Opinion:
¶ “An Accident Waiting to Happen” Huge amounts of oil are being transported by rail from the shale oil fields. The probability of an accident with an oil spill over time is close to 100%. The possibility of recovering lost oil before it does heavy damage is small. [Resilience]
¶ “Nuclear Plants and Nuclear Excuses: This is Getting Old” Getting old is but one of the reasons safety margins can decrease, or disappear, over time. Wear-out failures can cause the overall failure rate to increase. [All Things Nuclear]
Science and Technology:
¶ The first fleet tests of UPM’s renewable diesel oil proved that UPM BioVerno works in cars just as well as any regular diesel oil. UPM’s renewable diesel oil is a wood-based renewable product. [Wall Street Journal]
World:
¶ The Asian Development Bank in Manila is now running on 100% renewable energy, with a complete power switch made on Thursday during the institution’s celebration of No Impact Week. [eco-business.com]
¶ Acciona SA, one of the largest owners of renewable-power plants, reported a surprise €1.97 billion ($2.7 billion) annual loss, equating to more than half its market value, after Spain cut prices for solar, wind, and other renewables. [Businessweek]
¶ Australia’s Coalition government promised funding help for a “Million Solar Roofs” in the last election. Now, as they attack renewable energy targets, the money is not in the budget, and they are not saying why. [Business Spectator]
¶ The Gyeonggi Green Energy fuel cell park, in Hwasung City, South Korea, is fully operational. It is the largest fuel cell park in the world, having 21 FuelCell Energy power plants, rated at 2.8 MW each, for 59 MW of renewable power. [PennEnergy]
US:
¶ Tesla has developed a battery to store power for homes, commercial sites and utilities. They have announced plans to invest up to $5 billion in the world’s largest battery factory, and want to cut battery prices by 30%. [Businessweek]
¶ A new transmission project has been proposed for energy from wind turbines. The “Grain Line Express” is a $7 billion dollar project that would start in southwestern Kansas, go through eastern Missouri, and end at the Illinois and Indiana border. [Four States Homepage]
¶ Massachusetts regulators have signed off on what the state is calling “the largest procurement of renewable energy in New England.” Twelve long-term wind power purchase agreements total 409 MW from three projects in Maine and New Hampshire. [North American Windpower]
¶ Austin Energy got the green light to enter into a half-billion dollar agreement with Lincoln Renewable Energy for wind power. Over the next 18 years, the utility will spend about $31 million per year to purchase 300 megawatts of wind-generated power. [KEYE TV]
¶ A Texas-based renewable energy company has begun the first phase of construction on their 400 MW Texas wind farm. NGP Texas, a subsidiary of Chicago-based New Generation Power, will build the project at a cost of$ 650 to $700 million. [Windpower Engineering]
¶ A bid by the fossil fuel industry to thwart the will of voters in Broomfield, Colorado failed in court this week, as 17th Judicial District Court Judge Chris Melonakis upheld the five-year fracking ban approved by voters last November. [Summit County Citizens Voice]
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