Science and Technology:
¶ Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have developed a novel nanometer scale ruthenium oxide anchored nanocarbon graphene foam architecture that improves the performance of supercapacitors, and so has implications for power storage. [ScienceDaily]
¶ Once again, the world hit record heat levels. The average global temperature last month tied the hottest April on record four years ago. It was 1.39° F (0.77° C) warmer than the average last century. [Huffington Post]
World:
¶ Narendra Modi, India’s new prime minister, has promised to bring solar power to the 400 million Indians currently without electricity. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party – which swept to power on May 16 – has prioritized solar power in its energy strategy. [Blue & Green Tomorrow]
¶ The world’s first community-owned tidal turbine is exporting power in North Yell, Shetland. The machine will power up to 30 homes, a locally owned ice plant and Cullivoe Harbour Industrial Estate on the island. [reNews]
¶ Leading Australian economist Ross Garnaut has flagged the decline of centralized generation, saying Australia’s best prospects for a cheap energy future lie in a decentralised, and decarbonized grid, accepting environmental considerations rather than fighting them. [The Conversation]
¶ The Australian Industry Group, representing over 60,000 companies, has said removing the Renewable Energy Target, currently under review by a government-appointed panel, would not lead to better outcomes for power users, and will not decrease costs. [Ferret]
¶ Swedish value-added steel producer SSAB and Stockholm-based Hexicon AB, a leading designer and developer of floating solutions for the growing offshore renewable energy market, have joined forces to develop far offshore windpower platforms. [Steel Times International magazine]
¶ Mexico announced a goal to increase its share of renewable energy to 32.9% of installed electricity generation capacity by 2018 at the Fifth Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM5) in Seoul. [solarserver.com]
¶ Bypass of clean groundwater around Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station has started, marking a major milestone in the resolution of water management issues. Uncontaminated water from above the plant is going to the sea, keeping it out of the plant. [Nuclear Engineering]
¶ A regional Japanese court has ruled that two reactors of Ohi nuclear plant could not be restarted – at least for the time being. It’s the first time that a lawsuit brought by anti-nuclear plaintiffs has been successful in Japan’s forty-year history of nuclear power. [Deutsche Welle]
US:
¶ Ohio is debating the sharpest break from a three-decade campaign by 29 U.S. states to reduce reliance on fossil fuels by promoting power from renewable sources. The Senate has passed the measure, and it is backed by Republican Governor John Kasich. [Bloomberg]
¶ Yet another milestone in California’s quest to go solar. According to the California Independent System Operator, utility-scale solar power plants set a new record of 4,566 MW of output at 12:03 p.m. on May 19, as renewables provided about 24% of grid demand. [KCET]
¶ The company proposing to bury a transmission line under Lake Champlain to bring renewable power from Canada to New England filed for a Department of Energy permit. The 154-mile, $1.2 billion underground transmission will transmit 1000 MW. [vtdigger.org]
¶ Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority has approved a New Hampshire-based, 75-MW biomass power plant as eligible to generate Class I renewable energy certificates. The facility has a 20-year PPA with Public Service Company of New Hampshire. [Platts]
¶ Georgia energy regulators Tuesday unanimously approved Georgia Power Co.’s first foray into wind energy, a plan to buy 250 MW of power produced by two wind farms in Oklahoma, enough electricity to run more than 50,000 homes. [Atlanta Business Chronicle]
¶ New Mexico environment officials say more than 500 barrels of waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory were packed with kitty litter suspected of causing a chemical reaction and radiation release at the government’s underground nuclear waste dump. [El Paso Times]
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