geoharvey

Opinion:

¶   “Even under Abbott, coal generation has no future” Coal-fired electricity may have little or no economic future in Australia, a new analysis has found. Even while the new government seems determined to turn its back on renewable energy, coal may not be able to compete with it. [RenewEconomy]

World:

¶   The main German political parties have recently clarified their positions on the future of feed-in tariffs and renewable energy in advance of federal elections to be held on September 22nd, 2013. [solarserver.com]

¶   According to a new report from GlobalData, the global market for high voltage grid connections could grow more than 10 fold over the next seven years to reach nearly $90 billion a year, as a result of the booming market for renewable energy. [Business Green]

¶   Germany’s mainstream power sector, needing a stable source of renewable electricity, backed its wind power rivals in saying that development of offshore wind will halt unless it gets fast assurances on future earnings potential. [Reuters]

¶   Adding the new material Proinso delivered in the first half of 2013, which amounts to 27.1 MW, the company has totaled 62.3 MW in PV products supplied in India. Proinso has had a branch in India since 2012 and has 109 members in its International Network of Qualified Installers. [Solar Plaza]

¶   Ontario will start paying wind power generators today not to produce electricity when the surplus cannot be used or sold, but the move will actually save ratepayers money. The province imported $500 million worth of power in 2003, but now wind power helps it export up to $6 billion worth. [570 News]

¶   The true raw material footprint of the world’s leading economies has been revealed thanks to new research — and the findings don’t bode well, the amount of raw materials necessary to sustain the economies of the developed world is considerably greater than previously thought. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The leader of Sweden’s Social Democratic Party, Stefan Löfven, was previously a strong supporter of nuclear power in his role as chairman of the IF Metall trade union. However, since becoming the leader of the opposition last year, Löfven has changed his stance on the issue.  [The Local.se]

¶   The operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant said levels of tritium – considered one of the least harmful radioactive elements – spiked more than 15 times in groundwater near a leaked tank at the facility over three days this week. [Reuters UK]

US:

¶   Nearly 100 organizations and businesses have urged the EIA to reconsider how it develops its renewable energy forecasts. It noted, for example, the that the EIA’s projected renewable energy resources for 2040 had already been achieved in 2013, according to EIA’s own data. [Sustainable Industries]

¶   The US biodiesel industry appears headed toward another banner year, driven in large part by a $1-per-gallon production tax credit through the end of 2013. Biodiesel production for the month of July reached 132 million gallons and year-to-date volume is at more than 768 million gallons. [Agri-Pulse]

¶   Eagle Creek Renewable Energy has completed the purchase of 10 hydroelectric facilities in the north-east of New Jersey from Algonquin Power. The facilities have a total capacity of around 29 MW and will be integrated with Eagle Creek’s existing hydroelectric plants in New York. [reNews]

¶   The US army has handed deals to 17 wind developers in the latest phase of its $7 billion renewable energy drive. The Multiple Award Task Order Contracts will be used to procure reliable, locally generated, renewable and alternative energy for DOD installations. [reNews]

¶   Mounting evidence of water contamination, air pollution and even earthquakes has been piling on fracking, while state and federal agencies have been scrambling to develop a platform for managing future impacts. They have been left in the dust because of regulatory loopholes. [Energy Collective]

¶   The head of the NRC told lawmakers Tuesday that it was too early to tell whether her agency could finish a safety review of Yucca Mountain because the NRC was still trying to determine whether it had enough money to complete the safety analysis. [Wall Street Journal]

Opinion:

¶   “We’ll see energy revolution to the end” Thomas Grigoleit director of renewable energies at the government-backed development agency, Germany Trade and Invest, argues that the Energiewende has already had several successes and will make Germany even stronger. [The Local.de]

¶   “Nuclear Energy Survives Only on the Basis of Faulty Risk Assessment” Nuclear power survives on empty promises and false hopes fed by our inability to effectively evaluate risk. We are lulled by long periods of stability and safe operation, and shocked by catastrophe that should be anticipated. [Huffington Post]

World:

¶   In the UK, community owned energy could grow by 89 times its current size if the right national and local policies are put in place, according to a report by the think-tank ResPublica. It could reach a capacity of 550 MW by 2020. [Utility Week]

¶   Using only one fifth of the wind energy available in the world, mankind can increase the amount of the consumed electricity seven-fold. Development of more efficient wind turbines and systems for accumulation and transfer of energy moves the world towards new electrification of the economy. [Pravda]

¶   Neste Oil Oyj, the best-performing major European energy stock, jumped to its highest since July 2008 in Helsinki trading after saying full-year earnings will exceed analyst estimates as renewable-fuel sales gain. [Businessweek]

¶   The 75 MW Kalkbult solar plant has become the first PV project under South Africa’s renewable energy programme to be connected to the grid. The project finished three months ahead of schedule, becoming the first of the 18 PV current projects to go online. [PV-Tech]

¶   The UK Government has been saying that because eight large nuclear stations are scheduled to close over the next ten years, they need urgently to build some new ones. Yet EDF, the French company that bought the eight nuclear stations in 2009, has no intention of closing any of them. [The Daily Climate]

¶   Russia is hiking the price of four nuclear reactors it is selling India under an agreement struck in 2008, worried that the liability regime Parliament approved in 2010 could mean Moscow has unlimited financial exposure in case of accidents. [Calcutta Telegraph]

¶   Japanese prosecutors have decided not to indict former officials of TEPCO over their roles in the accident at Fukushima Daiichi in March 2011, according to Japan’s public broadcaster. Naoto Kan, who was prime minister at the time, will also not be prosecuted. [New York Times]

US:

¶   National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corp., along with Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange and the National Renewables Cooperative Organization launched a pilot program Sept. 5 to streamline solar energy project development in a cost-effective way. [Electric Co-op Today]

¶   The National Farmers Union Board of Directors has unanimously passed a resolution indicating the obligation of Congress to provide continuing to support Country-of-Origin Labeling and the Renewable Fuel Standard. [ThePigSite.com]

¶   Hawaii, which is currently generating nearly 14% of its electricity from renewable sources and well on its way to achieving 40% clean energy by 2030, is projecting to eclipse 40% and is looking to set a new goal. [Pacific Business News (Honolulu)]

¶   The Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) has announced steps to enable more rooftop solar systems to connect to the grid. The Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Inc. commends HECO’s announcement and its path-charting model for renewable energy integration. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   The NRC will hold a series of 12 meetings this fall to discuss the fate of spent nuclear fuel that could be left behind after commercial power reactors are shut down and closed. The meetings are part of the process of dealing with what is called the “waste confidence rule.” [The Augusta Chronicle]

¶   A series of mechanical difficulties at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station has kept the plant from operating at peak for more than two weeks. Now Pilgrim is completely off the electric grid, shut down Sunday evening because of a steam leak in a pipe supplying hot water to the nuclear reactor. [Capecodonline]

Science and Technology:

¶   Dr. David MacKay, Professor of Physics at Cambridge University, has published a book called Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air, in which he gives a thorough and critical analysis of the feasibility of a post-fossil fuel world. (It will not be easy, but we can and need to.) [ENGINEERING.com]

World:

¶   An Asian Center of Excellence for Smart Grid and Renewable Energy Management has been opened by the DNV KEMA Clean Technology Center in Singapore to provide advisory services on the technical and business aspects of smart grids. [Metering International]

¶   Alstom signed a €25 million contract with Enerplan, a Brazilian power company, to supply wind turbines to the Pontal wind project in the South of Brazil. The equipment will be installed in a new wind farm located in Viamão, city of Rio Grande do Sul State. [Your Renewable News]

¶   The annual rate of China’s idled wind capacity may fall to 12% this year from 17% in 2012, as investments in new wind farms slowed and developments shifted to areas with better grid access, aiding operators such as China Longyuan Power Group Corp. [Businessweek]

¶   According to Meed Insight’s Mena Renewables Status Report 2013, more than 100 renewable energy projects including solar, wind and biomass are currently under development in the Middle East-North Africa region, which has had 40% year-on-year growth. [MENAFN.COM]

¶   The wind energy sector is probably the biggest and most immediate loser from the Australian election bringing Tony Abbott to power. It has been at a virtual standstill for months because utilities and bankers were mindful of a likely Coalition win. [RenewEconomy]

¶   China used subsidies and $47.5 billion of credit to wrest supremacy in manufacture of PVs from Germany, Japan, and the US. The result is that the industry has been saddled with losses for at least two years. Most of the businesses that started up have been closed. [Bloomberg]

¶   Radioactive contamination worries at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant did not stop Tokyo from being chosen as the host of the 2020 Olympics, as many had feared. But even as Tokyo celebrates, the worries at Fukushima continue. [Wall Street Journal]

US:

¶   A pilot project that converts methane, carbon dioxide and other trace elements from an Ohio landfill into burnable natural gas that can be sold to customers is helping Detroit-based DTE Energy Co. inch closer to its state-mandated renewable energy goals. [Crain’s Detroit Business]

¶   The clean energy and clean transportation sectors created 38,600 jobs during the second quarter of this year, according to a recent report published by Environmental Entrepreneurs. This includes jobs in energy, transportation, the power grid, and energy efficiency. [Earth911.com]

Opinion:

¶   “Don’t worry: Team Abe is tackling the nuclear crisis at Fukushima” After spending its eight months in power studiously averting its eyes from the gathering troubles at Fukushima, Team Abe is now on the job, reassuring people that everything is under control. [The Japan Times]

Science and Technology:

¶   One potential source of renewable energy that has been gaining interest is the Piezoelectric Technology. It generates power from the electromagnetic properties of some minerals when they are put under stress or pressure. [EcoChunk]

Finance:

¶   Thanks to falling costs in solar-panel production, solar power in California has fallen from 25-30¢ per kWh to about 10¢. Renewable profit margins are improving, sparking investor interest in wind and solar. [The News-Press]

World:

¶   Oil producing and exporting countries are advised to use renewable energy, especially wind and solar not only to their environmental and economic advantages but to limit the internal consumption of oil and gas and preserve its export potential. [gulfnews.com]

¶   While Australia’s mining companies are no doubt delighted by Abbot’s election victory over the weekend, a Coalition government is likely to hamper the development prospects of the renewable energy sector. [Sourceable]

¶   Under plans currently being discussed by the UK and Icelandic governments, Iceland would provide the UK with renewable electricity at a cheaper cost than offshore wind. The plans being discussed by the two governments concern a 1,000 km undersea cable with a capacity of 1 GW. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶   Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm located off the eastern coast of the country near Anholt has been officially opened. The wind farm consists of 111 Siemens 3.6 MW wind turbines with a total capacity of 400 MW [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶   The prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, seeking to reassure that Tokyo was a safe place to host the Olympics, travelled with the Japanese delegation and claimed that problems at the Fukushima nuclear plant were under control. [Straight.com]

US:

¶   Energy analysts at Deutsche Bank are predicting a huge surge in the uptake of distributed solar PV in the United States, saying solar PV installations could rise 7-fold in coming years and lift overall solar PV capacity to nearly 50 GW by 2016. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Maui Electric Company says it is increasing efficiency of its wind turbines through by changes in its use and integration of wind power that are allowing it to use about 91% of available wind energy compared to an estimated 72% prior to making the changes. [EarthTechling]

Science and Technology:

¶   A tweak to an automobile’s engine software can improve by as much as 20% the estimated fuel efficiency when using gasoline with ethanol or methanol, according to a non-profit group pushing gasoline alternatives. [Businessweek]

World:

¶   South Africa has started to focus on renewable power, especially solar. The country how has an investment in solar of $5.7 billion and can now boast that it is the world’s fastest growing investor of clean energy. It is moving away from 86% reliance on coal. [Day News]

¶   Fred. Olsen Renewables has announced that the Rothes II Wind Farm in Scotland has commenced operation. The wind farm has an installed operational capacity of  41.4 MW, equivalent to generating enough electricity to power over 20,500 homes. [Domestic Fuel]

¶   South Korea announced Friday it has placed an import ban on all fisheries products from eight Japanese prefectures deemed effected by radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster. [The Japan Times]

¶   After a tank leaked 300 tons of radioactive water without anyone noticing, TEPCO says that it will install water-level gauges on all flange-type tanks storing radioactive coolant water at the Fukushima Daiichi by the end of November to beef up monitoring. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶   Today, policies like Renewable Portfolio Standards and Net Energy Metering are helping to fuel solar’s explosive growth. The industry now employs 120,000 Americans at 5,600 US companies. What’s more, solar power now generates enough electricity for 1.5 million homes. [Business Insider]

¶   Under a Renewable Energy Standard more than 1,000 renewable energy projects have been built in Ohio during the past five years, including a $600 million wind farm. Now the Public Utilities Commission knows what it actually cost: The wholesale price of power went down. [Grist]

¶   About 700,000 Entergy customers in Louisiana are paying an average of $5.81 each month for repairs the Waterford nuclear plant. The total cost of repairs would be enough to replace the 28-year-old nuclear plant with a new natural gas plant. [The Advocate]

¶   Two weeks after an electrical malfunction caused the shutdown of the Pilgrim nuclear reactor, the plant is still not at full power. The owners said the delay was standard procedure, but it turns out that the plant is operating without one of its three recirculating pumps. [Capecodonline]

¶   Southern California Edison wants customers to pay more than $2 billion over the next seven years to cover the company’s capital investment in the shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant. The utility says it needs the money to compensate shareholders. [Las Vegas Sun]
… San Diego Gas & Electric is seeking $808 million from customers to recover its investments in the recently retired San Onofre nuclear plant, the utility said Friday. SDG&E owns a 20% stake in the plant. [U-T San Diego]

Science and Technology:

¶   In 2011, Chinese manufacturers accounted for 63% of all PV production worldwide. A detailed analysis of costs associated with PV production shows that the main contributors to that country’s lower PV prices are economies of scale and well-developed supply chains — not cheap labor. [MIT News]

World:

¶   President Obama and leaders from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden said they share the goal of reaching a binding global climate agreement by 2015, noting that taking action on climate change, domestically and internationally, “requires mobilizing scaled up climate finance.” [Environment News Service]

¶   In a recent announcement, the Ethiopian Ministry of Water and Energy claimed that around 13,200 solar systems have been installed in rural Ethiopia over the past nine months. These systems are based on distributed power technology as there is no grid connectivity in those areas. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Chile continues to grow more attractive to solar developers. The new renewable energy portfolio standard requires utilities to get 20% of their energy from “non-traditional” renewable sources by 2020. That is in addition to the 40% they already get from hydro. [Clean Energy Authority]

¶   German automaker Volkswagen’s Mexican unit has signed a 20-year agreement with Mexico Power Group to buy 130 MW of output from the planned La Bufa wind farm. The $360m La Bufa plant, sited in the Mexican state of Zacatecas, will have a total capacity of 180 MW. [Recharge]

¶   Wind energy records were broken in four Australian states in August, as the Coalition gears up to place the wind power industry under greater scrutiny should it win power on Saturday. South Australia derived 38% of its power from the wind last month, well above its previous record of 31%. [The Guardian]

¶   South Korea has banned the import of sea food products from eight Japanese prefectures amid radioactive contamination concerns. Seoul said the measure is in response to public fears over the flow of tainted water into the Pacific from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plan. [euronews]

US:

¶   It looks like more trouble is looming ahead for communities that host fracking operations. Two new studies have linked fracking-related operations to earthquakes in Texas and Ohio, and a recently settled lawsuit in Arkansas indicates that swarms of tiny earthquakes can damage structures. [CleanTechnica]

¶   America added 976 MW of new PV capacity in the second quarter of 2013, according to the NPD Solarbuzz North America PV Markets Quarterly report. Rising demand across the country pushing installed capacity in the second quarter of 2013 up 24% compared to the first quarter of 2012. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The US power grid, which is in three distinct parts, appears to be on the verge of becoming unified to a degree, so at least some power will be free to flow as the market dictates. And that could have particularly positive implications for generators of renewable power. [Greentech Media]

Opinion:

¶   “Clean up coal or abandon it?” A paper from the University of New South Wales assesses the feasibility and cost of a 100% renewable energy powered National Electricity Market in the period 2030 and makes a statement on carbon capture and storage. [Business Spectator]

World:

¶   GE today announced its 500th wind turbine installation in Brazil. Wind energy is one of the country’s fastest growing energy sources. In 2012, 1,077 MW of wind were added there. [Your Renewable News]

¶   For the upcoming Australian election, the Coalition unveiled its energy document. It focuses almost entirely on promising to increase fossil fuel developments. The only mention of renewable power is another promise to investigate wind power and health problems. [The Guardian]

¶   Vestas is to supply 100 MW of hardware for the Yanchi wind farm in China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Natural gas supplier Hanas New Energy, which ordered 50 MW from Vestas less than a month ago, ordered 50 more of Vestas’ new 2 MW turbines. [reNews]

¶   Findings published by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change showed negative articles surrounding the use of green technologies have had a negligible effect on public sentiment over the past 18 months, with support remaining high and opposition low. [uSwitch.com]

¶   Power plant operator Next Kraftwerke expects to nearly triple revenues this year as it links solar, wind and biogas units to respond nimbly to Germany’s sudden big surges in demand – a model it plans to export to other countries. [Reuters]

¶   Joining the bandwagon of heavyweights in the energy sector, Hero group announced its entry in the renewable energy sector with the launch of its new unit Hero Future Energies. The company aims to develop 80 MW and 20 MW of solar by the year 2016-17. [Economic Times]

¶   Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he will tell the International Olympic Committee that leaks of radioactive water at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant will pose no problem in hosting the 2020 Olympics. [Businessweek]

¶   The chief of Japan’s nuclear watchdog chided TEPCO for its inability properly to explain problems. He also lashed out at media coverage, saying reports of recent leaks were exaggerating an impression of the seriousness of the situation at the stricken plant. [Economic Times]

¶   The Japanese government will soon test the concept of an ice wall to arrest the flow of ground from leaking from beneath Fukushima Daiichi into the Pacific Ocean.  The feasibility test will start by mid-October at the earliest. [Zee News]

US:

¶   The California Public Utilities Commission has issued a proposal calling for the state’s private utilities to procure 1.325 GW of storage by 2020, for a variety of functions including supporting the integration of an increasing amount of renewable energy. [solarserver.com]

¶   Dominion Virginia Power bid $1.6 million to win a 2 GW site off Virginia in the United States’ second offshore wind lease auction. Apex Virginia Offshore Wind and Dominion went head to head through six rounds of bidding. [reNews]

¶   A digital library containing nearly 3,200 pages of documents related to the replacement steam generators at the shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in northern San Diego County was made available online. Some documents are partly redacted. [KPBS]

Science and Technology:

¶   A key engineering executive at Continental A.G. is predicting car tires could be made of 100-percent renewable raw materials by 2020, but cautions that finding acceptable substitutes for materials used widely today is not a given. [Tire Business]

World:

¶   Germany set a new record in July by providing 5.1 terawatt-hours of electricity from solar.  That beat its record production of 5.0 terawatt-hours of electricity from wind in January of this year. [Energy Collective]

¶   South Australia is one the leading regions in the world in the take-up of variable renewable energy sources such as wind energy and rooftop solar PV, and could be the first industrial economy to reach 50% variable generation. [RenewEconomy]

¶   The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has contracted Parsons Brinckerhoff to examine the potential for use of renewable energy by existing fossil fuel power stations through hybridisation in Australia. [Business Spectator]

¶   A subcontractor who was involved in building water storage tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi said late last month that concerns about leaks emerged after workers were told to build the vessels as quickly as possible. [The Japan Times]

¶   Japan’s nuclear regulator said on Monday it may have to think about dumping contaminated cooling water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific. [euronews]

¶   Seismologists agreed there was no active fault line under the Ohi plant, Japan’s sole functioning nuclear station, giving the operator hope it can restart two reactors once they undergo maintenance and safety checks. [Yahoo!7 News]

US:

¶   The US Geological Survey and the Fish and Wildlife Service released a report that cites a fracking wastewater spill as the probable cause of a mass die-off of blackside dace, a federally listed threatened species. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Despite tremendous growth in wind energy capacity in the U.S., the antiquated energy distribution system is preventing wind from reaching its full potential—often forcing wind farms to throttle back on windy days. [AllGov]

¶   The first radioactive ocean plume released by the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster will finally be reaching the shores of the United States sometime in 2014, according to a new study from the University of New South Wales. [CleanTechnica]

Opinion:

¶   “Federal legislation key to jobs-creating, swift VY clean-up” by Lissa Weinmann. We should be able to do better than having a plant in SAFSTOR for sixty years before it is cleaned up. [Green Energy Times]

¶   “German energy crisis favors the fleet” Germany’s half-a-trillion-euro energy overhaul is forcing sector players to change their business models fast, giving smaller groups a head start on the country’s ponderous utilities. [euronews]

World:

¶   Forty-three financial institutions, including the World Bank, are setting up a working party to put values on natural resources. They may decide to withdraw credit from companies that fail to protect the environment. [Scientific American]

¶   China will raise tariffs on power to subsidize renewable energy in a bid for better quality air, the country’s economic planner said on Friday. The price adjustment will exclude residential and agricultural power. [CCTV]

¶   According to a survey recently conducted by Capacent Gallup, the overwhelming majority of the Icelandic public, 81%, is in favor of raising a wind farm in Iceland. Only 7% were against the idea. [News of Iceland] (Iceland produces more electricity per capita than any other country, and gets 100% of its electricity from renewable sources. About 15% of its energy is from fossil fuels, used in transportation.)

¶   High radiation readings detected during the daily inspection on Saturday near three water tanks and one pipe stretched between the tanks and the plant, indicating new leaks, Kyodo news agency reported. [RT]

¶   Radiation at one spot at Fukushima Daiichi is 1800 millisieverts, high enough to prove lethal within four hours of exposure. Earlier reports of 100 millisieverts were from detectors that could not measure any higher. [BBC News]

US:

¶   It should be no surprise that the price of solar has been dropping. A new Tracking the Sun report from the DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Labs confirms the trend: solar keeps getting cheaper. [Energy Collective]

¶   The DOE estimates ocean power could produce up to 1400 TWh of electricity per year, enough to power millions of homes. The private sector has no clear incentive to invest, so the DOE is providing $16 million funding. [Energy Collective] (In 2008, the US used 4120 TWh.)

Opinion:

¶   “Why Fukushima is worse than you think” By Mycle Schneider, Special to CNN [CNN]

¶   “More U.S. nuclear power plant closures to come?” The closing of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant could be indicative of more shutdowns to come, experts say. [iStockAnalyst]

World:

¶   A Kenyan government delegation met with key European wind power developers, government departments, and others to increase the use of renewable energy in Kenya and attract investment in wind power there. [Windpower Monthly]

¶   The West Bengal government does not want nuclear plants and it is instead all set to introduce rooftop solar power schemes to increase its renewable energy supply, a minister said Friday. [Vancouver Desi]

¶   In what experts call a novel and controversial solution, Japan is considering whether to install “a subterranean ring of ice” to contain the contaminated water leaking from Fukushima Daiichi. [Water Online]

US:

¶   Clean energy and sustainable transportation projects launched this year created nearly 40,000 new green jobs in America during the second quarter of 2013. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Duke Energy has agreed to retire five Indiana coal-fired power plants by June 2018 under a settlement with environmental and citizens groups that also calls for the company to increase its investments in renewable energy. [Huffington Post]

¶   Construction of a five-megawatt solar installation on 43 acres in East Lyme, Connecticut has begun, the project developer Middletown-based Greenskies Renewable Energy announced on Friday. [Hartford Business]

¶   Dominion Virginia Power updated its long-range energy plan, offering natural gas generation as its base plan but also wind and possibly nuclear options in anticipation of regulations to reduce greenhouse gases. [Washington Post]

¶   The governor of New Hampshire has formed a working group in response to the planned closing of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. It will monitor plans for public safety and coordinate with other states to aid workers. [Concord Monitor]

¶   Duke Energy Florida wants to raise the average customer’s bill by more than $8 a month to $124.30 starting Jan. 1 to pay for an increase in fuel and nuclear costs. [Tampabay.com]

Opinion:

¶   “King Coal running out of luck, and it could be terminal” By Ben Caldecott, Bloomberg New Energy Finance [RenewEconomy]

Science and Technology:

¶   A small start-up with roots in North CarolinaA&TUniversity has developed PiGrid, an alternative to asphalt that is derived from pig waste and actually performs better than conventional asphalt itself. [ValueWalk]

¶   Electricity sourcing from energy storage technology is now a growing industry trend as businesses can reduce waste by producing their own power from renewable sources, including wind and solar. [The Strategic Sourceror]

World:

¶   According to the new data, renewables’ share of UK power generation rose from 11.3% in the first quarter of 2012 to 12.3% this year, delivered despite a 32.1% fall in hydro generation because of lack of rain, [Business Green]

¶   Azerbaijan is set to ramp up its renewable energy capacities. The government has instructed the Institute of Geography to draw up the country’s solar and wind power maps by July next year. [pv magazine]

US:

¶   Under Wisconsin’s renewable energy standard, Dairyland Power Cooperative should get 8.44% of its electricity from renewables by 2015. It has already achieved 12.47% in 2013. [Electric Co-op Today]

¶   The Renewable Energy Group has completed upgrades to its 30-million gallon biodiesel refinery in southern Minnesota to allow the plant to use multiple kinds of raw materials. [EcoSeed]

¶   The loss of a nuclear power plant that once provided Vermont with one-third of its electricity won’t affect the region’s power supply, according to officials at ISO New England. [The Keene Sentinel]

¶   Dismantling Three Mile Island’s Unit 2 and returning the property to a pre-plant state would cost about $918 million in 2012 dollars, John Buckley of the NRC said at a meeting Wednesday evening in Hershey. [The Sunday Dispatch]

Science and Technology:

¶   The largest battery in the world has been sitting quietly in George Washington National Forest along the Virginia-West Virginia border providing peak power for nearly 30 years. It is a pumped-storage facility with a capacity of 3003 MW. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   Carbon emissions in China could peak as soon as 2023 if a carbon pricing mechanism is introduced, according to new research by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. [4-traders]
… The report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance also predicts that China will invest $362 billion in new solar PV capacity by 2030, and could invest as much as $649 billion. [solarserver.com]

¶   Germany’s wind power sector will expand faster in the second half of the year, ahead of an expected reduction in government incentives. The country’s wind association said it expected about 2,900 MW of new capacity, up from 1,143 MW in the first six months. [Reuters UK]

US:

¶   The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers has dedicated the entire $7 billion in its renewable energy purchase program to solar technology. The agency has additionally published a list of 22 companies that qualify for the work, which will span the next ten years. [solarserver.com]

¶   Google announced it decreased total carbon emissions 9% to 1.5 million tons of CO2 in 2012 in its Green Blog this week. It emitted 30 metric tons of carbon per million dollars of revenue compared to 44 tons in 2011, but revenue increased. [EarthTechling]

¶   Almost 4,500 people have signed up on the Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation website since April, with a promise to pay a little more for electricity from wind turbines on Lake Erie. [freshwatercleveland]

¶   A study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, looked at more than 50,000 home sales near 67 wind farms in nine states. Researchers found no statistical evidence that wind turbines negatively affected property values. [ThinkProgress]

¶   Duke Energy has publicly shared new proposals to divert rushing waters away from the Oconee nuclear plant in case the 385-foot-high Jocassee Dam were to ever fail. The fixes would be made to the Keowee Dam and areas of the station. [Greenville News]

¶   Entergy Nuclear has filed an amended petition with the Public Service Board seeking to operate Vermont Yankee until Dec. 31, 2014. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

¶   The president of the Tennessee Valley Authority said a drop in demand is putting Bellefonte Nuclear Plant workers on the chopping block. More energy-efficient consumers and increased hydroelectric production are reducing demand for the plant’s power. [whnt.com]

Opinion:

¶   “Entergy Surrender On Vermont Yankee Reactor Is Latest Evidence Of ‘Rapid-Fire Downsizing’ Of Nuclear Power In US” Mark Cooper, senior fellow for economic analysis, Institute for Energy and the Environment, Vermont Law School, makes his observations. [PR Newswire]

World:

¶   For the upcoming Australian election, the Coalition has announced it will realize $7.8 billion of savings from programs linked to carbon price and other emission reduction programs. This includes cuts to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. [Business Spectator]

¶   Bloomberg New Energy Finance has released analysis which finds wind and solar power will make up more than half of new power capacity growth in China to 2030. By 2030 total installed capacity of renewable energy power plants will equal that of coal. [Business Spectator]

¶   IKEA is a huge supporter of renewable energy and has had installed 500,000 solar PV panels. At the present time, renewable energy schemes provide the company with one third of its energy supply. [Solar Panels UK]

¶   The former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, 71-year-old former leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has made it known that he is for the abandonment of nuclear power. He is considered still to be influential in Japanese politics. [The Japan Daily Press]

¶   The International Atomic Energy Agency, the world’s nuclear watchdog, has urged Japan to explain more clearly what is happening at Fukushima and avoid sending “confusing messages” about the disaster, the country’s atomic regulator revealed. [Yahoo!7 News]

US:

¶   According to the latest issue of the US Energy Information Administration’s “Electric Power Monthly,”  renewable energy sources (biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, and wind) provided 14.2% of the nation’s electric power during the first half of the year. [Green Building Elements]

¶   While influenced by the future cost of natural gas and other forms of energy, a new report forecasts the cost of solar will be competitive after New Jersey state subsidies expire, a fact that one New Jersey Utility is investing in. [GetSolar.com]

¶   The governor of Louisiana and CEO of Cool Planet Energy Systems have announced that the company will build three bio-refineries in Louisiana with a capital investment of $168 million. The project will consist of modular biomass-to-gasoline refineries. [KMSS TV33]

¶   Development of solar and wind energy in Missouri has been sluggish, despite a 2008 law that instituted a renewable energy standard. A lawsuit has been filed alleging that state government has interfered with fulfillment of the law’s mandate. [Salon]

¶   The idle Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant is loaded with fuel for the first time in more than two years, and utility officials say it will be ready to operate safely if regulators allow it to restart. [Omaha World-Herald]

¶   The complete decommissioning of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant “is likely to take decades,” according to information released by its owners. [BurlingtonFreePress.com]

¶   Vermont House Speaker Shap Smith said he will pursue whatever options are at his disposal to expedite a decommissioning process that could soon become the center of its own legislative controversy. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

World:

¶   According to the Worldwatch Institute, support policies for renewable energy technologies have increased dramatically over the last decade. The number has grown from 48 countries having policies in place in mid-2005 to 127 as of early 2013. [EcoSeed]

¶   German Environment Minister Peter Altmaier expects German solar panel installations to nearly halve this year, showing that efforts to curb subsidies and get solar expansion under control have yielded results. [Reuters UK]

¶   Hitting a target of 22 GW of installed solar capacity in the UK by 2020 will impact less than 0.29% of the nation’s agricultural land, according to research by PV operator Lightsource Renewable Energy. [reNews]

¶   Siemens, the world’s number three maker of wind turbines, expects the global market to be more than quadrupled by 2030, lifted by strong growth in Asia. They see globally installed wind power capacity increasing from 273 GW in 2012 to 1,107 GW in 2030. [CITY A.M.]

¶   First Solar has sold three solar projects in Ontario totalling 50 MW to an investment partnership led by GE Energy Financial Services. Output from the PV plants will be sold to Ontario Power Authority with 20-year power purchase agreements. [reNews]

¶   An officer of the King Abdullah city for Atomic and Renewable Energy says Saudi Arabia could become a leader in renewable energy by building 16 nuclear reactors by 2030 at an estimated cost of $100 billion and with a combined capacity of 22 GW. [Hindu Business Line]

¶   The Japanese government will lead “emergency measures” to tackle radioactive water spills at the wrecked Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, wresting control of the disaster recovery from the plant’s heavily criticized operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶   Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) are asking the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate possible anticompetitive practices by oil companies that limit consumers’ access to “homegrown renewable fuels.” [National Hog Farmer]

¶   The biofuels industry is pushing back against ad campaigns the oil-and-gas industry has been running in Ohio for years, launching a campaign against what it calls an attempt to “stop the growth of clean, green renewable fuels to protect their own bottom lines.” [Youngstown Vindicator]

¶   There is a proposal in the works to store and recycle nuclear waste in Mississippi. The Mississippi Energy Institute gave a presentation to the Senate Economic Development Committee Monday for an above-ground interim storage facility. [WDAM-TV]

¶   A radiation monitor at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant showed faulty readings last week, a continuation of a problem that has plagued the plant several times this summer. [Vermont Public Radio]

¶   Friends of the Coast/New England Coalition reached a settlement agreement with the owners of the Seabrook nuclear plant regarding the remaining active contention against the plant’s operating license renewal. This may clear the way for a license extension. [Exeter News-Letter]

World:

¶   Nova Scotia, with its record-setting tides, could be a world leader in tidal technology. The epicentre of Nova Scotia’s attempts to stay in the tidal game is a stretch of ocean floor near the town of Parrsboro. [The Globe and Mail]

¶   According to the latest Fuel Mix and CO2 Emissions report, from industry watchdog the Commission for Energy Regulation, the Vayu, a Dublin-based firm, is the first provider in Ireland to achieve a 100% renewable energy rating for its electricity supply.  [Irish Examiner]

¶   The Norwegian government has given the green light to eight wind farms totalling around 1300 MW in a focused area of mid-Norway. Statkraft and Agder Energi Vind picked up nearly half of the total with permission granted to build a quartet of projects totalling 660 MW. [reNews]

¶   In the week beginning August 11, wind farms supplied a record 290 GWh to the National Electricity Market, which serves the eastern states and much of South Australia. That tally smashed the previous record of 246 GWh set in the week starting June 30 by 18%. [The Canberra Times]

¶   With the Fukushima nuclear plant leaking hundreds of tonnes of radioactive water into the Pacific every day, fishing has once again been banned off the coast. Test catches have shown that some fish – especially bottom-feeding species, have been affected. [ABC Online]

¶   Two years ago, Russia offered to help Japan clean up the disaster-stricken Fukushima nuclear power facility. This week, as TEPCO has found it difficult to continue the decommissioning process and has decided to seek outside help, Russia has stated that their offer to help still stands. [The Japan Daily Press]

¶   Japan’s industry minister visited the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and promised Monday that the government would take urgent action to curb leaks of radiation-contaminated water. [STLtoday.com]

US:

¶   A new study conducted by the US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory indicates that by 2025 wind and solar power could become cost-competitive without federal subsidies, and including costs of integration and transmission. [Nanowerk]

¶   Ever Cat Fuels plant in Isanti, Minnesota has been working for two years with a team of scientists and farmers to commercially grow two seed-bearing weeds as energy crops. [Farming UK]

A Quote:

¶   “Unfortunately, what we’ve seen too often in Congress is that the fossil fuel industries tend to be very influential – let’s put it that way – on the energy committees in Congress and they tend not to be particularly sympathetic to alternative energy strategies,” President Obama said in a speech. [Opposing Views]

Opinion:

¶   “Finding Our Energy Future: A Conversation with Tony Klein” Tony Klein, chair of Vermont’s House Committee on Natural Resources and Energy, responds to the question, “What do you wish people knew about energy and Vermont?” [Montpelier Bridge]

World:

¶   Switching Australia to 100% renewable power from solar, wind and other clean sources would be technically viable by 2030, and could end up costing the same as continuing to use fossil fuels, a new study by the Australian federal government suggests. [Sydney Morning Herald]

¶   Marine energy could have the potential to boost the Welsh economy by up to £840 million according to a new report commissioned by the Welsh Government. The study examined the economic benefits for Wales from developing the sector, using three different scenarios. [WalesOnline]

¶   Alstom reports that its full-scale tidal turbine in Orkney, Scotland, has reached a full nominal power of 1 MW. The turbine was immersed in January 2013 at the European Marine Energy Center in Orkney. The turbine connected to the grid has now generated more than 10 MWh. [High Performance Composites]

¶   A state-run Chinese power generating equipment manufacturer has claimed to have built the world’s biggest nuclear generator in terms of per-unit installed capacity. The Dongfang Electrical Machinery Company Ltd says its 1,750 MW generator will soon be installed at a power plant. [Economic Times]

¶   The operator of Japan’s crippled nuclear plant said Saturday that deteriorated seams and a possible contortion of a reassembled storage tank might have caused a massive contaminated water leak that has triggered fears over the plant’s radioactive water management. [Honolulu Star-Advertiser]

US:

¶   Iowa houses one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing wind markets, according to the US DOE, which released two reports earlier this month showing robust state and nationwide wind markets. The state can generate 25% of its power from wind, and the number is growing. [Dubuque Telegraph Herald]

¶   Lake Erie Energy Development’s Icebreaker project, a six-turbine, 18-megawatt undertaking, is in the serious planning stages after snagging a $4 million U.S. Department of Energy grant late last year. States and organizations are looking at other sites in the Great Lakes. [EarthTechling]

¶   A Gallup poll in March found that 76% of Americans thought the country should put more emphasis on producing domestic energy from solar power. As more options become available, more homeowners do it. Now, ten times as many homes get solar power than did five years ago. [Press Herald]

¶   The Montpelier Energy Advisory Committee and the Montpelier Planning and Community Development Office are working with the Energy Action Network, considering making Montpelier the nation’s first state capital to have all energy needs supplied by renewable energy sources. [Montpelier Bridge]

¶   Members of Vermont’s first community solar farm met at the site in Putney Friday to celebrate the opening of the solar array. SunFarm Community Solar, the 147 kilowatt solar project which is made up of 588 panels, is online and producing electricity, project founder Nick Ziter said. [Brattleboro Reformer]

¶   Dominion Virginia Power placed its biomass-fired Altavista Power Station into commercial operation in July. The 51 megawatt facility in Altavista, Va., is the first of three stations the company is converting from coal to biomass. [Biomass Magazine]

Opinion:

¶   “Externality 101, Understanding Hidden Costs of Fossil Fuel” Renewables don’t hurt us or our environment, an advantage that has a demonstrable dollar-and-cents value. [NJ Spotlight]

Science and Technology:

¶   An 7.5 MW wind turbine may be installed at Le Havre, France, at an onshore location designed to test turbines for both on and offshore use. Many of the world’s largest wind turbines are designed for offshore use, but this turbine, an Enercon E-126, is for onshore power generation. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   In the UK, a new rift could be developing as two government departments, led by a Liberal Democrat and Conservative MP respectively, are set to go head-to-head over a forthcoming report into the impact of wind turbines on rural house prices. [The Upcoming]

¶   Brazil has contracted 1.5GW of new capacity at an average price of around $46 per megawatt-hour during its first wind auction of 2013. The country sealed deals with 66 projects, each of which will be given a 20-year supply contract. Projects are due online by September 2015. [reNews]

¶   The Indian government is planning to reduce the time frame for setting up nuclear power plants to meet increasing energy demand, according to the Indian Minister of State. A bill pending with the parliament would reduce the time for permitting from five years to a maximum of two years. [New York Daily News]

¶   An enormous reservoir of radiation-contaminated water beneath Fukushima Daiichi is on the verge of spilling into the Pacific Ocean, creating a new serious worry in the long-running effort of to contain radioactive fallout from the 2011 disaster, the Associated Press reported on Friday. [Yahoo! News]

¶   Radiation spreading from Japan’s crippled Fukushima plant threatens to derail Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s efforts to revive nuclear power and deliver the lower energy prices needed to power his economic reforms. [Business Mirror]

US:

¶   A  forest fire in Yosemite National Park as led to declaration of a state of emergency for San Francisco, 150 miles away. The fire threatens a reservoir that supplies the city with water and electricity. [Huffington Post]

¶   At least six renewable energy projects, five solar-powered and one biomass facility, proposed for sites in southeastern Connecticut are vying to be chosen next month for power purchase agreements with the state’s two largest utilities. [TheDay.com]

¶   With the declining amount of tobacco grown these days, North Carolina farmers have been diversifying. Now, along with planting crops, a landowner can get a contract to use land for a solar farm. [WECT-TV6]

Opinion:

¶   “Climate Change, Poverty and Energy – Is renewable energy the solution for Africa?” Approximately 1.4 billion people don’t have access to electricity, yet countries in the emerging economies have huge, untapped potential in solar, wind, hydro, geothermal or biomass energy. [Sierra Express Media]

World:

¶   The UK Department of Energy & Climate Change is setting sustainability standards for biomass and biogas. Starting in 2015, the biomass industry must show its fuel is sustainable to receive financial support. [Biomass Magazine]

¶   The changing global energy mix and the growth of renewables will drive a revival in the underground compressed air energy storage industry, according to a new report. The analysis predicts that the sector will install capacity of 11 GW between this year and 2013. [Power Engineering International]

¶   China is half way through a $100 billion ultra-high voltage grid investment, according to an official from the country’s grid operator. The network will open remote renewable installations to the country’s east coast by moving power thousands of kilometres with minimal losses. [PV-Tech]

¶   A Japanese daily has reported all water drainage valves of a concrete barrier nearby the leaking tank at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant were, in fact, opened when highly radioactive water leaked and drained into the ocean. [Arirang News]

¶   More tanks at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant site may have leaks as TEPCO, the plant operator, said on Aug. 22 that high radiation levels were detected near a second section of storage tanks. [Asahi Shimbun]

¶   TEPCO failed to monitor storages tanks holding dangerously contaminated water properly, the country’s nuclear regulator has said. Now they have sprung leaks and are a source of international concern. TEPCO also failed to keep records of inspections of the tanks. [Reuters]

US:

¶   One of the largest thin-film PV power plants to date in southern California has been completed. The Catalina Solar Photovoltaic s located adjacent to the EDF’s 140 MW Pacific Wind power plant, making the combined facilities a globally significant hybrid project. [pv magazine]

¶   Vestas will be supplying wind-energy projects in the United States with 400 megawatts-worth of wind turbines, an order that is in line with a master supply agreement of 1,500 MW that they have with EDP Renovaveis. [EcoSeed]

¶   South Carolina’s electric cooperatives have stopped a solar energy forum that was supposed to let people explain how the state can improve its sun power rules, which are among the least customer friendly in the country. [Hilton Head Island Packet]

¶   The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the US is working with Ecopetrol, the largest oil company in Colombia, to process the residue from sugar cane and palm oil harvesting into fuel ethanol for blending with gasoline. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

Interesting Report:

¶   “Solar Needs 32 Acres To Power 1,000 Homes” Did you know that “on a life-cycle electricity-output basis – including direct and indirect land transformation – utility-scale PV in the U.S. Southwest requires less land than the average U.S. power plant using surface-mined coal”? [EarthTechling]

Opinion:

¶   “Fossil Fuel Collateral Damage” Neighborhoods can be turned upside down by shale oil and shale gas drilling , but it’s always felt theoretical as the prospects of something like these happening in my neighborhood have seemed remote. [National Geographic]

World:

¶   The installed capacity of renewable sources worldwide will reach an estimated 2,252.3 GW in 2020, finds a new report from Frost & Sullivan. The report notes that since the beginning of the last decade the number of countries with renewable support policies has grown from 50 to over 120. [Solar Industry]

¶   If offshore wind sees continuous development over the next 10 years the cost of the electricity generated at schemes could be slashed by around a third, according to a study by Prognos and The Fichtner Group, which identified cost reduction potentials in Germany. [reNews]

¶   A nuclear expert who has advised the French and German governments has told the BBC that he believes the current water leaks at Fukushima are much worse than the authorities have stated. He says water is leaking out all over the site and there are no accurate figures for radiation levels. [BBC News]

US:

¶   California has released its new vehicle sales numbers for the first half of 2013. According to the data, the Tesla Model S has a greater market share than Buick, FIAT, Land Rover, Lincoln, and Mitsubishi. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The utilities supplying power to the US electrical grid sell $400 billion worth of electricity a year. Regulators set rates and utilities get guaranteed returns. The model is largely unaltered since Edison invented the light bulb. But the CEO of NRG Energy believes it’s doomed to obsolescence. [Businessweek]

¶   Bloomberg has reported that the boom in gas field purchasing from 2009 to 2012 has turned into a whopper of a bust, leaving oil and gas companies with a belly load of depressed assets and “disappointing” wells to go with falling gas prices. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The electricity powering San Francisco city departments is 100% renewable. It comes largely from the hydropower production in Yosemite Valley, but since 2004, the Public Utilities Commission agency has completed 15 solar projects that produce 7.5 MW of power. [San Francisco Examiner]

¶   Renewable energy projects in the United States experienced a banner year in 2012, with wind deployment adding a record 13,124 MW of capacity and solar adding 3,313 MW of solar photovoltaic capacity. [San Francisco Chronicle]

¶   According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, 845 MW of solar energy were installed across the country during the first quarter of this year, augmenting the record-breaking 3,313 MW installed in 2012. PV installations grew 76% in 2012 over 2011, with an estimated market value of $11.5 billion. [Solar Industry]

Science and Technology:

¶   Scientists are more convinced that human activity is behind the increase in global temperatures since the 1950s, which has boosted sea levels and the odds of extreme storms, according to a leaked draft of an upcoming U.N. report. [CNN]

World:

¶   The Federal Republic of Germany just broke its monthly solar generation record by clocking over 5.1 TWh in July, according to data from the EEX Transparency Platform. The July solar record is 42% higher than last year’s.  [inhabitat.com]

¶   PV will account for 3.6% of installed power generation globally by 2020, according to market analyst and advisor, Frost & Sullivan’s Annual Renewable Outlook 2013. It accounted for 0.7% in 2010. [PV-Tech]

¶   The Australian government appears to have made a remarkable concession following the release of the 100% renewables report by the country’s energy market operator – a renewables future will be no more costly than the largely fossil fuel alternative. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Renewable energy facilities that newly started operating in fiscal 2012 in Japan totaled 2.08 million kilowatts in capacity, which is worth two nuclear reactors, the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry said Tuesday. [ECNmag.com]

¶   Six more young people from Fukushima prefecture in Japan have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer since Japan’s worst nuclear accident in 2011. There are now a total of 18 cancer cases among people who were 18 or younger at the time of the Fukushima Disaster. [Hindu Business Line]

¶   Japan is poised to declare a toxic water leak at the Fukushima nuclear plant a level 3 “serious incident,” its gravest warning since the aftermath of the massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami that sent three reactors into meltdown. [CNN]

US:

¶   Green building is growing fast in the US, and may represent more than half of all commercial and institutional construction as soon as 2016, according to a new report from the US Green Building Council (USGBC), “LEED in Motion: People and Progress,”  [CleanTechnica]

¶   Work commences in September on 448 turbines in Iowa, creating 460 construction jobs, then 48 permanent jobs. They will churn out $12 million a year in property tax and generate $3.2 million annually for their property owners. Call them YIMBYs: Yes in my backyard. [Muscatine Journal]

¶   The federal government has created a new renewable energy zone along the southeast shore of the Salton Sea that could eventually host thousands of megawatts of solar and geothermal energy on previously disturbed lands. [The Desert Sun]

¶   Siemens Energy has been awarded received an order for 116 units of its SWT-2.3-108 wind turbines from Portland General Electric Company in the US state of Oregon. Each has a capacity of 2.3 megawatts (MW) and a rotor diameter of 108 meters. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶   San Francisco-based renewable power producer Pattern Energy Group said Tuesday it has started building a 218 megawatt wind power facility in the Texas Panhandle. The facility will be able to produce wind energy for up to 60,000 Texas homes. [FuelFix]

World:

¶   Just weeks after President Obama announced an end to US taxpayer support for overseas coal plants, the World Bank and the European Investment Bank, followed suit. Now the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is considering similar action. [Energy Collective]

¶   The Australian Capital Territory government plans to bring another 650 MW of solar and wind energy generation to its region following the successful completion of the second round of its solar auction, to become the green capital. [RenewEconomy]

¶   A new poll by the Federation of German Consumer Organizations finds that 82% of the German public support the phase-out of nuclear energy and the expansion of renewable energy, but that only 40% support the current implementation. [solarserver.com]

¶    South Australian power demand was 339.51 GWh over the course of a period of nine days, and total SA wind generation was 157.07 GWh – meaning wind supplied 46.26% of total energy in South Australia. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Reports from TEPCO say that measurements of radioactive tritium in seawater at Fukushima Daiichi show levels at the highest tritium level in the measurement history of the site. Levels have been rising continuously since May. [The Japan Daily Press]

¶   Some 300 tonnes of radioactive water is believed to have leaked from a tank at Japan’s crippled nuclear plant, the worst such leak since the crisis began. TEPCO said puddles around the tank have extremely high radiation levels of about 100 millisieverts per hour. [Capital FM Kenya]

US:

¶   Chevy cut the Volt’s price. Nissan cut the leaf’s price. And now the electric version of the Smart Fortwo (Fortwo — kind of romantic) is available for less, as well. The Smart Fortwo Electric Drive is now available for $139 per month on a three-year, 30,000-mile lease. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Aiming to expand the market for Southeast Alaska’s vast renewable hydro resource, Soule Hydro has applied for a Presidential permit for the first electric transmission line delivering Alaska-based renewable electric energy into Canada. [Financial Post]

¶   A naval architect and engineer from Glosten Associates, the company behind a floating offshore wind turbine demonstrator due to be deployed off the south coast of England in 2015, has said that a field of wind turbines floating on Lake Michigan isn’t that far off. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶   Eolian Renewable Energy has been given the green light to install meteorological towers in northern Vermont. The state Public Service Board granted a ‘certificate of public good’ authorizing the installation of four stations in the towns of Brighton, Ferdinand and Newark. [reNews]

¶   The troubled Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant continues to inch closer to restarting, but federal regulators say significant work remains to be done at the Nebraska plant. [Sioux City Journal]

¶   According to a new report by Radiation and Public Health Project, the county where  the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant sits has the highest cancer rate of Michigan’s 34 most populated counties, and death rates there have more than doubled since the plant opened. [WWMT-TV]

¶   Both of Massachusetts’ US senators sent a letter  to Entergy to urge the owner-operator of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station to expand the emergency planning zone and develop a realistic evacuation plan should the plant have a radioactive release. [Capecodonline]

¶   The NRC said Monday that Indian Point 2 in Buchanan can operate while its license renewal application is being reviewed. That could be more than a year. New York state and environmental groups are opposing a new 20-year license. [Westfield Republican]

Opinion:

¶   Amory Lovins: “Separating fact from fiction in Germany’s renewables revolution” Germany’s Energiewende is a bold, challenging, and complex experiment. On the whole, it has been highly successful so far and is on track for its seemingly ambitious goals. [RenewEconomy]

Science and Technology:

¶   General Atomics is working on designs of a nuclear reactor the size of a school bus, built on an assembly line and delivered to operators on a flatbed truck. They say it would be a safer, more efficient fission machine that could go 30 years without refueling. [U-T San Diego]

World:

¶   Danish manufacturer Vestas has fired up a 20 MW test bench at its global testing center in Aarhus and has begun putting the full nacelle of its 8 MW V164 offshore wind turbine through its paces. [reNews]

¶   About $4 billion in private funding would be sucked away from Australia’s solar power and renewable energy industries over the next three years if the Coalition wins government, confidential data obtained from banks and financial analysts shows. [The Canberra Times]

¶   Environmentalists in the Czech Republic say a law will approved by the Chamber of Deputies Friday end support to environmentally friendly production of electricity while maintaining subsidies to burning coal, gas and waste. [Prague Daily Monitor]

¶   A French nuclear research center has been using ordinary pressure cookers to store and transport plutonium and other “sensitive materials” for 50 years, it has been revealed. The news leaked as the center posted a public tender for 4,000 pressure cookers. [Ammon News]

¶   Investing in nuclear energy is down because of costs and waste disposal. The World Nuclear Industry Status Report for this year shows that global reliance on nuclear plants to generate power has fallen to a 10% share of total energy produced down from 17%. [MENAFN.COM]

US:

¶   The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department recently installed a 132-panel solar electric system at its Bald Hill Fish Culture Station in Newark. The system will supply 75% of current electric demand and will save $200,000 over the life of the panels. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

¶   Bay City, Michigan is looking to buy a chunk of its electric power from a Gratiot County wind-turbine farm. The Bay City Commission on Monday is hearing a proposal to buy $18 million in electricity generated by the wind farm during the next 20 years. [Bay City Times]

¶   University researchers in South Dakota and North Dakota have been awarded $6 million to research using the molecular building blocks of grass, trees and other organic material to replace petroleum and producing chemicals for detergents, plastics and other items. [The Republic]

World:

¶   The Indian government announced a $7.9 billion investment to double its transmission capacity to increase access to power from wind and solar projects. These clean energy projects increase India’s energy supply, and they also create much-needed jobs. [Energy Collective]

¶   The president of Turkey has urged the creation of a low-carbon economy built on renewable energy resources, thereby reducing the share of fossil fuels, during the opening speech of the Solar Energy For World Peace Congress in Istanbul. [Hurriyet Daily News]

¶   The largest self-consumption rooftop solar array in Europe has been completed, and it is of course located in Germany. It covers 11 hectares (27.2 acres), has 33,000 solar panels, and has a generation capacity of 8.1 MW (enough to power about 1,846 homes).[CleanTechnica]

¶   The operator of Japan’s crippled nuclear plant says 10 workers have been exposed to small amounts of radiation while conducting cleanup activities. TEPCO said it is still investigating how the workers were contaminated. [Las Vegas Sun]

US:

¶   Big Oil, in this case the American Petroleum Institute, is demanding that Congress repeal the law that requires ethanol to be blended with gasoline. The effects of such laws extend outside the US. [Globe and Mail]

¶   Four years after raising customers’ bills to meet clean power mandates, Michigan’s biggest utilities are cutting or eliminating the fees. Green energy proponents say this shows the program is a success and should be extended. [Daily Mining Gazette]

¶   St. Francis University, in Loretto, Pennsylvania, is accepting applications for its Renewable Energy Center’s anemometer loan program. The center recently purchased state of the art equipment to assist landowners with wind energy analysis. [The Tribune-Democrat]

¶   King Arthur Flour’s Norwich campus, site of its bakery, school, cafe, and store now features a PV-powered charging station to serve the growing number of electric cars in Vermont.  The charging station was built in cooperation with Green Mountain Power. [Rutland Herald]

¶   In 1959, a reactor in Simi Valley, California, partially melted down, belching radioactive gases. The government said there was no dangerous radioactive release. Full details were made public two decades later, and now the fallout is being cleaned up. [Huffington Post]

Opinion:

¶   “The Future of Electric Energy” The debate about using natural gas or coal for power is very old. But that’s all changing as the cost of traditional energy sources rises, and that of alternative energy falls, and on-site power generation becomes viable. [The Motley Fool]

World:

¶   Scientists at the University of Auckland in New Zealand estimate that suburban rooftops can generate enough solar power to make commuting carbon-free with enough juice left over to power cities for brief periods, as well. [Environment & Energy Publishing]

¶   Alberta could lead Canada toward replacing about half its necessary transportation fuel with non-petroleum products, says a global expert on biofuels, bioenergy and bioproducts. [Edmonton Journal]

¶   Fossil fuel and nuclear plants around the UK will be closing over the next decade. While power companies are quick to blame the rise of government-supported renewables for plant closures, in reality the writing has been on the wall for a long time. [Carbon Brief]

¶   The European Commission (EC), the EU’s executive, says its mind is still open on the topic, but it is under pressure to set a legal framework for state aid to nuclear projects after several member states, including Britain, sought its guidance. [Irish Independent]

US:

¶   In California, three-fourths of rooftop photovoltaic solar systems are leased, not purchased outright, according to the research group Climate Policy Initiative. Solar City makes the process of going solar almost a no-brainer for property owners. [Green Building Elements]

¶   MidAmerican Energy is intending to develop up to 1,050 MW of additional wind power generation in Iowa by the end of 2015 and has been granted permission to expand by the Iowa Utilities Board. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶   Natural gas from organic waste is gaining momentum as a renewable energy source, and a local transit agency in Seattle is already on board. Methane is purified and put into gas lines, where it is five to seven times more profitable, fueling local buses. [KPLU News for Seattle and the Northwest]

¶   The chairman of Oregon’s GOP says of nuclear waste: “All we need do with nuclear waste is dilute it to a low radiation level and sprinkle it over the ocean—or even over America after hormesis is better understood and verified with respect to more diseases.” [Mother Jones]

World:

¶   Irish investor and asset manager of renewable projects NTR has reported a significantly lower loss of €16.2 million for the year ended 31 March 2013, down from €88.8 million the previous year, as it focused more sharply on wind power and delivered parts of its strategic plan a year early. [Businessandleadership.com]

¶   Drax, which operates the largest coal-fired power station in the UK, has launched a £700 million program to convert three of its six generating units from coal to biomass. This will transform the Drax site from the largest carbon emitters in the UK to one of the largest clean-energy plants in the world. [Financial Times]

¶   Were the new Australian Government to scrap the Carbon Pricing Mechanism, the country would fail to meet renewable energy targets, according to a report compiled for WWF-Australia by research firm RepuTex. The report says even a low price supports the development of renewable energy. [Tax-news.com]

¶   Enel Green Power has started construction works at Taltal, its biggest wind farm in Chile. The plant has a total installed capacity of 99 MW, and will be able to generate up to more than 300 GWh per year. [Newswire Today]

¶   The UK’s first large-scale battery has been connected to the grid in Orkney. Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution is running the trial project on the remote Scottish islands to investigate how the intermittent nature of renewable energy generation can be resolved. [Solar Power Portal]

¶   A feasibility study is being prepared now on how underground ice walls can be used to stop the “urgent problem,” that has also been called a “state of emergency,“ of radioactive ground water leaking into the ocean at Fukushima Daiichi. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   The US DOE expects a nonlinear surge in solar expansion once a key cost threshold is reached, resulting in a rapid, large-scale adoption of solar electricity in the US, with solar providing 27% of the country’s power by mid-century. If so, solar may prove to be the bigger story than shale in the end. [Telegraph.co.uk]

¶   A recent report from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Energy Sector Vulnerabilities to Climate Change and Extreme Weather, demonstrates that climate change is here today and that the energy sector is already suffering from its effects. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶   In Vermont, the Washington Electric Co-op has announced that it would limit the size of future solar installations to 5 kilowatts. A system that size will not produce enough electricity to power the average Vermont home, according to a release from Renewable Energy Vermont. [Clean Energy Authority]

¶   The US federal government is preparing to kick off the first ever leasing process for wind and marine renewables off the West Coast. A request for competitive interest off Oregon is due to be published by the Bureau for Ocean Energy Management in the coming weeks. [reNews]

¶   As part of the Obama administration’s clean energy goals, the U.S. Interior Department has established a new Renewable Energy Evaluation Area that could result in the development of more than 3.3 GW of solar capacity. [pv magazine]

¶   Penn State, which is ranked first among universities engaged in alternative energy research by Elsevier Publishing, will launch an online master’s degree in renewable energy and sustainability systems starting this fall. [Gant Daily]

¶   Operators of the San Onofre nuclear power plant say it may cost $4.1 billion and take 15 years to tear down the troubled plant and restore the Southern California coastal site to its pristine condition. [Fresno Business Journal]

¶   In a new report to be released today, prepared at the request of the US Department of Defense, the Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Project will warn that dozens of reactor sites across the United States are inadequately protected from terrorist attacks that could trigger a meltdown or other disasters. [SouthCoastToday.com]

¶   The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City agreed largely with the earlier decision by US District Judge Garvan Murtha, in the law suit between Vermont and the owners of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, but it did overturn the part saying that Vermont had to pay Entergy’s legal bills. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

Opinion:

¶   “Abe’s Japan Is Blind to Scary Nuclear Reality” It’s mind-boggling how disengaged Japan’s leaders have been since their “BP moment” — the March 2011 near-meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. [Bloomberg] (Yes – the opinion piece actually does say “near-meltdown.”)

Science and Technology:

¶   Prof Steven Cowley, chief executive of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, believes the world’s first nuclear fusion power plant in France could be producing viable electricity in the 2020s. [Irish Times]

¶   A Canadian government granting organization completed a month-long technical due diligence of SHEC Energy’s Ultra Lite solar technology, and found a materials cost reduction of 89% over its previous generation technology. [DigitalJournal.com]

World:

¶   An independent report released today has found that ditching the carbon price in Australia will hit investment in the renewable energy sector – and almost certainly lead to an increase in electricity prices. [ABC Online]

¶   Swedish furniture giant Ikea is spending €16 million to build a windfarm in Leitrim, Ireland, in a move to ensure all power for its outlets in Dublin and Belfast is sourced from renewable energy. [Irish Independent]

¶   EnergyAustralia, one of the big three utilities operating in Australia, says that rooftop solar PV and energy efficiency measures are causing “unprecedented structural change” to the national electricity market. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Sumitomo Rubber Industries of Dunlop is set to release a 100% fossil fuel free tire that does not use any fossil fuel resources such as petroleum or coal, at the 43rd Tokyo Motor Show 2013 and concurrently begin the sale of the product. [Japan Today]

¶   Russia is set to sign an agreement with Iran to build the country’s second nuclear power plant, outgoing Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said. [UPI.com]

US:

¶   The Georgia branch of the Tea Party has aligned itself with solar interests and environmental NGOs to force the monopoly utility Georgia Power to open its network to more solar power. [The Guardian]

¶   Northrop Grumman Corporation has achieved its inaugural greenhouse gas reduction goal of 25% in three years, two years ahead of plan. In 2012, the company realized a 25.3% intensity reduction from its 2008 baseline, resulting in a 26.9% absolute emissions reduction. [Your Renewable News]

¶   California, whose green ambitions helped the solar and wind industries take root, is taking an essential next step by proposing a sharp rise in energy storage. “We can’t just rely on sunlight,” Governor Jerry Brown said, “We’ve got to bottle the sunlight.” [Huffington Post]

¶   According to Southern California Edison, closing the San Onofre nuclear power plant is in the “best interests” of their 4.9 million customers, and those ratepayers should be prepared to pay a portion of the shutdown costs. [Los Angeles Times]

¶   An NRC inspection report finds that NextEra Energy Seabrook has shown the nuclear power plant’s staff is taking necessary steps to address the plant’s concrete degradation, leading the NRC to close all of the remaining action items to address the situation. [The Daily News of Newburyport]

World:

¶   A team from the University of Wollongong won a worldwide competition for a zero-emissions solar house by refitting a humble cottage made of fibrous cement sheet. Criteria for the competition are comfort and generating more energy than the house consumes. [ABC Online]

¶   Germany, Europe’s biggest electricity market, is beating up its traditional utilities as renewables take more market share. RWE AG and EON SE are getting hurt by falling power prices and a shrinking market share this year. They both may need to raise capital. [Businessweek]

¶   The Philippine Department of Energy expects an additional 5,905 megawatts of renewable capacity under a new law. Of 347 projects, there are 177 hydropower plants, 39 geothermal plants, 37 wind farms, 34 solar farms, 29 biomass plants, and 3 ocean energy projects. [Philippine Star]

¶   Workers at Fukushima Daiichi say they do not trust that TEPCO will be able to handle the situation. They believe that another serious accident is inevitable, as power outages and unexplained steam incidents have been part of their lives the past few months. [The Japan Daily Press]

¶   Ten workers at Fukushima Daiichi were exposed to radiation from contaminated cooling mist. The workers were waiting for a bus when they were sprayed, according to TEPCO. It was unknown how the mist became contaminated. [Businessweek]

US:

¶   IBM announced an advanced power and weather modeling technology to help utilities increase the reliability of renewable energy resources. It combines weather prediction and analytics to forecast the availability of wind power and solar energy accurately. [RTT News]

¶   There appears to be a competition among the branches of the US military as the services work on being green. This trend will only going to intensify going forward. Considering that the US military is the world’s largest fossil-fuel consumer, this is going to matter. [DailyFinance]

Economics and Finance:

¶   A new report from global research house Bloomberg New Energy Finance says cutting the renewable energy target would lead to an increase in electricity bills for consumers, not a reduction, puncturing the rhetoric from incumbent fossil fuel generators.  [RenewEconomy]

Books:

¶   Ironically, Texas is leading the way in the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. In “The Great Texas Wind Rush,” Kate Galbraith and Asher Price tell the strange, inspiring and at times funny story of how a culture known for Big Oil came to embrace Big Wind. [LubbockOnline.com]

World:

¶   Japanese residents are protesting against the country’s nuclear power policy following revelations that over 300 tons of contaminated water flow daily from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea. [CRIENGLISH.com]

¶   South Korea has warned of power shortages this week partly because of heat and as partly because the country is struggling to keep up with demand after six nuclear plants have gone off-line. Three reactors are offline replacing cables with forged safety certificates. [Yahoo! News]

US:

¶   Scituate is the first town in Massachusetts to power all of its government services using only renewable energy, saving $400,000 per year. All municipal services – including water, sewer, municipal buildings, and streetlights – will soon be powered by the sun and the wind. [ENGINEERING.com]

¶   Pacific Gas & Electric,  the same company that sprung to notoriety in the wake of Erin Brockovich, has garnered a lot of positive attention lately as it quickly becomes the leading solar-powered electricity purchaser in the US. [DailyFinance]

¶   A 5.57 MW project in Plymouth, Massachusetts, covers 25 acres of land with 23,670 individual solar panels. The project went online this week, producing energy that will be credited to the local schools, an annual saving of $500,000. [Wicked Local Plymouth]

¶   The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will investigate the finances of three nuclear reactors owned by Entergy Nuclear — Vermont Yankee, Pilgrim in Massachusetts and the FitzPatrick reactors in New York — as a result of a petition by four anti-nuclear groups. [Rutland Herald]