Science and Technology:
¶ Engineers in the Netherlands say energy-generating road surface is more successful than expected, six months into trial. Last year they built a 70-metre test track along a bike path on the outskirts of Amsterdam. Based on test results, they expect more than the 70 kWh per square metre per year. [MWC News]
World:
¶ Apple announced expansion of its renewable energy and environmental protection initiatives in China, including a new multi-year project with World Wildlife Fund to increase responsibly managed forests significantly. The new forestland program aims to protect as much as 1 million acres. [The FINANCIAL]
Forest in Lesser Khingan Mountains near Yichun, Heilongjiang, China. Photo by Lzy881114. Wikimedia Commons.
¶ An aging, unresponsive and “sclerotic” electricity grid is stunting the growth of renewable energy in the UK, says the Solar Trade Association, which has called on the new Conservative government to upgrade the country’s power infrastructure to make it more accommodating of clean energy sources. [pv magazine]
¶ The International Energy Agency’s chief economist says nuclear energy is a must for Turkey, especially because its energy demand grows more than any other European country. Currently, Turkey relies heavily on expensive natural gas exports from Russia and Iran for its domestic electricity production. [MENAFN.COM]
¶ Minas Gerais, the south-eastern state of Brazil, will start auctions of solar photovoltaic power plants this year and will support the initiative with an initial $324 million. The state government said the auction of large-scale solar energy projects will be in August, with completion dates in 2017. [Climate Action Programme]
¶ The Swiss battery manufacturer Leclanché has received an order from Younicos AG to build a turnkey battery power plant on the Azores island Graciosa. The storage system is part of a micro-grid solution, which will increase the proportion of renewable energies used on the island from 15% to 65%. [Sun & Wind Energy]
Island of Graciosa. Photo by José Luís Ávila Silveira/Pedro Noronha e Costa. There are barely visible wind turbines in the picture. Wikimedia Commons.
US:
¶ Building off of a strong January and February, new electricity generation capacity added in the USA in March brought the 1st quarter split to 84% for all renewables, 81% for solar + wind. Utility-scale solar power now accounts for 1% of total US electricity generation capacity, small-scale solar an estimated 0.7%. [CleanTechnica]
¶ National Grid, General Electric, Clarkson University, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are partnering to make sure severe weather events like the 1998 ice storm and Superstorm Sandy won’t have such drastic effects again, by building what could be the nation’s largest municipal microgrid. [GreenBiz]
¶ A day after a transformer fire at New York’s Indian Point nuclear plant sent up thick, black smoke over the plant, Governor Andrew Cuomo warned of a new threat to the area, oil spilling into the adjacent Hudson River. The slick is contained by booms in the water, and absorbent materials will be used to remove it. [CNN]
¶ A proposed ordinance that would strictly regulate, and in some cases ban, large-scale wood-burning power plants and other waste-to-energy plants in Greenfield, Massachusetts will be the subject of a joint public hearing on Tuesday. The hearing will be on Tuesday at 6 pm at 20 Sanderson St. [The Recorder]
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