Opinion:
¶ What does solar have to do with the bankruptcy of the second-largest US coal miner? • There is a relationship between both solar and wind and the decline of fossil fuels. As there is no fuel cost for solar or wind, both can bid into competitive electricity systems with no marginal cost. [pv magazine]
Coal power is on its way out in the United States,
and solar can benefit. Wikimedia/Flocko
Science and Technology:
¶ The methane and other pollutants spewing from a gas well in California is invisible to the naked eye, making it hard to comprehend just how large the leak is. Fortunately, the California Air Resources Board has been taking periodic measurements, which we can use to make some comparisons. [BBC]
World:
¶ Lloyd’s Register’s consulting business will be working with Denmark’s transmission system operator to measure underwater sound propagation for the Horns Rev 3 wind-farm substation development. The collaboration will help safeguard marine life and ensure a sustainability. [Windpower Engineering]
The 400-MW Horns Rev 3 wind farm, off the west coast of Denmark, is expected to generate power for some 450,000 households.
¶ The Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy has invited bids from prospective project developers to set up a hybrid solar power project. The project will have a total installed capacity of 400 MW and will include both solar PV and solar thermal power generation technology. [CleanTechnica]
¶ Nigeria’s Kainji renewable power plant serves to demonstrate a small-scale electricity solution that combines PV and wind technology, and is able to operate both off-grid and on-grid. Hybrid power systems are especially effective for remote and isolated areas far from grid connections. [Vanguard]
¶ Later this month Vattenfall will start installing the 4.99-MW Parc Cynog solar farm in Wales. The site already has 11 wind turbines, which have operated for 14 years. The solar array and the wind farm will share an existing connection to the grid. The site also has sheep grazing. [reNews]
Entrance of the Parc Cynog wind farm. Photo by lizzie.
CC BY-SA 2.0. Wikimedia Commons.
¶ Latin America is changing. Uruguay gets 94.5% of its energy from renewable sources, including solar. Costa Rica’s numbers are even higher. Brazil and Paraguay source most of their electricity needs from renewables, mostly hydroelectric power. But it is Chile that is the solar leader. [Latin Correspondent]
¶ Ontario Power Generation has announced its plan upgrade the 3,512-MW Darlington nuclear power station located in Clarington, with an investment of C$12.8 billion (US$9 billion). Work on the project planned to commence in fourth quarter of 2016, to be completed by 2026. [Energy Business Review]
¶ A study says that Russia and the countries of Central Asia could become a highly energy-competitive region by getting all their electricity from renewable sources within the next 15 years. So far, most of the region’s governments appear not to have found the will to realise this huge potential. [The Ecologist]
Photovoltaic power station Kosh-Agachsky District, Russia.
Photo: Darya Ashanina via Wikimedia (CC-BY-SA)
US:
¶ Panasonic Corporation of North America and the city of Denver, Colorado (and some other local private entities) will be partnering in order to bring various “smart” city technologies and expertise to area residents and visitors, according to a recent press release from Panasonic. [CleanTechnica]
¶ The Solar Foundation, an independent nonprofit solar research organization, released its sixth annual National Solar Jobs Census. The new report found that the solar industry employed 208,859 Americans in 2015, up 35,052 solar workers over the previous year, for a 20.2% increase. [solarserver.com]
¶ Siemens has been awarded an order from Westar Energy, Inc. to supply, support install and provide service for 122 wind turbines for the Western Plains Wind Farm project to be located near Spearville, Kansas, approximately 100 miles west of Hutchinson. Operations should start in early 2017. [Power Online]
Siemens wind turbines.
¶ FuelCell Energy Inc has announced plans for the installation of a 5.6-MW fuel cell power generation system for Pfizer Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, to provide low-carbon electricity and steam for its 160 acre R&D facility in Groton, Connecticut, according to reports. [RenewablesBiz]
¶ The renewable-energy industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors of Vermont’s economy. But as siting of solar and wind projects generates public outcry in the state’s communities, some lawmakers want to give municipalities more control over the fate of projects. [Vermont Public Radio]
¶ SunEdison has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Watervliet, New York for close to 1 MW DC of solar power. The energy will be used in all city-owned buildings, including the City Hall, fire station and library, for an expected saving of about $1 million over 20 years. [PennEnergy]
geoharvey 
January 12, 2016 at 2:30 pm
Reblogged this on nuclear-news.