Opinion:
¶ “Use Drop In Oil Prices To Put A Price On Carbon, Says IEA Director” With the drop in oil prices “delivering a shot of economic stimulus to consumers around the world”, policymakers have an important chance to cut our reliance on fossil fuels, writes the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Green Energy Industry Has Power in Statehouses” Green energy industries have become mainstream, with the political clout to match the fossil fuel industry and big electric utilities in many statehouses. They are using that influence to defend renewable energy standards in 31 states and the District of Columbia. [Governing]
World:
¶ The head of one of Australia’s biggest electricity networks says he sees a long-term future for neither large, centralized electricity generators, nor big electricity retailers. He says the generators will be made redundant by the increased use of localized, mostly renewable generation, and the retailers won’t be needed any more. [CleanTechnica]
¶ Australian Christian group Common Grace launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to put solar panels on Kirribilli House; the official residence of Australian Prime Ministers. Within days of launching the initiative, enough money was raised for a 12 panel system; helped along by the Australian Solar Council. [Energy Matters]
¶ Japan’s nuclear regulator gave safety clearance to two more reactors Wednesday, raising the prospect that Japan could have four units back online next year to help power the nation’s economy. The approval comes three days after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ’s pronuclear party won decisively in a general election. [Wall Street Journal]
US:
¶ The city of Austin raised its solar power goal from 200 MW by 2020 to 950 MW by 2025. 200 MW of this solar power will be operating within Austin’s city limits and 750 MW will be utility-scale solar. For the 200 MW within city limits, half has to be from customers, meaning residents or building owners with their own solar power PV systems. [CleanTechnica]
¶ First Solar (one of the biggest solar module manufacturers and solar developers) has just partnered with Clean Energy Collective, a leading developer of community solar solutions, to advance community solar power. They will together develop and market community solar offerings to customers directly on behalf of client utilities. [CleanTechnica]
¶ Boeing said Tuesday it plans to buy renewable energy credits to replace fossil-fuel power at the factory in Washington where it assembles its 737 commercial airplanes. About half of the plant’s electricity had been produced by coal and natural gas. With the change, it will be entirely powered by hydro and windpower. [The Spokesman Review]
¶ Power company NRG energy recently announced a major foray into California’s residential solar market, with a goal to have 35,000 to 40,000 home solar installations by the end of 2015. The development exemplifies changes underway in the utility industry. Utilities are slowly beginning to warm up to rooftop solar. [Energy Collective]
¶ Vermont’s reliance on solar power is continuing to increase as producers take advantage of federal tax credits and the state’s growing affection for cleaner energy sources. The amount of power to be produced by small renewable energy projects that have been built or permitted is up 58% over last year. Most of that is solar. [Valley News]
¶ A watchdog group has filed a federal complaint against Duke Energy. NC Warn says the company is keeping rates artificially high by building power plants it doesn’t need. Duke Energy is required to keep production capacity at 15% above the peak day of the year. NC Warn says the company regularly has double that amount. [WUNC]
¶ With its 116 turbines and maximum installed capacity of 267 MW, Portland General Electric’s newest wind farm, Tucannon River, is officially complete, functional, and ahead of schedule. The wind farm, on 20,000 acres near Dayton, Washington, is expected to produce enough to power about 84,000 homes. [Farms.com]
¶ Vermont Governor Shumlin’s administration is considering replacing the SPEED program with a plan that would require the state’s electric utilities to sell a certain amount of renewable power to Vermont customers, an official said Monday. This would mean that Vermont would have a mandatory renewable energy standard. [Brattleboro Reformer]
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