Opinion:
¶ “Why not talk more about a nuclear-free future for Japan?” Former Lower House member Satoshi Shima, 56, said emphatically in an interview, “In my view, Japan does have energy politics but has no energy policy.” In Shima’s opinion, “politics” is about making arrangements as to who will gain profits. [Asahi Shimbun]
Science and Technology:
Geothermal Engineering wants to recycle fracking wells.
¶ The Cornwall-based company Geothermal Engineering is pushing forward with an idea to ‘recycle’ used and exhausted fracking wells from the oil and gas industries as geothermal power sources. It is designing a system that could potentially deliver both shale gas and also ‘renewable’ geothermal heat. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ At the turn of the 21st century, Germany became a leader in the biogas industry, as aggressive policy framework and sudden business opportunities drove many biogas companies to open headquarters in the country. But now, with changing laws, the work is shifting to the US and Canada. [Biomass Magazine]
¶ Barbados will save millions of dollars and remove thousands of barrels of oil from its import bill under a renewable energy program focussed on solar and wind resources. That’s one of the major findings of the to Barbados Wind and Solar Integration Study commissioned by Barbados Light & Power Company. [Nation News]
¶ A new report from Deloitte, After analysing the energy markets in seven European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and UK) says that the EU needs to revisit its energy market design. Predictions on technology of a decade ago failed, and policies failed to solve some problems. [Times of Malta]
¶ Renewable energy is growing across Japan. In increasing numbers, new facilities have been starting operations, spurred by the review of the nation’s energy policies that followed the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. Hopes are high for the promotion of industry, but hurdles remain for further expansion. [The Japan News]
¶ The Ceylon Electricity Board intends to provide electricity to over 20,000 families throughout the country, by year’s end. They will receive their electricity connections through 150 primary rural electrification projects, which will be initiated throughout the country, together with new transmission lines. [Sunday Leader]
¶ The UK’s National Trust will begin campaigning aggressively for action to combat the impact of climate change, which it says threatens the quiet landscape and atmosphere it was set up to shield. The Trust’s director general says its charity status does not mean it cannot speak out on the issue. [Kentucky Post Pioneer]
The UK’s National Trust aims to protect the British countryside.
US:
¶ The Vermont Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee passed a resolution Friday declaring that human-caused climate change is real and calls on the state to take steps to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. The resolution has 14 sponsors and is intended to show lawmakers take climate change seriously. [vtdigger.org] (Thanks to Julia Michel of VPIRG for forwarding the article.)
¶ Recent refinements in heat pump technology, a drop in solar panel prices and the advent of electric cars mean that the average Maine home now can power its lights, heat, hot water and transportation with electricity from the sun. The trouble is, the state’s government and regulators are not ready for solar. [Press Herald]
¶ Maine became the regional wind power leader under Democratic Governor John Baldacci, but current Governor Paul LePage has pursued policies based on the idea that wind power is too expensive. He looks to hydropower from Canada and natural gas to bring down the state’s exceptionally high electricity prices. [Lewiston Sun Journal]
¶ California has a giant reservoir to its west that could supply it with water. It is called the Pacific Ocean. With new state policy, desalination plants and related technology are being introduced or revived in the state. The $1 billion Carlsbad desalination plant, south of Los Angeles, is scheduled to open in 2016. [USA TODAY]
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