World:
¶ Global investment in renewable energy for 2013 fell 12% from 2012, the second consecutive year of decline. Much of the decline was due to technological advances that are driving down costs and making clean power more affordable. [Businessweek]
¶ Power generated by photovoltaics systems covered 4.5% of Germany’s total electricity production last year, according to estimates released by the German Association of Energy and Water Industries. [PV-Tech]
¶ Tasmania’s biggest wind farm at Musselroe was officially opened yesterday more than two years after the $394 million project started. The 168-MW wind farm generates enough power to supply 50,000 homes . [Tasmania Examiner]
¶ In 2013, wind generation provided 33.2% of Denmark’s electricity consumption. December was an especially fruitful month for wind in Denmark, as wind power provided more than half of electricity consumption (54.8%) for the first time. [EarthTechling]
¶ TEPCO has reached a minor milestone in cleaning up the mess at Fukushima Daiichi. TEPCO plant personnel completed 10% of the transfers that must be done to stabilize the fuel from reactor unit 4. [CleanTechnica]
¶ TEPCO won the support of the government and banks for a plan to rebuild its business, the latest step in the recovery from the Fukushima Disaster. The plan includes restart of two reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant as early as July. [Bloomberg]
US:
¶ The relationship between Colorado’s rooftop solar industry and the state’s principal investor owned utility, Xcel, seemed good in 2012. Problems were reported after Edison Electric Institute published a report that identified rooftop solar as a threat. [CleanTechnica]
¶ The National Research Council is calling for the development of an Abrupt Change Early Warning System, adding to the growing list of energy and climate policies the world needs to rapidly adopt, as global carbon emissions continue to rise. [Energy Collective]
¶ The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has published a rule requiring oil and gas companies using hydraulic fracturing off the coast of California to disclose the chemicals they discharge into the ocean. [CleanTechies]
¶ Google has announced that it had acquired Nest Labs, the maker of the innovative Nest Learning Thermostat, paying out $3.2 billion in cash. Nest has expertise in smart home technology. [CleanTechnica]
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