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]
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