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide were displaced by Scotland’s renewable industry in 2012 – a new record and a jump of 24% on the previous year. This is the equivalent of removing 99.1% of carbon emissions generated from every car, bus, lorry and train journey in Scotland. [Energy Live News]

¶   Two separate solar PV projects, totaling 36 MW and 20 MW, have been approved in the UK with construction set to begin immediately. The UK’s department of energy also revealed the country installed 707 MW in the first half of 2013. [pv magazine]

¶   The operator of Japan’s wrecked nuclear plant said Monday that a pump used to cool one of the damaged reactors had stopped, possibly because of human error, in the latest mishap at the problem-plagued facility. [New York Times]

¶   Japan’s prime minister has appealed to the international community to help fix the ongoing crisis at its damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant. His comments were made against a backdrop of ongoing technical issues. [Telegraph.co.uk]

US:

¶   The solar array on Lancaster, Massachusetts’ old landfill site is turning sunshine into revenue for the town after the switch was turned on last month. The $2 million project will be generating enough power to pay for the town’s municipal electric bill, and then some. [Worcester Telegram]

¶   The NRC is being asked to restrict storage of highly radioactive nuclear waste in spent fuel pools like the one at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. Two authors of a 2003 report on packed fuel pools urged that fuel older than five years be stored in dry concrete casks. A third author was Allison Macfarlane. [Rutland Herald]

Opinion:

¶   “Six Perspectives on the Fate of Utilities” Greentech Media has had an increase in coverage on utilities not because of obsession with their demise, but because the utility industry itself is grappling with how to manage the ongoing surge in distributed energy. [greentechmedia.com]

¶   “Conservatives warming up to climate change” Many Republicans who once dismissed global warming as a liberal invention now see mounting consumption of fossil fuels as an environmental and economic threat and say consumers should drive the energy transition countering global warming. [Detroit Free Press]

Science and Technology:

¶   The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that methane is far more potent a greenhouse gas than we had previously realized. Methane is now understood to be 34 times stronger a heat-trapping gas than CO2 over a 100-year time scale. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   In a study titled “Energy Darwinism – the evolution of the energy industry“ – investment banking giant Citi says the global energy mix is shifting more rapidly than is widely appreciated, and this has major implications for generators, utilities, and consumers. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Toshiba is in the final stage of negotiations for purchasing more than 50% of NuGeneration Ltd. for upward of ¥10 billion ($100 million), through subsidiary Westinghouse Electric Co. Toshiba holds a 30% share of the global market of nuclear reactor construction with Westinghouse. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   Maine’s wind power industry is poised to see its biggest period of growth since the state’s first major project was built six years ago, a surge brought on by unprecedented demand for renewable energy in southern New England and by evolving technology that has lowered the cost of producing electricity. [Press Herald]

¶   A new program has been started this year in Rhode Island to provide small-scale solar projects with grants and low-interest loans from the state Renewable Energy Fund. Now, increasing numbers of residences in the state are having solar projects installed. [The Providence Journal]

¶   Rhode Island is playing catchup in solar power generation with increasingly large arrays of PVs installed on otherwise unusable land in former landfills. An array of 12,848 panels is being built in a landfill in East Providence, to provide 3.7 MW. [The Providence Journal]

¶   The US Department of Energy’s Inspector General concluded has issued a report saying design changes at a new radioactive waste disposal plant were not properly verified to ensure safety. The plant is at the country’s most contaminated nuclear site in south-central Washington, [Las Vegas Sun]

World:

¶   Ergon Energy, which operates the sprawling, regional electricity network that covers 97 per cent of Queensland, Australia has suggested that within the next decade renewables and battery storage will be cheaper for domestic consumers than grid power. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The first ever renewable energy auction in Russia, the world’s largest oil producer, was recently completed. As a result, the fossil fuel giant has now committed to subsidize 399 MW of solar and about 110 MW of wind. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Japan is on track to install seven gigawatts of grid-connected solar power capacity this year, three times the amount it installed last year, because of uncertainties on the future of nuclear power. This increase in use of solar power may increase prices of solar cells. [Taipei Times]

¶   New Zealand Prime Minister John Key opened the $1.4 billion, 82 MW Ngatamariki Geothermal Power Station at a ceremony on Thursday. The government’s aim is to increase the portion of renewable power from today’s 70% to 90% by 2025. [Waikato Times]

¶   In Turkey, the Energy Market Regulatory Agency expanded the limitations on unlicensed individual electricity production though solar and wind energy from 500 kilowatts to one megawatt, the Official Gazette announced on Wednesday. [www.worldbulletin.net]

¶   El Salvador plans to increase its renewable energy generation in the near future. The Central American nation will solicit bids for 40 MW of wind power and 60 MW of solar energy in November, Bloomberg reported. [PennEnergy]

¶   An innovative e-learning course that aims to take renewable energy to developing countries has been created at Scotland’s University of Strathclyde. The course was developed as part of a project that supports the UN’ goal of sustainable energy. [Windpower Engineering]

¶   EnBW has installed the first giant monopile at the 288 MW Baltic 2 offshore wind farm in Germany. The Ballast Nedam vessel Svanen has driven the 73.5-meter long and 6.5-meter diameter structure more than 10 meters into the seabed. It will hold a 3.6 MW turbine. [reNews]

US:

¶   The San Francisco International Airport announced it will begin receiving renewable natural gas vehicle fuel, called Redeem, from Clean Energy Fuels Corp. The product is made from waste streams such as landfills, large dairies and sewage plants. [Patch.com]

¶   California’s Senate Bill 43 has been officially signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown. The legislation could be a major boon for renewable energy throughout the state as it is meant to make clean power more accessible to consumers. [Hydrogen Fuel News]

¶   Needham, Massachusetts could soon have a source of renewable energy at the site of long-unused landfill and not have to pay a penny for construction. The town hopes to use roughly 11 acres of the Recycling Transfer Station as the home of a solar panel system. [Wicked Local]

Opinion:

¶   “In 5 Charts, Here’s Why Nuclear Energy Is Going Nowhere” But here are five more charts, via a Citi team led by Jason Channell, showing that nuclear is not only on the wane in America, but also around the world. [Business Insider Australia]

Science and Technology:

¶   A promising, possible alternative to LED lighting has just emerged, thanks to research from the University of California–Santa Barbara. Bright, energy-efficient, high-power white light can be created via the utilization of a laser diode in combination with inorganic phosphors. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   The government of China is now offering a 50% tax rebate to photovoltaic solar panel manufacturers, effective since October 1, 2013. This is a value added tax (VAT) PV rebate which will end on December 31, 2015. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Japan has added 3,666 MW of capacity powered by renewable sources since the beginning of July 2012 in an incentive program to diversify its energy mix, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. [Bloomberg]

¶   The renewable energy supplier Good Energy has launched a ‘Good Energy Bond’ to fund its future investments in wind and solar power. The firm is aiming to raise £5 million but will sell as much as £15 million of bonds if they prove popular. [Energy Live News]

¶   Iceland is quickly recovering from financial crisis because of renewable power. Many companies with high energy demands have chosen to base their production in Iceland because the energy costs are so much lower than elsewhere in Europe or in the US. [Worldcrunch]

¶   Highly radioactive water from a storage tank at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant has made its way into the ocean, the company said Thursday. [The Japan News]

US:

¶   Clean Energy Fuels Corp. announced it will distribute a renewable natural gas vehicle fuel made from waste streams such as landfills, large dairies and sewage plants directly to fleets around the country and at the 35 public Clean Energy stations throughout California. [NACS Online]

¶   Duke University researchers recently discovered elevated levels of radioactivity, salts and metals in the western Pennsylvanian Blacklick Creek that the Josephine Brine Treatment Facility uses to discharge treated wastewater from oil and gas fracking operations. [inhabitat]

¶   Harvard University president Drew Faust announced Thursday that the institution will not divest from the fossil fuel industry despite pressure from some students and faculty to do so. [Boston Globe]

¶   The chairman of the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission says the organization is going to honor a 20-year-old agreement that guarantees space for radioactive waste from Vermont in its Texas disposal facility. [Your Houston News]

Opinion:

¶   “5 reasons why nuclear plants in Central New York are in trouble” The outlook for Central New York nuclear plants has slipped from prosperous to perilous. Experts say two of the region’s four nukes are at risk of shutting down prematurely if the financial picture does not improve in the years ahead. [Syracuse.com]

¶   “From China to California, signs of a lower carbon future” Although it is easy to get caught up in the vastness of the volume of fossil fuels we continue to consume, we are increasingly being presented with positives as we move – albeit slowly – along a path toward a lower carbon-emitting future. [FuelFix]

World:

¶   Ireland will see a total of €4.7 billion invested in onshore wind energy projects between now and 2020, and will more than double its production of clean indigenous and renewable energy, according to the Irish Wind Energy Association. [Agriland]

¶   E.ON has it officially opened the Kårehamn offshore wind farm near the Swedish island of Öland in the Baltic Sea.  Kårehamn has a capacity of 48 MW and cost €120 million to build. Its 16 Vestas turbines, each with a capacity of three MW, will produce enough electricity to power some 28,000 homes. [Your Renewable News]

¶   Global PV installations are forecast to rise at the fastest pace in three years in 2014, exceeding 40 GW for the first time and generating installation revenue of more than $86 billion, according to IHS Inc. Annual solar installations are predicted to expand at a rate of 18 per cent in 2014. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶   Stanwell Corp, the Queensland government-owned electricity generator, has failed to make any money in the past year from its 4,000 MW of coal and gas-fired generation because rooftop solar has taken away demand and pushed down wholesale electricity prices. [CleanTechnica]

¶   It seems the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is destined to lurch from one blunder to another. In the latest unfortunate episode Wednesday, it ended up causing a leak as it attempted to prevent another leak caused by rainwater elsewhere. [Wall Street Journal]

US:

¶   Carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels in the United States peaked at more than 1.6 billion tons of carbon in 2007. Since then they have fallen 11%, dropping to over 1.4 billion tons in 2013, according to estimates from the US Energy Information Administration. [Treehugger]

¶   Environmentalists and others have defended an Ohio law that imposes alternative-energy requirements on Ohio power companies. Ohio Senate Public Utilities Chairman Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican, introduced a bill to reopen debate on thresholds for clean-energy use earlier this year. [The Republic]

¶   The Washington DC Council has unanimously approved the Community Renewables Energy Act, which establishes a new program to help District families, schools and businesses to go solar for the first time. [solarserver.com]

¶   The expansion of Colorado’s newest renewable energy facility is complete, with the Colorado Highlands Wind Project now capable of generating 91 MW for Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association. [The Advocate]

¶   DTE Energy has joined a lawsuit against the US DOE that says the federal agency has collected nearly $37 billion for the disposal of used fuel from nuclear power plants but not disposed of the waste. The lawsuit asks that the DOE stop collecting money to do a job it has neglected to do. [Watchdog.org]

¶   Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, citing concern about the growing need for nuclear waste storage, is urging the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission to preserve enough space for Vermont to store its nuclear waste. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

Renewable Power at No Additional Cost:

¶   In 2012, the US DOD announced its goal to deploy three gigawatts of renewable power and meet 25% of its energy needs with renewable energy by 2025. Here are examples showing how these goals will be met without additional taxpayer costs by such financing as Power Purchase Agreements, etc. [RenewEconomy]

Science and Technology:

¶   (Video) A new apartment complex in Hamburg generates heat, as well as revenue, from growing the micro-organism. The five-story Bio Intelligent Quotient has a high-tech facade that looks like a cross between a Mondrian painting and a terrarium but is actually a vertical algae farm. [THV 11]

¶   Rennovia, Inc., a privately held company that develops novel catalysts and processes for production of chemical products from renewable feedstocks, announced that it has produced samples of what it believes to be the world’s first 100% bio-based nylon-6,6 polymer. [Fibre2fashion.com]

World:

¶   A new service for UK renewable energy developers and wind farm owners is being launched by environmental and engineering consultancy Wardell Armstrong. Solar Wind is designed to optimize grid connections by incorporating ground-mounted solar panels on the same site as wind turbines. [H&V News]

¶   In the Middle East, the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency found that more than 15 large-scale renewable energy projects totaling 1.55 GW are under construction in 13 Arab states. This is double the region’s current renewable energy capacity. [solarserver.com]

¶   The head of Munich’s municipal utility expects to produce enough renewable energy next year to meet demand from all the households in southern Germany’s largest city. The expansion comes from investment in offshore wind farms in Germany and the U.K. [Businessweek]

¶   Worldwide PV production rose 10% in 2012 despite a 9% drop in investment, according to the European Commission. The Commission authors estimate that producers added between 35 GW and 42 GW of PV capacity in 2012. [IEEE Spectrum]

¶   The Manx government believes that it could raise money by selling electricity generated by wind farms in Manx waters to the UK. Now, it has announced it was looking for a consultant to help it sift through tenders for offshore wind farms in Manx waters. [Isle of Man Today]

¶   In a joint venture with local farmers, called Yoshinoya Farm Fukushima, it will grow rice, onions and cabbages in a 4.3-hectare field, 80 kilometers from the stricken nuclear plant. A facility to process vegetables for use, with strict radiation screening measures, will also be built. [Hong Kong Standard]

¶   Nuclear engineers in southeastern Sweden have been wrestling with a giant swarm of jellyfish that forced the shutdown of the world’s largest boiling-water reactor. They did not get anywhere near the reactor, a plant spokesman said, and there was no risk of a nuclear accident. [New York Times]

¶   Retired Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi has returned to the spotlight by railing against nuclear power and urging Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to move Japan away from its reliance on atomic energy. Abe appears to be listening. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   According to a report released Sept. 20 by the Michigan Public Service Commission and the Michigan Energy Office, Michigan utility companies should be capable of tripling their renewable energy use by 2035 — with a goal of 30% derived from renewable sources in the next 20 years. [Midwest Energy News]

¶   With Congress’ failure this week to pass a continuing resolution to keep government funds flowing, a number of renewable energy projects that had been undergoing environmental review by the Bureau of Land Management may well be delayed, as staff are furloughed and schedules slip. [KCET]

Science and Technology:

¶   Kurion Inc. announced a breakthrough in the treatment of the historically difficult to capture isotope with a system to decontaminate tritiated water. The ability to remove tritium from water enables the safe release of purified water into the environment or recycling of reactor cooling water. [Fort Mills Times]

World:

¶   Russia has offered its first ever state-backed support for renewable energy, offering subsidies for 39 clean power ventures with a combined capacity of 504 MW. Solar power won the day, with 399 MW secured, while the wind power sector won just one-tenth of the 1,100 MW of wind capacity offered. [pv magazine]

¶   IKEA is now selling solar panels at its stores in Britain. The housewares retailer has already announced plans to switch over to solar and wind power by 2020, but now it wants to help customers incorporate renewable energy at home. [The Verge]

¶   Global remote microgrids are multiplying due to a number of economic factors.  Navigant Research reports that worldwide revenue from remote microgrids will grow from $3.1 billion in 2013 to more than $8.4 billion in 2020. [Fierce Energy]

¶   Good Energy, a 100% renewable electricity supplier located in the UK, is celebrating reaching a major landmark in its continued growth, after welcoming its 100,000th customer. The report also outlines a profit increase of 23%, and notes “strong growth” in finances and customer base. [Blue & Green Tomorrow]

¶   Japan’s Industry minister has suggested he supports local calls to scrap the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant, located 12 kilometers south of Fukushima Daiichi. The Fukushima Daini plant has four reactors. [Chem.Info]

¶   A pair of Michigan Democratic legislators traveled to Canada Tuesday to speak out against a proposal to bury nuclear waste deep underground near the shore of Lake Huron. The controversial proposal is to store low-level to mid-level nuclear waste three quarters of a mile from the lake. [The Detroit News]

US:

¶   EDF Renewable Energy has inaugurated its 143 MWp Catalina Solar plant – bringing online the eighth-largest photovoltaic plant in the world. The plant is located in Kern County, California, on a 900-acre site. It has  82 MWp of Solar Frontier modules, and 61 MWp of First Solar PV modules. [pv magazine]

¶   The Sierra Club launched an ad campaign Monday aimed at pressuring New Jersey Gov. Christie into making building offshore wind farms a priority. Approximately 75% of state residents favor building offshore windmills, according to a poll conducted by Monmouth University. [Philly.com]

¶   After years of building wind farms, mostly in Maine and Hawaii, Boston-based developer First Wind said Monday it is expanding into solar power, with a 14 MW project in Warren and a 3 MW project in Millbury already underway. They will generate enough electricity to power 3,100 homes. [Boston Globe]

¶   Xcel Energy said Monday that it intends to double the amount of solar power on its Minnesota system by giving customers the option of purchasing part of a central solar-generating array — a concept known as a solar garden. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

¶   Emerging Energies, a Wisconsin developer, won over regulators with a pledge to reduce noise levels at the 102.5 MW Highland wind farm. The developer fine-tuned operating plans to comply with noise restrictions after the board initially rejected the project in February. [reNews]