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Opinion:

¶ “We Could Be Turning the Corner on Climate Change” – Efforts to reduce carbon emissions appear to be starting to work, and the link between economic growth and energy consumption is breaking. For example, last year, coal consumption fell for the first time in China, by 2.9% from 2013. [SustainableBusiness.com]

Science and Technology:

¶ A redox flow battery designed at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory more than doubles the amount of energy this type of cell can pack in a given volume, allowing it to rival lithium-ion batteries. If the device reaches mass production, it could find use in fast-charging transportation and grid storage. [Gizmag]

World:

¶ German’s Federal Network Agency, a government body, announced the country’s first tender for ground-mounted solar PV systems. The full order volume for the solar tender, which will be split into 3 annual rounds will reportedly be 150 MW. The highest bid will be set at 11.29 Euro cents per kWh. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The US-based renewable energy company Pattern Energy is partnering with the Mexican construction company Cemex to form a joint venture for developing projects in Mexico, according to recent reports. The plan is to build up to 1 GW in new project capacity to be developed via the joint venture. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Ireland is aiming at 40% renewable energy by 2020, with most renewable electricity from large-scale wind farms. But some winter nights the Irish grid will have to take 75% of its electricity from renewable sources. A combined ultracapacitor & battery energy storage system could help meet that need. [ECOreport]

¶ Navigant Research has released a report stating that 696.7 MW of global energy storage projects (excluding pumped hydro) were announced in 2014–2015, with much coming in Q3 2014 to Q1 2015. North America had 436.4 MW of the total amount. There were over 800 storage projects reported. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Sweden’s state-owned Vattenfall has won a tender to build a 400-MW wind park off Denmark, with the first turbines scheduled to start supplying power in 2017. The agreed price of power is 10.31 euro cents per kilowatt-hour, 32% cheaper than in Denmark’s latest project, the ministry said. [The Maritime Executive]

¶ China’s coal consumption fell by 2.9% in 2014, according to newly released official Chinese energy data. The data confirm earlier projections of a fall in coal use and 1% reduction in Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel burning. An initial analysis suggests that equates to a 0.7% drop in overall emissions. [The Ecologist]

¶ A report from the International Renewable Energy Agency published in January confirms that onshore wind-generation costs are competitive with those of the fossil-fuel sources. The latter are in the $45-140/MWh range, wind comes in at an average $55/MWh. Irena also confirms that costs are falling. [Windpower Monthly]

¶ The Japanese nuclear watchdog body slammed TEPCO over its failure to disclose information on the leakage of radioactive rainwater into the sea from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. TEPCO disclosed high levels of radiation in a drainage ditch many months after they were found. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶ The Vermont House has advanced a wide-ranging bill on a Renewable Energy Standard and Energy Transformation program, or RESET. The requirement would be that utilities get 55% of their power from renewable sources by 2017, ramping up to 75% by 2032. Some have met or exceeded those goals already. [Valley News]

¶ Massachusetts utility companies are preparing to buy enough renewable energy to power 136,000 homes under the major initiative announced for Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island on Tuesday. The companies may buy up to 817 GWh of electricity per year under a request for proposals. [Boston Globe]

¶ Less than a year into providing default electricity service to residents and businesses in Sonoma County, Sonoma Clean Power contracted with Pristine Sun to build up to 12.5 MW of new solar power. The venture represents the largest floating solar project in the US, and the second largest in the world. [Sonoma County Gazette]

¶ Ohio’s clean energy economy celebrated a big win this week. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio denied American Electric Power Company’s request for guaranteed profits to operate its aging, uneconomic coal power plants. The EDF was one of many parties opposed AEP’s proposal. [Environmental Defense Fund]

¶ NRG, one of the largest owners of fossil-fuel power plants in the US, plans to achieve “transformational growth” in its home solar customer base this year by expanding to between 35,000 and 40,000 customers from 13,390 at the end of 2014. The company had only 4,349 home solar customers in 2013. [pv magazine]

World:

¶ The second Global Sustainable Investment Review report confirms that global sustainable investment reached $21.4 trillion by 2014, up from $13.3 trillion at the same time two years earlier. Sustainable investment now accounts for 30.2% of the professionally managed assets in the regions covered. [CleanTechnica]

¶ India’s renewable energy industry is likely to generate business opportunities worth $160 billion in the next five years, the Economic Survey said the day before a budget that is set to boost clean energy funding. The Prime Minister set clean-energy targets that include raising solar capacity to 100 GW by 2022. [Reuters India]

¶ BMW South Africa is considering wind and solar power options to make a production plant near Pretoria energy self-sufficient, hoping the factory will provide between 25% and 30% of its own energy needs by the middle of this year. Wind and solar power are two options for self-sufficiency. [Independent Online]

¶ Irish wind and solar energy company, Mainstream Renewable Power is set to develop a €2 billion windfarm off the Scottish coast. The company secured a 15-year contract for its 450-MW Neart na Gaoithe facility in the North Sea. The windfarm is expected to be commissioned and generating electricity by 2020. [Irish Examiner]

¶ Swift global action is needed to avoid the worst threats from a rapidly changing climate, the disasters brought by storms, floods, extreme temperatures, and their impacts on people and biodiversity, French President Francois Hollande warned during a climate change forum in the Philippines on Thursday. [InterAksyon]

¶ Three wind farms in Wales won financial support from the Government as part of the first auction for contracts for difference under the reform of the electricity market. The three are Clocaenog Forest and Mynydd y Gwair, both being developed by RWE Innogy, and Windpower Wales’ Brenig wind farm. [WalesOnline]

US:

¶ A bill in the Illinois legislature, to make changes to the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, might create 32,000 clean energy jobs, its backers say. The bill would support more solar power and improve energy efficiency. It would also increase the renewable energy standard from 25% by 2025 to 35% by 2030. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Energy storage capacity totalling over 1,500 kWh is be installed in intelligent energy storage/electric vehicle charging systems in five California school districts, colleges, and universities. Balancing their electricity supply will save up to $1 million over the life of their projects – with no upfront costs. [CleanTechnica]

¶ California-based Swinerton Renewable Energy is teaming with tracking solutions specialist Array Technologies to build a 104-MW solar park in Utah for Norwegian developer Scatec Solar. Power will be fed into the grid under a 20-year power purchase agreement with PacifiCorp’s Rocky Mountain Power. [pv magazine]

¶ If you haven’t installed solar panels on your roof because it’s too expensive, Google really wants to help. Google is once again boosting its investment in SolarCity’s residential solar power model by $300 million. SolarCity combined this with a new financing structure to produce a new fund worth $750 million. [ThinkProgress]

¶ Two farms, a real-estate office, a jewelry maker and an animal hospital are among the latest recipients of Rhode Island state grants for new solar projects. The funds are awarded by the Rhode Island Renewable Energy Fund and were approved. Eight solar projects have received $1,137,000 in recent awards. [ecoRI news]

¶ Hints are emerging about how California’s investor-owned utilities might meet the governor’s goal of providing 50% renewable power by 2030. The CEO of California’s second largest electric utility says they want to claim rooftop solar, energy efficiencies, and electric vehicle charging stations in their portfolios. [U-T San Diego]

¶ Electricity users would have to pay a little extra to help cover costs of Exelon’s nuclear power plants under Illinois legislation. Exelon maintains the bill would save jobs and keep service steady and reliable. It would also have residential customers pay about $2 more each month to keep the nuclear plants running. [Chicago Tribune]

¶ A $3 billion deal will unite Iberdrola USA with UIL Holdings Co to create a massive power and utility company serving 3.1 million customers in New York, Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts. Iberdrola USA will pay $52.75 per share of UIL in a deal announced after the close of business Wednesday. [Portland Business Journal]

¶ Hawaiian Electric Co was generating about 21% of its power from renewable energy at the end of 2014. The utility said that it was generating about 39% of its power from a combination of renewable energy and efficiency measures when the year ended, up about 4 percentage points from a year earlier. [Pacific Business News (Honolulu)]

World:

¶ The UK’s Department of Energy & Climate Change awarded contracts worth more than £315 million to 27 projects. ScottishPower got one to build a 714-MW offshore wind farm, RWE Innogy GmbH won for three onshore wind projects totaling 166 MW, and Lightsource will build a 14.67-MW solar facility. [Bloomberg]

¶ Ground was broken for the 36.3-MW wind farm at Malvern, St Elizabeth forms part of a concerted push to reduce Jamaica’s $2-billion oil bill through the use of renewable energy. The project, at one of the most windswept points in the Santa Cruz Mountains, is being developed by BMR Jamaica Wind Limited. [Jamaica Observer]

¶ GDF Suez profits dropped last year amid falling oil prices, unusually warm weather in Europe and lower electricity prices, prompting the group to announce short-term restructuring measures. The plunge in oil and gas prices has had significant short term impact and is set to cost them €900m in 2015 profits. [Financial Times]

¶ Germany’s renewable energy production has been steadily growing, with a fourfold increase since 2000. Around 40 terawatt hours were generated with renewables 15 years ago and in 2014, the level was at 157.4 terawatt hours. But a study shows the potential of renewables is far from being fully exploited. [EurActiv]

¶ SunEdison, the world’s largest renewable energy development company, is planning to supply electricity to 20 million unserved people around the world. The initiative will be led by a company group focused on developing sustainable business models and technologies for renewable energy in rural areas. [AltEnergyMag]

¶ The European Commission has leaked a 19-page draft blueprint for an “energy union.” It is a grab bag of policies and proposals designed to transform the 28-member European Union into a more cohesive energy market. Despite its widespread appeal, the initiative shows fractures and double standards. [OilPrice.com]

¶ European transmission system operators have been preparing for an eclipse that will happen in March for several months, evaluating and attempting to mitigate risks. Some 35,000 MW of solar energy, the equivalent of nearly 80 medium size conventional generation units, will stop producing during the event. [Phys.Org]

¶ Fukushima fishermen appear to have finally run out of patience with TEPCO. They lambasted TEPCO at a meeting on February 25 over the utility’s failure for half a year to disclose the flow into the ocean of water contaminated with radioactive materials from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶ Under a new plan by governors of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, electric distribution companies will collaborate with state agencies on a bidding process for proposals for clean energy resources including wind, solar, small hydro, biomass, fuel cells and other low-carbon sources. [Lexington Herald Leader]

¶ Iberdrola Renewables, the owner and operator of the Blue Creek Wind Farm, along with Ohio State Senator Cliff Hite presented checks to Van Wert County, Ohio for more than $2,070,000, and Paulding County for $666,000. Iberdrola pays the counties $18,000 per year for each Iberdrola turbine they have. [Delphos Herald]

¶ The Department of the Navy announced the signing of a lease with Duke Energy that will allow the development of a large-scale, ground-mounted solar array at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. The lease grants Duke Energy access to 80.65 acres of land at Camp Lejeune to develop a 17 MW solar PV array. [Camp Lejeune Globe]

¶ In Hawaii, the Big Island’s electric utility has asked Ormat Technologies to supply it with more geothermal power. The additional 25 MW will come from a new power plant at a new location, Hawaii Electric Light Co said Tuesday. The precise location has not yet been announced, under a nondisclosure agreement. [Thegardenisland.com]

Science and Technology:

¶ A major new study from Agora Energiewende says the cost reduction potential of large-scale solar is still not understood. It predicts that solar PV will be the cheapest form of power within a decade, and cost less than $0.02/kWh by 2050. The study says the end to cost reductions for solar is “not in sight.” [RenewEconomy]

World:

¶ As part of its first major retrofit in 30 years, two custom-designed wind turbines have started generating power for the Eiffel Tower. Located above the World Heritage Site’s second level, about 400 feet off the ground, the sculptural wind turbines are now producing 10,000 kWh of electricity annually. [ThinkProgress]

¶ Africa’s first grid-connected biogas plant will begin supplying power by March 1. The $6.5 million Gorge Farm Energy Park anaerobic digester in Kenya will consume an annual 50,000 tons of organic waste sourced from a neighboring 1,977-acre farm owned by VegPro Group, one of the plant’s investers. [Starr 103.5 FM]

¶ The European Union will map out a plan for closer energy ties among its 28 nations, seeking to avoid supply risks highlighted by the crisis in Ukraine and to facilitate the planned shift to low-carbon economy. It will also present a plan on a global climate deal and a strategy for improving energy across Europe. [Bloomberg]

¶ The Abbott government’s efforts to scale back Australia’s renewable energy target have set the industry back 12 years in that country, its senators were told by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation in a hearing. And the government has told senators it will still pursue the abolition of the CEFC. [Sydney Morning Herald]

¶ Australia has some of the highest electricity prices in the world due to an overbuild of network infrastructure. Solar power installers there say the cost of batteries is the only thing holding back more widespread consumer grid defection in the residential sector. And household solar installations are booming. [RenewEconomy]

¶ A hydro scheme, the first in Scotland to be financially supported by a community group, has been switched on. The 469 kW development on the remote Abhainn Shalachain river near Lochaline, on the shores of the Sound of Mull, is now generating income for local residents on the Morvern peninsula. [Scotsman]

¶ The UK’s renewable sources of energy like wind turbines could soon generate more electricity than nuclear power stations. Nuclear power is in a slow decline from its peak of 25% in 1995 to its current 19%. The contribution of renewables more than doubled from 6.8% in 2010 to 14.9% in 2013, and it continues to grow. [New Scientist]

US:

¶ According to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas wind energy provided 6.2% of the state’s share of electricity in 2009, a figure which has since grown to 10.6% in 2014. In terms of annal power production, Texas windpower has grown from 19.9 million MWh in 2009 to 36.1 million MWh in 2014. [CleanTechnica]

¶ As Tulare County, California, has grown into the top dairy producing county in the United States, there’s a lot of cow poop to deal with. A new plant in Calgren is now making ethanol for blending with gasoline from all that manure. The plant’s process also extracts water that can be used by local farmers for crops. [Sustainablog]

¶ President Barack Obama, exercising his veto power for the first time in five years, rejected on Tuesday a measure green-lighting the construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. It is unlikely GOP lawmakers will be able to reverse Obama’s veto, as that would require a two-thirds vote in each chamber. [CNN]

¶ Essex Capital Partners, based in Massachusetts, and Sunpreme Inc, a US-based solar cell manufacturer, completed 90 day post commissioning of a 2.6 MW ground mount solar system in Barton, Vermont. The system will generate 3,400,000 kWh of electricity annually, enough to serve over 1,500 homes. [Your Renewable News]

¶ SunEdison Inc, a US solar panel maker and project developer, expects its annual installations to more than double this year. The company intends to complete solar and wind power facilities with 2,100 to 2,300 MW of capacity during 2015. Last year it completed 1,048 megawatts of solar farms. [Bloomberg]

¶ Exelon will ask state lawmakers as soon as this week to approve a new surcharge on electric bills throughout the state to provide more revenue for low-carbon power-generation sources like its six Illinois nuclear plants. Some of its nuclear plants here are in danger of closing without a revenue boost. [Crain’s Chicago Business]

¶ In a rare move, Washington DC’s Federal US Court of Appeals will hear a landmark challenge to the continued operation of California’s two remaining reactors. They are surrounded by more than a dozen seismic fault lines. The Shoreline fault runs within 600-700 yards of the Diablo Canyon reactors. [OpEdNews]

Opinion:

¶ “New Coal Plants in China: A (Carbon) Bubble Waiting to Burst” – China’s coal consumption growth has slowed down and fell in 2014. At the same time, coal-fired power generating capacity is growing rapidly. This represents an investment bubble that will burst as overcapacity becomes too large to ignore. [Energy Collective]

World:

¶ Grassroots support for energy reform is substantial in India. This was seen most recently in Aan Adani Party’s win in the Delhi state elections, a jarring reminder that the Indian masses have clout. A central election issue was making electricity both more sustainable and more affordable for the poor. [Solar Novus Today]

¶ The government of the Australian state of Victoria has made good on a pre-election promise to support the state’s first solar-powered town. Energy audits and retrofits to reduce consumption have already begun in Newstead as the first step towards a community micro-grid using 100% renewable power. [The Fifth Estate]

¶ The New South Wales Greens have unveiled a plan for a secure and clean energy future in the state. It has households and small businesses become active participants in the electricity industry. Coal and gas-fired electricity generation in NSW generates over 60 million tons of carbon emissions annually. [Energy Matters]

¶ The Director of Electricity from Panama’s National Energy Secretariat says that the recent solar bid was very successful with more tenders being put forward than ever. He says this means the country will have over 80 MW of installed capacity in solar PV and there are many opportunities for more. [AltEnergyMag]

¶ Senvion is delivering 18 wind turbines for the Nordergründe offshore wind farm in the German North Sea. Each turbine has a rated power of 6.15 MW, enabling it to supply about 4,000 households with energy. The Nordergründe offshore wind farm will be completed in the fall of 2016. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶ A Swedish group is building the world’s first ‘climate positive’ data center, in the famous copper mining and snow sports city of Falun. The proposed data center will work in tandem with a local energy system, using its waste heat for a variety of purposes and incorporating various renewable sources. [The Stack]

¶ Hawkins Group, of New Zealand, is developing the two new geothermal plans as part of a joint venture with Indonesian partner Banguan Cipta Kontractor. Hawkins has experience in delivering geothermal projects in New Zealand having recently successfully completed three power stations in that country. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶ March will mark the fourth year since the crisis began at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, where decommissioning work continues. About 6,000 to 7,000 workers are working every day to try to bring the situation under control at the buildings and facilities still scarred by the accident. [The Japan News]

US:

¶ The US installed some 470 MW of wind and 70 MW of solar parks in January 2015, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. This compares to 235 MW of wind and 343 MW of solar deployed a year earlier. Total installed wind power capacity reached 65.66 GW, 5.61% of total capacity. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ A new Massachusetts state Senate report on climate change is a call for the state to set policies in the face of deepening environmental impacts. Its title is its bottom line: “No Time to Waste: Our climate clock is ticking and our natural resources, public health and the future of our economy are at stake.” [The Recorder]

¶ Gulf Power has submitted four petitions this year to the Florida Public Service Commission for solar and wind projects that could potentially power more than 68,700 homes in Northwest Florida. Three are solar energy farms at military bases, and one would purchase power from wind-rich Oklahoma. [Pensacola News Journal]

¶ Ameren Corp. has proposed an alternative to the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. The company says its proposal would achieve the same final CO2 emission reduction goals as the EPA’s own plan, while saving $4 billion in costs and avoiding grid reliability problems related to closing key coal-fired plants. [PennEnergy]

¶ In the latest sign that a Bay Area renewable energy trend is picking up steam, San Mateo County, California is taking a close look at buying its own power on the open market, instead of relying on PG&E, in a bid to lower its greenhouse gas emissions. The county is considering a community choice aggregation program. [Chico Enterprise-Record]

World:

¶ Apple plans on investing €1.7 billion (£1.3 billion) into Europe, which is the biggest investment the American company has ever made on European soil. The plan is to create two new data centres in County Galway, Ireland, and Denmark’s central Jutland. The facilities will run on 100% renewable energy. [ITProPortal]

¶ An initiative to integrate more renewable energy into the Central America power system took one step forward last week as regional vice-ministers, directors of energy, and directors of climate change met in El Salvador to discuss the region’s energy future, the International Renewable Energy Agency reports. [solarserver.com]

¶ Dong Energy’s 400-MW Anholt offshore wind farm in Denmark will be offline for at last three weeks following a fault with the subsea cable connecting the project’s 111 wind turbines to land. The project’s transmission operator, Energinet.dk, said it is too early to say what the cause of the problem on the line is. [reNews]

¶ SunEdison, a US-based company, has announced it will set up 15.2 GW of solar and wind energy capacity in India over the next 5 years. India has an ambitious target of adding 100 GW renewable capacity by 2022. India’s installed renewable energy capacity currently stands at just above 32 GW. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A 12-MW biomass power plant with a dedicated plantation will rise in Bataan after Filipino-owned Cleangreen Energy Corp received its operating contract from the Department of Energy. The power plant, targeted for completion in October 2017, is expected to commence construction this year. [eco-business.com]

¶ Engineers in Norway and Sweden, two of the countries trying hardest to develop wave power technology, have announced “breakthroughs” in their methods, which the inventors believe will make wave power competitive. The latest Norwegian experiment has been installed in a redundant fishing vessel. [eco-business.com]

¶ Alternergy Wind One Corp, a company led by former Philippine Energy Secretary Vince Perez, is expected to complete a 67.5-MW wind farm project there in May. The $177.9-million project is due for completion in July 2015, Energy Department records showed, but it is likely to be completed early. [Manila Standard Today]

¶ Sensors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have detected a fresh leak of highly radioactive water to the sea, TEPCO announced Sunday. The sensors detected contamination levels, up to 70 times greater than the already-high radioactive status seen on the plant grounds, in water draining to the sea. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶ Floridians for Solar Choice has secured 100,000 petition signatures to obtain a place on the 2016 ballot after only one month of collecting signatures. Should the campaign secure enough signatures, Florida voters would be able to vote in 2016 to expand solar choice. (The petition needs 700,00 signatures.) [CleanTechnica]

¶ Wei-Hock “Willie” Soon, a prominent climate change denier and researcher, quietly took more than $1.2 million in payouts from the energy industry, including the Koch brothers and other oil lobbyists, for the past 14 years, newly released documents obtained by Greenpeace have shown. [eNews Park Forest]

World:

¶ Electric car sales (including plug-in hybrid electric cars) in the UK surged over 300% in 2014, as compared year-on-year against 2013, according to the most recent figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. EV sales in the UK rose from just 3,833 units in 2013 to 15,361 units in 2014. [CleanTechnica]

¶ In the UK, National Grid is announcing the results of a sealed-bid auction for the new Contracts for Difference mechanism to subsidise low carbon energy generation projects in the years ahead. CfDs provide a different structure than the subsidies that have moved the UK so far, and some say they are not as good. [Scotsman]

¶ The city of Munich is claiming that a giant wind farm being built off the coast of North Wales will contribute to its renewable energy targets, after it acquired a £660 million stake in the scheme. This leaves the UK with the question of how it can apply power from Gwynt y Môr to its own renewable targets. [Business Green]

¶ The IKEA Group is continuing to make progress on its path to receiving 100% of its energy needs via renewable energy sources by the year 2020, as the recent announcement that it had acquired a new wind energy project in Poland demonstrates. The specifics of the deal haven’t yet been publicly revealed. [CleanTechnica]

US:

¶ The oil and gas industry sponsors and spins research to shape the scientific debate over horizontal hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. That’s the conclusion of analysis by the non-partisan group, Public Accountability Initiative, of more than 130 documents distributed to policymakers by industry representatives. [Huffington Post]

¶ Federal regulators are close to approving construction of Michigan’s first new nuclear power reactor in more than a quarter century, although it’s an open question if it will ever get built. Changes in the energy market over the past 6½ years have dimmed the possibility of a nuclear power revival. [Detroit Free Press]

¶ A broad political coalition, from liberal environmentalists to tea-party conservatives, has banded together in Florida to press for something that ironically is in short supply in the Sunshine State: solar power. The group launched a campaign to place a pro-solar initiative on the state’s 2016 ballot. [Fox News]

¶ A new report produced by the Wind Energy Foundation, Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and Washington-based consultants David Gardiner and Associates said “significant cost declines” for electricity generated by wind and solar power is spurring development in Nebraska and nationwide. [Grand Island Independent]

¶ Illinois legislators introduced a bill to spur new growth in the clean energy industry, creating an estimated 32,000 jobs annually, once proposed clean energy standards are implemented. Illinois already has 100,000 clean energy jobs. The bill is endorsed by the recently-formed Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition. [Energy Collective]

¶ In 2013, solar installations accounted for 31% of all US electric power installations, and 2014 was a breakthrough year for utility-scale solar. Growing advantages in pricing and purchase agreements have been cited. Among area projects are several in conjunction with Oneida County, New York government. [Rome Sentinel]

¶ Southern Company subsidiary Southern Power today announced the acquisition of two solar PV projects totaling 99 MW in Georgia. They are the 80-MW Decatur Parkway Solar Project and the 19-MW Decatur County Solar Project. Southern Power is acquiring them from Tradewind Energy, Inc. [Sowega Live]

Opinion:

¶ “We Don’t Need New Energy Storage Innovations” – There’s been a lot of talk about energy storage being a “holy grail” for solving the problems of deeper renewables saturation in the US power grid. But it’s time to start pushing back on the rhetoric. The solutions we have now for storage are sufficient to the task. [Greentech Media]

Science and Technology:

¶ One of the biggest statements on Tesla’s last quarterly conference call was that it would be unveiling a battery storage system for home use within 1–2 months. Several competing energy storage companies are watching closely to see what the details end up being, while a bit envious of the media attention Tesla gets. [CleanTechnica]

¶ It’s been frigid in much of the US this week, and in New England for weeks on end. But nationally, the country has been going through a surprisingly warm winter. According to the National Climatic Data Center, the December 2014 to January 2015 period has been the sixth warmest on record in the contiguous US. [Huffington Post]

World:

¶ Much has been made of the competition between the United States and China for the title of world’s leading wind energy country, with the former the leading generator and the latter the leading installer. However, according to GlobalData analyst Pranav Srivastava, both titles are to be China’s as soon as 2016. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Vestas has entered into a deal with OX2 to supply 10 turbines for the 33 MW Maevaara 2 wind power plant in northern Sweden. Under the contract, Vestas will supply, install and commission the V126, 3.3 MW turbines with de-icing system. The project is the second in Sweden to feature the V126 3.3 MW. [Greentech Lead]

¶ New statistics released by the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change has revealed that close to 22,000 households have received support under the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme, a program of grants to support domestic low-carbon heating installations. [Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production Magazine]

US:

¶ The US Navy Task Force Energy is now drawing our attention to an op-ed by a former Navy commander outlining the risks of continued oil dependency. Like another recent piece, it pulls no punches, drawing attention to the thousands of American deaths attributed to petroleum transportation in Iraq and Afghanistan. [CleanTechnica]

¶ NextEra Energy is planning to build Hawaii’s largest wind farm on the southern coast of Maui. Before the construction of the 120-MW project, NextEra will complete the acquisition of Hawaiian Electric for $4.3 billion. In addition, the wind project will also be owned and operated by NextEra Energy. [Greentech Lead]

¶ Maine’s reshaped Public Utilities Commission wants to reconsider two proposed wind projects it approved two months ago, a move critics say would damage the integrity of the regulatory process and scare off future renewable-energy investors. The commission will decide on reassessment on Wednesday. [Nashua Telegraph]

¶ More than a dozen, mostly coal-dependent, states are already raising hell about the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. The latest battle is currently playing out in Virginia, where a state representative with ties to the coal industry wants to make it more difficult for the state’s Department of Environmental Quality to comply. [Grist]

¶ Pittsfield officials have started negotiating with Ameresco a long-term solar lease and power/net metering purchase agreement. The global alternative energy company has offered to install a solar array of up to 2.9 MW of electric generating capacity that provide more than 3.86 million kWh annually. [Berkshire Eagle]

¶ A bipartisan group of almost three dozen Illinois lawmakers yesterday proposed measures that would expand the state’s energy efficiency and renewable energy requirements and establish a carbon market to help the state comply with US EPA’s Clean Power Plan to limit GHG emissions. [Environment & Energy Publishing]

¶ Two Minnesota legislators have penned energy bills this session that would lift the state’s moratorium on Xcel Energy building another reactor at the Monticello nuclear plant. Both bills are site-specific to Monticello for the construction of a single, new nuclear-powered electric generating unit on the current plant site. [Monticello Times]

Science and Technology:

¶ Nuclear power plants increasingly face a new enemy: the jellyfish. Screens prevent aquatic life and debris from being drawn into the power plants’ cooling systems, but more and more often, they get blocked by large volumes of jellyfish or other aquatic life, forcing reactors to shut down. Climate change is a suspected cause. [Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]

¶ No matter how fast the cost of oil drops, it just can’t keep up with the pace of improvements in electric vehicle batteries. In the latest development, a team of researchers at the University of California, Riverside, has come up with a paper-like material that could bring in a new generation of high-range batteries. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Pumped storage has been around a long time, much longer than renewables’ intermittent nature required it. In July 1930, the magazine Popular Science ran an article announcing start of operations at the first US “ten-mile storage battery,” or pumped-hydro energy storage plant, in Connecticut. [Scientific American]

World:

¶ Private sector developers in India’s rapidly growing renewable energy will be happy to have the backing of the country’s largest bank as they get ready for competitive bidding. The State Bank of India has committed to provide $12.5 billion in debt funding to renewable energy projects over the next few years. [CleanTechnica]

¶ GTM Research has released some key findings pertaining to the PV inverter industry. One is that global shipments could reach 50.6 GW in 2015. Reaching this amount means an increase of about 30% over the previous year. The global market for inverters will increase to about $7.1 billion, despite falling prices. [CleanTechnica]

¶ In Australia, Origin Energy warned that major electric retailers were likely to choose paying a penalty price, the equivalent of a fine, rather than contracting to new renewable energy projects, now that it is apparent that the renewable energy target would not be cut as much as the power companies had wanted. [RenewEconomy]

US:

¶ Citigroup Inc said it would set aside $100 billion to fund environmental projects over the next decade, doubling the amount it had earmarked for such projects in 2007. Citigroup said it would fund projects related to renewable energy, greenhouse gas reductions and sustainable transportation. [eco-business.com]

¶ A bill before the Illinois legislature creates new standards for the state’s utilities to use efficiency measures to reduce electricity demand 20% by 2025. It also sets a higher figure for renewable energy purchased by updating the state’s regulation for the production of energy from renewables, such as wind and solar. [Northwest Herald]

¶ Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that rural agricultural producers and small business owners can now apply for resources to purchase and install renewable energy systems or make energy efficiency improvements. The resources announced today are made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill. [Imperial Valley News]

¶ The second study in a few days has been released that finds that implementing the EPA’s Clean Power Plan will not negatively affect grid reliability. The report from Analysis Group addresses the impact of ongoing changes in the energy industry for stakeholders and offers recommendations to ensure reliability. [Domestic Fuel]

¶ Environmental Working Group Executive Director Heather White said today that Monday’s West Virginia oil spill and explosion, following derailment of a train load of shale oil, shows that it’s absolutely critical for the US to reduce its dependence on oil and base our future economy on clean energy. [Environmental Working Group]

¶ BlackRock Inc closed its acquisition of half of the 200-MW Hereford project in Deaf Smith County and agreed to buy the stakes in the 200-MW Longhorn and 194-MW Spinning Spur 3 wind farms after they’re completed later this year, the New York-based firm said Thursday in an e-mailed statement. [Bloomberg]

¶ The House Energy and Power Subcommittee heard testimony from Secretary Moniz on the DOE FY 2016 budget request, which outlined over $1 billion in renewable energy program funding increases but a decrease to fossil energy research and development. (The decrease for fossil fuels, however, is tiny.) [Breaking Energy]

Science and Technology:

¶ Imergy Power Systems announced a new, mega-sized version of their vanadium flow battery technology. The EPS250 series will deliver up to 250 kW of power with a 1 MWh capacity. The company claims it can deliver power for a levelized cost as low as $300 per kWh, making it competitive with lithium-ion. [ExtremeTech]

World:

¶ Turkey is now aiming to get at least 30% of its electricity requirements via renewable energy sources by the year 2023, based on figures put forward in the country’s National Renewable Energy Action Plan. Of this target, the country is reportedly aiming for at least 5 GW worth to be via solar PV projects. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The UAE has inaugurated a solar photovoltaic micro grid project to bring clean energy to some of Fiji’s outer islands. Built by Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, the clean energy project is the third financed by the UAE’s $50 million Pacific Partnership Fund, through the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development. [Trade Arabia]

¶ Egypt is looking to add 4.3 GW of solar capacity as it targets a total boost of 8-GW in the next 10 years. The government said the extra power is needed to meet the needs of the nation’s expanding economy and it expects to start signing deals for PV projects at the Egypt Economic Development Conference in March. [reNews]

¶ ITM Power PLC on Wednesday said it has successfully delivered the power-to-gas PEM electrolyser system it sold to German power company RWE Deutschland AG within ten weeks of receiving the order. The system is the third rapid-response power-to-gas energy storage system ITM installed in Germany. [London South East]

¶ A new hydroelectric dam, set to be built on the River Allt Coire Chaorach, near Crianlarich, is set to be yet another instalment that will help push Scotland to the 100% renewable energy mark by 2020. The £8.5 million investment is set to generate up to eight GWh of electricity per year, also creating jobs and growth. [Click Green]

¶ Japan has relied heavily on fossil fuels since shutdown of the country’s nuclear fleet following the Fukushima Disaster. In 2013, more than 86% of Japan’s generation mix was composed of fossil fuels. With no nuclear plants online since 2013, the Japanese government anticipates starting a few up in 2015. [PennEnergy]

¶ The UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was informed by the CAP Direct Payments Team that solar farms do not have a “serious” impact on the UK’s agricultural output. This information came ahead of its controversial decision to remove CAP payments for solar farms. [Greentech Media]

¶ Jordan’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is collaborating with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs to implement plans to power all of the country’s mosques with solar energy by the end of 2015. Mosques currently pay as much as $1,400 a month for the air-conditioning and lighting. [Global Construction Review]

US:

¶ An NRG Energy subsidiary, NRG Renew, will join Kaiser Permanente, a major US health provider serving over 9 million people, in creating one of the top three on-site commercial solar portfolios among all US companies. The California project will also be one of the world’s largest vehicle-parking solar projects. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Last week, Rolling Stone published a blockbuster climate change article complete with the incendiary title, “The Pentagon & Climate Change: How Deniers Put National Security at Risk.” Now, the US Navy has posted a response with a forceful declaration of support for the Rolling Stone article. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Origin Energy provided further details of its impending major push into the domestic solar market. It expects rooftop solar to grow five-fold over the next 15 years, with battery storage coming also. It will install and maintain rooftop solar systems, and charge the homeowner a fee to use the solar electricity. [RenewEconomy]

¶ SunEdison Inc, the world’s largest renewable energy development company, announced the successful start of operation of the Regulus solar facility in Kern County, California. The 81.6 MW(DC) facility expected to provide almost $184 million in revenue to local businesses, governments and households. [SCVNEWS.com]

¶ PSEG Solar Source joined with El Paso Electric and juwi solar to formally dedicate the PSEG El Paso Solar Center. The 13-MW facility is El Paso’s largest, producing enough renewable energy to power more than 3,800 homes. PSEG Solar Source currently has 10 facilities in operation, totaling 109.7 MW. [PennEnergy]

¶ Green Mountain Power announced that for a third year, thanks to power generation at its Kingdom Community Wind Farm, five Northeast Kingdom Towns will receive Good Neighbor Fund payments. This year, GMP will distribute more than $188,000, an increase of $62,000 over last year. [vtdigger.org]

World:

¶ Australian firm Carnegie Wave Energy Ltd announced it has officially put on stream its Perth wave power station at Garden Island. The plant has three 240-kW CETO 5 wave energy devices. It is the world’s first multiple wave unit power station. Its output is going to the Western Australia grid. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ US carmaker General Motors said on Tuesday it has signed a deal with Enel Green Power to purchase 34 MW of wind power for its production facilities in Mexico. The power purchase agreement is tied to 17 wind turbines the Italian company will be erecting in Palo Alto, starting in the second quarter of 2015. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ The first renewable energy tender issued by Jordan had encouraging results, with a total of 200 MW awarded to project developers, including a 52.5-MW solar PV project. The tender is the first among several that the government plans to conduct to set up 1.8 GW renewable energy capacity by 2020. [CleanTechnica]

¶ EDF Energies Nouvelles has confirmed that it will use 68 Vestas 3.3-MW turbines at its 224.4-MW Nicolas-Riou wind farm in Quebec. The company got a 25-year power purchase agreement with Hydro-Quebec last year following a competition tender. The plant is expected to be commissioned by mid-2017. [reNews]

¶ The three-day ‘First Renewable Energy Global Investors Meet and Expo (Re-Invest)’ concluded in India on Tuesday with commitments of 266,000 MW of renewable power, including 10,000 MW from state-run NTPC. This makes it the “take off” conference towards revolutionising India’s energy sector. [Web India]

¶ As an island nation, Japan controls large swaths of ocean territory, about the sixth-greatest expanse of any country in the world. So it makes sense for Japan to look to the seas for renewable energy. The government is teaming up with two major industrial companies to start field testing marine power generation. [Wall Street Journal]

¶ Canadian Solar has secured six solar power projects worth 46 MW in the United Kingdom. They will together generate around 50,183 kWh of electricity annually. Four projects, totaling 40.5 MW, are under construction and should be connected to the grid in March, with the others following in the second quarter. [Greentech Lead]

¶ Taking a cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision, Union Minister Piyush Goyal today said efforts will work to create a federation of 50 solar power-rich nations and also make India the world’s renewable energy capital. They plan to work with the World Economic Forum in the near future. [Economic Times]

¶ Mainstream Renewable Power announced the launch of a pan-African renewable energy generation platform, Lekela Power, which it has formed along with Actis, a global pan-emerging market private equity firm. Lekela Power will provide between 700 and 900 MW of wind and solar power in Africa by 2018. [Your Industry News]

¶ Siemens announced it has secured a contract in South Africa with an order for 157 wind turbines for three projects in the South Africa province of Northern Cape. The 2.3-MW machines of the Siemens G2 platform will be installed at the wind power plants Khobab, Loeriesfontein 2 and Noupoort. [Windtech International]

US:

¶ Fires continued to burn for hours Tuesday after a train carrying 109 tankers of crude oil derailed in a snowstorm alongside a West Virginia creek, threatening the nearby water supply. Cars carrying volatile Bakken crude from North Dakota’s shale fields had left the tracks Monday afternoon, and 19 caught fire. [AOL]

¶ Duke Energy, which already owns or purchases 600 MW of solar capacity in North Carolina, announced that it is seeking to acquire up to an additional 50 MW. Duke has solar and wind facilities in 12 states, and expects to increase its solar generating capacity to 110 MW over the next six years in South Carolina. [Politic365]

¶ Donald Moul, vice president of commodity operations for FirstEnergy Solutions, says distortions in the energy market are hurting FirstEnergy’s fleet of nuclear reactors, making it hard to compete. He places the blame on policies that have eaten away at the value of its coal and nuclear fleet. [Pittsburgh Post Gazette]

¶ In Vermont, after three weeks of deliberation, the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee voted 10-1 to pass H.40, a bill requiring utilities to sell renewable power. According to the bill, 55% of a utility’s electricity must come from renewables such as wind, solar or hydro power by 2017, and 75% by 2032. [vtdigger.org]

Science and Technology:

¶ A number of studies investigating the effect of wind turbines on birds have found that the actual impact wind turbines have on avians is relatively low. However, according to this new research, published in the European Journal of Wildlife Research, wind turbines’ effects on bats cannot be ignored. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Israeli alternative energy company Brenmiller Energy has solved one of the biggest issues with solar technology: how to generate electricity when the sun sets. The company says it will build a 10-MW solar facility that will generate electricity 20 hours per day through a proprietary energy storage technology. [Inhabitat]

World:

¶ In Geneva, Switzerland just three weeks after the US Senate’s 98-1 vote that climate change is not a hoax, the first round of the 2015 United Nations talks among 194 nations produced the first-ever universally agreed negotiating text on how to limit global warming to 2°C (3.6°F) above preindustrial temperatures. [CleanTechnica]

¶ If you hate that persistent smell of diesel fumes and you live in France, you’ll probably be happy to learn that the government has begun an aggressive initiative to get older, heavily polluting diesel cars off the road, by offering owners up to €10,000 to switch to a plug-in hybrid electric or 100% electric car. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The Philippines is one of the world’s leading producers of geothermal energy. Located atop the Pacific Ocean’s so-called Ring of Fire, the country has used volcanic heat to produce electricity for decades. Now there is a new project underway to use this renewable resource to power an entire island. [Voice of America]

¶ Indian Prime Minister Modi’s 100 GW solar energy goal by 2022 could create as many as one million jobs, says the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water. Additionally, a proposed target of 60 GW of wind energy could generate another 180,000 jobs in the country. [Energy Matters]

¶ Romania installed 363 MW of new solar PV in 2014, according to the country’s transmission company and electricity system operator. Wind power systems added 346 MW of new capacity in 2014. Cumulative capacities for solar PV and wind technologies stand now at 1223 MW and 2953 MW respectively. [pv magazine]

¶ The UK Green Investment Bank and the Strathclyde Pension Fund are to plow £60 million into community-scale renewable energy projects through Albion Community Power. ACP builds, controls and operates community-scale schemes and has identified a project pipeline in which it will invest capital for the duo. [reNews]

¶ US power companies struggling with the escalating costs of building nuclear plants are closely watching similar efforts with similar problems in China. The first plants using Westinghouse Electric Co’s AP1000 reactor design are having problems there, and US executives and safety regulators are learning what they can. [PennEnergy]

US:

¶ The sun is shining on solar power in Illinois. A new report ranks the state 12th nationally for the number of people employed in the solar industry, up from 20th in 2013. According to The Solar Foundation, 1,700 solar jobs were added last year, bringing the total to 3,800 in Illinois, up over 80% in one year. [Public News Service]

¶ To store power from Washington State solar and wind generators, the Klickitat PUD has begun applying for a license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to pursue a pumped storage project, which will cost an estimated $2.5 billion. When completed, the project would have a capacity of 1200 MW. [Yakima Herald-Republic]

¶ Solar power brought 3,500 new jobs to Nevada in 2014, a 146% increase over 2013 that pushed the state to number 1 in the nation in solar jobs per capita, according to a report released Thursday by the Solar Foundation. It ranked Nevada seventh nationally with 5,900 total jobs in the solar industry. [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

¶ The cities of San Mateo County, California would have the option of banding together to sell cleaner energy to their ratepayers under a community-choice aggregation plan advocated by two county supervisors. The program could put power costs from renewable sources such as wind and solar below utility rates. [San Francisco Examiner]

Opinion:

¶ “Neil Sheehan: Decommissioning Vermont Yankee” We have seen the end of an era for Vermont Yankee’s workforce and for the surrounding community as power production halted. But now another phase in the facility’s life will begin as the first steps in what will be a lengthy decommissioning process get under way. [vtdigger.org]

World:

¶ Nippon Paper Industries and Mitsubishi have started operation of a 21-MW solar power plant in Japan. The plant is located in Komatsushima-shi, Tokushima Prefecture, which is claimed to have the country’s highest annual sunshine hours. It is Nippon Paper’s second solar project. [Clean Technology Business Review]

¶ Some of the world’s most environmentally efficient and profitable green energy technologies are being specifically tailored to the needs of the beef, poultry, pork, rendering, and stock feed industries. The high-temperature thermophilic anaerobic digestion technologies typically operate at 55° C. [Impeller.net]

¶ Chinese and Indian Solar Energy industry recently met under the aegis of FICCI for a business roundtable to explore partnerships between the companies of both the countries on the eve of the upcoming RE-INVEST. The Chinese delegation was led by the China Photovoltaic Industry Association. [Moneycontrol.com]

¶ China raised its total grid-connected solar power capacity to 28.05 GW in 2014, up 60% on the year, and aims to raise the total by more than half this year. The figure is equivalent to about 2.1% of China’s total power capacity of 1,360 GW at end 2014, while wind power is about 7% of the total. [Business Recorder]

¶ India is all set to have world’s largest solar power plant in Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh. It will be completed next year on Independence Day. The 750 MW will be constructed and operated as a joint venture of the state government and Solar Energy Corporation of India. It will occupy 1,500 hectares of land. [indiatvnews.com]

¶ The Durham York Energy Centre in Clarington, Ontario began burning its first haul of curbside garbage as part of a month-long testing phase before the facility opens for good. The facility will generate about 17.5 MW of renewable energy, but has faced opposition from locals. The final price tag is $286.56 million. [Toronto Star]

¶ South Korea’s LG Chem Inc says it will supply energy storage systems for four solar plants under construction in Japan in a deal worth over $272.7 million. The battery maker said it won a contract to supply storage systems, each with a capacity of 31 MW, to the Green Power Development Corporation of Japan. [The Korea Bizwire]

US:

¶ California’s Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León proposed legislation last week to increase the amount of electricity California derives from renewable sources, excluding from what counts as “renewable” any power generated from burning household trash, with the exception of one specific plant. [Sacramento Bee]

¶ SunEdison completed a 677-kW ground-mount solar PV system, providing energy for the AT&T materials distribution facility in Lancaster, Texas. It is not the first plant SunEdison worked on with AT&T. Their solar power arrays have generated over 8.6 GWh of power, cutting CO2 emissions by 13 million pounds. [AZoCleantech]

¶ Imergy Power Systems and Growing Energy Labs Inc are collaborating on a microgrid project for Chabot-Las Positas Community College District in Livermore, California. The project will add renewable energy sources, reduce peak power, and allow the district to be more energy independent.[CleanTechnica]

Opinion:

¶ “Arthur Berman: Why Today’s Shale Era Is The Retirement Party For Oil Production” – Podcast guest Arthur Berman, a geological consultant with 34 years of experience in petroleum exploration and production, sees the recent US oil production boost from shale drilling as short-lived and somewhat desperate. [peakprosperity.com]

¶ “Did Obama Just Waste $907 Million Trying to Save Nuclear Power?” – The power of the atom has started to give way to cheaper energy sources with more favorable public opinion. But President Obama’s proposed budget for 2016 set aside $907 million for the US DOE to invest in nuclear energy technologies. [Motley Fool]

World:

¶ A contract for two offshore wind parks in Japan has been won by Marubeni Corporation. The site is off the coast of Akita Prefecture, in the northern part of Honshu, Japan’s largest island. The turbines will be 5 MW. One site will have 13, and the other will have 16. Both parks should be operating in 2021. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Indian prime minister Modi inaugurated the first Renewable Energy Global Investors Meet. On the first day of the three-day event, 293 companies committed to set up plants to generate 266 GW of renewable energy in 5 years, while banking major SBI said it will finance 15,000 MW renewable energy. [India.com]

¶ Mr Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Power, Coal and Renewable Energy, told a group of industry executives, “India will be power surplus in 2019, and we are taking all necessary steps. From the current one trillion units of energy generation, we can double the power generation and become power surplus.” [SteelGuru]

¶ A report due out in Scotland this month aims to identify the ways to jump-start the stalled maritime wind sector, by enabling price cuts of a third, to £100 per MW/h. Power from less productive onshore wind farms costs £85 per MW/h average. This means offshore wind can be competitive with onshore. [Herald Scotland]

¶ Renewable energy firm Welspun Renewables today said it will set up 11 GW solar and wind projects across India. The 11 GW capacity will be developed as 8,660 MW of solar and 2,341 MW of wind power projects, the company said in a statement. It will commission over 1 GW of solar and wind this year. [Business Standard]

¶ US-based SunEdison and First Solar committed to build more than 20,000 MW of renewable capacity in India, boosting India’s renewable energy targets. SunEdison will build 15,200 MW of solar and wind power capacity by 2022, while First Solar made a commitment to develop 5,000 MW of solar by 2019. [Times of India]

US:

¶ The White House has backed solar and wind power projects and touted the benefits of the country’s surging production of natural gas, which burns about 50% cleaner than coal, still the largest source of electricity in the US. It had backed clean coal, but now, the US DOE is beginning to withdraw that support. [Bloomberg]

¶ One thing energy companies leave out of their talking points for expanding pipelines in New England is an effort to deliver natural gas to Canada for export. Developers are already moving to send natural gas through Massachusetts to Nova Scotia, where it would be converted to liquefied natural gas and exported. [ecoRI news]

Opinion:

¶ “Energy innovation for Vermont” by Peter Shumlin – Pursuing clean energy policies in Vermont isn’t just about doing what is right for our environment and protecting our unrivaled quality of life. A thriving clean energy sector is also integral to our economy, keeping young people in Vermont … [BurlingtonFreePress.com]

Science and Technology:

¶ Tesla’s crusade against fossil fuels could soon hit home with a battery-powered energy pack. The company plans to start producing a home battery within six months, Bloomberg reports, and will reveal more details in the next month or two. Backup power is one application, but there are a number of others. [TechHive]

World:

¶ South Africa’s government is forging ahead with plans to spend as much as 1 trillion rand ($85 billion) on new nuclear plants, ignoring objections from environmental activists, opposition parties, unions and even its own advisers. Bids will be sought to add 9,600 MW of atomic power to the national grid. [Bloomberg]
…Greenpeace anti-nuclear activists unfurled a banner saying “nuclear investments cost the Earth,” at the 2nd Nuclear Industry Congress Africa 2015 in Sea Point on Thursday. “Not only is nuclear power controversial, but it would never be ready to alleviate this crisis,” Melita Steele of Greenpeace pointed out. [Independent Online]

¶ Belectric UK is collaborating in a project led by National Grid to show how solar PV and other renewable energy operators can help stabilize the frequency and voltage of distribution networks, protecting the UK from power blackouts and instability, and thus reduce grid reliance on spinning reserve. [solarserver.com]

¶ China boosted its installed wind energy capacity last year to a record 19.81 million kW as the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter pushes its power grid to cleaner energy sources. The National Energy Administration says that wind farms produced 153.4 billion kWh in 2014, 2.8% of total generated electricity. [The Denver Post]

¶ In an initiative of New Zealand company solarcity, customers have panels installed on their roofs but, rather than buying those panels, they instead buy the power produced from them at a rate lower than they can buy it from power companies. Furthermore, that rate is locked down for 20 years. [New Zealand Herald]

¶ An Irish renewable energy company has raised $760 million to build three wind farms in South Africa. Mainstream Renewable Power was awarded contracts for the wind farms totaling 360 MW by the Department of Energy under the third round of its Renewable Energy Procurement Programme. [Energy Live News]

¶ Lucky Electric Power Company Limited has finally got a green signal from the federal government for the setting up of $1 billion coal-based power plant in energy-scarce Pakistan. The LEPCL would be setting up the 660 MW power generation facility here at Port Qasim within the next five years. [Business Recorder]

¶ European utilities shut more coal and natural gas power plants in 2014 than in any year since at least 2009 amid falling demand for electricity and tougher pollution curbs. European Union power companies turned off 63% more coal- and gas-fed generation than they started; net decommissioning was 5 GW. [Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide]

¶ In Belgium, GDF Suez subsidiary Electrabel announced that the operation to shut down the 433 MW Doel 1 nuclear reactor will begin on 14 February, with the unit scheduled to cease operating on the following day. The 121 fuel assemblies in its core will then be removed and transferred to storage pools. [World Nuclear News]

US:

¶ An analysis of concerns raised by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation about the impact on grid reliability of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan for reducing carbon emissions from the electric power sector finds that reliability is unlikely to be materially affected. [IT Business Net]

¶ State utility regulators on Thursday unanimously directed Xcel Energy to go ahead with three large solar projects that will mean a tenfold increase in the amount of electricity generated from the sun in Minnesota. The projects are expected to be completed in 2016 to qualify for solar power tax credit. [Duluth News Tribune]

¶ The first utility-scale solar farm will be built to power the Tennessee Valley Authority in Alabama. TVA directors Thursday approved a 20-year lease with Next Era Energy Resources to buy the power generated by an 80-MW solar farm planned on nearly 600 acres in Northern Alabama. [Chattanooga Times Free Press]

¶ Google is partnering with NextEra Energy to power its Googleplex headquarters in Mountain View at California. Beginning from 2016, Google will receive approximately 43 MW of wind energy from plants at Altamont Pass. As part of the deal, 370 old turbines will be replaced with 24 advanced ones. [Greentech Lead]

Science and Technology:

¶ The last time we checked into the “bionic leaf,” it involved making hydrogen fuel from sunlight and water. Now a team of Harvard researchers have come up with a new twist: a bionic leaf that throws bacteria into the mix. The result goes one step beyond hydrogen to produce a steady stream of… rubbing alcohol! [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ Electric vehicle registrations in Europe rose by more than 60.9% in 2014, as compared to 2013, according to recent figures. Overall, 65,199 electric cars and commercial vehicles were registered in Europe during 2014, representing a significant increase over the previous year, which saw 42,194 EVs sold. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The quarterly solar PV module revenue made by the 20 leading global suppliers reached $5.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2014, an increase of 12% over the year prior, according to the latest report from IHS. The report showed a combination of sharp decline in solar PV module prices and higher revenues. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Reliance Power today inked a pact with government of the Indian state of Rajasthan government to develop a 6,000 MW solar park in the state over the next 10 years. A memorandum of understanding in this regard was signed by the state’s Chief Minister and Reliance Power’s CEO here today. [The Hans India]

¶ Japan’s atomic regulator on Thursday cleared two more of reactors for restart, another step towards returning the country to nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster of 2011 led to the shutdown of all units. The two reactors are at the Takahama nuclear station operated by Kansai Electric Power. [The Straits Times]

¶ Plans for Britain’s first new nuclear plant in a generation at Hinkley Point face fresh delays after French developer EDF warned a decision on building the reactors may still be a “considerable” time off. The decision from EDF was to be by the end of March 2015 but now looks unlikely to meet that deadline. [Telegraph.co.uk]

US:

¶ An Arizona energy company has inaugurated a solar array at Fort Huachuca that will provide about one-quarter of the Army base’s energy needs. The array produces 17.2 MW of power, making it one of the largest arrays on a US military facility, and will offset about 58,000 tons of carbon emissions annually. [UPI.com]

¶ Two West Virginia power companies are attempting to eliminate competition from rooftop solar by misleading legislators about the language in House Bill 2201. Most recently, an industry lobbyist repeatedly misled the Senate Judiciary Committee about what the new bill language would do. [Your Renewable News]

¶ New York is looking at new energy laws, and might consider emulating Vermont’s Cow Power program. The manure from half the cows in New York could power about 45,000 homes. Capturing and utilizing this methane is equivalent to eliminating the carbon dioxide emissions from about 120,000 cars. [Albany Times Union]

¶ Apple Inc will buy about $850 million of power from a new California solar farm to cut its energy bill. The First Solar Inc plant, with the capacity to power the equivalent of 60,000 homes, will be used to supply electricity for Apple’s new campus in Silicon Valley and all offices and stores in the state. [Christian Science Monitor]

¶ Gulf Power filed a petition asking the Florida Public Service Commission to approve an agreement that would make the utility a leading purchaser of wind generation among Florida utilities. The project, called Kingfisher Wind, would be sited in Oklahoma, where conditions are favorable for wind energy. [NorthEscambia.com]

¶ A measure that would see decreased taxes for businesses utilizing renewable energy was passed by the Virginia House of Delegates this week with broad bipartisan support. The bill allows lower tax rates for machinery and tools businesses use for renewable energy, including solar, wind, and other forms. [Augusta Free Press]

¶ Innovative Solar Systems, LLC has received all approvals and is ready to break ground on a 75-MW Solar Farm in Fayetteville. North Carolina. It will generate enough electricity to power approximately 15,000 to 20,000 average size homes, according to John E. Green, the CEO of Innovative Solar. [RenewablesBiz]

¶ Governor Dannel Malloy wants to provide new incentives for solar power in the state. His office is crafting new legislation that would let homeowners trade in renewable energy credits for the first time. People or companies that install solar arrays on houses could receive 15-year contracts for their energy credits.
[WNPR News]

¶ Texas’ only radioactive waste dump wants to open its gates to tens of thousands of metric tons of spent nuclear reactor fuel now scattered across the country. Waste Control Specialists is seeking federal approval to temporarily store highly radioactive waste at its complex northwest of Midland. [KERA News]

World:

¶ In Australia, the Bulli Creek solar project received approval from the Toowoomba Regional Council for building up to 2,000 MW over the next eight years across 13,000 acres of cattle grazing land. It has the option of building out the site in manageable stages of 100 MW to 500 MW or more per stage. [Renew Economy]

¶ A report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives questions the economic cost and environmental benefits of SaskPower’s $1.5-billion Boundary Dam Carbon Capture and Storage project, claiming there are cheaper, more sustainable options to reduce the province’s greenhouse gas emissions. [Regina Leader-Post]

¶ New figures released by the Global Wind Energy Council show that the global wind industry grew by 44% in 2014, installing over 51 GW. The figure indicates a “solid sign of the recovery of the industry after a rough patch in the past few years.” The cumulative total worldwide was about 369,500 GW at year’s end. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Some communities in Abuja, the Nigerian the Federal Capital Territory, have marked one year of steady power supply, following the implementation of the Light up Rural Nigeria project, National Mirror reports. The project uses renewable power generation to supply electricity to the communities. [Nigerian Bulletin]

¶ Sandfire Resources has signed an agreement with juwi, a renewable energy company, which will see the construction of a 10.6-MW solar power station at its DeGrussa copper mine in Western Australia. The $40 million project will involve the construction of the largest integrated off-grid solar array in Australia. [Australian Mining]

¶ In Pakistan, there are over 1.1 million agriculture tube wells, with only 30% of them operated by electricity. With the country’s growing energy crisis, farmers are left with no option but to switch from diesel to solar energy to irrigate their crops. Tube wells consume around 2,000 million liters of oil per year. [eco-business.com]

¶ Some 77% of people in the UK think the nation should generate more electricity from renewable sources, a study reveals. Solar energy had 78% backing rooftop solar for new houses. Some 51% of consumers identified nuclear power as the least desirable plant to have nearby, followed by coal-fired (21%). [reNews]

¶ At a joint press conference following a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, in Egypt’s capital of Cairo, the Egyptian head of state said a nuclear power plant would be constructed in Dabaa in northwest Egypt on the Mediterranean coast. [Press TV]

US:

¶ Elon Musk believes solar and utilities can exist together, despite uneasy feelings of many within the utility sector. Speaking at the Detroit Auto Show, Musk said that expanding electric vehicle markets, along with businesses and homes as solar power generators, will change how we view electricity demand. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Vermont Gas Systems has abandoned its plan to bring natural gas under Lake Champlain to a New York paper mill after the plant withdrew its financial support. The pipeline, proposed to go from Middlebury under the lake to the International Paper facility in Ticonderoga, New York, proved too expensive. [vtdigger.org]

¶ Congressional attention on the Keystone XL pipeline detracts from a number of other significant developments in our quest for a better economy. Three significant moves by state officials in the last month show that clean energy’s importance to America is swelling, much to the benefit of the economy. [Triple Pundit]

¶ In what may be the largest commercial power agreement in the clean energy industry to date, First Solar just announced that it will supply Apple 130 MW of power for 25 years from its California Flats Solar Project. The deal reportedly is worth a total of $848 million. The project should be completed in 2016. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A consortium of US companies joined with California energy officials to launch of the Calgren Ethanol Biodigester in Pixley, California. The project utilizes waste from dairy farms to power the production of tens of millions of gallons of ethanol. The project is 100% American made and constructed. [Dairy Herd Management]

¶ California lawmakers on Tuesday unveiled a package of bills to significantly expand renewable energy use in California, cut gasoline use by 50% and require the state’s major government pension funds to sell off investments in coal companies. The bills support environmental goals of the state’s governor. [Santa Cruz Sentinel]

¶ Siemens has been awarded another order from Pattern Energy Group LP to supply and install 87 SWT-2.3-108 2.3-MW wind turbines for the Logan’s Gap Wind project. The 200-MW project, located in Comanche County, Texas, will create enough clean energy to power 50,000 homes in Texas annually. [PennEnergy]

Opinion:

¶ “Why nuclear industry needs to be paid $500/MWh” – South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill raised a few eyebrows about his plans for a “royal commission” looking into nuclear energy. But he is right about one thing: Nuclear energy would be economically viable in South Australia, or indeed the nation. [RenewEconomy]

World:

¶ The European wind sector installed more new capacity than gas and coal combined in 2014. The industry connected a total of 11,791 MW to the grid while coal and gas added 3305 MW and 2338 MW respectively. The coal and gas industries retired more capacity than they commissioned last year. [reNews]

¶ In the build-up to the Indian government-sponsored renewable energy investment summit, RE-Invest 2015, the participating companies have provided non-binding investment indication of 166 GW solar power generation capacity and 5 GW per year of solar manufacturing capacity. [Business Standard]

¶ Eskom, which provides about 95% of South Africa’s electricity, says there is a high probability of almost daily controlled power cuts for the next few months. Frustrated with epileptic power supply, South Africans are considering alternative power sources to reduce their dependence on the ailing grid. [Voice of America]

¶ Two new wind farms in the Philippines have added 303 MW of clean energy to the country’s power supply. The wind farms, which are located in Ilocos Norte and Panay, buffer the country’s expected power shortage in the coming month of March. Around 70% of Philippines’ electricity is generated from fossil fuels. [EcoSeed]

¶ Germany is not expanding power transport networks quickly enough and may need to extend a back-up power scheme beyond its planned expiry in 2017, the country’s energy regulator said on Monday. The scheme became necessary after Germany shut 40% of its nuclear capacity in 2011 after the Fukushima Disaster. [Reuters]

¶ The Japanese government is discussing setting a target of supplying 50% of Japan’s energy with a combination of nuclear and renewable power by 2030, increasing the ratio of renewable energy resources to nuclear power. It intends to show a positive attitude toward minimizing reliance on nuclear power. [The Japan News]

¶ Germany boosted its wind and solar capacity by 10% in 2014, adding a combined 6,800 MW of newly installed wind turbines and solar panels, putting further downward pressure on power prices, which already dropped to their lowest level in over ten years. The solar and wind capacity is now 77,400 MW. [Platts]

¶ Firms in Norway and Germany on Tuesday signed an agreement to build an over 600-km long power cable linking the electricity networks of the two countries, with 500 km under water. The Nordlink project is estimated to cost up to €2 billion ($2.2 billion) and is expected to go online in 2020. [Europe Online Magazine]

US:

¶ Desert Sunlight Solar Farm, a 550-MW farm that is the largest on public lands managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management, has begun operating and will provide enough energy to power more than 160,000 average California homes annually, according to the CEO of the farm’s developer. [Los Angeles Times]

¶ Solar power is really growing in Hawaii, according to the Energy Information Administration. Over the last five years, solar power has grown exponentially, particularly in Oahu where most of the state’s population lives: About 12% of Oahu residents have rooftop solar, compared to the US average of 0.5%. [Triple Pundit]

¶ The Federal Trade Commission will not investigate Green Mountain Power’s marketing of renewable energy, but cautioned the power company to be clear in its communications. A complaint had been lodged that GMP was claiming its power was renewable while selling renewable credits out of state. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

¶ A new UC Berkeley study shows that if biomass electricity production is combined with carbon capture and sequestration in the western US, power generators could store more carbon than they emit and make a critical contribution to an overall zero-carbon future by the second half of the 21st century. [AZoCleantech]

¶ In their fight against Wisconsin utilities, solar advocates haven’t had the state Public Service Commission on their side. But for the second time in less than a year, a judge has sided with Renew Wisconsin in a suit challenging changes in the way solar power customers are compensated. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

World:

¶ According to Frost & Sullivan, with no impending change in Saudi Arabia’s energy policy, the oil price could temporarily hit low $40 levels, or even lower for a brief period in 2015. However, they also say they expect tumbling oil prices will have little impact on renewable energy including solar power. [solarserver.com]

¶ Gamesa has signed two new wind turbine supply agreements in India totalling 260 MW. One contract is for160 MW, 80 G97 2-MW machines for developer and independent power producer Greenko. The other, with developer CLP India, is for construction of a 100-MW wind farm in Madhya Pradesh. [reNews]

¶ After decades of studies and field surveys, India has finally decided to focus on tapping clean and renewable geothermal energy. The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has drafted a national policy, which would make India a global leader in the sector, generating 1,000 MW in phase one, by 2022. [Daily News & Analysis]

¶ The Spanish Ministry of Industry intends to add 8,537 MW of renewable energy capacity between 2015 and 2020, local news agency Europa Press said Thursday. The government’s plan calls for the construction of 1,370 MW of solar PVs, 211 MW of solar thermal power plants, and 6,473 MW of wind farms. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Since 1903, Fortum Oyj’s Vaerta harbor site has generated power using coal, oil, natural gas and even considered nuclear. Now it’s phasing out the last coal furnace and replacing it with the world’s largest combined heat and power generator that will burn just wood chips and timber scraps by next year.[Bloomberg]

¶ The prospect of a nuclear industry in South Australia has been embraced by the state’s peak business group as a multi-million-dollar industry. Business SA chief executive Nigel McBride said it would be good for the state and could result in reduced carbon emissions. SA has one of the world’s biggest uranium deposits. [ABC Online]

¶ A planned Ararat wind farm will go ahead after the Australian Capital Territory government announced it would power Canberra from the Wimmera. The 20-year feed-in tariff will mean a significant portion of the wind farm’s total output will be contracted to the ACT, which will get 33% of its power from wind. [Stock & Land]

¶ India has resolved US concerns about its existing nuclear liability regime, setting the stage for commercial negotiations to generate atomic power. However, the foreign ministry categorically stated that India’s nuclear liability law and its associated rules would not be changed, maintaining liability for reactor builders. [Economic Times]

US:

¶ A report by international energy research company Wood Mackenzie says solar PV has the capacity to disrupt the US energy landscape with speed and tumult similar to the shale industry. It may even directly impact natural gas markets in the near future, as it has already begun to in California. [pv magazine]

¶ Swinerton Renewable Energy and Scatec Solar have started construction on a 104 MW photovoltaic solar plant in Iron County, Utah. When operational by the end of 2015, the plant will be Utah’s largest solar energy generation facility, generating enough energy to power approximately 18,500 homes annually. [AZoBuild]

¶ North Carolina’s Roanoke Electric Cooperative recently dedicated a 100-kW community solar farm developed with the help of its Raleigh-based North Carolina Electric Membership Corp. Individual panels are now being sold to Roanoke EC consumer-members at an initial sale price of $480 each. [Electric Co-op Today]

Power Investments:

¶ “Will This Ruin $124 Billion in Natural Gas Investments? (Hint: It’s Not OPEC)” – A new process for manufacturing ethylene developed by Brazilian chemical leader Braskem could be the biggest global threat to the natural gas industry. It’s secret ingredient? That would be bio-ethanol derived from sugar cane. [Motley Fool]

¶ “Nuclear Energy Renaissance Takes Another Blow and May Never Recover” – Setbacks like the Vogtle Nuclear Plant faced this week have become all too predictable in the nuclear industry, and they’re the reason a nuclear renaissance is unlikely in the US. Costs are simply too high, and competition too strong. [Motley Fool]

World:

¶ The premier of South Australia revived the nuclear debate when he announced a Royal Commission to investigate the costs and benefits of involvement in the nuclear industry. The commission would consider nuclear power stations, uranium enrichment plants, and a nuclear waste dump in the state. [The New Daily]

¶ There has been a surge in renewable energy uptake in the UK since the introduction of Feed-in Tariffs almost five years ago. Industry estimates suggest there is still as much as 20 GW of untapped generating potential on UK farms. But changing government support requires careful planning. [FarmersWeekly]

¶ Punjab is expected to achieve 2,500 MW renewable power generation with France pledging to become a partner in solar and biomass power sector in the State providing technologies along with investment by major French renewable energy companies. Special emphasis will be on Solar and Biomass projects. [NYOOOZ]

¶ Two Egyptian banks are moving into green lending with an initiative to finance rooftop solar power systems for residential consumers. National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr are offering loans within specific areas of Cairo, with plans to expand into Egypt’s other governorates. Interest range from 4% to 8%. [Green Prophet]

US:

¶ The Columbia, Missouri Water and Light Department generated 7.22% of its energy for utility customers using renewable sources, exceeding the 5% goal for 2014 and nearly halfway to the 15% objective by 2018. At the end of 2014, the city had spent $1.12 million of the $3.29 million allotted. [Columbus Telegram]

¶ New York state is encouraging community-based microgrids through NY Prize, a $40 million first-of-its-kind competition announced by Governor Andrew Cuomo. The competition was discussed before an audience of a hundred at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at SUNY Poly last week. [Troy Record]

¶ Wyoming and Montana are among the country’s top coal producers, and both rely on coal for most of their electricity generation, but they have opposite approaches to the Clean Power Plan. Wyoming intends to fight the plan. Montana will comply with it. There are implications for the states’ economies. [Flathead Beacon]

¶ Solar power in Arkansas received a boost this week with the announcement of an agreement between a new Arkansas Electric Cooperatives subsidiary and an innovative Minneapolis solar panel company called tenKsolar to create the largest solar initiative for the electric company, which has 100,000 customers. [Times Record]

Opinion:

¶ “Nuclear Power Counts As A Renewable? Arizona Senate Committee Says So…” – Committee approval of a bill saying nuclear was renewable is especially funny considering the fact that Arizona is fast approaching some serious water-sourcing issues, and nuclear power plants require huge quantities of water. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ An engineer has devised a system to convert the power of the wind directly into heat in an invention which could rid Scottish roads of frost in the winter and allow certain crops to be grown for 365 days a year. He believes one of the systems could heat up to 250 acres of farmland and also generate electricity. [Herald Scotland]

World:

¶ India could start installing 20,000 MW of solar power capacity as early as April after companies pledged to support the government’s drive for clean energy, an official told Reuters. Details of the plan, which has commitments from US, German and Chinese companies, will be announced on Friday. [Economic Times]

¶ A rebound in demand for Victorian brown coal since the end of the carbon tax continues to drive up the carbon emissions intensity of the National Electricity Market, which supplies power to about 80% of Australia’s population across the eastern states. It is up 3.3% since the carbon price was scrapped in July. [SteelGuru]

¶ A new study released by the International Renewable Energy Agency says renewable power generation technologies reached a historical level of competitiveness between 2013 and 2014. Power from geothermal, hydro and onshore wind are in the same competitive price range as traditional fossil fuels. [The Weather Channel]

¶ Siemens has handed over the first of five North Sea grid connections, the BorWin2 offshore platform, to its customer TenneT, a German-Dutch transmission grid operator, for immediate commercial operation. It is important as the first offshore grid connection for efficient high-voltage DC power. [Breaking Energy]

¶ A leaky roof at the Kingspan Environmental factory was costing the company up to £15,000 annually. Now the company has transformed that roof into a major power plant, installing 4,900 solar panels to create Ireland’s biggest rooftop solar PV installation. The company is now saving £40,000 a year. [Belfast Telegraph]

¶ Northern Ireland has one of the best wind resources in Europe. Nevertheless, until now they haven’t been able to make full use of them. That’s all about to change with AES’ plans to install Europe’s biggest electricity storage battery, a 10-MW lithium-ion battery array, at a site next to Kilroot power station. [Belfast Telegraph]

US:

¶ Aerojet Rocketdyne and Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation have signed agreements with Silicon Ranch Corporation to build and manage what will be the largest solar field in Arkansas. The 12-MW project will occupy approximately 100 acres. It is valued for its predictable energy costs. [MyArkLaMiss]

¶ The National Hockey League today announced that it is ranked Number 17 on the US EPA’s National Top 100 list of the largest users of green power, making it the first professional sports league ever to achieve the distinction. The league has a number of significant green power achievements that it can point to. [NHL.com]

¶ A Massachusetts lawmaker is proposing sweeping changes to the state’s energy strategy, including measures to help fund a gas pipeline, more efficiently site electric transmission and expand the use of offshore wind generation. The state is expecting to retire 8,000 MW of existing generation in coming years. [Utility Dive]

¶ Over a hundred representatives of energy efficiency and renewable energy businesses went to Richmond, Virginia for Clean Energy Lobby Day. They met legislators, witnessed a critical subcommittee meeting, and came away with a powerful impression: the only bills utility-backed bills made it out of committee. [Energy Collective]

¶ The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is taking a closer look at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station after the plant shut down unexpectedly during last week’s blizzard, the NRC announced Monday. The special inspection at the plant is to review problems that led to the shutdown on January 27. [Barnstable Patriot]

Opinion:

¶ “Putting renewable energy costs in perspective” Anti-renewable people consistently cite ‘increased’ rates due to renewable energy, without comparing what the rates would have been if there were no renewables. They speak as if oil, coal and natural gas prices never go up, despite their history. [New Hampshire Business Review]

World:

¶ The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has awarded power purchase agreements (PPAs) to almost 200 MW of projects following a large-scale reverse wind energy auction. The PPAs will be signed for a term of 20 years and are planned to meet some 33% of the ACT power demand in 2020. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Siemens Canada is a leading company in the Canadian wind market, contributing to more than half of the 1.9 GW of new capacity installed in 2014. That momentum is reinforced today with the completion of the 1,000th blade at Siemens’ wind turbine blade manufacturing facility in Tillsonburg, Ontario. [Your Renewable News]

¶ An investment management firm, InfraRed, has announced its agreement to invest in the £1 billion Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon in Wales. The project is designed to generate around 500 GWh of electricity every year for 120 years, enough to provide nearly all of the domestic electricity for the Swansea region. [ITV News]

¶ On Wednesday new figures showing the “incredible strength” of Scotland’s renewable energy industry were announced by World Wildlife Fund Scotland. In January 2015, wind turbines alone produced enough average daily electricity to meet the needs of 146% of Scottish households, a 27% increase from 2014. [Blouin News Blogs]

US:

¶ The city council of Hillsboro, Oregon unanimously endorsed a plan to have the city recognized as a member of “Northwest Solar Communities” by the US DOE. The designation will help to promote increased use of solar power, resulting in reduced costs for installation of solar rooftop panels on community homes. [Hillsboro Tribune]

¶ The demand for renewable power resources such as wind and solar is not only holding steady, but growing. CCTV America’s Jessica Stone reported the story from Albany. People want solar panels in the American snow belt. Hudson Solar is paneling more than a dozen houses a month in the state of New York. [CCTV-America]

¶ In a breakthrough proposal, Dominion Virginia Power is planning to build solar power plants generating 400 MW of electricity in the state, with the energy coming online by 2020. The Richmond-based utility expects to invest $700 million in the large-scale solar photovoltaic projects in a number of locations. [Richmond.com]

¶ Representatives from 20 different groups are getting together to block the proposed Bakken oil pipeline’s path across Iowa. The pipeline would carry oil across 18 Iowa counties on its way to the Gulf coast. A legal battle can be launched now that a permit application was filed with the Iowa Utilities Board. [KIWARadio.com]

¶ The probability of saving money by using solar energy rather than standard grid electricity is 92% for Indiana farm businesses and about 50% for homes, Purdue University energy economists find. Unlike homes, businesses can deduct their investment in solar systems from their revenues. [Purdue Agricultural Communications]

¶ Washington state Senate Republicans want to revise the state’s renewable energy standard to encourage utilities to pay for carbon reductions in the transportation sector. Other proposed amendments for SB 7535 include tax incentives for alternative fuel vehicles and small modular nuclear reactors. [Argus Media]

¶ The governor of West Virginia has approved a law repealing the state’s controversial 2009 Alternative and Renewable Energy Portfolio Act, which required the state to generate 25% of its electricity from renewables or alternative energy sources (including some coal-based technologies) by 2025. [World Coal]

World:

¶ North Eastern Electric Power Corporation has commissioned a 5-MW solar power plant at Monarchak in Tripura, which will be the biggest and the first of its kind in northeast India. NEEPCO will set up a 50-MW solar power plant in Madhya Pradesh and a 2-MW plant in Lanka in Nagaon district of Assam. [The Week]

¶ Developer and operator WPD has exported first power from its 288 MW Butendiek offshore wind farm some 32 km west of the island of Sylt in the German North Sea. The first of 80 Siemens SWT 3.6-120 wind turbines to be installed has commenced trial operations and is feeding electricity into the grid. [reNews]

¶ Welspun Renewables Energy Limited has signed an agreement to build a 100-MW solar photovoltaic power project in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. This follows other agreements by other companies to set up solar projects in Gujarat, Rajasthan and, Karnataka to totalling over 13 GW. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Tohoku Electric Power Company found more than 4,000 improper entries in its inspection records for one of the reactors at its Onagawa nuclear power plant. Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority had said company inspections were lax, and the firm was re-examining its records. [Citizens for Legitimate Government]

US:

¶ The electric power industry is turning away from coal, and clean energy is growing again in the US as investments in renewables increased in 2014 after a three-year decline. The 2015 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook report says US as second in the world behind China for clean energy investments. [Climate Central]

¶ In the current legislative session, Republicans who control the Washington state senate jumped into the discussion of how to reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases. Senators from both parties outlined a plan for promoting such “carbon reduction investments” as electric-vehicle chargers and efficiency. [Bellingham Herald]

¶ The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday to give tentative approval to a pair of proposed solar projects in Boulevard that are expected to generate enough energy to power around 46,000 homes. They are the 420-acre Tierra Del Sol Solar project and the 765-acre Rugged Solar project. [KUSI]

¶ Labor, business, and environmental leaders have formed a unique coalition that will urge Illinois lawmakers to pass new standards for energy efficiency and renewable energy, leading to tens of thousands of new, local jobs. More than 100,000 individuals across the state already work in the clean energy industry. [Forbes]

¶ Energy use in federal post offices, court houses and military bases has dropped to its lowest level on record. The sharp decline is largely thanks to a Bush-era push to slash electricity and fuel consumption in thousands of facilities and vehicles. The total was the lowest since record keeping began in 1975. [Investing.com]

¶ The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory has joined the Electric Power Research Institute to launch the Clean Energy Incubator Network to improve the performance of clean energy business incubators, connect potential partners, and advance new clean energy technologies from researchers. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶ Southern Co expects the firms building its new nuclear plant in Georgia will pay $240 million in damages if the construction schedule slips another year-and-a-half, power company CEO Thomas Fanning said Wednesday. The payments would offset a portion of the extra costs associated with late completion. [Access North Georgia]

Science and Technology:

¶ Siemens introduced Spectrum Power 7 Microgrid Management System, the company’s first advanced microgrid management software. It allows microgrid operators to manage and control distributed energy resources dynamically with integrated weather and load forecasting, based on the microgrid’s goals. [PennEnergy]

World:

¶ European day-ahead electricity prices went sharply lower in January as wind power generation posted new records in Germany and the UK. The Platts Continental Power Index fell 7.44% in January to €35.81/MWh compared to December’s €38.69/MWh. The Index was down 11.12% from January 2014. [Your Renewable News]

¶ SunEdison, Inc and Brakes India Limited announced that they have installed a solar power plant to generate 7.72 MW at Brake India’s facilities in Munanjipatti in the state of Tamil Nadu. A Solar Purchase Requirement states that high tension wire customers must source 6% of their energy use from solar. [Your Renewable News]

¶ Renewable energy accounted for 14.8% of Estonia’s total electricity consumption in 2014, 2.2% more than in the year 2013, LETA/Public Broadcasting reports. Estonia has taken a commitment to bring the share of renewable energy in the total consumption to 17.6% by the year 2020. [The Baltic Course]

¶ The installation of a solar power station which could provide enough electricity to serve 4,500 homes is getting underway near the UK town of Tring. The proposals involve the construction of a solar park capable of generating up to 15 MW of electricity. The park will be on farmland, which can remain productive. [Hemel Gazette]

¶ Africa’s first grid-connected biogas plant will begin supplying power by March 1. The $6.5 million anaerobic digester in Kenya will consume an annual 50,000 tons of organic waste. The power that the 2.8-MW will put on the grid will cost $0.10/kWh compared with $0.38/kWh for diesel-generated power. [Bloomberg]

¶ Indian wind power capacity additions are expected to go up 10% to 2300 MW during the current financial year 2014-15. As on December 31, 2014, the total installed wind power capacity was 22,465 MW, constituting 9% of the overall installed capacity in the country and 66% of the renewable energy segment.
[Times of India]

US:

¶ According to a recent US Forest Service study, current policies in the European Union and elsewhere requiring the use of renewable and low greenhouse gas emitting energy are driving demand for wood pellets used for bioenergy. Such a demand could provide new markets for US timber exports. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A major Midwest utility holding company is teaming up with a Massachusetts equipment maker to create a statewide series of microgrids, including one in the Albany, New York Region. Microgrids using locally supplied power, including from renewable sources, can operate even during overall grid disruptions. [Albany Times Union]

¶ LaCrosse, Wisconsin-based Gundersen Health System has gone off the grid. As of October 14, 2014, the nonprofit healthcare network became the first hospital to offset all of its fossil fuel use with locally produced, green energy. After an energy audit, Gundersen turned to efficiency and renewable power. [Healthcare Finance News]

¶ For those focused on our transition to renewable energy, the general takeaway from the monthly US electricity generation report is that renewables had increased to 14.8% of US electricity generation in November 2014, and 13.5% for the year through November. This is despite a decline in hydropower due to weather. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Frustrated by its lack of influence in the siting of solar projects in town, the Rutland Town Select Board is distributing a resolution asking all Vermont municipalities to call for more municipal involvement in the Certificate of Public Good process required in permitting renewable energy projects in the state. [Vermont Public Radio]

¶ Arizona is one step closer to officially declaring nuclear power a renewable-energy source. (Yes, you read that correctly.) The Senate Committee on Water and Energy narrowly passed SB 1134, a bill that classifies nuclear power from recycled fuel or naturally occurring thorium to be a renewable-energy source. [Phoenix New Times]

Opinion:

¶ “Battery storage – the growing spectre of grid parity” In a study published this month, IRENA provides a global scope. One of the most interesting presentations in the study is a table showing what battery storage costs in Germany. It shows the point of grid parity for solar+storage as coming this year. [RenewEconomy]

¶ “Low Carbon Fuels: How Clean Fuels Can Power the West Coast and Beyond” As California prepares to readopt their 2010 Low Carbon Fuel Standard, we are seeing clear evidence that diverse types of clean fuel can make a significant contribution to cutting fossil fuel use. [The Equation: Blog of the Union of Concerned Scientists]

¶ Grid operators in New England have multiple options to offset the loss of generation from closing the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, and they will most likely use several of them in combination. One way is to expand transmission capacity into New England. Another is to reduce demand. There are others. [PennEnergy]

Science and Technology:

¶ While fossil energy use produces much more greenhouse gas emissions than other causes, land use alteration is another major source (roughly a quarter of all global emissions). GHG emissions arise from deforestation, peatlands, methane from cattle, nitrogen from overfertilization, and other human activities. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Chinese renewable energy giant Hanergy Holding Group says it will unveil three to five solar-powered cars using its thin-film PV technology in October. The cars will have six square meters of PV modules on their frames. In theory, four hours’ sunshine could power a one-ton car to run 80 to 100 kilometers. [ecns]

World:

¶ Hong Kong-based GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Limited has plans to build 2 GW of solar power plants in China in 2015. If all goes well, the company could achieve 3 GW by 2017. Many of these projects are utility-scale, with some distributed generation. The company connected 52 MW to the grid in January. [CleanTechnica]

¶ More wind and solar plants raised Poland’s renewable energy installed capacity to 6,029 megawatts (MW) in 2014 from 5,511 MW a year earlier. Wind farm capacity rose 13% to 3,834 MW, while solar power capacity grew to 21 MW from 1.9 MW. Poland’s economy generates around 90% of its electricity from coal. [EurActiv]

¶ The Philippine government is keeping up its push for renewable energy projects to diversify energy sourcing and boost power supply in the country. At the of end of 2014, 638 renewable energy projects had been awarded with a total potential capacity of 10,041 MW, of which 2,584 MW were up and running. [eco-business.com]

US:

¶ Newly announced support from San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has the city kicking its potentially 100% renewable-energy power program, CleanPowerSF, into high gear. CleanPowerSF is a proposed city-run power program that would provide solar, wind, small hydro and other renewable energy to San Francisco. [San Francisco Examiner]

¶ A recent report by Environmental Entrepreneurs, a national environmental policy group, notes that in the third quarter of 2014, North Carolina ranked fifth in the nation for new clean energy job creation. That’s due in large part over 200 companies focused on smart grid, water, and transportation technologies. [CleanTechnica]

¶ President Barack Obama’s proposed fiscal 2016 budget would make federal renewable energy tax credits permanent and provide billions of dollars for climate change initiatives, while eliminating almost $50 billion in fiscal incentives for the fossil fuel industries. He faces stiff opposition from Republicans. [Recharge]

¶ A bill in the Oregon Legislature this session would require electric companies to stop delivering coal-fired power to Oregon customers by 2025. Only coal-fired power from out of state would be effected, as Oregon’s only coal-fired power plant in Boardman is scheduled to be retired in 2020. [Jefferson Public Radio]

¶ The year 2014 may just shape up to be the best renewables have ever had in the United States. Data in the US Energy Information Administration’s Monthly Energy Review points to 2014 continuing an upwards trend in renewable energy production. At this time, data has only been released up to October 2014. [Energy Digital]

¶ Rocky Mountain Institute announced the launch of the Business Renewables Center, a collaborative platform to accelerate corporate renewable energy procurement. The BRC’s goal is to add another 60 GW of wind and solar by 2025 by decreasing costs and the complexities of installation for businesses. [AltEnergyMag]

¶ Apple will build a $2 billion global command center in Mesa, Arizona, with 150 full-time employees. The tech giant said it would be one of the largest investments it has ever made. Apple has pledged to completely power the facility with renewable energy, building out solar projects in the process. [Yahoo!7 News]

Opinion:

¶ “The fossil fuel industry’s continued chokehold on state resources” – According to International Energy Agency (IEA) figures, in 2012 global fossil fuel subsidies amounted to $544 billion. On the other hand, the financial support provided to the renewable energy sector was under 20% of that, at $101 billion. [eco-business.com]

¶ “Renewable Energy Jobs Soar, But What Does It Mean for Investors?” – Here’s my nominee for stat of the day: The American economy added over 8 million jobs from January 2011 to June 2014. Yet despite the shale gas boom, the nation’s electric power generation sector lost 5,800 jobs in the same period. [Motley Fool]

World:

¶ With six consented projects totalling up to 4.15 GW, the scale of ambition for Scottish waters is undeniable. Even so, the UK Government has been urged to provide policy certainty on offshore wind energy following news that the UK will be overtaken by Germany on the installation of new turbines. [Click Green]

¶ Renewable energy is still very much on the back-burner for the South African government, but a recent Council for Scientific and Industrial Research study says wind and solar energy saved around R3.7 billion ($327 million) that otherwise would have been used to generate of electricity with diesel and coal. [htxt.africa]

¶ The two largest German power producers, RWE AG and EON SE, are keen to sell their gas-fired plants, rendered uncompetitive by the rise of renewable energy on the one hand and record low coal prices on the other. They will take them apart, move them by truck and ship and reassemble them elsewhere. [BizNews]

¶ Good Energy, which specializes in providing 100% renewable power, confirmed today that as of April 15th it will cut its gas prices by an average of 3.2% and lower its electricity prices by an average of 2.1%. The company said the savings for an average dual fuel user would be £33 off their annual bill. [Business Green]

¶ SMart Wind has handed in its planning application to the UK authorities for the second phase of the 4-GW Hornsea offshore wind project. Plans for the 1.8-GW phase are built around a layout of 360 Siemens turbines installed 90 kilometers off the Yorkshire coast. The 1.2-GW first phase was approved in December. [Recharge]

¶ In order to curb pollution in the National Capital, Prime Minister Narendra Modi- led NDA government has approved plans to make Delhi free of petrol and diesel generators, according to the Power, Coal and Renewable Energy Minister. He also said a programme to transmit 7400 MW to Delhi has been approved. [indiatvnews.com]

¶ Instead of investing in expensive nuclear power plants, the Pakistani government should be working to develop sources of renewable energy, advised a panel of experts at a consultation held on Sunday in preparation for a public hearing over the environmental impact of proposed nuclear plants. [The News International]

US:

¶ Solar City has a way to make solar installation easier for ordinary people to afford. They will provide and install all the equipment required with no up-front cost to get a household or business up and running. The consumer pays Solar City for the power that they generate, and Solar City maintains the system. [Irish Times]

¶ California State regulators have approved a Pacific Gas and Electric Company plan to offer a clean energy program that will provide up to 100% solar power for a modest monthly premium, for customers who want power with a low carbon footprint. The utility expects to start enrolling customers in late 2015. [SmartMeters]

¶ Independent solar PV developer 8minutenergy Renewables, LLC of Folsom, California, and renewable energy provider sPower, of Salt Lake City, Utah, announced that construction on three solar PV facilities in the 72.9 MW-dc Redwood Solar Farm cluster located in Kern County, California will begin in Q1, 2015. [solarserver.com]

Discussion:

¶ “Running on renewable energy, Burlington, Vermont powers green movement forward” Burlington, the state’s largest city, recently became the first of its size to use 100% renewable energy for its residents’ electricity needs. In a state known for socially conscious policies, the feat represents a milestone. [PBS NewsHour]

World:

¶ Israeli startup EnStorage is making news. The concept of a flow battery – which uses separate electrolyte components – is hardly new. Neither is the idea of using the common chemical hydrogen bromide for energy storage. EnStorage is putting the two concepts together in a low-cost commercial-sized unit. [TheTower.org]

¶ A new expert body has been formed to advise governments and organisations around the world on how best to ditch fossil-fuel and nuclear-energy systems and make the switch to 100% renewables. The group will focus on adopting a combination of energy efficiency and decentralized renewable energy systems. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The report, “RE100: the journey to 100%,” lists some achievements of RE100: H&M’s operations in the UK and Netherlands are already at 100%. Philips is getting half its power from renewable electricity. Mars is building a 200-MW wind farm in Texas that is expected to supply 100% of its US energy. [The Nation]

US:

¶ The state of Florida has been something of a solar power laggard, despite abundant sunshine. Politics has been the main barrier. Now, however, Florida Power & Light has announced plans to add at least 220 MW of new solar power capacity by the end of 2016, and plans to retire some of their fossil-fuel plants. [Solar Love]

¶ Plans to build Arkansas’ first wind farm have sparked interest and excitement in town and across the state. Dragonfly Industries International, a Texas wind company, hopes to install dozens of turbines, with a total capacity of 80 MW, costing $100 million, on more than 300 acres of rural land near Elm Springs. [Arkansas Online]

¶ Solar power has become the poster child of renewable-energy champions, leaving power sources such as biomass, hydro and wind in the shade. Small hydro isn’t dead, however, and small hydro projects can supply both energy and income through net metering, where the circumstances are right. [The Durango Herald]

¶ On Friday, 62 Senators approved Keystone XL. Fourteen of the 62 had voted for an amendment acknowledging that humans contribute significantly to climate change (the vote was 50-49). And nearly all of them had voted to acknowledge that climate change is no hoax and is happening now (98 to 1). [Scientific American]

¶ In 2009, after California passed a landmark law to source one third of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020, Southern California Edison formed a new lab. Engineers there are hatching plans to ensure its survival – and maybe even the survival of the other big utilities, which are watching closely. [ABS CBN News]

¶ In its first year of operation, the Colleton Solar Farm near Walterboro, South Carolina produced slightly more solar power than expected and demonstrated the benefits of tracking panels, even though they cost more. The 15-acre site generated 4,687 MWh, which was 5% more than expected in year one. [The Tand D.com]