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World:

¶ Costa Rica, Afghanistan, China, India and Albania are all embracing renewable energy sources. Five experts give their opinions on their futures. Costa Rica is well on its way to becoming the first developing country to have 100% renewable electricity. Hydro, wind and geothermal resources provide 98% of the power already. [The Guardian]

Afghanistan’s upland areas have decent wind potential and its rivers can be harvested by small-scale hydro plants. Photograph: Martin Wright

¶ The opening event for the K2 Wind project in southwestern Ontario took place on September 3. K2 Wind is expected to provide enough power each year for about 100,000 Ontario homes. The commissioning of K2 Wind also renders Canada one of only seven countries in the world to surpass 10 GW of installed wind energy capacity. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Malcolm Turnbull has replaced climate change doubter and coal industry booster Tony Abbott as Australian Prime Minister. This means that one of the world’s least enthusiastic backers of a new climate treaty has just been removed from the global stage. While Abbot’s views were not aligned with mainstream science, Turnbull’s are. [Mashable]

¶ Wind power in France has reached the 10,000 MW grid-connected capacity milestone, renewable energy association Syndicat des Energies Renouvelables says. Power from wind turbines installed in the country will be sufficient to supply over 6 million households or the entire population of the Ile-de-France region. [SeeNews Renewables]

Alstom turbines in France. (c) Alstom.

¶ The Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose airport in Kolkata, India will have a utility-scale solar power project of 15 to 20 MW capacity. The project will cover over 55 acres and would meet 60% of the airport’s power needs. The project will be able to meet the entire daytime demand of the airport, with power coming from the grid at night. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Vestas is to supply 12 V100 2.0-MW turbines for HydroChina’s Phu Lac wind farm in the Tuy Phong district of southeastern Vietnam. The deal, which will be the largest Vestas-supplied wind park in Vietnam, includes a five-year AOM 4000 service contract and a Scada system for data-driven monitoring and preventive maintenance. [reNews]

¶ An Irish university has scooped €800,000 in EU Horizon 2020 funding to help improve the performance of Scottish developer Aquamarine Power’s Oyster wave energy converter. The project will see researchers at the Centre for Ocean Energy Research at Maynooth University in County Kildare develop automated for the device. [reNews]

Aquamarine’s Oyster wave energy device (Aquamarine)

US:

¶ Second quarter data from the Energy Information Administration and the Solar Energy Industries Association came out this week and distributed solar continues its surging growth. Over 650 MW of new distributed solar capacity was grid connected between April and June. That is 10% of new power plant capacity in the country. [CleanTechnica]

¶ With a new 7.5-MW solar energy farm located on the city’s former Tequesquite Landfill now operational, Riverside, California’s solar generation has soared past the 20-MW mark, five years ahead of schedule. SunPower built the system as part of acompetitively priced 25-year power purchase agreement. [Your Renewable News]

¶ A church in Gastonia, North Carolina wants to turn a large tract of land it has into a solar farm. Enerparc, a renewable energy firm based in California, has applied for a state permit to build a 5-MW solar project. The company has secured an option to lease about 35 acres from Generation Church and install roughly 22,000 PV panels. [Gaston Gazette]

¶ Sempra US Gas & Power LP says it expects to begin construction of the 100-MW Mesquite Solar 2 plant in Arizona this autumn. The development is part of the company’s Mesquite Solar project, the 150-MW first phase of which was completed in 2013. With all three phases finalised by late 2016, the complex will total 400 MW. [SeeNews Renewables]

Solar PV plant. eatured Image: Gilles Paire/Shutterstock.com

¶ Growth in Vermont’s clean energy jobs is projected to double in the next six to 12 months after a year of outperforming other job sectors, according to a new state report. The growth has generated economic benefits in the form of more jobs and in plummeting utility costs, according to Governor Peter Shumlin, speaking in Williston. [BurlingtonFreePress.com]

¶ A proposal to convert turkey droppings into electricity in Clinton would be first in North Carolina to turn the bird waste into an energy-rich gas rather than burning the dung as a fuel. Prestage AgEnergy proposed a facility last week to generate steam for its own use and electricity for Duke Energy Progress, using turkey droppings. [News & Observer]

¶ Santa Rosa, California, is taking part in an innovative energy efficiency project that aims to improve the resiliency of the power grid. It will park a massive Tesla battery pack outside a wastewater treatment plant. The project is expected both to reduce energy costs at the sewage plant and to sell surplus electricity to the grid. [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]

¶ Hearings began on a proposal to close the Indian Point nuclear plant for part of each summer to protect fish during spawning season. About 30 witnesses are expected to testify. The Department of Environmental Conservation estimates that Indian Point’s water system kills more than 1 billion fish, eggs and larvae every year. [Times Herald-Record]

Opinion:

¶ “End the nuclear ‘safety myth’” The International Atomic Energy Agency’s final report on the March 2011 triple meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Fukushima No 1 nuclear power plant puts the main blame on the assumption prevailing at the time that Japan’s “nuclear power plants were so safe that an accident of this magnitude was simply unthinkable.” [The Japan Times]

Science and Technology:

¶ The next two years could be the hottest on record globally, says research from the UK’s Met Office. It warns big changes could be under way in the climate system. The research shows that a major El Nino event is in play in the Pacific, which is expected to heat the world overall. But it also reveals that summers in Europe might get cooler for a while as the rest of the globe warms. [BBC]

The El Nino phenomenon sees surface waters warm dramatically in the eastern Pacific.

World:

¶ Acciona Energia will soon begin construction of a 246.6 MW solar PV power plant in the Atacama Desert, Chile. The El Romero Solar power plant is expected to be operational by mid-2017, and will be the largest solar power plant in South America, costing $343 million. The project will cover 280 hectares, and will have over 777,000 crystalline solar PV modules. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Chinese industrial firm AVIC Heavy Machinery Co Ltd says it plans to construct 1,500 MW of wind farms along with 200 MW of PV parks in Inner Mongolia autonomous region. The projects will be realised through agreements with three local governments, each of which will get 500 MW of wind power. The solar capacity will be in to of those three areas. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ A German company has designed an ingenious system to help ships become more energy efficient by using kites. SkySails’ calls its system “kite wind propulsion” for large cargo ships. It says the system provides much more power than sails, and even generates more power than traditional wind turbines. It delivers electrical power to the ship at a cost of about 6¢/kWh. [CNBC]

Copyright SkySails

¶ Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG will sell some of its assets to help transform Germany’s third-largest power supplier into a business centered on renewable energy and operating grids. Assets that may be divested include stakes in utilities in Austria, Hungary and Germany. Up until 2012, EnBW relied on nuclear reactors for more than half of its output. [Bloomberg]

¶ Global investment bank UBS has conducted the first in-depth analysis of the Labor Party’s proposed 50% renewable energy target for Australia by 2030, concluding that it will require around $80 billion in investment, but much of this would need to be spent anyway. UBS says that up to 20 GW of wind energy will need to be built by 2030, and 26 GW of solar. [RenewEconomy]

¶ EDF Energies Nouvelles subsidiary InnoWind has commissioned the 21.5-MW Chaba wind farm in Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. The project consists of seven 3.075-MW V112 Vestas turbines. Electricity generated by the wind farm will be sold through a 20-year power purchase agreement. A portion of the revenues will be used to support the local economy. [reNews]

¶ Vattenfall and Stadtwerke München have started inner-park array cabling at the 288-MW Sandbank offshore wind farm in the German North Sea. The developers said the first power cable has been installed between monopiles SB 28C and SB 29C. The inner park cables will transport electricity from the 72 wind power plants to the farm’s offshore substation. [reNews]

Image: VBMS’s Stemat Spirit is laying the cables at Sandbank (RWE)

US:

¶ Ohio needs to let its two-year freeze on renewable energy mandates expire to become more competitive, a report says. There are questions about what effects the freeze may have had. One question is what investments Ohio might be missing because of the state’s strict rules on wind power while companies want to use wind to power new facilities. [Toledo Blade]

¶ Community solar is growing and could account for as much as half of the small-scale solar-panel market by 2020, according to an April forecast by the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo. That would create a hefty new solar market in between individually owned rooftop arrays and large utility-scale projects. [Wall Street Journal]

¶ The Energy Information Administration projects lower domestic coal consumption and exports as well as a slight rise in coal imports will add to a 86 million short ton (9%) decline in production in 2015. Coal production is expected to decline in all coal-producing regions in 2015, with the largest decline (on a percentage basis) occurring in the Appalachian region. [World Coal]

Opinion:

¶ “How Vermont became a clean-power powerhouse” David Blittersdorf built his first wind turbine to power the lights in his sugar shack in Pittsford, Vermont, where he boiled maple sap, at age 14. And the Burlington Electric Department’s journey toward becoming 100% renewable first took form at a local Dairy Queen. [Christian Science Monitor]

David Blittersdorf stands at one of the four wind turbines of the Georgia Mountain Community Wind project in northwest Vermont. Elodie Reed

¶ “Ohio supplies national solar boom, sees own capacity slip” Ohio is a cautionary tale of how smart government policy, like the federal investment tax credit, can help a young, cutting-edge industry like solar grow, attract investment and create jobs while bad government policy can stunt the growth of an industry. [Crain’s Cleveland Business]

World:

¶ Informal leadership consultations prepare for November-December’s 21st UNFCCC’s Conference of Parties. This weekend, delegations from 18 developed nations talked of climate financing, especially methodologies relating to goals for 2020, in the context of limiting average global warming to 2° Celsius. [CleanTechnica]

¶ In India, the Union minister for power, coal and new and renewable energy Piyush Goyal said replacing light bulbs with LEDs would lead to savings of up to ₹40,000 crore ($6 billion) for consumers. This would lead to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of about 60 million tonnes every year. [Times of India]

¶ Wave power is set to be trialled in the Western Australian port city of Bunbury. Thirty floating buoys will be tethered together and supported by weights that will be filled with water and dropped on the sea floor. The buoys will drift up and down with the current to create compressed air that is then converted to power. [ABC Online]

Stonehenge Metals photo

¶ Although he has no plans to return to national politics, former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi tells the electorate not to lose hope in the campaign against nuclear power. In an exclusive interview with The Asahi Shimbun in Tokyo, Koizumi called for a national movement to steer Japan away from nuclear plants. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶ One of the world’s leading intelligent home climate control solution providers, tado° launched its Smart AC Control in the US in late August, making the intelligent air conditioner controller available through a number of major retailers. The Smart AC Control uses your phone’s location to adjust the air conditioner. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The Hydrogen House Project hosted a dedication ceremony for a major milestone in renewable hydrogen energy technologies. The house is located in Hopewell Township, New Jersey. It was the first commercially produced, fully-permitted and affordable, solar-hydrogen, on/off-grid residence in the world. [MercerMe]

Hydrogen House

¶ NextEra Energy will be development partner for the Hale Community Wind Energy project that encompasses 122,312 leased acres with more than 350 landowners in the eastern half of Hale County, Texas. The project is envisioned to use a variety of 1.7, 1.79 and 2.0 MW GE turbines, in the first phase of 300 MW. [Plainview Daily Herald]

¶ Sioux City purchased four Leafs at a cost of about $7,000 each. It’s the largest municipal fleet of electric cars in Nebraska. The investment is part of the city’s strategy to move toward cleaner, more renewable forms of energy. Mayor Rod Koch was upbeat on the city’s drive to be green, which will include solar and wind power. [Sioux City Journal]

¶ An Alabama holding company plans to build two wood-burning power plants in the Athens area and one might become operational as soon as April. Together, the two plants in Franklin and Madison counties would consume about a million tons of wood each year and produce nearly 140 MW of electricity. [Online Athens]

Science and Technology:

¶ A research team from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has figured out what to do with the carbon dioxide from industrial emissions: convert it into carbon monoxide, and then turn that into useful products such as plastics. Carbon recycling sure beats sequestration for a long term, sustainable solution. [CleanTechnica]

Carbon capture COFs

¶ Toyota is demonstrating its level of commitment to hydrogen fuel cell cars with a new initiative that partners private companies and public sectors to create a carbon-neutral hydrogen supply chain. “The overall environmental benefit of hydrogen is only as strong as the method used to produce it,” according to Toyota. [Hybrid Cars News]

World:

¶ GS EPS, a utility affiliate of GS Group, announced that it has completed Asia’s largest biomass power plant in South Korea’s South Chungcheong Province. The utility firm spent three years building the plant in Dangjin, some 110 kilometers south of Seoul, at a cost of 300 billion won ($254 million). [Korea Times]

¶ Preliminary work has started on two new windfarms in Northern Ireland, with the turbines expected to be up and running operational in early 2016. The renewable energy developments, which are costing Gaelectric in the region of £34 million, are being built near Pomeroy and Inishiative, and could power 14,000 homes. [Mid Ulster Mail]

¶ Geothermal power has never been hotter. It is a clean, reliable energy source that does not depend on imports or favorable weather conditions, and is generally cost-competitive with fossil fuels. There have been a number of developments for the industry very recently, with installations going forward around the world. [Blouin News Blogs]

¶ A National Lab Policy is needed to address the testing, standardisation and certification of renewable energy projects in India, according to the Union Minister of State for Coal, Power and New and Renewable Energy. A policy document should improve planning on equipment, infrastructure, and funding requirements. [Chandigarh Tribune]

¶ The more renewables a country deploys, the more efficient its energy use, according to a study of the eight countries that consume half of the world’s electricity. The researchers estimate that by combining investments in renewables and in energy efficiency, the world’s total energy demand can be reduced by 25% by 2030. [Truthdig]

Switching from open fires to modern cooking stoves in India would vastly increase energy efficiency. (Yogendra Joshi via Flickr)

¶ Representatives of the US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory have signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s State Grid Energy Research Institute, standing as the first-ever agreement between both parties. The deal is expected to facilitate discussions for potential R&D partnerships in the future. [PV-Tech]

¶ Renewable energy consultancy, SgurrEnergy, has been appointed by Huaneng Renewables, a Chinese-based renewable energy company and one of the top utility companies in China, to undertake technical offshore wind energy research assessing the general site conditions of offshore wind projects in China. [Windpower Engineering]

¶ German wind turbine manufacturer Senvion has commissioned 18 of its two-MW turbines with Martifer Renewables SA. The wind farm is in operation in Gizałki, about 90 kilometres south-east of Poznań, Poland. With an output of 36 MW, the 18 turbines will produce enough energy to supply 24,300 Polish households. [7thSpace Interactive]

¶ Nuclear fuel rods have been installed at a second reactor at the Sendai nuclear power plant in preparation for a planned restart in October. The fuel rods, bundled together into assemblies, began being loaded in the No 2 reactor on September 11, a day after the official restart of commercial operations at the No 1 reactor. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶ Vestas has confirmed a 200-MW order for turbines at Xcel Energy’s Courtenay wind farm in North Dakota. The Danish manufacturer will supply 100 of its V100-2MW machines to the project. Delivery is expected to kick off in the third quarter of 2016 with commissioning planned for the fourth quarter of the same year. [reNews]

Vestas Image

¶ Bill McKibben, Naomi Klein, Rev. Lennox Yearwood and other activists are preparing to take matters on climate change into their own hands. They filled the Brooklyn Academy of Music late Thursday night, more than a thousand people rallying around a new plan to freeze fossil fuel production and put the industry out of business. [MSNBC]

¶ Regulators have identified almost 1,200 nautical square miles off the South Carolina coast with potential to be leased for the development of wind energy. The federal Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management is publishing maps in the Federal Register as the first step in seeking comment on the proposal. [PennEnergy]

Science and Technology:

¶ In 2014, the Bullitt Center produced 60% more electricity than it used. This is in part because of an oversized 242-kW array of solar PVs on the roof which provide abundant power. Overall, it is the most energy-efficient office building in the United States by a wide margin, despite the cloudy weather in its home city of Seattle. [Mother Earth News]

The Bullitt Center, a state-of-the-art office building in Seattle, Washington, showcases solar’s vast potential, even in cloudy locales. Photo by Nic Lehoux

World:

¶ The Indian Government approved its new offshore wind energy policy to promote and streamline the process of implementing offshore projects. The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy will take responsibility for project implementation, while the National Institute of Wind Energy will oversee project sites allocation. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Kuwait has contracted with Spain’s TSK Group to set up a 50-MW solar PV power project, at a cost of $365 million. Completion is expected in 2017. When commissioned, the project will generate enough electricity to provide for needs of 100,000 homes. The energy saved will be equivalent to 12.5 million barrels of oil every year. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The French government is ending export subsidies for building coal plants abroad, as the country tries to clean up its environmental reputation before hosting landmark UN climate talks. Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced the immediate end to the coal credits, primarily used by French group Alstom, which has not responded publicly. [PennEnergy]

Coal storage.

¶ Siemens and Neoen Australia have signed a contract for the Hornsdale Wind Farm project located in the state of South Australia. Consisting of 32 Siemens direct drive wind turbines, this project will provide clean energy for more than 70,000 households. The agreement includes also a long-term service contract. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶ More than 300 solar powered water pumps have been installed in Bangladesh under a World Bank assisted program, with more to come. Diesel powered irrigation pumps, an estimated 1.34 million of them, use about $900 million a year worth of diesel fuel. Aside from that cost, there’s also the environmental cost of emissions. [Energy Matters]

US:

¶ A WaterFX Hydro I subsidiary is building California’s first commercial-scale solar desalination plant and is issuing $10 million in preferred stock in the venture, through a direct public offering. The plant is fully solar-powered and is expected to be able to produce up to 1.6 billion gallons of water per year. [CleanTechnica]

WaterFX photo.

¶ The International Energy Agency predicts US oil output next year will see the steepest fall since 1992 thanks to low oil prices. US oil production has increased to a record high in recent years as high prices made investment worthwhile. Prices halved over the past year as demand fell in line with slower economic growth. [BBC]

¶ Springfield, Missouri has a problem. Over half of the city’s students are in danger of going hungry. Next year, Springfield could be on its way to addressing the problem by using wasted heat from the Noble Hill Renewable Energy Center at the city landfill and harnessing it to run a 4-acre commercial greenhouse. [Lebanon Daily Record]

¶ Minnesota Power will offer a new energy option for customers by launching a community solar garden program that is expected to be generating power from the sun in late 2016. The initial solar garden will be built in two locations. A 40-kW array will go up in Duluth and a 1-MW array on a site in northeastern Minnesota. [Hometown Focus]

Windmatic 17S turbine

¶ Remote villages in Alaska typically rely on diesel generators to produce power for heating and electricity. Power costs run at about $0.65 per kWh or more. Now, they are turning to specially fitted wind turbines to reduce their power costs and make their lives more comfortable, helped by government grants. [Windpower Engineering]

¶ In the face of intense lobbying from the oil industry, Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders on Wednesday dropped their attempt to pass a law mandating a 50% reduction in petroleum use in the state over the next 15 years. Despite the defeat, Brown vowed to implement the state’s existing low-carbon fuel standards. [Bakken.com]

¶ Amid a hostile legislative climate in Raleigh, innovative, sustainable design and construction are flourishing in Western North Carolina. The WNC Green Building Council was founded in 2001. Since then, and despite an unstable housing market, local interest has grown steadily, the council’s interim executive director says. [Mountain Xpress]

¶ Exelon Corp, which owns Illinois’ 11 nuclear reactors, says that it is delaying for a year its decision about whether to close nuclear plants in the Quad Cities and Byron. In a new release, the company said it plans to continue operating its Quad Cities and Byron plants for now. The Clinton station is still in danger of being closed. [Rockford Register Star]

World:

¶ China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection revealed Sunday that the country’s major polluting emissions declined in the first half of 2015. Year-on-year figures showed that the emission of ammoniacal nitrogen by 3.18%, sulfur dioxide by 4.63%, and nitrogen oxide decreased by 8.8%, along with other reductions. [CleanTechnica]

A visit by Greenpeace at Feldheim in 2011. Uploaded by Energiequelle. CC BY 3.0

¶ Global renewable energy development company SunEdison has signed a memorandum of understanding to develop 2,000 MW of renewable energy projects in the Tamil Nadu state of India, with an investment of around ₹130 billion ($1.9 billion). The company will develop both wind and solar power plants. [Energy Business Review]

¶ The UK’s Renewable Energy Association is calling for removal of the Minimum Import Pricing for China-made solar modules coming to the EU, as it would soften the effects of subsidy cuts in the UK. The not-for-profit trade association said ending the MIP would help modules to cost parity with the rest of the world. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ With the absence of coherent climate change policy from the Abbott government, Victoria, South Australia and the ACT are picking up the gauntlet. Unlike Abbott, these states can see the economic benefit of investing in the future. Renewable energy and other emerging technologies offer jobs and growth in a new economy. [Sourceable]

¶ With the installation of a 10-MW battery, the village of Feldheim near Berlin is now truly independent of electricity from outside. An array of 3,360 lithium-ion battery modules has been installed to at least allow the town to buffer excess electricity in order to bridge shortages without resorting to electricity from the grid at all. [Renewables International]

A visit by Greenpeace at Feldheim in 2011. Uploaded by Energiequelle. CC BY 3.0

¶ Primus Power, a flow battery startup that’s worked primarily with the US military to date, has raised a $25 million Series D round, led by a group of investors that wants to try its technology out at MW scale in Kazakhstan. The deal is for 25 MW/100 MWh of Primus’ zinc-bromide-based, single-tank energy storage systems. [Greentech Media]

¶ The Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power Park is a $130 million project on nearly 500 acres of land in a desert in Pakistan. When the entire project is complete in 2017, it could produce as much as 1,000 MW of electricity, equivalent to an average sized coal-fired power station, and enough to power about 320,000 households. [EcoWatch]

¶ A Japanese nuclear power plant started commercial operations on Thursday for the first time after two years of shutdown triggered by the Fukushima crisis. Utility Kyushu Electric Power said a reactor at Sendai, started normal operation following final inspections conducted by the Nuclear Regulation Authority on the day. [The Asian Age]

US:

¶ A new 28-mile transmission line costing $200 million will provide another path for power to cross between Oregon and Washington. Most importantly, it will bring added capacity to an area that has seen rapid growth in renewable resources and has become a hot spot for energy intensive data centers. [Transmission and Distribution World]

Big Eddy-Knight 500-kV transmission line

¶ California is about to make a historic move on climate change with a package of bills to be voted on this week. One calls for a 50% reduction in petroleum use in cars and trucks, a 50% increase in energy efficiency in buildings, and for 50% of the state’s utility power derived from renewable energy, all by 2030. [ThinkProgress]

¶ The US residential solar market grew 70% during the first half of 2015. With another 729 MW of utility-scale solar during the second quarter, the nation has installed more than 1 GW of PV for the last 7 quarters. According to the Solar Energy Industry Association’s latest report, US solar power capacity now exceeds 20 GW. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The Department of the Navy and Georgia Power Company are breaking ground on a large-scale solar facility at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay. Approximately 136,000 solar photovoltaic panels will be installed on 258 acres and generate up to 42 MW when fully operational. Construction should be completed by the end of 2016. [Florida Times-Union]

Georgia Power photo

¶ The Long Island Community Microgrid Project will use solar and energy storage to meet the East Hampton area’s growing electricity needs. Renewable energy will provide nearly 50% of the local electricity consumed and enable the utility to avoid investing hundreds of millions of dollars in new generation and transmission. [Huffington Post]

¶ The Hardwick Electric Department is the first utility in Vermont to reach the new cap on how much electricity it can buy from small renewable energy producers. The department surpassed the 15% maximum that the Legislature set to represent the maximum amount of net-metered energy a utility must buy from customers. [vtdigger.org]

¶ A broad coalition of Ohio business, health, community and environmental groups called Wednesday for Ohio lawmakers to reinstate mandatory targets for the use of renewable and advanced energy sources such as wind, solar and clean coal. A law to have the state get 25% of its power from renewables is on hold for two years. [News-Herald.com]

Opinion:

¶ “Rural poor aren’t going to wait for centralised clean coal” Global coal is on the ropes. Prices of thermal coal have collapsed as demand evaporates, stocks have crashed, and companies are going to the wall. The World Coal Association is clinging to parts of the world with limited access to energy as a possible lifeline. [Business Green]

Coal buring power plant in the Highveld, in South Africa. Photo by Hein waschefort. CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ “Maybe We Aren’t Quite So Doomed On Climate Change” The planet just experienced its hottest month ever. Sea levels are rising three times faster than previously estimated. American politicians and climate-change deniers are blocking progress. But there is encouraging news to report, and reasons for optimism. [Huffington Post]

World:

¶ Suzlon Energy’s chairman announced that his company is progressing well on a 600-MW pilot offshore wind project off the coast of Gujarat, India. Construction is expected to begin next year, and the project should be commissioned in three to five years. The company expects the cost to be ₹6,000 crore ($923 million). [CleanTechnica]

¶ Indian Railways may introduce 500 trains with solar panel fitted coaches. LiveMint reports that the ministry of new and renewable energy could subsidize the project cost. The national transporter had run a pilot project with a specially outfitted coach earlier this year to study the feasibility of such an initiative. [Greentech Lead]

¶ Dutch solar is booming right now. Parties involved have reported sales increases up to 100% in the first half of 2015 compared to 2014. This is primarily due to the fact that the Netherlands has a generous net metering system and the public has faith that these policies will not be adjusted to their disadvantage soon. [CleanTechnica]

Image: rooftop solar in the Netherlands, via Shutterstock

¶ Two of Australia’s renewable energy agencies are planning a massive investment in solar power which could see the construction of up to 10 large-scale power plants. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation announced a combined $350 million (Aus) investment. [ABC Online]

¶ The author of Australia’s landmark climate change review, Ross Garnaut, says the costs of renewable energy generation have been falling faster than those of nuclear power and South Australia could be better placed exploiting advantages in wind and solar than nuclear energy. He also expects a smaller role for gas. [InDaily]

¶ Nuclear regulators warned that Kansai Electric Power Co may not be allowed to extend the life span of its aging nuclear reactor at the Mihama plant, saying the utility has been slow to submit information required for a safety review. Current regulations allow the nuclear authority to grant a 20-year life span extension for a reactor. [The Japan Times]

¶ France’s oldest nuclear plant at Fessenheim in the country’s north-east will not be closed before the end of President Francois Hollande’s mandate in 2017, according to Energy and Environment Minister Segolene Royal. Though one of Hollande’s election promises was to close the plant, the law on nuclear power only caps nuclear capacity. [Reuters]

US:

¶ Movers and shakers within the snow-sports industry sent a letter to President Barack Obama on Tuesday expressing their unified support for global action on climate change. Three trade groups joined to sign the letter, Snowsports Industries America, The National Ski Areas Association and the nonprofit Protect Our Winters. [Aspen Times]

Spring skiing. Rising temperatures around the world are of major concern to the industry. Jeremy Wallace / The Aspen Times file photo

¶ SunEdison and Dominion have announced a joint venture for a 265-MW solar project in Utah. The Three Cedars solar project, currently under construction, will generate enough electricity to power more than 36,000 homes. The two companies had announced a different 420-MW project, also in Utah, only last month. [Energy Matters]

¶ FirstEnergy, with 6 million customers in Ohio and nearby states, owns a handful of big nuclear and coal power plants that are no longer competitive in power markets. Rather than shut down the plants, the company is asking Ohio regulators to force customers to buy the plants’ power for the next 15 years at $26/MWh above market prices. [Vox]

Science and Technology:

¶ In the past, Novozymes CEO Peder Holk Nielsen has had some pithy things to say about the global petroleum industry. Mr. Nielsen has some even more pithier things to say regarding the opportunities for growth in the biofuel industry when a major global climate action milestone, COP21, comes up in Paris later this year. [CleanTechnica]

Image (screenshot): via Novozymes.

¶ Nuclear power advocates cling like limpets to the idea of ‘baseload’ power. No surprise there – it’s the only selling point they’ve got. It’s just too bad the idea is obsolete. Variable renewables combined with stronger grids, energy storage and responsive demand can do a better job for a good deal less money. [The Ecologist]

World:

¶ Danish wind energy giant Vestas has announced seven newly awarded wind turbine contracts to provide a total of 332 MW in five different countries. Between August 24th and the 4th of September, Vestas announced seven different contracts to supply wind turbines to projects all over the world, totaling 332 MW. [CleanTechnica]

¶ In southern Europe, the cost of solar PV could be as low as €20 to €25/MWh ($22.40 to $27.90/MWh) by 2030, a report says. Even in London, the cost of large-scale solar PV will be around €50/MWh, way below the cost of nuclear, the Tory government’s clean technology of choice. There are clear implications for fossil fuels. [CleanTechnica]

¶ According to 93% of Germans the further expansion of the country’s renewable energy capacity is important or very important, according to a poll. About 68% of those polled consider having renewable energy systems near their home a good thing. For example, 77% would like having a solar park in the neighbourhood. [SeeNews Renewables]

Wind farm in Germany. Author: Clément Belleudy. License: Creative Commons, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

¶ The renewable energy arm of French utility EDF says its Operations & Maintenance business has reached 13.6 GW in capacity under management during the first half of 2015. This marks a 16% rise from December 31, 2014. Of the total, wind farms account for 12 GW and solar power stations total 1.4 GW. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ APR Energy announced final signature and government approval of the extension of its 250-MW power generation project through the end of 2015 with Usinas y Trasmisiones Eléctricas, the Uruguayan state power company. The contract terms and conditions are unchanged from the agreement announced on 1 July. [Your Renewable News]

¶ Brazil has the highest share of renewables in its power mix, reaching 73% in 2014, within the BRICS bloc which also includes Russia, India, China and South Africa. The renewables percentage in the other countries from the group ranges from just 2%, as is the case in South Africa, to 22% in China. The figures exclude imports. [SeeNews Renewables]

US:

¶ Five solar projects along the Massachusetts Turnpike and Route 3 are not the largest in the state, but they are among the most visible and striking examples of a solar industry that has grown more rapidly than most policy makers and energy specialists ever imagined. They will produce a combined 2,500 kW, enough for 500 homes. [Boston Globe]

Two solar farms alongside the Mass. Pike contain 2,100 panels each. Photo by Joanne Rathe/Globe Staff

¶ Luminant, one of Texas’ largest coal power generators, is joining the rush to build utility-scale solar farms in West Texas in another sign of the technology’s rapidly declining costs. It is expected to announce a 116-MW complex on 800 acres near Midland, Texas. Luminant started developing wind power over ten years ago. [Dallas Morning News]

¶ In Arizona, the Marana Unified School District will install solar panels at all of its schools as part of its larger goal for energy efficiency to cut costs. Eight schools now have solar power with the help of Tucson Electric Power’s renewable energy credit. The other nine will have solar power installed by the end of the year. [Arizona Daily Star]

¶ Imagine a solar city in a leading coal state. Increasingly, advocates and some public officials are doing just that in Louisville, as the price of using the sun to keep the lights on continues to fall. More people are calculating a solar bottom line in the black, for their household or business finances, as well as for Mother Nature. [Lexington Herald Leader]

Science and Technology:

¶ New research says even “safe” levels of particulate and nitric dioxide (NO2) air pollution are associated with a notably increased risk of severe heart attacks. The levels in question are well below recommended limits in Europe, so great many people there are probably exposed to such levels at times. [CleanTechnica]

Traffic in Delhi. Auto emissions include NO2. Photo by NOMAD. CC BY 2.0.

World:

¶ Singapore’s public electric vehicle (EV) charging network will be getting a fair boost over coming days, thanks to a new partnership between Greenlots, BMW Group Asia, and CapitaLand that will see the network expanded notably. The companies focus on real estate, automobiles, and EV network technology, respectively. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Despite moves by the UK’s Conservative government to curb onshore wind and other renewables while going “all out for shale”, Tory supporters favored wind over shale, with 58% opting for a turbine and 23% for a well. Among 2,000 people of the general population, the vote was 65% for wind and 14% for shale gas. [Western Daily Press]

¶ Conergy, of Hamburg, Germany, has signed a new contract with B.Grimm Power Limited, one of Thailand’s foremost energy producers, to construct a solar PV power plant with a capacity of 8 MW, supporting the government’s goal to have 20% of the country’s energy needs supplied by renewable sources by 2036. [solarserver.com]

¶ A company has come up with a method to create biofuel pellets from palm oil effluent. Set up in 2012, the Kuala Lumpur-based company Hyper Fusion International is exporting these pellets to its business partner in South Korea. The CEO says the company is not interested in renewable energy so much as sustainability. [Daily Express]

¶ Nordisk Vindkraft inaugurated the 144-MW Sidensjo wind farm in Sweden, which it built for Munich’s municipal utility firm Stadtwerke Muenchen. The wind park has 48 turbines made by Siemens. It is estimated to produce 400 GWh of power annually, avoiding emissions of 380,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. [SeeNews Renewables]

Wind farm in Sweden. Author: Jämtkraft. CC BY 2.0.

¶ SunEdison has installed solar panels at eight stations on a Delhi Metro line, making it the first line in DMRC’s network to be completely solar-powered. SunEdison is also working on solar power stations for the Yamuna Bank station and Yamuna Bank yard. Collectively, these two arrays will have a capacity of 1.9 MW. [pv magazine]

¶ Solarcentury has won a contract to design and build a 6-MW solar farm on Ameland Island in the northern part of the Netherlands. The project is a collaboration between the municipality of Ameland, the Amelander Energy Cooperative and Dutch energy supplier Eneco. It is the largest to date in Holland. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ In Australia, new TV advertisement that explains the “endless possibilities” of coal in providing “light and jobs” has been labelled “ludicrous” and “desperate” by environmental groups. The groups also criticised a claim that the new coal technology will reduce the emissions by up to 40%. [International Business Times AU]

¶ UK Prime Minister David Cameron is poised to sign a landmark deal next month to allow China to build a prototype nuclear reactor in Bradwell, Essex – which would become the first Chinese-operated facility in the West. The deal, part of a wide-ranging civil nuclear pact between Britain, France and China, may be sealed in October. [Express.co.uk]

US:

¶ A coalition of environmental groups is threatening to sue the EPA, alleging that it has been stalling over the last few years on the issue of oil+gas industry waste regulation despite clear links, shown by much research, between waste disposal via underground injection wells and earthquakes in Oklahoma and Ohio. [CleanTechnica]

House damage in central Oklahoma from the magnitude 5.6 earthquake in 2011. Photo by Brian Sherrod, USGS. Public domain.

¶ New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that construction will start on the area’s first ever large scale anaerobic food waste digester system. Located in the Long Island hamlet of Yaphank, it is expected to handle 160,000 tons of waste annually, including solid food waste, fats, oils, grease, and grass clippings. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Massachusetts ranks among the best in the country for solar energy, but there is increasing concern that Governor Charlie Baker is hampering progress. Environment Massachusetts ranked Massachusetts fourth in the nation last year for new solar capacity per capita. But the net metering program is hitting its limits. [ecoRI news]

Science and Technology:

Graphene. US Army image. CC BY 2.0

¶ The new ‘wonder material’ graphene has also been suggested as a possible key to the solution for energy storage. Graphene has a number of interesting properties that have led researchers to suggest either modifying components of Li-ion batteries, or using graphene as the energy-storage medium instead as promising solutions. [The Ecologist]

World:

¶ A study from researchers from the Melbourne Energy Institute and RMIT in Australia has highlighted how demand has been reduced in the last five years. But also there are now 1.44 million households with a total of 4.4 GW of rooftop solar. The result is that there have been no more “super peaks” in electricity demand. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Ban Ki-moon is concerned that the climate negotiations are moving too slowly to deliver a new global deal in December. His views were echoed by many delegates at the latest meeting in Germany. But one of the men tasked with drafting a new text said that even going at a snail’s pace , a draft agreement would be ready for Paris. [BBC]

While climate negotiators were meeting in Germany, President Obama was highlighting the issue at a glacier in Alaska.

¶ An environmentalist says Marlow, in Buckinghamshire, can become a ‘beacon of excellence’ for renewable energy after controversial early plans emerged for a solar farm on green belt land. Residents voiced their fears over plans to build a solar farm on land which has long been earmarked to be used for a country park. [Bucks Free Press]

¶ A grant for households in rural areas of the Philippines to install solar energy systems, as well as major airport and elevated commuter railway projects, fill out the list of projects planned for the remaining months of the Aquino administration. Five major projects have been approved for implementation during the remainder of the term. [gulfnews.com]

¶ Gaelectric both builds and buys wind farms. It owns or part-owns wind projects in Kilkenny and Tipperary and is building others at Faughary, Roosky, Leabeg and Ballagh. It wants to almost triple its wind-generating capacity by the end of the year, from 66.4 MW to 177.6 MW and ultimately to 400 MW by 2017. [Irish Independent]

¶ A high-ranking energy source, speaking after a further delay was announced to the building of a new nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point in Somerset, said changes are coming at an extraordinary pace and will result in central power generating capacity becoming redundant. And this will mean fewer big power stations. [This is Money]

US:

¶ Profit margins are notoriously tight on Maine’s small farms, and Little Ridge Farm is among a growing number of ventures using renewable energy to cut costs and improve the bottom line. The latest USDA agriculture census, from 2012, lists 464 renewable energy systems, but new data would show many more. [Press Herald]

New solar panels cover the roof of a barn at Little Ridge Farm. Photo by Gordon Chibroski, Portland Press Herald Staff Photographer.

¶ Once it’s operating next year, Deepwater Wind’s Block Island project should generate 30 MW of electricity, enough for 17,200 homes, roughly 3 miles off Rhode Island’s coast. Two Louisiana firms with roots in the oil and gas industry have leading parts in building what may be the first US offshore wind farm. [The New Orleans Advocate]

¶ Environmental Entrepreneurs, or E2, ranked Utah fourth in a list of the top 10 states seeing job growth in clean energy and clean transportation. Ongoing solar projects in Iron and Beaver counties put Utah on the list, with three more solar farms to be built in the area, according to the E2 executive director. [St. George Daily Spectrum]

¶ North Carolina health officials in 1999 alone issued 111 orange or red warnings for “bad air days,” days on which sensitive groups or everyone was warned against exercising outside. None were made last year, as clean air standards likely helped cut death rates for asthma, pneumonia and emphysema in the state. [Asheville Citizen-Times]

Economics and Technology:

¶ Compared to “typical” wholesale electricity prices of $25 to $60 per MWh, in the New York ISO’s western region wholesale prices hit $1,100 to $1,200 per MWh during this summer’s heat. There were similar events across the nation. Demand flexibility could help reduce those spikes, ultimately reducing rates for consumers. [CleanTechnica]

Spikes in wholesale electric rates in three US markets. (Click to enlarge.)

World:

¶ In January this year The Guardian reported that big European energy companies are increasingly taking control of renewable energy lobby groups. As one result, a commentator on the Dutch wind energy association (NWEA) says, “NWEA does not oppose nuclear power, coal power. They’re pro-wind, not anti-coal.” [CleanTechnica]

¶ Visiting Australia, Canadian author Naomi Klein said she believes she owes PM Tony Abbott “a debt of thanks.” In Sydney to promote her new book Capitalism versus the Climate: This Changes Everything, Klein said the conflict between what the planet needs and what capitalism needs is exemplified in Australia. [Green Left Weekly]

¶ The potential loss of thousands of jobs will not be a factor when the UK decides whether to implement its proposed heavy cuts to solar power subsidies. By contrast, government announcements on North Sea gas field development and the fast-tracking of shale gas exploration have highlighted the potential jobs created. [The Guardian]

¶ Plant for the Planet, a global youth initiative that plants trees to reduce the effects of climate change, asked for a worldwide tree count, and scientists at Yale did a study. The good news is that there are 3.04 trillion trees on Earth, 7½ times more than previous estimates. The bad news? The number of trees is down roughly 46%. [CNN]

Clingmans Dome (highest point in the Great Smokies). The effects of clearcut logging and fire are clearly visible on the right; the dead trees are Frasier Fir, killed by the Balsam woolly adelgid. United States Geological Survey photo.

¶ The economics behind the UK’s decision to make cuts to a series of green policies are “bonkers”, former energy and climate change secretary Ed Davey says. In his first interview since losing in the election, Davey said he struggled to comprehend the logic behind cuts to efficiency programs and renewable energy incentives. [Solar Power Portal]

¶ Mexican energy firm Grupo Dragon, part of Grupo Salinas, will invest up to $712.9 million in renewable energy in the next four years, according to its CEO. The company has three wind projects in construction, along with a solar project, and will participate in the first geothermal licence auction after the energy reform. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Solar generation costs are likely to fall below the average wholesale price of electricity across Europe by 2030, according to a new study. It highlights the potential of a solar revolution across the globe, not just in the household and commercial market, but also for utility-scale installations. [RenewEconomy]

¶ The town of Naraha in Fukushima Prefecture celebrated after the government’s evacuation order was lifted. It is 4½ years since the eruption of the March 2011 nuclear disaster. Naraha is the first of seven radiation-tainted municipalities to be entirely cleared for repopulation since the triple-reactor meltdown. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶ Enel Green Power NA Inc launched its 150-MW Origin wind farm. The farm is in the south-central part of the ‘Sooner State,’ covering 18,000 acres near Hennepin, Oklahoma. It has 75 Vestas wind turbines, enough to provide power to about 55,000 homes. Federal, state, and tribal officials were given a tour of the 18,000 acre site. [reNews]

EGP has raised its wind energy capacity in Oklahoma by 56% (Vestas photo)

¶ NV Energy’s incentive and interconnection application volumes grew by 15 times over the past 12 months. To handle the increased workload, they took their interconnection processing online using PowerClerk®. They reduced the time spent processing applications by 63%, and completing the three weeks sooner. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Entergy’s Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, in Plymouth, Massachusetts, got an unwelcome reminder of the effects of winter storm Juno this week, as the NRC announced that it had finalized a “White” inspection finding issued last spring, placing it among the worst operating facilities in the US. [Wicked Local Plymouth]

Anbaric Transmission image

¶ The Vermont Green Line is the latest proposal to run an electric transmission line under Lake Champlain. The 400-MW underwater and underground line would run 60 miles, from Beekmantown, New York, to New Haven, Vermont. The power, from wind farms in northern New York, would be put on the New England power grid. [WAMC]

¶ One Vermont state park is getting ready to go off the grid. Green Mountain Power is partnering with the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation to transform the bulk of Emerald Lake State Park in East Dorset into an ePark, powered entirely by solar and the new Tesla Powerwall battery for storage. [vtdigger.org]

¶ The South Carolina Public Service Commission approved another cost increase for the two new VC Summer Nuclear Generating Station reactors under construction in the state. The deal will increase the cost of the additions to South Carolina Electric & Gas and the South Carolina Public Service Authority to $6.8 billion. [Utility Dive]

Science and Technology:

¶ SolarWindow Technologies says they have a working, electricity-generating window with a payback of under a year. It is a transparent window coating. Installed on a 50-story building, it would generate up to 50 times the power of conventional rooftop solar. [ENGINEERING.com]

World:

¶ Rich nations at UN climate talks are said to be edging towards a compromise on the thorny issue of loss and damage. Poor countries want compensation for extreme weather events that they link to large scale carbon emissions. But the US and EU have long resisted the idea. [BBC]

Developing nations point to Typhoon Haiyan as an example of the damage wrought by extreme weather events. Reuters.

¶ Delhi’s Ministry of Power announced plans to install 1 GW of rooftop solar PVs in the capital over the next 4 to 5 years. A medium-term target is to have a total of 2 GW of PVs installed by 2025. Bus stops, metro stations, and railway stations are being considered. [CleanTechnica]

¶ India’s installed solar power capacity has officially crossed the 4-GW mark. As of 31 July 2015, India reached an installed solar power capacity of 4.1 GW, adding 358 MW solar power capacity between April and July, the first four months of India’s financial year 2015-16. [CleanTechnica]

¶ French energy giant EDF admitted that construction of the UK’s first new nuclear power plant in decades has been delayed. Hinkley Point C in Somerset will not start generating power in 2023 as planned. Yesterday it claimed no delays were going to happen. [Western Daily Press]

¶ The city of Marsabit, Kenya has no grid access. It relies on a local microgrid, which requires a reliable power supply of readily available and affordable clean power resources such as wind. It will soon have flywheels to provide backup power for its wind and diesel generation. [ESI Africa]

Remote city in Kenya relies on an isolated microgrid for power.

¶ Danish firm Vestas Wind Systems said it secured a 70-MW turbine order for a wind project in Uruguay. The country was wind energy’s fastest-growing market in 2014, with installed capacity soaring almost eight-fold to 479 MW. This is not Vestas’ first order there this year. [Blouin News Blogs]

¶ The capacity of nuclear power plants starting plant life extension (PLEX) programs will decrease from an estimated 18.1 GW in 2015 to 2.9 GW by 2025, according to GlobalData. Plant operators started 50 PLEX projects in 2010-2011, but the number is expected to fall. [PennEnergy]

US:

Coal. Credit: Fossil Free

¶ The California State Assembly passed a bill which will force the state’s two largest pension funds to divest their holdings in thermal coal. The bill requires the funds to divest their holdings in companies that receive at least half their annual revenue from coal mining. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Santee Cooper’s Green Power program hit a milestone when it generated its 1 millionth MWh of electricity. That’s enough to power 74,000 average-sized homes for a year. Santee Cooper was the first utility in South Carolina to generate renewable power. [Berkeley Independent]

¶ The Power Company of Wyoming expects to get final federal rulings later this year for the 3-GW Chokecherry Sierra Madre wind project. The $5 billion, 1000-turbine proposal is located on a mix of private and public land in Carbon County, including federal land. [reNews]

World:

¶ The solar industry has launched its fight to stop the changes in the UK’s renewable incentives, by launching an e-petition. It must garner 10,000 signatures before it is taken seriously by government. The petition calls for ‘urgently review’ of changes to the Feed in Tariff. [reNews]

Image: Saxley solar farm in Hampshire (Solarcentury)

¶ Inox Wind Director announced that his company received an order to set up a 100-MW wind project in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. With this order, the company now has a pipeline of 1.25 GW, about a 30% share in the country’s wind energy market. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Iceland is luring business with renewable energy. Emerging from financial isolation, Iceland is making a name for itself in the business of data centres, warehouses consuming enormous amounts of energy to store the information of 3.2 billion internet users. [The Rakyat Post]

¶ Canadian Solar has announced that it has won five solar PV projects totaling 185 MW in Pirapora, a municipality in the state in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Canadian Solar will sell the electricity to a Brazilian government entity for about $84.0/MWh. [Your Renewable News]

¶ Renewables are spreading across the developing world, opening markets with a reputation for convenience and plunging costs. That challenges the traditional selling point for coal, which has used the same points as the basis of its appeal. [Sydney Morning Herald]

¶ Solar power generation contributed to about 10% of peak summer power supplies of Japan’s nine major utilities, equivalent to more than 10 nuclear reactors. Solar power supplied only 2% of annual needs, but it came at peak demand time. [Economic Times]

US:

¶ Generation of electricity from utility-scale solar projects in the United States during June 2015 was 31 times what it was in June 2005, and now accounts for roughly half a percent of all US electricity production, according to the US Energy Information Administration. [CleanTechnica]

Growth in solar generation in the US. EIA graphic.

¶ The US energy storage market deployed 40.7 MW worth of storage in the second quarter this year, its best quarter in two and a half years, according to GTM Research’s latest report, US Energy Storage Monitor. It is the largest amount since the fourth quarter of 2012. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Colorado’s Attorney General announced that the state will join others in a lawsuit challenging the US EPA’s Clean Power Plan. An EPA spokesperson responded by pointing out the plan’s history of development through years, saying it is legally and technically sound. [The Colorado Statesman]

¶ Many people are looking for ways to save a little extra money where ever they can, especially on the energy bill. Wind energy is prevalent in Iowa, but solar energy is growing in popularity. Solar energy is growing in popularity in agriculture, commercial and residential areas. [KTIV]

¶ FuelCell Energy, Inc revealed that it has been selected for a cost-share carbon capture project by the US DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy. The project, with an outlay of $23.7 million, will be sponsored by the National Energy Technology Laboratory. [Nasdaq]

World:

¶ After oil prices hit a record high in July 2008, the tiny Pacific nation of the Marshall Islands, which had about 90% of its energy from imported petroleum products, declared a state of emergency. Now, solar power is becoming important everywhere, and 99% of the lighting on its outer islands is powered by the sun. [Voice of America]

Solar panels are being used extensively on the Marshall Islands, which uses the sun for 99% of the lighting on its outer islands. File Photo.

¶ In what is believed to be the largest Australian trial of its kind, a solar farm in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, will be fitted with “cloud predictive technology.” The technology uses an interconnected network of cameras, pointed towards the sky, to sense approaching cloud cover. This avoids sudden power drop offs. [ABC Local]

¶ New research by AeroThermal Group, pioneers in developing innovative solutions from aerospace through to green energy from waste, has shown that 635 kWh of renewable electricity can be generated from one tonne of waste from fast food outlets. Using the same system, one tonne of pure kitchen waste generated 847 kWh. [Industry Today]

¶ The commitment of the UK’s Big Six energy companies to tackling climate change has been called into question. Yesterday, The Independent revealed that British Gas and SSE use more coal for electricity now than they did ten years ago. Now, it says that not a single one of Britain’s biggest suppliers offers a renewable energy tariff. [The Independent]

¶ The global market for on-site [ie, small] wind power is predicted to grow to $1.89 billion by 2019, according to new analysis. A report from consultancy Research and Markets projects the segment’s steady growth at a compound annual growth rate of 19.5% during the forecast period. [Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production Magazine]

US:

¶ Although wind power provided less than 3% of Alaska’s electric power generation in 2014, Alaska’s wind power capacity has increased 20-fold between 2007 and 2014, growing from 3 MW to 60 MW. This increase is notable in light of the challenges of installing wind generators and connecting them to the grid. [Your Renewable News]

Coast Guard base Kodiak is seen across Women’s Bay. Atop Pillar Mountain, beyond the base, are three wind turbines operated by Kodiak Electric Association. Photo by James Brooks. CC BY 2.0.

¶ A review of 11 studies considering effects of net metering highlighted the importance of reduced or avoided environmental compliance costs, capital investment costs, and energy costs. It showed not only that solar net metering is not been harmful to markets, but that utilities have actually been underpaying for its use. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The Alabama Public Service Commission gave the go-ahead to Alabama Power’s plan to add up to 500 MW of renewable power capacity to its portfolio in six years. At present, the state of Alabama has just 2 MW of installed solar power capacity and is among the bottom 10 US states in the solar ranking. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ TVA tentatively has approved an agreement with NextEra Energy Resources to buy power for up to 20 years from a bank of solar panels projected to generate 80 MW in Lauderdale, Alabama. The River Bend Solar project will occupy about 645 acres and is scheduled to be built over the next year or so. [RenewablesBiz]

¶ Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s administration announced it will comply with the EPA’s Clean Power Plan by creating its own state-based carbon implementation plan. Meanwhile, Attorney General Bill Schuette, is suing to stop the plan. Snyder and Schuette, both Republicans, are seen as divided on the issue. [MLive.com]

Smoke stacks from Lansing’s Board of Water and Light in REO Town Lansing Monday, August 3, 2015. (Danielle Duval | MLive.com)

¶ Washington state’s three investor-owned electrical utilities have told the Utilities and Transportation Commission that they’re on track to meet the state’s renewable energy requirements, which require them to have a part of their power from renewable sources. The utilities also reported lower costs to meet those requirements. [seattlepi.com]

¶ At a regional summit in Newfoundland, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said he hopes to bring more Canadian hydropower and natural gas to Massachusetts in the coming years to help solve the state’s energy deficit. He spoke in particular about Canada’s hydropower and natural gas as resources his state needs. [RenewablesBiz]

¶ Exelon announced that all of its Illinois nuclear plants, including Quad-Cities, cleared in the power grid operator’s transition capacity auction, which means they can sell supplemental power to the grid in the 2016-2017 planning year. Some have lost bids to sell power to the grid in the 2018-2019 planning year. [Quad City Times]

World:

¶ Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has bagged the top spot for highest capacity installation of solar power plants in stations and depots across its vast network. Union Minister of State for Power Piyush Goyal made the award. The solar PV plants DMRC has so far installed generate a total of around 2,794 kW (peak) currently. [YourStory.com]

Image Credit: Shutterstock

¶ The cost of producing electricity from renewable sources like wind and solar has been falling. Now, a report details the contrasting costs for different power generation technologies and shows that renewable sources can produce electricity at close to or even below the cost of new fossil fuel-based power stations. [The Maritime Executive]

¶ The Climate Change (Scotland) Act demands a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of at least 80% 2050, across sectors ranging from electricity generation to the food sector, building efficiency, and transportation. The goal is shared across political parties, though they will outline competing proposals for how they might be reached. [Scotsman]

¶ Brazil has concluded its second reverse auction for solar power plant projects, with 834 MW of parks being awarded bids, with an average price of 301.79 Real per megawatt-hour (8.42¢/kWh). The average price was 13.5% below the maximum price set for the auction. Thirty large-scale solar projects will be developed in five states. [pv magazine]

¶ Reports from three Chinese agencies all point to the continuing decline in use of coal in the first half of 2015, continuing a trajectory already notable in 2014. These are not declines in the rate of growth, but absolute declines in the amount of coal consumed. Meanwhile, China is working on new laws to speed reduction of pollution further. [Energy Collective]

¶ The bulk of South Africa’s power is currently generated by coal and the nation is looking at all of its alternatives. The ruling African National Congress has come under fire for its plan to build a 9,600-megawatt nuclear facility at a cost of as much as $100 billion to meet future demand. Disturbingly, nuclear procurement decisions are secret. [BizNews]

Nuclear power plant at Cattenom. Photo by Gralo. CC BY-SA 3.0.

¶ Not many Japanese nuclear reactors are likely to restart in the next few years, as safety worries and legal challenges persist. Reuter’s analysis shows that of the other 42 operable reactors remaining in the country, just seven are likely to be turned on in the next few years, down from the 14 predicted in a similar survey last year. [PanARMENIAN.Net]

US:

¶ California investor-owned utilities PG&E, SCE and SDG&E recently submitted proposals to the California Public Utilities Commission designed to destroy the rooftop solar industry and customer choice in California. Meanwhile, these same utilities are running misleading ad campaigns to greenwash their anti-solar position. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Aspen is one of three US cities to run on 100% renewable energy, according to city officials. The shift to energy that is generated from natural resources, including wind power, solar power and geothermal heat, follows a “decade-plus” city goal. Earlier US cities to reach the goal were Greensburg, Kansas and Burlington, Vermont. [Aspen Times]

¶ A private group proposing to build the world’s largest fuel cell park submitted its application to the Connecticut Siting Council. The Beacon Falls Energy Park, with 63.3 MW of output, would use fuel cells purchased by FuelCell energy of Danbury, Connecticut. It would be located in a former sand and gravel mine. [Hartford Courant]

¶ The clean energy industry supports nearly 10,000 jobs in Rhode Island, according to a new state report from the Office of Energy Resources and the Executive Office of Commerce. The report found that the sector has a total of 9,832, and projected that another 1,600 positions would be created over the next year. [The Providence Journal]

Welders for Specialty Diving Services working on the Deepwater Wind project. Photo by Sandor Bodo, The Providence Journal

¶ Vermont’s forests could substantially contribute to renewable energy goals if sustainably harvested methods, according to a study from Vermont Law School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment. Managing the health of local forests will likely be challenged by an expanding renewable energy market. [BurlingtonFreePress.com]

¶ Public health experts at Harvard University evaluated the impacts of different renewable energy or energy efficiency installations in six locations in the mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes regions and produced with a model to compare climate and health benefits. They found that benefits ranged from US $5.7 million to $210 million per year. [IEEE Spectrum]

¶ The economic potential for deploying renewable energy resources today is enormous nationally. Across the three primary cases that NREL examined, the range of results show that renewable energy resources have the potential to affordably supply as much as 10 times total current US generation [The Equation: Blog of the Union of Concerned Scientists]

¶ The former CEO of Duke Energy, the country’s biggest power company, now says that the way big US power companies operate is out of date. “It’s very clear to me that the system of electric power we have in North America … is not sustainable for the future of the planet. So we’re going to have to figure out something else, and soon.” [Tampabay.com]

Science and Technology:

¶ Flow batteries may offer a solution for utility-scale wind and solar energy storage. UniEnergy Technologies is part of a new demonstration program in the Pacific Northwest that pits the technology against lithium-ion batteries. UniEnergy claims their flow battery will have a levelized cost that is far lower than a lithium-ion system’s. [CleanTechnica]

Vanadium flow battery. Image Credit: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

¶ ViZn Energy Systems Inc will supply a 2 MW zinc-iron redox flow battery system to Hecate Energy to provide support to the Ontario grid. (ViZn and Hecate are both located in the United States, ViZn in Austin and Hecate in Nashville.) Here is an interview the CEO of ViZn Energy Systems about the company’s technology. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ Enel Green Power has been awarded the right to sign 20-year energy supply contracts for a total of 553 MW with three new solar photovoltaic projects in Brazil. The awards for the projects – the 103-MW Horizonte MP, the 158-MW Lapa and 292-MW Nova Olinda – came through the ‘Leilão de Reserva’ public tender. [reNews]

¶ The government wants to slash by 87% subsidies for householders who install solar panels on their rooftops, in a move that renewable energy experts warn could kill off a promising industry. The assault on solar power comes after ministerial decisions to remove financial aid from new onshore wind farms and slash home energy efficiency measures. [The Guardian]

¶ Greek wind farm operator Eltech Anemos SA reported a first-half 2015 net profit of €4.6 million ($5.2 million), compared to €3.3 million last year. The performance improved thanks to improved wind conditions. It operates 184.5 MW of wind farms, one small hydro plant of 4.95 MW, and a 2-MW solar PV system. [SeeNews Renewables]

Wind turbines at work. Author: Nick Cross. License: Creative Commons, Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic.

¶ Major oil-producing countries are looking to sustainability. Recently, Bloomberg forecast that two-thirds of the $12.2 trillion global investment in capacity-generation to 2040 will be in the renewables sector. A signal simply of economic progression or of an increasing need for diversification in the energy mix. [Oil and Gas Industry Latest News]

¶ Eni’s discovery of potentially the world’s largest natural-gas field off the Egyptian coast will be a game changer for Egypt and the Mediterranean in terms of energy stability, the CEO of the Italian energy giant told CNBC on Monday. Eni said in a press release that the gas field that could satisfy Egypt’s natural gas demand for decades. [CNBC]

¶ Days after Western Australia’s energy minster predicted solar PV would soon displace coal as the state’s major generator of daytime, the Queensland government confirmed a similar departure from reliance on coal, with the promise to do everything it can to support the development of solar and wind projects in the state. [RenewEconomy]

US:

¶ The White House might say Alaska is the canary in the climate change coal mine, with raging wildfires, ice melts in the arctic, vanishing glaciers, and whole villages forced to relocate away from rising seas. President Obama will carry that urgent message to Alaska as part of a drive to change the conversation on global warming. [CNN]

Mount McKinley is to be renamed Denali. Photo by Frank K. from Anchorage, Alaska, USA. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic.

¶ SolarCity’s goals for the Silevo solar module manufacturing facility under development in Buffalo, New York, are certainly ambitious. Amongst them is to meet production costs of just 50¢/watt for solar modules with a +20% conversion efficiency. Another goal is an annual production output of 1 GW of solar modules [CleanTechnica]

¶ A 100-MW solar power project will be located in Cumberland County, in North Carolina, and is set to generate enough electricity to provide for the equivalent needs of 20,000 average US homes. Construction began earlier in August, and Principal Solar expects the project to begin generating power before the year is out. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The owner of Illinois’ 11 nuclear reactors must decide next month whether to close its Quad Cities plant, one of three generating stations Exelon Corp has said are in danger of closing if lawmakers don’t approve a surcharge on electric bills to boost profits. The future of the Clinton nuclear plant is also still in doubt. [Northwest Herald]

¶ With just a few days left in the state legislative session, more than 24 California companies have announced their support for two major climate bills that would set new ambitious state goals for reducing climate-changing pollution, boosting renewable energy and decreasing petroleum use over the next 15 years. [Environment News Service]

Opinion:

¶ “Climate Change and Nuclear Power: You Don’t Cure the Plague by Spreading Cholera. Nuclear Radiation is not the Solution to Global Warming” In the lead-up to COP21, there is more than one petition to leave the fossil fuels in the ground. But some appeals back nuclear power, in some cases by failing to mention it. [Center for Research on Globalization]

World:

¶ Technological advances mean businesses no longer need to choose between economic growth and climate stability, said former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan. Mr Annan told people at an event: “There is no such trade-off, we can have both… What is required is a will.” He noted the progress already made in renewable energy. [AsiaOne]

Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan said technological advances mean businesses no longer need to choose between economic growth and climate stability. Reuters

¶ A community-owned organisation in north-eastern NSW is set to take on the big guns in electricity supply through a $4 million initial public offering to fund a renewable energy retailing and solar company it hopes will stimulate local renewable energy projects across the country. Enova Energy hopes to capture customers from the local utility. [Sydney Morning Herald]

¶ Construction of the first solar power plant in Vietnam began recently in Mo Duc district, central Quang Ngai province, with capital of $37.17 million and a capacity of 19.2 MW. The solar power plant will be built on an area of 24 hectares and use solar photovoltaic technology from Thailand. It is expected to come into operation in mid-2016. [VietNamNet Bridge]

¶ In Australia, a new report says that batteries may transform the energy sector, reducing dependence on fossil fuels. It said it would cost only about $4.2 billion (Aus) to have batteries with capacity to deliver 10% demand across the energy grid at peak times. The question is, who should own the batteries, consumers or utilities? [The Australian Financial Review]

¶ New South Wales has the highest level of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia and does not have a renewable energy target. Only 6% of its electricity is from wind, solar and water. By comparison, Tasmania uses 95% renewables. New South Wales used to be ahead of the pack when it came to renewable energy. [ABC Online]

The Nyngan solar plant. Photo supplied: AGL

¶ The Department of Energy and Petrochemicals has released a new solar policy for the Indian state of Gujarat which aims to scale up solar power generation to 10 GW by 2020. The policy aims to achieve targets sustainably while encouraging investors for large-scale solar projects, but emphasizing solar rooftop systems as small as 1 kW. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Vattenfall has produced first power at the 49.5-MW Kentish 2 offshore wind farm in the southeast of England. The company said the milestone export to the National Grid was reached at 14:05 local time on Saturday. Two of the 15 MHI Vestas V112 3.3-MW turbines are now producing power with the remaining 13 “to follow shortly”. [reNews]

US:

¶ According to the US EPA, 77% of Massachusetts’ greenhouse gases came from power plants in 2013, a decrease from the 85.2% in 2010. That is attributed, in part, to the rise of less-expensive natural gas as a primary fuel source and less reliance on nuclear power and coal as fuel. The shift has been going on since 2000. [Wicked Local]

Kevin Thornton, a spokesman for Exelon, leads a tour of the power company’s existing Summer Street plant in Medway earlier this summer. Daily News Staff Photo/Allan Jung

¶ Among the things the White House announced last week is a $1 billion increase in loan guarantees for renewable energy projects, $24 million in new grants for solar research and measures to reduce costs for homeowners to install solar panels. Fossil fuel and utility interests argue that the matter should be left to the free market. [Rapid News Network]

¶ A few years ago, New Jersey Governor Christie and others laid out a vision: acres of giant wind turbines, rising like a modern flotilla in the Atlantic, their white blades spun by ocean gusts, generating clean renewable energy just beyond the horizon at the Jersey Shore. But New Jersey’s offshore wind energy appears to have stalled. [NorthJersey.com]

Opinion:

¶ “Far-reaching climate bills warrant approval” Forgive us if we are jaded about oil industry claims that California as we know it will collapse if the Legislature passes bills aimed at further curbing emissions of greenhouse gas. Time and again, the state and the industry have survived efforts to address the all-too-real prospect of global warming. [Sacramento Bee]

Traffic jams are a major source of greenhouse gas pollution, and a key target for new environmental goals. Shawn Hubler The Sacramento Bee.

¶ “It’s Time For Corporate America To Stand Up To Republican Climate Deniers” Like a cornered wild animal, the fossil fuel industry and its supporters are recognizing the tide of history is beginning to turn against them, and they are going to act with increasing viciousness, supported by lobbying dollars, to protect their wealth and status. [Huffington Post]

Science and Technology:

¶ Researchers at the University of South Australia developed a low-cost energy storage solution that uses salt to store excess electricity. Their system uses salt as a phase-change material for smaller-scale, rapid-discharge batteries for residential and commercial use. It has a cost of up to 10 times cheaper than batteries. [CleanTechnica]

¶ What does it take to build a 2-MW wind turbine? This time-lapse video of the construction of a wind turbine at the Bald Hills Wind Farm in Victoria, Australia gives a glimpse into the process, and makes it look almost simple (though it is clearly no small undertaking). It shows a 2.05-MW turbine being erected. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ Thousands of UK householders are installing solar-powered smart meters. The devices track when rooftop solar panels produce excess energy and divert it to water heaters. Calculations produced for Telegraph Money suggest that an average family of four would save £243 per year, earning back the original outlay in less than two years. [Telegraph.co.uk]

The ‘Immersun’ device works by automatically redirecting solar energy to your water heater, effectively storing power to use later

¶ Despite mounting evidence that new coal generation regularly fails to deliver energy access, especially in rural areas, Amu Power is proposing a 1,000 MW coal plant in Kenya. A report from Oxfam and the Overseas Development Institute recently shows that off-grid and mini-grid technologies are better at delivering power. [Huffington Post]

¶ Studies link production from Alberta’s tar sands to devastating impacts on both the environment and aboriginal communities. Oil companies have reportedly taken $14 billion in resources from the Lubicon Cree’s traditional territory, with royalties going to the Alberta government. The community is fighting back with a solar project. [Inhabitat]

¶ At first glance, it seemed the UK’s fledgling anaerobic digestion industry has been protected from the government’s sweeping reforms to the popular feed-in tariff incentive scheme. But the AD industry body yesterday warned the proposed changes could have “disastrous” effects on deployment of the biogas technology. [Business Green]

¶ Kyushu Electric Power Co said on August 28 that it intends to resume full-scale commercial operations at the Sendai nuclear power plant’s No 1 reactor on September 10. The utility said the reactor, which has an output of 890 megawatts, will run at full capacity on August 31 on a trial basis ahead of a final inspection. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶ Just as Sacramento policy makers focus on a number of bills to help California make real and measurable progress towards relying on renewable resources, UCS released analysis examining how to transform California’s electricity grid to one that relies more heavily on renewable energy. [The Equation: Blog of the Union of Concerned Scientists]

Please click on the image to enlarge it. Source: UCS.

¶ FFP New Hydro announced that it had closed a senior loan facility, allowing continuing development of its portfolio of 21 advanced stage hydropower projects on existing US dams in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Mississippi, and Ohio. The projects will cumulatively reach 200 MW of new generation capacity. [CleanTechnica]

¶ At Young Brothers Ltd’s Port of Honolulu facility, Sandia National Laboratories is leading the Maritime Hydrogen Fuel Cell project to test a hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered generator as an alternative to conventional diesel generators. The hydrogen fuel cell is expected to be more energy efficient than diesel for the facility. [The Maritime Executive]

¶ A 27-year low in carbon dioxide emissions earlier this year shows the US may be heading toward meeting its emissions goals. US power plants emitted less carbon dioxide – 128 million metric tons – in April than at any point in since April 1988, according to new US Energy Information Administration data. [Kitsap Sun]

¶ Ohio state officials have dismissed a challenge to Windlab’s proposed 60-MW Greenwich wind farm project in Huron County. The Ohio Power Siting Board ruled this week against a motion filed by neighboring interests. Landlord group Omega Corp last year filed a motion to intervene in the board’s approval of the project. [reNews]

World:

¶ What would a car-free Paris look like? We will soon find out, as this French city hosts its “Day Without Car,” or “Une Journée Sans Voiture” event. On September 27th, five major areas of Paris will be closed to nearly all motorized traffic from 11 am to 6 pm, allowing pedestrians and cyclists to go about freely without air pollution. [CleanTechnica]

Une Journée Sans Voiture

¶ The UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change has proposed to make calamitous cuts to the country’s renewable energy Feed-in Tariff scheme. The plan’s details have emerged, with proposals that domestic solar support could be cut by 87%, commercial rooftops by 82%, in addition to devastating cuts to onshore wind. [CleanTechnica]

¶ One of Britain’s most controversial energy projects for decades, the £24.5 billion nuclear power development at Hinkley Point in Somerset, is poised to get the green light. The Government and EDF have agreed a deal that would guarantee EDF a price of £92.50 per MWh, up to 2061. That’s nearly three times the current price. [The Independent]

¶ Danish company Vestas Wind Systems A/S says it received a firm order to supply 22 turbines for Wpd AG’s 72.6-MW Tohkoja wind farm in Finland. The contract for Vestas includes the supply, installation and commission­ing of 22 units of the V117-3.3 MW turbine model, a 15-year service agreement, and the Vestas De-icing System. [SeeNews Renewables]

Vestas nacelle. Author: free photos. License: CC BY 2.0

¶ According to Railway Technology, all Netherlands Railways trains will be powered 100 percent by wind by 2018. A deal struck between the railway and power suppliers will result in carbon-free transportation. Electricity will come from wind farms not only in The Netherlands and Belgium, but also from the Scandinavian countries. [Discovery News]

¶ Windpark Kirchberg GmbH & Co KG has placed an order of eight V126-3.3 MW for a 26.4-MW wind park in Baden Wurttemberg. With over 90% share, local citizens will own a larger share of this wind park than any other in southern Germany. The turbines will be installed in the Hohenlohe region in northeast Baden Wurttemberg. [7thSpace Interactive]

¶ Already Canberra and the Australian Capital Territory Government are poised to be running on 90% renewable electricity by 2020. Now, they want to go the extra mile and achieve 100% renewable energy by 2025. And one French company has stepped up to help. Neoen has joined with the ACT Government in a $250 million wind farm venture. [Energy and Capital]

¶ Beginning their work in April 2014, a team at South Africa’s Stellenbosch University came up with a small heliostat system made of six triangular mirrors. They also devised wireless, smart positioning technology. The compact construction makes a “plonkable” concentrating solar system. It can be plonked down by two people. [Newser]

US:

¶ Americans support the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan by a margin of nearly two to one, a new poll from the League of Conservation Voters found. Despite the rhetoric from some Republican governors, 70% of Americans want their states to develop plans to meet the EPA’s guidelines under the Clean Power Plan. [ThinkProgress]

Credit: Shutterstock

¶ Chicago is now home to the Renewable Energy Training Field, a facility to train electricians and support electrical contractors in smart grid renewable energy applications. The facility was created by the National Electrical Contractors Association of Chicago and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 134. [Plant Services]

¶ Critics of President Barack Obama’s landmark regulation to reduce carbon dioxide emissions almost always highlight a series of flawed studies (which are often paid for by utility or fossil fuel interests) to attack the Clean Power Plan. Many of these reports did not even look at the EPA’s final (and official) regulations, instead working on drafts. [Huffington Post]

¶ Since wind turbines have been found to kill golden eagles in some locations, a solution for the two coexisting needed to be found, setting researchers at University of Waterloo in Canada to work. Their study of potential wind-power sites and eagles’ nesting patterns suggests that there are numerous safe places with abundant wind power. [Nature World News]

¶ Blue Lake Rancheria, a Native American reservation in northern Californian, will have a microgrid powered by a 0.5-MW PVs array, a 950-kWh battery system, a biomass fuel cell system, and diesel generators. It is projected to be the largest solar array in Humboldt County, California and estimated to reduce 150 tons of carbon per year. [Fierce Energy]

World:

¶ SolarReserve’s baseload solar 260 MW Copiapó project bids into the grid in April, having cleared Chile’s permitting with a Resolución de Calificación Ambiental. SolarReserve has combined two solar technologies, PVs and concentrated solar power with energy storage, so it can supply electricity both day and night. [CleanTechnica]

Credit: SolarReserve — Redstone

¶ Citigroup published a detailed analysis of the costs of various energy sources, concluding that the levelized cost of energy of renewables is below that of fossil fuels and that renewables are a “benefit rather than a cost to society.” And as cost of renewables is still declining, renewables advantages will only become clearer. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Ontario’s Electricity System Operator released the list of 119 projects that will compete for power contracts under the 565-MW Large Renewable Procurement program. About 1,400 MW of projects proposed by units of NextEra Energy, Renewable Energy Systems, and SunEdison have qualified for the program. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ The world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines, Vestas Wind Systems, announced record first-half orders, and profits exceeded analyst estimates. Other European wind turbine manufacturers are also riding a surge in orders on the back of government efforts to rein in carbon emissions and favourable policies for clean energy. [Business Spectator]

¶ The UK’s anaerobic digestion generation capacity now exceeds 500 MW, according to the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association. The trade body yesterday revealed 514 MW of electrical equivalent capacity is generated as electricity or biogas from more than 400 AD plants across the farming, waste, and water sectors. [Business Green]

Anaerobic digestion plant.

US:

¶ President Barack Obama has accused businesses profiting from fossil fuels of “standing in the way of the future” by actively trying to restrict customers’ access to solar, wind and renewable sources of energy. Speaking in Las Vegas, the president singled out billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch. [Telegraph.co.uk]

¶ A study conducted by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Stanford University, found that while the average frequency of power outages in the US has not changed in recent years, the amount of time customers are without power, i.e. the length of these power outages, has been increasing over time. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Over the last 40 years, California invested about $1 billion per year in energy efficiency initiatives, which saved its residents some $90 billion in utility costs, created “hundreds of thousands” of energy efficiency jobs, and avoided pollution of numerous power plants, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. [CleanTechnica]

¶ North Dakota regulators are on board with Xcel Energy’s plan to take over, build and operate the 200-MW Courtenay wind project. The state Public Service Commission this week approved the transfer of a certificate of site compatibility after the initial developer, Geronimo Wind Energy, decided to exit the project. [reNews]

Xcel’s Grand Prairie wind farm (Xcel)

¶ San Diego Gas & Electric reached a record renewable power generation of 1,042 MW on August 19, thanks to a combination of bright sunshine and strong wind conditions. The output of 61,000 rooftop solar customers is not included in the figure. SDG&E is the first utility in California to deliver 33% renewable power over 12 months. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ In Colorado, Boulder County is joining Adams and Denver counties to offer residents the opportunity to purchase discounted home solar systems and electric vehicles. The program offers homeowners discounts of about 15% on solar rooftop systems and roughly $8,300 off the cost of a Nissan Leaf. [Boulder Daily Camera]

¶ Regulators for Washington DC rejected the proposed purchase of Pepco Holdings by Exelon, potentially killing off the $6.84 billion deal. Exelon’s core business is from big centralized power plants, about 80% of which are nuclear, but those plants are losing business, and a merger is seen as a means to protect their profits. [OilPrice.com]

¶ A coal-burning power plant in New York’s Finger Lakes region sparked protests in Albany this week when opponents gathered in hopes of derailing a plan that would enable the plant to burn natural gas as well. The owners of the 60-year-old Cayuga Power Plant want customers to subsidize alterations over a 10-year period. [WAMC]

World:

¶ A recent earthquake of magnitude 4.6 is the largest of over 500 seismic events in British Columbia believed to be caused by fracking. The quake’s epicentre was just 3 kilometres from Progress Energy’s fracking site. The company immediately shut down operations and notified the province’s oil and gas commission. [CleanTechnica]

Image of Wonowon, BC, earthquake site, from Google Maps Streetview

¶ Most carbon credits generated by Russia and Ukraine did not represent cuts in emissions, according to a new study. The authors say that offsets created under a UN scheme “significantly undermined” efforts to tackle climate change. In some projects, chemicals known to warm the climate were created and then destroyed to claim cash. [BBC]

¶ Australian utility Ergon Energy is launching a tender for 150 MW of renewable energy projects for its regional grid in Queensland, which up till now has been largely devoid of large-scale renewable projects despite strong solar resources. The firm will take on new solar, wind and hydro power opportunities. [PV-Tech]

¶ Germany’s shift to renewable energy sources will have a greater impact on operators of traditional power plants than originally thought, according to new data from the country’s grid supervisor. Fifty-seven traditional gas and coal power plants are set to close in Germany as a consequence of Energiewende, or energy transition. [Daily News Egypt]

US:

¶ President Barack Obama accused fossil fuel interests of trying to restrict consumer access to solar, wind and other renewable sources in order to protect the status quo. The president also questioned the ideology of those who champion free-market solutions, except when the free market is pointing to the wisdom of renewable energy. [Stockhouse]

¶ The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) is developing the guidelines under which it will accept Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) funding. The development means that PACE will soon be available to all US homeowners. Ed Golding, Head of the FHA, acknowledged the value of the program in a press release. [CleanTechnica]

SolarCity in Arlington, TX – courtesy SEIA)

¶ The Asia Pacific Resilience Summit kicked off this morning, showcasing clean tech solutions for island grids, communities, and military applications across the Pacific. Hawaiian Governor David Ige’s opening keynote speech made headlines, as he stated for the first time publicly a strong opposition to proposed LNG projects. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Hawaiian Electric Co. is not backing down from its commitment to ship liquefied natural gas to Hawaii, following Gov. David Ige’s new stance made known on Monday that he is in opposition to LNG being imported to the state as a replacement for oil. They are looking at LNG for a transition from oil. [Pacific Business News (Honolulu)]

¶ Determining the potential energy your roof could generate with solar is an ever-increasing business. Following in the footsteps of Google’s new Project Sunroof, Mapdwell, an MIT cleantech spinoff, has revealed that New York City has the potential to install 4.7 GW worth of solar PV across over 1 million buildings. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The Idaho Public Utilities Commission gave the state’s three major electric utilities what they asked for in limiting the length of contracts for renewable energy from independent developers. Contracts were limited to 2 years, down from 20 years, nearly ensuring that no new contracts will be signed any time soon. [The Idaho Statesman]

Workers install a SunEdison/First Wind solar project in Massachusetts. The company is one of the developers that has a contract to sell power to Idaho Power.  Provided by First Wind.

¶ The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission has approved Duke Energy’s 20-year agreements with two solar developers to buy up to 20 MW of solar power for its customers in the US state. The developers, Cypress Creek Renewables and Inovateus Solar, will build and operate four projects, each producing up to 5 MW. [reNews]

¶ The town of Strafford, Vermont, has changed its tune on approving a 4.9-MW solar array at the Elizabeth Mine. In a letter sent to the Public Service Board, the Selectboard wrote they will not let Wolfe Energy and Brightfields Development install solar at the site if the array’s renewable energy credits are sold out of state. [Watchdog.org]

¶ US Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell  announced the Bureau of Land Management’s approval of the Blythe Mesa Solar project in California. The 485-MW photovoltaic facility will be constructed on 3,587 acres of previously disturbed private land and will generate enough electricity to power more than 145,000 households. [Energy Matters]

¶ Exelon Corp. announced Monday that three of its aging nuclear stations did not clear the regional power grid’s capacity auction on Friday, calling the plants’ long-term financial viability into question. The plants include Unit 1 at Three Mile Island, one of the units at Quad Cities, and Oyster Creek. [Philly.com]

World:

¶ In Australia, rather inconveniently for the Coalition’s intentions to reduce its support for renewable energy, the Government’s commissioned modeller found the same answer as several other energy market analysts had before them: slashing the Renewable Energy Target would actually INCREASE consumers’ and businesses’ power bills. [Business Spectator]

Wind turbines in Azerbaijan.

¶ Azerbaijan’s State Agency on Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources is conducting test trials on a new wind plant Yeni Yashma. Simultaneous testing of 18 of a total of 20 turbines of the power plant is underway. The wind plant Yeni Yashma, with a capacity to generate 50 MW, is located in Khizi region of Azerbaijan. [AzerNews]

¶ China’s use of coal is falling. After decades of explosive growth, Chinese coal use fell by as much as 3.5% last year. Some of that is due to a slowing economy, but a representative with the Sierra Club’s international climate and energy program says the government there has declared it is shifting away from coal. [Public News Service]

¶ PV systems installed on residential buildings in Oman could offer an estimated 1.4 GW of solar energy capacity, according to a report. Rooftop PV capacity in Muscat alone is estimated at 450 MW, equivalent to a mid-size conventional power plant, the Oman Observer report added, quoting a senior renewable energy engineer. [Trade Arabia]

¶ The Australian state of Victoria has released a Renewable Energy Roadmap for the state that sets a target of at least 20% of electricity generated from renewable sources by 2020. The roadmap commits the state government to using its purchasing power to support clean energy projects and distributed renewable energy generation. [The Fifth Estate]

¶ Vestas is to supply Glymont, a joint venture between Akuo Energy and Eurus Energy America, with 15 V117 3.3-MW turbines for a project in Uruguay. Delivery is expected to start in the first quarter of 2016, with commissioning expected for the third quarter of 2016. UTE, Uruguay’s state-owned grid operator, will buy the power. [reNews]

¶ Nordex is to supply Gul Ahmed Wind Power with 50 MW for the Gul Ahmed wind farm in Pakistan. The German manufacturer will provide 20 N100/2500 turbines to the company. The wind farm is situated in a semi-desert area in the south of Pakistan, near the city of Jhimpir, where temperatures climb as high as 44° C (111° F). [reNews]

¶ Hirohiko Izumida, governor of the prefecture that’s home to Tokyo Electric’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant, said after meeting regulators that the time isn’t right to consider restarting the facility. While not enshrined in law, local government approval is traditionally sought by Japanese utilities before they turn on atomic plants. [Bloomberg]

¶ China Sunergy subsidiary CEEG (Nanjing) Renewable Energy is to supply China Power Investment Corp with 260 MW of photovoltaic modules for several ground-mounted solar projects in China. The units will be delivered to the state-owned energy group over a period of 12 months, starting from July of this year. [reNews]

US:

Wind turbine and crane.

¶ It’s not enough to say that fossil fuels have to go or nuclear is hopeless (which are both probably true statements). The question is: What will replace them? Furthermore, how long will it take? Though solar energy has become the poster child for renewable energy generally, the strongest player in the game, for now, is wind. [OilPrice.com]

¶ Nebraska is facing pressure to meet federal emission requirements, and renewable energy advocates will push again next year for a state tax credit for wind farms and solar projects. Supporters have spent the summer meeting with senators in hopes of passing the production tax credit, which was narrowly defeated this year. [The Republic]

¶ The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station on Cape Cod Bay in Plymouth remained closed Sunday after going into an automatic shutdown Saturday afternoon, according to station and government officials. NRC officials reiterated Sunday afternoon that there were no safety concerns regarding the nuclear power station. [Boston Globe]

World:

¶ Canadian company Beothuk Energy has kicked off the hunt for cash to support its proposed 180-MW offshore wind demonstrator in Newfoundland. Beothuk appointed renewables investment outfit Jacob Securities Inc to identify project financing for both equity and debt provision, and coordinate with other companies. [reNews]

Image: Beothuk has big plans off Newfoundland (Beothuk)

¶ Visiting her counterpart Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany cemented an important climate link between the largest economies in Europe and Latin America. Germany has had high-level relations with India and China, among nations in the emerging world, but now has put Brazil on the same level. [CleanTechnica]

¶ In the English county of Hampshire, Sparsholt college has unveiled plans to build a new renewable energy plant near Winchester. The anaerobic digester, a large boiler turning grass into gas, is expected to produce annual power for the equivalent of nearly 5,000 homes. But the plans have worried people in the area. [Daily Echo]

¶ Last year, Turkey’s Energy Minister said the government wanted 30% of its energy production in 2023 to come from domestic coal, up from 13% now. Locals in the Yırca district of Manisa province successfully fought expropriation of olive groves for coal mine development, but only after 6,000 olive trees had been felled. [Today’s Zaman]

¶ In Japan, the Kansai Electric Power Co has had trouble with competition, highlighted by the fact that 1,000 Seven-Eleven Japan Co Ltd stores in three Kansai prefectures are switching to competition in a new competitive environment. Kansai Electric says the only way it can compete is to restart its nuclear plants. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶ SmartPower, and its Solarize South Carolina campaign is trying to make answering questions about having solar PVs installed as easy as contacting them, via phone or Internet, for a free estimate and advice at its website. The initiative seeks to outfit 2,000 homes with solar in the state in the next 18 months. [Charleston Post Courier]

Workers from Sunstore Solar Energy Solution install solar panels. Photo by David Quick, Charleston Post Courier staff.

¶ Ameren, which uses wind farms in Iowa and out-of-state fuel to provide power in Missouri, is turning to the biomass to reduce Missouri’s reliance on non-local resources. It is partnering with ECAP, an organization of more than 500 Missouri farmers, and Enginuity, which will provide additional technology. [Jefferson City News Tribune]

¶ President Barack Obama and Nevada’s Senator Harry Reid are playing key roles in the National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas. The president will be the keynote speaker. The event will focus on public-private partnerships for clean energy and investments to move the grid beyond its reliance on fossil fuels. [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

¶ Opponents of a 900-MW gas-powered plant Invenergy is planning for Rhode Island say that the company’s claim that it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions is inaccurate because it only considers emissions from producing power and does not take into account the potentially substantial leakage of methane. [The Providence Journal]

¶ Minnesota and North Dakota have been fighting in federal court for two years over Minnesota’s cross-border restrictions on coal-based electricity. The Clean Power Plan, the federal government’s even-more-sweeping regulations to cut coal power plant greenhouse gas emissions, is pushing states to work together. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

World:

¶ DONG Energy has taken full control of the huge Hornsea offshore wind zone. This means the Danish giant will have project ownership for Hornsea Projects Two and Three, having already bought Project One in February. They have a combined potential for development of around 4.2 GW of capacity, and the potential to supply the electricity needs of more than four million UK homes. [Grimsby Telegraph]

TIV Resolution raised out of the sea to install wind turbines. Photo by Ian Simons. CC BY-SA 2.0

¶ Publicly owned lignite mining and power generation company Neyveli Lignite Corp plans to set up 600 MW of solar projects across various states of India. The company is setting up about 50 MW of solar projects of 10 MW to 15 MW of capacity each in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. In addition, land identification is underway for a 100 MW solar project in Nevyeli. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Canberra is at the forefront of responding to climate change with Australian Capital Territory government pledging 100% renewables for the city by 2025. Canberra’s current target is 90% renewables by 2020, while the City of Sydney pledged to use 100% renewable energy by 2030. South Australia’s target is 50% by 2025, while Queensland is aiming for 50% by 2030. [Business Insider Australia]

¶ China’s economy has hit a rough patch. In Western countries, signs of economic insecurity can lead to panicky calls to toss pro-environmental policies. Is there a danger that China’s policymakers will take such a step backward? Probably not, say economists and environmentalists with an eye on China. In fact, China’s slowdown could even be helpful for the environment. [Grist]

US:

¶ The EPA unveiled a package of rules this week aimed at curbing methane and volatile organic compound emissions from sources all along the oil and gas production chain. The rules particularly target shale operations and are the centerpiece of the Obama administration’s effort to rein in methane emissions by 40% to 45% below 2012 levels in the next decade. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

Bakken Flaring Gas at night. Photo by Joshua Doubek. CC BY-SA 3.0.

¶ The city of West Richland, Washington, completed an LED upgrade to its entire street lighting system. The project is expected to reduce the system’s electric consumption by 61% and save the municipality $67,000 per year in energy costs. More than 1000 high pressure sodium lights were replaced with energy-efficient LED models, and a wireless control system was installed. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The average household in the Tennessee Valley will pay about $1.50 more a month for electricity next year as TVA shifts to more nuclear, natural gas, and renewable power to replace aging coal plants. TVA directors adopted a $10.7 billion spending plan for fiscal 2016 that will raise electricity rates by 1.5%, the same amount as in each of the past two years. [Chattanooga Times Free Press]

¶ The world’s largest Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion power plant, completed by Makai Ocean Engineering, celebrated its connection to the electrical grid on Friday. Using temperature differences between the ocean’s cold deep water and warm surface water, Makai’s OTEC power plant is able to generate clean, renewable electricity that is available continuously. [Big Island Now]

Makai Ocean Engineering image.

¶ Green energy creates jobs. For example, according to the 2014 North Carolina Clean Energy Industry Census, the state’s cleantech sector grossed nearly $5 billion in 2014, and is expected to grow between 30% and 35% this year. There are 1,208 cleantech firms in the state employing the equivalent of 22,995 full-time workers and generating $4.8 billion of economic activity. [Huffington Post]

¶ On June 7th, California’s grid operator reported that the state had hit a new record for solar PV and concentrating solar power generation, at 6.160 GW-AC. A little over a month later, a new peak was set on July 13th, just shy of 6.3 GW-AC. Since then, records have been falling like dominoes. Most recently, the plants reached a peak output of 6.391 GW-AC on August 20th. [pv magazine]

¶ Millions of dollars and hundreds of jobs rest with the results of an electricity auction. Exelon is reviewing the bids for power contracts in 2018 through 2019. If the Cordova nuclear power plant [Quad Cities] does not get a winning bid, the plant could face closure in mid 2017. Exelon says the power plant has been losing money for five years, and blames subsidies for wind power. [KWQC-TV6]

Science and Technology:

¶ A team of scientists led by George Washington University chemistry professor Stuart Licht developed a new and potentially less expensive method to make carbon fibers. They capture carbon dioxide directly from the air and use an electrochemical process that converts it into carbon nanofibers and oxygen. Best yet, the desirable attributes of carbon fibers are enhanced. [TechSpot]

Carbon fibers.

¶ A new study shows how pollution making its way across the Pacific Ocean from China is impacting the United States’ atmosphere, and undoing much of the work done to eradicate unhealthy ozone pollution. Specifically, it answers long-held concerns that ozone levels on the west coast of the US remained constant despite significant reduction in ozone-forming chemicals. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ El Salvador’s National Energy Council announced plans to auction 150 MW of renewable energy projects, with targets for operation by 2018. The country conducted its last renewable energy auction in 2014, when it offered 100 MW capacity, of which 94 MW capacity was allocated to solar power projects. The largest of those built was 60 MW, providing power at 10¢/kWh. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The government of the Australian state of Victoria has set itself against the country’s federal government over renewable energy by fast-tracking plans for 50 new wind turbines worth $200 million. The premier revealed the plan at Keppel Prince Engineering, where 100 staff were made redundant in 2014 because of uncertainty over the federal government’s renewable energy target. [The Guardian]

¶ The initial substation has been successfully lifted into place at the 600-MW Gemini offshore wind farm in the Netherlands. The milestone was achieved on August 19 at the Northland Power project some 85 km from shore. The heavy-lift crane vessel Rambiz tackled the work. It completed installation of jacket foundations earlier this month. Gemini is due to be operational in 2017. [reNews]

Image: Gemini

¶ France will double the size of its solar power tender for installations of over 250 kWp to 800 MW, French energy ministry announced yesterday. The initial 400 MW tender was announced in September 2014 with three batches: 200 MW for ground-mounted systems, 150 MW for rooftop or building-integrated power plants, and 50 MW for solar canopies on parking lots. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ An exciting project by the German energy and IT company LichtBlick is currently underway in Hamburg. It is an apartment building being transformed into a power plant. A photovoltaics system is on the roof, a combined heat and power unit and a storage battery in the cellar, and two electric cars in front of the building. The project has an IT platform to optimize it all. [Asian Correspondent]

¶ The UK is considering using a loophole to escape fines for missing the 2020 EU renewable energy targets. It is getting 5% of its energy from renewables, but needs to raise that to 15% by 2020. Now it is cutting subsidies for green power, slowing things down. However, under the EU rules Britain could pay other EU countries that are overshooting their targets for credit. [E&T magazine]

US:

¶ The US DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office has released the Wind Technologies Market Report. It shows that concerns over increasing penetration of windpower may be misplaced. in Texas, curtailment has been cut from 17% in 2009 to 0.5% in 2014. This was despite increased wind generation, in large part due to added transmission capacity. [CleanTechnica]

¶ GDF Suez (now Engie), a multinational energy company that owns and operates a variety of liquified natural gas import facilities in New England, commissioned a report by Energyzt Advisors LLC. The report says that a proposed natural gas pipeline is unnecessary and lays out a series of alternatives to meet the region’s recent winter-time natural gas shortfalls. [The Recorder]

A liquefied natural gas storage facility in Massachusetts. Photo by Fletcher6. CC BY-SA 3.0.

¶ A new report published by Trillium Asset Management has found that California’s two public pension funds lost over $5 billion over the last year due to investments in the top 200 fossil fuel companies. Interestingly, this report comes at the same time that SB 185 is awaiting vote in the California State Assembly, a bill that would divest the same pension funds from coal. [CleanTechnica]

¶ GE announced it will provide Coachella Energy Storage Partners with a 30-MW battery to be used at the Imperial Irrigation District in California’s Imperial Valley, approximately 100 miles east of San Diego. The facility will provide solar ramping, frequency regulation, power balancing and black start capability for a gas turbine. The battery is GE’s largest to date. [InvestorIdeas.com]

¶ The information and communication technology sector’s power demand just keeps growing. But as the sector’s power demand grows, the amount supplied by renewable energy grows faster, and according to research by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, renewables could supply a whopping 48% of the ICT industry’s electricity mix by 2020. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The recent failure of modular construction to deliver lower prices and shorter timelines will likely keep a cap on US nuclear development into the mid term, according to Fitch Ratings. However, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan, along with the rise in federally funded nuclear power research, could yield growth factors for the longer term. [Indiainfoline]

Opinion:

¶ “What’s at stake in Maine’s power struggle over energy” The debate over energy policy has intensified as Maine has become one of the most oil-dependent states in the country on one hand and the site of an insurgency of renewable energy initiatives such as generating wind and biomass power on the other. It is seen as a question of lower prices versus lower impact. [RenewablesBiz]

The Mars Hill Wind Farm atop Mars Hill (Maine) has 28 GE Energy 1.5 MW wind turbines. Photo by Michael Surran. CC BY-SA 2.0.

¶ “Another Clean Coal Scam Exposed” Mississippi Power was just downgraded by Moody’s as a result of its lack of permanent cost recovery provisions for its Kemper plant, which, since 2010, has promised to be the “first-of-its-kind” to employ gasification and carbon capture technologies at such a massive scale. To date, construction costs have soared to more than $6 billion. [Green Chip Stocks]

Science and Technology:

¶ They might not be driving them yet, but electric vehicles are definitely on the radar of some of the world’s top investment and market analysts. Last week, the US-based global investment bank Morgan Stanley named “alternative fuel vehicles” as one of seven key market and technology options it sees as well positioned to mitigate or adapt to climate change. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ The Scottish government unveiled a new financing scheme to expedite the uptake of electric cars by consumers and private companies and cut down on emissions from vehicles. Scotland’s Energy Saving Trust has allocated £2.5 million to the funding plan which provides businesses and individuals with easier access to loans that can cover the full cost of electric vehicles. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The Australian arm of French developer Neoen awarded Siemens a 100-MW contract to supply wind turbines for a new project there. Siemens will manufacture 32 of its 3.2-MW turbines for the Hornsdale project in South Australia. The power from the project will be sold to the Australian Capital Territory government at a fixed price of A$0.092/kWh ($0.067/kWh US) for 20 years. [Windpower Monthly]

¶ Islamic leaders issued a Climate Change Declaration calling for world governments to adopt a new international climate agreement to phase out fossil fuels and limit global warming to 1.5°C to 2°C. The statement of the leaders from 20 countries lays out a deadline for wealthy and oil-producing nations to phase out all greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. [International Business Times AU]

¶ UK green energy supplier Ecotricity submitted a planning application to the Scottish government for a wind project of up to 51.2 MW. The planned wind farm is to be located in the Scottish Borders and will consist of up to 16 wind turbines of up to 3.2 MW each. The machines are expected to produce almost 148 GWh of electricity per year, enough for over 29,000 households. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Renewable energy generated by South Africa’s first wind and solar projects helped ward off some load-shedding and saved around $310 million for the country during the first six months of 2015, according to a recent study by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. It also says 2.0 TWh of wind and solar PV replaced diesel and coal usage over the period. [ITWeb]

US:

¶ Rhode Island is in good shape when it comes to meeting the emissions reductions set earlier this month by President Obama. As one of nine Northeast states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade energy program, Rhode Island is on track to meet its power-plant emission-reduction targets by 2020, 10 years ahead of the deadline set by the Clean Power Plan. [ecoRI news]

Portsmouth Abbey School wind turbine, in Rhode Island. US DOE photo. Public domain.

¶ SunEdison, Inc. has completed construction of a 6-MW solar power plant that will supply electricity to Lakeland Electric, the third largest public power utility in the State of Florida, through a 25-year power purchase agreement. The Bella Vista solar power plant is expected to generate approximately 14 GWh of electricity each year, enough to supply annual power for more than 1,300 homes. [pv magazine]

¶ A prototype in-river hydropower system is currently in operation at Igiugig in southwest Alaska. It’s part of a recent research that has pushed in-river hydro power closer to becoming a reality for rural communities as an alternative to diesel-based electricity. Communities in western and interior Alaska, most of which are on rivers, are interested in how the project does. [Alaska Public Radio Network]

¶ Senator Charles Schumer launched his push for an extension of the existing solar investment tax credit, which is scheduled to be reduced after next year. He encourages changing the rules to make the credits available when projects begin rather than when they’re finished. Schumer visited the 7-acre WilliamSun Solar Field, in Williamson, New York, to make his statement. [Victor Post]

¶ The city of Columbia, Missouri, plans to stop burning coal at its power plant this fall because of changing environmental regulations. Water and Light officials said they would cease operating the city’s remaining two solid-fuel-burning units by mid-October. The city had concluded in 2007 environmental regulations would shut down its coal burners by 2015. [Columbia Daily Tribune]

¶ Sempra’s Mesquite Solar 3 project will provide a third of the power for 14 military bases in California. This is the largest renewable energy purchase by a division of the US federal government to date. Today, August 20, a signing ceremony for a 25-year power purchase agreement to procure electricity from the third phase of Sempra’s Mesquite Solar project in Arizona. [pv magazine]

¶ The Justice Department has accused Energy Future Holdings, the bankrupt Texas power company, of trying to skirt its environmental liabilities through the bankruptcy court. The former TXU Corp’s environmental risks are huge, ranging from the millions of pounds of coal ash it disposes underground each year, to the Comanche Peak nuclear power plant. [Dallas Morning News]

Science and Technology:

¶ Hybrid renewable technologies providing stable power for islands are test-beds for study. El Hierro, one of the Spanish Canary Islands, operates a stand-alone electric grid to serve its population of 11,000 and run power-hungry desalination plants. With a goal to be 100% renewably powered, Hawaii is the largest island to aim for a full-renewables grid strategy. [GreenBiz]

Hawaii, the Canary Islands and Alaska’s Kodiak Island are among the isles making waves with ambitious renewable energy goals. Shutterstock / Filip Fuxa

¶ Researchers from Australia’s Monash University used solar cells to power a device that splits water into a fuel with world record efficiency. The system, which is referred to as an emulation of photosynthesis, uses solar power to drive an electrochemical process that generates hydrogen fuel at more than 22% efficiency, breaking previous records of 18%. [Energy Matters]

World:

¶ Up to $44 trillion could be going up in smoke if the world does not act on climate change, according to the latest piece of research from US banking giant Citigroup. The study examines two scenarios: one is what Citi describe as an “‘inaction’ on climate change scenario”, and another scenario looks at what could happen if a low carbon, “different energy mix” is pursued. [CNBC]

¶ It probably surprises nobody to learn that coal produces more of the world’s electricity than any other fuel. But it many would be surprised to learn that renewables have taken second place. Electricity generation from renewable sources has overtaken natural gas to become the second largest source of electricity worldwide, the International Energy Agency has announced. [eco-business.com]

Electricity generation from renewable sources has overtaken natural gas to become the second largest source of electricity worldwide. Image: Shutterstock

¶ Scottish Renewables has revealed the latest figures for how the sector fares in the country. Around 42,000 solar schemes, 2,557 small wind projects, 204 hydro-electric schemes are amongst some of the renewable methods being used to power homes. Inverurie in Aberdeenshire is Scotland’s solar capital with the town boasting about 10,000 250-W solar panels. [Energy Voice]

¶ Installed solar power capacity in India grew to 3,744 MW by March 2015 from 14 MW in 2010, according to a study by Deloitte and Confederation of Indian Industry. It says less than 1% of India’s solar energy potential is being harvested. Solar power is growing quickly because it is the least expensive way to get power to many of the 300 million people who currently go without. [Greentech Lead]

US:

¶ The Northern Pass project would transmit power from hydroelectric plants in Quebec through New Hampshire. Eversource Operations, the firm proposing the 192-mile power line, unveiled a new plan. It includes burying an unprecedented 60 miles of transmission lines through the most fragile areas. It would also reduce the transmission capacity from previous goals. [Bangor Daily News]

¶ Nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural operations in the central United States may be greatly underestimated, and in some instances are as much as 40% higher than previously thought, according to a new study. It is a potent greenhouse gas. It is produced from nitrogen fertilizer and manure applications, evolving directly from fields and indirectly, as it gets into waterways. [CleanTechnica]

Image: eutrophication&hypoxia

¶ The North American unit of German inverter maker SMA Solar Technology AG announced an order to supply 700 MW of central inverters for solar power plants in California. SMA will provide 317 units of its Sunny Central 2200-US inverter, which has been designed specifically for the US market, for seven utility-scale systems that range in size from 50 MW to 150 MW. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Royal Dutch Shell has been granted a permit to commence deep-sea drilling in the Arctic Ocean. Drilling shallow wells in the area had already begun, but a lack of documentation and precautionary equipment prevented drilling deep enough to strike oil. The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management predicts the possibility of one or more oil spills in the next decade. [Business Finance News]

¶ Florida Power & Light got pushback Tuesday from South Florida officials and other critics as it requested $34.2 million from customers to continue planning a pair of nuclear reactors at its Turkey Point complex. The request, if approved by the Florida Public Service Commission in October, would add a cost for new nuclear power of 34¢ on a typical residential bill. [CBS Local]

World:

¶ A new study has found that China’s air pollution is linked to the death of over 1.6 million people a year or 4,400 people a day. The study was carried out by Richard Muller and Robert Rohde, researchers at Berkeley Earth. They mapped the concentrations of six major pollutants across eastern China, using data from China’s national air quality reporting system. [The Next Digit]

Chinese industrial pollution.

¶ The Ghanaian Minister for Power has launched the rollout of a PayGo home solar power in the Assin district of Central region, Ghana. Starting with households in the area of Assin Sienchem, the first phase of the program will deliver power to over 100,000 households, with particular focus on Cocoa growing regions in Central, before being rolled out more widely. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Sojitz Corporation of America reached an agreement with Grupo T-Solar Global SA and invested in two solar power plants in Peru, becoming owner of a 49% equity interest. With a total output of over 44 MW, the project is the first mega-solar project in Peru. The project has 20-year fixed-price power purchase agreements guaranteed by the Ministry of Energy and Mines. [pv magazine]

¶ Engie, the French utility giant formerly known as GDF Suez SA, is said to have plans to sell more than $1 billion of stakes in Asian coal-fired power plants. Engie, a sponsor of the Paris climate-change talks later this year, has shut gas plants and capped coal-fired installations as Chief Executive Officer Gerard Mestrallet steers the company toward renewable energy sources. [Bloomberg]

¶ ScottishPower confirmed it is to close the giant Longannet coal-fired power station next March 31. It said a combination of high carbon taxes and high transmission charges made the plant uneconomical. It also said since the same issues make any thermal power plant in Scotland challenging, it will not pursue plans for a combined cycle gas turbine plant at Cockenzie. [Business Green]

Longannet Power Station 2012

¶ RWE AG has officially commissioned a power-to-gas plant, rated at 150-kW, as part of a system linking together the supply of electricity, natural gas, and district heating in North Rhine-Westphalia. The power-to-gas plant turns unused renewable power into hydrogen, which is then injected into the natural gas network. The gas will be used at a co-generation plant. [SeeNews Renewables]

US:

¶ Opponents to the offshore wind farm under construction near Block Island, off the coast of Rhode Island, have filed a case in federal court seeking to overturn a critical agreement under which developer Deepwater Wind will sell power to utility National Grid. The complaint was filed by several long-standing opponents of the five-turbine wind farm. [The Providence Journal]

¶ In a recent survey, while 71% of the Southern Californians queried stated that they were highly interested in getting an EV, it seems an additional 13% already had one. All things considered, it is not a shabby percentage (and a reflection of the relative wealth of those queried, I assume). Only 16% of those asked were not interested in EVs, according to the results. [CleanTechnica]

Image Credit: Nissan

¶ Google has announced a tool for finding an easy answer to one of the most difficult questions for climate-conscious homeowners: Should I install solar panels? Project Sunroof is an application of Google Maps that aims to cut through the complicated calculations that go into whether your house is well-suited to generate its own power from that giant nuclear furnace in the sky. [Slate Magazine]

¶ Additional degradation of concrete related to alkali-silica reaction at Seabrook Station nuclear power plant was found in a Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspection this summer. NRC officials downplayed concerns, however. Concrete degradation was discovered in Seabrook Station in 2010 and may be the last hurdle in Seabrook’s attempt to renew its license. [Seacoastonline.com]

World:

¶ Ontario’s Environmental Review Tribunal last week dismissed appeals of two wind projects developed by Capstone Infrastructure Corp with a combined capacity of 28 MW. Canada-based Capstone says the decision upholds the renewable energy approvals granted previously to the 18-MW Ganaraska and 10-MW Grey Highlands ZEP projects in Ontario. [SeeNews Renewables]

Wind farm in Ontario. Author: John Vetterli. License: Creative Commons, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

¶ PT Energi Angin Indonesia and the government of South Sulawesi today signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a 62.5-MW wind farm. It will be tied to the South Sulawesi electricity grid and should produce over 200 GWh per year. This is enough to supply to more than 450,000 local people and help avoid 120,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. [The FINANCIAL]

¶ Conergy, based in Hamburg, Germany, and ATC Enviro Co Ltd, a member of the Symbior Solar group, a solar PV developer based in Bangkok, announced plans to build three solar PV plants in Thailand having a total capacity of 19 MWp. Symbior Solar currently is developing an additional 100 MW in solar projects across Asia for implementation in 2015/16. [The Tide]

¶ Renewable power is becoming a political force in Australia. Australian Solar Council launched its latest campaign, on the weekend, urging people to “vote solar” in an upcoming by-election in Western Australia, as the Coalition government has repeatedly broken promises on renewable energy. A recent poll found that the Coalition would lose on the back of a 7.5% swing. [RenewEconomy]

¶ In New Zealand, the Greens want the Government to set a target for 10% renewable energy generation, following Contact Energy’s decision to close its Otahuhu B gas-fired power station at the end of next month. The Government’s renewable energy target is 90% 2025. Green Party energy spokesman Gareth Hughes says the time has come to set a goal of 100% renewable energy. [3News NZ]

¶ Scotland’s ambitions to become a zero waste nation were today bolstered with the start of construction of Viridor’s new £177 million energy recovery facility in East Lothian. The site will process 300,000 tonnes of post-recycling ‘residual’ waste per annum to generate 30 MW directly to the grid, enough to power 39,000 homes, and will also offer up to 10 MW of heat. [Process & Control Today]

¶ German firms may sign contracts with the Iranian Energy Ministry to build power plants in Iran. Lifting sanctions will pave the way for resuming energy projects. Transferring technology by German companies to Iranian companies, improving efficiency of existing thermal power plants, and building new wind and solar power plants in Iran are all under discussion. [Tehran Times]

¶ Four and a half years after the Fukushima Disaster began, and as Japan tentatively restarts nuclear power elsewhere, legal challenges are mounting for the crippled plant’s operator. They include a judge’s forced disclosure of a 2008 internal document prepared for managers at TEPCO warning of a need for precautions against an unprecedented nuclear catastrophe. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶ Wind energy prices have hit an all-time low and the cost of installing turbines has fallen 20% to 40% in the last five years, according to the DOE. Its new report says last year’s wind-power price contracts with utilities averaged under 2.5¢/kWh, down from 7¢/kWh in 2009. In the Northwest, that could mean a resurgence of interest and investment in wind farms. [Public News Service]

Oregon ranks sixth among states for installed wind capacity. A new national report citing lowest-ever prices for wind power could spark more investment in the industry. Photo credit: Umptanum/Wikimedia Commons.

¶ A bill to augment New Jersey’s clean energy market by encouraging residents to generate their own electricity using renewable energy sources is now law. It increases the electric power net metering cap established in the “Electric Discount and Energy Competition Act” to 2.9% of the total annual energy sold in New Jersey, effectively quadrupling the state limit on net metering. [TAPinto.net]

¶ The wind and solar energy industries in Michigan are expected to continue steady growth and add hundreds of jobs over the next decade, regardless of what the legislators and Governor Rick Snyder come up with in a final energy bill package this year. Part of the optimism comes from a regulatory announcement earlier this month by the EPA, the Clean Power Plan. [Crain’s Detroit Business]

Science and Technology:

¶ Climate change makes some organisms go extinct, but increases others. According to the author of a newly released study, “it is not so easy to determine the number of wild boars in Europe.” However, in the recent decades, more and more boars have wound up as road kill and in hunting bags – a strong indication that local populations are growing and gaining ground. [Nature World News]

A possible beneficiary of climate change. Photo: pixabay

¶ According to the Taskforce on Extreme Weather and Global Food System Resilience, worldwide food shortages, dramatic price increases, and volatile market conditions may take place every 30 years in about 25 years from now, instead of taking place once a century. To cover this and population increase, food production may need to improve by over 60%. [Modern Readers]

World:

¶ Kuwait has approved the construction of a series of power plants, desalination facilities and other infrastructure projects worth up to $9.9 billion, according to Kuwait’s finance ministry. While no timeline has been set for most projects, which are expected to add 3,580 MW to the country’s electricity capacity, a planned sewage plant will commence by the year 2020. [Construction Week Online]

¶ Opponents of onshore wind farm developments across Lincolnshire have expressed surprise at the results of a survey which has claimed that only 8% of people are against turbines on farmland. The Good Energy poll also found just 4% of the public opposed solar farms, and 7% were against biomass plants. For the poll, 2,000 people were asked their views on renewables. [Lincolnshire Echo]

¶ Asked for fact checking, the Saudi agency responsible for developing renewable energy, with a budget of $109 billion, confirmed the kingdom’s plan of 41 GW solar power by 2032 and added it would be composed of 25 GW of solar thermal and 16 GW of photovoltaics, starting from almost nothing in 2012. But it has also announced the plan’s target date may be 2040. [gulfnews.com]

¶ The transportation sector accounts for 29% of the Uruguay’s energy use, according to the Industry, Energy and Mining Minister. She said studies by her portfolio indicate that by 2030, 40% of the public-transport fleet, and 60% of taxis, will be powered by renewable energy sources. The change has already started, and the first four electric cars have been added to the capital’s taxi fleet. [La prensa]

¶ Residents near the Japan’s Sakurajima volcano evacuated to safer places after the government raised its alert level to 4 on a 5-point scale, indicating a major eruption could be imminent. The Sendai nuclear power plant, which is the first to restart under tighter safety rules adopted in the wake of the Fukushima Disaster, is just 50 km from the volcano. [South China Morning Post]

An aerial view shows Mt. Sakurajima in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan. Photo: Kyodo

¶ Cochin International Airport is set to become the first airport in India to be operating on solar power. This will make the airport ‘absolutely power neutral’ in terms of energy consumption. A 12-MW solar power project will be inaugurated August 18. Photovoltaic cells have been laid across 45 acres. Electricity from the solar power plant will be used for airport operations. [Skymet Weather]

¶ Australia’s federal government has been marked down on climate change in a new poll that shows most voters believe it has done too little to address the problem. The poll comes as the government’s official climate change policy adviser accuses the Tony Abbott-led government of shirking its part of the collective global task of avoiding dangerous climate change. [The Australian Financial Review]

US:

¶ The Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan requires the nation to use a lot more renewable energy by 2030, and a lot less coal. And right on time, two new reports published last week by the Department of Energy find that one key renewable sector, wind, is booming, a development that can only help matters when it comes to reducing carbon emissions. [Memphis Commercial Appeal]

¶ As wildfires burn throughout California, there the latest forecast says there will be an unusually strong El Niño, which typically brings heavy winter rainfall to California. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Service released data late last week that showed surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean off South America to be nearly 4° Fahrenheit above normal. [Times of San Diego]

Science and Technology:

¶ Twenty-five years ago, the Passive House certification system raised the bar for energy efficiency by introducing a rigorous performance-based standard. Now, the Passive House Institute has raised the bar higher with certification of two residential projects under a new category, “Passive House Plus,” that incorporates evaluation of on-site renewable energy. [Architectural Record]

A 16-unit apartment building in Innsbruck, Austria, is the first of its kind to be certified under Passive House Plus. Passive House Institute photo.

World:

¶ Fears are growing in South Africa that agreements to build nuclear power plants will made behind closed doors, without the necessary public scrutiny. Among those voicing concern, two government sources say the Treasury is not being included in procurement discussions, despite the massive budgetary implications of a project that may cost as much as $100 billion. [Daily Times]

¶ According to the IEA, almost all of Greece’s oil is imported, and it accounts for a highly significant 45% of the country’s energy supply. The Greek government is spending €800 million each year on oil subsidies. At the same time, an estimated 6 in 10 Greek homes are struggling to pay their energy bills. Greenpeace is undertaking efforts to solarize Greece and install heat pumps. [Inhabitat]

¶ Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy approved four renewable energy projects for the national Incentive Regime for Infrastructure Development in the state of Bahia. The combined capacity of 96.9 MW will include 36.9 MW of wind power to be completed in 2016 and 60 MW of solar to be put online in2017. The projects represent investments of approximately $133 million. [SeeNews Renewables]

US:

¶ SunEdison announced it will partner with Dominion to create a joint venture around the 420-MW Four Brothers solar project in Utah. The project is currently being developed and constructed by SunEdison, and is expected to become fully operational by mid-2016. Dominion will invest approximately $500 million to acquire 50% of the cash equity and 99% of the tax equity. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A Hawaii agency is moving ahead with its plan to go entirely off the electrical grid by developing its own microgrid system. The Hawaii Foreign Trade-Zone No 9 is a five-acre facility on seven acres of land. It has more than 75 offices and a warehouse, and includes 200,000 square feet of total rooftop space. It is estimated that a system of over 500 kW is needed. [Pacific Business News (Honolulu)]

The Hawaii Foreign Trade Zone No. 9 at Honolulu Harbor. PBN File.

¶ The utility firm, Maui Electric Company, is aiming to purchase electricity from two newly proposed large-scale solar energy projects, which will be the first of their kind on Maui, according to a press statement from Maui Electric Company. The two projects are expected to provide up to 5.7 MW of solar PV generated electricity for the relatively low price of 11.06¢/kWh. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and members of Bristol Community College revealed the largest solar canopy in New England on Friday, a 3.2-MW installation that covers 800 parking spaces over two hectares of land on the college’s Fall River Campus. The installation will churn out 34 million kWh of energy annually and will save over $1.75 million over 20 years. [PV-Tech]

¶ Public Service Company of New Mexico and parties opposed to its plans to keep the coal-powered San Juan Generating Station in operation reached a deal that could phase out the plant after 2022. PNM will commit to a Public Regulation Commission review in 2018 over whether the San Juan plant should be shut down after 2022, when current contracts expire. [Albuquerque Business First]

¶ With construction of the Watts Bar Unit 2 nuclear reactor mostly complete, the Tennessee Valley Authority announced it has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to issue a license for the reactor. The TVA sent documentation to the NRC informing the organization that construction of the Watts Bar reactor is substantially complete with only a few details left to finish. [Knoxville News Sentinel]