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]
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