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Opinion:

¶   “Green Tech Can Soon Meet 100% Of Global Energy Needs” We don’t need fossil fuels anymore. Many would argue that the reason we can’t stop burning fossil fuels and address climate change is that our modern civilization can’t continue without them. This is a myth that must be busted soon, given the rapid advance of climate change. [Huffington Post]

World:

¶   Solar energy is a must for Saudi Arabia if the kingdom wants to maintain its high standard of living, according to the Executive Director of the Saudi Electricity Company. He said if Saudi Arabia continued on its present consumption rate without developing solar power, a great opportunity to develop renewable energy would be lost. [Chinatopix]

¶   Northern Power Systems of Barre, Vermont has commissioned four of its NPS 100 wind turbines as part of a South Korean island hybrid energy project. The 100 kW turbines are in a hybrid system with solar, storage, and diesel to provide power at $.25 per kWh, a substantial saving for customers. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   Earlier this year, the Denmark’s leadership announced that it planned to phase out coal by 2030 and run its economy entirely on renewable power by 2050. Soon after, the Danish government reported that wind was becoming far cheaper than fossil fuels. Now, it says it wants to kill coal in ten years, not fifteen. [Motherboard]

¶   Siemens’ Wind Power and Renewables Division has received two new orders for onshore wind projects in Ontario, Canada. The contracts include the supply, installation and commissioning of a total of 137 wind turbines rated at 2.3 MW. Pattern Development will receive 91 turbines and Suncor Energy will take 47. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   GDF Suez has struck a deal with a community wind farm on the Isle of Lewis, off the coast of Scotland, to buy all the electricity generated from it. The Power Purchase Agreement with Beinn Ghrideag windfarm is the first such agreement of its kind with a community owned renewable generator. [Energy Voice]

¶   Preparatory works for the installation of the 7-MW oil pressure drive-type wind turbine on the three-column semi-sub floater at Onahama port, Fukushima, are almost completed, and delivery of the floater from Nagasaki to Onahama started on Thursday as part of the second term of the project. [The Maritime Executive]

¶   The UK Secretary for Energy and Climate Change, the chairman of Iberdrola, and the energy executive vice president of Dong opened West of Duddon Sands offshore windfarm. The €2 billion wind facility, developed Iberdrola subsidiary ScottishPower Renewables, was commissioned over two months ahead of schedule. [Your Renewable News]

¶   Renewable energy projects reached an installed capacity of 4,725 MW in Romania. Wind parks totaled 2,805 MW, along with 1,245 MW of solar, 574 of micro-hydropower, and 101 MW of biogas. New projects have added some 400 MW of installed capacity in the first nine months of the year. [Romania-Insider.com]

¶   The French Interior Minister said the government has begun investigating drones flying above as many as 10 French nuclear power plants this month. The French office of the environmental activist group Greenpeace has denied any connection to the drone flights and denounced the lack of security. [Ars Technica]

US:

¶   To make the Model S more affordable, Tesla made a new deal with US Bank to offer more favorable lease terms, lowering the lease cost by as much as 25%. The new lease now comes with a “happiness guarantee” that lets customers return the car after three months if they’re not totally satisfied. [CleanTechnica]

¶   During the eight-month period from January through August, the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in the Mojave Desert generated 254,263 MWh of electricity, according to US Energy Information Administration data. That’s roughly 38% of the power output that had been anticipated. [RenewablesBiz]

¶   New Hampshire has approved Palmer Capital’s 14.25-MW Jericho Mountain wind project in Coos County. The state executive committee voted in favor of a $4 million bond to help finance the fully-permitted project, which will employ 5 GE 2.85-MW turbines. Jericho Mountain is expected to come online in 2015. [reNews]

¶   The next step in a years-long drive for North Myrtle Beach to become the offshore wind energy capital of South Carolina will begin next month, when Coastal Carolina University, the University of South Carolina, and others begin assessing the quality of areas in off the coast of South Carolina for the development of wind farms. [SCNow]

Thoughts on Science and Technology:

¶   “Wind Power Is Cheaper, More Reliable, Than Natural Gas” There is a lesson to be learned from the debate in Australia and the analysis it produces: Not only is traditional fossil generation intermittent – and dangerously so – but the intermittency of some renewables is simply not a problem. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   British energy regulator Ofgem announced Monday its plans to allow £1.1 billion in funding for a new subsea transmission link in the north of Scotland to connect 1.2 GW of renewables capacity to the grid. The plan calls for a new subsea cable to be installed under the Moray Firth with completion expected in 2018. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A 10-MW canal top solar power plant has been installed in the Indian city of Vadodara, over a Narmada river canal branch. The total capital cost of the system has been about $15 million. The same engineering firm that managed design and construction provide operation and maintenance for 25 years for $1.6 million. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Siemens Canada Limited has confirmed an agreement to supply turbines to Suncor Energy’s 100-MW Cedar Point wind farm in Ontario. The manufacturer will deliver and install 46 SWT 2.3-MW 113 direct drive turbines to the project. The deal includes a two-year service and maintenance agreement. [reNews]

¶   JinkoSolar announced that it will supply 19 MW of solar modules for a PV project in Chile’s Atacama Desert region, which has one of the highest irradiation levels in the world. The 19 MW solar power plant is expected to generate about 50,000 MWh of electricity annually, about what 30,000 local households use. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   Germany can expect to see its greenhouse gas emissions fall this year as a result of a drop in energy demand and increased renewables investment, according to researchers at AG Energiebilanzen. They predicted that energy consumption in 2014 in Germany will be at its lowest since the country’s reunification in 1990. [Business Green]

¶   Germany is considering removing some of its coal plant capacity as part of a raft of new policies to help meet greenhouse gas emissions goals. On 3 December, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet is to decide on a programme that is likely to include steps to boost energy efficiency and possibly reduce coal generation. [EurActiv]

¶   In the first-ever delay in the plans to dismantle reactor 1 at TEPCO’s stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the government and the utility have agreed to postpone the removal of fuel rods from the spent-fuel pool by two years from the initial plans, NHK reported Thursday. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶   Xcel said last week that it has made deals with three energy developers to build as many as three huge solar power farms in Minnesota, which could result in almost 200 MW of new power coming online by 2016. Xcel is the biggest power company in Minnesota, with 1.2 million customers. [Hydrogen Fuel News]

¶   The future of rooftop solar energy in Louisiana could hang in the balance in the November 4 election race.  The chairman of the  Public Service Commission is a favorite of utility companies, which give his campaign hundreds of thousands of dollars. His opponent is a renewable energy advocate. [Alexandria Town Talk]

¶   Rooftop solar PV systems have reached grid parity – which means it costs the same or less than getting electricity from the power grid – in 10 US states. According to the latest report of the solar energy analyst at Deutsche Bank, by 2016, solar rooftop will reach grid parity in all 50 US states. [Treehugger]

¶   Exelon Corp has stepped up lobbying in its effort to have state legislators reward the company’s six nuclear plants in Illinois for producing electric power without emitting greenhouse gases. Three of the plants could be closed because of competition. Environmentalists, however, say nuclear power is not clean. [Chicago Tribune]

Words to Remember:

¶   “Every­thing is im­pos­sible until it is done,” says an official of the German region of Rhein-Hunsruck. The district uses wind, sol­ar, bio­mass and hy­dro sup­ply 177% of its elec­tri­city, and sells the sur­plus. C02 emis­sions have fall­en by 64% since 1990 and the economy has $50 million per year more than it had. [Edmonton Journal]

Science and Technology:

¶   A draft of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Synthesis report warns of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts. To keep the temperature from rising above the 2° threshold, net global emissions of carbon must drop 40-70% by 2050, hitting zero by the end of the century. [International Business Times UK]

World:

¶   The results of India’s latest solar auction are in, and it is bad news for developers of Australian coal projects – solar PV is cheaper for Indian users than the electricity price needed to pay for imports of coal from Australia. The low bids were below $0.09/kWh, at a price at which coal imports are not economically viable. [RenewEconomy]

¶   China is on course this year to build four times the total wind power installed in all of Denmark as developers push to build the turbines ahead of cuts to incentives originally designed to spur the industry. The nation may add as much as 20 gigawatts of wind power in 2014 and maintain that pace next year. [Businessweek]

¶   While home owners in regional locations of Australia often make a choice to go off-grid, particularly those who have to pay a high connection fee for new homes, it is becoming increasingly clear that taking some towns and villages off the grid may also be a better solution. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Poor nations are adding capacity from renewable energy projects at nearly twice the rate of developed countries, a new interactive report found. The surge reflects the economic advantage that cleaner technologies have in emerging markets with expanding populations and economies. [International Business Times]

¶   Europe is on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 24% by 2020 from 1990 levels, four percentage points higher than its goal, the European Environment Agency reported. The bloc was also on its way to meet the target of having renewable sources account for at least 20% of energy needs by 2020. [Channel News Asia]

¶   With increasing integration of wind power and conversion of CHP plants to use biomass, around 71% of Denmark’s electricity supply will be renewable by 2020, compared to 43% in 2012. Denmark is also close to meeting the Danish national targets of reducing carbon emissions by 40% by 2020. [Copenhagen Capacity]

US:

¶   The Post Carbon Institute has released a report, “Drilling Deeper,” which examines Energy Information Administration’s forecasts for 12 shale plays that  together cover 82% of tight oil and 88% of shale gas production. It says the EIA is almost certainly overstating the amount of oil the plays can produce. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Renewable energy sources accounted for 40.61% of all new US electrical generating capacity put in service during the first three quarters of this year, according to the latest Energy Infrastructure Update report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Only natural gas provided more new generating capacity. [North American Windpower]

¶   NRG Energy and MGM Resorts International announced that the world’s largest rooftop PV array on top of a convention center has been successfully completed. The 6.4 MW installation covers an area of 8.1 hectares on top of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, generating enough energy for over 1,000 US homes. [PV-Tech]

¶   September was the biggest month ever for Tucson Electric Power’s Renewable Energy Department. Over 500 applications for new solar connections came in and October seems to be keeping apace. What’s driving this surge? Better financing options for consumers and better information. [Arizona Daily Star]

¶   Utilities see themselves losing ground to new competitors as the US strives to significantly expand and strengthen its electrical grid, according to a Mortenson Construction survey of utility executives, engineers, and suppliers at the 2014 IEEE PES Transmission & Distribution Conference. [PR Web]

¶   New Jersey’s Public Service Electric and Gas Company has started construction of its largest solar project to date, an 11.18-MW project atop the closed Kinsley Landfill. Kinsley is the utility’s third project to transform the state’s landfill space into solar farms under the Solar 4 All initiative. [reNews]

¶   A lawsuit claims that the NRC and Pacific Gas and Electric Co changed a key element of the Diablo Canyon plant’s license related to seismic safety without allowing public input as required by law — or even notifying the public at all. The changes concern the strength of earthquakes that the plant can withstand. [SFGate]

Science and Technology:

¶   A new policymaking tool to discern the most efficient and effective means within the multiple choices and better enable the shift to renewable energy has been developed by researchers at the University of California–Berkeley. It facilitates assessment of economic and environmental implications of policies. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   Laos plans to quadruple its hydropower generation capacity from current levels by the end of the decade and step up electricity exports to its neighbouring countries, its vice minister of energy and mines said on Tuesday. Laos is among Asia’s poorest countries but has big ambitions to become the “Battery of Southeast Asia.” [Daily Mail]

¶   The UK’s Department of Communities and Local Government has upheld the resolution to grant planning permission for a six turbine wind farm near Carlisle. The city council had granted permission, but was appealed. Now, assuming no legal challenge in a six-week period, the project will begin construction in 2015. [BQ Live]

¶   New data highlights the catastrophe of the Australian Coalition government’s campaign against renewable energy. In a period when possibly 1,000 MW of solar projects should have been commissioned, just 10 MW of solar projects have been committed in 2014, almost one third of them on IKEA’s rooftops. [RenewEconomy]

¶   GE announced it will supply equipment and procurement contractor HydroChina and wind farm customer Sapphire with 33 GE 1.5-82.5 wind turbines for the Sapphire Wind Power farm in the southeastern Pakistani province of Sindh, located outside the provincial capital of Karachi. [The Nation]

¶   The growth rate of wind farms and solar plants in China, India and an array of smaller developing countries is starting to outpace that in many of the world’s richest nations. Wind and solar equipment manufacturers are helping drive a major shift to green energy, a year-long study of developing countries’ energy use suggests. [Financial Times]

¶   Wind capacity could increase nearly seven-fold by 2030, reaching a total of more than 2000 GW and meeting almost 20% of electricity demand, according to a new report, the Global Wind Energy Outlook 2014. It says that while growth has been flat at about 40 GW per year, conditions are likely to improve. [Business Spectator]

¶   A new political party has been established which supports the current Renewable Energy Target and seeks to increase Australia’s emission targets. The Australian Progressive Party seeks to provide certainty for an industry currently suffering from the “inconsistency and short-sightedness” of successive governments. [Climate Control News]

¶   The state of Saxony-Anhalt in Germany is investing in electricity storage by developing a 30 MW lithium-ion battery there. It will be built by SK Innovation Co Ltd, a South Korean company. About €9 billion have been invested in solar power infrastructure in Saxony-Anhalt since 1991. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A town in southwest Japan became the first to approve the restart of a nuclear power station on October 28, one step in Japan’s fraught process of reviving an industry left idled by the Fukushima nuclear crisis in 2011. Satsuma-sendai, a town of 100,000, has long relied on the Sendai nuclear power plant for government subsidies and jobs. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   UC Merced leaders say the campus could be completely powered through renewable energy by the end of 2016, sooner than originally planned. The campus already gets about 15% of its power from its solar panels, and will get 60 percent from a Fresno County solar site in the next couple of years. [Merced Sun-Star]

¶   A new Alevo factory in Concord, North Carolina will produce shipping containers loaded with Alevo batteries to provide 2 MW of power (1 MWh of energy) to be attached to grids at strategic locations. These units will also provide a range of services to deliver efficiencies and eliminate waste. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶   Broken Bow II, a 75-MW wind farm developed by Sempra U.S. Gas & Power Co, in central Nebraska, was dedicated Monday. The farm’s 43 turbines generate enough power for about 30,000 homes. Nebraska Public Power District has bought all of the wind farm’s electricity under a 25-year contract. [Lincoln Journal Star]

¶   The states of New York, Connecticut, and Vermont and the Prairie Island Indian Community in Minnesota filed separate appeals to challenge the NRC’s review on nuclear storage. They contend that federal officials did not conduct a thorough analysis of the long-term risks of dry-cask storage. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

Science and Technology:

¶   The risk of severe winters in Europe and northern Asia has been doubled by global warming, according to new research. The counter-intuitive finding is the result of climate change melting the Arctic ice cap and causing new wind patterns that push freezing air and snow southwards. [The Guardian]

World:

¶   A2Sea has installed the first turbine at Dong Energy’s Borkum Riffgrund 1 offshore wind farm in the German North Sea. The Sea Installer erected the first of 78 Siemens 3.6 MW machines on 25 October. The wind farm has a total capacity of 312 MW. It is planned to be fully commissioned in the first half of 2015. [reNews]

¶   The chief executive of the UK’s £3.8 billion Green Investment Bank says that after months of uncertainty over support for renewable energy, confirmation of contracts for major offshore wind schemes and clarity around the Renewable Obligation support scheme should ensure projects could move forward. [Business Green]

¶   Cruise ships now have a green alternative when they dock at the Port of Halifax, Nova Scotia. There is a new shore power system that lets vessels plug in. The shore power jib lets ships shut down their auxiliary engines and connect to the electrical grid while docked. This shore power project is the first of its kind on the East Coast. [Globalnews.ca]

¶   An official from The Institute of Energy Economics of Japan says Russia may play an important role in Japan’s efforts on energy security, possibly through a direct gas pipeline. Japan needs to diversify as nuclear reactors are currently shut down following the Fukushima Disaster. [ICIS]

US:

¶   Over a dozen solar businesses in Ohio have sent a letter to the White House backing the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan. One organizer with Environment Ohio says leaders need to reverse the freeze on the state’s renewable-energy standards and strengthen clean-energy laws to make the plan work. [Public News Service]

¶   The Board of Public Utilities of New Jersey wants to award up to $3 million to energy-storage projects, a policy officials say could help government, commercial, and industrial facilities have a backup power source in the event the traditional power grid fails during an extreme storm. [NJ Spotlight]

¶   There has been some movement to apply pressure to Georgia Power to adopt more solar. Georgia is a conservative state, so there has been a resistance to disrupting the main utilities’ reliance on fossil fuels. However, the dramatic drop in solar power prices has made even a resistant utility begin to embrace it more. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The National Park Service is investing $29 million in 81 individual energy efficiency and water conservation projects at national parks throughout the greater Washington region. This move to reduce energy use and generate energy from renewable sources is the Interior Department’s largest so far. [National Parks Traveler]

¶   Speaking last week at a conference hosted by Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, EPA administrator Gina McCarthy says the US has arrived at a pivotal moment in its pursuit of clean energy, a time on par with the very creation of the EPA almost 44 years ago. [Agri-Pulse]

¶   Solar giant SunEdison made several announcements last week in relation to major solar energy projects in California, as it completes major phases of project development. To date, the company has completed 382 projects in California in total, adding more than 489 MW of solar capacity in the state. [Energy Matters]

¶   Wärtsilä will supply a 50 MW Smart Power Generation power plant to Hawaiian Electric Company on the island of Oahu. The plant will help enable the integration of more solar PV generation on the island by providing backup power as needed. Wärtsilä is based in Helsinki, Finland. [FINNBAY]

World:

¶   According to data published by the China Coal Resource, China’s coal use has dropped this year by 1.28%, a downward trend started in the second quarter of 2014 and continued in the third. This, despite the fact that electricity consumption has actually increased by 4% over the year to date. [CleanTechnica]

¶   In Germany, the tiny village of Feldheim is at the renewable energy movement’s vanguard. The hamlet was Germany’s first to leave the national grid, using 100% local, alternative energy. It has an excess of electricity from wind and solar, which it sells, and uses methane from a bio-digester for heat. [The Local.de]

¶   Australian Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane says the government hasn’t walked away from a 20% renewable energy target, but a drop in power consumption has required a “recalibration”. The government wants to adjust the RET to a “real 20%”, in effect slashing it from 41,000 GWh to about 27,000 GWh. [Yahoo!7 News]

¶   Korea’s Ulleung Island, with a population of 10,000, will be energy independent through using renewable energy sources from 2020, according to its governor. The governor took Samsø Island in Denmark as an example. In Samsø, 100% of the electricity comes from wind power. [Korea Times]

¶   In India, Rajasthan-based solar EPC firm Rays Power Experts plans to invest Rs 200 crore ($327 million) for developing independent solar power parks across the country and eyes Rs 1,000 crore ($1.635 billion) by FY ’16. The company expects to have 400 MW of operational capacity by FY ’16. [Economic Times]

¶   Solar Impulse representatives have arrived in Abu Dhabi to meet with local authorities in preparation for the plane’s arrival in January. The plane’s historic flight around the world, entirely on solar power, is scheduled to take off from Abu Dhabi next March. Pilots of the Solar Impulse 2 will conduct test flights in the meantime. [Emirates 24/7]

¶   The intensified demand for electricity from renewable sources has kick-started the hydropower development into a new era: An unprecedented number of dams for electricity production is currently under construction or planned worldwide. However, the boom will affect some of the most important sites for freshwater biodiversity. [AZoCleantech]

¶   Masao Uchibori, the only party-candidate running, won the Fukushima gubernatorial election, according to The Yomiuri Shimbun. While all six candidates aimed to decommission the all remaining nuclear reactors in the prefecture, Uchibori was the only one to back restarting other Japanese nuclear reactors. [The Japan News]

US:

¶   OneEnergy Renewables and Constellation announced the development of a 4.3 MW solar electric project on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The is part of an electricity supply agreement between Constellation and the National Aquarium, which will receive about 40% of its power from the project. [AZoCleantech]

¶   DTE Biomass Energy today celebrated the completion of its 9.6-MW landfill gas-to-energy project at a landfill, which is owned and operated by Republic Services of North Carolina. Landfill gas at the site is used to generate renewable energy which is subsequently sold to Duke Energy Progress. [AZoCleantech]

¶   Increasing numbers of Michigan homeowners are making an investment in renewable energy, especially as prices for the equipment come down and their electricity bills edge up, according to utility companies and solar proponents. Many want to act before the federal tax credit expires in 2016. [Detroit Free Press]

Notable:

¶   Rick Piltz passed away. He was a prominent whistleblower during the George W. Bush administration, leaking internal documents, showing that the administration was actively obscuring climate science. A White House staffer later admitted to editing reports to downplay effects of climate change. [Scientific American]

World:

¶   Marks & Spencer is building the UK’s largest array of rooftop solar panels on a distribution center. Spread across 900,000 sq ft with more than 24,000 photovoltaic panels, the system will generate nearly enough energy to power the distribution center which handles all the goods M&S sells via its online store. [HITC]

¶   Iran is planning to produce 5,000 MW of electricity in the next five years using renewable energy sources, an Iranian official says. Due to its geographical and geological position, Iran enjoys enormous potentials for production renewable energies, including geothermal, solar and wind power. [News.Az]

¶   ABB is working with Vestas to provide rural communities in developing countries with affordable clean electricity. The two companies have announced plans to jointly deliver power technology and system integration solutions for remote off-grid and microgrid communities. [SmartMeters]

¶   Mainstream Renewable Power has reached full commercial operation at the 46-MW Oldman 2 wind project in Alberta. The Irish developer erected 20 Siemens 2.3-MW 101 turbines whose main components were manufactured in Kansas and Iowa. Oldman 2 is the third Alberta wind farm to come online this year. [reNews]

¶   Nuclear power generation will account for less than 30% of all electricity generated in Japan, according to the newly appointed economy minister. This is the first time a minister has referred to a specific rate for electricity generated at nuclear power plants since the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011. [The Japan News]

US:

¶   The Ford Focus Electric 2015 edition is getting a significant price cut of about $6000, down to $29,995, according to recent reports – thus finally putting it on competitive terms with the market leader, the Nissan LEAF. This is actually the second price cut for the Ford Focus Electric, which debuted at $39,995 four years ago. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The US Navy has committed to get half of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2020. It is looking to extract energy from tides, currents and waves to help with that goal, and has given the University of Washington an $8 million contract to develop marine renewable energy. [UW Today]

¶   The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville today released a request for proposals for a 25 MW Combined Heat and Power (CHP) renewable energy project at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. The Redstone Arsenal project is a 30-year Power Purchase Agreement. [Greentech Media]

¶   Xcel Energy Inc. said Friday that it has signed deals with three Minnesota energy developers to construct up to three giant fields of solar panels near the cities of North Branch, Marshall and Tracy by late 2016 to comply with a new state renewable energy mandate. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

World:

¶   European leaders agreed to cut carbon emissions by at least 40% by 2030, in a move that could pave the way for a global treaty on tackling climate change next year. The wording means that the target could be raised to 50% in the event an ambitious emissions reduction deal is agreed in Paris next year. [Business Green]

¶   The United States has challenged the Japanese government over moves to ramp up exports of coal-fired power technology and to offer cheap loans to lure buyers, according to a U.S. source with direct knowledge of the matter. Japan’s shipments of the equipment soared to nearly $8 billion last year. [Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide]

¶   DuPont is part of a plan by the government of Macedonia to create a market for cellulosic ethanol in the Pelagonia region of that country. Ethanol Europe and DuPont will work toward building a market for the fuel in Europe, which would support a commercial-scale second-generation ethanol plant in Macedonia. [The News Journal]

¶   Japan warned that a volcano in southern Japan located roughly 64 km (40 miles) from the Sendai nuclear plant was showing signs of increased activity that could possibly lead to a small-scale eruption and warned people to stay away from the summit. The government is trying to get the Sendai plant restarted soon. [www.worldbulletin.net]

US:

¶   For years, the utilities responsible for providing electricity to the nation have treated residential solar systems as a threat. Now, they want a piece of the action, and they are having to fight for the chance. If utilities embrace home solar, their deep pockets and access to customers could be transformative. [Scientific American]

¶   County ballot issues to ban fracking could have a large impact outside those counties. And the campaign money being spent on both sides – but primarily by big energy companies – shows how much is at stake. The highest profile and most contentious ban is the one on the ballot in Denton, Texas. [Resilience]

¶   SunEdison, a leading solar technology manufacturer and provider of solar energy services announced today that it has closed on construction financing. The funds will be used to construct the 26 MW DC Vega solar power plant located in Merced County, California. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   Renewable energy experts Thursday credited Sonoma County with a leading role in the expanding green power industry, a sector combating climate change as it creates jobs – including economic growth fueled locally by one of the state’s first public electricity programs of its kind. [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]

¶   In its 2015 State Solar Panel Rankings Report, solar advocacy group Solar Power Rocks has graded states based on a complex set of criteria. New York and Massachusetts both get A+ grades, and Connecticut, New Jersey and Vermont each get a solid A. The rest of the nation, despite less cloudy skies, is mostly not doing as well. [Mother Nature Network]

¶   Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court upheld approval of the 39-MW Passadumkeag Mountain wind project by the Board of Environmental Protection after an appeal by a local opposition group. The court decision also clarified that the board has a broad power to review the decisions of state regulators. [reNews]

¶   The Solar Community initiative is the first nationwide bulk solar purchase program launched to give homeowners easy access to more affordable, clean, renewable energy. The initiative presents a new approach to purchasing, financing and installing solar panels at a uniform discounted price to anyone in the US. [WebWire]

¶   Wind energy is generating most of the dollars being invested in renewable energy in Michigan, according to a study released by the Pew Charitable Trust on Thursday, October 23. More than $2 billion was invested in renewable energy in the state between 2009 and 2013, according to the study. [The Ann Arbor News]

¶   Since Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey, darkening swaths of the nation’s most densely populated state for days, a microgrid at Princeton University has emerged as a national example of how to keep power running for residents, emergency workers and crucial facilities when the next disaster strikes. [Princeton University]

Opinion:

¶   “Scratch below the nuclear hyperbole” – Six reasons why nuclear is not the answer to climate change (without even mentioning Fukushima) – The nuclear industry is pouring money and political influence into selling the United States and Wall Street on the lie that nuclear power is the answer to climate change. [Commons]

World:

¶   The Ikea Group may be putting a price on carbon emissions and is making great strides to become more sustainable. It has committed to investing €1.5 billion until 2015 in renewable energy, mainly wind and solar power. Ikea aims to produce at least 70% of its energy consumption from renewable sources by 2015. [Triple Pundit]

¶   The Ugandan authorities have approved an additional nine renewable electricity plants – some of them under the Global Energy Transfer for Feed-in Tariffs program – to generate a total of 132.7 MW to boost Uganda’s transformation into an upper middle class country. Eight of the plants will go online by 2018. [Bernama]

¶   The public sector will play an important but secondary role in financing the French energy transition, according to a new study. The state-funded study says an additional investment of €20 billion per year is needed to complete the energy transition. The study gives an overview of France’s fight against climate change. [EurActiv]

¶   Australia’s Renewable Energy Target will not be scrapped, but the government is negotiating industry exemptions with the opposition. The government, led by coal advocate Tony Abbott, called for cuts, exemption for some mining industries, or a complete abolition. Labor rejected these but proposed further talks. [PV-Tech]

¶   One of Australia’s main wind turbine tower manufacturers has announced it will shed 100 staff after the federal government revealed its intention to seek a cut to the Renewable Energy Target. Continued uncertainty over the large-scale RET led the company to mothball “most” of its wind tower fabrication facilities. [Business Spectator]

¶   China’s installed wind power capacity will reach 100,000 MW by the end of 2014, a year ahead of the scheduled targets for the year outlined in the country’s 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), a senior official said on Wednesday. China’s installed wind power capacity had already hit 83,000 MW by the end of August. [ecns]

¶   The UK is way off track to meet its target to have 25% of heating provided by low carbon sources, such as heat pumps and biomass boilers, a new report from WWF has revealed. The Warm homes, not Warm Words report shows that just 2% of UK heating demand currently comes from low carbon sources. [Business Green]

¶   Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, known as a firm opponent to nuclear power following the 2011 Fukushima meltdowns, on Wednesday criticized current Japanese leader Shinzo Abe’s policy to revive the country’s nuclear power generation. Last May Koizumi established a body to promote renewable energy. [GlobalPost]

US:

¶   Trash to fuel, the stuff of the 1980s sci-fi comedy movie trilogy “Back to the Future” is now a reality. The 2015 Bi-fuel Chevrolet Impala – not a tricked-out DeLorean – really can run on leftovers, table scraps and, oh yeah, grains from brewing beer, as Quasar Energy Group uses organic waste to produce biogas, which can fuel the car. [Florida Weekly]

¶   The US is reducing oil dependence, slowing the growth of electricity needs, and making energy services more affordable to all Americans – and our smarter use of energy is the single most important contributor to these positive trends, according to a report released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced more than $53 million for forty research and development projects that will aim to drive down the cost of solar energy, tackling key aspects of technology development in order to bring innovative ideas to the market more quickly. [Utility Products]

¶   New York Governor Cuomo today announced the first transactions of NY Green Bank to kick off clean energy projects across New York. Such projects are traditionally difficult for the private sector to finance because the financial industry has little experience with them and there is no way established way to evaluate risks. [InvestorIdeas.com]

¶   Satellite observations of huge oil and gas basins in East Texas and North Dakota confirm staggering 9% and 10% leakage rates of heat-trapping methane. Scientists evaluating this put the use of fracked gas in perspective. In short, fracking speeds up human-caused climate change, thanks to methane leaks alone. [ThinkProgress]

Opinion:

¶   “When Grid Defection Makes Economic Sense (Graphs & Charts)” A Rocky Mountain Institute and Cohn Reznick report, “The Economics of Grid Defection,” addresses the question of when it makes sense to go off the grid in various parts of the US for those in the residential or commercial sectors. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   The UK’s wind farms generated more power than its nuclear power stations on October 21, the National Grid says. During a 24-hour period on that day, spinning blades produced more energy than splitting atoms. Wind made up 14.2% of all generation and nuclear offered 13.2%. [BBC News]

¶   The Australian clean energy industry and Labor Party have immediately rejected the Abbott government’s opening gambit in negotiations to find a bipartisan agreement on the future of the renewable energy target. Labor rejected it as a job-killing “phoney” offer before it was even announced. [The Guardian]

¶   The Cook Islands Prime Minister opened Infratec Renewables’ 960-kW Te Mana o Te Ra solar plant in Rarotonga. The panels are expected to produce about 5% of the Cook Islands’ electricity. The country aims to produce 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by next year, rising to 100% by 2020. [SundayNews.co.nz]

¶   Greece’s dominant power utility PPC won approval from the energy regulator to produce electricity at two wind parks it plans to build in northern Greece. The production licence opens the way for construction of parks of 106-MW capacity in Rodopi, a project which is estimated to cost €127.2 million ($161.47 million). [Reuters Africa]

US:

¶   The Department of Defense released its 2014 Climate Change Adaption Roadmap, outlining how the military plans to adapt to climate change. For the first time, the Pentagon discusses climate change as an immediate risk – a factor to be incorporated into how the military operates today. [Energy Collective]

¶    General Motors’ new 2.2-MW solar array at its Lordstown Complex will be complete by the end of 2014. It will be GM’s largest solar installation in the Western Hemisphere. GM remains on track to meet a company goal of 125 MW of renewable energy deployed globally by 2015. [Today’s Energy Solutions]

¶   Sharyland Utilities, a power transmission company, has filed an interconnection agreement with Unity Wind at the Texas Public Utility Commission. The filing covers a wind farm in Deaf Smith County with a capacity of up to 240 MW and a projected second phase of 100 MW of solar generation. [Amarillo.com]

¶   GE’s Distributed Power business, Western Energy Systems, and Phoenix Energy announced they have signed an agreement for GE to supply Jenbacher gas engines to power a series of bioenergy plants that Phoenix Energy plans to build around California. The plants will use biomass gasification for fuel. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   Cornell University expanded its renewable energy portfolio as Distributed Sun, Building Energy and ABM announced they successfully launched production for Cornell’s Snyder Road Solar Farm, consisting of a 2-MW array on eleven acres of Cornell property in the Town of Lansing. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   In the first program of its kind, 3M Co. is one of three large US companies that are offering assistance to employees who want solar panels at their homes. The program, called the Solar Community Initiative, promises discounts of 30% to 35% on solar-panel projects, and help on planning and installation. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

¶   A new report from the US DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley and National Renewable Energy Laboratories on the price impacts of its SunShot initiative has found the cost of solar energy in America fell by up to 19% in 2013, with utility-scale PV systems falling below $2 a watt – 59% below what modeled pricing predicted in 2010. [Energy Matters]

¶   Ecoplexus Inc has closed financing and commenced construction on three solar PV projects totaling 21 MW and costing about $40 million. The projects have signed long-term power purchase agreements contracts with Duke Energy Progress and are expected to achieve commercial operations in 2014. [PennEnergy]

¶   Allison M. Macfarlane, chairman of the NRC, announced that she will resign to take a teaching job at George Washington University. She still has more than three years left in her term, but said she would leave January 1 and become director of the university’s Center for International Science and Technology Policy. [Washington Post]

¶   The US wind industry saw installations surpass last year’s total last month, according to new data published this week. The American Wind Energy Association announced that the total for the first nine months of 2014 was 1,254 MW. The installations for 2014 have now exceeded the 1,088 MW installed during the whole of last year. [Business Green]

Opinion:

¶   “Oil decline: Price makes the story” When the world’s business editors sent their reporters canvassing to find out what is behind the recent plunge in the world oil price, they looked at normal economics in action. But the issue here has much more to do with politics than with supply and demand.  [Resilience]

Science and Technology:

¶   The technology for managing a distributed energy landscape includes smart inverters, advanced power electronics, other grid edge devices, communications networks and software platforms. Now, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the DOE’s ARPA-E program bring us microsynchrophasors. [Energy Collective]

¶   A new, somewhat clever means of managing and improving the efficiency of the power grid was recently unveiled by a coalition of some of the world’s largest automakers. It is in fact simply a technology that allows for the direct communication of utility companies and plug-in electric vehicles, via the cloud. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   A report from the EU on power prices is only the latest of a number coming to the same conclusion. Along with three earlier reports, it proved that “wind energy is one of the lowest cost options for reducing carbon emissions,” with each focusing on a different attribute of wind energy’s performance. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Renewable energy lies at the heart of a dispute between Spain and France: Spanish wind turbines easily produce more power than is needed in the domestic market but that energy is wasted because there are few transmission lines to carry it across the border to France, but France wants to protect its nuclear reactors from competition. [Financial Times]

¶   Global wind capacity could reach 2000 GW by 2030 and meet up to 19% of electricity demand, according to a report released by the Global Wind Energy Council and Greenpeace International. It also says that the sector could create more than 2 million jobs worldwide and cut CO2 emissions by more than 3 billion tonnes per year. [reNews]

¶   According to the Clean Energy Pipeline, global clean energy investment jumped 11% in the third quarter of 2014 over figures a year earlier, clearing $64 billion. The third quarter figures represent a 3% decrease on Q2 2014 numbers, but are still healthy growth over a year earlier. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Dutch power grid operator TenneT has signed a contract for a €150 million ($192 million) loan to finance a grid project to help connect offshore wind farms in the Netherlands. The Netherlands aims to build offshore wind farms with a total capacity of 3,450 MW by 2020. [Energy Live News]

¶   A portion of the Northwest Russian Karelian Republic’s boiler systems will gradually be shifted to local forms of fuel such as peat and lumber production refuse now that the region’s government has decided to transfer 35% (250 MW) of its heat generation to these sources. [Bellona]

US:

¶   In the next Vermont legislature, a renewable portfolio standard could be created to establish how much electricity generated from wind, solar and other renewable resources utilities must sell. Under the current voluntary goal, utilities are allowed to sell renewable power credits out of state to reduce electric rates. [vtdigger.org]

¶   The hot summer was the third in which Southern California went without 2,200 MW from the San Onofre nuclear plant. Drought reduced the state’s hydroelectric output by another 1,628. Despite these events, California did not have any major outages, primarily because of its increased renewable capacity. [KCET]

¶   Minnesota’s highways are poised to become green energy generators with up to five 1-MW PV arrays built on public right-of-way. If the pilot project proceeds as planned it would exceed the capacity of a solar installation expected to go online next fall that is touted as the largest in Minnesota. [MinnPost]

¶   Michigan wind turbines could be erected without regard for some local laws under recently introduced legislation. The bill would amend Michigan’s Right to Farm Act to include wind production. It would allow wind turbines to be constructed on agricultural land without zoning or building permits. [Michigan Capitol Confidential]

Opinion:

¶   “Is France’s Love Affair with Nuclear Over?” During the next 11 years, France will reduce the percentage of electricity coming from nuclear from 75% to 50%. To do that, estimates are that as many as 20 of France’s 58 reactors would have to be closed and replaced with efficiency and renewable sources of power. [OilPrice.com]

¶   “Germany’s Energiewende Proves Electricity can be Clean and Reliable” Since 2004, the year of the first major revision of Germany’s Renewable Energy Act, the country has added at least 35 GW of solar and 35 GW of wind to its electric grid – enough to offset upwards of 35 coal plants. [Environmental Defense Fund]

World:

¶   The Philippines will have its largest wind farm once Energy Development Corp completes the 150-MW Burgos Wind Project in November. Groundbreaking for the Burgos Wind Project took place in April 2013 while the Construction for the initial 87 MW capacity of the wind farm started in June 2013. [GMA News]

¶   Green Power Panay Philippines Inc is currently developing a 35-MW biomass power plant in Mina, Iloilo, Panay. Biomass are renewable organic materials, like wood, agricultural crops or wastes used as a fuel or energy source. Biomass can be burned directly or processed into ethanol and methane biofuels. [Rappler]

¶   The Turks and Caicos Islands deepened its commitment to advancing renewable energy by joining the Carbon War Room’s Ten Island Challenge. The Rocky Mountain Institute will provide a range of technical, project management, communications, and business advisory support services. [Turks and Caicos Weekly News]

¶   Morocco’s first solar energy plant will begin operating in 2015, as part of a project the oil-scarce kingdom hopes will satisfy its growing energy needs. Morocco expects to build five new solar plants by the end of the decade with a combined production capacity of 2,000 MW, at an estimated cost of $9 billion. [Peninsula On-line]

¶   Investors are seeking funding from the UK government for an ambitious plan to import solar energy generated in North Africa. The TuNur project aims to bring 2 GW of solar power, enough for 2.5 million UK homes, to the UK from Tunisia if the company wins a contract for difference. [BBC News]

¶   British farmers will no longer be eligible for any farm subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy for land from January 2015. The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs claims that the move “will help rural communities who do not want their countryside blighted by solar farms”. [Solar Power Portal]

US:

¶   Geothermal power was once king of California’s renewable energy, but the industry’s shortsightedness and slowness to innovate left it floundering for three decades as solar and wind energy grew. Now, industry leaders say it is poised for a renaissance, powered by new technology. [Los Angeles Times]

¶   Minneapolis council members approved a contract with Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy, while also creating a public-private board to pursue the development of renewable energy options. Some environmental activists say the arrangement is a big step forward, but some others are skeptical. [Minnesota Daily]

¶   Using figures from the US Energy Information Administration, a Greenpeace team has calculated that only around 30% of the country’s emissions reduction came from switching from coal to less carbon intensive gas. The news comes after a study in Nature suggested fracked gas could cause increased emissions. [Business Green]

¶   A recent Union of Concerned Scientists study found that America can nearly quadruple its renewable electricity in the next 15 years, reaching 23% by 2030. This comes in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal that America set a modest goal of 12% renewable energy by 2030. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The state of Vermont has won a nearly quarter-million-dollar grant to help promote connecting renewable energy projects to the state’s electric grid. The US DOE grant goes to a partnership being set up between the state Department of Public Service and Vermont’s largest electric utility, Green Mountain Power. [Daily Journal]

Opinion:

¶   “Offshore wind can be our answer to region’s challenges” Wildlife and future generations are counting on us to build a set of solutions that match the scale of our environmental challenges. Responsibly developed offshore wind power can be New England’s greatest contribution to this goal. [Boston Globe]

Science and Technology:

¶   Researchers have developed a new catalyst that could lead to inexpensive and more efficient biofuels. Led by Professor Yong Wang from the Washington State University, the researchers mixed inexpensive iron with a tiny amount of rare palladium to make the catalyst. [Economic Times]

World:

¶   The International Energy Agency just released its second annual Energy Efficiency Market Report 2014 confirming energy efficiency’s place as the world’s “first fuel” and estimating the value of the energy efficiency market at between $310 and $360 billion and growing. [Energy Collective]

¶   Prudential is poised to become the key investor in a £1 billion tidal power station, securing the future of the infrastructure project. Its investment arm M&G is to inject up to £100 million in the Swansea Bay Tidal power station. The project is scheduled to open in 2018, and with Prudential backing is likely to get a go ahead. [Telegraph.co.uk]

¶   In Pakistan, the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has decided to embark on an ambitious plan for hydro and solar power projects to end the scourge of power load shedding. It has also approved a fund of Rs 10 billion ($97.24 million)  for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Oil & Gas Development Company Limited. [Business Recorder]

¶   Projects are beginning to grow renewable energy infrastructure in South Africa. The government has allocated about 70 renewable energy projects including 35 based on solar PV technology, with over 1,500 MW of capacity expected to be added. Wind energy and solar thermal power projects have also been allocated. [CleanTechnica]

¶   With the Small and Medium Enterprises playing a vital role in the economy of Sri Lanka, financing has become the biggest challenge, according to Syed Zed Al Qudsy, President of Malaysia’s SME Factors, speaking at a media conference held at the Kingsbury in Colombo on Wednesday. [The Sunday Times Sri Lanka]

¶   The switch has been flicked on New Zealand’s biggest solar energy installation, which is based in Whangarei. The 240-kW grid-connected solar electricity system will offset 80% to 90% of the air conditioning costs at the Tarewa Mega Centre, generating enough energy to power more than 40 homes. [Stuff.co.nz]

¶   India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has released revised guidelines for auction of solar photovoltaic power projects with a significant hike in overall capacity. The government plans to add 15 GW of solar power capacity by Q1 2019. The first of the auctions will involve 1,000 MW of capacity. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A record 264,000 becquerels of radioactive cesium per liter has been detected in groundwater at Fukushima Daiichi, TEPCO disclosed Saturday. The sample was taken Thursday from an observation well near reactor 2 reactor of the plant, which was destroyed by the March 2011 quake and tsunami. [The Japan Times]

¶   Japan’s Economy, Trade and Industry Minister has asked the chairman of a power industry group to decide soon whether seven nuclear reactors that will reach their 40th year of operation by July 2016 should be decommissioned. The aging reactors tend to be small, so it is possible utilities will let them go. [The Japan News]

US:

¶   Michigan’s entire Upper Peninsula is facing an energy crisis. A regional electrical power grid authority has ordered We Energies to continue running a nearly 60-year-old, coal-fired power plant it wants to close. This triggered a more than $8-million-per-month cost to keep the coal-belching plant going. [Detroit Free Press]

¶   JinkoSolar Holding Co, Ltd, and sPower have announced details of their first partnership. JinkoSolar is supplying nearly 115,000 of its 305-W high efficiency solar PV modules to sPower for a 34-MW solar facility comprised of four separate projects located in Lancaster and Victorville, California. [IT Business Net]

¶   Siemens has landed a contract to provide Hutchinson-made wind turbines for a new wind farm in Iowa and small expansion of another. MidAmerican Energy announced recently it plans to spend $280 million on the project, which will include installation of 67 turbines in southwest Iowa. [Hutchinson News]

Opinion:

¶   “Why Abbott’s faith in coal could be wrong – very wrong” In the baking expanses of the high desert near Reno, Nevada, a project is under way that could well make a mockery of Tony Abbott’s prediction this week that the coal industry will underpin Australia’s prosperity for decades. [Sydney Morning Herald]

World:

¶   Queensland network operator Ergon Energy wants to take some remote customers off-grid because of the cost of maintaining its sprawling grid network. New technology, such as solar and battery storage, costs so little it makes sense that some customers have stand-alone energy systems. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The decision by the Australian National University to end its investment in fossil fuels is a bellwether moment for Australia. It’s democracy up against crony capitalism, science up against ideology and renewable energy against the old polluting industries. Tony Abbott’s derision of ANU as “stupid” is a raw ideological refusal to face facts. [The Guardian]

¶   The Indian government said initial discussions have started for setting up an integrated power transmission grid connecting India with its neighboring nations including Bhutan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Excess production of power in one region can easily be used to meet deficit elsewhere. [Economic Times]

¶   South African electricity utility Eskom has plugged its first wind farm into the national grid. The Sere wind farm, 350 km north of Cape Town, is the utility’s first large-scale renewable energy project. The farm is a major step towards reducing South Africa’s reliance on coal-powered energy. [South Africa.info]

¶   A report by SmartestEnergy’s Energy Entrepreneurs estimates that manufacturers in the UK increased their investment in commercial-scale on-site power by £53.3 million (US$91.4 million) to a total of £164.3 million (US$281.7 million). This represents a 36% jump in investment. [Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production Magazine]

¶   A prominent volcanologist disputed regulators’ conclusion that two nuclear reactors are safe from a volcanic eruption in the next few decades, saying such a prediction is impossible. He said a cauldron eruption at one of several volcanoes surrounding the Sendai could cause a nationwide disaster. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶   One year ago, Georgia Tea Party members joined forces with environmental advocates to force Georgia Power to procure more solar power competitively as they were upset about the $1.5 billion in cost overruns from the Vogtle nuclear power plant. Now, results of competitive bidding show solar is very cost-competitive. [Energy Collective]

¶    A $500 million biorefinery is one of only three commercially sized plants in the country that use only plant waste, such as stalks and leaves, for production and thus do not compete for food crops. The second-generation ethanol plant has the capacity to produce 25 million gallons of ethanol per year. [Hutchinson News]

¶   Debbie Dooley, co-founder of the Atlanta Tea Party and national coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots, plans to push for more solar in Florida as she has in Georgia. Her goal is to end utility monopoly control in Florida. She has launched Conservatives for Energy Freedom, with the first chapter in Florida. [Tampabay.com]

¶   The North American Smart Climate Agriculture Alliance will bring together California farmers, ranchers and foresters to collaborate with energy industry experts. The focus will be on sustainability, resilience to climate change, reducing greenhouse gasses and reviewing the latest science on climate change. [California Forward Reporting]

¶   The NRC issued a much-delayed report on Thursday on Yucca Mountain’s suitability for vast shipments of spent nuclear fuel, saying it would be safe for storing nuclear waste. The 780-page staff report concluded the site “with reasonable expectation” could satisfy federal licensing requirements. [The Fiscal Times]

¶   Officials with the soon-to-close Vermont Yankee nuclear plant said Friday it could cost up to $1.24 billion to decommission the reactor, and that they currently have about half that much in a fund dedicated to paying for that work. The figure was contained in a “site assessment study.” [Washington Times]

Science and Technology:

¶   For years, some critics of renewable energy have contended that it’s really no better than fossil fuels when you consider the entire life cycle that goes into making their components. But comprehensive research recently released shows how far off their thinking is from reality. [GreenBiz.com]

World:

¶   Wind power is blowing gas and coal-fired turbines out of business in the Nordic countries. Nordic wholesale forward power prices have almost halved since 2010 to little over €30 per MWh as capacity increases while demand stalls due to stagnant populations, low economic growth and improved efficiency. [AsiaOne]

¶   Japan’s utilities say they are being swamped by green power and the grid does not have enough capacity to cope with the rocketing levels of electricity from the growing crop of solar power plants. Yet the same utilities are pushing to restart the nation’s mothballed nuclear reactors. [The Japan Times]

¶   EU leaders are likely to agree a new decade of climate and energy policy next week despite the “legitimate concerns” of several nations, Europe’s climate boss said on Thursday. European Union leaders have set themselves a deadline of the end of October to agree on green energy goals for 2030 to follow on from 2020 policy. [Reuters UK]

¶   Business and political leaders around the world, most notably in the United States and China, are pressing for action to avert the potentially huge financial repercussions of climate change. But this year, the most vocal climate change sceptic in the Group of 20 leading industrialised nations is its current host, Australia. [Daily Mail]

¶   Orix Corp, a Tokyo-based finance and leasing company, will continue to pursue the development of its 800 MW solar PV pipeline in Japan, despite recent reports of some utilities restricting grid access for new solar projects. Half of the projects are already under development or in operation and the rest will proceed as planned. [pv magazine]

¶   Innergex Renewable Energy Inc has announced that the Mesgi’g Ugju’s’n Wind Farm, LP has obtained the government decree from the Quebec government for a 150 MW wind project located in the Gaspé Peninsula, in Quebec. This concludes the project’s environmental approval process so construction may begin. [Stockhouse]

¶   Sweden has called on the EU to adopt a greenhouse gas emission reduction target of 50% by 2030s, 10 percentage points higher than current proposals. The call from Stockholm’s new centre-left government comes less than a week before EU leaders are set to gather to discuss the bloc’s climate and energy strategy. [RTCC]

¶   Italian utility Enel is considering phasing out 23 “obsolete” thermal power plants in Italy in the near future, accounting for 11 GW or 43% of the company’s existing thermal generation capacity. The decommissioning procedure for nine plants has already started, Starace added, listing units with a combined capacity of 2.2 GW. [ICIS]

¶   The UK’s National Audit Office has begun an investigation into the controversial subsidy regime for the planned new Hinkley Point C nuclear plant. The financial watchdog will be checking whether the guaranteed prices of £92 a megawatt hour – double the current cost of electricity – represented “value for money”. [The Guardian]

¶   Energy watchdog Ofgem has named five new potential interconnector projects that could link the UK with France, Ireland, Norway and Denmark. Together with the ElecLink and Nemo projects that Ofgem has already assessed, the schemes could provide up to 7.5 GW of additional electricity capacity in the UK. [reNews]

US:

¶   Earlier this year, the governor of Ohio signed a law that temporarily froze the energy efficiency and renewable energy standards. Now the Ohio state senate packed known opponents of renewable energy onto the review panel mandated to determine whether to make the current freeze permanent. [Huffington Post]

¶   The US Government has announced funding worth $1.4 billion to improve the delivery of electricity to rural communities. It includes $106 million to install smart grid technologies and $3 million for renewable energy systems, according to the US Department of Agriculture. [Energy Live News – Energy Made Easy]

¶   CB&I is working with Exelon Generation on a demonstration plant in Texas for Net Power. The project is designed to demonstrate Net Power’s Allam Cycle technology, which uses carbon dioxide as a working fluid to drive a combustion turbine. The plant will use a new turbine supplied by Toshiba, a collaborator on the project. [The Construction Index]

¶   The Army is gaining ground on its goal of going fossil fuel-free at many of its installations, according to the recently released program summary for its Net Zero initiative. The report, which covers fiscal 2013, breaks down efforts at nine pilot installations in the program. [Defense Systems]

Opinion:

¶   “Pa. backs fossil fuels instead of clean energy” Governor Corbett has signed letters demanding that the EPA reconsider its proposed rule to limit carbon dioxide pollution, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection refuses to allow its own Climate Change Advisory Committee to advise on how to implement the rule. [GoErie.com]

¶   “In Minnesota, jobs are the newest sign of climate change” Will Steger: On my arctic expeditions, I was an eyewitness to the devastating effects of climate change. Today, I am celebrating because of people like Jon Kramer, whose solar company has grown from a two-person business in 2010 to employ 20 today. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

Science and Technology:

¶   US-based aerospace giant Lockheed Martin says it has devised a new type of miniature nuclear fusion power generator. In the announcement of October 15, the defence technology company said its new compact fusion reactor could be developed and deployed in as little as ten years. [The Australian]

¶   An international scientific study, published today in the journal Nature, says the argument that fracking can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by eliminating a need for coal is misguided because the amount of extra fossil fuel it will produce will cancel out the benefits of its lower pollution content. [eco-business.com]

World:

¶   The price of oil has gone down because of high production levels from Saudi Arabia. In order to protect market share, the Saudi’s have decided to keep producing at current levels. While they are still making a good profit, US producers cannot break even with crude oil prices hovering around $80/bbl. [Resilience]

¶   In early March, when Russia first sent troops into Ukraine, oil was trading comfortably above $100 per barrel. Now, it is around $81, a three-year low. That’s tough for Russia since the country relies heavily on oil revenues to bankroll its budget – over half of the government’s revenues come from oil and gas. [CNN Money]

¶   Nissan Motor Corporation has begun testing a system to use electric vehicle technology to help power grids cope with peaks in demand. The energy management system could also make electricity from renewable sources, like the wind or sun, more viable by storing power to be used during periods of high demand. [Autocar Professional]

¶   Germany’s renewable energy surcharge is set to decrease for the first time in 2015, from 6.24 euro cents per kWh of power to 6.17 cents, raising the prospect of lower energy prices for households. But the move attracted criticism from the Green Party, which pushed for deeper cuts. EurActiv Germany reports. [EurActiv]

¶   India announced draft rules to auction 1,000 megawatts of solar capacity in Andhra Pradesh as Prime Minister Narendra Modi accelerates clean-energy deployment. Companies will be invited shortly to bid for contracts to build plants at a solar park in the southern state. [Businessweek]

¶   Environment Minister Ian Hunter said this week’s successful passage of the Pastoral Land Management Bill through the Lower House cemented South Australia’s reputation as the national leader in renewable energy and would provide a major boost for economic development in regional areas. [Roxby Downs Sun]

¶   A decline in Chinese power consumption has been mainly led by a slower economy and milder temperatures. Rising pollution is also a major concern for the Chinese economy, and it is dealing with excess debt and capacity. As a result, the Chinese government placed greater emphasis on environmental sustainability. [Market Realist]

US:

¶   The renewable power that Vermont homeowners and businesses generate has more than doubled since 2012, according to a report by the Department of Public Service on the state’s net-metering program. This growth is expected to continue ahead of looming uncertainty over the federal solar tax credit for solar PVs. [Reformer]

¶   The Texas Public Utility Commission is looking at whether to charge wind and solar farms higher transmission fees than fossil fuel and nuclear plants. The premise is that renewable power is variable by nature, requiring more backup than coal-fired or natural gas-fired plants. [Dallas Morning News]

¶   Vermont Electric Power Co is building a high-resolution forecast tool that aims to provide accurate, localized weather predictions. The two-year project will cost $16.6 million. The project aims to predict weather up to two days in advance, to manage the grid better by predicting solar and wind energy generation. [vtdigger.org]

¶   Marylanders really, really want to get more of their electricity from renewable sources like solar and wind, a new poll by George Mason University finds. Most also apparently back government mandates to make it happen, even if they have to pay a little more for their power. [Baltimore Sun]

World:

¶   A new survey of Australian households conducted by Ernst & Young across regional and metro Victoria, NSW and Queensland found 9 out of 10 Australians have considered or would consider switching to solar power. The main motivation is cutting electricity bills, but environmental benefits have appeal too. [Treehugger]

¶   A number of major companies are sending EU leaders a strong message before they meet at a decisive summit on 23-24 October. And they want some serious results from that meeting. They want an agreement on binding targets for the climate and energy package far more ambitious than what is being considered. [Greenpeace International]

¶   Just a few years ago, with prices of coal through the roof, it was cigars and caviar time for an industry who were proposing more new projects than you could point an activist at. A long and glorious future was expected, based on China’s insatiable demand for coal. Now, things have changed, and coal companies are in trouble. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Skanska and Ecotricity will invest up to £500 million in onshore wind through a new 50/50 joint venture, with their first three projects all based in Scotland. The firms have created a joint venture called Skylark, which would predominantly develop onshore wind projects in Scotland. [Construction News]

¶   Renewable energy could be the key to growing power demands on the African continent, according to a new statement from the International Energy Agency. Sub-Saharan Africa could, in fact, harvest enough renewable energy to meet its rising demands as soon as 2040, the agency says. [RTT News]

¶   Canada’s nuclear industry is in an uproar. The nuclear sector is fed up with the “green energy” title the wind sector has and considers the title undeserved. So the nuclear industry has started a public relations assault against wind energy. Nuclear sector professionals claim wind power just isn’t as green as they claim. [Greener Ideal]

US:

¶   Central California, already painfully stressed by the worst drought in 50 years, has another problem with its water supply. Aquifers that supply drinking and irrigation water have recently had to swallow almost 3 billion gallons of tainted wastewater from nearby hydraulic fracturing. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The heirs and still majority owners of the Walmart fortune, the Walton family, have been spending millions of dollars in recent years funding more than two dozen anti-solar energy groups, according to a recent study from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Among those funded is the American Legislative Exchange Council. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Yampa Valley Electric Association co-op members will soon be able to participate in one of Northwest Colorado’s first solar ventures. Clean Energy Collective, a group that aims to provide clean power generation to people regardless of housing ownership status, partnered with YVEA on a solar garden. [Craig Daily Press]

¶   Vega Biofuels, Inc recently announced it has entered into the Joint Venture to build and operate a pilot manufacturing plant in South Carolina to produce Bio-Coal, among other torrefied products. When completed in Q1 2015, the plant will use a patented torrefaction technology to produce the Company’s green-energy Bio-Coal. [Chem.Info]

¶   Texas sunshine will soon begin feeding electricity to the Houston Food Bank with the completion of a 280 solar panel installation. The 5,300 square foot solar array is expected to save enough in energy costs to fund the equivalent of just over two meals per hour in the Houston community every year. [RenewablesBiz]

¶   BYD Motors has unveiled the world’s largest electric bus, or eBus. It is a 60-foot, articulated battery-electric vehicle that can drive over 170 miles on a single charge with a passenger load of up to 120 passengers. The bus can has an off-peak charging time of two to four hours. [DigitalJournal.com]

¶   Green Mountain Power today announced that it is once again sponsoring a program to help eight non-profits construct solar arrays. The Vermont Public Service Board approved a GMP proposal to award eight matching grants of up to $20,000 each to non-profit groups all across Vermont, and GMP is encouraging organizations to apply. [vtdigger.org]

¶   Analysis at the Union of Concerned Scientists found that increasing non-hydro renewable energy sources from about 6% of electricity sales today to 23% by 2030 could  be achieved relatively easily and reduce carbon emissions nearly twice as much renewable energy as the EPA proposed. [The Equation: Blog of the Union of Concerned Scientists]

Science and Technology:

¶   The International Energy Agency has reassessed the roles of both photovoltaic and thermal solar energy sources and published its findings in a new Technology Roadmap (for) Solar Thermal Electricity. The agency predicts reduced medium-term prospects for solar thermal electricity, but the long-term prospects are unchanged. [CleanTechnica]

¶   This past September was the warmest since records began in 1880, according to new data released by NASA this weekend. The announcement continues a trend of record or near-record breaking months, including last May and August. This means 2014 will become the warmest year on record. [Huffington Post]

World:

¶   Onshore wind is cheaper than coal, gas or nuclear energy when the costs of ‘external’ factors like air quality, human toxicity and climate change are taken into account, according to an EU analysis. The report says that onshore wind costs roughly €105 per MW/h, while gas comes in at €164, coal at €233, and nuclear at €125. [The Guardian]

¶   Of the total €120 billion to €140 billion in energy subsidies handed out by the 28 EU member states in 2012, coal accounted for €10.1 billion, exactly the same amount as onshore wind, despite it being a markedly more mature industry and its central role in driving up greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. [Business Green]

¶   The University of Glasgow in Scotland has taken a page from Stanford and other US colleges. It has become the first EU academic institution to divest fossil fuel holdings. The university court voted to divest $29 million (£18 million) of investments in the fossil fuel industry. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The Australian town of Uralla is vying with five others to become the first town in the country to rely solely on renewable energy. Mayor Michael Pearce says the move will cut power bills for the town’s ratepayers and businesses. It could also mean wind turbines become a fixture on the Uralla landscape. [Armidale Express]

¶   Remote communities in Australia’s Northern Territory will reap the benefits of solar power thanks to a $55 million (US) project funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the Northern Territory Government, and managed by Power and Water Corporation. [solarserver.com]

¶   Despite weak momentum at the moment, energy from sources such as wood, manure and agricultural by-products could go a long way toward replacing coal in Europe over the next two decades, a leading consultancy says. McKinsey & Company sees bio-energy being cost-competitive with coal. [Sourceable]

¶   IKEA Group may introduce an internal carbon emissions price to help its drive to protect the environment and create a “new and better” company. IKEA, seen as global trend-setter among retailers on green issues, is also on target to invest $1.5 billion in solar and wind power by 2015. [Voice of America‎]

¶   Less than a week after the European Commission decided financing and pricing guarantees for the Hinkley Point power plant in Britain did not constitute an illegal subsidy, headlines show Europe remains embroiled in post-Fukushima debates over the risks and merits of nuclear power. [Nuclear Street – Nuclear Power Portal]

US:

¶   In the report, Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said uncertainty in climate change projections cannot be an “excuse for delaying action.” The 20-page report was released as Hagel attended a conference in Peru with his counterparts from North and South America. [International Business Times]

¶   The US is creating opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while delivering net economic benefits, according to a report by World Resources Institute. The report also says emerging technologies could help the US achieve deeper reductions even faster with targeted policy support. [Environmental Leader]

¶   Webster Groves, Missouri is the latest city to have been officially designated by the US EPA as a Green Power Community (GPC). To become a GPC, the city, including local government, businesses and residents must collectively use enough green power to meet or exceed EPA’s Green Power Community purchase requirements. [Fierce Energy]

Opinion:

¶   “WSJ Gets it Wrong on ‘Why Peak Oil Predictions Haven’t Come True'” A wrong version of how our economy works has been handed down through the academic world, through our system of peer review, with each academic researcher following in the tracks of previous academic researchers. [Energy Collective]

Science and Technology:

¶   An emerging class of electrically conductive plastics may bring low-cost, transparent solar cells, flexible and lightweight batteries and ultra-thin antistatic coatings for consumer electronics and aircraft. One example, PTMA, is about 10 times more electrically conductive than common semiconducting polymers. [Science Daily]

World:

¶    Just two weeks after the largest climate march in history, over 250 groups from nearly 40 countries urged United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, to reject fracking as a part of the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative. This came on the eve of the Global Frackdown, a day of action to ban fracking on October 11th. [eNews Park Forest]

¶   Solar PV project development in Russia has been accelerating recently – with a number of large, notable projects announced recently. Among those projects are a number to be developed in Crimea — no doubt being developed with the intention of making the peninsula more or less energy independent. [CleanTechnica]

¶   While the Japanese government wants to restart some nuclear reactors, new energy policy announced last April aims to decrease Japan’s nuclear dependence while boosting renewable energy sources. The change includes moving to fuel cells powered by hydrogen, and car makers will do that starting next year. [The Japan Times]

¶   Owing to Chile’s great renewable energy potential, its current reliance on expensive fossil fuel imports, its energy-intensive mining operations, and its supportive government, the country is now considered by many to be the world’s “top” renewable energy market. And solar power is already at grid parity there. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The church will not change its stand on the issue of reviving the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, according to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos  said the Church’s position on the issue was researched and discussed before a decision was taken. [Inquirer.net]

US:

¶   The shift to renewable energy sources in Michigan – particularly wind – has picked up in the past few years. One reason: It’s about half as expensive to produce than utility companies initially expected, down to as little as $50 a megawatt hour last year from more than $100 a megawatt hour in 2009. [Detroit Free Press]

¶   Honda and SolarCity announced at the SXSW Eco Conference in Austin, Texas a fund the companies said is expected to finance $50 million in solar installations for Honda and Acura customers and dealerships. This is a follow-up to a $65 million fund the companies created in 2013. [TechnologyTell]

¶   Eastern New Mexico is set to be the home of a new wind farm. The Anderson Wind Farm is under construction in Lea County – in the heart of the state’s oil and gas country – and could start generating power by December. The facility features nearly two dozen 264-foot-tall wind turbines of either 1.85 or 2 MW each. [Beaumont Enterprise]

¶   John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, delivered a strongly-worded warning concerning climate change and how it will impact not just the United States but the entire globe. The best way to prevent even more climate change from occurring in the future is to embrace clean energy alternatives. [Beta Wired]

¶   Residents who live in Massachusetts towns that have municipal electric companies enjoy smaller monthly electric bills than customers who live in communities served by National Grid. The difference will grow even wider on the heels of a 37% rate increase by National Grid that will go into effect on November 1. [Worcester Telegram]

A Look at History:

¶   “The Story Of Germany’s Off-Shore Wind Farms” Germany was not the first European nation to install offshore wind farms. There were plants in Denmark and England years before the first turbine was erected a mere 500 meters off the quay wall of the Rostock international port in 2005. [CleanTechnica]

Electic Vehicle Technology:

¶   Since last summer there have been rumors that GM is building a $30,000 electric car with a driving range of 200 miles, and the Detroit Free Press reports that GM has confirmed the existence of this EV, minus any revealing details. Select investors and media were invited to check out several upcoming GM vehicles. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Dr Heinz-Jakob Neusser, Volkswagen’s head of powertrain development, thinks that electric cars with over 300 miles of range aren’t too far off. The foundation of his argument is that the energy density of electric car batteries has been improving rapidly and will continue to do so. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   China has announced it will reintroduce import tariffs of 6% a tonne on thermal coal used to generate electricity and a 3% a tonne on metallurgical coal used to smelt iron. The tariffs are not new but a return to those that were in place when China first began to import significant quantities of coal. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Four offshore wind farms capable of powering 1.4 million homes have been approved by the Scottish Government. Energy minister Fergus Ewing has given development consent to Neart na Gaoithe, Inch Cape, and Seagreen Alpha and Bravo, which will together generate up to 2.284 GW of electricity. [Holyrood.com]

¶   In the new world of alternative energy sources, Tokyo is about to have its day in the sun. There are currently 20 citizen groups operating or in the planning stages for solar power generation businesses funded by private contributors in the nation’s capital, according to the Tokyo-based People’s Power Network. [Asahi Shimbun]

¶   ZooShare Biogas Cooperative Inc is building a 500-kW biogas plant conveniently located across from the Toronto Zoo. Scheduled to be operational by December 2015, the facility will produce renewable power for the Ontario grid, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 10,000 tonnes each year. [Canada NewsWire]

¶   Solar Power Inc, a renewable-energy developer backed by China’s LDK Solar Co, has agreed to build a solar farm with 20 MW of capacity in Inner Mongolia. The company expects to complete the project and connect it to the grid in the fourth quarter. The project is Solar Power’s first in China’s Inner Mongolia region. [Businessweek]

¶   Germany has started talks with all the countries it borders about closer power-market cooperation to save money when it comes to maintaining spare capacity, according to two people close to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government. The country’s Economy Ministry confirmed the talks, declining to give more details. [Businessweek]

¶   Nanos Research examined the views of Albertans on a wide range of electricity issues. Their research found that almost 80% of those surveyed say the Government of Alberta has not done enough to develop wind power and other renewable forms of large-scale electricity generation. [Your Renewable News]

US:

¶   The installed price of solar energy in the US is continuing to decrease steadily, but is still considerably more expensive than it is throughout much of Europe, according to the most recent Tracking the Sun report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which looks at data through 2013. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Iowa’s reputation as a leader in wind energy production got another boost Friday when MidAmerican Energy announced plans to invest an additional $280 million in the renewable energy. The Des Moines-based utility will add 67 wind turbines at two western Iowa locations. [DesMoinesRegister.com]

¶    A new study by the environmental group World Resources Institute says that improving buildings’ energy efficiency, boosting the fuel-economy of automobiles and cutting leaks from the production and transport of natural gas can save money now and cut climate change later. [Bloomberg]

¶   Skidmore College’s 2-MW solar array is now complete. The system, comprised of 6,950 modules mounted in an eight-acre solar field will provide 12% of Skidmore’s annual electrical usage from clean, renewable power. It is among the largest solar arrays in New York State. [Saratoga TODAY Newspaper]

¶   Entergy executives already have begun to disclose plans for shutting down and decommissioning the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. And those plans will become even more clear when a detailed site assessment – billed as the first of its kind – is released, likely later this month. [Brattleboro Reformer]

Opinion:

¶   “Walmart Is the Biggest Corporate Solar User. Why Are Its Owners Funding Groups That Oppose Solar?” Walmart has 89 MW of installed solar capacity on its retail rooftops. But in 2010-2013, the Walton Family Foundation has donated nearly$4.5 million to groups working to impede clean energy development. [Mother Jones]

Science and Technology:

¶   Wind power is on track to achieve cost parity with fossil fuels thanks in part to an open-source software tool being developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The software enables high-fidelity analysis of wind turbine and wind plant performance under a full range of atmospheric and land conditions. [HPCwire]

World:

¶   Poland says it will need cash and help in curbing its emissions if it is to sign up for a new decade of EU green energy policy at talks this month, according to a document seen by Reuters. The document shows the 28 EU member states are broadly ready to agree a new set of 2030 goals. [EurActiv]

¶   In Pakistan, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority has awarded licences to two sugar mill-owners for setting up bagasse-based power generation with a cumulative capacity of 45 MW. The licencees were Mehran Sugar Mills Limited and Alliance Sugar Mills Limited. [The News International]

¶   India Inc cumulatively promised to invest upwards of 1 lakh crore rupees ($16 billion) in different sectors in Madhya Pradesh after Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Chouhan asked them to take full advantage of the “ease to do business” policies that have been rolled out by the  state government. [The New Indian Express]

¶   GE’s Wind PowerUp service has helped Eon boost output from 283 turbines. Eon signed a total of 469 GE machines up for the manufacturer’s software scheme, which was launched last year and increases a wind farm’s output by up to 5%. Once validated, it could provide a projected increase of 87 GWh per year. [reNews]

¶   Less than 4 GW of natural gas-fired power plants are being built in Western Europe, the lowest level in more than 10 years, according to the Platts Power in Europe Project Tracker. The Tracker which shows electric power generation capacity and construction in Europe. [Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide]

¶   In line with a campaign promise by President Francois Hollande in 2012, the French parliament has voted to reduce the share of nuclear energy in electricity generation to 50% from the current level of 75% and has also adopted a program to drastically reduce energy consumption before 2050. [Kuwait News Agency]

¶   The Austrian government will challenge at the European Court of Justice the European Commission’s OK to use of billions of taxpayer pounds to back the planned Hinkley Point C nuclear plant in the UK. Vienna believes the EC decision could pave the way for the construction of other new nuclear power stations closer to home. [Recharge]

¶   A former Irish minister of state has called on the Government to join Austria in a legal action it plans against a proposed nuclear power station at Hinkley, Somerset, in southwest England. He said the EU Commission’s decision to allow the proposed €31.2 billion deal to build the power plant was surprising. [Irish Times]

US:

¶   First Wind has implemented GE’s PowerUp services in Utah, and plans to expand its use further into US GE wind turbine fleet. In one year, more than 1,400 wind turbines contracted under the software platform realizing up to 18,000 MW/h of additional generation, an improvement of 5%. [Newswire Today]

¶   A new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts says North Carolina “has emerged as a clean energy leader” in the southeast. The state ranks third in new renewable energy capacity, third in private investments and eighth in energy- and environment-related jobs, according to Pew. [WRAL Tech Wire]

¶   SolarCity Corp, which is the leading residential solar service provider of the US, now has plans to offer loans to homeowners for solar systems, under a program called MyPower. The company says this move could reshape the rooftop solar market and drive rapid adoption. [Zacks.com]

¶   The California Utilities Commission on Thursday issued proposed modifications to a settlement between utilities and ratepayer groups regarding the financial responsibilities in shutting down the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Consumers would pay about $3.3 billion over 10 years. [Seaside Courier]

World:

¶   Far from imposing burdens on the economy, a switch to greener electricity would result in $1.8 trillion of savings between 2015 and 2035. Eliminating oil in transport could potentially add as much as $3.5 trillion with the right policy choices, researchers from the Climate Policy Initiative claim. [Business Green]

¶   Indian manufacturer Suzlon has taken the wraps off plans to build 2-GW of wind projects in the state of Madhya Pradesh over the next five years. The company added that it will establish manufacturing facilities to support the work, which will be carried out for “the small and medium enterprise sector and independent power producers.” [reNews]

¶   Reports yesterday claim the government has ditched the Warburton review, which called for renewable projects to be scrapped or phased out. Talks between the government and Labor to save the target have begun after both sides agreed to exempt struggling aluminium smelters from the RET costs. [Warrnambool Standard]

¶   The UK climate change minister, Amber Rudd, has said that subsidy-free solar PV should be “the goal” by 2020. Speaking at the opening of a 2.7 MW solar project at Kingspan Insulation’s manufacturing plant in Selby, the minister said that the industry was on track to be subsidy free by 2020. [Solar Power Portal]

¶   Global solar PV installations are expected to push past 19.5 GW in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to new figures from analysis firm NPD Solarbuzz, reaching ever closer to a global cumulative PV deployment of 200 GW. This is of no real surprise given recent analyst predictions for countries such as China and Japan. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Several countries have urged the EU to significantly enhance its emissions reduction target to provide impetus to the global carbon market as well as the slow-moving climate change negotiations. Poland’s new prime minister has stated that she could veto a proposal by the EU to increase the emissions reduction target. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The Rajasthan state government has a policy that dwarfs the national solar power policy itself. While the current national policy aims at 22 GW installed capacity by 2022, the Rajasthan solar power policy targets 25 GW installed capacity over the next five years.The state has about 600 MW installed solar power capacity as of now. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The decision by the European Union to approve Britain’s €20 billion plan to build a new nuclear plant only 150 miles from the Irish coast has sparked controversy. Irish Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said the European Commission sign-off allows electricity to be generated at Hinkley at twice the price of alternative renewables. [Herald.ie]

US:

¶   The US DOE has issued a Presidential Permit for the 1 GW Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission Project, which will deliver hydro generation from Quebec in Canada to New York City. The buried 333-mile HVDC line will run the length of Lake Champlain and through parts of the Hudson River. [reNews]

¶   Less than five months since breaking ground on a new 2-MW solar project in Brattleboro, Vermont, Winstanley Enterprises was joined by development team members and supporters to officially mark the project’s completion. The system will produce 40% of Brattleboro’s immediate electrical needs on a clear afternoon. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   Starting this May, 20,000 Sonoma County, California, electricity customers will get renewable power at a lower cost than from their previous electric utility, Pacific Gas & Electric. A new nonprofit, locally controlled utility will deliver the power to a collection of cities and towns in the county. [CleanTechnica]

¶   ABB Ltd recently rolled out a key renewable energy transmission project in Texas. For this project, the company had developed a novel clean energy solution, the Station Service Voltage Transformers, for a couple of Texas-based utilities. The 362-kV transformers are expected to save $1 million each. [NASDAQ]

Science and Technology:

¶   Researchers at the Ohio State University have succeeded in combining a battery and a solar cell into one hybrid device, thus creating the world’s first solar battery. A mesh solar panel allows air to enter the battery, and light and oxygen enable different parts of the chemical reactions that charge the battery. [EE Times India]

¶   To meet global climate change commitments, the International Energy Agency recently called on the United States, the European Union, China and India to invest a combined $380 billion in energy storage by the middle of the century. A large variety of companies are developing many technologies. [New York Times]

¶   The 2014 Nobel prize for physics has been awarded to three scientists for their invention of energy-efficient blue light-emitting diodes, a breakthrough that was a cornerstone in the development of energy-saving lighting. This invention made white light from LEDs possible. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

World:

¶   Britain won EU approval for a new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point on Wednesday, allowing the government to commit to 35 years of financial support for Europe’s biggest and most controversial infrastructure project. EU commissioners from at least five countries voiced opposition to the plan. [Financial Times]

¶   UK Energy Secretary Ed Davey has broken ranks within government to launch a stinging attack against his coalition partners in the Conservative Party for undermining the onshore wind sector. He accused Tory Communities Secretary Eric Pickles of verging on “abusing ministerial power.” [reNews]

¶   Global energy consultants Pöyry published a report suggesting the cost of solar and wind power may drop to the same level as fossil fuels within a decade, ending a need for renewable subsidies in Europe. Pöyry’s report suggest that Spain could achieve wholesale grid parity in solar power as early as 2021. [pv magazine]

¶   The Clean Energy Council, the peak body for wind and solar power in Australia, has defended a plan to exempt the aluminium industry from the federal renewable energy target, saying it would come at only a trivial cost to consumers. They believe it might salvage bipartisan support for the target. [Sydney Morning Herald]

¶   For Carnegie Wave Energy, the expensive, decade-long process of developing its wave technology – to convert ocean swell into renewable power and freshwater – is approaching a critical moment, as the company prepares to deploy its underwater buoys at a commercial test site off the Australian coast near Perth. [BRW]

¶   In its half-yearly report for 2014, the World Wind Energy Association said the overall volume of global added capacity came in at 17,613 MW in the six months to June – up from 13,978 and 16,376 in the first half of 2013 and 2012 respectively. This is a clear indication of recovery for the industry. [Sourceable]

¶   In the past, over the years, Australia’s electricity supply industry grew ­accustomed to the inexorable growth in electricity demand. That growth was constant and reliable. Beginning 2007, demand growth flattened, and then began to decline. This was a big surprise. [The Australian Financial Review]

US:

¶   The state of New York will provide $750 million dollars for a huge solar plant in Buffalo Governor Cuomo announced this week. The facility will be used by SolarCity, and Elon Musk has pledged 5 billion dollars for the project, which could create 5,000 jobs in the state. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Offshore wind power is not usually associated with lower-cost energy, at least not in the public imagination. But it turns out that installing 54 GW of offshore wind power off America’s coasts can cut the cost of electricity in the US by an astounding $7.68 billion a year. [Natural Resources Defense Council]

¶   As the drought in California continues to strain the state’s hydropower resources, natural gas and renewables are locked in competition to determine which will capture the lion’s share of the lost hydropower capacity. Natural gas output has an inverse relationship with hydropower generation. [Platts]

¶   The electricity market is very complex and changing. The 40-year-old Ginna nuclear plant on the shore of Lake Ontario in upstate New York is becoming an example of an emerging trend. Its income is down because cheap natural gas and renewable energy have depressed the market. [New York Times]

¶   The results of a Natural Resources Defense Council poll were overwhelming: nearly 8 in 10 New Yorkers support a moratorium on fracking, and support crosses geographical, ideological and racial divides. At the same time, respondents showed tremendous support for renewable energy. [Natural Resources Defense Council]

Opinion:

¶   “While Critics Debate Energiewende, Germany is Gaining a Global Advantage” When viewed in context, there are many reasons to believe investments in Energiewende will reap economy-wide rewards, giving Germany a competitive global advantage over other countries that lagged behind investing in the future. [Environmental Defense Fund]

World:

¶   Greensmith, one of the world’s leading providers of energy storage management software and related services, recently made the announcement that it has seen huge growth in the grid-scale energy storage market, with the commissioning of 23 MW of the company’s GEMS energy storage software platform this year. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Northern Rivers Energy, Australia’s first community-based renewable energy retailer in the northern rivers region, plans for the region to become fossil free within years. This is the first Australian attempt to adopt the community energy company model that has had dramatic effects in Hamburg and Colorado. [Echonetdaily]

¶   Infigen Energy chief executive Miles George says asset write-downs would be premature for the wind power producer, given increasing signs that the Renewable Energy Target may survive with only relatively minor changes. He was hopeful of no need for impairments of Infigen’s $900 million Australian business. [WA today]

¶   Work on a hybrid power plant for solar and wind energy in southern Bahrain is expected to start in the next three months. The 5 MW pilot station will be built on 30 acres of land near Al Dur Power and Water Plant, and will be linked to Bahrain’s power-distribution grid by the first quarter of 2015. [Gulf Daily News]

¶   GE Energy Financial Services in Stamford, a unit of Fairfield-based GE, has joined Kuni Umi Asset Management and Toyo Engineering in an investment in Japan’s largest solar power project, a 231-MW facility to be built in Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture, at a cost of about $1.1 billion. [The Advocate]

¶   Under the terms of the new regulations in Chile, ‘Residential Generators’ in the country are now able to connect renewable energy systems, such as solar, to the distribution system and receive payments for the surplus electricity they generate. [Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production Magazine]

¶   The EU Tracking Roadmap from the Keep on Track monitoring body warned that 14 of the EU 27 member states are expected to fall short of their targets, with another four states hanging in the balance. This is despite 22 states hitting the interim targets for 2011/2012, indicating a slowing in progress. [Windpower Monthly]

¶   France’s energy minister Segolene Royal believes it would be better to build new renewable energy projects than to keep up heavy investments maintaining old nuclear power plants. Royal pointed out that reactors in nuclear plants don’t last forever and “you have to re-invest and that is very expensive.” [Recharge]

¶   Austria will take the European Commission to the European Court of Justice if the executive approves Britain’s plans for €20.4 billion nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset, a spokesman for the country’s chancellor said on Sunday. A vote is expected on Wednesday (8 October). [EurActiv]

US:

¶   New Jersey legislators will consider a bill this week to promote the installation of solar arrays, a change that will affect mostly homes and small businesses seeking to deploy the systems. The measure also addresses fundamental changes in the structure of the energy industry. [NJ Spotlight]

¶    GE Power & Water’s Distributed Power business announced that it has signed a contract to provide Sky Global Partners LLC with six 8.6 MW Jenbacher gas engines along with a 30-year contractual service agreement for a new 50 MW high-efficiency power plant in Colorado County, Texas. [Today’s Energy Solutions]

¶   California’s drought has cut the amount of power it gets from hydro in half, but the renewable energy industry has picked up some of the slack. Wind now accounts for more electricity generation than hydro, and on clear sunny days, solar can supply the state with 14% of its power needs by mid afternoon. [OilPrice.com]

¶   At least 54 GW of US offshore wind energy generation capacity could be deployed by 2030, according to a new study funded by the DOE, which focused on helping DOE achieve two goals: reducing the cost of offshore wind energy and shortening the time required to deploy offshore wind generation capacity. [Triple Pundit]

¶   Two agencies in western Massachusetts, the Franklin Regional Council of Governments and the Connecticut River Watershed Council, are intervening in a proposal to allow the Northfield Mountain hydroelectric station temporarily to boost output by pumping and releasing more river water at its mountaintop reservoir. [The Recorder]

Opinion:

¶   “Why Warren Buffett Is Betting $30 Billion on Solar and Wind” Utility projects are attractive because they allow for continued reinvestment and add-on acquisitions, as Buffett has been doing since acquiring MidAmerican energy, the largest electrical utility in Iowa, in 1999 for $9 billion. [NASDAQ]

Science and Technology:

¶   Younicos is a company that combines different kinds of battery systems with software to provide grid backup. A system of 2 GW, providing 1 hour of backup capacity, could replace all thermal power plants in Germany that are used for frequency regulation, providing for 60% renewables on the grid. [RenewEconomy]

World:

¶   The deadly eruption of Mount Ontakesan in central Japan has rekindled concerns about whether Japan’s nuclear power plants, such as the Sendai plant in Kagoshima Prefecture, have adequate safeguards for dealing with such a disaster. At least 51 people were killed in the volcanic upheaval. [Asahi Shimbun]

¶   In the English county of Somerset, there are two mills that were recorded in the medieval Domesday Book. Now, continuing the long, local tradition of imaginative reinvention to suit the times, at both mills the infinitely renewable flow of water through the valleys generates electricity. [The Guardian]

¶   In its bid to double India’s installed wind energy capacity over the next five years and to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy plans to set up windmills at 500 places across the country. About 14,158 MW of wind energy is currently produced in 13 states. [India Today]

¶   Bloomberg New Energy Finance data shows that Australia is on track to record its lowest level of asset financing for large-scale renewables since 2002 – as just $193 million was committed in the third quarter of the year. From ranking No 11 in the world in 2013, Australia is seeing its industry collapse. [RenewEconomy]

¶   A pioneering green gas scheme in Scotland is set to benefit farmers, homeowners, and the environment. A new £10 million anaerobic digestion plant in the Borders will inject eco-friendly gas – made from locally grown grains – directly into the national supply network, supplying enough energy for up to 4,000 homes. [Scotsman]

US:

¶   California just achieved a new record for utility-scale solar power generation. On September 29, 4.903 GW of electricity was generated by solar PV from utility-scale sources and concentrated solar power. About 2.8 GW of California’s solar capacity is not included in the data because it is not utility-scale. [Solar Love]

¶   You might not picture former Secretary of State George Shultz as someone who drives an electric car, or has solar panels on the roof of his home. But he does — and Shultz has become a vocal proponent of action to combat climate change. He brought that message to MIT in a talk on advocating further efforts. [Energy Collective]

¶   Ameren Missouri has filed its 20-year plan supporting cleaner energy in the state of Missouri, including major expansions of solar and wind power, with the Missouri Public Service Commission. Such a plan is filed every three years, examining how Ameren will supply electric customers’ projected long-term energy needs. [Fierce Energy]

¶   Idaho Power Company has developed a Renewables Integration Tool (RIT) so grid operators can use wind energy more cost-effectively in Idaho and Oregon. RIT models and databases for forecasting weather conditions and the availability of wind energy resources are now fully operational. [RenewablesBiz]

Science and Technology:

¶   Investment bank Citigroup says the return on investment for solar and battery storage by 2020 will beat the payback from solar now. That means socket parity in some countries by 2020, and utility-scale grid parity in large parts of the world by 2030. Fossil fuel generators and utility business models will be terminally challenged. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Renewables have been capturing a larger and larger portion of the total global energy infrastructure pie, while the portion nuclear energy has not just been stagnating but actually shrinking somewhat. More interestingly, solar and wind energy are each gaining fast on nuclear independently. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Two Swiss pilots plan to fly a solar-powered plane around the Earth, pushing human endurance as well as the boundaries of a technology that the aviators say isn’t anywhere near reaching its full potential for industry. The plane has the wingspan of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet but the weight of a family car. [Independent Online]

World:

¶   New figures from Bloomberg New Energy Finance covering the first three quarters of global clean energy investment for 2014 show that the industry is sustaining its year-long recovery after two years of decline, with a 16% lead over the same three quarters a year earlier. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The 231 MW solar energy project currently being developed in Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture, Japan – the largest such project in Japan – is being funded via large investments by Toyo Engineering Corporation, GE unit GE Energy Financial Services, and Kuni Umi Asset Management, according to recent reports. [CleanTechnica]

¶   There is good news coming for nearly 25,000 Indian villages still passing nights under darkness due to unavailability of electricity. Instead of relying over power grids, these villages will get electricity by using novel clean energy solutions, achieving the dream illuminating rural areas without grid electricity. [Oneindia]

¶   El Hierro, one of the Canary Islands, will be 100% by renewable energy within a few months. The island’s new wind energy/water turbine battery system (finished earlier this year) will be generating all of the island’s energy needs of up to 48 GWh, offsetting 6600 tons of diesel oil, each year. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A tsunami of 26 meters would inundate the already-stricken Fukushima Daiichi power plant, causing a huge amount of radioactive substances to spill into the sea, according to TEPCO’s updated estimates. Such a towering tsunami could cause hundreds of trillions of becquerels of cesium-137 to be released into the ocean. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   New England has always endured high electricity costs, but this year’s 37% price surge reflects a relatively new problem: As many old coal-burning plants have retired, natural gas accounts for about half the region’s electricity generation. Utilities and customers  are both exposed to gas price spikes. [Boston Globe]

¶   North Carolina ranked behind only California and Arizona in solar-power installations last year, with an added 261 MW, a 114% increase over 2012. Most of that was accounted for by massive solar farms generating electricity for Duke Energy’s grid, but ordinary rate payers are also getting solar installed. [Asheville Citizen-Times]

¶   Renewable energy’s share of Minnesota’s power has quadrupled since 2000, to 16 percent, and now the state is touting the jobs that have been created as a result. There are 15,338 clean-energy jobs in the state, according to a report from the Department of Employment and Economic Development. [Mankato Free Press]

Opinion:

¶   “Great Plains Power Grid Operator Sowing Confusion about the Clean Power Plan” Some players – notably the Great Plains region’s transmission grid operator – are jumping the gun with premature warnings of dire consequences for the grid. They back these with poorly done analysis. [Natural Resources Defense Council]

¶   “EPA’s Clean Energy Standards Could Actually Lower Electricity Bills” It’s frustrating to hear opponents of climate action once again use the threat of higher electricity rates as a scare tactic to try to stop the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. The good news is that we have more evidence than ever before to prove our opponents wrong. [Care2.com]

Science and Technology:

¶   The author of a recent report investigating the impact of low-frequency sound on the human inner ear has responded to British newspapers which misled readers by claiming that wind farms could cause hearing impairment. He said the research did not include anything relating to windfarms. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A Stanford study funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) confirms a growing body of research that finds “The atmospheric conditions associated with the unprecedented drought in California are very likely linked to human-caused climate change.” [Energy Collective]

World:

¶   In the last week, half Japan’s 10 general electricity utilities have announced that they would suspend reviews of proposals for new generation from renewable energy producers or take measures to ensure that the addition of that energy does not compromise their transmission and distribution networks. [Scientific American]

¶   Suggestions that the current Australian Renewable Energy Target of 41,000 GWh by 2020 is infeasible have been laughed off by global wind development company Windlab, who have released figures showing that not only is the target feasible, but could be met by existing approved wind energy that has simply yet to be constructed. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A solar power plant has been launched in Russia’s Astrakhan province on the basis of the photovoltaic modules produced by Kazakhstan’s Astana Solar LLP, Kazatomprom. ‘Narimanov’ solar power plant, with the installed capacity of 250 kW started to operate on September 29. [Trend.az]

¶   At a geothermal demonstration project in Cornwall, engineers showed that water can be heated to 60° C using the Earth’s internal heat. The project was designed and managed by Geothermal Engineering Ltd, with funding assistance from the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change. [Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production Magazine]

¶   The cost of solar power plus battery storage is about to dip below the average electricity bill in Germany, according to new analysis by the global investment bank HSBC. The bank projects that the dropping prices of home solar and home battery storage is about to massively disrupt traditional power generation. [ThinkProgress]

¶   A landmark deal to use British taxpayers’ money to build a £16 billion ($25.6 billion) nuclear power station has triggered opposition from a quarter of EU policy-makers, who want to overturn approval from the top European regulator, EU sources said. Critics say it breaches EU law over when government funding is allowed. [Daily Times]

US:

¶   The Department of the Navy is requesting bids for renewable power at fourteen installations in southern California, in amounts of up to 150 MW for each. The Navy is seeking to get 50% of its power from renewable sources by 2020, and at least 1000 MW by 2015. [Desert Dispatch]

¶   In his recent speech on climate change at the United Nations, President Obama stated: “Over the past eight years, the United States has reduced our total carbon pollution by more than any other nation on Earth.” According to data found in the BP Statistical Review, he is correct. [Canada Free Press]

¶   A settlement reached between the Public Service Company of New Mexico and some “intervenors” over a plan to close two units at the San Juan Generating Station would reduce future rate increases. The settlement has been sent to the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. [Farmington Daily Times]

¶   Construction has commenced on Minnesota’s largest solar generation site. Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport will house a 3-MW solar installation on the top decks of two parking structures. The project also includes converting more than 7,700 metal halide light fixtures to energy-saving LED technology. [PennEnergy]

Science and Technology:

¶   Navigant Research says in a new report that between January 2013 and September 2014, 91 new grid-scale energy storage systems totaling 362.8 MW were announced or launched. Lithium-ion technology is most commonly used, but flywheels and flow batteries are emerging as storage options. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   A new consortium hopes to become Australia’s first community owned retailer, with big plans to build, generate and sell renewable energy in the northern rivers. Community owned retailers are common in Europe and the US. In Germany, retailers and local network operators are commonly owned by local councils. [Echonetdaily]

¶   Joining the move for renewable energy in India is National Aluminium Company Ltd, considered as one of the biggest aluminium production companies in the world. It has recently announced plans to install a 100 MW wind energy project, which would require a $110-million investment. [EE Times India]

¶   Global wind and solar company Mainstream Renewable Power has signed an agreement with Swiss developer NEK Umwelttechnik to build and operate Ghana’s first utility-scale wind farm. The 225-MW project will cost $525 million and is expected to generate power early in 2016. [GhanaWeb]

¶   Britain has increased its budget to subsidize electricity projects that use renewable sources by £95 million to £300 million ($486 million), according to the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change. Britain plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% from a 1990 baseline by 2050. [Reuters]

¶   The US and India are committed to creating a binding climate deal next year, a joint statement from the two nations said. US president Barack Obama and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi held talks in Washington yesterday, at which they recognized the importance greenhouse gas emissions and improving resilience. [Argus Media]

US:

¶   NJ Transit has received $1.3 billion in federal funds to improve the resilience of the state’s transportation system in the event of devastating future storms. The funds include $410 million to develop the NJ TransitGrid into a first-of-its-kind microgrid capable of keeping the power running when the electric grid goes down. [Energy Collective]

¶   Installed PV capacity among US schools has soared over the last decade, rising from 303 kW to 457,000 kW, according to a TSF-SEIA report. That has resulted in prevention of 442,799 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year, the equivalent of taking some 100,000 cars of U.S. roads annually. [Triple Pundit]

¶   Renewable energy producer ReEnergy Black River has been awarded a 20-year contract by the US Defense Logistics Agency to supply renewable energy to the Fort Drum army base in New York. ReEnergy’s Black River 60-MW plant originally was a coal station. It has been converted to burn locally grown shrub willow as a fuel. [BioEnergy News]

¶   After being tweaked for several months, Gundersen Health System is marking the completion of its joint cow power project near Middleton, Wisconsin. The $14 million GL Dairy Biogas Farm, has actually been producing methane and electricity from cow manure since late last year. [La Crosse Tribune]

¶   The office of the Texas State Comptroller released a report recommending that tax incentives wind power be ended as they give wind an unfair advantage. The Executive Director of The Wind Coalition argues that oil and gas received 99.6% of state and local incentives. [Bakken.com]

¶   A partnership between the local utility and state and federal government will build Kentucky’s largest solar array at Fort Campbell. The solar array will cover about 20 acres on an abandoned landfill at the army base, and will produce 5 MW of power, enough to power about 500 homes. [WKMS]

¶   NV Energy, part of billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, is seeking proposals to secure up to 100 MW of additional renewable energy resources in Nevada. The request for proposals is the first of three for 100 MW each that the utility will issue through 2016. [Recharge]

¶   The Florida Public Service Commission ordered Duke Energy to credit $54 million to customers that the company was collecting for nuclear power equipment it never received. The charges were being levied for two nuclear power plant projects that have been canceled. [TBO.com]

¶   The contractors building two new reactors at SCE&G’s VC Summer nuclear plant in Fairfield County, South Carolina, said Thursday it would cost an additional $1.2 billion to finish the work there. SCE&G has not agreed to the consortium’s new cost estimates nor any projected new completion dates. [Hilton Head Island Packet]

Science and Technology:

¶   SunEdison announced that its advanced polysilicon technology is now in production and on target to produce solar material at low cost. The company claims this development is a step-change in technology and will it enable it to deliver a 400 watt peak solar panel at a cost of $0.40 per watt peak by 2016. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

World:

¶   Sweden’s Social Democrats and Green Party are set to offer more support for renewables and move away from nuclear under a coalition government. The two parties could form a minority government as early as tomorrow, and will set up an “energy commission” to develop a strategy for an all-renewable energy system. [Recharge]

¶   Spanish manufacturer Gamesa is to supply CPFL Renováveis with 231 MW at nine wind farms in Rio Grande do Norte in north-eastern Brazil. The contract is for 110 of Gamesa’s G114-2.0MW turbines, which will be equipped with the company’s MaxPower technology increasing nominal capacity to 2.1MW. [reNews]

¶   In India, the government has signed a memorandum of understanding with a group of companies to build the country’s first ever offshore wind power project as part of New Delhi’s pledge to increase renewable energy sources. The 100 MW plant will lie off the coast of Gujarat and be partly financed by state subsidies. [Businessworld]

¶   The third largest city in Germany, Munich, has become a world leader in sustainability. Munich is aiming for 100% renewable electricity by 2025 – just 11 years away now. If Munich achieves its goal, it could become the first city with a population of over a million to do so. [The9Billion]

¶   In a first for Australia, a council has voted to make on-site clean power generation on all new homes and some commercial buildings compulsory. The City of Nedlands in Perth has led the way in turning more of the vast ocean of under-utilised rooftops in Australia’s towns and cities into power generators. [Energy Matters]

US:

¶   EDF Renewable Energy and Microsoft Corporation celebrated the launch of the Pilot Hill Wind Project with a groundbreaking ceremony. Located 60 miles southwest of Chicago in Kankakee and Iroquois counties, the 175 MW wind project is expected to begin commercial operation early in 2015. [Rock Hill Herald]

¶   New Hampshire now allows group net metering. Thanks to this law, which flew under the radar when it was working its way through the statehouse, solar energy in the Granite State is set to boom. There are enough projects in planning stages to double the amount of solar power on the grid in just two years. [New Hampshire Public Radio]

¶   The president of the Natural Resources Defense Council demanded that the American Legislative Exchange Council immediately stop misrepresenting NRDC’s position on renewable energy, and urged the group to clear up other false claims, such as its insistence that it doesn’t deny the reality of climate change. [eNews Park Forest]

¶   Following intense outcry, the state’s electric company, Black Hills Power, has withdrawn a proposal that would have penalized customers who generate their energy through solar or wind systems, the Rapid City Journal reports. The proposed surcharge would have been a $5 to $20 per month. [NationSwell]

¶   Carbon emissions in the US increased in 2013 over 2012. The EPA laid the blame specifically on coal-fired power plants, which have been used more to power America’s electric gird this year because of price increases in natural gas, following very low prices in 2012 caused largely by the fracking boom. [ThinkProgress]

Opinion:

¶   “Why Local Energy Ownership Matters” Solar and wind projects can mean big bucks for communities – but only if they keep them local! The number of jobs and economic returns for communities are substantially higher when electricity generation from wind and sun can be captured by local hands. [CleanTechnica]

¶   “How a Top Liberal State Is Creating an Electricity Market That Conservatives Should Love” Imagine an electricity market that gives small businesses and consumers the same ability to compete and make money that utilities have always had. The market simply prioritizes consumer-side distributed energy. [Energy Collective]

Science and Technology:

¶   The record-setting heat wave in Australia last year was “largely attributable” to human-caused climate change, according to a synthesis report released Monday. Heat waves in Japan, Korea, China and Europe were also “substantially influenced” by global warming, the report found. [Huffington Post]

¶    Synthetically produced hydrogen can store huge amounts of power. Germany will require about 30 TWh of storage capacity, when the nation is 100% renewably powered. Existing gas infrastructure can store up to 200 TWh in gas generated. Wind plants with the ability to store energy as hydrogen are already starting up. [Business Spectator]

World:

¶   Malmö, in southern Sweden, is the third largest city in the country. Various neighborhoods throughout the city are transforming from brownfield industrial sites into eco-friendly enclaves through the use of renewable energy, energy efficiency, green building and alternative transportation. [GreenBiz.com]

¶   A floating power station using the solar energy stored in Grand Cayman’s warm tropical waters could provide the first firm renewable energy supply capable of replacing diesel generators on the island. The project would be the world’s first commercial power plant using ocean thermal energy conversion. [Cayman Compass]

¶   Samsung Renewable Energy and Pattern Energy Group LP signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with the Ontario Power Authority for the 100 MW Belle River Wind project in Ontario. They will jointly develop, own, and operate the project, which will be built in Lakeshore, Ontario. [PennEnergy]

¶   Michael Renner, senior researcher with Worldwatch Institute writes that nuclear energy’s share of global power production has declined steadily from a peak of 17.6% in 1996 to 10.8% in 2013. Renewables increased their share from 18.7% in 2000 to 22.7% in 2012. [Domestic Fuel]

¶   A Korean province has a growing and power anti-nuclear campaign, and it is not merely another popular movement. The campaign has expanded from the city of Samcheok, the designated site of a new nuclear power facility, to include 18 city and county councils, the governor, and various civic groups.  [The Hankyoreh]

¶  The volcanic eruption of Japan’s Mount Ontake over the weekend may strengthen the argument of activists campaigning to keep the country’s 48 reactors shut. Japan’s atomic plants are off-line for safety checks as a result of the  Fukushima Disaster more than three years ago. [Businessweek]

US:

¶   Six new pro-EV bills were recently signed into law in California by Governor Jerry Brown. The new efforts to promote the use of electric vehicles include increase in direct incentives, measures to improve the ease of ownership, and the granting of special access to the state’s ubiquitous carpool lanes for EV owners. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A long-term plan to eliminate dependence on fossil fuels in Vermont’s capital of Montpelier is getting a boost from two new projects: one to install more solar panels at an insurance company and another to meet more heating needs with a new biomass heating facility. [BurlingtonFreePress.com]

¶   California Governor Jerry Brown has signed an Environmental Defense Fund-sponsored bill that accelerates the use of demand response, a voluntary, cost-effective tool that relies on people and technology, not polluting, water-intensive power plants, to meet the state’s rising electricity needs. [RenewablesBiz]

¶   The city of Lowell, Massachusetts has signed a contract through which Hampshire Power will supply electricity to about 31,000 residential and 4,200 commercial ratepayers citywide. The deal will provide Lowell ratepayers with renewable power at a rate that is 33% lower than the default grid power. [GazetteNET]

¶   The US DOE has drafted a federal loan guarantee opportunity that, if it goes into effect, could help provide $12.6 billion for nuclear power projects. The program would be available for advanced reactors, small modular reactors, uprates, plant upgrades, and fuel cycle projects. [Nuclear Street – Nuclear Power Portal]