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]
geoharvey 
June 11, 2015 at 5:33 pm
Reblogged this on nuclear-news.