From the REV Conference
¶ Vermont and Upper Austria have signed an agreement to collaborate on the promotion of biomass heating. Vermont and Upper Austria are both recognized leaders in biomass heat as a local and renewable heating source. Upper Austria has a goal of 100% renewable heat by the year 2030. [vtdigger.org]
¶ Vermont could create thousands of jobs if it used locally produced biomass to heat about 20 percent of the state’s homes and businesses using modern, energy-efficient equipment, an official said Monday. [NewsOK.com]
Science and Technology:
¶ The Australian Renewable Energy Agency late last week announced “the launch of the world’s first one megawatt wave-energy-to-electricity unit.” The unit derives power indirectly from passing waves, as the changes in height of a water column cause changes in air pressure to turn turbines. [EarthTechling]
¶ Twenty one Nobel prize winners-including South African anti-apartheid campaigner Desmond Tutu-are calling on the EU to immediately implement the Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) which would see tar sands labelled as dirtier than conventional fossil fuels. [TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk]
World:
¶ According to the International Energy Agency, power generation from non-hydro renewable sources including solar, wind, and bioenergy will exceed gas and nuclear by 2016, and renewable power is expected to increase by 40% in the next five years. Bioenergy has an advantage of creating useful heat.[EP Magazine]
¶ Analysis from BCCONSULT says that at one point in early October, high renewable production drove the electricity price index covering Germany, Austria, France and Switzerland to 2.75¢/kWh at 2:00 pm. Renewable power produced nearly 60% of German grid demand and the grid did not explode. [Greentech Media]
¶ According to the Ontario Public Health Association, coal-fired power plants in Ontario accounted for 15% to 25% of the province’s a decade ago. By the end of next year, that figure will be zero, as renewable energy production and demand reduction allow the last coal plant to close. [Chatham Daily News]
¶ The first Spanish offshore wind turbine has been erected in the Canary Islands despite an industry lacking in state support. The 5 MW turbine is located at the end of a dyke and stands 154 metres (505 feet) tall with 62.5-metre (205-feet) long blades. It will be able to supply electricity to 7,500 homes. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
¶ The governor of Niigata Prefecture, says TEPCO’s processing and distribution of information on Fukushima Daiichi is “institutionalized lying.” His prefecture is the home of Kashiwazaki Kariwa, the world’s biggest nuclear complex, and he wants the company to come clean before restarting the plant. [The Japan Daily Press]
US:
¶ A1 Organics in Eaton, Colorado, the region’s largest commercial composting and organic recycling company, announced it has entered an agreement, worth tens of millions of dollars, with a renewable energy business to develop what could be the largest anaerobic digester project in the US. [Greeley Tribune]
¶ A federal complaint, filed at the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, alleges that the plaintiffs were diagnosed with some form of cancer as a result of the negligent and reckless operation, remediation and/or decommissioning of two nuclear materials processing facilities in western Pennsylvania. [The Pennsylvania Record]
¶ Federal regulators plan to take public comment at a Nov. 6 meeting in Orlando, Florida on a proposed rule and an environmental study on the effects of extended storage of spent fuel after nuclear plants close. At issue is the federal “waste confidence” policy. [Tampabay.com]
geoharvey 