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Science and Technology:

¶ Flow batteries may offer a solution for utility-scale wind and solar energy storage. UniEnergy Technologies is part of a new demonstration program in the Pacific Northwest that pits the technology against lithium-ion batteries. UniEnergy claims their flow battery will have a levelized cost that is far lower than a lithium-ion system’s. [CleanTechnica]

Vanadium flow battery. Image Credit: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

¶ ViZn Energy Systems Inc will supply a 2 MW zinc-iron redox flow battery system to Hecate Energy to provide support to the Ontario grid. (ViZn and Hecate are both located in the United States, ViZn in Austin and Hecate in Nashville.) Here is an interview the CEO of ViZn Energy Systems about the company’s technology. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ Enel Green Power has been awarded the right to sign 20-year energy supply contracts for a total of 553 MW with three new solar photovoltaic projects in Brazil. The awards for the projects – the 103-MW Horizonte MP, the 158-MW Lapa and 292-MW Nova Olinda – came through the ‘Leilão de Reserva’ public tender. [reNews]

¶ The government wants to slash by 87% subsidies for householders who install solar panels on their rooftops, in a move that renewable energy experts warn could kill off a promising industry. The assault on solar power comes after ministerial decisions to remove financial aid from new onshore wind farms and slash home energy efficiency measures. [The Guardian]

¶ Greek wind farm operator Eltech Anemos SA reported a first-half 2015 net profit of €4.6 million ($5.2 million), compared to €3.3 million last year. The performance improved thanks to improved wind conditions. It operates 184.5 MW of wind farms, one small hydro plant of 4.95 MW, and a 2-MW solar PV system. [SeeNews Renewables]

Wind turbines at work. Author: Nick Cross. License: Creative Commons, Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic.

¶ Major oil-producing countries are looking to sustainability. Recently, Bloomberg forecast that two-thirds of the $12.2 trillion global investment in capacity-generation to 2040 will be in the renewables sector. A signal simply of economic progression or of an increasing need for diversification in the energy mix. [Oil and Gas Industry Latest News]

¶ Eni’s discovery of potentially the world’s largest natural-gas field off the Egyptian coast will be a game changer for Egypt and the Mediterranean in terms of energy stability, the CEO of the Italian energy giant told CNBC on Monday. Eni said in a press release that the gas field that could satisfy Egypt’s natural gas demand for decades. [CNBC]

¶ Days after Western Australia’s energy minster predicted solar PV would soon displace coal as the state’s major generator of daytime, the Queensland government confirmed a similar departure from reliance on coal, with the promise to do everything it can to support the development of solar and wind projects in the state. [RenewEconomy]

US:

¶ The White House might say Alaska is the canary in the climate change coal mine, with raging wildfires, ice melts in the arctic, vanishing glaciers, and whole villages forced to relocate away from rising seas. President Obama will carry that urgent message to Alaska as part of a drive to change the conversation on global warming. [CNN]

Mount McKinley is to be renamed Denali. Photo by Frank K. from Anchorage, Alaska, USA. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic.

¶ SolarCity’s goals for the Silevo solar module manufacturing facility under development in Buffalo, New York, are certainly ambitious. Amongst them is to meet production costs of just 50¢/watt for solar modules with a +20% conversion efficiency. Another goal is an annual production output of 1 GW of solar modules [CleanTechnica]

¶ A 100-MW solar power project will be located in Cumberland County, in North Carolina, and is set to generate enough electricity to provide for the equivalent needs of 20,000 average US homes. Construction began earlier in August, and Principal Solar expects the project to begin generating power before the year is out. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The owner of Illinois’ 11 nuclear reactors must decide next month whether to close its Quad Cities plant, one of three generating stations Exelon Corp has said are in danger of closing if lawmakers don’t approve a surcharge on electric bills to boost profits. The future of the Clinton nuclear plant is also still in doubt. [Northwest Herald]

¶ With just a few days left in the state legislative session, more than 24 California companies have announced their support for two major climate bills that would set new ambitious state goals for reducing climate-changing pollution, boosting renewable energy and decreasing petroleum use over the next 15 years. [Environment News Service]

Opinion:

¶ “Climate Change and Nuclear Power: You Don’t Cure the Plague by Spreading Cholera. Nuclear Radiation is not the Solution to Global Warming” In the lead-up to COP21, there is more than one petition to leave the fossil fuels in the ground. But some appeals back nuclear power, in some cases by failing to mention it. [Center for Research on Globalization]

World:

¶ Technological advances mean businesses no longer need to choose between economic growth and climate stability, said former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan. Mr Annan told people at an event: “There is no such trade-off, we can have both… What is required is a will.” He noted the progress already made in renewable energy. [AsiaOne]

Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan said technological advances mean businesses no longer need to choose between economic growth and climate stability. Reuters

¶ A community-owned organisation in north-eastern NSW is set to take on the big guns in electricity supply through a $4 million initial public offering to fund a renewable energy retailing and solar company it hopes will stimulate local renewable energy projects across the country. Enova Energy hopes to capture customers from the local utility. [Sydney Morning Herald]

¶ Construction of the first solar power plant in Vietnam began recently in Mo Duc district, central Quang Ngai province, with capital of $37.17 million and a capacity of 19.2 MW. The solar power plant will be built on an area of 24 hectares and use solar photovoltaic technology from Thailand. It is expected to come into operation in mid-2016. [VietNamNet Bridge]

¶ In Australia, a new report says that batteries may transform the energy sector, reducing dependence on fossil fuels. It said it would cost only about $4.2 billion (Aus) to have batteries with capacity to deliver 10% demand across the energy grid at peak times. The question is, who should own the batteries, consumers or utilities? [The Australian Financial Review]

¶ New South Wales has the highest level of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia and does not have a renewable energy target. Only 6% of its electricity is from wind, solar and water. By comparison, Tasmania uses 95% renewables. New South Wales used to be ahead of the pack when it came to renewable energy. [ABC Online]

The Nyngan solar plant. Photo supplied: AGL

¶ The Department of Energy and Petrochemicals has released a new solar policy for the Indian state of Gujarat which aims to scale up solar power generation to 10 GW by 2020. The policy aims to achieve targets sustainably while encouraging investors for large-scale solar projects, but emphasizing solar rooftop systems as small as 1 kW. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Vattenfall has produced first power at the 49.5-MW Kentish 2 offshore wind farm in the southeast of England. The company said the milestone export to the National Grid was reached at 14:05 local time on Saturday. Two of the 15 MHI Vestas V112 3.3-MW turbines are now producing power with the remaining 13 “to follow shortly”. [reNews]

US:

¶ According to the US EPA, 77% of Massachusetts’ greenhouse gases came from power plants in 2013, a decrease from the 85.2% in 2010. That is attributed, in part, to the rise of less-expensive natural gas as a primary fuel source and less reliance on nuclear power and coal as fuel. The shift has been going on since 2000. [Wicked Local]

Kevin Thornton, a spokesman for Exelon, leads a tour of the power company’s existing Summer Street plant in Medway earlier this summer. Daily News Staff Photo/Allan Jung

¶ Among the things the White House announced last week is a $1 billion increase in loan guarantees for renewable energy projects, $24 million in new grants for solar research and measures to reduce costs for homeowners to install solar panels. Fossil fuel and utility interests argue that the matter should be left to the free market. [Rapid News Network]

¶ A few years ago, New Jersey Governor Christie and others laid out a vision: acres of giant wind turbines, rising like a modern flotilla in the Atlantic, their white blades spun by ocean gusts, generating clean renewable energy just beyond the horizon at the Jersey Shore. But New Jersey’s offshore wind energy appears to have stalled. [NorthJersey.com]

Opinion:

¶ “Far-reaching climate bills warrant approval” Forgive us if we are jaded about oil industry claims that California as we know it will collapse if the Legislature passes bills aimed at further curbing emissions of greenhouse gas. Time and again, the state and the industry have survived efforts to address the all-too-real prospect of global warming. [Sacramento Bee]

Traffic jams are a major source of greenhouse gas pollution, and a key target for new environmental goals. Shawn Hubler The Sacramento Bee.

¶ “It’s Time For Corporate America To Stand Up To Republican Climate Deniers” Like a cornered wild animal, the fossil fuel industry and its supporters are recognizing the tide of history is beginning to turn against them, and they are going to act with increasing viciousness, supported by lobbying dollars, to protect their wealth and status. [Huffington Post]

Science and Technology:

¶ Researchers at the University of South Australia developed a low-cost energy storage solution that uses salt to store excess electricity. Their system uses salt as a phase-change material for smaller-scale, rapid-discharge batteries for residential and commercial use. It has a cost of up to 10 times cheaper than batteries. [CleanTechnica]

¶ What does it take to build a 2-MW wind turbine? This time-lapse video of the construction of a wind turbine at the Bald Hills Wind Farm in Victoria, Australia gives a glimpse into the process, and makes it look almost simple (though it is clearly no small undertaking). It shows a 2.05-MW turbine being erected. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ Thousands of UK householders are installing solar-powered smart meters. The devices track when rooftop solar panels produce excess energy and divert it to water heaters. Calculations produced for Telegraph Money suggest that an average family of four would save £243 per year, earning back the original outlay in less than two years. [Telegraph.co.uk]

The ‘Immersun’ device works by automatically redirecting solar energy to your water heater, effectively storing power to use later

¶ Despite mounting evidence that new coal generation regularly fails to deliver energy access, especially in rural areas, Amu Power is proposing a 1,000 MW coal plant in Kenya. A report from Oxfam and the Overseas Development Institute recently shows that off-grid and mini-grid technologies are better at delivering power. [Huffington Post]

¶ Studies link production from Alberta’s tar sands to devastating impacts on both the environment and aboriginal communities. Oil companies have reportedly taken $14 billion in resources from the Lubicon Cree’s traditional territory, with royalties going to the Alberta government. The community is fighting back with a solar project. [Inhabitat]

¶ At first glance, it seemed the UK’s fledgling anaerobic digestion industry has been protected from the government’s sweeping reforms to the popular feed-in tariff incentive scheme. But the AD industry body yesterday warned the proposed changes could have “disastrous” effects on deployment of the biogas technology. [Business Green]

¶ Kyushu Electric Power Co said on August 28 that it intends to resume full-scale commercial operations at the Sendai nuclear power plant’s No 1 reactor on September 10. The utility said the reactor, which has an output of 890 megawatts, will run at full capacity on August 31 on a trial basis ahead of a final inspection. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶ Just as Sacramento policy makers focus on a number of bills to help California make real and measurable progress towards relying on renewable resources, UCS released analysis examining how to transform California’s electricity grid to one that relies more heavily on renewable energy. [The Equation: Blog of the Union of Concerned Scientists]

Please click on the image to enlarge it. Source: UCS.

¶ FFP New Hydro announced that it had closed a senior loan facility, allowing continuing development of its portfolio of 21 advanced stage hydropower projects on existing US dams in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Mississippi, and Ohio. The projects will cumulatively reach 200 MW of new generation capacity. [CleanTechnica]

¶ At Young Brothers Ltd’s Port of Honolulu facility, Sandia National Laboratories is leading the Maritime Hydrogen Fuel Cell project to test a hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered generator as an alternative to conventional diesel generators. The hydrogen fuel cell is expected to be more energy efficient than diesel for the facility. [The Maritime Executive]

¶ A 27-year low in carbon dioxide emissions earlier this year shows the US may be heading toward meeting its emissions goals. US power plants emitted less carbon dioxide – 128 million metric tons – in April than at any point in since April 1988, according to new US Energy Information Administration data. [Kitsap Sun]

¶ Ohio state officials have dismissed a challenge to Windlab’s proposed 60-MW Greenwich wind farm project in Huron County. The Ohio Power Siting Board ruled this week against a motion filed by neighboring interests. Landlord group Omega Corp last year filed a motion to intervene in the board’s approval of the project. [reNews]

World:

¶ What would a car-free Paris look like? We will soon find out, as this French city hosts its “Day Without Car,” or “Une Journée Sans Voiture” event. On September 27th, five major areas of Paris will be closed to nearly all motorized traffic from 11 am to 6 pm, allowing pedestrians and cyclists to go about freely without air pollution. [CleanTechnica]

Une Journée Sans Voiture

¶ The UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change has proposed to make calamitous cuts to the country’s renewable energy Feed-in Tariff scheme. The plan’s details have emerged, with proposals that domestic solar support could be cut by 87%, commercial rooftops by 82%, in addition to devastating cuts to onshore wind. [CleanTechnica]

¶ One of Britain’s most controversial energy projects for decades, the £24.5 billion nuclear power development at Hinkley Point in Somerset, is poised to get the green light. The Government and EDF have agreed a deal that would guarantee EDF a price of £92.50 per MWh, up to 2061. That’s nearly three times the current price. [The Independent]

¶ Danish company Vestas Wind Systems A/S says it received a firm order to supply 22 turbines for Wpd AG’s 72.6-MW Tohkoja wind farm in Finland. The contract for Vestas includes the supply, installation and commission­ing of 22 units of the V117-3.3 MW turbine model, a 15-year service agreement, and the Vestas De-icing System. [SeeNews Renewables]

Vestas nacelle. Author: free photos. License: CC BY 2.0

¶ According to Railway Technology, all Netherlands Railways trains will be powered 100 percent by wind by 2018. A deal struck between the railway and power suppliers will result in carbon-free transportation. Electricity will come from wind farms not only in The Netherlands and Belgium, but also from the Scandinavian countries. [Discovery News]

¶ Windpark Kirchberg GmbH & Co KG has placed an order of eight V126-3.3 MW for a 26.4-MW wind park in Baden Wurttemberg. With over 90% share, local citizens will own a larger share of this wind park than any other in southern Germany. The turbines will be installed in the Hohenlohe region in northeast Baden Wurttemberg. [7thSpace Interactive]

¶ Already Canberra and the Australian Capital Territory Government are poised to be running on 90% renewable electricity by 2020. Now, they want to go the extra mile and achieve 100% renewable energy by 2025. And one French company has stepped up to help. Neoen has joined with the ACT Government in a $250 million wind farm venture. [Energy and Capital]

¶ Beginning their work in April 2014, a team at South Africa’s Stellenbosch University came up with a small heliostat system made of six triangular mirrors. They also devised wireless, smart positioning technology. The compact construction makes a “plonkable” concentrating solar system. It can be plonked down by two people. [Newser]

US:

¶ Americans support the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan by a margin of nearly two to one, a new poll from the League of Conservation Voters found. Despite the rhetoric from some Republican governors, 70% of Americans want their states to develop plans to meet the EPA’s guidelines under the Clean Power Plan. [ThinkProgress]

Credit: Shutterstock

¶ Chicago is now home to the Renewable Energy Training Field, a facility to train electricians and support electrical contractors in smart grid renewable energy applications. The facility was created by the National Electrical Contractors Association of Chicago and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 134. [Plant Services]

¶ Critics of President Barack Obama’s landmark regulation to reduce carbon dioxide emissions almost always highlight a series of flawed studies (which are often paid for by utility or fossil fuel interests) to attack the Clean Power Plan. Many of these reports did not even look at the EPA’s final (and official) regulations, instead working on drafts. [Huffington Post]

¶ Since wind turbines have been found to kill golden eagles in some locations, a solution for the two coexisting needed to be found, setting researchers at University of Waterloo in Canada to work. Their study of potential wind-power sites and eagles’ nesting patterns suggests that there are numerous safe places with abundant wind power. [Nature World News]

¶ Blue Lake Rancheria, a Native American reservation in northern Californian, will have a microgrid powered by a 0.5-MW PVs array, a 950-kWh battery system, a biomass fuel cell system, and diesel generators. It is projected to be the largest solar array in Humboldt County, California and estimated to reduce 150 tons of carbon per year. [Fierce Energy]

World:

¶ SolarReserve’s baseload solar 260 MW Copiapó project bids into the grid in April, having cleared Chile’s permitting with a Resolución de Calificación Ambiental. SolarReserve has combined two solar technologies, PVs and concentrated solar power with energy storage, so it can supply electricity both day and night. [CleanTechnica]

Credit: SolarReserve — Redstone

¶ Citigroup published a detailed analysis of the costs of various energy sources, concluding that the levelized cost of energy of renewables is below that of fossil fuels and that renewables are a “benefit rather than a cost to society.” And as cost of renewables is still declining, renewables advantages will only become clearer. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Ontario’s Electricity System Operator released the list of 119 projects that will compete for power contracts under the 565-MW Large Renewable Procurement program. About 1,400 MW of projects proposed by units of NextEra Energy, Renewable Energy Systems, and SunEdison have qualified for the program. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ The world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines, Vestas Wind Systems, announced record first-half orders, and profits exceeded analyst estimates. Other European wind turbine manufacturers are also riding a surge in orders on the back of government efforts to rein in carbon emissions and favourable policies for clean energy. [Business Spectator]

¶ The UK’s anaerobic digestion generation capacity now exceeds 500 MW, according to the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association. The trade body yesterday revealed 514 MW of electrical equivalent capacity is generated as electricity or biogas from more than 400 AD plants across the farming, waste, and water sectors. [Business Green]

Anaerobic digestion plant.

US:

¶ President Barack Obama has accused businesses profiting from fossil fuels of “standing in the way of the future” by actively trying to restrict customers’ access to solar, wind and renewable sources of energy. Speaking in Las Vegas, the president singled out billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch. [Telegraph.co.uk]

¶ A study conducted by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Stanford University, found that while the average frequency of power outages in the US has not changed in recent years, the amount of time customers are without power, i.e. the length of these power outages, has been increasing over time. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Over the last 40 years, California invested about $1 billion per year in energy efficiency initiatives, which saved its residents some $90 billion in utility costs, created “hundreds of thousands” of energy efficiency jobs, and avoided pollution of numerous power plants, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. [CleanTechnica]

¶ North Dakota regulators are on board with Xcel Energy’s plan to take over, build and operate the 200-MW Courtenay wind project. The state Public Service Commission this week approved the transfer of a certificate of site compatibility after the initial developer, Geronimo Wind Energy, decided to exit the project. [reNews]

Xcel’s Grand Prairie wind farm (Xcel)

¶ San Diego Gas & Electric reached a record renewable power generation of 1,042 MW on August 19, thanks to a combination of bright sunshine and strong wind conditions. The output of 61,000 rooftop solar customers is not included in the figure. SDG&E is the first utility in California to deliver 33% renewable power over 12 months. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ In Colorado, Boulder County is joining Adams and Denver counties to offer residents the opportunity to purchase discounted home solar systems and electric vehicles. The program offers homeowners discounts of about 15% on solar rooftop systems and roughly $8,300 off the cost of a Nissan Leaf. [Boulder Daily Camera]

¶ Regulators for Washington DC rejected the proposed purchase of Pepco Holdings by Exelon, potentially killing off the $6.84 billion deal. Exelon’s core business is from big centralized power plants, about 80% of which are nuclear, but those plants are losing business, and a merger is seen as a means to protect their profits. [OilPrice.com]

¶ A coal-burning power plant in New York’s Finger Lakes region sparked protests in Albany this week when opponents gathered in hopes of derailing a plan that would enable the plant to burn natural gas as well. The owners of the 60-year-old Cayuga Power Plant want customers to subsidize alterations over a 10-year period. [WAMC]

World:

¶ A recent earthquake of magnitude 4.6 is the largest of over 500 seismic events in British Columbia believed to be caused by fracking. The quake’s epicentre was just 3 kilometres from Progress Energy’s fracking site. The company immediately shut down operations and notified the province’s oil and gas commission. [CleanTechnica]

Image of Wonowon, BC, earthquake site, from Google Maps Streetview

¶ Most carbon credits generated by Russia and Ukraine did not represent cuts in emissions, according to a new study. The authors say that offsets created under a UN scheme “significantly undermined” efforts to tackle climate change. In some projects, chemicals known to warm the climate were created and then destroyed to claim cash. [BBC]

¶ Australian utility Ergon Energy is launching a tender for 150 MW of renewable energy projects for its regional grid in Queensland, which up till now has been largely devoid of large-scale renewable projects despite strong solar resources. The firm will take on new solar, wind and hydro power opportunities. [PV-Tech]

¶ Germany’s shift to renewable energy sources will have a greater impact on operators of traditional power plants than originally thought, according to new data from the country’s grid supervisor. Fifty-seven traditional gas and coal power plants are set to close in Germany as a consequence of Energiewende, or energy transition. [Daily News Egypt]

US:

¶ President Barack Obama accused fossil fuel interests of trying to restrict consumer access to solar, wind and other renewable sources in order to protect the status quo. The president also questioned the ideology of those who champion free-market solutions, except when the free market is pointing to the wisdom of renewable energy. [Stockhouse]

¶ The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) is developing the guidelines under which it will accept Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) funding. The development means that PACE will soon be available to all US homeowners. Ed Golding, Head of the FHA, acknowledged the value of the program in a press release. [CleanTechnica]

SolarCity in Arlington, TX – courtesy SEIA)

¶ The Asia Pacific Resilience Summit kicked off this morning, showcasing clean tech solutions for island grids, communities, and military applications across the Pacific. Hawaiian Governor David Ige’s opening keynote speech made headlines, as he stated for the first time publicly a strong opposition to proposed LNG projects. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Hawaiian Electric Co. is not backing down from its commitment to ship liquefied natural gas to Hawaii, following Gov. David Ige’s new stance made known on Monday that he is in opposition to LNG being imported to the state as a replacement for oil. They are looking at LNG for a transition from oil. [Pacific Business News (Honolulu)]

¶ Determining the potential energy your roof could generate with solar is an ever-increasing business. Following in the footsteps of Google’s new Project Sunroof, Mapdwell, an MIT cleantech spinoff, has revealed that New York City has the potential to install 4.7 GW worth of solar PV across over 1 million buildings. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The Idaho Public Utilities Commission gave the state’s three major electric utilities what they asked for in limiting the length of contracts for renewable energy from independent developers. Contracts were limited to 2 years, down from 20 years, nearly ensuring that no new contracts will be signed any time soon. [The Idaho Statesman]

Workers install a SunEdison/First Wind solar project in Massachusetts. The company is one of the developers that has a contract to sell power to Idaho Power.  Provided by First Wind.

¶ The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission has approved Duke Energy’s 20-year agreements with two solar developers to buy up to 20 MW of solar power for its customers in the US state. The developers, Cypress Creek Renewables and Inovateus Solar, will build and operate four projects, each producing up to 5 MW. [reNews]

¶ The town of Strafford, Vermont, has changed its tune on approving a 4.9-MW solar array at the Elizabeth Mine. In a letter sent to the Public Service Board, the Selectboard wrote they will not let Wolfe Energy and Brightfields Development install solar at the site if the array’s renewable energy credits are sold out of state. [Watchdog.org]

¶ US Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell  announced the Bureau of Land Management’s approval of the Blythe Mesa Solar project in California. The 485-MW photovoltaic facility will be constructed on 3,587 acres of previously disturbed private land and will generate enough electricity to power more than 145,000 households. [Energy Matters]

¶ Exelon Corp. announced Monday that three of its aging nuclear stations did not clear the regional power grid’s capacity auction on Friday, calling the plants’ long-term financial viability into question. The plants include Unit 1 at Three Mile Island, one of the units at Quad Cities, and Oyster Creek. [Philly.com]

World:

¶ In Australia, rather inconveniently for the Coalition’s intentions to reduce its support for renewable energy, the Government’s commissioned modeller found the same answer as several other energy market analysts had before them: slashing the Renewable Energy Target would actually INCREASE consumers’ and businesses’ power bills. [Business Spectator]

Wind turbines in Azerbaijan.

¶ Azerbaijan’s State Agency on Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources is conducting test trials on a new wind plant Yeni Yashma. Simultaneous testing of 18 of a total of 20 turbines of the power plant is underway. The wind plant Yeni Yashma, with a capacity to generate 50 MW, is located in Khizi region of Azerbaijan. [AzerNews]

¶ China’s use of coal is falling. After decades of explosive growth, Chinese coal use fell by as much as 3.5% last year. Some of that is due to a slowing economy, but a representative with the Sierra Club’s international climate and energy program says the government there has declared it is shifting away from coal. [Public News Service]

¶ PV systems installed on residential buildings in Oman could offer an estimated 1.4 GW of solar energy capacity, according to a report. Rooftop PV capacity in Muscat alone is estimated at 450 MW, equivalent to a mid-size conventional power plant, the Oman Observer report added, quoting a senior renewable energy engineer. [Trade Arabia]

¶ The Australian state of Victoria has released a Renewable Energy Roadmap for the state that sets a target of at least 20% of electricity generated from renewable sources by 2020. The roadmap commits the state government to using its purchasing power to support clean energy projects and distributed renewable energy generation. [The Fifth Estate]

¶ Vestas is to supply Glymont, a joint venture between Akuo Energy and Eurus Energy America, with 15 V117 3.3-MW turbines for a project in Uruguay. Delivery is expected to start in the first quarter of 2016, with commissioning expected for the third quarter of 2016. UTE, Uruguay’s state-owned grid operator, will buy the power. [reNews]

¶ Nordex is to supply Gul Ahmed Wind Power with 50 MW for the Gul Ahmed wind farm in Pakistan. The German manufacturer will provide 20 N100/2500 turbines to the company. The wind farm is situated in a semi-desert area in the south of Pakistan, near the city of Jhimpir, where temperatures climb as high as 44° C (111° F). [reNews]

¶ Hirohiko Izumida, governor of the prefecture that’s home to Tokyo Electric’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant, said after meeting regulators that the time isn’t right to consider restarting the facility. While not enshrined in law, local government approval is traditionally sought by Japanese utilities before they turn on atomic plants. [Bloomberg]

¶ China Sunergy subsidiary CEEG (Nanjing) Renewable Energy is to supply China Power Investment Corp with 260 MW of photovoltaic modules for several ground-mounted solar projects in China. The units will be delivered to the state-owned energy group over a period of 12 months, starting from July of this year. [reNews]

US:

Wind turbine and crane.

¶ It’s not enough to say that fossil fuels have to go or nuclear is hopeless (which are both probably true statements). The question is: What will replace them? Furthermore, how long will it take? Though solar energy has become the poster child for renewable energy generally, the strongest player in the game, for now, is wind. [OilPrice.com]

¶ Nebraska is facing pressure to meet federal emission requirements, and renewable energy advocates will push again next year for a state tax credit for wind farms and solar projects. Supporters have spent the summer meeting with senators in hopes of passing the production tax credit, which was narrowly defeated this year. [The Republic]

¶ The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station on Cape Cod Bay in Plymouth remained closed Sunday after going into an automatic shutdown Saturday afternoon, according to station and government officials. NRC officials reiterated Sunday afternoon that there were no safety concerns regarding the nuclear power station. [Boston Globe]

World:

¶ Canadian company Beothuk Energy has kicked off the hunt for cash to support its proposed 180-MW offshore wind demonstrator in Newfoundland. Beothuk appointed renewables investment outfit Jacob Securities Inc to identify project financing for both equity and debt provision, and coordinate with other companies. [reNews]

Image: Beothuk has big plans off Newfoundland (Beothuk)

¶ Visiting her counterpart Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany cemented an important climate link between the largest economies in Europe and Latin America. Germany has had high-level relations with India and China, among nations in the emerging world, but now has put Brazil on the same level. [CleanTechnica]

¶ In the English county of Hampshire, Sparsholt college has unveiled plans to build a new renewable energy plant near Winchester. The anaerobic digester, a large boiler turning grass into gas, is expected to produce annual power for the equivalent of nearly 5,000 homes. But the plans have worried people in the area. [Daily Echo]

¶ Last year, Turkey’s Energy Minister said the government wanted 30% of its energy production in 2023 to come from domestic coal, up from 13% now. Locals in the Yırca district of Manisa province successfully fought expropriation of olive groves for coal mine development, but only after 6,000 olive trees had been felled. [Today’s Zaman]

¶ In Japan, the Kansai Electric Power Co has had trouble with competition, highlighted by the fact that 1,000 Seven-Eleven Japan Co Ltd stores in three Kansai prefectures are switching to competition in a new competitive environment. Kansai Electric says the only way it can compete is to restart its nuclear plants. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶ SmartPower, and its Solarize South Carolina campaign is trying to make answering questions about having solar PVs installed as easy as contacting them, via phone or Internet, for a free estimate and advice at its website. The initiative seeks to outfit 2,000 homes with solar in the state in the next 18 months. [Charleston Post Courier]

Workers from Sunstore Solar Energy Solution install solar panels. Photo by David Quick, Charleston Post Courier staff.

¶ Ameren, which uses wind farms in Iowa and out-of-state fuel to provide power in Missouri, is turning to the biomass to reduce Missouri’s reliance on non-local resources. It is partnering with ECAP, an organization of more than 500 Missouri farmers, and Enginuity, which will provide additional technology. [Jefferson City News Tribune]

¶ President Barack Obama and Nevada’s Senator Harry Reid are playing key roles in the National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas. The president will be the keynote speaker. The event will focus on public-private partnerships for clean energy and investments to move the grid beyond its reliance on fossil fuels. [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

¶ Opponents of a 900-MW gas-powered plant Invenergy is planning for Rhode Island say that the company’s claim that it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions is inaccurate because it only considers emissions from producing power and does not take into account the potentially substantial leakage of methane. [The Providence Journal]

¶ Minnesota and North Dakota have been fighting in federal court for two years over Minnesota’s cross-border restrictions on coal-based electricity. The Clean Power Plan, the federal government’s even-more-sweeping regulations to cut coal power plant greenhouse gas emissions, is pushing states to work together. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

World:

¶ DONG Energy has taken full control of the huge Hornsea offshore wind zone. This means the Danish giant will have project ownership for Hornsea Projects Two and Three, having already bought Project One in February. They have a combined potential for development of around 4.2 GW of capacity, and the potential to supply the electricity needs of more than four million UK homes. [Grimsby Telegraph]

TIV Resolution raised out of the sea to install wind turbines. Photo by Ian Simons. CC BY-SA 2.0

¶ Publicly owned lignite mining and power generation company Neyveli Lignite Corp plans to set up 600 MW of solar projects across various states of India. The company is setting up about 50 MW of solar projects of 10 MW to 15 MW of capacity each in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. In addition, land identification is underway for a 100 MW solar project in Nevyeli. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Canberra is at the forefront of responding to climate change with Australian Capital Territory government pledging 100% renewables for the city by 2025. Canberra’s current target is 90% renewables by 2020, while the City of Sydney pledged to use 100% renewable energy by 2030. South Australia’s target is 50% by 2025, while Queensland is aiming for 50% by 2030. [Business Insider Australia]

¶ China’s economy has hit a rough patch. In Western countries, signs of economic insecurity can lead to panicky calls to toss pro-environmental policies. Is there a danger that China’s policymakers will take such a step backward? Probably not, say economists and environmentalists with an eye on China. In fact, China’s slowdown could even be helpful for the environment. [Grist]

US:

¶ The EPA unveiled a package of rules this week aimed at curbing methane and volatile organic compound emissions from sources all along the oil and gas production chain. The rules particularly target shale operations and are the centerpiece of the Obama administration’s effort to rein in methane emissions by 40% to 45% below 2012 levels in the next decade. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

Bakken Flaring Gas at night. Photo by Joshua Doubek. CC BY-SA 3.0.

¶ The city of West Richland, Washington, completed an LED upgrade to its entire street lighting system. The project is expected to reduce the system’s electric consumption by 61% and save the municipality $67,000 per year in energy costs. More than 1000 high pressure sodium lights were replaced with energy-efficient LED models, and a wireless control system was installed. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The average household in the Tennessee Valley will pay about $1.50 more a month for electricity next year as TVA shifts to more nuclear, natural gas, and renewable power to replace aging coal plants. TVA directors adopted a $10.7 billion spending plan for fiscal 2016 that will raise electricity rates by 1.5%, the same amount as in each of the past two years. [Chattanooga Times Free Press]

¶ The world’s largest Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion power plant, completed by Makai Ocean Engineering, celebrated its connection to the electrical grid on Friday. Using temperature differences between the ocean’s cold deep water and warm surface water, Makai’s OTEC power plant is able to generate clean, renewable electricity that is available continuously. [Big Island Now]

Makai Ocean Engineering image.

¶ Green energy creates jobs. For example, according to the 2014 North Carolina Clean Energy Industry Census, the state’s cleantech sector grossed nearly $5 billion in 2014, and is expected to grow between 30% and 35% this year. There are 1,208 cleantech firms in the state employing the equivalent of 22,995 full-time workers and generating $4.8 billion of economic activity. [Huffington Post]

¶ On June 7th, California’s grid operator reported that the state had hit a new record for solar PV and concentrating solar power generation, at 6.160 GW-AC. A little over a month later, a new peak was set on July 13th, just shy of 6.3 GW-AC. Since then, records have been falling like dominoes. Most recently, the plants reached a peak output of 6.391 GW-AC on August 20th. [pv magazine]

¶ Millions of dollars and hundreds of jobs rest with the results of an electricity auction. Exelon is reviewing the bids for power contracts in 2018 through 2019. If the Cordova nuclear power plant [Quad Cities] does not get a winning bid, the plant could face closure in mid 2017. Exelon says the power plant has been losing money for five years, and blames subsidies for wind power. [KWQC-TV6]

Science and Technology:

¶ A team of scientists led by George Washington University chemistry professor Stuart Licht developed a new and potentially less expensive method to make carbon fibers. They capture carbon dioxide directly from the air and use an electrochemical process that converts it into carbon nanofibers and oxygen. Best yet, the desirable attributes of carbon fibers are enhanced. [TechSpot]

Carbon fibers.

¶ A new study shows how pollution making its way across the Pacific Ocean from China is impacting the United States’ atmosphere, and undoing much of the work done to eradicate unhealthy ozone pollution. Specifically, it answers long-held concerns that ozone levels on the west coast of the US remained constant despite significant reduction in ozone-forming chemicals. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ El Salvador’s National Energy Council announced plans to auction 150 MW of renewable energy projects, with targets for operation by 2018. The country conducted its last renewable energy auction in 2014, when it offered 100 MW capacity, of which 94 MW capacity was allocated to solar power projects. The largest of those built was 60 MW, providing power at 10¢/kWh. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The government of the Australian state of Victoria has set itself against the country’s federal government over renewable energy by fast-tracking plans for 50 new wind turbines worth $200 million. The premier revealed the plan at Keppel Prince Engineering, where 100 staff were made redundant in 2014 because of uncertainty over the federal government’s renewable energy target. [The Guardian]

¶ The initial substation has been successfully lifted into place at the 600-MW Gemini offshore wind farm in the Netherlands. The milestone was achieved on August 19 at the Northland Power project some 85 km from shore. The heavy-lift crane vessel Rambiz tackled the work. It completed installation of jacket foundations earlier this month. Gemini is due to be operational in 2017. [reNews]

Image: Gemini

¶ France will double the size of its solar power tender for installations of over 250 kWp to 800 MW, French energy ministry announced yesterday. The initial 400 MW tender was announced in September 2014 with three batches: 200 MW for ground-mounted systems, 150 MW for rooftop or building-integrated power plants, and 50 MW for solar canopies on parking lots. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ An exciting project by the German energy and IT company LichtBlick is currently underway in Hamburg. It is an apartment building being transformed into a power plant. A photovoltaics system is on the roof, a combined heat and power unit and a storage battery in the cellar, and two electric cars in front of the building. The project has an IT platform to optimize it all. [Asian Correspondent]

¶ The UK is considering using a loophole to escape fines for missing the 2020 EU renewable energy targets. It is getting 5% of its energy from renewables, but needs to raise that to 15% by 2020. Now it is cutting subsidies for green power, slowing things down. However, under the EU rules Britain could pay other EU countries that are overshooting their targets for credit. [E&T magazine]

US:

¶ The US DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office has released the Wind Technologies Market Report. It shows that concerns over increasing penetration of windpower may be misplaced. in Texas, curtailment has been cut from 17% in 2009 to 0.5% in 2014. This was despite increased wind generation, in large part due to added transmission capacity. [CleanTechnica]

¶ GDF Suez (now Engie), a multinational energy company that owns and operates a variety of liquified natural gas import facilities in New England, commissioned a report by Energyzt Advisors LLC. The report says that a proposed natural gas pipeline is unnecessary and lays out a series of alternatives to meet the region’s recent winter-time natural gas shortfalls. [The Recorder]

A liquefied natural gas storage facility in Massachusetts. Photo by Fletcher6. CC BY-SA 3.0.

¶ A new report published by Trillium Asset Management has found that California’s two public pension funds lost over $5 billion over the last year due to investments in the top 200 fossil fuel companies. Interestingly, this report comes at the same time that SB 185 is awaiting vote in the California State Assembly, a bill that would divest the same pension funds from coal. [CleanTechnica]

¶ GE announced it will provide Coachella Energy Storage Partners with a 30-MW battery to be used at the Imperial Irrigation District in California’s Imperial Valley, approximately 100 miles east of San Diego. The facility will provide solar ramping, frequency regulation, power balancing and black start capability for a gas turbine. The battery is GE’s largest to date. [InvestorIdeas.com]

¶ The information and communication technology sector’s power demand just keeps growing. But as the sector’s power demand grows, the amount supplied by renewable energy grows faster, and according to research by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, renewables could supply a whopping 48% of the ICT industry’s electricity mix by 2020. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The recent failure of modular construction to deliver lower prices and shorter timelines will likely keep a cap on US nuclear development into the mid term, according to Fitch Ratings. However, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan, along with the rise in federally funded nuclear power research, could yield growth factors for the longer term. [Indiainfoline]

Opinion:

¶ “What’s at stake in Maine’s power struggle over energy” The debate over energy policy has intensified as Maine has become one of the most oil-dependent states in the country on one hand and the site of an insurgency of renewable energy initiatives such as generating wind and biomass power on the other. It is seen as a question of lower prices versus lower impact. [RenewablesBiz]

The Mars Hill Wind Farm atop Mars Hill (Maine) has 28 GE Energy 1.5 MW wind turbines. Photo by Michael Surran. CC BY-SA 2.0.

¶ “Another Clean Coal Scam Exposed” Mississippi Power was just downgraded by Moody’s as a result of its lack of permanent cost recovery provisions for its Kemper plant, which, since 2010, has promised to be the “first-of-its-kind” to employ gasification and carbon capture technologies at such a massive scale. To date, construction costs have soared to more than $6 billion. [Green Chip Stocks]

Science and Technology:

¶ They might not be driving them yet, but electric vehicles are definitely on the radar of some of the world’s top investment and market analysts. Last week, the US-based global investment bank Morgan Stanley named “alternative fuel vehicles” as one of seven key market and technology options it sees as well positioned to mitigate or adapt to climate change. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ The Scottish government unveiled a new financing scheme to expedite the uptake of electric cars by consumers and private companies and cut down on emissions from vehicles. Scotland’s Energy Saving Trust has allocated £2.5 million to the funding plan which provides businesses and individuals with easier access to loans that can cover the full cost of electric vehicles. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The Australian arm of French developer Neoen awarded Siemens a 100-MW contract to supply wind turbines for a new project there. Siemens will manufacture 32 of its 3.2-MW turbines for the Hornsdale project in South Australia. The power from the project will be sold to the Australian Capital Territory government at a fixed price of A$0.092/kWh ($0.067/kWh US) for 20 years. [Windpower Monthly]

¶ Islamic leaders issued a Climate Change Declaration calling for world governments to adopt a new international climate agreement to phase out fossil fuels and limit global warming to 1.5°C to 2°C. The statement of the leaders from 20 countries lays out a deadline for wealthy and oil-producing nations to phase out all greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. [International Business Times AU]

¶ UK green energy supplier Ecotricity submitted a planning application to the Scottish government for a wind project of up to 51.2 MW. The planned wind farm is to be located in the Scottish Borders and will consist of up to 16 wind turbines of up to 3.2 MW each. The machines are expected to produce almost 148 GWh of electricity per year, enough for over 29,000 households. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Renewable energy generated by South Africa’s first wind and solar projects helped ward off some load-shedding and saved around $310 million for the country during the first six months of 2015, according to a recent study by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. It also says 2.0 TWh of wind and solar PV replaced diesel and coal usage over the period. [ITWeb]

US:

¶ Rhode Island is in good shape when it comes to meeting the emissions reductions set earlier this month by President Obama. As one of nine Northeast states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade energy program, Rhode Island is on track to meet its power-plant emission-reduction targets by 2020, 10 years ahead of the deadline set by the Clean Power Plan. [ecoRI news]

Portsmouth Abbey School wind turbine, in Rhode Island. US DOE photo. Public domain.

¶ SunEdison, Inc. has completed construction of a 6-MW solar power plant that will supply electricity to Lakeland Electric, the third largest public power utility in the State of Florida, through a 25-year power purchase agreement. The Bella Vista solar power plant is expected to generate approximately 14 GWh of electricity each year, enough to supply annual power for more than 1,300 homes. [pv magazine]

¶ A prototype in-river hydropower system is currently in operation at Igiugig in southwest Alaska. It’s part of a recent research that has pushed in-river hydro power closer to becoming a reality for rural communities as an alternative to diesel-based electricity. Communities in western and interior Alaska, most of which are on rivers, are interested in how the project does. [Alaska Public Radio Network]

¶ Senator Charles Schumer launched his push for an extension of the existing solar investment tax credit, which is scheduled to be reduced after next year. He encourages changing the rules to make the credits available when projects begin rather than when they’re finished. Schumer visited the 7-acre WilliamSun Solar Field, in Williamson, New York, to make his statement. [Victor Post]

¶ The city of Columbia, Missouri, plans to stop burning coal at its power plant this fall because of changing environmental regulations. Water and Light officials said they would cease operating the city’s remaining two solid-fuel-burning units by mid-October. The city had concluded in 2007 environmental regulations would shut down its coal burners by 2015. [Columbia Daily Tribune]

¶ Sempra’s Mesquite Solar 3 project will provide a third of the power for 14 military bases in California. This is the largest renewable energy purchase by a division of the US federal government to date. Today, August 20, a signing ceremony for a 25-year power purchase agreement to procure electricity from the third phase of Sempra’s Mesquite Solar project in Arizona. [pv magazine]

¶ The Justice Department has accused Energy Future Holdings, the bankrupt Texas power company, of trying to skirt its environmental liabilities through the bankruptcy court. The former TXU Corp’s environmental risks are huge, ranging from the millions of pounds of coal ash it disposes underground each year, to the Comanche Peak nuclear power plant. [Dallas Morning News]

Science and Technology:

¶ Hybrid renewable technologies providing stable power for islands are test-beds for study. El Hierro, one of the Spanish Canary Islands, operates a stand-alone electric grid to serve its population of 11,000 and run power-hungry desalination plants. With a goal to be 100% renewably powered, Hawaii is the largest island to aim for a full-renewables grid strategy. [GreenBiz]

Hawaii, the Canary Islands and Alaska’s Kodiak Island are among the isles making waves with ambitious renewable energy goals. Shutterstock / Filip Fuxa

¶ Researchers from Australia’s Monash University used solar cells to power a device that splits water into a fuel with world record efficiency. The system, which is referred to as an emulation of photosynthesis, uses solar power to drive an electrochemical process that generates hydrogen fuel at more than 22% efficiency, breaking previous records of 18%. [Energy Matters]

World:

¶ Up to $44 trillion could be going up in smoke if the world does not act on climate change, according to the latest piece of research from US banking giant Citigroup. The study examines two scenarios: one is what Citi describe as an “‘inaction’ on climate change scenario”, and another scenario looks at what could happen if a low carbon, “different energy mix” is pursued. [CNBC]

¶ It probably surprises nobody to learn that coal produces more of the world’s electricity than any other fuel. But it many would be surprised to learn that renewables have taken second place. Electricity generation from renewable sources has overtaken natural gas to become the second largest source of electricity worldwide, the International Energy Agency has announced. [eco-business.com]

Electricity generation from renewable sources has overtaken natural gas to become the second largest source of electricity worldwide. Image: Shutterstock

¶ Scottish Renewables has revealed the latest figures for how the sector fares in the country. Around 42,000 solar schemes, 2,557 small wind projects, 204 hydro-electric schemes are amongst some of the renewable methods being used to power homes. Inverurie in Aberdeenshire is Scotland’s solar capital with the town boasting about 10,000 250-W solar panels. [Energy Voice]

¶ Installed solar power capacity in India grew to 3,744 MW by March 2015 from 14 MW in 2010, according to a study by Deloitte and Confederation of Indian Industry. It says less than 1% of India’s solar energy potential is being harvested. Solar power is growing quickly because it is the least expensive way to get power to many of the 300 million people who currently go without. [Greentech Lead]

US:

¶ The Northern Pass project would transmit power from hydroelectric plants in Quebec through New Hampshire. Eversource Operations, the firm proposing the 192-mile power line, unveiled a new plan. It includes burying an unprecedented 60 miles of transmission lines through the most fragile areas. It would also reduce the transmission capacity from previous goals. [Bangor Daily News]

¶ Nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural operations in the central United States may be greatly underestimated, and in some instances are as much as 40% higher than previously thought, according to a new study. It is a potent greenhouse gas. It is produced from nitrogen fertilizer and manure applications, evolving directly from fields and indirectly, as it gets into waterways. [CleanTechnica]

Image: eutrophication&hypoxia

¶ The North American unit of German inverter maker SMA Solar Technology AG announced an order to supply 700 MW of central inverters for solar power plants in California. SMA will provide 317 units of its Sunny Central 2200-US inverter, which has been designed specifically for the US market, for seven utility-scale systems that range in size from 50 MW to 150 MW. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Royal Dutch Shell has been granted a permit to commence deep-sea drilling in the Arctic Ocean. Drilling shallow wells in the area had already begun, but a lack of documentation and precautionary equipment prevented drilling deep enough to strike oil. The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management predicts the possibility of one or more oil spills in the next decade. [Business Finance News]

¶ Florida Power & Light got pushback Tuesday from South Florida officials and other critics as it requested $34.2 million from customers to continue planning a pair of nuclear reactors at its Turkey Point complex. The request, if approved by the Florida Public Service Commission in October, would add a cost for new nuclear power of 34¢ on a typical residential bill. [CBS Local]

World:

¶ A new study has found that China’s air pollution is linked to the death of over 1.6 million people a year or 4,400 people a day. The study was carried out by Richard Muller and Robert Rohde, researchers at Berkeley Earth. They mapped the concentrations of six major pollutants across eastern China, using data from China’s national air quality reporting system. [The Next Digit]

Chinese industrial pollution.

¶ The Ghanaian Minister for Power has launched the rollout of a PayGo home solar power in the Assin district of Central region, Ghana. Starting with households in the area of Assin Sienchem, the first phase of the program will deliver power to over 100,000 households, with particular focus on Cocoa growing regions in Central, before being rolled out more widely. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Sojitz Corporation of America reached an agreement with Grupo T-Solar Global SA and invested in two solar power plants in Peru, becoming owner of a 49% equity interest. With a total output of over 44 MW, the project is the first mega-solar project in Peru. The project has 20-year fixed-price power purchase agreements guaranteed by the Ministry of Energy and Mines. [pv magazine]

¶ Engie, the French utility giant formerly known as GDF Suez SA, is said to have plans to sell more than $1 billion of stakes in Asian coal-fired power plants. Engie, a sponsor of the Paris climate-change talks later this year, has shut gas plants and capped coal-fired installations as Chief Executive Officer Gerard Mestrallet steers the company toward renewable energy sources. [Bloomberg]

¶ ScottishPower confirmed it is to close the giant Longannet coal-fired power station next March 31. It said a combination of high carbon taxes and high transmission charges made the plant uneconomical. It also said since the same issues make any thermal power plant in Scotland challenging, it will not pursue plans for a combined cycle gas turbine plant at Cockenzie. [Business Green]

Longannet Power Station 2012

¶ RWE AG has officially commissioned a power-to-gas plant, rated at 150-kW, as part of a system linking together the supply of electricity, natural gas, and district heating in North Rhine-Westphalia. The power-to-gas plant turns unused renewable power into hydrogen, which is then injected into the natural gas network. The gas will be used at a co-generation plant. [SeeNews Renewables]

US:

¶ Opponents to the offshore wind farm under construction near Block Island, off the coast of Rhode Island, have filed a case in federal court seeking to overturn a critical agreement under which developer Deepwater Wind will sell power to utility National Grid. The complaint was filed by several long-standing opponents of the five-turbine wind farm. [The Providence Journal]

¶ In a recent survey, while 71% of the Southern Californians queried stated that they were highly interested in getting an EV, it seems an additional 13% already had one. All things considered, it is not a shabby percentage (and a reflection of the relative wealth of those queried, I assume). Only 16% of those asked were not interested in EVs, according to the results. [CleanTechnica]

Image Credit: Nissan

¶ Google has announced a tool for finding an easy answer to one of the most difficult questions for climate-conscious homeowners: Should I install solar panels? Project Sunroof is an application of Google Maps that aims to cut through the complicated calculations that go into whether your house is well-suited to generate its own power from that giant nuclear furnace in the sky. [Slate Magazine]

¶ Additional degradation of concrete related to alkali-silica reaction at Seabrook Station nuclear power plant was found in a Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspection this summer. NRC officials downplayed concerns, however. Concrete degradation was discovered in Seabrook Station in 2010 and may be the last hurdle in Seabrook’s attempt to renew its license. [Seacoastonline.com]

World:

¶ Ontario’s Environmental Review Tribunal last week dismissed appeals of two wind projects developed by Capstone Infrastructure Corp with a combined capacity of 28 MW. Canada-based Capstone says the decision upholds the renewable energy approvals granted previously to the 18-MW Ganaraska and 10-MW Grey Highlands ZEP projects in Ontario. [SeeNews Renewables]

Wind farm in Ontario. Author: John Vetterli. License: Creative Commons, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

¶ PT Energi Angin Indonesia and the government of South Sulawesi today signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a 62.5-MW wind farm. It will be tied to the South Sulawesi electricity grid and should produce over 200 GWh per year. This is enough to supply to more than 450,000 local people and help avoid 120,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. [The FINANCIAL]

¶ Conergy, based in Hamburg, Germany, and ATC Enviro Co Ltd, a member of the Symbior Solar group, a solar PV developer based in Bangkok, announced plans to build three solar PV plants in Thailand having a total capacity of 19 MWp. Symbior Solar currently is developing an additional 100 MW in solar projects across Asia for implementation in 2015/16. [The Tide]

¶ Renewable power is becoming a political force in Australia. Australian Solar Council launched its latest campaign, on the weekend, urging people to “vote solar” in an upcoming by-election in Western Australia, as the Coalition government has repeatedly broken promises on renewable energy. A recent poll found that the Coalition would lose on the back of a 7.5% swing. [RenewEconomy]

¶ In New Zealand, the Greens want the Government to set a target for 10% renewable energy generation, following Contact Energy’s decision to close its Otahuhu B gas-fired power station at the end of next month. The Government’s renewable energy target is 90% 2025. Green Party energy spokesman Gareth Hughes says the time has come to set a goal of 100% renewable energy. [3News NZ]

¶ Scotland’s ambitions to become a zero waste nation were today bolstered with the start of construction of Viridor’s new £177 million energy recovery facility in East Lothian. The site will process 300,000 tonnes of post-recycling ‘residual’ waste per annum to generate 30 MW directly to the grid, enough to power 39,000 homes, and will also offer up to 10 MW of heat. [Process & Control Today]

¶ German firms may sign contracts with the Iranian Energy Ministry to build power plants in Iran. Lifting sanctions will pave the way for resuming energy projects. Transferring technology by German companies to Iranian companies, improving efficiency of existing thermal power plants, and building new wind and solar power plants in Iran are all under discussion. [Tehran Times]

¶ Four and a half years after the Fukushima Disaster began, and as Japan tentatively restarts nuclear power elsewhere, legal challenges are mounting for the crippled plant’s operator. They include a judge’s forced disclosure of a 2008 internal document prepared for managers at TEPCO warning of a need for precautions against an unprecedented nuclear catastrophe. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶ Wind energy prices have hit an all-time low and the cost of installing turbines has fallen 20% to 40% in the last five years, according to the DOE. Its new report says last year’s wind-power price contracts with utilities averaged under 2.5¢/kWh, down from 7¢/kWh in 2009. In the Northwest, that could mean a resurgence of interest and investment in wind farms. [Public News Service]

Oregon ranks sixth among states for installed wind capacity. A new national report citing lowest-ever prices for wind power could spark more investment in the industry. Photo credit: Umptanum/Wikimedia Commons.

¶ A bill to augment New Jersey’s clean energy market by encouraging residents to generate their own electricity using renewable energy sources is now law. It increases the electric power net metering cap established in the “Electric Discount and Energy Competition Act” to 2.9% of the total annual energy sold in New Jersey, effectively quadrupling the state limit on net metering. [TAPinto.net]

¶ The wind and solar energy industries in Michigan are expected to continue steady growth and add hundreds of jobs over the next decade, regardless of what the legislators and Governor Rick Snyder come up with in a final energy bill package this year. Part of the optimism comes from a regulatory announcement earlier this month by the EPA, the Clean Power Plan. [Crain’s Detroit Business]

Science and Technology:

¶ Climate change makes some organisms go extinct, but increases others. According to the author of a newly released study, “it is not so easy to determine the number of wild boars in Europe.” However, in the recent decades, more and more boars have wound up as road kill and in hunting bags – a strong indication that local populations are growing and gaining ground. [Nature World News]

A possible beneficiary of climate change. Photo: pixabay

¶ According to the Taskforce on Extreme Weather and Global Food System Resilience, worldwide food shortages, dramatic price increases, and volatile market conditions may take place every 30 years in about 25 years from now, instead of taking place once a century. To cover this and population increase, food production may need to improve by over 60%. [Modern Readers]

World:

¶ Kuwait has approved the construction of a series of power plants, desalination facilities and other infrastructure projects worth up to $9.9 billion, according to Kuwait’s finance ministry. While no timeline has been set for most projects, which are expected to add 3,580 MW to the country’s electricity capacity, a planned sewage plant will commence by the year 2020. [Construction Week Online]

¶ Opponents of onshore wind farm developments across Lincolnshire have expressed surprise at the results of a survey which has claimed that only 8% of people are against turbines on farmland. The Good Energy poll also found just 4% of the public opposed solar farms, and 7% were against biomass plants. For the poll, 2,000 people were asked their views on renewables. [Lincolnshire Echo]

¶ Asked for fact checking, the Saudi agency responsible for developing renewable energy, with a budget of $109 billion, confirmed the kingdom’s plan of 41 GW solar power by 2032 and added it would be composed of 25 GW of solar thermal and 16 GW of photovoltaics, starting from almost nothing in 2012. But it has also announced the plan’s target date may be 2040. [gulfnews.com]

¶ The transportation sector accounts for 29% of the Uruguay’s energy use, according to the Industry, Energy and Mining Minister. She said studies by her portfolio indicate that by 2030, 40% of the public-transport fleet, and 60% of taxis, will be powered by renewable energy sources. The change has already started, and the first four electric cars have been added to the capital’s taxi fleet. [La prensa]

¶ Residents near the Japan’s Sakurajima volcano evacuated to safer places after the government raised its alert level to 4 on a 5-point scale, indicating a major eruption could be imminent. The Sendai nuclear power plant, which is the first to restart under tighter safety rules adopted in the wake of the Fukushima Disaster, is just 50 km from the volcano. [South China Morning Post]

An aerial view shows Mt. Sakurajima in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan. Photo: Kyodo

¶ Cochin International Airport is set to become the first airport in India to be operating on solar power. This will make the airport ‘absolutely power neutral’ in terms of energy consumption. A 12-MW solar power project will be inaugurated August 18. Photovoltaic cells have been laid across 45 acres. Electricity from the solar power plant will be used for airport operations. [Skymet Weather]

¶ Australia’s federal government has been marked down on climate change in a new poll that shows most voters believe it has done too little to address the problem. The poll comes as the government’s official climate change policy adviser accuses the Tony Abbott-led government of shirking its part of the collective global task of avoiding dangerous climate change. [The Australian Financial Review]

US:

¶ The Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan requires the nation to use a lot more renewable energy by 2030, and a lot less coal. And right on time, two new reports published last week by the Department of Energy find that one key renewable sector, wind, is booming, a development that can only help matters when it comes to reducing carbon emissions. [Memphis Commercial Appeal]

¶ As wildfires burn throughout California, there the latest forecast says there will be an unusually strong El Niño, which typically brings heavy winter rainfall to California. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Service released data late last week that showed surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean off South America to be nearly 4° Fahrenheit above normal. [Times of San Diego]

Science and Technology:

¶ Twenty-five years ago, the Passive House certification system raised the bar for energy efficiency by introducing a rigorous performance-based standard. Now, the Passive House Institute has raised the bar higher with certification of two residential projects under a new category, “Passive House Plus,” that incorporates evaluation of on-site renewable energy. [Architectural Record]

A 16-unit apartment building in Innsbruck, Austria, is the first of its kind to be certified under Passive House Plus. Passive House Institute photo.

World:

¶ Fears are growing in South Africa that agreements to build nuclear power plants will made behind closed doors, without the necessary public scrutiny. Among those voicing concern, two government sources say the Treasury is not being included in procurement discussions, despite the massive budgetary implications of a project that may cost as much as $100 billion. [Daily Times]

¶ According to the IEA, almost all of Greece’s oil is imported, and it accounts for a highly significant 45% of the country’s energy supply. The Greek government is spending €800 million each year on oil subsidies. At the same time, an estimated 6 in 10 Greek homes are struggling to pay their energy bills. Greenpeace is undertaking efforts to solarize Greece and install heat pumps. [Inhabitat]

¶ Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy approved four renewable energy projects for the national Incentive Regime for Infrastructure Development in the state of Bahia. The combined capacity of 96.9 MW will include 36.9 MW of wind power to be completed in 2016 and 60 MW of solar to be put online in2017. The projects represent investments of approximately $133 million. [SeeNews Renewables]

US:

¶ SunEdison announced it will partner with Dominion to create a joint venture around the 420-MW Four Brothers solar project in Utah. The project is currently being developed and constructed by SunEdison, and is expected to become fully operational by mid-2016. Dominion will invest approximately $500 million to acquire 50% of the cash equity and 99% of the tax equity. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A Hawaii agency is moving ahead with its plan to go entirely off the electrical grid by developing its own microgrid system. The Hawaii Foreign Trade-Zone No 9 is a five-acre facility on seven acres of land. It has more than 75 offices and a warehouse, and includes 200,000 square feet of total rooftop space. It is estimated that a system of over 500 kW is needed. [Pacific Business News (Honolulu)]

The Hawaii Foreign Trade Zone No. 9 at Honolulu Harbor. PBN File.

¶ The utility firm, Maui Electric Company, is aiming to purchase electricity from two newly proposed large-scale solar energy projects, which will be the first of their kind on Maui, according to a press statement from Maui Electric Company. The two projects are expected to provide up to 5.7 MW of solar PV generated electricity for the relatively low price of 11.06¢/kWh. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and members of Bristol Community College revealed the largest solar canopy in New England on Friday, a 3.2-MW installation that covers 800 parking spaces over two hectares of land on the college’s Fall River Campus. The installation will churn out 34 million kWh of energy annually and will save over $1.75 million over 20 years. [PV-Tech]

¶ Public Service Company of New Mexico and parties opposed to its plans to keep the coal-powered San Juan Generating Station in operation reached a deal that could phase out the plant after 2022. PNM will commit to a Public Regulation Commission review in 2018 over whether the San Juan plant should be shut down after 2022, when current contracts expire. [Albuquerque Business First]

¶ With construction of the Watts Bar Unit 2 nuclear reactor mostly complete, the Tennessee Valley Authority announced it has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to issue a license for the reactor. The TVA sent documentation to the NRC informing the organization that construction of the Watts Bar reactor is substantially complete with only a few details left to finish. [Knoxville News Sentinel]

Science and Technology:

¶ Ask electric vehicle drivers what they don’t like about their electric car experience and the chances are most of them would say charging their vehicles away from home is their least favorite thing. Now, researchers in England are exploring the possibility of making wireless recharging available on some motorways, the English equivalent to our interstate highways. [CleanTechnica]

The possibility of EV recharging lanes is being explored in the UK.

World:

¶ India’s Ministry of New & Renewable Energy shared annual capacity addition targets for the National Solar Mission. India aims to install a solar power capacity of 100 GW by 2022, including 40 GW of rooftop solar power capacity and 57 GW of utility-scale. Earlier this year, when it had 3 GW installed, it increased the targets to those levels from a target of 22 GW by 2022. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The Indian state of West Bengal has asked the central government to fund 40% of a planned 1-GW pumped storage hydroelectric facility, which will store power from a 1.2-GW solar park nearby. Constructing the Turga pumped storage system will require an investment of about ₹110 billion ($1.7 billion), compared to the solar power station’s cost of ₹60 billion. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ In Australia, ANZ Bank has released a report it commissioned by consulting firm Port Jackson Partners which provides a detailed explanation of why smaller-scale renewable energy technologies, such as solar PV, can represent a better economic choice than conventional options for newly developing countries with poorly developed grid infrastructure. [Business Spectator]

¶ Technology to dip the voltage of electricity delivered to homes was trialled in one region of the UK. Half a million households part in the trial that was set to test increasing the capacity of the grid without costly new infrastructure. The trial is now at the end of its year lifespan, and shows promise as an option for increasing use of renewables with no complaints recorded. [uSwitch.com]

Offshore wind farms have production that varies depending on the weather.

¶ Existing coal plants in Indonesia cause an estimated 7,100 premature deaths every year according to research by Harvard University and Greenpeace Southeast Asia, the first to look at illness and deaths associated with Indonesia’s coal-fired plants. The number could be over 28,000 if the country goes ahead with a rollout of over 100 new coal-fired power plants. [Dominican Today]

¶ India, the third-largest carbon emitter and a country very vulnerable to climate change, is a key player in global climate negotiations. Now, in the run-up to the Paris climate negotiations in October and November of this year, its negotiating position might be evolving dramatically. An internal document suggests that India should abandon old positions and seek new allies. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Plans were announced in November 2012 for a cover to be constructed to encase the Fukushima Daiichi’s Unit 3 building, protecting it from the weather and preventing any release of radioactive particles during decommissioning work. Almost three years later, TEPCO says it can start installation as soon as the removal of rubble from the reactor building is completed. [World Nuclear News]

US:

¶ The authors of a new environmental report say Massachusetts is falling short of its carbon reduction goals, but could get on track by increasingly embracing emerging energy technologies. Increased adoption of energy storage technology, offshore wind power, solar energy can help the state on its goal of reducing carbon emissions to 80% of 1990 levels by the year 2050. [Barnstable Patriot]

Alan and Kris Miller’s wind turbine. Photo by Alan Miller.

¶ When Alan and Kris Miller installed the 140-foot-high wind turbine in their back yard near Stewartville, Minnesota, their electric utility tacked on a $5-per-month charge. Their letter of complaint to state regulators blew open a controversy, which led to the Public Utilities Commission ordering all of the state’s utilities to report whether they charge similar fees. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

¶ New regulations limiting mercury and other pollutants plants can emit are an issue for a 60-year-old coal-burning plant in Lansing, Michigan. As it happens, the plant is old enough it’s also difficult to find parts to make repairs. And there are too many hurdles to switch it over to burn natural gas. Plus, it’s technically in a flood zone. The city is looking into alternative choices. [Michigan Radio]

¶ New analysis shows Minnesota is the only state in the Midwest on track to exceed federal targets for reducing climate change. The report from the Union of Concerned Scientists, which supports the US EPA’s Clean Power Plan, said early investments in renewable energy and energy conservation will help the state surpass the targets set for 2022 and 2030. [Minnesota Public Radio News]

¶ Even as President Obama hails the campaign against climate change, he’s opening the Arctic and Atlantic oceans to drilling and is on track to lease massive amounts of coal in the West. Renowned climate scientist James Hansen said he plans to write an analysis of the president’s policies “probably entitled ‘Delusions at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,’ or something like that.” [Alaska Dispatch News]

¶ Ohio and 14 other states led by West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey this afternoon asked the DC federal appeals court to block the US EPA from putting its Clean Power Plan into place until the courts decide whether the EPA can legally force states to limit CO2. This is unusual because a suit has not yet been filed on the legality of the EPA’s enforcement. [cleveland.com]

World:

¶ Egypt has invited bids for the development of 500 MW of renewable energy projects, including one solar PV, one concentrating solar power (CSP), and one wind power project. The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company and the New and Renewable Energy Authority announced separate tenders for 250 MW of wind, 200 MW of PV and 50 MW of CSP capacity. [SeeNews Renewables]

Kuraymat solar-natural gas power plant in Egypt. Author: Kuraymat. License: Creative Commons.

¶ Solar energy generation surged by around 153% over the last year in the UK, according to analyst company EnAppSys. The new report also notes that, while solar PV generation currently accounts for only 4% of the UK’s electricity supply, that growth in the industry was already causing “oversupply” to the grid, thus contributing to negative market prices during some periods. [CleanTechnica]

¶ French utility Engie, formerly GDF Suez, has started construction work on the 10-MW Cairnborrow wind farm in Scotland. Completion is expected by late 2016. The five-turbine facility is located near Huntly in Aberdeenshire. Once up and running, it is expected to generate enough electricity to supply power for about 6,300 homes. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Indian Railways is planning to set up a renewable energy capacity of 1,200 MW and a transmission system to carry the power generated in an attempt to cut its power costs. The national carrier is also conducting an energy audit to estimate the amount of savings that can be made. Railways consumption is growing at about 5% a year. [Livemint]

¶ The Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations has approved TEPCO’s plan to release water into the ocean after it has been decontaminated. Under the plan, TEPCO will pump up water from subdrains around reactor buildings at the plant. This water will then be treated and discharged into the sea. [The Japan News]

US:

¶ The average price of adding solar to a home or business has dropped by more than 50% over the past years, according to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s eighth-annual “Tracking the Sun” report. Solar prices are falling across America, largely due to industry efforts to reduce solar soft costs (non-module project costs) as government incentives taper off. [CleanTechnica]

US solar PV prices 1998-2014 graph via LBNL/SunShot.

¶ First Solar has already sold out of solar photovoltaic (PV) module capacity for 2015, and for most of 2016, according to the most recent figures. Overall, the company beat analyst predictions pretty handily, coming in with net sales of $896 million for the second quarter, accompanied by a 1:1 book-to-bill ratio. This amounts to a rise from the first quarter of nearly $427 million. [CleanTechnica]

¶ After a very successful debut in Northern California, in March of this year, Neste’s NEXBTL renewable diesel is now also available to drivers in Southern California at retail stations. Propel Fuels is the first retailer in the world to sell essentially neat NEXBTL renewable diesel to consumers under the brand name Diesel HPR. [IT Business Net]

¶ New York and Connecticut recently joined at least 13 other states, including Hawai’i and Maryland, in establishing measures that could significantly expand access to renewable energy generation in those states through community-based renewable energy programs. Community solar projects expand access through virtual net metering [JD Supra]

¶ It’s the first, and likely won’t be the last member-owned solar farm in Maine. The Edgecomb Community Solar Farm Association began providing electricity to the grid on July 31 and held a ceremony Aug. 6 celebrating its beginning. The association is using electricity produced from 182 solar panels attached to a farm in Edgecomb. [Boothbay Register]

¶ Tucked inside the Obama administration’s groundbreaking greenhouse gas reduction scheme are some even more significant opportunities for smart grid technologies, not just to indirectly boost the grid’s green power capacity, but to actively serve as a compliance tool for states’ carbon-cutting and carbon-trading plans. [Greentech Media]

World:

¶ Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs announced that it will begin a development plan to harness geothermal energy from the Tatun Volcano Group by building a station in New Taipei’s Jinshan District. It would generate up to 68.5 million kWh of electricity per year and would also reduce over 42,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year. [Focus Taiwan News Channel]

Chihsingshan (七星山), the highest peak of the Tatun volcanoes. Photo by peeliden. GNU Free Documentation License, Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Turkey will expedite an auction for wind energy projects as it looks to speed up its renewable energy program. Turkey’s Energy Market Regulatory Authority announced that it will call for bids on 2 GW of wind energy projects in October next year, with the auction becoming a big part of the country’s target to have 20 GW worth of installed wind energy capacity by 2023. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Spain signed an agreement with Iran to boost cooperation in Iran’s renewable energy industry, and will extend cooperation in designing and manufacture of renewable energy equipment. The agreement was signed between Iran’s Sunir, an electrical equipment exporter and Spain’s Bestern, a renewable energy project developer, which will do consulting for Sunir. [CleanTechnica]

¶ China is now adding one idle coal power plant per week. State-owned power companies have continued adding new coal-fired power plants to the grid at a feverish pace, and in the first half of 2015, 23.4 GW of thermal power plants were brought online. But at the same time, thermal power generation dropped 3.2%, and their capacity utilization fell to just below 50%. [Business Spectator]

¶ The M5BAT is a modular, 5 MW, multitechnology medium voltage battery storage system under construction at RWTH Aachen University, Germany. It combines different battery technologies to deliver a significant upgrade in system stability and modularity. A group of businesses are working on it, and the German Ministry for Economic Affairs has granted it €6.7 million. [pv magazine]

¶ The Scottish and Welsh Governments have united to urge Westminster to act on renewable power to stop community projects falling into “hiatus.” The devolved administrations have written a joined letter to UK Energy minister Amber Rudd warning community energy projects are at risk of failure following the decision to withdraw state support a year earlier than planned. [The National]

US:

¶ Wind power keeps chugging along, with prices falling over time, though not as dramatically as solar, and installed capacity going up. Every new turbine that goes up will keep producing clean power for decades to come at very little cost (basic maintenance, no fuel costs unlike fossil fuel power plants). The US added 4.8 GW of windpower in 2014, 24% of our new capacity. [Treehugger]

Public Domain. National Renewable Energy Laboratory photo.

¶ Microsoft has invested significantly in wind power over the past two years, building up contracts to deliver 285 MW of power to its data centers from two wind energy projects built offsite. It’s a progressive move for Microsoft to turn toward renewable energy reliance, and the support of a company with as much influence and reach as Microsoft could be an immense boost. [Energy Digital]

¶ Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, the largest ski resort in southern New England, will soon be home to the largest community solar project in the northeastern United States, thanks to the construction by Nexamp of a 2.3-MW solar installation on 12 acres of the facility’s property. This project will supply Jiminy Peak with enough energy to offset 90% of its annual needs. [CleanTechnica]

¶ For 15 years, Sunflower Electric Power Corporation has been trying to expand its coal-fired power plant near Holcomb, Kansas. Even though the project has been designed and redesigned, for a variety of reasons the site is still just bare dirt. And with the new federal greenhouse gas rules for power plants, there’s serious doubt that construction will ever take place. [The Garden City Telegram]

¶ A long-planned 21.5-MW biomass plant being built on the Big Island of Hawaii, expected to generate 10% of the island’s energy needs, is currently scheduled to be operational in 2016, according to public documents. Hu Honua Bioenergy has had problems completing the plant, mostly in the form of labor disputes, but the project is making progress. [Pacific Business News (Honolulu)]

Hu Honua Bioenergy’s biomass plant being built on the Big Island of Hawaii. Courtesy of Hu Honua Bioenergy.

¶ While opponents of the Clean Energy Plan are preparing for all-out war against it (“I will not sit by while the White House takes aim at the lifeblood of our state’s economy,” vowed Senate Majority Leader Mitch ­McConnell of Kentucky) the rule shines a light on a key renewable fuel for Iowa: wind. And wind power is booming, [The Gazette: Eastern Iowa Breaking News and Headlines]

¶ The US subsidiary of the Real Assets Energy Fund has signed an agreement with WElink Energy and China Triumph International Engineering Co to jointly develop new North American renewable projects totaling $1 billion. Planned investments will be primarily in solar PV and windpower generation, but other clean technologies will be considered. [North American Windpower]

¶ The Tennessee Valley Authority has successfully completed its testing of key operating equipment for its Watts Bar Unit 2 nuclear reactor, clearing the way for additional tests of safety and containment systems before fuel is scheduled to be loaded in the new reactor this fall. TVA expects to begin generating power from the new reactor by the end of 2015. [Chattanooga Times Free Press]

World:

¶ Abengoa and Toshiba Corporation have been picked to build the Tees Renewable Energy Plant, a 299-MW CHP project to be sited in Teeside, UK. The project will have a capacity of 299 MW from electricity and steam to be used in combustion and exported to nearby industrial facilities and consumers. The engineering, design, and construction contract is worth over €600 million. [reNews]

Image: an Indiana-based biogas plant (Abengoa)

¶ Kyushu Electric Power has restarted the first nuclear reactor to operated under new Japanese safety rules following the 2011 Fukushima Disaster. All Japan’s nuclear plants were gradually shut down after a series of meltdowns at the Fukushima plant sparked by the tsunami and earthquake. But after passing stringent new safety tests the Sendai plant restarted on Tuesday morning. [BBC]

¶ Australia plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26% to 28% from 2005 levels by 2030, PM Tony Abbott says. It is less than cuts pledged by countries such as Canada and the US. Australia’s previous target was to cut emissions by 5% by 2020, based on emissions in 2000. Australia is still largely powered by carbon-polluting coal and is one of the world’s biggest coal exporters. [BBC]

¶ AGL Energy, which has committed to stop generating electricity from coal by 2050, called for bipartisan support for a national carbon budget designed to limit global temperature increase to within 2°C. Investors said the targets fail to provide certainty for the sector because they don’t put Australia on a path to limiting global warming to 2°C. [The Australian Financial Review]

¶ Iran’s deal on its nuclear program means it can sell fossil fuels. It may be the world’s third largest gas producer, but it faces several challenges in exporting the its most abundant commodity to Europe. These include a looming oversupply; growing competition from other producer countries; demand weakness in the continent; and infrastructure troubles at home. [Financial Times]

¶ The recent turmoil in China’s stock market has sent shockwaves through the country’s corporate sector, including its mighty solar power industry which in recent years has grown to dominate the world market. Seven out of the world’s top ten manufacturers of solar panels are China-based companies, together providing about 40 per cent of global solar supplies. [eco-business.com]

¶ Thai renewable energy company Impact Energy Asia Company Limited will develop a 600-MW Monsoon wind farm power project in southern Laos under an agreement signed with the Lao government. The wind farm will be located near the Mekong River across from Ubon Ratchathani. The developer is a project company of Impact Electrons Siam Company Limited. [SeeNews Renewables]

US:

¶ Could the United States be on the verge of a wind energy renaissance? It’s quite possible, now more than ever before. According to a new report produced by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the price of wind energy in the United States is at an all-time low. [Energy Digital]

Competitive wind energy prices could help the U.S. increase interest in renewables.

¶ The price of gasoline in some parts of the US could go below $2 per gallon by fall, according to some analysts. The price of crude oil is being pushed lower by concerns about a slowdown in Chinese economic growth, strong oil output from North America and the Middle East, as well as the tentative nuclear deal with Iran, which could bring more of that country’s oil to the market. [CNN]

¶ SNL Energy compared projections of what each state’s emissions rate would have been in 2020 without the Clean Power Plan with its goal in 2030 under the new rule. The analysis found that Pennsylvania will have to cut its emissions rate by 26% from where business-as-usual behavior would put the commonwealth in 2020 in order to meet the EPA plan’s target. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

Opinion:

¶ “Clean Power Plan Protects the Health – And Pocketbooks – Of Latino Families” California remains in a four-year-old extreme drought; Texas saw record flooding and rain after a record drought; and sea-level rise is already threatening Florida’s infrastructure and freshwater supply. It should not be surprising that 82% of Latinos are concerned about climate change. [Huffington Post]

World:

¶ Nova Scotia has ended a program giving citizens an incentive to produce renewable energy. The decision, which may initially lower prices for energy users, is at odds with widespread warnings that renewable energy must rapidly replace fossil fuels. The scheme is the Nova Scotia Community Feed-in Tariff, which encouraged community-based renewable energy projects. [Truthdig]

Peggys Cove lighthouse: Nova Scotia’s long Atlantic coastline is ideal for tidal power. (Bob Jagendorf via Wikimedia Commons)

¶ Enel Green Power has commissioned the world’s first geothermal-biomass hybrid power plant in Italy. Enel Green Power announced that it has added 5 MW of biomass-based generating capacity to an existing 13-MW geothermal plant in Tuscany. The biomass unit was added to the geothermal unit to increase overall efficiency and power generation of the project. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The UK’s government wants to kick-start its nascent shale gas industry, with a pointed reminder to planning authorities that ministers wish to see fracking planning applications fast-tracked. Stressing an “urgent need” for development, the guidance will give the energy minister more freedom to intervene in hearing appeals against planning decisions on shale gas projects. [Business Green]

¶ EDF, the electricity utility owned by the French government, does not have £25 billion needed to build the two huge nuclear reactors in England that it has agreed to construct, because it is in debt and its partners have pulled out. China’s President, Xi Jinping, is due in London in October and is expected to agree with Prime Minister David Cameron to fund the deal. [eco-business.com]

The UK government is keen to push for new nuclear stations as essential for Britain’s energy supply. Image: Shutterstock

¶ Since 2007, The Climate Institute has produced Climate of the Nation research capturing Australian opinions on climate change, its impacts and solutions. This year’s results show an increasing awareness about the cause and impacts of climate change, strengthening support for renewable energy and carbon pollution regulation, and a greater call for government action. [Business Spectator]

¶ The EU greenhouse gases emission savings due to renewable electricity generation, cooling/heating, and transport sectors rose at a compound annual growth rate of 8.8% from 2009 to 2012, according to a report of the European Commission’s Joint Research Center. Nearly two-thirds of the savings was due to renewable energy in Germany, Sweden, France, Italy and Spain. [InterAksyon]

¶ As about 100 demonstrators massed in front of company headquarters, Kyushu Electric Power Co announced on August 10 that it was about to resume operations at its Sendai nuclear power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture the following day. At about 10:30 AM on August 11, control rods at the No 1 reactor of the Sendai plant will be removed to begin nuclear fission. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶ Anaerobic digesters capture both the smell and the greenhouse gases of manure, providing fuel in the process. The EPA estimates that more than 3 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions were eliminated last year by 247 US livestock farms with biogas recovery systems. There are about 8,000 farms in the US large enough to make a biogas recovery system viable. [Capital FM Kenya]

Cows need no encouragement to make cowpower.

¶ A deal that paves the way to build what will eventually be one of the largest solar arrays in the state of Vermont was finalized by the Windham Solid Waste Management District and developer Pristine Sun LLC. The 25-year agreement will have the solar development firm leasing land over a capped landfill from the waste district and financing the 5-MW solar project. [vtdigger.org]

¶ Entergy Arkansas intends to pay a little more than 5¢/kWh for electricity from a proposed solar farm. Entergy will buy power from NextEra, which plans to build an 81-MW solar energy farm on a 475-acre site about 7 miles southeast of Stuttgart, Arkansas. NextEra will spend more than $120 million to develop and build the solar farm, according to a spokesman for NextEra. [Arkansas Online]

Science and Technology:

¶ A new system combining lithium-iodine batteries and solar cells, an aqueous lithium−iodine solar flow battery, has been created by researchers at Ohio State University. The new battery system promises energy savings of nearly 20%, compared to conventional lithium-iodine batteries. The new work may serve as a design basis for other metal-redox flow batteries. [CleanTechnica]

Not Energy or Climate Change, but Noteworthy:

¶ Scotland is to ban the growing of genetically modified crops, the country’s rural affairs secretary has announced. Richard Lochhead said the Scottish government was not prepared to “gamble” with the future of the country’s £14 billion food and drink sector. Under European Union rules, genetically modified crops must be formally authorised before they can be cultivated. [BBC News]

World:

¶ Coal India Ltd (CIL), the largest producer of the fuel in the country, will invest over ₹62,500 crore ($9.8 billion) in the next five years with an aim to ramp up annual production to 908 million tonnes by 2019-2020, the government has said. The State-run miner in 2014-15 had produced 494 million tonnes of coal, though this was 3% lower than the targeted 507 million tonnes. [The Hindu]

CIL registered a growth of 12.3 per cent in production at 121 million tonnes — the highest growth for any quarter in its history.

¶ It is understandable that Nigeria, as a major oil producer, generates 80% of its electricity hydrocarbon powered turbines. However, it is very difficult to understand why, in the face of the failure of the fuel-powered systems to provide the needed electricity in Nigeria, other available easy-pick energy sources, especially solar power, have remained significantly unharnessed. [THISDAY Live]

¶ French Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development, and Energy, Ségolène Royal, has called for increased investment in renewable energy. Ms Royal said in Lusaka, Zambia on Friday that to reduce deforestation, to mitigate effects of climate change, and to give access to electricity to those who do not have it, there is need to focus on alternative sources of energy. [Zambia Daily Mail]

¶ Japan’s nuclear regulator said an accident on the scale of the 2011 Fukushima disaster would not occur under new safety rules imposed on reactors such as Kyushu Electric Power’s Sendai No. 1, set to be the first to restart since Fukushima, Japan’s Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday. The Sendai No 1 reactor is may be restarted as early as next week. [The Nation]

US:

¶ Whenever the wind blows or the sun shines, a first-of-its-kind renewable power plant near Willcox, Arizona will help power thousands of Tucson homes. The project was dedicated under cloudy skies with gusty winds in the rolling grasslands about 15 miles west of Willcox, despite lingering concerns of some over the impact of its massive wind turbines on birds and other wildlife. [Arizona Daily Star]

The combined wind and solar project is expected to provide enough electricity for 13,500 homes in Tucson Electric Power’s territory. A.E. Araiza / Arizona Daily Star

¶ Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $63 million in loans and grants for 264 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects nationwide that USDA is supporting through its Rural Energy for America Program. These REAP projects are expected to generate and/or save 207.8 million kWh of energy, enough to provide power demands for more than 13,600 homes. [Imperial Valley News]

¶ Kansas had the third-highest amount of wind power capacity under construction in the country in the second quarter, with buyers including in-state utilities and an internet search company. There were over 1,070 MW of wind power capacity under construction in Kansas as of the second quarter of 2015. That will increase state’s 2,967 MW in existing capacity by over 36%. [Topeka Capital Journal]

¶ The method of manure treatment called anaerobic digestion benefits the environment because it enables capturing methane to be burned for renewable heat and electricity instead of allowing the methane to be released into the atmosphere. During the last few years, however, the price of natural gas has been low, making anaerobic digestion less economical. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

World:

¶ A British company has announced plans for an array of unique marine turbines that can operate in shallower and slower-moving water than current designs. Kepler Energy says the turbines will eventually produce electricity more cheaply than off-shore wind farms. It hopes to install its new design in what is called a tidal energy fence, one kilometre long, in the Bristol Channel. [RTCC]

How the rotor blades look installed in a tidal fence configuration (Pic: Kepler Energy)

¶ Figures released on Thursday show that electricity production in the 34 member states of the OECD fell 0.8% to 10,712 TWh, a decrease of 86 TWh on 2013’s figures. The International Energy Agency point out that this decline was driven by lower fossil fuel and hydro production, but a decline which was partially offset by a growth in non-hydro renewables and nuclear. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Azar Mobaraki is a benefactor who has taken advantage of solar energy to supply electric power to the nomads living in Hamoun County, in the eastern Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchestan, the Fars news agency reported recently. She supplied 115 solar panels, 230 unbreakable light bulbs, power adapters, and other electronic equipment so children could read in the evening. [Tehran Times]

¶ Solar and onshore wind are supported by 76% and 59% of Brits, respectively, a survey commissioned by UK renewable power supplier Good Energy Group Plc says. The findings were published after the Department of Energy and Climate Change released its latest attitudes tracker, which omitted questions about support for specific renewable technologies. [SeeNews Renewables]

Solar panels. Featured Image: Martin D. Vonka/Shutterstock.com

US:

¶ Customers in Oahu, Hawaii, may soon have the option of buying into a local community solar program, thanks to a recent proposal to the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission from Hawaiian Electric Company, which aims to create a long-term pilot program. The proposed community solar program would be open to about 50 Oahu utility customers, whose electric bills would be lower. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Mary Nichols, the chair of the California Air Resources Board, said she hopes to implement new rules in the state that would eventually prohibit the sale of new cars that are equipped with internal combustion engines. The zero-emissions vehicle program California now has in place requires that 2.7% of new cars purchased in the state in 2015 be free of greenhouse gas emissions. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Adding to a hydropower bill that he already laid before the Legislature, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has filed a bill to accelerate solar power industry growth in Massachusetts and then adjust incentives. The administration says its bill will help the state meet “well ahead of schedule” its goal of 1,600 MW of solar power by 2020, while lowering costs. [Wicked Local Brookline]

¶ Federal regulators have rejected contentions that California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant is unsafe and should not be relicensed. The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board dismissed four contentions filed by San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace. The NRC is evaluating 20-year extensions to the plant’s reactor’s operating licenses, which expire in 2024 and 2025. [89.3 KPCC]

¶ Entergy Arkansas Inc proposed what it called “a more reasonable” approach to deal with regional haze in Arkansas, in response to the Environment Protection Agency’s rejection of the state’s earlier plan to improve visibility in wilderness areas. Entergy would shut down its coal-fired operations at the White Bluff Electric Station instead of spending over $2 billion on scrubbers. [KUAR]

Entergy’s White Bluff power plant near Redfield. Credit: Arkansas Business

¶ California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill Friday that allows BART [the rapid transit system in the San Francisco Bay area] to purchase renewable energy directly from wholesale suppliers as the rail system looks to further reduce its carbon footprint. Under the new law, BART officials would no longer have to go through a third party to buy renewable energy on their behalf. [SFGate]

¶ Southern California has missed a long-standing federal deadline to reduce toxic soot and other small particle air pollution because unhealthful levels of such pollutants persist in northwest Riverside County. The Bush administration set rules for communities in Southern California’s ocean-to-mountains air basin to meet the goal by 2015. The standard has been missed, however. [Press-Enterprise]

¶ One of the Vermont’s most prominent renewable energy developers is proposing to build more wind power in a region of Vermont that has been divided over such projects for years. David Blittersdorf wants to erect two wind turbines on a Northeast Kingdom ridgeline in the 1,100-person town of Irasburg and produce enough electricity to power more than 2,000 homes. [vtdigger.org]

¶ When the EPA issued its Clean Power Plan, it exempted the two non-contiguous states of Alaska and Hawaii from the need to set emissions targets because of a lack of sufficient information or analytical tools for measuring in these states the means whereby emission targets may be achieved.The territories of Guam and Puerto Rico have been similarly exempted. [Petroleum News]

Opinion:

¶ “Cost of EPA’s Climate Plan? Minor Compared to the Benefits” – The good news is that cutting carbon turns out to be not just affordable, but smart: the Clean Power Plan’s public health and climate benefits, worth an estimated $34 billion to $54 billion in 2030, far outweigh the estimated costs of $8.4 billion. [The Equation: Blog of the Union of Concerned Scientists]

Solar array at Nellis Air Force Base. USAF photo. Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons. 

World:

¶ China’s public sector companies continue to support the development of renewable energy infrastructure in Pakistan. HydroChina Investment Corporation will invest $115 million for the implementation of a 50 MW wind energy project near Karachi. The project is expected to be operational by September producing enough power for 100,000 households, with an 8-year payback. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Australian electricity companies have offered solar and battery systems for lease in a bid to keep customers and lower their own costs. Battery technology has been billed as the next “big phenomenon” by energy analysts — but too expensive for most people to install. But according to John Grimes of the Energy Storage Association power companies are trying to adapt. [ABC Online]

¶ UN chief Ban Ki-moon has voiced appreciation for US President Barack Obama’s personal engagement with India, China and Brazil on climate change, saying he counts on his strong leadership to reach an agreement on the issue in Paris in December. He commended Mr Obama’s “strong commitment” on climate change and said he counts on his continuing leadership. [Kashmir Images]

US:

¶ President Obama’s determination to reduce US carbon emissions by 32% below 2005 levels by 2030 sends a message to the rest of the world’s leaders that the UN climate talks in Paris could succeed, saving the planet from overheating. Past talks have foundered on a range of excuses, but now the world’s two largest polluters have committed to far-reaching changes. [eco-business.com]

Coal barge on the Kanawha River in Charleston, West Virginia. Image: Joseph Sohm, Shutterstock.com

¶ The Business Renewables Center (BRC), an initiative convened by the Rocky Mountain Institute and a member-led platform, is working to accelerate corporate procurement of off-site renewable energy such by bringing together corporate buyers, project developers, and service providers. Microsoft has contracted for 285 MW of wind power over the past two years. [CleanTechnica]

¶ SunEdison will be supplying solar energy to the entirety of the Rialto Unified School District in Belmont, California, the company announced earlier this week. The agreement will see the renewable energy developer install a total of 8.4 MW of solar canopies at car parks at the district’s 28 schools, and then sell the clean power back to the schools over the course of 20 years. [Business Green]

¶ The United States installed a record of 845 wind turbines, totalling 1,661 MW, in the second quarter of 2015. The turbines were spread out across 12 separate projects in five different states, however it was the state of Texas that blew the competition away in the second quarter, installing a total of 1,226 MW. This brings Texas’ total installed capacity up over 15,000 MW. [CleanTechnica]

Part of the Panther Creek Wind Farm in Howard County, Texas. Larry D. Moore CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Demand for Tesla Energy’s revolutionary battery “has been crazy,” according to the company’s founder and CEO Elon Musk. He said there have been more than 100,000 reservations (roughly worth $1 billion) for the batteries, which have sold out through 2016. Musk said, “You can basically, in principle, shut down half of the world’s power plants if you had stationary storage.” [EcoWatch]

¶ A letter signed by 16 states opposes the EPA’s recently unveiled Clean Power Plan, requesting an “immediate stay” on a program the opposition says “unlawfully exploits Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act.” The Clean Power Plan is opposed by states whose economies are heavily reliant on coal, which fear that conversions to cleaner sources might increase energy rates. [HydroWorld]

¶ Topeka-based Westar Energy Inc has been seeking to increase its rates by $152 million a year, but agreed instead to an increase of only $78 million. Westar said higher electric rates are needed to cover costs for improvements at coal-burning plants, mandated by federal air pollution standards, and for upgrades at the Wolf Creek nuclear power plant outside Burlington. [Daily Journal]

Science and Technology:

¶ The world’s fastest charging electric bus is operating in the eastern Chinese port city of Ningbo. Local transportation authorities say that the public bus, which was manufactured in Ningbo and runs along an 11 kilometer route, takes as little as 10 seconds to charge up and be ready for the next leg of its journey. The bus also recaptures 80% of its potential energy on breaking. [CleanTechnica]

Electric bus charging in Ningbo.

World:

¶ A new survey from the International Monetary Fund shows that the UK government is still providing billions of pounds in subsidies to fossil fuels, while on the other hand cutting support for renewables, for the UK doled out more than £26 billion in subsidies this year. Estimates for global energy direct and indirect subsidies in 2011 have been revised to $4.2 trillion. [CleanTechnica]

¶ France’s Environment and Energy Management Agency has opened a tender for pilot offshore wind projects with floating turbines. Projects must be in one of four designated areas in three regions: Brittany, Languedoc-Roussillon et Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur. The areas were announced by the Ministry for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy last month. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ General Electric Co has received its first French order for the low-wind 2.75 MW-120 turbine. GE will supply five turbines to a 13.75-MW wind farm project near Crosey Le Grand, in the Franche Comte region of France, the company said in a press release on Wednesday. Turbines will be shipped this summer and commercial operation is expected for late 2015. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Coal-fired electricity generation in New Zealand will end by 2018, when the Huntly power station closes. This is possible as a result of having a world-leading renewable energy industry, the government says. The Greens say it is the beginning of the end for the use of coal in New Zealand and the party is calling on other industries to switch to renewable energy sources. [3News NZ]

¶ SkyPower announced receiving an award for 200 MW in the Telangana, India solar competitive tender process. Telangana is embracing solar energy and is forward thinking in efforts‎ to adopt solar to help grow its economy and provide families with lower-cost electricity. The 200-MW award from Telangana follows a 150-MW award from Madhya Pradesh in July. [AltEnergyMag]

¶ Planning consent has been given for the construction of the next stage of the giant Dogger Bank offshore wind farm in the North Sea, the biggest offshore wind project in the world. Dogger Bank Teesside A and B will boast up to 400 wind turbines and have an installed capacity of up to 2.4 GW, enough to power the annual electricity needs of two million British homes. [Click Green]

US:

¶ Heat-trapping pollution from US power plants hit a 27-year low in April, the Department of Energy announced Wednesday. A big factor was the long-term shift from coal to cleaner and cheaper natural gas. More renewable fuel use and energy efficiency also had effects. Power plants emitted 141 million tons of carbon dioxide in April, the lowest for any month since April 1988. [Press Herald]

US Energy Information Administration graph

¶ Most of the cost for burning fossil fuels is not paid when that electricity or fuel is purchased. Most of the cost comes from the tremendous health problems the resulting air pollution (and climate change, if you are brave enough to include that) creates. The EPA created a graph showing the cost of the Clean Power Plan versus the health and life benefits of the plan. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A recent poll of Republican presidential primary voters in the early voting states of New Hampshire and South Carolina finds an unexpected result for the seventeen candidates campaigning there. Most of those likely to vote in the Republican primaries in each of these states support regulating carbon pollution, and even support using President Obama’s Clean Power Plan. [ThinkProgress]

¶ Don’t believe the naysayers who claim the Clean Power Plan is bad for business. Because when you talk to businesspeople, people creating jobs, fostering innovation and driving economic growth all across America, they’re likely to say the opposite. In poll after poll after poll, small business owners, executives and others express widespread support for the Clean Power Plan. [Huffington Post]

¶ Electric utilities, oil companies and their allies spent $502 million on lobbying in the year since the EPA proposed new regulations on carbon emissions from power plants, according to disclosures reviewed by Bloomberg. That’s 22 times what renewable energy companies and environmentalists spent. But many other businesses support the plan. [Sydney Morning Herald]

¶ A judge ruled that Southern California Edison executives engaged in improper talks with California utility regulators related to the now-closed San Onofre nuclear plant. They could face millions of dollars in penalties. The judge found that Edison executives or attorneys engaged in ten unreported, improper communications with agency commissioners or advisers. [Paradise Post]

World:

¶ The city of Oslo intends to become “an example for the world” in cutting greenhouse-gas emissions from transportation. Walking, cycling, and public transit come first. Public vehicles will be emissions-free. All municipal vehicles will be electric this year. But private vehicles are a fact of life, and so private emissions-free vehicles will be given a huge menu of incentives. [Green Car Reports]

Oslo street scene: Nissan Leaf, Volkswagen e-Golf, Tesla Model S, July 2015

¶ A major report published by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency predicts a 40% to 60% price plunge for certain battery technologies by 2020. The 130-page report says that we will see the costs of lithium-ion batteries fall by 60% in less than five years, and by 40% for flow batteries. The change is driven by market demand by everyone from producers to ratepayers. [CleanTechnica]

¶ At least three utility companies are hoping to capitalize on hydroelectric energy opportunities along the Trent Severn Waterway in Selwyn Township, Ontario, and the surrounding area. The utilities are proposing to put the facilities at three of the waterway’s locks. The plants will not be large, but one utility’s proposal for two plants could produce a total of 6 MW. [Kawartha Media Group]

¶ Scientific American reports that by 2030, total energy consumption in France is to be reduced by 30%, while the share of renewables is to more than double to 32%. Repeated large increases in the carbon tax could go a long way toward achieving this goal. The interesting part about France, however, is that it’s the country’s nuclear mix that’s going to lose out the most. [Green Chip Stocks]

¶ The largest contiguous solar farm in Canada has begun producing electricity for the power grid in Ontario. The 100-MW Grand Renewable Solar Project has ability to power approximately 17,000 homes in the province. It incorporates 445,000 high-performance solar modules, covering 736 Ontario acres and is Canada’s largest photovoltaic project. [CanadianManufacturing.com]

Photo: CNW Group/s2e Technologies

¶ China has reportedly started construction of its first commercial large scale solar power plant located in the Gobi desert. The plant, spreading across 25 square kilometres of abandoned land in the Qinghai province, will generate 200 megawatts of power, enough to supply one million homes with electricity. The development underlines China’s commitment to renewable power. [E&T magazine]

¶ A £25-billion contract to build the UK’s first new nuclear power plant in 25 years is expected to be signed within weeks. Ministers in the Department of Energy and Climate Change have reached an agreement with the French energy company EDF to develop Hinkley Point C, near Bridgwater in Somerset, and are ready to approve the project after parliament’s summer recess. [The Guardian]

US:

¶ The National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently released data showing that the capacity factor for wind power can reach 65%, which is close to that of fossil fuel based generation. NREL’s new report suggests wind could become a dominant and possibly the primary source of electricity in the US because it implies reduced need for storage and peaking power. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Official EPA ratings for the 2016 Chevy Volt are out. GM lived up to its promise that its electric range would be at least 50 miles, as the EPA has rated its range at 53 miles. That is more than enough for about 80% of people on any given day, so a lot of owners might drive on electricity almost all the time. GM is anticipating that 90% of trips will be entirely on electricity. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Colorado environmental advocates are confindent the state can cut the state’s carbon dioxide emissions by 40% by 2030, compared to 2012 levels. The state is about 75% toward the 2030 goal, based on actions already taken and programs implemented and expected, according to John Nielsen, the clean energy program director for Western Resource Advocates. [Denver Business Journal]

Thinkstock

¶ One of the largest tech companies in the US soon will power its five Texas data centers with 100% renewable energy. Hewlett-Packard recently announced a 12-year contract to buy 112 MW of wind power from a SunEdison wind farm in Texas. The purchase means HP will reach its 2020 operational greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal five years ahead of schedule. [GreenBiz]

¶ Hawaii’s Public Utilities Commission approved four utility-scale solar projects on Oahu, placing conditions to make sure residents won’t have to pay if developers miss out on a federal tax credit. The power purchase agreements approved for the four projects could produce 137.2 MW. Developers want to proceed quickly to take advantage of federal incentives. [RenewablesBiz]

¶ Alpha Natural Resources, once a powerhouse of American coal industry, filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 to get relief from a $3 billion debt, particularly with utilities switching to natural gas and coal prices moving south. It had borrowed heavily to acquire assets it hoped would increase in value as China’s coal use continued to grow, a strategy that failed. [The Market Business]

¶ Ameren Missouri has dropped plans to build a second nuclear unit at its Callaway Energy Center, citing shaky economics in the context of cheaper renewables, low demand, and other factors for its decision. During an earnings call, the CEO said the company is moving to a “cleaner, more diverse generation portfolio,” such as a new 13-MW solar facility west of St. Louis. [POWER magazine]

Opinion:

¶ “EPA’s carbon rules are catching up with the market” The President rolled out Monday the much-anticipated centerpiece to his climate change plan. It envisions an overhaul in power plants, what they burn, and the broader electricity system. It’s ambitious. But to people in and around the power sector, this revolution is already well underway. Not because of the EPA, but the market. [WBFO]

Emissions spew out of a large stack at the coal-fired Morgantown Generating Station in Newburg, Maryland. Scott Tong

¶ “Busted: 3 myths about Obama’s climate plan” If you live, work or breathe in the United States, Obama’s new national Clean Power Plan is good news for you. Unfortunately, you would never know that if you listened to all the big polluters screaming bloody murder about it. President Obama set a clear goal, but he is leaving it to the states to decide how best to get there.[CNN]

¶ “Should the UK really be putting its money into nuclear power in 2015?” Hinkley Point C was announced in 2008, with predictions it could produce a sizeable chunk of the UK’s future energy, a safe and reliable low-carbon electricity source for five million homes. Today, the Government has yet to announce a final decision on whether to proceed with the £25 billion project. [The Independent]

World:

¶ Wind energy powered almost three quarters of Scotland’s houses in July of this year. Figures from from WeatherEnergy, reveal that wind turbines powered 72% of Scottish households last month, providing more than 660,000 MWh of electricity to the national grid. This represents an increase of 58% compared to July 2014, when wind turbines generated 417,000 MWh. [edie.net]

¶ Insurance giant Aviva announced plans to increase investments in low-carbon assets. It will also reduce exposure to sectors that face risk of regulatory action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Aviva CEO Mark Wilson recently stated that the company will invest around $780 million every year in renewable energy and energy efficiency assets over the next 5 years. [CleanTechnica]

¶ US solar service giant Sungevity has decided to quit the Australian market, a victim of investor nervousness about constantly changing policy for clean energy in Australia. Ironically, this news came on the same day Sungevity announced a major expansion into the UK market, which installed 2.4 GW of solar in 2014, three times more than the Australian market. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Scottish Green MSP Patrick Harvie has written to the heads of two Holyrood committees calling for an inquiry into the impact of UK Government decisions on renewable energy and climate change targets in Scotland. The Glasgow MSP said Tory ministers had announced a range of measures in recent weeks, making it more difficult to develop wind and solar projects or achieve efficiencies. [The National]

Patrick Harvie called for the probe into how policies will affect renewables such as the Braes O’Doune farm by Stirling

US:

¶ President Obama formally announced unprecedented limits on greenhouse emissions from power plants Monday, but the measures are expected to have limited impact on electricity generation facilities in Maine. While the plan will produce cleaner air in the region, Maine has none of the coal-burning power plants considered the primary target of the emissions reductions. [Press Herald]

¶ Vermont, Alaska and Hawaii are the only states exempted from rules the Environmental Protection Agency that require other states to cut power plant emissions by 32% by 2030. Chris Recchia, commissioner of Vermont’s Public Service Department, and Deb Markowitz, secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources, said the plan appears to apply longstanding Vermont policies nationwide. [Sioux City Journal]

¶ In Washington, the American Lung Association describes the Environmental Protection Agency’s new regulations as lifesaving. Utah Senator Orrin Hatch calls them job-killing. Rocky Mountain Power generates around 80% of the electricity used in Utah from coal, but spokesman Paul Murphy says his company is already making the changes the EPA wants away from fossil fuels. [KUER]

¶ Invenergy is proposing a $700-million natural gas-fired power plant in Burrillville, Rhode Island, which it claims would be the most efficient generator of electricity that burns fossil fuels in New England. If all goes as it plans and the project is approved, construction of the 900-MW combined-cycle generator would start next year and the facility would be up and running by 2019. [The Providence Journal]

Artists rendering of the Clean River Energy Center, the 900-MW power plant proposed for Burrillville.

¶ Dominion Virginia Power, the state’s biggest power generator, was cautiously optimistic, commending the US EPA for making “critical changes” to the Clean Power Plan draft to make compliance targets more achievable. Virginia Governor McAuliffe said Monday the EPA apparently made changes to the final plan that addressed his original concerns about equity and flexibility. [Daily Press]

¶ The Obama administration has unveiled its clean power plan. The first-of-their-kind limits on carbon pollution from existing power plants will require slightly tougher cuts than the original proposal. The EPA is calling for a 32% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from power plants below 2005 levels by 2030. That is up from the 30% target as part of last year’s proposal. [OilPrice.com]

¶ The Obama administration unveiled the final version of its Clean Power Plan on Monday, establishing for the first time federal limits on carbon emissions for the nation’s power plants, but apparently through the embrace of renewables, solar and wind power, rather than natural gas. Coal, of course, took the greatest beating. But supporters of natural gas power also were not happy. [Natural Gas Intelligence]

¶ Consternation continues to fester about the nearly $5 billion settlement over the San Onofre nuclear power plant. The pact forces customers to pay 70% of the costs to shutter the facility following a 2012 radiation leak, without a full investigation by state regulators into who was at fault. That is about one third of a $10.4 billion bill customers must cover over a period of decades. [KPBS]

World:

Market on Rusinga Island, Lake Victoria, Kenya. 1% of the people have electricity. Photo by Ryan Harvey. CC BY-SA 2.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Tanzanian renewable power firms Rex Energy secured a grant from the US Trade and Development Agency for a mini-grid project in the Lake Victoria Islands. Only 1% of the islands’ populations having access to electricity. The grant supports the development of a full-scale business model and financing plan necessary to implement a 2-MW hybrid solar PV mini-grid. [Daily News]

¶ In India, officials of the New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh and AP Power Distribution Company are motivating farmers to rely on solar agricultural pumps to irrigate their fields. The government has a goal to set up 6,000 solar pump sets across the State in the current fiscal year to reduce power consumption. [The Hindu]

¶ In an opinion piece, the most recent head of the National Australia Bank made revelations about the backlash from government to business that dared speak out in support of sensible climate change and renewable energy policies. Cameron Clyne lamented the government’s economically reckless policies, “willful ignorance,” and retribution to those who did speak out. [RenewEconomy]

¶ North Africa has exceptional wind energy and is seeing a surge in large-scale wind projects. Egypt aims to generate 7.2 GW of wind energy by 2020 and Morocco has plans to develop 2 GW of wind capacity by 2016 and a further 2.7 GW by 2030. Tunisia is also planning to double its installed wind capacity with a target of 505 MW by 2016 and 2.7 GW by 2030. [EIN News Zimbabwe]

¶ Ethiopia is bursting with a feeling of unprecedented economic optimism owing to its high economic growth in the last twenty years, and the Ethiopian people are upbeat about their country’s future. And after more than a decade of heavy investments in its renewable energy, Ethiopia is emerging as a leading producer and exporter of clean electricity. [Somaliland Sun]

Ethiopia with large hydro power and wind farm projects like pictured Green Mountain Wind Farm Fluvanna looks to become the renewable energy powerhouse of Africa.

¶ More than half of medical and nursing-care facilities within 30 kilometers of nuclear power plants across Japan have not compiled mandatory evacuation plans in the event of an accident, an Asahi Shimbun survey shows. The Sendai nuclear power plant could resume operations as early as August 10, but just two of 85 medical institutes near it have developed evacuation plans. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶ The Obama administration unveiled its Clean Power Plan, which is aimed at a large reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The President will next begin selling it to the public at a White House event. The Clean Power Plan is the final version of EPA regulations, which President Barak Obama called “the biggest most important step we’ve ever taken to combat climate change.” [CNN]

¶ The wind and solar industries cheered while coal companies vowed to kill President Barack Obama’s new limits on climate-change pollution as details of the historic regulations emerged on Sunday. The rules include tougher limits on carbon emissions and more incentives for renewable energy than expected. That may also mean fewer benefits for natural gas. [theday.com]

¶ There is plenty of potential for electricity in Quebec’s rivers and reservoirs, promising relief for the Northeast, where power costs are high. But getting that power to Boston, Hartford and New York City is another matter. Five large-scale hydropower proposals are being considered. They could pump thousands of megawatts into the Northeast and ease prices as supplies increase. [Valley News]

Daniel-Johnson’s Manic 5 dam in Quebec, the largest arch and buttress dam in the world. Photo by Pierre cb. This image was placed into the public domain by the author.

¶ Hillary Clinton promised to make the US a clean energy superpower, but many knowledgeable critics see her climate goals as inadequate. James Hansen, who first told congress about the “cause and effect relationship” between climate change and human emissions, said, “It’s just plain silly … No, you cannot solve the problem without a fundamental change.” [CleanTechnica]

¶ Sungevity will be partnering with the University of California, Berkeley, for a 10-year program involving the solar energy company working with students across a wide number of different fields of study, according to a recent press statement. As part of the partnership, Sungevity will also be working to help UC Berkeley achieve its goal to be carbon neutral by the year 2025. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Over recent years, West Virginia has slowly become home to a growing number of solar energy co-ops. Charleston is now gearing up to become home to one, giving residents in the area an easier and simpler way to go solar. Since 2007, Community Power Network has launched over 30 solar energy co-ops in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ Western Australia is about to get its first solar powered mine site, with work starting next week on a $40 million solar array to supply Sandfire Resources’ DeGrussa copper mine with a substantial portion of its power. Under a deal with Juwi, the builder, Sandfire will buy power for at least six years, with further agreements if Sandfire keeps the mine going. [The West Australian]

A Juwi Energy project in East Africa similar to the one proposed for Western Australia.

¶ It appears people power may have won the day for villagers in Dudleston Heath, Shropshire, who are claiming victory in their campaign to stop developers digging up the countryside hunting for gas. IGas Energy, which acquired Dart Energy last year, confirmed it is no longer interested in operating an exploratory borehole to drill for coal-bed methane on the site. [shropshirestar.com]

¶ Eku, a town located in southern Nigeria, is an impoverished area that faces poor service from the local utility daily. Power is intermittent or restricted for periods lasting days, or sometimes weeks. A church, in the US city of Athens, Georgia, looks to change an Eku orphanage’s power problems by donating $25,000 to help build it a system providing solar power. [Online Athens]

¶ Plans for Britain’s first nuclear reactor in almost 30 years have come under sustained attack from politicians and City bankers. A report from a top bank this weekend warned that the cost of the £25 billion Hinkley Point C plant was “becoming harder to justify.” HSBC concluded: “We see ample reason for the UK Government to delay or cancel the project.” [This is Money]

¶ Several power generation companies have committed to establishing renewable energy power plants to supply electricity and water for the Philippine province of Aklan and other nearby provinces. These companies will build a 50-MW wind power project in Aklan, a 18-MW hydropower project in Aklan , a water project on Boracay Island, and a solar power project. [Philippine Star]

Boracay island is considered as one of the top tourist destinations in the Philippines.

¶ TEPCO has removed a 20-ton piece of debris from a nuclear fuel storage pool, a small but critical step in decommissioning the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. It was the largest piece of debris left in the No. 3 reactor building’s storage pool, which is holding 566 nuclear fuel assemblies. The reactor building was heavily damaged by a hydrogen explosion. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶ In its initial version, the Clean Power Plan called for cutting the country’s power plant emissions 30% from 2005 levels by 2030, with different targets for each state. The current plan accommodates many of the objections raised initially, but White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said this week that the final rule will be “stronger in many ways than the proposed rule.” [Yahoo! Maktoob News]

¶ The Obama administration will reduce the differences among state goals in its climate change rule, addressing complaints from states such as Arizona and Florida. The EPA’s initial proposal would have forced states like Arizona, which have a lot of natural-gas plants and scope for renewable power growth, to make cuts in emissions of more than 50 percent by 2030. [Bloomberg]

A bottle and frosty mug of Magic Hat No. 9. Photo by George Chriss. GNU Free Documentation License. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Purpose Energy is a company on a mission: “Changing the world, one beer at a time.” Eric Fitch, co-founder and CEO of Purpose Energy, has made a breakthrough in waste remediation, renewable energy, and beer brewing. The company’s patented “tribrid bioreactor,”installed at Magic Hat Brewery in South Burlington, Vermont, has changed the game. [Wicked Local Woburn]

¶ One opportunity for the governor of California to meet his goal for renewable energy is to partner with other Western states to coordinate of electricity systems across the West. According to a study by the California ISO, a functional Western grid using the state’s renewable requirement could lower pollution levels by nearly 2.6 million metric tons annually. [Sacramento Bee]

¶ Several Arizona utilities are set to meet a goal of 6% of renewable energy use next year thanks to utility-scale and rooftop solar projects. Arizona Public Service, Tucson Electric Power and UNS Electric all expect to reach or surpass their annual benchmarks. The state-regulated utilities must get 15% of their energy from renewable sources by 2025, through annual 1% increases. [SFGate]

¶ The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing Green (NASCAR Green) is an innovative and holistic environmental awareness platform in the US. Its mission is to reduce the sport’s environmental footprint by championing sustainable behavior to millions of fans. Clean energy company SunEdison is now NASCAR Green’s official solar energy partner. [Greentech Lead]

¶ Plant Vogtle’s proposed nuclear expansion with new units 3 and 4 will cost an estimated $65 billion, former Georgia Public Service Commissioner Bobbie Baker says, based on his analysis of information he received when cross-examining the PSC staff witness at the June 23, 2015 PSC hearing. The hearing was for the 12th Vogtle Construction Monitoring Review. [Atlanta Progressive News]

Science and Technology:

¶ Dr James L Powell, director of the National Physical Sciences Consortium, examined titles and abstracts of more than 24,000 peer-reviewed scientific articles on climate change published during the past couple of years. He identified 69,406 authors named in the articles. Only four of them rejected the fact that human emissions cause climate change. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ Linlithgow, the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots, is developing a natural grid, with the aim of disconnecting from the National Grid. Linlithgow Natural Grid has been examining doing this using a combination of solar and wind power, along with the innovative “Heat from the Street” project, which has received £25,000 of funding from the Local Energy Challenge Fund. [The National]

Linlithgow could be powered by various forms of green energy.

¶ Private investors in Honduras have installed 233 MW in eight PV parks through July 30, on time to benefit from extra incentives per kWh of solar energy, daily El Heraldo said Thursday. A bonus incentive of $0.03 per kWh, valid for up to 300 MW of PV plants to be installed by July 31, 2015, increases the price to $0.18 per kWh. The standard incentive is 10%. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ The UK increased power generation from on-site biogas plants by 40% in 2014, according to a survey by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. DECC’s annual Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics found that the farming sector led the country’s surge in on-site biogas capacity, from 164 MW in 2013 to 216 MW last year. [Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production Magazine]

¶ Siemens Wind Power and Renewables Division has been awarded orders from three different customers to construct, install a total of 52 units of its D3 direct drive wind turbines at projects in Ireland and Scotland. Together the wind projects are expected to supply clean renewable energy for nearly 100,000 households. All the orders include long-term service contracts. [evertiq.com]

¶ The French Geothermal Cluster GEODEEP and its sister organisation – the Iceland Geothermal Cluster Initiative, agreed to cooperate on a framework of standardized model licenses for exploring and developing geothermal energy resources. The signing was witnessed by energy ministers from the two countries, Segolene Royal and Ragnheidur Elin Arnadottir. [SeeNews Renewables]

Geothermal power station. (That is steam, not smoke.) Featured Image: N.Minton/Shutterstock.com

US:

¶ A report from the University of Georgia says states can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by combining of renewable energy sources and energy-saving strategies. Complying with the Clean Power Plan would also produce substantial collateral benefits such as lower electricity bills, greater GDP growth, and significant reductions in SO2, NOx, and mercury emissions. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The Orlando Utilities Commission on Friday announced plans to construct new solar arrays consisting of more than 41,000 panels on 31 acres of land at the Curtis H. Stanton Energy Center in east Orange County, Florida. The solar farm will produce nearly 13 MW of clean, renewable energy, enough electricity to power about 1,500 homes.[MyFoxOrlando.com]

¶ Broad, bipartisan energy legislation that would allocate federal funding to grid technology research and demonstration along with a number of other initiatives, including cybersecurity and the energy-water nexus, has cleared the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee with an 18–4 vote. Among other previsions is allocation of funds for grid-scale storage research. [POWER magazine]

¶ A Maine company that’s developing tidal power and river power systems says it’s successfully connected one of its units to the power grid in an Alaskan village. Ocean Renewable Power Company says its 25-kW RivGen Power System has been successfully deployed in the remote river village of Igiugig. This is to reduce the village’s reliance diesel-powered generators. [PennEnergy]

ORPC’s RivGen Power System in Igiugig before being submerged for operation.

¶ In an unprecedented show of business support for tackling climate change, 365 companies and investor groups sent letters today to more than two dozen governors across the United States voicing their support for the EPA’s Clean Power Plan for existing power plants and encouraging the state’s “timely finalization” of state implementation plans to meet the new standards. [Sustainable Brands]

¶ In every decade since the 1970s, the US has added less hydropower capacity than the decade prior. But now energy experts say that new ways of thinking about hydropower has placed the energy source on the verge of a resurgence in the US. Hydropower production is anticipated to grow by more than 5% in 2016 alone, according to the US Energy Information Administration. [TIME]

¶ The US nuclear industry has made a last-minute push to urge the Obama administration to protect the country’s 99 nuclear units in its forthcoming carbon rule and prevent the early retirement of several plants. The industry said eight plants, producing about 8,000 MW, struggle to compete in competitive electricity markets, and claims nuclear plants have zero carbon emissions. [Town Hall]