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]
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