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Opinion:

¶ “How Eon’s Transformation Will Change The Energy Debate In Europe” – The decision to divide Eon has the potential to be far more significant than any policy pronouncement and could light the blue touch paper on a transformation of the energy system that will revolutionise the way energy is consumed. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Seven Reasons Cheap Oil Can’t Stop Renewables Now” – Oil prices have fallen by more than half since July. Just five years ago, this would have put the renewable-energy industry on bankruptcy watch. Here are seven reasons why humanity’s transition to cleaner energy won’t be sidetracked by cheap oil. [Bloomberg]

Science and Technology:

¶ Eos Energy Storage will be making its MW-scale Aurora system commercially available starting in 2016 at a price of $160/kWh, according to a recent press release. The company’s standard offering is a containerized 1-MW DC battery system that can provide roughly 4 hours of continuous discharge for cost-effective energy storage. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ Royal Dutch Shell has joined the ranks of energy companies who are slashing their spending. Shell said it was scaling back its planned capital investment by $15 billion over the next three years in a move that signals caution. Oil is now trading around $45 per barrel, down from over $100 per barrel this summer. [CNN]

¶ The government of the Indian state of Karnataka might not consider any more thermal power projects in future, the energy minister said. He warned that the summer might be tough because of coal mining licence cancellations by the Supreme Court. He pegs his hopes on renewable energy, especially solar power. [The New Indian Express]

¶ In Turkey, the Geycek Wind Power Plant officially opened. Each year, the plant is expected to produce around 400 million kWh of electricity with 70 wind turbines, and provide for the whole electricity requirement of the city of Kırşehir. It will eliminate 245,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. [Daily Sabah]

¶ ETESA, Panama’s state transmission company, selected five groups to build PV projects with a combined capacity of at least 172 MW in the country’s first solar auction. The developers offered an average price of $87.25/MWh. Decisions one projects were based on price and need for a power supply. [Recharge]

¶ The Australian Renewable Energy Agency invested $1 billion into more than 230 projects, fellowships, and scholarships. The news comes only days after the Bureau of Meteorology and science agency released a report which claims Australia will be subject to massive current and future climate impacts. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Over the course of last year the electricity generated from solar installations across the UK almost doubled. Official data finds that at the end of 2014 solar generated almost 5 GW, up from 2.8 GW at the end of 2013. The latest figure is enough power to supply 1.5 million homes across the country. [Blue & Green Tomorrow]

US:

¶ The city of Ann Arbor has worked out a license agreement with DTE Energy to construct a large solar array at the Ann Arbor Municipal Airport. City officials say it could be the largest solar installation in the entire state of Michigan. Initially, it would be up to 1.6 MW, but a second phase could it to 2.15 MW. [MLive.com]

¶ Not only is demand for electric power in the US falling, but competition from renewable energy sources is growing. In the past few years, that competition is not just from other large power producers, but from utility customers themselves. The rising opportunity for consumers is a problem for utilities. [Huffington Post]

¶ Supporting the Administration’s effort to double renewable energy generation by 2020, the US DOE announced more than $59 million in funding for solar energy innovation. Innovative solar manufacturing technologies will get $45 million, and $14 million will go to multi-year solar community deployment plans. [PennEnergy]

¶ Delays and cost overruns are piling up for a new plant in Georgia that was supposed to prove nuclear energy can be built affordably. Instead, the companies building first-of-their-kind reactors at Plant Vogtle expect they will need an extra three years and $1 billion to finish construction. [Savannah Morning News]

World:

¶ A series of graphs shows how the German Energiewende renewable targets are on track, have lowered emissions, decoupled energy consumption from economic growth, pushed wholesale prices down to record lows, and are now pushing retail prices down. Interesting things are happening to the energy mix. [RenewEconomy]

¶ Germany’s newly installed onshore wind power capacity rose by a record 4,750 MW in 2014, marking what is likely to be a peak annual gain as the country gears up for a nuclear-free future. The increase production is roughly equivalent to one nuclear plant. It is a 58% percent bigger increase than 2013’s. [Reuters]

¶ Countries from Mexico to Germany and Malaysia are increasingly taking advantage of cheap oil by trimming fossil-fuel subsidies, easing the way for renewable power that can help the environment. The IEA’s latest report says fossil fuel producers were paid $548 billion in 2013, a $26.5 billion decline. [Bloomberg]

¶ New figures released by GTM Research show that the Latin America solar PV market grew by 370% in 2014, installing a total of 625 MW. In the fourth quarter of 2014 alone, Chile installed double the amount of Latin America’s annual solar PV total in 2013. Projections are for 2.1 GW of PV installed in 2015. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The northern African country of Algeria is doubling its previous 2030 goal for renewable energy, according to recent reports — with the new goal standing at 25 GW by 2030, rather than 12 GW. Currently, there are more than 350 MW of solar PV projects being developed in the very sunny African country. [CleanTechnica]

US:

¶ Renewable energy production has outperformed natural gas resources, contributing nearly half of new generating capacity in the US in 2014. Various renewable energy sources such as biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar and wind contributed 49.81% of new capacity. Natural gas accounted for 48.65%. [Greentech Lead]

¶ The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board denied the state of Vermont’s request for a hearing designed to force Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee and Entergy Nuclear Operations to maintain an operational status regarding its Site Emergency Plan. [Nuclear Street – Nuclear Power Plant News, Jobs, and Careers]

¶ Even low-income families now have a path to embracing solar energy thanks to work being done by the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance. The organization has been working to create a system whereby families on the federal government’s energy assistance program can receive their electricity via solar technologies. [CleanTechnica]

¶ In a brief competition lasting all of two rounds, Offshore MW LLC and RES Americas Inc. were named provisional winners for offshore wind leases off the coast of Massachusetts. Offshore MW and RES Americas won Lease Area OCS-A 0500 (187,523 acres) and OCS-A 0501 (166,886 acres), respectively. [North American Windpower]

¶ Millions of apartment dwellers and home renters across California will soon be able to go solar, under programs authorized by state utility regulators. Though any customer can join, the effort is geared toward utility customers who don’t own property or may not want to tack on solar panels to their property. [U-T San Diego]

¶ MillerCoors has constructed a 3.2-MW solar array at its brewery in Irwindale, California, the largest PV array at any US brewery. The solar plant will generate enough energy to product 7 million cases of beer annually. The brewery also uses biogas from its wastewater treatment plant to power two GE engines. [Forbes]

¶ Environmental advocates called on the divided Maine Legislature to back a series of bill this session they say will expand the use of solar power, help residents cut their heating bills and bolster wildlife protections. The six-bill package includes incentives for solar power and financial aid for insulating. [The State]

¶ Two days after a major New England blizzard contributed to the shutdown of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts, the facility remains closed. Nuclear power critics cite the Pilgrim shutdown as one more proof the industry is not ready for storms driven by climate change. [InsideClimate News]

World:

¶ The UK could halve the amount of water used in energy generation by 2030, if it realises an ambitious renewable energy plan, says the International Renewable Energy Agency. IRENA’s report, Renewable Energy in the Water, Energy & Food Nexus, says the water benefits of renewable energy are under-reported. [edie.net]

¶ According to Northern Ireland Renewables Industry Group, this January has seen the highest levels of wind energy ever recorded there. A record was set just over three weeks ago, 2:45 pm on January 7, as windpower provided 42% of electricity needs at that moment, enough to power 361,400 homes. [Belfast Telegraph]

¶ Wind power solutions provider Inox Wind Limited, a subsidiary of Gujarat Fluorochemicals Limited, says it was awarded two wind-farm project contracts of 54 MW and 118 MW in Gujarat and Rajasthan, respectively, by Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited, a subsidiary of The Tata Power Company Limited. [NetIndian]

¶ Conversion to hydrogen can provide a store for all of the excess electricity produced by the renewable industry, according to a report. It also points to a huge potential power to gas storage industry, with the European energy storage potential for electrolysis estimated at several hundred gigawatts. [Proactive Investors UK]

¶ Gamesa has secured 84 MW of wind turbine supply contract from Brazil’s Força Eólica do Brasil for three projects in Rio Grande do Norte. Delivery of 42 of the Gamesa G114 2-MW turbines is scheduled for the third quarter of 2016 and the wind projects are expected to be commissioned in the fourth quarter. [Greentech Lead]

¶ IKEA this week revealed demand for its greenest products jumped 58% last year to over €1 billion as consumers purchased such products as LED lighting, solar panels, and water-saving taps. Products that help customers achieve “a more sustainable life at home” are a major growth area for the company. [Business Green]

¶ The Scottish government has announced that it will place a temporary ban on the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking. The Scottish energy minister told the country’s parliament that the ban would allow for time for the government to conduct a public health assessment. [ThinkProgress]

¶ A UK village made famous after strong anti-fracking protests has installed the first community-owned solar panel project. Residents from Balcome, West Sussex set up an energy co-operative after the protests. The co-op has installed a total of 69 panels on the roof of a cow-shed at a nearby family-run farm. [E&T magazine]

US:

¶ Idaho Power has signed on 13 new solar projects representing 461 MW of solar capacity, which are scheduled to be built and come online in 2016, according to Idaho Power communications specialist Brad Bowlin. He says there are additional pending projects that will produce more than 800 MW. [Ontario Argus Observer]

¶ California State Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia has introduced a bill, AB 197, which would set a bold but achievable goal of utilizing a minimum of 50% renewable energy resources by 2030. This goal was highlighted by Governor Jerry Brown during his State of the State address earlier this month. [Imperial Valley News]

¶ NRG Energy and Denver-based SunShare announced a deal for SunShare to grow its community solar portfolio about eightfold. NRG Renew will finance the $25 million development of five new “solar garden” projects in Colorado. Four of these are in the metro Denver area and one in Colorado Springs. [Colorado Springs Gazette]

¶ Pennsylvania has developed a fast-growing clean energy economy, attracting investments for solar, wind, hydropower and other renewable energy, according to Pew Charitable Trusts. Between 2009 and 2013, Pennsylvania added nearly 1.4 GW of clean energy capacity and attracted $3.5 billion in investment. [keystoneedge]

¶ Illinois had been the fourth largest wind energy state behind Texas, California and Iowa for several years, but installed no new wind capacity in 2014 and is now in fifth place after Oklahoma. Illinois’ lack of growth had much to do with an ongoing stalemate over changes to the state’s 2011 clean power law. [Crain’s Chicago Business]

¶ Large-scale wind projects are the most cost-effective way for Vermont utilities to meet proposed new renewable energy requirements being considered by the Legislature, according to testimony. A bill backed by the Shumlin Administration would have 55% of the power come from renewable sources by 2017. [Vermont Public Radio]

¶ The Washington state legislature is considering nuclear power as a component of Governor Jay Inslee’s push to trim the state’s carbon emissions as a way to combat global warming’s detrimental ripple effects on Washington’s shellfish industry, residents’ health, snowpack, irrigation and increasing wildfires. [Crosscut]

World:

¶ There is a huge controversy about the level of subsidies in Germany towards renewables as it undertakes its energy transition – “Energiewende” – but the fact is that these subsidies pale in comparison to those that have been paid to conventional technologies, which have been more than twice as great. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Five of the 10 regional power monopolies in Japan will start buying renewable power again under a revised scheme that makes it easier for them to place limits on their intake if they face network limitations. The new rules allow the utilities to decline excessive solar and wind power at certain hours of the day. [Business Recorder]

¶ Bloomberg New Energy Finance has released figures showing that investment in clean energy in India jumped to $7.9 billion in 2014, up from $7 billion the year earlier. However, Bloomberg also predicts that clean energy investment is likely to jump up past $10 billion this year for the first time since 2011.[CleanTechnica]

¶ According to Mighty River Power, one of New Zealand’s largest electricity generation and electricity retailing companies, geothermal energy production is the second most important source of electricity fuel in the country, with hydro power taking the top spot. Geothermal increased 150% over the past decade. [Hydrogen Fuel News]

¶ Global nuclear power capacity increased slightly in 2014. Five new reactors (4.76 gigawatts) began supplying electricity and three were permanently shut down. Nuclear generating capacity increased by 2.4 GW, compared to 26 GW for windpower. Thus a long-standing pattern of stagnation continues. [Business Spectator]

¶ The world can enjoy higher standards of living and more travel, while drastically cutting emissions to avoid dangerous climate change, but only with sweeping changes to our infrastructure, the natural world, and agriculture, and continuation of poverty for many, UK Government analysis has found. [Greenwise Business]

US:

¶ The Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Plymouth, Massachusetts shut down due to the storm after two transmission lines failed. The power lines into Pilgrim are working, but the plant could not deliver the electricity it generated. The plant has a week’s supply of fuel for its emergency generators. [Wicked Local Plymouth]

¶ The Vermont Public Service Department has awarded two Vermont-based companies, Casella Resource Solutions, Rutland, and Grow Compost, Waterbury, with Clean Energy Development Fund grants to build and operate pilot projects to demonstrate the feasibility of anaerobic digestion of food scraps. [Renewable Energy from Waste]

¶ US tight oil production from shale plays will fall faster than most assume. High decline rates from shale reservoirs is one reason. But also, every rig used in pad drilling has approximately three times the impact on the daily production rate as a rig did before pad drilling. Well productivity has decreased by about a third. [Resilience]

¶ With power less than $0.10/kWh throughout Washington state, some customers would not put solar panels on their roofs without the incentive. The state paid out about $19.6 million for incentives in 2013. A Solar Washington study found that every $1 of solar incentives puts $2.46 into the economy. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The Obama administration released a draft five-year plan for oil and gas lease sales that would open areas of the Atlantic Ocean and offshore Alaska to drilling. The draft plan includes 14 potential lease sales in eight planning areas, ten in the Gulf of Mexico, three off Alaskan coasts, and one off Virginia through South Carolina. [Huffington Post]

¶ Hawaiian Electric has proposed to the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission to raise the allowable PV penetration threshold from 120% to 250% of a circuit’s daytime minimum load. With the change, new net-metered PV customers would be paid less for their excess electricity, closer to the utility’s avoided costs. [Business Spectator]

¶ Solar, wind, hydropower, biomass, geothermal and waste-to-energy electricity production could account for 98% of Oregon’s and Washington’s electricity needs in just 15 years, according to two new reports from the Wind Energy Foundation’s Renewable America project, which promotes wind development. [Jefferson Public Radio]

Science and Technology:

¶ A new study has found that wave energy production, once the infrastructure is in place, would be a reliable, steady, and dependable source of electricity—even cheaper than wind power. Along the US coastline, it could make 1,170 TWh per year. That is enough to supply half the United States’ annual electricity demand. [TakePart]

¶ Global warming may boost the frequency of extreme and devastating La Niña events, a study released suggests. It says that as the climate warms, extreme La Niña events will occur almost twice as often as they do now, causing heavy flooding in some places, droughts in others, and increasingly intense storms. [NBCNews.com]

World:

¶ The largest concentrated solar power project in the Middle East, Shams 1, has performed better than expected, the Shams Power Company has reported. The company had expected to generate about 193,000 MWh electricity in 2014 but managed to generate just under 215,000 MWh, 12% over expected generation. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The underlying theme of the agreements the US made with China and India, and the position taken by the leaders of the world’s three most influential national economies, is that coal no longer rules. The “all of the above” credo that once dominated their thinking on energy is morphing into “anything but coal.” [RenewEconomy]

¶ GE announced it will supply China’s Huaneng Corporation with 55 units of the GE 2.75-120 brilliant wind turbines, to be installed at the Huaneng Dali Longquan wind project in the Yunnan province of China. The project will provide 151 MW of capacity, making it GE’s largest wind order in China to date. [RenewablesBiz]

¶ The UK Government has been forced to perform a U-turn and concede to a number of Opposition amendments to squeeze through legislation that will allow shale gas development to go ahead. Ministers had to accept the 13 conditions laid out by Labour watering down fracking laws to pass them through Parliament. [Click Green]

¶ Following the recommendations of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, the British government sacked NMP, the consortium responsible for cleaning up the Sellafield nuclear site, saying not enough progress had been made. NMP has been accused by oversight offices for cost overruns and countless delays. [Digital Journal]

US:

¶ Boston’s natural gas pipeline infrastructure is showing the signs of age and is starting to leak like a sieve, according atmospheric scientists at Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Not only are these methane leaks, already responsible for severe climate changes, the lost gas is worth almost $90 million. [CleanTechnica]

¶ NV Energy announced that it is seeking proposals to secure an additional 100 MW of renewable energy resources for Southern Nevada customers. Its 2015 RFP will be combined with the previously issued 2014 renewable energy RFP for a total of up to 200 MW of new renewable energy resources. [Your Renewable News]

¶ An Oklahoma electric cooperative will get about a third of the electricity from a huge wind farm being built across 10,000 acres of farm and ranch land. Western Farmers Electric Cooperative will buy 50 MW produced by the 150-MW Grant Wind project, which will begin commercial operations later this year. [Electric Co-op Today]

¶ Florida Power & Light Co unveiled plans to add over 225 MW of solar power capacity to its portfolio by the end of 2016, thus tripling its current amount. The company currently owns 110 MW of solar photovoltaic assets in Florida and plans to expand its capacity for an expected increase in its client base in 2019. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Appliance manufacturer Whirlpool Corporation announced it will use wind energy to help power its manufacturing facility located in Findlay, Ohio. Two of the five turbines at Findlay Wind Farm will be used by the company to offset an estimated 22% of the manufacturing facility’s electric consumption. [Energy Matters]

¶ tenK Energy, Integrys Solar, LLC and groSolar today announced the completion of a 4.5 MW DC solar power project in Templeton, Massachusetts. The solar farm uses the high energy density tenKsolar ® DUO system, which provides nearly 40% more energy per unit area, as well as conventional PVs. [RenewablesBiz]

Weather Warning:

¶ Northeast residents are girding for a “crippling and potentially historic” storm that could bury communities from northern New Jersey to southern Maine in up to 2 feet of snow or more. A blizzard warning was issued for a 250-mile stretch of the Northeast, including New York and Boston, for Monday and Tuesday. [WXXI News]

World:

¶ The Indian government is looking to set a target of 100 GW under its national wind energy mission. While the mission is being mulled for almost a year it could be launched within months, if not weeks. The plan is to add 10 GW per year of windpower for seven years, adding to the country’s current capacity of 22.5 GW. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Mahindra Group, a large Indian vehicle maker and industrial conglomerate, will treble its investments in solar energy this year. The group will have installed 180 MW of solar electricity by the end of its financial year in March and is now planning to add another 500 MW for itself and others in the following year. [Financial Times]

¶ News from the World Future Energy Summit and Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week is that GE is the latest in a number of high-profile companies to join the Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium. The consortium now consists of Masdar Institute, GE, Etihad Airways, Boeing, Honeywell UOP, and Safran. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The Bangladeshi government aims to provide electricity to all of the country’s households by 2021. It plans to generate 220 megawatts of electricity for around 6 million households by 2017 through the solar home system programme. Each solar home system will have a solar panel on the roof.
[eco-business.com]

¶ The world’s largest oil exporter has chosen not to cut production, counting instead on lower prices to stimulate consumption, because consumption is declining, according to a former adviser to Saudi Arabia’s petroleum minister. The Saudis are watching investments in fuel efficiency and renewable energy. [Malay Mail Online]

¶ President Obama says that the United States and India have reached a “breakthrough understanding” that would make it a lot easier for U.S. firms and other folks abroad to invest in Indian nuclear energy plants. Indian law holds suppliers, designers and builders of plants liable in case of an accident. [National Review]

US:

¶ North Carolina is forging ahead with plans to hop on the East Coast offshore wind energy bandwagon. It is not that the state’s lawmakers have any choice in the matter. The Interior Department is leasing large swaths of federal waters for offshore wind development, and North Carolina just happens to be included. [CleanTechnica]

¶ New figures show how steadily the solar industry has grown since 2008. According to preliminary numbers from Shayle Kann of GTM Research, America installed twenty-two times more solar in 2014 than in 2008. That includes both photovoltaics and concentrating solar power, tracked in AC terms. [Energy Collective]

¶ Gas and electricity prices spiked last winter in New England. So far, this winter is different. In December, wholesale electricity and natural gas prices were down 55% and 64% from last year, respectively. January saw some price increases on cold days, but much less than last year. [Foster’s Daily Democrat]

¶ Google has slowly been stepping out onto the energy scene with its acquisition of Nest Labs, its partial ownership of the Ivanpah solar array, and now, its Nest Rush Hour Rewards Program. Some may not realize why Google is branching out in this direction. Energy efficiency and home automation are taking off! [Energy Collective]

World:

¶ More than 800 MW of small-scale solar energy capacity was installed in Australia in 2014, according to recent figures released by Green Energy Markets. This 800 MW of new small-scale capacity was split amongst 185,950 different systems, with the average size of these systems being about 4.4 kW. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A new report investigating the importance of public opinion and policy priority on renewable energy development was published in the UK by the Fabian Society. It concluded, “winning community consent is the only sustainable way to deliver affordable, green energy to the UK in the long term.” [CleanTechnica]

¶ In a letter, more than a dozen organisations, businesses and clean energy venture capitalists outlined the goals of a proposed initiative to help the Indian government increase the scale of clean energy deployment for its ambitious clean energy and energy access goals – including solar power for all by 2019. [mydigitalfc.com]

¶ Dairy farming requires cropland not only to produce feed for the herd, but also as a way to get rid of manure. Manure management is a hot-button issue in Metro Vancouver, where air quality and odour problems are significant issues. A biodigester can supply natural gas customers and eliminate problems. [The Province]

¶ Havana Energy signed a £500 million deal to build five renewable power plants with more than 300 MW capacity. During harvest time for sugar cane the plants will run on bagasse, the waste pulp from sugar cane production. The rest of the year they will be fuelled by ­marabu, a problematical invasive weed. [Scotsman]

¶ Left over cooking oil from full English breakfasts or fried fish and chips could be used to power homes across the country following the opening of a new power station in North Yorkshire. Whitemoor Power Station has the capacity to provide 18 MW of electrical power during periods of high grid demand. [The Press, York]

¶ The government of Sindh, Pakistan, has allotted 1408 acres of land in the Wind Corridor of Thatta District for development of a 49.5-MW wind energy project by Master Wind Energy Limited. The project will start its commercial operations in July 2016, and is expected to produce about 140 GWh of electricity per year. [The Nation]

¶ TEPCO, owner and operator of the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, says it will be unable to process all the highly radioactive water still stored at the plant before the end of March, as it had promised, due to ongoing problems with faulty and untested equipment. The new deadline is in May. [Live Trading News]

US:

¶ President Obama and the new GOP-controlled Congress face showdowns over climate change, health, and environmental safeguards. But new public opinion research shows a strong majority of Americans, including Republicans, in five key states support existing protections and tougher environmental enforcement. [Investor Ideas]

¶ Milford, Delaware is first in the nation in terms of cumulative solar watts per customer. With the 10-MW Dover Sun Park and the 15-MW Milford Solar Park, Kent County produces 27.7 MW of solar energy, according to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. [Smyrna-Clayton Sun Times]

¶ The SunZia project, a proposed $2 billion transmission line that would carry renewable electrical energy generated by solar and wind resources in New Mexico and Arizona to markets across the West, is a single step closer to being in service following final federal approval. The line is to be 515 miles long. [National Review]

World:

¶ More than 125,000 UK homes put solar on their roof last year, according to the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change’s statistics on small-scale solar PV installations. A total of 700 MW of solar, enough to power 212,000 homes, was installed on buildings and in ground-mounted solar farms. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶ Mexico will add 66 GW to its power grid over the next 15 years, with investments of $90 billion expected in renewables, according to a high-ranking Mexican energy official. The energy reform will create a competitive market and encourage use of renewables by awarding clean energy certificates. [Business News Americas]

¶ Efforts to combat climate change will figure prominently in talks between Prime Minister Modi and President Obama this weekend. India wants more private sector partnerships and technology to support a drive to expand its use of clean energy from the US. The US wants a global climate change deal in 2015. [Bharat Press]

¶ Vietnam’s plan to introduce nuclear power to its energy mix faced a fresh setback on Thursday as safety concerns and legal issues pushed back the planned construction of the country’s first nuclear plant by about five years from the initial schedule. Construction is not likely to begin until 2019. [Wall Street Journal]

¶ So many solar farms have been built or are planned in Wiltshire that this year more than half the county’s homes could be powered from the sun. Three years ago, there were nearly no solar installations in the county, now, there are enough to power 106,323 homes – or 54.7% of the total of 190,200. [Western Daily Press]

US:

¶ An energy program offered by the Northern Indiana Public Service Company allows the utility’s residential, commercial and industrial electric customers to receive 25%, 50%, or 100% of their energy from renewable energy sources, even if they don’t have a wind turbine or solar panels. [The Elkhart Truth]

¶ In addition to Wednesday’s budget speech, New York Governor Cuomo released 550 pages of proposals that go into more detail that included changes to the state’s power grid. The changes to utility regulation are meant to make it easier for local, small-scale producers to get their power to customers. [Innovation Trail]

¶ Ohio utilities are asking for sweeping bailouts for aging coal and nuclear power plants, to the tune of $3 billion. And Ohioans are asking why they should shell out billions to prop up harmful fossil fuels, when they could instead create thousands of good clean energy jobs, protecting their health and prosperity. [Huffington Post]

¶ The possible closure of three financially struggling Exelon nuclear plants in Illinois could deal an economic blow to the state, but increased investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency might mitigate much of those “near-term” impacts, according to a study issued this month by four state agencies. [Progress Illinois]

¶ Abengoa Yield celebrated the grand opening of the Mojave Solar plant, which is located 90 miles northeast of Los Angeles, near Barstow, California. Mojave Solar has a gross capacity of 280 MW. It will provide clean energy able to serve about 91,000 California households, eliminating 223,440 tons of CO2 emissions. [Nasdaq]

¶ The US is about to auction development rights to the 5-GW Massachusetts offshore wind lease area, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s largest sale to date. The 742,000-acre zone 12 miles off Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket will be sold as four commercial wind energy leases on 29 January 2015. [reNews]

Opinion:

¶ “Why utilities across the nation are embracing community solar” – The shared renewables movement is catching on, and 2015 could be community solar’s year. Utilities and private sector players are immersed in plans. Regulators from California to the District of Columbia are working on program designs. [Utility Dive]

World:

¶ Powerful fossil fuel companies and energy utilities have taken control of key renewable energy lobby groups in Europe in an effort to slow the transition to clean energy, according to industry insiders. They have majorities on the boards of the European Wind Energy Association and European Photovoltaic Industry Association. [The Guardian]

¶ French electric utility company Electricite de France (EDF) is seeking to either sell stake or opt for partial spinoff of its French distribution network Reseau de Transport d’Electricite this year. Whatever transaction the majority state-owned utility decides on may be worth about €15 billion ($17.1 billion). [Energy Business Review]

¶ South Africa’s fledgling renewable energy sector contributed $490 million worth of benefits to the country last year. It saved $320 worth of diesel and coal. It also saved $140 million of avoided costs to some consumers because the increased capacity made it possible to avoid a certain amount of load shedding. [Independent Online]

¶ Siemens has broken ground for its new 6-MW wind turbine assembly and blade facilities in northeast England. The £310 million investment will create 1,000 new jobs directly, with more in the construction phase and supply chain. The Dudgeon offshore wind farm will be the first supplied by the plant. [Recharge]

¶ In Taiwan, Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen said Friday her party is aiming to phase out nuclear power by 2025. Tsai said the DPP will try to achieve the goal by increasing the percentage of renewable energy from 4% at present to 20% at the end of 10 years. [Focus Taiwan News Channel]

¶ A Saudi Arabia company is to build the world’s first large-scale solar-powered water desalination plant, using solar PV for its power needs during daylight hours. Abengoa will build the 15-MW solar PV facility, with tracking, and expects it to provide all desalination plant’s energy needs during peak output. [RenewEconomy]

US:

¶ A groundbreaking for a trash-driven power project at an Orange County, California landfill could be one of the last on the books. With evaporating tax credits and grants, and low natural gas prices, the waste pit near Irvine is one of the last in the nation large enough to generate enough power to be profitable. [The Register-Guard]

¶ US company EDF Renewable Energy has kicked off commercial operations at its 200-MW Hereford wind farm in Texas. The Hereford wind park, in Deaf Smith County, is powered by 54 GE 1.85-MW turbines and 50 units of Vestas’ V100 2.0-MW machines. Construction started in November 2013. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Vermont is considering legislation changing its energy policy. It would end a practice critics say double-counts benefits of its renewable power sources. It would also allow utilities to count for credit weatherization or efficiency projects they sponsor, such as new windows, insulation, biomass heat, or heat pumps. [San Francisco Chronicle]

¶ Vestas has received a firm and unconditional order from First Reserve for 149 V100-2.0 MW turbines to be installed at the 298 MW Kingfisher Wind project in Oklahoma. When complete, Kingfisher is expected to be one of the two largest single-phase wind projects in Oklahoma. Completion is scheduled for 2015. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶ California is in a state of drought emergency. Residents are being urged to save water in any way they possibly can. In the midst of this time where conserving water is crucial, however, it has been discovered that at least nine underground water aquifers have been purposely contaminated by fracking waste water. [One Green Planet]

¶ Officials of Gulf Power, a Florida Panhandle subsidiary of utility giant Southern Co, the Navy, and the Air Force officials announced a partnership to install three solar plants at as many Panhandle bases, with a combined output of 120 MW. That’s enough power for 18,000 homes, and is the state’s largest solar project. [Orlando Sentinel]

¶ A partnership between Duke Energy, the Department of the Navy and the US Marine Corps will lead to a 13 MW solar facility being built at the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Onslow County, NC. The facility will be owned and operated by Duke Energy Progress and is expected online in 2015. [PennEnergy]

World:

¶ Water saving potential of renewable energy is a key finding of new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency. Realising the current renewable energy targets of the Gulf Cooperation Council region will result in a 22% reduction in water consumption for power generation and associated fuel extraction. [Yahoo! Maktoob News]

¶ A project called Second Life Batteries is bringing Bosch, the BMW Group, and Vattenfall together to interconnect used batteries from electric vehicles to form a large-scale energy storage system in Hamburg. As part of a virtual power plant, its energy is available within seconds to help keep the power grid stable. [Autocar Professional]

¶ Gamesa announced its deal to supply 100 MW of wind turbines –50 units of 2 MW — in two phases for Orange Renewable Power’s plant in Maharashtra, India. The first phase of 50 MW of the project is scheduled for completion in March 2015, and the second phase should be completed by June 2015. [Greentech Lead]

¶ Dubai has more than doubled its target for renewables in its overall energy mix given the falling cost of solar power. The change comes days after the emirate upsized a planned solar after receiving what the consortium building the scheme said was the cheapest cost ever proposed to generate solar power. [Gulf Business News]

¶ A new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency has found that the cost of generating renewable energy is now equal to or below the cost of fossil fuels in many parts of the world. The report also asserts that renewables should remain financially competitive even if oil prices remain low for a while. [Business Spectator]

¶ A low carbon heating project has received a government research grant to carry out a feasibility study into what will be the first district heating project in the UK using renewable energy sources for energy. The low carbon heating project will be led by E.ON in partnership with the University of Exeter. [Green Building Press]

¶ Japan’s nuclear watchdog gave the green light to the operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant to discharge pumped up groundwater into the sea if radioactive substances in the water are within safety standards. TEPCO will be obliged to remove radioactive substances in the groundwater. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶ Prologis Inc, an industrial real estate company, announced the completion of four new solar projects in Los Angeles. Some 1.1 million square feet of Prologis rooftop space will feed a combined 4.2 MW of power, enough for 1100 homes, directly into the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power electrical grid. [AZoCleantech]

¶ Minnesota’s solar energy industry may have run into its first significant opposition. The Marshall Solar Energy Project, a 500-acre solar panel complex is planned to be installed on land on a farm in southwest Minnesota, but nearby residents are unhappy about the planned solar panel farm. [Duluth News Tribune]

¶ The first pieces of legislation put forth by a Republican-controlled West Virginia Legislature advanced Wednesday, with the Senate voting 33-0 to repeal the 2009 Alternative and Renewable Energy Portfolio Act and the House of Delegates advancing its own repeal to a third reading. [Huntington Herald Dispatch]

¶ Kansas City Power & Light, facing tougher environmental regulations, plans to curb its use of coal to generate electricity. The utility said Tuesday that a total of 700 MW of generating units will be shuttered or converted to use natural gas starting in 2016. This amounts to a nearly 19% reduction in use of coal. [Lake Expo]

¶ Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Heising-Simons family today announced the launch of a new Clean Energy Initiative to support state-based solutions that will ensure America has an energy system that is clean, affordable, and reliable. New energy technologies make it possible to achieve all three goals at once. [RenewablesBiz]

¶ Hawaiian Electric Companies, Hawaii’s biggest utility, wants to end to its solar net metering program by April, and replace it with a new tariff regime that will be less lucrative for solar-owning customers. The company says the change is needed to prevent distributed solar from overwhelming grid stability. [Greentech Media]

¶ The US DOE announced an incentive program for developers adding hydroelectric power generating capabilities to existing non-powered dams throughout the United States. According to the DOE, equipping non-powered dams with generating capabilities could provide up to 12 GW. [Renewable Energy Focus]

State of the Union:

¶ What President Barack Obama described as the greatest threat to future generations was neither terrorism nor ISIS. It wasn’t nuclear weapons in rogue states either. “No challenge  poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change,” said Obama in his State of the Union speech Tuesday. His statement was met with scattered, muted applause. [CNN]

World:

¶ Chile’s combined PV and wind installed capacity almost quadrupled in 2014 to about 1.2 GW. Solar capacity grew from 6.7 MW to 362 MW in the year, and wind capacity grew from 330 MW to 836 MW. Chile’s total installed renewables capacity of 2.2GW and another 1.2 GW is expected in 2015. [Recharge]

¶ Southeast Asia’s first wind power plant, in Ilocos Norte, Philippines, has raised its power capacity by 19 MW bringing to 52 MW its total power generating capacity to augment other renewable energy resources’ power production. The Bangui wind farm is operated by the Northwind Power Development Corp. [Philippine Information Agency]

¶ In Australia, Carnegie Wave Energy says it has completed the onshore power plant for its Perth wind energy project. The company said the plant at HMAS Stirling on Garden Island south of Perth was now ready to be connected to the power grid, and is pending Western Power approval. [The West Australian]

¶ Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, the Swiss co-founders and pilots of Solar Impulse, along with their partners, on Tuesday revealed the detailed global flight route of Solar Impulse 2. The solar-powered plane will land in 12 locations across the world and travel 35,000 kilometres on solar power. [Khaleej Times]

¶ Access Power MEA (‘Access’), a power project developer focused on the Middle East and Africa, and EREN, a leader in renewable energy, has announced the launch of Access Infra Africa. With $500 million, this project will be looking at investment opportunities in renewable energy in Africa. [Africa IT News]

¶ Global wind power capacity is set to rise from 364.9 GW in 2014 to 650.8 GW by 2020, increasing the demand for wind turbine components across the value chain, says GlobalData. They expect global investment in wind projects to increase from $70 billion in 2013 to $101 billion by the end of 2020. [Your Renewable News]

¶ Austria is to launch a legal challenge against the European Union’s decision to allow billions of pounds of subsidies for Hinkley Point C, casting fresh doubt over the UK’s first planned nuclear reactors in 20 years. The EU approved the controversial £17.6 billion subsidy deal for the power station last October. [The Guardian]

US:

¶ A Montana pipeline burst and sent 50,400 gallons of oil gushing into the Yellowstone River. The massive oil spill happened when the 12-inch pipeline, which crosses the Yellowstone River, ruptured Saturday about 5 miles upstream from Glendive, Montana. The state’s governor declared a state of emergency. [CNN]

¶ Dominion Virginia Power has filed an application with the State Corporation Commission to build the 20-MW facility on about 125 acres of company-owned land near its Remington Power Station in Northern Virginia. It would be the first commercial solar energy plant in the state. The expected cost is $47 million. [Lynchburg News and Advance]

¶ Amazon’s cloud computing services company is partnering with Pattern Energy Group to construct the fourth phase of a wind farm in Indiana. The project is part of the existing Fowler Ridge wind farm. Amazon Web Services has a goal of creating enough renewable energy to power all of its operations. [Indiana Public Media]

¶ The Portland Water Bureau and Lucid Energy, a provider of renewable energy systems for in-pipe hydropower and smart water infrastructure, have turned one of the city’s major water pipelines into a generator of renewable energy. The pipeline powers four 42” turbines, powering about 150 Oregon homes. [RenewablesBiz]

World:

¶ An 80-MW solar power plant will be built in Chile’s Antofagasta Region, beginning in the first part of 2015. It is scheduled to be completed and come online about one year later. Electricity generated by it will be sold to the spot market, making it the world’s largest merchant solar power plant. [CleanTechnica]

¶ China’s people expect electric vehicles to grow in significantly the next decade on the back of growing environmental awareness and stricter regulations, according to a new survey. It showed that 68% of the Chinese respondents expect EV sales to be between 11% and 15% of markets in the next 10 years. [ecns]

¶ A new study has shown that increasing Britain’s installed wind energy capacity could go a long way to securing energy independence for the island nation. Independent analysts Cambridge Econometrics concluded that additional wind power would cut Britain’s need for increasingly costly imports of fossil fuels. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Hydro and anaerobic digesters have long been seen as higher-risk investments than simpler technologies such as solar and wind. That may well still be the case, but high street banks appear to becoming more open to these schemes as more projects come on line and are able to demonstrate their performance. [FarmersWeekly]

¶ Saudi Arabia’s plans to build nuclear and solar energy projects will take about eight years longer to complete than originally intended, according to the head of the agency overseeing the projects. In 2012, the Saudi government said it would install 17 GW of nuclear power and about 41 GW of solar capacity by 2032. [Gulf Business News]

¶ Flexible grid management is a growing need. Technology investments to create a resilient grid infrastructure have become crucial as grid instability and power failures due to capacity overload plague Eastern Europe, and stand-by demand for intermittent renewable power sources grow in Western Europe. [PR Newswire UK]

¶ Egypt aims to build solar and wind power plants in the next three years with combined capacity of 4,300 MW, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told an energy conference in Abu Dhabi. The plan is part of Egypt’s strategy for renewable energy to contribute to more than 20% of its energy mix by 2020. [Egypt Independent]

¶ Fracking industry claims about job creation in the UK are wildly over-optimistic and any jobs boom would be short-lived, according to a new report. It also found investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy would create up to six-times more jobs than the same level of investment in fossil fuels. [Click Green]

US:

¶ Minnesota Power has completed commissioning on the latest phase of its Bison Wind Energy Center. All 64 turbines are now generating power. The 205-MW expansion makes it the largest wind farm in North Dakota and ranks Minnesota Power as one of America’s top-10 wind power-owning electric utilities. [AZoCleantech]

¶ Google has unveiled new plan to invest in two renewable energy projects worth more than $1.5 billion, reports Forbes. The first project consists of a $76 million investment in the 300-MW Balko Wind project in Oklahoma. The second is the 104-megawatt Red Hills solar power plant in Utah worth $157 million. [Greentech Lead]

¶ Clean-energy supporters and utilities are at odds over a new bill at the Indiana statehouse. Electricity customers who use solar power receive credits for selling excess power back to the grid, but HB 1320 would minimize those credits, and allow utilities to set fixed charges for solar users. [Public News Service]

¶ Maine’s wind power industry may double its energy output over the next four years and is projected to create more than 4,000 jobs in the state this year. Wind projects currently on the books have a capacity of 1,300 MW by 2018, largely replacing the closed Maine Yankee nuclear plant. [Foster’s Daily Democrat]

¶ Turboden, a group company of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, was chosen by Maine Woods Pellet Company to supply the world largest biomass based ORC power unit for its plant in Athens, Maine. The system will produce 8 MW using waste from wood residues from de-barking and chipping operations. [AltEnergyMag]

Science and Technology:

¶ The Harvard quinone flow battery got worldwide media attention in early 2014 for its inexpensive non-metal electrolytes. Now, a team of developers at Sustainable Innovations have verified Harvard’s results. This success, with funding from ARPA-E, this cleared the way for building a prototype test battery. [PR Web]

¶ New graphs show some new light on the falling costs of solar technology – both at utility-scale and on rooftops, and show how much further they may fall in coming years. They were released this weekend by the International Renewable Energy Agency at its annual conference in its home base of Abu Dhabi. [RenewEconomy]

World:

¶ Welspun Energy has announced fresh investment plans to expand its solar and wind capacity in India. Welspun Energy has signed agreements with the state government of Gujarat to install 1.1 GW of renewable capacity. The agreement includes 500 MW of wind energy capacity and 600 MW of solar energy capacity. [CleanTechnica]

¶ SunEdison has signed yet another landmark deal with a state in India to set up large-scale renewable energy projects. SunEdison will set up 5 GW of solar and wind energy capacity in the southern state of Karnataka. This is the second such deal the company has signed but the first to include wind energy as well. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The cost of unwinding nuclear is uncertain as estimates range widely, but concerns are rising. The International Energy Agency has said that almost 200 of the 434 reactors in operation around the globe would be retired by 2040, and estimated the cost of decommissioning them at more than $100 billion. [Yahoo News]

¶ For the second consecutive year, Canada has set a record for the installation of new wind energy capacity. According to the Canadian Wind Energy Association, a total of 1,871 MW of wind energy capacity was installed in five provinces in Canada in 2014, with most growth centred in Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶ Spanish company Gamesa says it will construct a 24-MW wind farm in Jamaica. Under the contract, signed with Wigton Windfarm Ltd, the company will deliver and install 12 2-MW turbines. Gamesa will ship its equipment in the third quarter of 2015. The company did not disclose the value of the deal. [SeeNews Renewables]

US:

¶ In Hawaii, Parker Ranch announced that Parker Ranch Foundation Trust has entered into an agreement with an affiliate of NextEra Energy Resources. This agreement provides NextEra Energy Resources with long-term access rights to PRFT lands to develop renewable energy derived from PRFT’s wind resources. [AZoCleantech]

¶ Like it or not, Idaho is going solar. The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has recently approved agreements with 13 solar power projects. Together, federal regulations, tax incentives, cheaper solar panels and a rate-calculating method developed by the commission itself have made solar power financially attractive. [Idaho Press-Tribune]

¶ An empty lot in Plymouth, New Hampshire has become one of the largest solar arrays in the state. The 121-kilowatt system is projected to generate a quarter of the annual electric needs of the Plymouth Village water & Sewer District. It should help with the electric bill, which last year totaled nearly $70,000. [Washington Times]

¶ Kwigillingok, Alaska is off the power grid because it is too remote to be on one. It generates its own power, which now includes electricity from wind turbines. This is a microgrid, which can be independent of a larger power grid, as needed, to keep the power on. Such small systems could be the future of power. [Motley Fool]

Science and Technology:

¶ Researchers at Glasgow University aim to harness photo-synthetic bacteria to create a hydrocarbon similar to petrol. As well as being renewable, the new fuel would be storable, cutting reliance on dwindling reserves of coal, oil and gas. The process would take up carbon dioxide that would otherwise be a greenhouse gas. [Scotsman]

World:

¶ European power sector emissions fell by 8% in 2014, and electricity consumption fell by 2.7%. These are fantastic numbers across the 28 member states of one of the most influential power-blocs in the world. This is according to Sandbag, which is dedicated to shining light on tracking emissions trading in the EU. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The UAE has signed partnership agreements to fund renewable energy projects in four Pacific island countries. The Marshall Islands and the Solomon Islands will get 600 kW each, Nauru will get 500 kW, and Palau will have 434 kW. The solar-powered from are expected to be completed in 2016. [Gulf Business News]

¶ A report from the International Renewable Energy Agency, Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2014, concludes that biomass, hydropower, geothermal and onshore wind are all competitive with or cheaper than coal, oil and gas-fired power stations, even without financial support and despite falling oil prices. [Utilities-ME.com]

¶ China ranks the top in the world in terms of the use of renewable energy with the increasing switch to renewable energy resources. China’s investment in clean energy in 2014 hit a record $89.5 billion , accounting for 29% of the world’s total. Renewable generation provided for 22% of Chinese power consumption in 2014. [AsiaOne]

¶ The Bahamas is planning a major new green push, as the 700-island archipelago is set to launch a wide solar energy project. As part of its participation in the Carbon War Room’s Ten Island Challenge, the Bahamas will advance 20 MW of solar utility-scale farms on several islands this year. [Caribbean Journal]

¶ In British Columbia, the Surrey Biofuels Processing Facility project will be the first closed-loop fully integrated organics waste management system in North America. It will convert household organic waste collected at curbside into renewable natural gas to fuel the collection trucks and also produce compost. [Beacon News]

¶ Solar energy is now cheaper than grid prices and most competing technologies on a utility scale. Electric vehicles pose a real threat to gasoline consumption. One big oil company in France has committed to the future of solar energy and other nascent industries that could interrupt the energy industry’s status quo. [Motley Fool]

¶ The Japanese government is considering setting 20% as the amount of the total domestic electric power output to be generated using nuclear energy in 2030, almost the same level as renewable energy resources. Prior to the Fukushima disaster, nuclear power contributed 28.6% of the country’s power. [The Japan News]

US:

¶ Economic evaluation of US federal climate policies hinges on a social cost of carbon estimate of $37 per metric ton of CO2 in 2013. Unfortunately, each metric ton of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere causes $220 in economic damages, say the Stanford researchers, a staggering economic problem. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Last year, the 550-MW capacity Topaz Solar project became fully operational and claimed the title of largest solar plant on-line in the world. Now Topaz has to share the crown with First Solar’s 550-MW Desert Sunlight project in Riverside, California, which went all-on this month, according to the California ISO. [Energy Collective]

¶ Several of the Montana Legislature’s more conservative Republicans and a Democrat are sponsoring bills to broaden the market for renewable-power systems, by expanding net metering. Without it, most individual solar PV or windpower systems are un-economic for the average homeowner or business. [Ravalli Republic]

Science and Technology:

¶ 2014 was the Earth’s warmest year on record, according to the National Climatic Data Center, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Average temperatures were 0.07 degrees Fahrenheit above the previous high recorded since record-keeping began in 1880, the agency said. [CNN]

World:

¶ Wind power displaced £579 million of coal and gas imports in the UK in 2013, increasing resilience, according to Cambridge Econometrics. Coal imports were reduced by an estimated 4.9 million tonnes and gas by 1.4 billion cubic metres. Some 56% of the nation’s gas supplies and 79% of its coal were imported. [reNews]

¶ South Africa’s Department of Energy has announced two new concentrating solar power plants to be built in the Northern Cape. The Kathu Solar Park and Redstone Solar Thermal Power project, each of which will have 100 MW capacity, are in the third round of the government’s renewable power program. [BusinessTech]

¶ Scotland’s rural electricity network is to receive its most significant upgrade in decades after Perth-based utility SSE accepted a new £1.118 billion funding proposal for the project. An SSE subsidiary agreed to develop the 1.2 gigawatt Caithness to Moray subsea transmission link with energy watchdog Ofgem. [The Courier]

¶ Australian Greens have launched their Queensland election campaign in Brisbane by promising millions to encourage households to start using solar energy. Greens Leader Christine Milne announced the three-point strategy, saying it removed barriers to installing solar for the people who most needed lower power bills. [Full-Time Whistle]

¶ Spending on renewable energy, which surged 16% in 2014, will remain strong this year, largely unaffected by the slumping oil prices that have depressed their shares. That’s the message from Goldman Sachs’ global head of clean technology and renewables, and Deutsche Bank AG’s renewable-energy analyst. [The News Journal]

¶ An additional 78 MW of energy are expected to be supplied to the Jamaican power grid, through two renewable projects to be undertaken along the nation’s south coast. They are a 58 MW wind energy development in Manchester and a solar facility to generate approximately 20 MW of power in Clarendon. [Jamaica Observer]

¶ Renewable energy consumption is set to grow over the next few years, and according to a new report from the Economist Intelligence Unit, said growth will outstrip growth in the fossil fuel industry. Despite this growth, non-fossil fuels are faced with political challenges that may hamper their ability to flourish. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The Cuban government wants to make Granma province 100% renewably powered as a model for the rest of the island. They are well on their way. In 2013, renewables supplied 37% of all the energy consumed in Granma province, and the province currently has 3,664 renewable energy systems in operation. [BillMoyers.com]

US:

¶ The first large-scale wind turbine to be installed in New York City was installed in Brooklyn, built to help power a recycling plant at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal. It was installed by Aegis Renewables, of Waitsfield, Vermont. The turbine was made by Northern Power Systems, of Barre, Vermont. [Greentech Lead]

¶ Michigan Governor Rick Snyder says he wants to look into weaning the state off coal-fired generation. Currently, Michigan sources about 50% of its power from coal-fired plants, but Snyder told the Michigan Conservative Energy Forum that now is the time to look at a long-term transition away from coal. [Platts]

¶ The Virginia administration put out the call this week, asking interested companies to suggest solar projects for state facilities. The state’s not planning to sign contracts immediately. It’s looking for ideas to harness the sun’s power “at, around and/or atop state-owned property,” the governor’s office said. [Daily Press]

¶ A subsidiary of New Jersey Natural Gas, NJR Clean Energy Ventures, has installed solar panels on more than 3,200 homes, making it the state’s third-largest residential solar provider. Including 17 commercial solar projects, the company invested almost $400 million in solar energy in New Jersey. [Asbury Park Press]

¶ With the aim of providing US customers with a single contracting group to manage and deliver nuclear decontamination and decommissioning, Bechtel and Westinghouse Electric Company have announced the formation a partnership between the two that brings more than 100 years of industry experience. [KHL Group]

World:

¶ India’s largest wind energy equipment maker is continuing with efforts to take full advantage of the changing regulatory and financial environment in the country. Suzlon announced a plan to invest $3.7 billion to develop 3 GW wind energy capacity in Gujarat at the Vibrant Gujarat Global investors summit. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Hanwha Group has recently completed construction of its 24 MW solar power plant in Japan, cementing its leading position in the Japanese solar power market. The Kitsuki plant is built on mountain slopes. The project has 97,000 modules and can produce enough electricity annually to power 7,190 homes. [The Korea Bizwire]

¶ The green bond market saw incredible growth last year, reaching $36.6 billion issued by 73 different issuers, according to figures released by the Climate Bonds Initiative. The figure for 2014 is more than triple the number recorded in 2013. The growth takes the total amount of green bonds outstanding to $53.2 billion. [Blue & Green Tomorrow]

¶ Boston-Power, a notable players in the lithium-ion battery market, is apparently now looking to “compete with Elon Musk” and will be scaling-up its battery factories to produce much higher quantities of batteries. The scaling-up process will be funded with $290 million from Chinese government agencies. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Ethiopia has signed an agreement with an Israeli solar power company to further its goal of providing environmentally friendly and affordable renewable energy for its population. Ethiopia often suffers from blackouts due to its lack of lack of power and two-thirds of the country’s citizens have no electricity. [Jspace News]

¶ The reputations of companies linked to fossil fuels are at immediate risk from a fast-growing divestment campaign, warned a senior investment analyst at Axa Investment Managers, which manages over $700 billion of assets. She pointed to four Australian banks losing $328 million worth of fossil-fuel business. [The Guardian]

US:

¶ Prices of natural gas prices and electric power are not connected, as a graph from Deutsche Bank comparing them reveals. It shows that while natural gas prices in the US have fallen 88% since 2008, from a peak of $13/mmb to as low as $2/mmb, consumer electricity prices actually rose 20% over the same period. [CleanTechnica]

¶ California is clearly the US leader in energy storage after the state’s 2013 mandate that its largest utilities have 1,325 megawatts of electricity storage operating by 2024 to help fight climate change. Storage will help the state reach its climate goal of having 50% of its electricity supplied by renewables by 2030. [Discovery News]

¶ America’s clean energy economy is celebrating. A new report shows the solar industry’s explosive growth is creating new, highly skilled jobs at a rate nearly 20 times faster than the overall economy. One out of every 78 new jobs created in the US over the past 12 months was created by the solar industry. [Click Green]

¶ The West Virginia Legislature wants to repeal state renewable energy standards that require generating 25% of electricity have renewable or alternative power sources by 2025. A power company official said could be met at no additional cost. (Very efficient coal plants are included as alternative.) [Wetzel Chronicle]

¶ Florida businesses and property owners would be able to sell a limited amount of solar energy under a ballot initiative for a constitutional amendment rolled out Wednesday by a coalition, “Floridians for Solar Choice,” that brings together free-market conservatives, retailers and alternative-energy supporters. [RenewablesBiz]

¶ New York state regulators gave Rochester Gas and Electric and Exelon more time to negotiate the future of the Ginna nuclear power plant. Exelon says Ginna is losing tens of millions of dollars a year and needs to sell power at a higher price. RG&E would have to pass on extra costs to customers. [Rochester Democrat and Chronicle]

Opinion:

¶ “Why the Smart Money is Betting on Renewable Energy – Brewing Solar Power Boom” The price of oil may be down, for a while, but the decline in cost of renewable energy means last year’s investment brought in almost double the clean electricity capacity than what it did only four years earlier. [The Market Oracle]

¶ “Can Moore’s Law Be Applied to Power Electronics for Solar and Storage?” – Antoine Paquin, CEO of Solantro Semiconductor, based  in Ontario, Canada and Silicon Valley, believes Moore’s law can lower the cost of solar power electronics. And interestingly, the reasons for this are much the same. [Greentech Media]

World:

¶ The California-based renewable energy company SolarReserve, along with Saudi Arabian ACWA Power, have been given the go-ahead by the South African Department of Energy to build a 100-MW solar power + thermal energy storage project in the country. The Redstone project is expected to come online in 2018. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Finnish scientists believe that renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, will become the cheapest energy for consumers in Asia in next 10 years. A project has successfully modelled comprehensive energy systems based entirely on renewable energy sources for China, South Korea and Japan. [New Kerala]

¶ A new report shows electricity demand in Australia’s National Electricity Market decreased again in 2014. Following a trend that began in 2009, GreenMarkets says consumption fell last year by 1.1%, down 2098 GWh from 2013. The fact that power from roof-top solar PVs is not considered for the tally is relevant. [Energy Matters]

¶ German offshore windpower had 258 turbines totalling 1049.2 MW as 2014 ended. This is more than double what there was the previous year. A further 268 turbines totalling 1218.1 MW are in place but not fully grid-linked by the end of the year, so they are already set to more than double the capacity again this year. [reNews]

¶ China’s ambitions to be a leader in nuclear technology have been dealt a fresh blow, as construction of its most advanced reactor is facing a new delay. The project, which China is developing with Westinghouse Electric Co, faces new development problems and is not expected to start up until 2016 at the earliest. [Wall Street Journal]

US:

¶ It is now common practice in the US coal industry for companies to sell a significant portion of the coal that they mine back to themselves, through the use of subsidiaries. In this way, the coal companies can both increase the amount of money they get from the Interior Department and dodge tax payments. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Goddard College said it has completed its divestment from fossil fuel company investments, making it the third college in Vermont to divest after Sterling and Green Mountain College. Its president said the college has moved its endowment funds into fossil fuel-free accounts at Trillium Asset Management in Boston. [Boston Globe]

¶ The US can increase its use of renewable energy in power generation by more than triple by 2030, according to a new report, “Renewable Energy Prospects: United States of America,” by the International Renewable Energy Agency. Currently, renewable sources provide 14% of US power. This can grow to 50%. [EcoSeed]

¶ The group Floridians for Solar Choice, which consists of several conservative groups and a couple of not-so-conservtive ones, is teaming up with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy to get a solar energy amendment on the state ballot in 2016. It would allow owners of PVs to sell solar power to consumers. [Creative Loafing Tampa]

¶ The Obama Administration is announcing a series of steps to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40% to 45% from 2012 levels by 2025, encompassing both commonsense standards and cooperative engagement with states, tribes and industry to put us on a path toward the 2025 goal. [Renewable Energy Focus]

World:

¶ The South Australian grid operator is recognizing the value of rooftop solar. It says it has pushed the peak back much later in the day, reduced the breadth of peak demand (much to the chagrin of the conventional generators who relied on the peaks for income), and reduced stress on the grid at peak times. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Investment bank Deutsche Bank is predicting that solar systems will be at grid parity in up to 80% of the global market within 2 years, and says the collapse in the oil price will do little to slow down the solar juggernaut. Grid-based electricity prices are rising across the world, and solar costs are still falling. [CleanTechnica]

¶ GDF Suez is the latest European energy giant announcing plans to focus more on renewable projects. The French utility aims to double its power generation capacity from renewable energy in Europe by 2025, with emphasis on marine energies. It will have a renewables capacity of 21 GW by the end of 2015. [Utilities-ME.com]

¶ In Japan, the Abe administration decided to boost efforts next year to promote renewable energy, after the feed-in tariff system ran into trouble only two years after its introduction. The administration is expected to secure ¥130.7 billion ($1.12 billion) for renewable energy programs in the fiscal 2015 budget. [The Japan Times]

¶ The French energy and environment minister says France should build a new generation of nuclear reactors to replace its ageing power stations that provide a majority of the country’s electricity. The comments give the first signal the government will emphasize nuclear in France’s energy production. [Yahoo News UK]

¶ Based on a poll of E2Energy investors in the UK, wind was the most popular and preferred technology choice for investment at 87%, with solar coming second with 85%. The research also revealed 30% of lenders were female and an impressive 87% said they would consider investing again. [Click Green]

US:

¶ A recently released report from the NC Clean Energy Technology Center suggests that in almost every one of America’s 50 largest cities, a solar PV system of typical size offers a better return than the stock market, and for 42 of them, the cost of solar is already less than from their local utility. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Analysis of the impact US tight oil has on global oil markets shows that only around one quarter of the drop in US imports of 1.7 million barrels per day since 2005 to 2006 can be explained by the tight oil boom. Oil imports dropped by about 1 million barrels per day before the tight oil boom even began. [Resilience]

¶ The Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation recently wrote a piece highlighting the impressive potential for offshore wind development in the US. The figures say the US has a projected 4,223 GW worth of offshore wind generating potential, with 50 GW from the Ohio waters of Lake Erie alone. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Northampton, Massachusetts may soon join dozens of other municipalities in the state that have turned old landfills into solar farms. And, in what appears to be a first in western Massachusetts at least, solar arrays may pop up at some municipal parking lots, according to the city’s energy officer. [WAMC]

¶ Spanish developer Iberdrola Renewables is laying the groundwork for a 100-MW wind farm in Maine. The Fletcher Mountain scheme will feature 30 to 35 turbines, depending on turbine type and final layout. It would interconnect into utility Central Maine Power Company’s Wyman Hydro substation. [reNews]

¶ Ohio’s two-year timeout on its mandate that utilities get more of their power from renewable and advanced technology sources has dampened investment in what were once booming solar and wind industries in the state, according to a study released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Pew Charitable Trust. [Toledo Blade]

World:

¶ Access Power MEA has teamed up with EREN to form Access Infra Africa, an investment vehicle for early stage development of power projects in Africa. The partners say AIA will be the largest privately funded vehicle of its kind and plan for a portfolio of power assets in Africa worth over $500 million. [Ventures Africa]

¶ In India, SunEdison and Omnigrid Micropower Company Pvt Ltd announced that they have signed a framework agreement to develop 5,000 rural projects, representing 250 MW of electricity, throughout India over the next three to five years. They hope the deal will bring electric power to 10 million people. [Power Online]

¶ Market research firm IHS projects growth in the global market for grid-connected residential PV solar installations with energy storage from the current 90 MW to over 900 MW in 2018. Cost reductions for storage, such as lithium-ion batteries, are starting to help drive the installation of solar systems. [SmartMeters]

¶ Samsung Renewable Energy Inc and Pattern Energy Group Inc today announced that the Grand Renewable Wind project has completed construction and reached commercial operation. The 149 MW facility has the capacity to produce clean power for approximately 50,000 Ontario homes each year. [AZoCleantech]

¶ US Secretary of State John Kerry said the US had hopes for talks next month between President Obama and Indian Prime Minister Modi in four areas, one of which is nuclear reactors. The others are agreements on renewable energy and climate change, defence partnership, and the economic partnership. [The Hindu]

¶ From turning the thermostat down one degree to harnessing waste heat from industry to power homes, energy efficiency measures are worth more than £37 billion to the British economy each year, according to analysis that will issue next week from the Combined Heat and Power Association. [Business Green]

¶ Only 96 people live in the Polish village of Zurawlow, but they stopped Chevron! For 400 days, farmers and families from Zurawlow and nearby villages blockaded a proposed Chevron shale drilling site with tractors and agricultural machinery. Eventually, the company abandoned its plans. [The Guardian]

US:

¶ MidAmerican Energy hopes to complete the final wind farm in its five-project, 1050-MW Wind 8 cluster in Iowa by year end. They estimate total investment in the project will be $1.9 billion. Siemens is supplying its 448 turbines. Google will buy up to 407 MW of the output for its Council Bluffs data center. [reNews]

¶ Three hundred professors at Stanford University, including latest Fields medal winner Maryam Mirzakhani and a number of Nobel Laureates, have urged the university’s president and board of trustees to divest away from all fossil fuel companies and fully recognize the urgency of climate change. [pv magazine]

¶ Three Illinois state agencies gave state legislators a list of options for keeping Exelon’s nuclear plants running, including a carbon tax and a cap-and-trade program, all of which will likely result in higher consumer power prices. The Illinois House had requested the agencies to report on the issue. [RTO Insider]

¶ The US could get nearly 50% of its generation from renewable sources by 2030 with existing technologies and the right policies and investments, according to a report released by the International Renewable Energy Agency. The report is one of the first in IRENA’s Remap 2030 series. [POWER magazine]

¶ The owner of the Vermont Yankee, nuclear power plant says the fuel has been removed from the reactor and placed in the spent fuel pool. The information was contained in a letter dated Friday from Entergy Nuclear Operations to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. [Greenfield Daily Reporter]

Opinion:

¶ “Energy firms are waging a price war they might be unable to win” Oil prices have tumbled, dipping to less than $50 a barrel. This reflects efforts of the large established businesses with low production costs, to drive high-cost producers out of a market. But the market’s nature is changing, and the tactic can fail. [RenewEconomy]

Science and Technology:

¶ Every year, botanists in the UK look for flowers in bloom on New Year’s Day. Even given Britain’s mild climate, it seems surprising that they usually find about twenty or thirty species flowering. This year, however, they were stunned. They found flowers of three hundred and sixty-eight species. [BBC News]

¶ Researchers at the College of Engineering at Oregon State University found that large-scale wave energy devices will be able to produce power without putting significant new pressures on the grid to balance out supply and demand. This may make them even less expensive for power than solar and wind. [Business Green]

World:

¶ The latest ultra mega solar power project announced in India is in the state of Gujarat, the state that originated the concept of solar parks. It will also include wind energy installations. The new project announced under India’s ultra mega solar power policy will provide 5 GW of solar and wind power combined. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Uncertainty surrounding the renewable energy target has made the large-scale sector of the industry in Australia “uninvestable”, a clean energy analyst says. A report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance said large-scale energy investment fell 88% to $240 million in 2014 compared to the previous year. [ABC Online]

¶ Pakistan’s Alternative Energy Development Board has issued a Letter of Intent for a $125 million 49.50MW wind power project to M/s Master Wind Energy Limited, a subsidiary of Master Group. The 49.5-MW wind power project will be set up on 1,408 acres of land in Jhampir, district Thatta. [Customs Today Newspaper]

¶ Institutional investors risk missing out on renewables boom, according to new research from indexing firm MSCI. They continue shifting away from carbon-intensive assets but are not moving fast enough to capitalise on the rapid growth of clean tech, and are missing out on potentially attractive returns as a result. [Business Green]

¶ Addressing the 7th Vibrant Gujarat Investors, UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon today termed the year 2015 as ‘the most important year for humanity’ and called for working towards a better and sustainable world with special emphasis on inclusive growth and prevention of climate change. [Day & Night News]

¶ Switzerland-based ABB has commissioned the 500-kV Skagerrak 4 HVDC link between Norway and Denmark. The project sets a new record in transmission voltage using voltage source converters. Two 700MW VSC stations will use semiconductors to convert electricity from high-voltage AC to DC and back. [reNews]

¶ The hacking of South Korea’s nuclear operator means the country’s second-oldest reactor may be shut permanently due to safety concerns, said several nuclear watchdog commissioners, raising the risk that other ageing reactors may also be closed. Nuclear power provides about a third of South Korea’s electricity. [Daily News & Analysis]

US:

¶ Battery startup Aquion Energy made a deal with an off-grid residential estate in Hawaii to supply a 1-MWh Aqueous Hybrid Ion battery. The battery will be combined with the Bakken Hale estate’s 176 kW solar PV system to provide for almost all of its electricity use — allowing for a completely off-grid setup. [CleanTechnica]

¶ It looks as though opposition to the practice of fracking has finally started to coalesce even in the political world, based on recent statements and positions taken in places not known for their environmental boldness and leadership. Recent blunt statements from a Florida state representative stand out. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ Noted campaigning organization Avaaz recently sent a petition with the signatures of 2.2 million people to the UN secretary general. It asked all levels of government worldwide to transition to 100% renewable energy. Avaaz is currently aiming to get at least 100 cities around the world to join its campaign. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A slaughterhouse in Kenya converts its waste to biogas it then uses to generate electricity, powering the meat cold room and processing equipment. It also pipes the gas to local hotels. Now the Maasai hope to take the project a step further by selling the alternative fuel in cylinders for half the price of natural gas. [Yahoo News]

¶ A consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power International won a €1.7 billion contract to build two solar power plants totalling 350 MW in the city of Ouarzazate, Morocco, the Moroccan solar energy agency says. The plants are part of a government plan to produce two GW of solar power by 2020. [Gulf Business News]

¶ Students in rural Kenya have developed a biodigester that turns their school’s sewage into biogas to power the kitchen. They replaced pit toilets, which often backed up and contaminated a nearby stream, with a biodigester. The unit sends gas to the kitchen, reducing the school’s dependence on wood fuel for cooking. [Business Standard]

¶ Five aging Japanese nuclear reactors will be decommissioned in the near future, a move that government officials hope will increase public support for resuming operations at newer reactors. The reactors are all at or near a 40-year age limit at which they must meet stricter safety requirements to operate. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶ Duke Energy and Dominion North Carolina Power sought to lower the evaluation for solar energy being fed to the grid. Though the State Utilities Commission agreed that there may be costs that could be added to the avoided cost calculations, they noted benefits the utilities had failed to account for. [CleanTechnica]

¶ An old golf course in Warren, Massachusetts is now home to 57,000 solar panels that are producing enough electricity to power 2,300 homes. It is owned by First Wind Holdings Inc, which now has two solar projects in the Worcester area, and 17 wind projects across the US, with two more under construction. [Worcester Telegram]

¶ Rochester Gas and Electric Corp has proposed a plan for easing the Ginna nuclear plant into retirement while lessening additional costs to clients. The proposal is part of proceedings to establish whether buyers should pay a premium for electricity from the aging plant, which is losing money. [Macro Insider]

¶ Monroe County, New York may host a solar power farm to deliver reduced-price, renewable electrical energy to a county-owned facility. Officials are reviewing proposals received from a number of energy providers to finance and construct a solar farm. Electrical energy would be sold to the county. [Macro Insider]

¶ California, a national leader in advancing energy storage, envisions this technology as a critical component in reducing global warming, improving air quality and promoting energy independence. The state currently has several pilot projects, and is working toward commercialization of energy storage. [Imperial Valley News]

¶ DE Shaw Renewable Investments has started construction of the Red Horse 2 wind and solar project in Cochise County, Arizona. The 71-MW project is one of the first combined wind and solar projects in the US. It combines Vestas V110 wind turbines with Jinko Solar PV panels and Advanced Energy inverters. [Greentech Lead]

Science and Technology:

¶ Researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and DVGW have demonstrated that power from wind and solar power can be stored in the form of methane efficiently made from biomass-based carbon dioxide and hydrogen. The DemoSNG pilot plant constructed by the KIT will operate in Sweden. [Phys.Org]

World:

¶ The first Round-The-World flight powered entirely by solar energy has begun with transportation of Solar Impulse 2 — disassembled, in the belly of a Cargolux Boeing 747 — from the Payerne aerodrome in Switzerland to the departure and final landing city of Abu Dhabi, according to the Solar Impulse team. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Following the relatively recent news that China and the US have agreed to stronger carbon-emissions goals, a Chinese entity by the name of Xiang Yang Institute and a US-based company called Focused Sun have announced that they are partnering to develop solar microgrids in China (and elsewhere). [CleanTechnica]

¶ Ireland will soon see its first anaerobic digester driven by agricultural produce, in the townland of Dromkeen. The plant will provide enough electricity to the grid to power all the 1,700 plus homes in the village and parish. In addition to producing electricity, the plant will provide its waste heat to local buildings. [The Kerryman]

¶ The UK Green Party has welcomed plans to turn South Cheshire into a potential hub for geothermal energy, as government funding has been secured for the project. Although the Greens welcomed the news, they are also called for other forms of power to create energy for homes and businesses. [Nantwich News]

¶ A proposed £30 million anaerobic digester for Bucks County, UK, would provide enough electricity to power the Arla megadairy next door. Arla and waste firm Olleco want the digester to process 50,000 tonnes of biomass consisting of waste food from nearby shops, depots, restaurants and canteens. [Bucks Herald]

¶ London Mayor Boris Johnson confirmed yesterday the disused, 108-year-old Greenwich power plant in South London will be fitted with a new combined heat and power unit, with new and cleaner turbines, providing electricity to help run the London Underground and heat to homes and businesses in the area. [Business Green]

US:

¶ In April we reported that seismologists were hot on the trail of a “smoking gun” that would link fracking to earthquakes on Ohio. At the time the experts were a bit cautious, but earlier this week the Seismological Society of America came out with a definitive statement: yes, fracking earthquakes are real. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Keystone XL’s proposed route through the state can go forward. A supermajority of five judges is needed to strike down a law in Nebraska, but only a simple majority of four judges agreed the state law allowing the pipeline to be built was unconstitutional. [Huffington Post]

¶ The natural gas industry is sparring with environmentalists over whether demand for gas is being exaggerated to boost support for a controversial pipeline project in New England. A lack of pipeline capacity has led to higher energy bills even as wholesale natural gas prices have dropped nationally. [The Daily News of Newburyport]

¶ SunEdison, Inc and TerraForm Power, Inc announced that SunEdison had purchased new turbines that will enable development of up to 1.6 GW of incremental wind energy projects and qualifying for the US federal production tax credit. TerraForm will purchase the projects as they are finished. [AZoCleantech]

¶ Massachusetts awarded more than $18 million to thirteen projects across the state to enhance energy resiliency. The money will go to critical facilities for combined heat and power, battery storage and microgrids. Northampton received $3 million for a microgrid for three key emergency facilities. [Greentech Media]

¶ The company dismantling the closed Zion nuclear plant on Lake Michigan is running out of money to finish the job, according to the site’s owner, Exelon. The project was paid for with $800 million collected from state electric ratepayers over decades, and third-party decomission is a matter of scrutiny. [Chicago Tribune]

Opinion:

¶ “2014: A Positive Sign of What’s to come in Clean Energy” – A quick scan of the US climate and energy news in 2014 will tell you it was a very big year. Many factors are working for positive change. Now, the US is on the verge of a revolution in the way we make, move, and use energy. [Environmental Defense Fund]

¶ “IHS: Top 10 predictions for global PV market in 2015” – Among the market research firm’s forecasts for the coming year: By the end of 2015, California, already the largest renewable power market in the United States, will attain worldwide leadership in market share of annual PV power generation. [pv magazine]

Science and Technology:

¶ The Bureau of Meteorology in Australia released its annual climate statement, for 2014. As expected, it was once again a hot year across the continent. There is a lot of year-to-year variation driven by natural climate variability, but the 10-year running mean plots a relatively steady rise over the last 60+ years. [Energy Collective]

World:

¶ Clean energy investment rose in 2014 for the first time in three years, as China’s support for solar power and record spending on wind farms overcame a slump in oil prices that unsettled the industry’s outlook. New funds for wind, solar, biofuels and other low-carbon technologies gained 16% to $310 billion. [Businessweek]

¶ Mercom Capital Group tallied $26.5 billion in solar project investment from corporate funding sources during 2014. That’s an astounding 175% increase over 2013, when Mercom counted just $9.6 billion. The reason is that perception of the solar sector has moved from one of high risk to one with low-risk yields. [CleanTechnica]

¶ In the face of growing pressures from many quarters to slow down on global warming and decrease pollution, major companies have gone on the offensive, extolling their contributions to human progress and minimizing the potential for renewables to replace fossil fuels in just about any imaginable future. [OilPrice.com]

US:

¶ The Koch brothers and large corporations such as Walmart have been focusing their efforts on preventing consumers from installing their own forms of clean energy, or at the very least charging them a hefty usage fee. Five states took anti-solar actions in 2014, each discouraging independent installations. [CleanTechnica]

¶ With gas pump prices near their lowest levels in five years, greener, cleaner alternative fuels are taking a hit. Makers of biodiesel, a fuel made from vegetable oil or animal fats, are slashing prices and margins in a bid to stay competitive with the price of diesel fuel, which is down more than 20% from a year ago. [GlobalPost]

¶ With greater numbers of Republicans in the Colorado Legislature this year, along with falling energy prices, party leaders are feeling more confident about their chances of rolling back the state’s renewable energy mandates. They want to cut the mandate for large utilities in half, from 30% by 2020 to 15%. [CBS Local]

¶ In New Jersey, Raritan Valley Community College has been commended by the US EPA’s Green Power Partnership for using wind power to meet all of the Branchburg campus’ electricity needs. The College is now using 9000 MWh of wind power, enough to meet 100% of the electricity needs for the main campus. [NJ.com]

¶ Just minutes before Charlie Baker became governor of Massachusetts, the Patrick administration released a $250,000 study suggesting winter electricity prices are likely to remain very high and experience sharp spikes for the next four years because of a lack of natural gas pipeline capacity. [CommonWealth magazine]

¶ So-called grid batteries could lower the cost of renewable energy by eliminating intermittency problems. Aquion Energy, a Pittsburgh-based startup that makes one such battery, announced that the technology will allow a small electricity grid in Hawaii to run around the clock on solar power. [MIT Technology Review]

¶ Even as the Tennessee Valley Authority completes the nation’s first new nuclear plant in a generation, Fitch Ratings, a major rating service, says premature plant retirements threaten the industry. Eight merchant nuclear units with a total capacity of 8,000 MW are at risk of early retirement. [Electric Co-op Today]

Opinion:

¶ “Energiewende Will Succeed” American critics of the Energiewende have regularly announced its approaching demise for years. They have also recorded what they claimed were its clear failures. But their cost calculations fail to compare it with alternatives, and their criticisms fail to acknowledge the programs successes. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Where in the World Are the Fossil Fuels That Cannot Be Burned to Restrain Global Warming?” Canada, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the US cannot burn much of the coal, oil and gas located within their national territories if the world wants to restrain global warming, according to new analysis published in Nature. [Scientific American]

¶ Energy engineering group Alstom, and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University will collaborate to design, develop and deploy a MicroGrid Power Mix Management solution in the context of the Renewable Energy Integration Demonstrator – Singapore initiative. [Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production Magazine]

World:

¶ Germany’s green energy transition project, Energiewende, is boasting significant progress compared to one year ago. For the first time, in 2014, renewable energy sources were the most important source in the country’s power mix. With a share of 27.3%, renewables replaced lignite for first place. [EurActiv]

¶ German power sector greenhouse gas emissions fell in 2014, hitting their second-lowest level since 1990, according to German think-tank Agora Energiewende. The sector emitted 301 million tonnes of CO2 last year, down from 317 million in 2013. The previous low was 294 million in 2009 [Argus Media]

¶ Renewable energy will play an increasingly important role in the Middle East and North Africa in the coming decades. By 2020, up to 37 GW of renewable energy are expected to come on line in the region and investments in renewables may reach $50 billion. Area governments support the growth. [The National Law Review]

¶ The Indian urban development ministry aims to generate 100 MW of solar power with PVs on rooftops of 629 buildings it owns in 18 states. The ministry has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Central Public Works Department and the Solar Energy Corporation of India for the purpose. [Siliconindia.com]

¶ The Victorian government wants to join forces with New South Wales and South Australia to press the federal government for more action on climate change after record or near-record temperatures in the three states in 2014. Victoria’s environment minister is seeking “urgent” talks on climate change. [The Guardian]

¶ Fuel subsidies have been a constant issue for the Indonesian government for more than a decade. The growing consumption and the volatility of global oil prices have taken a toll on the state finances, reaching $19.6 billion in 2014, roughly 15% of the state budget. Now, the state is ending the subsidies. [Jakarta Post]

¶ Irish wind generation hit a new peak on January 7 with favourable weather conditions helping wind farms pump some 1942 MW into the grid. At 9.30 am, the sector was supplying enough power to supply 1.26 million homes with electricity. The combination of Ireland with Northern Ireland was also a record. [reNews]

US:

¶ For the first time ever, the American Petroleum Institute is including solar among the energy sources that should be taken seriously in the next couple of years. The API’s State of American Energy Report projects the capacity of US solar installations to double, from 20.2 GW in 2015 to 40 GW in 2016. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Illinois governmental agencies Wednesday issued reports proposing ways to prop up Exelon’s ailing nuclear power plants. The company says that at least three of its nuclear plants in the state could be closed for economic reasons and hopes to have nuclear plants included under a clean portfolio standard. [Morris Daily Herald]

¶ California broke ground on its long-sought high-speed rail system, promising to combat global warming while whisking travelers between Los Angeles and San Francisco in under three hours. The $68 billion project faces challenges from Republican cost-cutters in Congress and Central Valley farmers. [TriValley Central]

¶ EDP Renewables has clinched a deal to help deliver vital transmission infrastructure for its 250-MW Number Nine wind farm in Maine. Central Maine Power and Emera have given EDPR an option to buy part of the Bridal Path corridor in Aroostook County to develop a new transmission line. [reNews]

¶ The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public meeting next month in Brattleboro to hear from the public about the impending decommission of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, which shut down permanently last month. The February 19 meeting will be at the Brattleboro Quality Inn. [Rutland Herald]

Opinion:

¶ “The Guardian view on cheaper oil and the environment: an invitation for business as usual” For both good and ill, cheap oil disincentivises investment in change and weakens market forces that might otherwise rein in energy use. But if the free market is doing less to ration carbon, then government must do more. [The Guardian]

Science and Technology:

¶ A recent report from Navigant Research analyzes the global market for utility-scale energy storage for both bulk an ancillary service applications. It says worldwide revenue from energy storage for the grid and ancillary services is expected to total $68.5 billion from 2014 through 2024. [Transmission and Distribution World]

World:

¶ Prices for German solar power storage systems have reportedly fallen 25% since the spring. According to the German Solar Industry Association, about 15,000 German households now use battery storage combined with solar power, a number has been growing faster and faster as the costs have come down. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Denmark set new wind power records last year as wind energy’s share of the electricity mix rose to 39%. This is somewhat lower than the 41.2% share wind had in the first half of the year, which saw particularly windy weather. It is, nevertheless, much greater than the 33% share windpower had in 2013. [Business Green]

¶ Governor Hirohiko Izumida, the influential governor of Niigata prefecture rebuffed on Tuesday pleas by Tokyo Electric Power to restart the world’s largest nuclear plant, saying the utility had not been proactive in investigating the cause of the Fukushima accident in 2011. The governor has veto power on restart. [Reuters]

US:

¶ Solar power is growing in New York at 63% per year. The figure is not for a single year, but the average for the period of 2010 to 2013, according to a new report titled, Star Power: The Growing Role of Solar Energy in New York. At this rate of growth, the state could be 20% powered by solar by 2025. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Google is investing in Utah Red Hills Renewable Energy Park, which is touted as the largest solar power plant in Utah. The $188 million project is being developed by Norwegian solar energy project developer Scatec Solar. It will have a capacity to generate 210 million kWh of solar power annually. [Greentech Lead]

¶ Bi-partizan backers of broader use of solar energy in Florida have quietly launched a petition for the 2016 ballot that would allow those who generate electricity from the sun to sell the power directly to other consumers. Current Florida law says only utilities can sell power directly to consumers. [Tampabay.com]

¶ The years-long push to create a government-owned electric utility in Santa Fe has run into a complication. The city apparently cannot force Public Service Company of New Mexico to sell its existing system for distributing electricity to homes and businesses, and Public Service Company will not sell. [Santa Fe New Mexican.com]

¶ A report by the Maine Center for Business & Economic Research at the University of Southern Maine says the wind industry will produce 4,200 jobs in 2015 and is poised to double over the next four years to 1,300 MW of power output. The investment is in rural parts of Maine that needed it most. [WCSH-TV]

¶ The Cape Wind project planned for Nantucket Sound was dealt a significant setback as Massachusetts’ two biggest utilities, Northeast Utilities and National Grid , announced that they are terminating contracts to purchase power from the wind farm because of the project’s failure to meet contractual deadlines. [MassLive.com]

¶ California Governor Jerry Brown has announced a goal of cutting California’s oil use in half. This may sound like an impossible task in a state famous for freeways and sprawl. But many experts consider the ambitious climate and energy goals Brown spelled out in his inauguration speech difficult but doable. [SFGate]

¶ Ice Palace Hawaii, the state’s only ice rink, has announced it is now using the sun to freeze water, with completion of a 162-kW PV system. The 500-panel system covers roughly 9,000 square feet on the facility’s roof. The system is expected to save the Ice Palace approximately $70,000 per year. [Honolulu Star-Advertiser]

¶ All signs are pointing toward the arrival of a solar energy farm in Kokomo, Indiana by the end of the year. Solar integration company Inovateus Solar has submitted a lease proposal for a solar energy farm, and, if all goes well, the solar farm will be producing 9 million kWh per year by the end of 2015. [Kokomo Tribune]

Science and Technology:

¶ Last year was the UK’s warmest and fourth wettest year since Met Office records began in 1910. The average temperature of 9.9° C, which was 1.1C° above the long-term average (from 1981 to 2000). The year was the warmest on record in the central England temperature series, which dates back to 1659. [FarmersWeekly]

World:

¶ A consortium led by French-based global solar independent power producer Sonnedix closed a deal for a solar PV power project in the Northern Cape of South Africa with a capacity of 86 MW. Juwi Renewable Energies is handling EPC services and South African utility Eskom is on board with a PPA. [pv magazine]

¶ Australia’s peak solar industry body has launched a campaign to put pressure on the state of Queensland’s conservative government that it claims, “has been determined to shove solar where the sun doesn’t shine.” Queensland voters will head to the polls to elect a state government on January 31. [pv magazine]

¶ Iran and Azerbaijan have agreed to jointly construct wind and solar power stations as part of their efforts to promote mutual cooperation between the two neighbors in the area of renewable energy resources. An Iranian energy official said projects might be in either country or even elsewhere. [Tasnim News Agency]

¶ EDF Renewable Services, the US subsidiary of EDF Energies Nouvelles, expanded its portfolio of renewable energy projects in Canada by 52% in 2014. Over the course of the year, the company signed contracts for 27 projects in Quebec and Ontario, representing 454 MW of wind and 134 MW of solar power. [EcoSeed]

¶ Australia’s small-scale solar energy industry held steady in 2014 although uncertainty is casting a cloud over the sector. Aside from lack of government support for renewable energy, costs for imported PVs are rising as the Australian dollar wilts. The industry added about 800 MW during the year. [Sydney Morning Herald]

US:

¶ Northern Power Systems Corp, located in Barre, Vermont, has publicly filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, relating to a proposed initial US public offering of its common shares. The company has applied for the listing of its common shares on the NASDAQ. [Stockhouse]

¶ Exelon Corp, the biggest US owner of nuclear reactors, estimates it will need to charge 83% above wholesale prices to keep the Ginna nuclear plant running. The plant, near Rochester, New York, recorded losses exceeding $100 million from 2011 to 2013. Ginna is one of ten nuclear plants considered uncompetitive. [Tulsa World]

¶ First Wind confirmed that the Idaho Public Utilities Commission has approved Energy Sale Agreements with five proposed First Wind solar projects and the Idaho Power Company. The contracts are for 20 years and for projects that total 100 MW. The five 20 MW projects are spread across southern Idaho. [Power Online]

¶ In his Monday inaugural address, California Governor Jerry Brown proposed an ambitious expansion of California’s renewable energy goals, from one-third by 2020 to 50% by 2030. The goal also includes big increases in alternative fuels, building efficiency, and smart grid investments to put them to use. [Greentech Media]

¶ Less than half the electricity generated by Indiana Michigan Power is now coming from coal. With the recent completion of Randolph County’s Headwaters Wind Farm and the retirement of the coal-fueled Tanners Creek generating unit in Lawrenceburg, I&M’s energy sources include only 49.7% coal. [Muncie Star Press]

¶ As Public Service Company of New Mexico begins making its case for a new power-replacement plan, one that would reduce the amount of coal it uses to produce electricity, some of the company’s customers are urging a more aggressive push toward cleaner, renewable energy sources. [Albuquerque Business First]

¶ Following a 12-year survey, Stephen Ansolabehere, a Harvard government professor, has concluded that the majority of Americans prefer renewable energy sources over coal, oil and nuclear energy, and see natural gas as a bridge fuel that falls between the two stools of renewables and dirtier fossil fuels. [pv magazine]

World:

¶ Given issues over subsidies and falling prices for solar, the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has decided to limit consumers who can avail subsidy benefits for rooftop solar. The Ministry has also indicated that it might be readying itself to reduce the quantum of available subsidy. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The UK’s grid operator confirmed wind power generation rose 15% during 2014 from 24.5 TWh to 28.1TWh, enough to supply the needs of more than 6.7 million households. Overall, grid-connected windpower met 9.3% of the UK’s electricity demand during 2014, up from 7.8% in 2013. [Business Green]

¶ Planned renewable energy projects combined with energy savings could decarbonise the Scotland’s power sector by 2030, claims WWF-back study. Scotland has a separate goal of providing 100% of electricity demand from renewables by 2020, but with coal and gas still on the grid. [The Guardian]

¶ India has set a target for a renewable energy installed capacity of 41,400 MW by 2017 and 72,400 MW by 2022. To achieve the 2022 target, India will have to add over 40,130 MW of renewable capacity, costing about $46.22 billion. The new transmission lines needed will bring the total cost to $83.35. [AZoCleantech]

¶ Norway is close to agreeing on a €2 billion investment to construct a 700 km underwater power line that would allow the UK to import hydroelectric power as Britain attempts to solve its power crisis. A firm decision to build the line between the two countries would be made early this year. [Financial Times]

¶ Only about 20% of 160 prefectural and municipal governments that host or are near nuclear plants support how Kyushu Electric Power Co went about getting the go-ahead for restarting its reactors. Kyushu Electric won consent in November for the restart of two reactors at its Sendai plant. [The Japan Times]

¶ Fukushima rice has passed Japan’s radiation checks for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima Disaster. A Fukushima official said about 360,000 tonnes of rice, nearly all of last year’s harvest, had been checked and none had tested above the government’s 100 becquerels per kilogram limit. [Radio Australia]

US:

¶ For January through October, renewables accounted for 13% of US electric generation, up from 12% for 2013 according to the US Energy Information Administration. Only solar installations of 5 MW or more were counted. With smaller installations, the figure would be about 13.7%. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A $1.46 million energy resiliency grant from the state of Massachusetts will enable the Sterling Police Department and dispatch center to have a battery system to keep operating during an extended power outage, providing critical emergency services to the town and its residents. [Worcester Telegram]

¶ North Carolina ranked No 3 in the United States for solar power capacity installed in 2013. That strong growth is likely to continue, according to Duke Energy, as the company is developing its solar energy network. It plans to spend $500 million on solar farms in coming years. [Greensboro News & Record]

¶ The Massachusetts Audubon Society and the nonprofit Massachusetts Energy Consumers Alliance have a target to get 1000 households to buy power from local green providers of wind, solar, biomass, and cow power. Households can switch without changing their regular utility company. [Wicked Local Sharon]

Opinion:

¶ “Nuclear power is the greenest option, say top scientists” – In an open letter, more than 65 biologists, including a former UK government chief scientist, support a call to build more nuclear power plants as a central part of a global strategy to protect wildlife and the environment. [The Independent] (Rude remark)

World:

¶ The city of La Paz, Mexico, is to be powered 100% by solar energy. It already has 39 MW of solar PVs, and another solar plant is being built. It will have 97,000 solar panels on 44 acres, with a 30 MW capacity. It will also have an 11 MW storage battery. The system’s cost is expected to be $80 million. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The UK’s wind turbines have to be shut down at certain times because the electricity network is unable to cope with the power they produce. The wind farm owners then receive compensation payments for not producing electricity. They are paid more than £1 million a week, on average. [Telegraph.co.uk]

¶ The Awami-led coalition government of Pakistan has achieved a number of successes in the power sector during the past six years. Power generation capacity more than doubled from 4,942 MW in 2009 to 11,265 MW currently, with 68% of the population having access to electricity. [DhakaTribune]

¶ The Philippine DOE noted in a year-end report it has sent to the media, that power generation across the nation remains robust with 319 MW of committed projects being recorded for the year alone, adding that nearly 5200 MW of additional projects were expected in 2014 through 2020. [Manila Bulletin]

¶ A hybrid generating plant, with both solar with combined cycle turbines, will be built in Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea coast. The turbines will have a capacity of 550 MW, and the solar will provide 50 MW. Between the two systems, the power produced will be enough to supply about 600,000 homes. [Zawya]

¶ A renewables firm has defied critics of wind turbines by revealing its farms have produced far more clean power than expected. Lincolnshire’s officials say Bambers wind farm near Mablethorpe now powers almost 3,000 homes across the region each year, [about 116% of what was expected]. [Lincolnshire Echo]

¶ As the Indian government prepares to overhaul of the coal mining sector, an advisory group for integrated development of power, coal, and renewable energy has dismissed the idea of restructuring the sector’s monopoly Coal India, instead recommending empowerment of its subsidiaries. [Business Standard]

¶ Japanese power companies have resisted government calls to construct safer storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel and are instead waiting for a fuel reprocessing plant to finally start running after nearly two decades of delays. The utilities do not want to spend money on dry cask storage. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶ New figures from the US Energy Information Administration suggest that for the fastest-growing parts of the country, electricity is gaining share as the heating fuel choice. In the future, that electricity for heating could increasingly come from renewable sources, such as wind or solar. [Energy Collective]

¶ Solar energy had a banner year in 2014. As more and more US households turn to solar PVs for power, they’re paying less to electric utilities. That’s making the utilities a little nervous. In some states, those companies are fighting back. Two reporters discuss trends in California and Colorado. [Iowa Public Radio]

World:

¶ Construction of the world’s largest tidal stream turbine power plant looks set to begin next month in Scotland. The project’s majority owners, Australian-founded Atlantis Resources, say they had met all requirements for funding through the UK’s Renewable Energy Investment Fund. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Analysis by WWF Scotland found that last year wind turbines provided enough energy to supply the electrical needs of 98% of Scottish households, or 2.36 million homes. Wind turbines generated enough power to supply over 100% of Scottish households on 25 out of the 31 days of December. [SNP]

¶ Walmart is making progress on three environmental goals outlined by Lee Scott in 2005, the company said. Nearly a quarter of Walmart’s electricity across the globe comes from renewable resources, and the company diverts almost 82% of US stores’ waste from landfills. [Northwest Arkansas News]

¶ Near the largest oil spill in Israeli history, which poured millions of liters of crude oil into the desert, an ambitious effort is underway to help reduce global dependency on petroleum for energy. Known as the Eilot Belt, the area is the site of Israel’s largest solar energy field. [Heritage Florida Jewish News]

US:

¶ Xcel Energy Inc says it wants to far more than double the amount of electricity it gets from wind and solar in the Upper Midwest. The business, which serves 1.2 million ratepayers in Minnesota, has the most wind power of any US utility, and plans for a 40% reduction in emissions by 2030. [Macro Insider]

¶ Despite years of successful experience, dozens of studies, and increasing utility support for clean energy, urban myth holds that electricity from renewable energy is unreliable. Yet over 75,000 MW of wind and solar power have been integrated reliably, enough to supply 17.9 million homes. [Energy Collective]

¶ In Wisconsin, the public is frustrated with the coordinated, special-interest efforts to slow public and private investments in clean energy. Currently there is an especially alarming trend: the alignment of the manufacturing lobby behind the monopoly utilities’ rate “fairness” campaign. [Stevenspointjournal]

¶ The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission is preparing for what some energy experts have called a watershed utility case. It will have a two-week hearing on a proposal calling for closing part of the San Juan Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant serving more than 2 million customers. [Daily Journal]

¶ Solar and wind power are our least expensive options in many places. Solar power costs as little as 5.6¢ per kWh, and wind power can cost only 1.4¢ per kWh. Without subsidies, solar costs about 7.2¢ at the low end, with wind at 3.7¢. These compare with prices of natural gas and coal upwards of 6.1¢. [Inhabitat]

¶ A coalition of US governors is calling on President Obama to implement a series of crucial changes to the country’s wind power policies. Among their goals are a multi-year extension of the renewable energy production and investment tax credits and expansion of transmission line development. [reNews]

¶ Kansas City Power & Light Co filed for a 12.5% rate increase for its Kansas customers. The utility attributed much of the request to governmental mandates to upgrade infrastructure at the Wolf Creek nuclear power plant and to install emission scrubbers at its La Cygne coal-fired plant. [Kansas City Star]

Opinion:

¶ “Another Reactor Closes, Punctuating New Reality for US Nuclear Power” The United States faces a dwindling fleet of aging reactors, few new projects, and the challenge of safely mothballing radioactive fuel for decades. So far, nuclear isn’t winning. The math just doesn’t work. [National Geographic]

Science and Technology:

¶ The Kulan is an electric-powered farmer’s utility vehicle named after a Central Asian type of donkey. It has two 2-kilowatt motors in the back two wheels. There’s a lithium-ion battery sitting there between them. Its range is 186 miles, the top speed is 31 mph, and it can carry 1 ton of cargo. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ The Ontario Power Authority has just extended its solar feed-in tariff program and selected another 99 MW of solar PV projects to receive payments from it. This comes from 330 new contracts. Feed-in tariffs guarantee a specific rate for the renewably produced power for a stated number of years. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A 10 kW floating solar thermal power plant of local design and construction will be inaugurated next week at Rajarhat, near Kolkata, India. The experimental pilot project was originally conceived at Arka Renewable Energy College and has been promoted by the Union Ministry of Renewable Energy. [The Hindu]

¶ Householders and other consumers on the islands of Hoy and Rousay will be hooked to a sophisticated computer system that tells storage heating systems to turn on when wind turbines are generating too much power for the grid and would have to shut if there is no outlet for their electricity. [Herald Scotland]

¶ Enel Green Power has connected its 80-MW Fontes dos Ventos wind farm in Brazil to the grid. The facility is owned by an Enel subsidiary and features 34 Siemens turbines. The total building cost was €130 million, which was partly covered by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation. [reNews]

¶ Indian Prime Minister Modi wants companies from China, Japan, Germany and the United States to lead investments of $100 billion over seven years to boost the country’s solar energy capacity by 33 times to 100,000 MW, a top official in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy said. [Economic Times]

US:

¶ About 60 giant turbines erected on a remote mesa in western New Mexico began churning out power for the state’s largest electric provider on New Year’s Day. The Red Mesa Wind Energy Center marks the latest effort by utility PNM to add more renewable energy resources to its portfolio. [Boston Globe]

¶ In comments filed in December, leaders of Mississippi utilities, state agencies and business groups called the US EPA’s Clean Power Plan illegal, infeasible and economically unbearable. The proposal calls for Mississippi’s power plants to emit 38% less carbon dioxide in 2030 than in 2005. [Jackson Clarion Ledger]

¶ In 2000, wind farms composed just 116 MW of capacity on Texas’ main electric grid. That number has since soared to more than 11,000 MW, while wind fuels about 10% of all generation. (On average, one MWh of wind energy can power 260 typical Texas homes for an hour.) [Midland Reporter-Telegram]

¶ A group of Senators urged the US DOE to continue funding programs for the distributed wind energy industry. The bipartisan group sent a letter highlighting the clear potential for distributed wind power to “contribute many gigawatts of electricity similar to other renewable technologies.” [Energy Collective]

¶ Basin Electric has signed power purchase agreements for two North Dakota wind farms totalling 300 MW. NextEra Energy should complete the 150-MW Dickinson wind farm near Richardton by the end of 2015. Tradewind is expected to finish the 150-MW Lindahl project near Tiogathe in late 2016. [reNews]

Opinion:

¶ “Why Closing Vermont Yankee Won’t Raise New England’s Power Bills” – Contrary to the claims of some nuclear advocates, closing Vermont Yankee is an important step in the right direction, and it teaches an important lesson for the bigger picture of electricity sector policy making. [Forbes]

¶ “2014 – A Record Breaking Year For Renewables” Perhaps inspired by clear messages from the world’s scientific community, 2014 brought the sight of politicians across the globe speaking of the need to transition away from fossil fuels, and acknowledging the scale of that challenge. [Green Building Press]

Science and Technology:

¶ An “affordable” flow battery based on high-capacity organic electrolytes is currently under development by researchers at Ann Arbor–based Vinazene Inc, in partnership with Grand Valley State University’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center and its Chemistry Department. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ The biggest solar farm in the UK, Landmead, is now connected to the UK’s National Grid in East Hanney. The 46-MW project can power 14,000 average British homes. The site was previously used for grazing sheep, and will continue to be used for that, with the addition of some wildflowers. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Oil took another hit Wednesday, sinking below $53 to a level last seen during the Great Recession. It’s hard to recall that crude oil traded for over $100 a barrel as recently as July. Few saw the energy meltdown coming. Now that it’s here, industry analysts warn another move lower is possible. [CNN Money]

¶ On the back of a disappointing year for investors, financial losses, skepticism about the technology’s supposed environmental benefits, and increasing water scarcity issues, Chinese officials have reportedly begun questioning the intelligence of ongoing support for conversion from coal to gas. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The government of the Indian state of Haryana has decided to usher in the New Year with one of the biggest pushes for solar power in the country. The state has made it mandatory for all buildings on plot size of 500 square yards or more to install rooftop solar power systems by September 2015. [NYOOOZ]

US:

¶ Cheshire, Connecticut is going solar. Just since August, building permits have been issued for the installation of solar panels on all over the town. The projects range in value from $1,410 to $50,000. And now the town is looking at a big expansion of solar energy to power public buildings. [Meriden Record-Journal]

¶ New York’s residential kitchens and yards, supermarkets and restaurants (24,000 in New York City), 600 wastewater treatment plants, $3 billion food processing industry, farms, and many landfills make millions of tons of waste every year. It can all produce renewable natural gas. [Albany Times Union]

¶ Technological advances are making areas like southeastern North Carolina more suitable for wind farms. Changes over the past five to 10 years have allowed wind turbines to create more energy with less resources, according to US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. [Fayetteville Observer]

¶ The Reid Gardner Power Plant, which is near Moapa, Nevada, has closed three of its four coal-generated units, a symbolic victory for Nevada’s environmental advocates and the Moapa Band of Paiutes. NV Energy, the plant’s operator, says it retired the three 100-MW generators on December 20. [Las Vegas Sun]