Opinion:
¶ “Clean, Green And Profitable, A Look At Malaysia’s Switch To Renewable Energy” • According to the National Renewable Energy Policy and Action Plan, adopted in 2011, Malaysia aims to have 11% of its energy sources to be from renewables by 2020. It may seem small, but Malaysia is still a developing country. [malaysiandigest.com]
Clean energy in Malaysia
¶ “California Shows How States Can Lead on Climate Change” • California, which has long been a pioneer in fighting climate change, renewed its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions last week by extending, to 2030, its cap-and-trade program, which effectively puts a price on emissions in a bold, bipartisan action. [New York Times]
Science and Technology:
¶ In September of 2013, severe storms struck Colorado with prolonged, heavy rainfall, dumping more than 17 inches of rain, causing the Platte River to reach record flood levels. Now, in a paper that appeared online at Weather and Climate Extremes, a team of scientists reports that climate change greatly increased the storm’s severity. [Phys.Org]
September 2013 flood of the Platte River (Photo: US EPA)
World:
¶ The EU is to spend almost €10 million on researching renewable energy off parts of Ireland and Scotland. The work will focus on the use of tidal power at Strangford Lough and the north Antrim coast, ocean energy sites off western Scotland, and the potential for wave and tidal power generation in Donegal in the Republic. [Belfast Telegraph]
¶ The world’s first full-scale floating wind farm has started to take shape off the north-east coast of Scotland. The technology will allow wind power to be harvested in waters too deep for the current conventional bottom-standing turbines, especially in Japan and the west coast of the US. This will open new markets for offshore wind power. [BBC News]
Towing turbines into place
¶ The Government of the UK is poised to invest £246 million in battery technology that it says will be a key to power its industrial strategy. In its first major move to support the storage revolution, the Government will set up a “battery institute” to award funds to companies on the brink of major research and development breakthroughs. [Telegraph.co.uk]
¶ When it comes to tackling rising energy prices, a Queensland council has taken an innovative approach and built its own $50 million solar farm to fully offset all its power needs. The Sunshine Coast Council is now the first local government in Australia with 100% of its electricity consumption from a renewable source. [ABC Online]
Sunshine Coast Council array (Photo: Sunshine Coast Council)
¶ Following the recent commissioning of Flanders’ first megawatt-sized PV project after the revision of the green certificate scheme in 2013, the Minister of Energy of Belgium’s Flemish-speaking region has revealed that he is planning to introduce a fiscal incentive for community solar and wind power projects. [pv magazine]
¶ Scottish wind power output has helped set a new record for the first half of the year, according WWF Scotland analysis. Wind turbines provided 6,634,585 MWh of electricity to the National Grid, which analysts say could on average supply the electrical needs of 124% of Scottish households, or more than three million homes. [The Independent]
Wind turbines outside Stirling Castle (Photo: Getty)
¶ Geminor, based in Norway, has an agreement to supply refuse-derived fuel to the Amager Bakke energy-from-waste plant in Copenhagen. The first delivery has been made, marking the agreement’s commencement. Going forwards, Geminor will manage the transport of the fuel material from producers in the UK and Ireland. [Bioenergy Insight Magazine]
¶ A PV power project is launching this week in the city of Mahan, Kerman Province, Iran, marking the completion of a Swiss-German venture in the Iranian renewable industry after last year’s lifting of sanctions. The solar units are made up of over 76,000 PV panels with 260-W capacity mounted on 27,000 metal poles. [Financial Tribune]
Mokran Solar Power Complex (Photo: Javad Esmaeilzadeh)
¶ South Korea’s new energy minister on Monday said he plans to support the country’s push to sell nuclear reactors overseas, even as the nation curbs nuclear power at home. State-run KEPCO is building the first of four nuclear plants in the United Arab Emirates in an $18.6 billion deal, and is scouting for more business in other countries. [Reuters]
US:
¶ The Long Island Power Authority has reportedly backed away from plans to build a second New York offshore wind farm with US developer Deepwater Wind. The utility reviewed a number of potential projects including the 210-MW East End wind farm before concluding it already had sufficient renewables in the pipeline, according to Newsday. [reNews]
Block Island (Deepwater Wind image)
¶ Drivers who charge their electric vehicles at Palo Alto’s public garages will soon have more stations at their disposal, though they will be charged for the privilege. The new chargers at two garages are powered by solar panels. In August, however, the city will start charging a fee of 23¢/kWh, which will cost an average driver $2 per charge. [Palo Alto Online]
¶ Former Vice President Al Gore helped shape the conversation about climate change with An Inconvenient Truth. Now he’s back with a sequel, called An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, due out next month. It follows Gore as he continues the crusade he made famous with that first film. And it shows his hope, despite setbacks. [NPR]
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