geoharvey

Science and Technology:

¶   The US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory 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. [Biomass Magazine]

World:

¶   The EU-backed All-gas project, the world’s largest project to convert algae into low-cost clean energy using wastewater, has successfully grown its first crop of algae biomass at its site in Chiclana, Southern Spain. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶   A new poll shows that a majority of each of Conservatives, Labor, Liberal Democrats and UKIP voters say that the Government should continue giving incentives for wind and tidal technologies. [Offshore Technology International]

¶   The U.N. atomic energy agency is following closely the leak of radioactive water from Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea and is ready to help out if asked, it said on Friday. [GMA News]

US:

¶   Colorado’s first biomass plant is nearing completion. The 11.5-megawatt plant will get much of its wood supply from a 10-year, $8.66 million forest stewardship project to remove insect-infested and diseased trees from the surrounding White River National Forest. [Grand Junction Sentinel]

¶   Minnesota Power says it has found a way to meet Minnesota’s renewable energy standard early and reduce costs at the same time, and Northern States Power says wind projects offer lower costs than other possible resources, like natural gas plants. [MinnPost.com]

¶   Massachusetts has approved 41 landfill post-closure permits for renewable energy facilities, including 39 solar and two wind turbine projects. Solar projects have been approved in Acton, Brookfield, Lancaster, Maynard, Norfolk and Winchendon. More are in the works. [Worcester Telegram]

¶   The American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, is not giving up the fight to dismantle popular clean energy laws across the country — despite completely failing in its last attempt. This year, its record is 0 for 13, so it is devising a new approach. [ThinkProgress]

¶   A report this week from the nonprofit Institute for Energy and Environmental Research asserts that relying on the development of small modular reactors “is unlikely to breathe new life into the increasingly moribund U.S. nuclear power industry.” [Pittsburgh Business Times]

¶   The Nebraska Public Power District’s board has decided against boosting capacity of the Cooper nuclear plant. The board had earlier decided to try to get an uprate raising output by 18%,but the latest estimated cost is $409 million, $120 million above an earlier estimate. [Westport-News]

Opinion:

¶   “Debunking the Renewable Energy Disinformation Campaign” by Amory Lovins [National Geographic]

Science and Technology:

¶   A new type of solar cell, made from material much cheaper to obtain and use than silicon, could generate as much power as today’s solar cells. Although the potential is just starting to be understood, it has caught the attention of leading solar researchers, and several companies are already working to commercialize it. [MIT Technology Review]

World:

¶   Crowdfunding is providing the financial impetus needed to lift renewable energy projects off the ground, as an investment company raises £700,000 in a month, according to Responding to Climate Change. Since the project launched last summer, it has raised a total of £3 million. [H&V News]

¶   The head of Estonia’s renewable energy association says it should be possible for heat and power systems to fully switch to renewable sources by 2030, if there is political will to do it. [ERR News]

¶   A new report examining renewable energy in the Middle East-North Africa region finds that PV is experiencing rapid growth due to its tremendous potential and continuously decreasing technology costs, with a current pipeline of 2.3 GW. [pv magazine]

¶   Tidal Lagoon Power is pitching a plan to build manmade lagoons with tidal power generation capacity in the UK’s Swansea Bay in the Severn Estuary. The plan is scalable up to $1 billion and could generate enough renewable energy to power 120,000 average U.K. homes by 2018. [Electric Light & Power]

¶   China has completed installing five wind turbines in Tibet at a height of about 4,900 meters above sea level, making it the highest wind farm in the world. A total of 33 wind turbines will be installed on the farm. The facility is scheduled to be connected to the grid at the end of the year. [The New Indian Express]

¶   In Japan, there are reports that prosecutors will lay no charges over the Fukushima nuclear disaster, two-and-a-half years ago, despite a parliamentary committee finding that the meltdowns of three of the plant’s reactors constituted a ‘manmade’ disaster. [ABC Online]

US:

¶   William Ruckelshaus, Lee Thomas, William Reilly, and Christine Todd Whitman, four Republican leaders who ran the Environmental Protection Agency under four Republican presidents, have declared their support for President Obama’s climate action plan. [Natural Resources Defense Council]

¶   In the second-quarter earnings report from its parent company, Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc., Hawaiian Electric Co. noted that 18% of its electricity came from renewable sources. The state’s benchmark calls for 15% clean energy by 2015. [Pacific Business News]

¶   The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association says the state has set a record for biodiesel production. Iowa’s plants produced 56.7 million gallons of biodiesel during the second quarter of 2013. The plants’ production of 99.5 million gallons during the first six months also was a record. [The San Luis Obispo Tribune]

¶   A nonprofit nuclear group released a report Thursday saying that efforts to develop small modular reactors at Savannah River Site and other venues will require “tens of billions of dollars” in federal subsidies. [The Augusta Chronicle]

¶   Minnesota Utility regulators will investigate massive cost overruns at Xcel Energy’s Monticello nuclear plant. They cut utility’s rate increase request for the state’s 1.2 million customers by more than half and will allow the company to charge only part of the $655 million spent on plant upgrades. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

¶   The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has placed on probation a state-run office in Georgia that oversees the use of radioactive materials at hospitals, research centers and industrial sites, authorities said Thursday. [Online Athens]

World:

¶   Britain has opened the world’s second largest offshore wind farm. It will help generate enough renewable energy to power around half a million homes . The Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm cost £1.3 billion ($2 billion) and has 140 turbines. [IBTimes.co.uk]

¶   Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited, a leading solar energy company and the world’s largest PV manufacturer, which markets its products under the brand “Yingli Solar”, announced today the official opening of its Australian operations in Sydney, Australia. [CMO]

¶   Calls have been made to ensure that the Welsh Island of Anglesey becomes a world leader in renewable energy. Segen Wales, a partnership between Marine Current Turbines and RWE npower, is consulting on plans for a tidal farm off the Skerries, and Anglesey. [North Wales Chronicle]

¶   Members of the Liberal Democrats political party in the UK have put forth a proposal that would see millions of gasoline- and diesel-burning passenger vehicles banned from British roads by 2040. [Autoblog]

¶   Vietnam’s state-run English-language newspaper published an opinion ad Tuesday objecting to planned nuclear reactor exports by Japan. The ad says , “the Japanese people are opposed to Japan’s export of nuclear technology due to the immense dangers involved.” [The Japan Times]

¶   An Industry Ministry official says the flow of contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean from Fukushima Daiichi is worse than previously thought, even as PM Shinzo Abe pledged to step up efforts to halt the crisis. The Voice Russia interviews Arnie Gundersen. [The Voice of Russia]

¶   Radioactive cesium has formed hotspots on the seabed east of Fukushima Daiichi. Several spots two to four miles from the plant had readings in excess of 5,000 becquerels, with one as high as 40,000 becquerels. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   Vermont, its largest utility and the entity that operates the New England power grid continue to have their differences over where wind power fits in. ISO President Gordon van Welie responded to a letter from Vermont Governor Shumlin complaining about ISO actions. [BurlingtonFreePress.com]

¶   Due in part to the increased deployment of wind power, average levelized prices for wind power purchase agreements have fallen about 43 percent since 2009 — going from a high of nearly $70 per MWh in 2009 to around $40 per MWh in 2012. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Washington County, Maryland is partnering with America First, Inc. to launch a waste-to-renewable energy initiative, which utilizes municipal solid waste (MSW) and converts it into a fuel source, at no cost to the County. [San Francisco Chronicle]

¶   Having failed completely in its attempt to repeal state renewable electricity standards during the spring 2013 legislative season, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is shifting gears. Their new strategy is more nuanced. [The Equation: Blog of the Union of Concerned Scientists]

Science and Technology:

¶   A team from the University of Colorado Boulder has developed a radically new technique that uses the power of sunlight to efficiently split water into its components of hydrogen and oxygen, paving the way for the broad use of hydrogen as a clean, green fuel. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   German utilities are heaping pressure on the government before September polls to soften green policies that are hurting their profits, with one company hinting it could even move gas or coal plants to countries where it can still make money. [Reuters]

¶   Israeli Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom took part in inaugurating the country’s largest solar field, a 10-megawatt photovoltaic “oasis” developed by SunPower on land belonging to Moshav Mivtahim in the northern Negev. [Jerusalem Post]

¶   Last month, TEPCO, finally admitted what many had suspected – that Fukushima Daiichi was leaking. Now Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority is calling the situation an emergency, and says TEPCO’s plans to stop the leak are unlikely to work. [New Scientist]

¶   The Japanese government will get directly involved in containing rising levels of radioactive water at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant instead of relying solely on the operator, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday, calling it an “urgent issue”. [Reuters]

US:

¶   Wind power became the number one source of new power capacity for the first time in the US last year. According to new reports released by the US DOE, wind energy represented 43% of all new electricity additions and accounted for $25 billion in investments in 2012. [Energy Live News]

¶   The authors of the 2012 Wind Technologies Market Report contend wind sector’s growth underscores the importance of continued policy support and clean energy tax credits to ensure that wind manufacturing and jobs remain in the US. [North American Windpower]

¶   The Obama administration told refiners to blend 16.55 billion gallons of renewable fuels into the nation’s gasoline supply this year, while paring a specialized ethanol requirement that the oil industry had criticized as too ambitious. [San Antonio Express]

¶   Americans are increasingly installing wind turbines near homes, farms and businesses to generate their own energy, a DOW lab is reporting. The DOE issued its first comprehensive analysis specifically on distributed wind. [RenewablesBiz]

¶   McNairy County, Tennessee is likely to be home by next spring to the two largest solar energy installations in the TVA region. Plans call for the two solar farms near Selmer to have more than 160,000 PV panels spread over parts of 326 acres, with a total output of 40 MW. [RenewablesBiz]

¶   Xcel Energy is giving a financial boost to a first-of-its-kind Minnesota project that aims to install small wind turbines on private land to produce energy for farms, businesses and rural homes, with a $1.1 million grant from its Renewable Development Fund. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

World:

¶   The residue radioactive water at the Fukushima nuclear plant has become “an emergency”, the authorities said. The situation is even more serious as a barrier built to contain the water has already been breached, the Nuclear Regulatory Authority warned. [The Tokyo Times]

¶   Radioactivity levels soared 47-fold over just five days in groundwater from a monitoring well on the ocean side of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the plant operator said Aug. 5. [Asahi Shimbun]

¶   Following safety checks required under rules put in place since the Fukushima disaster two years ago, it may take until July to restart some of the reactors in Japan, according to a government-affiliated institute. [Chicago Tribune]

¶   A scandal over nuclear regulation in South Korea is worsening. Weeks of revelations about the close ties between South Korea’s nuclear power companies, their suppliers and testing companies have led the prime minister to liken the industry to a mafia. [Energy Tribune]

US:

¶   In a clash between renewable energy developers and environmental activists, a California appeals court approved plans to build one of the world’s largest solar power projects about 50 miles south of Silicon Valley. [Budget & Tax News]

¶   NRG has plans to build a renewable energy park in Montville, Connecticut. The park would produce 50 MW of power from a mix of biomass, fuel cell, and solar power. [TheDay.com]

¶   According to the EPA, many contaminated land sites in Kentucky have potential for large-scale photovoltaic solar installations. There are a handful of sites with utility-scale wind potential, and numerous opportunities for landfill gas energy and biopower. [WFPL]

¶   The New England Coalition and the Vermont Public Interest Research Group are asking the Vermont Public Service Board to take into account new information about layoffs at Vermont Yankee as part of the board’s decision on a Certificate of Public Good. [vtdigger.org]

¶   Entergy Nuclear and Green Mountain Power have reached a confidential settlement in the utility’s $6.6 million lawsuit over its increased power costs due to the partial collapse of Vermont Yankee’s cooling towers in 2007 and again in 2008. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

Opinion:

¶   From Forbes: “Who’s Gonna Pay For Global Warming?” The middle classes of the developed world will pay with their hard-earned taxes.  The poor of the world will pay with their blood, sweat and tears. And half the species on this planet will pay with their lives. [Forbes]

Science and Technology:

¶   In order to combat the problems from fertilizers, such as ocean dead spots and toxic algae blooms, without loss of yield, researchers at the University of Nottingham are working on a technology that could enable crops to take nitrogen from the air, instead of the soil. [EarthTechling]

¶   Finnish scientists have found a way to turn dead wood into high quality biofuel for less than one euro a litre. They believe they can convert more than half the energy of raw wood – ligno-cellulosic biomass, if you prefer the technical term – into something that will drive a taxi, a tractor or a tank. [Truthdig]

World:

¶   UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg opened the Lincs offshore wind farm in Grimsby, Lincolnshire. The last of the wind farm’s 75 Siemens 3.6 MW wind turbines was connected to the National Grid on Wednesday 24th July, bringing the 270 MW project up to full strength for the first time. [Your Renewable News]

¶   First Solar is set to deliver a total of 155 MW of solar power in Australia. Two solar projects in New South Wales by AGL Energy Limited have achieved financial close. AGL has engaged First Solar to supply the projects with thin-film photovoltaic modules as well as provide services. [EcoSeed]

¶   Japan’s two remaining nuclear reactors will be shut down next month for regular inspections, leaving the country with no source for nuclear energy. Kansai Electric Power Company is set to submit to regulators on Thursday an application to shut down the Number 3 reactor at the Ohi plant in Fukui Prefecture. [The Tokyo Times]

¶   Nearly 10,000 people who worked at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are eligible for workers’ compensation if they develop leukemia, but few are aware of this and other cancer redress programs. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   Wind turbines tower over rural vistas in the heartland, where the clean energy source is becoming increasingly popular with utility companies that face state-mandated renewable energy standards. Unfortunately, the nation’s aging power grid is hampering those efforts. [Bellingham Herald]

¶   Duke Energy Florida has filed a revised settlement agreement with the Florida Public Service Commission comprising provisions related to the Crystal River nuclear plant, the proposed Levy nuclear project, the Crystal River 1 and 2 coal units, and future gas-fired generation needs in Florida. [Gas to Power Journal]

¶   Mark Cooper, senior fellow for economic analysis, Institute for Energy and the Environment, Vermont Law School and author of a July 17th report forecasting that three dozen reactors are at risk of early retirement, issued a statement on recent nuclear industry events as they appear to indicate he was right. [Your Industry News]

World:

¶   Householders in Scotland will soon be able to apply for interest free loans for installing energy efficiency measures under a new £3 million scheme unveiled by the Government. Loans worth up to £10,000 can be borrowed for systems such as solar panels, micro wind turbines, biomass boilers and heat pumps. [Energy Live News]

¶   There have been 17 reviews of the evidence about wind farms and health published internationally. Each of these reviews concludes that wind turbines can annoy a minority of people who live near them, rather predictably those with pre-existing negative attitudes, but there is no strong evidence that they make people ill. [Green Left Weekly]

¶   North British Distillery and HydroThane UK have won a major industry award for an anaerobic digestion project. The Edinburgh Scotch whisky grain distillery supplies famous brands such as Famous Grouse and  Johnnie Walker Black Label. The £6 million project reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 9,000 tonnes per year. [specifinder.com]

¶   TEPCO says that an estimated 20 trillion to 40 trillion becquerels of tritium from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant may have flowed into the Pacific Ocean since May 2011. [The Japan Times]

¶   Scientists in Japan are trying to identify four objects, all highly radioactive, found in an area evacuated after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The first found object is a small pile of what looks like dirt, discovered 9 miles from Fukushima Daiichi. It and the other objects look ordinary, but are extremely radioactive. [MENAFN.COM]

US:

¶    Federal regulators have given Boise-based Gridflex Energy a permit to explore building a dam and reservoir in Central Oregon to use water and pumps as a means of storing energy from such intermittent sources as wind turbines. Water is pumped up hill when demand is low, and used to generate power when demand is high. [News Radio 1310 KLIX]

¶   Two hydropower bills that should expand the production of the clean renewable energy are headed to President Barack Obama’s desk for signature. Both address the need to streamline the permitting processes, one for all small hydropower and conduit projects, the other for Bureau of Reclamation pipes, ditches and canals. [Denver Post]

¶   Duke Energy abandoned plans to build two nuclear reactors in Florida, but Florida Power and Light, which has interest in the project, still believes in nuclear power, and may be looking for ways to press forward on them somehow. [MiamiHerald.com]

World:

¶   Renewable energy projects in Chile have doubled over the last seven months, growing from 16 with a combined capacity of 795 MW of capacity in December 2012 to 24 projects with 1,493 MW. The 24 projects in the pipeline are comprised of seven wind farms, and 17 solar plants. [Natural Resources Defense Council]

¶   The Canadian Wind Energy Association predicts that Canada can have 55,000 MW of wind power capacity by 2025. GE’s new 2.5-MW Brilliant wind turbine is already providing next-generation designs built for the Canadian climate generating higher output, even at low-wind sites. [Canada.com]

¶   The International Finance Corporation has pledged to bring renewable energy to households in rural areas in Russia. It has signed an advisory services agreement with eastern Russia’s largest energy supplier to develop renewable projects in isolated parts of the country. [Energy Live News]

¶   UK government plans to invest in renewable energy will not be pushed off course by supporters of shale gas exploration, also known as fracking, according to Ed Davey, Britain’s energy and climate chief. He said this after announcing a £66 million package to boost offshore wind in the UK. Responding to Climate Change]

¶   UK Energy secretary Ed Davey warns there is no guarantee on when or even if a deal will be reached that allows work to start on the £10 billion nuclear Hinkley C nuclear power station. He says he is willing to see the project fail if a deal can’t be reached. [Building.co.uk]

¶   Radioactive groundwater at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant has risen to levels above a barrier being built to contain it, highlighting the risk of an increasing amount of contaminated water reaching the sea, Japanese media reported on Saturday. [Reuters]

US:

¶   Strata Solar will build and maintain two 20-megawatt solar farms interconnected to the TVA power system through Pickwick Electric Cooperative. TVA will buy the electricity at market rates under TVA’s Renewable Standard Offer program. [Courieranywhere]

¶   The El Segundo Energy Center, a natural gas–fueled, combined-cycle generating facility located near Los Angeles, California, has gone into operation, with a capacity of 550 MW. It can be started quickly, in under an hour, allowing it to back up intermittent renewable technology. [Fort Mills Times]

World:

¶   The UK government has unveiled a long-term strategy that it says will add weight to the UK’s already dominant position in the offshore wind industry, while potentially boosting the economy by £7 billion by 2020. [Blue & Green Tomorrow]

¶   Shares in Finnish refiner Neste Oil jumped 21% on Thursday after it forecast higher full-year profits for its biofuels unit and reported strong quarterly results. Neste has built three renewable diesel plants, as it also seeks to move away from traditional oil refining. [Reuters]

¶   Radioactive cesium levels were much higher in water deep underground at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant than in samples taken closer to the surface, TEPCO said on August 1.  [Asahi Shimbun]

¶   A fight broke out in Taiwan’s parliament ahead of a vote on a referendum on a nuclear plant. Several Taiwanese lawmakers exchanged punches and threw cups and bottles of water at each other on Friday. [BBC News]

US:

¶   In Florida, INEOS Bio announced that its Indian River BioEnergy Center is producing cellulosic ethanol at commercial-scale. First ethanol shipments will be released in August. The $130 million, 65-employee operation has an annual capacity of 8 million gallons. [woodworkingnetwork.com]

¶   Pear Energy has announced it is the first company to offer 100% clean, renewable energy nationwide. Available to both homeowners and businesses, Pear Energy makes it easy to apply conventional utility dollars to clean energy without service interruptions or contracts. [MRO]

¶   The US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory has determined solid figures regarding the land use requirements of solar farms per annual gigawatt hour of power produced. [Energy Matters]

¶   The University of Maine, Maine Maritime Academy and two partner organizations are sharing a federal grant to develop a system that could help capture renewable energy from the motion of ocean waves and offshore winds. [The Tribune]

¶   Duluth-based Minnesota Power has cut a deal that will mean it hits its 25% renewable quota 10 years early. It will expand of its Bison wind farm in North Dakota to the utility’s wind power capacity by 50% to supply 25% of power from renewable sources in 2015. [MinnPost.com]

¶   The downsizing of America’s  nuclear fleet appears to be accelerating. Duke Energy, the largest U.S. utility company based in Charlotte, NC, said it would abandon the Levy nuclear reactor project in Florida. [Forbes]

¶   As the power company awaits regulators’ decision on a pending rate increase request for its Minnesota customers, Xcel CEO Ben Fowke said they would need another rate increase for 2014 because of major investments in its nuclear power plants. [MENAFN.COM]

Science and Technology:

¶   Researchers from Monash University in Australia have developed a compact graphene-based energy storage device capable of lasting as long as a conventional battery. The device could be used in renewable energy storage, portable electronics and electric vehicles. [Responding to Climate Change]

World:

¶   The largest solar energy project in the southern hemisphere, costing A$450 million, has been given the go-ahead by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the New South Wales government. Two solar farms will have a combined capacity of 155 MW. [Responding to Climate Change]

¶   AGL Energy, one of the big three power utilities in Australia, says that 9,000 MW of fossil-fuel baseload capacity needs to be taken out of the national electricity market to bring it back into balance. [RenewEconomy]

¶   The world installed 31,100 MW of solar PVs in 2012—an all-time annual high that pushed global PV capacity above 100,000 MW. There is now enough PV operating to meet the household electricity needs of nearly 70 million people at the European level of use. [InvestorIdeas.com]

¶   Germany increased spending on energy research 77% in the past seven years, benefiting mainly renewable-power and efficiency projects. The government spent €708 million on research and development of energy technologies last year, up from €399 million euros in 2006. [Businessweek]

¶   EDF recorded a £903 million UK profits haul in the first half of the year with greatest profits from power generation. The group also said negotiations over building new nuclear power station continue, and it will make a decision on the project by the end of the year. [Aol Money]

US:

¶   UK-based energy company BP has cancelled a sale of US wind farms, according to BP Wind Energy spokesperson Amanda Abbott.  The projects have a gross generating capacity of about 2600 MW. [reNews]

¶   Deepwater Wind LLC of Providence, Rhode Island,  has successfully bid $3.8 million for the rights to develop offshore wind farms in nearly 165,000 acres of specially designated federal waters off the coasts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Up to 200 turbines are planned. [Boston Globe]

¶   New York’s Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium (NY-BEST) and Dutch company DNV Kema have announced a $23 million joint investment to build the Battery and Energy Storage Technology testing and commercialization center in Rochester, New York. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Exelon Corp, the biggest nuclear power operator in the United States, says that weak prices for power and for natural gas have pushed it to reduce operating and maintenance costs but the company is not yet giving up on any of its reactors. [Reuters]

Opinion:

¶   “What’s in store for the future of net metering and rooftop solar?” The cost for rooftop solar panels has fallen 80% since 2008. Installed rooftop solar energy increased by 900% between 2000 and 2011. As more net metered rooftop solar panels and net meter them, utility revenues will decrease. [GreenBiz.com]

World:

¶   Sainsbury’s, one of the biggest UK retailers, has just completed its 210th rooftop PV system. The supermarket chain has now installed 100,000 solar panels across its stores, totaling 22 MW, enough to cover 35 football pitches. [pv magazine]

¶   A new report published by the Swiss Energy Foundation has made it clear that Switzerland cannot afford not to transition to renewables by looking at the overall cost of not transitioning to renewables and lower consumption. [CleanTechnica]

¶   São Paulo — the largest, richest, and most populous state in Brazil — has now set the relatively ambitious goal of receiving around 70% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by the year 2020. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Japan’s nuclear watchdog will play a more direct role in the cleanup at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power plant after doubts were raised about the ability of the plant’s operator to cope with continuing problems. [Wall Street Journal]

¶   With the aim of reducing its power bill, Indian Railways is actively considering setting up captive nuclear power plants to meet the rising demand of energy for train operation. [Firstpost]

US:

¶   Federal energy regulators accused JPMorgan on Monday of manipulating California electricity markets. In an official notice, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission alleged that the bank had engaged in “eight manipulative bidding strategies” in California and Midwestern markets. [CNN]

¶   Oil drillers in North Dakota’s Bakken shale fields are allowing nearly a third of the natural gas they drill to burn off into the air, with a value of more than $100 million per month, according to a study to be released on Monday. [Huffington Post]

¶   EDF Renewable Energy is aggressively expanding its wind energy portfolio in Texas and may soon cross the milestone of 1,000 MW operational capacity in the state. The company has entered into an agreement to acquire part of a new wind energy project in Texas. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Twenty projects have been recommended to receive grants from Xcel Energy’s Renewable Development Fund. The approximately $30 million in grants announced today will bring to nearly $200 million the total amount provided to renewable energy projects from the fund since 2001. [4-traders]

¶   After two years with low enrollment, New Hampshire’s largest electric utility is phasing out a program that allows customers to pay more to support renewable energy. [Nashua Telegraph]

¶   In a letter to the president and chief executive of ISO New England, Vermont Governor Shumlin criticized the grid operator’s decision to increase output from coal and oil power plants, while scaling back renewable energy production. [Boston Globe]

¶   The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant had two more malfunctions of its radiation monitors on the plant’s refueling floor last week, for a total of four erroneous readings that radiation had exceeded safe standards within the building. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

Opinion:

¶   “Divesting From Fossil Fuels Means A Cleaner, Safer and More Resilient Future” We have ample reserves of fossil fuels, but if we want to stabilize the climate and avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change, we have to stop investing in extracting, refining and burning them. [Forbes]

World:

¶   Renewable energy technology specialists ENER-G, based in Salford, England, have partnered with Fife Council to help power and heat Dunfermline, Scotland, with food and garden waste – using anaerobic digestion. [Manchester Gazette]

¶   Delhi could break the 2 GW solar power barrier by 2020 due to plummeting costs, extensive roof space and the rising demand for electricity, according to Greenpeace. [Responding to Climate Change]

¶   The European Commission said Saturday it has reached an “amicable solution” with Beijing over imports of Chinese solar panels, a dispute that had threatened a full-blown trade war between two of the world’s largest trading powers. [The News International]

¶   A new report from the European Wind Energy Association states the power produced from turbines in deep waters in the North Sea alone could meet the EU’s electricity consumption – four times over. [Energy Matters]

¶   TEPCO detected 8.7 million becquerels of tritium per liter in water taken from a cable trench running under a turbine building, about some 50 meters from the Ocean. According to the report, TEPCO has been unable to figure out why the groundwater is tainted with radiation. [Zee News]

¶   The construction of Turkey’s first nuclear plant seems likely to be delayed as the Environment and Urban Planning Ministry rejected the Environmental Impact Analysis Report for the Akkuyu plant, citing deficiencies in form and content. [Balkans.com Business News]

US:

¶   Some residents of Grafton, Vermont, say they’re glad they had an opportunity to voice concerns to Governor Peter Shumlin about the possibility of an industrial wind power project being built in their community. [Albany Times Union]

¶   Southern California Edison officials believe ratepayers—not shareholders— should pay to maintain the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. [Patch.com]

¶   Entergy determined the false alarms at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant is that the radiation monitors  were faulty and will replace four of the devices. Spokesman Rob Williams says the manufacturer had experienced problems with that particular “lot” of monitor devices. [vtdigger.org]

World:

¶   In the view of the Indian Credit Ratings Agency, fundamental long-term demand outlook for wind energy in India is expected to remain strong. Demand will be supported by large wind energy requirements to meet the renewable purchase obligation requirements in the country. [Economic Times]

¶   In Canada, hundreds of people came to Vancouver’s waterfront today for a sun-baked demonstration against the fossil fuel industry, and its projects in the Northwest. The climate change advocates 350.org  organized a national day of action around a broad range of fossil fuels. [OPB News]

¶   Inspectors from Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority on Saturday started their third on-site survey o check for active faults beneath the Ohi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture. Members of the inspection team are split over whether there is an active fault underneath the plant. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶   US President Barack Obama called into question the number of jobs that would be created from the controversial Keystone XL pipeline in an interview with the New York Times released on Saturday. [Huffington Post]

¶   U.S. capacity to generate solar energy has tripled since 2010 and increased tenfold since 2007, according to a new report from the nonprofit advocacy group Environment America. [The Coloradoan]

¶   According to the Energy Information Administration, rooftop solar electricity accounts for less than a quarter of 1 percent of the nation’s power generation. And yet, to hear executives tell it, such power sources could ultimately threaten traditional utilities’ ability to maintain the nation’s grid. [Boston Globe]

¶   In a dramatic but symbolic statement, hundreds of demonstrators converged on the Columbia River on Saturday to protest fossil fuel exports. Their message: proposed oil, coal and natural gas facilities in the Northwest won’t go through without a fight.  [The Columbian]

¶   JPMorgan Chase is exploring shedding its stakes in power plants, oil tank farms and warehouses as well as the trading desks that buy and sell oil, natural gas and coal. But the bank said it would continue its activities in the commodity markets, including financial derivatives and precious metals. [gulfnews.com]

¶   First, there were two high radiation alarms at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. Then, the plant claimed they were false alarms. Now, Entergy spokesman Robert Williams says, “To be perfectly clear, the monitors did not fail. They did not fail; they were generating false signals.” [Rutland Herald]

Opinion:

¶   “Fracking Isn’t a Fairytale, It’s a Nightmare” Natalie Bennett, leader of the UK’s Green Party, says belief in “fairydust” – a magical solution to our energy needs – has been far too prevalent among far too many of their political leaders in recent months. [Huffington Post UK]

Science and Technology:

¶   The US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory is studying the ability of wood borers to make enzymes that convert biomass into sugars, which can be used for the biofuels industry. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

World:

¶   Over the next three decades, world energy consumption is projected to increase by 56%, driven by growth in the developing world, according to International Energy Outlook 2013, released by the US Energy Information Administration. [Eurasia Review]

¶   A plan to ship 16 radioactive steam generators through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River for recycling in Sweden has been cancelled after delays caused by public opposition. [Lethbridge Herald]

¶   Two international nuclear experts invited to a nuclear reform monitoring panel took the organizer, TEPCO, to task for failing to keep the public informed about toxic water leaks at Fukushima Daiichi. Dale Klein, former NRC head told TEPCO they don’t know what they are doing. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   By a two-to-one margin, New Hampshire residents believe there should be a higher priority put on increasing the use of renewable energy instead of increased drilling for oil. Also, nine in 10 New Hampshire residents believe that climate change is happening now. [Foster’s Daily Democrat]

¶   The Obama administration is pushing plans for renewable energy projects on public land, banning new mining claims on more than 300,000 acres in the West to make sure the areas are available for solar power installations. But some conservationists are not happy. [Grist]

¶   US natural gas use needs to peak within 17 years in order to meet the Obama administration’s climate goals and prevent the worst impacts of global warming, according to the Center for American Progress said. [Platts]

¶   Kansas has more wind energy potential than any state except Texas, but eight states generate more windpower. A key problem: a lack of high-voltage electricity lines to connect the remote areas where turbines churn out power to the bustling regions that demand it. [Willits News]

¶   The government of Vermont has asked federal regulators to look into why radiation monitors failed recently at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. [Vermont Public Radio]

¶   Federal regulators are worried that a security manager’s firing from a job at a nuclear plant could deter employees and contractors from questioning safety at one of the nation’s largest nuclear power stations. [FederalNewsRadio.com]

Science and Technology:

¶   A team of researchers at MIT is developing an alternative to zirconium-based nuclear fuel rod cladding with the hope of reducing the risk of hydrogen production by roughly a thousandfold. The new cladding material is a ceramic compound called silicon carbide. [Eureka! Science News]

World:

¶   France will likely miss a goal for renewables to make up 23 percent of energy consumption by 2020 unless power users stump up billions of euros, according to the state auditor. [Businessweek]

¶   The UK may have missed its 2011/12 target of producing 4.04% of energy from renewable sources, as provisional figures put it at 3.94%. Conventional hydropower is not mentioned as a renewable. Changes in policy have led to uncertainty in the market. [Resource Magazine]

US:

¶   Blue Sky West, a wholly owned subsidiary of First Wind Energy, has proposed what would be the largest wind farm in New England to the Maine Government. The farm would carry 162 wind turbines and have a capacity of up to 191 MW across several towns in Central Maine. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The US biodiesel industry reached a new production record for the first half of the year and is on pace for its best year ever, according to new EPA figures. [KTIC]

¶   The Ivanpah Valley of the Mojave Desert in California will soon be home to the largest solar thermal energy plant in the world. More than six years in the making, the plant is now slated to begin generating power before summer’s end. [National Geographic]

¶   Maryland’s Governor O’Malley has announced an aggressive plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions and boost renewable energy. Under the plan, Maryland would meet the goal of reducing emissions 25% by 2020. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The NRC has issued an information notice to US nuclear power plants concerning cracking resulting from stress and age in the local plant’s steam generator tubes. The warning is based on issues discovered at the Seabrook Station nuclear power plant last year. [Hampton Union]

¶   Vermont Yankee nuclear plant officials said Thursday two recent high radiation readings in the reactor building at the Vernon plant were false alarms. [Boston.com]

¶   Omaha Public Power District and the US NRC held a public meeting to talk about the progress in ongoing efforts to bring the Ft. Calhoun nuclear power plant back online. Over one-third of the issues that need to be addressed were not ready for the NRC inspection team to evaluate.[KVNO News]

Science and Technology:

¶   Shale and other clay-rich rock formations might offer permanent disposal solutions for spent nuclear fuel, according to a new paper by the US Geological Survey. [Akron Beacon Journal]

¶   Scientists are working to reduce the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels by developing environmentally friendly and cost-effective plastics from natural, sustainable and renewable materials. Researchers especially are focused on creating polymers from renewable starting materials, are non-toxic and can be composted. [National Science Foundation]

World:

¶   A leaked Scottish National Party document speaks of Scotland’s need to move away from “damaging, price-volatile fossil fuels”. The pro-UK Better Together campaign says it reveals ministers’ private fears, despite claims that Scotland will see a second North Sea boom. [Herald Scotland]

¶   A poll shows Australians overwhelmingly support solar power, with 26.3% of 2643 people responding saying they have at least some solar PVs installed already. The Australian Photovoltaic Association commissioned the poll from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. [Clean Energy Authority]

¶   Government figures released today in the annual Digest of UK Energy Statistics show that electricity production from renewable energy sources in 2012 was up by almost 20% on the previous year and accounted for over 11% of all electricity generated in the year. [Click Green]

¶   French nuclear group Areva said first-half earnings were hit by a €150 million ($198) charge related to the construction of its flagship EPR reactor in Olkiluoto, Finland, which is years behind schedule and billions of euros over budget. [Interactive Investor]

¶   It has been revealed that TEPCO knew about leaks of radioactive groundwater from Fukushima Daiichi into the ocean a month before it publicly disclosed the problem. Japan’s nuclear watchdog has rebuked The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) for its slack response to the leaks. [Yahoo!7 News]

¶   Japanese imports of liquefied natural gas in the first half of 2013 were down 2.7% to 43.4 million tons, the first half-yearly decline since the nuclear accident more than two years ago. [Wall Street Journal]

US:

¶   Xcel Energy indicated that it would request to add 42.5 megawatts of new renewable generation in Colorado in 2014, including 24 megawatts of on¬site, small solar and 6.5 megawatts of community solar, through the company’s Solar*Rewards program. [4-traders]

¶   Days after announcing plans to purchase nearly 700 megawatts of wind power for customers in New Mexico and Texas, Xcel is telling regulators it wanted to add 600 megawatts of power from three planned wind-farm projects in North Dakota and Minnesota to its portfolio. The interest in wind is based on cost. [Greentech Media]

World:

¶   Australia could phase out almost all its fossil-fuel sourced electricity by 2040 if it doubled the current rate of take-up of solar energy and wind energy maintained its current growth pace, said Professor Ken Baldwin, director of ANU’s Energy Change Institute. [The Canberra Times]

¶   Ontario officials have granted a renewable energy approval (REA) for the 270 MW K2 wind project proposed near the southeastern shore of Lake Huron. Partners Samsung Renewable Energy, Pattern Energy and Capital Power plan to build 140 Siemens 2.3 MW turbines [reNews]

¶   New flexible renewable energy units in Germany will help reduce the risk of negative power prices and limit the need for fossil plants for backup capacity, a study found. In 2012, power prices fell below €-50/MWh 22 on occasions of high solar or wind power supply with low demand. [Gas to Power Journal]

¶   European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy yesterday said phasing out fossil fuel subsidies would be among its priorities at the G20 summit in Russia in September. [Business Green]

¶   Experts from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology have been studying the situation at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and have come to the conclusion that the decontamination efforts would cost around $50 billion. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau have announced that BOEM will hold its second competitive lease sale for renewable energy on the US Outer Continental Shelf. [Windtech International]

¶   Maryland Governor O’Malley is expected to propose boosting the state’s renewable portfolio standard, requiring utilities to make renewables 25 percent of their mix of electricity generation by 2020, up from the current target of 20 percent by 2022. [Washington Post]

¶   This week, however, the Georgia Public Service Commission awarded approval for a solar energy program t hat would be managed by the state’s primary energy distributor, Georgia Power. [Hydrogen Fuel News]

¶   A natural gas platform exploded in the Gulf of Mexico late Tuesday, the US Coast Guard reported. While gas is flowing from the well, “no oil is being released.” A light sheen about a half-mile wide was spotted by environmental inspectors, but was dissipating. [CNN]

¶   The nuclear shutdown at San Onofre is partially to blame for a 59 percent increase in wholesale electricity prices for California in the first half of the year, the Energy Information Administration said Tuesday. [U-T San Diego]

¶   A former employee of Entergy at its Indian Point Energy Center was arrested today on federal charges brought by the US Attorney’s Office for falsifying documents at Indian Point in 2012. Employees found the falsification and reported it to management who notified the NRC. [MENAFN.COM]

Opinion:

¶   “Could job cuts hurt VY’s case?” Sometime before the end of the year, the state Public Service Board is likely to tell the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant whether it can continue operating. The plant’s owners’ plans for job cuts may have just hurt their case. [vt.Buzz]

World:

¶   The Center for Alternative Technology has released an update to its Zero Carbon Britain scenario, which shows that the UK can reduce carbon emissions with existing technology. Nuclear power is not part of the carbon-free mix. [H&V News]

¶   The World Bank Group has released a report, Toward a Sustainable Future for All: Directions for the World Bank Group’s Energy Sector, calling for more investment in solar energy as a tool for tackling extreme poverty. [PV-Tech]

¶   French Environment Minister Philippe Martin has announced that the country’s oldest nuclear plant of Fessenheim is expected to be closed by the end of 2016. France has 58 nuclear reactors producing nearly 75% of the nation’s electricity. [Energy Business Review]

¶   For the second time in two weeks, workers at Fukushima Daiichi have reported that steam rising from the building that houses reactor no 3. Workers spotted the steam coming out of the same area as last week. [The Japan Daily Press]

¶   Backtracking on previous comments, TEPCO confirmed that radioactive groundwater from melted reactors at Fukushima Daiichi has been leaking into the Pacific Ocean, raising concern the toxic water has been flowing into the sea for over two years. [Businessweek]

US:

¶   The Californian city of Palo Alto has this week committed to using 100 per cent renewable electricity after its council voted in favour of making the move – effective immediately – on Monday. The estimated added cost to homeowners’ bills of less than $3 per year. [RenewEconomy]

¶   San Diego-based EDF Renewable Energy, a renewable energy projects developer, said today that it is in a deal to buy a wind project. The company said it will acquire the first phase of an up to 500 megawatt project in Texas, the Hereford Wind Project. [socalTech.com]

¶   Dominion Resources, the owner of Virginia’s largest utility, bought three solar projects under construction in Indiana with 28.6 megawatts of capacity that will increase the amount of energy produced from sunlight in the state more than fivefold. [Businessweek]

¶   Electric utilities Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating selected 145 clean projects in the second round of the state’s $1 billion renewable energy credit program. [Hartford Business]

¶   US Navy fighter jets may soon fly on tree-fuel. Researchers at the US Department of Agriculture are exploring ways to convert invasive trees such as junipers and pinyon pine trees that are common in the West, into aviation fuel. It’s to be tested by the Navy. [Central Valley Business Times]

¶   San Francisco will launch CleanPowerSF, a 100% renewable energy alternative to PG&E power. This creates a path toward energy independence by giving San Franciscans the ability to invest in and build their own renewable resources, which will create living-wage jobs. [Huffington Post]

Opinion:

¶   “Energy companies are paying a heavy price for shunning renewables” The argument for green solutions is not just about climate change – traditional sources of power will soon cost more. [The Guardian]

Science and Technology:

¶   The German experience shows that the more wind and solar PV installations one has across the country, the less the so-called intermittency is an issue and the daily electric power levels become more stable and more foreseeable as the number of installations increases nationwide. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   Developing countries made 46% of the global investment in renewables in 2012, according to the UN Environment Program. Wind accounted for 39% of new renewable capacity, followed by hydropower and solar PVs, which each accounted for 26%. [Irish Times]

¶   Hydro Tasmania says its King Island Renewable Energy Integration Project has achieved extended periods of 100% renewable energy for the island’s grid – the first time that a grid of this scale has been serviced by wind, solar and storage devices. [RenewEconomy]

¶   China is working extensively to unlock its domestic solar potential by pushing small-scale distributed projects. The State Council’s guideline to facilitate development of the solar products’ industry, issued on July 15, is a major boost in this regard. [People’s Daily Online]

¶   Wind integration studies suggest that grid operators could cope with more renewable power without adding big back-up plants, obviating the need for European governments to intervene in power markets. [Gulf Times]

¶   The £128 million deal to compensate Somerset for hosting the proposed new Hinkley C power station is “a drop in the ocean” according to campaigners. [South West Business]

¶   Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has won control of the parliament in upper-house elections. This is seen to pave the way for the reopening of many of the nation’s shuttered nuclear-power plants. [MarketWatch]
… Many in the US media infer from the election results that the Japanese nuclear plants will be  restarted soon. The inference is wrong. [geoharvey]

US:

¶   Vermont’s homegrown Green Mountain Power Cow Power program is paving the way for cleaner air, happier farm neighbors and more successful Vermont businesses. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

¶   A slump in power prices, increasing maintenance expense as plants age and stricter safety regulations following Japan’s 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster may prompt the industry to retire as many as five plants before the end of the decade, according to research firm UBS Securities LLC. [Businessweek]

World:

¶   A higher price for oil will have almost no impact on the growth of electricity generation from renewable energy sources in Canada, according to the US Department of Energy. [Energy Digital]

¶   According to new Saudi Arabian National Energy Plan, in addition to solar power, Saudi Arabia is looking at using nuclear energy, geothermal energy and wind power to fulfill its ambitious target of producing 54 GW of energy through renewable resources in the next two decades. [Business Standard]

¶   German daily paper, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported that the European Commission was working on plans to allow state subsidies for the construction and operation of nuclear power plants. The Commission denies the claims. [Deutsche Welle]

¶   Media surveys ahead of Sunday’s upper house election show that Japanese voters are placing the economy above all other issues, including the future of nuclear energy use. [Wall Street Journal]

US:

¶   American farmers have teamed up with environmentalists and other pro-green energy groups to push legislators to keep the renewable energy mandates. Their voices, some local businesses, and the prospect of new clean energy jobs, have made repeal of the standards difficult. [Care2.com]

¶   A third grade class in southern Indiana raised $25,000 from business grants and penny-jar donations for  a wind turbine, and got siting approvals. But utility company policies make the project so expensive that the third grade class project and Vectren are in court. [WRAL.com]

¶   A transmission agreement between the Imperial Irrigation District and the California ISO could create a model for ensuring adequate transmission for renewable energy development at the Salton Sea, which is increasingly seen as critical to funding any plan to save the dying sea. [The Desert Sun]

¶   The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan is supposed to identify areas in California deserts most suited to new energy development. The California Wind Energy Association says too little land has been set aside for wind projects and in less than ideal wind-producing areas. [Los Angeles Times]

¶   RES America Developments Inc. is working with Xcel Energy to construct the 200 MW Pleasant Valley Wind Farm. The project is near Austin, Minnesota, adjacent to the Grand Meadow wind project owned by Xcel Energy. [AZoBuild]

World:

¶   The islands off the north and west of Scotland hold the UK’s best renewable resources, yet for more than a decade energy policies have prevented them from realising their full potential, due to long out-of-date doctrines from a previous era still in place today. [The Conversation]

¶   Ukraine more than doubled power generation by renewable energy sources, including solar, wind and biofuel power plants, in the first half of the year. Renewable output was 581.4 GWh in January-June, compared with 266.2 GWh in the same period a year ago. [Platts]

¶   In a survey of Japanese people, 94% of the respondents said that it was in their opinion that the Fukushima nuclear disaster has not been controlled effectively. Their primary reason for thinking this is the ongoing leaking of radioactive substances at the plant. [The Japan Daily Press]

¶   French police are investigating what rail officials said was an apparent act of sabotage that resulted in the derailment of a train carrying nuclear waste. A previously unknown anti-nuclear group has claimed responsibility for the incident. [UPI.com]

¶   As China pushes an aggressive expansion of nuclear power it is running into a stumbling block – a breakdown of trust, post-Fukushima, in official assurances of public safety. There is growing skepticism in China over official assurances of safety after a series of food and pollution scandals. [Reuters]

US:

¶   Renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, biomass, hydro and geothermal, accounted for 24.93% of all new US capacity installed in the first six months of this year for a total of 2,144 MW. This is more than coal or nuclear, but less than half of new natural gas capacity. [Renew Grid]

¶   Entergy has launched a company-wide effort to cut costs and increase efficiencies. Company officials did not agree to an interview. But in a written statement, Entergy said: “We do expect workforce reductions to be one result of this initiative.” [Vermont Public Radio]

¶   Owners of the San Onofre nuclear plant are blaming Mitsubishi for the plant’s troubles in an effort to recover billions of dollars in costs and investments. Mitsubishi says that the contract remains in effect and that the manufacturer is responsible only for the cost of equipment. [U-T San Diego]

World:

¶   The California Solar Initiative, intended to encourage solar electric generation, has been so successful that a record-breaking 391 MW of solar panels was installed in California in 2012, 26% more than 2011. [Green Building Elements]

¶   Wind power capacity must grow exponentially if the UK is to hit its 2020 renewables target, according to National Grid models. Gary Dolphin, market outlook manager at National Grid, maintained that meeting all the UK’s green targets was “challenging but achievable”. [Utility Week]

¶   According to a new report from Navigant Research, installed capacity of storage systems for solar and wind power integration will total 21.8 GW from 2013 to 2023. During that time, more than 1,300 GW of wind and solar power generation capacity are expected to come online. [Windpower Engineering]

¶   The U.K. government will require electricity suppliers to buy power from independent renewable generators, an effort to help them compete in an electricity market dominated by three large utilities. [Bloomberg]

¶   WWF Scotland director Lang Banks has said that the number of wind farms in the UK could increase following the successful testing of new safety equipment designed to eliminate concerns over installing turbines near airports. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶   Diverting cash used to subsidise fossil fuel production and consumption could raise up to $600 billion a year to fund cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and help poor countries adapt to the effect of a warmer planet, delegates at U.N. talks were told in the Philippines this week. [Reuters AlertNet]

¶   The total electricity production from renewable sources hit record levels in Portugal in June, reaching 72%, according to NGO Quercus, based on figures from the national grid company REN. This is almost double the 38% seen just 12 months earlier. [The Portugal News]

¶   TEPCO says that 1,973 workers at its disaster-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have estimated thyroid radiation doses exceeding 100 millisieverts and are therefore at higher risk of suffering from thyroid cancer. [The Japan Times]

¶   In a new poll of 1200 Japanese aged 15 to 79, approximately 23%  said that a nuclear disaster like the one in Fukushima “will occur” if ever the idled reactors are restarted, and nearly 57% are of the opinion that a disaster will “probably occur.” [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   The US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory has received the Biomass Thermal Energy Council’s recognition for the wood chip heating systems that provide the lab’s heat. [Watch List News]

¶   Right-wing efforts to overturn state-level renewable-energy mandates have been failing across the nation. Here’s one big reason why: Many conservatives actually like the mandates. [Grist]

¶   According to the annual U.S. energy charts released by Lawrence Livermore, wind production, in quadrillion BTU (quads), went from 1.17  in 2011 to 1.36 in 2012. Solar power jumped from 0.158 in 2011 to roughly 0.235 in 2012. [Buildings] (Increases of 16% and 49%, respectively)

¶   Two energy companies are pulling out of northeastern Pennsylvania, where a three-year moratorium on gas drilling has infuriated landowners who say it is now cost them a windfall of more than $187 million. [Akron Beacon Journal]

¶   Southern California Edison (SCE) announced the inevitable: it is filing a lawsuit against Mitsubishi, the Japanese company that made the faulty replacement steam generators which led to the downfall of SCE’s San Onofre nuclear plant. [OC Weekly]

¶   The Pilgrim nuclear power plant has been forced to reduce its power output after this week’s heat wave made Cape Cod Bay water too warm to use for cooling the reactor. [The Patriot Ledger]

World:

¶   The Centre for Alternative Technology, released an update of its Zero Carbon Britain report saying solar and wind energy sources can be backed up by using carbon-neutral synthetic gas for a rapid shift to a carbon-neutral Britain. [theenergycollective.com]

¶   Saudi Arabia aims to become the world’s foremost market for renewable energy with an aggressive investment budget of $109 billion. By 2032, the country strives to generate as much as a third of the Kingdom’s energy demands using renewable energy (54 GW). [Arab News]

¶   The World Bank has decided that it will halt the financing of coal-fired power plants and will allow it only under rare circumstances where there are no other feasible alternatives to coal. [The Green Optimistic]

¶   Wind integration studies suggest that European grid operators could cope with more renewable power without adding big back-up plants, so governments need not intervene in power markets. This could be done by having grids increase cooperation across regions. [Business Recorder]

¶   The UK’s government has introduced tax-payer funded benefit packages for people living in the vicinity of future nuclear reactors. Some £128m will be awarded to the area around Hinkley Point. The plans have encountered criticism. [E&T magazine]

¶   The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2013 was published last Thursday and revealed a measly growth of over 1.2 GW during 2012 globally, compared to 32 GW of solar growth in the same time. The decline results from Fukushima and renewable power. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Another day brings another mishap at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Tokyo Electric Power Company said on Thursday that steam has been spotted coming out near the pool storing machinery on the fifth floor of the reactor 3 building. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   The Vermont Energy Partnership recently published its latest study, “The Three-Legged Race: Vermont’s Pursuit of 90% Renewables by 2050,” an overview of progress towards reaching the Vermont Department of Public Service goal of using 90% renewable energy by 2050. [Mountaintimes]

¶   US power producers must reduce their dependence on water or they may be forced to lower output as drought and other extreme weather events curtail their access to water supplies, researchers said today. Coal and nuclear plants are affected most. [FuelFix]

¶   Michigan’s Palisades nuclear plant has had two leaks since shutting down in May to repair a leaking water tank.  One was in a pipe in the service water system. The other had a small amount of water dripping from the control room ceiling onto a panel. [The San Luis Obispo Tribune]

¶   Arizona utilities can’t use electricity generated by burning trash to meet their renewable energy requirements, a judge ruled Wednesday. A chapter of the Sierra Club had filed a suit to stop a trash-burning plant near Phoenix from being counted as renewable. [Arizona Daily Star]

¶   America’s fleet of aging nuclear power plants is rapidly becoming uneconomical to operate, according to a new report, “Renaissance in Reverse,” by Mark Cooper of the Vermont Law School. [Plain Dealer]

¶   Construction on the first 65 miles of California’s high-speed rail project is about to begin, and according to a report from the California’s High Speed Rail Authority, the project will produce zero net greenhouse gas emissions. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Xcel has lifted the secrecy about cost overruns at its Monticello nuclear power plant, revealing that recently completed upgrades, originally budgeted at $320 million, were actually costing $640 million. [MENAFN.COM]

Science and Technology:

¶   Replacing old power plants with renewable energy could help ease both the carbon and water footprint, according to a study released Tuesday morning by the Union of Concerned Scientists. [FuelFix]

World:

¶   After a lackluster first quarter, second quarter investment in global clean energy was up, reaching $53.1 billion, according to figures gathered by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. [RenewEconomy]

¶   German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she will fight in Brussels for a disputed clause within Germany’s renewable energy law that exempts energy-intensive industries from charges which other consumers must pay. [Reuters]

¶   Solar power output goes up during the day, and down to zero at night. Remarkably, Germany’s electricity imports and exports now follow an identical cycle. [theenergycollective.com]

¶   277 new offshore wind turbines, totalling 1,045 MW, were fully grid connected in Europe during the first six months of 2013. This is double compared to the same period in 2012 when 523.2 MW were installed. [Balkans.com Business News]

¶   New Brunswick’s energy minister says it comes as no surprise that there was a $638-million cost overrun, more than doubling the bill, during its refurbishment of the Point Lepreau nuclear plant. [Victoria Times Colonist]

US:

¶   Dakota Power says they are hoping to build as many as 500 wind turbines in southern Lincoln County in the coming years and double South Dakota’s wind output. [KDLT News]

¶   There has been a sharp increase in small earthquakes in some areas of the US. Clearly, s scientists believe this is associated with fracking. [theenergycollective]

¶   Opponents of nuclear power are to blame for much of the cost overruns at Plant Vogtle, Gov. Nathan Deal said Tuesday even as the utility overseeing its construction cites other reasons. [Florida Times-Union]

Disturbing:

¶   A Korean website assembled this image collection of produce from towns and villages surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. And they are NOT pretty pictures. [msnNOW]

World:

¶   China will multiply its solar capacity fivefold to more than 35 GW installed by 2015. Added demand will help alleviate industry oversupply that contributed to a 20% plunge in the average price of solar panels last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. [eco-business.com]

¶   German power utilities E.ON and EnBW have both announced plans to mothball fossil-fuel power plants in Europe that can no longer compete with renewables in electricity markets. [Recharge]

¶   Most people in the UK back the idea of a switch to a renewables-based energy system, according to research by academics from the Universities of Cardiff and Nottingham. Of people polled, 85% support solar and 75% support wind. [reNews]

¶   Enel Green Power has connected its first PV plants in Romania to the grid. The two plants have a combined installed capacity of around 19 MW. The operating plants will be able to generate up to an approximate 29 million kWh per year. [Your Renewable News]

¶   Just before Greenpeace activists broke into the Tricastin nuclear plant in France, the International Atomic Energy Agency published a report saying significant progress had been made strengthening nuclear safety, despite the “challenge” posed by ageing reactors. [Carbonated.tv]

¶   On the 700th day of their protest against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, villagers of Idinthakarai in Tamil Nadu”dropped dead” on the roads in a symbolic gesture, an anti-plant activist said Monday. [Business Standard]

US:

¶   The oil industry’s top lobby group in Washington has launched an aggressive new ad campaign urging the repeal of the Renewable Fuel Standard, a 2007 law mandating the blending of gasoline with increasing volumes of ethanol. [Economic Times]

¶   Dominion Virginia Power’s Altavista power station is now running on renewable biomass as part of a plan to convert three of its coal-fired power plants in the state to burn mostly waste wood left from regional timbering operations as fuel. [CBS Local]

¶   Providing capital and technology to farm the wind in America’s heartland with global renewable energy company Enel Green Power, GE is investing common equity and supplying turbines for the 250-MW Buffalo Dunes Wind Project in Kansas. [Windpower Engineering]

¶   An Xcel Energy subsidiary expects to save $590 million in fuel costs over the next 20 years as a result of long-term power purchase agreements with three wind power farms in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. [Triple Pundit]

¶   Temperatures reached 116 degrees in some urban parts of California early this month, but there were no rolling blackouts, no brownouts, no problems. That happened with the San Onofre Nuclear Power Station producing not even one watt of electricity. [San Gabriel Valley Tribune]

¶   Panels of alarms designed to warn personnel of operational failures at the Pilgrim nuclear plant in Massachusetts mysteriously shut down at 12:30 AM Monday and just as mysteriously restarted at 2:05 AM. [Capecodonline]

Science and Technology:

¶   A new study led by researchers at Columbia University and published Friday in the journal Science suggests a strong quake that strikes halfway around the globe can set off small to mid-size quakes near injection wells in the U.S. heartland. [Dalles Chronicle]

¶   A new Silicon Valley developer of thin film solar PV modules has claimed an engineering breakthrough that could cut the manufacturing costs of PV modules by one third, to less than 40¢ per watt. [CleanTechnica]

Economics and Finance:

¶   Research done a London-based non-governmental organisation concludes that when stricter regulations on carbon come into play, the market value of fossil fuel companies could drop dramatically, as extraction becomes uneconomic. [Investment Europe]

World:

¶   After over two years of delays, the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change has published tariff levels for residential installations. The Solar Trade Association called the announcement a “breakthrough”. [solarserver.com]

¶   Wind energy is now cost competitive with new-build coal capacity in India, and solar is likely to follow suit sometime between 2016-18, despite the fact that subsidies for wind are up to 15% lower than those for new coal capacity. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Germany could face a probe into whether it has breached EU competition rules by letting consumers partly foot the bill as it switches to renewable energy, Der Spiegel reported Sunday. [GlobalPost]

¶   Nine years after residents of the small German village of Jühnde got together to build a bioenergy plant fueled with plants and manure,  the plant supplies all of their heat and allows them to sell surplus electricity to the national grid. [Wall Street Journal]

¶   Scientists have discovered cesium 137 in sediment under a Swiss lake used for drinking water and situated near a nuclear plant. Lake Biel is about 20 kilometres (12 miles) downstream from the plant, which may have discharged waste in 2000. [Business Standard]

¶   Dozens of Greenpeace activists entered an EDF nuclear power plant in Tricastin, southern France early on Monday morning, demanding the government shut it down, the environmental campaign group said. [FRANCE 24]

US:

¶   Heliae’s first commercial-scale algae production facility has raised $28.4 million of investment capital to support and expand the operations of its first commercial production facility in its hometown of Gilbert, Arizona.[CleanTechnica]

¶   The troubled Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant has missed another target date for restarting, so the Omaha Public Power District might spend another summer buying electricity to help meet peak demand. [Greenwich Time]

¶   The Monticello nuclear plant will restart after getting a 12% uprate and other maintenance, but it is over budget. Expected to cost $320 million, the four-month job wound up costing more than $587 million. How much more is not known. [MENAFN.COM]

Opinion:

¶   “Clean, green can mean all sorts of jobs” Most people think renewable power means solar or wind power, and are fuzzy on the implications. One implication is all sorts of jobs for all sorts of people. [USA TODAY]

World:

¶   The Financial Times reports that Queen Elizabeth employs renewable electricity, smart meters, and other green measures at Windsor Castle, including smart meters, conservation, and two Archimedes screw water turbines on the Thames. [SmartMeters]

¶   Africa’s oldest nuclear reactor has been shut since 2004, after it overheated and the bottom plate that held the nuclear fuel cylinders warped. Now the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo wants to start it again. [The Sunday Times]

¶   The first unit of the Kudankulam nuclear plant has attained criticality. In the first stage, the plant will be synchronized with India’s southern grid with about 400 megawatts power expected within 30 to 45 days. [Indian Express]

US:

¶   Following its efforts in fuel cell technology, GM announced it has started working on a project with TimberRock Energy Solutions that would allow energy from electric vehicles to be added back into the local power grid. [Wall St. Cheat Sheet]

¶   As the University of Maine prepares its bid for a long-term contract for an offshore wind energy farm, the school announced that it will extend its test deployment of its floating wind turbine will stay in Castine Harbor to a year. [Lewiston Sun Journal]

¶   California has had a surge in people interested in investing in solar energy systems for their homes over the past couple years. They not being moved because it’s chic to be green, but because it makes good financial sense. [Valley News]

¶   As a war brews between goliath investor-owned utilities and distributed solar energy supporters, solar advocates say they think the utilities have already lost – they just don’t know it yet. [Clean Energy Authority]

Science and Technology:

¶   Extreme weather brought about by climate change could make the nation’s critical energy infrastructure vulnerable, according to a US DOE report. Thermal plants, including nuclear, coal, and natural gas, are most threatened. [Houston Business Journal]

¶   Japan’s Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry will build a large-scale experimental facility to reduce nuclear waste by transmuting it into other elements by bombarding it with neutrons from an accelerator. [The Japan News]

World:

¶   Plans to build the world’s largest offshore wind farm equipped with 288 turbines have been approved for the Triton Knoll site off the coast of Lincolnshire near Skegness. The £3.6 billion project will generate 1.2 GW of electricity. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶   Parts of a Japan’s largest floating wind farm are being moved towards waters off Fukushima. A 2 megawatt wind turbine, 30 stories high, left Tokyo, followed by the massive floating substation. Power generation is due to start in October. [New Tang Dynasty Television]

¶   Spain’s government plans to slash subsidies for renewable-energy providers and raise electricity bills to reduce pressure on public coffers. The move is expected to produces defaults by solar-power firms and pressure banks. [NASDAQ]

¶   Kyushu Electric Power Co. filed Friday for government safety assessments on two reactors, raising to 12 the number of units for which restarts are being sought in the wake of the introduction earlier this week of new safety requirements. [The Japan Times]

¶   Since the Fukushima Disaster, public attitudes worldwide remain hardened against nuclear power. One major exception is the UK, but Germany, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and even France are moving away from it. [The Conversation]

¶   A day after Atomic Energy Regulatory Board gave the green signal for commissioning of Unit 1 of the controversial Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant , authorities set in motion work on taking it to First Approach to Criticality. [The New Indian Express]

¶   One day after a rare public protest, Chinese authorities say they were abandoning plans to construct a uranium processing plant in southeastern China, where residents raised concerns about its safety and potential environmental impact. [New York Times]

US:

¶   Georgia Power must purchase more solar power for its energy system under a plan approved by state utility regulators, a move sought by renewable energy proponents but denounced by a commissioner who argued it could raise costs. [Marietta Daily Journal]

¶   The nuclear renaissance lies in ruins, say authors of an industry report, because the economics don’t work. [MINING.com]

¶   The government has confirmed that, based on the latest estimates, the Uranium Processing Facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, won’t become operational until 2025 — and that’s just the first phase of what’s now become a three-phase project. [Knoxville News Sentinel]

Opinion:

¶   “Nuclear Renaissance was just a Fairy Tale” Peter Bradford of the Vermont Law School tells us the gap between nuclear rhetoric and nuclear reality has been a fundamental impediment to wise energy policy decisions for half a century now. [The Guardian]

¶   “It may not pay to be green, but you lose money being brown.” Financial analysis makes a case for divesting of fossil fuels entirely for reasons of market economy. [Financial News]

Book Review:

¶   Discussing Mark Lynas’ “Nuclear 2.0: Why a Green Future Needs Nuclear Power” Spoiler: The book does have a few errors in it. [Lenz Blog]

Economics and Finance:

¶   Solar power panel prices may stabilize this year and the market is expected to grow past $134 billion annually by 2020, according to a new report from Boulder-based Navigant Research. [Denver Business Journal]

World:

¶   Germany has 1.3 million renewable energy producers. Small farm villages are increasingly becoming equipped with solar panels and wind turbines, while the big cities like Berlin, are developing new ways to take advantage of the incentives. [The Green Optimistic]

¶   A new nuclear deal on the Hinkley nuclear plant is imminent, the UK’s government continues to promise. But beneath the contractual wrangling is another potential stumbling block: whether or not the deal is legal. [Carbon Brief]

¶   The UK’s new nuclear program is taking so long to complete that it is in danger of becoming a “museum” piece by the time it is due to come on line in 2020, according to a leading Labour MP. [Utility Week]

¶   It looks like Japan Atomic Power Co. is set to contest Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority findings that the fault line that lies under one of its nuclear reactors at the Tsuruga nuclear power facility is active. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   A study published Thursday in the journal Science has linked geothermal energy production in the Salton Sea area with an increase in local earthquakes. [KCET]

¶   The  Browns Ferry whistleblower made a surprise appearance Thursday during a three-hour U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission public meeting Calhoun Community College, and said that safety records had been altered.  [News Courier]

¶   An NRC report on a problem that shut down the Harris nuclear plant for three weeks suggests that the nuclear industry tolerates punishing work schedules, creating conditions in which overworked technicians can make serious mistakes. [News & Observer]

¶   The US NRC is advising power plant operators to inspect steam generators more closely after finding evidence of developing cracks on the equipment at Seabrook Station. The tubes were removed from service. [Foster’s Daily Democrat]

World:

¶   Germany is to halt the subsidising of solar energy by 2018 at the latest, its Environment Minister said. He said the 52 GW limit would be reached by 2017 or 2018. The current solar capacity in Germany stands at 34 GW. [NewNet]

¶   The North Rhine-Westphalia region in Germany has begun daily operation of its first wind power electrolysis plant, which supplies the h2herten application center with renewable energy in the form of hydrogen for generating electricity. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶   From 2012 to 2018, wind generation is expected to more than double globally, from 519 TWh to 1220 TWh. Generation from solar PV will more than triple from 100 TWh to 358 TWh. [Greentech Media]

¶   Australia’s electricity market shrank by $4 billion in four years, down 40%, sparking warnings of effects on the reliability and stability of power supplies. Lower wholesale prices were caused by an increased supply of renewable energy. [The Australian]

¶   A joint venture including Mainstream Renewable Power will submit a planning application this month to erect 1,000 megawatts of wind turbines off the coast of Yorkshire. [Irish Independent]

¶   The cost of refurbishing New Brunswick’s Point Lepreau nuclear power plant could be as high as $3.3 billion, nearly $1 billion more than previously estimated, a memo for the Prime Minister’s Office suggests. [MetroNews Canada]

¶   Fukushima Daiichi has probably been leaking contaminated water into the ocean for two years, ever since an earthquake and tsunami badly damaged the plant, Japan’s chief nuclear regulator said on Wednesday. [New York Times]

US:

¶   Government spending on renewables and other green energy programs would be halved and incandescent light bulbs dropped from federal regulation under the Energy-Water Development appropriations bill passed today in the House. [Businessweek]

¶   The U.S. now has more than 10 gigawatts (GW) of installed solar PV capacity, joining Germany, Italy, and China — and it’s just getting warmed up, according to new calculations from NPD SolarBuzz. [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]

World:

¶   Germany set a new record for solar power with an output of 23.9 GW. The previous record, 22 GW was set in May. About 8.5 million people live in buildings in Germany that use their own solar power systems to generate electricity or heat. [Responding to Climate Change]

¶   All four export cables are in place at the UK’s 576 MW Gwynt y Mor offshore wind farm, representing another milestone for the €2 billion ($2.6 billion) project off the coast of North Wales. [Recharge]

¶   Severe pollution has slashed an average of five and half years from life expectancy in northern China, as toxic air has led to higher rates of stroke, heart disease and cancer. The main pollution source is coal. [CNN Money]

¶   A major Dutch bank has decided to cease lending money to unconventional fossil fuel projects – shale gas and tar sands – because of the environmental and social implications. [Business Spectator]

¶   Japan’s atomic regulator urged TEPCO to speed up completion of a seawall to protect the ocean from rising levels of contamination detected in the Fukushima nuclear plant’s groundwater. [Businessweek]

¶   Ontario is to host Canada’s first nuclear emergency response support centre to house critical equipment in the event an extreme, Fukushima-like disaster cripples on-site safety systems at a nuclear reactor. [Ottawa Citizen]

¶   Russia will begin to operate the world’s first floating nuclear power plant in three years. The specially made ship with a nuclear power plant on-board will provide energy, heat and drinking water to relatively inaccessible areas of the vast country. [Daily Mail]

US:

¶   More than 30 states considered legislation this year to change their renewable energy standards. Of the 121 bills considered that would change standards, 16 bills passed, including 8 that increased renewable standards and none that reduced them. [Northern Colorado Business Report]

¶   The federal agency managing public lands issued a 20-year ban on mining on nearly 304,000 acres in six western states to promote solar energy development. The ban is in 17 areas in California, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. [Press-Enterprise]

¶   President Obama has nominated Vice Adm. Dennis V. McGinn (Ret.) as the Navy’s assistant secretary for energy, installations and environment. McGinn comes over from the American Council on Renewable Energy. [The Hill]

¶   Through more than $1 billion in investments and large contracts for renewable power, Google has become the most significant player in the energy business outside of actual energy companies and financial institutions. [The Advocate]

¶   Federal officials are considering routing nuclear waste through downtown Las Vegas and heavily populated areas around the city. Federal analysis found going through populated areas would produce no significant environmental differences. [Las Vegas Sun]