World:
¶ The European Parliament put out a press release to explain the European Commission proposal to cut emissions by 40% compared to the level in 1990 and increase the share for renewable energy to 27% by 2030. [European Parliament]
¶ Developers have dropped plans for wind farms in Cornwall and Lancashire, accusing the government of “constantly shifting its position” on renewable energy. The firm said the turbines would have put £100 million into local economies. [BBC News]
¶ The Northern Ireland Renewables Industry Group are proclaiming 2013 a banner year at their conference, pointing out that Northern Ireland’s output reached a record output of 506 MW on the 17th of December. [CleanTechnica]
¶ Areva is celebrating the successful delivery of the Bio Golden Raand biomass power plant in Delfzijl in the north of the Netherlands. The plant has an installed capacity of 49.9 MW and is fuelled by waste wood from domestic and industry activities. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
¶ The Nigerian Federal Government on Friday signed a $350 million investment agreement on renewable energy in the power sector with General Electric. The purchase will provide electricity consumers who were not on the national power grid. [The Punch]
¶ The world’s first magma-based geothermal energy system has been built in Iceland, taking advantage of the Earth’s heat to generate electricity. Iceland’s new system is the first to produce that steam in a region of molten, rather than solid, rock. [Wired.co.uk]
¶ Britain’s Sellafield nuclear fuel reprocessing plant ordered all non-essential staff to stay at home on Friday while it investigated an elevated radiation reading onsite. It later concluded radiation was caused by naturally occurring radon gas. [Reuters]
¶ In a scathing 68-page assessment published on Friday, the European Commission raises concerns about the UK contract with French utility EDF, for Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. It says £17.6 billion of taxpayer support is being wasted. [Financial Times]
US:
¶ Shell’s incoming CEO announced that a court ruling has placed “significant obstacles” in the way of oil exploitation in Alaska. The company also announced it will cut capital spending by around $10 billion this year and sell many of its assets. [inhabitat]
¶ The Clean Energy States Alliance released a new report that provides information on where a renewable energy generator in a particular state or province can sell its renewable energy certificates. [Virtual-Strategy Magazine]
¶ The Connecticut state energy department locked in long-term contracts Friday with two of the largest wood-burning biomass plants in New England, a move it says will save ratepayers $15 million and diversify the region’s sources of renewable power. [Hartford Courant]
¶ The U.S. wind power industry didn’t put a whole lot of new generating capacity into operation in 2013, but it laid the groundwork, beginning construction on a whopping 10,900 megawatts in the fourth quarter. [EarthTechling]
¶ US-based renewables developer First Wind is planning to deploy 750 MW of solar and wind generation capacity over the coming two years – equivalent to a 75% expansion. The increase includes 600 MW of wind power and 150 MW of solar. [NewNet]
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