Opinion:
¶ “How Congressional Gridlock Stalled Wind Power’s Growth In 2013” There was a boom in wind power up through 2012. But the boom stalled out in 2013 and flatlined in 2014, thanks to gridlock in Congress. [ThinkProgress]
Science and Technology:
¶ Climate change has already left its mark “on all continents and across the oceans”, damaging food crops, spreading disease, and melting glaciers, according to the leaked text of a blockbuster UN climate science report due out on Monday. [The Guardian]
World:
¶ The Manitoba Metis Federation was prevented from getting solar power onto the agenda of a hearing looking into alternatives to building two northern mega-dams. The Public Utility Board and Manitoba Hydro shot the idea down. [Winnipeg Free Press]
¶ A new green energy plant which will be powered by food waste is on track to be generating electricity in North Wales by the summer. The 22,500 tonne-a-year anaerobic digestion plant will make enough electricity for about 1,500 homes as well as bio-fertiliser. [Daily Post North Wales]
¶ Irish tidal technology company OpenHydro is set to build a 4 MW underwater generator array in Canada, marking the world’s first multi-megawatt array of interconnected tidal turbines. The turbine design is considered to be one of the world’s most advanced. [Irish Examiner]
¶ The international geothermal market has been booming over the past year. Some 700 geothermal projects are currently under development in 76 countries. In the U.S., support for geothermal power has been increasing, with new initiatives taking root in three states. [Hydrogen Fuel News]
¶ German utility E.ON said Friday it plans to retire its 1.3 GW Grafenrheinfeld nuclear reactor in May 2015, seven months ahead of the planned shutdown under Germany’s nuclear phase-out law. [Platts]
¶ The prefectural assembly in Shimane Prefecture, Japan, which hosts a Chugoku Electric Power Co. nuclear power plant, has rejected an ordinance backed by more than 80,000 citizens calling for nuclear power to be phased out in the prefecture. [The Japan Times]
US:
¶ The US Senate finance committee is expected to take up a package of expired tax provisions, known as extenders, starting next week, and a bipartisan group of lawmakers are demanding they extend investment and production tax credits for wind projects. [reNews]
¶ Wind generation in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas on Thursday set a record for power production at one time for the second time this month. Wind generators met 10,296 MW, or nearly 29% of ERCOT’s demand. ERCOT manages power for 23 million customers. [Platts]
¶ At a conference on Capitol Hill on Friday morning, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy talked up a new set of national carbon standards that she plans to formally unveil in June. [NEWS.GNOM.ES]
¶ Virginia has issued $860,000 in grants to four businesses to fund research that will accelerate the development of offshore wind power and the industry’s supply chain. Virginia has prime locations due to consistent wind conditions and extensive shallow waters. [NewNet]
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