Science and Technology:
¶ Running around the clock for two weeks, ACWA Power’s 50-MW Bokpoort project is an example of Concentrated Solar Power, the solar that can be called on day or night. Because when it has integrated thermal energy storage in molten salts, it is dispatchable solar. [CleanTechnica]
Image Credit: ACWA Power
World:
¶ India will achieve the target of 10,500 MW new solar power capacity in the current fiscal, the New and Renewable Energy Minister said. He said, “The way things are progressing in solar energy sector, we will definitely achieve our target. Solar energy is economically viable.” [IndUS Business Journal]
¶ New plans from the ECOWAS Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency will see a “clean energy corridor” with 2 GW of combined capacity in West Africa. The corridor will feature numerous 10 to 15 MW solar PV systems, together with wind and hydro plants. [CleanTechnica]
West Africa. Image by SEWA (some rights reserved)
¶ Venezuelans lost half an hour of sleep on Sunday when their clocks moved forward to save power, as the country grapples with a deep economic crisis. The time change was ordered by President Nicolas Maduro as part of a package of measures to cope with a severe electricity shortage. [BBC]
¶ Global wind power installations are estimated to more than double in the next five years according to a new study, which also spotlights the record global wind growth in 2015, led by China and Germany. Prices continue to decrease and renewable energy is a priority for many countries. [The Climate Group]
Offshore wind
¶ Belgium’s High Health Council decided to expand the radius of iodine pill distribution around the country’s nuclear sites from 20 km (12 miles) to 100 km (62 miles), focusing on people who are most susceptible to radiation illness, such as children and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. [wtvr.com]
US:
¶ The Michigan utility company Consumers Energy recently finished shutting down 7 regional coal-fired power plants, and is beginning operations at a new community solar energy project in the area. The new 3-MW solar energy project is on a 17-acre site at Grand Valley State University. [CleanTechnica]
Image by Consumers Energy (some rights reserved)
¶ Greentech Media notes that an average gross cost of a solar energy system in Texas is the lowest in the country, down to $3.21 per watt, while the national average cost is $3.69 per watt. This is based on data in EnergySage’s Second Solar Marketplace Intel Report. [CleanTechnica]
¶ The Republican and Democratic presidential contests have been unusually competitive, with strong challengers and less dominant front-runners than years past. The presidential hopefuls all have made statements on coal. Some have put forward detailed policies. [Casper Star-Tribune Online]
¶ A Post and Courier analysis shows that South Carolina utility Santee Cooper has effectively deprived its more than 170,000 direct customers of the energy savings and environmental benefits that the state’s new renewable energy law made available to residents. [Charleston Post Courier]
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