Opinion:
¶ “Year of cracking ice: 10 reasons why clean energy will turn corner” Bloomberg New Energy Finance CEO Michael Liebreich makes ten predictions about the renewable energy sector in 2014, a year he says will be transformational. [RenewEconomy]
World:
¶ The investment bank Goldman Sachs is supporting renewable energy projects with around $40 billion of investment between now and 2021, with bosses expecting large profits as a direct result. [Blue & Green Tomorrow]
¶ Honeywell and power management company Stor Generation Ltd. have launched a new, first-of-its-kind smart grid program in the UK. The companies provide ways to stabilize the electrical grid, and manage carbon and renewable energy commitments. [PennEnergy]
¶ One outstanding source of green energy for Latin America is the biogas potential found in the region’s highly diverse food, beverage and agribusiness industries, which produce biologically rich wastewater streams. [Impeller.net]
¶ A dozen American and international foundations, with assets of more than $1.8 billion, announced Thursday that they will divest from Big Oil and Big Coal stocks, and put their money into the clean energy economy. [eco-business.com]
¶ About 1,400 people have filed a joint lawsuit against three companies, Hitachi, Toshiba, and GE, that manufactured Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, saying they should be financially liable for damage caused by its 2011 meltdowns. [The Province]
¶ The suppression pool of the Fukushima Daiichi Unit No. 2 reactor may have a 3-centimeter hole in it, through which the highly radioactive water might be leaking out, the plant operator said. [RT]
¶ The Sellafield nuclear site in the UK is being operated with a reduced number of staff following the detection overnight of elevated levels of radioactivity. Non-essential staff are being told not to come to work, as a precautionary measure. [The Guardian]
US:
¶ The results of an environmental impact study into the Keystone XL pipeline project will be announced Friday afternoon, two senior administration officials and another source familiar with the timing told CNN. [CNN]
¶ New wind power installations in the United States suffered a dramatic decline in 2013 however record-setting construction starts point to a rebound in 2014, according to an American Wind Energy Association report. [reNews]
¶ Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to provide a stronger role for states in the process of decommissioning nuclear power plants like Vermont Yankee. [Bennington Banner]
¶ The Vermont House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to sharply expand the net metering program nearly four-fold. Current law requires utilities to accept customer-generated electricity up to 4% of their peak capacity that cap is being increased to 15%. [Product Design & Development]
¶ Energy companies were installing a record level of wind turbines as 2013 came to a close, with most of the new capacity coming in Texas, according to new figures released Thursday. [FuelFix]
¶ Bill Gates, along with a number of other venture capitalists, is investing in Aquion battery, invented by Jay Whitacre of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. The Aquion battery costs the same as a lead-acid battery, but lasts twice as long. [OilPrice.com]
¶ For the second time in two days, a Republican-led effort in the Colorado Legislature has failed to modify the state’s controversial law requiring that rural cooperatives get 20 percent of their power from renewable resources by 2020. [Denver Business Journal]
¶ The Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 – popularly known as the farm bill – passed in the House, paving the way for $881 million in renewable energy and energy efficiency programs. [Solar Industry]
¶ Denton, Texas (pop. 113,000) is a leader in clean energy, boasting more wind power per capita than any other city in the nation. The result is low carbon emissions, high reliability, and a rock-bottom electric rate of 6¢/kWh. [EarthTechling]
geoharvey 
Leave a comment