Opinion:
¶ “Bonn talks test global resolve to fix climate, without Donald Trump” • Governments will try to bolster a 2015 pact to combat climate change at annual talks in Germany, strained by President Donald Trump’s plan to pull out and instead promote the US coal and oil industries. Almost 200 nations will meet in Bonn starting November 6. [ETEnergyworld.com]
Renewable energy
¶ “Here’s How Far the World Is From Meeting Its Climate Goals” Two years after nearly all countries signed the climate agreement in Paris, the world remains far off course from preventing drastic global warming. The latest round of post-Paris international climate talks begin in Bonn, Germany, to discuss how to step up efforts. [New York Times]
¶ “How telling the right stories can make people act on climate change” • The latest UN Climate Change Conference will be presided over by the government of Fiji, a country that is no stranger to global warming’s devastation. Fiji’s narrative tells a familiar tale of vulnerable villages in fear of rising tides from climate change. [The Conversation UK]
Fiji Islands (Photo: catlin.wolfard, Wikimedia Commons)
Science and Technology:
¶ Lazard has released its annual Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis (LCOE 11.0), with analysis of power costs. It shows a continued decline in the cost of generating electricity from alternative energy technologies, especially utility-scale solar and wind, but energy storage is not yet cost competitive in most applications. [ThinkGeoEnergy]
World:
¶ EDF Energies Nouvelles has brought online five wind farms totaling 164 MW in India, as well as three solar plants with a combined capacity of 87 MW. The wind farms, which are in the state of Gujarat, have a total of 82 turbines. Two of the solar projects are in Uttarakhand in northern India and each has an installed capacity of 36 MW. [reNews]
Wind turbines (EDF image)
¶ Frustrated by disinterested state and federal governments, some Australian communities have taken renewable energy into their own hands. In Goulburn, New South Wales, residents and businesses have come together to build a community-funded 1.2-MW solar farm, with the capacity to power 350 to 500 households. [The Sydney Morning Herald]
¶ Cape Verde, a small island archipelago nation off Africa’s northwest coast, set itself a bold renewable energy target. As part of its “sustainable energy for all” agenda, it pledged to get 100% of its electricity from renewable resources by 2025. A quarter is now provided renewably, and the rest mostly by petroleum products. [AllAfrica.com]
Port in Mindelo, Cape Verde (Photo: Harry and Rowena Kennedy)
¶ HSBC bank has pledged to provide $100 billion in sustainable financing and investment by 2025, as one of five commitments to help combat climate change. HSBC will also reduce its exposure to coal, by discontinuing the financing of new coal-fired power plants in developed markets and of thermal coal mines worldwide. [reNews]
¶ Following investments of £30 million, renewable energy firm Green Hedge, based in Bath, is poised to expand the production of its battery-energy storage units, with hopes to develop, build and operate them across the UK. The director of non-profit Regen SW expects up to 10 GW of energy storage projects in the UK by 2030. [TechSPARK]
Green Hedge energy barn
¶ Nuclear-powered electricity generation in Taiwan has already shown signs of a sharp reduction, down from 400 TWh in 2015 to 300 TWh in 2016, and anticipated further reductions to zero by 2025. But debate over the possible future of nuclear power in Taiwan continues, with calls for the restart of nuclear reactors. [Center for Research on Globalization]
¶ Indonesia‘s PT PLN is will sign power purchase agreements for 640.45 MW of renewable energy projects by the middle of this month, its strategic procurement director announced. The largest part of the capacity will be for a 515-MW hydropower plant in Central Sulawesi, to be constructed at a cost of $831 million (€715.5 million). [Renewables Now]
Geothermal plant in Indonesia
US:
¶ As Rick Perry makes one laughable statement after another, the Department of Energy goes about its renewable energy mission, full steam ahead. A new article appeared on the DOE’s website on November 3 under the title, “Concentrating Solar Power Could Provide the Flexibility and Reliability the US Electric Grid Needs.” [CleanTechnica]
¶ Despite the lack of renewable-energy-friendly policies and the reluctance from Republican-led state legislatures to address climate change, states across the South and Appalachia are rapidly expanding their solar markets. Utilities are investing in solar projects, which are now cost-competitive with coal and gas. [InsideClimate News]
Nashville’s Music City Center (Credit: Roofmeadow)
¶ City of Farmington, Missouri, and a set of companies held a groundbreaking ceremony at the future site of the new Farmington Solar Farm. The solar farm will consist of over 9,000 solar panels, covering around 20 acres of land. The solar panels will generate enough electricity to power nearly 500 homes in the Farmington power grid. [STL.News]
¶ The New England grid will integrate more renewable resources and increase its reliance on natural gas-fired generation over the next decade, according to ISO-NE’s 2017 Regional System Plan. It highlights increasing wind and solar penetration, flat load growth, and fuel security concerns because of natural gas pipeline constraints. [RTO Insider]
geoharvey 
November 7, 2017 at 2:50 pm
Reblogged this on nuclear-news.