geoharvey

Science and Technology:

¶   A team of Stanford researchers has unveiled a new low-cost, high-capacity, hybrid flow battery that can stabilize fluctuations in wind and solar power to enable greater use of renewable energy sources. [The Stanford Daily]

World:

¶   A French government report says France needs to establish the regulatory framework for renewable marine energy quickly, allowing companies to experiment with wave and tide power. [Business Spectator]

¶   Oman’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that the Sultanate has opted not to embrace nuclear energy as a source of electricity. [Omanet.com]

¶   There are over 30 known instances of loss of radioactive materials by UK commercial and research organizations in the last decade. Experts warn that some the  material could be used by terrorists, and more careful regulation is needed. [The Guardian]

¶   India’s Supreme Court has ruled that the controversial Kudankulam nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu state can start operations, saying the plant was “safe and secure” and “necessary for the welfare and economic growth of India”. [BBC News]

US:

¶   Nevada legislators are pushing a bill that would remove loopholes that allow energy companies to meet the renewable energy standard through measures other than actual renewable energy production. [Las Vegas Sun]

¶   Concerned residents of New York, Vermont and Massachusetts will testify in front of an NRC Petition Review Board, arguing that Entergy is in violation of NRC regulations by operating two Northeast Reactors at a financial loss. [vtdigger.org]

¶   If the owners of the San Onofre nuclear plant decide to shut it down, consumers may face nearly $3 billion in costs, but the owners seem confident that its investors will suffer little impact. [U-T San Diego]

¶   The Palisades nuclear plant was shut down Sunday morning for inspections and repairs to the safety injection/refueling water tank, because of water leakage from the tank. [Kalamazoo Gazette]

Science and Technology:

¶   The concept of solar fuels is gaining momentum. Solar fuels are forms of fuel that are produced through the use of solar energy. Amadee + Company, a leading market research firm, has released a new report on the subject. [Hydrogen Fuel News]

¶   Approximately twice the power generation is available from a single site when it combines wind and solar in a hybrid power plant. In practice, this works better than expected. [Times of Oman]

World:

¶   The UAE has officially inaugurated Shams 1, touted as the largest concentrated solar power plant in operation in the world. [SteelGuru]

¶   A Farmer and a Farmer Cooperative in the UK have joined forces to design and develop a biomass water heating module for dairies. The plant is specifically intended to be easy to install and resilient. [FarmersWeekly]

¶   Two Austrian nuclear waste workers have been hospitalized after handling radioactive material that was mistakenly marked as “harmless”. The company where the accident happened specializes in advising on safety activities at nuclear facilities. [Austrian Times]

US:

¶   In rural Alaska, there is a wide variety of small alternative-energy projects operating or being built. This is thanks to the state’s unique Renewable Energy Fund, which jump-starts projects with locally matched grants. [Anchorage Daily News]

¶   After a slow-speed, 19-hour flight the Solar Impulse airplane landed safely early Saturday morning in Phoenix, Arizona, completing the first leg of a historic transcontinental airplane trip using zero fossil fuels. [Nature World News]

Science and Technology:

¶   An airplane called Solar Impulse has started on a journey across North America without using a single drop of fossil fuel, powered entirely by the sun. [Nature World News]

World:

¶ The Indian government has advised banks not to reject financing proposals for renewable energy projects on the grounds that power sector as a whole is under stress. [Economic Times]

¶   Turkey signed a $2 billion deal with Japan for constructing Turkey’s second nuclear power plant in the Sinop province on its Black Sea coast. The new plant in the province of Sinop will be constructed by a Japanese-French consortium led by Areva and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. [RTT News]

US:

¶   Maine’s clean energy legislation has spurred more than $2 billion in local investment and created at least 2,500 jobs in the Pine Tree State. That isn’t stopping some state lawmakers from and trying to weaken and kill these laws for the sake of the fossil fuel industry. [De Smog Blog]

¶   The US DOE has made $7 million available to support the deployment of renewable energy and other “clean energy” projects on Native American lands. [solarserver.com]

¶   Duke Energy plans to file with regulatory authorities in the US state of North Carolina by mid-July 2013, for a program to sell electricity from renewable energy directly to companies. The move was prompted by a white paper from Google. [solarserver.com]

¶   Duke Energy, which just announced it is canceling the Shearon Harris expansion, plans to recover the costs incurred so far and pass them on to customers, Duke CEO Jim Rogers told investors Friday. [News & Observer]

¶   Shareholders at Entergy have rejected a resolution by New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli that calls for minimizing nuclear waste the company stores in spent fuel pools and transferring it into dry-cask storage. [Newsday]

World:

¶   Record output from German wind and solar plants helped to reduce European power prices in April, according to Platts the energy data provider. [Energy and Environmental Management]

¶   According to new UK energy figures for 2012, 3.2% of energy was generated from PV, an increase of 70%, while renewables accounted for 11.3%. Overall, renewable electricity generated 41.1 TWh, a 20% increase on the previous year. [pv magazine]

¶   The president of the Scottish National Farmers’ Union is telling farmers that while they have been successfully focusing on wind power, opportunities from hydro, solar, biomass and anaerobic digestion also exist and remain largely untapped. [The Scottish Farmer]

¶   Kazakhstan will be getting its first ever wind power plant. The 45-megawatt wind facility will have the capacity to generate 172.2 kilowatt-hours of clean power annually. The project is also expected to spur renewable energy development across the country. [EcoSeed]

US:

¶   Some conservatives are championing renewable energy because businesses are employing people and making money on a slow shift to renewable power. It turns out that renewable energy, as popular as mom’s apple pie with American consumers, is also good for American business. [Yahoo! News]

¶   The Windmade Product label sets out the technical requirements that individual products will have to meet if they are to display the industry-backed label demonstrating that a product or service have been provided using renewable energy. [Business Green]

¶   Duke Energy is suspending its plans to build two new nuclear units at its Shearon Harris plant at New Hill, about 20 miles southwest of Raleigh, North Carolina, saying electricity demand is not likely to justify them in the next 15 years. [Triangle Business Journal]

¶   Duke Energy’s CEO Jim Rogers has put himself squarely on the side of the North Carolina’s law promoting the use of renewable energy sources, as the law remains under attack in the N.C. General Assembly. [Charlotte Business Journal]

¶   The Connecticut Siting Council authorized the Millstone nuclear plant to do significant expansion of the nuclear waste storage capacity over the next 30 years. [Newsday]

¶   The NRC is investigating a pair of goldfish found swimming in a lemonade pitcher of radioactive water in a supposedly secure area of the Perry nuclear plant. A facility representative said they later died, but it was because of bad care before they got to the plant, not radioactivity. [Plain Dealer]

¶   The private companies working to clean up nuclear waste at Hanford operate under contracts that do not reward them for reporting problems, creating a dangerous financial incentive that could delay responses to leaks of highly radioactive waste, according to nuclear expert Bob Alvarez. [KING5.com]

¶   Though the nuclear industry has nearly doubled the potency of nuclear fuel rods since 1970, the design of dry cask storage has not kept up. Now, the DOE and the industry researchers are starting a four-year, $16 million project to develop instrumented lids for monitoring contents. [Forbes]

¶   The Florida Supreme Court has unanimously upheld the constitutionality of a controversial Florida law giving the state Public Service Commission power to authorize energy companies to “recover” the costs of their nuclear power plant construction through utility bill tax hikes. [Sunshine State News]

¶   An inside source snapped a photo inside the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in San Diego showing plastic bags, masking tape and broom sticks used to stem a massive leaky pipe. [UPI.com]

Opinion:

¶   “‘Business upheaval inevitable’ as fossil fuel era comes to an end.” The latest report warning that fossil fuel companies are running towards a financial cliff edge has prompted a call to New Zealand businesses to focus on the future and shock proof their business. [Voxy]

Science and Technology:

¶   The UltraBattery combines a traditional lead acid battery and a super capacitor, normally separate components, into one storage unit that simultaneously brings down the cost of hybrid electric vehicles and makes it easier to integrate more renewable energy into a grid. [EcoGeneration]

¶   Medications known as leukocyte growth factors may help decrease death rates from radiation exposure, Food and Drug Administration staff said today in a report. [Businessweek]

World:

¶   At 54%, electricity production from renewable energy reached a record high in Spain last month. Hydro provided 25%, and wind accounted for 22.1%. Photovoltaics, meanwhile, met 3.6% of demand. [pv magazine]

¶   An increasing number of large internationally operating companies in the Netherlands are switching to solar energy, using solar panels on their roofs to generate their own electricity. [InvestorIdeas.com]

¶   Alberta burns more coal than all other Canadian provinces combined, but a survey of Albertans conducted for Clean Energy Canada at Tides Canada found 68% of those polled want the government to reduce the province’s reliance on coal-fired electricity. [Calgary Herald]

¶   An Taisce,  the National Trust for Ireland, is undertaking a High Court challenge in London over the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant, which is 240km from the Irish coast. They say UK authorities did not consult Ireland about the plant before it granted consent for construction. [RTE.ie]

¶   As of the sampling done four days ago, the radiation fallout level has spiked up to twenty-six times its average level in Japan.  The reason behind this sudden climb is not known as of yet. [Canadian National Newspaper]

US:

¶   Repeal of the renewable energy program in North Carolina has been advanced in the state senate, as the senate finance committee passed it in a close voice vote, despite demands for a show of hands. [Mountain Xpress]

¶   The Connecticut state Senate approved legislation proposed by the governor change the rules on renewable energy. Instead of developing local, diversified renewable power, the state will buy hydropower from Canada. [TheDay.com]

¶   GE has got its first order for the 2.5-120 Brilliant turbine they announced in January. The new turbines incorporate short-term battery power-storage. [Businessweek]

¶   The Florida House passed a bill revising the 2006 law allowing utilities to charge customers for costs of nuclear power projects, but with an amendment that stripped language requiring utilities to refund the rate of return on costs if they decide not to build planned new nuclear plants. [The Florida Current]

Science and Technology:

¶   Researchers associated with the National Institute of Health have presented evidence of extensive biological harm to wildlife in radiologically contaminated regions at an Academy of Sciences symposium on medical and ecological consequences of the Fukushima accident. [Herald & Tribune]

World:

¶   The head of Siemens AG’s energy division favors of an overhaul of Germany’s EEG clean-energy subsidy law so that renewable generators get subsidies only when the produced electricity is in demand. [Power Engineering International]

¶   According to a poll recently conducted in Wales, 64% of people would favor a local wind farm, figure is more than double the 24% who said they would support shale gas locally and the 27% in favor of nuclear. [Power Engineering Magazine] (This is significant because there are already a large number of wind farms in Wales, so many people are answering the question based on experience.)

¶   According to new data complied by the Government, 82% of people in the UK support the use of renewable energy sources to provide the country’s electricity needs. [Energy Live News]

¶   Japanese utilities are losing billions of dollars per year because nuclear plants are offline, but the Nuclear Regulation Authority is waiting until July to release the new safety standard requirements that all utility companies will have to follow. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   Another coal-burning utility in the Southeast announced that a significant purchase of wind power will benefit ratepayers. Both utilities Georgia Power and Alabama Power report that the wind power contracts provide customers cost-savings and more stable electricity prices. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Researchers from the US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory have quantified the significant value that concentrating solar power plants can add to an electric grid. [Today’s Energy Solutions]

¶   The Colorado House has passed a bill to double the amount of renewable energy that the state’s rural electric cooperatives must use to 20 percent by 2020. The vote was 37-27. [Denver Business Journal]

¶   Operators of the San Onofre nuclear plant may decide to retire one or both reactors by year-end if regulators deny or delay a request to partially restart the plant, as outage costs surpass $700 million and uncertainties mount. [U-T San Diego]

¶   Plans for two new reactors at the South Texas Project nuclear facility hit a roadblock when the US NRC has ruled that a partnership between NRG Energy and Toshiba, through the holding company Nuclear Innovation North America, violated a U.S. law prohibiting foreign control. [Dallas Morning News]

¶   The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy is challenging the constitutionality of the 2006 “early cost recovery” law before the Florida Supreme Court and calling for a full repeal in order to protect customer interests. [Fierce Energy]

Science and Technology:

¶   A team of Stanford researchers has collaborated with scientists at the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory to produce the first successful demonstration of peel-and-stick solar cells, which can be attached to almost any surface or object. [The Stanford Daily]

¶   MIT researchers are working on what they call the Ocean Renewable Energy Storage system. The system uses wind power produced in low demand to pump water out of submerged storage tanks. During high demand times, the system can generate electricity as the tanks refill under pressure. [Energy Tribune]

World:

¶   Arfons, a town of less than 200 people in southern France , installed 11 wind turbines in 2009. The result is that its budget increased from €400,000 to €2.3 million in three years. The mayor says this is more than the town can conceivably spend, and they do not know what to do about it. [Huffington Post]

¶   A report by the Climate Commission of Australia says that though China remains the world’s largest polluting nation, it also leads the fight against climate change. China is ahead of any targets it set itself for renewable energy, and is likely to curb its carbon emissions far sooner than expected. [OilPrice.com]

¶   During the twelve months ending March 21, 2013,  Indian PV capacity nearly doubled. New capacity was 754 MW , and PV now represents 6% of all grid-tied renewable energy capacity in the nation. In addition, India installed 600,000 square meters of solar water heating collectors. [solarserver.com]

¶   Radioactive water is a continuing problem at Fukushima, but it is getting worse because of a lack of space to store it. [New York Times]

US:

¶   The US Bureau of Land Management will publish a regulation to limit mining claims near areas that have been identified as potential sites for wind or solar energy production or that are included in pending permits. [The Hill]

¶   Nebraskan lawmakers have advanced a bill intended to attract more wind-energy companies to Nebraska as long as residents receive some of the benefits. [The Republic]

¶   Hawaiian Electric Company announced it has achieved a record 13.9% of energy needs from renewable generation in 2012, which is well on the way to passing the next clean energy goal of 15% in 2015. [Pacific Business News (Honolulu)]

¶   Entergy Nuclear, owner of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, has again sued the state of Vermont, because the state’s Public Service Board has refused to authorize construction of the so-called station blackout diesel generator. [Rutland Herald]

¶   Representatives from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will be in Brattleboro tonight to discuss the 2012 performance review for Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. An open house at  Brattleboro Union High School starts at 5:30 p.m. A question and answer period starts at 7 pm. [Brattleboro Reformer]

Opinion:

¶   The world has just spent a sombre moment remembering the terrible Chernobyl nuclear disaster on its twenty-sixth anniversary. The most important lesson is that nuclear disasters don’t end. They proliferate. [Hindustan Times]

World:

¶   Oman has kicked off its plans to meet its surging electricity demands with renewables, announcing the construction of six renewable energy projects this year. Four are solar plants and two are wind farms. [EcoSeed]

¶   An exploratory study into 100% renewable energy scenarios for Australia concluded that its impact on consumer electricity prices over coming decades may be no more than the increases in the last few years to support network upgrades and the introduction of the carbon price. [Business Spectator]

US:

¶   Duke Energy has learned that solar and wind projects offer big advantages to electric utility companies and can be very profitable. They can get a premium rate for solar power, whose supply peaks in the afternoon alongside the higher load of air conditioning. [TheStreet.com]

¶   Tennessee Valley Authority officials say the demand for renewable energy projects is so strong that the agency has met its application goals for 2013. More than 250 small-scale renewable energy projects have been approved for 2013, most for solar energy. [Ct Post]

¶   Projected natural gas prices in the US will play a key role in the decision to build new nuclear reactors beyond the currently installed capacity of 101 GW. [Gas to Power Journal]

¶   The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued an information notice detailing how moisture can degrade specific structures and components associated with dry spent fuel storage operations. [York Daily Record]

Not Specifically Energy, but Interesting:

¶   Urban farming expert Will Allen is showing one way to provide affordable, fresh, and nutritious food to people, especially those in urban areas. [fox6now.com]

¶   The Dome of Visions in the Copenhagen harbor establishes visual and conceptual connections between the present and the future. [Pursuitist]

World:

¶   A renewable energy company which wants to build a windfarm at Tetney, on England’s east coast, could give people living near the development a discount of at least £100 per year on their electricity bills. [Louth Leader]

¶   Scotland is ahead of schedule for community ownership of renewable energy projects. The goal for 2020 is 500 MW of community owned generating capacity, and 200 MW is already in place. [stv.tv]

¶   Sections of a report on the Jaitapur nuclear power plant, currently under construction, were withheld by the Indian government. When they were obtained through the Right to Information Act, it was found they indicated the site may be unsafe for such use. [Daily News & Analysis]

¶   Kansai Electric said it’s close to seeking permission to turn on two power plants, and could apply as early as July to resume power generation at two nuclear reactors in Fukui, Japan. [UPI.com] (The title of this article says the plant could come online soon, but that does not take the approval process into account.)

US:

¶   US Bank will install new solar carports and rooftop systems to generate solar electricity for its branches while providing shaded parking for customers. [Utility Products]

¶   Concerned by a report from the General Accountability Office, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey is asking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to study how Pennsylvanians who live between 10 and 50 miles of a nuclear plant would react if there were a radiation release. [The Abington Journal]

Opinion:

¶   “The Oil And Gas Industry’s Assault On Renewable Energy” [Environmental Defense Fund]

¶   “Can Fossil Fuel Divestment Prevent The Carbon Bubble From Bursting?” [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶   A new low-cost, long-life flow battery has been created by researchers at the DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University that has the potential to help store electric power for the grid, balancing the loads. [PlanetSave.com]

¶   In testing at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, modules from Amonix, a solar power module developer, had an outdoor efficiency rating of 34.9%, a world record for concentrating photovoltaic systems. [socalTech.com]

World:

¶ Lim Solar Philippines, a subsidiary of US-based Mendoza Solar, says solar energy is still the best option to solve the power crisis in Mindanao, and that the fact that the Philippine Department of Energy’s turned down solar energy as a solution was “not a hindrance.” [Zamboanga Today Online]

¶   Ukrainian Economic losses at Chernobyl will be about $150 billion by 2015. 2700 people still work at the power plant, despite the fact that the last reactor shut down in 2000. It is expected that decommissioning will last until 2065. [EIN News]

US:

¶   An alliance of formerly nuclear-dependent communities stretching from Piketon, Ohio, to Paducah, Kentucky called for an end to the ruse of an “American Centrifuge” commercial plant at a site in Piketon, Ohio, promised to voters since 1976 without materializing. [HNN Huntingtonnews.net]

¶   The Florida Senate unanimously passed a bill that imposes new restrictions on the “early cost recovery” law allowing electric companies to impose pre-construction costs for nuclear projects without any guarantee that the projects will be built. [MiamiHerald.com]

¶   Nuclear experts differ on whether Vermont could be facing cleanup expenses if Vermont Yankee closes early. [Vermont Public Radio]

¶   Entergy, owner of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, has asked a federal court to declare that the state of Vermont has no say on whether a backup generator may be installed. [Brattleboro Reformer]

World:

¶   Eleven European companies have joined forces for development of power-to-gas, a concept to use electricity to make natural gas. Renewable electricity is used to make hydrogen, which is catalyzed with carbon dioxide to make methane. [Fox Business]

¶   Finnish forest products company, UPM, has begun testing of a synthetic diesel oil called BioVerno. It is a biofuel is made from residues of the forest industry products that will have 80% less greenhouse gas emissions than fossil fuels. [IHB]

¶   A fund for developing deep-water wind turbine foundations has been announced by the Scottish Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism. The fund promotes development of foundations for wind turbines at depths greater than 30 metres. [Offshore Technology International]

¶   Russia’s Energy Ministry submitted a draft renewable energy law aimed at supporting the deployment of renewable energy sources including solar, wind and hydroelectric power plants across the country. [Energy Tribune]

US:

¶   As natural gas pushes coal and nuclear plants to close, the Northeast needs to diversify its electric power sources so it is not relying on a single fuel. Wind and Solar are the best resources to use. [AOL Government]

¶   Dominion Virginia Power plans to switch to a GE Hitachi boiling water reactor as the unit it would use, if it builds a third reactor at North Anna. The final decision to build the reactor has not yet been made. [Lynchburg News and Advance]

¶   The Washington and Oregon chapters of Physicians for Social Responsibility have commissioned an economic study of the possibility of shutting down the nuclear power plant near Richland. [Yakima Herald-Republic]

¶   A bipartisan quartet of senators released a draft of a  bill to change how the US stores nuclear waste. The bill would produce intermediate storage sites for spent nuclear fuel now kept commercial nuclear facilities. [The Hill]
…  According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, the bill fails to address current unsafe waste management practices at nuclear power plants across the country. [Union of Concerned Scientists]

Science and Technology:

¶   Engineers at ITER, an international nuclear fusion research project, are hoping to build the first experimental nuclear fusion reactor to generate more energy than it consumes, by using a new blanket system to line the inside of a 500 MW tokamak. [The Engineer]

¶   Researchers have genetically modified E. coli bacteria to convert sugar into an oil that is almost identical to conventional diesel. [DigitalJournal.com]

World:

¶   Smart Wind, a joint venture of Mainstream Renewable Power and Siemens Financial Services, has signed a lease for UK wind projects with a planned total capacity of 1,800 MW. [NewsNet]

¶   Edinburgh College is being powered by Scotland’s first “solar meadow.” [BBC News]

¶   Mongolia is planning to increase renewable power production to meet increasing demand. [Bernama]

US:

¶   Three fuel barges carrying natural gas on the Mobile River in Alabama exploded, killing at least three people. [Huffington Post]

¶   The State of Vermont is not satisfied by the response it got from the NRC about the questions it raised over recent incidents that took place during refueling at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

¶   Berkshire East, in Charlemont, Massachusetts, will be the world’s first ski area to be powered entirely from on-site renewables. [RenewablesBiz]

¶   For the time being, North Carolina’s renewable energy industry is safe from legislative threats. A bipartisan group in the sponsor’s own committee voted down his bill that would have repealed the state’s clean energy standard. [ThinkProgress]

¶   The US EPA has released a draft Protective Action Guideline setting standards and making recommendations for the response to a large release of radioactive material into the environment. [Energy Collective]

¶   Senator Lindsey Graham kept in place his block on Ernest Moniz’s nomination for energy secretary after a meeting failed to clear up the lawmaker’s concern over proposed budget cuts to a plutonium processing plant in his state. [Businessweek]

Projections:

¶   RenewEconomy’s Graph of the Day illustrates projections from Bloomberg New Energy Finance on the future of energy to the year 2030. Growth of wind and solar range from important to extremely important, depending on the scenario. [RenewEconomy]

World:

¶   European Union proposals to set new renewable energy targets for 2030 received a boost yesterday, after the French energy and environment minister confirmed her government backed the plan. [Business Green]

¶   India is seeking to double its renewable energy capacity to 55,000 megawatts by 2017 as part of its efforts to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Prime Minister Singh noted increasing opportunities as costs of solar and wind are falling. [EcoSeed]

US:

¶   Conservatives in Washington are coming out to back renewable energy, supporting the idea of expanding a business structure called a “master-limited partnership,” or MLP, which is currently available only to fossil fuel projects, to also be available to renewable-energy projects. [Yahoo! News]

¶   The California High-Speed Rail Authority will buy or produce enough renewable energy to offset the amount of energy it takes from the state’s power grid to operate trains and facilities, it says. [Central Valley Business Times]

¶   According to research prepared by Synapse Energy Economics for the Civil Society Institute (CSI),by 2050, regional electricity generation supply from renewables could meet or exceed demand in 99.4 percent of hours. [Fierce Energy]

¶   The City Council of Los Angeles unanimously passed a resolution calling on federal regulators to hold off on deciding whether the San Onofre nuclear plant can restart until more review can be done and more commentary taken. [Los Angeles Times]

¶   Senator Lindsey Graham is putting a procedural hold on President Obama’s pick to run the DOE, Ernest Moniz, until he receives answers about questions he has asked on how Moniz intends to handle a nuclear waste disposal program in South Carolina. [The Hill]

¶   In a recent five-hour meeting with the NRC, officials of the TVA spent much of the time acknowledging the utility’s mistakes in making flooding calculations and owning up to a culture of complacency about potential natural disasters. [Knoxville News Sentinel]

History:

¶   Seventy-five years ago this month, in April 1938, a paper was published with the title, “The artificial production of carbon dioxide and its influence on temperature.” [Raw Story]

Opinion:

¶   “Pull plug on Florida nuclear tax” Mark Cooper, an economic analyst with the Vermont Law School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment, discusses laws that allow billing ratepayers in advance for the construction of nuclear reactors. [Clean Energy News]

World:

¶   According to a report published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, 70% of new power generation capacity added between 2012 and 2030 will come from renewable technologies. Wind and solar will account for 30% and 24% respectively. [pv magazine]

¶   New employment figures show that there are currently in excess of 15,000 working in the energy industry in the Scottish Highlands and Islands. [Scotsman] (According to the National Records of Scotland, the population in the Highlands was 222,370 in 2011.)

¶   In the Netherlands, because of hundreds of local initiatives, the solar energy market is growing from the grassroots level, increasing as much as 250 percent in 2012. [InvestorIdeas.com]

¶   Germany—the world’s number four economy and Europe’s number one—has lately provided an impressive model of what a well-organized industrial society can achieve. [EarthTechling]

¶   Once again, a problem with rats has forced the operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to shut down power to one of the facility’s fuel pools. [Radio Australia]

¶   After a rough stretch of weeks that included storage containers leaking radioactive water and power failures, the U.N. nuclear watchdog has called on the operators of Japan’s battered Fukushima nuclear campus to improve its “essential systems.” [Nature World News]

US:

¶   A new study prepared for the Civil Society Institute suggests that the power grid could integrate and balance many times the current level of renewables with no additional reliability issues. [NJ Spotlight]

¶   Investment in renewable energy in Oregon totals over $9 billion as of the end of 2012. A combination of wind, solar and geothermal projects generates more than $79 million in public revenue and creates an estimated 4,600 jobs. [Oregon Business]

¶   The Watts Bar nuclear power plant has added security patrols after a weekend incident in which an officer exchanged gunfire with a man who then fled on a boat. The FBI and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are investigating the incident. [WXIA-TV]

World:

¶   International Monetary Fund is taking a stand against fossil fuel subsidies in a report recently issued. According to their figures, the United States puts $502 billion into support for fossil fuels. The report supports subsidies for renewable power. [Climate Central]

¶   Annual spending on clean-energy projects that don’t add to greenhouse-gas pollution may rise to $630 billion at the end of the next decade from $190 billion last year, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said in a report today. [Businessweek]

¶   Australia’s Southern Cross Renewable Energy Fund has announced a multi-million contribution to Queensland company Hydrexia. The $4.5 million contribution goes toward a $9.25 million investment in hydrogen storage technology. [Business Spectator]

¶   A UK Public Accounts Committee report increases estimated costs of civil nuclear decommissioning by £16 billion to £53 billion. The report says “The Treasury acknowledged that not considering these costs when the power stations were built had been a mistake.” [SNP]

¶   Progress on cleanup at Fukushima Daiichi is very slow. The chairman of Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said, “The Fukushima Daiichi plant remains in an unstable condition, and there is concern that we cannot prevent another accident.” [Wired.co.uk]

US:

¶   A report from Yale and George Mason University Centers for Climate Change Communication says Republicans and right-leaning independents are changing their minds, and increasingly supporting action on climate change and increased clean energy production. [PolicyMic]

¶   The Obama administration is hoping to put a stop to an increasing problem for wind and solar power — feuds with environmental groups that say the projects threaten endangered species or valuable habitat. [Politico]

¶   There were warnings of tube failures at San Onofre before the defective steam generators were installed. The first warnings appeared in print as the design team was still drawing up plans, in 2005 and 2006. [U-T San Diego]

¶   Authorities are searching for the person who fired multiple gunshots at a TVA security guard early Sunday morning at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in Rhea County. [WATE-TV]

World:

¶   Proposals of German Environment Minister Altmaier and Economy Minister Rösler to change the German feed-in tariff system have failed. That means there will be no big changes in German feed-in tariff law this year. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The Ontario legislature has defeated proposed legislation that would have serious curtailed the province’s feed-in tariff for solar and wind energy. [PR.com]

¶   An advertisement, in which Donald Trump attacks support for wind farms by the Scottish First Minister, will this week be condemned as “misleading” by the UK Government’s advertising watchdog. [Herald Scotland]

US:

¶   The source of a tritium leak at the Pilgrim nuclear plant has been found during the course of a routine inspection. [Enterprise News]

¶   The owner of the Kewaunee nuclear plant, which will close on May 7, estimates the decommissioning will cost $920 million. The federal government is responsible for the disposal of the spent fuel, which will take up about a third of that cost. [The Sheboygan Press]

¶   The Vermont Senate has passed an increase on taxes for gasoline and diesel oil. [BurlingtonFreePress.com]

World:

¶   Startup of the new reactors at Kudamkulan was delayed because four valves to be used for reactor cooling in emergency situations were found to be defective. [Calcutta Telegraph]

¶   The Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority has formally started the process of determining whether the currently operating reactors at the Ohi power plant, Japan’s only operating reactors, are safe enough to stay online after new safety requirements take effect in July. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶   Intel, which gets 100% of its electrical power from renewable sources, is at the top of the ten greenest organizations listed by the US EPA. The list also includes Microsoft, Kohl’s Department Stores, Whole Foods Market, Wal-Mart, the US Department of Energy, Staples, Starbucks, Lockheed Martin, and Apple. [Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production Magazine]
… (The EPA also has a list of the largest energy users with 100% or more green energy: 100% Green Power Users. The top five users are Intel, Kohl’s, Whole Foods, Staples, and the government of the District of Columbia.)

¶   After putting over $1 billion into renewable power investment, Google is looking for ways to buy green power from utilities. Their current plan is to get power companies to offer green power plans allowing customers to pay a different rate for it. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
… The program, supported by Duke Energy, could significantly increase development of renewable energy projects in North Carolina by creating a market for the energy they produce. [Charlotte Business Journal]

¶   Bourne, Massachusetts is considering purchase of power generated by wind and solar, as a cost-cutting measure. [The Bourne Courier] (Bourne is on Cape Cod, and not far from Falmouth, where local people have opposed wind, claiming it has adverse health effects.)

¶   Two reactors at San Onofre are still offline, and reservoirs in California are lower than last year, so less electricity can be generated from hydro power. The result is that electricity shortages are expected during peak demand periods this summer. [HeraldNet]

¶   The TVA has had to add more flood protection at three nuclear plants along the Tennessee River because of danger of greater floods brought about by global warming. Now, they are claiming interim goals have been met. [Chattanooga Times Free Press]

Essay:

¶   “Life in a Real Nuclear Wasteland” Strange illnesses in one of the most contaminated towns in the world challenge what we think we know about the dangers of radioactivity. [Slate Magazine]

Science and Technology:

¶   The DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Stanford University have teamed up to produce  a super-thin solar cell. The cell is first printed on water and transferred to its final surface. [The Green Optimistic]

World:

¶   A new financial crisis may be looming, as fossil fuel companies plow hundreds of billions each year into finding assets they will probably be unable to use, and so may turn out to have no value. [Blue & Green Tomorrow]

¶   Renewable power in Germany continues to grow quickly. For a period of three hours on April 18, output of renewable power in Germany exceeded the combined output of coal, gas, and nuclear. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced that a battery with a storage capacity of around 60 megawatt hours will be installed in Hokkaido, to help provide a stable electricity supply generated from solar as well as wind power sources. [EcoSeed]

¶   In the Pew Charitable Trust’s fourth annual report, Who’s Winning the Clean Energy Race? 2012 Edition, Pew and Bloomberg New Energy Finance found that while investment dropped from 2011 to 2012 in G20 countries, it was up by more than 50 percent in non-G20 countries. [Greentech Media] (In G20 countries, costs dropped, so even with less investment, more capacity was added.)

¶   Électricité de France (EDF), which has been negotiating to build the nuclear plant at Hinkley Point, has not got agreement on a long-term price of electricity and is unlikely to decide on the project for at least another three months. [New Civil Engineer]
… EDF is preparing to let the talks fail. [Businessweek]

US:

¶   States, not Congress, are taking the lead on climate change laws – from a new cap-and-trade program in California to widespread adoption of renewable electricity standards. Moves to weaken those standards aren’t gaining traction in state capitals. [Christian Science Monitor]

¶   Both reactors at Arkansas Nuclear One remain shut down since the accident on Easter. Unit 2 is expected to return to service in a few weeks, but there is no forecast on Unit 1. [KARK]

¶   The Senate Energy Committee has endorsed the nomination of physicist Ernest Moniz to lead the Energy Department by a vote of 21-1. [Businessweek]

Opinion:

¶   “The Experts: What Renewable Energy Source Has the Most Promise?” [Wall Street Journal]

World:

¶   The world needs “strong, credible and long-term commitments” to reduce heat-trapping greenhouse gases across the economy and prevent catastrophic global warming, says a new report released Wednesday by the International Energy Agency. [Vancouver Sun]

¶   Ickworth House, a UK National Trust site in west Suffolk has been included in a multimillion pound pilot scheme to slash fossil fuel use. [East Anglian Daily Times]

¶   A German village is running a biodigester in a configuration providing combined heat and power. The available heat has attracted industrial jobs. [FarmersWeekly]

¶   Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh expressed serious concern over the “painfully slow” progress of climate change talks, and said India had launched itself to double the renewable energy capacity to 55000 MW by 2017. [The Hindu]

¶   Though global investment in renewable energy dropped  11%, to $269 billion in 2012, renewable energy installations grew by a record 88,000 MW, according to a report released today by the Pew Charitable Trusts. [National Journal]

US:

¶   A project to build one of the world’s largest solar energy complexes on contaminated farmland in California’s Central Valley has finally moved from the drawing board to the review process. The land is contaminated by minerals from irrigation. [Natural Resources Defense Council]

¶   Solar power and other distributed renewable energy technologies could lay waste to U.S. power utilities and destroy the utility business model, which has remained virtually unchanged for a century. [Grist.org]

¶   In a media conference call, renewable fuel industry leaders said today that U.S. agriculture is making impressive strides in sustainability, allowing producers to provide food, feed, fuel, fiber and fuel in an environmentally sensitive manner. [Agri-Pulse]

¶   Experts in renewable energy say the recent drop in investment is not a cause for alarm. [NJBIZ]

¶   Two European renewable-energy experts will visit Brattleboro next week to discuss the challenges and economic opportunities they’ve found in moving away from dependence on fossil fuels. [Brattleboro Reformer]

¶   NRG Energy Inc, one of the biggest power generators in the United States, could offer at least three plants in response to New York’s request for proposals for units that could replace the giant Indian Point nuclear plant, NRG said Wednesday. [MSN Money]

¶   If the US stops using coal, shuts down a quarter of existing nuclear reactors, and trims its use of natural gas by 2050, the increased reliance on wind, solar and other renewables will not result in a less reliable electricity grid, according to a new report. [InvestorIdeas.com]

¶   Faulty steam generators are not the only problems facing the San Onofre nuclear power plant. The state will soon require all power plants to change their “once–through” ocean cooling systems to avoid killing marine life. [KPBS]

World:

¶   Clean energy investment capital is moving to China. China brought in 25% of the worldwide investments in solar, 37% of those in wind and 47% of other types of renewable energy, from small hydropower to geothermal. [Forbes]

¶   Crowdfunding offers all of us a new way to protect our shared environment and engage in the expansion of renewable and sustainable energy sources worldwide. Lenders can invest amounts of money as small as $25 to help support clean energy loans to individuals and small groups throughout the world. [Your Industry News]

¶   EDF, Europe’s biggest nuclear operator, faces “uncertainty” about how long it can operate its French reactors, according to the country’s regulator. Original 30-year licenses have been extended to 40-years, but there is some question about the safety of going longer. [Businessweek]

US:

¶   The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced plans to increase energy efficiency on farms and help farmers update their technology with a proposal for streamlined applications for renewable energy funding. [Medill Reports: Chicago]

¶   The Colorado Senate passed this week a bill that aims to increase renewable energy mandates on rural electricity cooperatives from 10 to 25 percent by 2020. [Craig Daily Press]

¶   When winds are at their strongest in California, wind turbines provide the state with nearly twice as much electricity as nuclear reactors. California’s wind power capacity grew to 5,544 MW last year, making it second only to Texas, which has more than 12,000 MW of wind capacity installed. [Grist Magazine]

¶   The market for ethanol renewable identification numbers (RINs) has turned volatile this spring. Prices that had been 2¢ or 3¢ went to more than $1 briefly in March before slowly settling down to the 60-70¢ range. [Ethanol Producer Magazine]

¶   Worldwide investment in clean energy in the first quarter of 2013 was $40.6 billion, down 22% on a year earlier, due to a downturn in large wind and solar project financings. This was partly the result of policy uncertainty in key markets, and partly because of sharp declines in technology costs, among other things. [Renewable Energy Focus]

Science and Technology:

¶   NuScale Power, LLC announced a new NuScale Module  for nuclear power plants that does not require any electrical power, on-going operator action, or additional water to be able to achieve safe cooldown should the need arise. [MarketWatch]

¶   Joule announced the direct conversion of waste carbon dioxide into the essential components of gasoline and jet fuel. The process uses waste carbon dioxide as a feedstock, allowing industrial emitters to produce valuable fuel as a way to deal with emissions. [Business Wire]

World:

¶   In the UK, a High Court judge ruled that large wind turbines can be erected just 350 metres from homes, and that an attempt by a Buckinghamshire town council to impose a 1.2 km buffer zone between the turbines and the nearest house was “unlawful.” [The Week UK]

¶   A Japanese court rejected a petition to close down the Ohi nuclear plant’s two operating reactors. Anti-nuclear advocates wanted to have the reactors shut down because they sit directly on top of a fault seismologists believe is active. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   A proposal to allow renewable energy developers to take advantage of a tax structure that has long been popular among fossil fuel companies is gaining traction among lawmakers tasked with overhauling the tax code. [Midwest Energy News]

¶   Walmart President and CEO Mike Duke announced that the company intends produce or procure 7 billion kWh of renewable energy each year, a 600 percent increase from 2010 levels. [Power Engineering Magazine]

¶   Ernest Moniz, nominee for energy secretary, told a Senate committee that he would prioritize consideration for energy storage, which some people regard as vital to renewable integration, to take up the issue within 30 days of taking office. [PV-Tech]

¶   Admirals Bank has launched a new division, Admirals Alternatives, specifically to finance residential solar and renewable energy systems. Their innovative loan programs help homeowners to own, rather than lease, their system while saving money. [San Francisco Chronicle]

¶   California’s Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) has reached an agreement with consumer, labor and other groups to give electric customers an opportunity to support 100% renewable energy. [Renew Grid] (PG&E owns the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant.)

¶   After bombs went off at the Boston Marathon, killing and injuring numbers of people , security for nearby nuclear plants has been tightened. [Huffington Post Canada]

¶   Entergy Nuclear, owner of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, will again be required to give the Nuclear Regulatory Commission a $40 million letter of credit because of shortfalls in Vermont Yankee’s decommissioning trust fund. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

¶   The NRC will hold a public meeting on April 24 in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, to discuss the plan to shut the Kewaunee nuclear reactor. The reactor will be shut down for decommissioning on May 7. [MSN Money]

World:

¶   Electric power markets in South America and Mexico are currently dominated by thermal power, but analysts expect the market share of thermal power in the total energy mix will drop to 35% by 2020, while the share of renewable energy will “increase substantially”. [Gas to Power Journal]

¶   The Indian state of Kerala has a solar rooftop potential of 10,000 MW at the present efficiency levels, according to experts. [Hindu Business Line]

¶   In the face of increasing use of distributed renewable power generation in Australia, traditional electricity suppliers are pushing electric vehicles as a way to save their business base. [RenewEconomy]

¶   World capacity of geothermal power is expected to grow from the 11.4 GW of 2012 to 28.6 GW in 2030. [EcoSeed]

¶   Work to remove radioactive water from a leaking underground tank at Fukushima Daiichi were delayed because the pipes used to transfer the water out of the tank were found to have leaks of their own. [New York Times]

¶   A senior scientist alleges that the use of inferior building materials poses a real threat to its safety of the Kudankulam nuclear plant at the southernmost tip of India. The plant has been the site of frequent demonstrations against nuclear power. [DigitalJournal.com]

US:

¶   For the ninth consecutive year, Xcel Energy is the number one utility provider of wind energy in the United States, according to a newly released report from the American Wind Energy Association. [Your Renewable News]

¶   State policy can be a larger impediment to renewable energy than overcast skies and a lack of wind. With that in mind, the Clean Energy Coalition of Michigan got a $100,000 research grant from the Michigan Energy Office to study the barriers to increasing renewable energy projects in the state. [MiBiz]

¶   A General Accounting Office official has told Congress a new policy by the US DOE for the storage of nuclear waste, with a plan to build two new interim storage sites and a new permanent storage facility may be illegal. Critics have been saying the DOE is merely using the policy to stall on nuclear waste storage. [Forbes]

Opinion:

¶   A new popular movement is coming together, resisting the dominance of fossil fuels. [OpEdNews]

World:

¶   Donald Trump told the Scots not to build a wind farm built within sight a golf course he owns. He even threatened to cancel a hotel and housing project there if it was built. Naturally, the project has been approved. It will power half the homes in Aberdeen.  [Mother Nature Network]

¶   Turkey’s energy minister says Turkey plans to increase the portion its energy coming from renewable resources to 30% by 2023. [Journal of Turkish Weekly]

¶   The government of Cuba is increasing the amount of renewable energy it intends to be using, and is calling for foreign investors to participate. It is planning five new biomass, wood, solar and wind energy projects. [Cuba Standard.com]

¶   The operator of South Korea’s nuclear power plants, says it has separated its internal computer network from the internet in an effort to guard against possible cyber attacks. [Yonhap News]

¶   Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant is said not to have been damaged by the earthquake that hit it, but the event moved emergency officials in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to meet on Sunday in Saudi Arabia to discuss the risk of radiation from any disaster that might happen at the plant. [Times of India]

US:

¶   Duke Energy now has over 100 MW of solar capacity. Duke has been investing in renewable power for several years, and has put over $2.5 billion into the sector. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   Researchers have linked local temperature spikes in China to Chinese fossil fuel use and carbon emissions. [Christian Science Monitor]

¶   Europe is on track to achieve its 2020 renewable energy targets, but could stand some improvements in policy. [Greentech Media]

¶   Australia is the world’s biggest exporter of coal, but the cost of power from wind is less expensive there than the cost of coal or any other fossil fuel. [Energy Digital]

¶   Five Taiwanese KMT lawmakers went against party lines on a bill to stop the construction of the controversial Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in the Gongliao District of New Taipei City. The KMT caucus says lawmakers who voted against party instructions will be fined at least NT$10,000 ($334).  [Taipei Times]

¶   Some 28,500 containers of low-level radioactive waste were dropped into the English Channel between 1950 and 1963. Experts have assumed that the containers had long since rusted open, and the contents slowly dissipated. But at least some of the containers have been discovered intact. [Spiegel Online]

¶   The Point Lepreau nuclear plant in the Canadian province of New Brunswick is offline to get the chemistry of the water in the boilers adjusted. Power at Point Lepreau has been reduced a number of times in recent weeks because plugs at each end of the fuel channels are too tight. [MetroNews Canada]

US:

¶   According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 100% of all new generating capacity added in the United States in March, 2013, was from solar power. During the first quarter, 82% was renewable. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The first commercial, grid-tied enhanced geothermal plant in the United States has gone online in Nevada. [Utility Products]

¶   Wind power capacity grew by 28% in 2012 in the United States. It accounted for 42% of all new generating capacity during the year. [Treehugger]

¶   The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities’ Office of Clean Energy is suggesting taking some funding away from support for solar power and  putting it toward energy storage. [The Green Optimistic]

¶   Virginia is creating an agency to support nuclear power development. Anti-nuclear groups are upset because the agency will not have to comply with the state’s Freedom of Information Act and a number of other laws. [Daily Press]

World:

¶   Solar power has reached grid parity in Italy and India, according to a report from Germany’s Deutsche Bank. It will soon reach grid parity in other countries, as well. [EcoSeed]

¶   A new study published in Energy Policy, suggests that a bold-but-not-extreme carbon price could make providing all of Australia’s electricity needs with renewables cost-effective by 2030. [Energy Collective]

¶   Even though there has been an enormous amount of solar and wind power capacity installed in Europe, the greatest source of renewable power there is from burning wood. In some countries, such as Finland and Poland, it accounts for 80% of renewable energy production. [Presseurop]

US:

¶   Xcel Energy wants to sell the surplus renewable energy credits it collects from a power plant in Benson, Minn., that burns turkey droppings. Utilities in North Carolina are interested in buying those credits to meet that state’s renewable energy mandate, which requires a portion of the power produced by its utilities to come from poultry litter. [Pioneer Press]

¶   The latest data shows alternative fuel use is up, and among the groups using fuel for vehicles at the highest rates, the larger, medium duty vans, most are picking to replace non-renewable oil with biodiesel. [Domestic Fuel]

¶   In Vermont, the Shumlin Administration, drawing on lessons learned from Tropical Storm Irene and the Fukushima Disaster, wants Vermont Yankee to pay more to help emergency officials respond to a nuclear accident. [Vermont Public Radio]

¶   Top Democrats in the Colorado Legislature moved Monday to expand renewable-energy mandates in rural areas, which have more lenient requirements than urban areas. [Cortez Journal]

¶   A study, conducted by scientists with the Radiation and Public Health Project, found that babies born on the West Coast shortly after the Fukushima Disaster were 28% more likely to suffer from congenital hypothyroidism than were children born in those states during the same period one year earlier. [San Diego Free Press]

Opinion:

¶   “Why 100 per cent renewables is possible… and affordable” [Business Spectator]

Science and Technology:

¶   The United Nations reports that more people die each year from air pollution than from AIDS and malaria combined. [msnNOW]

¶   The US DOE is beginning research into using solar power to increase the energy content of natural gas. [New York Times]

World:

¶   Renewable power has driven Australian carbon emissions to a ten-year low. [Power Engineering International]

¶   French Utility GDF Suez, which supplies 25% of the country’s electricity, is using renewables for half of its production. [Utility Products]
… GDF Suez plans to close three of the four gas-fired power plants it operates in its home country because their profitability fell. [Fox Business]
… GDF Suez was upgraded by analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report. [Mideast Time]

¶   After finding that three out of seven underground tanks storing radioactive water were leaking, TEPCO announced it will move the water out of all of them. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   In the new budget, President  Obama proposed a dramatic increase in clean energy spending, expanding support for electric cars, wind power and other “green” technology. He would pay for the expansion in part by eliminating tax breaks and subsidies for oil, gas and coal industries. [Business Spectator]

¶   Many predictions were that 2012 would be a bad year for renewable power, but the industries surpassed expectations and appear to be positioned for continued growth. [AOL Energy]

¶   The GAO has issued a report saying evacuation plans for nuclear accidents are faulty. Reports of an accident would cause people outside an official evacuation zone to try to escape, filling roads and blocking the way for those within the evacuation zone. [Huffington Post]

¶   The Falmouth, Massachusetts, Town Meeting narrowly rejected a measure to authorize a town-wide vote on whether to borrow $14 million to dismantle two turbines. [Boston Globe]

¶   President Obama has unexpectedly called for the possible sale of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the largest publicly-owned U.S. power company. [Businessweek]

¶   The NRC has announced its preliminary determination that a request for a license amendment to restart one of San Onofre crippled nuclear reactors does not pose a significant safety hazard. [U-T San Diego]
… California Senator Boxer and Massachusetts Representative Markey sent a letter to the NRC this week demanding a comprehensive investigation of the plant before any units be permitted to operate. [Village News Network]

¶   A plant designed to turn plutonium from nuclear bombs into commercial reactor fuel is three years behind schedule, and its projected have grown from $4.9 billion to $7.7 billion. Now, the Obama administration says we must explore other options to dispose of the plutonium.  [The Augusta Chronicle]

World:

¶   China’s new leaders are taking steps to tackle problems seen in the country’s clean energy development, namely major bottlenecks in connecting wind and solar farms to the grid. They are also pushing for a surge in small-scale renewable energy production, where ordinary people become suppliers to the grid. [chinadialogue]

¶   Bloomberg New Energy Finance has doubled its expectations for Japanese PV installation for 2013 to 6.0-9.4 GW. This would see Japan overtake the US as the second largest PV market in 2013, and it may move even ahead of China. [Business Spectator]

¶   Moody’s Investors Service is warning that the trend toward solar and wind power has been so strong that it’s threatening the credit quality of thermal generation companies. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A third tank storing radioactive waste water has been found to be leaking at Fukushima Daiichi. [Environment News Service]

¶   After decades of debate over where nuclear waste should be stored, the government of Germany has reached a “new milestone” in a decision to start over from scratch. [Deutsche Welle]

US:

¶   Renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and hydro, accounted for 82% of all new domestic electrical generating capacity installed in the first quarter of this year, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s latest Energy Infrastructure Update report. [North American Windpower]

¶   According to a peer-reviewed study by researchers at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment, coal power is far more economically vulnerable than most analysts have realized. [Washington Post] (Thanks to Tad Montgomery for spotting this.)

¶   ResHydro, based in New York, has announced plans to establish operations in Glasgow, Scotland. Their plan is to work with the University of Strathclyde to advance its hydrokinetic energy generation device, which uses ocean currents to make power. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Fair Oaks Farm, one of the largest dairy farms in the country, is using a biodigester to make compressed natural gas, which it is using to power the tractor-trailers it uses to deliver milk. CEO Gary Corbett told the New York Times, “As long as we keep milking cows, we never run out of gas.” [Opposing Views]

Science and Technology:

¶   Sol Voltaics has developed a process to make semiconductor nanowires of gallium arsenide that can boost the conversion efficiency of standard solar panels by as much as 25%. [Businessweek]

World:

¶   China increased its wind power production by 41% in 2012. The country generated 100.8 billion kWh of wind power last year, compared with 71.5 billion kWh in 2011. [Businessweek]

¶   A former NRC chairman says all 104 nuclear power reactors now in operation in the United States have a safety problem that cannot be fixed and they should be replaced with newer technology. [New York Times]

¶   German nuclear-power operators will have to pay an estimated 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion) for identifying and building an atomic-waste depository, Environment Minister Peter Altmaier said. [Businessweek]

¶   The Japanese government will not ask people to save electricity this summer because utilities are expected to have sufficient supplies, sources said April 8. Supply is expected to exceed demand even if all idled nuclear reactors remain offline. [Asahi Shimbun]

¶   Experts who investigated the Fukushima nuclear disaster and the ongoing decommissioning process say the recently formed Nuclear Regulation Authority is being very lax with its oversight role in TEPCO’s post-disaster processes. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   Production of power from wind turbines in the California ISO grid hit 4196 MW, a new record, on April 7. [EON: Enhanced Online News]

¶   The head of U.S. forces in the Pacific says that climate change is a top concern for the military. The Army is proceeding with a “Net Zero Energy” initiative, aiming to produce as much energy and water as they use. Cost and reliability are primary reasons, but cutting carbon pollution is one of the outcomes. [Greentech Media]

¶   Town meeting members of Provincetown, Massachusetts voted 197-2 to call on Governor Deval Patrick to request the Nuclear Regulatory Commission close Entergy’s Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. [Cape Cod Today]

Opinion:

¶   The old catch-cry ‘renewables can’t provide baseload’ continues to haunt discussions about our long-term energy future.  But this really misses the fact that we’re moving into an entirely new power system paradigm where traditional baseload won’t be required. [Business Spectator]

Science and Technology:

¶   A study published in the journal Nature Geoscience says fossil fuel use has severe impact on coral growth. [French Tribune]

World:

¶   A £200 million deal will turn fats, cooking waste from restaurants and food-processing companies that are currently a nuisance for from London sewage works, into renewable energy. [Greenwise Business]

¶   A new survey of property and construction industry insiders has shown that nine out of ten believe that Ireland should harness wind as its primary source of energy going forward. [thejournal.ie]

¶   A group of more than 50 MPs, academics and green campaigners have requested the National Audit Office should be tasked with undertaking a review of the negotiations between the government and EDF over Hinkley nuclear plant construction. [Business Green]

¶   A French nuclear expert warns that financial problems facing EDF could force it to pull out of the £14 billion Hinkley nuclear project. “EDF is in big trouble. The whole of the nuclear power industry in France is in big trouble.” [Telegraph.co.uk]

¶   The cost for overseas reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel from Japanese nuclear power stations has nearly tripled since 1995 because of problems at a contracted British plant, including leakage of waste liquid. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   A study, led by researchers from Stanford and Cornell universities, provides a theoretical road map to how New Yorkers could rely on renewable energy within 17 years. [Huffington Post]

¶   Arizona Public Service, said last week that it added a record 148 megawatts of solar capacity in 2012, impressive enough on its own. But in 2013, new capacity should come in at more than twice that figure. [EarthTechling]

¶   The Brattleboro, Vermont Selectboard has agreed to enter the town into a 20-year contract to purchase solar power from a photovoltaic system which will be built in the coming year. [Brattleboro Reformer]

World:

¶   Despite the ongoing shutdown of all its nuclear energy-producing facilities, Germany exported the greatest amount of power in 2012 of any year in the past five years. This happened because Germany’s renewable energy industry grew to produce 23% of nation’s power in 2012. [Utility Products]

¶   A big, largely unreported, news message is that some European countries, especially Germany, have launched projects that combine renewables like solar and wind with hydrogen for energy storage, implying clean, zero-emission, stable power grids that require no coal, oil, or nuclear power. [Bangkok Post]

¶   A partnership between a wind farm in India and a waste management project in Colombia sets both to benefit from a new to offset the carbon emissions of the United Nations Environment Program and the United Nations Office for Project Services. [Waste Management World]

¶   For the second time in as many days, radioactive water has been found to have leaked from an underground storage tank at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. [Deutsche Welle]
… News of the leak of contaminated water from a storage tank at Fukushima Daiichi is the latest blow to local fishermen who had hoped to restart their livelihoods. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   NorthWestern Energy, Montana’s largest electric utility, is attempting to use the courts, the Legislature and state regulators to restrict severely any new power it must buy from small, independent wind power projects in Montana. [Billings Gazette]

¶   A Gallup poll conducted in March, 2013, found that 2 out of 3 Americans, including Republicans, want the U.S. to place more emphasis on the development of solar, and wind energy was not far behind. [Truth-Out]

Opinion:

¶   “Renewable energy could make utilities obsolete in the future.” [Hydrogen Fuel News]

World:

¶   Malaysia’s Sustainable Energy Development Authority made a tender for 20 MW of PV systems under 500 kW for non-individuals. The quota was allocated within the first hour of opening the online application system [PV-Tech]

¶   A compromised storage tank at Fukushima Daiichi has leaked 120 tons of radioactive water. [RT]

¶   After a rat caused cooling to fail for Fukushima Daiichi spent fuel pools, TEPCO started working on preventing a similar problem in the future. The work they were doing caused another blackout itself. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says he is optimistic that Cape Wind, the nation’s first offshore wind farm, will break ground this year after more than a decade of delays. [Washington Post]

¶   The US Army is beginning its largest solar project so far at Fort Bliss, in an effort to reduce carbon emissions. The ultimate goal is net zero emissions. [Energy Live News]

¶   The US DOE is undertaking a new initiative to restore the country to a place of leadership in energy technology and manufacturing for clean energy. [SmartMeters]

Science and Technology:

¶   A team of researchers at Virginia Tech has succeeded in using xylose, the most abundant simple plant sugar, to produce a large quantity of hydrogen. The method can be performed using any source of biomass. [AZoCleantech]

¶   The Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo and researchers at the Delft Technical University are working to develop a bladeless wind generator that operates on electrostatic charge on water droplets. [ENGINEERING.com]

World:

¶   European electric generation from renewables is expected to exceed that of fossil fuels by 2020, according to a report from ENTSO-E, the European association of European transmission line operators.  [Inside Climate News]

US:

¶   The Arkansas legislature rejected a proposed renewable power mandate when House Bill 1390, the Arkansas Distributed Generation Act, failed to make it out of a joint committee on energy. [Budget & Tax News]

¶   Entergy, owner of Arkansas Nuclear One, says it will take weeks to restart the Unit 1 reactor, which had been tripped by the accident at Unit 2. [Businessweek]

¶   The owner of the San Onofre nuclear plant says that as part of the experimental plan to restart one of the crippled San Onofre nuclear reactors, they expect to have to shut it down and restart it four or five times in the next two years. [eNews Park Forest]