geoharvey

Analysis:

¶   “Myth-busting Germany’s energy transition” Major English-language media have been propagating a false narrative about the stunning success of Germany’s transition to renewable energy: the Energiewende. [SmartPlanet.com]

Economics and Finance:

¶   “How to lose half a trillion euros” European utilities generating with nuclear and coal are under existential threat from solar and wind generation. Coal and nuclear plants need to run at full power, and are not flexible enough to deal with rapid changes in supply and demand. [The Economist]

¶   According to the new study by academics at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford University, the fossil fuel companies cannot afford to ignore the fossil fuel divestment campaigns currently spreading around the world. [Vincennes Sun Commercial]

World:

¶   Jim Yong Kim, head of the World Bank, and Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), held a joint news conference in which they stressed that climate change must be the main priority of both institutions. [Truthdig]

¶   The UAE recently gave Morocco $100 million to support its program of building solar and wind power plants. This is reported to be part of a partnership to finance development projects in Morocco worth more than $5 billion over five years. [gulfnews.com]

¶   Taylor Hopkinson, a Glasgow-based Scottish renewables recruitment specialist, has seen turnover soar by 124% to £1.65 million as employment in the UK renewables industry continues to expand. [Herald Scotland]

¶   British finance minister George Osborne will sign a deal in China next week allowing a Chinese state-run nuclear power company to help build a new plant in Britain. The Chinese could then partner with France’s EDF for a planned new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point. [Business Recorder]

US:

¶   The growing popularity of the Agriculture Department’s Rural Energy for America Program, which helps farmers with renewable energy, could be its undoing. In the debate over the new farm bill, some conservative groups say the program unfairly undercuts coal. [Green Bay Press Gazette]

¶   Legislation is moving through both houses to tweak the tax code to let clean energy developers form a master limited partnership, or MLP, a type of publicly traded company structure not subject to corporate taxes. [Kitsap Sun]

¶   The US Government Accountability Office reports that potential shortage of lithium-7, mainly sourced from Russia and China, would impact 65 of the country’s pressurized water reactors. The GAO has not yet posted the report because of the government shutdown. [EV World]

Opinion:

¶   Ralph Nader: “Atomic Energy — Unnecessary, Uneconomic, Uninsurable, Unevacuable and Unsafe” The fact that it continues to exist at all is a result of a ferocious lobby, enlisting the autocratic power of government, that will not admit that its product is unfit for use. [Huffington Post]

Economics and Investment:

¶   In the US, there is rising anxiety about how falling electricity demand will affect utilities’ long-term business models. But in Denmark, electric companies operating in a long-term no-growth market continue to invest in further lowering customers’ energy use. [Midwest Energy News]

Science and Technology:

¶   The number of patents issued for renewable-energy technologies has risen sharply over the last decade. The increase was greatest for renewable energy, especially solar and wind. Patents in fossil-fuel technologies showed modest increase, while nuclear was flat.  [The Almagest]

¶   Unlike other contraptions that harvest the up and down motion of the waves to harvest energy, Samuel Etherington came up with a novel design that absorbs forces from all directions of the waves — up and down, side to side, and everything in between. [NBCNews.com]

World:

¶   Renewable energy has been on a tear the past few years, with growth in many countries spurred by subsidies. Now the heads of 10 European utility companies say EU subsidies should end, because they’ve got more renewable energy than they know what to do with. [Motherboard]

¶   Projections from the International Energy Agency indicate that renewable energy is about to take off to historic highs.  Renewable energy growing faster than natural gas, which renewables will pass around 2015. They will be catching up with coal in around 2035. [SustainableBusiness.com]

¶   Just as energy bills start to rise for some UK customers, Ikea has announced it will start to sell solar panels. Solar panel installation can cut energy bills for the average three-bedroom house by £768 a year, and pay for itself in eight years. But there is more. [Financial Times]

¶   The UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation raised doubts about the dose estimates of the Japanese government and TEPCO, the plant operator, in a summary of a report submitted to the Fourth Committee of the U.N. General Assembly on Oct. 12. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   The number of wind energy turbines in Huron County, Michigan is set to more than double in size from the 2012 totals by next summer, Jeff Smith, director of the Huron County Building and Zoning Office said Friday. [Huron Daily Tribune]

¶   Over the coming year, a task force comprised of technical experts, activists and business leaders will be responsible for studying the possible implementation of a net zero emissions policy for Cambridge, Massachusetts, City Manager Richard Rossi has said. [Cambridge Chronicle]

¶   The EPA is considering rolling back the Renewable Fuels Standard, a move that could threaten the vitality of Nebraska’s ethanol industry. The unprecedented strategy surfaced Friday in internal EPA documents provided to national news outlets by industry sources. [Lincoln Journal Star]

Opinion:

¶   “‘Green taxes’ fight energy bills not fuel them” Despite “green taxes” being only a small part of the reason for rising bills in the UK, and despite their being the only part of the rising costs that actually helps reduce future bills, they are under continuing assault. [The Guardian]

Science and Technology:

¶   GE has announced PowerUp, a customized software-enabled platform that will increase a wind farm’s output by up to 5%. For the average U.S. wind farm operator using GE’s 1.5-77 turbine, a 5% increase in energy output translates to up to a 20% increase in profit per turbine. [Your Industry News]

World:

¶   Ontario regulators have granted renewable energy approvals to three feed-in tariff projects, allowing developers to proceed to construction. The three wind farms have a combined capacity of 209 MW. Under the permits the proponents have three years to complete their wind farms. [reNews]

¶   The Asian Development Bank will provide $500 million to build a power transmission system needed to deliver clean electricity from wind and solar power projects in Rajasthan in Northwest India to the state and national grids. [Your Renewable News]

¶   SSE, one of Britain’s so-called ‘Big Six’ utilities has announced a price increase of 8.2%, which would add £93 to an annual dual fuel bill. Some comment blames renewable subsidies, but think-tank IPPR argues network charges and wholesale gas prices are far more important causes. [Power Engineering International]

¶   Data compiled by the Japanese Agency for Natural Resources and Energy shows that Japan installed 1.82 GW of solar PV capacity during the second quarter of 2013, as published this week by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. [pv magazine]

¶   The head of Ontario’s provincial government has set aside plans to build two new reactors, saying the current demand for power does not justify the expense. Ontario’s Energy Minister said the province’s surplus of electricity generation made investment in new reactors unnecessary. [Nuclear Street]

¶   Key Austrian political leaders said Wednesday they were pleased with the European Commission’s move to reject automatically including nuclear as a “low-carbon” technology in revamped environmental subsidy guidelines for member states. [UPI.com]

¶   Nuclear power’s rate of growth over the last 25 years is less than 10% of what it was over the previous 25. Now, it is the only mainstream energy technology that does not show significant growth. Its share of global primary energy supply has fallen from 6.4 percent in 2002 to just 4.5 percent in 2012. [Fierce Energy]

US:

¶   Silver Ridge Power and Google have announced that Google became a partner and will invest approximately $103 million in Silver Ridge Power’s 265.7 MW Mount Signal Solar project. The project is under construction in Imperial County, California. [Your Industry News]

¶   The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced that it would not recommend the state’s Climate Change Advisory Committee debate or vote on a plan that considers increasing the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard. [Your Renewable News]

¶   The oil industry fired yet another volley in its war against the Renewable Fuel Standard by filing a lawsuit with the D.C. Circuit Court against the Environmental Protection Agency over the volume requirements of the Renewable Fuel Standard. [AgInfo.net]

¶   North Dakota regulators have approved plans for a $300 million wind farm in southwestern Adams County, after discussion about whether the state already generates enough of the renewable energy because its current goals have already been met. [Finance and Commerce]

Opinion:

¶   “How Our Inability to Calculate Risk Opened the Doors for Fukushima” The fact is, we don’t know what we don’t know. In our energy policy and planning across the world, we act as if we know future fossil fuel supplies precisely–just as we acted as if we knew the risks of nuclear power rather precisely. [OilPrice.com]

¶   “Are Utilities Doomed If Consumers Become More Self-Reliant?” Consumers are increasingly exploring ways to supply their own energy – e.g., distributed generation and microgrids – and many observers claim that these alternatives may begin a death spiral for traditional utility business models. [Renew Grid]

World:

¶   The world must eliminate emissions from burning fossil fuels in the second half of this century to lower the economic cost of climate change, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said on Wednesday. Worldwide, we need to invest 2% of our GDP to do this. [CBC.ca]

¶   The EU will meet its 2020 targets to reduce carbon emissions and increase use of renewable energy, according to a report by the European Environment Agency. The report says that carbon emissions across the EU’s 28 countries will be 21% lower than 1990 levels by 2020. [EUobserver.com]

¶   A Philippine Department of Energy official yesterday said the construction of three biomass plants and one solar farm in Negros Occidental will stabilize the energy requirements of the Visayas, with industrial booms expected in Bacolod, Iloilo and Cebu. [Visayan Daily Star]

¶   Iran will established three new wind farms, each with a power generation capacity of 350 MW, the managing director of Iran Power Generation Transmission and Distribution Management Company said on Wednesday. [Tehran Times]

¶   Leading energy companies have warned the UK risks failing to deliver on its flagship offshore wind development program, unless ministers demonstrate “a clearer ambition” for the high-profile project. [Business Green]

¶   The long-awaited deal between the government and EDF over the energy firm’s planned new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point is expected to be announced before the end of this month. Reports say a deal had been struck, with Hinkley Point to receive £93/MWh ($148/MWh, 150% of the cost of UK  windpower). [Building.co.uk]

¶   Radiation levels in seawater just outside one of the damaged Fukushima reactors spiked this week to the highest level in two years. The same day six workers were exposed to highly radioactive water, radiation levels jumped 13 times the previous day’s reading, the highest levels since late 2011. [Reuters India]

US:

¶   MidAmerican Solar and First Solar, Inc. are marking a major milestone at Topaz Solar Farms, located in San Luis Obispo County, Calif. This week, the five millionth solar module was installed on one of the largest solar projects under construction in the world. [Your Renewable News]

¶   What started out as a rate-reform bill that had been pushed by California’s utilities ended up as a law to increase the state’s renewable energy offerings. Among the big winners are the rooftop solar businesses, which expect to see more people buy their product now that the law has passed. [energybiz]

¶   Vermonters have embraced renewable power faster and with more gusto than anyone in the state ever anticipated. That’s brought increased energy independence to some but ironically has put others in “a bit of a purgatory,” as one solar installer describes it. [Seven Days]

¶   IKEA is increasing the size of its Boston-area store in Stoughton, MA. At the same time, it will increase the size of the solar array on the store’s roof. The 51,516-square-foot solar addition will consist of a 312-kW system, and will produce 383,200 kWh, bringing the store’s total to 1,078,200 kWh/year, [Your Renewable News]

¶   The US NRC is shutting down because the agency has depleted its carryover funds. Resident inspectors at the nation’s 100 nuclear reactors will remain in place to address immediate safety and security issues, but the agency’s daily reactor status report will not be available. [Reuters]

¶   A panel of current and former politicians and nuclear regulators on Wednesday called for the closure of the 685-megawatt plant in Plymouth. Former Japanese Prime Minister Kan, former NRC chairman Jaczko, Arnie Gundersen, and former NRC commissioner Peter Bradford were among the panelists. [The Patriot Ledger]

Science and Technology:

¶   California-based Rennovia announced that they have produced a 100% bio-based nylon polymer. Compared with petroleum-based adipic acid, which is used in making nylon polymer 6,6, using their bio-based version could reduce climate change emissions by 85%. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   Siemens Canada has received an order from Samsung Renewable Energy, Inc. and Pattern Energy Group LP for wind turbines for their Grand Renewable Energy Project in Ontario, Canada. The Grand Renewable Energy park will consist of 100 MW of solar power and 150 MW of wind power. [EcoSeed]

¶   Güssing once very poor and dying, is still growing with new approaches to renewable power. The town of 4000 now has 60 new companies, 1,500 new jobs, and annual revenues of $17 million due to energy sales, all resulting from the growth of the renewable energy sector. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Renewable-energy technologies like solar and wind power, which in many countries have begun to shake up the mix of energy sources, are now also challenging the traditional distribution system. Advocates of distributed generation, envision what they consider a better way. [New York Times]

¶   Canada’s National Research Council has launched a research program aimed at accelerating the deployment of energy storage systems, seen as crucial to the further uptake of renewable energy in Canada. The program seeks to improve the reliability and economy for solar and wind power. [PV-Tech]

¶   Carbon markets are more than 16 times cheaper at cutting greenhouse gases than renewable subsidies paid to power producers, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. [Businessweek]

¶   Former NRC chairman Jaczko says Entergy should shut the Indian Point nuclear power plant instead of continuing to fight local officials who oppose the facility. He says the best solution is for all the interested stakeholders to think about a way to shut plant down on a reasonable time frame. [Businessweek]

¶   Britain’s plans to use public money to subsidize a new generation of nuclear power suffered a setback on Tuesday when EU policy-makers decided to exclude atomic electricity from a list of funding guidelines. Omitting nuclear energy from the guidelines means decisions have to be made on an individual basis. [Reuters]

¶   Turkey’s first nuclear power plant is likely to be delayed by at least a year, a source close to the plans said on Tuesday, as bureaucratic hurdles hamper the $20 billion project. The 4,800 MW plant, being built by Russia’s Rosatom, is already behind schedule, even though it is not scheduled to operate until 2019. [Chicago Tribune]

¶   In its second accident in three days, a worker at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accidentally removed a pipe connected to the contaminated water treatment system. It has resulted in the worker and five others being exposed to radiation, as well as the leakage of several tons of water. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   A co-owner of a Vermont mountaintop wind power project is complaining that his turbines were ordered to stop sending electricity to the grid in favor of power produced by fossil fuel and nuclear plants. David Blittersdorf said the decision to curtail wind was counter to common sense and unsustainable. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

¶   When we hear about the huge growth of solar installations in the US, the talk is mostly about solar PV, but there’s enormous potential in solar thermal – used for heating and cooling. Currently, there’s 9 gigawatts (GW) of solar thermal installed in the US, 1 GW less than solar PV. [SustainableBusiness.com]

¶   A pipeline explosion in rural northwestern Oklahoma was sending flames shooting into the night sky early Monday. No injuries have been reported, and residents within two miles of the blast have been evacuated. [CBS News]

¶   A federal court has ruled that Exelon Corp., the biggest U.S. nuclear operator, cannot use $1.69 billion of claimed liabilities associated with decommissioning three nuclear power plants to generate tax benefits. [Bloomberg]

¶   As costs and competition from cheap natural gas force more old nuclear plants to shut down, their owners now complain the electricity market is rigged against them. A president of sales at Entergy said it was a mistake for the market to force decisions scrapping plants based on the everyday cost of power.[New York Times]

Opinion:

¶   Microgrids might offer solutions both to the question of how we should adapt to climate change and the question of how to prevent climate change. In the process of doing so, they might offer solutions on reliability, security, costs, and employment. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶   A discovery that water droplets can jump off a surface while acquiring an electric charge may lead to new power generation methods, and more efficient power plants. MIT researchers think that this new discovery could be utilized for clean energy from the atmosphere. [CleanTechnica]

¶   During an experiment at the US National Ignition Facility in late September, the amount of energy released through the fusion reaction exceeded the amount of energy being absorbed by the fuel – the first time this had been achieved at any fusion facility in the world. [BBC News]

World:

¶   Western Australia has some of the best solar and wind resources in the world. But for the foreseeable future they are likely to go largely undeveloped because the state government has indicated that it will not support any new large-scale renewable energy developments on its main grid. [RenewEconomy]

¶   A campaign to persuade investors to take their money out of the fossil fuel sector is growing faster than any previous divestment campaign and could cause significant damage to coal, oil and gas companies, according to a study from the University of Oxford. [The Guardian]

¶   Quakers in Britain have announced their support for a Christian charity that is calling for churches and the religious community to divest from fossil fuels. Operation Noah is a faith-motivated movement that is working to encourage the complete decarbonisation of the British economy by 2030. [Blue & Green Tomorrow]

¶   Another incident at the Fukushima nuclear facility was announced by operator TEPCO, as a worker had accidentally switched off power to the cooling pump for the No. 1 reactor. The cooling process was immediately resumed as the backup pump kicked into gear and took over the process. [The Japan Daily Press]

¶   Another toxic water leak was discovered at Fukushima nuclear power plant, according to TEPCO. This leak is similar to one found in August. The operator does not know the exact amount of water that leaked from the 450-ton tank. [The Tokyo Times]

US:

¶   The three largest California utilities, Edison International, PG&E Corp. and Sempra Energy, said they’re putting up hurdles to some battery backups wired to solar panels because they can’t be certain the power flowing back to the grid from the units is actually clean energy. [Bloomberg]

¶   California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill to restructure utility rates, increase the state’s use of renewable power and create a new way to pay solar homeowners for their excess electricity. The new law has a number of important provisions for renewable energy. [San Francisco Chronicle]

¶   Even with lower costs, the barriers to development of renewable power can still be too high for low-income communities. Solar non-profits, like GRID Alternatives, identify neighborhoods that could benefit from green energy, and volunteers rally together to help install solar panels on qualifying homes. [Huffington Post]

Science and Technology:

¶   The price of solar photovoltaic cells has dropped 99% in the past quarter century. So in an increasing number of markets around the country, solar is at or very close to grid parity. The Graph of the Day shows a decline in the price per watt from $76.67 to $0.72 since 1977, a 99% plunge to grid parity. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Designed to capture ocean currents, Safrema Energy’s Nexus turbine can be placed into a river without having to build a dam, giving the Nexus a much smaller environmental impact. Safrema Energy claims that the Nexus can produce power at 2.6 cents per kWh, with no subsidies. [ENGINEERING.com]

¶   The growth of wind power, if undertaken with reasonable care, should pose no risk to any particular bird species in Canada, according to a new peer-reviewed study. The study also suggests that highly publicized bird mortality figures out of the U.S. and Europe could be on the high side. [EarthTechling]

World:

¶   More than 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide were displaced by Scotland’s renewable industry in 2012 – a new record and a jump of 24% on the previous year. This is the equivalent of removing 99.1% of carbon emissions generated from every car, bus, lorry and train journey in Scotland. [Energy Live News]

¶   Two separate solar PV projects, totaling 36 MW and 20 MW, have been approved in the UK with construction set to begin immediately. The UK’s department of energy also revealed the country installed 707 MW in the first half of 2013. [pv magazine]

¶   The operator of Japan’s wrecked nuclear plant said Monday that a pump used to cool one of the damaged reactors had stopped, possibly because of human error, in the latest mishap at the problem-plagued facility. [New York Times]

¶   Japan’s prime minister has appealed to the international community to help fix the ongoing crisis at its damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant. His comments were made against a backdrop of ongoing technical issues. [Telegraph.co.uk]

US:

¶   The solar array on Lancaster, Massachusetts’ old landfill site is turning sunshine into revenue for the town after the switch was turned on last month. The $2 million project will be generating enough power to pay for the town’s municipal electric bill, and then some. [Worcester Telegram]

¶   The NRC is being asked to restrict storage of highly radioactive nuclear waste in spent fuel pools like the one at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. Two authors of a 2003 report on packed fuel pools urged that fuel older than five years be stored in dry concrete casks. A third author was Allison Macfarlane. [Rutland Herald]

Opinion:

¶   “Six Perspectives on the Fate of Utilities” Greentech Media has had an increase in coverage on utilities not because of obsession with their demise, but because the utility industry itself is grappling with how to manage the ongoing surge in distributed energy. [greentechmedia.com]

¶   “Conservatives warming up to climate change” Many Republicans who once dismissed global warming as a liberal invention now see mounting consumption of fossil fuels as an environmental and economic threat and say consumers should drive the energy transition countering global warming. [Detroit Free Press]

Science and Technology:

¶   The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that methane is far more potent a greenhouse gas than we had previously realized. Methane is now understood to be 34 times stronger a heat-trapping gas than CO2 over a 100-year time scale. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   In a study titled “Energy Darwinism – the evolution of the energy industry“ – investment banking giant Citi says the global energy mix is shifting more rapidly than is widely appreciated, and this has major implications for generators, utilities, and consumers. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Toshiba is in the final stage of negotiations for purchasing more than 50% of NuGeneration Ltd. for upward of ¥10 billion ($100 million), through subsidiary Westinghouse Electric Co. Toshiba holds a 30% share of the global market of nuclear reactor construction with Westinghouse. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   Maine’s wind power industry is poised to see its biggest period of growth since the state’s first major project was built six years ago, a surge brought on by unprecedented demand for renewable energy in southern New England and by evolving technology that has lowered the cost of producing electricity. [Press Herald]

¶   A new program has been started this year in Rhode Island to provide small-scale solar projects with grants and low-interest loans from the state Renewable Energy Fund. Now, increasing numbers of residences in the state are having solar projects installed. [The Providence Journal]

¶   Rhode Island is playing catchup in solar power generation with increasingly large arrays of PVs installed on otherwise unusable land in former landfills. An array of 12,848 panels is being built in a landfill in East Providence, to provide 3.7 MW. [The Providence Journal]

¶   The US Department of Energy’s Inspector General concluded has issued a report saying design changes at a new radioactive waste disposal plant were not properly verified to ensure safety. The plant is at the country’s most contaminated nuclear site in south-central Washington, [Las Vegas Sun]

World:

¶   Ergon Energy, which operates the sprawling, regional electricity network that covers 97 per cent of Queensland, Australia has suggested that within the next decade renewables and battery storage will be cheaper for domestic consumers than grid power. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The first ever renewable energy auction in Russia, the world’s largest oil producer, was recently completed. As a result, the fossil fuel giant has now committed to subsidize 399 MW of solar and about 110 MW of wind. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Japan is on track to install seven gigawatts of grid-connected solar power capacity this year, three times the amount it installed last year, because of uncertainties on the future of nuclear power. This increase in use of solar power may increase prices of solar cells. [Taipei Times]

¶   New Zealand Prime Minister John Key opened the $1.4 billion, 82 MW Ngatamariki Geothermal Power Station at a ceremony on Thursday. The government’s aim is to increase the portion of renewable power from today’s 70% to 90% by 2025. [Waikato Times]

¶   In Turkey, the Energy Market Regulatory Agency expanded the limitations on unlicensed individual electricity production though solar and wind energy from 500 kilowatts to one megawatt, the Official Gazette announced on Wednesday. [www.worldbulletin.net]

¶   El Salvador plans to increase its renewable energy generation in the near future. The Central American nation will solicit bids for 40 MW of wind power and 60 MW of solar energy in November, Bloomberg reported. [PennEnergy]

¶   An innovative e-learning course that aims to take renewable energy to developing countries has been created at Scotland’s University of Strathclyde. The course was developed as part of a project that supports the UN’ goal of sustainable energy. [Windpower Engineering]

¶   EnBW has installed the first giant monopile at the 288 MW Baltic 2 offshore wind farm in Germany. The Ballast Nedam vessel Svanen has driven the 73.5-meter long and 6.5-meter diameter structure more than 10 meters into the seabed. It will hold a 3.6 MW turbine. [reNews]

US:

¶   The San Francisco International Airport announced it will begin receiving renewable natural gas vehicle fuel, called Redeem, from Clean Energy Fuels Corp. The product is made from waste streams such as landfills, large dairies and sewage plants. [Patch.com]

¶   California’s Senate Bill 43 has been officially signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown. The legislation could be a major boon for renewable energy throughout the state as it is meant to make clean power more accessible to consumers. [Hydrogen Fuel News]

¶   Needham, Massachusetts could soon have a source of renewable energy at the site of long-unused landfill and not have to pay a penny for construction. The town hopes to use roughly 11 acres of the Recycling Transfer Station as the home of a solar panel system. [Wicked Local]

Opinion:

¶   “In 5 Charts, Here’s Why Nuclear Energy Is Going Nowhere” But here are five more charts, via a Citi team led by Jason Channell, showing that nuclear is not only on the wane in America, but also around the world. [Business Insider Australia]

Science and Technology:

¶   A promising, possible alternative to LED lighting has just emerged, thanks to research from the University of California–Santa Barbara. Bright, energy-efficient, high-power white light can be created via the utilization of a laser diode in combination with inorganic phosphors. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   The government of China is now offering a 50% tax rebate to photovoltaic solar panel manufacturers, effective since October 1, 2013. This is a value added tax (VAT) PV rebate which will end on December 31, 2015. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Japan has added 3,666 MW of capacity powered by renewable sources since the beginning of July 2012 in an incentive program to diversify its energy mix, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. [Bloomberg]

¶   The renewable energy supplier Good Energy has launched a ‘Good Energy Bond’ to fund its future investments in wind and solar power. The firm is aiming to raise £5 million but will sell as much as £15 million of bonds if they prove popular. [Energy Live News]

¶   Iceland is quickly recovering from financial crisis because of renewable power. Many companies with high energy demands have chosen to base their production in Iceland because the energy costs are so much lower than elsewhere in Europe or in the US. [Worldcrunch]

¶   Highly radioactive water from a storage tank at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant has made its way into the ocean, the company said Thursday. [The Japan News]

US:

¶   Clean Energy Fuels Corp. announced it will distribute a renewable natural gas vehicle fuel made from waste streams such as landfills, large dairies and sewage plants directly to fleets around the country and at the 35 public Clean Energy stations throughout California. [NACS Online]

¶   Duke University researchers recently discovered elevated levels of radioactivity, salts and metals in the western Pennsylvanian Blacklick Creek that the Josephine Brine Treatment Facility uses to discharge treated wastewater from oil and gas fracking operations. [inhabitat]

¶   Harvard University president Drew Faust announced Thursday that the institution will not divest from the fossil fuel industry despite pressure from some students and faculty to do so. [Boston Globe]

¶   The chairman of the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission says the organization is going to honor a 20-year-old agreement that guarantees space for radioactive waste from Vermont in its Texas disposal facility. [Your Houston News]

Opinion:

¶   “5 reasons why nuclear plants in Central New York are in trouble” The outlook for Central New York nuclear plants has slipped from prosperous to perilous. Experts say two of the region’s four nukes are at risk of shutting down prematurely if the financial picture does not improve in the years ahead. [Syracuse.com]

¶   “From China to California, signs of a lower carbon future” Although it is easy to get caught up in the vastness of the volume of fossil fuels we continue to consume, we are increasingly being presented with positives as we move – albeit slowly – along a path toward a lower carbon-emitting future. [FuelFix]

World:

¶   Ireland will see a total of €4.7 billion invested in onshore wind energy projects between now and 2020, and will more than double its production of clean indigenous and renewable energy, according to the Irish Wind Energy Association. [Agriland]

¶   E.ON has it officially opened the Kårehamn offshore wind farm near the Swedish island of Öland in the Baltic Sea.  Kårehamn has a capacity of 48 MW and cost €120 million to build. Its 16 Vestas turbines, each with a capacity of three MW, will produce enough electricity to power some 28,000 homes. [Your Renewable News]

¶   Global PV installations are forecast to rise at the fastest pace in three years in 2014, exceeding 40 GW for the first time and generating installation revenue of more than $86 billion, according to IHS Inc. Annual solar installations are predicted to expand at a rate of 18 per cent in 2014. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶   Stanwell Corp, the Queensland government-owned electricity generator, has failed to make any money in the past year from its 4,000 MW of coal and gas-fired generation because rooftop solar has taken away demand and pushed down wholesale electricity prices. [CleanTechnica]

¶   It seems the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is destined to lurch from one blunder to another. In the latest unfortunate episode Wednesday, it ended up causing a leak as it attempted to prevent another leak caused by rainwater elsewhere. [Wall Street Journal]

US:

¶   Carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels in the United States peaked at more than 1.6 billion tons of carbon in 2007. Since then they have fallen 11%, dropping to over 1.4 billion tons in 2013, according to estimates from the US Energy Information Administration. [Treehugger]

¶   Environmentalists and others have defended an Ohio law that imposes alternative-energy requirements on Ohio power companies. Ohio Senate Public Utilities Chairman Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican, introduced a bill to reopen debate on thresholds for clean-energy use earlier this year. [The Republic]

¶   The Washington DC Council has unanimously approved the Community Renewables Energy Act, which establishes a new program to help District families, schools and businesses to go solar for the first time. [solarserver.com]

¶   The expansion of Colorado’s newest renewable energy facility is complete, with the Colorado Highlands Wind Project now capable of generating 91 MW for Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association. [The Advocate]

¶   DTE Energy has joined a lawsuit against the US DOE that says the federal agency has collected nearly $37 billion for the disposal of used fuel from nuclear power plants but not disposed of the waste. The lawsuit asks that the DOE stop collecting money to do a job it has neglected to do. [Watchdog.org]

¶   Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, citing concern about the growing need for nuclear waste storage, is urging the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission to preserve enough space for Vermont to store its nuclear waste. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

Renewable Power at No Additional Cost:

¶   In 2012, the US DOD announced its goal to deploy three gigawatts of renewable power and meet 25% of its energy needs with renewable energy by 2025. Here are examples showing how these goals will be met without additional taxpayer costs by such financing as Power Purchase Agreements, etc. [RenewEconomy]

Science and Technology:

¶   (Video) A new apartment complex in Hamburg generates heat, as well as revenue, from growing the micro-organism. The five-story Bio Intelligent Quotient has a high-tech facade that looks like a cross between a Mondrian painting and a terrarium but is actually a vertical algae farm. [THV 11]

¶   Rennovia, Inc., a privately held company that develops novel catalysts and processes for production of chemical products from renewable feedstocks, announced that it has produced samples of what it believes to be the world’s first 100% bio-based nylon-6,6 polymer. [Fibre2fashion.com]

World:

¶   A new service for UK renewable energy developers and wind farm owners is being launched by environmental and engineering consultancy Wardell Armstrong. Solar Wind is designed to optimize grid connections by incorporating ground-mounted solar panels on the same site as wind turbines. [H&V News]

¶   In the Middle East, the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency found that more than 15 large-scale renewable energy projects totaling 1.55 GW are under construction in 13 Arab states. This is double the region’s current renewable energy capacity. [solarserver.com]

¶   The head of Munich’s municipal utility expects to produce enough renewable energy next year to meet demand from all the households in southern Germany’s largest city. The expansion comes from investment in offshore wind farms in Germany and the U.K. [Businessweek]

¶   Worldwide PV production rose 10% in 2012 despite a 9% drop in investment, according to the European Commission. The Commission authors estimate that producers added between 35 GW and 42 GW of PV capacity in 2012. [IEEE Spectrum]

¶   The Manx government believes that it could raise money by selling electricity generated by wind farms in Manx waters to the UK. Now, it has announced it was looking for a consultant to help it sift through tenders for offshore wind farms in Manx waters. [Isle of Man Today]

¶   In a joint venture with local farmers, called Yoshinoya Farm Fukushima, it will grow rice, onions and cabbages in a 4.3-hectare field, 80 kilometers from the stricken nuclear plant. A facility to process vegetables for use, with strict radiation screening measures, will also be built. [Hong Kong Standard]

¶   Nuclear engineers in southeastern Sweden have been wrestling with a giant swarm of jellyfish that forced the shutdown of the world’s largest boiling-water reactor. They did not get anywhere near the reactor, a plant spokesman said, and there was no risk of a nuclear accident. [New York Times]

¶   Retired Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi has returned to the spotlight by railing against nuclear power and urging Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to move Japan away from its reliance on atomic energy. Abe appears to be listening. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   According to a report released Sept. 20 by the Michigan Public Service Commission and the Michigan Energy Office, Michigan utility companies should be capable of tripling their renewable energy use by 2035 — with a goal of 30% derived from renewable sources in the next 20 years. [Midwest Energy News]

¶   With Congress’ failure this week to pass a continuing resolution to keep government funds flowing, a number of renewable energy projects that had been undergoing environmental review by the Bureau of Land Management may well be delayed, as staff are furloughed and schedules slip. [KCET]

Science and Technology:

¶   Kurion Inc. announced a breakthrough in the treatment of the historically difficult to capture isotope with a system to decontaminate tritiated water. The ability to remove tritium from water enables the safe release of purified water into the environment or recycling of reactor cooling water. [Fort Mills Times]

World:

¶   Russia has offered its first ever state-backed support for renewable energy, offering subsidies for 39 clean power ventures with a combined capacity of 504 MW. Solar power won the day, with 399 MW secured, while the wind power sector won just one-tenth of the 1,100 MW of wind capacity offered. [pv magazine]

¶   IKEA is now selling solar panels at its stores in Britain. The housewares retailer has already announced plans to switch over to solar and wind power by 2020, but now it wants to help customers incorporate renewable energy at home. [The Verge]

¶   Global remote microgrids are multiplying due to a number of economic factors.  Navigant Research reports that worldwide revenue from remote microgrids will grow from $3.1 billion in 2013 to more than $8.4 billion in 2020. [Fierce Energy]

¶   Good Energy, a 100% renewable electricity supplier located in the UK, is celebrating reaching a major landmark in its continued growth, after welcoming its 100,000th customer. The report also outlines a profit increase of 23%, and notes “strong growth” in finances and customer base. [Blue & Green Tomorrow]

¶   Japan’s Industry minister has suggested he supports local calls to scrap the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant, located 12 kilometers south of Fukushima Daiichi. The Fukushima Daini plant has four reactors. [Chem.Info]

¶   A pair of Michigan Democratic legislators traveled to Canada Tuesday to speak out against a proposal to bury nuclear waste deep underground near the shore of Lake Huron. The controversial proposal is to store low-level to mid-level nuclear waste three quarters of a mile from the lake. [The Detroit News]

US:

¶   EDF Renewable Energy has inaugurated its 143 MWp Catalina Solar plant – bringing online the eighth-largest photovoltaic plant in the world. The plant is located in Kern County, California, on a 900-acre site. It has  82 MWp of Solar Frontier modules, and 61 MWp of First Solar PV modules. [pv magazine]

¶   The Sierra Club launched an ad campaign Monday aimed at pressuring New Jersey Gov. Christie into making building offshore wind farms a priority. Approximately 75% of state residents favor building offshore windmills, according to a poll conducted by Monmouth University. [Philly.com]

¶   After years of building wind farms, mostly in Maine and Hawaii, Boston-based developer First Wind said Monday it is expanding into solar power, with a 14 MW project in Warren and a 3 MW project in Millbury already underway. They will generate enough electricity to power 3,100 homes. [Boston Globe]

¶   Xcel Energy said Monday that it intends to double the amount of solar power on its Minnesota system by giving customers the option of purchasing part of a central solar-generating array — a concept known as a solar garden. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

¶   Emerging Energies, a Wisconsin developer, won over regulators with a pledge to reduce noise levels at the 102.5 MW Highland wind farm. The developer fine-tuned operating plans to comply with noise restrictions after the board initially rejected the project in February. [reNews]

World:

¶   The UAE has provided a $100 million package of support to finance renewable energy projects in Morocco. The money will be used to provide solar electricity generation equipment and wind energy stations in villages in remote areas. [Utilities-ME.com]

¶   Firms from Thailand and China are studying the feasibility of wind power in Myanmar, where 70% of the population has no access to electricity. Gunkul Engineering will conduct feasibility studies with a target of producing 2,930 megawatts of electricity, [Bangkok Post]

¶   Members of the Sustainable Shipping Initiative convened in Singapore to launch a new report and toolkit that will encourage the rest of the international shipping industry to operate with minimal environmental impact by 2040. [eco-business.com]

¶   The Russian Federation currently has relatively stringent legislation on GMOs (only the EU has stricter legislation, with the United States and Canada being the most liberal in this regard). Now, a ban on importing products containing GMOs is being considered. [Pravda]

¶   TEPCO formally revised its groundwater flow simulation and now believes up to 400 tons of contaminated water is seeping into the Pacific every day from the damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. The previous estimate was about 300 tons per day. [MENAFN.COM]

¶   India and the US have reached the first commercial agreement on civilian nuclear power. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and US firm Westinghouse have signed an agreement that will pave the way for setting up an atomic plant in India. [INDOlink]

US:

¶   A defunct Indianapolis mall that was saved from demolition in 2008 to house a data center will soon become a solar farm. New Generation Power of Chicago plans to start work this fall on a 4-megawatt array. The solar panels will offer shaded parking resembling carports. [The Tribune]

¶   The trial to decide whether the Utah state engineer appropriately gave water rights to the Blue Castle Group for a new nuclear power plant wound down yesterday. Now the case awaits a decision from Judge George Harmond within the next 60 days. [Dixie Press Online]

Opinion:

¶   “Small Reactors, Big Hype” Nuclear power proponents pinning their hopes on small modular nuclear reactors to resurrect the industry’s fortunes likely will be disappointed, according to a report released this week by the Union of Concerned Scientists. [LiveScience.com]

¶   “Why Microsoft, eBay (And 650 Other Businesses) Are Calling for U.S. Climate Action” American corporations are combating climate change. In addition to internal strategies on energy use pollution, many are realizing they need to put pressure on legislatures. [Social Enterprise Live]

World:

¶   The German utility lobby group presented its plan for reform of Germany’s electricity sector to the new government, recommending an end to guaranteed feed-in-tariffs for new renewable installations and a decentralized capacity market for conventional power plants. [Platts]

¶   Environmental activists have staged a protest outside the offices of the South African Department of Trade and industry against a proposed coal power station. Greenpeace challenged Minister Rob Davies to reconsider the coal-fired power plant. [News24]

¶   Chubu Electric Power has started work to heighten the breakwater at its Hamaoka nuclear plant by 4 meters to clear a hurdle in its application to restart its reactors. The utility puts the construction costs of the entire breakwater at ¥150 billion ($1.52 billion). [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   The DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory has issued a new report, “Non-Hardware (‘Soft’) Cost-Reduction Roadmap for Residential and Small Commercial Solar Photovoltaics, 2013-2020,” written by NREL and Rocky Mountain Institute. [CIOL]

¶   Solar Gardens, small solar systems shared by a number of households, are becoming increasingly important. While the electricity produced goes into the general power grid, subscribers get breaks on their monthly bills. [Christian Science Monitor]

¶   Power production from renewable sources hit a record Thursday afternoon in San Diego Gas & Electric Co.’s service territory, utility spokeswoman Jennifer Ramp said Friday. About 1,000 MW, nearly a third of the total supply, came from renewable sources such as wind and solar. [U-T San Diego]

¶   Solectria Renewables will install equipment to power a 12.5 MW DC IND Solar Farm at Indianapolis International Airport. The solar farm, the largest powering an airport in the US, is scheduled to be commissioned and deployed in October. [Green Building Elements]

Science and Technology:

¶   A study by the UN’s climate science body published today revised its previous statement that it was 90% certain that global warming experienced since the middle of the last century was the result of human activity to a 95% certainty. [reNews]

World:

¶   Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicts that for the first time the new solar power capacity added to the world’s global energy infrastructure this year will be greater than the new wind capacity. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶   Kuwait will soon be home to a rather large, 280 MW solar thermal power plant — located in Al-Abdaliya, just southwest of the farming region of Kabad. The solar power plant will be Kuwait’s first. Current projections are that the project will cost $3.27 billion. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is providing €5.4m of financing to Teplodar PiVi for a 4.2 MW solar plant in the Odessa region of Ukraine. Ukraine’s government will purchase the generated electricity at a fixed rate until 2030. [NewNet]

¶   The Asian Development Bank will provide $500 million to build a power transmission system needed to deliver clean electricity from wind and solar power projects in Rajasthan to the state and national grids. [NetIndian]

¶   French President Francois Hollande said last week an energy transition law, set to be adopted before the end of next year, will include a cap on nuclear capacity at its current level of 63 GW. Old plants will have to close for new plants to go online. [Reuters]

¶   TEPCO submitted documents to Japan’s nuclear regulator today seeking safety checks on two reactors at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant. The application is a step toward restarting the station, which was idled for maintenance in March 2012. [Bloomberg]

US:

¶   The EPA has recognized Staples, Inc. at the 13th annual Green Power Leadership Awards. Staples was one of only to 21 organizations and three suppliers recognized nationally for their achievements in advancing the nation’s renewable electricity market. [U.S. EPA.gov]

¶   The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, the world’s largest solar thermal plant, has started supplying power to PG&E, which provides power to parts of Northern California. When the plant is fully operational later this year, it will produce 377 megawatts. [IEEE Spectrum]

¶   Legislation introduced in Ohio would effectively gut the state’s renewable energy and energy efficiency standards, increasing dependence on dirty fossil fuels while giving benefits meant for consumers back to the utilities, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. [Union of Concerned Scientists]

¶   An energy analyst who testified on water rights for a proposed Utah nuclear reactor says the plan to build it is a non-starter. “You can’t sell 14-cent power in a market where power costs 8 or 10 cents. That’s why the nuclear renaissance has collapsed.” [Salt Lake Tribune]

¶   Vermont Citizens Action Network says it opposes the 60-year decommissioning time frame that Entergy Vermont Yankee wants to follow. But the group says it may take 20 years or so to dismantle the plant safely. [Vermont Public Radio]

World:

¶   One big decision made in St Petersburg seems to have gone unnoticed. The G20 leaders agreed to phase out “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies, cutting $500 billion each year in government costs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. [CleanTechnica]

¶   NextEra Energy Canada has announced that subsidiary Summerhaven Wind LP has achieved commercial operation at its 124.4 MW Summerhaven Wind Energy Centre. The wind farm, located in Haldimand County, Ontario, comprises 56 turbines. [North American Windpower]

¶   The largest tidal energy project in Europe has been granted permission by the Scottish Government. MeyGen Ltd. has been awarded consent for an 86 MW array, following the completion of the statutory approval process with regulators. [CleanTechies]

¶   Renewable generation in the UK grew by 56% to 12.8 TWh in the second quarter of 2013, setting a record of 15% of all power generation. Wind generation increased by 62%. Solar and wave & tidal each saw a 22% increase while hydro was up 29%. [reNews]

¶   The Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has set a target of generation of 10,000 Megawatt of power through solar energy by the year 2017. The Minister said large tracks of land in Rajasthan, Kargil and Ladakh have immense solar potential. [Northern Voices Online]

¶   The environmental program adopted by Sweden’s Center Party during its convention calls for 100% renewable energy, including use for transportation, within a generation. Nuclear power, uranium mining, oil extraction, and fracking would be banned. [Alaska Dispatch]

¶   Workers at Fukushima Daiichi have spotted a hole in one of the barriers intended to keep radioactive particles contained in the harbor, the operator says. The barrier is a silt fence intended to trap sediment in water before it flows into the sea. [Newstalk ZB]

¶   Japan’s Niigata prefecture, which is home to TEPCO’s largest nuclear power plant, said in a brief statement it will allow the utility to apply for safety approvals with the nuclear regulator. The governor of Niigata has been a vocal opponent of TEPCO. [Reuters]

US:

¶   Vestas has received a 400 MW order from Duke Energy Renewables for two wind-energy projects in Texas. The projects will include 200 2.0 MW turbines combined that will be installed in southern Texas. Commissioning is expected in 2015 and 2016. [Your Renewable News]

¶   Forecasts of doom for the California power grid have been popping up since the state began its aggressive pursuit of more renewable energy. Now, renewable power is at times providing more than one-quarter of a day’s output. But so far, no doom. [EarthTechling]

¶   The argument that renewables are too expensive just lost a lot of credibility. Long Island Power Authority, one of the largest municipal utilities, will save its customers nearly $84 million over the next seven years by increasing renewable generation. [Huffington Post]

¶   Renewable oil and bioproducts company Solazyme has executed a commercial supply agreement with Unilever for algae-based oil. Solazyme specializes in transforming low-cost sugars into high-value oils to replace petroleum-based products. [EcoSeed]

Opinion:

¶   With the German election over, most observers are suggesting that the poll results are positive for Germany’s Energiewende, the ambitious energy transition program that aims to have Europe’s strongest industrial economy powered 50% by renewables by 2030, and 80% by 2050. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Some have premised opposition to a shift toward renewables on the costs associated with such a movement. This assumption, however, may be based on faulty data that do not consider the rapid decline in renewable energy prices over the past decade. [Wall Street Journal]

Science and Technology:

¶   An EU-funded project, “Zinc-air flow batteries for electrical power distribution networks”, is developing a new class electrical energy-storage system with high-energy density, modularity, fast responses and low costs. [Nanowerk]

¶   Engineers at the US government’s National Ignition Facility say that they are getting close to having a fusion power source, thanks to the intensely powerful laser arrays that they are using on-site to trigger the necessary catalyzing force. [Science Recorder]

World:

¶   Toshiba has made its first steps into the wind power generation business by acquiring Sigma Power Janex Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Kyushu-based Janex Co Ltd which operates wind farms in Kyusyu, Japan. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶   A new project in Edinburgh, by a company called Sustainable Renewable Technologies EcoBuild, is a floating village to be powered by solar energy from solar panels on top of the roofs, with warmth is provided by air source heat pumps. [GreenPacks]

¶   The Dingwall Wind Co-op has launched to support the first wind turbine in Scotland that is 100% owned by a co-operative. RM Energy has worked with Knockbain Farm,  to secure planning permission for a single 250 kW turbine and a firm grid connection offer for the project. [reNews]

¶   Speaking at the Labour Party’s annual conference in Brighton the Labour leader pledged to freeze energy prices until 2017 while his Labour colleague, Shadow Energy Secretary Caroline Flint announced a tandem plan to break up the Big Six power companies. [Energy Live News]

¶   In a move likely to evoke sharp reaction from the Opposition, an Indian Cabinet committee cleared a clause diluting the Nuclear Liability Law, paving way for signing of an agreement between Nuclear Power Corporation of India and America’s Westinghouse. [Daily News & Analysis]

¶   In just thirteen hours, 6648 shares of a co-operative wind turbine were sold to 1700 Dutch households at a price of €200 each. This fully funded the 2.0 MW turbine, setting a record for crowdfunding. [Renewable Energy World]

US:

¶   The National Renewable Energy Laboratory produced a series of studies to look at the costs of having high percentages of renewable power on the grid and how they compared to the savings in fuel that doesn’t get burned. The answer: the cost is a tiny fraction of the ultimate savings. [Ars Technica]

¶   Under Gov. Deval Patrick, Massachusetts has risen to become the most energy-efficient state in the U.S., and now Boston has been identified as the most efficient city by the American Council for Energy Efficiency. [GreenBiz.com]

¶   Some utilities are finding ways to embrace the trend toward distributed, renewable power put on the grid. There are plenty of examples, and just as many reasons. [SustainableBusiness.com]

¶   The owners of Vermont Yankee nuclear plant have taken the first of two formal notification steps to let the NRC know the plant is shutting down. An Entergy Corp. executive wrote to the NRC to submit notification of intent to shut the Vernon reactor down in the fourth quarter of next year. [Businessweek]

¶   The ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 plant is a sign that the world needs to seriously rethink nuclear safety and consider possibly ending its dependence on atomic power, the former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday in Tokyo. [The Japan Times]

¶   The closing of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant at the end of next year will leave the state with an $11 million dollar gap in tax revenues. But some politicians — including Gov. Peter Shumlin — are talking about a fee or tax on the storage of high-level nuclear waste in Vermont. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

¶   Nearly three-quarters of the concerns keeping the Fort Calhoun nuclear plant offline have been resolved, but it’s still not clear when it could restart. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission provided an update on the plant Tuesday ahead of a public meeting. [Lincoln Journal Star]

Opinion:

¶   “Policy Blueprint for a Renewable Energy Future: America’s Power Plan” There is a deep irony at work in the intersection of energy and the environment. The biggest threat to our planet is climate change, but renewable energy to solve the problem needs large amounts of land. [Today’s Energy Solutions]

¶   “Why Are We Still Propping Up Fossil Fuels?” There are many misconceptions out there about renewable energy, but probably the biggest is that there is something inherent to renewable energy that makes it flimsy, unreliable, anemic and generally inferior to fossil fuels. [Wall Street Journal]

Science and Technology:

¶   Soitec, a leader in concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) efficiency and commercial development, this month announced that it had set a 31.8% CPV commercial module efficiency record. The new module is already in commercial production. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Today, the vast majority of plastics are still made using non-renewable fossil fuels, especially petroleum. With concerns about environmental impact and climate change increasing, some researchers have begun to look for alternatives. [Phys.Org]

World:

¶   Angela Merkel solidified her grip on power in Germany while losing her junior coalition party. Although an unlikely prospect, a CDU-Green team-up would likely prove the best option for Germany’s solar industry. [pv magazine]

¶   Former NRC chairman Jaczko, invited to Tokyo by a Japanese anti-nuclear citizen’s group, said the leaks of contaminated water at Fukushima Daiichi had been known since early in the crisis, and have worsened only because the Japanese government TEPCO acted too slowly. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   The Massachusetts clean energy industry kept booming this year, increasing green jobs by 11.8% from 2012 to 2013, according to the 2013 Massachusetts Clean Energy Industry Report. The state now has nearly 80,000 clean energy jobs. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The largest utilities in Massachusetts have signed long-term contracts to buy wind-generated electricity at prices below the cost of most other sources, including coal and nuclear, administration officials announced yesterday. [Concord Monitor]

¶   U.S. pellet producers, land owners and other forestry organizations are heeding the call of international customers and local citizens to demonstrate how the pellet industry is addressing sustainable land management concerns. [Biomass Magazine]

¶   In Arizona, utility APS has an office dedicated to monitoring solar power in real time. As plants get bigger and provide energy to more customers, the up-to-the-minute information the Solar Monitoring Room offers becomes more crucial every day. [Cronkite News]

¶   The California Public Utilities Commission has issued proposals denying reimbursement to the owners of the San Onofre nuclear plant for replacement power they bought while the plant was temporarily shutdown for a year and a half. This would leave ratepayers off the hook. [89.3 KPCC]

¶   The National Academy of Sciences announced Monday that it has started planning for a pilot study of cancer risks around a nuclear fuel facility and six nuclear power plants, including the Millstone Power Station in Waterford, Connecticut. [TheDay.com]

¶   The owners of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant formally notified the NRC that the plant is shutting down. An Entergy Corp. executive wrote to the NRC on Monday to submit formal notification of intent to shut the Vernon reactor down in the fourth quarter of next year. [The Republic]

Opinion:

¶   “New York Times Gets Big, Red ‘F’ On Germany’s Renewable Energy Transition” The New York Times has gone and published a horrible (horrible!), myth-filled article on Germany’s renewable energy transition. It needs to be dealt with. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   India will build the world’s largest solar project in the western state of Rajasthan. The project will have a capacity of 4,000 MW. [SahilOnline]

¶   The world’s largest solar park in Rajasthan is just a small part of bigger plan of the Prime Minister’s Office, to target the arid regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat to produce 300,000 MW electricity — about the amount India consumed in 2012 — over the next decade. [Indian Express]

¶   The town assembly of Namie, abandoned after the Fukushima Disaster, voted unanimously to protest Prime Minister Abe’s global promise that the situation of the crippled plant was “under control.” The protest statement said “Members of the town cannot help feeling furious…”[Bangkok Post]

US:

¶   Under its new solar and wind deals, Connecticut is going to get a whole lot more renewable energy, and in line with the falling costs for wind and solar that have been happening lately, the state is not going to have to pay a whole lot for it. [EarthTechling]

¶   Michigan is on track to meet its 2015 renewable energy mandate but is capable of more, according to a draft report from the state. The findings are part of a research effort studying whether to require expanded use of wind, sun and other renewable sources. [CBS Local]

¶   The US EPA reported a record pace for year-to-date production of biodiesel. During August, there were 148 million gallons of biodiesel and 30 million of renewable diesel produced, for a total of over a billion gallons for the year, and setting a new record. [The Gazette: Eastern Iowa Breaking News and Headlines]

¶   The Fort Calhoun nuclear plant is a step closer to restarting after being idle for over two years. NRC inspectors have cleared a major violation related to the plant’s flood preparedness. It’s the fifth item cleared on an 18-item checklist the plant must address to be restarted. [Omaha World-Herald]

World:

¶   India has offered Cuba lines of credit and expertise for developing renewable energy projects, as the Caribbean nation seeks to diversify energy mix for reducing its dependence on oil imports. [Cuba Headlines]

¶   The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has decided to call for storing high-level radioactive waste in ways that make it accessible in the future, instead of the burying it underground for good, according to informed sources. [The Japan Times]

¶   France will introduce a carbon levy and a law to cap nuclear-power capacity next year under plans to boost renewable generation that will cost about €20 billion ($27 billion) a year, according to President Francois Hollande. [Businessweek]

¶   Britain’s nuclear prospects received a boost yesterday after details of a multi-million pound deal emerged. Westinghouse, which is owned by Toshiba, is preparing to buy into one of the consortia looking to build reactors in the UK. [This is Money]

¶   Five loose bolts discovered on the bottom of a storage tank are believed to be the cause of the leak of 300 tons of radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, TEPCO said on September 20. [Asahi Shimbun]

¶   Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is considering a plan that would give the government sole responsibility for containing and cleaning up contamination from Fukushima Daiichi, allowing TEPCO to focus its dwindling resources more efficiently on decommissioning the facility. [Wall Street Journal]

US:

¶   The US DOE has issued a new report, “Revolution Now – The Future Arrives for Four Clean Energy Technologies.” The study says costs for wind and solar power and clean energy technologies, such as LED lights and electric vehicles, have dropped their deployment has soared, leading to an active historic shift. [Main Line]

¶   Preliminary construction work is speeding up at the site of a proposed $350 million tires-to-energy plant in Crawford County, Pennsylvania after a settlement in a longstanding legal dispute. Major work on the Crawford Renewable Energy plant is expected to being in 2014. [WCN]

¶   Vestas announced today it has received another large North American order. This one is for 30 wind turbines that would generate 60 megawatts from affiliates of Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. Vestas could ultimately supply RES Americas up to 610 MW overall. [My Windsor Now]

¶   The governor of Connecticut announced that two renewable energy projects have signed long-term contracts to provide the state with power. One is a wind farm in Maine; the other is a solar farm in Connecticut. [Mondaq News Alerts]

¶   The US EPA proposed rules that aim to reduce carbon emissions from new coal and natural gas power plants. The agency revised a proposal made last year after getting public comments and power industry reactions. The new proposal sets different limits for coal and natural gas plants. [Forbes]

¶   A few months from now, a source of uranium that the U.S. has relied upon for 20 years will dry up. Russia will end a 20-year treaty to supply uranium, and once this enormous foreign supply dries up, US nuclear reactors will need to find a new source to keep up with demand. [NASDAQ]

¶   Small cracks found in the shield building at the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant in Ohio pose no danger to the integrity or ability of the structure to operate, according to the plant’s owner FirstEnergy Corp. The cracks had been invisible to previous inspection technology. [Reuters]

Opinion:

¶   A current analysis of proposals to reform the Energiewende shows that all of current ideas floated by politicians would hinder the country’s energy transition at the grass-roots level while making institutional investors the real beneficiaries. [pv magazine]

World:

¶   Ireland’s first renewable biomass electricity plant is set to convert straw into electricity starting 2015. Irish renewable company Biotricity Ltd. is set to begin construction on their 16 megawatt Rhode, Co. Offaly biomass plant in the Irish midlands. [EcoSeed]

¶   The UK government’s energy policy is under attack from one of its biggest political donors, who accuses it of squandering an opportunity to create thousands of jobs and billions in revenue by scaring off potential investors in the UK wind energy industry. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶   Naftna Industrija Srbije has kicked off construction on the 102 MW Plandiste wind farm in Serbia. The 34-turbine project some 70 km north-east of Belgrade is being developed by NIS in a joint venture with private investors and is expected to cost €160 million. [reNews]

¶   European Union regulators are considering doubling the bloc’s target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and setting a tougher binding goal for renewable energy use, EU sources said. A firm legislative proposal is expected around the end of the year. [eco-business.com]

¶   A moderately strong earthquake hit northern Japan early Friday in the region of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, but there was no immediate damage to the crippled facility and no reports of other damage in the area. [Wall Street Journal]

¶   Ahead of the Manmohan Singh-Barack Obama meeting in the US on September 27, the Indian government has clarified that any contract signed between the two countries will be fully consistent with Indian law. [Daily Mail]

¶   The president of TEPCO said that the company is seeking a budget of ¥1 trillion ($10.05 billion) to complete the dismantling of the damaged reactors at Fukushima Daiichi, according to the Nikkei. [The Japan Daily Press]

¶   Prime Minister Abe’s plant tour and his attempts to show the government taking control of the radiation-contaminated water problem at Fukushima Daiichi only left the workers at the crippled nuclear plant and residents in the surrounding communities angry. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   Solar Thin Films has signed a contract to design, supply and build three solar plants totaling up to 40 MW in West Virginia. The deal with Tri-State Solar covers schemes of 8 MW to 10 MW in Crawley and Fayetteville, plus a project of 15 MW to 20 MW in Alderson. [reNews]

¶   Five Washington DC Council members, led by Chairman Phil Mendelson, have introduced legislation requiring DC retirement and life insurance funds to pull their money from corporations that are sitting on fountains of fossil fuel reserves. [Washington Business Journal]

Opinion:

¶   “Will the Rise of Distributed Energy Spell the End for Traditional Utilities?” Increases in environmental regulation, new demand-side technology, and the rise of distributed energy resource systems are giving old-style utilities problems. [PennEnergy]

World:

¶   The number of jobs in the wind and marine energy industries has increased by 74% since 2010, according to a new study from Renewable UK. The offshore wind sector saw the biggest growth over this period. [Utility Week]

¶   Two years ago US experts urged Japanese authorities to take immediate steps to prevent groundwater contamination at Fukushima Daiichi. They decided against the advice because it would frighten investors, and now they are struggling with the problem. [The West Australian]

¶   Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has ordered the decommissioning of the intact No. 5 and No. 6 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. His decision follows groundwater contamination from damaged reactors. [Deutsche Welle]

¶   Ahead of Prime Minister’s visit to the US, a controversy has broken out over the nuclear liability law with reports suggesting that an agreement will be signed which may not be in tune with the law. [Times of India]

US:

¶   Energy Capital Group is laying the groundwork for the 300 MW ECG Utah Solar 1 plant in the state’s Millard County. The $600m scheme will cover 1754 acres leased from the Utah School and Institutional Trust Land Administration. [reNews]

¶   GM has unveiled a massive expansion of its Global Battery Systems Laboratory, tripling the facility’s size and making it the largest battery lab in North America owned and operated by an auto manufacturer. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A paper in the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, which includes government estimates for costs of environmental and health effects in the calculations, shows wind and solar power are now less expensive than fossil fuels and nuclear. [EarthTechling]

¶   Environmental controls designed to prevent leaks of methane from newly drilled natural gas wells are effective, a study has found — but emissions from existing wells in production are much higher than previously believed. [Scientific American]

¶   Republicans and some Democrats criticised Ron Binz in a hearing on his nomination to lead a key US energy regulatory agency because his views support renewable sources like wind over coal and natural gas. He had said natural gas is a “dead-end” energy source. [Business Spectator]

¶   State regulators approved a request by South Carolina Electric and Gas to increase its electric rates by about 3%, a move that would help pay the costs of building two new nuclear reactors. SCE&G, which will is funding 55% of the roughly $10 billion project. [Aiken Standard]

Science and Technology:

¶   Just as wind turbines tap into the energy of flowing air to generate electricity, hydrokinetic devices produce power from moving masses of water. A new system consists of a string of submerged blades or sails, connected by cables, angled into the oncoming current. [Science World Report]

¶   Researchers at ETH Zürich have developed an internal combustion engine that emits less than half the CO2 compared to a regular engine without compromising performance. It is a natural gas/diesel hybrid with fuel consumption equivalent to less than 118 mpg. [Science World Report]

World:

¶   The UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change expects renewable energy to increase to meet over 37% of the nation’s electricity demand by 2022, in its latest annual energy and emissions projections. [solarserver.com]

¶   The financing for a 150 MW Ontario wind power project has been completed by Samsung Renewable Energy and Pattern Energy Group. The Grand Renewable Wind Project will produce enough renewable energy for around 50,000 Ontario homes. [EcoSeed]

¶   India’s plans to harness its abundant solar energy and cut emissions appear to be coming into the daylight. Solar-powered air-conditioned coaches and Asia’s largest single-location solar power plant are just a beginning. [MENAFN.COM]

¶   ABB has successfully commissioned the subsea transmission link connecting one of the largest offshore wind farms in Europe to the Belgian grid on schedule. The transmission link has an overall capacity to 325 MW. [Your Renewable News]

¶   Japanese authorities say they’ve managed to deal with over a thousand tons of rainwater at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. The rainwater accumulated in a concrete dike around the hundreds of storage tanks brought on by tropical storm Man-yi. [CRIENGLISH.com]

US:

¶   Google has signed a deal to purchase all the energy from a wind farm in Texas, as it continues to move to power all its operations using renewable energy. The deal is a 20-year power purchase agreement to buy the entire output of a 240 MW wind farm near Amarillo. [Business Green]

¶   The United States Army has awarded Chicago-based New Generation Power Inc. a contract to develop geothermal power generation projects for Department of Defense installation. [EcoSeed]

¶   A report from the American Council on Renewable Energy on renewable power in the US western region says that the 13 Western states produced almost a third of their total energy from renewable sources, compared to around an eighth for the nation as a whole. [Business Green]

¶   A joint agreement between the Russian and U.S. governments lays the groundwork for bilateral cooperation on nuclear energy, the US Energy Department said. Energy Secretary Moniz met his Russian counterpart during the IAEA conference in Vienna to sign the deal. [United Press International, Asia]

Opinion:

¶   “Utilities shocked to find they are already dead” For utilities in the US, changes to the business model to adapt to distributed power are imminent, but the change is 20 years too late, and many utilities (and their ratepayers) are already screwed. [RenewEconomy]

¶   “Utility companies: has their business model become redundant?” Utilities in the UK, with ageing nuclear and coal plants coming offline, must make massive investments. Meanwhile, environmental legislation, energy efficiency, and distributed renewable generation undermine them. [The Guardian]

World:

¶   Societe Generale cut its estimates for German forward power prices from the €44/MWh estimate last March to €39/MWh, despite a recent surge to five-month highs. They say renewable energy generation and efficiency measures were advancing and Europe’s economic outlook is subdued. [Business Spectator]

¶   Solar panels will be installed in sixteen Wellington, New Zealand schools over the next three years under a joint venture between Wellington City Council and Genesis Energy. Wellington is very well known for its renewable wind energy and seeks to make use of its outstanding sunshine hours. [Voxy]

¶   Japan’s Trade and Industry Minister said that the government is looking into the possibility of lowering the country’s dependence on nuclear power. The trade minister said that they will still be maintaining the technology and personnel because they are still needed to contribute to the world. [The Japan Daily Press]

¶   TEPCO said on Tuesday that it dumped more than 1,000 tons of polluted water into the sea after a typhoon raked the Fukushima Daiichi facility, swamping enclosure walls around clusters of water tanks containing toxic water that was used to cool broken reactors. [Independent Online]

US:

¶   California is about to get four important new laws; two on renewables and two on electric vehicles. Two provide a shared renewable energy that everyone to get access and give utilities revenue to eliminate a cap on net metering. The others ease permitting and access for charging stations. [SustainableBusiness.com]

¶   Scientists and business leaders from the Far East are in Maine this week to talk about the worldwide progress being made in harnessing tidal power. About 11 people from Japan are among those attending the University of Maine’s second annual Marine Energy International Symposium. [WLBZ-TV]

¶   Duke Energy’s Texas-based Notrees Battery Storage Project has been honored with an innovation award at the 2013 Energy Storage North America Conference and Expo in San Jose. The project’s 36 MW advanced lead-acid battery helps smooth output from Notrees 153 MW Wind Power Project. [SmartMeters]

¶   Over 100 environmental organizations today called on US EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to withdraw EPA’s controversial new Protective Action Guides, which would allow exposure to very high doses from radiation releases before government would take action to protect the public. [eNews Park Forest]

Science and Technology:

¶   A new study appears to back up the idea that building more wind power in order to meet peak demand – even if the turbines sometimes produce more energy than the grid needs – could be a better strategy than spending resources on trying to store the energy in batteries. [EarthTechling]

World:

¶   New research conducted by NPD Solarbuzz shows that Japanese solar PV installations have now passed 10 GW for cumulative PV capacity, only the fifth country to reach the mark. Two other countries reached the milestone within the past few months, highlighting Japan’s achievement. [Energy Collective]

¶   The European Parliament is capping the use of food-based biofuels to counter concerns over the energy source’s ethical and environmental sustainability. Parliament voted to lower the amount of fuel that must come from renewable sources by 2020 from 10% to 6%. [Las Vegas Sun]

¶   At the recent G-20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, world leaders took two steps toward mitigating climate change. The leaders agreed in principle to phase out fossil-fuel subsidies and the use of hydrofluorocarbons. [Green Car Reports]

¶   The Jamaica Public Service company has signed one of its first major agreements with the American company, WindStream Technologies, to bring some 1,000 SolarMills into the island by October. SolarMills harness both wind and solar power. [Stabroek News]

¶   The European Investment Bank has shown its willingness to invest €100 million for the construction of a 128 MW hydropower project in Pakistan. During a meeting with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, the EU ambassador said the EU supported Pakistan’s energy policies. [DAWN.com]

¶   Japan is shutting down its last functioning nuclear reactor, with no timetable for a restart. Reactor 4 at Ohi in western Japan will stop generating electricity in the early hours of Monday. Analysts say Japan will be without nuclear power until December at the earliest. [BBC News]

US:

¶   Connecticut’s renewable energy industry is doing well despite a lack of support from within the government. The state is playing catchup, however, as other states are moving faster. [Danbury News Times]

¶   Formed just five years ago, Element Power has successfully developed over 430 MWs of renewable energy projects that are now in construction or operation. The company develops both wind and solar projects in the US, Latin America and Europe. [CIOL]

World:

¶   Citibank has released an interesting report, The Unimaginable: Peak Coal in China – referring to peak demand rather than any supply driven peak. The limit to coal use appears to be how much pollution the Chinese population is willing to tolerate. [Resilience]

¶   Tanzania received endorsement from the Climate Investment Fund of an investment plan to scale-up the development of its abundant renewable resources. The plan is designed to shift the country from its increasing dependence on fossil fuels to an energy mix including geothermal and solar resources. [IPPmedia]

¶   Solar energy has become so popular in Bangladesh that a total of two million Solar Home Systems and one million Improved Cook Stoves have already been installed in different parts of Bangladesh. It is particularly of great importance in remote areas. [Financial Express Bangladesh]

¶   Harvest Power, officially launched its Energy Garden in British Columbia, the largest commercial-scale high solids anaerobic digester in North America. The Energy Garden is located in Richmond, BC and has the capacity to convert 40,000 tonnes of food and yard waste annually into clean energy and compost. [HispanicBusiness.com]

¶   After Prime Minister Abe assured an international audience that the radioactive water problem at Fukushima Daiichi is under control, a TEPCO technology specialist contradicted him. Now the Japanese government would lead us to believe they were talking about different things. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   Just when it seemed like the outlook for renewables in California couldn’t get any brighter, the state legislature has passed a bill that will open up access to the 75% of its residents unable to install clean energy on their property. The bill now heads to Governor Jerry Brown for signature into law. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Components for the Vestas Wind Systems turbines to be supplied under an agreement announced yesterday with EDF will be manufactured at Vestas plants in Colorado. The agreement covers up to 750 MW of turbines for multiple EDF Renewable Energy US projects beginning construction in 2013. [Denver Post]

¶   New York state environmental regulations may force Entergy Corp to shut its Indian Point nuclear power plant by 2018, according to a report from US financial firm Morgan Stanley. They believe New York will require new cooling towers, and the company will close the plant instead of building them. [Reuters]

Opinion:

¶   “The next Solyndra? $8 billion U.S. loan guarantee for Vogtle nuclear reactors too risky” Think what you want about nuclear power. If you are a taxpayer, that debate may be less relevant than the one aimed right at your pocketbook. [Clean Energy News]

World:

¶   Vestas will be providing 14 of the company’s 3.0 MW wind turbines to Bordelum III GmbH & Co., a citizen-owned wind power plant in northern Germany. Over a third of the 2000 residents of Bordelum invested in the project, showing the high level of support of renewable energy. [EcoSeed]

¶   The Chinese Nuclear Society announced at its annual meeting that in 2012 nuclear power produced 98 billion kWh, only 2% of the country’s whole electricity output, lower than the global average of 15% of the gross power generation for countries with nuclear power. [Global Times]

¶   A senior official of the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Sept. 13 disputed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s assertion to International Olympic Committee members that the Fukushima crisis is under control, which helped Tokyo land the 2020 Summer Games. [Asahi Shimbun]

¶   TEPCO, the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, announced on Friday that the tritium levels in the groundwater near the tanks have reached their highest level so far, at 97,000 becquerels per liter on Wednesday from the 64,000 measured the day before. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   A collaborative research effort on plug-in electric vehicles was announced September 11 at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The laboratory, the Department of Energy, and Toyota will research integrating plug-in electric vehicles into the power grid. [Electric Light & Power]

¶   EDF, the French energy company, has signed a supply agreement with Vestas for the purchase of the turbines totaling 80 MW for US projects. The utility has also signed a 200 MW deal with GE for a project in Texas, although the project names and locations were not disclosed. [Windpower Monthly]

¶   In a visit to the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Energy Secretary Moniz laid out the mission of DOE, under his reign, highlighting four key technologies to save energy and reduce carbon emissions: wind, photovoltaic solar, LED lighting, and batteries for EVs. [Energy Manager Today]

¶   California has become the largest solar energy market in the country thanks in part to its incentives for putting solar panels on the roofs of homes and businesses. Now it’s also leading the way in installing projects that rely less on government subsidies. [Forbes]

¶   Vermont Governor Shumlin announced that Bennington’s state office complex would be one of ten state facilities throughout Vermont participating in a renewable energy initiative. The complex was chosen based on its existing energy efficiency. It has the possibility of becoming a “net zero” facility. [Bennington Banner]

¶   EDF Renewable Energy has announced it has closed on the membership interest purchase agreement to acquire the Heartland Biogas Project in Nevada. The 20 MW-equivalent renewable natural gas facility should begin to deliver biogas by the end of first quarter 2014. [Biomass Magazine]

¶   A new Civil Society Institute report says power from coal, nuclear, natural gas and hydro are all struggling with supplies of water that diminish as the climate changes. The US needs to start planning to take water use into account, not just energy production. [PR Newswire]

Science and Technology:

¶   There are times when solar and wind farms generate more electricity than is needed by consumers. Storing that surplus energy in batteries for later use seems like an obvious solution, but a new study from Stanford University suggests that might not always be the case. [Daily Fusion]

¶   Pandas may hold the key to efficiently and cheaply turning plants into renewable energy — in their feces. Microbes in panda feces might turn out to be a solution to the search for sustainable new sources of energy. [The Week Magazine]

Economics and Finance:

¶   Uranium prices are at their lowest level in nearly eight years, as investors and utilities give up hopes for a quick revival for nuclear power. The market for the radioactive fuel hasn’t recovered from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi power plant. [The Australian]

¶   The levelized cost of electricity from wind and solar sources in America has fallen by more than 50% over the past four years, according to Lazard’s Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis 7.0, recently released by global financial advisor and asset manager firm Lazard Freres & Co. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   Scotland’s strategy for renewable energy is clear but achieving goals will be challenging, according to Audit Scotland. A new report highlights strong leadership from the Scottish government and its investment of £209 million in the renewables sector success factors. [reNews]
… Audit Scotland also says the country’s ambitious vision of meeting all demand for electricity with green energy by 2020 is being seriously undermined by the current economic climate and changes in UK energy policy. [Herald Scotland]

¶   The Clean Energy Finance Corporation, set to be scrapped by Australia’s incoming Coalition government, has issued a loan to Pacific Hydro to build the final stage of its Portland wind farm in what is likely to be among the bank’s final deals. [WA today]

¶   The European Parliament voted on draft legislation Sept. 11, calling for a cap on first-generation biofuels and a swift transition second-generation renewable fuels. The Renewable Energy Association said the series of tight votes will prolong instability in biofuel policy. [Biomass Magazine]

¶   De Aar Solar Power has wrapped up module installation at a 50 MW PV plant in South Africa’s Northern Cape. More than 167,000 units have been installed at the site in the past five months and during the peak construction period up to 3000 modules went up per day. [reNews]

¶   Vattenfall is opening the Zuidlob wind farm in the central part of the Netherlands. With its 36 turbines and a total of 122 MW of installed capacity, it will be Vattenfall’s largest onshore wind farm and will supply 88,000 households with renewable electricity annually. [The Swedish Wire]

¶   China will aim to cut total coal consumption to below 65 per cent of total primary energy use by 2017 as part of a comprehensive new plan to tackle air pollution, the government said today. Coal consumption accounted for 66.8 per cent of total use in 2002. [Business Spectator]

¶   A report from two environmental groups argues that declining power consumption in Ontario means that new nuclear reactors are not needed in the province. The Pembina Institute and Greenpeace say that conservation and renewables will answer the province’s energy needs. [durhamregion.com]

US:

¶   South Carolina state-owned utility Santee Cooper became the first electricity producer the state to approve a solar pilot project aimed at putting added power on its grid. The utility will purchase up to 3 megawatts of renewable electricity from a solar farm to be constructed in Colleton County. [RenewablesBiz]

¶   New York Governor Cuomo has asked the Public Service Commission to release $165.6 million as seed money for the NY Green Bank, which will be used to encourage private lenders to support renewable energy projects in the state. [SustainableBusiness.com]

¶   Some Massachusetts lawmakers want the state to join a growing national movement that is pressuring institutional investors like pension funds and university endowments to divest holdings in companies that produce, distribute, and support fossil fuels as a way to fight climate change. [Boston.com]