World:
¶ The UK’s biggest developer of solar farms has said it wants to spend £100 million developing 20 sites in Northern Ireland over the next two years. Lightsource Renewable Energy is currently considering two large-scale farms in County Antrim and one in County Down. [H&V News]
¶ PetroEnergy Resources Corp. on Tuesday announced the Philippine Electricity Market Corp.’s approval for MGI’s power facility in Santo Tomas, Batangas, to be a direct trading participant in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, effective November 4. [Business Mirror]
¶ Lightsource Renewable Energy is investigating installing a 6.5 MW solar farm at a farm in Devon. A key aspect of the solar farm could be the role solar development could play in boosting local biodiversity, including consideration for hedgerows and a wild flower meadow. [Solar Power Portal]
¶ Researchers in Fukushima on the Pacific coast of Japan are uncovering higher than expected rates of thyroid cancer in children. One prominent former thyroid surgeon – a veteran of the Chernobyl disaster – says that cancer cases in Fukushima are appearing faster than expected. [Radio Australia]
US:
¶ As part of an effort to become carbon neutral, Microsoft Corp. has entered a 20-year deal to buy power from a new wind farm in Texas, the first time the tech giant is directly purchasing electricity from a specific source. [Longview News-Journal]
¶ Existing law in Michigan sets a 10% target for renewable power that must be met in 2015. A report issued Monday to Gov. Rick Snyder says 15% renewable power by 2020 and 30% by 2035 are “achievable.” [Iron Mountain Daily News]
¶ Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, and Turner Renewable Energy have started commercial operations of the 139 MW Campo Verde solar facility in Imperial County, California. The project includes 2.3 million PV modules, and will power around 48,000 homes. [Energy Business Review]
¶ Michigan is about to become one of only a handful of states to generate more than a gigawatt electricity from wind power. More than 40 companies in the wind industry now employ more than 3,000 Michiganders. [CBS Local]
¶ Many Mainers are surprised to know that nuclear waste is still stored at the former Maine Yankee site in Wiscasset. Even more shocking is that if you use electricity in Maine, you are paying to maintain that waste. [WLBZ-TV]
¶ Entergy Nuclear wants another $790,000 in attorney’s fees on top of its earlier claim of $4.6 million from the state of Vermont over the energy’s company fight with the state over the future operation of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]
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