World:
¶ French lawmakers will adopt a long-delayed energy law on Wednesday to reduce the country’s reliance on nuclear reactors and lower carbon emissions by cutting the use of fossil fuels. The sweeping energy transition law reflects a campaign pledge more than three years ago by President Francois Hollande to cut nuclear energy in favor of renewables. [Bloomberg]
Four solaire Félix Trombe Solar power engine in Font Romeu France. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license. Wikimedia Commons.
¶ Spanish wind turbine maker Gamesa will equip 250 MW of wind farms in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, India, under a contract from independent power producer Orange. The three orders include 125 pieces of its G97-2.0 MW Class S wind turbines, tailor-designed for Indian conditions. The deals also include operation and maintenance. [SeeNews Renewables]
¶ Renewable Obligation support for solar farms under 5 MW will be scrapped after 1 April 2016, under UK Department of Energy and Climate Change plans outlined today. The government seeks to remove all renewable obligation support for solar as a reaction to an “over-allocation of renewable subsidies” which is outspending the Levy Control Framework budget. [Solar Power Portal]
¶ Mayors from around the world declared Tuesday that climate change is real, man-made and must be stopped as a matter of moral imperative, gathering at the Vatican to announce new measures to fight global warming and bask in Pope Francis’ ecological star power. The Vatican had invited the 60 mayors to conference ahead of UN climate negotiations. [LubbockOnline.com]
¶ Australian Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is set to unveil a bold climate policy goal requiring half of the country’s large-scale energy to be generated using renewable sources within 15 years. He will use this weekend’s ALP national conference in Melbourne to announce the ambitious goal, dramatically beefing up Labor’s renewable energy target. [Sydney Morning Herald]
¶ Ongoing expansion of solar energy capacity in India has prompted Deutsche Bank, the international lender based in Frankfurt, Germany, to revise its growth forecast for the segment in India to 34 GW by 2020. The forecast in the report, “India 2020: Utilities & renewables,” is a 240% increase on the previous projection of 14 GW for the period. [Greentech Lead]
¶ The Industrial Development Corporation of Zambia signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Finance Corporation to develop an initial two 50-MW solar power projects in the country. These projects will likely be the first of many. Zambia’s President has directed the IDC to develop at least 600 MW of solar power capacity as soon as possible. [Energy Matters]
US:
¶ Coastal Risk Consulting, LLC, a new venture in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has unveiled a first-of-its-kind flood forecast service for more than 50 million coastal properties in the US. CRC’s proprietary models promote property resilience by identifying climate change threats, assessing coastal flood risk and potential consequences, and evaluating adaptation solutions. [CleanTechnica]
¶ A plan to run a 1,000-MW power line down Lake Champlain and across Vermont to bring Canadian power to southern New England is getting key support in the Green Mountain State. Vermont officials and the CEO of TDI New England said the company has reached agreements with four state agencies, three towns and the state’s largest power company. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]
Lake Champlain and mountains in Vermont at sunrise. Photo by Ammunation1. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Wikimedia Commons.
¶ Hewlett-Packard officials announced that the company has signed a 12-year power purchase agreement with SunEdison, which will supply 112 MW of wind power. That will meet the electricity demands of all five of HP’s Texas data centers. It is the equivalent of powering 42,600 homes and will keep over 340,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually from being emitted into the air. [eWeek]
¶ NRG says it wants to be more than the ordinary electric utility, powering lights and appliances. The company is trying to serve electric vehicle owners with its EVgo in-home charging units. NRG has also set up a network of stations for away-from-home charging. The company claims hundreds of stations and says that it continues to expand nationally. [Alternative Energy Stocks]
¶ New York Mayor Bill de Blasio set another aggressive environmental target to reduce the city’s carbon emissions within the next 15 years. At a Vatican conference on climate change, de Blasio said the city would reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030. That benchmark would be on target for the city’s larger goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050. [Capital New York]
¶ The American wind energy industry praised senators for overwhelming bipartisan support in the US Senate Finance Committee. The committee voted to extend over 50 tax policies through 2016, including incentives for US wind farms. The 23-3 preserved language that allows wind farms to qualify so long as they start construction while the tax credits are in place. [Windpower Engineering]
¶ Georgia Power announced an on-base 46-MW AC solar facility planned at the Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany. The project was approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission and will be the fifth large-scale solar project developed by Georgia Power in coordination with the military. The company is working with the Navy to finalize project details. [Satellite PR News]
¶ Pacific Gas and Electric Company celebrated connecting 10,000 solar customers each in three of California’s largest cities, Bakersfield, Fresno and San Jose, as part of PG&E’s milestone of connecting the 175,000th solar customer to its electric grid. Also, a survey found that 25% of Californians are considering solar panels, showing their interest in clean energy. [MarketWatch]
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