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Science and Technology:

¶ Nearly a quarter of all deaths around the world are caused by living and working in toxic and polluted environments, and the worst affected are children, the poor, and the elderly, according to a new report released by the World Health Organization (WHO). [CommonDreams]

A child scavenges for coal scraps in a slum in Manila.
(Photo: Adam Cohn / flickr / cc.)

¶ NOAA’s Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii reported a spike in CO2 levels this week, 3.05 ppm, which was the largest year-to-year increase ever observed in the 56 years of recording and research done at the station. It was the fourth consecutive year that CO2 grew more than 2 ppm. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator awarded around 140 MW of new solar energy project contracts at a weighted average price of CAN$0.1567/kWh (US$0.12/kWh). The solar energy allocation in the tender was oversubscribed, with 1,742 MW of bids. [CleanTechnica]

Ontario. Image by Dennis Jarvis (some right reserved)

¶ Acciona Energía is providing adjustment services to the Spanish electricity system by increasing the level of generation by wind power. Traditionally, system adjustment services for the national grid have been provided by conventional technologies, such as thermal or hydropower stations. [reNews]

¶ Japan has seen a heavy shift from atomic to renewable sources since the Great East Japan Earthquake tipped the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into triple meltdown. But five years after the catastrophe, major issues need addressing for renewable energy to flourish. [The Japan Times]

Wind and solar demonstration field of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology’s Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute. | Kyodo

¶ The UK government presented Budget 2016, giving some details on the planned support for offshore wind in future years, but there was little reason to cheer for renewable energy. The government is criticized for ending renewable incentives while increasing support for fossil fuels. [SeeNews Renewables]

US:

¶ According to TransActive Grid, Brooklyn consumers can transform their homes into connected power stations. The New York startup has developed a consumer-run microgrid – a technology which its founders hope will radically transform the way electricity is bought and sold. [CleanTechnica]

Water towers in New York. Image via Shutterstock

¶ Peabody Energy Corp warned it could go bankrupt, signaling the end of an era for listed US corporate coal companies, even as their mines continue to fuel a big chunk of the country’s power stations. Arch Coal Inc, Alpha Natural Resources, Patriot Coal Corp, and Walter Energy are already bankrupt. [Daily News]

¶ ConEdison Solutions, the competitive retail subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, won a $150 million contract for a community aggregation program to provide electricity at low rates to 90,000 residential and small business customers in Westchester County, New York. [Energy Manager Today]

¶ This is likely to be the first year in which natural gas has a higher market share for electricity generation than coal does, federal analysts predict. EIA is predicting that when 2016 ends, natural gas will have generated 33% of the country’s electricity, compared to 32% for coal. [The Hill]

Please click on the image for a larger view.

¶ Federal officials dedicated over 125 square miles in waters off Long Island for wind energy development, pushing forward a renewable energy proposal created by New York utilities. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said the state has “tremendous” offshore wind potential. [Ledger Independent]

¶ The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, a $2.2 billion solar project in the California desert, isn’t producing the electricity it is contractually required to deliver. PG&E Corp says the solar plant may be forced to shut down if it doesn’t receive a break from state regulators. [Nasdaq]

¶ United Airlines will launch an initiative using biofuel to help power flights running between Los Angeles and San Francisco, with plans to expand to all flights operating out of LAX. It is the first time an American airline will use renewable fuel for regular commercial operations. [Independent Online]

The renewable fuel used to power United’s planes will be coming from a Los Angeles refinery operated by AltAir Fuels. AP photo.

¶ In an unusual move, Colorado state regulators verbally rejected a proposed agreement between Xcel Energy Inc and three solar power developers that would have added up to 60 MW of “community solar” power plants in Colorado. The PUC typically approves such agreements. [Denver Business Journal]

¶ A unit Dominion Resources Inc will build a 20-MW solar power facility in Virginia in partnership with Microsoft and the state. “It’s good to be moving forward but we’re not moving fast enough”, said the head of the Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club. The plant will power 5,000 homes. [Examiner Gazette]

Opinion:

¶ How Google Became to World’s Largest Corporate Purchaser of Renewable Energy • The Google approach to renewable energy is not unlike how many utilities purchase power. It often enters into power purchase agreements, and its projects range from California to Sweden. [Triple Pundit]

Wind turbines. Image Credit: Flickr/naql

World:

¶ A report from the UK’s Offshore Wind Program Board outlined how investment in turbine technology has delivered significant cost benefits to the offshore wind industry. It says costs fell through 2015 and remain on track to fall to its target of £100/MWh by 2020. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Climate change efforts may be bearing fruit faster than expected. Energy-related carbon emissions stayed flat for the second consecutive year last year even though the global economy kept growing. Over 90% of new electricity generated last year was from renewables. [The Australian Financial Review]

More than 90% of new electricity generated
last year came from renewables. Fairfax

¶ Swedish energy firm Vattenfall announced this week that it has started development on the 3.6-GW Norfolk Vanguard offshore wind farm. Vanguard is 47 kilometers off the coast, and will generate the equivalent electricity necessary to supply more than 1.3 million UK households. [CleanTechnica]

¶ BusinessGreen has been told a group of about 15 of the UK’s Conservative MPs wrote to George Osborne declaring their backing for continued support of renewable energy projects. They urged the Chancellor to use the budget to extend subsidies for clean energy projects through to 2025. [Business Green]

¶ Younicos announced that it is building the world’s first “100% renewable” grid on the Azorean island of Graciosa. Wind and solar power will provide electricity most of the time, with power storage from Leclanché lithium-ion batteries. There will be fossil fuel emergency backup power. [ECOreport]

Graciosa. Photo courtesy of Younicos

¶ Germany’s highest court will hear two days of testimony on whether the government owes three utility giants, Vattenfall, EON and RWE, compensation for the 2011 decision to phase out the country’s nuclear power plants. It could take months for Constitutional Court to render a decision. [Nuclear Street]

US:

¶ The Obama administration is reversing course on opening Atlantic waters to a new generation of oil and gas drilling, after a revolt by environmentalists and coastal communities that said the activity threatened marine life, fishing and tourism along the East Coast. [Times Record]

Offshore oil rig. Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net).
CC-BY-SA-4.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ The Imperial Irrigation District’s board of directors approved a lease agreement with Controlled Thermal Resources, which proposed a 250-MW geothermal plant on 1,600 acres on the Salton Sea’s southern shore, in California. Hopes are raised for supporters of Salton Sea restoration. [The Desert Sun]

¶ Legislators in Tompkins County, New York, voted unanimously to allow purchase of hydroelectric power to meet the government’s power needs through remote net metering. It will purchase power from a renewable energy facility and receive a deduction on its electric bill for that power. [The Ithaca Voice]

¶ Republican lawmakers in the New York State Senate are pushing a $100 million bailout of the state’s nuclear power industry using funds from a climate change program meant to cut greenhouse gases from power plants. Nuclear plants currently provide about 30% of the state’s total electricity. [Albany Times Union]

Constellation Energy Group Inc’s Nine Mile Point
Nuclear Station. (Constellation Energy Group Inc)

¶ A group of 100 Massachusetts state representatives broke ranks with House leadership, urging that reconciliation of House and Senate bills on a net metering bill hew more closely to the Senate approach. Nearly two-thirds of the House members signed the letter. [CommonWealth magazine]

¶ A University of Delaware initiative analysed Massachusetts’ electricity costs would look like in 2020-2030 with 2 GW of wind-power off the coast. The study says the costs for the first project in a 2-GW build-out could be as low as $0.162/kWh, with costs declining so an LCOE of $0.108/kWh. [SeeNews Renewables]

World:

¶ Brazil’s power sector regulator Aneel has authorized three wind energy plants, with a combined capacity of 60.1 MW, to start commercial operations. According to Brazil’s Ministry of Planning, the investment totalled more than BRL 284.7 million ($78.5 million, €70.7 million). [SeeNews Renewables]

Brazilian wind farm. Author: Carla Wosniak.
License: Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic

¶ Climate laws will be tightened to cut carbon emissions effectively to zero, the UK’s government said. Under current law, emissions must be cut of by 80% by 2050, but ministers said it is clear the UK must not increase CO2 at all because the warming threat is so severe. [BBC]

¶ Uruguay went from having virtually no wind generation in 2007 to become a double world-record holder in less than a decade. By 2013, it was receiving the largest share of clean energy investment as a percentage of GDP, and in 2014, installed the most wind per capita of any country. [CleanTechnica]

Please click on the image to enlarge it.

¶ A report from an expert panel at the Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority says a fault beneath Hokuriku Electric Power Co’s Shika nuclear power plant can be “reasonably concluded to be active.” The fault lies directly under the plant’s Reactor 1 and may prevent its operation. [ZME Science]

¶ Mexico installed over 700 MW of new wind capacity in 2015 and is expected to add 800 MW more this year. Growth expectations for 2017 and 2018 are much more dramatic. The Mexican wind energy association says the country topped 3,000 MW of wind capacity at end-2015. [SeeNews Renewables]

Wind turbines. Author: Rex Brown. License:
Creative Commons, Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic

¶ In Myanmar, a local company says it will pursue plans to build a 50-MW coal-fired power plant at Lut Lut village, in the Tanintharyi Region, once it has secured permission from Myanmar Investment Commission. This is despite continuing opposition from the community. [Myanmar Times]

¶ Tasmania’s energy crisis drags on. Water levels in the hydro reservoirs are at a record low of 14.8%. The fault in the Basslink interconnector between Tasmania and Victoria remains. There is not enough wind power to maintain the power supply, so diesel power must be used. [Energy Matters]

¶ Workers from Peru’s state-controlled petrol company have been mopping up and scooping oil from a pipeline spill for the past month, as it stuck in ravines and on vegetation in the smaller rivers. It is the second major spill this year in the northern part of Peru’s jungle region. [BBC]

The contaminated soil is shoveled into plastic sacks

¶ Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator awarded 16 contracts totaling 455 MW as part of a renewable procurement. Contracts have been awarded for five windpower developments with a total capacity of 299.5 MW and seven solar projects with total of 139.9 MW. [Power Technology]

US:

¶ New US solar power installations this year are set to break all previous records. They should be more than double what was installed last year at 16 GW. The total operating solar capacity in the US is expected to reach 25.6 GW of DC by the end of the year, GTM Research said. [Computerworld]

Workers for SolarCity install rooftop solar on a house.
Credit: SolarCity

¶ Total electricity sales in 2015 fell 1.1% from the previous year, marking the fifth time in the past eight years that electricity sales have fallen. The flattening of electricity sales reflects declining sales to industry and little or no growth in sales to the residential and commercial sectors. [Energy Collective]

World:

¶ Sixteen US ships that participated in relief efforts after Japan’s nuclear disaster five years ago remain contaminated with low levels of radiation from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, top Navy officials told Stars and Stripes. A total of 25 ships took part in Operation Tomadachi. [Stripes Japan]

Operation Tomadachi delivering supplies. Photo by Lance Cpl. Mark Stroud. Public domain photo, Marine Corps. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ The recent years have seen the demand for smart microgrids surge to unprecedented levels. This spike in demand is attributable to the growing share of renewable energy in the global energy matrix. Transparency Market Research has issued a report on the global smart microgrid market. [Industry Today]

¶ Connective Energy Holdings Limited, of Donegal, Ireland, has announced they will create 90 jobs over the next two years by using anaerobic digesters to turn manure into bio-gas. The first of six facilities is under construction at Glenmore Estate in Aghaveagh in Donegal. [Donegal Now]

Donegal company turns manure into 90 jobs

¶ The Jordanian Cabinet approved delivering electricity to single-detached dwellings in poverty pockets using solar power units, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. The solar power units will not be part of the electricity grid and will cost a maximum of JD6,000 ($8462) for each house. [Zawya]

¶ Migrating trout near a Swedish hydropower plant are at the center of a long-running court case that may shape how utilities plan for a future without nuclear power. The case signals what lies ahead for utilities seeking alternative low-emission power sources in Sweden because nuclear is not profitable. [Chicago Tribune]

Water flows through the Ultra Hydroelectric power station. Must Credit: Bloomberg photo by Johan Jeppsson. (Johan Jeppsson / Bloomberg)

¶ Modelling from a group of engineers, energy analysts and IT experts in Western Australia shows that an electricity system with 85% renewable energy will be cheaper than “business as usual,” an average of A$124/MWh compared to A$127/MWh, and around the same price as current costs. [RenewEconomy]

¶ Five small off-grid solar power stations with energy storage will replace grid supply in a pilot project in Western Australia. Last year, devastating bushfires in the Esperance region destroyed hundreds of kilometers of power lines leaving customers without power for many days. [Energy Matters]

¶ Global efforts to curb the use of coal-fired power plants may provide a lifeline to Brazil’s embattled sugar cane industry. A group of companies formed a $130 million joint venture for making sugar cane-based biomass pellets that can be burned to produce electricity. [Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide]

Ecologically grown sugarcane in Brazil. Photo by A. F. Yersin.
CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Sri Lanka today witnessed its third nationwide electricity blackout within six months. It disrupted the water supply to many parts of the island nation. The Power and Renewable Energy Ministry Secretary said the cause of the power failure could a substation trip in Biyagama. [NDTV]

¶ Kansai Electric appealed a court decision ordering two nuclear reactors shut down even though they had been declared safe under tougher rules prompted by the Fukushima meltdown. The court had ordered the No 3 and No 4 reactors at the Takahama nuclear plant to shut down. [Japan Today]

Kansai Electric Power’s No 3 (L) and No 4 (R) reactors
at the Takahama nuclear plant. AFP

US:

¶ US wind and solar electricity generation grew by 20,659 MWh in 2015, compared to the full year 2014. That’s compared to fossil fuel electricity generation dropping by 18,041 MWh. Unfortunately, in part due to terrible drought, hydroelectricity generation dropped 8,199 MWh. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The 214 turbines in the Highland Wind Farm are online in O’Brien County, Iowa, and more are coming. O’Brien Wind Farm will add 104 turbines in the the county, and Ida Grove Wind Farm in Ida County will have 134 turbines. Both are expected to be finished by the end of the year. [Sioux City Journal]

Wind farm in Iowa. Photo by Tony Webster.
CC-BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ The Energy Information Administration’s latest monthly report said the share of utility-scale renewable energy had increased by over 2% from 2014. Three months earlier, it predicted a decrease by 1.8% in 2015. The EIA’s record for long-term forecasts is consistently even worse. [DeSmog]

¶ Last week, a bipartisan group of 21 Florida mayors wrote to debate moderators to argue it would be “unconscionable for these issues of grave concern for the people of Florida [climate change and sea level rise] to not be addressed.” Candidates were asked and responded. [The Guardian]

Flooding in Florida community. Photo by Barry Bahler.
Public domain – FEMA photo. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Arizona Public Service vocally supports flexible grid technologies, and peers in the industry ask why. APS identified five reasons it “got off the fence” over five years ago and began implementing flexible grid technologies to respond to a transforming marketplace. [Transmission and Distribution World]

Science and Technology:

¶ Efforts to increase wind power mean that turbine blades are getting bigger and bigger. But a new design in the works takes the idea to levels most people can barely imagine: Blades up to 656.2 feet long – more than two football fields. Today’s longest blades are 262.5 feet. [Los Angeles Times]

Wind turbine blades in storage. Photo by Glyn Drury.
CC BY-SA 2.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ This year’s winter has been quite strange, with temperatures throughout much of the northern hemisphere being considerably higher than at any other time since high-accuracy records began over a hundred years ago. Now here is a video showing just how fast Arctic ice is declining. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Night-time temperatures are more sensitive to climate change, a study found. The nights have been warming much faster than the days over the last 50 years, worldwide. Analysis of the causes of this more rapid warming at night shows this is likely to continue in the coming decades. [News Nation]

World:

¶ A new report from the energy consultancy firm Baringa projects that the Scottish isles could see economic benefits of around £725 million (over the next quarter century) from renewable energy development. The benefits include revenues of up to £390 million for community-owned projects. [CleanTechnica]

Scottish Isles. Image by Moyan Brenn (some rights reserved).

¶ The Polish government plans to unveil legislation that could swing the country’s energy mix even more towards coal and favor biomass over the nascent wind power industry. Although Poland was one of 195 nations that backed the COP21 deal, it sought a special status for coal. [MENAFN.COM]

¶ Five years ago an earthquake off the coast of Japan triggered a tsunami and a series of meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Kaori Suzuki’s home is nearby – determined to stay, but worried about her children’s health, she and some other mothers set up a laboratory to measure radiation. [BBC]

Mothers’ radiation lab

¶ More doubts have arisen over plans by French Energy firm EDF to build an £18 billion nuclear plant at Hinkley Point. The chairman of the House of Commons energy committee has called for the project to be re-examined. This follows a letter by EDF’s chief executive saying more funding is needed. [BBC]

¶ Faced with power blackouts lasting anything from eight to twelve hours a day, residents and businesses in Gaza are increasingly turning to the sun to supply their energy needs. Solar panels are more reliable and cheaper in the long run. And in some cases they are essential to staying alive. [Ynetnews]

Solar panels. Reuters photo.

¶ Taiwan’s President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the Democratic Progressive Party reiterated Saturday that one of her party’s objectives is to phase out nuclear power in Taiwan over the next nine years. She said it is important to promote renewable energy and efficiency. [Focus Taiwan News Channel]

US:

¶ Almost no wind turbines have been built in Wisconsin over the past five years. Widespread opposition to wind farms made Wisconsin unattractive for wind investors. But that could soon change. In southwestern Wisconsin, nearly 50 turbines could be built over the next year. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

The Glacier Hills Wind Park in Columbia County, the last
wind farm built in Wisconsin. Photo credit: We Energies.

¶ Building anything at sea is never easy, but it can be easier if as much as possible is done beforehand on solid ground. So even though Deepwater Wind suspended offshore work in November, workers with the project have still been busy all winter doing the final assembly of key pieces. [The Providence Journal]

Science and Technology:

¶ A joint letter from more than 130 scientists refers to “lack of information,” “Misrepresentation,” and “Disregard for science that was not funded by the proponent.” Scientists condemn a flawed review process for a liquified natural gas project at the mouth of British Columbia’s Skeena River. [CleanTechnica]

Coast mountains near the mouth of the Skeena River.
Photo by Roy Luck via Flickr (CC BY SA, 2.0 License)

World:

¶ As part of a plan announced last week, Norway will invest $923 million to create 10 broad, two lane, cross-country bicycle highways in and around Norway’s nine largest cities. The plan is a key component of an effort to slash Norway’s transportation emissions by 50%. [CleanTechnica]

¶ India’s massive bet on solar power is paying off far earlier than anticipated. Indian solar prices are now within 15% of coal prices, according to KPMG. If current trends hold, the consultancy predicts electricity from solar will actually be 10% cheaper than domestic coal by 2020. [CNN]

A woman turns on a solar-powered light at her home near Mumbai.

¶ There is evidence that oil prices are stabilizing and could even begin to rise again, the International Energy Agency has said. Lower oil output in the US and other countries is curbing the glut in the oil supply. The increase in supply from Iran has also been less dramatic than first feared. [BBC]

¶ The 4,000-MW Nanticoke Generating Station ceased production in 2013 as part of Ontario’s phase-out of coal energy and was officially shuttered for safety reasons last year. But the strip of land on the north shore of Lake Erie will soon begin churning out power again, this time from solar PVs. [Solar Industry]

Ontario Power Generation’s Nanticoke Generating
Station in southern Ontario. Photo: OPG

¶ In the Philippines, five solar farms in Negros Island are producing another 139 MW of power, while the groundbreaking for a 25-MW biomass power plant is set April 6. Two other solar plants in Negros Occidental with a total output of 157.5 MW were connected to the grid. [Visayan Daily Star]

¶ It takes two years to build them. Each operator trains for a month before picking up their controls. And they get fried by radiation after working for just 10 hours. The robots sent in to search the core of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have a very short and specialized lifespan. [National Post]

A robot developed by Toshiba Corp. AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi

¶ The boss of the French state-owned company behind the UK’s first new nuclear power station for 20 years has threatened to pull the plug on the £18-billion project without further backing from François Hollande’s government. He said he needed more financial support to proceed with construction. [HITC]

US:

¶ Oregon is the first state to eliminate coal from its power supply through legislation and now boasts some of the most stringent demands for renewable energy among. The law phases coal-generated energy by 2030 and requires utilities to provide half of its power renewably by 2040. [CNSNews.com]

¶ After six years and a lot of legal work, two couples won a rare $4.24 million jury verdict against a fracking company, Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. The jury found that the company contaminated their water wells with methane leaching underground from natural gas fracking sites. [CleanTechnica]

Fracking Site in Warren Center, PA.
Photo by Ostroff Law. CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ The Vermont Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy unanimously approved a bill aimed at reforming Vermont’s energy siting process. State Senator John Rodgers said the Public Service Board still makes the final call despite increased local participation. [Watchdog.org]

¶ Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced on Friday that Holyoke will receive $1-million in grant funding to expand eco-friendly projects. The Department of Energy Resources awarded grants money to cities and towns with active or decommissioned coal generation facilities. [wwlp.com]

Science and Technology:

¶ Scientists have discovered a novel way to make plastic from carbon dioxide and inedible plant material, such as agricultural waste and grass. The new technology could provide a low-carbon alternative to plastic bottles and other items currently made from petroleum. [Futurity: Research News]

“Our goal is to replace petroleum-derived products
with plastic made from CO2.” (Credit: iStockphoto)

¶ Japanese scientists discovered a type of bacteria that can eat plastic, a finding that might help solve the world’s fast-growing plastic pollution problem. The species fully breaks down one of the most common kinds of plastic, Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), often used to make beverage bottles. [CNN]

¶ According to a new study published by researchers from the University of Queensland and Griffith University in Australia, global warming could occur much more quickly than previously thought. The model forecasts an increase in the global average temperature by 1.5° C as early as 2020. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ After a run in with Donald Drumpf, the European Offshore Wind Deployment Center has seen the beginning of offshore works start this month. The European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre is being developed by a partnership of Vattenfall and Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group. [CleanTechnica]

Vattenfall Image

¶ More than 80 organisations from across northern England have called on the Chancellor ahead of the Budget to “Keep it Clean” and back renewable energy. The North of England led the Industrial Revolution, and they say it should be at the forefront of this new, global, clean energy transformation. [Rochdale Online]

¶ President Barack Obama welcomed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the White House as the two leaders sought to join forces to combat climate change. Trudeau and Obama have both described the warming planet as among the world’s most pressing challenges. [Midland Reporter-Telegram]

Prime Minister Trudeau and President Obama.
(AP Photo / Susan Walsh)

¶ EDF’s £18-billion project to build nuclear reactors in Britain is potentially risky for the state-owned utility, whose foreign investments in recent years have proved disappointing, France’s top public auditor has said. EDF’s cashflow and high debt limit its capacity to invest abroad. [The Guardian]

¶ A consortium comprising Italy’s Enel Green Power SpA, Morocco-based Nareva Holding, and Germany’s Siemens Wind Power have won the preferred bidder status in a 850-MW wind power tender in Morocco. There are five wind parks involved ranging from 100 MW to 300 MW. [SeeNews Renewables]

Sunset in the Sahara by Christopher L. on flickr.com CC BY 2.0

¶ While an area within 12.5 miles (20 km) of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant remains an exclusion zone, it is still unclear how many people have succumbed to or suffer from radiation-caused cancer diseases directly linked to the crippled plant. Almost 10% of people still live in temporary housing. [RT]

US:

¶ Array Technologies, Inc, a provider of solar tracking systems, announced the commission of that the 45 MW Sandstone solar PV project in Florence, Arizona. Sandstone is owned and operated by sPower. It is a ground-mounted single-axis tracker photovoltaic installation. [solarserver.com]

Sandstone Solar has more than 182,000 JinkoSolar PV modules mounted on ATI’s trackers. Image: Salt River Project

¶ In 2015, Minnesota generated 21% of its electricity from renewable energy, including wind, solar, hydro and biomass. A decade ago, it was at just 6%. The state is well on pace to exceed its Renewable Energy Standard of 25% by 2025, according to its Department of Commerce. [Hometown Focus]

¶ Colorado regulators approved Xcel Energy’s $91-million plans for two battery test sites. The projects, part of the company’s Innovation Clean Technology demonstration project program, will be used to test the use of batteries and solar power for microgrids. [Utility Dive]

Science and Technology:

¶ Estimates from the Oxford Martin Future of Food Program published in The Lancet say changes in diets and bodyweight from reduced crop productivity could kill more than 500,000 adults in 2050. Reduced fruit and vegetable intake could cause twice as many deaths as under-nutrition. [CleanTechnica]

‘What do I water next…’ by Dennis Jarvis, via Flickr

World:

¶ SkyPower and Sachigo Lake First Nation have collaborated to develop a multitude of utility-scale solar photovoltaic projects in Ontario. The partnership is in line with the Ontario Ministry of Energy’s mandate to involve First Nation and Métis communities in new projects. [Power Technology]

¶ The International Renewable Energy Agency says 45% of China’s power plants rely on fresh water and are located in areas of high water stress. Scaling up renewable energy and introducing improved plant cooling technologies can reduce water-intensity by up to 42% in 2030. [pv magazine]

¶ Siemens announced an agreement with the government of Morocco to build a €100-million-plus ($110 million) wind turbine rotor blade factory in the North African country. Siemens expects to begin construction work on the facility as early as the spring of 2016. [SeeNews Renewables]

Siemens wind turbine blades.
Source: Siemens. License: All rights reserved

¶ Global clean energy research firm Mercom Capital Group said India will add nearly 4,000 MW of solar power in 2016, up from 2,133 MW it added in 2015. Mercom’s CEO said, “The Indian solar sector is finally coming out of hibernation.” This follows increases of 142% in 2015 from 2014. [Livemint]

¶ France closed 2015 with 421 biogas-fired plants, with a total of 365 MW of electricity generation capacity, recently published data of the ministry of energy shows. Last year, France added 40 MW of new capacity, confirming the steady growth levels observed from 2011 to 2014. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ High Wind has highlighted the role its Boom Lock technology, with reduced sensitivity to weather, can play in reducing the cost of energy for offshore wind. The company said its component lifting system could contribute to LCOE savings due to reduced vessel use and earlier power generation. [reNews]

The Boom Lock in action (High Wind)

¶ France is to begin closing the Fessenheim nuclear power plant this year. The French Government’s decision following criticisms from the Swiss and German governments over the plant’s safety. Reports had indicated a 2014 incident was worse than the French Government claimed. [Power Technology]

¶ In the UK, threatened animals need all of the habitat they can get, even if it’s under solar panels. That’s the idea behind a joint project by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and alternative energy firm Anesco that aims to create and restore natural habitats at solar farm sites. [TakePart]

Solar panels in England (Photo: Getty Images)

¶ More than 10,000 (and perhaps as many as 66,000) excess cases of cancer are expected among residents of the Fukushima area and elsewhere in Japan, because of radiation exposure from the March 11, 2011 Fukushima Disaster, according to the report, 5 Years Living With Fukushima. [Medscape]

US:

¶ Twenty-one teenagers appeared in an Oregon courtroom to challenge the federal government over what they claim is a failure to protect them from the impacts of climate change, while several hundred schoolchildren protested outside. The case is just one of a large group of similar cases. [The Guardian]

Children protesting outside the courthouse in Eugene, Oregon. Photograph: Matthew O Berger for the Guardian

¶ Three of Nevada’s largest casino companies have recently announced plans to use more renewable energy. Twenty acres of sun-catching glass sit atop the Mandalay Bay convention center, and when new installations are complete, it will become the biggest rooftop solar array in the US. [edie.net]

¶ Burlington has been named one of three finalists in the Earth Hour City Challenge by the World Wildlife Fund, based on Burlington Electric Department’s 100% renewably-sourced generation accomplishment. It will compete for the title of US Earth Hour City Capital this spring. [Vermont Biz]

Burlington waterfront

¶ A proposed New York state subsidy for nuclear power will come too late for the James A FitzPatrick plant near Oswego. An Entergy vice president told the state Public Service Commission that the subsidy will not affect company plans to shutter the plant by January 2017. [Albany Times Union]

World:

¶ Scotrenewables is trying out a turbine that looks like a yellow submarine. The 35-meter-long device was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyards in Belfast, best known as the birthplace of the ill-fated Titanic. The device is considered to be unlikely to have effects on sea life. [Deutsche Welle]

Scotrenewables turbine

¶ Until recently, virtually the only choice available to developers looking to build under the Australian government’s renewable energy target was wind energy. That is now changing. Within a year or two, large-scale solar farms may be able to compete with wind energy on costs. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A new 767-kW solar power project was recently completed in the Pacific nation of Vanuatu, marking the latest undertaking performed by the United Arab Emirates-Pacific Partnership Fund. The fund is a $50 million initiative managed by Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company. [PV-Tech]

The Vanuatu project will help displace 896 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Image: Masdar

¶ Kokam Co Ltd, has announced the deployment of two Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide Energy Storage Systems in Korea. One of the two systems is 24-MW, and the other is 16-MW. They will provide storage capacity for grid frequency regulation. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶ Edinburgh tidal developer Nova Innovation deployed the first 100-kW turbine that forms part of the Shetland Tidal Array. The M100 turbine is now delivering power to the Shetland grid following operations and testing. Plans for the array include a total of five turbines. [reNews]

M100 tidal turbine (Nova Innovation image)

¶ According to estimates published by the International Hydropower Association earlier this month in its latest briefing, the world’s total installed hydropower capacity reached 1,211 GW, thanks to 2015 installation figures of 33 GW of hydropower and 3.2 GW of pumped storage. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The death rattle of coal industry grew a little louder when JPMorgan Chase announced they will no longer finance new coal operations in the developed world. The bank joins a growing list that are cutting ties with coal, including Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo. [Grist]

Coal plant in china. Shutterstock image.

¶ A Japanese court ordered Kansai Electric Power to shut down two nuclear reactors in Takahama, after complaints by local residents about the safety of the plant. This is the first ruling issued in Japan against an operating nuclear plant, according to media. The company says it will appeal. [BBC]

¶ Threatened wildlife including turtle doves and skylarks could benefit from a scheme which has been launched to create natural habitats at solar farm sites. Wildlife charity RSPB and clean tech company Anesco aim to boost wildlife at the firm’s solar farms across England and Wales. [Yorkshire Post]

A skylark

US:

¶ Nearly 18 GW of electric generating capacity was retired in 2015. More than 80% of the retired capacity was conventional steam coal. The coal-fired generating units retired in 2015 tended to be older and smaller in capacity than the coal generation fleet that continues to operate. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Liquid Light is a startup company pioneering a process to convert carbon dioxide into chemicals that can be used to make consumer products. The company developed a catalyst that can combine carbon dioxide with water and electricity, to make liquid fuels and chemicals to replace petroleum. [CNN]

Emily Cole, co-founder and chief science officer of Liquid Light.

¶ The developer of a planned $1.6 billion offshore wind farm in Hawaii waters is moving ahead with its project after federal regulators accepted the 400-MW project’s lease application this week. Progression Hawaii Offshore Wind Inc plans to develop the project 10 miles off West Oahu. [Pacific Business News]

¶ Renewable energy firms SolarCity and NRG Energy plan to install rooftop solar on 184 stores and distribution centers of major grocery chain Whole Foods Market. A senior solar analyst at GTM Research told PV Tech that SolarCity would likely install lat least 15-MW, while NRG will account for 13.8MW. [PV-Tech]

Whole Foods has already piloted solar projects with SunEdison. Credit: SolarCity

¶ In Schuyler County, New York, sheriff’s deputies made 57 arrests Monday morning at the gates of the Crestwood Midstream facility. Environmental activist Bill McKibben was among those arrested. They were protesting intended storage of liquid petroleum gas in a salt dome. [Finger Lakes Times]

¶ After 116 days, the Fossil Free MIT sit-in has ended with the announcement of a deal on climate action. The longest ever sit-in for fossil fuel divestment concluded when an agreement was reached between student activists from Fossil Free MIT and MIT’s Vice President for Research. [CleanTechnica]

Opinion:

¶ The Block Island Offshore Wind Project is Just the Beginning • Offshore wind and Block Island are a match made a heaven. But the island isn’t so unique. Many of the circumstances that make offshore wind so perfect for Block Island are also true up and down the Atlantic Coast. [Huffington Post]

Offshore wind farm. Photo: Stanford University

Science and Technology:

¶ A joint research team from Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Milano-Bicocca in Italy has a fresh approach to solar power. Working with quantum dots, the team achieved a breakthrough in solar-concentrating technology that can turn windows into electric generators. [Energy.gov]

World:

¶ A report tracks the technological advances and innovative business models which have emerged to transform the lives of millions through affordable modern solar energy services. It shows that the off-grid solar industry is benefiting from a wave of development partners, and investors. [CleanTechnica]

Image via Lighting Global

¶ More than half a million plug-in electric vehicles were delivered to buyers globally in 2015 – just under 540,000, to be nearly exact. These new numbers represent a roughly 70% increase over the figures for 2014, and that’s after the 2014 figures represented a roughly 50% increase on the 2013 ones. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Developers Vattenfall and ScottishPower Renewables are eyeing over 5 GW of offshore wind farm projects off the UK coast. The Crown Estate has signed off on final plans for Round 3 offshore wind farms. SPR has committed to two new projects of up to 800 MW in the East Anglia zone. [reNews]

Kentish Flats offshore wind farm (Vattenfall image)

¶ In the Philippines, Renewable energy company Citicore Power today inaugurated its 18-MW solar power project in Bataan. The start of the new solar station comes on the heels of the inauguration of the first phase of its other 25-MW solar facility in Silay, Negros Occidental in late February. [Rappler]

¶ After battling radioactive water leaks for five years at Japan’s crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the utility that ran it says it will need another four to finish the job. The contaminated water, now exceeding 760,000 tons and still growing, has been a major challenge. [Business Standard]

US:

¶ A Nevada-based data center operator, Switch, would convert a pyramid-shaped building that once housed a research center near Grand Rapids into a data center that operates 100% on renewable power. The Michigan Public Service Commission will review the contract. [Crain’s Detroit Business]

Data center operator Switch will open a super green facility in Grand Rapids.

¶ An amendment to the Energy Modernization Act of 2015 introduced by US Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, defines forest bioenergy is carbon neutral and biomass as renewable. The amendment does not address a number of details relating to the issue. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Businesses made deals to acquire 3.4 GW of renewable energy in 2015, equivalent to half of North Dakota’s entire power capacity. Of that amount, two-thirds came from first-time buyers, according to figures from the nonprofit Rocky Mountain Institute, which facilitates such deals. [National Geographic]

More companies are relying on wind farms, such as these near Sweetwater and Abilene, Texas, for their electricity.

¶ Southern Power announced acquisition of its second solar project in Texas and its 35th generating facility overall, the 120-MW East Pecos Solar Facility. It will be located on about 1,000 acres in Pecos County and is expected to consist of approximately 1.2 million thin-film PV modules. [Power Online]

¶ The Florida Supreme Court is set to weigh in on a controversial ballot measure that purports to strengthen the legal rights of homeowners with rooftop solar panels. But the measure was created by an organization financed by the major electric utilities and groups with ties to the Koch brothers. [Grist]

Opinion:

¶ Australian coal v renewables: how much will it cost to bring electricity to India’s poor? • The Australian government continues to claim that coal from such sources as Queensland’s Galilee Basin will play a vital role in bringing cheap energy to developing nations. But is that really the case? [EconoTimes]

Renewables could be a better answer to India’s power problems.

¶ Lessons from Fukushima • Five years on, the 3/11 master narrative is still under construction. The response to the triple disaster in 2011 showed the world the best of Japanese society: orderly, humane and resilient. It also exposed the governance deficit, and that needs to be fixed. [East Asia Forum]

¶ Is the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant project about to unravel? From the outside looking in, EDF’s bid to build a nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset seems to lurch from the ludicrously improbable to the absurd. Given typical overruns at Hinkley, EDF would be in trouble. [ITV News]

Science and Technology:

¶ Researchers from the Quantum Wave Microscopy Unit at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University published a proposal for a submerged marine turbine that could harness the energy of the Kuroshio Current, an ocean current in the North Pacific Ocean. [CleanTechnica]

Ocean turbine proposed by Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology

World:

¶ Daimler AG will put €500 million into the creation of a second lithium-ion battery production facility in Germany, according to recent news from the company. The facility will produce lithium-ion batteries to be used in electric vehicles and hybrids under the Mercedes-Benz brand. [CleanTechnica]

¶ In the survey about plans for Japan’s future energy policy conducted before the fifth anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, 44.6% sought cuts in Japan’s dependence on nuclear power and 21.0% requested the eventual abolishment of nuclear power generation. [Japan Today]

¶ Japan’s prime minister revealed a plan to make Fukushima Prefecture a center for development of hydrogen technology. Facilities will be developed in the prefecture to fuel 10,000 fuel-cell cars by 2020. The hydrogen would be generated by renewable energy. [The Japan News]

Nunobiki Plateau Wind Farm. Photo from Nunobiki Wind Farm. CC BY-SA 2.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Myanmar’s Ministry of Electric Power signed a wind power deal with China Three Gorges Corporation last week. The two parties signed a memorandum of agreement for a wind turbine project in the Chaungtha area of Ayeyarwady Region, which will generate 30 MW of electricity. [Myanmar Times]

¶ The Federal College of Agriculture in Akure, capital of Nigeria’s Ondo State, is ready to support farmers seeking help to use gasses from cow manure to generate renewable energy. It will help bridge the gap in power shortage with biogas technologies in rural and semi-urban areas. [The Nation Newspaper]

¶ Wind power generation in Scotland was enough to meet 41% of the country’s entire electricity needs for the month of February, WWF Scotland said today. Scotland’s wind turbines supplied 929,417 MWh of electricity last month, enough to power 109% of Scottish households. [SeeNews Renewables]

Wind farm in Scotland. Author: Neil Williamson. License: Creative Commons, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.

¶ The nuclear disaster has cost Japanese taxpayers almost $100 billion despite government claims TEPCO is footing the bill, according to calculations by the Financial Times. Almost five years after the disaster, the figure shows how the public have shouldered most of the disaster’s cost. [CNBC]

US:

¶ One of the reactors at the Oconee Nuclear Station was shut down after a fire and explosions damaged a transformed on site. The operator declared the incident “unusual” but emphasized there was no threat of radiation release. Emergency crews contained the fire. [RT]

¶ A NOAA study shows that by building new high-tech transmission lines, the US could cut energy sector global warming emissions by 80% within 15 years, while keeping consumer costs low and meeting increased demand. The idea came from studying the national weather map. [PRI]

High-voltage direct current transmission lines could help transfer electricity over long distances. Credit: Chris Hunkeler/Flickr

¶ Rooftop solar and distributed energy champions have advanced a ballot initiative to restore Nevada’s retail-rate net metering policy. However, they are facing legal challenges from a utility-backed PAC. If nothing else, a lot of time and money will be spent on this challenge. [CleanTechnica]

¶ SUN DAY Campaign, a non-profit focusing to sustainable energy, says the renewable energy (biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) growth in the US has been promising, but the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has failed in their forecasts on the industry. [Greentech Lead]

Science and Technology:

¶ The National Snow and Ice Data Center reports that Arctic sea ice extent is running not only well below average, but also below levels seen during 2012, which went on to set the all-time record for lowest Arctic ice extent (which occurs in the late summer or early fall). [Bowling Green Daily News]

Icebergs float in a bay off Ammassalik Island,
Greenland. (AP photo / John McConnico)

World:

¶ Electrification has been done in 6,000 of the 18,500 villages in India that had been without electricity, and the renewable energy capacity has reached 39.5 GW, a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was told. Progress of the initiative is being tracked in real-time. [The Hindu]

¶ South Africa has ramped up its green credentials by unveiling the continent’s first solar-powered airport. George Airport will meet 41% of its energy demand from a solar system with 3,000 PV modules. Power is being turned on incrementally and will finally deliver 750 kW of power. [CNN]

The George Airport is located along South Africa’s
Garden Route, an area of outstanding natural beauty.

¶ In the Philippines, many solar players are participating in the race to qualify for feed-in tariff incentives. Recently, three more solar projects are joining the race ahead of a government-imposed deadline, adding at least 200 MW of supply to the country’s power grid. [Philippine Star]

¶ Dam building on the lower Mekong River appears to be accelerating at a dangerous speed. People who live on the Mekong and its tributaries know that electricity is not the only product of the mighty river. The river’s many valuable assets include the world’s largest inland fishery. [Chiang Rai Times]

Boats on the Mekong River near the proposed Pak Beng Dam
site, downstream of Chiang Khong district, Chiang Rai.

¶ To respond swiftly to increasing demands of EV batteries, the LG Group’s battery unit is ramping up the production while mulling a plan to build an additional overseas production bases. The company has plants for lithium-ion batteries in Holland, Michigan and Nanjing, China. [The Korea Herald]

¶ In the early 1970s imported oil supplied 92% of Denmark’s energy. Today Denmark’s electric grid is over 40% renewably powered, and the country is aiming to reach 100% renewable electricity by 2035. It has a goal of 100% renewable energy in all sectors by 2050. [The Ecologist]

Wind turbines in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Photo: CGP Grey via Flickr (CC BY).

¶ Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown says he favors putting a price on carbon to help deal with climate change. In his keynote address to more than 1,600 convention delegates, Brown said he became a Progressive Conservative because of the environment. [National Observer]

US:

¶ This winter was a no-show throughout most of Alaska, forcing officials in charge of the iconic sled dog race known as the Iditarod to bring seven rail cars of snow from Fairbanks to Anchorage, where the race starts. A tarp will cover the snow in Anchorage in case it rains. [Mashable]

Iditarod start in Anchorage, 2008. Photo by David Weekly
from Cupertino, CA. CC BY-SA 2.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ A scuba diver is suing Florida Power and Light after he became the second person to be sucked into an intake pipe at the St Lucie Nuclear Power Plant. He saw a yellow buoy, but no indication of any danger, so he went into the water to investigate it. The pipe led to a reservoir, where he resurfaced. [TheBlaze.com]

¶ In 2007, Minnesota lawmakers adopted aggressive renewable energy goals, calling for the state to produce 25% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2025. Now, a report by the Minnesota Commerce Department says the state could beat its renewable energy goals. [TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press]

World:

¶ Alberta plans to issue its first competition for renewable electricity projects in late 2016. The provincial government has asked the Alberta Electric System Operator to develop a renewable electricity incentive program. Engagement with interested parties will start immediately. [reNews]

The Oldman 2 wind farm in Alberta (Mainstream image)

¶ Germany demanded that France close down its oldest nuclear plant, Fessenheim, near the German and Swiss borders. It is just one of several ageing atomic plants that are unsettling France’s neighbours. Reports claimed a 2014 incident at Fessenheim was more serious than earlier reported. [The Daily Star]

¶ A parliamentary committee in Sweden proposed a way to bring the nation to carbon neutrality by 2045. It would achieve this huge goal by reducing domestic emissions by 85% from 1990 levels. The rest could be offset by investing in international projects that cut carbon emissions. [CleanTechnica]

Image by Holgar Ellgard (CC BY-SA 3.0 unported license)

¶ The Indian Railways has announced plans to install 150 MW of solar PVs. Of this, 50 MW would be in rooftop solar projects on railway stations. The remainder would be 100 MW of PVs in utility-scale arrays. The move is part of a goal to have 100 GW of solar in India by March 2022. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Eon’s German networks were home to 32 GW of renewable capacity at the end of 2015, more than one-third of the country’s installed renewables. In total, Germany has 96 GW of installed renewables capacity, 34% of which is connected to Eon’s networks. Renewable installation varies by region. [reNews]

Eon image

¶ China may miss its goal of 58 GW of nuclear capacity by 2020 because too few reactors are being built, the chairman of China General Nuclear Power Corp has said. The country may start seven new reactors this year and its domestically designed model will be ready for export in three years. [Daily News]

¶ British Columbia may have surplus renewable power to sell to Alberta, but the premier of Alberta said her government won’t be buying it unless it can get an oil pipeline to the coast. BC’s Energy Minister said he didn’t have a problem with linking a potential power deal to pipeline support. [Calgary Herald]

US:

¶ Actions by two separate state legislatures could lead to the future closure of all four coal-fired power plants at Colstrip, Montana. On Wednesday, Oregon’s legislature passed a bill to eliminate use of coal-fired electricity within 20 years. Washington state followed suit on Friday. [KTVQ Billings News]

Colstrip power plant.

¶ Supreme Court Chief Justice John G Roberts Jr rejected a request to stay the Mercury and Air Toxic Standards rule, which was adopted by the EPA three years ago to tighten restrictions on a class of harmful pollutants, that are byproducts of burning coal. [Washington Post]

¶ Critics insist the latest version of what is called the “Rocky Mountain Power” bill at the Utah Legislature would mean lights out for rooftop solar development in the state and pull the plug on existing solar power generation. The bill passed the Utah Senate and awaits action in the House. [Deseret News]

Brandy Smith, with Utah Clean Energy, speaks at
a solar advocates rally. Tom Smart, Deseret News

¶ Entergy customers in New Orleans will begin paying their share of the $948 million purchase of an Arkansas natural gas power plant starting this year. The typical New Orleans customer will see their monthly bill increase by about $5 when the new charge kicks in later this spring. [NOLA.com]

¶ The offshore wind industry has hopes for establishing itself in the US after years of disappointment. European offshore wind companies are increasingly committing to projects along the East Coast. That, industry leaders said, is evidence a US offshore wind industry is finally on its way. [Eagle-Tribune]

First foundation jacket installed at Deepwater Wind,
near Block Island. (AP photo / Stephan Sevoia)

¶ The New England Clean Power Link transmission line has got two of the three key permits needed to begin construction. TDI New England’s proposed $1.2 billion transmission line would carry 1,000 MW of Canadian hydro and wind power into Vermont. [Corporate Knights Magazine]

World:

¶ The Canadian province of Ontario will invest $100 million into “green energy” projects in its push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 37% by 2030. Ontario’s premier said this will help the province cut greenhouse gas emissions while improving local business prospects. [CleanTechnica]

Ontario wind turbine. Image via Shutterstock

¶ German utility E·ON will partner with Solarwatt GmbH to develop and release modular energy storage systems based on Solarwatt’s MyReserve battery. The first models are expected in the next few months. E·ON’s domestic marketplace has over 1½ million private rooftop PV systems. [CleanTechnica]

¶ India gave a big clue about how serious it is about energy transformation policy when it doubled a national tax on coal. The increase, to ₹400 per tonne ($6/tonne), applies to all domestic and imported coal. The coal tax represents 30% of the wholesale price of domestic coal. [Corporate Knights Magazine]

¶ Indonesia’s importance as a solar market looks set to grow following the announcement of a 5-GW goal. At the Bali Clean Energy Forum, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources launched a program for a national energy mix with up to 23% renewable energy by 2025. [Solarplaza]

Solar PVs in Indonesia

¶ Dulas has begun construction on two medium-scale run-of-river hydro schemes in central Scotland. The projects have a total capacity 1.3 MW and are being developed for existing clients seeking to expand their clean energy portfolios ahead of Scotland’s 2020 targets. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶ Many British companies are missing out on the benefits of the switch to renewable power, according to a new report from energy supplier SmartestEnergy. The report highlights how businesses can secure multiple currently overlooked benefits from procuring clean electricity supplies. [Business Green]

SmartestEnergy report outlines the gains businesses can enjoy from switching to a cleaner electricity supply

¶ In a first ministers’ summit, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won agreement from the premiers on a broad strategy to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and build Canada’s clean economy, but could not gather enough support for a national minimum carbon price. [The Globe and Mail]

¶ China plans to set up a market for renewable energy certificates to increase the use of cleaner energy and reduce its reliance on coal. Power suppliers will be able to trade “green certificates” that represent the proportion of non-hydro renewable energy that they generate. [Reuters]

Workers install solar panels on the rooftop of a company in Shangrao, Jiangxi province, China, October 11, 2015. Reuters / Stringer

¶ Greenpeace said the environmental impact of the Fukushima nuclear crisis on nearby forests is just beginning to be seen that after five years, and they will be contaminated for years. Radiation forced tens of thousands of people from their homes, many of whom will likely never return. [Malay Mail Online]

¶ Almost 50,000 homes in Canberra will be powered by renewable energy thanks to a new wind farm contract awarded by the Australian Capital Territory Government. The Sapphire Wind Farm will have 32 wind turbines. The project is expected to be complete by 2018. [Australia Network News]

A new wind farm will provide power to Canberra.

US:

¶ A group of engineers in the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission say they have identified a design flaw in nearly all nuclear reactors in the country that should result in their mandatory shutdown unless operators fix the problem, Reuters reports. The issue became known in 2012. [Utility Dive]

¶ The US energy storage market grew a phenomenal 243% in 2015, the largest year on record, according to new figures from GTM Research. The US energy storage market deployed 112 MW in the fourth quarter, bringing the full year 2015 to a record 221 MW. The figure for 2014 was 65 MW. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Xcel Energy completed a $39-million high-voltage transmission project in Texas, allowing more wind and solar onto the grid. The new Bower-Howard transmission project on the Panhandle power grid would meet growing electricity demand in the area. The 115-kV was energised on Wednesday. [reNews]

Grid infrastructure. Image: Arteche

¶ Nearly 49% of electricity provided to the Big Island by the Hawaii Electric Light Co in 2015 came from renewable energy, according to a statement from HELCO’s parent company, Hawaiian Electric. Maui County reached 35% renewable and Oahu is at nearly half that level. [Honolulu Civil Beat]

¶ A bird dropping appears to have caused the temporary shutdown of part of the Indian Point nuclear plant in upstate New York. A report issued by the plant’s owner, Entergy, said a bird “streamer,” a long stream of excrement from a large bird, was the cause of a three-day shutdown in December. [CNN]

World:

¶ The six-turbine Coonooer Bridge wind farm in the Australian state of Victoria has become the first operational wind farm from the Australian Capital Territory’s wind auction process. The 20-MW wind farm is expected to become fully operational this month. [SeeNews Renewables]

Wind farm in Australia. Author: Steven Caddy. License: Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic

¶ According to a study led by the University of Leeds, about 80,000 air quality-related deaths are prevented each year as a direct result of the introduction of European Union policies and new technologies. They led to a 35% reduction in fine particles in the atmosphere since 1970. [CleanTechnica]

¶ In Scotland, 70% of those polled want to see more renewable energy such as wind, solar, wave and tidal, and two-thirds agreed that the next government should “continue to take forward policies that tackle greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.” Only 19% would prioritize fracking. [RenewablesBiz]

¶ Australian firm Genex Power Ltd’s 150-MW solar PV and 330-MW pumped-storage hydropower project in North Queensland has been named a “Prescribed Project,” streamlining its approvals process. The scheme, with a 185-km transmission line, will cost $424 million (US). [SeeNews Renewables]

The project will be at the site of the historical Kidston Gold Mine. Source: Genex Power.

¶ Changes in UK government energy policy have chased off investors and may have added £120 a year to household bills, according to a parliamentary report. Funding U-turns on windfarms and energy efficiency schemes have reduced investor confidence and increased funding costs. [The Guardian]

¶ Indian automobile manufacturer Tata Motors Ltd has joined RE100, a global initiative of businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity. Tata Motors is the second Indian company to join the campaign, after Infosys. This brings the total number of RE100 members to 54. [SeeNews Renewables]

Good Energy has unveiled a revised design for the Big Field Wind Farm.

¶ Plans were unveiled for a community-owned Cornish wind farm that could be the first in the UK to operate without government subsidy. New plans have the same number of turbines of the same height as an earlier scheme, but new technology allows a 50% increase in output. [Windpower Engineering]

¶ Geneva is taking legal action over a French nuclear reactor for “endangering lives and polluting water.” Some 70 km from Geneva as the crow flies, Bugey, in the Ain department, is one of France’s oldest nuclear power plants, having come into service in 1972. It supplies about 4.5% of French electricity. [The Local.ch]

¶ A geological fault running directly beneath a nuclear reactor at the Shika power plant may be active, a panel of geological experts for the Nuclear Regulation Authority said. If that assessment is accepted, the utility will be unable to restart the unit, the No 1 reactor at the plant. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶ Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo made it official that the omnibus energy bill scheduled to come up for a vote in April will include provisions to encourage the development of offshore wind power and create a competitive procurement process for renewables. [CommonWealth magazine]

Wind turbines in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Photo by Fletcher6. CC BY-SA 3.0 unported. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Mississippi Power, Hannah Solar and the US Navy have broken ground on a 23-acre solar project of over 3 MW at Seabee Base, in Gulfport. Two other projects approved by the state commission include a 50-MW solar station in Hattiesburg and a 52-MW solar project in Sumrall. [Solar Industry]

¶ The Oregon Assembly passed a bill setting a target of 50% renewables by 2040 and ending coal-fired power supply in the state by 2035. The House passed Senate Bill 1547, also known as the Clean Electricity and Coal Transition plan, and the Senate repassed it the next day. [SeeNews Renewables]

Solar panels. Author: Oregon Department of Transportation. License: Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic

¶ A Japanese-owned company has received construction financing and has started work on a 27.6-MW solar energy farm in Oahu. The project, which is scheduled to be completed and operational by the end of the year, will be one of the largest solar PV projects in Hawaii. [Pacific Business News (Honolulu)]

Science and Technology:

¶ After seven months, Solar Impulse 2 has returned to the sky as it prepares to resume its record-setting round-the-world flight. The huge, sun-powered plane, which smashed the longest solo record last summer from Japan to Hawaii, flew a 90-minute maintenance and equipment-checking flight. [ABC 57 News]

After seven months, Solar Impulse 2 has returned to the sky as it prepares to resume its record-setting round-the-world flight.

Opinion:

¶ “Base load” power: a myth used to defend the fossil fuel
industry • At a conference in Houston, leaders of the global fossil power industry were shocked to hear the chairman of the biggest network owner in China dismiss the importance of coal, oil, and “base load” power. [RenewEconomy]

World:

¶ The Government of Western Australia will commit $300,000 to investigate building a micro-grid powered by renewables for the coastal town of Kalbarri. The town has experienced several extended and costly power outages, caused by problems with long transmission lines. [ABC Online]

A wind turbine at Kalbarri that would be used to power the proposed electricity micro-grid planned by the State Government.

¶ Oil giant Shell is being sued in London for the second time in five years over spills in the Niger Delta. Two communities are claiming compensation and want Shell to clean up their land. The Ogale community of about 40,000 people, who are mainly farmers or fishermen, are some of the claimants. [BBC]

¶ The Clean Energy Canada’s annual Tracking the Energy Revolution report found that renewables excelled in a complex economic environment, with 2015 marking the first time developing countries invested more money on clean energy than developed countries did. [edie.net]

The report said developing countries spent $167 billion on clean energy in 2015 compared to developed countries’ $162 billion

¶ China, the United States, and Japan are set to lead the way in terms of solar PV installations in 2016, as the EU solar industry slows. Additionally, by the end of 2016, cumulative global installed solar PV systems will surpass 310 GW, compared to only 40 GW at the end of 2010. [CleanTechnica]

¶ China is surging ahead in switching to renewables and away from coal. Officials say this will allow it to surpass its carbon emissions targets. The country’s solar and wind energy capacity soared last year by 74% and 34% respectively compared with 2014, according to government figures. [New Scientist]

China installed a whopping 32.5 gigawatts of wind energy
capacity last year. Xu Yu / Xinhua Press / Corbis

¶ Scientists have written an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the premiers saying spending on fossil fuel infrastructure may not be the most productive use of resources. Trudeau and the premiers will start talks on a national climate-change strategy this week. [Huffington Post Canada]

US:

¶ The US Energy Information Administration has forecast additions to the US power grid for 2016. They say it will see the first new nuclear power in 20 years, with 1.1 GW. But that will be dwarfed by renewable power sources, which will account for nearly two-thirds of 2016’s new capacity. [Ars Technica]

¶ A lot of new utility-scale solar being built is not required under state Renewable Portfolio Standards. GTM predicts that more than 6 GW of non-RPS utility-scale solar will come online in 2016. The entire solar sector saw 4.1 GW installed in 2015, and that was a record-breaking year. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Hydropower, long the leading source of renewable energy in the United States, is slated to be overtaken by wind generation by the end of 2017, Generation Hub reports. At the end of 2015, wind accounted for 6.33% of the US power mix. Hydro made up 8.41%, but wind is growing quickly. [Utility Dive]

World:

¶ Work is nearing completion on what will soon be Europe’s largest floating solar power farm. But few are likely to see the 23,000 solar panels on the Queen Elizabeth II reservoir near London. It is invisible to all but Heathrow passengers and a few flats in neighbouring estates. [The Guardian]

Divers fix anchors onto the bed of the reservoir.
Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian

¶ SunEdison and a subsidiary of the state-owned Chinese company Jinneng Group, Jinergy Clean Energy Technology Company, are partnering for the creation of a 1.5 gigawatt integrated N-type mono-crystalline hetero-junction solar cell production facility in Shanxi, China. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The 56 MW Moree Solar Farm is feeding electricity into Australia’s National Electricity Market network. Spain’s Fotowatio Renewable Ventures developed and constructed the project. It deploys single axis tracking and is the largest solar project using crystalline silicon PV modules. [pv magazine]

¶ The 63.3-MW Calatagan Solar Farm is the largest solar facility completed in the Philippines to date. Solar Philippines, a renewable energy firm led by 22-year-old entrepreneur Leandro Leviste, developed, financed and constructed this solar farm at a cost of $120 million. [Inquirer.net]

A 160-hectare farm in Calatagan, Batangas, Philippines.
Contributed photo

¶ A group of prominent business leaders, including Ottawa’s growth guru Dominic Barton, is urging Canada to accelerate the transition to a cleaner, lower-carbon economy by pursuing a society-wide game plan. The leaders will introduce a virtual think tank called Smart Prosperity. [The Globe and Mail]

¶ 70% of Scottish voters polled wanted to see more renewable energy such as wind, solar, wave and tidal. Respondents had been asked whether there should be continued development of renewables, the extension of the life of fossil fuel plans, use of shale gas or building new nuclear plants. [Energy Voice]

¶ Wind farms in Spain produced 6,091 GWh in 2015, up by 2.4% year-on-year, and helped reach a total renewable energy share of 54.6% for February. Despite a lack of new capacity additions, Spanish wind power accounted for 30.2% of the country’s total power for the month. [SeeNews Renewables]

Wind farm. Author: TraumTeufel666.
License: Creative Commons, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.

¶ ScottishPower has plans to more than double the size of its 440-MW Cruachan hydro power station, though development is dependent on Government guaranteed pricing. The estimated £400 million development would need a floor price on its use in return for a cap on profits. [Scottish Daily Record]

¶ Construction of Britain’s first nuclear power plant in 20 years should be delayed until 2019 so problems with a similar reactor design in France are solved, the CFE-CGC Energy Union said. Unions occupy six of the 18 seats on the board of EDF, which is yet to vote on a final investment decision. [BBC]

US:

¶ The US produced over 190 million MWh of wind power in 2015, more than any other country in the world, even as China has nearly double the capacity, the American Wind Energy Association said. More than 31% of Iowa’s in-state electricity generation came from wind. [SeeNews Renewables]

Source: American Wind Energy Association

¶ A wide coalition of utilities, solar installers, consumer advocates, and environmentalists in Maine have introduced a bill in the state legislature to advance solar growth in the state and replace the net metering policy with a market-based “pay for production” program. [Utility Dive]

¶ Owing to the very harmful effects of common air pollution on fetal and childhood development, a large group of pro-life Christians in Texas, through the Evangelical Environmental Network, will be participating in the Pro-Life Clean Energy Campaign, according to a press release. [CleanTechnica]

Brazos Wind Farm, Texas.
Photo by Leaflet via a Wiki CC BY-SA 3.0 License

¶ The New York State Common Retirement Fund lost at least $5.3 billion over the last three years by remaining invested in fossil fuel holdings, instead of reinvesting in green companies. These are the findings according to a new report from Corporate Knights, an investment research company. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Two Wisconsin utilities announced projects that will roughly double the state’s solar capacity. Dairyland Power Cooperative agreed to purchase almost 19 MW from 12 new solar arrays. Xcel Energy has agreed to purchase up to 3 MW from community-owned solar gardens. [Chippewa Herald]

Opinion:

¶ The Size of the California Methane Leak Isn’t the Scariest Part of the Story • Though methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and the Aliso Canyon event was huge, we see an even bigger problem. There are hundreds of similar gas storage facilities, and nothing is monitoring them. [Smithsonian.com]

Thousands of residents of Porter Ranch were evacuated in the wake of the methane leak. (Ted Soqui / Ted Soqui Photography / Corbis)

¶ Put A Price On Carbon Or Face Trillions Of Dollars Of Costs & Massive Food Security & Migration Challenges • Don’t call it a carbon tax. Everybody hates the idea of taxes. But unless society addresses the damage done by burning fossil fuels, the world is on a collision course with reality. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ BioMason is a North Carolina startup company that makes bricks without heat or clay. About 8% of global carbon emissions come from making bricks, according to the company’s co-founder, citing information from the EPA. The BioMason process creates no carbon emissions. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ The first electricity has been generated and delivered to the grid from the 600-MW Gemini wind farm in the Dutch North Sea. Two 110-km cables relay power from the wind park to the shore, where electricity is distributed through the TenneT high voltage grid from Eemshaven. [reNews]

Turbines going in at Gemini (Gemini)

¶ Clean Energy Canada’s latest global analysis found that a record $367-billion (US) was invested in renewable power in 2015, a third of a trillion dollars. That’s serious money, nearly 50% more than was invested in power from fossil fuels. The trend is driven by economics. [The Globe and Mail]

¶ GE says it will build the world’s largest biomass-fired power plant in Belgium. Mechelen-based Belgian Eco Energy chose GE Steam Power Systems to provide the overall design, engineering and construction of the greenfield project for 215-MW, 100% biomass-fired, power plant. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Wind energy has reached a milestone in South Africa and is now feeding over 1 GW of power to the country’s electricity grid. South Africa still gets 87.4% of net domestic electricity production comes from coal. The contribution of renewables, wind and solar PV, last year was about 1%. [ITWeb]

In 2011, there were just 10 turbines in SA. Now the country has 13 large wind farms, consisting of over 495 turbines.

¶ The UK’s biggest energy lobbying group has shifted its position on green energy and will start campaigning for low-carbon alternatives for the first time, in what environmental campaigners are describing as a watershed moment. The chief executive of Energy UK said the shift is urgent. [The Guardian]

¶ China’s CO2 emissions fell 1% to 2% in 2015 as the cooling Asian economy used 2% to 4% less coal, according to a Greenpeace analysis of the data. China also confirmed it broke two clean energy world records in 2015 –installing 32.5 GW of wind and 18.3 GW of solar power. [Climate Home]

¶ Australia’s biggest climate polluters increased their emissions in the year to July 2015, according to data from Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator. Even some of those companies have called policy to curb emissions, including shutting down the oldest or dirtiest coal-fired power stations. [The Guardian]

The Australian Conservation Foundation called on the federal government to close Australia’s coal-fired power stations in phases. Photograph: Meredith O’Shea for the Guardian

US:

¶ San Francisco’s renewable energy program appears to be off to a strong start. The City began auto-enrolling existing PG&E customers into CleanPowerSF on February 1. Customers who wish to remain with PG&E may opt out, but just eight have done so as thousands were enrolled. [San Francisco Examiner]

¶ As many as 49 wind turbines will be installed in Seymour Township, Wisconsin, in 2017. EDP Renewables project leaders say the effort will create around a dozen full-time jobs and support more than 200 temporary construction jobs. The project will have a capacity of 98 MW. [Dubuque Telegraph Herald]

Wind turbines in Wisconsin. Photo by Royalbroil. CC BY-SA 3.0 unported. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ In the past six years, the federal government has provided $366 million to New Jersey to promote clean energy and energy efficiency, according to a new report issued Friday by the White House. In New Jersey, renewable-energy generation increased by almost 90% since 2008. [NJ Spotlight]

¶ A construction project would expand a natural gas pipeline across property of the Indian Point nuclear plant in New York. Elected officials, residents and environmental activists are criticizing the project, saying that a rupture of the pipeline could unleash a nuclear catastrophe. [New York Times]

Opinion:

¶ Nevada must work to stay ahead of curve • The renewable energy industry has been a particularly bright spot in Nevada’s economy. The state’s $500 million investment in tax incentives has yielded a 10-to-1 return. Action on the Clean Power Plan could have similar results. [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

Heliostats at the Crescent Dunes Solar Project, 11 miles northwest of Tonopah, Nevada. Jeff Scheid / Las Vegas Review-Journal

World:

¶ Industry analysts are now forecasting that Australia may not hit its 2020 renewable energy target. If an annual shortfall occurs major energy players are required to pay penalties to the federal government. The additional costs are to be passed on to consumers. [Sydney Morning Herald]

¶ APA, which owns and operates gas pipelines, wants a seat at the table in the multibillion-dollar investment boom in renewable energy sources as Australia moves to meet the mandated renewable energy target. The company seeks to develop expertise in renewable energy. [Sydney Morning Herald]

APA plans to lift its renewable energy commitment.
Photo: Bloomberg

¶ The Sembcorp Gayatri Power Complex, sited in Andhra Pradesh, is coming online with a capacity of 2,640 MW. Its two 1,320 MW coal-fired power plants together cost $3 billion. Sembcorp Industries’ income from India will be “quite substantial” in the coming years, its CEO said. [AsiaOne]

¶ Councils in the UK should use bonds to fund infrastructure projects such as renewable energy and flood defences, according to the Lord Mayor of London. Municipalities in the US and Sweden, have raised billions of pounds for green projects by selling bonds to the public. [The Independent]

Wroughton Solar Park in Wiltshire has been funded by green bonds

¶ Investment in forestry over the next five years will have a big impact on the environment, as it will result in the planting of 600,000 hectares (1.5 million acres) in Europe, according to Dermot Ryan, Senior Advisor to European Commissioner Phil Hogan. [Agriland]

¶ Iran is complying so far with the July 2015 landmark nuclear deal with major powers, a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency said. Its first assessment since the accord came into force on January 16 yesterday showed that Iran was meeting its main commitments. [Daily Excelsior]

US:

¶ The Long Island Aquarium and Exhibition Center may be the recipient of waste heat generated by a new fuel cell energy generator being proposed for downtown Riverhead. Connecticut-based Fuel Cell Energy will build three 1.4-MW fuel cell generators in Suffolk County. [East End Beacon]

Fuel cell power plant

¶ Utilities have been grappling with how to integrate wind farms and solar plants into their systems and business models. Cheap power from large-scale renewables and rooftop solar have undercut the profitability of conventional electricity generation from coal and nuclear sources. [Malay Mail Online]

¶ A bid to extend Virginia’s coal tax credit has once again cleared the General Assembly and is on its way to the governor. The tax credits for coal mine owners and coal-buying power companies were created to help slow the industry’s decline. But they may not be working. [Roanoke Times]

Opinion:

¶ Sooner than you think? A prediction that electric cars will cause the next oil crisis • There used to be a cartoon series called Closer than We Think. Now Bloomberg Business has a video series, Sooner Than You Think. The first episode suggests the electric car could cause the next oil crisis. [Treehugger]

One day, cars will be powered by the sun. Image via Paleofuture / Arthur Radebaugh

Science and Technology:

¶ Carbon dioxide can be tapped and transformed into green energy using innovative approaches, a professor from Qatar University has said. It can be captured and combined with hydrogen to produce methanol. The methanol can be used as a feedstock for transportation fuel. [Gulf Times]

¶ Bees, birds, butterflies and beetles are among a growing list of pollinator species in jeopardy of global extinction, a UN study warns, a trend that could threaten the world’s food supply. About three-fourths of the world’s food crops depend on pollination by insects and other animals. [CNN]

Scientists warn that declining populations of pollinators will affect future food supply.

World:

¶ French energy giant Engie launched a three-year strategic transformation plan to become a world leader in the energy transition. The announcement is part of the company’s intentional plan to speed up the implementation of a strategy previously decided upon two years ago. [CleanTechnica]

¶ London has seen more bike riders and fewer car commuters. According to Transport for London, over the last decade and a half car drivers have decreased by almost 50%, from 137,000 in 2000 to 64,000 in 2014, while the number of cyclists has tripled from 12,000 to 36,000. [CleanTechnica]

London cycling. Photo by David Skinner (some rights reserved)

¶ South Africa has in place a target of generating 42% of its power needs through renewable energy sources by 2030. The Transport Minister says sources include on-shore wind‚ concentrated solar thermal‚ biomass solid‚ biogas‚ landfill gas‚ small hydro‚ and solar photovoltaic. [Sowetan Live]

¶ Kansai Electric Power Co said it started up a nuclear reactor, the fourth to come back online following a nationwide shutdown after the March 2011 tsunami disaster. The accident forced all of Japan’s dozens of reactors offline for about two years as the nation examined safety issues. [Japan Today]

US:

¶ Green Mountain Power announced year-end operational results for Kingdom Community Wind in Lowell, Vermont. In 2015, the 21-turbine project generated enough electricity to power 26,700 homes for a year, an increase of 7%, 1,800 homes, over the previous year. [Vermont Biz]

Photo courtesy GMP.

¶ Corn and soybean fields in Somerset County, Maryland, formerly ticketed for wind turbines may now become home to one of the largest solar power plants in the eastern US. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp of Canada has plans to collect up to 150 MW of power from the area. [Delmarva Daily Times]

¶ New legislation would require all new construction in San Francisco, both residential and commercial, to have solar panels installed. The renewable energy ordinance would make San Francisco the first and only major city in the country to require solar panels on new buildings. [KRON4.com]

¶ Rural areas have typically weighed against progress on clean energy. But that may be changing. A new story out of Wisconsin illustrates that a slow, tentative shift is underway, as rural electricity consumers and the utilities that serve them take a new look at the benefits of solar power. [Vox]

Wisconsin wind farm. Photo by Royalbroil. CC BY-SA 3.0 unported. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), a California Utility announced hitting a significant milestone for 2015 with 29.5% of retail electricity coming from renewable clean energy. That number actually exceeded the State targets of 23.3% for years 2014 through 2016. [GetSolar.com]

¶ Anyone who sees Vermont’s renewable energy installations may be surprised to learn that the state’s utilities get 0% of their power from wind and solar energy. That is the number cited in a report on allowing renewable energy credits to be sold to utilities in southern New England. [Valley News]

Opinion:

¶ The Myth About Renewable Energy Subsidies • Ever hear the story that renewable energy can’t compete without a subsidy? You hear it all the time from the fossil fuel industry. And the renewables’ response? Take away fossil fuel subsidies; they’d be glad to compete on level terms. [CleanTechnica]

Cumulative historic federal subsidies.

Science and Technology:

¶ Greenpeace Japan announced it is conducting an underwater investigation into radiation contamination from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean. The survey will be conducted from a Japanese research vessel using a one-of-a-kind Remotely Operated Vehicle. [Dominican Today]

World:

¶ Mainstream Renewable Power has grid-connected and started commissioning turbines at its 80-MW Noupoort wind farm in the Northern Cape of South Africa. This ZAR1.9 billion ($121.6 million) project is expected to start supplying electricity to the national grid by July 2016. [reNews]

First turbine at Noupoort wind farm (Mainstream)

¶ Chile passed the 1-GW of solar PV project capacity milestone, with 1.013 GW of projects operating. And another 165 MW is expected to be installed shortly, according to new figures from the country’s National Center for Innovation and Promotion of Sustainable Energy. [Sustainnovate.]

¶ More than 12 GW of wind turbine contracts were awarded to nearly 140 wind projects worldwide, new research from Navigant Research says. It shows that Siemens and Vestas led turbine orders in the second half of 2015, with 2,852 MW and 2,810 MW of capacity respectively. [CleanTechnica]

¶ After news that EDF reported a 68% fall in profits and its lack of decision on the Hinkley C nuclear power plant, Dr Scott Cato, believing the UK should invest in renewables, commissioned a report on the viability of their producing 100% of the region’s energy. [Somerset County Gazette]

Clouded in doubt? Hinkley Point

¶ ScottishPower Renewables made its final investment decision for East Anglia ONE. When built, it will be the best value offshore windfarm in the world, and one of the largest. East Anglia ONE will generate 714 MW, enough to power the equivalent of 500,000 UK homes. [Blue & Green Tomorrow]

¶ Nowhere in Asia, is the solar growth story more evident than in the Philippines, where a combination of factors fuels a burgeoning solar industry. The government once expected 285 MW from solar by 2030. The target was raised in 2014 to 500 MW. And that goal was met last year. [eco-business.com]

ABB is setting up solar power plants in several provinces in the Philippines. Image: ABB

¶ The UK’s CO2 emissions fell by 4.3% in 2015 on the back of the largest recorded annual drop in coal use, outside of a miners’ strike, Carbon Brief analysis shows. This leaves UK CO2 emissions 31.5% below 1990 levels and at its lowest level since the start of the industrial revolution. [Carbon Brief]

¶ Lawyers are expected to indict three former executives of TEPCO on charges of negligence resulting in death and injury, in relation to the 2011 nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi. The indictment will be filed at the Tokyo District Court by lawyers serving as prosecutors. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶ Up to 175,000 annual pollution-related deaths, and $250 billion in health costs, could be prevented by 2030 by implementing “low carbon” policies in the US to prevent a 2° C rise in temperature, according to analysis from Duke University and the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. [CleanTechnica]

Wind turbine and sun

¶ Four months after natural gas began leaking from a storage facility, residents of Porter Ranch, California, are returning home. Natural gas began leaking from the well at Southern California Gas’ Aliso Canyon storage facility on October 23 of last year. The leak lasted 112 days. [CNN]

¶ Owners of the last coal-fired power plant in Connecticut, Public Service Enterprise Group, have announced plans to replace the Bridgeport Harbor Station power plant with a natural gas-fired facility by the end of the decade. It has provided electricity for over 50 years. [Westfair Online]

Bridgeport Harbor station power plant. Photo courtesy of PSEG

¶ After Republicans in the Oregon Senate blocked a clean energy bill, the House Committee on Rules voted 7-2 to pass a separate piece of legislation already passed by the Senate in which supporters had inserted the renewable energy bill. That bill now goes to the full House for a vote. [Portland Tribune]

Opinion:

¶ Five years on and the Fukushima crisis is far from over • Five years ago the Rainbow Warrior sailed along the Fukushima coast conducting radiation sampling. Now, as we approach the fifth anniversary of the Fukushima Disaster, it’s back, and has Japan’s ex-Prime Minister on board. [Greenpeace International]

Greenpeace Ship Rainbow Warrior Sailing past the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

World:

¶ The reactor meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in 2011 should have been announced much sooner, the operator has admitted. In a statement, TEPCO said that a public declaration of the meltdown should have been done within days of the disaster, but took almost two months. [CNN]

¶ The World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel has struck a blow to India’s solar power program, ruling that New Delhi violated global trade rules by imposing domestic content restrictions on the production of solar cells and modules as part of its National Solar Mission. [Livemint]

The US said its solar exports to India fell 90% since India imposed the domestic content requirement measures. Photo: Bloomberg

¶ Sri Lanka has given indications it intends to increase its goal for renewable energy generation significantly by the end of the next decade. The government is considering a goal for renewable energy in electricity generation of 100% by 2030, a significant increase over the current plans. [CleanTechnica]

¶ One of the largest solar power parks under India’s National Solar Mission will have provisions for storage as well. The Solar Energy Corporation of India is expected to release a tender for a 750 MW solar park in Andhra Pradesh that will include provisions for storage up to 100 MW. [CleanTechnica]

US:

¶ SunPower has signed with the Escondido Union High School District in California to offset 75% of its electricity demand. The agreement will see SunPower build 2 MW worth of solar power systems at four schools in the district, saving the district $13.4 million over a 20 year period. [CleanTechnica]

Image credit: via Sunpower Twitter

¶ Methane emissions from the oil and gas industry are much higher than previous official estimates, according to draft revisions of the US greenhouse gas emissions inventory from the EPA. Revised estimates of 2013 emissions are 27% percent higher than the previous tally. [CleanTechnica]

¶ EDF Renewable Energy, a major developer in North America, has brought online its first battery storage project, a 20-MW nameplate capacity system in McHenry County, Illinois. The installation adds 40 MW of flexible capacity to the PJM regional transmission organization. [SeeNews Renewables]

EDF Renewable Energy’s first commercial storage project in McHenry County Illinois. Photo: Business Wire

¶ Dairyland Power Cooperative has finalized agreements with two developers to purchase over 15 MW of renewable energy from multiple new PV solar facilities in Wisconsin. The installations will range from 0.5 MW to 2.5 MW in scale. They will power over 2,500 homes. [Leader-Telegram]

¶ NV Energy Inc wants to acquire 35 MW of renewable energy capacity and to award long-term power purchase agreements for at least a further 100 MW of renewables in Nevada. The company issued a request for proposals, with a bidding deadline for March 18, 2016. [SeeNews Renewables]

Solar array in Nevada. Author: BlackRockSolar.
License: Creative Commons. Attribution 2.0 Generic

¶ From tougher environmental regulations to more competition from renewable energy and electric cars, top US officials warned world energy leaders gathered in Houston that change is coming. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said, “The clean energy train has left the station, folks.” [Houston Chronicle]

¶ Legislation intended to increase the share of renewable power in Oregon and stop use of coal for the state’s power has stalled. Republicans in the state Senate were absent from the Senate floor on Wednesday, leaving Democrats without a quorum and unable to proceed on the vote. [OregonLive.com]

Republican seat sit empty in the Oregon Senate. Ian K. Kullgren/staff.

¶ The American Wind Energy Association’s Q4 2015 market report contained a surprise. “Approximately 75 percent of the megawatts contracted through PPAs during the fourth quarter were through companies including Procter & Gamble, General Motors, and Google Energy.” [GreenBiz]

¶ Developers are proposing the second-largest solar array in Windham County, Vermont, and the Vermont Army National Guard appears to be an enthusiastic partner in the project. An application has been submitted for a 1.8-MW net-metered project in Westminster. [vtdigger.org]

Science and Technology:

¶ A study examined the persistence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and concluded that some sea level rise is effectively locked in. The study’s authors found that the carbon pollution we have emitted so far will cause an eventual sea level rise of 1.7 meters (5.5 feet). [The Guardian]

A parking lot full of yellow cabs flooded by Superstorm Sandy in Hoboken. Photograph: Charles Sykes/AP

¶ Scientists have modeled a history of the planet’s sea levels spanning back 3,000 years, and concluded that the rate of increase last century “was extremely likely faster than during any of the 27 previous centuries.” The study found human activity probably caused part of the rise. [CNN]

World:

¶ OpenHydro has completed a £1.8 million project to design, build and test a power conversion unit for its open-center turbine at the European Marine Energy Center in Orkney. The project is part of an initiative to assist in the development of wave and tidal energy technology in Scottish seas. [reNews]

Image: Orkney (sxc)

¶ DONG Energy has announced that it will invest in and build the world’s first bio plant for handling unsorted household waste without prior treatment. The technology allows unsorted household waste to be digested into biogas” as well as other things like recyclable plastics and metals. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The world’s top coal producer, and the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, will shut down 1,000 coal-fired power plants this year. It’s a move that will simultaneously cool off China’s over-supply of dirty coal and help tackle the country’s air pollution crisis. Deeper cuts are to come. [Mother Jones]

Chimneys spew pollution in an ailing industrial city in China’s northeast. Mark Henley / Ropi / Zuma Press 

¶ Chile’s solar industry has seen strong development as the country’s green energy boom has kept down both carbon emissions and the high electricity costs of other Latin American countries. Solar bids are coming in as low as $65 per MWh, while Coal’s have been $85 per MWh. [Manufacturer.com]

¶ A Statkraft-led consortium unveiled plans for giant €1.1 billion, 1-GW network of wind farms in central Norway. Work is already poised to get underway on the wind farms. Construction is scheduled to start in the second quarter of this year with commissioning in 2020. [Business Green]

US:

¶ The US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently verified during testing that a SunPower X-Series solar panel achieved a conversion efficiency of 22.8%, thus marking the official achievement of a new world record for its class. Now, the X-22 panel is coming to market. [CleanTechnica]

Image via SunPower

¶ New York’s Public Service Commission said it is speeding up a “rescue plan” to keep the FitzPatrick nuclear complex in upstate New York running, after the power generator said a proposal made last month wouldn’t come in time to save it. The agency said it would offer “expedited financial support.” [Daily News]

¶ The DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory released analysis of the impacts of the extension of federal tax credits on renewable energy deployment. The report explores how the extension might change both renewable energy deployment and carbon dioxide emissions. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

Wind farm in Colorado

¶ Cash-strapped coal companies are reaching the conclusion that energy policy is a matter for the courts rather than Congress. As dwindling demand puts pressure on mining companies to cut costs and climate rules threaten their very survival, many are shifting tactics. [Bloomberg Big Law Business]

¶ SolarReserve’s Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, which began testing operations last fall, has reached full production. The complex is the first utility-scale project with an integrated energy storage system allowing it to continue generating 24 hours a day. [CanadianManufacturing.com]

The Crescent Dunes solar project outside of Tonopah, Nevada. Photo: SolarReserve

¶ The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians signed an agreement to provide solar energy projects for the three Red Lake casinos and various other tribal buildings. Red Lake will install 15 MW of solar panels across the rooftops of the band’s largest buildings. [Indian Country Today Media Network]

¶ New York state regulators decided that the average RG&E electric customer must pay an extra $2.20 a month to subsidize the Ginna nuclear power plant. The new fee replaces a temporary $1.79 monthly surcharge RG&E customers have been paying since September. [Rochester Democrat and Chronicle]

World:

¶ The International Energy Agency is warning consumers not to let cheap oil lull them into a false sense of security. In a report, the IEA said it expects prices to start recovering in 2017. But it forecasts a subsequent sharp jump in price as supply shrinks following under-investment by struggling producers. [BBC]

Consumers should expect oil prices to recover

¶ The operator of South Australia’s vast network says it has no concern about the growing penetration of renewable energy on its grid, and is encouraging remote towns to look at renewable micro-grids to cut costs. South Australia is likely to get over 50% of its electricity needs from wind and solar power this year. [CleanTechnica]

¶ At the recently concluded Invest Karnataka summit, two different entities pledged to add a total of 3 GW of solar power capacity in the southern Indian state. Karnataka Solar Power Development Corporation stated its plans to set up 2 GW, while Adani Group announced plans to set up 1 GW solar capacity. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A newly published decree will help bring down by six to eight months delays in the French green tenders system, Ecology Minister Segolene Royal announced. The decree modifies the procedure for holding tenders for electricity from renewable sources. It issued on February 21 and applies immediately. [SeeNews Renewables]

Urbasolar concentration solar power plant in France, Source: Urbasolar.

¶ Chinese manufacturer, Goldwind, became the world’s largest supplier of wind turbines in 2015 for the first time, displacing long-term number one supplier Vestas, according to preliminary findings from FTI Intelligence. According to the findings, Vestas is placed second, while US supplier GE is in third place. [GlobeNewswire]

¶ The capacity of wind power generation worldwide reached 432.42 GW at the end of 2015, up 17% from a year earlier and surpassing nuclear energy for the first time, according to data released by global industry bodies. The generation capacity of wind farms newly built in 2015 was a record 63.01 GW. [The Japan Times]

¶ UK-based Renewable Energy Systems Ltd last week announced the start of operations of two green power plants in France, lifting its portfolio in the country to 538 MW. Both installations, a 22-MW wind farm, with 11 Senvion wind turbines, and a 12-MWp solar park, are located in the Aude department. [SeeNews Renewables]

Wind farm in France. Author: Connie Ma. License: Creative Commons, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

¶ German onshore wind power generation capacity is likely to increase by around 3 GW to 4 GW this year driven by subsidy reform, the country’s wind industry association BWE said on Monday. The German economic affairs ministry plans to shift many renewable power subsidies to tenders, for which projects compete. [ICIS]

US:

¶ By summer’s end, sunny forecasts will translate into brightly lit rooms on the Ithaca College campus when a planned 2.9-MW solar electric project is completed, accounting for 10% of the campus’ electric needs. The Town of Seneca plans to sell the college, an estimated 3.55 million kWh electricity per year. [Ithaca Journal]

A photo of the new solar facility for Ithaca College, in Seneca, NY. (Photo: NYSERDA)

¶ New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo Friday announced that 900 solar projects are underway through 26 community “Solarize” campaigns across New York state. Thirty-two of these come from the Solarize Canton effort. The solar systems in Canton total 228 kW, exceeding campaign expectations. [WatertownDailyTimes.com]

¶ A new Pennsylvania state regulatory decision will allow farmers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to continue selling electricity from manure-based digesters to utilities at retail rates. The digesters have been pushed as one way for agriculture to reduce nutrients that pollute the Chesapeake Bay. [LancasterOnline]

¶ A new analysis of a recent 12-vehicle Proterra electric bus demonstration (put on by Foothill Transit in California) by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has found that these buses possess an average fuel economy roughly 4 times higher than that of baseline compressed natural gas buses. [CleanTechnica]

Proterra electric bus

¶ Oregon lawmakers changed a controversial proposal aimed at scrubbing coal from the state’s electricity supply, sending the plan to the Senate floor after approving a measure to give state regulators more oversight. The bill would see ratepayers stop paying for power produced at out-of-state coal-fired power plants by 2030. [OregonLive.com]

¶ A study published in Nature Climate Change suggests that if the United States reduces emissions from the transportation and electricity sectors in order to meet those targets, 295,000 American lives could be saved by 2030. The study also estimated the near-term economic benefits could be over three times the cost. [IEEE Spectrum]

Science and Technology:

¶ Welsh startup Riversimple unveiled its prototype car. Four in-hub motors use recovery braking to charge supercapacitors that then release electricity back for acceleration. The hydrogen fuel cells don’t power acceleration; they just maintain the car’s speed. As a result, its 1.5-kg tank of hydrogen can carry it 300 miles. [BBC]

Credit: Riversimple

World:

¶ The Indian government said the installed capacity of solar power crossed 5,000 MW in January and expressed confidence that the target of 18,000 MW would be achieved by 2017-end. India has initiated world’s largest renewable energy program by increasing its target from 35 GW to 175 GW capacity by 2022. [Daily Excelsior]

¶ The global oil-price bust has devastated economies across the Middle East and North Africa. There have been severe price declines in the past, but this collapse is different. Morocco’s drive to become a regional renewable-energy powerhouse offers a real option for economic development. [Daily News]

Moroccan wind farm. Photo by sqala from Biarritz, France.
CC BY-SA 2.0. Wikimedia commons.

¶ The Japanese government has decided to offer a loan of about ¥10 billion ($89 million) to build a solar power plant with a battery system in Egypt. The plan is to build a 20-MW solar power plant with a 30-MW capacity storage facility. The plant would supply electricity to about 7,000 households. [The Japan Times]

¶ The UAE’s Ministry of Infrastructure Development has launched an initiative to establish charging stations for electric vehicles as part of its efforts to support the green economy and sustainable development. The UAE aims to become a global leader in this area, and center for green products and technologies. [Emirates 24|7]

Electric car in the UAE

¶ Dozens of new onshore wind turbines could be built on Scottish islands at bill-payer expense, after ministers confirmed the islands may be excluded from their manifesto pledge to end subsidies for the technology. Projects on Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles could yet qualify for even higher subsidies. [Telegraph.co.uk]

¶ Kansai Electric Power Co has found a puddle of radioactive water inside an auxiliary building at the Takahama nuclear plant’s No 4 reactor – an announcement that could throw a wrench into plans to reboot the unit later this month. The prefecture’s nuclear safety division said the leak did not affect the environment. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶ Thinley Lhondup Lama, a village elder from Nepal, stopped by a school in Hartford, Connecticut, to offer his personal thanks for the renewable energy systems given to three villages. One arrived in 2013, after a group of eight city students built a 24-foot-tall wind turbine that was helicoptered to Thinley’s village. [Hartford Courant]

Thinley Lhondup Lama, left presents a scarf to school principal Mike Maziarz as a thank you. (Jon Olson / Special to The Courant)

¶ At an event in Colchester, Vermont, Republican presidential candidate John Kasich was asked about climate change. He said, “I know that human beings affect the climate. I know it’s an apostasy in the Republican Party to say that. I guess that’s what I’ve always been – being able to challenge some of the status quo.” [BurlingtonFreePress.com]

¶ Ford Motor Co dropped its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). In leaving ALEC, Ford joins companies such as Google, Microsoft and others that have concerns about the group’s position denying climate change and other stances they deem to be anti-environmental. [Bloomberg BNA]

Opinion:

¶ 6 Reasons Al Gore Believes ‘We Will Prevail’ in Climate Fight • Al Gore admitted to the TED2016 audience in Vancouver on Wednesday, “every night on the news is like a nature hike through the Book of Revelation.” But he maintained, “I am extremely optimistic. We are going to win this. We will prevail.” [EcoWatch]

Al Gore struck a note of optimism during his TED2016 talk in Vancouver. “Change can happen faster than we think,” he argued.

Science and Technology:

¶ Smart microgrids provide higher reliability and more efficient operation of distributed generation assets than conventional systems. Siemens is participating in a community energy resiliency grant program in New York State and optimizing electrical generation at a Native American reservation in California. [Justmeans]

¶ Researchers at Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology have found an energy storage solution that could use of waste from processing apples. They discovered that leftover apple waste has “excellent” electrochemical properties for use in sodium-ion batteries, when reduced to a carbon material. [CleanTechnica]

¶ After record heat in 2015, January 2016 is continuing the trend. It was the hottest January on record and Arctic sea ice extent was at a record low level for the third time this year. El Niño has certainly played a role in this latest record, but scientists have concluded that this effect was fairly minor overall. [The Weather Network]

NASA’s plot of global temperature anomalies for January 2016. Credit: NASA GISS

World:

¶ Last year, 6 million tons of wood pellets harvested from forests in the southern US were shipped across the Atlantic. Half of those pellets were for Britain’s Drax power station, which is converting from coal to biomass to reduce carbon emissions and claim valuable Renewable Obligation certificates. [Science 2.0]

¶ A 3-MWp sun2live solar installation including more than 12,000 PV panels was developed and constructed by the UK-based clean energy provider PV Energy Limited. The plant was recently completed at the VC Bird International Airport of Antigua and represents a pioneer project for the whole Caribbean. [PennEnergy]

¶ Despite earlier moves towards the large-scale use of wood-fired (biomass) power plants, it looks as though lawmakers in the Netherlands are beginning to have doubts about the approach. Dutch parliamentarians have recently moved to suspend plans for wood energy subsidies over environmental concerns. [CleanTechnica]

Photo by Marcel Oosterwijk via Flickr (some rights reserved)

¶ Tasmania’s Minister for Resources said that due to recent unprecedented events, including the failure of the world’s second longest undersea electricity cable and low rainfall, the government is now considering the use of biomass residues from value-added forest operations to generate energy. [Bioenergy Insight Magazine]

¶ Sweden’s Unit 1 at the Oskarhamn nuclear power plant will be closed in June 2017, the plant’s operator OKG AB said. The closure date is on the early side of the parameters of last year’s announcement. In October 2015, OKG said the plant would close between 2017 and 2019 due a negative market environment. [Nuclear Street]

¶ A study projects green building around the globe to double by 2018. According to the results of the study, the percentage of companies expected to have more than 60% of their building projects certified as “green” is anticipated to more than double by 2018, growing from 18% to approximately 37%. [CleanTechnica]

Dallas skyline via Shutterstock

US:

¶ Kansas is one of the states suing the EPA to stop the Clean Power Plan. Some lawmakers are even moving to freeze work on compliance planning. Meanwhile, utility companies and electric power grid operators serving the state continue to expand wind power, regardless of what happens to the rules. [Kansas City Star]

¶ A media report says Tesla Energy batteries will be used for a SolarCity solar farm and energy storage system for Kauai Island Utility Cooperative in Hawaiʻi. The Tesla Energy batteries will supply a 52 MWh utility-scale energy storage system for evening peak demand, typically between 5:00 pm and 10:00 pm. [CleanTechnica]

Artist’s impression of Tesla’s utility-scale storage systems. Image via Tesla Motors.

¶ The Massachusetts Solar Carve-Out II Program may have been reached full capacity for projects larger than 25 kW DC. Applications have been received for over 854 MW DC, exceeding the limit of 660.6 MW. New commercial solar projects in the state are already suffering under a net metering cap. [Digital Journal]

¶ Wind power in the Texas grid set a new record on Thursday evening when it generated 14,023 MW. The previous record was 13,883 MW. Wind turbines accounted for more than 45% of the grid’s overall load at certain points late on Thursday as Texas increasingly relies more on renewable power. [mySanAntonio.com]

Science and Technology:

¶ It’s official: 2015 was the hottest year on record, beating out 2014 by the widest margin in 136 years of record keeping, US government agencies announced Wednesday. The last globally record cold year was 1911, while 15 of the 16 hottest years on record have occurred since 2001, according to NASA. [Climate Central]

The top 10 hottest years on record. Temperatures are in Fahrenheit.

Opinion:

¶ Climate protection through nuclear power plants? Hardly. • In 2013 nuclear provided 10.6% of global electricity, and just 1.7% of global final energy consumption. Even if generation in nuclear power plants could be increased significantly, nuclear power will remain a marginal energy source. [Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]

World:

¶ The world is moving more quickly towards renewable energy than people thought even a year ago, and Australia can expect an imminent boom in large-scale solar investment, according to the CEO of Australian energy utility Origin Energy. He expects solar to be cheaper than most gas-fired generation. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A national poll, conducted by Essential, found that a majority of Australians were more likely to vote for a party with ambitious goals for renewables technology. It found that 63% would prefer a party with a policy to ensure solar is installed on every suitable home and commercial or public building. [RenewEconomy]

Rooftop solar in Australia

¶ RattanIndia Power is reportedly planning to use 324 hectares of land in the northern state of Punhjab originally earmarked for a coal-based power plant to set up a 200 MW solar power plant. The company has dropped plans for the coal-based power plant after it failed to receive assurance of domestic coal supply. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Austria’s biggest utility is seeking to expand a network of “virtual power plants” where energy flows from customers with their own generators. Purchases from solar, wind, biomass and hydro plants, often located at the premises of existing power customers, rose to 100 MW last year from 4 MW in 2014. [Bloomberg]

Built in 1843, this Austrian wier became a 15-kW hydroelectric power station. Photo by Herzi Pinki. CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ China’s environment minister said the government needs more power to go after polluters and local government officials that impede compliance with environmental regulations. China’s pollution crisis has become increasingly severe, bringing about school closures and limited factory production. [VICE News]

¶ Japan’s wind-power capacity is expected to grow threefold as two developers invest tens of billions of yen. The total would be equivalent of 10 nuclear reactors. Eurus Energy Holdings and Electric Power Development each plan to invest around ¥60 billion ($528 million) in new facilities by 2020. [Nikkei Asian Review]

US:

¶ New satellite data and surface observations analyzed by Harvard researchers confirm previous data and observations: US methane emissions are considerably higher than the official numbers from the EPA. Significantly, the EPA numbers are mostly based on industry-provided estimates, not actual measurements. [ThinkProgress]

Gas flair. Credit: AP Photo / Eric Gay, file photo

¶ Palo Alto’s outlook for expanding its supply of cheap, green energy brightened this week. A City Council committee has enthusiastically approved a new 25-year contract with Hecate Energy that would allow the city to buy solar power at a price of less than 3.7¢/kWh. The price may set a record. [Palo Alto Online]

¶ At the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners Winter Meeting this week, it was announced that the addition of wind resources surpassed both solar and natural gas in 2015. Wind resources accounted for 8.6 GW of capacity while solar and natural gas came in at 7.3 GW and 6.0 GW, respectively. [JD Supra]

Image Courtesy of Martin Abeggien. Used under Creative Commons license.

¶ Four elementary schools serving low-income communities in northern Nevada will blossom with greener classrooms. A press release says Nevada-based non-profit Black Rock Solar is working with Open Energy, a commercial solar debt finance provider, for solar projects on the four elementary schools. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A leaking gas well near the US city of Los Angeles which has been polluting the air for four months has been “permanently sealed,” officials say. The Southern California Gas Company had been pumping in heavy fluids and cement to seal the well. The natural gas leak has caused thousands to relocate. [BBC]

Opinion:

¶ Why the U.S. is cutting carbon emissions no matter what happens with the Supreme Court • The power sector in the US is transforming to a much less carbon-intensive future, the precise thing that the Clean Power Plan aims for. This is neither a legal development, nor political. It is largely a business decision. [Washington Post]

Scaled Wind Farm Technology in Lubbock, Texas. Photo by Mark Rumsey, Energy.gov photo. Wikimedia Commons.

World:

¶ Venezuela is raising petrol prices for the first time in 20 years, although the president claims it will still be the world’s cheapest. President Nicolas Maduro said pump prices of premium fuel would rise from the equivalent of $0.01 a litre to about $0.60. The cost of lower grade petrol would rise to about $0.10 a litre. [BBC]

¶ Telstra Corporation, an Australian telecommunications concern, plans to speed up the roll-out of solar and battery storage options to customers, according to RenewEconomy. The plan to offer home energy services indicates it will compete with electricity utilities, a growing international trend. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Dong Energy has exported first power from its 252-MW Gode Wind 2 offshore wind farm in the German North Sea. Sea Challenger, owned by A2SEA, has erected all 42 Siemens turbines at the project. The remaining machines at the 97-turbine 582-MW Gode Wind 1 & 2 complex are to be up this summer. [reNews]

Dong Energy’s Gode wind project (Dong photo)

¶ According to Solar Power Portal, the UK solar industry has reached a cumulative capacity of more than 10 GW. The news comes just weeks after the European solar industry trade body, SolarPower Europe, released a projection that the UK would remain the region’s largest solar market in 2016. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Chile’s renewable power generation rose 18.7% year-on-year to 671 GWh last month, representing a bit over 10.85% of total electric output, a government report shows. Solar power produced 26.6% of the total green power, biomass had a 26.25% share, wind power had 23.93%, mini hydro plants had 20.63% [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Gamesa got an order from a German renewable energy company to replace 11 1-MW wind turbines at a wind farm with three G128-4.5 MW turbines. Operational since 1998, the Debstedt wind farm in Lower Saxony will be upgraded with new technology, and its annual output will be doubled. [Windpower Engineering]

The wind turbines will be replaced by three of Gamesa’s G128-4.5 MW turbines, producing more energy.

¶ Peru awarded 185 MW of solar PV projects at an average price of $48/MWh in a renewable energy solicitation. Bloomberg New Energy Finance Head of Solar Analysis Jenny Chase says that she has never seen a contract for power from solar PV this cheap in any nation that does not offer tax breaks. [pv magazine]

¶ About a third of the world’s publicly traded oil companies are at high risk of going bankrupt this year, according to a report from consulting and audit firm Deloitte. The firm put out its findings after closely examining 500 publicly traded oil and natural gas exploration and production companies worldwide. [Greentech Media]

US:

¶ The effort by San Francisco to launch a community choice aggregation renewable energy program was politically stymied for over a decade. But city leaders have now come together around CleanPowerSF. Notices were sent out to the first batch of customers San Francisco will automatically sign up. [San Francisco Examiner]

CleanPowerSF, San Francisco’s renewable energy program, is expected to begin in May. (Mike Koozmin/2014 S.F. Examiner)

¶ The future of the Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant could be shorter than expected. In a recent filing, Xcel Energy told the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission it would like to do an economic study about the possibility of shutting down the nuclear facility prior to its official 2034 expiration date. [Post-Bulletin]

¶ Deepwater Wind’s 30-MW Block Island offshore wind project was selected in a 34-GW New England capacity auction. The wind farm committed to supply 6.8 MW. The auction was to cover projected demand starting in 2019-20. It closed at $7.03/kW after four rounds of competitive bidding. [reNews]

Construction at Block Island (Deepwater Wind photo)

¶ The Tennessee Valley Authority said Wednesday that it is considering whether to sell its unfinished Bellefonte Nuclear Plant, started in 1974 in northeast Alabama and mothballed for the past 28 years without ever producing any electricity. No potential price was mentioned, but TVA said it has spent about $5 billion at Bellefonte. [FederalNewsRadio.com]

Opinion:

¶ Clean Power Doesn’t Need a Federal Plan • Last week, the Supreme Court put a stopper on the US Clean Power Plan. From the get-go, the CPP was criticized for being unconstitutional and unnecessary. Well, barring the legal applications of the plan, at least one of those accusations may turn out to be true… [Energy and Capital]

Colorado solar plant

World:

¶ In Germany and Portugal, a new drop-in biofuels process has emerged which is cost competitive with $30 oil, according to the inventors. The process breaks even with crude oil, on an 10-year amortized basis for capex, at roughly $20.30 per barrel of crude oil (assuming refining costs of $8.66 per barrel). [biofuelsdigest.com]

¶ Irish renewable energy firm, Solar 21 has acquired the project rights to build a 22-MW biomass power plant in England. The plant will be built on a 64-acre site near Hull. The firm is looking to secure €60 million through a fundraising round for the project, which has been under construction since October. [Irish Independent]

Solar 21 says that the plant will benefit from UK government-backed revenue.

¶ Oil prices fell on Tuesday despite Saudi Arabia and Russia agreeing to freeze oil output at January levels if other producers follow suit. The announcement came after ministers from the two nations met in Doha along with their counterparts from Venezuela and Qatar. Brent crude fell 2% to $32.77 a barrel. [BBC]

¶ Bangladesh, regarded by many as the nation most vulnerable to the impacts of global climate change, is on track to construct two coal-fired power plants that critics say are dangerously close to the world’s largest single tract of mangrove forest called the Sundarbans. A backlash against the plants is brewing. [Mongabay.com]

Chital deer emerge from the mists of the Sundarbans. Photo by Fabian Lambeck via Wikimedia Commons (CC 4.0)

¶ Woodside Petroleum, Australia’s largest independent oil and gas company, posted a 99% fall in profits for the 12 months to December. The firm put the decline in profits down to the global fall of over 45% in oil prices. Woodside’s net income came to $26 million (£18.18 million) from $2.41 billion a year earlier. [BBC]

¶ A new $30 million hydroelectric generating station on the Otonabee River in Peterborough, Ontario, is expected to come online by the end of June 2016. It will generate 6 MW of renewable energy in addition to the 4 MW already generated by the existing station. The total will power around 4,000 homes. [kawarthaNOW.com]

Hydroelectric station on the Otonabee River. Photo by Bruce Head for kawarthaNOW.

¶ Statoil ASA, Norway’s biggest oil and gas producer, will invest as much as $200 million in renewable energy over four to seven years. A new fund will take a minority stake in startups developing technologies including wind power, energy storage and smart grids, according to a company statement Tuesday. [Bloomberg]

¶ The UK’s Met Office has signed weather forecast service contracts for the 332-MW Nordsee One and 402-MW Veja Mate offshore wind farms in the south-west of the German Bight area of the North Sea. Nordsee One will also use Port forecasts and SafeVoyage for planning vessels’ routes in open water. [reNews]

First monopile headed for Nordsee One offshore wind farm (RWE Image)

US:

¶ A bipartisan group of 17 governors announced a new initiative by their states to advance clean energy, encourage clean transportation, and modernize energy infrastructure. The Governors Accord for a New Energy Future follows a Supreme Court ruling last week to temporarily block the Clean Power Plan. [Environment America]

¶ Michigan joined the list of states that have suspended Clean Power Plan compliance strategies after the Supreme Court ruling of last week. However Governor Rick Snyder also announced today that he has joined 16 other governors in signing the bipartisan Governors’ Accord for a New Energy Future. [Midwest Energy News]

Power lines in Michigan. Photo by ellenm1 / Creative Commons

¶ A Los Angeles county transportation agency, the Antelope Valley Transit Agency, made the pledge to convert from diesel to 100% electric buses, according to recent reports. As the county’s bus fleet currently totals around 85, the pledge to go all-electric is a big one – one of the biggest in the US to date. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Trucking and transportation provider Estes Express Lines recently completed the installation of a $1.6 million rooftop solar power system at its Greensboro terminal. The system is designed to power the entire Estes Greensboro facility, which is made up of an approximately 80,000-square-foot dock. [Triad Business Journal]

Estes Express Lines’ solar array.

¶ Wisconsin’s state Senate has passed a bill that would lift the state’s moratorium on new nuclear plants. Currently, state regulators cannot approve new nuclear plants unless a federal facility for storing waste exists and such a plant does not burden ratepayers. No such federal facility exists, however. [Journal Times]

¶ The mayor of Cohoes, New York, announced that the city is going green. The city has a 2.6-MW solar PV and LED lighting project underway, which is expected to save the taxpayers millions of dollars. The power from the solar energy will mainly be allocated to city hall, the fire station and the library. [NEWS10 ABC]

World:

¶ British demand response specialist Flexitricity Ltd said National Grid has adopted its Footroom service, which can make use of excess wind power. The service will have industrial, commercial and public-sector sites paid to adjust generation or consumption on request, so wind farms need not be shut down. [SeeNews Renewables]

Whitelee wind farm in Scotland. Author: ms.akr.
License: Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic

¶ Lekela Power, a pan-African renewable power company, signed a deal with the Egyptian government to build a 250-MW wind power station in the Gulf of Suez area at an investment of $350 million. Lekela Power has over 1,100 MW of wind and solar projects under development in South Africa, Egypt and Ghana. [Trade Arabia]

¶ Construction work has begun on Europe’s largest floating solar farm at the Queen Elizabeth II reservoir near London. More than 23,000 panels will be floated on the reservoir, providing enough electricity each year to power the equivalent of around 1,800 homes. The array is due for completion at the end of March. [Business Green]

¶ Indian wind turbine maker Inox Wind Ltd said it will deliver 100 MW of its machines for a project in Gujarat state under a repeat order from Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd. The project is TPREL’s fourth with Inox Wind. Before it, the company had ordered over 300 MW of wind turbines from the firm. [SeeNews Renewables]

Wind farm in India. Author: Yahoo. License:
Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic

¶ French energy giant EDF is to extend generation from four of its UK nuclear power stations. Two stations due to be shut down in 2019 will continue for an extra five years. Another two will have extensions of seven years to 2030. EDF has still not made a final decision on building the Hinckley C plant. [BQ Live]

¶ Declaring renewable energy to be the future of India, Power and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal said 25 new solar parks will be added in the country. The minister said India’s target of generating 175 GW power by 2022 from renewable sources, includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind. [Odisha News Insight]

US:

¶ Increasing awareness of the grid vulnerability is causing many to doubt the wisdom of relying solely on the prevailing grid model. Government agencies and private companies are increasingly looking to the remote electrical microgrids that power rural Alaska, where there are no transmission lines. [Alaska Dispatch News]

Wind turbines generate electricity in Kotzebue,
Alaska, in September 2015. Loren Holmes / ADN

¶ GTM Research has released its latest solar report, which found that 20 US states are at grid parity today, with 42 expected to reach that milestone by 2020. With a decline in costs of solar PVs and increases in retail electricity rates, the economics of home solar systems have become increasingly attractive. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The Oregon House approved a bill that would eliminate the use of coal power in Oregon by 2030 and double the state’s renewable energy standard goal for 2040. The bill was passed, with utility support, under pressure as they are trying to head off ballot measures in the general election in November. [KLCC FM Public Radio]

Credit Oregon Department of Transportation

¶ Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker issued an executive order that prohibits state agencies or departments from developing plans to comply with the Clean Power Plan. Walker argued that the effects of the EPA’s plan would fall heavily on coal-dependent manufacturing states like Wisconsin. [The Daily Cardinal]

¶ Rocky Mountain Power will soon be offering its customers the chance to use solar energy, even if they don’t plan to install panels on the roof. The company announced that it has contracted construction of a 20-MW solar farm in Holden, Utah. Customers may subscribe to some or all of their electricity from solar power. [RadioWest]

Opinion:

¶ Have we reached the tipping point for investing in renewable energy? • Between 2014 and 2015, New York City’s biggest pension fund lost $135 million on fossil fuel holdings. Fossil fuel investments have cost 15 of Australia’s top funds an estimated $5.6 billion. Profitable sustainability is coming of age. [The Guardian]

Renewable energy is becoming increasingly viable, a trend that could potentially be a game-changer for investors. Photograph: Alamy

World:

¶ The first international agreement to cut commercial airline carbon emissions was signed by 23 countries, including the US. It entails a 4% reduction in the fuel consumption of commercial aircraft by dates depending on type. It aims to reduce emissions by over 650 million tons between 2020 and 2040. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has warned officials of the Ceylon Electricity Board that he will be forced to take measures on his own to implement proposals related to the power sector if they fail to do what is needed. They have proposed nine new coal plants. He will only allow two. [Sunday Leader]

¶ The Brigg Renewable Energy Plant in North Lincolnshire was completed within its £162 million budget and three months ahead of schedule. It is capable of generating enough electricity to power 75,000 homes, and as it uses renewable energy, it is expected to save more than 250,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. [Scunthorpe Telegraph]

The plant’s straw bail barn.

¶ According to IEEE experts, newer and more efficient ways to consume energy using renewables with energy efficiency will be a main focus of the dominant energy trend this year. This includes extensive use of smart-grids and technologies that improve resilience and reliability, with clean energy resources. [Equity Bulls]

¶ Philippine Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile yesterday disclosed that arming the Philippines with a nuclear weapon was among the objectives of the construction of the now mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. This was planned during the administration of the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos. [Tempo]

¶ At a time when the governing British Columbia’s Liberal Party boasts about turning the province into a clean energy leader, the Canadian Wind Energy Association, country’s largest wind energy organization, has announced it is pulling out of the province to chase better opportunities in Alberta and Saskatchewan. [Alaska Highway News]

The Canadian Wind Energy Association is pulling out of B.C. File photo.

US:

¶ A solar boom is on in Minnesota. By the end of this year, Blue Earth County alone may have more solar capacity than the entire state does now. Xcel Energy predicts construction of these “solar gardens” to ramp up massively in 2016, generating more than 10 times the state’s current solar load. [Mankato Free Press]

¶ A new international quality standard for manufacturing solar PV modules has been created following on 5 years of work by researchers at the US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and elsewhere, according to a press release. The new standard is intended to supplement the existing one. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Approximately 85 state, local and county officials and business people gathered Thursday for a VIP dedication of Sandstone Solar, one of Arizona’s largest photovoltaic power plants. The 45-MW plant covers more than 300 acres of former farmland and uses more than 182,000 solar panels. [TriValley Central]

Jim Snyder, project manager for the new Sandstone Solar farm off, is interviewed after the dedication. Mark Cowling / Florence Reminder

¶ Dominion Virginia Power will soon add more solar power to its generation portfolio. The company is partnering with SunEnergy1 to install 91,803 solar panels at a new solar farm in Chesapeake, Virginia, a press release says. The site will generate enough energy to power 5,000 homes. [Proud Green Building]

¶ National Grid customers paid more than $110 million in surcharges to keep a nuclear plant in western New York open since 2012. Governor Cuomo has ordered the state Public Service Commission to investigate NRG Energy’s decision to close the Dunkirk Power Plant and whether consumers have been defrauded. [Syracuse.com]

Opinion:

¶ Is This The Best Solar Chart Yet? • Solar energy has been in a boom of late (one that will arguably continue for a long while). One might ask why the technology has found increasing footholds in the global marketplace? Well, the graph below puts it more succinctly than I could, so have a gander. [CleanTechnica]

Image courtesy of the Earth Policy Institute/Bloomberg

¶ The CEO of the largest Russian bank said the age of oil was over. He is sort of right. • The CEO of the Russia’s largest Russian bank made a strong critical statement about the Russian economy. He said the oil age is over and Russia has lost the global competition because it has not adjusted to the clean energy race. [Huffington Post]

World:

¶ Oil prices surged as much as 12% on Friday after new suggestions that OPEC nations were set to cut oil production. The United Arab Emirates’ energy minister said OPEC members were ready to reduce output, the Wall Street Journal reported. But traders said sharp falls on Thursday may have triggered bargain-hunting. [BBC]

North Sea Oil rig. Photograph by Isaac Newton.
CC BY-SA 2.5 Generic. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ In what could reflect a paradigm shift in power generation in India, officials of the state-owned utility NTPC said one reason for low plant load factor at their thermal power stations is due to increased share of clean energy. The plant load factor has declined to 77.8% in 2015 from 79.3% in 2014 and 85% in 2012-13. [Business Standard]

¶ BP chief executive Bob Dudley this week called on governments to adopt carbon pricing mechanisms to address climate change. Dudley noted BP’s latest Energy Outlook 2035, also released during the oil and gas executives’ conference, projects global emissions to rise about 1% per year. [Environmental Leader]

US:

¶ Concerned about legislative moves, Maine solar installers, local and national businesses, environmental organizations, and the newly formed Solar Energy Association of Maine delivered a petition with nearly 4,000 signatures to the state legislature, urging regulators and lawmakers to preserve net-metering. [CleanTechnica]

Maine lighthouse. Shutterstock image.

¶ Major utilities have hit New Hampshire’s arbitrary cap on net energy metering but have shown virtually no interest in a stable transition for solar companies. Legislators are considering bills to address this, but the bills, SB 333 and HB 1116, would only lead to job losses in a few months, as currently written. [CleanTechnica]

¶ US scientists have modelled how a 1930s-like dustbowl drought might impact agriculture today, and found it to be just as damaging. But the research shows the effects to be very sensitive to temperature, meaning the potential losses would be far worse later this century if Earth’s climate heats up as expected. [BBC]

Farmer and sons in a dust storm, Oklahoma, 1936. Photo by Arthur Rothstein, 1915-1985. US Farm Security Administration photo. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Infrared video taken Friday confirmed that the Southern California Gas Company has stopped the flow of natural gas leaking from a well at a facility near Los Angeles. SoCalGas said a relief well had “intercepted the base of the leaking well” and operators were pumping fluids to temporarily keep the gas from leaking. [CNN]

¶ After five years and millions of dollars of investments, Michigan’s utilities have exceeded the 10% renewable energy production goal under the state’s 2008 landmark energy law, the Michigan Public Service Commission said in its annual report. All 75 producers met the targets by December 31. [Crain’s Detroit Business]

Michigan Wind 1 near Ubly. Photo by No Trams To Lime Street
from Metro Detroit. CC BY-SA 2.0 Generic. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ By 2020 solar, wind, biomass and hydro will account for 10% of Georgia Power’s fuel mix, according to a new long-term plan the company recently filed with state regulators. That’s up from about 7% this year, or just 2% not counting hydro. In 2005, non-hydro renewables were not even counted in the mix. [MyAJC]

¶ The Tennessee Valley Authority is giving up on a nearly decade-old plan to pursue the next generation of major nuclear reactors at the Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant in Alabama. TVA is facing a deadline today to tell its future plans to the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board of the US NRC. [Chattanooga Times Free Press]