World:
¶ UK Prime Minister David Cameron is poised to launch an ambitious project that could see Britain harnessing the power of Iceland’s volcanoes within the next 10 years. The plan would involve the construction of 750 miles of undersea cabling, allowing the UK to exploit Iceland’s long-term, renewable geothermal energy. [The Independent]
Krafla geothermal power plant in Iceland. Photo by Hansueli Krapf. CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.
¶ Published by the International Renewable Energy Agency, a new report concluded that Poland could increase its share of renewable energy in the country’s power generation mix from 7% in 2010 to nearly 38% in 2030, as well as increasing its total final energy consumption more than double to nearly 25% by 2030. [CleanTechnica]
¶ Royal Dutch Shell reported a loss for the third quarter of the year, after taking a big charge to reflect the cost of halting major projects. The oil company reported a loss of $6.1 billion in the quarter, compared with a $5.3 billion profit last year. It has taken an $8.6 billion charge to cover the cost of halting projects, such as Alaskan drilling. [BBC]
¶ An energy company in Western Australia is about to trial the world’s first renewable microgrid power station using wave energy as one of its sources. Perth-based Carnegie Wave Energy will build the pilot project on Garden Island, using wave and solar energy to supply power to the Defence Department and a desalination plant. [ABC Online]
¶ China, the world’s biggest user of coal, is suddenly burning less of it, a change with enormous implications for the state of the atmosphere and the potential course of global climate change. Moving away from its old image, China is setting itself up to play a leading role at the next round of discussions, in Paris later this year. [Washington Post]
Charging coal at the Lao Ye Temple Mine. Photo by Peter Van den Bossche from Mechelen, Belgium. CC BY-SA 2.0. Wikimedia Commons.
¶ Dong Energy is planning to build the world’s biggest offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea, to power almost half a million homes. The 660-MW Walney Extension project will use turbines from Vestas and Siemens AG. It’s expected to be complete in 2018 and surpass the current record-holder, the 630-megawatt London Array. [Bloomberg]
US:
¶ In the first three quarters of 2015, the US wind energy industry has installed more than double the capacity it did in the first three quarters of 2014. There is now over 69,470 MW of installed wind capacity across the US. A near-record of more than 13,250 MW of wind capacity is under construction, with more coming. [Sun & Wind Energy]
¶ LG Chem has announced that it will be ramping up lithium-ion battery production at its facility in Michigan, according to recent reports. The move follows closely on an announcement that GM will be expanding its business partnership with LG Chem in anticipation of Chevy Bolt production beginning next year. [CleanTechnica]
Chevy Bolt EV.
¶ The utility that heats and cools downtown St Paul is phasing out coal, a move that will greatly reduce its carbon emissions. But District Energy St. Paul isn’t ditching coal under government pressure or for sentimental reasons. It comes down to dollars and cents: other power sources are becoming cheaper than coal. [Grand Forks Herald]
¶ The Pew Charitable Trusts has released a report, “Distributed Generation: Cleaner, Cheaper, Stronger Industrial Efficiency in the Changing Landscape.” It shows how an array of technological, competitive and market forces are changing how the US generates power and the ways that Americans interact with the electric grid. [Biomass Magazine]
¶ A 137-MW photovoltaic solar power plant is scheduled to begin construction in the eastern Kern County town of Cantil, California. The 700-acre Springbok 1 Solar Farm is being developed by 8minutenergy Renewables LLC. Power will be sold to Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. [The Bakersfield Californian]
Nodding donkeys in Kern County, California. Photo by Antandrus at English Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.
¶ In Fairfield, Connecticut, town and state officials gathered at Police Department headquarters Wednesday morning for a ribbon-cutting to mark the installation of a microgrid, the first of its kind in a state municipality. The system will provide power to the police and fire buildings and Operation Hope in the event of an outage. [Fairfield Citizen]
¶ Billionaire Tom Steyer’s super PAC NextGen Climate launched an aggressive campaign against Republican presidential candidates who deny the existence of man-made climate change. Steyer, who spent $70 million on 2014 elections, has pledged to spend “what it takes” to elect candidates that will act on climate issues in 2016. [Greentech Media]
¶ The presidential election of 2016 will determine the United States’ role in confronting and managing the impacts of climate change for years to come. A new University of Texas poll found that 76% of Americans now believe climate change is occurring. Candidates are listed, together with what they believe on the issue. [Scientific American]
¶ The owners of Plant Vogtle announced that a different company will complete the construction of two nuclear reactors at the electricity-generating plant near Waynesboro. Westinghouse Electrical Company will complete the contract, taking over for CB&I, the original contractor. So far, construction has suffered delays. [Online Athens]
geoharvey 
October 29, 2015 at 3:05 pm
Reblogged this on nuclear-news.