Science and Technology:
¶ In Australia, Reposit Power says new technology will allow households and businesses to “buy low and sell high,” giving power customers who have solar and storage new possibilities by allowing them to maximize their earnings on the market. Equipment is being installed in six homes in Canberra to test the system. [RenewEconomy]
¶ Innovations already at work in some modern buildings provide a networked ecosystem of “intelligent” building equipment and devices. Beyond the “Wow!” factor and the large-scale benefits to our planet, green and smart building technologies are changing the way we live and work, creating business in the process. [TechCrunch]
World:
¶ United Nations climate talks in Lima concluded last night with an agreement that plots a path towards next year’s global negotiations in Paris, but without mentioning energy or renewable power. The agreement was widely criticised by campaigners for failing to commit to action on climate change. [reNews]
¶ UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei says OPEC will not cut its output or hold an emergency meeting even if oil prices fall as low as $40 a barrel. Some oil ministers have said that the organization has no fear of oil prices falling to that level amid a price war with Russia and high-cost US shale producers. [Press TV]
¶ Spanish developer Abengoa has clinched a power purchase agreement and project financing for the 100-MW Xina concentrated solar project in South Africa. State utility Eskom will take the $1 billion plant’s output under a 20-year deal. Construction has already begun. It will feature parabolic trough technology. [reNews]
¶ Capital Dynamics has clinched a £60 million loan facility from a Macquarie Group fund to finance seven onshore wind farms totalling 55 MW in the UK. The 18-year amortizing loan structure is a combination of retail prince index-linked and nominal debt. UK energy businesses show growing demand for long-dated inflation-linked funding. [reNews]
¶ Iran’s Energy Ministry is to increase power plant capacity by 33,000 MW in the next five years. An official said the power industry plays an important role in enabling the government to achieve the targets set by the “Resistance Economy” policies, helps boost employment, and improves security as well as people’s lives. [Zawya]
¶ With the Liberal Democratic Party’s sweeping election victory, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to increase his efforts to revive nuclear power despite persistent public opposition. Abe hopes to restart two reactors at Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s nuclear plant in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, early next year. [The Japan Times]
¶ The government of Taiwan has launched the second phase of a solar power system on Taiping Island, as part of efforts to make it a low-carbon island. The second-phase 40-kilowatt-peak (kWp) solar power system, built with a 612-kWp solar power storage facility, will generate an estimated 50,527 kWh of electricity per year. [WantChinaTimes]
US:
¶ Iberdrola Engineering and Construction has been hired to build a combined-cycle gas turbine electric generating plant in Salem, Massachusetts. Iberdrola Engineering will build the new 674-MW facility on a small portion of a 65-acre waterfront site now occupied by a decommissioned coal-and-oil-fired generating plant. [PennEnergy]
¶ Wind developer First Wind Energy of Boston has sold investment giant JP Morgan Asset Management majority interest in two wind farms in the Texas Panhandle. The 150-MW Route 66 Wind project should cost about $300 million to develop, industry experts say, putting the transaction at over $150 million. [Amarillo.com]
¶ Illinois lawmakers may consider new policies to support nuclear power during the next General Assembly session. State Senator Sue Rezin says Exelon’s nuclear power plants have been good to her district, but legislation giving the power stations more footing to operate profitably will have to “make sense” to win approval. [The Times]
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