World:
¶ Steve Waygood, chief responsible investment officer at UK insurance giant Aviva, acknowledged that there were widespread concerns among the institutional investor community about the fossil fuel industry’s appetite for costly new projects. [Business Green]
¶ Three Indian central ministries and six public sector undertakings signed a memorandum of understanding to develop the world’s largest solar power project, at 4,000 MW, in Rajasthan. [NDTV]
¶ Taiwan’s solar PV makers shipped 8.3 GW of PV cells in 2013, according to TrendForce’s EnergyTrend division in Taipei. This is a 42% growth on 2012, and a new record for the nation. [solarserver.com]
¶ Poland’s top utility PGE is looking for technology and financial partners for a long-term project to build Poland’s first nuclear power plant, expected to be worth up to 60 billion zlotys ($19.5 billion), it said on Wednesday. [Reuters UK]
¶ The South Korean government approved a $7 billion project to build two nuclear plants, the first approval since a policy review sparked by a safety scandal at Korean reactors. New policy reduces the country’s goal to be 29% reliant on nuclear in 2035. [South China Morning Post]
US:
¶ Tesla Model S owner John Glenney and his daughter Jill became the first people to cross the country using the Tesla Supercharger network. The trip took a week and 1,366 kWh of electricity to complete, but cost $0 thanks to the free Supercharger refills. [CleanTechnica]
¶ Butanol, the gasoline substitute promoted by billionaire Richard Branson, is headed for its debut at US pumps as soon as next year in a challenge to ethanol’s domination of the $26 billion renewable fuels market. [San Francisco Chronicle]
¶ In his State of the Union address, President Obama was adamant that climate change was real. He wants to use natural gas as a fuel to move us off coal, but called for congress to stop giving $4 billion a year to fossil fuel industries.” [EarthTechling]
¶ At the start of 2013, First Wind announced that it planned to increase its operating portfolio of 1000 MW of wind projects by 50%. In the course of the year, it added nearly 600 MW, exceeding expectations greatly. [PennEnergy]
¶ The EPA says tech giants Apple, Google, Intel and Microsoft, retailers Kohl’s, Whole Foods and Wal-Mart, the US Energy and Veteran Affairs Departments, and the cities of Houston and Washington, DC are the most prolific users of renewable energy in the US. [Business Green]
¶ New Hampshire’s House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected a temporary ban on new wind turbine and electric transmission projects such as the 187-mile power line proposed by Northern Pass. [Seacoastonline.com]
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