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]
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