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]
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