geoharvey

Opinion:

¶   “OPEC’s message to US shale: Drop dead” Despite tumbling prices — the lowest since 2010 — the cartel surprised the energy industry by deciding to keep pumping oil at current levels. One motivation is to squeeze higher-cost producers in North America, including the booming US shale industry that has reshaped the global energy landscape. [CNN]

¶   “Solar as Industrial Revolution” The Hanergy Holding Group, created in 1994, is a major renewable-energy company. Its founder and chairman, Li Hejun, has written a book, “China’s New Energy Revolution,” recently translated into English, in which he argues that solar energy will lead a third industrial revolution. He is interviewed here. [New York Times]

¶   “Energy Efficiency May Be the Key to Saving Trillions” Compared with eye-catching renewable power technologies like wind turbines and solar panels, energy efficiency is nearly invisible. But advocates say doing more with less power may be an even more critical weapon in the fight against climate change and offers big economic benefits, too. [New York Times]

World:

¶   Energy suppliers in remote areas are turning to renewable-powered microgrids like those on islands. They can operate independently or in conjunction with the area’s main electrical grid. By being able to produce electricity on site, distributed solar and wind systems reduce utility infrastructure requirements, cutting the cost of rural electrification. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The largest pension funds manager in Norway, KLP, is divesting completely from coal energy. The money involved, around $75 million, will instead be invested into renewable energy companies. With assets of around $84 billion, KLP is second in the world only to Norway’s state-owned oil-revenue fund with regard to investment clout. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The global nuclear energy industry is facing an increasingly uncertain future according to the International Energy Agency’s recent World Energy Outlook 2014. Many factors contribute to this, including inability to compete economically, low public confidence, massive subsidy reliance, changing government policies, and more. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Buoyed by Narendra Modi-led government’s thrust on renewable energy, Swiss technology major Meyer Burger expects to tap opportunities worth billions of dollars in the Indian solar market. Meyer Burger is a photovoltaic technology supplier and offers manufacturing processes for wafers, solar cells and solar modules, among others. [Economic Times]

¶   A team of engineers from the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore is building a small hybrid power grid to integrate multiple renewable sources of energy. The network, first in the region, tests and demonstrates integration of solar, wind, tidal, and other technologies, to ensure that these energy sources operate well together. [Beta Wired]

¶   The National Institute of Solar Energy in India has determined the country’s solar power potential at about 750 GW, using the wasteland availability data in every state and jurisdiction of India. The estimate is based on the assumption that only 3% of the total wasteland available in a state is used for development of solar power projects. [CleanTechnica]

US:

¶   AmeriPride Services Inc, a textile services and supply, has teamed up with Solect Energy Development to pilot a 210 kW solar photovoltaic energy system atop its Worcester, Massachusetts facility. The 840-panel system is expected to offset up to 25% of the facility’s electricity needs. [Worcester Telegram]

¶   As California Governor Jerry Brown and the state’s legislature work to keep California on track with its long-term plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a wide range of potential low-carbon policies is on the table. One possibility long overlooked would be allowing businesses and universities to switch fully to renewable sources of electricity. [Sacramento Bee]

Opinion:

¶   “A New Climate? How A Utility, Germany, Elon Musk And Falling Oil Prices Are Conspiring To Fight CO₂” By piecing together a series of seemingly unrelated threads, there’s a case to be made that 2014 will be remembered as a critical year in the decarbonization of the global economy. Sound unbelievable? Tie these eight stories together and see. [Forbes]

¶   “There’s no place for nuclear in the ‘Clean Power Plan'” The EPA’s plan for ‘clean power’ is welcome – except for its inclusion of nuclear, and economic distortions and serious omissions that favor it. An open letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy calls on her to ditch the ‘false and irrational assumptions’ used to justify both new and existing nuclear power. [The Ecologist]

World:

¶   The UK Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) has set out a £17 billion investment plan to be implemented over eight years to renew and boost the local UK distribution network and help connect renewables generation. Ofgem said the electricity distribution part of customers’ bills would fall by an average of £11 over the next eight years. [Big News Network.com]

¶   In Scotland, a new £177 million incinerator plant that will burn more than 300,000 tonnes of rubbish a year has been given the stamp of approval. Viridor will build the recycling plant at the Oxwellmains waste treatment hub in East Lothian and the firm says it will help Scotland meet its ambition of becoming a zero waste country. [Scotsman]

¶   Construction of the 270-MW K2 feed-in tariff wind farm in Ontario is continuing amidst an ongoing court challenge. Crews have completed road work and foundation construction, and more than a quarter of the 140 turbines have been erected. K2 is expected to start commercial operation in the second half of 2015. [reNews]

¶   The Indian government had planned to set up 1 GW of solar power capacity at currently unused land owned by the defense forces. The Indian defense forces say they do not have any surplus land available to set up large-scale solar power projects, and this has forced the government to reduce its defense force target to just 300 MW. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Coal use in China could peak earlier than previously forecast as slower economic growth cuts power demand and the government clamps down on energy-intensive industries to meet its emissions reduction goals. The Natural Resources Defense Council predicts coal use will peak before 2020, cutting years off earlier forecasts. [Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide]

US:

¶   Ford’s new discount solar partnership takes the competition between electric vehicles and gasmobiles into new territory. The new discount solar partnership joins the Sierra Club along with Ford and SunPower to offer a rebate for solar customers, along with a nice chunk of a donation for the Sierra Club for use in its EV advocacy initiatives. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The world’s largest solar power plant has gone online in California, with enough power to supply 160,000 homes. Spanning a huge 9.5 square miles (25 square km) – a third of the size of Manhattan – the Topaz Solar Farm consists of nine million solar panels and has a capacity of 550 MW. The plant cost $2.5 billion. [Daily Mail]

¶   A new poll found that wide majorities of Republicans, Democrats and Independents support keeping Production Tax Credit, a key federal policy support mechanism for wind energy. The poll found 73% of registered voters support continuing the PTC, including 63% of registered Republicans, 74% of Independents. [Energy Collective]

Science and Technology:

¶   Stanford engineers have invented a revolutionary coating material that can help cool buildings by radiating heat away from them and sending it directly into space. A new ultrathin multilayered material can cool buildings without air conditioning by radiating warmth from inside the buildings into space while also reflecting away the heat of sunlight. [Science Daily]

World:

¶   Hard on the heels of last week’s historic US-China Joint Announcement on Climate Change, in which China pledged for the first time to cap its CO₂ emission by 2030, China’s State Council has just announced a new energy strategy action plan that includes, also for the first time, a cap on national coal consumption by 2020. [Energy Collective]

¶   Oil prices came crashing down Thursday to trade below $70 per barrel after OPEC announced it was leaving oil production levels unchanged. The low price is bad news for certain oil-producing countries like Russia, Nigeria and Venezuela, which depend on prices of at least $90 a barrel. While they last, lower oil prices could also halt the US shale oil boom. [CNN]

¶   Solar power is expanding dramatically around the world, with capacity expected to triple by 2020, according to a report by UK-based research firm GlobalData. The study forecasts installed capacity of currently 136 GW will expand to 414 GW by the end of the decade in 2020. The bulk of new installations are expected in emerging Asia. [Gulf Times]

¶   The Tokyo metropolitan government aims to install solar panels across the capital to produce 1 GW in electrical power along the system by 2024, four times the current amount, it said in a report. The aim is to raise the proportion of renewable energy in power consumption in the capital to 20%, up from about 6% in 2012. [Asahi Shimbun]

¶   The importance of alternative energy sources increases amid falling oil prices, which naturally affect the budgets of fossil fuel producing countries. Azerbaijan has great potential for the development of alternative energy – 4500 MW of windpower, 1500 MW of biomass, 800 MW of geothermal, and 350 MW of small hydro. [AzerNews]

¶   The Indian government has received proposals from twelve states for setting up of solar power parks/ultra mega solar power projects with a total capacity of 22,100 MW. The the biggest of these is to be a 7,500 MW park to be set up in Leh and Kargil in Jammu and Kashmir. There have been hundreds of proposals. [I Government]

¶   Next month, European Union ministers will debate urgent ways to improve cross-border energy links to make the 28-nation bloc less dependent on imported fuel, especially from Russia, a draft document shows. They will address fragmentation of Europe’s energy market, long been a source of frustration to many EU nations. [Economic Times]

¶   Japan is now confident it can process all 320,000 metric tons of highly contaminated water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant by the end of March 2015, the deadline designated in the plant’s decommissioning roadmap. The water processing system has finally started working stably after more than a year of adjustments. [Wall Street Journal]

US:

¶   Several automakers have been investing in the establishment of a working hydrogen fuel infrastructure ahead of the launch of fuel cell vehicles, but building new fuel stations has proven to be a time consuming process. Honda is among these automakers and has announced plans to begin building new hydrogen stations in California. Hydrogen Fuel News]

¶   Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp, a renewable energy company, announced plans for a 10-MW solar PV project in Bakersfield, California. Bakersfield II Solar will be located on 64 acres of land next to a 20-MW project already in the works. Construction is expected to begin in mid-2015, with completion in 2016. [Bakersfield Californian]

¶   Apex Clean Energy will sell wind energy generation to East Texas Electric Cooperative and Northeast Texas Electric Cooperative. The purchase will bring 101.2 MW of renewable wind energy into the mix for the cooperatives in east Texas. The wind project would be enough power for over 56,000 homes. [CSP World]

Books:

¶   The 14th edition of Real Goods Solar Living Sourcebook has been published.Written first in 1982, John Schaeffer’s sourcebook has been regularly updated to meet the information demand of solar living and building enthusiasts. This 463-page book, published by New Society Publishers, does not disappoint. [Green Building Elements]

Science and Technology:

¶   September and October were the hottest months ever recorded, continuing the record-breaking streak that started in April and almost assuring that 2014 will be the warmest year ever. Canadian ocean surface temperatures for September, shown in the NOAA images, approached 4^oC above normal. This is where the entire planet may be headed by the end of the century. [Energy Collective]

World:

¶   Scotland has broken renewable energy generation records, producing 10.3 TWh of electricity in the first half of 2014 and overtaking nuclear as the country’s main source of power. The data also shows that nuclear accounted for 7.8 TWh, coal provided 5.6 TWh and gas-fired electricity generation produced 1.4 TWh during the same period. [edie.net]

¶   The British government views marine energy developments as a cornerstone of a low-carbon economy despite industry setbacks. The British Energy Secretary said  tidal energy accounts for only a tiny fraction of global power, but is expected to expand more than tenfold by 2040, with much of the new generation within the European Union. [UPI.com]

¶   A waste to biofuels plant operated by Enerkem in Northern Canada is the first in the world to transform solid waste into biofuels and chemicals. The waste is heated and converted into a gas, then changed into liquid methanol, which is then used in the production of local products, including windshield wiper fluid and gasoline. [OilPrice.com]

¶   Gamesa has signed an agreement with wind farm developer Exus Management Partners for the turnkey construction of a 50-MW facility in northern Portugal. Gamesa will provide transportation, installation and commissioning of eight of its G97-2.0 MW turbines and 17 of its G114-2.0 MW model at the Pisco wind farm. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶   Belectric and Vattenfall cut the ribbon for a new battery storage facility at the Alt Daber solar power plant in Germany. The solar plant went live in 2011. Now, thanks to a battery storage system, the PV plant can not only generate power but also provide operating reserve power just like a conventional power plant. [pv magazine]

US:

¶   Renewable energy in the United States could take a significant leap forward with improved storage technologies. But an alternative is to “match” different forms of alternative energy systems in hybrid systems, with one form of renewable energy ramping up while another is declining to provide an even electric supply. [AZoCleantech]

¶   Vega Biofuels, Inc announced it has entered into a joint venture to build and operate a manufacturing plant in Allandale, South Carolina to produce a product called Bio-Coal. Bio-Coal has a high energy density of up to 13,000 BTUs/Lb and meets the Renewable Portfolio Standards and Renewable Energy Credits in the United States. [SteelGuru]

¶   Opponents of a new natural gas power plant planned near San Diego are petitioning California’s Supreme Court to intervene. The project was deemed necessary because of the early retirement of the San Onofre nuclear plant, but its opponents say sufficient power resources already exist to serve the needs of the San Diego area without it. [U-T San Diego]

¶   By 2050, the technology will likely be available to provide 80% of the country’s electricity from wind, solar and other renewable sources. In the era to come, much of the power will be generated on rooftops and in backyards. Many people will feed power back into the grid, a two-way system that changes the energy landscape dramatically. [The Weather Channel]

¶   Public Service Co of New Mexico will add another 40 MW of utility-scale solar to the grid in 2015 after state regulators approved the company’s renewable energy procurement plan for next year unanimously. PNM will construct new solar PV facilities in Central New Mexico next year at a cost of $79.3 million. [Albuquerque Journal]

A Sign of our Times:

¶   “Google engineers say renewable energy won’t solve climate change” Can climate change be solved with technologies like wind and solar energy? No, it can’t, according to a new report by two Google engineers. [Fox News] (You should be aware of this very widely published story. It is about a project Google terminated years ago. The data in it are comically out of date. It is misleading. But they call it “news.”)

World:

¶   Through changing industrial and policy dynamics, India looks set to install 1.5 GW of rooftop solar power capacity by 2018, according to a recent report  by consultancy Bridge to India. The current installed capacity is just under 300 MW. Only 13% of the installed projects have received subsidies from the energy ministry, and this shows the robust economics of rooftop solar. [CleanTechnica]

¶   In Australia, a plan outlined by libertarian (low taxes, minimal government) Senator David Leyonhjelm essentially delivers on the Coalition plan to limit new build renewables to around 26,000 GWh, but has the bizarre inclusion of handing nearly $14 billion in subsidies earmarked for new projects to state-owned hydro plants that were built decades ago. [RenewEconomy]

¶   NextEra Energy Canada has achieved commercial operation at the 149-MW Jericho wind project in Ontario.The project features 92 GE 1.6-MW turbines and has a 20-year contract with the Ontario Power Authority. Borea Construction was the general contractor. Jericho is the sixth of NextEra’s eight-project feed-in tariff wind portfolio in the province. [reNews]

¶   The Australian Senate has given the green light to yet another review of renewable energy – the ninth in just three years. The Senate inquiry will focus on wind farms and include an examination of their economic impact and health effects. Clean energy advocates call the process a destructive waste of taxpayer money. [Energy Matters]

¶   Italian cement maker Italcementi signed an MOU with the Egyptian government to build a wind farm on the Red Sea, part of the country’s effort to mitigate its power shortages through renewable energy. The company will build a facility to generate 120 MW of electricity with an investment of $200 million. [Ahram Online]

¶   TEPCO started work Tuesday to fill an underground trench at the disaster-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant with cement while pumping up radioactive water inside at the same time. The company expects to finish the work by the end of next March. The company will begin next month pouring cement in reactor 3′s trench. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶   Media reports on the American crude oil industry have been uniformly positive in the past few months. But instead of being on the dawn of a new age of plenty, a careful analysis of all available data indicates the probability of near to mid-term trouble even maintaining current levels of production, let alone eliminating the chasm between US production and consumption. [Resilience]

¶   The nation’s first large-scale commercial anaerobic digestion facility, privately owned and operated by Zero Waste Energy Development Company, has proven successful. The facility is capable of digesting and composting 90,000 tons of organic waste per year and is expected to produce 1.6 MW of power and 18,000 tons of compost per year. [ECNmag.com]

¶   The Illinois Commerce Commission unanimously approved an order granting Rock Island Clean Line a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to construct and operate the Illinois portion of a new 500-mile direct-current electric power line. It will deliver 3,500 MW of low-cost wind power from northwest Iowa area to Illinois. [The Rock River Times]

¶   A report by the nonprofit organization Ceres says energy efficiency, distributed (onsite) energy, and renewable energy are enticing investments for utilities because they bring lower risks and will cost less than traditional energy sources, such as large base-load fossil fuel and nuclear plants, which are riskier and more expensive. [Natural Resources Defense Council]

¶   According to a new report from the Environment America Research Policy Institute, solar capacity is growing so fast in the United States that the nation could potentially generate 10% of its electricity with solar power by 2030. This holds true even if the current rate of growth is cut markedly. [Energy Matters]

¶   The Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp has reached an long-term power purchase agreement with the Origin Wind Farm in southeast Oklahoma for 150 MW of wind energy. The energy will come from a 75-turbine, 17,600-acre farm with an expected output of 650,000 MWh, which is enough energy to serve about 50,000 homes. [Arkansas Business Online]

¶   NRG Energy, the second-largest conventional power generation company in the US, has broken ground on corporate headquarters touted as not just “green,” but “ultra-green,” and grid-resilient. NRG’s green, co-generation and solar-powered headquarters will showcase the ability of businesses to foster sustainability while reducing grid dependence. [Fierce Energy]

¶   The Vermont Department of Public Service and its Clean Energy Development Fund are seeking proposals from qualified financial institutions with a physical presence in Windham County, Vermont that offer loans to residential customers interested in development of the Windham County Solar Finance Program. [Commons]

World:

¶   A Nestle confectionary factory in northern England has installed a 200-kW power generation unit that converts leftover chocolates and residual raw material used for making confectionaries into electricity. The unit is based on anaerobic digestion that generates methane gas from decomposition of waste products. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The World Bank will invest heavily in clean energy and only fund coal projects in “circumstances of extreme need” because climate change will undermine efforts to eliminate extreme poverty, says its president Jim Yong Kim. He was alarmed by World Bank-commissioned research from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany. [Business Green]

¶   Danish manufacturer Vestas has confirmed a deal to supply turbines at the 46.2-MW Brotorp wind farm in Sweden. The contract with a BlackRock-managed fund covers 14 V126 3.3-MW machines, which will be installed at Småland in the municipality of Mönsterås. Swedish player Arise is developing the facility and construction is underway. [reNews]

¶   SunEdison Inc, of Belmont, California, and Brazilian renewable energy company Renova Energia SA have announced that they have created an exclusive joint venture to develop, own, and operate 1 GW of utility-scale solar PV projects which will supply the Brazilian Regulated Electricity Market. [solarserver.com]

¶   Scotland, a world leader in renewable energy development, still has a lot to learn in terms of wave energy programs, the energy minister said. Minister Fergus Ewing unveiled plans to develop a technology center dubbed “Wave Energy Scotland,” which he said would encourage innovation and development in the offshore marine energy sector. [UPI.com]

¶   The world record for power production by a wind turbine in a 24 hour period was broken early in October when an 8-MW turbine in Denmark produced 192,000 kW/h during steady wind conditions. The power produced by the turbine in one day was enough to supply the energy needs of approximately 13,500 Danish households. [Maritime Journal]

¶   A UK’s long-delayed final decision on whether the French electricity utility company EDF will build two 1.6-GW nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset was due in the new year. Projected costs have risen to  £25 billion ($39.4 billion), leaving the British government considering whether it is just a white elephant. [eco-business.com]

US:

¶   The US Department of Energy has granted Freeport LNG two final authorizations to export natural gas to non-Free Trade Agreement countries. The ruling authorizes Freeport to export up to 1.8 billion cubic feet of LNG per day for 20 years. Freeport LNG is owned by ConocoPhillips and Michael Smith. The plant is expected to cost $14 billion. [Energy Collective]

¶   Iowa is a leader in ethanol production and wind power, and when the new Congress is sworn into office in January, voters from both sides of the aisle will be expecting action on clean and renewable energy. A poll by the Sierra Club, shows up to 73% of voters more likely to support a candidate who wanted to increase the use of renewable energy. [Public News Service]

¶   Solar power is growing so fast in New York that goals once considered ambitious are now seen as readily achievable, according to a new report by Environment New York Research & Policy Center. They say Solar could account for 20% of the energy in New York by 2025, making “a big difference in the quality of our lives and the future of our planet.” [AltEnergyMag]

¶   The federal government said Monday that it will hold its largest-ever competitive lease sale for offshore wind development early next year. The area is more than 742,000 acres off the coast of Massachusetts. If fully developed, the area could support as much as 5 GW of commercial wind generation, enough to power more than 1.4 million homes. [Houston Chronicle]

¶   As Exelon Corp considers shutting down three of its nuclear facilities in Illinois, it is asking lawmakers and the public to see value in the energy it produces. A senior vice president of policy development at the Nuclear Energy Institute, said the three stations at risk for closing are Quad Cities, Byron , and Clinton. [Quad-Cities Online]

Opinion:

¶   “Cheap electricity for poor squeezing out solar” The villagers of Dharnai in northern India had been living without electricity for more than 30 years when Greenpeace installed a microgrid to supply reliable, low-cost solar power. Then, within weeks and unannounced, the government utility hooked up the grid to supply cheaper power. [Gulf Times]

World:

¶   Germany is arguably the leading renewable energy market in the world. It’s big in wind energy, biomass energy, and of course solar energy. Professor Doctor Bruno Burger of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has released a series of charts on the Germany renewable energy market. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Australian energy provider AGL Energy gave some insight into how it was preparing for solar and storage. AGL plans to launch its own power purchase agreement model early next year that will allow solar and storage to be installed in homes at zero upfront cost. It says it aims to have one million “distributed” customers by 2020. [CleanTechnica]

¶   India’s recently announced target to install 100 GW solar power capacity by 2022 could make it one of the largest solar power markets in the world and put it in direct competition with China. Essentially, India wants to do in five years what China plans to do in 10 years! [CleanTechnica]

¶   Vattenfall has left the Magritte Group of big European energy companies over issues of incentives. The Magritte Group, established by Gérard Mestrallet of GDF Suez in May 2013, has pushed to stop or reduce radically subsidies for renewable energy, while seeking support for conventional power generation. [Financial Times]

¶   The Scottish National Party has said the financial crisis surrounding the future of the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant demonstrates yet again the folly of the UK government’s decision to spend huge amounts of public money to subsidize new nuclear power stations. [SNP]

¶   After deciding to scrap nuclear power, Germany is pondering saying goodbye to coal, its biggest energy source but also its top polluter and main threat to ambitious climate goals. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is split on the issue, with only weeks until her cabinet is set to present its next climate action plan. [The Local.de]

¶   The government in Morocco secured $3.4 billion in international financing this autumn for an ambitious spate of power projects aimed not only at supplying the kingdom’s increasing demand for electricity, but also with a long-term plan to export surplus renewable energy to Europe. [Zawya]

¶   Tata Power, India’s second-largest private sector power company, seems to have realized the business case behind the fuel cost advantage of renewable energy projects over conventional power projects. It is now looking to expand its renewable energy portfolio. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The first reactor to be tested at the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project in India has been lying idle since 26 September 2014 due to problems with its turbo-generator, which had a secret overhaul before it was even started. It failed after running only a few hours. [CounterCurrents.org]

US:

¶   Sunpower CEO Tom Werner just announced that the company intends to triple its upstream solar manufacturing capacity over the next five years. This capacity expansion includes a 350-MW solar cell factory expected to produce up to 100 MW next year, a planned 800-MW planned solar cell and module plant, and more. [Energy Collective]

¶   Just a few days after responding angrily to the US House vote to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline, Sioux Nation Native American leaders met with the Obama administration to explore renewable energy options. The meeting involved more than eight federal agencies and offices. [Summit County Citizens Voice]

Science and Technology:

¶   Two of the most repeated oppositions to wind turbines are their impact on wildlife and their supposed “ugliness” (which those of us who love the look of wind turbines don’t really understand). A new report has managed to solve one of these issues while simultaneously making the other issue worse. It says to color them purple. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   As China has the worlds largest population and a rapidly growing economy, cutting emissions along the same lines as Western nations like the US would see its economy take a catastrophic hit. However, a new study says “China can achieve economic development, energy security and reduce pollution at the same time.” [CleanTechnica]

¶   UK farms offer 10 GW of untapped renewable energy potential, according to a report commissioned by the Farm Power coalition. The bulk of the power – three times that of the planned Hinkley Point nuclear plant – would be from ground-based solar and wind, with a smaller proportion from anaerobic digestion. [edie.net]

¶   China’s commitment on carbon-free energy could be met by roughly 1,000 nuclear reactors, or by 500,000 wind turbines or by 50,000 solar farms. The cost will run to almost $2 trillion, holding out the potential of vast riches for nuclear, solar and wind companies that get in on the action. [Bloomberg]

¶   Europe faces power shortages in the next decade unless it balances its drive for low-carbon energy with investment in clean coal and nuclear generation, according to the International Energy Agency. Clean coal is coal-fired power that includes carbon-capture technology. [Businessweek]

¶   According to a report from Mercom Capital, India’s solar power generation capacity has crossed 3,000 MW even as overall capacity addition this year is expected to be lower at about 800 MW than seen in 2013. So far this year, 734 MW solar power capacity has been added. [SteelGuru]

¶   Toko Electrical Construction is building a 10-MW solar project in eastern Japan’s nuclear exclusion zone. Construction is on 14 hectares of unused farmland in the village of Iitate, which was evacuated after the meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi and remains uninhabited. [Recharge]

US:

¶   Texas transmission and distribution company Oncor is proposing installing energy storage on the Texas grid, with thousands of battery systems ranging from the size of a fridge to a dumpster around the state, having a combined power capacity of 5,000 MW and a combined energy storage capacity of 15,000 MWh. [Scientific American]

¶   China and one or two other countries have the capacity to shut down the US power grid and other critical infrastructure through a cyber attack, the head of the National Security Agency told a Congressional panel. The US has detected malware from China on US computers systems that affect the daily lives of every American. [CNN]

¶   Walmart announced it will install up to 400 new solar projects at facilities across the nation over the next four years. The company has a global commitment to drive the production or procurement of 7 billion kWh of renewable energy by the end of 2020 and its goal to be supplied by 100% renewable energy. [Dubuque Telegraph Herald]

¶   SolarCity has entered into contract with Walmart to install new solar projects in up to 36 states. SolarCity has installed energy storage projects co-located with solar power generation at 13 Walmart facilities since early 2013, and will be incorporating ten additional storage projects in the next year. [MarketWatch]

¶   NRG Energy yesterday announced new long-term sustainability targets, which include slashing carbon-dioxide emissions from 2014 levels 50% by 2030 and 90% by 2050. The International Panel on Climate Change has called for an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. [Business Green]

¶   The US Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL ) and SolarCity have entered into a cooperative research agreement to address the operational issues associated with large amounts of distributed solar energy on electrical grids. [Solar Novus Today]

¶   Southern California utility customers will pay $3.3 billion in costs associated with the early shutdown of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, under a settlement approved Thursday by the California Public Utilities Commission. The deal resolves who pays, consumers or stockholders. [U-T San Diego]

World:

¶   Bangladesh has installed 3.1 million new residential solar energy systems since May, with support coming from the World Bank and other various agencies. More than 15 million people now benefiting from these new systems, according to the Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star.  The total capacity of the new systems is somewhere around 135 MW. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Amidst national policies in Australia that seem to be growing ever further from reality, the City of Melbourne and several other local councils and businesses initiated a “Request for Information” process intended to seek out “proposals for new projects from the renewable energy sector,” reducing dependence on the coal-powered grid. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Almost 60% of Portugal’s energy needs came from renewable sources last year, a 20% increase from 2012. Not long ago, large utilities were being paid by small consumers. Now families have their own power, and small wind farms, solar farms, small biomass feed power to the grid. In addition, thousands of jobs were created by renewables industries. [Radio Australia]

¶   Coal-powered power stations, starting with Victoria’s most polluting, would be phased out from next year under a plan the Greens party will pursue if it wins the balance of power at next week’s state election. The announcement is the first time the Greens have been specific about their priorities if the party manages to be a pivotal force in a hung parliament. [The Guardian]

¶   A report on global nuclear decommissioning market says nuclear decommissioning is expected to post a compound annual growth rate of 14.1% from 2014 to 2018. The report focuses on the growing competition from renewable energy sources which is edging out nuclear power. The Fukushima Disaster slowed nuclear development and promoted renewable power. [MENAFN.COM]

¶   Amazon has vowed to run its cloud-computing division completely on renewable energy, following in the footsteps of tech giants Apple, Google and Facebook in making a comprehensive environmental pledge regarding its data services. The company said that its web-services segment would aim to achieve 100% renewable energy usage in its global infrastructure footprint. [TIME]

¶   The future of the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant in the UK is under a cloud amid a financial crisis at Areva, a shareholder in the project and the designer of the proposed reactors. Power plants in both Finland and France are massively over-budget and behind schedule, forcing Areva to consider whether it needs an injection of new cash to survive. [The Guardian]

¶   Lockheed Martin and Concord Blue announced a new contract to build a power generation facility that will provide a new renewable energy source to meet the needs of 5,000 homes and businesses in Herten, Germany. The 5-MW power generation facilities will use forestry waste through advanced gasification. [Utility Products]

US:

¶   There has been a lot of controversy around the Ivanpah concentrating solar power plant. Charges range from the idea that it is killing thousands of birds to the idea that it is producing only a fraction of the power it was designed to make. One thing to remember is that you should not believe everything you read in the media. [CleanTechnica]

¶   AES is building a 100 MW, 400 MWh lithium-ion battery for Southern California Edison as an alternative to gas peaker plants. The president of AES Energy Storage called it “the new state of the art.” He added, “This contract marks the emergence of energy storage as a cost-effective alternative to peaking power plants for local power capacity and reliability.” [Energy Collective]

¶   Renewable energy generators in the US have had a revenue boost of 49% over five years. Revenues by hydroelectric, wind, geothermal, biomass and solar power companies rose from $6.6 billion in 2007 to $9.8 billion in 2012. The wider electric power generation sector saw an overall decline of in revenues of 1.2%, dropping from $121 billion to $119.5 billion. [reNews]

¶   As Texas state regulators fret about how President Obama’s effort to combat climate change would affect the Texas power grid, a new study says the rules would be simpler to adopt than those regulators suggest – and that it would save the state billions of gallons of water annually, cutting consumption by 28 billion gallons each year. [Gilmer Mirror]

¶   The US EPA’s proposal to curb carbon pollution from power plants overestimates the electric power industry’s compliance costs by as much as $9 billion, according to a Natural Resources Defense Council report. The report shows the power sector could actually save nearly $2 billion in 2020 while meeting the EPA’s targets. [Click Green]

¶   In Fountain Valley, California, a novel system runs on anaerobically digested biogas from the Orange County Sanitation District’s municipal wastewater treatment plant. A 300-kWh molten carbonate fuel cell uses the biogas to produce heat, electricity and hydrogen—making it a “tri-generation” system. [Scientific American]

Opinion:

¶   “How To Profit From Solar & Storage” When there is a sudden surge in demand, the electric grid needs to deploy additional power immediately and ramp up and down to provide a stable power supply. Batteries are able to provide an instantaneous response (within 4 seconds or less), which is known as frequency regulation. [CleanTechnica]

¶   “Reclaim the power! Democratic energy must replace corporate capture” Democratising energy would not only save thousands of lives a year but would be a big step forward in saving the planet. Could Eigg in Scotland, an island owned collectively by its inhabitants and supplied by renewable electricity, be the model for a transformation of energy? [The Ecologist]

World:

¶   In the official communique that ended the G20 summit, the group of most powerful nations stated: “Increased collaboration on energy is a priority. Global energy markets are undergoing significant transformation.” The group of world leaders asserted that strong and resilient energy markets are critical to global economic growth. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A new €600 million data center Google is building in Eemshaven in the Netherlands will be completely powered by renewable energy from its first day of operation. A new announcement from Google on its Green Blog touts the new long-term agreement the internet and advertising giant has signed. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The latest in a series of first wind turbine orders in countries such as Morocco and Pakistan, GE announced it will supply Vienna-based renewable energy developer RP Global with twelve GE 2.85-103 wind turbines for GE’s first wind farm in Croatia. The 34-MW project will be near the southern coastal city of Dubrovnik. [Balkans.com Business News]

¶   Two sources of renewable energy are expected to help ease power shortage in the Philippines when they become operational in 2017. The Frabelle Group of Companies is spearheading the venture by a consortium of players in the fishing industry to build hydroelectric plants that will cover areas in Luzon and Mindanao. [Inquirer.net]

¶   During the first 10 months of 2014, the UK’s National Grid has shelled out nearly $67.3 million to wind farms to shut down their turbines, mostly in Scotland. Scots’ demand for electricity is not as high as the amount of electricity generated by their wind farms, but the cables to move the power south are not ready yet. [OilPrice.com]

¶   Renewable energy would not be more costly than coal power for Turkey. World Wildlife Fund Turkey chairman Ugur Bayar said in a press conference in Istanbul that renewables, such as wind, could very well satisfy Turkey’s energy demand as efficiently as coal, according to a Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s analysis report. [Trend.az]

¶   The massive task of refurbishing 10 nuclear reactors – at a cost of $25 billion, is the crucial issue for keeping electricity rates under control in Ontario, says a Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce investment banker. He illustrated by running through a list of projects that have missed deadlines and gone hugely over budget. [Cambridge Times]

US:

¶   The Senate blocked a measure Tuesday that would have authorized construction of the Keystone XL pipeline as Democrats chose their pro-environment base over an old friend, embattled Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu. Republicans will be ready to try again, with much better odds of success, once they take control of the Senate next January. [CNN]

¶   University of California at Irvine is installing solar PV systems under a 25-year power purchase agreement with a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources LLC. The subsidiary will own and maintain the solar installations and sell electricity to the campus at a price below what UCI would expect to pay a utility. [domain-B]

¶   Georgia, blessed with abundant sunshine, has nevertheless been slow to embrace solar energy. But that’s changing, a new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts points out. “State and federal policies have helped to make the Peach State the fastest-growing solar market in the country,” Pew reports. [Savannah Morning News]

¶   Allison Macfarlane, the outgoing chair of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said Tuesday the industry must finish making the safety changes required after a nuclear disaster in Japan, and it faces unresolved questions over how to store nuclear waste as existing plants close. [Greenfield Daily Reporter]

¶   New York utility regulators said they wanted Rochester Gas and Electric to negotiate with the Ginna nuclear power plant to keep the reactor in service to maintain the reliability of the power grid. They ordered RGE to negotiate an agreement with Ginna, which is owned by Exelon Corp and Electricite de France SA. [Reuters]

Opinion:

¶   “The U.S. Government Has Invested $34 Billion in Renewable Energy – and It’s Making a Profit” Is the United States government a savvier investor in green technology than Silicon Valley’s masters of the universe? It sure looks like it. A report shows that the DOE has far fewer failures than a typical venture capital firm, and is earning money for taxpayers. [TakePart]

World:

¶   The Leader of the US Senate says that under the China-US climate deal, China can “do nothing at all for 16 years.” That turns out to be the very reverse of the truth. China is already leading the world in greening its energy supply, and has committed to add a massive 1.3 GW of renewable power capacity every week for 15 years. [The Ecologist]

¶   In a huge victory for local communities, public health, and the rule of law, yet another enormous proposed coal plant has been denied clearance in India. In another major setback for the expansion of the coal industry, a panel of judges rejected the environmental clearance for a 3,600-MW coal-fired power plant in Tamil Nadu, India. [Energy Collective]

¶   As critics of the Energiewende like to point out, in 2013, Germany’s emissions rose to 952 million tonnes. Nevertheless, while that is an increase, it is actually 23% lower than its figure for 1990, which is the baseline year adopted by nations who signed the Kyoto Accord. By comparison, the world’s emissions are now 61% higher than 1990 levels. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Russia and China have signed two large natural gas deals in the last six months as Russia turns its attention eastward in reaction to sanctions and souring relations with Europe, currently Russia’s largest energy export market. But the move has implications beyond Europe, and will have effects on the natural gas producers in the US. [Resilience]

¶   Australian senators opposed to wind energy are set to establish yet another inquiry into its alleged effects on power prices, human health and wildlife. The new inquiry, the latest in a long list of investigations into renewable energy and wind power, is proposed by senators who have favored abolishing the renewable energy target. [The Guardian]

¶   The groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a 71-MW c-Si solar panel manufacturing facility in the San Juan province of Argentina was attended by a number of important politicians. Completion is currently expected sometime next year, with the first solar panels coming off the lines sometime in late 2015. [CleanTechnica]

US:

¶   Coal-fired power plants have been the backbone of US electricity production for decades, but 25% of them will be retired by the end of this decade. Some of their replacements will be fueled by LNG. Others will make way for a disruptive technology that can “switch from charging to discharging in less than 1 second” and has a “significantly higher capacity use factor.” [CleanTechnica]

¶   Ikea, the largest furniture retailer, made its biggest renewable-energy investment to date by buying a 165-MW wind farm in southern Texas. Apex Clean Energy Inc is building the wind farm, which will have 55 Acciona SA 3-MW turbines. Ikea plans to invest a total of $1.9 billion in wind and solar power by the end of 2015. [Businessweek]

¶   SunEdison can continue its growth even without the support of tax credits in the US, the company said on Monday, as it agreed to a $2.4 billion deal for privately owned First Wind that will make it the world’s largest developer of wind and solar power. First Wind has wind farms in several states, including Maine, New York, and Vermont. [Financial Times]

¶   Earthjustice released an interactive map displaying where states currently stand on renewable energy in light of the Obama Administration’s proposed Clean Power Plan. It shows that many states can readily comply with the Clean Power Plan, and some are already aimed at achieving even achieve greater emissions reductions. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   The Electric Reliability Council of Texas anticipates that implementation of the US EPA’s proposed rule for reducing greenhouse gas emissions will result in the retirement of up half of ERCOT’s coal generation capacity, raise retail energy bills up to 20% and lead to a greater likelihood of rotating outages. [Platts]

¶   Altus Power America, Inc. announced a long-term solar Net Metering Credit Purchase Agreement with the Town of Belchertown, Massachusetts. The 20-year contract will help Belchertown save up to $160,000 annually with estimated savings of $2.7 million over the duration of the 20-year term. [Virtual-Strategy Magazine]

¶   Ratepayers have sued Southern California Edison Co and state electric power regulators for $3 billion in federal court. They allege the defendants have illegally collected millions in monthly electric bills from more than 17 million customers since a nuclear power plant was shuttered last year. [PennEnergy]

Opinion:

¶   “Japan’s 21st-century tsunami stones” A familiar sight along Tohoku’s Sanriku coastline are the tsunami stones erected by past generations that alert residents to the high-water mark of previous tsunami and the perils of building any closer to the sea. There have been four investigations into why the possibility of tsunami was ignored in the nuclear safety culture. [The Japan Times]

Science and Technology:

¶   Solid-state batteries capable of delivering on a 400+ mile range per single charge are a real possibility and possess “great potential” according to Volkswagen’s Chairman of the Board Dr Martin Winterkorn. If such a battery can be economically manufactured, then that would more-or-less turn the industry upside-down. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   The UK’s Junior Minister for Energy and Climate Change, Amber Rudd, recently made a rather blunt statement that solar farms “are not particularly welcome in the UK.” This follows closely on the heels of comments by the UK’s Environment Secretary that she didn’t want English farmland to have “its appearance blighted by solar farms.” [CleanTechnica]

¶   With India getting ready to give a big push to tap solar energy in the next six to eight years, the Indian prime minister pushed for a global effort to make clean energy available to all. In his statement on energy at the G20  summit in Brisbane, Australia, he stressed the major economic opportunity for all countries. [Times of India]

¶   Serbia’s Minister of Mining and Energy Aleksandar Antic opened the largest solar power plant in Serbia in Kladovo on Saturday. It is owned by a Serbian company that invested €3 million in it. Renewable energy sources account for 21% of Serbia’s power production currently and that share will go up to 27% by 2020, he pointed out. [InSerbia News]

¶   Danish developer DONG Energy has been named as the preferred partner to create a wind farm off the coast of the Isle of Man. It could accommodate up to 100 turbines and potentially generate 700 MW of electricity for the UK, generating an income of at least £5 million per year for the Isle of Man Government by 2023. [Isle of Man Today]

¶   Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott may have thought he left global climate change off the agenda for the G20 summit in Brisbane, but US President Obama and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon put it in the spotlight through a series of actions in the past few days. Obama ensured climate change was front and center before he even got to Australia. [Mashable]

US:

¶   The Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s microgrid project, the “Complete System-Level Efficient and Interoperable Solution for Microgrid Integrated Controls,” aims to standardize the toolkit for managing and controlling an effective, reliable, and safe microgrid. It is now two years in, and the fruits of the labor are starting to show. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Arizona Public Service Co. recently opened a solar power plant near Gila Bend that brings the state’s largest utility closer to its renewable-energy goals. The Gila Bend Solar Power Plant is the newest in APS’ AZ Sun program, which now includes seven solar-energy plants around the state. Two more solar plants are in the permitting and planning stages. [azcentral.com]

¶   Another big renewable energy project is coming to Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. Thursday the Army Corps of Engineers Engineering and Support Center in Huntsville hosted a pre-proposal conference for companies interested in building and operating a large combined heat and power project on Redstone Arsenal. [AL.com]

¶   President Barack Obama will pledge $3 billion to a United Nations climate-change fund that’s intended to help poor nations boost renewable energy and counter the ill effects of global warming. With pledges in place from Germany and France, and one coming from Japan, the Green Climate Fund is nearing its goal of securing $10 billion in pledges. [Businessweek]

Opinion:

¶   “OPEC Doesn’t Take Electric Cars Seriously” Just how dominant will oil remain? In the latest OPEC World Oil Outlook report, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries thinks that electric cars will have almost no impact on oil usage. I say let’s prove them wrong. [Gas 2.0]

¶   “More Lies From ALEC About Climate Change” I don’t envy Lisa B. Nelson, the new CEO at the American Legislative Exchange Council. If Nelson thought she was going to be able to quietly go about her business when she joined the secretive lobby group, she was sadly mistaken. [Huffington Post]

Science and Technology:

¶   Aquion Energy announced the second generation of its Aqueous Hybrid Ion battery and energy storage system technology. The new technology reportedly offers an increase in energy “of up to 40%,” without any increase in the size or weight of the S-Line Battery Stack or the M-Line Battery Module product lines. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A new kind of battery is by far the cheapest of a new generation of large, long-lived batteries enabling heavy use of intermittent energy sources for microgrids. It is produced by Aquion Energy, a company spun out of Carnegie Mellon University. It costs about twice as much as a lead-acid battery. [MIT Technology Review]

World:

¶   A cool summer and increased levels of hydro generation has resulted in a significant reduction in coal-generation in China over recent months, with coal consumption in August down by 11%. A large impact, has been on coal imports, which have fallen by half, with heavy impact on Australia. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A landmark lawsuit that challenges the lax regulation of hydraulic fracturing in Canada has just scored a major victory. An Alberta Chief Justice dismissed all key arguments made by the government of Alberta against the lawsuit, including the fear of a flood of lawsuits against a government dependent on hydrocarbon revenue. [Resilience]

¶   The UK’s Energy Secretary unveiled a £10 million fund to support community-owned renewable energy schemes in England. The Urban Community Energy Fund will give community groups in England the opportunity to bid for grants of up to £20,000, or loans of up to £130,000 to help kick-start their projects. [Click Green]

¶   Small Scale Power Generation Sector through renewable energy sources such as wind power, solar power and biomass sources has contributed effectively to the generation of electricity in Sri Lanka and the country expects to reach a target of 20% of the power supply by renewable energy by 2020. [Colombo Page]

¶   Reliance Power has commissioned a 100-MW concentrated solar power project in India by successfully synchronizing the grid and power generation. It is the world’s largest CSP project based on compact linear Fresnel reflector technology, provided by Areva Solar. [Business Standard]

¶   The UK’s first 2-MW lithium-titanate battery is to be connected to the energy grid as part of a new research project to tackle the challenges of industrial-scale energy storage. The project aims to provide tests of the technological and economic challenges. [The Guardian]

US:

¶   The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is supporting research and development in the field of energy storage by partnering with nine companies. The program is designed to develop new clean technologies, create prototypes, bring them to be real-world applications. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The Ginna Nuclear Power Plant is losing money to the tune of $100 million over the past three years. A decade-long power purchase agreement between Ginna’s ower, Exelon and Constellation Energy and RG&E expired last month. The future of the plant seems uncertain. [WROC-TV]

¶   Energy developer Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. has announced two grid-scale energy storage projects near Chicago . Each will use lithium iron phosphate batteries with a 19.8 MW capacity, capable of storing 7.8 MWh. The two projects will be named Jake and Elwood. [JD Supra]

¶   Imergy Power Systems has landed its first battery order in the United States with Hawaiian renewable energy company Energy Research Systems. The company purchased four ESP5 vanadium flow batteries, which are capable of 5 kW of capacity and can store up to 30 kWh of electricity. [pv magazine]

¶   Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Energy, a contractor based in Charlotte, North Carolina, says in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that Xcel has refused to pay the full cost for replacing a pair of massive steam generators at the plant’s Unit 2. The project was completed last December. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

Opinion:

¶   “China’s Climate Change Plan Raises Questions” Many questions surround China’s plans, which President Xi Jinping announced in Beijing alongside President Obama after months of negotiations. In essence, experts asked, do the pledges go far enough, and how will China achieve them? [New York Times]

¶   “Carbon Capture, Water, and the U.S.-China Climate Agreement” The agreement commits both countries to focus on reducing the negative water implications of carbon capture and storage. Here’s why we’re even talking about the issue, and what this accord says about it. [The Equation: Blog of the Union of Concerned Scientists]

World Energy Outlook report:

¶   Fossil fuels see about $550 billion a year in subsidies, dampening investment in cleaner forms of energy, the International Energy Agency said. Crude oil, coal and natural gas received more than four times the $120 billion paid out in subsidies for renewables, according to the annual World Energy Outlook. [Live Trading News]

¶   Renewable energy technologies are set to gain ground on fossil fuels rapidly as they are helped by falling costs and subsidies, according to World Energy Outlook 2014. It suggests that by 2040 world energy supply will be divided into four almost equal parts: low-carbon sources (nuclear and renewables), oil, natural gas and coal. [reNews]

¶   Such developing countries as China and India will lead a projected 60% increase in worldwide nuclear power generation capacity through 2040, while costs to decommission aging reactors in advanced nations will soar, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday in its World Energy Outlook report. [Nikkei Asian Review]

World:

¶   An integrated residential rooftop solar and  electricity storage system will be launched in Germany in December. Hanwha Q Cells rooftop solar and Samsung lithium-ion batteries will be sold together so German citizens can produce their own electricity from the sun and store it at home. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Iberdrola Ingeniería, in a consortium with Gamesa, has completed the construction of its first wind farm in Kenya, the Ngong II project with an installed capacity of 13.6 MW. It was awarded by the state-owned Kenyan Electricity Generating Company Limited in a contract worth €21.4 million. [Your Renewable News]

¶   Danish manufacturer Vestas has won a deal to supply turbines for the 52-MW second phase of the Bayinzile wind farm in China. The contract with Inner Mongolia Huitong Energy Zhuozi Wind Power Company Ltd covers 26 V80 2-MW machines, which will be installed in the Wulanchabu area of Inner Mongolia. [reNews]

¶   According to the influential Carbon Tracker Initiative, developing economies seeking to provide universal energy access are more likely to step up investment in renewables than coal infrastructure, despite a coal industry claim that coal is “essential to meet the scale of Africa’s desperate need for electricity”. [Business Green]

¶   SunEdison has announced the signing of a joint framework agreement with Aboitiz Renewables to scope, develop and operate up to 300 MW of utility-scale solar PV projects in the Philippines over the next three years. They aim to develop the first in a series of utility-scale Philippine solar power projects next year. [Energy Matters]

¶   Ontario regulators have approved the 230-MW Niagara Region wind farm, one of the largest projects in the province, as the Environment Ministry has issued a renewable energy approval for the project. The project will employ 77 Enercon turbines, a mix of E82 2.3-MW and E101 3-MW machines. [reNews]

US:

¶   San Jose, California–based STEM, a company with a mission to help large organizations meet sustainability goals, has been selected for an 85 MW distributed energy storage system by Southern California Edison. 85 MW is a big system in terms of energy storage, and all of it must be operational by 2021. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Linc Energy recently received a research & development license for Underground Coal Gasification, the first issued in the USA in twenty years. Linc Energy is moving ahead with a demonstration phase project in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, one of the country’s most active coal mining regions. [Energy Collective]

¶   Fort Hood is one step closer to bringing a large-scale renewable energy project that will save money and leverage solar and wind power for the post’s energy needs because of efforts by the Defense Logistics Agency, Energy, in coordination with the Office of Energy Initiatives and Fort Hood Directorate of Public Works. [The Fort Hood Sentinel]

¶   The nation’s largest solar provider and the U.S. Navy announced a deal Wednesday that will equip nearly 6,000 homes in the San Diego area with rooftop solar energy systems. Navy and Marine Corps housing in 27 neighborhoods from Imperial Beach to Vista will receive rooftop solar energy systems. [U-T San Diego]

World:

¶   US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced both countries will curb greenhouse gas emissions over the next two decades. The US would cut its 2005 level of carbon emissions by 26-28% before 2025. China would peak its carbon emissions and get 20% of its energy from zero-carbon sources by 2030. [CNN]

¶   The prime ministers of Pakistan and China are reported to have witnessed the signing of 19 agreements and memorandums mostly focused on the energy sector. China has pledged $42 billion funds of which $31 billions are dedicated to projects in the energy sector. Coal accounts for 80% of the new power. [Business Recorder]

¶   Despite pledging in 2009 to phase out the use of fossil fuels, G20 countries are spending $88 billion a year in taxpayer money to discover new reserves around the world, according to a new report published Tuesday by the Overseas Development Institute and Oil Change International. [eNews Park Forest]

¶   Yingli Green Energy Spain announced it has supplied over 5 MW of solar panels for Bolivia’s first solar power plant. Isotron, a subsidiary of Isastur, installed more than 17,000 solar panels in the 5-MW project, which is Bolivia’s largest solar project and the world’s largest storage-equipped hybrid PV-diesel project. [Your Renewable News]

¶   Natural gas could help reduce emissions until renewables deployment is more widespread, but investment in gas infrastructure could result in the fossil fuel outstaying its welcome, scientists have warned. They also accuse the British government of over-hyping the potential for a domestic shale gas industry. [Business Green]

¶   SolarReserve, a developer of utility-scale solar power projects, has announced that the 96-MW PV Jasper solar power project has completed construction and is fully operational. The power project, located in South Africa’s Northern Cape, is the largest solar installation in Africa. It was completed two months ahead of schedule. [BusinessTech]

¶   Negotiations to establish a bipartisan commitment to renewable energy in Australia have collapsed. The opposition Labor Party has walked away from talks with the government about generating 20% of the country’s power from renewable energy because of government inflexibility on a plan to cut the target dramatically. [eco-business.com]

¶   UK Energy secretary Ed Davey warns that the Conservative party’s opposition to onshore wind turbines risks undermining the creation of British jobs. Davey also said that the opposition to onshore turbines is driving up customer bills because wind is the cheapest clean energy. [The Guardian]

¶   The Isle of Man has selected DONG Energy, Manx Tidal Energy Ltd and Tocardo Tidal Energy Ltd to develop an offshore wind farm and several tidal energy projects. It is progressing offshore energy opportunities and working with the UK to help meet its renewable energy targets. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶   In order to achieve its energy 2021 energy target providing electricity access to all residents, Bangladesh is seeking to more than double electricity generation to 24 GW, 10% of which from renewables. The country has installed more than 3.1 million systems since May with support from the World Bank and other agencies. [pv magazine]

US:

¶   In the face of an aging fleet of plants, new EPA regulations for pollution and carbon, and decreasing natural gas costs, coal plants may well become a thing of the past in Michigan. According to the Energy Justice Network and Crain’s Detroit Business, five more Michigan coal-fired power plants are slated for closures. [Detroit Free Press]

¶   Some utility companies are starting to encourage consumers to make the switch to plug-in electric vehicles. JEA, a utility company in northeastern Florida, recently began offering to its nearly half a million household and business electricity customers a rebate of up to $1,000 for the purchase or lease of a plug-in electric vehicle. [Huffington Post]

¶   Ford has this week announced innovative new plans that could see its dealers across the country become renewable energy hubs. Ford and Wind Energy Corporation partner to deploy solar panels and vertical axis wind “sails” at four Ford dealerships as part of a pilot programme. [Business Green]

¶   Six years ago, Wisconsin’s Gundersen Health System, which makes up a network of hospitals, medical clinics, nursing homes and other health facilities,  set a goal to reduce energy consumption. It has more than reached that goal. Every day since October 14, it has produced more energy than it consumed. [ThinkProgress]

¶   Vermont and Entergy continue to disagree on how to pay the cost of decommissioning the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. Entergy, is now seeking permission from federal regulators to eliminate off-site emergency response planning about 15 months after the reactor stops turning. [vtdigger.org]

Science and Technology:

¶   Grid operators may be able to use buildings to help regulate grid frequency as they integrate more renewable energy sources. Variable-speed drives used to run heating and cooling systems can be rapidly modulated by grid operators to keep the frequency of electricity on the grid within necessary tolerances. [Energy Collective]

¶   The Canadian public health department released its preliminary findings of a study on wind turbine noise and health, and an Australian court ruled on a challenge to a 105-MW wind farm based on wind turbine syndrome. In both cases, windpower was found not to have demonstrable adverse health effects. [Energy Matters]

World:

¶   The Kenya Electricity Generating Company decided to capitalize on their geothermal resources by adding 280 MW of geothermal energy to the national grid, and the power started feeding into the national grid in July. Kenya saved $100 million in the first three months of operation. [ESI Africa]

¶   Denmark’s government plans to have the country completely off of fossil fuels by 2050, including cars. One problem with this is that energy production from wind and solar plants cost very little to run, so the more they appear, the less energy will cost. This means energy companies will struggle to make any profit. [UPI.com]

¶   French renewable energy developer, Neoen announced that it is completing the financing for the project and starting construction of the developed facility located in the town of Cestas near Bordeaux. The facility will consist of several power plants with a combined power output of 300 MW. [PV Insider News and Analysis]

¶   A report by the Overseas Development Institute and Oil Change International says governments around the world are funding high carbon energy sources at the expense of renewable energy projects. Australian taxpayers subsidize exploration by coal and energy companies by as much as $4 billion every year. [ABC Online]

¶   Canadian Solar has finalized a deal to provide 4 MW of energy storage, to be used to support the electrical grid in Ontario, Canada. Ontario has a target to procure 50 MW of energy storage by the end of this year, of which 33.54 MW has already been procured by the Independent Electric System Operator. [PV-Tech Storage]

¶   Senvion has signed a contract to supply turbines for the 150-MW Mesgi’g Ugju’s’n wind farm in Quebec. The MU project is owned and developed in a 50-50 partnership between the three Mi’gmaq First Nations of Quebec and Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. Senvion will deliver a cold-climate-version wind turbines. [North American Windpower]

US:

¶   Massachusetts is currently considering extending its net-metering qualification guidelines to include small hydroelectric projects over 60 kW in capacity, in addition to those under 60 kW. This would put hydroelectric on level ground with solar energy, wind energy, and anaerobic digestion systems in the state. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Acer Americas is joining the growing ranks of US businesses meeting 100% of their electricity needs from renewable energy resources. The company has announced it is joining the EPA Green Power Partnership and has purchased enough green power to offset all of its carbon emissions from electricity in the US. [Triple Pundit]

¶   A 5-MW solar array could be in place by next spring in the hills overlooking Lake Sonoma under a cooperative venture announced Monday between the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Dry Creek Band of Pomo Indians. The system would be the largest in Sonoma County, California. [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]

¶   Traces of radioactive cesium-134, believed to have come from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster, were detected 100 miles off the coast of Eureka, California, according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The isotope is present at 0.1% of the level allowed by the EPA for drinking water. [CNBC]

Science and Technology:

¶   The Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology recently announced it has made white solar PV modules to use in buildings, offering applications in several consumer-centered sectors. The technology can be used to modify any crystalline solar PV module to produce white or coloured modules.  [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   The Climate Council says foreign investors are going to other countries because Australia’s government has no clear renewable energy policy. Another damning report on the state of renewable energy in Australia said the country was losing out on valuable business. [eco-business.com]

¶   New renewable energy projects create 10 times more green jobs than similar-sized fossil fuel investments, new research has found. A study by the UK Energy Research Center taking data from the US, Europe, and China, suggests green energy provide a boost to employment, short term construction jobs and lifetime plant jobs. [Business Green]

¶   In Indonesia, geothermal power plant developer PT Supreme Energy expects to commence the first stage of construction of its 220 MW Muara Laboh project in West Sumatra as early as next year while working on land-related issues in two other phases of development. [Jakarta Post]

¶   The Green Investment Bank announced a £200 million lending program for community-scale renewable energy projects in the UK, the institution’s first investment in the sector, although energy from waste is not included. The program will be funded half by the GIB and half by global investment firm KKR. [Materials Recycling World]

¶   Wind farms have been paid £43 million to stand idle so far this year, a new British record. The payments were made to suppliers because the National Grid was unable to use their electricity. The sums paid in ‘constraint payments’ to wind farms have risen rapidly in the past four years, according to electricity market data. [Daily Mail]

¶   Osaka will seek to sell its shares of Kansai Electric Power Co, operator of the Ohi nuclear plant, to comply with a policy calling for less reliance on investment income. The mayor had pledged to rid the city of its holding in Kansai Electric should the utility ignore calls to stop using atomic power. [Businessweek]

US:

¶   Presumptive Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has promised to bring energy bills up for votes in the next Congress, and Senator Lisa Murkowski, who is likely to become the next chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, isn’t waiting until January to start pushing fracking and pipelines. [Washington Times]

¶   Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft are part of a growing number of tech and other major companies that are entering into long-term “power purchase” agreements (PPAs) with wind farms to ensure a steady stream of power, at a fixed cost, over a period as long as several decades. The reason for that is largely long-term price stability. [Tonga Daily News]

¶   Arkansas’ burgeoning biomass industry got a big boost earlier this summer when in the space of 30 days two privately held investor groups announced multi-million dollar projects to produce commercially viable fuel from the state’s vast supply of forest dregs. Both are building wood pellet plants. [The City Wire]

¶   Today at Olympian High School, Sweetwater Union High School District and SunPower Corp are celebrating the installation of 9.3 MW of high efficiency SunPower solar power systems at 21 California district schools. The district estimates that the systems may offset about 60% of its utility grid demand. [AZoCleantech]

Economics and Finance:

¶    A report from the Institute of Self-Reliance says locally owned renewable energy projects create more economic benefits than absentee-owned projects, and they are less likely to encounter community opposition. By enacting policies to support local renewable power, states stand to gain thousands of jobs and millions of dollars. [San Diego Free Press]

Science and Technology:

¶   Inspired by bamboo’s adaptation to wind, University of Vermont engineers developed a low cost micro-wind turbine. The small bamboo vertical axis wind turbine is combined with a solar panel. Bamboo has a tensile strength similar to steel, but without the weight, and it is grown rather than mined. [Energy Matters]

¶   As electricity is more intermittent, fuel-powered plants are kept idling to ramp up quicker when there is a need for more power. They take minutes to respond and, in many cases, it has taken more than 20 minutes to minimize the mismatch between generation and loads. Batteries can respond in seconds. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   To provide electricity for India’s rural population, the Rockefeller Foundation will provide 65% funding for a $100 million initiative to establish 1,000 mini power grids in the next three years. Generally, each mini power grid would provide power for 150-250 households with about 1,000 people. [indiatvnews.com]

¶   Norther Irish wind energy company, Simple Power officially launched seven new wind turbines on farms this week. This brings the total number of turbines erected over the past four months to nine and marks significant success for the company as it continues to progress with its development strategy. [Farming Life]

¶   The Philippine’s bid to wean itself off fossil fuels and tap its massive potential for renewable energy has received a big boost following the completion of the largest wind farm in Southeast Asia. EDC Burgos Wind Power Corphas commissioned its 150-MW wind project in Burgos, Ilocos Norte. [Yahoo Philippines News]

¶   ACWA Power, based in Saudi Arabia, is looking to secure money to pursue renewable energy projects valued at $7.4 billion. The developer currently has projects operating or under construction in several countries in the Middle East, Africa and southeast Asia, and is bidding for a 100-MW solar power plant in Mecca. [SmartMeters]

¶   ACME Solar has emerged as the largest successful bidder in the recently concluded solar power capacity auction in Andhra Pradesh. With this success on projects totaling 160 MW, the company claims that it is on track to have an installed solar power capacity of 1 GW in India by 2017. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Despite concerns from nearly all neighboring countries, including the European Union, about Armenia’s elderly Metsamor nuclear plant, Armenia and Russia before the end of the year will sign an intergovernmental agreement to extend Metsamor’s service life until 2026. [Silk Road Reporters]

US:

¶   For millions of Americans, and many more worldwide, rooftop solar is already cheaper than electricity from the grid, but until recently, utility-scale solar projects weren’t cheaper than other types of power plants (ignoring externalities, which we shouldn’t really do but we do). That has been changing. [Treehugger]

¶   The solar power industry, viewed more than a decade ago as a game-changing, jobs-producing juggernaut in California, took its lumps during the recession. But now it’s coming back with a vengeance, both here and globally. Some California solar system installers have work backlogs, and new deals are being announced regularly. [Sacramento Bee]

¶   PacifiCorp announced it is participating in an “energy imbalance market” with California’s independent grid operator. This could save customers $10 million to $65 million a year, improve grid reliability, reducing emissions, and enable use of far more renewable energy. It will also pay for itself almost immediately. [The Oregonian]

Opinion:

¶   “Sendai nuclear plant should not be model for reactor restarts” The process leading to the reactivation of the idled reactors at the Sendai plant has raised serious doubts about the government’s approach to the issue. The government is moving toward restarting the Sendai plant’s reactors without sufficient accident preparations. [Asahi Shimbun]

Science and Technology:

¶   When researchers talk about “islanding,” or isolating, from the grid, they are discussing a fundamental benefit of microgrids, or small systems powered by renewables and energy storage devices. The benefit is that microgrids can disconnect from larger utility grids and continue to provide power locally. [Science Daily]

World:

¶   A small German town in southern Bavaria is participating in an interesting experiment proving that a high-renewables future is viable. Wildpoldsried (pop. 2,600) currently produces 500% more energy than it needs through renewable energy systems, and sells the surplus power back to the grid. [RenewEconomy]

¶   The UK’S largest single roof mounted solar panel array is to be installed at Marks and Spencer’s Castle Donington distribution center. The solar PV system will span the site’s 900,000 sq ft roof and will generate over 5,000 MWh of electricity per year, enough to power 1,190 houses. [LoughboroughEcho.net]

¶   Cuba’s National Electric Development program aims to increase the island’s electricity production capacity significantly. Cuba seeks to generate 24% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, which will save nearly $780 million annually on fuel. Cuba currently gets 96% of its electricity from fossil fuels. [teleSUR English]

¶   A 231-MW solar power plant broke ground in Okayama prefecture, western Japan. It is expected to be Japan’s largest solar power plant. The plant is located in a disused salt pan. It is scheduled to begin operation in the first half of 2019 with 920,000 solar panels installed. The project will cost $950 million. [Daily Times]

¶   The man responsible for maintaining India’s power supply says he wants the country’s coal production to double within the next five years. The Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable energy, says India needs to dig twice as much coal as it does today if it is to meet its soaring energy demand. [Truthdig]

¶   The UK’s High Court has refused an application for a judicial review of the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s decision to end subsidies under the renewables obligation scheme for solar farms with a generating capacity of more than 5 MW by 2015, two years ahead of the original schedule. [E&T magazine]

¶   Lightsource Renewable Energy, the UK’s largest solar developer, has connected a 6.1-MW solar farm near Ramsgate in Kent. Thorne Solar Farm is located to the south of Manston Airport and occupies just under 11 hectares (27 acres) of land and is predicted to generate enough electricity to power 1,800 local homes. [Solar Power Portal]

¶   The port of Ghent in Belgium will see the construction of the largest biomass power plant in the world, at 215 MW. Belgian Eco Energy selected Abengoa to develop the plant, which will be fueled by 100% raw material biomass such as wood chips and agro-residues. The project will cost over €315 million. [IHB]

¶   A solar eclipse next March will test European electricity grids because of the massive increase in solar power production on the continent, according to French power grid RTE. On the morning of March 20, 2015, an almost total solar eclipse will block direct sunlight over parts of Europe, North Africa and Russia. [TODAYonline]

US:

¶   About 26% of the electricity Boston-based Partners HealthCare buys this year for the facilities it owns will come from renewable sources. Its leaders wanted to reduce pollution from traditional fossil-fuel energy sources and the illness burden that pollution causes, as well as to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change. [ModernHealthcare.com]

¶   NStar became the second utility in recent weeks to deliver a winter shock to Massachusetts energy consumers, asking state regulators for an average 29% increase in electric bills starting in January. NStar provides electricity and natural gas to more than a million customers in metropolitan Boston and Cape Cod. [Boston Globe]

¶   A study conducted by the Minnesota Department of Commerce in coordination with the Midwest regional independent grid operator Mid-continent Independent System Operator found that the state of Minnesota could obtain 40% or more of its electricity from wind and solar energy without suffering any grid reliability issues. [CleanTechnica]

Opinion:

¶   “What Happens When Solar Energy is Cheaper Than Local Electricity Prices?” There is an enormous battle behind the scenes over the nitty-gritty of everyday power plant operations, and making money from older, inefficient plants, as the price of solar power goes down. [The Equation: Blog of the Union of Concerned Scientists]

¶   “The End of the Big Oil and Gas Game Has Come” Sheikh Ahmed-Zaki Yamani said in 2000, “Thirty years from now there will be a huge amount of oil – and no buyers. Oil will be left in the ground.” A decade and half later and we are coming to the end of Big Oil. Why? Pollution, grid parity, and competition with zero marginal costs. [Huffington Post]

World:

¶   SunEdison has signed an agreement with the government of the Indian state of Rajasthan to set up 5 GW of solar power capacity over the next five years. The projects will be set up in increments of 500 MW. Rajasthan is particularly rich in solar resources and was among the first states in India to have a solar power plant. [CleanTechnica]

¶   GE plans to begin construction of a 100-MW wind power farm in Kenya early next year and expects it to be up and running within 18 months after that, a company executive said on Thursday. Kenya is pushing to expand its power generation capacity by 5,000 MW by 2017 from about 1,700 MW now. [The Standard Digital News]

¶   Quebec’s call for bids on 450 MW of wind energy received bids totaling 6627.5 MW. Hydro-Quebec Distribution received 54 submissions from 10 developers, including bids from established players such as EDF EN Canada, Boralex, Innergex, Invenergy and Northland Power. [reNews]

¶   Cost differences between renewables and fossil fuels have guided new renewable energy additions, especially in developing countries. Market economics often made new fossil fuel generation cheaper, but those days are ending. Renewable electricity is now just as affordable an option as fossil fuel in 55 emerging nations. [Energy Collective]

¶   There is more than enough geothermal energy in British Columbia to power the province’s grid, yet not one site has been developed. Geothermal energy has never been invited to bid on calls for power. In fact, with 150 known hot springs in western Canada, there isn’t a single developed geothermal site in the country. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Enel Green Power and Empresa Nacional de Electricidad SA have signed 20-year supply contracts for two wind power projects and 25-year contracts for three solar projects in Chile. The contracts are worth approximately $2.3 billion. The wind and solar plants will have 307 MW of capacity. [reNews]

¶   Regional authorities in Japan approved the restart of the idled Sendai nuclear plant of Kyushu Electric Power Co, paving the way for a revival of the stalled industry more than three years after the Fukushima disaster. This is a victory for the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. [Reuters]

US:

¶   Siemens Energy Management, Microsoft, and FuelCell Energy have produced the nation’s first zero-carbon, waste-to-energy data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The project uses biogas methane produced by common waste byproducts at the nearby Dry Creek wastewater facility to power the fuel cell system. [Broadway World]

¶   Ice Energy today announced it has been awarded sixteen contracts from Southern California Edison to provide 25.6 MW of behind-the-meter thermal energy storage. Ice Energy’s proprietary Ice Bear system uses electricity at low-demand times to freeze water, which provides cooling during high demand periods. [Rock Hill Herald]

¶   ISO New England Inc, the operator of the New England power system and wholesale electricity markets, issued its 2014 Regional System Plan. The plan guides long-term power-system planning efforts in New England, including identifying grid areas needing transmission upgrades and market responses. [MarketWatch]

¶   Projections for a “death spiral” in the utility sector are premature, according to Moody’s Investors Service. The industry is being transformed by widespread adoption of distributed generation, but utilities, state lawmakers, and regulators are acting to refine utility cost-recovery models, decreasing the threat of disruption. [Platts]

¶   Vestas has received an order for 100 turbines for First Wind’s 200MW South Plains wind farm in Texas. The Danish manufacturer expects to deliver V100 2-MW machines in late 2015. The deal includes supply and commissioning as well as a 10-year service agreement. [reNews]

World:

¶   The Scottish renewables are among the world’s best performing, and new data from WeatherEnergy has shown that October had them generating more than enough electricity from renewable sources to power the country. Windpower produced most of the power, but solar production was impressive. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The sulfur levels in marine bunker fuel are as high is 100 to 3,500 times what is permitted in diesel fuel for road traffic in China. As a result, one container ship cruising along the coast of China emits as much diesel pollution as 500,000 new Chinese trucks in a single day. [Energy Collective]

¶  As India grapples with power shortage problems, Power Minister Piyush Goyal is expecting an investment of $250 billion in the next four to five years. He says renewable energy will be a feed-in for power sector and government will engage top 250 tax payers to invest in solar and wind projects. [Moneycontrol.com]

¶   A $27 million investment from Spanish corporate, GRI Renewable Industries offers South Africa a giant leap forward in the provision of renewable energy alternatives with the facility capable of producing 150 wind towers a year. This is welcome news at a time when problems meeting electric demand are increasing. [Cape Business News]

¶   While Germany’s nuclear power phaseout seems to be going along fairly well, there have been some bumps in the road. Three of the four largest power companies, EON, RWE, and Vattenfall, have brought over 20 lawsuits demanding billions in Euros for compensation relating to the phaseout of nuclear power. [DigitalJournal.com]

¶   In Australia, Fotowatio Renewable Ventures and its engineering, procurement and construction contractor Green Light Contractors Pty Ltd broke ground on construction of the 70-MW Moree Solar Farm today. At the ceremony, the company noted the importance of the Renewable Energy Target. [Business Spectator]

¶   A dozen Canadian clean-technology companies, many of them nurtured by the government, accompanied Ontario’s Premier Kathleen Wynne, hoping to sell everything from environmentally friendly fertilizer to systems for cleaning ship exhaust as she met China’s Science and Technology Minister in Beijing. [The Globe and Mail]

¶   Oman’s Rural Areas Electricity Company is partnering with Masdar to build a $125 million wind farm that when fully operational will provide power to 16,000 homes. The company also estimates investments in solar, wind, and nuclear energy will reach $100 billion in the GCC region over the next five years. [SmartMeters]

¶   Wind generation hit a record high to provide 24% of the UK’s energy mix on October 20. The previous high of 22% was in August. Wind’s share of October’s electricity mix was 12.3% compared with 8% in October, 2013. Also, wind generated more power than nuclear for 11 full days during October. [reNews]

US:

¶   On Tuesday night in the US, Republicans – and particularly those who reject climate science and despite renewable energy, won big in the US Congressional elections. This is not good news for climate. The Senate is now in the hands of a group of people who make pro-coal Australian politicians look moderate. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Environmental groups lost big in the elections, but there was one surprising winner: The Northeast’s multi-state carbon-trading plan. Pennsylvania Governor-elect Tom Wolf, the sole bright spot for Democrats on the state level, has promised to move Pennsylvania to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. [National Journal]

¶   The EPA says it is considering an extended time frame for reducing reliance on coal to 2029, giving utilities almost an extra decade to adapt. The EPA’s shift comes after intense lobbying by utilities, which want to wait until their plants reach the end of their natural life spans. [Businessweek]

¶   SolarCity, the largest US solar panel installer, reported a 20% rise in quarterly revenue and said it had cut system costs more than expected. The company said third-quarter revenue rose 20% to $58.34 million from $48.6 million a year earlier. Analysts were expecting revenue of $60.23 million. [Reuters]

¶   Not so long ago, Exelon, which runs six nuclear energy plants in Illinois, was extolling the merits of an open market for power as its profits rolled in. Now, with power prices plunging, Exelon has lost enthusiasm for the open markets and wants the Legislature to protect its profits, quite likely driving up utility bills. [Chicago Sun-Times]

¶   Southern California Edison today detailed how it intends to generate enough power to run nearly one million homes with a mix of technologies, including energy efficiency, renewables, and energy storage. Part of the solution is 85 megawatts from a distributed collection of refrigerator size batteries in buildings. [Xconomy]

Science and Technology:

¶   The cost estimates for solar PV used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its latest report fail to take into account most recent cost reductions for the technology, reports Helle Abelvik-Lawson, and exaggerate financing costs. The result is to understate the importance of PV in a low carbon future. [The Ecologist]

¶   A new flow battery system from Imergy Power Systems  can use vanadium extracted from fly ash waste rather than more expensive purified vanadium. That helps keep the cost of the vanadium flow battery to just $300 per kWh, almost half the current industry standard. [Sustainablog]

¶   Japan’s Eco Marine Power is developing a number of sustainable shipping technologies that harnesses both wind and solar power, and has been making steady progress towards a commercial system over the last few years. One example is a rigid sail capable of using both wind and solar energy to help power a vessel. [Ship & Bunker]

¶   Clean technologies could generate more growth in innovation and the economy than fossil fuel based technologies, Imperial College researchers report. Clean technologies include smart devices, renewable energy such as wind power and green transportation including electric cars. [Imperial College London]

World:

¶   Five towns in New South Wales have raised their hands to become the first zero net energy town in the state – and indeed in Australia. Walcha, Manilla, Tenterfield, Uralla, and Bingara all made applications to become a signature town of the 21st Century and center of green innovation. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Several of Egypt’s major cement producers have begun retrofitting their plants to run on energy from imported coal, beating high gas prices and energy shortages that have curbed industrial output this year. Supply from state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company has been intermittent. [Reuters]

¶   In Cornwall, the Lanhydrock Estates Company has applied for a solar farm to be constructed on two fields at Newtons Margate. If granted planning consent, the 12,000 modules will provide 3 MW of electricity for Tulip Ltd’s food production factory at Bodmin, with surplus going to the grid. [cornishguardian.co.uk]

¶   In a growing grassroots movement, citizens of Berlin are banding together to try to buy back the electricity grid, in the hope of seeing more renewable energy used in the city. Berlin’s energy grid has 35,000 km of underground cable and more than 8,000 substations that feed electricity to more than 2 million customers. [Radio Australia]

¶   The Australian government has cut almost half a billion dollars from research into carbon capture and storage – which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change deems crucial for continued use of coal – despite the prime minister insisting coal is the “foundation of our prosperity”. [The Guardian]

¶   TEPCO completed the removal of 1,331 spent fuel rods from the upper levels of the badly damaged reactor No. 4 building at Fukushima Daiichi on Wednesday. The No. 4 building was a source of concern during the disaster because of fears it would collapse in another earthquake, leading to exposure of the spent fuel. [AsiaOne]

US:

¶   According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), no new coal-fired plants came to service in the first 6 months of 2014, and only two small units are projected to come on line by the end of the year. The prospects for more coal-fired plants in the future look dismal for several reasons. [RenewEconomy]

¶   In New Mexico, anger has spread over news that the country’s largest methane leak, near the Four Corners region, is three times larger than originally reported. The methane leak is attributed to gas production. For many New Mexicans, the dangerous human health and environmental hazard is a wake-up call. [Deming Headlight]

Opinion:

¶   “As Scientists Sound the Alarm on Climate, a Reason for Hope” The climate report paints a scary picture, but its most important message is that we still have time to turn the corner on climate change  and we can do it affordably. As a matter of fact, it’s the cost of inaction that’s the true threat to our economy. [Huffington Post]

Science and Technology:

¶   The potential for saving electricity from used car batteries is growing steadily. The International Energy Agency estimates that there will be 4 million electric cars on the roads by 2015, rising to 20 million in 2020. An estimate of capacity could be 40 kWh, implying that used car batteries could provide storage capacity of 128 GWh by 2020. [Bellona]

World:

¶   Etrion Corporation, a solar independent power producer, announced it has completed construction of the 70-MW Salvador project in the Atacama region of Chile. Project Salvador is the world’s largest solar power plant-based on spot market electricity revenues and is the second-largest solar park connected in Chile. [Your Renewable News]

¶   Scottish wind turbines generated an estimated 982,842 MWh of electricity last month – with environmental group WWF Scotland suggesting this was enough to power 3,045,000 homes, the equivalent of 126% of the electricity needs of every home in Scotland, based on analysis of data from WeatherEnergy. [Scotsman]

¶   Progress is being made on the construction of a £100 million-plus power station on the site of the old Brigg Sugar Factory in North Lincolnshire. The straw-burning power station aims to generate 40 MW of electricity – enough to supply 75,000 homes –  and is expected to open in December next year. [Scunthorpe Telegraph]

¶   The Indian power sector is heading for a $1 billion, or Rs 6,000 crore, saving in coal transportation cost and earnings of another Rs 3,600 crore by additional generation as the government plans to tweak fuel supply arrangements to ensure that coal from each mine or port is shipped to closest plant. [Economic Times]

¶   Fed up with constant electricity cuts and government-enforced “power holidays”, Indian IT firm ValueLabs has turned to the sun for help. In July, it finished building a 13 MW solar plant, enough to power 6,000 homes, to keep the lights on and computers humming for more than 3,000 employees at its base in Hyderabad. [Businessworld]

¶   In China, Nanyang Technological University will be building a hybrid micro-grid integrating multiple large-scale renewable energy sources. The hybrid micro-grid will test and demonstrate the integration of solar, wind, tidal-current, diesel, storage and power-to-gas technologies. [Asian Scientist Magazine]

¶   The UN’s IPCC has again urged the end of use of fossil fuels for power generation, but Australia appears to be thumbing its nose. With greenhouse gas levels at their highest in 800,000 years, brown coal’s share of Australia’s national electricity generation has risen BY 4% to 26% and black coal’s by 3% to 51%. [Energy Matters]

¶   India has called for effective international cooperation and responsible action by governments to strengthen nuclear security and prevent non-state actors from acquiring vulnerable atomic material. The amended Convention would make it legally binding for states parties to protect nuclear facilities and material. [Free Press Journal]

US:

¶   The DOE launched a new $2.3 million pilot program to accelerate the transfer of innovative clean energy technologies from the DOE’s National Laboratories into the commercial marketplace. Lab-Corps aims to better train and empower national lab researchers to move their discoveries into the private sector. [Today’s Energy Solutions]

¶   US Bank and Microgrid Solar have joined together to boost renewable energy and help non-profit institutions in the St Louis area save thousands of dollars in energy costs by installing new solar energy systems, financing the installation and operation of up to 120 solar PV systems to benefit 56 organizations. [REjournals.com]

¶   Apex Clean Energy has kicked off the Article 10 permitting process for the 201-MW Lighthouse wind project in upstate New York on the shores of Lake Ontario. The Virginia-headquartered developer has submitted a preliminary ‘public involvement program’ plan for review by the state Siting Board. [reNews]

¶   Utilities are generally pessimistic about their future role in the effort to expand the US electric grid and make it stronger. They believe they will see new competition become increasingly involved in the initiative. But they disagree strongly about what the future of energy transmission will look like. [Breaking Energy]

¶   The bipartisan Governors’ Wind Energy Coalition urged the US DOE to support FERC Order 1000, as the group says it could help bring more renewable energy to power markets. The 23-member group makes its call after the US Court of Appeals recently denied a rehearing a decision upheld the order. [North American Windpower]

Climate Change Report:

¶   In its “synthesis report,” the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that the hundreds of authors involved in the study were even more certain than before that the planet is warming and humans are the cause. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters that action must come soon. [CNN]

¶   Climate change is happening, it is almost entirely man’s fault and limiting its impacts may require reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero this century, according to the UN panel on climate science. The fourth and final volume of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s giant climate assessment offered no surprises. [Huffington Post]

Opinion:

¶   “China’s renewable energy revolution: what is driving it?” China now has the largest amount of installed electric capacity in the world at 1250 GW, exceeding the US 1160 GW power system. Around 30% of China’s capacity was renewable (water, wind, solar) in 2013, but fossil fuels, mainly coal, were 69%. [Japan Focus]

¶   “Meanwhile, down at the nuclear power plant, something’s going wrong” The EPA has recommended increased radiation exposure limits following major releases. It would save the industry a bundle to permit large human exposures, rather than shut down rickety reactors. [Las Vegas Informer]

World:

¶   In a report produced for the Liberal Democrat energy and climate secretary, Ed Davey, renewable energy trade bodies, community energy groups, and academics say that major future wind and solar farms should give communities the chance to invest and own as much as a quarter of projects. [The Guardian]

¶   French energy giant EDF has underlined its commitment to the offshore wind sector, announcing late last week that it has acquired the rights to develop the high-profile Blyth Offshore Wind Demonstration Site in Northumberland. The site is the largest consented offshore wind testing facility in the UK. [Business Green]

¶   When the European Commission came forward with its proposal for a 2030 energy and climate framework earlier this year, transportation was a missing piece. Transportation is responsible for around a quarter of EU CO2 emissions – a share that is increasing while CO2 emissions from other sectors are generally falling. [Business Green]

¶   As its solar projects move forward, the joint venture of Bronzeoak Philippines and ThomasLloyd Cleantech Infrastructure Fund has announced a $90-million investment for a 20-MW biomass power plant in Negros Occidental. The plant will be located in San Carlos City. [BusinessWorld Online Edition]

¶   Staff at South Africa’s Majuba electric station noticed a crack in a coal storage silo on Saturday afternoon. Forty minutes later, the structure collapsed, causing the station’s output to drop from 3,600 MW to 1,800. Now there are rolling blackouts in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Port Elizabeth. [AllAfrica.com]

US:

¶   There are many important considerations when voters in Wisconsin go to the polls Tuesday, but the state’s largest environmental organization says party affiliation makes little difference to voters in one respect – all show support for renewable power in Wisconsin’s energy future. [Public News Service]

¶   The Northwest Grid’s Bonneville Power Administration has started to offer its customers the opportunity to schedule energy transactions in 15-minute increments, giving utilities a new measure of flexibility in responding to swings in power generation as they buy, sell and transmit energy. [Electric Co-op Today]

¶   A 750-mile interstate power line promises to deliver wind-generated electricity to Columbia, Missouri at nearly half the price the city now pays. Columbia would pay $20 to $30 less per megawatt-hour for electricity, according to Clean Line Energy Partners, the company behind the project. [Columbia Missourian]

Opinion:

¶   “The Peak Oil Crisis: A Reality Check” For the last four or five years, we have been bombarded with a stream of stories about the “shale revolution.” What the stories about all this abundance fail to address, outside of vague generalizations, is just how long this upward surge is going to last and what happens then. [Resilience]

¶   “How You Can Fight Climate Change and Make Money Doing It” No matter what your belief is on what is causing climate change or who is responsible there’s really only one thing within our control that will fix it. The good news is that the solution is becoming more of a reality every day. [Nasdaq]

Science and Technology:

¶   The United Nations’ expert panel on climate science on Saturday finished a report on global warming that the UN’s environment agency said offers “conclusive evidence” that humans are altering the Earth’s climate system. The document is scheduled to be released on November 2. [Phys.Org]

¶   A completely functional 3D-printable graphene battery was recently developed by researchers at Graphene 3D Lab. The new prototype 3D-printable graphene battery was unveiled at the recent Inside 3D Printing Conference that took place in Santa Clara, California. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   Through the effective implementation of existing policies India’s wind energy capacity could double over the next five years, latest estimates of the Global Wind Energy Council show. According to the report, India could increase its installed wind energy to almost 50 GW by the end of this decade. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A huge power outage in Bangladesh left tens of millions of people nationwide without electricity for hours. It began around 11 am Saturday, causing widespread disruption across the nation of more than 160 million people. Power started to come back around 11 pm Saturday. [CNN]

¶   South Australia Premier Jay Weatherill and Environment Minister Ian Hunter have switched on the second stage of the Snowtown wind farm, adding 90 turbines increasing the farm’s capacity by 1350 GW. The Premier has also warned such projects are at risk if the federal government scaled back the Renewable Energy Target. [Sky News Australia]

¶   Seventies-style blackouts could become a reality as the threat of worsening stormy weather looms over Wales’ ageing electricity infrastructure. Fires in three fossil fuel plants have caused them to go offline for repairs, and two nuclear plants are down because of reactor cracks. [WalesOnline]

US:

¶   Plans for what will soon be the biggest municipal fleet of electrified vehicles in the nation were recently pushed through in the City of Indianapolis, through a new initiative dubbed the “Freedom Fleet.” The EV fleet of 425 EV or PHEV sedans is expected to be deployed in early 2016. Police will continue with gas-powered cars. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The latest monthly numbers on new electric capacity have been released by FERC. The result is another big month for renewable energy… and natural gas. Wind power accounted for 61% of new power capacity. Natural gas accounted for 19%, nuclear uprates 12%, and solar 7%. Natural gas still leads for the year. [CleanTechnica]

Opinion:

¶   “What Would Republican Control Of Senate Mean For The Energy Industry?” Tuesday’s elections could well see a major upheaval in American politics, with Republicans possibly achieving control of both the House and Senate. (Obama can still veto legislation, and it’s not clear how reluctant or enthusiastic he will be.) [Forbes]

¶   “Learning the tragic lesson of Fukushima: No nuclear restart at Sendai” In March 2011, Japan suffered the worst nuclear catastrophe in a generation, with triple reactor core meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi. The catastrophe was a stern warning about the perils of depending on nuclear power. [Greenpeace International]

Science and Technology:

¶   A multidisciplinary engineering team developed a new nanoparticle-based material for concentrating solar power plants designed to absorb and convert to heat more than 90% of the sunlight it captures. The new material can also withstand temperatures greater than 700° Celsius and survive many years of weather. [ScienceDaily]

¶   The Vertiwind will be part of EDF-EN’s offshore wind farm project called Inflow, which the European Commission is helping fund. It is a vertical axis wind turbine of 2 MW. There are a number of reasons why such a turbine might be used in a variety of locations, including urban areas. [Windpower Engineering]

World:

¶   Australian households and businesses have installed more than 1 GW of rooftop solar since July, 2013, with the rate of installations growing in the last few months due to uncertainty about the future of the renewable energy target. Queensland the biggest market, followed by Victoria, NSW and South Australia. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Brazil finally entered the solar power sector on Friday, granting contracts for the construction of 31 solar parks as it tries to diversify its sources of generation amid an energy crisis caused by the worst drought in eight decades. The 31 solar parks will have a combined installed capacity of 1,048 MW. [Reuters]

¶   Barbour ABI has released new data revealing that a total of 405 renewable energy projects are in the pipeline for the UK. The projects represent investment of more than £81 billion. These projects account for approximately 47% of proposed UK infrastructure projects before 2025. [H&V News]

¶   A solar plant built on a disused airfield in the United Kingdom is now meeting the energy demands of 10,000 average homes, energy company RWE said. RWE announced its Kencot Hill solar park was completed and connected to the British grid, adding 37 MW to the regional power sector. [UPI.com]

¶   A roof section of a structure covering the No. 1 reactor at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was removed Friday, and another panel may be removed today. The utility will then confirm the effects of the antiscattering agents it applied and conduct a thorough examination of the rubble’s condition. [The Japan News]

US:

¶   Renewable energy development and implemented energy efficiency measures are responsible for 70% of the drop in US carbon dioxide emissions seen since 2007 (when a slow decline began), according to a new report from Greenpeace. The findings argue against detractors of renewable power. [CleanTechnica]

¶   When Debbie Dooley became solar energy’s most vocal champion in Georgia last year, solar advocates in other states began wondering how they could replicate her efforts. They may have an answer as Dooley is testing the waters in Florida, Virginia and Wisconsin. South Carolina, Louisiana and Kansas may be next. [Energy Collective]

¶   National Grid’s 37% price hike takes effect for electricity in Massachusetts takes effect on November 1. Rhode Island customers could also face higher rates by the start of the new year. The reason is that New England has become increasingly reliant on natural gas, but pipelines are being built slowly. [Providence Eyewitness News]

¶   More than 100 people rallied in support of a wind farm proposed off Long Island’s coast at a meeting of the Long Island Power Authority board. Ratepayers, community activists, labor and political leaders convened outside the utility’s headquarters, and once inside the building, they packed the conference room. [Long Island Press]

¶   Pattern Energy notched a 94% rise in proportional electricity sales to 710 GWh in the third quarter of 2014 as it continued to add to its owned wind fleet. Sales over the nine months ended 30 September were 2,026,233 MWh compared with 1,331,149 MWh in 2013. [reNews]