Science and Technology:
¶ A research team from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has figured out what to do with the carbon dioxide from industrial emissions: convert it into carbon monoxide, and then turn that into useful products such as plastics. Carbon recycling sure beats sequestration for a long term, sustainable solution. [CleanTechnica]
Carbon capture COFs
¶ Toyota is demonstrating its level of commitment to hydrogen fuel cell cars with a new initiative that partners private companies and public sectors to create a carbon-neutral hydrogen supply chain. “The overall environmental benefit of hydrogen is only as strong as the method used to produce it,” according to Toyota. [Hybrid Cars News]
World:
¶ GS EPS, a utility affiliate of GS Group, announced that it has completed Asia’s largest biomass power plant in South Korea’s South Chungcheong Province. The utility firm spent three years building the plant in Dangjin, some 110 kilometers south of Seoul, at a cost of 300 billion won ($254 million). [Korea Times]
¶ Preliminary work has started on two new windfarms in Northern Ireland, with the turbines expected to be up and running operational in early 2016. The renewable energy developments, which are costing Gaelectric in the region of £34 million, are being built near Pomeroy and Inishiative, and could power 14,000 homes. [Mid Ulster Mail]
¶ Geothermal power has never been hotter. It is a clean, reliable energy source that does not depend on imports or favorable weather conditions, and is generally cost-competitive with fossil fuels. There have been a number of developments for the industry very recently, with installations going forward around the world. [Blouin News Blogs]
¶ A National Lab Policy is needed to address the testing, standardisation and certification of renewable energy projects in India, according to the Union Minister of State for Coal, Power and New and Renewable Energy. A policy document should improve planning on equipment, infrastructure, and funding requirements. [Chandigarh Tribune]
¶ The more renewables a country deploys, the more efficient its energy use, according to a study of the eight countries that consume half of the world’s electricity. The researchers estimate that by combining investments in renewables and in energy efficiency, the world’s total energy demand can be reduced by 25% by 2030. [Truthdig]
Switching from open fires to modern cooking stoves in India would vastly increase energy efficiency. (Yogendra Joshi via Flickr)
¶ Representatives of the US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory have signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s State Grid Energy Research Institute, standing as the first-ever agreement between both parties. The deal is expected to facilitate discussions for potential R&D partnerships in the future. [PV-Tech]
¶ Renewable energy consultancy, SgurrEnergy, has been appointed by Huaneng Renewables, a Chinese-based renewable energy company and one of the top utility companies in China, to undertake technical offshore wind energy research assessing the general site conditions of offshore wind projects in China. [Windpower Engineering]
¶ German wind turbine manufacturer Senvion has commissioned 18 of its two-MW turbines with Martifer Renewables SA. The wind farm is in operation in Gizałki, about 90 kilometres south-east of Poznań, Poland. With an output of 36 MW, the 18 turbines will produce enough energy to supply 24,300 Polish households. [7thSpace Interactive]
¶ Nuclear fuel rods have been installed at a second reactor at the Sendai nuclear power plant in preparation for a planned restart in October. The fuel rods, bundled together into assemblies, began being loaded in the No 2 reactor on September 11, a day after the official restart of commercial operations at the No 1 reactor. [Asahi Shimbun]
US:
¶ Vestas has confirmed a 200-MW order for turbines at Xcel Energy’s Courtenay wind farm in North Dakota. The Danish manufacturer will supply 100 of its V100-2MW machines to the project. Delivery is expected to kick off in the third quarter of 2016 with commissioning planned for the fourth quarter of the same year. [reNews]
Vestas Image
¶ Bill McKibben, Naomi Klein, Rev. Lennox Yearwood and other activists are preparing to take matters on climate change into their own hands. They filled the Brooklyn Academy of Music late Thursday night, more than a thousand people rallying around a new plan to freeze fossil fuel production and put the industry out of business. [MSNBC]
¶ Regulators have identified almost 1,200 nautical square miles off the South Carolina coast with potential to be leased for the development of wind energy. The federal Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management is publishing maps in the Federal Register as the first step in seeking comment on the proposal. [PennEnergy]
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