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Science and Technology:

¶ Over 200 experts met in Oxford last week to reexamine Earth’s deadline for human sustainability. They concluded that even with most nations’ promised contributions to carbon reduction counted, Earth is currently on a path toward at least 2.7° C of warming. Nevertheless, the goal should be lowered from 2.0° C to 1.5° C. [CleanTechnica]

Forest and clouds

World:

¶ After five years of breakneck growth in the supply, China’s electricity demand is stagnating along with a pause in the nation’s economic expansion. The government has started re-calibrating subsidies for the business. Installations of new wind and solar farms are expected to drop 11% in 2017 from this year’s record high. [The Detroit News]

¶ A report from the Grattan Institute said the blame for July’s high power prices in South Australia should not be placed on renewables. It highlighted the need for the federal government to have a more effective climate policy as older, brown and black coal-fired power stations prepare to exit the nation’s energy mix. [The Australian Financial Review]

The SA power crisis is a wake-up call. (Photo by Joe Armao)

¶ International Finance Corp and the Canadian government helped fund a $76 million solar power project in Jordan, which is seeking to curb its reliance on expensive natural gas imports and fuel a growing population. IFC, a member of World Bank Group, arranged the financing package for a 50-MW project in the city of Mafraq. [Bloomberg]

¶ The Chennai Corporation, the municipal authority governing Madras, India, is intensifying its renewable energy campaign. It will bring rooftop solar installations to 168 kW in 2017 and has finalized a new phase of a streetlight extension program that will see the installation of 74,000 new LED streetlights in the city. [Deccan Chronicle]

Chennai Corporation’s new lights

¶ An analyst for Bloomberg believes the low cost of solar power in the Abu Dhabi Electricity and Water Authority (Adwea) auction should not be understood as a simple price for power. The winning bid, 2.42¢/kWh, is only for nine months per year. During the summer, Adwea will pay 1.6 times as much (about 3.87¢/kWh). [The National]

¶ Kazakhstan plans to invest aggressively in renewable energy in the next decade in spite of the currently prevailing low oil prices. The Energy Minister said the Kazakh government started developing renewable energy projects when global oil prices were at $120 per barrel and will continue to do so even if they fall to $20 per barrel. [PlanetSave.com]

Kazakhstan (Photo by МаратД, CC BY SA, Wikimedia Commons)

¶ After the accident at Fukushima Daiichi, the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission put together a trove of raw documents from 1,167 individuals directly involved in the crisis. Four years after the commission disbanded, the documents still have still not been released to the public. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶ The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, along with government and industry supporters, including Microsoft and Google, launched a partnership to harness the data revolution to strengthen climate resilience efforts, streamline climate data delivery, and inform researchers and data providers. [PlanetSave.com]

California vineyards are hit by drought related to climate change.

¶ The US government expects to publish a final sale notice in January 2017 for a 1.5-GW commercial wind lease area off North Carolina. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management anticipates an auction will follow in March for the 122,405-acre Kitty Hawk zone, 24 nautical miles from shore. The bidding will start at $244,800. [reNews]

¶ OATI, a computer company that sells software to energy companies and runs data centers, has built a microgrid in Bloomington, Minnesota. The microgrid will still draw some power from Xcel Energy, but it will be able to operate without the grid, if it needs to. When the grid fails, OATI will still have power. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

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Opinion:

¶ “How the jaw-dropping fall in solar prices will change energy markets” • Every time solar prices have been bid lower, they have been met with howls of derision by less cost-competitive rivals. The multiple bids for solar power below $30/MWh on a 350-MW tender in Abu Dhabi suggest the projects are financially viable. [RenewEconomy]

Abengoa solar plant in Chile (Photo from Ministerio
Bienes Nacionales, CC BY SA, Wikimedia Commons)

World:

¶ According to Navigant Research’s Wind Turbine Order Tracker 3Q16, published this week, Vestas received 3.5 GW of wind turbine orders during the first six months of 2016, leading all other vendors in terms of orders received. In total, during the first half of the year, global wind turbine orders came to nearly 13.5 GW. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Talking to an Indian media outlet, Suzlon Energy’s Chief Technology Officer said that his company will soon become the first in India to set up projects in which solar, wind, and storage capacities will be integrated. Suzlon Energy will take first steps towards research and development in this regard next year, he said. [CleanTechnica]

Suzlon turbine in Minnesota.

¶ SaskPower works in partnership with the First Nations Power Authority on a third of the large solar power projects it plans to roll out over the next five years. This could have significant economic benefits for the province. SaskPower said it plans to add 60 MW of solar PV generation to the province’s electrical grid by 2021. [Saskatoon StarPhoenix]

¶ During the Berlin InnoTrans trade show, France’ Alstom unveiled the Coradia iLint, the world’s first hydrogen-powered passenger train, and it is bound to make its home in Germany. The train essentially emissions-free, and the only sounds it makes come from air resistance and the wheels making contact with the track. [German Pulse]

Alstom iLint (Alstom image)

¶ China’s Premier Li Keqiang will fly to Havana on Saturday to talk about boosting economic cooperation in areas ranging from finance to telecommunications and energy. Today, Cuba produces just 4% of its energy from renewable sources. The government is committed to increase that to 24% by 2030, with help from China. [CCTV-America]

US:

¶ With the cost of harnessing the power of the sun finally becoming competitive with other energy sources, solar panels are popping up on roofs all over the Chippewa Valley in western Wisconsin, but perhaps the most noticeable developments are the huge, utility-operated solar gardens sprouting around the region. [Leader-Telegram]

Lambs graze among solar panels (Staff photo by Marisa Wojcik)

¶ Amazon Wind Farm Texas will be made up of more than 100 wind turbines, generating a maximum capacity of 253 MW, or 1,000,000 MWh of wind energy each year, enough energy to power almost 90,000 US homes. The new wind farm is the company’s largest wind project to date. It is scheduled to be completed in late 2017. [CleanTechnica]

¶ According to a recent announcement from Enel Green Power North America, a leading owner and operator of renewable energy projects in North America, the company is nearing 1 GW of installed wind energy capacity in Oklahoma. The company’s relationship with the state began only four years ago with the Rocky Ridge wind farm. [CleanTechnica]

Enel’s Rocky Ridge wind farm in Oklahoma

¶ Hawaiian Electric Co has flipped the switch on its first large-scale battery storage system on Oahu at its Campbell Industrial Park power plant. The 1-MW system is a joint demonstration project by the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii and the state’s largest utility. [Pacific Business News (Honolulu)]

¶ In a scathing report, the state auditor said California’s energy regulator appears to be improperly influenced by utilities in its decision-making, and ignores state rules when handing out contracts. One of several issues was negotiations in the 2013 shutdown of the Son Onofre nuclear power plant in San Diego County. [Courthouse News Service]

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Opinion:

¶ “Celebrate national parks by fighting climate change” • This year our country is celebrating 100 years of national parks. They are special places woven into the fabric of American life, from the iconic view of California’s Yosemite Valley to our own Crater Lake. Yet these places are increasingly threatened by climate change. [OregonLive.com]

Hikers in Olympic National Park. (Ralph Arvesen / Flickr)

¶ “Distributed Biogas: $11.8 Billion Market Hidden in Plain
Sight” • Every year in the US, 37 million tons of food waste are sent to landfills. At a $125-per-ton tipping fee, this costs $4.6 billion annually. Used to make biogas, at 4,200 cubic feet per ton, this same amount of waste could power five million homes for an entire year. [Biomass Magazine]

World:

¶ The European Commission cleared the way for plans by the Swedish state-owned electricity company Vattenfall to sell its lignite operations in Germany. Vattenfall has a buyer for its coal-fired power plants and mines in the east German states of Brandenburg and Saxony, a Czech energy consortium. [Europe Online Magazine]

Like E.ON, Vattenfall is selling German fossil fuel assets. (Photo by Chris06, placed in public domain, Wikimedia Commons)

¶ Belarus plans to implement a 28% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, with the emissions in 1990 used as a baseline. The country has adopted the corresponding obligations within the Paris Climate Agreement, BelTA learnt from the press service of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. [Belarus News (BelTA)]

¶ Lightsource Renewable Energy, the most prolific developer of utility-scale solar in the UK, has won its maiden tender in India. Lightsource has secured an element of the latest 450-MW tender for the state of Maharashtra, to be managed by Solar Energy Corporation of India, a 50-MW ground-mount solar farm in the state. [Solar Power Portal]

Solar farm at sunset (Lightsource image)

¶ The Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, has thrown his weight behind the fledgling market in green investments to help cut carbon emissions and boost global economic growth. Carney used a speech in Berlin on to highlight green finance as an opportunity to boost financial stability while also tackling climate change. [The Guardian]

¶ Thousands of anti-nuclear demonstrators gathered in Tokyo to demand the government go beyond decommissioning the troubled Monju prototype fast breeder reactor and abandon its plans to restart other nuclear power plants. The rally followed the government’s decision this week to unplug the reactor. [Asahi Shimbun]

Monju plant (Photo by Nife, CC BY SA, Wikimedia Commons)

US:

¶ The Board of Directors of the Salt River Project, a utility based in Tempe, Arizona, has approved an agreement to purchase solar power produced from Apple’s new 50-MW PV plant, in Pinal County east of its data command center in Mesa. Apple has completed construction, and is finalizing the commissioning of the PV array. [solarserver.com]

¶ Southern Vermont College announced its participation in the local effort to bring back hydroelectric generation to Vermont. The college its campus neighbor Southwestern Vermont Medical Center both signed on with the Pownal Tannery Hydroelectric Net Metering Group to get power from the local renewable resource. [Vermont Biz]

Pownal tannery dam (hoosicriverhydro.com photo)

¶ According to an announcement, Emera Maine’s Hampden Operations Center will get clean, onsite power generation, including solar generation, a Tesla battery system, a level-2 electric vehicle charging station, and an advanced microgrid controller. The project is expected to pay for itself without cross subsidy from customers. [Daily Energy Insider]

¶ The Lake Erie Energy Development Co has selected MHI Vestas to supply six V126-3.45MW turbines for the 20.7-MW Icebreaker freshwater offshore project in Ohio. Leedco’s president told reNews a decision has been made to use the Danish hardware, completing a shift away from the previously selected Siemens. [reNews]

Leedco plans to build the Lake Erie demonstration project in 2018.

¶ Canadian energy company Capital Power has kicked off construction of the 178-MW Bloom wind project in Kansas. Capital expects road and foundation work to wrap up by the end of 2016. Vestas is to start deliveries in January 2017 of 54 V117 3.3MW turbines, featuring 91.5 meter hub heights, with erection through June. [reNews]

¶ Xcel Energy announced that it is seeking proposals to grow its wind energy portfolio dramatically and bring up to 1,500 MW of new wind power to its customers. This announcement is another step in the company’s long-term plan to transform its energy fleet, and represents one of the nation’s largest wind energy proposals. [Windpower Engineering]

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Science and Technology:

¶ A study suggests that microgrids, rarely used in today’s power sector, will come to be the “fundamental building block” of the 21st-century grid. The report was released by the National Electrical Manufacturing Association, which represents electrical, medical imaging, and radiation therapy manufacturers. [Midwest Energy News]

Sandia microgrid graphic (Please click on the image to enlarge it.)

¶ A study published in the Journal of Political Economy examines the true costs associated with the variability inherent in solar energy, and finds that it is nowhere near as costly or impactful as some people have been led to believe. In fact, the authors state, “the cost impact of unpredictability is relatively small.” [CleanTechnica]

¶ DONG Energy and SmartWind Technologies have installed an advanced radar system to collect 3D data on the wind flow at the 210-MW Westermost Rough offshore wind farm, which lies off the UK’s east coast. DONG said the BeaCon radar project is the first of its kind in the world and represents a “paradigm shift in wind measurements.” [reNews]

BeaCon radar, Westermost Rough (Credit: DONG)

World:

¶ For the first time ever, investment in new renewables was more than enough to cover rising global electricity demand in 2015. That is according to the first World Energy Investment report, published by the International Energy Agency. The IEA says changes in investment indicate “reorientation of the energy system.” [CleanTechnica]

¶ The British Columbia Hydro grid recently lost power just as the British Columbia Institute of Technology was demonstrating a solar-powered electric vehicle charging station. The Energy Oasis solar-EV charging platform, part of BCIT’s mini-grid, was able to power the PA system and other electronics during the press conference. [Microgrid Media]

Solar parking lot canopy at BCIT

¶ Switzerland’s MECI Group International signed an agreement with Iran’s government to build a wind farm at a cost of €750-million ($839-million). The project is in the mountainous region in northern Iran, and will have 270 MW of installed capacity. Turbine testing is already happening onsite, according to MECI’s Chairman. [Tehran Times]

¶ Entrepreneurs in China, Russia, Japan and South Korea have signed a Memorandum of Understanding setting out plans to create an Asian Renewable Energy Super Grid. The Super Grid will transmit electrical power from renewable sources from areas in the world that are best able to produce it to distant consumers. [Climate Action Programme]

Electric grid infrastructure

¶ The world’s largest solar power plant in one single location kicked off operations in India. A project of Adani Green Energy (Tamil Nadu), the renewable energy wing of the Adani Group, the plant has a capacity of 648 MW and has been set up with an investment of around ₹4,550 crore ($842.6 million). [The New Indian Express]

¶ India is negotiating with US Export-Import Bank for an $8-9 billion loan to finance six Westinghouse Electric nuclear reactors, two sources familiar with the talks said, although a lending freeze at the trade agency threatens progress. India currently has a target of a tenfold expansion in capacity to 63,000 MW by 2032. [Deccan Chronicle]

A fisherman stands on his boat on a beach
near Kudankulam nuclear plant. (Photo: Reuters)

US:

¶ A group of 375 “concerned” scientists, including the famed physicist Stephen Hawking, released an open letter sharply criticizing Donald Trump, citing the threat of climate change and blasting his push for the US to leave the Paris Accord. CNN reached out to the Trump campaign for a response to the letter, but has not received one. [CNN]

¶ Green Mountain Power announced that it has filed with the Public Service Board an agreement with Enel Green Power NA to acquire 14 of Enel’s small hydroelectric power stations located mainly in northern New England, with an approximate total capacity of 17 MW. The deal will create low cost resources for GMP. [Vermont Biz]

Taftsville site in Woodstock, Vermont (GMP image)

¶ Lockheed Martin opened a new bioenergy facility in Owego, New York. This self-sustaining system can transform waste into electricity through advanced gasification producing syngas. The facility will convert 50,000 tons of feedstock per year into 5 MW of electric power, enough to power about 5,000 local homes and businesses. [Biomass Magazine]

¶ A fire at a power plant has left 1.5 million people without electricity in the US territory of Puerto Rico. The fire affected two transmission lines and caused the collapse of the electricity system across the island, officials say. Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority has been seeking funds to update outdated equipment. [BBC]

Blackout left parts of San Juan in the dark. (Reuters photo)

¶ The Department of the Navy, along with Georgia Power and Georgia Public Service Commission, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the large-scale solar facility at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay. The solar facility is a 254-acre plot with a capacity of 30 MW of AC power using approximately 133,000 PV panels. [Florida Times-Union]

¶ Minnesota officials are working with Xcel Energy to ensure that a third of the power used in key state government buildings comes from renewables. The state’s Lieutenant Governor and Xcel Energy-Minnesota’s president announced the pilot program, subject to Public Utilities Commission approval. [Minnesota Public Radio News]

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Opinion:

¶ “Are virtual power plants the next evolution of American infrastructure?” • 2016 could be a pivotal year. In June, New York’s Con Edison, together with solar storage providers SunPower and Sunverge, announced a new pilot program for New York City homes that would transform their rooftops into a virtual power plant. [PennEnergy]

Solar trackers in shallow water

¶ “Democratic and Republican Platforms Present Contrasting Energy Planks” • At their respective national conventions in late July, the Democratic and Republican Parties established the policy platforms on which their respective federal, state and local candidates will base their election campaigns. Those platforms are very different. [JD Supra]

Science and Technology:

¶ A 30-meter catamaran, powered by solar, wind and self-generated hydrogen, will be launched next February to sail around the world as a clean energy laboratory. The Energy Observer aims to circumnavigate the globe using only clean power, a feat similar to Solar Impulse 2’s solar-powered flight around the world. [HazardEx]

Energy Observer, artist’s impression (Image: Energy Observer)

¶ École Cantonale d’Art Lausanne design student Nils Ferber’s has produced a micro wind turbine prototype. The portable vertical axis wind turbine is designed to pack down into about the size of an umbrella for transport and storage, and then to unfold quickly to be set up as a three-bladed Savonius-style turbine. [Treehugger]

¶ A new car from Toyota runs on a very renewable resource: human waste. Yes, you read that right: The Toyota Mirai is powered by hydrogen fuel, which can be made from poop. Though poo-to-hydrogen technology is used commonly in many parts of the world, it is not currently widely available in the US. [Grist]

Toyota Mirai (Toyota image)

World:

¶ As an outcome of the recent G20 meeting in China, both China and the US volunteered to publish peer reviews of their current fossil fuel subsidies. Together, the two countries are annually providing over $20 billion in inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. Of this, $8.1 billion comes from the United States, and $14.5 billion from China. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A revolution is taking place in the global energy sector, with investments in oil and gas declining by 25% in 2015 while energy produced from renewables rose by more than 30%. “We have never seen such a decline [in oil and gas investment]”, said Dr Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency. [AlterNet]

Offshore oil workers (Credit: iurii/Shutterstock)

¶ According to a new report from the World Energy Council, ‘Variable Renewables Integration in Electricity Systems 2016 – How to get it right’, renewable energy now accounts for over 30% of the total global installed power generation capacity, and 23% of total global electricity production. The data came from 32 countries. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The share of renewables in all power produced on Chile’s central power system jumped to 15.4% in August 2016 from 11.4% in the same month of 2015. Solar power generation in August more than doubled in year-on-year terms. Wind power, thermal renewables, and hydro power all showed increased production levels. [SeeNews Renewables]

Wind farm in Chile (Image: Pablo Rogat / Shutterstock.com)

¶ More than $1 billion in debt and financing commitments from US agencies and private investors is being announced for US President Barack Obama’s signature Africa energy initiative, Power Africa. The latest deals were finalized around a US-Africa business forum on the sidelines of annual UN meetings in New York this week. [Yahoo News]

¶ Indonesia’s national electricity company PT PLN and a group of investors led by Equis have agreed to develop a 60-MW onshore wind farm on one of the southeast Asian country’s many islands. The wind farm will feature Vestas turbines. The South Sulawesi project will be the first large-scale renewable energy project in Indonesia. [reNews]

Vestas turbines in India (Vestas image)

¶ The Japanese government decided to cut its losses on the ¥1 trillion ($9.85 billion) Monju fast-breeder reactor, pulling the plug on the project after years of mishaps, cover-ups and waste. At an extraordinary meeting, the Cabinet decided that the idle facility should be decommissioned, though it is still looking to obtain a nuclear fuel cycle. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶ Twenty US Governors sent an open letter to President Obama to suggest actions his administration can take to expand the wind and solar energy production of their states. They are members of the Governors’ Wind & Solar Energy Coalition, a bipartisan group committed to developing the country’s wind and solar energy resources. [CleanTechnica]

Block Island Wind Farm

¶ Three more large companies, Apple, Bank of America, and Amalgamated Bank, have pledged to get 100% renewable energy, joining the RE100 group. Bank of America further announced it will be “carbon neutral” by 2020. Meanwhile, Apple announced new commitments to power its supply chain with renewable energy. [EcoWatch]

¶ The Moapa Band of Paiutes hosted Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on a tour of the Moapa Southern Paiute Solar Project, a new 250-MW solar plant recently completed on the 2,000 acres of tribal land. Equipped with four million fixed-tilt PV panels, the new plant has the equivalent area of roughly 500 football fields. [mvprogress]

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Opinion:

¶ “Oil Investment Crash Could Continue For Another Year” Investment in upstream operations in the oil and gas industry shrank by a quarter last year and is expected to continue to shrink this year by another 24%. Next year the trend could continue, for the longest investment decline period in the history of the industry. [OilPrice.com]

Offshore oil rig

¶ “The Energy Policies Of The 2016 US Presidential Candidates” There has been increasing attention on the energy policies of the candidates. Here is a summary produced by identifying and comparing the energy policies of the two candidates based on their published positions and their public statements. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ The price of solar PV continues to fall. On Monday, a new record low of 2.42¢/kWh was set in a tender for a large solar park in Abu Dhabi, not by an industry outlier but by the biggest manufacturer of solar modules in the world, JinkoSolar. Even this could be beaten, as there are reports of another, lower bid coming. [RenewEconomy]

The sun is rising. 

¶ In France, 150 single-use cups are tossed every second. Now, France has become the first country to ban disposable plastic cups and plates. A French law says all disposable tableware must be made from 50% biologically-sourced materials that can be composted at home by January of 2020, rising to 60% by January of 2025. [CNN]

¶ TenneT Holding BV, Statnett SF and KfW on Friday held a ground-breaking ceremony for the 1.4-GW NordLink subsea cable project, the first direct link between the Norwegian and German energy markets. The NordLink cable will be 623-km (387-mile) long and is expected to be in operation in 2020. [SeeNews Renewables]

NordLink cable pulling (ground-breaking) ceremony.
(Source: TenneT Holding BV)

¶ Canada’s federal environment minister made a huge announcement on Canadian television’s Question Period. The central government has come out for nationwide carbon pricing. It will soon levy a minimum national carbon price on any province that lacks adequate plans to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions. [CleanTechnica]

¶ China has been building two wind turbines every hour, the International Energy Agency told BBC News. This is the world’s biggest program of turbine installation, double that of its nearest rival, the US. The nation’s entire annual increase in energy demand has been fulfilled from the wind. But coal plants are still being built. [BBC]

Huitengxile wind farm, Inner Mongolia
(Photo by Steven Buss, CC BY SA, Wikimedia Commons)

¶ A panel of experts will discuss reforms at TEPCO, including the costly plans to scrap its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the Industry minister said. The costs of decommissioning the plant, ravaged by the 2011 triple meltdown, is expected to far exceed the initial estimate of ¥2 trillion ($19.65 billion). [The Japan Times]

¶ A 79-turbine wind project proposed near a shorebird habitat in southwestern Saskatchewan will not go ahead, says the provincial government. The environment ministry said it received 137 responses during a public review period, all but one of which supported wind energy, but expressed concern about this particular location. [CBC.ca]

As many as 40,000 to 50,000 sanderlings have been seen at
one time at the proposed site. (Submitted by Trevor Herriot)

US:

¶ Wind power has rapidly become a significant source of electricity in the US, doubling its share of generation in just five years, to 4.9% in 2015. The extremely low cost of wind power, along with cheap natural gas, has put tremendous financial pressure on both coal-fired and nuclear power plants. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The nation’s first wave power generators, two state-of-the-art buoys, have just been placed online, off the coast of Hawaii. The system is already generating roughly 22 kW of electric energy. Officials estimate that wave power like this could eventually supply 20% to 28% of the nation’s – not just Hawaii’s – power. [Mother Nature Network]

Wave energy test device (Photo: US Department of Energy)

¶ Avangrid Renewables representatives, joined by Vermont Governor Shumlin and local elected officials, broke ground on Deerfield Wind today in Searsburg, on US Forest land. The 30-MW project will include 15 Gamesa wind turbines, and it will provide enough energy each year for about 14,000 Vermont households. [Vermont Biz]

¶ A Clean Energy Cooperation Statement between Rocky Mountain Power and Salt Lake City lays out how the utility and the city will work together to reach its clean energy goals, and pave the way for the adoption of the new five-year franchise agreement between the city and the electric power utility. [Electric Light & Power]

Salt Lake City

¶ A federal appeals court ruled it will take more time to consider a request from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe for an emergency injunction against the Dakota Access pipeline. But at the same time, the US Army Corps of Engineers issued a Special Use Permit for protesters to legally occupy federal land at Lake Oahe. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Committed to working towards a sustainable future, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is divesting from its fossil fuel investments. A majority of the 900 voting members approved the resolution at its 2016 Churchwide Assembly on August 13. Over 3.7 million people are baptized members of the church. [CleanTechnica]

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Science and Technology:

¶ When a boat pitches in waves, it creates inertial energy. The EU-funded SeaKERS project developed tools to harness this renewable energy for charging yacht batteries. The project team is now planning to commercialize its invention. In the past, onboard generators have often been large, loud, polluting, unreliable. [The Maritime Executive]

Yacht club

¶ Scientists are a step closer to using Australia’s iconic gum trees to develop low-carbon renewable jet and missile fuel. Dr Carsten Kulheim from The Australian National University says renewable fuels that could power commercial airplanes were limited and expensive, but a solution could be growing all around us. [Gizmodo Australia]

World:

¶ European renewables investor Luxcara has acquired the 111.2-MW Egersund wind farm in Norway from Norsk Vind Energi. The wind farm will feature 33 Senvion turbines and will be commissioned in August 2017. The site is considered to be one of the best-suited locations in Europe for generating wind energy. [reNews]

Senvion image

¶ Seventeen months after his Late Show finale, David Letterman returns to television to host an upcoming episode of National Geographic’s climate change docuseries Years of Living Dangerously. Letterman’s episode features his travels to India to examine how that nation provides energy to its entire population. [RollingStone.com]

¶ The CEOs of Tonga Power Limited and Zhuhai Singyes Green Building Technology Co Ltd have signed a long term Power Purchase Agreement at the Zhuhai Singyes headquarters in China for the construction and commissioning of a 2-MW solar facility in Tonga, at Matatoa, on the King’s land at Mata-ki-‘Eua. [Matangi Tonga]

Nuku Island (Photo by Stefan Heinrich,
CC BY SA, Wikimedia Commons)

¶ The Indian Energy Minister said the Union government has increased the target for the production of power from renewable sources from 1,800 MW to 6,000 MW by 2020 and the government of the state of Karnataka has stepped up its efforts to reach the target. The state government would focus on solar and wind power. [The Hindu]

¶ The South Korean government will provide incentives for solar power plant operators to set up bulk energy storage facilities as part of its efforts to foster local renewable energy. Those who install the energy storage system at their solar power plants will be given additional points on assessment of their renewable energy certificates. [Yonhap News]

Photovoltaics in Korea

¶ Australian battery technology developer Redflow says the first of its ZCell residential battery storage systems are due to be delivered to customers next month after the first shipment of batteries arrived in Australia. The batteries will be installed into the Australian-made enclosures before being shipped to customers. [RenewEconomy]

¶ The government of Aruba has a goal to become 100% independent of fossil fuels by the year 2020. In order to achieve that, the island has been investing in wind power, solar, biogas, and energy storage to serve its 42,000 customers. Aruba has a 30-MW wind project that provides 17% of its electricity, an 26 MW more is coming. [RTInsights]

Center of Oranjestad, capital of Aruba
(CC BY SA, Wikimedia Commons)

¶ Bulgaria will consider the repayment of 800 million levs ($456.8 million / €409 million) to Russia’s Atomstroyexport as compensation for the scrapped Belene nuclear power plant project, according to Bulgaria’s prime minister. The project had been cancelled in 2012 because of disagreements over costs. [SeeNews]

US:

¶ On September 9, a 36-inch pipeline was shut down in Alabama, after it began leaking thousands of gallons of gasoline into the Cahaba River. Six different states declared emergencies in anticipation of significant fuel shortages resulting from the shutdown, but so far the news has barely scratched its way onto the national radar. [CleanTechnica]

The Cahaba River. Photo Pat Hayes via flickr.com,
creative commons license.

¶ Vermont utility Morrisville Water and Light has appealed a state finding that utility officials say could turn a marginally profitable hydroelectric dam into an operation that loses more than $100,000 a year and poses downstream dangers. Agency of Natural Resources officials said federal law required them to rule as they did. [vtdigger.org]

¶ Lower prices, clean, reliable energy and jobs are reasons states, companies and utilities are calling for more renewable electricity. States representing roughly a quarter of the US population have chosen to raise their renewable energy goals higher over the past year. Much of this will be supplied by wind power. [Morning Consult]

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Opinion:

¶ “Trump’s climate science denial clashes with reality of rising seas in Florida” • In Miami, Donald Trump said he believed scientists have tricked Americans into accepting that global warming is caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Meanwhile, the city is spending $500 million in a program to protect itself from the rising ocean. [Los Angeles Times]

Sandy Garcia sits in her vehicle on a flooded
street in Fort Lauderdale. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

World:

¶ The president of Costa Rica inaugurated the Reventazon Hydroelectric Plant in the country’s Caribbean region, the second-biggest infrastructure work in Central America after the Panama Canal and the largest of its kind in the region. The dam has a capacity of 305.5 MW, enough to power 525,000 homes. [Latin American Herald Tribune]

¶ A University of Waterloo study says bringing solar and wind energy to Canada’s remote Arctic communities goes beyond being possible and environmentally beneficial to big savings. One of the authors said, “If you run the system as is now, versus you run with renewables, the savings are so compelling that basically you have a business case.” [CBC.ca]

The Raglan Mine’s wind turbine in Quebec. (Tugliq Energy Co.)

¶ UK energy firms want the £30 billion cost to consumers of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station spelled out on every household electricity bill so they are not blamed for rising prices. Rivals to EDF, which will build the plant, fear being pilloried by consumers when energy bills rise as station comes on line in the 2020s. [This is Money]

¶ A total of 18,960 out of 19,567 villages have been electrified in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh so far, the Central Government has announced. This leaves 607 villages yet to be supplied. Some of the villages have been provided with power from the state electric company’s grid. Others have been supplied with local solar power. [Daily Pioneer]

Celebration – the famous Raut Nacha of Chhattisgarh, India.
(Photo by Pankaj Oudhia. CC BY SA. Wikimedia Commons)

¶ Buoyed by the Indian government’s increased focus on renewable energy sector, solar solutions provider CleanMax Solar is looking to enhance its rooftop installed capacity by nearly eight-fold to about 400 MW in the next two years. The government envisions 40,000 MW of installed rooftop solar capacity by 2022. [Moneycontrol.com]

¶ The Negros Island Region of the Philippines is being pushed by advocates to become an entirely renewable energy region. The idea was discussed during the forum on Negros Clean Energy held at the Sangguniang Panlungsod session hall on Thursday. Rooftop systems could greatly increase the solar capacity of the region. [Manila Bulletin]

View of rice fields on Negros Island.
(Photo by Amandogallaza. CC BY SA. Wikimedia Commons)

US:

¶ Oklahoma was already blowing away competition with its wind power construction. Now construction is beginning on the Plains & Eastern Clean Line transmission project, which received its last major regulatory approval from the DOE in late March. It will send 3,500 MW to markets in the Mid-South and Southeast. [Tulsa World]

Baker Library at Dartmouth College. (Photo by Gavin Huang.
CC BY SA. Wikimedia Commons)

¶ Businessman Arthur Irving of New Brunswick is giving $80 million to an Ivy League university to help launch an energy institute that will bear his name. Dartmouth College, in Hanover, New Hampshire, is aiming to raise a total of $160 million for the Arthur L Irving Institute for Energy and Society, to promote sustainable energy. [CTV News]

¶ Massachusetts released a comprehensive report, State of Charge, detailing the value of deploying energy storage in the Commonwealth, and providing a road map of recommendations for policy to grow the energy storage market. It said storage would cut costs for ratepayers, add energy security, and reduce carbon emissions. [wwlp.com]

¶ In Buffalo, New York, Energy Intelligence, a local startup and 43North prize winner, is getting ready to install its power generation equipment in one lane of the Peace Bridge plaza as part of a test to see how the system works and how it can hold up in a high-traffic area. Energy from slowing vehicles will generate electricity. [Buffalo News]

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Opinion:

¶ “Is the power of king coal overstated?” • If you want to shock and appall a politician, just suggest Australia put limits on building new coal mines. They ask, “How else will the poor countries be able to develop their economies to become rich as we are?” Short answer: by relying more on energy that emits less carbon. [The Sydney Morning Herald]

The simple truth is that no-one knows what the future holds.
(Photo: Simon O’Dwyer)

¶ “Nuclear power station is a ‘£100bn boondoggle’ says top Scots expert” • The Tories are backing the wrong energy horse with the “£100 billion boondoggle” that is the new nuclear power station Hinkley Point C, according to one of Scotland’s leading energy experts. It risks increasing fuel poverty and consumer fuel bills. [The National]

Science and Technology:

¶ A process called “biofabrication” was devised as an alternative to plastic production. The product is made from fungi mycelium and farm waste, and the finished products are compostable. The aim is to divert waste from landfills and oceans. The material can replace some packaging and offers an alternative to styrofoam. [CNN]

Parts of furniture can be grown from fungi and farm waste.

World:

¶ India lost an appeal against a World Trade Organisation ruling that it has violated global trade rules by discriminating against foreign products in imposing a “domestic content requirement” on Indian solar power developers. The US had lodged a complaint after India passed a law requiring use of PVs of types made in India. [Firstpost]

¶ The once-lucrative Kidston gold mine, in northern Queensland, ceased operations 15 years ago. Now, it will be the home of a one-of-a-kind renewable energy project. Genex Power will use the mine’s two craters to create the world’s first pumped hydroelectric energy storage system in conjunction with an integrated solar farm. [Energy Digital]

The former mine lies in a high solar radiation zone.

¶ Adani Green Energy is setting up India’s largest tracker-based photovoltaic solar project of 105 MW in Bhatinda, Punjab. The renewable-energy arm of the Adani Group company has tied up with Nextracker, which is based in San Francisco, to use more efficient technology for its projects in India and overseas.[ETEnergyworld.com]

US:

¶ As the DC Circuit Court of Appeals prepares to hear challengers’ arguments against the Clean Power Plan on September 27th, the most up-to-date analysis shows that the Clean Power Plan’s goals have become even more readily achievable. The electricity sector is already shifting to clean energy. [Natural Resources Defense Council]

Growth of solar power – please click on the image to enlarge it.

¶ Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the release of New York State’s offshore wind blueprint, a framework that could lead to a proposed 90-megawatt, 15-turbine wind farm 30 miles east of Montauk. The blueprint is an initial step toward harvesting the 39 GW of wind energy potential that lies off the state’s Atlantic coast. [East Hampton Star]

¶ Johnson & Johnson, the world’s biggest maker of health-care products, agreed to buy 100 MW of capacity from the Colbeck’s Corner wind-power project near the Texas Panhandle city of Amarillo. The company signed a power purchase agreement to buy half the output from a 200-MW wind project E.ON SE has under development, for 12 years. [Bloomberg]

(Photographer: Eddie Seal/Bloomberg)

¶ Enel Green Power North America signed a $500 million tax equity agreement with three investors for the 400-MW Cimarron Bend wind project in Kansas. The investors, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan and MetLife, will provide the cash in exchange for 100% of ‘class B’ membership interests in the project. [reNews]

¶ New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is probing Exxon Mobil Corp’s concealment of its understanding of climate change from its investors. The probe includes scrutiny of why it didn’t write down the value of oil fields during a global collapse in prices that prompted billions in write-offs by rival drillers. [Bloomberg Big Law Business]

(Photo by Luke Sharrett / Bloomberg)

¶ Whirlpool Corporation is building wind turbines to help power its plants in the Ohio towns of Marion and Ottawa. Once the wind power projects are completed, they will make Whirlpool one of the largest Fortune 500 users of on-site wind power in the US. The turbines will generate enough energy to power over 2,400 average homes. [Justmeans]

¶ The Los Angeles City Council took a major step toward making the city run on clean energy alone. The Council directed the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to develop a plan for going 100% renewable, including looking at where, when, and how the city should allocate resources to achieve that goal. [ThinkProgress]

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Opinion:

¶ “Donald Trump’s new economic policy plan would be devastating to the climate” • It’s a laundry list of climate activists’ worst nightmares. It would eliminate the Clean Power Plan, end major protections for clean drinking water, increase allowable levels of pollutants causing asthma, put controls on methane in peril, and much more. [ThinkProgress]

Donald Trump (Credit: AP Photo / Evan Vucci)

¶ “Hinkley Point will be obsolete before it even starts, but Theresa May had no choice” • The £18bn Hinkley Point nuclear plant will be overtaken by a host of cheaper technologies before it is even opened in the late 2020s, and risks degenerating into an epic white elephant as we pay fat subsidies into the second half of the 21st Century. [Telegraph.co.uk]

Science and Technology:

¶ In what has become a common refrain this year, last month ranked as the hottest August on record, according to NASA data. The month tied July as the hottest month the world has seen in the last 136 years. August came in at 1.76˚F (0.98˚C) above the average from 1951-1980, and 0.16˚C above August 2014. [CleanTechnica]

August 2016 temperature anomaly

World:

¶ Asset manager Blackrock and a group of institutional shareholders are to sue car maker Volkswagen for €2 billion ($2.25 billion) over its emissions scandal, claiming that VW failed to disclose its use of software defeat devices on diesel cars in a timely way. The shareholders lost 28% of their investment as a result of the scandal. [BBC]

¶ A survey, published by energy management company Energy Action, said 23% of Australian businesses generate some portion of their electricity supply using solar PV, up from just 14% just two years ago. Another 37% said they had “implemented solar PV measures in their business,” a figure up from 23% in 2014. [RenewEconomy]

Australian commercial rooftop solar power

¶ Stadtwerke München, Germany’s biggest city-owned electric utility, has augmented its revenues by providing various public services, mainly in Munich. The power company is also actively promoting renewable energy and investing in floating wind farms despite its supply area being in a landlocked location. [Nikkei Asian Review]

¶ Last month, the UK’s Crown Estate pointed out that offshore wind farms can be built at lower cost than a nuclear project. An unpublished report by the Energy Department also forecast low costs for wind power. Regardless, Hinkley has received the green light, just as offshore wind hits a new record low price outside of the UK. [Energy Digital]

Vattenfall set a new record for low offshore costs.

¶ Alberta has unveiled plans to install 5 GW of wind, hydro and solar energy capacity to meet a new renewable energy target of 30% by 2030. To reach the target, Alberta estimates at least C$10.5 billion (US$7.98 billion) in new investment will flow into the provincial economy by 2030 and more than 7200 new jobs will be created. [reNews]

¶ Valemount, British Columbia is a natural geothermal village. It is located along the Canadian Rocky Mountains and features the Canoe Reach hot springs. The hot springs are among the warmest surface hot springs in the country. So the town has decided to make some renewable energy plans for this natural resource. [Hydrogen Fuel News]

British Columbia’s Rocky Mountains

US:

¶ Tesla has won a bid to supply grid-scale power in Southern California to help prevent electricity shortages following the biggest natural gas leak in US history. The battery system will provide 20 MW of power, with energy sufficient for 2,500 homes for a full day. A 2-MW system costs $2.9 million, but larger systems are negotiated. [SCNow]

¶ The High Technology Development Corporation announced that its Hawaii Center for Advanced Transportation Technologies program just awarded a $1.5 million contract to design a series of six interconnected microgrids at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Each microgrid is to be supplied by its own renewable energy. [Microgrid Media]

Pearl Harbor

¶ The DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley Lab has taken on the task of doing an annual evaluation the state of US solar and wind power. Wind installations have returned to levels last seen in 2012, but that’s tame compared to solar, where 2016 is on track to see more than double the previous record for utility-scale installations. [Ars Technica]

¶ Amazon.com is rapidly growing its footprint in Texas. It is not only building more warehouse distribution hubs, known as “fulfillment centers,” but also announced that it would fund a massive wind farm in West Texas just as it opens the first of its “Amazon Pop-Up” retail stores in the Houston area this week. [Houston Chronicle]

Amazon is investing in a massive Texas wind farm.

¶ Facebook has chosen a village near Albuquerque for its new data center, costing $250 million. PNM will provide power, starting at 30 MW. A PNM subsidiary will build solar arrays adding wind power later. PNM also will provide backup power, should renewable energy be insufficient to meet the demands of the center. [Government Technology]

¶ NextEra Energy Resources is erecting 120 GE turbines at the 250-MW Rush Springs wind project in Oklahoma. A NextEra spokesman said the project is well under way. The total cost of the Rush Springs wind farm, located in Grady and Stephens counties in central Oklahoma, is estimated at $400 million. [reNews]

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Opinion:

¶ “Consider the benefits of a sustainable business” • Sustainable businesses are no longer just a fad. Time has now shown that beyond the obvious contribution toward a more sustainable environment there are real business benefits for companies of all sizes that infuse sustainable strategies into business operations. [BayStateBanner]

There are many ways companies can improve use
of renewable energy. (Photo courtesy of Siemens)

¶ “Will Climate Change Lead To Far Northern Agriculture Bonuses? No.” • Skeptics who are pushed off denialist positions by ugly empirical facts often resort to promoting supposed benefits of climate change. The “more CO2 is good for plants” and “warmer is better for Arctic agriculture” are simplistic and mostly wrong. [CleanTechnica]

Market Analysis:

¶ “Seven charts show new renewables outpacing rising demand for first time” • For the first time ever, investment in new renewables was more than enough to cover rising global electricity demand in 2015. While fossil fuels still dominate energy supplies, investment data point towards a “reorientation of the energy system”. [eco-business.com]

Upstream oil and gas investment in 2015, by region.
(Source: World Energy Investment 2016, IEA.)

¶ “Renewable push may hit thermal power plants” • Various power sector experts, including those at Central Electricity Authority, have warned that the unprecedented surge in renewable energy capacity in the next few years will severely stress thermal power plants, already operating at an all-time low of just over 50% of their capacities. [ETEnergyworld.com]

World:

¶ Scottish Renewables’ director of policy pointed out that wave and tidal projects will not qualify for contracts if they have to compete directly against other, more mature renewable technologies. Progress on the technology’s development in the UK is in jeopardy without clarity on support to provide a viable route to market. [reNews]

A source of power (sxc image)

¶ Public support for plans to build the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant has fallen to an all-time low, a new poll has shown, ahead of Whitehall’s widely anticipated decision on the project. The survey of 2,000 people, by Populus on behalf of Greenpeace, showed a quarter are in favour of Hinkley, while 44% oppose it. [City A.M.]

¶ India has complained to the World Trade Organization about support given to the renewable energy industry in eight US states, the WTO said in a statement on Monday. The complaint alleges the states prop up their renewables sector with illegal subsidies and domestic content requirements for local goods rather than imports. [Reuters]

Headquarters of the World Trade Organization
in Geneva, Switzerland (Reuters / Denis Balibouse)

¶ The world’s largest second-use battery storage, a 13-MWh project, is now nearing completion after construction time of just under a year: 1,000 battery systems from second generation Daimler Smart Fortwo electric cars are being grouped in Lünen, Westphalia. The first power units are already in the grid. [just-auto.com]

¶ Mines globally have installed 352 MW of solar PV, 39 MW of solar thermal, and 551 MW of wind power capacity, a report by Energy and Mines says, identifying the top 21 mining companies using wind and solar power. The projects, ranging from 10 kW to 180 MW, are in Chile, Australia, Canada, Europe and other markets. [SeeNews Renewables]

Hybrid plant in South Africa
(Source: CRONIMET Mining Power Solutions GmbH)

¶ According to the International Energy Agency, which gave details in a detailed analysis of investment across the global energy system, global energy investment fell by 8% in 2015, with a drop in oil and gas upstream spending outweighing continued robust investment in renewable, electricity networks and energy efficiency. [Business Standard]

¶ A Western Australian farm, which has installed solar and battery storage to avoid paying for a new connection to the grid, has chosen a vanadium redox flow battery for the project, in what is believed to be a first for Australia. The battery, a 100-kWh CellCube, will store the energy from a 15-kW solar PV system. [RenewEconomy]

AVL managing director, Vincent Algar,
next to the CellCube vanadium redox flow battery.

US:

¶ In the US Solar Market Insight report, by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association, the most recent figures from the solar industry show that the second quarter solar PV capacity expansion figures grew 43% compared to the same quarter a year earlier, reaching 2,051 MW installed for the quarter. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Hawaii’s electric rates made rooftop solar an attractive option to many residents looking to trim power bills. As the resource proliferated over the past few years, regulators and utilities were confronted with a new challenge: how to integrate more renewables while setting up a proper rate design for distributed generation. [Utility Dive]

Hawaii (Credit: Flickr user davidd)

¶ Southern California Edison signed contracts for 125 MW of power from battery storage, demand response, and solar-plus-storage as part of a pilot project. The goal is to study whether the combination of clean energy resources can supply electricity in an urban area as reliably as a traditional power plant. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Energy leaders from across Vermont met in Vernon this week to help the town plan for life after Vermont Yankee. Entergy Corporation closed VY in December, 2014, leaving behind an enormous switchyard that can handle hundreds of megawatts of electricity from a power plant. The town wants to use that for its tax base. [Vermont Public Radio]

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Opinion:

¶ “Meet the mom litigating the ‘biggest case on the planet'” • Julia Olson is litigating what should be considered the most important court case in the United States: She’s helping 21 kids, as young as age 9, sue the Obama administration over its insufficient action on climate change. Olson will attempt to make their case for the future. [CNN]

Julia Olson, chief legal counsel of Our Children’s Trust

World:

¶ India floated a draft document aimed at auctioning 1,000 MW of rooftop photovoltaic capacity to be installed atop government buildings. The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy issued the document, which divided the 1,000 MW capacity allocation into two modes, one based on total project cost, and the other on the tariff. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Hitachi has announced the development of a new 5 MW offshore wind turbine, the HTW5.2-136, featuring a 15% larger rotor swept area and aimed at light wind regions. The new turbine aims to increase output in regions with annual average wind speeds below 7.5 meters per second. A trial run is planned for October. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

Offshore wind. (Hitachi Wind Power)

¶ Scotland’s next generation of onshore wind projects could be at least 20% cheaper if Scottish and UK Governments work to remove a series of barriers, a report said. Onshore wind is one of the lowest-cost forms of new electricity generation, but the industry could cut costs further, by more than £150 million per year. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶ SolarReserve LLC has plans to build six large concentrating solar power parks with storage capacity in South Australia, but all will depend on the success of its first project in the country. The company has proposed to build a power plant of 110 MW at Port Augusta that will produce electricity even when the sun is down. [SeeNews Renewables]

Computer simulation by SolarReserve of a CSP facility.
(Photo: Billie Ward, Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic)

¶ Australia is to cut A$500 million ($375.50 million) in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency as it strives to plug a $6 billion budget shortfall. It is a smaller cut than the A$1.3 billion reduction initially planned. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency will get A$800 million in funding over the next five years. [Reuters]

US:

¶ California’s Kern county, home to 4.9 GW of installed solar power capacity, saw average irradiance in June drop by between 1% and 4% in different parts of the county because of wildfires. Environmental and industrial measurement firm Vaisala calculates that a 1% loss could lead to more than $940,000 of lost revenues. [SeeNews Renewables]

Wildfire near Lake Isabella in California.
(USDA photo. Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic)

¶ Excess chicken waste is one of the Chesapeake Bay’s biggest scourges. The state of Maryland has been trying to deal with that without much luck. But a new project is bringing fresh hope, state agricultural officials say. CleanBay Renewables is going big, becoming the first of its kind to expand beyond a single farm. [Delmarva Daily Times]

¶ A coalition of organisations has formed the New York Offshore Wind Alliance. They include environmental groups, offshore wind power developers, environmental justice and community advocates, academics, and consultants with a shared interest in promoting the development of offshore wind power for New York. [Offshore Wind Journal]

Offshore wind power

¶ Austin Energy’s partial ownership of a coal-fired power plant might cost the utility $10 million a year, a report says. The analysis, commissioned by Public Citizen, found that dramatic expansions of wind and solar generation combined with rock-bottom prices for natural gas had ruined the economics of most coal plants. [MyStatesman.com]

¶ Phoenix Energy, an alternative energy company from Nevada, is bidding $38 million for the unfinished Bellefonte Nuclear Plant in Hollywood, Alabama. The Tennessee Valley Authority has invested some $5 billion in the plant since construction began in the mid-1970s, but it was never finished as demand leveled off. [WAAY]

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Opinion:

¶ “Beginning of the End for Fossil Power” • The prospectus of E.ON’s conventional generation spin-off, says, “Conventional generation of power faces the risk of losing competitiveness against renewable energy and thus market share, and, over the long term, even faces the risk of disappearing completely from the market.” [Bloomberg]

Foreseeing its own end (Photo by Bill Allsopp / Loop Images)

Science and Technology:

¶ Sheets of carbon an atom thick could soon double the amount of electricity stored in smartphone batteries, as 2D materials present a picture of the future of energy storage. At small scales, electrons obey the exotic laws of quantum mechanics very different from those we experience in the macroscopic world. [Horizon magazine]

World:

¶ Vattenfall won the Danish nearshore wind tender and will develop two wind farms with a total capacity of 350-MW at Hvide Sande and Thyborøn on the west coast of Jutland. The winning bid for the two sites, Vesterhav Syd and Vesterhav Nord, was Dkr0.475/kWh (7¢/kWh). Construction should start in 2019. [reNews]

Offshore wind farm (Vattenfall image)

¶ Australia has consistently led the world with its funding of fossil fuel research and consistently lagged other nations when it comes to developing renewable energy, according analysis by the Australia Institute. Now the federal parliament is considering the “omnibus” bill, essentially abolishing ARENA renewables funding. [The Guardian]

¶ Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is to unveil a tidal turbine that is to be deployed in the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth. The device is the first of four to be completed at the Nigg Energy Park in the Highlands for Atlantis Resources’s MeyGen project. The project is said to be the world’s first large-scale tidal energy farm. [BBC News]

Atlantis Resources hopes eventually to install more than
200 turbines off the Caithness coast. (Atlantis Resources)

¶ Indian developer Mytrah Energy has increased its underlying ebitda by 56% in the first half of the year driven by a spate of new wind farms. Underlying ebitda reached $45.54 million compared with $29.14 million a year ago as revenue rose 52% to $49.66, the company said. The developer completed is significantly ahead of its targets. [reNews]

¶ Electricity-starved Myanmar is looking to overhaul its long-term power strategy, aiming to hike the planned share of hydropower in its energy mix at the cost of polluting coal as it tries to attract foreign investment. Myanmar is Asia’s sixth-poorest country. Half of its people are without access to electricity. [malaysiandigest.com]

Myanmar is looking to develop hydro power.

¶ Statoil has drilled the world’s hottest geothermal well. The well is part of the Iceland Deep Drilling Project, which aims to research technologies that can be used for high temperature water extraction from deep reservoirs for power production. The project is the latest renewables milestone for the Norwegian operator. [Energy Voice]

US:

¶ Nevada has a ballot measure that aims to deregulate electrical service. If the Energy Choice Initiative passes a statewide ballot in November and again in 2018, it will enshrine in the Nevada Constitution the right for customers to choose their energy provider and to produce their own power to sell to others. [Mohave Valley News]

Solar array supporting Las Vegas police communications.
(Balloonboy101, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA)

¶ Johnson County, Iowa, is installing two new solar arrays at its Iowa City campus in a move that could save taxpayers money and triple the county government’s production of clean energy. One array will be next to the county’s administration building, and another is already on the roof of the Health and Human Services building. [Iowa City Press Citizen]

¶ Some downstate New York lawmakers don’t like the fact that their constituents must now subsidize energy produced at nuclear plants in upstate regions. The legislators take issue with the state Public Service Commission’s decision to include subsidies for nuclear power in the Clean Energy Standard, approved in August. [WatertownDailyTimes.com]

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Opinion:

¶ “The balancing act: A tough task cut out for grid managers” • A massive deployment of renewable capacity implies a paradigm shift for thermal plants. This is something that could be testing for grid managers. India has a national target to add 141 GW of solar and wind energy by 2022, but this will change how the grid is run. [The Indian Express]

India has 42 GW of hydro capacity. It could have 52 GW in 2021.

¶ “Clinton and Trump polar opposites on global warming and energy” • Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump want the US to become a global energy superpower. The similarity in their energy policies ends there. Trump’s position is based on fossil fuels, while Clinton’s is based on renewable power. [San Francisco Chronicle]

World:

¶ Cuba is embracing renewable and affordable energy as a new solar panel park is saving the country over half a million dollars in fossil fuels spending in its first year, at practically no cost. In its first year of operation, Pinar 220 A1 was estimated to have fed almost 6 GWh of electricity to Cuba’s national electricity grid. [teleSUR English]

Solar panels in a Cuban field (Photo: Reuters)

¶ The first solar power plant on the Philippines’ Panay Island opened in Miag-ao, a town in southern Iloilo province. The chief executive officer of Cosmo Solar Energy Inc has said that the 15-hectare solar power plant can generate 5.67 MW. The power is being sold under a 25-year contract, and site can be expanded. [Manila Bulletin]

¶ The Indian government has estimated that by 2020, India will need 1.5 billion tonnes of coal. A PriceWaterhouse Coopers report indicates there is a slight problem. It said that to achieve its target, the government would have to invest around ₹10 lakh crore ($149 billion). This is four times India’s annual defence budget. [Scroll.in]

Indian coal

¶ When it comes to generating renewable energy, the Indian state of Maharashtra has managed to exceed its quota. But, the state has lagged behind in power purchase agreements, and this might hamper further growth and expansion of the sector. The state has wind, solar, biomass and small hydro power. [The Indian Express]

¶ Thailand has been seeking to diversify from its currently fossil fuel based power generation towards more renewable energy power generation. Geothermal is one of the available options, and a local TV station carried some footage covering geothermal plant in the province of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. [ThinkGeoEnergy]

Fang geothermal plant in Chiang Mai, Thailand
(Helmut Duerrast, creative commons)

¶ The Danish ambassador to Pakistan said that a Danish energy company working in Rajanpur district of Punjab would add 250 MW of wind capacity in the national grid before the year 2018. The announcement was made at a seminar recently organised by the Ramboll A/S Denmark and Elan International. [Daily Pakistan]

¶ Iran began building a second nuclear plant with Russian help on Saturday, in a $10 billion project following Tehran’s landmark nuclear deal with world powers last year, state media reported. The project is to erect a 1,000-MW reactor, and is expected to take 10 years to build. Iran already runs one Russian-built nuclear reactor at Bushehr. [Zawya]

Bushehr main nuclear reactor. (Reuters / Raheb Homavandi)

US:

¶ Rather than choose to have Volkswagen modify their vehicles to meet US emissions standards, the majority of US owners who were affected by the recent diesel emissions cheating scandal have signed up for the vehicle buyback, according to recent reports. Over half of the 475,000 owners affected have already registered decisions. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The vision the federal government unveiled on Friday calls for wind farms off of nearly every US coastline by 2050, in an effort to generate 86 GW of electricity from offshore wind, enough zero-carbon power for more than 23 million homes. Offshore wind is a major part of the US strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. [Grist]

Danish offshore wind turbines (Shutterstock)

¶ California Governor Jerry Brown said last week that he remains committed to expanding California’s power grid to include other Western states, despite a delay announced this summer when it appeared the state Legislature was unprepared to grant the broader approval needed to advance the project this year. [The Register-Guard]

¶ Wind Energy Development, based in North Kingston, Rhode Island, installed nine 1.5-MW, German-made turbines over the summer. It is the largest onshore wind farm in Rhode Island. The developer says technological advances now enable turbines to take advantage of weaker winds away from the coast. [The Providence Journal]

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Science and Technology:

¶ The National Electrical Manufacturing Association laid out a strategic vision for microgrid development and use for the 21st century in ¨Powering Microgrids for the 21st Century Electrical System.¨ It says microgrids will make a transition from off-grid ¨island¨ systems to integral parts of broader-based power grid networks. [Microgrid Media]

Please click on the image to enlarge it.

¶ A new report from the World Bank has concluded that air pollution is the fourth leading cause of premature deaths worldwide, costing the global economy about $225 billion in lost labor income in 2013. It says an estimated 5.5 million lives were lost in 2013 as a result of various diseases attributed to indoor and outdoor air pollution. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ Natural Energy Wyre, has announced the launch of the UK’s Tidal Hydro Energy Plant in Fleetwood, Lancashire. The mouth of the River Wyre at Fleetwood has a very high tidal range, in excess of 10 meters at spring tides. The plant is projected to produce 200 GWh of electricity per year in a 125-year lifespan. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

Natural Energy Wyre.

¶ A collaboration between Moroccan and German institutions will lead to the energy upgrade of 600 mosques in Morocco. The facilities will be equipped with LED lighting, photovoltaic systems, and solar water heaters. Signs are also appearing that the Moroccan government will be more supportive of rooftop solar. [pv magazine]

¶ A group of highly skilled engineering alumni, Master’s and PhD students from Masdar Institute have formed a startup company called the Nigeria Future Energy Group (NiFEG), focused on clean energy development and deployment throughout Nigeria. Nigeria’s solar resource is approximately 4.85 billion MWh/day. [Nanowerk]

The 2.25 kW solar photovoltaic facility
donated by NiFEG to Kaduna State University.

¶ Russian companies are considering the possibility of taking part in the construction of more than 5,000 MW of solar and wind parks in Algeria, Russia’s ministry of energy said on Friday. Algeria aims to have 22 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2035, including about 13,575 MW of PVs and 5,010 MW of wind power. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ SSE’s Dunmaglass wind farm, situated 25 km south of the city of Inverness, Scotland, is the highest wind farm ever to be constructed by the Scottish energy company, at 700 meters above sea level. The Scottish Government approved the 94.05-MW project in December 2010. SSE acquired the 33-turbine project in May 2013. [Power Technology]

Dunmaglass wind farm.

US:

¶ A report released by the DOE and Department of the Interior has exciting news: The US offshore wind power industry is poised to go big and to be cost-competitive with fossil-fuels in places like the Northeast by 2030. The US is just beginning to install offshore wind farms, though Europe has 11,500 MW. [Natural Resources Defense Council]

¶ Houston-based Apache Corp believes that there could be 3 billion barrels of oil and 75 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in an area it calls Alpine High in West Texas, but it remains to be seen when consumers will actually benefit from the find. The company announced its discovery after two years of drilling in the region. [OneNewsNow]

Apache operations in the Permian
Basin of West Texas. (Courtesy Photo)

¶ After a federal judge denied the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s request for an injunction to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline, the US Army Corps of Engineers issued a joint statement with the Department of Justice and the Department of Interior, saying it will not authorize construction of the pipeline on Corps land. [Daily Globe]

¶ The city of New Bedford was highlighted as two Cabinet members released a national strategy for offshore wind development, while touring a turbine testing facility in Charlestown, capping a month-long period launching the renewable energy industry in America, Massachusetts, and SouthCoast. [SouthCoastToday.com]

New Bedford, Massachusetts.
(EPA photo by C Pesch. Public domain. Wikimedia Commons.)

¶ Developer Iberdrola Renewables has said it will abide by the results of a November vote by residents in the Vermont towns of Windham and Grafton on whether a 28-turbine project should proceed. However, town officials say town residents will have all the information they need by Election Day. The wind farm would be the state’s largest. [vtdigger.org]

¶ Enel Green Power North America expects to start commercial operation in the coming months at a pair of 200-MW wind projects in Kansas. Cimarron Bend 1 is due to power up in November and Cimarron Bend 2 is expected to follow in January 2017, Enel said in filings to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. [reNews]

Old house, new turbine. (Enel)

¶ A new micro-grid power switching device that can optimize and provide sub-cycle switching for the power originating from renewable energy and other sources to meet real-time usage requirements, helping match available power to grid demand, is being introduced by Diversified Technologies, Inc of Bedford, Massachusetts. [Utility Products]

¶ Orange County, California, Representative Loretta Sanchez condemned the burial of millions of pounds of nuclear waste on a San Onofre beach bluff and faulted her opponent in the race for the US Senate for not fighting the controversial project. The waste disposal has been approved by the state’s Coastal Commission. [OCRegister]

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Opinion:

¶ “Clean Power Plan no problem for the Northeast” • The grid operator for 13 northeast states and Washington, DC, PJM Interconnection, recently released a report with some encouraging news: meeting the CPP should be a breeze. That’s a big deal because of the area’s dense population and economic activity. [Into the Wind – The AWEA Blog]

Wind power is a low-cost Clean Power Plan solution for the Northeast.

Science and Technology:

¶ Researchers have created an interactive web tool to estimate the amount of energy that could be generated by wind or solar farms at any location. The tool, called Renewables.ninja, aims to make the task of predicting renewable output easier. Companies such as RWE are using it to test their output models. [AZoCleantech]

World:

¶ UK electricity generated from offshore wind hit 5.1 TWh in the first quarter of 2016, up 10% on the same period last year, government data said. Onshore wind generation fell to 6.4 TWh in the quarter, compared with 7.2 TWh for the first quarter of 2015. The largest percentage of increase was for solar, at 41%, to 1.3 TWh. [reNews]

Westermost Rough offshore wind farm. (Dong Energy)

¶ Norges Bank, in administering Norway’s $900 billion Government Pension Fund, has decided to exclude Duke Energy and its subsidiaries based on the risk of severe environmental damage. The bank’s investment guidelines had already excluded 52 companies that derive 30% or more of their revenues from coal. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The UK will fail to meet its renewable energy targets, with take-up of clean fuels for heating and transport falling badly behind aims, MPs have warned. The findings of the energy and climate change committee show that ministers have little clear plan for meeting the 2020 target to get 15% of energy from renewable sources. [The Guardian]

Electric car charging in the UK.
(Andrew Curtis, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0)

¶ Despite not receiving funding in the Australian Renewable Energy Agency large scale solar funding round, Lyon Solar says it is committed to going ahead with the largest single large scale solar and battery storage facility in the world – in South Australia – along with a similar solar plus storage plant in north Queensland. [RenewEconomy]

¶ The Innu Nation teamed up with Boralex to develop, build and operate the 200-MW Apuiat wind farm in Quebec. Boralex will be partnering with Renewable Energy Systems Canada, which has developed the site in Port-Cartier in the Côte-Nord region so far, a Boralex spokesperson said. The Innu Nation will control a 50% project share. [reNews]

Wind turbine. (Boralex)

¶ China is drawing more and more power from renewables. In fact, new data collected by Greenpeace shows that in 2015 the country’s growth in wind and solar energy more than exceeded its increase in electricity demand. Putting this in perspective, China installed half of the world’s new solar and wind capacity last year. [ZME Science]

¶ Royal Dutch Shell Plc may bid in the Dutch government’s tender for the Borssele III and IV offshore wind sites, Reuters reported. The tender will open on September 15 and run until September 29. A spokesman for the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas major told Reuters the company is studying the opportunity. [SeeNews Renewables]

Wind turbines in Dutch waters. (Photo by Eneco.
Creative Commons, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

US:

¶ Renewable energy groups are beginning a push to get Congress to extend vital tax credits for their industries before the end of the year. The groups, including biomass energy and hydroelectric industries’ lead trade groups, sent letters to Republican and Democratic leaders making the case the subsidies are needed. [Washington Examiner]

A 100-kW wind turbine at the National Wind Technology Center will power hydrogen electrolysis for an experiment. (Jerry Cleveland / The Denver Post)

¶ Xcel Energy said it reached a settlement that will speed up development of a 600-MW wind project and the construction of a 125-mile transmission line to move energy to the Front Range from the eastern plains. The Rush Creek Wind Project would rank as the Colorado’s largest, boosting wind generation capacity by 20%. [Fort Morgan Times]

¶ A wind power proposal submitted to Vermont regulators includes an offer to buy out close neighbors who object to the turbines, according to consultants for the project. Property owners living within 3,000 feet of the Swanton Wind project will have six months after the project goes online to take up the offer. [BurlingtonFreePress.com]

¶ FirstEnergy is monitoring recent efforts by New York to help subsidize the continued operation of at-risk nuclear plants owned by Exelon and Entergy, and may support a similar scenario for its three nuclear plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania, a company official said. FirstEnergy is currently acquiring the Fitzpatrick plant in New York. [Platts]

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Opinion:

¶ “Beauty and power: how Norway is making green energy look good” • On the edge of a forest in northern Norway, an unusual hydroelectric plant is generating a buzz. Øvre Forsland is a big departure from the hulking power stations. It looks more like an elegant, custom‑built home from TV show Grand Designs. [The Guardian]

Øvre Forsland hydroelectric station.
Photograph: Pedro Alvarez for the Observer.

¶ “Dear Theresa: Let it go! Six powerful reasons to dump Hinkley C” • Theresa May ducked out of a signing ceremony to review the Hinkley C nuclear project. Soon she will have to make a decision. In this open letter Scientists for Global Responsibility set out six compelling reasons for her to let the monstrous white elephant go. [The Ecologist]

Science and Technology:

¶ Torrential rains unleashed on south Louisiana in August were made almost twice as likely by human-caused climate change, according to a quick-fire analysis. The team of scientists concluded that the likelihood of such an event is probably twice as great now as in 1900, but it is at least of 40% more likely. [Carbon Brief]

Flooding and devastation in Baton Rouge, 15 August 2016.
Credit: Melissa Leake/US Department of Agriculture.

World:

¶ In the UK, a Labour government under Jeremy Corbyn would ban fracking, ditch coal-fired power, and massively increase renewable energy, his campaign announced. He pledged to phase out all coal power stations by the “early 2020s” and invest heavily in energy-saving to avoid building many new power stations. [The Guardian]

¶ Vattenfall and Stadtwerke München have exported first power from the 288-MW Sandbank offshore wind farm in the German North Sea. A total of 20 Siemens 4-MW turbines have been installed. The wind farm will have 72 turbines altogether and is due to finish about three months earlier than originally planned. [reNews]

MPI Adventure is installing the turbines at Sandbank. (Stefan Jürgensen)

¶ Australia is set to triple its large-scale solar energy capacity after funding from a threatened federal agency helped drive down costs almost to those of wind farms. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency will announce the 12 projects that will share part of its latest funding round of about $100 million on Thursday. [Whyalla News]

¶ The Chinese government estimates that the country’s data centers consume more electricity than all of Hungary and Greece combined. Chinese technology and Internet businesses are looking to burnish their environmental credentials and lower costs of operation, so they work to reduce electricity and water usage. [chinadialogue]

E-commerce giant Alibaba Group’s new green data
center on Qiandao Lake. (Image by Alibaba Cloud)

¶ The government of Mexico announced that they would soon join the growing ranks of countries that have adopted cap and trade to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Mexico’s pilot carbon pricing program will begin in November on a trial basis as a testing ground for a national carbon market to be launched in 2018. [CleanTechnica]

¶ French Energy Minister Segolene Royal announced France will soon launch a series of tenders for rooftop solar power installations for a total capacity of 1,350 MW. Each year between 2017 and 2019, France will tender 450 MW, in a move to help lift its solar capacity to over 18.2 GW by 2023. [SeeNews Renewables]

Rooftop solar in France. Photo by Lionel Allorge.
CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Several hundred American service personnel who say they became sick from radiation during the Fukushima nuclear disaster are now getting high-profile support in Japan. Junichiro Koizumi, a former Japanese prime minister, has set up a special fund to collect private donations, mainly to help with medical bills. [Laconia Citizen]

¶ A new report highlights 15 signals of an energy transition occurring across the world, indicating a sustainable and equitable global energy system has irrevocably begun. The signs, detailed in a report by WWF-France and WWF-China, provide encouragement that the transition can be found just about everywhere. [Energy Matters]

Solar panels in Hong Kong. Photo by Snowacinesy.
CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

US:

¶ California Governor Jerry Brown said that he remains committed to expanding California’s power grid to include other Western states, despite a delay announced this summer when it appeared the state Legislature was unprepared to grant the broader approval needed to advance the project this year. [Mail Tribune]

¶ Iowa is cultivating new ground in a transformational shift to renewable energy and resilient economy. With several record-breaking wind energy projects announced this year, impressive growth in solar, and high ranking in other renewable technologies, Iowa’s position as a renewable leader has never felt more secure. [DesMoinesRegister.com]

Wind turbines in Iowa. Photo by Bill Whittaker.
CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ The Portland, Maine, City Council voted unanimously to authorize an agreement to build one of the state’s largest municipal solar power arrays on a landfill. The City Manager will negotiate an agreement with ReVision Energy. The project would reduce the city’s reliance on fossil fuels for electricity by 25%. [Press Herald]

¶ After Duke University announced in May a proposal from Duke Energy to build a new 21-MW combined heat and power natural gas facility on campus, some students and faculty members have raised concerns about the proposed plant’s impact and a lack of transparency surrounding the initial stages of the facility’s planning. [Duke Chronicle]

George gets up early to get you the
news of energy and climate change.
If you wish to help:

Science and Technology:

¶ Shipping routes across the Arctic are going to open up significantly this century even with a best-case reduction in CO2 emissions, a new study suggests. University of Reading, UK, researchers have investigated how the decline in sea-ice, driven by warmer temperatures, will make the region more accessible. [BBC]

Sea-ice is in decline but scientists expect a lot of annual variability. SPL

World:

¶ The G20 meeting in China may have been notable for the decision by both China and the US to ratify the Paris climate treaty. But the G20 nations are still taking little action on ending fossil fuel subsidies, despite agreeing to the move in 2009 to end what has been described as the “dumbest policy” in the world. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The London Metropolitan Police is now trialling the use of a range-extended BMW i3 as a patrol car, exploring the value of a nearly silent police vehicle in urban environments, according to recent reports. The EV is being loaned to the Met by BMW for free, presumably in hopes of a large order from them. [CleanTechnica]

The police got an electric police car. Image via Wandsworth government.

¶ Greenpeace India questioned the Centre’s decision to sustain an “obsolete and polluting” coal industry, saying renewable energy holds the potential to meet energy needs. Greenpeace India asked the power sector to think beyond coal and stop maintaining the desire to prop up a “dying industry.” [The Indian Express]

¶ Canadian renewable energy producer and pipeline operator Enbridge agreed to acquire Houston-based Spectra Energy in a $28 billion all-stock deal, to create the largest energy infrastructure company in North America. Low oil prices have forced companies, including even pipeline operators, to consider mergers to cut costs. [reNews]

Cedar Point wind farm Colorado (Enbridge image)

¶ Jeremy Corbyn will pledge to create an energy policy “for the 60 million, not the big six” if he becomes prime minister. He has hopes of creating 300,000 jobs in the renewables sector. The Labour leader will set a target of generating 65% of UK electricity renewably by 2030, making the UK a world leader in green technology. [The Guardian]

¶ A Swiss energy company, The meeco Group, will partner with electric products maker and distributor Powerspeed Electrical in Zimbabwe to offer solar turnkey solutions. Meeco said the two firms have formed a joint venture Onesun Solar Ltd to install clean energy systems in Zimbabwe. [SeeNews Renewables]

Photo Source: The meeco Group.

¶ Coal-fired power generation under development worldwide has shrunk by 14% this year, driven down by China as it struggles with oversupply and promotes cleaner energy, a study showed on Wednesday. India also introduced policies curbing plans for coal-fired plants, partly due to under-utilization of existing plants. [Himalayan Times]

¶ Former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi blasted current premier Shinzo Abe’s stance that the situation at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant is under control. “It’s a lie,” an impassioned Koizumi, 74, told reporters. “They keep saying it’s going to be under control, but still it’s not effective.” [Bloomberg]

A distant sign reads, “nuclear, bright and future energy.” No one reads it. 
Photo by Hohoho. CC BY-CA 4.0. Wikimedia Commons.

US:

¶ A request to approve a new 100-MW solar energy project, as well as a request to close one of the utility’s coal-fired power plants 10 months earlier than expected, has been filed by NV Energy as part of the second amendment filing for its most recent Emissions Reduction and Capacity Replacement. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Massachusetts has signed a letter of intent with Dong, Deepwater Wind and OffshoreMW to lease a marine terminal as a base for offshore wind projects. The developers will lease the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal as a staging and deployment location, paying $5.7 million annually under a two-year commitment. [reNews]

DONG Energy image.

¶ FuelCell Energy announced the development of a utility scale power project for affordable and clean power generation in land-constrained areas. Construction will begin within weeks for a 3.7-MW fuel cell power plant at a location in Danbury, Connecticut, following recent approval by the Connecticut Siting Council. [StreetInsider.com]

¶ The Narragansett Bay Commission owns and operates the two largest wastewater treatment facilities in Rhode Island. Cleaning water is expensive, so the wastewater agency is aiming to run on 100% renewable energy within two years. This is expected to stabilize electric rates for users for 25 years. [Rhode Island Public Radio]

Opinion:

¶ “Turn California’s dead trees into electricity” • California’s drought and invasive beetles have killed millions of trees, now fuel for wildfires. While everyone seems to agree that removal is the answer, we need to help support the infrastructure to remove and process it. Biomass power plants provide an opportunity. [San Francisco Chronicle]

California’s dying forests.
Photo: Max Whittaker / Prime, Special To The Chronicle.

¶ “Time to stop pretending that gas is a climate solution” • A push to boost Australian gas supply and lift state gas bans is a worrying move that will send the mercury rising to dangerous levels, condemn local communities to undrinkable water and wrecked farmland, ruin a transition to a 100% renewable energy future. [Huffington Post]

Science and Technology:

¶ Global warming is making the oceans sicker than ever before, spreading disease among animals and humans and threatening food security across the planet, a major scientific report said. The findings, from peer-reviewed research, were compiled by 80 scientists from 12 countries, experts said at the World Conservation Congress. [Rappler]

President Obama visited Turtle Beach on Midway Atoll. Saul Loeb / AFP

World:

¶ The price of oil jumped after Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed to discuss ways to stabilize the oil market. The announcement was made by the countries’ energy ministers, Alexander Novak and Khalid al-Falih. The price of Brent crude initially jumped by 5%, but then it fell back to stand 1.6% higher at $47.56 per barrel. [BBC]

¶ Brazil’s wind power output reached 4,499 MW on average in August, marking a 29.2% year-on-year increase, according to preliminary figures from the Power Trading Chamber. Wind power’s share of the country’s total electricity generation grew to 7.4%, from 5.7% a year back, while demand increased 0.1%. [SeeNews Renewables]

Wind farm in Brazil. Author: Otávio Nogueira.
License: Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic.

¶ Vattenfall is seeking to fill 130 new positions in its wind energy business over the next 12 months, as the Swedish power company invests another €5 billion in European renewable energy projects. The new staff would help the company reach its goal of expanding wind capacity by 400 MW to 600 MW each year. [reNews]

¶ The Argentine energy ministry announced it has received 123 bids for 6,336 MW of power capacity in its renewables tender for purchase contracts to 1,000 MW of capacity. There were wind power bids totaling 3,468 MW, and bids for 2,834 MW for solar power. Bioenergy offered 53 MW and small hydro 11 MW. [SeeNews Renewables]

Solar farm in Argentina. Photo by sustentator.
CC-2.5-SA. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Wind turbine makers in India are looking at building more renewable energy projects combining solar and wind in a bid to provide a reliable and cost-effective power supply. Gamesa Corp Tecnologica SA and Suzlon Energy Ltd, two of India’s largest wind turbines makers, both expect to focus on hybrid projects in the near future. [Bloomberg]

¶ A robot will be sent into the No 2 reactor containment vessel at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to locate the melted fuel inside and assess its spread ahead of future retrieval. TEPCO announced on August 25 that it would undertake the difficult operation early next year at the soonest. [Asahi Shimbun]

TEPCO plans to use this survey robot. Asahi Shimbun file photo.

US:

¶ The town of New Paltz, New York, has proposed a nested microgrid project, a $12 million system to maintain critical energy supplies. Within the microgrid are 10 independent zones, or nodes, each with its own energy resources to serve one or more of the critical facilities within its geographic footprint. [Microgrid Knowledge]

¶ A solar energy initiative by the University of Massachusetts will have 15,576 solar panels newly installed this year, with an aim to save $6.2 million in a span of 20 years. There will be eight solar panel installations, with six of them placed on rooftops and the other two placed above parking lots. [The Massachusetts Daily Collegian]

Solar canopy under construction over parking. Daily Collegian Archives.

¶ The American Wind Energy Association released figures showing that the rapid rise of American wind power has been accompanied by increased support among US voters. In Iowa, which maintains the current US record of 35% electricity generation from wind, the support for wind technology is at 91% of voters. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶ In Fall River, Massachusetts, more than 200 solar panels on Morton Middle School’s roof will finally be switched on after three years of sitting unused. The chief operating officer for the Fall River Public Schools said the panels will be activated following the finalization of an agreement with National Grid. [Fall River Herald News]

Science and Technology:

¶ Researchers produced a 15% boost to wind generation across a single project using “wake steering” and “total wind farm control” alongside a Zephir lidar unit. The test used three turbines. By yawing two of the upwind turbines to laterally deflect their wakes, the rearmost was able to increase production 15% for the wind farm. [reNews]

Zephir lidar unit. Credit: Zephir.

World:

¶ Solar power generation capacity of 4.8 GW is likely to be added this year in India, as installations are picking up, says a report by Mercom Capital Group. The report also said that power distribution companies continue to be a “drag” since they are showing reluctance to buy solar energy amid low electricity prices. [ETEnergyworld.com]

¶ India has set an ambitious target of achieving 100,000 MW of solar power capacity by 2022 as well as doubling farm incomes. Both these targets can be a game changer for rural India if implemented in unison, suggests a recent study by the International Council for Research in International Economic Relations. [Livemint]

Solar power can help water crop fields and augment farm incomes by
feeding the surplus power generated into the grid. Photo: Bloomberg

¶ State-run mining major Coal India will develop solar power plants of 600 MW capacity in four states, under the second phase of its plan to set up a total 1,000 MW green energy plants. The Solar Energy Corporation of India has already floated tenders for development of solar capacity in the second phase. [Khabar India]

¶ UK energy storage manufacturer RedT has completed testing of a 75-kW/1.68-MWh vanadium redox flow battery system to be installed on the Scottish island of Gigha. The London company will install by the end of the year seven 15-kW/240-kWh vanadium redox flow batteries to remove constraints on the island’s 1MW wind farm. [reNews]

RedT battery storage at Power Networks Development Centre (RedT image)

¶ The Philippine Energy Department may limit the exposure of renewable energy sources in areas where there are transmission line constraints, an official said over the weekend. An official said the department was trying to avoid duplicating the situation in Negros island where there was too much solar concentration in one area. [The Standard]

¶ Australia has announced the launch of the AUS$20 million ($15 million) Clean Energy Seed Fund, to provide seed and angel funding to ventures developing clean energy solutions. The fund will target investments in thirty to fifty startups over a 5 year period. Artesian Venture Partners will manage the fund. [DEALSTREETASIA]

Wind farm in Australia

¶ India has proposed to implement a large-scale project of solar street lights in Bangladesh to ensure energy efficiency and promote renewable energy, via Energy Efficiency Services Ltd. The Indian high commissioner proposed to start a pilot project of installing solar street lights in any particular area using Indian fund. [Dhaka Tribune]

¶ September 5 marks one year since the lifting of an evacuation order for Naraha, Fukushima Prefecture, that was imposed following the accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. However, of Naraha’s registered population of 7,300, fewer than 10%, only 681, people had returned to live there. [AsiaOne]

Kindergarten pupils playing at the Kohitsuji kindergarten in Fukushima
city, soon after soil removal and decontamination in 2011. Photo: AFP

US:

¶ Roughly 3.4 GW of large-scale wind and solar parks went into service in the US in the first seven months of 2016, though there were no wind additions in July, according to a report by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The country put 7.1 GW of natural gas-fired power stations online in January to July. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Hydropower producers Brookfield Renewable Partners LP and Hydro-Quebec are seeking support under New York’s recently adopted Clean Energy Standard, which has support for small hydropower facilities along with non-hydro renewables. The companies want support for large hydropower as well. [SeeNews Renewables]

Hydro dam. Author: grendelkhan.
License: Creative Commons, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.

¶ Xcel Energy claims to be the biggest wind power producer in the nation, 12 years running. It has a new 100-turbine Odell wind farm in southern Minnesota. The Odell farm will power over 100,000 homes. Xcel plans to have 35% of its power generated through renewable sources by 2030. [La Crosse’s NewsTalk 1410AM 92.3FM]

¶ Western communities are facing effects of a warming climate with slower and earlier snowmelt, reducing stream flows and possibly the amount of water reaching reservoirs used for drinking water and agriculture, a recent study says. Counterintuitively, as the climate warms, there is actually a slower snowmelt. [Growing Produce]

Opinion:

¶ “Trump’s Fossil-Fueled Ambitions Are Totally Out of Step With Economic Trends” • Considering how much he brags about his business acumen, shouldn’t Donald Trump do a better job of keeping up with economic trends? Instead of looking to the future, Trump is wallowing in nostalgia for coal mining. [AlterNet]

Why stop at coal? We could bring back manual typewriters! Slide
rules! Whale oil for lamps! Photo Credit: Max Goldberg / Flickr CC

¶ “Ohio must return to innovative roots to develop clean energy” • A global revolution in the world of energy generation and distribution is increasingly gaining momentum. Change is happening at the speed of a wind turbine’s blade tip. If America wants to keep up, we’re going to have to pick up the pace. [Crain’s Cleveland Business]

¶ “Why Natural Gas Could Be the Bridge Fuel to Nowhere” • Increasingly, knowledgeable people argue it’s time to prioritize zero-carbon energy. This year will be the first when CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants drop below those from natural gas, according to a new analysis from the US DOE’s Energy Information Agency. [TakePart]

Crews drilled this relief well to help stop a massive methane
leak at Aliso Canyon. Photo: Dean Musgrove / Pool / Reuters

Science and Technology:

¶ Researchers believe that recently found fossils, discovered, ironically, because global warming melted some long-frozen snow in Greenland, could be the fossilized remains of ancient bacteria. If they are correct, the newly discovered fossils would be fully 220 million years older than anything else ever uncovered. [The Inquisitr]

¶ For decades, as the global warming created by human emissions caused land ice to melt and ocean water to expand, scientists warned that the accelerating rise of the sea would eventually imperil the United States’ coastline. Now, those warnings are no longer theoretical: The inundation of the coast has begun. [Bend Bulletin‎]

On a rainless June day, water came up through drains to flood a
market in Charleston, SC. Scientists have documented a sharp jump
in this nuisance flooding. Hunter McRae / The New York Times.

World:

¶ A clean energy strategy based on five pillars is all set to reduce carbon emissions in Dubai by 16% in the next four years. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority has joined the efforts to make sure the city is among those with the lowest carbon footprints worldwide, in line with the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050. [MENAFN]

¶ Canada’s Federal Environment Minister has discussed a plan with the provinces to speed up the shutdown of coal-fired power plants across the country. The move would put Ottawa on a similar track to Alberta, forcing such power-generating facilities to close before their economic lifespan is up. [Calgary Herald]

Coal moving equipment at the new $1.9 billion Keephills 3
power plant in Alberta. Bruce Edwards / Edmonton Journal.

¶ Thirteen Japanese nuclear reactors were constructed with steel made by Japan Casting & Forging Corp, the same company that produced material used in a French power plant that has come under scrutiny after anomalies were found in the structure of its reactor vessel. They must all be inspected for weakness. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶ Siemens Energy announced its Hutchinson, Kansas, plant is filling an order from Apex Clean Energy for 64 wind turbines for Grant Plains Wind in Oklahoma. Officials expect the 147-MW project to be operational this year. This will bring Siemens’ completed orders for Apex Clean Energy in Oklahoma to 600 MW for the year. [Hutchinson News]

Siemens wind turbines. Photo by Bodoklecksel.
CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ The Oklahoma Corporation Commission told operators to shut down 35 disposal wells that may have played a role in a 5.6-magnitude earthquake that shook at least six states Saturday, the state’s governor said. She said the directive is mandatory, and added that the EPA is investigating the earthquake as well. [CNN]

¶ GTM Research waxes optimistic on US microgrid market prospects in a Grid Edge market research report released recently. Utilities are showing greater interest in co-developing microgrids, seeing them as a new means to relieve grid congestion, reduce infrastructure costs, and enhance overall system resiliency and reliability. [Microgrid Media]

GTM microgrids 2016. Please click on the image to enlarge it.

¶ Northern New Mexico is the testing ground for a new kind of utility, one that may make its way into rural Colorado and overturn a decades-old system of providing power. A startup says it can provide certainty on prices, through long-term contracts, for electric cooperatives and municipalities, even meeting rising demand. [The Denver Post]

¶ Clean Line Energy Partners wants to build the Grain Belt Express, a transmission line to carry wind-generated power through four states. The company filed its third application for approval from the Missouri Public Service Commission. Though it is approved elsewhere, the project been rejected in Missouri. [Columbia Daily Tribune]

Opinion:

¶ “Why smart utilities are embracing distributed electricity” • The growth of distributed energy generation, particularly in the form of solar energy, leaves the aging, monopolistic electric utility system a daunting choice: Defense of the status quo or accepting a clean energy future. [eco-business.com]

Reducing fossil fuel use is a challenge. Image: Shutterstock.

Science and Technology:

¶ At Yellowstone Park, the question of how to respond to climate change doesn’t yield an easy answer, with warming temperatures, decreasing snowpacks, longer fire seasons, and disappearing food sources for animals. Each means something different and requires a different response. [Chron.com]

¶ Over recent decades, the US has seen a dramatic rise in the number of extreme winter temperature events at opposite ends of the country. According to a new study, the ‘warm West, cold East’ temperature gap is growing, and is likely driven greenhouse gas emissions. [Daily Mail]

The eastern US has experienced colder days, while
there were extremely warm days in the West. Stock image.

World:

¶ Pakistan is expected to see a huge jump in wind energy installed capacity over the next two years as 21 projects are lined up for commissioning. Government officials in Pakistan has told local media that 1,012 MW capacity is expected to be added to the grid by 2018. [CleanTechies]

¶ A joint commitment from China and the US, the world’s super-polluters, expected to be announced later on Saturday, is a big step towards turning the Paris climate agreement into reality. The deal will take legal force when it is ratified by 55 signatories producing 55% of global emissions. [BBC]

Switching from fossil fuels like coal to renewable energy has
got easier , as the cost of wind and solar power has dropped. PA

¶ Australia is poised to see its biggest ever boom in large-scale solar construction over the next year as a range of international market factors and local policy incentives take hold. The boom has been a long time in the making but is now ticking nearly all the investment boxes. [RenewEconomy]

¶ Solar plus storage may be cheaper than grid prices within one year for some Australian households. A study suggest that the standard tariff offered to households in West Australia will be more expensive than rooftop solar and battery storage at some time in 2017. [RenewEconomy]

Sustainable apartments in Australia. Photo by Biatch.
Released into the public domain. Wikipedia Commons.

¶ TEPCO announced that the ice wall under construction at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was critically affected by rainfall from recent typhoons that melted parts of the ice dam, allowing contaminated water to leak from the basements of the reactor buildings. [Enformable]

US:

¶ In Colorado, a team of financial analysts revealed the stunning results of a two-year study of clean energy generation potential. Financial modeling indicates that two gigawatts of wind power could effectively replace 6,000 GWh of energy generated at coal plants in Colorado. [CleanTechnica]

Grover, Colorado wind farm.
Credit: Carlye Calvin, UCAR.edu, Colorado

¶ If you live near the Colstrip coal-fired power plant in Montana, your morning shower may be in jeopardy. Owners of the plant recently asked residents to reduce their water usage in response to record-low flows in the Yellowstone River. The plant needs the water. [The Missoulian]

¶ The mayor of Boulder, Colorado, announced that the city would commit to being powered by 100% clean energy by 2030. Boulder now represents the 17th city in the US to commit to be powered by renewable energy from clean sources such as wind and solar. [Windpower Engineering]

Landscape near Boulder Colorado.

¶ More wind turbines and solar PVs could be coming to vast tracts of public lands in the West if the Obama administration finalizes a new rule this fall aiming to streamline how federal lands can be developed for renewable energy. But some say it does not cut costs enough. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The Republican-controlled House this month will examine the climate change investigations launched by several state attorneys general – investigations that some lawmakers and officials from energy-rich states have blasted as “witch hunts” and “extortion.” [Houston Chronicle]

World:

¶ Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland have joined forces to advance the development of ocean energy technology by forming a new collaborative network. Separate agencies from each of the three countries formed the Ocean Power Innovation Network in Dublin. [reNews]

SXC image

¶ Average power supply delivered to the UK grid was the lowest on record in August. The increase in embedded generation capacity and improved energy efficiency measures combined to cut the amount of demand the transmission system was required to meet. [Argus Media]

¶ Construction on one of India’s largest, if not the largest, solar park is expected to being soon. The Minister for Energy in the southern state of Karnataka told media outlets that construction on the proposed 5-GW Pavagada solar park will begin there soon. [CleanTechnica]

An 11.5-MW solar array in India. Photo by Citizenmj.
CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Highly radioactive waste from the decommissioning of nuclear reactors should be buried at depths beyond 70 meters for 100,000 years, the Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority has decided. The decision relates mainly to spent control rods from the reactors. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶ The National Renewable Energy Laboratory used detailed software and a supercomputer to model how much solar and wind power the eastern United States’ power grid could accommodate. It said it could have a 30% penetration of wind and solar by the year 2026. [Energy Matters]

NREL renewables modeling.

¶ Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association will close two coal-fired power stations and one coal mine in Colorado as it moves to comply with plans to reduce regional haze, the co-op said. The utility said additional emissions controls would cost too much. [Grand Junction Daily Sentinel]

¶ While the US market share of the solar industry declined in the early 2000s, the residential solar market is booming once again. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, there’s been a 50% annual growth of the solar market in 2015. [American Recycler Newspaper]

Rooftop solar in the USA.

¶ California will spend $900 million in revenues raised by its cap-and-trade program for carbon emissions and hold back $462 million for later under a deal reached by Governor Jerry Brown and the state’s Senate and Assembly leaders. [Environment & Energy Publishing]

¶ A wide range of critics, at least 15 interest groups, have challenged New York’s new “clean energy standard,” which mandates subsidies for nuclear plants and renewable energy, by petitioning the state Public Service Commission to reconsider the policy. [Syracuse.com]

At least 15 parties have filed administrative challenges. Credit: NRC 

¶ Roeslein Alternative Energy announced that the first Renewable Natural Gas produced from methane captured using covered manure lagoons at a Smithfield Hog Production farm in Missouri is now being injected into the national pipeline. The project cost $120 million. [Farm Forum]

¶ A Connecticut hospital unveiled a PV plant that will generate nearly 535,000 kWh expected annual electricity production along with more than $600,000 in energy savings over 20 years. The array’s 1,485 panels are on the fourth floor of the visitor parking garage. [Solar Novus Today]

Science and Technology:

¶ The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research released a study on hurricane losses. The researchers concluded that not only will the financial damages from hurricanes increase dramatically by the end of the century, but that the rate of economic growth won’t keep pace with hurricane-caused financial losses. [CleanTechnica]

Flood waters from Tropical Storm Irene in Quechee, Vermont.
Photo by Stephen Flanders. CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ At the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, the Environmental Defense Fund and other national organizations launched the Midwest Row Crop Collaborative, working to expand on-the-ground solutions to protect air and water quality, enhance soil health, and maintain high yields in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. [Environmental Defense Fund]

World:

¶ Costa Rica has gone 113 days without using fossil fuels to keep the lights on. This shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s been keeping tabs on Costa Rica, because in 2015, 99% of its electrical energy was derived from renewable energy sources. Nevertheless, there is a certain symbolism to getting all your energy from renewables. [ZME Science]

The luxurious nation of Costa Rica is setting an example.
Photo by Wha’ppen Costa Rica.

¶ A report, Renewable Electricity in Ireland 2015, shows that renewables contributed the second largest source of electricity last year behind gas and ahead of coal. More than 80% of renewable electricity generated in Ireland came from wind power accounting for three quarters of the avoided CO2 emissions. [The Nationalist]

¶ An islanding solar project reliant on battery backup is about to undergo a two-year test in Queensland. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency partnered with four large companies in a Knowledge Sharing Project. It will test a system big enough to support 3,000 homes with grid-tied solar power and a 5.3-MWh battery. [The Green Optimistic]

Origin solar farm.

¶ More than 3,500 of Britain’s 50,000 churches have moved their electricity supply to renewables, or plan to do so, according to newly released data. The majority of Salvation Army’s sites, about a third of Quaker meeting houses, and approximately 2,000 Catholic churches are running entirely on renewable energy. [The Guardian]

¶ SSE completed the installation of 26 out of 33 GE 2.85-MW turbines at its 94-MW Dunmaglass wind farm in the Scottish Highlands. The utility added that it has also cleared a path to full energization of the wind farm. Six machines are at the “mid tower stage,” and installation of another turbine is yet to get underway. [reNews]

Dunmaglass wind farm. Image: www.aerialvision.scot.

¶ The Chinese government is considering a proposal to boost residential green energy use, the latest move to cut air pollution and a dependence on coal-fired electric power. The government could offer certificates that reward residential users who use more green power and install equipment like solar panels. [Thomson Reuters Foundation]

¶ A massive Reachtel poll of 10,271 people has found a thumping majority of Australians oppose the government cutting $1 billion from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. And support for an emissions intensity scheme to force high emissions power plants to reduce their emissions is even stronger. [The Sydney Morning Herald]

There is strong support for emissions reductions. Photo: Paul Jones

¶ Five employee representatives on EDF’s board have filed a lawsuit to overturn the French power company’s controversial decision to build nuclear reactors in Britain at Hinkley Point. The representatives argue that board leadership failed to convey critical information before the vote and had conflicts of interest. [Yahoo News UK]

US:

¶ California State University, Long Beach and SunPower Corp have announced that construction is under way on a 4.8-MW SunPower Helix Carport solar power system at two university parking areas. SunPower says the university could offset approximately 15% of campus electrical load with the renewable power. [Solar Industry]

SunPower Helix Carport. Photo courtesy of SunPower.

¶ Donald Trump has been a harsh critic of wind energy, but Iowa GOP Senator Chuck Grassley warns it’ll be “over my dead body” if the GOP nominee wins the White House and tries to do away with wind power. In an interview with Yahoo News, Grassley lauded wind energy for its environmental and economic benefits. [Newsmax]

¶ A Maine-based company appears to have found a formula to win local backing in Vermont for often controversial solar-energy projects: careful siting, a dose of patience and a willingness to alter plans to overcome objections. Ranger Solar has won outright support in three towns for arrays that average 100 acres apiece. [Seven Days]

Solar Trackers. File: Robert Nickelsberg.

¶ These days, the biggest buyers of renewable energy aren’t utilities. They’re corporations like Google, Walmart, and Owens Corning. Over the last year and a half, there’s been a surge of power purchases first by tech companies and more recently by more mainstream businesses, such as General Motors and Steelcase. [Co.Exist]

¶ Talen Energy announced it’s withdrawing its license application for a proposed nuclear power plant in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The company sent a written request to the NRC, saying it sees no “viable path” to obtaining a license for its proposed Bell Bend nuclear power plant. The application was filed in 2008. [PA home page]

Opinion:

¶ “Solar power does work – and a lot better than we thought” • Murdoch media carried an op-ed piece, “Solar and wind power simply don’t work, not here, not anywhere.” It was written by the former chairman of a coal mining company. But analysis shows utility-scale solar works better than expected in Australia. [RenewEconomy]

Solar farm in Australia.

World:

¶ The sharp increase in the use of renewables like solar and wind has provided more flexibility to the German electricity market. Energy-intensive industries have renewables to thank for the decline in wholesale prices. There have been a number of other economic benefits, including creation of jobs and exports. (Graphics) [EurActiv]

¶ The Nordex Group says it is supplying 11 N90/2500 wind turbines to Brookfield Renewable for the Slievecallan East project, in County Clare, on the west coast of the Republic of Ireland. According to Nordex, the wind farm is due to start operations, with a nominal output of 27.5 MW at the end of next year. [North American Windpower]

Turbines at sunset.

¶ A recent comprehensive study concluded that coal combustion is the single largest source of air pollution-related health impact in China, contributing to 366,000 premature deaths in China in 2013 alone. The new study took advantage of enhanced satellite data and China’s expanding network of air pollution monitors. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A biogas plant of the German manufacturer Weltec Biopower went live in Varazdin, northern Croatia. The 250-kW plant on a pig farm suits provides the farm with power, heat, and fertilizer. The slurry from a newly erected pigsty with 130 sows and 2,800 porkers forms the basis for the energy production. [Renewable Energy from Waste]

Weltec plant in Croatia.

¶ In a joint statement published by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), major insurance companies Aviva, Aegon NV, and MS Amlin have urged governments to commit to phasing out fossil fuel subsidies by 2020 at the upcoming G20 leaders’ summit set to take place in September in Hangzhou, China. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The 240-MW Ararat wind farm in the southern Australian state of Victoria has started generating electricity, it was announced on Tuesday. The first five of the project’s 75 GE turbines are producing about 23 MWh a day. Less than a year after ground was broken on the site, 25 turbines have now been erected. [SeeNews Renewables]

Ararat Wind Farm. Source: ararat-windfarm.com. All Rights Reserved.

¶ About 47.2% of Spain’s power in the first eight months of the year came from renewable energy sources, according to provisional data. Though Nuclear power plants were the leading source of power generation with a 23.2% share, wind provided 21.8%, hydro provided 17.8%, and solar supplied 5.8%. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ A survey of 3,000 Chinese city-dwellers by Ipsos Mori, a polling company, found that a massive 97.6% of them would like to buy clean power. Of those, over 90% would be willing to pay extra for it. The poll was commissioned by the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association. The problem is no one is selling it. [Quartz]

Talk about a market opportunity. (Reuters/Aly Song)

US:

¶ The Palo Duro and Permian basins are known for oil and gas production, but an Oklahoma electric cooperative serving those areas sees a future in solar energy development. Western Farmers Electric Cooperative is adding 43 MW of utility-scale solar through solar projects and power purchase agreements. [Electric Co-op Today]

¶ GM’s Orion Assembly manufacturing plant now ranks as the 8th largest user of green power generated onsite in the US, out of the Environmental Protection Agency’s network of “Green Power Partnership Partners.” The plant gets power from a 350-kW PV system and methane collected from a nearby landfill. [CleanTechnica]

Orion Assembly has a 350-kW solar array that sends energy to the grid.

¶ A tax exemption for businesses installing solar systems and other renewable energy equipment was overwhelmingly approved by Florida voters Tuesday as part of the state constitution. Under the proposal, renewable energy equipment on homes or businesses will not be taxed for twenty years starting January 1, 2018. [MyPalmBeachPost]

¶ Ocean Renewable Power Company has won a $5.3 million grant from the DOE to finalize the commercial design of its TidGen 2.0 power system. The new design will be tested, operated, and monitored in the Western Passage, an inlet off the Bay of Fundy, off the coast of Maine. The company is working toward a 5-MW project. [reNews]

TidGen 2.0 (ORPC)

¶ Omaha Public Power District announced Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station will cease operations October 24. The plant went into operation in September, 1973. The public power district says the move could save nearly $1 billion over the next 20 years, and executives say the move will keep electricity rates flat for the next five. [KETV Omaha]

¶ A consumer group is demanding that the State Corporation Commission force Dominion Virginia Power to obtain approval for its $19 billion proposal to add a new nuclear reactor at its North Anna Power Station before spending more money on the project. They say Dominion already has spent about $600 million. [Richmond.com]

Science and Technology:

¶ A Columbia University environmental economist published a paper examining the cost of dealing with climate change. He said it comes to $42 billion to $176 billion per year every year between now and 2050. That is about 33% more expensive than the war in Afghanistan, though spread over more than twice as much time. [Yahoo News]

Smoke billows from a controlled burn of spilled oil. Reuters / Sean Gardner.

¶ Researchers from the University of Waterloo have developed a long-lasting zinc-ion battery that’s 50% cheaper than current lithium-ion batteries, uses non-flammable, non-toxic materials, and a pH-neutral, and water-based salt electrolyte. One electrode is made of vanadium oxide, and the other is metallic zinc. [Electronics360]

World:

¶ The residents of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, a hamlet of about 1,400 people, welcomed 1,000 visitors as the giant cruise ship Crystal Serenity lay anchor off the shore. In the past, any ships that traveled through the region needed the help of ice breakers. However, now, with record sea ice loss in the Arctic, there isn’t the need. [Globalnews.ca]

Crystal Serenity in a Norwegian Fjord. Photo by Bundesstefan.
CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change has 130 institutions, supporting $13 trillion worth of investment. They urged the G20 nations to ratify the Paris agreement, saying countries must ratify the Paris COP21 climate agreement soon to guarantee strong climate policy and attract renewable energy investment. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Akuo Energy, a French independent renewable power producer, and San Diego-based Eurus Energy America Corp, the Toyota Tsusho Corp subsidiary responsible for renewable energy investment in the Americas, have commissioned Florida II, a 50-MW Uruguayan wind farm, with 15 Vestas V117 turbines. [North American Windpower]

Cow and wind turbines. Photo by Dirk Ingo Franke.
CC BY-SA 2.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ UK Prime Minister Theresa May will face tough questions over the delay to the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant when she flies to China this weekend for the G20 summit. There is a potential for awkward discussions between Mrs May and President Xi of China, who are scheduled for face to face talks. [Express.co.uk]

US:

¶ The Iowa Utilities Board has given MidAmerican Energy the green light for Wind XI, the utility’s planed $3.6 billion wind energy investment, the largest renewable energy project in the state. The project is part of Des Moines-based MidAmerican’s goal to reach 100 percent renewable energy for Iowa customers. [The Gazette]

MidAmerican personnel examine a wind turbine.
(Stephen Mally/The Gazette)

¶ The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is awarding $40 million for the design and construction of microgrids across the state for resilience and low-carbon energy. Microgrids can help communities keep the lights on during extreme weather, while providing cheaper and cleaner power. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Ever since 1999, when then-governor George W Bush signed a law deregulating the state’s power market, Texas has been building wind turbines like crazy. And what’s more, the boom isn’t likely to end anytime soon, thanks to a combination of federal subsidies and the falling cost of both wind and solar. [MIT Technology Review]

Wind turbines. Photograph by Michael Gil | Flickr

¶ E.ON began construction of its Twin Forks Wind Farm, the Chicago-based company’s the third wind farm in Illinois. The project is expected to be completed in 2017. Twin Forks’ 278 MW of generation will bring E.ON’s wind generating capacity in Illinois to 578 MW, enough to power more than 180,000 homes. [Your Project News]

¶ The US microgrid market is growing faster than expected, says a report released today by GTM Research. GTM now forecasts that US microgrid capacity will reach 4.3 GW by 2020, up from the research firm’s estimate last quarter of 3.71 GW. The US currently has about 160 microgrids with 1,649 MW of capacity. [Microgrid Knowledge]

Opinion:

¶ “Public lands and the next president” • The GOP platform, approved by the party in July, calls for the sale, privatization, or transfer of our public lands, including our national parks and monuments. The party’s nominee also poses serious risks to our public lands through his denial of the science of climate change. [Grand Junction Daily Sentinel]

Recently fallen snow on Colorado National Monument.
Photo by Tewy. CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

Science and Technology:

¶ The death of a boy and his grandmother in the far north of Russia after an anthrax outbreak raises questions about the impact of climate change on other pathogens that have been suspended in the ice. We can now include deadly diseases awakening as ice melts among the disasters climate change is bringing. [The National]

¶ Several high-octane, waste-based biofuels are now being tested by airlines as a way of curbing CO2. UN officials are set to endorse these fuels as a key part of global plans to stabilize aviation emissions by 2020. But critics say the plans are unrealistic and airlines are not taking the issue seriously. [BBC]

Isobutanol is more powerful than ethanol and has
now been approved for use in aircraft fuel blends.

World:

¶ Japan and Indonesia agreed to team up on 28 projects under the Joint Crediting Mechanism, a bilateral carbon offset credit program signed in 2013 between the two governments, a senior official said. The mechanism would allow Japanese companies to earn carbon credits by helping Indonesia cut its CO2 emissions. [Jakarta Post]

¶ Nova Innovation has put power on the grid from a pair of 100-kW tidal turbines in the waters of Shetland. The device developer said the two-unit Bluemill installation is the “first offshore tidal array in the world to deliver electricity to the grid.” The initial M-100 turbine was installed off Shetland in March. [reNews]

M-100 turbine. Nova image.

¶ The public cost of dealing with the aftermath of the March 2011 nuclear accident at TEPCO’s stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant topped ¥4.2 trillion ($41.12 billion) by the end of fiscal 2015. The public financial burden is expected to increase, as TEPCO will doubtless seek further government assistance. [The Japan Times]

¶ The comprehensive win for Labor in the Northern Territory election means that state and territory governments proposing ambitious renewable energy targets are now in the majority in Australia. The new chief minister, who favors renewables, replaces one who loudly supported coal seam gas and fracking technologies. [RenewEconomy]

Solar array in Alice Springs. Aerial Photo Volataic Installation.

US:

¶ According to US Wind, Maryland is poised to develop the nation’s first large-scale offshore windfarm. The 750-MW project would have up to 187 turbines, producing power for more than 500,000 homes. The company is surveying and installing a meteorological station to assess weather conditions at the site. [Southern Maryland Online]

¶ Texas has added more wind-based generating capacity than any other state, with wind turbines accounting for 16% of electrical generating capacity as of April. Now Texas is anticipating a huge surge in solar power. Texas has taken an approach that works within the state’s free-market-based electricity system. [MarketWatch]

Part of the Panther Creek Wind Farm in Howard County, Texas.
Photo by Larry D. Moore. CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Two reports from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the DOE show that solar industry growth is being supported by the continued decline in the prices for solar power systems. The falling price of solar power has made solar energy more attractive and accessible to consumers throughout the country. [Hydrogen Fuel News]

¶ A 1.8-MW solar farm at Ogdensburg, New York, will be partly online and generating power by the end of September, according to a public update from Ogdensburg’s City Manager. Full operation is expected in November. The solar farm is expected to save the city more than $45,000 per year over the next 25 years. [North Country Now]

Opinion:

¶ “Backers hope nation’s first offshore wind farm will jump-start an
industry” • At 30 MW, America’s first foray into offshore wind power is modest compared with sprawling European developments. It will provide enough power for about 17,000 homes, but there is one truly momentous thing about it: It exists. [Yakima Herald-Republic]

The Block Island Wind Farm. Photo courtesy of Deepwater Wind.

¶ “Why Theresa May should plug the plug on the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant” • Britain’s new Prime Minister should understand what was clear to many. Courting Chinese investment was opening the doors to an undemocratic, expansionist regime, with an appalling human rights record, that has long been a strategic enemy. [This is Money]

World:

¶ Over the last five years, French oil and gas giant Total has acquired stakes in solar giant SunPower and battery integrators Stem and Sunverge, and has bought a battery company called Saft. Eventually, these companies could create a vertically integrated renewable energy giant of the future, replacing big oil. [Motley Fool]

Total is investing in SunPower. SunPower image.

¶ India is planning to initiate work on several fronts to maximize the use of renewable energy at least cost possible. Officials of the Central Electricity Authority told media outlets that the central government is planning to set up 10 GW of pumped storage capacity across the country at a cost of₹80,000 crore ($12 billion). [PlanetSave.com]

¶ Expansion of the global clean energy sector is the single most influential factor in fighting climate change. Around the world, now over eight million people are employed in the clean energy industry. In the US, more people now work in the solar industry than in oil and gas extraction. This is quite remarkable, given low oil prices. [Justmeans]

Moonrise at a wind farm. Image Credit: Flickr via “Caveman Chuck” Coker

¶ The Indian Power Ministry is looking to engage Power Grid Corp to electrify 1,000 km of rail tracks on a pilot basis, as part of plans to energize 35,000 km of unelectrified lines. The electrification project will help the government cut down crude imports and also ensure faster movement of trains on these tracks. [Business Standard]

¶ Pakistan’s renewable energy generation sector attracted another $500 million investment, as local and international investors have approached the regulator, seeking generation licenses for 300 MW. Despite two years of crashing prices for oil, natural gas, and coal, renewable generating capacity is being expanded. [The News International]

Clean energy is attracting investment in Pakistan.

US:

¶ Tesla Motors moved a step closer in its bid to buy SolarCity after federal regulators said the $2.6 billion deal doesn’t present antitrust concerns. According to Reuters, the Federal Trade Commission quickly signed off “because the merging companies have few or no overlaps.” The deal was announced earlier this month. [89.3 KPCC]

¶ Over the past year, Belfast, Maine, has quietly become a leader among the state’s municipalities investing in renewable energy sources, and it’s done it so with a core tenet of renewable energy: use what you already have. The city is on a new track, and the reason has a lot to do a new assistant city planner. [Republican Journal]

Solar array on a capped landfill at Belfast Maine. Photo by Ethan Andrews.

¶ Soon, residents of Sudbury, Massachusetts will have the option to buy electricity from an alternative supplier to Eversource, selecting “renewable generation.” At a Board of Selectmen meeting, an electricity aggregation plan was approved to be submitted to the Department of Public Utilities for approval. [Patch.com]

¶ The renewable energy vision former CEO David Crane had for NRG Energy may be taking shape just months after he was fired from his post. The utility is emerging as a leading bidder for assets held by bankrupt SunEdison, and if it can close on those assets, it could be a windfall for the company. [Motley Fool]

Science and Technology:

¶ Hydraulic fracturing and unconventional natural gas development may be associated with health issues such as sinus problems, migraines, and fatigue, according to a peer-reviewed study. The study acknowledges its own limitations and says more research is necessary to determine whether fracturing caused the symptoms. [Bloomberg BNA]

Photo by Battenbrook. CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

World:

¶ The UK can meet its energy and climate change targets without the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant, an Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit report found. More wind farms, gas-fired power stations, and demand management could save £1 billion a year “while keeping the lights on and meeting climate targets.” [This is The West Country]

¶ Sun Brilliance says it plans to build a 100-MW solar farm east of Perth. It would be the biggest solar system in West Australia by size, and biggest to date in Australia by output. The project was originally envisaged as a 25-MW solar farm, but Sun Brilliance decided to increase the size to 100-MW, partly based on market factors. [RenewEconomy]

Sun Brilliance site.

¶ National Grid has awarded eight contracts worth a total of £65.95 million to energy storage companies to balance system frequency in the UK. National Grid is facilitating the use of new technologies for maintaining frequency in the face of increasing renewable generation and the continued closure of thermal plants. [Network]

US:

¶ Arizona land developer Vermaland announced its support for a proposal made by the Arizona Corporation Commission chairman that supports doubling the state’s requirements for solar and wind energy. Under the proposal, utilities would need to generate 30 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2030. [AZ Big Media]

Wind farm and commuters.

¶ Some experts within the coal business say winning or losing the Clean Power Plan won’t affect coal’s fortunes greatly. Utilities are diversifying their energy portfolios because of market forces, including cheap natural gas, new technology making renewables more reliable, and reduction in demand. [West Virginia Public Broadcasting]

¶ Driving in Seattle or in nearby areas in the Puget Sound is driving in congestion. Ridership has boomed more than expected on light rail in Seattle, and perhaps this is a reason why. The regional transit authority now has more plans to grow this more efficient option – plans for the third phase of light-rail expansion. [bikocity]

Sound Transit light rail. Photo by Oran Viriyincy (some rights reserved)

¶ For the first time since 1972, energy-associated CO2 emissions from coal are dropping below natural gas CO2 emissions. The Energy Information Administration’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook reports that energy-related CO2 emissions from natural gas are expected to be 10% higher than coal emissions for 2016. [CleanTechnica]

¶ With funding from the DOE, Cornell University will develop a scalable co-optimization solution for transmission and microgrids that includes demand response, storage, and renewable resources. It will incorporate realistic modeling and integration of responsive demand in the system for uncertainty management. [ithaca.com]

Greenstar solar panels in West Danby. Photo: Diane Duthie

¶ Furman University announced plans to install a 743-kW PV array on six acres of land near the main campus entrance. The solar panels will reduce the campus electricity expenditures by up to 5% and greenhouse gas emissions by 3%. The project cost $1.7 million. The university expects an 8-year return on investment. [WSPA.com]

Opinion:

¶ “The hydrogen economy is much nearer than we think” • Hydrogen made from renewable electricity is already fueling vehicles at affordable prices. But now the ‘green’ fuel is set to go from niche to mainstream – powering not just cars, trucks and buses, but storing surplus renewable energy to supply the grid with power. [The Ecologist]

Hydrogen made with renewable energy is already finding a market as a ‘green’ fuel. Photo: University of Nottingham via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA).

Science and Technology:

¶ A CNN meteorologist is speaking out about going from questioning climate change to siding with the 97% of scientists who acknowledge human activities are warming the planet beyond repair. “As I tell my 11-year old, It’s OK to be wrong as long as you learn from your mistakes,” Chad Myers wrote this week. [Huffington Post]

¶ In central Texas, a crew is repurposing an abandoned oil and gas well. They are developing a way to turn oil and gas wells into vaults for storing electricity, pumping water into the earth to be heated and pressurized. When it is released, it races through a turbine-generator above ground, generating electricity. [The Guardian]

A new startup is proposing turning abandoned oil and gas wells
into energy storage vaults. Photo: Jurgen Vogt / Alamy / Alamy

World:

¶ More than 150 Australian experts have signed an open letter to the country’s prime minister urging for legislation and action on climate issues. In it, they say the Australian federal government should make “meaningful reductions of Australia’s peak carbon emissions and coal exports, while there is still time.” [ZME Science]

¶ One of the UK’s leading 100% green energy suppliers, Good Energy, is rolling out a system for peer-to-peer trading of local, renewable energy between businesses and local clean energy generators. The idea behind this initiative is to create greater transparency and autonomy in how renewable energy is priced and sold. [Treehugger]

Wind farm. CC BY 2.0 Tony Webster

¶ Advocates of geothermal energy say British Columbia’s losses due to low oil prices and closing oil wells, which have caused job losses, represent a massive window of opportunity for the province. They say the province should retrofit old oil and gas wells to capture geothermal energy to generate power. [DeSmog Canada]

¶ Power Africa announced a partnership with the government of Japan, focused on energy poverty reduction and growing access to sustainable energy in sub-Saharan Africa. The Memorandum of Cooperation with the US and Japan includes commitments to share strengths, expertise and resource. [ThinkGeoEnergy]

Olkaria geothermal plant, Naivasha, Kenya
Source: Lydur Skulason, creative commons

¶ A local Japanese governor, who was elected governor of Kagoshima prefecture last month on an anti-nuclear platform, asked Kyushu Electric Power to temporarily suspend the Sendai nuclear plant, one of two operating in the nation, further clouding efforts by the government and utilities to restart more idled reactors. [swissinfo.ch]

US:

¶ Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners said it has acquired Offshore MW LLC, a company eligible to bid in Massachusetts’s tenders for offshore wind, the first of which is expected next year. It bought 100% of the US company, which holds an offshore wind energy lease for an area of 166,886 acres (675 sq km). [SeeNews Renewables]

Wind turbines at sea. Photo by Harvey Barrison.
Creative Commons, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.

¶ Continuing to defy projections, wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources have set a series of records for domestic electrical generation during the first half of 2016, says a report from the US Energy Information Administration. Renewable generation was up 14.5%, natural gas rose by 7.7%, and coal declined 20.1%. [Greentech Lead]

¶ Across California, tens of millions of trees are dead, intense wildfires burn, and orchard and forest waste piles up, as more power plants that use wood waste to generated electricity close due to expiring contracts. The plants’ power-purchase contracts were not renewed because renewable-energy alternatives were cheaper. [Sierra Sun Times]

Tree Mortality in California. Photo Credit: CAL FIRE

¶ The Vermont Green Line says it has entered into a partnership with Citizens Energy Corp to give low-income Vermont residents access to large quantities of renewable energy. Citizens Energy will finance its share of the Vermont Green Line and use its profits to help those in need in Vermont. [North American Windpower]

¶ During Superstorm Sandy, flooding knocked out three power substations in Hoboken and left residents without electricity for more than two weeks. The city’s mayor decided it needed a backup to keep the lights on and elevators working for essential facilities; it needed a microgrid, with self-sustaining power generation. [CityLab]

Floodwaters in Hoboken on October 31, 2012. (Gary Hershorn / Reuters)

¶ Lawmakers in California voted to extend the state’s climate change law by 10 years, resisting the opposition of the fossil fuel industry and other business groups. The law’s provisions range from restricting the carbon content on gasoline to taxing pollution, and it is the most aggressive of its kind in US. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶ Bowling Green’s commitment to renewable energy will surge with construction of a 20-MW solar field that is to be completed in December. The project would bring that Ohio city’s mix of energy from renewable sources to 38.16% when completed, a large increase from its current level of 12.04%. [Toledo Blade]

Science and Technology:

¶ A study raises questions about how much exports of Canadian liquefied natural gas would reduce carbon emissions abroad, a core justification for developing such an industry. The CD Howe Institute report said Canada’s LNG exports would likely increase emissions in most potential markets, aside from Asia. [Prince George Citizen]

LNG Carrier Galea. Photo by Wolfgang Meinhart.
CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

World:

¶ A pumped storage scheme using sea water, instead of drawing on freshwater from inland lochs, has been proposed for the Scottish island of Lewis, near a planned 30-turbine wind farm. Eishken Limited, which owns the island’s large Eisgein Estate, hopes to secure permission for the £200-million project later this year. [BBC]

¶ The UK’s energy infrastructure will need investment totaling almost £215 billion by 2030, nearly all of which will need to be earmarked for solar, wind, and other “disruptive” technologies, according to analysts at Barclays Research. They argued in a research note that security of supply in the UK is “on a knife edge.” [Solar Power Portal]

Renewable generation investment is needed.

¶ UK restaurant chain LEON announced that it is using 100% renewable energy in all its stores. The business has chosen a renewable energy tariff from Opus Energy, which sees more than 30 sites use 100% renewably sourced energy. Sustainability-oriented LEON describes its menu offering as “naturally fast food.” [CNBC]

¶ Renewable energy accounted for nearly a quarter of China’s power generation last year, even as wind and solar farms with 39 billion kWh of capacity sat idle due to poor planning in the rush to meet Beijing’s green energy targets, the National Energy Administration said. Hydropower was the biggest contributor. [Caixin Media]

Though they are not big producers, there are some small hydro stations
in China. Photo by Vmenkov. CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ The US tech giant Apple has been given the go-ahead to develop a data center in the West of Ireland, to be powered by 30 MW of renewables. National planners An Bord Pleanala said the first phase of the scheme has been given the green light in Athenry. The company is expected to power the 30 MW with onshore wind. [Energy Voice]

¶ Iberdrola has confirmed that it has won subsidies to develop two wind farms with a combined 32.2 MW in Spain’s Canary Islands. The company and a local partner will build the 13.8-MW Las Aulagas and the 18.4-MW Chimiche II wind farms in Tenerife. They will represent an investment of about €40 million. [reNews]

Iberdrola image

¶ Two new wind farm contracts announced this week have been hailed as the final ones necessary to ensure the Australian Capital Territory reaches its goal of using 100% renewable energy by 2020. The two contracts will have wind farms produce 200 MW of renewable power under the Territory’s reverse auction process. [PS News]

¶ France has launched a tender to develop 3 GW of solar as the country attempts to triple its photovoltaic energy production by 2023. The tender will be divided into six application periods of 500 MW each until June 2019, with the first ending on 1 February next year, environment minister Ségolène Royal said. [reNews]

A concentrating solar plant built in France in 1983.
Photo by Jeroen Komen. CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Westminster sources told The Independent civil servants are looking to see if there is any loophole, clause or issue in contracts yet to be signed that allow the Government to pull back without huge loss and while also saving face. Ministers are acutely aware of the potential damage a withdrawal could do to relations with China. [The Independent]

US:

¶ Solar energy systems are proliferating across Ohio, growing by more than 23% in just the past year, in-depth analysis of state records reveals. This is despite Ohio lawmakers passing a law last year to suspend mandates requiring power companies to increase the percentage of power get from the sun or wind. [cleveland.com]

The Minster, Ohio, solar array, which has a lithium-ion
battery power storage system (American Renewable Energy)

¶ The Vermont Public Service Board has approved Green Mountain Power’s plans to distribute $302,719 from a Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited fund to various projects around the state. Anaerobic digester research, renewable energy education, and Rutland solar development are the latest beneficiaries. [vtdigger.org]

¶ The first of 61 turbines has been raised at the 200-MW Frontier wind park in Oklahoma, Danish wind turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems A/S said. The developer is the renewables arm of Duke Energy Corp. The wind park is expected to provide enough power for about 60,000 local households annually. [SeeNews Renewables]

First V126-3.3 MW turbine raised in North America

¶ The growth of jobs in the solar and wind industries could easily absorb coal-industry layoffs over the next 15 years and provide full-time careers, if investments are made to retrain workers. That’s according to a new study by researchers at Oregon State University and the Michigan Technological University. [Utah Public Radio]

¶ NiSource, a subsidiary of Northern Indiana Public Service, is considering shutting its 480-MW Bailly baseload plant as early as mid-2018, more than a decade sooner than previously planned, and two units totaling 722-MW at its RM Schahfer baseload plant by the end of 2023, according to a spokesman for the utility. [Platts]

Opinion:

¶ “Holding Clean Energy Hostage” • Nuclear power got a much-needed lifeline in New York, at an estimated eventual cost to electricity customers of over $7 billion. Coal plants are uncompetitive. Clean energy is cheap, but electric utilities, invested in old technology, stand squarely in the way of such an energy future. [Jacobin magazine]

A coal-fired power plant in Flint Hills, Kansas. Patrick Emerson / Flickr.

World:

¶ Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity and Water has reportedly scrapped plans to build a nuclear power plant citing cost concerns. The country had planned to obtain a licence for the project from the United Nations. The ministry said alternative energy sources like wind and solar power were more cost-effective. [Gulf Business News]

¶ A study of the UK’s offshore wind energy potential has suggested that the total amount of economically feasible installed capacity offshore might be up to 675 GW. This could provide more than six times the UK’s present electricity demand. Steady winds and shallow waters make offshore wind in the UK especially attractive. [CleanTechnica]

Specialist ships are needed to build offshore
wind turbines. Nightman1965 / shutterstock.

¶ In a bid to cut the increasing costs to run bank branches across Nigeria, many deposit money banks are now opting for renewable energy. The banks’ new strategy will have them spend less on diesel and maintenance of their power generating plants. Solar PVs power facilities from large branches down to ATMs. [AllAfrica.com]

¶ The South African government made it clear it is pursuing a diversified energy mix which includes independent power producers. This comes after a utility chairperson wrote a letter to the energy minister saying the power utility will not sign further power purchase agreements with IPPs without engagement over the matter. [ITWeb]

The South African government is pursuing a diversified
energy mix, which includes independent power producers.

¶ Germany’s opposition Green party unveiled Monday a 10-point plan to end electricity generation from coal within 20 years, a key plank of its campaign heading into next year’s general elections. Coal currently accounts for 40% of the energy mix in Europe’s top economy and has been the focus of determined protests. [Prothom Alo]

¶ In India, a dam-top solar project of the Kerala State Electricity Board set up at Banasura Sagar Dam is ready to be commissioned. Under the project, 400 kW of solar panels have been fixed to form a canopy on the dam-top road at a length of 285 meters. The project has 1,760 solar panels. [ETEnergyworld.com]

Banasura Saga Dam has 400 kW capacity.

¶ Members of the environmental audit committee have called for a ban on microbeads after hearing that trillions of tiny bits of plastic are accumulating in the world’s waters, harming marine life and entering the food chain. A single shower could result in 100,000 plastic particles entering the ocean, said the committee chair. [The Guardian]

¶ The 300 residents of Tyalgum, near the Queensland-New South Wales border, are fond of saying their town is “beautiful 24-7.” Soon, if all goes to plan, this town in a region famed for its alternative lifestyle could be the first place in Australia to get off the electricity grid and keep the lights on 24-7 using 100% renewable energy. [BBC News]

The town of Tyalgum has just 300 residents and is
aiming to be taken off the electricity grid. Kacey Clifford.

US:

¶ The EPA told Texas to improve its regulation of fracking, linking the energy extraction method to seismic activity in the state. Its annual report to the state body that oversees fracking concluded, “there is a significant possibility that North Texas earthquake activity is associated with disposal wells.” [The District Sentinel News Co-op]

¶ Canadian Solar subsidiary Recurrent Energy announced that its 100-MW Mustang solar installation in Kings County, California, has reached commercial operation. The Mustang solar project is part of a historic year for Recurrent Energy, in which the company will complete of more than 1 GW of US solar PV projects. [PV-Tech]

The Mustang project is expected to produce enough energy
to power around 45,000 homes. Image: Recurrent Energy.

¶ A long-awaited campaign to rebrand fossil fuels called Fueling US Forward made its public debut at the Red State Gathering 2016. The top line takeaway is that the campaign, which is backed financially by Koch Industries, is an effort to rebrand fossil fuels, focusing on the “positive” sides of oil, gas and coal. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A solar farm that will generate enough electricity to power more than 150 homes, or about 10% of the Black Bear Casino’s electric needs, was unveiled Tuesday by the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The 1-MW solar farm was built on five acres of a reclaimed gravel pit near the casino. [Bemidji Pioneer]

The 5-acre solar power array on the Fond du Lac Reservation
features 3,230 panels in 10 rows. Bob King | Forum News Service.

¶ Green Mountain Power and Efficiency Vermont are partnering on a community-wide rapid energy transformation project in Panton to reduce energy costs, lower fossil fuel use, and improve comfort. The project is called eVolve Panton, and it will put Panton at the forefront of energy innovation in Vermont. [Vermont Biz]

¶ As residents of Louisiana this week struggle to recover from a 1,000-year flood, “one of the worst floods in modern history,” there is a chance that federal aid may not be so forthcoming thanks to a trio of Bayou State Republicans, who back in 2013 voted against helping victims of another storm: Hurricane Sandy. [eNews Park Forest]