Opinion:
¶ Paris Agreement Unleashes $16 Trillion of Investment in Renewables and Cleantech • If you ever needed proof that we are truly embarking on a renewable energy revolution, then look no further than the latest report from one of the most respected credit ratings agencies in the world. [EcoWatch]
TckTckTck @tcktcktck – Renewable energy, clean tech & green finance poised for $16.5 trillion post-Paris take-off http://bit.ly/1ZH1T0E
¶ Switch to Clean Energy Can Be Fast and Cheap • Even when optimizing to cut costs and limiting themselves to existing technology, scientists showed that renewables can meet energy demands and slash carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity sector by 80% below 1990 levels, while saving money. [Scientific American]
World:
¶ China has launched an aggressive 3 GW target to expand the country’s high-efficiency rooftop solar installations. Such a renewable energy footprint will hopefully help reduce the widespread impacts of China’s too-visible air pollution. China would increase use of modules with high-energy conversion solar cells. [CleanTechnica]
Yingli plans to set up a 300-megawatt solar panel plant
near Bangkok. Image via China Daily
¶ Plans to build what could be Scotland’s first major offshore wind farm took a step forward with the announcement that an equity consortium is now in place to build the massive £2 billion Neart na Gaoithe project. The equity consortium is led by power company InterGen and includes Siemens Project Ventures. [Herald Scotland]
¶ Vietnam will shelve the equivalent of 70 large coal power plants following an announcement from the Prime Minister that the country would drop all further coal-fired power plant projects and move towards cleaner energy. Vietnam had the biggest plans for coal-fired power plants in Southeast Asia. [Scoop.co.nz]
¶ Bhutan is now generating electricity using the wind in addition to water. Wind powered electricity was provided for over 300 houses with the inauguration of two 300-kw wind turbines in Rubesa, Wangdue. The Asian Development Bank provided a grant of $2.7 million. [Kuensel, Buhutan’s National Newspaper]
Blowing in the wind: The two turbines will generate
enough electricity to power 300 houses.
¶ Spain did not install a single megawatt of wind power capacity in 2015, which has not happened since the 1980’s, the Spanish Wind Energy Association said Tuesday. Spanish wind equipment manufacturers have survived through exports while the government has been hostile to wind power. [SeeNews Renewables]
¶ The Hinkley Point nuclear plant could be delayed after EDF postponed yesterday’s meeting where the company was due to finally decide whether to invest. The decision to invest in Britain’s first new nuclear power plant in decades has been put off due to funding difficulties. [Central Somerset Gazette]
¶ The Chilean renewable energy association Acera estimates that the country has the capacity to meet its entire electricity demand with renewable energy sources by 2050, based on current market conditions and data. The projection takes falling costs of green technologies such as wind and PVs into account. [SeeNews Renewables]
Wind farm in Chile. Featured Image: Pablo Rogat/Shutterstock.com
US:
¶ Southern California Edison got approval from the California Public Utilities Commission to go ahead with a new $22-million electric vehicle charging station pilot program, according to recent reports. The program aims to install about 1500 charging stations within its service territory by in the near future. [CleanTechnica]
¶ About 33,700 GWh of new renewable generation must be added to New York’s fuel mix to have 50% of its power from renewable sources by 2030, as mandated by the new clean energy standard, the Public Service Commission staff said. Robust energy efficiency is also required to meet the goal. [Platts]
¶ Renewable Energy Group (REG) and ExxonMobil have launched a project to study the production of biodiesel by fermenting renewable cellulosic sugars from sources such as agricultural waste. REG developed technology that uses microbes to convert sugars to biodiesel in a one-step fermentation process. [ICIS]
REG has technology to use microbes to convert sugars to biodiesel
in a one-step fermentation process similar to ethanol manufacturing.
(Jim West / imageBROKER / REX Shutterstock)
¶ More than two dozen states asked the Supreme Court to put on hold on the Clean Power Plan after their request for a similar pause was rejected by a lower court last week. Led by West Virginia and Texas, the 26-state coalition filed its bid for relief with the nation’s highest court on Tuesday. [Bloomberg]
¶ Ohio Gov. John Kasich says he’ll reinstate the state’s energy standards if legislators try to further cut them. Kasich signed a bill in June 2014 that froze Ohio’s renewable energy requirements for two years. In September a 12-member legislative committee recommended the standards stay frozen indefinitely. [Columbus Business First]
¶ The Nevada Public Utilities Commission of Nevada approved three new renewable energy agreements to boost solar generation capacity in the state by 129 MW. The deal involves 20-year power purchase agreements for two new solar plants. The plants will be constructed in Clark County.
[Reno Gazette Journal]
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