Science and Technology:
¶ According to Nobel prize winner Carlo Rubbia, the sort of risk analyses that is used for nuclear power are simply insufficient. The analyses are based on probabilities. But Fukushima showed that these calculations simply don’t work in the real world. [Ars Technica]
¶ Nobel laureate Dr. George Olah and Surya Prakash, director of the University of Southern California’s Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, hope to use solar power to create methanol efficiently from carbon dioxide and hydrogen, making it the alternative fuel of the future. [Green Car Reports]
World:
¶ More than 3300 MW of wind and solar installations and biomass stations that go online in Ontario between December 2013 and May 2015 will be used to offset the loss of about 2,150 MW in generation capacity from the shutdown of coal-fired generators. [Canadian Manufacturing]
¶ Echoing the beliefs of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a government panel has advised the central government, “Japan should embrace nuclear power as an ‘important and fundamental’ energy source.” [The Japan Daily Press]
US:
¶ Solar panels were installed on more American residential rooftops in the third quarter of 2013 than any other quarter in history, pushing US installed solar capacity over the 10-gigawatt (GW) milestone and potentially ahead of Germany for the first time. [Energy Collective]
¶ Wind energy is on the rise in Ohio and is providing huge environmental benefits for the state. That’s according to Wind Energy for a Cleaner America, a new report released by Environment Ohio. [Renewable Energy Focus]
¶ Some conservative leaders in the Kansas Legislature say they will try again during the next session to stop the state from any further efforts to require utilities to provide more wind power. [Kansas City Star]
¶ After failing in last year’s legislative sessions in 30 states, ALEC is taking new aim at state renewable energy programs. One state where the attack is particularly strong is North Carolina. The organization has drawn charges of illegal lobbying by a nonprofit. [Facing South]
¶ GE Energy Financial Services has completed an equity investment in EDF Renewable Energy’s Catalina Solar plant, one of the world’s largest photovoltaic plants, located in the Mojave Desert, southwest of the Tehachapi Mountains in Rosamond, California. [Renewable Energy Focus]
¶ The US DOE has issued an $8 billion solicitation in loan guarantees for fossil energy projects intended to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is meant to fund advanced fossil energy programs for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. [ExecutiveGov]
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