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]
geoharvey 
Leave a comment