Science and Technology:
¶ The Linthal hydropower plant is the world’s biggest pumped-storage facility. It works as a battery, using water to store electricity as potential energy. The plant’s operating mechanisms are mostly underground, reducing environmental and wildlife impact. [Industry Leaders Magazine]
The Linthal plant is located above a narrow Swiss valley.
Image credit: GE Reports / Tomas Kellner
¶ University of Iowa researchers are working with a California-based startup company to make clean energy from sunlight and any source of water. They have created a small solar-powered device that can be placed in any type of water, even including seawater or wastewater. [Chemie.de]
¶ The sun-powered Solar Impulse 2 aircraft set off from New York’s JFK airport, embarking on the transatlantic leg of its flight around the world to promote renewable energy. The flight is expected to take about 90 hours before landing at Spain’s Seville airport. [Bangkok Post]
Solar Impulse SI2. November 14, 2014. Photo by Milko Vuille.
CC BY-SA 4.0 international. Wikimedia Commons.
World:
¶ A recent report from Navigant Research examines the global market for energy storage systems for renewable energy integration (ESRI) through 2025. According to this report, global new installed ESRI power capacity is expected to total 45.1 GW from 2015 to 2025. [solarserver.com]
¶ The Philippines has “nothing to lose but all to gain” in a shift investors away from coal to renewable energy sources, particularly solar, wind and geothermal energy, a Climate Change Commission official said. Scaling up RE is the best and only way to meet climate goals. [Inquirer.net]
Philippine wind turbines. AFP file photo.
¶ Herb supplier Langmeads, based near Selsey, West Sussex, is building its first community’s owned solar site. In total, Langmeads will now produce enough energy to power 12,500 homes, displacing 17,000 tonnes of CO2 a year from a total of 40 MW of solar panels. [Fruitnet]
¶ Estonia’s wind farm output reached a peak of 207.79 MW at one point on Saturday, which was nearly 26.3% of total power generation in the country at the time. Estonia is one of eight member states that have surpassed their renewable energy target for 2020. [SeeNews Renewables]
Pakri wind farm, Estonia. Author: Kain Kalju.
License: Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic
¶ Cleantech Global Renewables Inc is set to invest heavily on solar power projects to complement its hydroelectric power pipeline. The company’s CEO said they want to build up solar capacity to 500 MW over the next five years, at a cost of $750 million to $1 billion. [Inquirer.net]
¶ Solar thermal technology is being used to power the air-conditioning system of an entire shopping center in Australia. The system’s trough collectors capture solar heat and stores it in oil. The oil’s heat powers an indirect evaporative cooler to cool the center in summer. [Gizmag]
Solar thermal collection troughs. (Credit: CSIRO)
¶ Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority approved 20-year extensions for two reactors at the Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture, both of which had been operating for more than 40 years. It is first time that the NRA approved such an extension. [Asahi Shimbun]
US:
¶ Some state lawmakers will spend this summer working to earn enough votes to pass the biggest overhaul of Michigan’s energy policy in eight years, with just 25 scheduled session days left before the end of the legislative term at the summer break. [Crain’s Detroit Business]
View from Point Iroquois Light Station. Photo by ValerieWood.
CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.
¶ Clean Energy Collective is executing the next phase of its Massachusetts development plan by adding 21 MW of solar projects to its portfolio. The new community solar capacity, delivered across 14 projects, will serve customers in areas of Uxbridge and southeast Massachusetts. [Worcester Telegram]
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