geoharvey

Science and Technology:

¶ This morning, June 29th, 2015, at 3:03 am local time in Nagoya, Japan (6:03 pm GMT on June 28th), Swiss pilot André Borschberg took off in the single-seater aircraft from Nagoya endeavoring to reach Hawaii, in what will be the longest exploration leg of the Solar Impulse’s “Round-The-World” mission. [CleanTechnica]

Photo Credit: Solar Impulse

World:

¶ South Korea vowed Tuesday to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 37% from the estimated business-as-usual level by 2030, raising the aim from previous proposals, but still facing opposition from the involved sectors with criticism that the target is insufficient. One issue is planned use of carbon credits. [The Korea Herald]

¶ A giant solar farm near the English village of Laceby that could power almost 6,500 homes won council approval. The successful application affects 36.66 hectares (90.6 acres) of land and will generate up to 27.14 MW of power. A solar farm of similar size is proposed for the nearby town of Grimsby. [Grimsby Telegraph]

¶ The UK Parliament’s Climate Change Committee published its first report under the new government on the UK’s progress towards meeting emissions reduction targets. It calls for long term investment in renewables, but also reiterates its support for carbon capture and storage and for nuclear energy. [edie.net]

¶ Power prices in Great Britain will remain low through 2020, driven by ongoing demand reduction and growth in interconnectors and renewables, according to analysts at Moody’s Investor Service. The company expects year-average wholesale electricity prices of £42-46/MWh if gas prices remain stable. [EconoTimes]

¶ Moody’s Investors Service expects that German power prices will remain in the range of €30-35 per MWh to 2020. This compares with around €31-32/MWh today, and reflects expectations of continuing trends on coal, the growth of renewable power generation, and efficiency reducing demand. [EconoTimes]

¶ With electricity prices going through the roof and awareness around environmental sustainability intensifying, more and more households are searching for alternative energy sources. The application of solar power is spreading like wild-fire all around the world, and this is especially true in Australia. [Bangalorean]

US:

¶ Philip Anschutz, a conservative billionaire and the son of an oil man, wants to turn his 500-square-mile cattle ranch into the world’s largest wind farm. The project would generate four times more electricity than the Hoover Dam. It would also make him the nation’s most unlikely environmental hero. [Pacific Standard]

¶ A new report from the Hawaiʻi Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa identifies various scenarios that would allow Oʻahu and Maui to surpass the 2020 goal of 30% renewable energy while lowering electricity costs. Utility scale solar and wind and rooftop solar were considered. [UH System Current News]

Solar energy, including photovoltaics, will contribute to Hawaiʻi’s goals for renewable. (photo credit: John Cole, HNEI)

¶ In Georgia, the Solar Power Free-Market Financing Act will go into effect on July 1, opening up solar panel options for Georgia residents and businesses. On the same day, Georgia Power is planning to announce that one of its unregulated subsidiaries is going to get into the solar panel installation business. [RenewablesBiz]

¶ Neste, the world largest producer of renewable diesel, CLP Motorsports, and X-Games and Rallycross champion Tanner Foust made history, when CLP Motorsports’ Superlite Coupe crossed the finish line in Santa Monica, California, after driving across the USA on one tank (37.6 gallons) of renewable diesel oil. [AZoCleantech]

¶ Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who has recently called for the United States to be using 100% clean energy by 2050, said over the weekend in Iowa that climate change is actually a business opportunity that can spur job growth. In fact, he says it is the biggest opportunity in a hundred years. [Washington Times]

¶ Community leaders of Winchester, Indiana, joined EDP Renewables and Indiana Michigan Power officials to dedicate the Headwaters Wind Farm in Randolph County. The wind farm’s 100 turbines are expected to generate more than 600,000 MWh per year, enough to power more than 50,000 homes. [WANE]

¶ Electricity industry representatives and consultants were divided Monday on how much impact the US Supreme Court’s remand of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards to a lower court is likely to have on power markets and investments. The court did not vacate the standard, but sent it back to the lower court. [Platts]

¶ A new, peer-reviewed article published in the scientific journal Science estimates that 30,000 km² of land have been lost due to oil and gas well pads and associated operations in North America since the year 2000. The DOE says we could get 35% of our energy by using 3,400 km² for wind farms. [Clean Energy News]

World:

¶ The first prototype wave power unit in the Australian state of Victoria is ready to be installed off its south-west coast later this year, with its builders saying it could be the start of a “new era” for renewable energy. The $21-million project is expected to provide 250 kWh of renewable energy annually. [ABC Online]

Victoria’s first prototype wave power unit will be deployed in November. (BioPower Systems Pty Ltd)

¶ Australian economist and climate change advisor Professor Ross Garnaut pointed out that the costs associated with stranded assets are already greater than the costs associated with action on climate change. This was part of a rather direct attack on the economic policy that Australia has taken in recent years. [CleanTechnica]

¶ BMW is still pursuing its plan to convert all of its various model platforms to electric drivetrains (this includes range-extending engines and plug-in hybrids, of course) over the next decade or so, according to recent reports. Even the company’s top-selling 3 Series sport sedans will be plug-in hybrids. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Genesis Energy Corporation, based in London, and SHP Malthe Winje, based in Norway, have signed a memorandum of understanding for Modular Mini Hydro Power that could efficiently and effectively meet Nigerian and other African energy needs quickly and with no negative environmental impact. [THISDAY Live]

¶ In Ethiopia, the 153-MW Adama wind farm has opened its doors, making it the largest wind farm in sub-Saharan Africa to date, reports the AFP. The 102 70-metre high Chinese-built turbines are situated in a range of rocky hills in the Ethiopian highlands 100 kilometres southeast of the capital Addis Ababa. [ESI Africa]

Over 75% of Ethiopia’s 94 million people, mainly those living in rural areas, are not connected to the national grid. Photo credit: Adama Wind Farm. AFP

¶ Vestas has been awarded a firm contract to provide 56 turbines at Latin America Power’s 185-MW San Juan project in Chile. The Danish manufacturer will supply and install V117 3.3-MW machines at the project in the region of Atacama. Deliveries will begin in 2016, and commissioning is due the same year. [reNews]

¶ Westinghouse Electric Company and eight European consortium partners today announced that they have received €2 million in funding from the EU to establish the security of supply of nuclear fuel for Russian-designed reactors in the EU. Five EU member states are operating a total of 18 such reactors. [Digital Journal]

¶ France is soliciting bids from private companies to provide up to 50 MWh of battery storage for its islands and offshore territories in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, and for Corsica. More than 3,000,000 live on these islands. The projects will have 500 kWh of storage for every MW of solar power installed. [PlanetSave.com]

US:

¶ Thirteen miles off the coast of Rhode Island, Block Island boasts 17 miles of beaches, 365 freshwater ponds, 250-foot bluffs and 150 bird species. It also has electricity costing 50¢/kWh. Now the island is about to become well known for another reason. It will host the first offshore wind farm in the United States. [GreenBiz]

Old Harbor on Block Island, Rhode Island. Photo by Swampyank at English Wikipedia. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Wikipedia Commons.

¶ If the EPA’s greenhouse gas regulations take effect as proposed, utilities will move quickly from coal to natural gas, with renewable energy picking up in a few years. The EIA analysis forecasts a decrease of more than 600 billion kilowatt-hours in coal generation by 2025 as a result of EPA’s Clean Power Plan. [Electric Co-op Today]

¶ The EPA’s Regional Haze Rule targets visibility in national parks and wilderness areas and would require retrofitting several Arkansas coal plants with scrubbers reducing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. Though the rule is only addresses visibility, proponents of the plan have lauded its health benefits. [Arkansas Online]

Opinion:

¶ “Solar Power Pros And Cons: Is Solar Power Worth It?” – If it were a disease, we’d have a full-blown epidemic. From $0-down leases to $0-down solar loans, there are easy ways to go solar these days. Even your grandmother can do it. But what are the actual pros and cons of solar power these days? [PlanetSave.com]

¶ “Activism fomented by Koch brothers turns against them” – The Koch brothers’ political machine, Freedom Partners, says it will raise and spend $889 million pushing conservative causes in the 2016 presidential election. An emerging champion against the Koch brothers is Tea Party activist Debbie Dooley. [Sydney Morning Herald]

World:

¶ Japan’s SoftBank Corp, together with Bharti Enterprises and Taiwan’s Foxconn, will invest about $20 billion over the next 10 years to generate 20,000 MW of solar power and manufacture solar power equipment in India. The new company intends to participate in the 2015-16 round of solar tenders. [South Asian Link]

¶ Scottish ministers will hold an emergency summit with the green energy sector next month, after the UK Government announced it was to axe a subsidy scheme for onshore wind farms. Industry leader Scottish Renewables has warned the move could put up to £3 billion of investment in Scotland at risk. [stv.tv]

¶ In Ontario, Orillia Power is looking to construct at least three new generating stations. One of them is a hydro-electric project nearby. The other two are projects in other parts of Ontario, and for these it would enter into a joint venture with Shaman Power to form a new company, Bawitik Power. [Orillia Packet & Times]

¶ Wind energy in Mexico is expected to see annual investment of $2 billion during the next 25 years, becoming the most important sector in the country’s energy industry by 2033. Mexican power sector investments are projected to total $159 billion by 2040, and almost a third of it will be spent on wind power. [Mexico News Daily]

Turbinas eólicas en el Parque Eólico La Venta. Photo by Laloixx. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ The single largest rooftop solar power plant in the world is being set up at Amritsar in Punjab to generate 7.2 MW of power, the Punjab Energy Development Agency Director said. At a meeting of the Association of Renewable Energy Agencies States, he said the plant is spread over in an area of 30 acres. [Times of India]

¶ Europe is likely to get over half of its electricity from renewable sources by the end of the next decade if EU countries meet their climate pledges, a draft commission paper leaked to The Guardian says. Currently, renewable power sources supply about a quarter of the electricity in Europe. [domain-B]

¶ Proposals for a 30-acre solar power farm in Little Dunmow, Essex, are being studied by Uttlesford District Council. If approved, it could generate 5 MW, enough to power 1,450 typical family homes and save 2,640 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year. (Little Dunmow has about 950 homes.) [Herts and Essex Observer]

¶ Germany’s oldest remaining nuclear reactor has been shut down, part of a move initiated four years ago to switch off all its nuclear plants by 2022. Bavaria’s environment ministry said Sunday that the Grafenrheinfeld reactor in the southern German state was taken offline as scheduled overnight. [Chicago Daily Herald]

US:

¶ In its second year, the Waste to Wisdom project, in northern California, seeks the best methods to process and transport leftover wood material from timber cuts for use in renewable energy plants. Combining timber operations and biomass would be more efficient and less disruptive to the land. [Eureka Times Standard]

¶ Raciel Juarez founded Texas Green Solar and Wind Solutions, one of the first renewable energy companies in the Rio Grande Valley, nearly a decade ago. He says the first challenge he faced was not the lack of sun, but few local incentives. Now he worries that in 2016, the federal incentives for solar may disappear. [Valley morning Star]

World:

¶ A post-2020 climate-control action plan, to be submitted by China to the United Nations by the end of this month, will be a powerful driving force on energy research and innovation, according to the head of the International Renewable Energy Agency. It will see investments estimated to total $6.6 trillion. [ecns]

¶ In her first major policy announcement since taking office five weeks ago, Alberta’s Environment and Parks Minister announced that Alberta’s primary greenhouse gas regulation will be renewed and updated. The Specified Gas Emitters Regulation will be increased in a phased-in manner to 20% in 2017. [JD Supra]

Wildcat Hills Gas Plant. Photo by RAF-YYC from Calgary, Canada. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ French renewable power plants operator Voltalia SA has completed a 108-MW wind park in Sao Miguel do Gostoso, Rio Grande do Norte state. The plant was originally scheduled to be finished next month, but the substation tying it to the grid is unfinished, so it is expected to go online in February 2016. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ PT Asian Agri plans to develop 20 biogas-fired power plants within the next five years to produce electricity for its own needs and for the people around the company’s plantations. The power plants are to be fired by biogas produced from palm oil mill effluent, which in the past has been an environmental pollutant. [Jakarta Post]

¶ Nova Scotia Power says a new record has been set for wind power generation in the province. For one hour early Wednesday morning, the utility says 50% of the province’s electricity came from wind. The new record was achieved during a period when demand for electricity is low and winds were high. [Cape Breton Post]

¶ Wind turbine manufacturer Vestas has received an order for 22 wind turbines meant for the Galawhistle project in Scotland. The order was placed by Infinis Energy. Delivery of the V90-3MW turbines is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2016 and the project will be commissioned in 2017. [Greentech Lead]

¶ Shareholders of nine major power firms voted down proposals by fellow owners that the companies withdraw from nuclear plant business or impose strict conditions for restarting nuclear reactors. There were fifteen shareholder proposals to end use of nuclear power at the TEPCO meeting alone. [The Japan News]

¶ Germany’s nuclear power phase out begins its final phase with the closing of the 1.3 GW Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant. The plant is the first of the final nine plants scheduled for decommissioning. E.ON is closing it earlier than scheduled for economic reasons. [Nuclear Street – Nuclear Power Plant News, Jobs, and Careers]

US:

¶ Governor Andrew Cuomo announced an ambitious plan to curb New York state’s carbon emissions by 40% by doubling the amount of power it gets from renewable energy to 50%, by 2030. The pollution reduction and clean energy targets would be the nation’s most ambitious, matched only by California. [Long Island Exchange]

The NRG Power Plant, upper left, in Dunkirk. Photo by Ken Winters, US Army Corps of Engineers. Public Domain.

¶ A last-minute addition to the final deal between the New York’s legislature and governor would speed the closure of aging plants that are significant polluters. The money could be used to ease the impact of the closures of coal-burning plants that contribute significant tax money to their municipalities. [Capital New York]

¶ A report released by Environment America considers an ongoing battle between electric companies and customers over the value of solar energy. It shows that utilities’ assertions that net metering costs them more than it is worth are false; such systems actually provide benefits exceeding their costs. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A draft Environmental Impact Statement has been released for the Great Northern Transmission Line, a 220-mile-long, 500-kilovolt line Minnesota Power proposes to build and use, and is available for public review. The line would be built to import electricity from Manitoba Hydro, at a cost of up to $710 million. [Duluth News Tribune]

¶ A law that could significantly expand access to renewable energy generation in Hawai’i through a new community-based renewable energy program was approved by Governor David Ing on June 8, 2015. The law permits utilities and third parties to own or operate a community-based renewable energy projects. [JD Supra]

¶ Owners of the Salem/Hope Creek Nuclear complex have won a key approval for a site where one or more new reactors could go up in the future along the Delaware River southeast of Augustine Beach. The NRC’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards said a site permit “should be issued” for the site. [The News Journal]

Science and Technology:

¶ An energy storage technology company, BioSolar, has claimed a breakthrough in the field of lithium-ion batteries. In a press release, the company said a technology that it is developing can significantly expand the life, increase the energy capacity, and lower the costs associated with lithium-ion batteries. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Scientific models supported by the UK’s Foreign Office show that if we don’t change course, in less than three decades industrial civilization will collapse due to catastrophic food shortages, triggered by climate change, water scarcity, energy crisis, and political instability. NOTE: “…if we don’t change course, …” [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ RES and GE are to build the 240-MW Ararat wind farm in south-west Victoria. The project, worth $450 million, will use 75 GE 3.2-103 wind turbines and will be the third largest wind farm in Australia, supplying annual needs of 123,000 homes. It will be financed by Partners Group, RES, OPTrust and GE. [reNews]

GE will provide turbines for Ararat wind farm (GE)

¶ Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son is indicating that he wants to invest $20 billion over the next 10 years, working with Bharti Enterprises Pvt and Foxconn Technology Group, to build about 20 GW of new solar capacity in the country in India. This investment alone could build 20% of India’s 100-GW solar target. [Treehugger]

¶ Bill Gates, co-founder of computing giant Microsoft, has called on governments to step up investment in clean tech research and development in order to deliver a green Manhattan Project or Apollo Project. His comments represent a boost to the recently launched campaign for a new global Apollo Project. [Business Green]

US:

¶ US senators Chris Coons (D-Delaware) and Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), and representatives Ted Poe (R-Texas) and Mike Thompson (D-California) reintroduced their MLP Parity Act. It would allow renewable energy developers to form master limited partnerships, now only available to fossil fuel projects. [Argus Media]

¶ In Manchester, Connecticut, Allied Printing Services Inc, unveiled a massive 4,591 solar panel system on the roof of its 275,000 square foot manufacturing facility. The 1.4-MW system is comprised of 4,591 panels. It will provide about 17% of Allied’s total annual electricity usage, equivalent to 145 homes’ use. [FOX CT]

¶ Google is planning its newest data center, and not only will Google be using renewable energy to power it, but it will do it reusing a retired coal power plant. Google announced the development on its Official Blog. The data center will be reusing the soon-to-be retired Widows Creek coal power plant, in Alabama. [CleanTechnica]

The Widows Creek coal power plant, Jackson County, Alabama, will become a renewably-powered Google data center.

¶ Powered by growth across all solar sectors, the state of Texas recorded its best-ever first quarter results for newly installed solar capacity coming online at with 49 MW, according to the recently released US Solar Market Insight Report compiled by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association. [AltEnergyMag]

¶ The US wind and solar power generation capacity grew by 1,649 MW and 447 MW, respectively, in January-May 2015. At the same time, the country saw 1,158 MW of natural gas-fired power plants go live. In May, 480 MW of wind farms went online, though only 19 MW of solar parks were commissioned. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ EDF Renewable Energy has placed a firm order with Vestas Wind Systems A/S to supply the 150-MW Salt Fork Wind Project in Texas. The order marks the first draw on the 1,000 MW Master Supply Agreement announced in December 2014. Delivery of 75 2-MW turbines is set for third quarter 2016. [Yahoo Finance UK]

¶ An analysis prepared by Advanced Energy Economy Institute using the models of ICF International, a leading authority on natural gas markets, finds that existing and planned natural gas infrastructure will be able to handle the bulk of future natural gas needs under EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan. [Your Oil and Gas News]

¶ Microgrid capacity in the United States is set to double, exceeding 2,800 MW by 2020, Greentech Media reported in the kick off to its Grid Edge Live conference. The move toward microgrids is driven partly by the declining price of battery storage and renewable power, and partly by a need for energy security. [Utility Dive]

¶ The US DOE has issued the last of three conditional loan guarantees, $1.8 billion for Vogtle units 3 and 4, meaning that the construction of the first AP1000 nuclear power plant in the USA is now fully financed. The DOE says the units’ output should avoid 10 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. [World Nuclear News]

Opinion:

¶ “Why are the government’s energy forecasts so bad?” In 2009, the US DOE’s Energy Information Administration forecast that US wind power would grow modestly, reaching 44 GWof generating capacity in 2030. Just six years later, US wind capacity is already up to 66 GW. So what’s up with this? [Politico]

World:

¶ Data released by the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change show that Scotland’s wind farms generated record amounts of power in the first quarter of 2015. Statistics confirmed that Scotland hit record levels of green energy generation in 2014, with 49.8% of all electricity used coming from renewables. [reNews]

Wind projects such as the Farr wind farm in Scotland have contributed to generating record amounts of power (Siemens).

¶ It’s illegal to knowingly ignore the dangers of global warming, according to a Dutch court. The court ordered the government to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25% compared to 1990 levels by 2020 in order to preserve the low-lying Netherlands and protect its people from the dangers of global warming. [ThinkProgress]

¶ Bullish on a changed economic and regulatory environment, the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association expects a 52% jump in capacity addition this year. The association expects that 3.5 GW worth of wind energy capacity will be added in the 12 months between April 2015 and March 2016, a new record. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Germany’s transition to renewable energy is being undermined by its continuing dependency on coal-fired power, according to a report from GlobalData. An expected increase in renewable capacity from 86 GW in 2014 to 147 GW by 2025 will be undermined by simultaneous coal-based power additions. [PennEnergy]

¶ Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said the country has put into operation 18,757 MW of renewable energy capacity since it launched a feed-in-tariff program three years ago. By far, the top renewable energy source in the country is solar, which accounted 94% of additions approved. [SeeNews Renewables]

Solar panel installation in Yokohama, Japan. Author: CoCreatr. License: Creative Commons, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

¶ A study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology says about half of European electricity should come from renewable sources by 2030. Greater integration of power systems can help balance out electricity fluctuations, while reducing demands on other parts of the system. [solarserver.com]

¶ Under a new scheme of Ministry of Urban Development, India’s Central government is likely to make it mandatory for buildings to install solar roof-top systems. The proposal is among the initiatives planned by the Government of India to support the massive solar capacity addition target (100 GW by 2022). [The Hindu]

¶ In Germany, average day-ahead electricity prices for May were €25.30/MWh, the lowest monthly average in 12 years, the result of output from wind, solar and hydro. Solar and wind outstripped the energy production of the country’s nine remaining nuclear reactors, showing a 22% increase from last year. [pv magazine]

¶ As part of its plan to focus on renewable energy generation, Swedish state-owned utility Vattenfall AB is disposing of its last fossil fuel asset in Denmark, namely the Nordjylland coal-fired power plant. District heating company Aalborg Forsyning will take over the combined heat and power station. [SeeNews Renewables]

Wind turbines on the coast, Denmark. Author: Tambako The Jaguar. License: Creative Commons, Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic

US:

¶ New research from GTM Research forecasts that the US community solar sector is to reach a tipping point soon, growing five-fold in 2015 and regularly reaching 500 GW by 2020. The report forecasts community solar to reach 115 MW installed in 2015, and predicts 500 MW annually by 2020. [CleanTechnica]

¶ SunEdison is set to launch a power purchase agreement product across seven US states. And the initiative is to be financed by Morgan Stanley in a partnership fund with TerraForm Power, owned by SunEdison. Morgan Stanley is to make tax equity financing available for the initiative immediately. [Greentech Lead]

¶ The Ivanpah concentrating solar plant projections have always assumed a four-year ramp rate to 100% capacity. That being said, the plant has seen operating days when it is meeting, and in some instances exceeding, projections for this stage of operations, and the expectation is that it will meet its goals. [Wall Street Journal]

Science and Technology:

¶ Citing a commitment to the issue of sustainability in product design, SunPower has announced that its E-Series and X-Series solar panels, manufactured at the company’s facilities in France, are Cradle to Cradle Certified Silver (C2C). This is good news for buyers of these solar electricity products for several reasons. [CleanTechnica]

Image credit: SunPower.

¶ The impact of climate change is so great that it could undermine the last 50 years of gains in global health. That is the assessment of a new report from the Lancet Commission on Health and Climate, an independent, international and multi-disciplinary research group. Similar findings come from the US EPA. [Voice of America]

¶ A new technology to store excess energy generated by green energy sources could save Ontario up to $8 billion over a 20-year period, according to a study commissioned by NRStor and General Compression. NRStor is developing a 2-MW pilot project to allow Ontario decision-makers to see its benefit. [North American Windpower]

World:

¶ The renewable-energy boom is here. Trillions of dollars will be invested over the next 25 years, driving some of the most profound changes yet in how humans get their electricity. That view is according to a new forecast by Bloomberg New Energy Finance that plots out global power markets to 2040. [Livemint]

¶ The UK government plans to finance the Hinkley nuclear plant through subsidies amounting to €130 for each MWh of power generated for 35 years. Austria plans to file a suit to prevent this in EU court, in what chancellor Werner Faymann said “is also of symbolic value against nuclear power”. [TheParliamentMagazine.eu]

¶ Toy company Lego announced that it plans to invest about $150 million over the next 15 years in a program to develop new “sustainable” materials which will eventually replace the plastic currently used to make its iconic building blocks. Lego also plans to make its packaging more environmentally-friendly. [Huffington Post]

A Lego City. Photo by Michael Monahan. Put into the public domain by the author.

¶ According to a new report published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, wind and solar will supply the bulk of Australia’s electricity in 2040. Bloomberg New Energy Finance conducted a country-by-country, technology-by-technology analysis covering structural changes in the global electricity system. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Legislation to slash the renewable energy target has passed Australia’s federal parliament. A bipartisan deal, agreed to last month after a lengthy political stalemate that hamstrung the clean energy sector, will slash the target from 41,000 GWh to 33,000. Nevertheless, the new target offers investors some certainty. [SBS]

¶ Australia’s new renewable energy target will unlock more than A$10 billion ($7.8 billion) of investment, General Electric Co said. The new target of 33,000 GWh of electricity from large-scale renewable energy projects by 2020 will create thousands of new jobs and increase orders for hundreds of companies. [Bloomberg]

¶ Last year, 59% of capacity addition in the global power industry came from renewable energy. And 164 countries now have renewable energy targets, an increase by 20, in the year. The sector received an overall investment of $301 billion, according to the annual Renewables Global Status Report. [Greentech Lead]

¶ First Solar is to supply its photovoltaic modules for the 200-MW second phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park in Dubai. The facility will be the largest of its kind in the Middle East and will be powered by over 2.36 million First Solar modules. The plant is expected to be completed in early 2017. [reNews]

US:

¶ This month, Lake Mead, the 112-mile reservoir created by the Hoover Dam, is projected to hit 1,074.73 feet above sea level, the lowest it has been since 1937. Thanks to a 16-year drought and serious over-allocation, Lake Mead is now just 37% full. This means higher electricity costs for 29 million people. [High Country News]

Lake Mead. in 2014, showing its low-water bathtub ring. Photo by Tony Webster from Portland, Oregon, United States. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ SunPower began construction of the 102 MWac Henrietta solar power plant in California. The electricity will be sold to Pacific Gas and Electric under a long-term power purchase agreement. The plant is expected to be finished in 2016. It will create about 350 jobs and provide $3.8 million in local tax revenue. [CleanTechnica]

¶ NRG Renew LLC will develop a 20-MW solar system for Cisco’s San Jose headquarters. NRG Solar Blythe II, a 153-acre parcel that has been under development by NRG since 2010, will become a solar installation to help Cisco reach its goal of getting at least 25% of its electricity from renewables by 2017. [pv magazine]

¶ Greenfield is the first community in Massachusetts to adopt strict regulations of biomass plants. An ordinance passed last week prohibits industrial-scale wood-burning plants as well as trash-to-energy plants. It still allows anaerobic digesters, residential wood stoves, and small, clean-burning commercial plants. [MassLive.com]

Opinion:

¶ “Nine myths about new energy” – Starting with a myth about renewables put forward by the ‘pro-nuclear, pro-coal, anti-renewable’ advocates circa 2005: 1) “We could never integrate more than 5% intermittent renewables (they meant wind and solar) into an electricity grid.” (Just a little off the mark.) [Business Spectator]

World:

¶ A new facility has been designed to handle up to three million tonnes of wood pellets a year that will be shipped from North America to fuel the Drax power station in North Yorkshire. Graham Construction will work on a new rail loading facility and storage capacity for 100,000 tonnes at the Port of Liverpool. [The Construction Index]

Cooling towers at the Drax power station. Photo by StaraBlazkova. GNU Free Documentation License. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ In less than a week after the Indian central government broadened the canvas for solar power play, the Tokyo-based telecommunications major, SoftBank, with a market capitalization of about $100 billion, committed to invest $20 billion in India’s solar energy projects with 20,000 MW capacities. [mydigitalfc.com]

¶ The rapidly dropping cost of producing solar power, which is expected to be on par in 2017 with conventional energy, has ignited interest in its potential across India, as the country increases its efforts to encourage renewable energy investment. The target for solar power in India was recently raised to 100 GW. [Rapid News Network]

¶ A British solar startup, Powervault, has decided to take on the Powerwall of the electric vehicle giant, Tesla Motors Inc, in the home batteries market, according to an article in the Financial Times. The news comes as the competition in home batteries market, especially in Europe, gets fiercer. [Business Finance News]

¶ Pan-African firm Eranove Group is to finance, develop, build, and operate a 42-MW hydroelectric project in Mali, 35 km east of Bamako, on the Niger River, after signing a 30-year concession agreement with the country’s government through its subsidiary Kenié Energie Renouvelable. [International Water Power and Dam Construction]

¶ Expecting opposition from the agri-food sector, the European Union is dropping its plan to put a limit on methane emissions, Irish Times reported. Methane is much worse than carbon dioxide, but the EU is scrapping it from the set of air pollutants to be limited as greenhouse gasses. [International Business Times AU]

¶ About 250 planned onshore wind farms in the UK are set to be cancelled because of an earlier than expected end to Government subsidies. The Government has revealed that new onshore wind farms will now be excluded from its subsidy scheme from 1 April 2016, a year earlier than expected. [Construction Enquirer]

¶ The head of France’s nuclear watchdog has upset the industry by taking an increasingly assertive approach that critics say could jeopardise efforts to win more business overseas. Speaking of weak spots found in the steel of a new reactor, he characterized the problem as “serious, even very serious.” [Economic Times]

US:

¶ The mayor of Los Angeles announced that the city will sell its shares in the Navajo Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant, based in Arizona. The sale is part of Garcetti’s pledge to make LA coal-free by 2025. Instead of relying on coal-fired power, the city is turning to renewable geothermal power. [LA Magazine]

The Navajo Generating station emitting flue gas. Photo by Myrabella. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ A survey by the financial services firm Wiser Capital indicates roughly two-thirds of large US investment firms plan to prioritize solar energy over the next 5 years. Roughly 80% of the firms queried stated interest in solar energy that was based at least partly on desire “to support a cleaner energy future.” [CleanTechnica]

¶ New York utility providers NYSEG and RG&E bought the 64 million kWh of wind energy, enough to power more than 4,000 typical homes for a year, through the companies’ Catch the Wind program, according to a release. At the close of 2014, more than 18,400 in the two company’s programs. [Henrietta Post]

¶ Presidential hopeful Martin O’Malley, the former governor of Maryland, has proposed an ambitious clean energy plan that would call for the United States to use all renewable sources by 2050. O’Malley tied his proposal to Pope Francis’ recent call to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. [Utility Dive]

Science and Technology:

¶ A little-known startup energy storage company called UET just announced a major milestone for its latest flow battery project. The company’s CEO says, “The Uni.System’s levelized cost ($/total GWh delivered over 20 year life) is multiple times lower than the cost of lithium-ion systems such as Tesla.” [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ A 34-turbine wind farm in Nova Scotia is now fully operational, making it the largest in the province. The South Canoe Wind Farm in the Municipality of the District Chester was several months behind the original schedule, but is expected to provide enough energy for about 32,000 homes. [TheChronicleHerald.ca]

Wind farm in Nova Scotia. Photo by Dennis Jarvis from Halifax, Canada.  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric Corp has received an order from Kyushu Electric Power Co Inc to supply a 50-MW energy storage system for installation at a power plant in Fukuoka prefecture. Consisting of sodium sulfur batteries, the system is expected to be deployed at the site by the end of March 2016. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Australian start-up RayGen Resources may tap into China’s solar power market through a small deal with renewable energy giant China Three Gorges. A deputy director of China Three Gorges’ solar energy division said RayGen’s technology could prove to be 10% to 20% less costly than normal PVs. [Sydney Morning Herald]

¶ An electric light rail project linking Canberra’s Civic to Gungahlin in the north will be powered by 100% renewable energy. The Australian Capital Territory will provide 90% renewable electricity by 2020, and the rail project’s developer will source the rest the service’s electricity requirements from renewables. [Energy Matters]

¶ In the Philippines, the Mindanao Development Authority’s one stop facilitation and monitoring center, which fast-tracks pending renewable energy projects in Mindanao, has received 290 project applications. Together, the projects could possibly produce almost 3,000 MW of electric generating capacity for the region. [Malaya]

¶ Scotland may not be able to meet ambitious climate change targets following cuts to windfarm subsidies, energy minister Fergus Ewing has warned. He said the target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions was “extremely challenging” under the UK’s plans to axe the main subsidy for onshore wind power. [Herald Scotland]

¶ A group of researchers has found tsunami traces believed to date back to between the 14th to 16th centuries near the Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture. The plant’s operator, Kansai Electric Power Co, said the finding does not affect its tsunami risk evaluation of the plant. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶ A report from the National Institute for Science, Law and Public Policy says the proposed Hudson Valley power line project only serves utility companies and their suppliers. It says New York consumers gain more with locally generated renewable energy sources, and better reliability without the lines. [Public News Service]

Power lines in the Northeastern US. Photo by Famartin.  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ The sixth annual US Clean Tech Leadership Index has been released. The index, prepared by Clean Edge, a research and indexing firm founded in 2000, tracks and ranks clean-tech activities in all 50 states and the largest 50 metro areas in the US. This year, four states in the Northeast are in the top ten. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Developer Silicon Ranch Corporation and clean energy provider Green Power EMC are set to begin work on a 20-MW PV power plant in south-east Georgia. On completion, the project is set to become one of the state’s largest solar projects, according to the companies, generating around 43 million kWh a year. [PV-Tech]

Opinion:

¶ “African Utility Companies Struggle to Stay On the Grid” – In South Africa, major cities, including Cape Town and Johannesburg, are subject to regular power outages as electric utility Eskom periodically shuts down parts of its distribution system to take the pressure off the aging national grid. [Climate Central]

Cape Town, subject to regular power outages. Photo by Iwoelbern. Released into the public domain.

¶ “Abbott lets Australia slip behind as renewable energy advances” – In the stage-managed, focus-grouped, world of politics, Tony Abbott’s description of wind power as “visually awful” provided a starkly clear picture of the thoughts of Australia’s leader. It is a dangerous position, both economically and ecologically. [The Age]

¶ New Hope For Avoiding Catastrophic Climate Change” – New hope we can avoid a catastrophe for human civilization and the biosphere comes from two recently-released documents: The Encyclical “Laudatum Si’ ” by Pope Francis, and the data on growth of renewable energy from the Earth Policy Institute. [CounterCurrents.org]

World:

¶ Pledges by institutions and individuals to purchase green power from state-owned Taiwan Power Co far exceeded a goal set by the government for 2015, after several business heavyweights said they would participate. The goal was pledges for 10 million kWh, but 16.53 million kWh of pledges were received. [China Post]

¶ The government of the Australian Capital Territory is on track to reach its 90% renewable energy target by 2020 despite needing to quadruple its current supply in just 4½ years. The current figure of 18.6% is set to dramatically increase over the next two years, with wind playing a dominant role. [Brisbane Times]

Blayney Wind Farm, in New South Wales. Photo by Bren Barnes. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Nigeria has selected two sites for the construction of its planned nuclear power plants, as Africa’s biggest economy tries to end decades of electricity blackouts that have blighted its growth. Russia’s state-owned Rosatom confirmed the two sites had been selected and said they would have a total of four reactors. [Reuters Africa]

US:

¶ A new report from the Energy Information Administration has projected that the new carbon emissions rules from the Environmental Protection Agency’s will result in coal-fired power plant shutdowns potentially more than doubling, with a projected 90 GW of coal-fired plants being retired by the year 2040. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy announced $55 million in funding for 18 projects as part of its two newest programs. They are aimed at developing generator technologies for residential Combined Heat and Power, and at developing renewable transportation fuels from biomass. [Yumanewsnow]

¶ Georgia Power announced the latest major international shipment to reach the Vogtle expansion site near Waynesboro. It is the Unit 3 Steam Generator A. The steam generator, which was assembled in South Korea and shipped to the Port of Savannah, reached the site via train earlier this week. [Today’s Energy Solutions]

Source: Georgia Power

¶ Morgan Stanley has closed on its $500 million green bond issuance , its inaugural green bond and the latest step in its strategy to advance market, based solutions to social and environmental challenges. The bond proceeds will be allocated to various renewable energy and energy-efficiency projects. [The Nation]

¶ Less than 2% of the electrical power for Ellensburg, Washington, comes from carbon-generating sources. Almost 90% of the electricity comes from hydro facilities, but they are maxed out. The city is discussing restructuring the city solar project’s contribution, and one question is why not go the whole way? [Daily Record]

Opinion:

¶ “The Pope Is an Energy Wonk. Engineers Agree with His Assessment.” The Pope’s teachings are supported by the most comprehensive engineering analyses of the US power grid. The National Renewable Energy Lab summarized nine in-depth engineering analyses. [The Equation: Blog of the Union of Concerned Scientists]

Science and Technology:

¶ Sixty-five million years ago, the dinosaurs disappeared in what’s known as the Earth’s fifth mass extinction. Today, a sixth mass extinction could be well underway and humans are most likely the culprit, through environmental changes including deforestation, poaching, overfishing, and global-warming. [CNN]

Moho nobilis, extinct. Many others will follow. Painting by John Gerrard Keulemans, 1842-1912. Copyright expired in the US. Wikimedia Commons.

World:

¶ The US has organized a Lower Mekong Initiative Renewable and Clean Energy Business Delegation, on the margins of the Asia Clean Energy Forum 2015. Talks focused on how US firms and technology can support clean energy and promote energy security in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. [Newsroom America]

¶ According to the Carbon Brief, the EU’s energy usage is at 1990 levels despite “a 6% increase in population and a 45% expansion of economic output.” This results from better building insulation and product energy efficiency, uptake of renewables, vehicle fuel efficiency standards and economic changes. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The inauguration ceremony for the world’s 2nd largest offshore wind farm, Gwynt y Môr took place on June 19. The wind farm, located eight miles offshore in Liverpool Bay, includes 160 wind turbines with a combined electric generating capacity of 576 MW. It was built with an investment of $3.3 billion. [EnergyOnline]

¶ Tanzania’s untapped renewable energy potential can provide solutions for the 9 GW of additional power the country will need by 2035, a report says. Tanzania has 2,800-3,500 hours of sunshine per year and the solar sector presents good opportunities. There are also other important resources. [SeeNews Renewables]

Author: .Martin. License: Creative Commons, Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic

US:

¶ The NRC has cleared the way for Entergy Nuclear to take $220 million of the $660 million Vermont Yankee decommissioning trust fund to help pay for handling spent nuclear fuel. NRC regulations prohibit such a use of the funds, but the NRC has been granting exemptions to nuclear power plants. [Rutland Herald]

¶ Iowa is one of the leading states for renewable energy, and Heartland Power Cooperative in St. Ansgar is adding to that initiative by introducing their 2706 solar panel display, the largest in Iowa. The 4.5 acre solar farm has the ability to power 125 average size homes, and customers are signing on. [KIMT]

¶ Portland, Maine, has reduced greenhouse emissions in the last five years and is now planning to cut its carbon footprint by relying on renewable energy. The city has plans for five sites that could be used to generate electricity from solar PVs. They include facilities at schools, the library, a fire station, and an airport. [WMTW Portland]

¶ A show-down over budget politics is brewing between New Hampshire’s Democratic Governor and Republican legislature. Renewable energy advocates hope it can be an opportunity to convince budget writers to reconsider taking money away from renewable incentives to fund Homeland Security. [New Hampshire Public Radio]

¶ The utility sector is going through a period of margin compression and market disruption which is challenging for some companies. NRG is using this challenging business environment and the current low interest rates to pivot all of the Company’s businesses to benefit from these trends going forward. [Seeking Alpha]

World:

¶ German company Nordex SE said it has received orders to build 55 MW of wind farms in Turkey for two customers. Its turbines are expected to produce 148 GWh annually, for a capacity factor of above 37%. The wind farm’s output is expected to be enough to power about 42,000 households. [SeeNews Renewables]

2.4-MW Nordex turbines. Source: Nordex SE

¶ The annual overview of the European electricity market, from the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity, says 33% of electricity produced in the EU now comes from renewables, of which 18.5% is hydropower and 14.4% “other renewables” (mostly wind and solar power). [CleanTechnica]

¶ In six months, delegates from nearly 200 countries will gather in Paris with the intention of signing the first truly global climate agreement. The talks will not be replay of the fractious talks held in Copenhagen, in December 2009, according to Christiana Figueres, the UN’s top climate diplomat. [Earth Island Journal]

¶ A Canadian Senate committee on energy, environment and natural resources said June 17 in a report, that the territory of Nunavut’s electrical power system is unsustainable. The committee found that 17 of the 25 existing diesel facilities operating in Nunavut are operating beyond their service dates. [Nunatsiaq News]

Ceremony on the occasion of the foundation of Nunavut, April 1st 1999

¶ Australian strategic metals miner TNG Limited and renewables group Energy Made Clean signed a memorandum of understanding covering evaluation, implementation and installation of a solar array and vanadium batteries. The system would power a mining project in the Northern Territory. [Australian Mining]

¶ Hydropower is the world’s largest source of renewable electricity. With a century-long head start over wind and solar power, large hydropower was 52% of the world’s renewable energy capacity in 2014. But new figures from the International Renewable Energy Agency show the picture is changing. [International Rivers]

US:

¶ The California Senate recently passed SB 350, legislation that sets a goal of 50% electricity from renewables in the Golden State by 2030. The bill doesn’t stop there, though; it also calls for doubling the energy efficiency of buildings in the next 15 years, and cutting petroleum use in transportation by half. [CleanTechnica]

¶ North Elba, New York, has decided to use a small-scale anaerobic digester designed for source-separated municipal food and organic wastes at a regional level. BIOFerm Energy Systems/Viessmann Group will supply the system, the first of its kind in the US. The project is expected to begin this year. [Biomass Magazine]

This small-scale EUCOlino digester will be used at North Elba to generate power from community food waste. BIOFerm Energy Systems/Viessmann Group photo.

¶ Actors Mark Ruffalo and Leonardo DiCaprio joined a large group of people with widely differing backgrounds at a pop-up event in the East Village to launch a national campaign that aims to make clean energy more accessible and affordable for 100% of the people. The campaign is called “100%.” [Satellite PR News]

¶ The 20th Century model of large baseload electricity generation, including nuclear reactors, is in an irreversible decline in the face of the emerging 21st Century decentralized power model relying on renewables, energy efficiency, and demand management, says Mark Cooper of the Vermont Law School. [Fierce Energy]

¶ Exelon, the parent company of Baltimore Gas and Electric Co and the largest owner of nuclear power plants in the United States, notified the US NRC that it found dangerous levels of tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, in a monitoring well at Peach Bottom nuclear plant in Delta, Pennsylvania. [Baltimore Sun]

Science and Technology:

¶ A team of scientists working on studies in microbiology at Columbia University have devised tiny engines powered by evaporation. The devices generate electricity from the energy produced by bacterial spores known as Bacillus subtilis, which exhibit strong mechanical responses to changing relative humidity. [Mashable]

Photo from YouTube video Renewable Energy from Evaporating Water by ExtremeBio

World:

¶ Pope Francis has clearly embraced what he calls a “very solid scientific consensus” that humans are causing cataclysmic climate change that is endangering the planet. The pope has also lambasted global political leaders for their “weak responses” and lack of will over decades to address the issue. [National Catholic Reporter]

¶ A new report from GTM Research forecasts 55 GW of solar PV to be installed globally in 2015, up 36% on 2014’s installation figures. The United States will be the third-ranked solar PV market in 2015 behind China and Japan, according to GTM, installing approximately 8 GW, equating to 14% of the global PV market. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Denmark has launched a new tender round for 350 MW of near-shore wind farms off the east coast of Jutland. The turbines must be a minimum of 7 MW, which would provide a capacity factor of 60% and produce low cost electricity. This is in contrast to what would come from the Hinkley nuclear plant. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The UK’s Conservative government is to end subsidies to onshore windfarms from 1 April 2016, a year earlier than set out in the previous Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition agreement. There will be a grace period for projects already having planning permission, the Department of Energy and Climate Change said. [The Guardian]

¶ The Scottish government has warned Whitehall of the threat of a lengthy legal battle if they push ahead with anticipated cuts to subsidy support for the onshore wind industry. Scotland’s Energy Minister said any funding reduction would likely be challenged by an application for Judicial Review. [Click Green]

¶ Record installations for wind power and solar PV helped uncouple global growth from CO2 emissions, according the Global Status Report on the renewable energy industry from REN21. The report finds 135 GW of clean energy capacity was added over 2014, more than coal and gas combined. [Business Green]

¶ AspectSolar announced that the company’s solar energy products will be used to aid disaster relief efforts in earthquake-torn Nepal. AspectSolar’s lightweight, durable solar charging panels and battery systems are being used by high-elevation skiers to bring power to remote villages. [Your Renewable News]

¶ German energy group RWE AG will officially open the 576-MW Gwynt y Mor offshore wind farm near the Wales coast on June 18. The park, worth over £2 billion ($3.2 billion), uses 160 turbines of 3.6-MW each, made by Germany’s Siemens AG. Construction works were initiated in January 2012. [SeeNews Renewables]

View out to sea from, solar farm in the distance.  Photo by Eirian Evans. Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike license 2.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Professor Hans Schellnhuber, head of the highly regarded Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research outside Berlin, told reporters Australia’s reliance on coal exports to China was a “suicide strategy.” Professor Schellnhubner is the adviser to Pope Francis on the effects of global warming. [The Australian Financial Review]

¶ A report says Australia’s “big four” banks have bucked a global trend by heavily favouring investment in fossil fuel projects over renewable energy by $6 to $1 since the global financial crisis. Analysis by Market Forces revealed ANZ led in funding coal, oil and gas projects since 2008, pouring in $12.6 billion. [The Guardian]

¶ Germany’s wind power association BWE is urging the German government to take legal steps against the subsidization of new nuclear power capacity in the EU. The organisation’s president Hermann Albers spoke specifically about planned subsidies for the 3.2-GW Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant. [SeeNews Renewables]

US:

¶ Rocky Mountain Power is hoping to offer customers a way soon to purchase all or part of their power from a solar source without having to put solar panels on their roof. The utility is proposing a Blue Sky subscriber solar program. It’s now seeking approval from the Utah Public Service Commission to supply subscribers. [KUER]

Typical solar farm in the Rocky Mountains. RMP’s newly proposed subscriber farm will be 15 megawatts in capacity. Photo by Rocky Mountain Power.

¶ Within two decades, Iowa wind energy could power the equivalent of more than 6.3 million homes. That’s from a new report released by the DOE. The report says the American wind industry can rapidly expand over the next two decades, comprising one-fifth of the domestic electricity market by 2030. [DesMoinesRegister.com]

¶ Nuclear energy is a costly failure, and Ohio and other states should focus on alternative energy, according to a report by the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School. Upgrading old nuclear and coal-burning power plants will cost ratepayers, and ultimately the utilities, more money. [Port Clinton News Herald]

Science and Technology:

¶ A new conversion efficiency world-record for a full-size, thin-film solar module of 18.6% (aperture area efficiency) has been set by First Solar, according to a press release. The new cadmium-telluride PV module is the first the company has shown that outperforms “the best multi-crystalline module recorded.” [CleanTechnica]

¶ The International Energy Agency has revealed that global energy-related CO2 emissions stopped growing in 2014, halting at 32.2 Gt, unchanged from 2013. The IEA notes that, despite the global economy growing by about 3% across 2014, global energy-related CO2 emissions were able to remain unchanged. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ A solar farm that could power for 6,700 homes annually has been proposed for 102 acres of land outside Cirencester, a town not far from Bristol. Energy company Big60Million wants to build a 23.4MW Cirencester Solar near Witpit Lane, Preston and said the site would benefit Gloucestershire people. [Gloucestershire Echo]

English solar farm. Photo provided by Big60Million.

¶ Solar Frontier, a noted thin-film solar module producer, will partner with the Germany-based developer New Energy for the World to build 100 MW of new solar energy projects in the UK, according to recent reports. The projects will use Solar Frontier’s CIS solar cells, as well as various other components. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Thailand’s Gunkul Engineering Pcl has plans to invest about 10 billion baht ($296.9 million) this year, mostly to expand capacity of renewable energy at home and abroad. About 4 billion baht will be spent for solar power plants and 5 billion baht for wind power, the assistant managing director for business said. [Reuters]

¶ Gerard Mestrallet, the chairman CEO of Engie (formerly GDF Suez), a French company, signalled a big push against coal-fired generation, issuing a “call to arms against coal.” Engie happens to own the Hazelwood brown coal generator in the Australian state of Victoria, the dirtiest power station in the country. [RenewEconomy]

Hazelwood brown coal generator. Photo by Mriya. GNU Free Documentation License. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Sunny India is set to add more solar power than wind capacity for the first time this financial year. Solar installations are set to exceed 2500 MW this financial year (ending March 2016), topping the 2400 MW target for wind, according to officials from India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. [Business Spectator]

¶ The extent solar power has captured the imagination of Australians is evident in the latest Lowy Institute Poll. 43% of the adult population surveyed said solar ‘will be our primary source of electricity 10 years from now,” even though it currently only represents 2% of the nation’s generation capacity. [Energy Matters]

¶ Canada has celebrated Global Wind Day by announcing it has become the 7th nation in the world to surpass 10,000 MW of installed wind power, enough for over three million homes. More wind energy has been installed in Canada over the past five years than any other source of generation, including coal and gas. [Energy Matters]

US:

¶ A dam that once powered a pulp and paper mill on the upper Mississippi River is now producing electricity for Dairyland Power Cooperative. Dairyland is providing the 10 MW of power produced by the facility to its 25 member distribution co-operatives and the 17 municipal utilities it serves in the Midwest. [Electric Co-op Today]

Sartell Dam. Photo by Daveswagon. Put into the public domain by the author.

¶ New Hampshire House and Senate negotiators deadlocked on proposals to change how the state uses money collected by taxing power plant carbon emissions. The current system will continue; 20% of money collected goes into renewable energy projects, and the other 80% used to reduce electric rates. [The Union Leader]

¶ A Spanish steel company is planning to build a new plant to manufacture wind towers in the Texas Panhandle. GRI Renewable Industries, the industrial wind division of Gonvarri Steel Industries, intends to build a wind tower manufacturing plant in Amarillo that would build 400 towers a year. [mySanAntonio.com]

¶ General Motors showed signs Tuesday that it may take on Tesla Motors in the stationary battery business with a different approach. GM is proposing to power homes, businesses and utilities with recycled used electric car batteries from cars like its Chevrolet Volt, which has both batteries as a gas engine. [USA TODAY]

¶ SunCommon, a Vermont Benefit Corporation, will divest its 401k portfolio from fossil fuels. The announcement was followed by a presentations by Maeve McBride of 350VT and Dan Quinlan of Divestor.org. SunCommon’s legal charter directs the company to attend to the triple bottom line: people, planet and profit. [vtdigger.org]

¶ Former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis was among a throng of activists Tuesday who called for the closure of the Pilgrim nuclear power plant along Cape Cod Bay. In front of a crowd clad in bright yellow “Shut Down Pilgrim” t-shirts, Dukakis spoke of difficulties with evacuating Cape Cod. [WGBH NEWS]

World:

¶ The International Energy Agency suggests we have started to work positively on climate change. Solid global economic growth last year failed to increase in carbon emissions. Renewable power types are expected to overtake coal as the world’s largest source of electricity by 2030. [The Australian Financial Review]

The IEA says renewable energy will overtake coal as the biggest source of electricity supply by 2030.

¶ Adani Group has signed a joint venture agreement with the Rajasthan Government to set up a 10,000-MW solar park by 2022. This will be the largest such integrated facility in India. Adani Renewable Energy Park Rajasthan Ltd., will have a 50-50 equity partnership with the state government. [Andhra Wishesh]

¶ The UK government has completed a 69.5-MW solar farm, the country’s largest, Solar Power Portal reported. The power plant is located at a Defence Infrastructure Organisation site in Lyneham, Wiltshire. There is still a potential for expansion of the solar farm to a maximum capacity of 86 MW. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry of Indonesia is considering increasing the 2016 budget for renewable energy development five times to $824 million. The development of rooftop PV capacity is in particular focus, with solar arrays being planned for government office buildings and airports. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ The UK is not on course to meets its legally binding target to secure 15% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, according to a new industry-backed analysis. The Keep on Track! project found that the deployment of green heat and transport technologies will need to accelerate significantly to meet goals. [Business Green]

¶ The EU is estimated to have reached a 15.3% renewables share in gross final energy consumption in 2014, with 25 member states expected to meet their interim targets. The bloc aims at a 20% share by the end of the decade. The report shows that biomass is the most widely used renewable energy source. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ At Fukushima Daiichi’s No 1 reactor, most or all nuclear fuel inside its pressure vessel has melted through and pooled at the bottom of the containment vessel. In the other reactors that melted down, some fuel is thought to remain in their pressure vessels. Robots will survey conditions to help decide how to proceed. [AsiaOne]

US:

¶ After installing 718 MW of solar capacity in Q1 of 2015, California has become the first US state to surpass the 10,000 MW threshold, a new report shows. California deployed 231 MW of residential, 88 MW of commercial and 399 MW of utility-scale solar plants in Q1 and ended with a cumulative 10,649 MW. [SeeNews Renewables]

Solar park in California equipped by First Solar. Author: Russ Ferriday. License: Creative Commons, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

¶ With $4 billion and a new government office, the White House has unveiled its latest clean energy initiative and cast a new role for the federal government: not only is it a funder of new research, of the latest solar converter or biofuel source, but it is also a market builder addressing a need for new investment. [The Guardian]

¶ The DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory has allocated up to $6.5 million to support five projects helping the US electric grid handle growing amounts of renewables. The projects come under the Integrated Network Testbed for Energy Grid Research and Technology Experimentation initiative. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ TDI New England announced an agreement with the Conservation Law Foundation. It includes enhanced environmental and public benefits from a project running a 150 mile long transmission line under Lake Champlain, making Vermont part of the development of the New England Clean Power Link. [Rutland Herald]

¶ Throughout the country, there are more than 80,000 dams, primarily used for flood control and irrigation. Today, just 3% are equipped to generate power. But that 3% produces nearly 7% of our electricity. Hydropower has huge potential for increased capacity. But there are problems with permits and licences. [The Hill]

Science and Technology:

¶ Just days after the US EPA issued its long-awaited fracking report, Stanford University announced that it would undertake a comprehensive research effort aimed at resolving several areas of concern in the natural gas industry. The press release focuses particularly on fugitive emissions or methane leaks. [CleanTechnica]

Courtesy of US EPA.

World:

¶ Veolia has been awarded a €450 million deal to operate a wood-fuelled biomass power plant in Killala, County Mayo, Ireland. The company secured a 15-year contract from Mayo Renewable Power to operate the new 42.5-MW heat and power plant. It will produce enough electricity to supply 68,000 homes. [Irish Times]

¶ Power prices in the UK may fall below zero during some hours before the end of the decade as intermittent renewables output is poised to soar, according to National Grid Plc. Negative power prices, already prevalent in markets from Germany to the Nordic region, occur when supply exceeds demand. [Energy Voice]

¶ Solar energy is expected to change the utility landscape as it could reach as share of 9% to 12% of Europe’s electricity production by 2030, according to a study by consultancy Roland Berger. In Germany, the price of solar PV is already €0.17 ($0.19) per kWh below the retail electricity price. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ In the Philippines, the Maibarara Geothermal Incorporated of PetroGreen Energy, Incorporated said its exploration activities in Sto. Tomas, Batangas showed there is enough steam needed to proceed with an expansion project of an existing 20-MW geothermal power plant, increasing its output by 50%. [Rappler]

Image from PetroEnergy Resources Corporation website

¶ A peak in global energy-related emissions is possible as early as 2020 and at no net economic cost, the International Energy Agency said, while warning that without stronger action the world could see a temperature rise of 3° C by century’s end. The report identifies potential actions. [International Business Times UK]

¶ Applications for new wind farms in Australia’s state of Victoria will now be simpler due to planning changes streamlining project approvals. The changes will see applications for wind farms and supporting infrastructure assessed together, rather than multiple applications to State and local governments. [Energy Matters]

¶ Problems with a reactor in northern France have triggered deep concern in the British government about the future of the UK’s first new nuclear power station for 20 years at Hinkley Point in Somerset. EDF Energy, the French company behind Hinkley, has years of delay and cost increases at its plant in Normandy. [Financial Times]

¶ More and more companies are turning to wind energy to power their businesses, according to the Global Wind Energy Council. GWEC said wind energy has become fully mainstream and is today one of the fastest growing industrial sectors in the world, attracting $100 billion in investment in 2014. [reNews]

US:

¶ In its latest Utility Solar Market Snapshot, the US Solar Electric Power Association offers welcome news: solar energy is becoming increasingly attractive to utilities. Solar has become the fastest-growing power source in the nation, and report forecasts 25% to 50% solar market growth in 2016. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The New York State Senate passed legislation that would allow municipal landfills and water treatment facilities to offset their energy costs by producing their own energy and feeding it back into the grid. This bill broadens the net metering law in New York State by including energy from such plants. [Madison County Courier]

Science and Technology:

¶ Solar Impulse is waiting for a weather window to fly from Japan to Hawaii, making it the longest and most dangerous journey ever on sun powered solo airplane. The seventh leg of the plane’s trip around the world, from Nanjing to Honolulu, was cut short because of weather, so the plane landed in Japan. [TechFrag]

Solar Impulse 2

¶ A report by The Brattle Group for the Advanced Energy Economy Institute says high penetration of renewable generation is not only technically feasible but are already being managed without compromising reliability of electric power service. This supports higher usage of renewable energy. [Windpower Engineering]

World:

¶ The countries that are the biggest polluters have offered different solutions, each using its own timeframe and accounting method, for the UN climate plan. Early analyses by climate researchers show the combined impact falls short of the sharp cuts in emissions required to keep global warming in check. [The Sentinel]

¶ China has approached Bangladesh with a proposal to build waste-based power plants to utilise potentials of the renewable energy sector in the country. The group making the proposal has already completed power plants that generate coal and fuel from garbage with a combined output of 30 MW. [DhakaTribune]

¶ The Chinese Government is going to launch a 50-MW solar powered project in Garissa County, Kenya. Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Liu Xianfa says the project will help provide opportunities such as jobs for the youth who are vulnerable to terror extremism in the largely marginalized county. [Capital FM Kenya]

¶ Google is in talks to invest tens of millions of dollars in the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project, under construction on 40,000 acres in Kenya, slated to be the largest in sub-Saharan Africa. Scheduled for completion in 2017, the project is expected to deliver about 20% of all the electricity produced in Kenya. [AFKInsider]

View of Lake Turkana, Kenya. Photo by Doron. GNU Free Documentation License. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ The government of India has launched an insurance pool to the tune of 1,500 crore rupees ($234,668,000) which is mandatory under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act in a bid to offset financial burden of foreign nuclear suppliers. Several projects that have been held up may now move forward. [The Hans India]

US:

¶ OCI Solar Power LLC, based in San Antonio, Texas, announced that it had started construction on the 110-MW Alamo 6 solar photovoltaic plant located in Pecos County, Texas. Once constructed, this will be the largest PV plant in Texas and one of the largest dual-axis solar projects in the world. [solarserver.com]

¶ sPower, of Salt Lake City, Utah, announced that it has successfully secured 20-year power purchase agreements for three new solar PV projects in California. The three PV facilities will be completed and generating solar power in 2016. Together, they will generate enough solar power for more than 2,500 homes. [solarserver.com]

¶ As reported earlier, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association is buying the entire 76-MW output of the Twin Buttes II Wind Project. It is also fighting to preserve a supply source for a coal-fired power plant in Craig, Colorado, and awaits a decision from a federal judge. [Casper Star-Tribune Online]

Opinion:

¶ “How the Pope Could Turn US Climate Politics Upside Down” Pope Francis is about to release a much-anticipated letter to bishops about faith and climate change. If it has the impact he is counting on, it could finally budge a glacier of frozen thinking on the climate crisis. This is how he may pull this feat off. [Bloomberg]

World:

¶ A planned £300 million green energy facility in Islandmagee could help transform Northern Ireland’s economy. Dublin-based renewable energy company Gaelectric plan to build a compressed air energy storage facility, the first of its kind in the UK and only the third such project anywhere in the world. [Carrickfergus Times]

View of Ballylumford and power station at Islandmagee, in rural Northern Ireland. Photo by Kenneth Allen. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.

¶ China-based Solar Power has formed a joint venture with KK Uniroot, a diversified Osaka-based corporation, to develop 500 MW of solar power in Japan. SPI Solar will do the funding, construction, and equipment procurement. Uniroot will see to site acquisition, regulatory approvals, and selling power. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told a broadcaster that wind turbines were “visually awful”, noisy, and caused health problems. When he was asked if he had ever visited a wind farm, he admitted to being near one turbine on one occasion. It was funded by the previous government of his own party. [Sydney Morning Herald]

¶ In Australia’s Southwest, cattle farmer Hamish Officer lives closer to wind turbines than most people. Five of them stand within 750 metres of the home he shares with his wife and two daughters. He disagrees with Prime Minister Abbott, saying they are not troublesome and “add to the landscape.” [Warrnambool Standard]

¶ According to media reports, integrated oil major Royal Dutch Shell plc is willing to leave Ukraine by stepping out from its exploration activities at its last well in the country. Shell is not the only company leaving. Last year, another Chevron Corporation cancelled a shale gas deal worth $10 billion and left in the country. [Zacks.com]

¶ A lack of customers is hurting Australian coal-fired power stations. A Grattan Institute energy expert says while some factors that led to Alinta Energy’s decision to close two coal-burning power plants were specific to the company, it could also lead to marginal coal producers reducing supply. [The Australian Financial Review]

¶ In British Columbia, the Metro Vancouver Waste-to-Energy Facility says since the beginning of 2015, emissions have been reduced by 53% due to an updated emission control system, equivalent of removing about 20,000 vehicles from the road. The technology was developed by Covanta, of New Jersey. [Renewable Energy from Waste]

¶ Ethiopia submitted a climate deal that included a green house gas cut of 64% by 2030 and an intention to sell carbon credits over the 2020-2030 periods. Ethiopia became the third African country to unveil its plan to cut carbon emissions as part of a global pact, and the 40th country to post a plan for the UN. [StarAfrica.com]

¶ The South Korean government has started its first decommissioning of a nuclear plant. At a meeting in Seoul presided by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, the National Energy Council voted to recommend that the operator decommission the No 1 reactor at Kori Nuclear Power Plant. [The Hankyoreh]

US:

¶ Ocean Renewable Power Co has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a two-year extension of its hydrokinetic pilot project license for the 300-kW Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy project in Maine. As a pilot project, licenses are short-term. The company is interested in continuing its research. [HydroWorld]

Photo courtesy of Ocean Renewable Power Co.

¶ A new solar agreement marks a key milestone for South Carolina customers in the Duke Energy service area. Enhancing Duke Energy’s Distributed Energy Resource programs, the new proposals are designed to grow solar capacity in the Duke’s South Carolina service area from about 2 MW to about 110 MW. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Federal buildings in the Washington area might be seeing more solar power systems, under a new solicitation by the General Services Administration. The agency is looking for a power purchase agreement that would extend across multiple buildings in the Washington area, according to a solicitation. [Federal Times]

¶ Los Angeles city will not be purchasing power from Bechtel Corp’s planned 358-MW Soda Mountain Solar Project in the Mojave Desert. The news comes shortly after the Bureau of Land Management suggested that the project’s capacity be cut by a quarter for reasons ranging from environmental to visual. [SeeNews Renewables]

Opinion:

¶ “Microgrid power struggle tests century-old monopolies” –
Microgrids that can disconnect from a centralized electric grid and operate independently are sizzling hot these days. Cities vulnerable to storms want them. People interested in lower power bills want them. And now, traditional utilities want them. [Environmental Defense Fund]

New York skyline when half the city was in blackout due to Hurricane Sandy. Photo by David Shankbone. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

World:

¶ Solar power now covers more than 1% of global electricity demand. In Italy, Germany and Greece, solar PV supplies more than 7% of electricity demand. This is reported by Solar Power Europe (previously EPIA – European Photovoltaic Industry Association). China is the fastest growing market. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A draft decree shows Spain’s energy ministry is to introduce a new fee for the owners of grid-connected solar power system with energy storage. The move is to discourage the use of batteries. Under the draft legislation, such systems will also receive no payment for power they send to the grid. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ The pace of change in China’s energy policy means that the targets it has set for cutting greenhouse gases are likely to be achieved sooner than expected, a study says. China had promised its emissions would peak in 2030 and subsequently decrease. It could now be five years ahead of schedule. [eco-business.com]

¶ The Scottish government published proposals aimed at developing the country’s energy efficiency potential, with district heating to take a vital role. The policy statement details measures to supply heat efficiently and at the lowest cost to consumers, as part decarbonisation. [Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production Magazine]

¶ Aurora Wind Power, a venture of Engie (formerly GDF SUEZ, France), Investec Bank Limited, and KTH, announced that it has started commercial operation of the 94-MW West Coast 1 wind farm. The wind farm’s site is located in South Africa’s Western Cape Province, near the town of Vredenburg. [Cape Business News]

¶ Tohoku Electric Power Co plans to postpone restarting two of its idled nuclear reactors by around a year, officials with the regional power utility said Thursday. The No 1 reactor at the Higashidori plant in Aomori Prefecture and the No 2 reactor at the Onagawa plant in Miyagi Prefecture will be delayed. [The Japan Times]

¶ South Korea’s oldest nuclear reactor may fail in its second bid for a life extension in the face of strong opposition as people have learned an important lesson from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis: Anything can happen at any time. The Kori-1 reactor was built in the southeastern port city of Busan in 1977. [GlobalPost]

US:

¶ Iberdrola Renewables LLC announced it has signed a 25-year deal to supply Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc, of Westminster, Colorado, with the entire 76-MW output from a new wind farm Iberdrola will build on the state’s eastern plains. The project is to be finished in 2017. [Denver Business Journal]

Iberdrola wind farm. Photo by Iberdrola.

¶ The US residential solar market grew by 76% in the first quarter of 2015, compared to a year earlier, installing 437 MW, according to GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association. The US installed 1.3 GW of solar PV across all market segments, despite one of the worst winters recorded. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed H. 40, an energy bill into law that promises to create 1,000 new jobs and help Vermonters save on energy costs over a 15-year period. “I think it is the most forward-leaning legislation in the country,” Mary Powell, chief executive officer at Green Mountain Power, said. [vtdigger.org]

¶ Northwest Energy Innovations has successfully deployed its Azura wave energy device at the United States Navy’s Wave Energy Test Site near Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawai’i. The device will be deployed for 12 months of grid-connected testing as part of a program to commercialize the Azura technology. [AltEnergyMag]

¶ DTE Energy Company received the NRC approval to construct and operate a nuclear unit, Fermi Unit 3. The company can build Fermi Unit 3 at the existing 1,170 MW Fermi Unit 2 plant site, near Newport, Michigan. The new reactor will be the fifth in the US to complete the NRC’s combined license process. [Nasdaq]

¶ Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA is investing more than $6.7 million in 544 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects nationwide. The move will include grants that will help farmers, ranchers and small business owners use more renewable energy, reducing carbon footprints. [agprofessional.com]

World:

¶ Lekela Power, a joint venture between Actis and Mainstream Renewable Power, is on track to achieve its goal of installing 1 GW of wind and solar parks across Africa in the next five years. The company already has 860 MW of African projects under construction or due to start construction next year. [SeeNews Renewables]

Wind turbine foundation in South Africa. Courtesy of Mainstream Renewable Power – http://www.mainstreamrp.com

¶ A new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency shows that 164 countries have now adopted at least one type of renewable energy target, compared to just 43 ten years ago. There are two other countries, Canada and the UAE, with renewable energy targets at the sub-national level only. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ In Australia, Alinta Energy has revealed it will close its Port Augusta power stations and the Leigh Creek mine as early as March next year, with 440 jobs lost. The company says it plans to close the operations by March 2018, but they could be shut down earlier date as they become increasingly uneconomic. [The Guardian]

¶ As Pakistan struggles with the rising risks of floods and melting glaciers, it is crafting a plan to cut its planet-warming emissions under a new global climate deal expected in Paris in December. The nation is currently considering a goal to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% from 2008 levels by 2025. [The Nation]

¶ BP has threatened to widen a rift between European and US oil companies over how to respond to global warming by urging political leaders to deliver a “substantial” deal at international climate change talks later this year. The CEOs of American oil companies call approaches being considered unworkable. [The Guardian]

¶ A unit of Chinese solar producer ET Solar Energy Corp has commissioned a 13-MWp ground-mounted PV plant in the UK for renewables investor Belltown Power. The Park Farm solar plant, in Leicestershire, is expected to generate enough power to meet the needs of about 3,900 local households. [SeeNews Renewables]

UK solar park. Author: Robert Pittman. License: Creative Commons, Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic

¶ Green energy now accounts for a record 6% of global power generation according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy. The report shows shifts in global energy production and consumption have had profound implications for prices, for the global fuel mix, and for global carbon dioxide emissions. [Click Green]

¶ Dozens of the UK’s leading businesses, including Willmott Dixon, Cisco, E.on, John Lewis Partnership, SSE, and BT, have called on the new Government to take decisive action to combat climate change and build a low-carbon economy. The group sent an open letter to Prime Minister David Cameron. [Click Green]

¶ Japan’s industry minister, Yoichi Miyazawa, told a Lower House committee session on economy and industry that Japan needs to have 35 nuclear reactors in operation by 2030. This is in order to achieve a government goal of getting 20% to 22% of the country’s electrical energy from nuclear plants. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶ General Electric announced the city of Rexburg, Idaho, has selected its new anaerobic digestion technology to treat biosolids at its wastewater treatment facility. The Monsal anaerobic technology treats biosolids, creating “Class A” biosolids, while generating electricity and heat. [Renewable Energy from Waste]

GE anaerobic digester.

¶ Montana’s Renewable Portfolio Standard was signed into law ten years ago. Now, Montana is a clean energy success story, with $1 billion invested by the wind industry alone. Wind projects generate low-cost, local renewable power, produce local tax revenue, and spur job creation. [Your Renewable News]

¶ Amazon Web Services Inc, the cloud computing unit of US e-commerce group Amazon.com Inc, will support the construction and operation of an 80-MW solar farm in Virginia that will generate electricity for its data centres. The company has a goal of 100% reliance on renewable power for its web servers. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ The recently released report by Stanford University showed that the US can go 100% renewable if homes, cars, factories, etc, all run on electricity. And before anyone comments that it is easier said than done, Mark Jacobson, lead researcher in the study, claims that it is feasible in just 35 years from now. [The Green Optimistic]

¶ High penetrations of variable renewable generation can be manageable without compromising reliability. In fact, it’s been proven in Texas and Colorado. A new report finds that high penetration levels of renewable generation are not only technically feasible but are being managed without sacrificing reliability. [Fierce Energy]

Opinion:

¶ “Australia isolated on climate after G7 meeting” – Many countries can see the writing on the wall. After the G7 nations announced a goal of moving away from fossil fuel dependence, a question arises: Could Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his Government be any more out of step with the world on climate policy? [SBS]

Energy Brix Power Station, Victoria, brown coal fired power station and briquette factory. Photo by Marcus Wong. Wikimedia Commons.

World:

¶ On Monday, renewable energy development company SunEdison was awarded an additional five solar photovoltaic power projects in South Africa under round 4.5 of the country’s procurement program. The five projects will be located in the North West Provinces and will have a total generation capacity of 371 MW. [ESI Africa]

¶ Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay got planning consent from the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change for construction of the £1 billion tidal lagoon project in Swansea Bay, Wales. The company will start construction of the 320-MW project next year, after of a guaranteed price for power is established. [Energy Business Review]

¶ A new roadmap released today at the International Renewable Energy Agency’s ninth IRENA Council meeting has set out a pathway for advancing renewable energy supported by battery storage. They call for 150 GW of batteries and 325 GW of pumped storage to be brought online by 2030. [pv magazine]

¶ Mercedes-Benz has unveiled a personal energy cell that, like Tesla’s Powerwall, uses batteries to charge up during off-peak hours. The German car manufacturer revealed that each pack holds 2.5 kWh of electricity. Combined, eight of them to can hold 20 kWh to cover grid failure or backup solar power. [Daily Mail]

¶ The Japanese government and TEPCO are planning to push back the start of removing spent fuel at the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex by two to three years from the current schedule. Work to begin removing the spent fuel from the Unit 3 pool is expected to be delayed until fiscal 2017. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶ Renewable energy accounted for 9.8% of US energy consumption in 2014. This marks the highest renewable energy share since the 1930s, when wood was a much larger contributor to domestic energy supply. In 2014, slightly more than half of all renewable energy was used to generate electricity. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Michigan utility DTE Electricity has asked regulators to let it cut monthly residential electricity rates because wind energy costs are falling. DTE is working to comply with the state’s 10% by 2015 renewable portfolio standard, and the result is a decline in energy costs as more windpower goes online. [CleanTechnica]

Wind turbine at farm.

¶ The US is expected to install 7.9 GW of solar PV capacity in the full 2015, according to GTM Research and SEIA. They expect the residential solar segment to grow the most. The US PV capacity expanded by 1,306 MW in Q1, including 225 MW of non-residential and 644 MW of utility-scale installations. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Advanced Microgrid Solutions announced plans to install up to 500 MWh of Tesla’s Powerpack batteries over the coming years. That would make it Tesla’s biggest single battery customer yet. The plans are based on contracts with Southern California Edison and the expectation of more to come. [Greentech Media]

¶ The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit dismissed an attempt by more than a dozen states and other entities to block US EPA from finalizing its greenhouse gas standards for power plants. The court said it could not rule on standards before they were finalized. [Environment & Energy Publishing]

¶ Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Monday asked utility executives to partner with his company to deliver more reliable power to homes and businesses. Musk said utilities could use the larger-scale Powerpack batteries to be better able to use renewable sources, improve power delivery and defer infrastructure upgrades. [Manufacturing.net]

¶ Northern Power Systems, located in Barre, Vermont, and MCM Energy Labs sri, of Italy, announced they will partner to deliver hybrid power systems for both grid-connected and off-grid applications. Offerings are expected to include multiple source power generation with advanced power technology solutions. [Stockhouse]

¶ Cape Cod Bay Watch has generated a report they say documents marine destruction and pollution of Cape Cod Bay by Entergy’s Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant. An attorney with Cape Cod Bay Watch said the crux of the problem is what they call “a once-through cooling system” that kills marine life. [95.9 WATD-FM]

World:

¶ A record 40 GW of new solar power was connected in 2014 according to a new report from SolarPower Europe, formerly the European Photovoltaic Industry Association. The group said that 2014 was a “tipping point.” Its executive advisor pointed out that in 2014, renewables produced more power than nuclear. [reNews]

Photo by Rama. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Essel Group and the state government of Rajasthan announced that the two have entered into an agreement to set up a joint venture company that will oversee development of 5 GW of solar power capacity over the next few years. They will build at least two separate solar parks, at Bikaner and Jaisalmer. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The top seven industrialized countries (G7), whose carbon dioxide emissions total 25% of the world’s output, decided at a meeting in Germany today to phase out their use of fossil fuels by the end of this century. It’s a breakthrough move on climate change and a strong signal to the rest of the countries in the world. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The wind power segment of Gestamp Renewables has won a 20-year contract for the 102-MW Copperton wind project in South Africa’s Northern Cape province. Gestamp plans to start construction by the first quarter of 2016. The $169.7 million project is expected to start commercial operations in late 2017. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ SunEdison has been awarded five solar more photovoltaic projects in South Africa, totaling 371 MW DC. The five solar power plants will be located in the Northern Cape and North West Provinces and are expected to produce enough energy to power the equivalent of more than 200,000 South African homes. [AZoCleantech]

¶ Irish renewable energy company Mainstream Renewable Power expects construction to be completed on two large-scale wind farms in South Africa by the end of 2017. The wind farms, which will have a with a total generation capacity of 250 MW, represent an investment of about €420 million. [Irish Independent]

¶ The 270-MW K2 Wind Power Facility in Ontario has started commercial operations. Having 140 Siemens 2.3 MW wind turbines, K2 Wind is currently the largest such facility in Ontario in terms of capacity. It is expected to generate adequate electricity to power 100,000 average households in Ontario. [Greentech Lead]

¶ American Capital Energy & Infrastructure is investing in a 151.8-MW wind power project in Senegal in west Africa. The total cost of the facility, which will be the largest in West Africa, is estimated at €305 million, with ACEI expecting to provide an estimated €76 million of equity, with the rest from other investors. [reNews]

¶ Norway’s Parliament voted Friday to ratify a decision made by the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund’s finance committee to divest of coal industry holdings. The fund will sell stakes in mining and power companies that directly, or indirectly, base 30% or more of their revenue on coal. [Environment & Energy Publishing]

US:

¶ Hawai’i is now the first state in the nation to adopt a 100% renewable energy requirement for electricity generation, as Governor David Ige signed the measure into law. That goal is to be achieved by 2045. Representative Chris Lee introduced the measure partly as a step to reduce electricity costs. [Hawaii Public Radio-HPR2]

A Mitsubishi 250 kW wind turbine of the Kama’oa Wind Farm in Ka Lae. Photo by Harvey McDaniel from Naalehu, HI. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ The California Public Utilities Commission is working to replace the current four-tier structure, in which greater users of electricity pay higher rates, with a two-tier or a three-tier structure. They are also shifting to time-of-use rates, which would charge more for electricity at high demand times, by 2019. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A Republican entrepreneur is putting a whopping $175 million behind a campaign whose message will have some party stalwarts seeing red: The GOP needs to deal with climate change. Among Republican presidential candidates, only Lindsey Graham admits to believing human activity causes climate change. [Politico]

¶ An Oklahoma electric cooperative will offer its members stakes in a community solar project with help from an Arkansas co-op that designs and develops solar arrays. Tri-County Electric Cooperative plans to deploy a 1-MW solar array and give members the option to purchase individual panels. [Electric Co-op Today]

¶ Researchers at Stanford University and UC Berkeley have outlined how each state can achieve a complete transition to renewable power by 2050. The plans call for aggressive changes to both infrastructure and energy consumption habits, but also show conversions that are economically possible. [Stanford University News]

¶ The state of California has already set 14 solar records this year, including the latest high of 6,078 MW of simultaneous solar generation, but don’t expect that high mark to be the record long. Experts expect a steady clip of new records over the next few months, as sunny summer weather kicks into full gear. [The Desert Sun]

Science and Technology:

¶ Sungrow, one of the leading PV-inverter manufacturers in the world, has released a series of inverters with 99% efficiency. The string and central inverters with a peak efficiency of 99% were developed by Sungrow’s in-house R&D team, with certification from the Austrian Institute of Technology. [Your Renewable News]

World:

¶ Increased capacity and strong winds saw Scottish wind power generation rise 83% year-on-year last month, setting a record for May. The turbines generated enough for 101% of Scottish households. WWF Scotland said on Monday as it called on the UK government to rethink its plans to curb onshore wind. [SeeNews Renewables]

Wind park in Scotland. Author: Ian Dick. License: Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic.

¶ Indonesia plans to review local coal mines which do not have “clean and clear certification,” and possibly consolidate the country’s coal industry, according to the mining and energy minister. Around 4,000 mines will be reviewed because they do not have proper certification and they could be consolidated. [Platts]

¶ US-backed Mayo Renewable Power is planning a €180 million electricity generating plant for Killala, the construction of which will create up to 350 jobs. It will be Ireland’s largest independent biomass power plant. It will be fueled by woodchip biomass and produce enough electricity to power 68,000 homes. [CareersPortal]

¶ A fully renewable energy system, including all energy consuming sectors, is not only a possible but a viable solution for Finland, according to a new research by researchers from Lappeenranta University of Technology. Results show that a fully renewable energy system represents a competitive solution for Finland. [AZoCleantech]

¶ South Korea has axed plans to build four coal-fired power plants and will boost its nuclear reactor fleet by two more units, as it looks to increase the share of nuclear and gas in power generation and cut reliance on coal. The new plans would take the number of planned nuclear reactors to 36 by 2029. [Economic Times]

¶ A joint venture between UK’s SSE Plc and US-based Wheelabrator Technologies Inc has secured a £75 million ($114.6 million, €102.7 million) off-take contract for a 68-MW waste-to-energy plant in West Yorkshire, England. Its annual output would be enough to power around 160,000 households. [SeeNews Renewables]

Chipped wood. Author: Douglas O’Brien. License: Creative Commons, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.

¶ SunEdison Inc. plans to invest $15 billion in India by 2022, a top executive said, as the renewable-energy company seeks to deepen in its foothold in a country where power producers have struggled to meet demand. The company plans to install a total of 15 GW of wind and solar power capacity in India. [MarketWatch]

US:

¶ Three large shipping containers in an industrial park in Boothbay, Maine have batteries storing enough electricity to run 100 homes for a day, New England’s first utility-scale electricity storage system. They are part of a pilot program aimed at meeting peak demand at a fraction of the cost of new transmission lines. [Press Herald]

¶ The oil and gas industry in the US and its environmental critics are each finding reasons to hype a new EPA study on the impact of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water. The EPA found fracking has not resulted in widespread, systemic damage to drinking water, but potential vulnerabilities do exist. [USA TODAY]

World:

¶ Hydro Tasmania is bracing for the effects of a looming El Nino. Drier than normal conditions have been blamed for lower hydro generation in other Australian states, while the weather bureau warns a strengthening El Nino in the Pacific should bring below average rainfall for south-eastern Australia. [Perth Now]

Hydro Tasmania’s Gordon Dam on Lake Gordon in the South-West of Tasmania. Picture: Peter Mathew/Hydro Tasmania.

¶ Curbing global warming will be among many items on the agenda when G-7 leaders meet over the weekend. Japan may find itself odd man out, as the government favors coal, gas and nuclear power over green energy despite rapid growth of investment in renewables since the Fukushima Disaster. [News Watch International]

¶ India’s National Institute of Engineering, one of the oldest institutions in the country, is set to establish a renewable energy-based micro grid. Its Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technologies will collaborate with the University of Wisconsin, US, to establish a micro grid on the institute campus. [Web India]

¶ Pakistan’s climate change minister says reduction in taxes on clean energy would lessen Pakistan’s heavy dependence on coal, oil, and natural gas. In the new financial budget for 2015-16, the government has exempted solar panels and certain related components from sales tax and customs duty for a year. [DAWN.com]

¶ To hear the oil ministers of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait talk about it this week, the race to develop massive solar power arrays in the world’s sunniest nations is nearly as important as the current battle for oil market share. At a major OPEC conference , both took time to hail their nascent solar power efforts. [Trade Arabia]

¶ Africa can boost its capacity to generate power, economic growth, and jobs, without precipitating catastrophic climate change, argues Kofi Annan. The Africa Progress Panel, which he heads categorically rejects the idea that Africa has to choose between growth and low-carbon development. [Front Page Africa]

Solar panels in Senegal.  Photo by Fratelli dell’Uomo Onlus, Elena Pisano, Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Right at this very moment 621 million Africans, two-thirds of the continent’s population, live without electricity. A kettle boiled twice a day in the United Kingdom uses five times as much electricity as someone in Mali uses in a year. With current trends, the lack of power will last until long after 2030. [Times of Oman]

US:

¶ Columbia Water and Light, the municipal utility of Columbia, Missouri, plans to test biofuel pellets that are not made from wood in a power plant boiler later this summer, after the Missouri Department of Natural Resources approves a temporary permit. The pellets are made from such materials as corn stover. [Columbia Daily Tribune]

¶ Ohio’s growth of green energy jobs is slowing down because of government policies, according to a study conducted by Environmental Entrepreneurs. The study, Clean Jobs Ohio, says there are now 89,000 Ohioans working in the clean energy field, but the government believes clean energy is unaffordable. [Cincinnati.com]

¶ With more than 280 buildings and 13 million square feet of indoor space, green energy would seem elusive if not impractical at the University of Utah. And yet, the US EPA this week ranked the school eighth in the nation and first among Pac-12 schools in the College and University Green Power Challenge results. [Salt Lake Tribune]

Opinion:

¶ “Big Energy is dying as $90 trillion low-carbon world emerges” – The aging fossil-fuel industry, Big Oil, Big Coal, Big Gas, doesn’t want you to hear the relentless drumbeat leading investors away: Falling stock prices, rising costs, spills, depleting reserves. But Sustainable Energy is pushed them aside. [MarketWatch]

World:

¶ The French gas utility named Engie (formerly GDF Suez) is developing new geothermal projects in the Paris, France, area to the tune of 50 MW, which will bring the company’s total geothermal capacity there to 100 MW. A single plant, Noisy-le-Sec, has a capacity of 10 MW. The new addition will be done in 2016. [CleanTechnica]

The Eiffel Tower and the Champ de Mars. Photo by Wladyslaw, Wikimedia Commons.

¶ The cabinet of Maharashtra has approved the state’s new renewable energy policy which envisages addition of 14.4 GW of capacity by 2020. Solar power accounts for 7.5 GW of the total, wind power for 5 GW, biomass power for 1 GW, small-scale hydropower for 400 MW, and agro-waste for 300 MW. [Greentech Lead]

¶ Donald Trump has lost his latest legal challenge against an offshore windfarm project near his Aberdeenshire golf resort. Proposals to build the 11-turbine scheme in Aberdeen Bay were approved by the Scottish Government in 2013. Trump claimed it would spoil the view from his luxury golf links. [Ellon Times]

¶ The Philippine Department of Energy approved on May 27, 2015, the service contract of the largest solar PV power plant in the country. A 25-year service contract was signed between Living Project 4 People Philippines Inc and the DOE for a 100-MW Solar PV Project in Ilagan City, Isabela, Philippines. [eco-business.com]

¶ Britain’s new nuclear power stations and other energy infrastructure projects must be designed to look beautiful to garner essential public support, Energy Secretary Amber Rudd, says. When spending so much on infrastructure, it is crucial to ensure the public is on your side by making projects visually inspiring. [The Independent]

US:

¶ The Energy Information Administration’s analysis of the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan shows that renewable energy play a critical role under a range market conditions and policy assumptions. The key difference involves the timing and the extent of wind and solar electric generating capacity additions. [PennEnergy]

Energy Information Administration graph.

¶ Officials of the Tri-County Electric Cooperative in Oklahoma’s Panhandle have announced they will offer its customers the opportunity to buy solar energy produced by a system at their new headquarters in Hooker, Oklahoma, making it the first electric utility in the state to offer “community” solar. [Tulsa World]

¶ One corner of the Whitcomb Farm in Essex Junction, Vermont now has 12,000 solar panels generating electricity on it. The system was built by New Jersey developer PSEG. Its 3.6-MW capacity makes it the largest solar system in the state. It will supply annual needs of about 600 households. [WPTZ The Champlain Valley]

¶ Over 30 states are at least halfway toward meeting early CO2 emissions targets called for by the US EPA’s proposed regulations for existing power plants, according to a study released by the Union of Concerned Scientists. Of those states, 14 can meet the 2020 interim target based on prior actions. [Argus Media]

¶ A lawsuit filed in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of 10 environmental organizations challenges the approval of Shell’s exploration plan in the Arctic. The plan for exploration in the Chukchi Sea, off the northwest coast of Alaska, was approved by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. [Dutch Harbor Fisherman]

World:

¶ ScottishPower Renewables said it has received consent for its Glen App wind farm, of up to 33 MW, in the South Ayrshire, southwestern Scotland. South Ayrshire Council gave the thumbs up to the 11-turbine scheme on Wednesday. The wind farm is expected to be fully operational by 2017. [SeeNews Renewables]

Haggis Hill in Ayrshire with wind farm in background. Photo by Walter Baxter. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ A huge number of Australians already have solar PVs on their rooftops. That is only part of the reason many global battery storage developers are targeting Australia as their first big market. Australian attitudes on energy also include cynicism about utilities and yearning for energy independence. [CleanTechnica]

¶ IKEA Group announced it will invest €600 million in wind and solar power, on top of the €1.5 billion invested since 2009. Also, IKEA Foundation, the charitable arm of the group, will invest €400 million to support families and communities in nations vulnerable to floods, droughts and desertification. [brandchannel.com]

¶ A working paper from the influential New Climate Economy initiative says the climate benefits of gas, including shale gas, could in theory be significant. But it warns that any theoretical benefits could easily be wiped out without controls on methane leakage. The paper questions the premise of the gas bridge. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Renewable energy group Gaelectric has revealed plans for a £300 million storage facility in Northern Ireland which could lead to more than 500 jobs. The facility in Larne will use compressed air energy storage technology, its first adaptation for use along with intermittent sources such as wind and solar. [Belfast Telegraph]

¶ The value of Europe’s five biggest energy utilities dropped €100 billion ($113 billion) between 2008 and 2013, in part because of a dogged preference for coal over clean power investments, a new report says. EON, RWE, GDF Suez, EDF and Enel collectively lost 37% of their share value in the period. [The Guardian]

¶ Ghana’s Deputy Minister for Energy and Petroleum, Mr John Abdulai Jinapor, and the Deputy CEO for International Business Cooperation of Rosatom, Mr Nikolay N. Spasskiy, signed an agreement for cooperation in peaceful use of nuclear energy in Ghana at the ATOMEXPO International Forum in Moscow. [spyghana.com]

US:

¶ A study by the US DOE found that a proposed $1.2 billion power transmission line under Lake Champlain would have very little effect on the surrounding environment. The proposed New England Clean Power Link is a project designed by TDI New England to bring Canadian electricity to the New England market. [Vermont Public Radio]

Light house in Lake Champlain at dusk, as seen from Burlington Vermont. Photo by Nagaraju.ramanna. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ It wasn’t Honolulu, or Los Angeles, or Austin, or Phoenix. No, the US city that installed more solar power than any other in 2014 was … Indianapolis? Yep. Indianapolis added a whopping 51 MW of solar capacity in 2014, nearly all the result of a voluntary program offered by Indianapolis Power & Light. [EarthTechling]

¶ Advanced Microgrid Solutions has selected Tesla as the primary technology provider for its utility-scale energy storage projects. AMS will install up to 500 MWh of Tesla batteries in its energy storage projects. AMS also signed an agreement with Black & Veatch for engineering and construction services. [Your Renewable News]

¶ Great River Energy, a Minnesota not-for-profit electric cooperative, and its participating member cooperatives, have launched Revolt, a program allowing customers to charge their electric vehicles with 100% wind energy at no extra cost. This is done through dedicated wind energy RECs. [North American Windpower]

¶ Dairyland Power Cooperative, based in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, has issued a request for proposals for up to 25 MW of renewable energy from one or more new utility-scale photovoltaic solar facilities. The RFP seeks proposals for up to 25 MW of capacity with commercial operation to begin by July 1, 2016. [Your Renewable News]

¶ A proposal to install over floating wind turbines offshore of Oahu, Hawaii’s most populous island, could generate 30% of the island’s energy needs according to a report from Fusion. The state produces the bulk of its power from imported oil. The state legislature has passed a 100% by 2045 renewables mandate. [Utility Dive]

Science and Technology:

¶ Residential solar can slash electricity costs, boost property values, deliver a great return on investment, and decrease air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. But it turns out that rooftop solar can also deliver dividends for everyone on the grid, regardless of whether or not they are solar powered. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ Panasonic will start to sell energy storage solutions to Australian power companies like Red Energy and ActewAGL this October, according to recent reports. The company will be selling lithium-ion batteries, similar to Tesla’s. Panasonic energy storage solutions will be available in New Zealand as well. [CleanTechnica]

Image Credit: Petra, Wiki Commons

¶ Siemens has signed contracts worth €8 billion for high-efficiency natural gas-fired power plants and wind power installations that will boost Egypt’s power generation capacity by more than 50% compared to the currently installed base. The projects will add an additional 16.4 GW to Egypt’s national grid. [The FINANCIAL]

¶ There will be no US-style shale gas revolution in Europe, the president of the International Gas Union told BBC. “You cannot duplicate [the US experience] in Europe,” he said. “Politicians are hesitating to accept shale development.” The US has experienced low gas prices because of fracking. [Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide]

¶ Alberta Premier Rachel Notley was elected in a surprise vote last month. Alberta produces a third of Canada’s pollution. She is working to shift Alberta’s energy policy, in the same way Ontario’s has changed. The shift includes phasing out coal plants and offering subsidies for solar and wind, according to sources. [Bloomberg]

¶ Critics say Japan’s emissions target to be presented to November’s climate summit is unambitious compared to those of other leading countries and unrealistic because it depends on restoring a nuclear industry facing public hostility. It cuts emissions levels by 26% by 2030 from what they were in 2013. [Reuters]

¶ Japanese electric utilities and nuclear watchdog are at odds over the “science” used to calculate the risks of underground faults at nuclear power plants. The Nuclear Regulation Authority says faults should be considered active unless they are scientifically confirmed to be inactive. The utilities disagree. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶ New York and New Jersey customers will now be able to install SunTegra solar shingles through solar contractor ACE Solar. SunTegra solar shingles are manufactured by New York–based Integrated Solar Technology. Ace Solar will bring roof-integrated solar systems to more residential solar customers. [CleanTechnica]

Photo via IST

¶ ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson recently let the world know that global warming or not, his company will keep on doing business as usual. However, one of the global petroleum industry’s single biggest customers is ready for a change of air. The US Army intends to wean itself from petroleum products. [CleanTechnica]

¶ US independent power producer EDF Renewable Energy says that the 200-MW Longhorn wind farm in the state of Texas has achieved commercial operation. The wind park uses 100 2-MW Vestas wind turbines. It should generate enough power to meet the annual needs of around 55,000 households. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ The California Senate approved a sweeping package of climate change bills designed to cement the Golden State’s reputation as a leader in the fight against global warming. The legislation would trigger a fundamental shift in the kinds of cars Californians drive and the way they power their homes and businesses. [Record Bee]

¶ New York state’s energy research authority is proposing to spend $1.5 billion over the next 10 years to spur further development in renewable energy projects, extending a program that began in 2004 through the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard program. It also wants to make changes in the program. [Buffalo News]

World:

¶ Lights flick on across a sleepy hamlet in Kenya, thanks to the efforts of more than 200 Maasai women at the frontline of a solar power revolution. Trained in solar panel installation, they use donkeys to haul their solar wares from home to home in the remote region, giving families their first access to clean and reliable power. [TODAYonline]

Massai village in Tanzania. Photo by David Berkowitz. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Tokyo-based firm Juwi Shizen Energy started construction of a 25-MW solar park in Hirono, Japan, to be put online in the spring of 2016. This is the biggest engineering, procurement, and construction deal in Japan for the joint venture between German developer Juwi AG and Japanese firm Shizen Energy Inc. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ A report, Under the Rug: How Governments and International Institutions Are Hiding Billions in Support to the Coal Industry, reveals that governments and financing organisations have funnelled more than $73 billion into coal-related projects over the last 8 years. Much of the support is for export financing. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Power for All is a global campaign dedicated to promoting the fastest, most cost-effective, and most sustainable approach to universal energy access. It claims that access to distributed, democratized, and renewable energy can be delivered twice as fast and at 10% of the cost of the top-down, centralized model. [CleanTechnica]

¶ ACME Cleantech Solutions, a renewable energy developer in India, has commissioned 100 MW of solar PV plants in the state of Rajasthan in the country’s Northwest. There will be a total of five plants of 20 MW each. The power generated from the projects will supply the state through a 132-kV line. [PV-Tech]

¶ China is the world’s largest hydro power producer and is expected to share its technology with the world despite challenges at home, according to the China Economic Weekly. The magazine says China’s installed hydropower capacity of 300 GW led the world and accounted for 27% of global capacity in 2014. [WantChinaTimes]

¶ ReFood has completed a multi-million pound development project to expand an anaerobic digestion facility in Yorkshire. The project has almost doubled the capacity of the facility which is now capable of processing 160,000 tonnes of food waste. It will generate enough electricity for more than 12,000 homes. [Thorne Gazette]

Reffod digester at Ings Road, Bentley, Yorkshire.

US:

¶ Making it easier and more affordable to install rooftop solar systems, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has signed into law the Solar Power Free Market Financing Act. The legislation is considered a victory for both property rights supporters and solar advocates, and has applause from the solar industry. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum says he loves Pope Francis, but he wants the pontiff to stop talking about climate change. He says the pope should “leave science to the scientists.” The pope, who has a master’s degree in chemistry, is becoming increasingly vocal about climate change. [Huffington Post]

¶ A new low in California’s worsening drought was reached Monday when state officials reported that the state’s snowpack is gone. This was inevitable as a measurement two months ago said it was at 5% of normal. Despite the dire water measurement, power supplies are basically unaffected. [Natural Gas Intelligence]

¶ US developer Wind Quarry proposes to install 45 2.3-MW Siemens turbines at the 103-MW Willow Creek project in western South Dakota, the developer said in an application to the state Public Utilities Commission. The project area encompasses about 40,000 acres of private ranch land in Butte County. [reNews]

¶ Customer costs will continue to mount for the construction of two nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle, even if regulators reject cost overruns, Georgia Power Co executives testified on Tuesday. The utility had acknowledged in February that construction is over budget and 18 months behind schedule. [McDuffie Mirror]

¶ South Carolina Electric & Gas Co is asking for a nearly 3% rate increase due to overruns in the cost of building two new nuclear reactors. South Carolina media outlets report the increase, if approved by state regulators, would first appear on the bills of the utility’s almost 700,000 customers in November. [Aiken Standard]

World:

¶ The Global Apollo Program aims to make the cost of clean electricity lower than that from coal, worldwide, within 10 years. It calls for £15 billion a year of spending on developing green energy and energy storage. In today’s money, it is the same cost as the Apollo Program that put astronauts on the moon. [The Guardian]

Earthrise. NASA photo, taken by Apollo 8 crew member Bill Anders. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ A Japanese industry ministry projection shows Japan’s oil use is likely to fall by 33% by around 2030 to about 2.5 million barrels per day as Tokyo pushes for a return of nuclear power, suspended after the Fukushima Disaster, and boosts renewable use. Japan is the world’s fourth-biggest importer of oil. [THE BUSINESS TIMES]

¶ Spanish developer Enerfin is developing a wind project of up to 100 MW in southwestern Ontario. The company is working with landowners and environmental consultants to define the final project area, likely in Brook-Alvinston and possibly Enniskillen. DNV GL is handling the environmental work.[reNews]

¶ The number one consideration for the Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation’s customers was that the company offer a guaranteed price for a nuclear power plant that is comparable to or cheaper than other forms of electricity generation, Rosatom executives said at a roundtable discussion in Moscow. [BDlive]

US:

¶ Ford Motor Co is joining Tesla Motors Inc and Toyota Motor Corp in a strategy of letting competitors use patented technology to accelerate development of electric-drive vehicles. Ford will open up hundreds of patents on electric-car technology. Unlike Tesla and Toyota, it will license its patents for a fee. [Automotive News]

Ford Motor Company Headquarters, Dearborn, Michigan. Photo by Dave Parker. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Southern Company subsidiary Southern Power announced the acquisition of a 30-MW project, the Pawpaw Solar Facility, to be located on about 416 acres in Taylor County, Georgia. The Pawpaw Solar Facility is expected to consist of about 137,000 polycrystalline solar modules on single-axis tracking tables. [AZoCleantech]

¶ Three solar projects in the Dry Lake area in southern Nevada have been approved, marking the Interior Department’s first grouped proposal on public land that it had already blessed for such use. Once complete, the projects are expected to generate enough electricity together to power 132,000 homes. [News3LV]

¶ All the electricity delivered to Borrego Springs, California, during a nearly nine-hour period in May came from a nearby solar energy plant, in what utility officials believe is the first time in the country an entire community has been powered by a renewable microgrid, San Diego Gas & Electric announced. [Times of San Diego]

¶ US developer Cape Wind has been granted a temporary reprieve while regulators mull a long-term extension request. Construction of the 468-MW project was to start by 1 May. The Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board agreed to suspend the deadline while it considers a request for a two-year extension. [reNews]

¶ Nearly every speaker at Monday night’s Town Council meeting in Middletown, Delaware, said they want to see some form of renewable energy considered over natural gas as the prime backup power source for a proposed 52.5-MW data center, which would be part of the $350 million Middletown Technology Center. [The News Journal]

World:

¶ Renewable power produced 49.9% of the Spain’s electricity in the 29 days of May to Friday, grid operator Red Electrica de Espana said in its monthly report. Wind power was 25% share of total power. Hydroelectric plants generated 14.9%. The share of all major renewable sources grew in comparison to April. [SeeNews Renewables]

Wind turbines in Spain. Author: petter palander. License: Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic.

¶ French utility EDF will increasingly become a nuclear and renewable energy company, according to its new chief executive. Asked whether EDF has plans boost wind and solar as Germany has, he said the main question was how quickly EDF can boost its renewable assets and how much resources it can use. [Reuters Africa]

¶ The 630-MW London Array offshore wind farm has generated 5 TWh in its first two full years of operation. The facility in the Thames Estuary has also achieved an average availability of over 95% from its 175 turbines. London Array is owned by EON, Dong Energy, Masdar and Canadian pension fund La Caisse. [reNews]

¶ A Japanese consultative committee on Monday stuck to a controversial government plan for nuclear energy to generate 20%-22% the country’s electricity by 2030 despite public opposition following the Fukushima Disaster. The government will open the plan to the public for comment for a month. [Reuters]

¶ BP, Shell, and four other major energy companies who have written the UN calling for a global price on carbon to help them accelerate deployment of low emission technologies. The letter outlines the companies’ desire for a dialogue with the UN and governments about a scheme to put a price on emissions. [Business Green]

¶ The Renewable Energy Organisation of Iran will buy 80 wind turbines, most of which are for Sistan Balouchestan province. There are over 200 turbines operating in Iran. One of the biggest wind projects is the 180-MW Manjil wind farm. Iran’s coastal areas are not good locations because of irregular winds. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ A project to build the world’s first tidal lagoon for generating clean electricity off the coast of Swansea has triggered an environmental row on the south coast of Cornwall. The dispute centers on a project to reopen a quarry at on the Lizard Peninsula, to source at least 3 million tonnes of stone for the Swansea project. [The Guardian]

¶ China invested more than $89 billion in renewable energy projects in the country in 2014 – a growth of 31% on the previous year, according to a detailed report on the country’s energy sector. The soaring increase is revealed in a report by the US government’s Energy Information Administration. [eco-business.com]

Foziling Dam. Photo by Lastman. Wikimedia Commons.

US:

¶ Sonoma Clean Power is rolling out service Monday to three additional cities and in doing so is set to become the main electricity supplier within Sonoma County, California, dislodging PG&E from its long domination in the region. Sonoma Clean Power will supply to 90% of the county’s customers. [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]

¶ In Connecticut, FuelCell Energy said that its megawatt-scale FuelCell Energy hydrogen delivery system is now available and can generate more than 1,200 kilograms of hydrogen per day, adequate to power a fleet of more than 1,500 fuel cell cars while also producing two megawatts of ultra-clean electricity. [Biobased Digest]

¶ A report from the nonprofit Brookings Institute says the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan will not reduce carbon dioxide emissions the way the Obama administration hopes it will without support of the states. The report analyzes individual state environment department comments on the rule. [Santa Fe New Mexican]

¶ SunEdison Inc, the world’s largest renewable energy development company, announced that it had signed agreements with five municipalities on Long Island to build seven solar power plants with a total capacity of 14 MW. The electricity from these power plants will be sold to the Long Island Power Authority. [AZoCleantech]

¶ Georgia Power executives will face questions this week about the delays and expense of building a new nuclear plant. Utility regulators in Georgia will begin a new cycle of oversight hearings Tuesday delving into the company’s progress in building two more nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle in eastern Georgia. [Greenfield Daily Reporter]