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World:

Wind Lift I, a special crane ship for installing offshore wind turbines. Photo by kaʁstn, Wikimedia Commons.

¶ The European Commission announced approval for Germany to invest nearly €30 billion in the development of 20 offshore wind farms. Germany notified the EU of its plans to invest in 17 wind farms set to be located in the North Sea, and another 3 in the Baltic Sea, amounting in total to 7 GW of new capacity. [CleanTechnica]

¶ As many as eight financial institutions in India are to raise funds for expansion of renewable energy capacity through green bonds. India is looking to increase its renewable energy capacity from 35 GW at present to 175 GW by 2022. The country intends to increase its solar energy capacity alone by another 97 GW. [Greentech Lead]

¶ In a report from Climate Policy Initiative and the Indian School of Business, CPI found that, in absence of any subsidies, wind power is already cheaper than the total cost of power from a new built imported coal plant, at 9¢/kWh for electricity from wind power and 11¢/kWh for electricity from imported coal. [Business Standard]

¶ New Brunswick Power says part of its goal to generate 40% of its in-province sales from renewable sources by 2020 will be locally owned, small-scale green energy. The plan involves co-operatives and First Nations communities having wind farms, solar panels, small hydro projects, biomass or biogas facilities. [CBC.ca]

¶ Innergex Renewable Energy and the Saik’uz First Nation announced signing an agreement to develop a prospective wind energy project at Nulki Hills near Vanderhoof, British Columbia. A 50-50 partnership will develop the proposed Nulki Hills wind project to produce up to 210 MW of clean renewable power. [Stockhouse]

¶ OpenHydro Technology Canada is receiving $6.35 million from the Canadian federal government for the Bay of Fundy tidal stream project. The project, which is situated in the Bay of Fundy, has an array of turbines that will simulate the cost and performance of a commercial tidal farm in harsh conditions. [Daily Business Buzz – Nova Scotia]

¶ The Australian government found $4 million for the climate contrarian Bjørn Lomborg to establish his “consensus centre” at an Australian university, even as it struggled to impose deep spending cuts on the higher education sector. The center will be at the University of Western Australia’s business school. [The Guardian]

¶ Australian utility company AGL called on regional and local government to “set both binding and aspirational medium and long-term emission reduction targets”, while outlining its own commitments to carbon reduction. AGL says it has “a key role to play in gradually reducing greenhouse gas emissions …” [PV-Tech]

¶ ET Solar has executed an agreement to build a 70-MWp solar power project in the Philippines, along with local partner Gate Solar Philippines Corp, a renewable energy developer. Construction is expected to begin in the last quarter of this year and the commercial operation is expected to be achieved in March 2016. [PennEnergy]

Research vessel Celtic Explorer

¶ Work has been completed on a 4-km subsea cable connecting the Galway Bay Ocean Energy Test Site to the shore in the west of Ireland. Research vessel Celtic Explorer handled the work. The line will supply power to the test site and facilitate data transfer for researchers who work on tidal and wave test devices. [reNews]

US:

¶ Solar energy is booming in the United States and the industry wants everyone to know it. But winning an extension of a key solar tax break won’t be easy. The industry’s lobbying arm, the Solar Energy Industries Association, is working overtime to keep the investment tax credit on the books past 2016. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

¶ Nebraska Public Power District, the state’s largest utility, announced plans to replace a coal-fired power plant unit with one that runs on hydrogen, cutting its carbon emissions by over 1 million tons per year, even as the state battles proposed new federal rules on coal plants. It will generate 125 MW with the unit. [Reuters Africa]

¶ Electricity producers in several states are asking for hundreds of millions of dollars in financial support to keep costly nuclear power plants in business—a move that is likely to boost customers’ power bills. The nuclear reactors in question include some located in New York, Ohio, and Illinois. [Wall Street Journal]

¶ US wind power saved 68 billion gallons of water in the US in 2014, according to a report by the AWEA. This is an increasingly valuable benefit in droughts. In California, wind energy saved 2.5 billion gallons of freshwater in 2014, while Texas led the nation with savings of 13 billion gallons of water. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

Opinion:

¶ “Nuclear power needs government subsidies, but struggles to make the case for them” The big problem with nuclear power is the price tag. When comparing the full costs of generating electricity from new plants spinning up in 2019, nuclear power is expensive at $96.10 per megawatt-hour, and alternatives are cheaper. [Houston Chronicle]

¶ “How other cities can match Georgetown’s low-cost switch to 100% wind & sun” – The Institute for Local Self-Reliance points out that any municipality with two key advantages can have 100% renewable energy at a surprisingly low cost. Georgetown, Texas, went to 100% renewable resources to save money. [RenewEconomy]

Science and Technology:

Tower at Ivanpah. Photo by Craig Dietrich. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ As it turns out, the solution to a serious problem discovered last year at Ivanpah, the first solar power tower in the US, actually has turned out to be “one weird trick.” A mishap in January produced the Eureka moment for safe solar power tower development. Now there are no more dead birds at all. [CleanTechnica]

¶ A new lithium-sulfur battery that demonstrates cycle performance that’s comparable to that offered by currently available commercial lithium-ion batteries and possesses roughly twice the energy density has been developed by an international team of researchers from South Korea and Italy. [CleanTechnica]

World:

Runavík, Faroe Islands. Photo by Erik Christensen. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ The remote Faroe Islands in northern Europe are to benefit from a major energy storage system. The power generator and distributor for the Faroes commissioned the project, which will see 2.3 MW of lithium-ion batteries used to maximise the potential of a new 12-MW wind farm installation. [PV-Tech Storage]

¶ One of Australia’s largest power generators, AGL Energy, has adopted a new policy. AGL will not finance or build new coal-fired power stations, and it will not extend the operating life of any existing coal-fired power stations beyond 2050. The announcement came at the opening of AGL’s 102-MW Nyngan Solar Plant. [The Australian Financial Review]

¶ The Energy Minister of South Africa will expand the country’s renewable energy sector by adding another 6,300 MW of wind and solar power to the government program that buys green power from the private sector. This is in addition to the 5,243 MW of renewables that have already been bought. [Independent Online]

¶ Solar developer SunPower Corporation confirmed yesterday it is partnering with Apple on two Chinese solar farms boasting 40 MW of new capacity, which will be built in ABA Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefectures in Sichuan Province. The projects will be owned by a joint venture between the developers. [Business Green]

¶ BP shareholders voted overwhelmingly to publish regular updates on how its strategies were affecting climate change, making it one of the first global oil companies to disclose such details. The plan was proposed by a group of investors the annual general meeting and got support of 98% of investors. [News24]

¶ The operator of a Japanese nuclear plant whose restart was blocked this week by a court injunction said Friday it would appeal the ruling. Kansai Electric Power has submitted “a motion of complaint to Fukui district court” over Tuesday’s injunction banning the re-firing of reactors at the Takahama nuclear plant. [NDTV]

US:

Solar array in Florida

¶ The Florida Public Service Commission on Thursday approved a plan that would lead to Gulf Power Company buying electricity from major new solar facilities on Northwest Florida military bases. Solar farms on one Air Force base and two Navy bases would supply a total of 120 MW of power to the grid. [NorthEscambia.com]

¶ In a poll of US parents, 81% said they want to live in a solar-powered home. The majority (67%) also wants solar to be the world’s primary energy source when their children grow up. And 95% believe it’s their responsibility to teach their children about alternative energy for a better environment for the future. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Siemens has selected US-based Molycorp to supply rare earth materials for its direct drive wind turbine generators over the next 10 years. Siemens said key factors in choosing Molycorp included global diversification, reliability, and “environmental and process innovations Molycorp has built into its Mountain Pass facility”. [reNews]

World:

The Burgar Hill wind farm has been in operation for 13 years and faces the windiest conditions in the UK

¶ A wind turbine in Orkney has become the first in the UK to generate more than 100,000,000 kWh of electricity. It sits on the island’s exposed Burgar Hill, the windiest location for a wind farm in Europe. It was erected as a prototype in 2002, and produces enough power, on average, to supply 1,400 homes. [Scotsman]

¶ A coalition of 900 Dutch citizens has taken the Netherlands’ government to court for its inaction on cutting greenhouse gas emissions and addressing climate change. This represents (arguably) the first time a national government has been taken to court over existing human rights with regard to climate change. [CleanTechnica]

¶ In its proposal to the United Nations climate conference in Paris this year, Brazil will propose ambitious new targets to reduce destruction of the Amazon rainforest, boost reforestation and increase solar, hydro and wind energy. To do so, it will need foreign capital and technology, the Environment minister said. [Bloomberg]

¶ United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on business leaders to expand investment in low-carbon growth and opportunities to advance sustainable energy for all and tackle climate change, in a statement to The Future of Energy Summit 2015, organized by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. [Big News Network.com]

¶ Three wind farms were announced by BC Hydro for the Okanagan region of British Columbia. They will add 45 MW of capacity to the BC Hydro system, enough to power about 14,000 homes. One farm will be near the northeastern BC community of Taylor, one near West Kelowna, and one at Summerland. [The Province]

¶ The Rockefeller Foundation has made a commitment to invest $75 million in India to power 1,000 villages in the country. The project will be focusing on providing electricity through the ‘smart power’ grid to villages located across Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, according to the foundation’s president. [Moneycontrol.com]

US:

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

¶ The US wind industry generated $12 billion in private investment in 2014 and added 23,000 jobs, the American Wind Energy Association says in a new report. There are nearly 20,000 workers in wind manufacturing and 53,000 jobs in project development, construction, operations, and other industry areas. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ California might just have broken another solar record, with 6,000 MW of solar power flowing into the state’s grid over about four hours on Wednesday. That’s according to a graph generated by computers at the California Independent System Operator, which manages most of the state’s power grid. [KCET]

¶ America’s power generation fleet has changed so much since the 1950s, and especially over the last decade, that the amount of carbon we emit per MWh of electricity produced has dropped to its lowest point in recorded history. In fact, 2015 could be the cleanest ever for our power industry. [Environmental Defense Fund]

¶ The DOE will provide $7 million in funding for the research and development of innovative technologies for low-impact hydropower systems. The funding will help advance hydropower drivetrains and structural foundations that will minimize environmental impacts and reduce the lifetime costs of hydropower. [PennEnergy]

¶ Greenpeace USA just released “Carbon Capture Scam (CCS): How a False Climate Solution Bolsters Big Oil,” a report explaining why support for carbon capture and sequestration must stop. The CO2 from burning coal ultimately still gets into the atmosphere after an expensive, long, inefficient detour. [Huffington Post]

¶ Arkansas County’s Grand Prairie will soon become home to an 81-MW PV facility, according to Entergy Arkansas. It will be the largest solar power plant in the state. The project will cover nearly 500 acres and will be capable of generating enough clean energy to power about 13,000 homes. [PennEnergy]

¶ The Dow Chemical Company announced new sustainability goals, to be accomplished by 2025, which include creating products that offset three times more carbon dioxide than they emit throughout their life cycle and delivering $1 billion in cost savings or new cash flow by valuing nature in business decisions. [Environmental Leader]

¶ The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected a rate schedule proposed for the Ginna nuclear power plant, which supporters say is needed for reliability in western New York. The FERC ordered hearing and settlement proceedings. New York’s Public Service Commission is also reviewing the matter. [RTO Insider]

¶ Three bills introduced in the US Senate are “aimed at improving the safety and security of decommissioning reactors and the storage of spent nuclear fuel.” The bills’ sponsors include Senators Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Barbara Boxer of California, both Democrats, and IBernie Sanders of Vermont. [Platts]

World:

¶ Analysis presented at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance annual summit says the world is now adding capacity for renewable power faster than for coal, natural gas, and oil combined. This has been going on since 2013, when 143 GW of renewable capacity were added, compared with 141 GW for fossil fuels. [Bloomberg]
… Renewables, mainly including hydropower, solar and wind, reached 28% of the total electric power supply in Germany in 2014, 19% in the UK, 22% in China, 76% in Brazil and 13% in the US, as investments in renewables increased more than 15% globally last year, BNEF Chairman Michael Liebreich said Tuesday. [Climate Central]

French nuclear power plant.

¶ A recently released report says France could be powered by 100% renewable energy by 2050 (note that this is for electricity, not all energy). If the report is accurate, it is a huge wakeup call about the potential of renewable energy there. France currently gets most of its electricity from nuclear power. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Acciona Windpower won a deal to supply turbines at a 129-MW wind project in Mexico. The contract with an unnamed client covers 43 of the Spanish manufacturer’s AW125/3000 machines. The model is optimised for medium-speed wind sites and the company said the turbines will be mounted on steel towers. [reNews]

¶ Samoa’s Electric Power Company is on track to meet the government’s aim of being 100% reliant on renewable energy by 2017. The company signed agreements for a second wind farm of 25 MW and a number of small hydro-electric dams. Peak energy demand in Samoa is about 20 MW. [Radio New Zealand]

¶ China’s strategic shift toward alternative fuels in order to cut its reliance on foreign oil is creating huge opportunities, notably in natural gas vehicles and in the conversion of coal to ethanol, according to Lux Research. China intends to reduce foreign oil imports from the current 50% of domestic demand. [Power Engineering International]

¶ The power and water utility serving the iconic city of Dubai will invest $3 billion to boost the generation capacity of the country’s largest solar power plant from 1 GW to 3 GW. The initial installed capacity target for the solar park was 1 GW by 2019. The new plan is for an installed capacity to 3 GW by 2030. [CleanTechnica]

Cross section of a submarine cable. Photo by Z22. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Italy has linked to Malta via a new electricity interconnector inaugurated last week. The new 120 kilometer-long subsea line has a cable rated at 250 MVA, and onshore cables and terminals both at Pembroke in Malta and at Marina di Ragusa in Sicily, and can transmit up to 200 MW in either direction. [pv magazine]

¶ Plans to build Poland’s first nuclear power plant will be delayed by at least another two years, after the decision late last year by state-run utility PGE to take on site research itself and cancel a consultancy contract. The project, expected to cost between $10 billion and $15 billion, has been delayed before. [Daily Times]

US:

¶ The Gallup pollsters have reported two surveys on energy and the environment in the past week. What they have to say about American attitudes may surprise some people. Americans believe the government is not doing enough to protect the environment, and is overly emphasizes energy production. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The US witnessed an 82% surge in wind energy project financing following the release of guidance last year that clarified the qualifying criteria for the wind energy Production Tax Credit, according to a new report.Wind energy project finance shot up to $7.1 billion, an 82% increase on the $3.9 billion the first half. [The Engineer]

¶ Legislation strengthening Illinois’s renewable electricity and energy efficiency standards would drive billions in new clean energy investments and save consumers $12 billion by 2030, reducing the typical household electricity bill by 23%, or $22 per month, in 2030, according to new analysis. [Union of Concerned Scientists]

¶ The Texas Senate approved legislation to close the book on two programs that fueled the state’s surge in wind energy production. Environmentalists and renewable energy industry groups were angered, but Texas has surpassed its renewable energy goal and nearly completed upgrades of power lines. [Fort Worth Star Telegram]

World:

¶ Wind is now the cheapest way to bring new electricity generation to the grid in many countries, including the US. Solar PV costs are rapidly dropping and solar is expected to join wind over the next few years. Low-cost utility-scale solar already beats out all other sources of electricity in some bidding processes. [CleanTechnica]

Indiana wind farm. Photo by Patrick Finnegan from Lafayette, IN, USA. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ In 2014, the World Health Organization measured air quality levels in 1,600 cities around the world, and the Indian capital city of New Delhi was found to have the highest concentration of particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers. It was ten times as bad as New York’s level and three times Beijing’s. [CNN]

¶ Martifer, a Portugal-based PV producer and developer has revealed that it successfully connected five solar farms ahead of the UK’s March 31 renewable obligation deadline. The five solar farms represent 57.8 MW of new solar capacity connected to the grid and range in size from 7.7 MW to 18.7 MW. [Solar Power Portal]

¶ Italy’s Enel Green Power has won power supply contracts with South African utility Eskom for 425 MW of wind projects. The projects will be constructed in the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape provinces. The 142-MW Oyster Bay and 141-MW Nxuba projects will be finished in 2017 and 142-MW Karusa in 2018. [reNews]

¶ Wind power output in Estonia on Sunday reached 3,797 MWh. According to recently released data by the EU’s statistics office, Estonia is one of three member states that have surpassed their renewable energy target for 2020. The country reached a 25.6% renewables share in 2013; the goal for 2020 is 25%. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Construction has begun for the Þeistareykir Geothermal Power Station in the North East of Iceland. Initially, the station will be built to supply 45 MW of electrical power. Further expansion of the station is under consideration, and the geothermal station is licensed for eventual production of 100 MW. [Power Online]

¶ Australia’s large-scale renewable energy industry has entered an investment freeze, with just one project securing finance in the past six months amid political uncertainty, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The lone venture in the first three months of 2015 was worth just $6.6 million. [Sydney Morning Herald]

¶ The long-term costs of renewables have declined so rapidly that they rival oil-fueled generation even after the cost of crude fell more than 50%, according to the CEO of Masdar, which develops clean energy plants in the United Arab Emirates. Assessments by Citigroup and Goldman Sachs are in agreement. [Bloomberg]

¶ A serious flaw was found in the steel reactor vessel of a nuclear plant under construction in France, raising questions about its design. The reactor vessel has too much carbon in some steel, weakening it. It weighs 410 tonnes and cannot be removed, and it is hard to see how it could be repaired or modified. [The Ecologist]

The Flamanville nuclear plant in Normandy was already years late and billions of budget – before news emerged that its steel reactor vessel contains serious metallurgical faults. Photo by schoella. Wikimedia Commons

¶ A court in Japan has dealt a blow to plans to relaunch nuclear power generation four years after the Fukushima meltdowns by halting the restart of two reactors over safety concerns. Area residents had argued that nuclear officials had underestimated the plant’s vulnerability to powerful earthquakes. [The Guardian]
… Japan’s government spokesman said on Tuesday it would continue to restart nuclear reactors that meet an independent regulator’s standards after a court issued an injunction to prevent the restart of two reactors in western Japan. He said there was “no change” to its position to restart idled plants. [The Straits Times]

US:

¶ While many hail the California Solar Incentive as an overwhelming success, a new study finds that using the same amount of money in a carefully optimized program to provide systems to low-income households at little or no cost would have done more to stimulate the adoption of rooftop solar systems. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Al Gore is blasting Big Power for “using the atmosphere as their sewage infrastructure” and trying to shut down competition. The industry is waging a “war on solar,” he told investors Monday at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance conference in New York City. Some in the Tea Party agree with him. [Bloomberg]

¶ A few years back, large-scale wind projects dominated the renewable energy discussion in Vermont, producing vocal opposition. The focus has turned to solar, as all of Vermont’s new electrical capacity last year came from solar energy. Nevertheless, there are those who expect construction of more wind farms. [PennEnergy]

¶ Maryland lawmakers took a key step to increase statewide access to clean energy by passing two bills, HB 1087 and SB 398, that allow for the creation of community solar projects. If signed by Governor Larry Hogan, Maryland will join 10 other states that allow some form of community solar. [eNews Park Forest]

Science and Technology:

¶ National Public Health Week in the United States runs from April 6-12. To kick off the week, an open letter was delivered to President Obama signed by 1,000 doctors, nurses, researchers and other health professionals. It pointed out the many, catastrophic, public health risks associated with climate change. [National Monitor]

Rooftop solar panels and wind farm. Photo by GLSystem, Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Wind power grew quickly in 2014, but solar had itself a very good year as well. And there are signs that solar could be in for even more rapid growth. Going forward, solar could have several advantages over wind, and those advantages are likely to have progressively greater importance with passing time. [EarthTechling]

World:

¶ The economic viability of some 53% of 39 of the power plants planned for construction in Europe’s largest economy by 2025 has been called into question, according to the German energy industry association BDEW. It said investors are nervous over low profitability for coal- and gas-fired power stations. [Economic Times]

¶ The Australian Renewable Energy Agency announced up to $20 million for a new research and development round dedicated to industry-partnered projects that seek to develop and commercialize renewable energy technologies. The new funding round was opened at an event held at RMIT University in Melbourne. [solarserver.com]

¶ The United Arab Emirates will soon add 100 MW of solar PV power capacity. The Federal Electricity and Water Authority plans to set up solar PV projects across the Northern Emirates. The power plants will be part of UAE’s Vision 2021, which plans to get 24% of its energy from ‘clean’ energy sources. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The Golden Age of gas in Australia, which some thought would usher in the transition from high polluting fossil fuels to clean renewables, ended before it really even started. Data from the Australian Energy Market Operator highlights how quickly energy markets can change and how quickly they are changing. [RenewEconomy]

¶ The world’s largest network of municipalities adopted an action plan aimed at taking prompt measures against climate change. The Seoul Action Plan was released by a congress held in Seoul to gather more global support at the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives World Congress. [eco-business.com]

¶ An Australian report on global renewable energy trends says globally, renewable energy is now cost-comparative or cheaper than fossil fuels for generating electricity, and the cost of wind and solar in particular is projected to continue to fall steeply. But it warns Australia is increasingly falling behind. [Climate Control News]

German transmission lines. Photo by Calson2. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Gunter Scheibner, in charge of keeping flows stable over 6,200 miles of transmission lines in eastern Germany, must keep power from solar and wind in harmony whether it’s sunny or overcast, windy or still. He is proving that renewable energy from the sun and wind can be just as reliable as fossil fuels. [Bloomberg]

¶ TEPCO has given up on retrieving the shape-shifting robot it sent into the damaged primary containment vessel of reactor 1 of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power station. The robot, which was surveying damage, was expected to survive 10 hours in the high radiation environment but died in less than 3 hours. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶ Southern California Gas Company has joined with the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the National Fuel Cell Research Center in projects to create and test a carbon-free, power-to-gas system for the first time ever in the US. The technology stores power from electricity chemically in gas. [Your Oil and Gas News]

¶ With a proposed award from the California Energy Commission, Robert Bosch LLC plans to demonstrate its renewable-based microgrid platform. The DC building grid will consist of rooftop solar PV arrays connected to energy-efficient DC lighting, ventilation, and energy storage systems on a 380-volt DC bus. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Marin Clean Energy has become the default electricity provider for rural areas at the request of Napa County, California, allowing customers to receive 50% to 100% of their electricity from renewable sources, as opposed to 22% with the former provider. Only 8.5% of customers opted not to use Marin Clean Energy. [Napa Valley Register]

Opinion:

¶ “Coal Is Dead: It is Time to Accept It” – For years, coal supporters have been saying that a turnaround is just around the corner. China’s demand is about to pick up, clean coal has arrived, or domestic environmental regulations will be struck down and we’ll fire up coal plants once more! Let’s face it: Coal is dead. [The Current]

The General James M. Gavin plant on the Ohio River. Note the clouds of Sulfuric Acid coming from the vertical column stacks (the emissions from the Cooling Towers are just water vapor). Photo by Analogue Kid, from Wikimedia Commons.

¶ “McConnell’s quest won’t rescue Appalachia” – Although Senator McConnell claims to be fighting to preserve coal miners’ jobs, bucking the White House won’t help the people who live in Appalachian coal country. Market forces, not federal policy, are killing the industry, and no policy can change that. [Heraldindependent]

¶ “Want to fight drought? Build wind turbines” – One use of water that gets overlooked is energy. Reducing dependence on fossil fuels doesn’t just reduce climate change (thereby preventing future droughts). It also helps mitigate the massive amounts of water used in conventional power plants. [Mother Nature Network]

Science and Technology:

¶ The public health burden associated with the coal industry and coal-fired power plants had some light shed on it by a study in The New England Journal of Medicine. It found that long-term improvements in air quality were strongly associated with better respiratory function among growing children. [CleanTechnica]

¶ According to Science Magazine, researchers constructed a new glass window that tints by harvesting energy from weather conditions, such as wind and precipitation. The external layer harvests static energy from the rain, creating an electric current. The second layer gathers energy from the wind. [The Weather Network]

World:

¶ Eight commercial projects varying in size between 1.8 MW and 19 MW have been granted planning permission in Scotland. Over 100 MW of large-scale solar projects in the planning stages or awaiting construction. The country currently has 153 MW of solar capacity in 31,000 installations, nearly all on rooftops. [Herald Scotland]

Offshore wind farm.

¶ Despite the public perception of offshore wind energy being highly expensive, electricity generated via this technology is already cheaper in Europe than that generated by gas-fired power plants or proposed nuclear projects such as the Hinkley Point C project, according to a new analysis of publicly available data. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Jordan has pre-qualified 15 local and international companies to build a $150 million solar-run power plant. The 65-75 MW plant will be located in the southern Governorate of Aqaba. The government expects 1,800 MW of renewable energy projects to connected to the national power grid by the end of 2018. [Jordan Times]

¶ Global clean energy investment in the first quarter of this year fell to its lowest quarterly level for two years, as large deals slowed in China, Europe and Brazil. Investment in renewable energy such as wind and solar power and biomass fell to $50.5 billion for the first quarter compared with $59.3 billion last year. [The Daily Star]

US:

¶ Most of the electricity generated in Colorado still comes from burning coal, but even the state’s two largest coal burners are adding far more renewable energy. The Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and Platte River Power Authority lately announced plans for new renewable energy. [The Denver Post]

¶ Senator Harry Reid is turning his attention away from political strategy for the Democratic Party, and told a clean energy group he wants to spend his remaining time in Congress making green energy options a top priority. Reid made his comments during a luncheon speech in Las Vegas. [Guardian Liberty Voice]

Science and Technology:

¶ CyboEnergy, based in Rancho Cordova, California, patented a solar power mini-Inverter that it says has the key merits of both central inverters and microinverters. The inverter design has multiple input channels, solving partial shading problems and making rooftop solar safer to install and operate. [WebWire]

¶ A study in Nature Climate Change shows that electric vehicle batteries have been getting cheaper much faster than expected. From 2007 to 2011, average battery costs for battery-powered electric vehicles fell by about 14% a year. The cost of batteries is about what the International Energy Agency predicted for 2020. [UK Progressive Magazine]

World:

Solar farm in India

¶ Renewables 2014, the global status report on renewable energy by the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, says that the “evolution of renewable energy over the past decade has surpassed all expectations.” It makes clear that India has become a significant player in the emerging sector. [The Hindu]

¶ US President Barack Obama met with Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solís Friday at the Summit of the Americas. The two leaders briefly discussed climate change and renewable energy, among other topics. Solís noted that Costa Rica has produced all of its electricity this year through renewable power. [The Tico Times]

¶ A robot designed to withstand high levels of radiation was sent to inspect a reactor’ containment vessel at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. It stopped responding three hours into the operation. TEPCO hoped to take a look inside the vessel containing one of the three reactors that had meltdown. [Sputnik International]

US:

The 2010 BP Disaster. US Coast Guard Photo

¶ The Obama administration is planning to impose a major new regulation on offshore oil and gas drilling to try to prevent the kind of explosions that caused the catastrophic BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, administration officials said Friday. The announcement will be made on the anniversary of the event. [New York Times]

¶ A report, “The Economics of Load Defection,” examines the economics for commercial and residential customers in five US markets. It shows that grid-connected solar-storage systems are already more cost-effective than grid-supplied electricity in places with high electric costs, and increasingly so in others. [Energy Collective]

¶ Indiana added 59 MW of solar electric capacity in 2014, bringing its total to 112 MW. That is enough clean energy to power more than 12,000 homes, and is nearly as much as the entire country had installed by 2004. It was the second straight year in which over 50 MW of solar capacity was installed in the state. [RealEstateRama]

¶ There is a magical place in California called the Geysers, a natural wonder spanning 45 square miles of geothermal hot springs fed by the Earth’s molten core. Harnessed as a power plant, the site is the world’s largest geothermal electricity production facility, providing energy for parts of the North Bay area. [SFGate]

¶ The electricity and natural gas savings from efficiency surpassed the 2010-2012 energy-savings goals of the California Public Utilities Commission and the state’s four large investor-owned utilities themselves. The programs paid for themselves and put more than $750 million back into consumers’ pockets. [Natural Resources Defense Council]

¶ With the lesson of Hurricane Sandy in mind, New York aims to get ahead on adapting to climate change by modernizing and integrating renewables into its power grid and making its infrastructure better able to withstand extreme weather. Its smart grid research is likely to influence the rest of the country. [Tribune-Review]

Opinion:

¶ “Washington blackout highlighted aging electrical grid” A severed power line in Maryland cut power to much of the nation’s capital on Tuesday. The outage illustrates problems with the country’s aging grid just weeks ahead of DOE recommendations for modernizing electricity infrastructure. [GlobalPost]

World:

Offshore wind. Photo by Arnold Price, from Wikimedia Commons.

¶ The North Seas Grid should be one of the building blocks of the Energy Union, companies and campaigners have told EU energy ministers. Momentum builds behind the project connecting offshore wind farms in Ireland, Scotland, the UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. [EurActiv]

¶ Officials in Canada and the US are considering cap-and-trade programs for the Midcontinent ISO, Southwest Power Pool, and Province of Ontario, with linkages to existing regional cap-and-trade systems potentially creating a true North American carbon market, covering half the continent’s population. [CleanTechnica]

¶ New solar panels across France pushed solar output to new highs of more than 4,000 MW. That surge in a nation more dependent than any other on nuclear power illustrates the fundamental change taking hold across Europe’s energy industry. It also signals more pain to come for traditional utilities in the region. [Bloomberg]

¶ The amount of solar generation capacity in the Netherlands could increase by over 1 GW this year and reach 16 GW by 2030, according to market analysts. Around 1.9 GW of solar capacity is installed in the country. Predictions cannot include off-grid installations accurately because that capacity is unknown. [ICIS]

¶ An area in southern England could hold more oil than the North Sea. Oil and Gas Investments, an exploration firm that has been drilling in the region, says it could hold as much as 100 billion barrels, or 158 million barrels per square mile. The North Sea produced about 45 billion barrels over the last 40 years. [AOL Money UK]

¶ In the UK, National Grid’s summer outlook estimated that its peak demand this summer will be 37.5 GW, approximately 900 MW lower than the figure for last year. This drop has been attributed to a marked increase in solar PV generation capacity within the UK, which has nearly doubled in the last year. [Solar Power Portal]

US:

California solar farm.

¶ California already generates 5% of its electricity from the sun. California Independent System Operator, the state’s operator for the vast majority of the state’s power grid, released a strategic vision designed to guide the state to its goal of generating 50% of the state’s power needs from renewables by 2030. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The California Public Utilities Commission is ordering Pacific Gas & Electric Co to pay a record $1.6 billion penalty for unsafe operation of its gas transmission system, including the pipeline rupture that killed eight people in 2010. Most of the penalty amounts to forced spending on improving pipeline safety. [CNN]

¶ The US is seen to deploy a record 18 GW of new renewable energy capacity this year, while also retiring 23 GW of coal-fired power plants, according to research firm Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The US will add an estimated 9.1 GW of solar parks and 8.9 GW of fresh wind capacity in 2015. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Analysts at Bloomberg New Energy Finance have forecast that 2015 will be a watershed year for the US’ decarbonization efforts, predicting that the country will reach a two-decade low in power sector emissions nationally this year. They say the US efforts to transform the nation’s power sector are bearing fruit. [RenewEconomy]

¶ Austin Energy, the municipally owned utility providing power to roughly 1 million people in the Texas capital, will add 600 MW of solar to its generation portfolio by as soon as 2017. Austin Energy said it would consider acquiring the solar power from independent solar firms, or it could own the solar capacity. [Scientific American]

Science and Technology:

¶ A team of Stanford researchers has developed an aluminum ion battery that offers many significant advantages over the traditional lithium-ion batteries currently used in most electronic devices and today’s electric and hybrid cars. It is lower cost, has longer life, is not a fire hazard, and has environmental benefits. [Planetsave]

World:

Solar power for Uzbekistan.

¶ An Uzbek company plans to develop power plants producing solar energy in the country by 2017. Uzbekistan’s joint-stock electro-technical company, Uzeltechsanoat plans to organize the production of PV power plants with a capacity of up to 500 KW. The project may attract direct foreign investments. [AzerNews]

¶ Japan may set a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20% by 2030 from 2005 levels, as part of efforts to strike a new global deal to combat climate change later this year. The International Energy Agency estimates that Japan can reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 24%. [The Japan Times]

¶ A company based in the world’s largest oil exporting nation, Saudi Arabia, has become the new owner of Australia’s second-largest solar plant, the under-construction 72-MW Moree PV project, after buying Spanish solar developer Fotowatio Renewable Ventures and its 3.8-GW global development pipeline. [RenewEconomy]

¶ TEPCO may evaporate or store underground tritium-laced water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant as an alternative to releasing it into the ocean. The removal of hundreds of thousands of tons of water containing tritium is one of many issues facing TEPCO as it tries to clean up the wrecked plant. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶ SunEdison, the world’s largest renewable energy development company, announced the groundbreaking for the 22.6 MW DC Seven Sisters solar project in Southern Utah. The Seven Sisters are seven separate solar power plants, four of which are located in Beaver County and three in Iron County, Utah. [Your Renewable News]

¶ The Obama administration’s plan to lower greenhouse gas emissions from power plants will also lower electric bills for customers, particularly low- and fixed-income households, as well as provide health benefits to those residents, according to a new study from the Natural Resources Defense Council. [NJ Spotlight]

¶ In the second annual survey conducted by national polling firm Zogby Analytics, 74% of Americans polled favored continuing federal tax incentives that support the growth of the solar and wind industries, including 82% of Democrats, two thirds of Republicans (67%), and 72% of Independents. [AltEnergyMag]

Wind farm. Photo by Samir Luther, Creative Commons.

¶ Commercial and industrial, governmental and educational institutions signed over 23% of wind power purchase agreements last year, for more than 1,770 MW of power. US non-utility groups are increasingly buying wind power as a hedge against rising fuel costs and reduce their environmental impact. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Washington Governor Jay Inslee proclaimed the cities of Bellevue, Edmonds, Kirkland, Mercer Island, and Seattle, Washington, “Northwest Solar Communities” on Wednesday, acknowledging their various initiatives that have increased residential solar installations by nearly 200% since 2013. [My Edmonds News]

¶ Billionaire Michael Bloomberg says he’s donating an additional $30 million to a Sierra Club initiative working to reduce the nation’s use of coal. The Sierra Club has a goal of replacing half the nation’s coal plants with renewable energy by 2017. Bloomberg had donated $50 million to the program in 2011. [Business Spectator]

¶ Michigan State University president Lou Anna K. Simon announced Wednesday that the school intends to stop burning coal by the end of 2016. A majority of coal buying and burning would end in 2015, largely by transitioning more to natural gas. Currently, the university uses coal for about a quarter of its fuel. [Great Lakes Echo]

¶ Led by solid growth in both the residential and commercial markets, Colorado ranked 13th in the nation in installed solar power capacity last year. According to the US Solar Market Insight 2014 Year in Review, Colorado added 67 MW of solar capacity, bringing its total to 398 MW, enough for over 76,000 homes. [PennEnergy]

¶ Ohio regulators have denied a price stabilization rider Duke Energy said was necessary to ensure a pair of aging coal facilities remain in operation and ensure the state’s electricity supply remains stable. The order closely mirrors a decision in February to reject a similar proposal by American Electric Power. [Utility Dive]

Science and Technology:

¶ A research team at Rice University has just come out with a new study showing that oil-rich algae can thrive on municipal wastewater, which means that biodiesel or “black gold” could also be in the works. The study found cyanobacteria can convert more than 80% of lipids into a type of biodiesel. [CleanTechnica]

Wastewater tanks in experiment at Rice University.

World:

¶ Solar and wind power are now the cheapest sources of new energy supply in the United Arab Emirates, according to a new report published today. The study was conducted by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Renewable Energy Agency, and Masdar Institute of Science and Technology. [Click Green]

¶ Australia’s power generation and transport fuel use will be left to the market to decide, the Abbott government says in its energy white paper, which does not discuss climate change as a driver of energy policy. The government says it will not push new technologies to try to reduce greenhouse emissions. [The Guardian]

¶ In Australia, the Labor party has announced it is backing the Clean Energy Council’s compromise position on Australia’s Renewable Energy Target. Late last month, The Clean Energy Council proposed a compromise target for large-scale renewable energy in Australia of 33,500 GWh by 2020. [Energy Matters]

¶ Researchers at Germany’s Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg and Japan’s Gifu University are collaborating on a slew of energy projects as part of concerted efforts ranging from intelligent integration of PV into the grid to green power-to-gas energy storage. [eco-business.com]

¶ London-based solar developer, Lightsource Renewable Energy, has revealed that it connected over 300 MW of PV capacity in March. It energised 27 solar farms prior to renewable obligation support for projects greater than five MW being scrapped. The company has a target of owning 1 GW of UK solar capacity. [Solar Power Portal]

¶ According to data collected by the Fukushima Prefecture, 2014 saw 1,232 nuclear-related deaths. The two towns with the greatest number of deaths were both near the Fukushima plant: Namie, with 359 dead; and Tomioka, with 291 dead. A nuclear-related death is from a disease caused by radiation exposure. [Center for Research on Globalization]

US:

Cohocton Wind Farm in New York

¶ New York State has issued a $160 million call for clean energy projects. Eligible renewable energy sources include wind farms, solar projects, fuel cells, biomass facilities, renewable biogas and the upgrading of small-sized to medium-sized hydropower projects that provide power to the electric grid. [reNews]

¶ The American Wind Energy Association points to a “wind rush” in areas such as the Great Lakes states and the Southeastern US. Not only are turbines growing taller to reach higher altitude winds, but wind turbine blades are growing longer, and the price of wind energy is dropping as a result. [CleanTechnica]

¶ TVA has long been under pressure from environmental groups to make more use of energy efficiency as a power resource, but now the agency is seeing some pushback on that idea from some of the power distributors it serves who question the costs of that approach. Of course, efficiency means reduced sales. [Knoxville News Sentinel]

¶ A developer wants to build Maine’s largest solar-electric project at an abandoned Navy radar site, but the venture hinges on the Maine Legislature passing a proposed law aimed in part at creating financial incentives for solar power. The project would be 2.8 MW, enough power for 58,000 homes. [Press Herald]

¶ By the end of August, solar power should be part of Entergy Mississippi’s electricity-generation repertoire. The utility broke ground Tuesday on one of three solar projects it plans in Jackson, Senatobia and Brookhaven as part of its $4.5 million Bright Future Plan. It’s the first large-scale solar project in the state. [Jackson Clarion Ledger]

¶ A Republican push to expand solar power in North Carolina may stand the best chance yet of ending a state ban that prevents independent energy developers from selling electricity directly to customers. The Energy Freedom Act would inject a free-market alternative into the state’s strictly regulated utility market. [Charlotte Observer]

¶ The growth of microgrid deployment in the US continues, with the latest project seeing a range of distributed generating technologies coupled with smart grid technology and storage. Network operator Oncor has labeled a Dallas area project with four interconnected microgrids the “most advanced microgrid in North America.” [pv magazine]

¶ DONG Energy has agreed to take over RES Americas Developments Inc’s newly assigned development project rights off the coast of Massachusetts, which could support production of over 1000 MW. Entering the US offshore wind market earmarks DONG Energy’s entry into the first project outside Europe. [Your Renewable News]

World:

¶ Starting in June, defense companies will join NATO to test the military’s ability to use renewable power in combat and humanitarian operations. About 1,000 North Atlantic Treaty Organization soldiers will spend 12 days deploying wind turbines, solar panels and self-contained power grids in Hungary. [Bloomberg]

The solar flower has been developed by Austria’s Smartflower Energy Technology GmbH. Source: Smartflower Energy Technology GmbH

¶ Solar PV is already upturning the business models of utilities around the world, yet right now it contributes just 1 per cent of global electricity demand. Imagine what its impact will be when it grows another tenfold in the coming decade. Deutsche Bank expects solar to become a $5 trillion market by 2030. [RenewEconomy]

¶ The Guardian Media Group, publisher of the award-winning newspapers Guardian and Observer, has announced that it will sell off all fossil fuel assets in its £800 million investment portfolio. Neil Berkett, Chairman of the Guardian Media Group, justified the decision citing financial and ethical reasons. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The first grid-connected hybrid flywheel project in Europe has been announced and is to be sited in the Irish midlands. The development in storage will be welcomed by renewable energy industries as the technologies they offer continue to make inroads in affordability, cost effectiveness and grid stability. [PennEnergy]

¶ China is slowly starting to march away from coal power, and a new development could turn that slow march into an all-out run. Renewable energy company UGE International teamed up with financial experts Blue Sky Energy Efficiency to offer the first ever power purchase agreements to customers in China. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Azerbaijan plans to use the windy Caspian Sea to expand its alternative energy potential. The country has started work on the development of the area of the Caspian Sea to create wind farms there. The country’s potential of renewable energy sources exceeds 12,000 MW, of which 4,500 MW is from wind. [AzerNews]

¶ Toshiba announced the opening of the Toshiba Group Hydrogen Energy Research & Development Center in western Tokyo. The center will concentrate on Group-wide initiatives to realize a hydrogen economy. Toshiba Group aims to increase the sales of hydrogen-related business to $1 billion by 2020. [AZoCleantech]

¶ An experimental project is under way in Japan to generate hydrogen from wind power as a step toward achieving a zero-emission hydrogen-powered society. The experiment is at a wind power producing facility in waters about a kilometer off Kabashima island, one of the Goto Islands in Nagasaki Prefecture. [Asahi Shimbun]

¶ Radiation from Japan’s 2011 Fukushima Disaster has for the first time been detected along a North American shoreline, though at levels too low to pose a significant threat to human or marine life, scientists said on Monday. Traces of Cesium-134 and Cesium-137 were in samples collected on Vancouver Island. [Newsweek]

US:

¶ Module installation has wrapped up at the 250-MW Copper Mountain Solar 3 project by Sempra US Gas & Power and Consolidated Edison Development. Cupertino Electric fitted the last of more than a million units at the facility in Boulder City, Nevada. The 1400-acre project broke ground in early 2013. [reNews]

Installation work on the Copper Mountain 3 project (Cupertino)

¶ According to a new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association, Vermont added 38 MW of solar energy capacity in 2014. This brings the state’s total installed solar capacity to 70 MW, enough to power approximately 7,500 average homes. $76 million was invested in Vermont solar last year. [Hydrogen Fuel News]

¶ Americans are installing rooftop solar power systems at an unprecedented rate, but not everyone can is doing it. In many states, unfavorable rules still make it too hard or expensive for homeowners and companies to go solar. Solar advocates say the utilities are largely to blame for the mismatch in policies. [International Business Times]

¶ NextEra Energy Resources LLC, the biggest renewable-energy power company in North America, is spending another $640 million on two massive new wind farms in eastern Colorado. That’s on top of roughly $2 billion it has already invested in Colorado wind farms collectively generating 1,175 MW. [Pacific Business News (Honolulu)]

¶ After stopping additional solar installations for 18 months, Hawaiian Electric Co now says it can handle more solar and is clearing a backlog of applications from homeowners who have been waiting to get rooftop systems connected. The utility has processed requests from 2,543 customers on Oahu. [Environment & Energy Publishing]

Recent Articles that Should Not be Missed:

¶ “A Reagan approach to climate change” George Shultz says observations of a changing climate are simple and clear, so he concludes that the globe is warming and that carbon dioxide has something to do with that fact. He says those who say otherwise will wind up being mugged by reality, and he proposes a carbon tax. [Washington Post]

Mountaintop removal mine in Pike County, Kentucky just off U.S. 23. Photo by Matt Wasson, Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Coal companies are in trouble because of low prices. They keep pulling coal out of the ground, taking a steady loss rather than one big write-down, in the hope that prices will bounce back. That, of course, is only adding to the supply glut in the US, the world’s second-biggest producer, and driving prices down further. [Bloomberg] (Thanks to Tom Finnell.)

World:

¶ One of the more hilarious criticisms of renewable energy is that it costs too much. A report says the economies of China, the EU, and the US could save as much as $500 billion a year in fossil fuel imports alone if they switched to 100% renewable energy. There would be many other large benefits as well. [CleanTechnica]

¶ One of Scotland’s first-ever solar farms would be erected near a quarry in the town of Wormit, if ambitious proposals are given the go-ahead. The proposal is for a 27-acre solar farm that would generate 4 MW of clean, renewable energy, enough to power around 1360 homes, according to the developer. [Fife Today]

¶ Turkey’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister says the country would add 4,000 MW to its production capacity this year, 95% of which will come from local and renewable resources. The government aims to increase the share of local and renewable sources in electricity production to 30% by 2023. [Daily Sabah]

¶ Egypt is facing a lack of fuel, causing energy shortages that escalate during summer months; the government is often required to cut power at some areas to reduce pressure on the overloaded grid. Solar PVs with 13,900 kW capacity are being built in ministries’ and governmental installations. [The Cairo Post]

¶ The Philippine National Police will go solar as the Department of Energy installs renewable energy generating facilities in some offices inside the police’s national headquarters in Quezon City. The PNP Sports Center and Center for Law Enforcement Studies are sites. The intent is to cut electricity bills. [Inquirer.net]

¶ The UAE Government is planning to build solar power plants with a combined capacity of 100 MW in Northern Emirates at a cost of $136m. The plants will be built in collaboration with the private sector, and are aimed at reducing the cost of energy production and lowering carbon emissions. [Clean Technology Business Review]

US:

Vestas V47-660kW wind turbine at the American Wind Power Center museum of Wind Power in Lubbock. Photo by Diane Turner from Arlington, United States, Wikimedia Commons.

¶ One of the top utility companies in the US, Pacific Gas & Electric, recently achieved a new milestone with regard to solar energy — the company now has more than 150,000 solar customers connected to the wider electric grid. PG&E currently connects an average of 4,000 new solar customers every month. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Tennessee Valley Authority’s draft Integrated Resource Plan for the next 20 years says under most scenarios TVA would benefit by importing at least 1,750 MW of wind power from Texas and Oklahoma. Clean Line Energy LLC wants to bring about twice that amount to the Tennessee Valley. [Chattanooga Times Free Press]

¶ Leading national companies in North Carolina want more choice and competition when it comes to energy, including where it comes from and who they buy it from. That’s the message recently delivered to the North Carolina legislature in a letter signed by 10 corporate giants in the state. [Energy Collective]

Opinion:

¶ “Why not talk more about a nuclear-free future for Japan?” Former Lower House member Satoshi Shima, 56, said emphatically in an interview, “In my view, Japan does have energy politics but has no energy policy.” In Shima’s opinion, “politics” is about making arrangements as to who will gain profits. [Asahi Shimbun]

Science and Technology:

Geothermal Engineering wants to recycle fracking wells.

¶ The Cornwall-based company Geothermal Engineering is pushing forward with an idea to ‘recycle’ used and exhausted fracking wells from the oil and gas industries as geothermal power sources. It is designing a system that could potentially deliver both shale gas and also ‘renewable’ geothermal heat. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ At the turn of the 21st century, Germany became a leader in the biogas industry, as aggressive policy framework and sudden business opportunities drove many biogas companies to open headquarters in the country. But now, with changing laws, the work is shifting to the US and Canada. [Biomass Magazine]

¶ Barbados will save millions of dollars and remove thousands of barrels of oil from its import bill under a renewable energy program focussed on solar and wind resources. That’s one of the major findings of the to Barbados Wind and Solar Integration Study commissioned by Barbados Light & Power Company. [Nation News]

¶ A new report from Deloitte, After analysing the energy markets in seven European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and UK) says that the EU needs to revisit its energy market design. Predictions on technology of a decade ago failed, and policies failed to solve some problems. [Times of Malta]

¶ Renewable energy is growing across Japan. In increasing numbers, new facilities have been starting operations, spurred by the review of the nation’s energy policies that followed the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. Hopes are high for the promotion of industry, but hurdles remain for further expansion. [The Japan News]

¶ The Ceylon Electricity Board intends to provide electricity to over 20,000 families throughout the country, by year’s end. They will receive their electricity connections through 150 primary rural electrification projects, which will be initiated throughout the country, together with new transmission lines. [Sunday Leader]

¶ The UK’s National Trust will begin campaigning aggressively for action to combat the impact of climate change, which it says threatens the quiet landscape and atmosphere it was set up to shield. The Trust’s director general says its charity status does not mean it cannot speak out on the issue. [Kentucky Post Pioneer]

The UK’s National Trust aims to protect the British countryside.

US:

¶ The Vermont Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee passed a resolution Friday declaring that human-caused climate change is real and calls on the state to take steps to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. The resolution has 14 sponsors and is intended to show lawmakers take climate change seriously. [vtdigger.org] (Thanks to Julia Michel of VPIRG for forwarding the article.)

¶ Recent refinements in heat pump technology, a drop in solar panel prices and the advent of electric cars mean that the average Maine home now can power its lights, heat, hot water and transportation with electricity from the sun. The trouble is, the state’s government and regulators are not ready for solar. [Press Herald]

¶ Maine became the regional wind power leader under Democratic Governor John Baldacci, but current Governor Paul LePage has pursued policies based on the idea that wind power is too expensive. He looks to hydropower from Canada and natural gas to bring down the state’s exceptionally high electricity prices. [Lewiston Sun Journal]

¶ California has a giant reservoir to its west that could supply it with water. It is called the Pacific Ocean. With new state policy, desalination plants and related technology are being introduced or revived in the state. The $1 billion Carlsbad desalination plant, south of Los Angeles, is scheduled to open in 2016. [USA TODAY]

Opinion:

¶ “Fission may fizzle as nuclear power reacts to economics” Proponents of the nuclear power sector say their technology is the perfect way to fill a void as coal plants close. But they also acknowledge that in the age of cheap natural gas, the economic headwinds might be too strong to allow a nuclear renaissance. [Houston Chronicle]

World:

Energy is a key issue in the election

¶ Energy was identified as a key issue in A Manifesto for Yorkshire, published by The Yorkshire Post to ensure this region’s challenges are addressed in the election campaign. The manifesto calls for the next Government to support the Humber’s ambition to become the Silicon Valley of the offshore wind industry. [Yorkshire Post]

¶ The World Bank is supporting Kenya’s efforts to improve the quality of electricity supply for its citizens with a loan of $457.5 million. The country is working on solar, nuclear, wind, and geothermal power sources. It is drilling one of the world’s biggest geothermal wells (about 50 wells have been sunk). [Ventures Africa]

¶ The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis estimates that the share of coal-generated electricity in China will decline from 72.5% in 2014 to 60% in 2020. While last year’s drop in coal use may have been a technical blip, Chinese coal consumption is expected to peak very soon, probably next year. [Journal of Turkish Weekly]

¶ The sharp drop off of drilling activity in the offshore oil and gas industry, including the UK’s North Sea, means offshore services contractors are now seriously under-employed. Day rates have been dramatically reduced. And industry experts predict the capital expenditures savings could be in the order of 15-20%. [Proactive Investors UK]

US:

¶ Since President Obama took office, solar electricity generation has increased 20 fold, doubling last year alone. The solar industry is adding good-paying jobs 10 times faster than the rest of the economy. The Administration intends to drive growth in the solar industry further while also supporting our veterans. [Imperial Valley News]

Prairie – CC BY 2.0 Joshua Mayer

¶ A new study from researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows that corn and soy, two crops commonly used for biofuels, are expanding into previously un-farmed prairie. Ethanol has driven up the domestic demand for corn. In 2014, over 40% of corn grown in the US was used to make ethanol. [Treehugger]

¶ California broke ground Tuesday on its $68 billion high-speed rail method, promising to combat international warming while whisking travelers among Los Angeles and San Francisco in much less than 3 hours. The train is a step toward California getting half its power from renewable power by 2030. [Connecticut Bulletin Standard]

¶ Minnesota Power reported 2014 energy savings in its annual Conservation Improvement Program filing. Total energy saved in 2014 was 2.5% of eligible retail sales, well above the state goal of 1.5%. Minnesota Power has delivered at or above the 1.5% savings target since the goal went into effect in 2010. [Herald Review]

¶ Some Florida lawmakers and lobbyists say that anyone who has attempted to expand the rooftop solar industry has been ostracized. The reason, they say, is that Florida’s largest utilities have invested heavily in state political campaigns; they have put $12 million into the campaigns of state lawmakers since 2010. [TBO.com]

¶ Research from Duke University on jobs relating to electricity production says jobs based on coal declined by nearly 50,000 from 2008 to 2012. The figures for coal are probably even starker since 2012, as the rate of coal plant retirement has increased. During the same period, wind and solar added about 79,000 jobs. [Greentech Media]

¶ New wind turbine technology is a game changer for clean energy opportunities. Taller turbines and longer blades are capable of capturing more wind, which results in generating more electricity and reducing costs. In just five years, wind turbines have greatly evolved and are now more suitable for the South. [Clean Energy News]

World:

Industry projections show that onshore wind will supply over 10 per cent of the UK’s total electricity annually by 2020

¶ Onshore wind can become the most cost-effective electricity source by 2020, according to the a taskforce set up by Renewable UK. Their new report claims that onshore wind can deliver the cheapest electricity of all power sources by 2020, driving down fuel bills across households throughout the UK. [E&T magazine]

¶ According to Red Electrica de Espana, the Spanish peninsula got 69% percent of its electricity generation in March from technologies that produce zero carbon emissions. Nuclear as a whole provided 23.8% of the country’s electricity in March, while 47% came solely from renewable sources. [ThinkProgress]

¶ With the development process of the first gigafactory apparently going quite smoothly, Tesla Motors seems already busy courting Japanese battery suppliers with regard to a potential second gigafactory. This possible second gigafactory would be located outside of North America in the near future. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Kazakhstan-based power producer JSC Samruk-Energo intends to build a 50-MW solar farm near Kapshagay city, with potential for a later expansion to 100 MW, according to a report. Several wind farm projects of around 50 MW each are also planned for the Shelek corridor and Yereimentau city. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Canadian Solar Inc announced that it energized four projects totaling 40.2 MWp in the United Kingdom. The projects have combined capacity of 40.2 MWp. Two more solar projects are expected to be connected in the second quarter of 2015. The six projects will produce about 50,183 MWh per year. [RenewablesBiz]

¶ There is a growing possibility that Japan will rely on nuclear energy for more than 20% of its total power output in 2030, compared with about 30% before the Fukushima Disaster, according to sources. All of the nation’s nuclear power plants have remained offline since the Fukushima Disaster. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶ SolarCity continues to beat its own electricity generation milestones at mind-blowing rates. SolarCity just surpassed the 5 GWh/day benchmark. This was just two weeks after reaching 4 GWh/day of electricity generation. And that is an increase of 40% from last year, when it reached 3 GWh/day in April 2014. [CleanTechnica]

¶ In recent years, 180 institutions, including philanthropies, religious organizations, pension funds, and local governments have pledged to sell over $50 billion in assets tied to fossil fuel companies and to invest in cleaner alternatives. Hundreds of wealthy individual investors have pledged another $1 billion. [CounterPunch]

SunGen Sharon Solar Farm in Sharon, Vermont. Photo by SayCheeeeeese, Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Showing strong growth in all market sectors, Vermont more than doubled its amount of installed solar capacity in 2014, according to the US Solar Market Insight 2014 Year in Review. Vermont was one of only four states nationwide to have 100% of its new electrical capacity come from solar energy. [AltEnergyMag]

¶ A variety of factors relating to technology, policies, and financing may allow New York to reduce offshore wind energy costs by 50% by 2022. Offshore wind energy cost reductions will enable New York to act independently or collaborate with other states to advance utility-scale renewable generation development. [Breaking Energy]

¶ If Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories’ manufacturing plant in Pullman, Washington, loses power during an outage, the company can turn to huge batteries on its campus for electricity. The batteries could supply enough power to run most of the factory’s operations for about three hours. [The Spokesman Review]

¶ A new report by the US Energy Information Administration finds in New England electric rates went up an average of 9% last year. Vermont’s Green Mountain Power, however, reduced rates by 2.46%. GMP has kept rates low for customers through a mix of things, including innovative products and services. [vtdigger.org]

¶ Fossil fuel funded efforts are underway to undermine or end renewable portfolio standards across the United States. In 2014, as in past years, these efforts largely failed, and only Ohio enacted legislation to roll back its long-term clean energy targets. But 2015 may turn out to be different. [Energy Collective]

¶ Duke Energy plans to install as much as 500 MW of solar power in Florida by 2024, which would more than triple the capacity of the state. Duke’s Florida utility plans to start building the first site this year and complete 35 megawatts of solar power by 2018. Florida currently has 234 MW solar capacity. [Bloomberg]

World:

Windfarm at daybreak.

¶ The global wind market can expect continued growth for the rest of the decade, according the Global Wind Energy Council. They suggest the market will top 50 GW again in 2015 and reach 60 GW per year by 2018. China will lead growth, the body said, and seems on track to hit 200 GW ahead of its 2020 target. [reNews]

¶ Some of the world’s leading solar power project developers have signed memoranda of understanding to set up 40 GW of solar power projects in the Indian state of Rajasthan over the next 5 years. The state government, which came to power about a year ago, has set a target to add 25 GW over the next 5 years.[CleanTechnica]

¶ In a major new report, global investment bank Citigroup has defined the current battle between cheap oil, and renewables like wind and solar, to be so fundamental it will define the future of energy. But it says renewables will win out because of basic economics, energy security, and environment and issues. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Thirty-three countries, which together produce 40% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, submitted their emission reduction targets to the UN climate body, which could boost efforts to reach a new global agreement later this year to combat climate change. Two of the 33 countries are the US and Russia. [The Japan Times]

¶ European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič said smart grids are crucial for EU single energy market plans as they could integrate more renewables, boost security of the energy supply and help lower prices for consumers. He said they can reduce the infrastructure capacity needed by up to 30%. [EurActiv]

¶ The UK Green Investment Bank raised £463 million for its offshore wind fund, with support from pension funds and a sovereign wealth fund. The bank aims to raise £1 billion through the fund, which it says is the world’s first to be dedicated to offshore wind power and is expected to last 25 years. [Clean Technology Business Review]

¶ The renewable energy industry of southwestern England has been dealt a major blow after the company responsible for the electricity network said it had reached capacity for “green” schemes. The grid is being temporarily closed to new, large-scale renewable energy projects for the next three to six years. [Western Morning News]

¶ Some UK coal-fed power stations are at risk of halting for the summer after the doubling of a carbon emissions levy hurt the profitability of plants run by utilities. The UK carbon price support, designed to help fight global warming, increased by 88% on April 1, causing one measure of profitability to drop 53%. [Bloomberg]

¶ Around 400 workers set to be out of work after EDF said it was not prepared to carry on spending millions of pounds every month on the new Hinkley nuclear power station, until it knew for certain the deal to go ahead with the entire project had been sealed. EDF said it hoped it would be a temporary lay-off. [Gloucestershire Echo]

Construction at the Hinkley C nuclear plant.

US:

¶ Texas is once again undergoing a surge of wind generation installations at a time when wholesale power prices are already on the floor, and zero pricing due to existing wind generation is prevalent. This brings up a question: Are big baseload power providers in Texas facing troubled times like those in Germany? [Platts]

¶ The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power can significantly expand its use of solar energy to replace the coal-fired generation the utility is dropping from its supply mix, according to a study. The department, which provides power to 3.8 million customers, gets about 42% of its electricity from coal. [Argus Media]

¶ SunEdison and TerraForm Power have announced the interconnection of four solar power stations in North Carolina. TerraForm will sell the electricity generated by the solar facilities, which have a collective capacity of 26 MW, to Duke Energy Progress via 15-year Power Purchase Agreements. [Energy Matters]

¶ US developer NextEra Energy Resources proposes to install up to 87 GE turbines at the 150-MW Dickinson wind project in North Dakota. The Stark County scheme would feature 80 1.1715-MW and 7 1.79-MW turbines. The project area covers some 39,000 acres about 75 miles west of Bismarck. [reNews]

¶ The East Coast’s solar irradiance was below average by as much as 5% in 2014, negatively impacting performance of its solar sites. The West Coast’s irradiance levels were up to 10% higher than average. This can be seen in maps released by Vaisala, a global leader in environmental and industrial measurement. [Renewable Energy Focus]

Science and Technology:

¶ Siemens has published a study to determine the actual environmental impact of wind energy, from manufacturing through construction and operation. It found an offshore wind farm with 80 turbines saved as much CO2 as would be absorbed by a Central European forest of 1,286 square km (496 square miles). [CleanTechnica]

¶ Researchers from the University of Delaware have found a new catalyst to produce inexpensive hydrogen fuel that could be more attractive to consumers and businesses alike. Fuel cells are notoriously expensive because they are made using platinum-based catalysts. The new catalyst uses copper and titanium. [Hydrogen Fuel News]

¶ A Scottish project is using horizontal directional drilling to create cable bores to link the onshore site with four subsea tidal turbines, said project owner Atlantis Resources. Trenchless techniques such as HDD are playing an important role in several upcoming renewable energy projects involving offshore installations. [Trenchless International]

World:

German CO2 emissions are on the decline.

¶ German CO2 emissions fell for the first time in three years as the country’s high-profile switch to renewable energy takes hold. CO2 emissions dropped by more than 41 million tonnes last year, a drop of 4.3%, according to data from Germany’s UBA environment agency, and a 27% decline on 1990 levels. [Business Green]

¶ Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the world’s largest turbine maker, agreed to supply equipment with 53 MW of capacity for a project in western Finland. Vestas expects to deliver the 16 3.3-MW turbines to EPV Tuulivoima in the first quarter of next year. The order includes a six-year service agreement. [Bloomberg]

¶ The 2014 China Wind Power Installation Capacity Statistics just released by the Chinese Wind Energy Association indicate that in 2014 China added 61 offshore wind power units with a total capacity of 229.3 MW. This is an increase of 487.9% from the 39 MW of offshore wind power capacity added in 2013. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Global investment in renewable power and fuels reached $270.2 billion last year, nearly 17% higher than in 2013. Together, wind, solar, biomass and waste-to-power, geothermal, small hydro and marine power are estimated to have generated 9.1% of the world’s electricity in 2014, compared to 8.5%. [Phys.Org]

¶ Changes to UK support for solar power will deter farmers from building projects in rural areas as Prime Minister David Cameron’s government says the countryside is being blighted by unsightly panels. The switch reinforces a program started in October to remove subsidies for farmers that use solar. [Bloomberg]

¶ The first fund dedicated to supporting offshore wind-power projects has raised almost half of its £1 billion ($1.5 billion) target, drawing support from pension investors and a major sovereign wealth manager. The UK Green Investment Bank raised £463 million and is still seeking capital for five to eight projects. [Bloomberg]

¶ Samsung SDI and ABB are partnering to develop and sell modular, scalable microgrids. The agreement is for ABB to provide specific solutions for electrification, control optimization, and stabilization, and for Samsung SDI to provide lithium-ion batteries and battery management systems. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Nagasaki prefecture plans to become Asia’s first major testing site for renewable marine energy, offering support for companies, scientists and government officials looking to better understand floating wind farms and other marine power technology. Marine energy includes wave, tide and current power.[Wall Street Journal]

US:

Solar in Hawaii.

¶ Up to $100 million dollars will be invested for new solar PV systems through a partnership between the State of Hawaii, Clean Power Finance, Panasonic Eco Solutions, and the Coronal Group. The main target audience for the new solar systems is underserved non-profit organizations that can save on utility bills. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Southern Co is acquiring a wind project in Oklahoma that will be the Atlanta-based company’s largest renewable electric generating plant to date. A subsidiary is acquiring the 299-MW Kay Wind facility in Oklahoma from Apex Clean Energy. Apex said it had closed on a $397 million loan for the project. [Atlanta Journal Constitution]

¶ In 2013, yearly electricity generation from solar trailed every renewable energy technology in California except small hydro. But over the course of a year, solar generation more than doubled in the state, making it the second-biggest provider of renewable electricity in 2014 behind wind. [Greentech Media]

¶ Plant officials from the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar nuclear facility said during a senior management meeting presentation that Unit 2, currently under construction, is expected to reach commercial operations on December 13, 2015. That would make it the first nuclear reactor added since 1996. [POWER magazine]

Science and Technology:

Australian concentrated solar photovoltaic project

¶ A fully grid-connected, first of its kind, concentrated solar photovoltaic power tower was unveiled in Newbridge, Victoria, Australia. Some believe it could reduce the cost of solar-based electricity around the world. The project has an ultra efficient concentrated photovoltaic receiver and a heliostat collector field. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Cheap oil will do “little to derail” the long-term growth of renewable power, according to Citigroup. Oil generates about 5% of global electricity and doesn’t generally compete directly with wind and solar. Only 11 countries get more than 20% of their electricity from oil, mainly in the Middle East and the Caribbean. [Bloomberg]

¶ Doctors and other health professionals have urged the UK government to impose an immediate moratorium on fracking for shale gas and oil after a report showed the controversial drilling technique generates “numerous” public health risks. The Medact report warns of cancer, birth defects and lung disease. [Business Green]

World:

¶ In a poll ahead of the general election, 79% of Scottish adults believe the next UK Government should implement policies to continue to develop renewable energy. Just 26% back fracking for shale gas, 45% support new nuclear power stations, and 49% in favour building or extending coal and gas-fired plants. [Your Renewable News]

¶ Italian developer Enel Green Power has secured a €160m loan with KfW IPEX-Bank to finance the 111-MW Gibson Bay wind farm in South Africa. Gibson Bay, sited in Eastern Cape, will feature 37 turbines and generate some 420 GWh a year. Enel won rights to 513 MW of wind projects in bidding in 2013. [reNews]

¶ Moody’s Investors Service says that the impact of carbon reduction policies is rising globally, creating credit risks in carbon-intensive industries but, at the same time, driving significant innovation and change across many industrial sectors. However, even the most affected sectors enjoy some mitigating factors. [Business Standard]

¶ Rich nations provided around five times as much in export subsidies for fossil-fuel technology as for renewables over a decade, data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says. The figures on export credits are central to a debate on targeting funding ahead of UN climate talks. [Independent Online]

¶ UK renewable energy investment company Low Carbon has commissioned five new solar parks with a combined 84.3 MW of capacity, bringing the company’s portfolio to 157.7 MW. The installations are set to produce enough electricity to power more than 25,300 UK homes and avoid 36,000 tonnes of CO2 a year. [Business Green]

¶ Simply Blue Energy, an Irish offshore energy company, is the developer of an offshore wave energy park expected to cost about £45 million. The venture will see around 200 generators off the coast of Cornwall, providing a 10-MW generating capacity. This will make it the largest wave energy park in the world. [Irish Independent]

Irish offshore energy company Blue Energy, seen here working off the coast of Sweden last year, lands major UK contract.

US:

¶ When the city council of Fort Collins, Colorado voted to reduce carbon emissions 80% by 2030 and be carbon neutral by 2050, it seemed the local utility might be doomed. But the utility decided to employ a new integrated utility services model, which provides on-bill financing and other services. [GreenBiz]

¶ The Interior and Energy Departments and the Army Corps of Engineers have extended their Memorandum of Understanding for Hydropower for another five years. The MOU’s extension aligns with goals for increasing renewably energy generation by improving the federal permitting process. [Your Renewable News]

¶ Green Mountain Power installed a Vermont-built Northern Power 100-kW wind turbine at a family farm as part of its commitment to generating more local, small-scale renewable energy in Vermont. It can produce about 155,000 kWh per year, equal to the amount of electricity used by 25 homes. [vtdigger.org]

¶ The Platte River Power Authority, a wholesale power generation company owned by Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland, signed an agreement with Boulder-based Juwi Solar to develop, design, build and operate the 22-megawatt solar energy facility at the Rawhide Energy Station. [The Coloradoan]

¶ Austin Energy will seek up to 600 MW in utility-scale solar contracts next month. The city’s municipal utility is facing a 500 MW shortfall identified last year in its resource and reliability plan, the newspaper reported. Austin has set a goal to meet more than half of its demand through renewables by 2025. [Utility Dive]

World:

Gaelectric invests in wind energy projects in Kilkenny and Tipperary

¶ Irish renewable energy company Gaelectric announced its acquisition of interests in wind energy projects in counties Kilkenny and Tipperary. The Ballybay Wind Farm in County Kilkenny will comprise six 2.3-MW turbines. Cnoc Wind Farm, in County Tipperary, will have five 2.3-MW turbines. [Businessandleadership.com]

¶ Renewable power is taking a central place in a European energy union. Worldwide, since 2011, more new renewable energy has been installed than fossil and nuclear power combined. With over a million jobs and a turnover of €130 billion, renewable power is now the mainstream in Europe. [The Baltic Course]

¶ Toshiba Hydro Power (Hangzhou) Co, Ltd, a subsidiary that manufactures, sells and maintains hydroelectric equipment, has won a major order to supply four units of 77-MW hydro turbine and generator for Myanmar Electric Power Enterprise’s Upper Yeywa hydropower plant in northeast of Mandalay.[Bernama]

¶ Houthaven, once one of Europe’s busiest timber ports, is on course to become one of the world’s first carbon neutral neighbourhoods. The Government-launched project is aimed at transforming the region from an industrial centre into the leading environmentally friendly residential district by 2022. [solarserver.com]

¶ EON SE, Germany’s biggest utility, filed to close two unprofitable gas-fired power plants used to ensure the country has enough supply to meet peaks in demand. The plants “have no prospect of operating profitably when the current contract with the network operator expires in March 2016,” EON said. [Bloomberg]

¶ Solar Impulse 2 has taken off from an airport in Myanmar bound for China in the most challenging stage so far of a planned flight around the world. If all goes well, the plane will land at Chongqing’s airport sometime after midnight local time (16:00 UTC) following a flight of between 18 and 19 hours. [Deutsche Welle]

Solar Impulse 2

US:

¶ Maine is positioning itself as a player in Arctic politics, which could increase opportunities for Maine’s climate researchers and for businesses in the advanced materials, construction, marine transportation, renewable power and logistics sectors. Governor LePage supports taking advantage of climate change. [Press Herald] (LePage had earlier called climate change “a scam.”)

¶ For almost 40 years, Northern Power Systems, based in Barre, Vermont, has combined quality and innovation in the manufacture of wind turbines. And the company, which built the first turbine in New York City, is now partnering with companies across the globe to increase the generation of clean energy. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

¶ California’s electrical grid has a problem, a nice problem, but a problem nonetheless: The state often has too much power. The state’s aging natural gas plants aren’t nimble enough to turn off when the sun starts shining and then quickly switch back on when it gets dark, making energy storage important. [Oroville Mercury Register]

¶ A report commissioned for a Milwaukee-based energy collaborative says the global market for the energy storage market will grow by 400% by 2020, with some segments growing at 40% a year. Better battery technology combined with renewable energy can provide protection from high utility costs. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

¶ Iberdrola Renewables is seeking applicants for its 2015 Wildlife Protection Program grants. The company has an ongoing “Legacy of Caring” campaign, giving grants to avian rehabilitation groups, who play important roles in rehabilitation and scientific understanding of birds of prey. [Your Renewable News]

¶ A slim majority of Americans, 51%, now favor the use of nuclear energy for electricity, while 43% oppose it. This level of support is similar to what Gallup found two years ago, but it is down from the peak of 62% five years ago. Current support is on the low end of what Gallup has found in the past 20 years. [Gallup.com]

Opinion:

¶ “Plant Closure Opportunity: Hitting Those Clean Energy Notes” San Diego Gas & Electric is trying to convince Californians that when one power plant closes, another needs to be built. EDF and other environmental groups are not buying it. Neither is the California Public Utilities Commission. Neither should we. [Energy Collective]

World:

Krško Nuclear Power Plant in Slovenia during a flood in 2010. Photo by MORS, Wikimedia Commons.

¶ The Austrian Chancellor met with his Croatian and Slovenian counterparts as well as the European Commission Vice President recently for talks on energy cooperation. The Austrian Chancellor criticized a nuclear power plant in Slovenia, again asserting his country’s opposition to nuclear power as unsustainable. [Xinhua]

¶ German energy utility RWE disclosed it was in talks with an unnamed Gulf investor, raising hopes that it could receive fresh funds and emerge from a crisis that has saddled it with €31 billion ($33.6 billion) of debt. The 117-year-old German group is desperately looking for ways to reinvent its business model. [Gulf Business News]

¶ Nigeria’s integrated information and communication technology company, Omatek Ventures Plc, commissioned a solar solution factory to produce solar off-grid, on-grid inverters, batteries, solar panels as well as LED bulbs. It hopes to reduce electric power consumption in Nigeria by as a much as 85%. [Leadership Newspapers]

¶ Documents reveal that companies have applied to more than treble Ireland’s existing data centre capacity within three years. Apple announced plans for an €850m data centre in Galway, and others such as Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, Google are also coming. The wind industry is expanding to meet new needs. [Irish Independent]

¶ The US Trade and Development Agency has awarded a grant to the Cong Ly Construction-Trade-Tourism Company to develop a 300-MW wind power project in Vietnam. Cong Ly, a private sector firm that operates the only near-offshore wind project in Vietnam, is expanding the Bac Lieu Wind Farm. [The Maritime Executive]

¶ NB Power and Nova Scotia Power will pilot a model of co-operative dispatch between the two provinces, enabling optimization of their power plants while ensuring both provinces continue to meet their renewable energy and emissions standards. The 12-month pilot will use current tie-line capacity. [Sackville Tribune Post]

US:

Energy Systems Integration Facility at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. (Photo by Dennis Schroeder / NREL)

¶ State utility regulators, including those in Colorado, are increasingly changing how business is done. The century-old business plan for utilities, with rates based on investments in big power plants and lines, is not working well now. Demand is slowing with increased energy efficiency and rooftop solar. [The Denver Post]

¶ Even as the US oil industry slashes investment, pipeline operator Enbridge Energy isn’t paring back its record five-year, $44 billion building program. The company’s CEO said in an interview that the 50% drop in crude oil prices since June is dire for the industry, but hasn’t changed the economics of pipelines. [Bakken.com]

¶ The biggest player in the beleaguered nuclear power industry wants to collect extra money for producing carbon-free electricity. Exelon Corp says it could have to close three nuclear plants if Illinois rejects their pitch to receive benefits intended for solar, wind, and hydroelectric as low carbon technologies. [Quincy Journal]

Opinion:

¶ “Can This Utility Business Model Embrace Efficiency & Solar Without Sacrificing Revenue?” The utility would need to weave together various products, services, and financing tools seamlessly that had never been integrated, and do so while maintaining revenues similarly to traditional electricity sales. [CleanTechnica]

World:

An impression of the turbines in situ at Glen Ullinish.

¶ In Scotland, Perth-based group Kilmac has been given the green light for a £55 million windfarm development on the Isle of Skye. Crofters, who have been working with Kilmac on the project, welcomed Highland Council’s decision to grant consent for the Glen Ullinish array, to be created on a picturesque site. [The Courier]

¶ A solar dream five years in the making has come to fruition at the University of Queensland’s Gatton campus. Taking advantage of the 2700 hours of sunlight the Lockyer Valley gets each year, the site’s 37,000 thin-film photovoltaic panels will produce 3.275 MW. It was put on an old airfield. [The Queensland Times]

¶ The Catholic bishops of Japan, which is still dealing with health effects from the Fukushima Disaster, have asked Pope Francis to warn against the use of nuclear power. Francis is known to be working on an encyclical, the highest form of teaching for a pope, that is to address environmental and ecological issues. [National Catholic Reporter]

¶ The Scottish government has granted £1.35 million in financing to a community renewable energy project in Orkney that combines two tidal and one wind turbine on the island of Eday. Surplus power will be used to produce compressed hydrogen, which will be transported to Kirkwall for use. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ GE’s Distributed Power Business supplied 11 Jenbacher gas engines for a Romanian combined-heat-and-power project. The engines generate 42 MW of power and 38 MW of heat for the district heating system in the city of Brasov. They are part of Romania’s campaign to reduce emissions. [Diesel & Gas Turbine Worldwide]

Generators with Jenbacher engines.

US:

¶ Seven Republicans joined all Senate Democrats in voting, 53 to 47, for an amendment to tie climate change to national security and call for action to cut carbon pollution and invest in efficiency and renewable power. The vote shows cracks in the wall of Republican opposition to action on climate change. [Huffington Post]

¶ Walmart has signed a 12-year power purchase agreement to purchase 80% of the expected output from the 50-MW Rocksprings Wind Farm near Del Rio, Texas for a period of 12 years. Walmart aims to obtain 7 million MWh of renewable energy by 2020, to offset 100% of their global electric consumption. [EIN News]

¶ The Georgia State Senate unanimously passed legislation that would allow for third-party ownership of rooftop solar power in the state. The bill, had passed the Georgia House of Representatives unanimously on February 9. It now heads to the desk of Republican Governor Nathan Deal. [Greentech Media]

¶ SunEdison, Inc, the world’s largest renewable energy development company, today announced an agreement to develop and install four solar power plants for the City of Long Beach, delivering a combined 2.5 MW of solar energy. The City of Long Beach is projecting $60,000 in savings during the first year alone. [PennEnergy]

Science and Technology:

¶ The International Energy Agency said cost-parity between electric and conventional cars would be achieved when batteries cost $300/kWh, estimating that to happen in 2020. But market-leading firms were probably already producing cheaper batteries last year, says today’s new research. [CleanTechnica]

World:

Shanghai smog as the afternoon sun has reached the smog line. Photo by Suicup, Wikimedia Commons.

¶ China is reducing coal use for power generation faster than expected as the use of cleaner-burning fuels and slowing economic growth drags thermal utilisation rates to a potential record low. Utilisation rates at thermal power plants, nearly all coal-fired, have dropped to 52.2% in the first two months of this year. [The Australian Financial Review]

¶ Fueled by the policy-driven installation increases in China, Germany, and the US, the global wind industry had a remarkable comeback in 2014. Other countries contributed, including Brazil, Canada, and France. Navigant Research says worldwide wind power installations grew by 42% on year in 2014. [Digitimes]

¶ In New Zealand, the share of electricity generated from renewable resources last year was 79.9%, a 5% increase from the previous year, and at the highest rate it has been in nearly twenty years. The government said the rise to the growth in geothermal generation, which more than doubled in the last decade. [UPI.com]

¶ Just a few years ago, Nicaragua depended almost entirely on imported fuel oil to generate electricity. Now renewables account for 50% of the country’s electricity, with geothermal providing 16%, wind 15%, hydropower 12%, and biomass 7%. Government officials predict the renewable share will rise to 80% within a few years. [Blouin News Blogs]

¶ The UK Government has confirmed it is extending permitted development to all rooftop solar (this includes both solar PV and solar thermal installations) up to 1 MW, raising the limit from 50 kW. This means that as long as certain requirements are fulfilled, there will be no need to apply for planning permission. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶ Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions fell 8.4% in 2014 due to a decline in fossil-fuel power generation, preliminary government data showed on Thursday. The fall largely resulted from a 15% decrease in emissions from the energy supply sector as coal-fired generation fell and output from renewable power sources rose. [Sydney Morning Herald]

¶ Nuclear’s share of UK electricity generation decreased last year by 0.6 percentage points on 2013 to 19.0%, or 63.8 TWh – owing to outages in the second half of the year, new data released today by the Department of Energy and Climate Change showed. Overall electricity generated in 2014 fell by 6.7%. [World Nuclear News]

¶ Official data from the UK government has confirmed that renewable energy contributed more to the grid than nuclear power for the first time ever in 2014. The statistics show that renewables accounted for 19.2% of electricity generation last year, ahead of nuclear power, which generated 19% of the electricity. [pv magazine]

¶ Power-grid operators in the UK and Norway agreed on Thursday to build a €2 billion ($2.2 billion) power cable that will connect the countries’ electricity markets in 2021. This will enable the UK to import Norwegian hydro power when the wind isn’t blowing, and potentially cut electricity bills. [Wall Street Journal]

Sunrise in Scotland.

¶ Provisional Renewable Electricity Generation 2014 national statistics show that 49.6% of electricity consumption came from renewable sources in Scotland last year, up from 44.4% in 2013. Hydro, bioenergy and wind generation all increased, with hydro at a record high level, up 26% to 5,503 GWh. [The National]

US:

¶ The US Energy Information Administration’s electricity generation figures for December 2014 show the country has reached very interesting milestone that was widely missed: wind power actually produced more electricity than hydropower for the month as a whole … for the first time in history. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Maui County plans to replace its streetlights with more efficient LED lighting, following other counties in Hawaii, including Honolulu and Kauai. Compared to existing street light fixtures, the new LED lights reduce energy consumption by an average of 50%, and have a payback period of four years. [Pacific Business News (Honolulu)]

¶ Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the New York Power Authority and SUNY Polytechnic Institute have signed an agreement to create a world-class facility devoted to energy technology innovation and the rapid deployment of smart-grid technology to modernize New York’s electric grid. [Windpower Engineering]

¶ Wisconsin regulators endorsed the Badger-Coulee high-voltage transmission line that would bring in 1,400 MW of renewable energy from Western states. In doing so, they rejected critics’ claims the project would discourage distributed generation development while protecting the “utility industry structure.” [Platts]

Science and Technology:

¶ Tesla Motors are out to change the world – and they’re doing it fast, and in style. Like many other of their projects, this one seemed to pop up out of nowhere: Tesla have designed a battery that can power your home and even larger utility buildings. In other words, it could take your house out of the grid. [ZME Science]

World:

¶ Oil companies continue to get burned by low oil prices, but the pain is bleeding over into the financial industry. Major banks are suffering huge losses from both directly backing some struggling oil companies, but also from buying high-yield debt that is now going sour and difficult for the banks to sell on the market. [CleanTechnica]

Downtown Vancouver. Photo by Connormah, via Wikimedia Commons.

¶ The Vancouver city council voted unanimously Wednesday to support a shift toward using 100% renewable energy sources in a renewed push to meet its “greenest city” goals. Currently, 32% of Vancouver’s energy needs are met by renewable energy including electric power, heating and cooling. [MetroNews Canada]

¶ SunEdison plans to buy about 1,000 vanadium flow batteries from Imergy Power Systems. They will store more than 100 MWh of energy at SunEdison’s rural electrification and solar-powered minigrid projects in India. SunEdison intends to bring reliable energy to 20 million people globally by 2020. [Clean Technology Business Review]

¶ Government of India has agreed to provide cheap liquefied natural gas for use in power plants. The initiative is to help power industry investments that are losing money, mainly due to fuel scarcity. The companies bid for the lowest amount of subsidy they need to supply electricity at a set rate per unit. [Greentech Lead]

¶ West Australian is turning to solar power. Last year, the energy market required subsidies of $620 million, the difference between the cost of generation and delivery of its ageing coal and gas infrastructure and the price it charges to consumers. But rooftop solar and battery storage are becoming common. [RenewEconomy]

¶ Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator issued its 18-Month Outlook, covering April 2015 to September 2016. It says 2,300 MW of new supply will be added, including 1,700 MW of wind energy, 10 MW of hydroelectric, 300 MW of gas, 240 MW of solar, and 40 MW of biofuels. [Windpower Engineering]

¶ Renewable electricity in the UK surged 20% to 64.4 TWh in 2014 and claimed a record share of 19.2% of total generation. The latest Energy Statistics show offshore wind generation rose by 16.1% and onshore wind by 7.9% compared with 2013. Both increases were mainly due to increased capacity. [reNews]

US:

¶ Texas has become a renewable energy leader, thanks in part to a renewable energy bill introduced by Senator Troy Fraser in 2005. Now Fraser asks if the work is already done and whether incentives should be frozen. The original goals were 5,000 MW by 2015 and 10,000 MW by 2025. But Texas hit that mark in 2010. [Fierce Energy]

Wind turbines in Texas. Photo by Leaflet, via Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Three nuclear-related bills were passed by the Washington Senate and are being considered in a House committee. One question is whether Washington should find a place to build small modular reactors. Leaders in the Tri-Cities area of southeastern Washington envision a Boeing-style assembly plant. [Crosscut]

¶ Centennial Renewable Energy of Idaho announced that is building a 160,000-metric-ton wood pellet plant in northern Idaho and recently signed agreements to purchase land for the project. CRE has named its funding advisor as UK-based CHP Ventures, which has secured development funds for the project. [Biomass Magazine]

¶ President Obama authorized the Department of Energy to start developing a national repository for the nation’s high-level radioactive defense waste. About half of that waste is at Hanford. The previous plan had been to dispose of high-level radioactive defense waste and used commercial nuclear fuel together. [Walla Walla Union-Bulletin]

World:

¶ According to a study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, the cost of producing power in central and southern Europe will have declined to between 4 and 6 cents per kWh by 2025, and to as low as 2 to 4 cents by 2050.” The study was commissioned by the think tank Agora Energiewende. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The UK low carbon economy was worth £122 billion in 2013 and has been growing at 7% per year, according to government figures. A low carbon investment report from the Department of Energy and Climate Change says the sector supports over 460,000 jobs, or about 1.5% of all UK jobs. [Business Green]

British rooftop solar array.

¶ A new report published by Australia’s Climate Council has shown just how dramatically Australia is falling behind other leading world economies in renewable energy generation. The failure is due to the current policy uncertainty resulting from the government’s review of the Renewable Energy Target. [CleanTechnica]

¶ EDF Energy has agreed to buy the electricity generated from 104-MW of solar farms in the UK, owned by Primrose Solar. The 15-year power purchase provides for an inflation-linked guaranteed minimum price. The price floor enhances Primrose Solar’s ability to raise capital against the projects. [Clean Technology Business Review]

¶ Gas fueled power plants will soon supply all the electricity in Beijing as China strives to cut down pollution levels there. The last of four coal-fired power plants, an 845-MW plant of China Huaneng Group Corp, is scheduled to be closed in 2016. The gas plants will have double the capacity of the old plants. [India Gazette]

¶ More than a million homes in the UK could be heated using green technology that takes heat from nearby rivers and canals and pumps it into the home. The Energy Secretary is promoting water-source heat pumps, taking heat from 4041 rivers, estuaries, coastal sites and canals the government has identified. [The Independent]

US:

¶ A proposal to build a hydroelectric power plant in the San Vicente Reservoir near Lakeside is going before the San Diego City Council’s Environment Committee. The project would require construction of an upper reservoir that would pour into the existing body of water. The plant would produce 500 MW. [Times of San Diego]

San Vicente Dam and Reservoir aerial view. Photo courtesy of the San Diego Water Authority

¶ A Colorado company, Red Rock Biofuels, is planning a $200 million biofuels refinery in Lakeview, Oregon where it will refine jet fuel to be used by Southwest Airlines. The refinery will also produce diesel and naphtha fuel from its wood pulp stock through wood gasification and Fischer-Tropsch catalysis. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The US DOE reported that California is the first state to get 5% of its electricity from large-scale solar power installations. In 2014, solar power plants in California generated 9.9 million MWh, more than all other states combined. The report does not count rooftop systems, which are a large part of the total. [SFGate]

¶ SunPower Corp will build the 15-MW solar array on Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. The $50 million plant will be owned by NV Energy on land leased from the Air Force in the southwest part of the base. Together with an older 13.2-MW solar plant, it will power all base facilities during daylight hours. [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

¶ Carbon Tracker’s report, “The US Coal Crash,” argues that coal demand is in a structural decline that could also befall oil and gas producers world over in coming years. Companies that fail to adapt to technological and policy changes that will ultimately curb greenhouse-gas emissions could lose billions. [Bloomberg]

¶ A measure reducing the amount of renewable energy sources utilities would have to tap to provide electricity for their customers by 2020 has narrowly passed the New Mexico House and is heading to the senate. The current standard increased from 10% to 15% this year and requires 20% in 2020. [PennEnergy]

¶ Enel Green Power has commenced the construction of a new wind farm in Oklahoma. The company plans to invest approximately $130 million to construct the Little Elk wind project, which will have a total installed capacity of 74 MW. The wind farm will generate enough power for 27,000 US homes. [Greentech Lead]

¶ The California Public Utilities Commission failed to probe possible Southern California Edison responsibility for design errors that led the demise of the San Onofre nuclear power plant. Now a California Assembly Committee is asking the commission for review the $4.7 billion San Onofre settlement. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ Mighty River Power’s gas-fired Southdown power station in Auckland, New Zealand will close at the end of the year. The 140-MW station will be taken apart and sold overseas. MRP said it was closing the Southdown station because of the significant lift in renewable power generation in recent years. [Stuff.co.nz]

Closing Down: Mighty River Power’s gas-fired Southdown power station in Auckland.

¶ Germany’s Energiewende clearly has social license. Their electrical mix is already 27% renewable and Die Welt reports that 92% of the respondents in a new poll approve of the transition to renewable energy. 70% of the respondents to that poll said this transition was “Very or exceedingly important.” [CleanTechnica]

¶ Earlier, we learned from the state-run Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) that Costa Rica got 100% of its energy from renewables for 75 days straight this year. Now the ICE says reliance on renewables has prompted the country to lower electricity rates by 12%, and the rates will probably continue to drop. [Greentech Media]

¶ India’s cumulative grid-connected solar capacity has reached 3,382 MW at the end of February, statistics by the country’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy show. India has installed 750 MW of new PV facilities since this fiscal year began in April 2014. Its goal for the year is to add 1,100 MW. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Solar power could provide up to 4% of the UK’s electricity by the end of the decade, the government has said. The plummeting cost of solar panels has caused the government to revise upwards its forecast for solar energy use, leading to a decision to end most subsidies for large-scale solar this month. [BBC News]

¶ Kuwait-based infrastructure fund Tharwa Investments and the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company have agreed to establish the world’s largest single-site coal-fired power plant at a cost of $11 billion. Tharwa will develop the 6,000-MW plant in two co-located phases, the company said in a statement. [Utilities-ME.com]

¶ Scotland is leading the UK in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but will need to strengthen policies further to meet its ambitious climate targets. That is the view of the Committee on Climate Change, which says that Scottish emissions have fallen nearly 30% since 1990 compared to 24% for the UK as a whole. [Business Green]

US:

¶ It’s been almost a year since Ohio lawmakers froze the state’s energy efficiency and renewable energy standards. Researchers at the Center for American Progress interviewed business leaders in the renewable energy sector in Ohio, and a report based on that work says all of them reported negative impacts. [Public News Service]

Photo by US Fish and Wildlife Service

¶ The Wyoming Infrastructure Authority released a study prepared by the University of Wyoming that predicts the federal regulations could force a decline of up to 45% in Powder River Basin coal production by 2030. Wyoming is among several states in a lawsuit challenging the US EPA’s Clean Action Plan. [SteelGuru]

¶ New Jersey is funding more than a dozen projects to help make solar and wind power more reliable by providing backup energy-storage systems for the electricity they produce. The awards will give nearly $3 million to 13 projects scattered around the state, all of which support solar energy systems. [NJ Spotlight]

¶ Proposed legislation could end a Texas mandate for renewable power. Texas leads the nation in wind power, but its lawmakers are asking if it is time to end state support for the renewable power industry. The bill’s sponsor says Texas has far surpassed goals set by the state to lower its carbon emissions. [KFDA]

¶ More than two dozen coal companies in the US have gone bust and others have lost 80% of their market in the past five years because of a potent combination of cheap gas prices, new air quality limits, and increasingly competitive renewable energy, according to a new report by the Carbon Tracker Initiative. [Business Green]

¶ For the American Legislative Exchange Council, defections keep on coming. Now oil giant BP has left it. Among earlier organizations leaving is Google, whose Chairman Eric Schmidt denounced ALEC for “literally lying” about global warming. Facebook, eBay, Yahoo, and Occidental Petroleum have also left ALEC. [SFGate]

¶ The Advanced Energy Economy recently commissioned a study completed by Navigant Research that found the US advanced energy market grew by 14% last year, five times the rate of the US economy overall. The report estimates the US advanced energy market was worth an estimated $199.5 billion last year. [Biodiesel Magazine]

¶ If all goes as planned, a virtual 1,000-MW power plant will “open” for business near Erie, Pa, in 2019, just in time to help fill the void left by some of the coal-fired plants being disconnected. The power come through a billion-dollar, high-voltage direct-current power in Ontario and transmitted beneath Lake Erie. [Environment & Energy Publishing]

Science and Technology:

¶ The Mercedes C 350 e plug-in hybrid electric vehicle possesses full lifecycle CO₂ emissions up to 41% lower than the gas-powered Mercedes C 250 when charged with renewable energy sources, and 26% lower when charged with conventional power, according analysis confirmed by TÜV Süd. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ A new French law requires the rooftops of every new building in a commercial zone to be partially covered with either solar panels or plants. Environmental activists in France wanted all new buildings to be completely covered by plants or solar panels, but the French government prefered not to be extreme. [CleanTechnica]

Paris Opera – probably not a candidate for a new roof

¶ China’s top weather scientist warns that climate change could have a “huge impact” on China, reducing crop yields and harming the environment. Zheng Guogang said climate change could seriously threaten big infrastructure projects, and temperature rises were already higher than global averages. [BBC News]

¶ China, the biggest renewable-energy investor, asked local authorities to ensure the purchase of all the clean power generated in the country. The nation has also asked renewable-power plants to run at full capacity, taking into account grid safety and stability, the National Development and Reform Commission said. [Bloomberg]

¶ Australian power producer AGL Energy has put on stream a 25-MW unit of its 102-MW Nyngan solar park in New South Wales. Once fully operational, the $226 million plant, with its 350,000 solar panels, will be able to generate enough electricity for over 33,000 homes each year, according to the developer. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ Two Scandinavian wind-power developers will merge their $3.5 billion investment pipeline of developments across Finland, Norway and Sweden to cut costs. Havgul Clean Energy AS of Norway and Triventus Wind Power AB of Sweden will combine to form a company with 1.6 gigawatts of project plans. [Bloomberg]

¶ Bloomberg reported that European coal prices fell to the lowest in more than 7 years amid a worldwide coal glut, as governments from the US to China boost efforts to shift away from the most-polluting energy source. It is the third straight weekly decline as demand growth slows in China, the world’s biggest consumer. [SteelGuru]

¶ German energy provider Eon has become to the latest major company to move away from the North Sea, as it prepares to sell off its assets in the region. Firms operating in the North Sea have struggled over the past nine months, with a the price of oil plummeting combined with a stringent tax regime. [CITY A.M.]

North Sea oil platform. Photo by Stan Shebs, via Wikimedia Commons.

¶ UK Green Investment Bank, Foresight Group and Zouk Capital are to invest £111m in the construction of Levenseat Renewable Energy’s 12.5-MWe energy from waste plant and adjacent materials recycling facility at Forth by Lanark in Scotland. GIB’s £28.25 million is the eighth investment made by the fund. [reNews]

¶ A new German government report is stoking fears that the country’s energy companies can’t shoulder the cost of a government plan to close the country’s nuclear-power plants. Nobody knows how much it costs to shut and clean up atomic-power plants or exactly how to deal with the radioactive waste. [Wall Street Journal]

US:

¶ Texas Senator Ted Cruz isl entering the 2016 Presidential race. He announced on Twitter that he would seek the Republican Party nomination. Citing Cruz’s sceptical stance on climate change, California Governor Brown said he betokens “a level of ignorance and a direct falsification of the existing scientific data.” [The Independent]

¶ Renewable Energy Trust Capital, Inc announced on March 20 the close of over $200 million in financing for four solar PV projects in the US and Canada. The independent renewable finance platform closed a C$115 million non-recourse debt to support the acquisition of two solar PV facilities in Ontario, Canada. [solarserver.com]

¶ A New Hampshire-based company, AgEnergyUSA, teamed with poultry giant Perdue to propose a $200 million plant on Maryland’s Eastern Shore to extract energy from chicken manure, offering its plan as a viable remedy for the farm pollution fouling the Chesapeake Bay. AgEnergyUSA also partners with EDF. [CapitalGazette.com]

¶ The American Biogas Council reports, “The U.S. has over 2,000 sites producing biogas: 239 anaerobic digesters on farms, 1,241 wastewater treatment plants using an anaerobic digester … and 636 landfill gas projects.” The ABC says many sites could be developed and it is easy to see the potential for growth. [Mondaq News Alerts]

Opinion:

¶ “Four years after Fukushima, India is flogging a nuclear dead horse” It’s a telling comment on the state of the Indian media that most of it blacked out the fourth anniversary of the still-continuing Fukushima nuclear catastrophe, on March 11. [International Viewpoint]

World:

¶ The global coal boom has started to slow, as more plans for new power plants are now being shelved than completed. The number of cancelled coal projects across the world has outstripped those completed at a rate of two to one since 2010. [CleanTechnica]

Comparison of 2012 WRI figures and 2014 Global Coal Plant Tracker. Source: Boom and Bust: Tracking the Global Coal Plant Pipeline

… I do not usually comment in the middle of the news, but in this case I will. As I consider the data in the article above, I have assembled my thoughts at a web page, “A Comment: the Future of New Coal Capacity.” In my view, this is not merely a slowdown. [geoharvey]

¶ The Canadian province of Ontario recently opened up a 140-MW solar procurement round targeting projects over 500-kW in size, as part of the “Large Renewable Procurement” program. The tender is only open to pre-registered bidders. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Emissions capped by Europe’s carbon market fell 3.7% in 2014, driven by higher output from renewable power producers and lower electricity consumption, according to analysts at Thomson Reuters Point Carbon. [Customs Today Newspaper]

Energy-intensive industry

¶ Bahrain-based energy investment firm Terra Sola Ventures has inked a deal with Egyptian Electricity Holding Company to build a new PV plant in Egypt. Valued at $3.5 billion, the project will provide 2,000 MW of solar energy in the country. [Gulf Business News]

¶ Rural Kenyans are embracing alternative clean energy sources as the hope of getting grid electricity fades away due to the high cost. The use of solar and wind turbines is increasing as companies step in to ensure residents get clean energy. [GlobalPost]

US:

¶ Google and SolarCity teamed up to create a $750 million fund to promote affordable residential solar installations. The new fund will cover the upfront cost of solar panel installations in specified states, to bring the cost of solar power below fossil fuels. [Solar Love]

¶ California risks a huge decrease in hydro-power as the dry spell is not going to end anytime soon. The state starts the fourth successive year of dry season that, most specialists say, is a consequence of the environmental change. [States Chronicle]

¶ Renewable power groups say two proposals in the Kansas Legislature would threaten the young industry’s existence there by shortening a lifetime home tax exemption for wind and solar farms and taxing ethanol fuel and renewable electricity. [Chronicle Bulletin]

¶ The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York, is weighing a proposal to lease six acres of its campus to Siemens. As part of the 20-year agreement, Siemens would clear the land above the Hudson River to build a 1 to 2 MW solar farm. [Chronicle Bulletin]

World:

¶ Global solar PV capacity is expected to increase by 177% from 2014 levels to reach 498 GW by 2019, according to new research from IHS. Alongside increasing capacity, IHS notes that “the large number of discrete country markets at the gigawatt-level will help reduce demand volatility.” [CleanTechnica]

¶ UAE-based Masdar and Morocco’s Office National de l’Electricité et de l’Eau Potable signed a partnership to provide 17,670 solar home systems across 940 villages in the North African country. This and other initiatives will result in 99% of rural Morocco having access to electric power by the end of 2017. [ArabianBusiness.com]

¶ The UK is transforming the way its energy is generated as thousands of homes and businesses across England are powered by locally-owned renewable projects. According to DECC, 62 renewable projects have been supported in the last 12 months as a result of the £25 million urban and community energy funds. [Energy Live News]

¶ ABB has won orders worth around $900 million to supply on-shore high-voltage direct current converter stations and the cable system in the German sector for the first ever interconnection between the Norwegian and German power grids. The 623-km link, will be the longest HVDC connection in Europe. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶ While clear weather made for some excellent eclipse viewing, the electric grid story was uneventful. Despite warnings of grid problems when power solar panels suddenly went off and then came back on, Europe’s interconnected power grid delivered rock-solid stability throughout the 2.5-hour eclipse. [IEEE Spectrum]

¶ Enel energy is planning to invest almost €18 billion in renewable energy and smart grid markets in coming five years. Nearly €5.4 billion of this is for emerging markets, digital meters and smart grids. Enel aims to increase its renewable capacity by 50% to 7.1 GW mostly in the Americas and Africa. [Greentech Lead]

¶ National Australia Bank has raised AUD 205 million ($160 million) from a private funding round in US for developing a 71.4 MW wind project in South Australia. The HH2 wind farm will be powered by 34 turbines, which are expected to produce 262 GWh of electricity per year, once operational. [Greentech Lead]

¶ APG, the second-largest pension fund manager in the Netherlands, has decided to invest in an offshore wind power project in the North Sea, valued at €2.1 billion ($2.24 billion). Previously, APG’s position was that offshore wind is too risky, but after doing a new assessment study, it decided to invest. [SeeNews Renewables]

¶ The Turkish government plans to place four nuclear reactors into service by 2028 under a commercial agreement with Japanese companies concluded in 2013, details of which were recently revealed. A company will be established to build and operate a nuclear plant in the Black Sea city of Sinop. [Nikkei Asian Review]

US:

¶ Two Maine conservation organizations marked spring’s arrival by unveiling solar power systems, reflecting growing adoption of the renewable energy technology in the state. Maine Audubon unveiled a 42-kW solar system, and Wells Reserve at Laudholm is Maine’s first nonprofit to be 100% solar powered. [Press Herald]

An array of solar panels will help provide electricity at Wells Reserve at Laudholm, which expects to derive all its electricity needs from the sun. Courtesy Photo by Bill Lord

¶ American Electric Power will close six power plants, including three plants in West Virginia, by May 31, 2015. AEP announced in 2011 that significant amounts of coal-fueled generation would be retired to comply with new EPA regulations, primarily the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard rule, an AEP spokeswoman said. [WOWK]

¶ Alpha Wind Energy, a Danish company, is planning to develop a major offshore wind energy project, which would include more than 100 turbines, in federal waters in Hawaii off Oahu’s northwest and southern coasts. The development is the first floating offshore wind farm project in the United States. [Pacific Business News (Honolulu)]

¶ Propel Fuels has starting selling Diesel HPR (high performance renewable) diesel fuel at locations in Northern California. According to the company, Diesel HPR uses Neste Oil’s NEXBTL renewable diesel, a low-carbon renewable fuel that meets petroleum diesel specifications for use in diesel engines. [Fleet Owner]

Science and Technology:

¶ If you live on the East Coast of the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has just released some statistics that may surprise you: Globally, this has been the hottest winter on record, topping the previous record (2007) by 0.05°F. Only the East Coast of the US was below average. [ThinkProgress]

¶ Wave power company Aquamarine Power has claimed “exceptional results” following lengthy sea trials of its Oyster 800 wave machine. The Edinburgh-based firm spent months testing the device at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney. It said operational data verified engineering projections. [BBC]

¶ Solar Impulse 2 landed in Myanmar on Thursday night, the latest leg of a round-the-world trip aimed at highlighting clean energy. Dozens of trees had to be cleared for its giant mobile hangar. Towering shrubs along the runway also needed to be trimmed to accommodate the plane’s 72-meter wing span. [CT Post]

World:

¶ The Latin American country of Costa Rica has achieved the milestone of generating 100% of its energy from renewable resources, with a combination of hydropower and geothermal, for 75 days in a row. About 13% of the energy came from geothermal in 2010, and the country is building more plants. [CleanTechnica]

¶ The worldwide capacity of distributed energy storage systems is expected to increase nearly 10-fold over the next 3 years, according to a new report from Navigant Research, which analyzed the global market for distributed energy storage systems through 2024. This results partly from rapid innovation. [CleanTechnica]

¶ At its Annual Account Press Conference 2015, the BMW Group announced that, for the first time in the history of the Group, 51% of its electricity worldwide is being supplied from renewable sources. BMW has a goal of increasing the share of renewable energy to 100% over the coming years. [The FINANCIAL]

¶ The first major eclipse of the solar age is placing unprecedented strain on Europe’s electricity grids this morning as power panels switch off and then on again, as the moon blocks about 80% of the sun’s light across Europe from about 8 am to 11 am London time. This is particularly important in Germany. [Bloomberg] (Spoiler: the grid did fine.)

¶ The Australian Industry Minister offered the Clean Energy Council, which represents renewables producers, 1000 GWh hours more for large-scale renewable power generation by 2020. He said it was his final offer and he would not go higher. The opposition rejected the compromise as too low. [The Australian]

¶ The Japanese Environment Ministry has selected three offshore wind energy sites with combined capacity of 1.42 GW to help increase renewable power. Iwate Prefecture and the town of Hirono were selected to study community acceptance and environmental impact of a 200 MW offshore wind farm. [Climate Action Programme]

¶ TEPCO said almost all the nuclear fuel in the No. 1 reactor at the Fukushima plant likely melted in the Fukushima Disaster. The plant operator said that internal observations using cosmic rays reinforce earlier suspicions that all the fuel had melted and dropped to the bottom of the containment vessel. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶ Growing by 105%, New York had the seventh most new solar capacity added last year in the nation, according to the recently-released US Solar Market Insight 2014 Year in Review. New York added 147 MW of solar electric capacity, bringing its total to 397 MW, enough to supply about 70,000 homes. [AltEnergyMag]

Omega Center for Sustainable Living at Rhinebeck, New York. Photo by Andy Milford from Dahlonega, GA. From Wikimedia Commons.

¶ A little-known solar financing plan will benefit Massachusetts taxpayers and low-income tenants with $60 million over two decades. SunEdison solar arrays will provide 39.5 MW of nameplate capacity at ten Massachusetts locations. The net metering credits they earn will be credited sixteen housing authorities. [NewEnergyNews]

¶ Philip Morris USA is partnering with Dominion Virginia Power under the Solar Partnership Program to produce the largest solar installation undertaken in Virginia so far. Dominion is installing about 8,000 ground-mounted solar panels at the PM USA facility in Chesterfield County to build 2,450 kW solar farm. [RenewablesBiz]

¶ President Obama ordered the federal government to cut its emissions of greenhouse gases by 40% and ramp up use of renewable energy sources to 30% of the federal government’s consumption. The White House said taxpayers could save up to $18 billion in electricity costs while reducing greenhouse gases. [SFGate]

¶ A conference at the University of Vermont March 23 and 24, “Power from the North,” will put context around the questions of where Vermont and New England’s growing need for power will be satisfied. Quebec has abundant power, but there are political, environmental, economic and policy issues to examine. [Vermont Biz]

Science and Technology:

¶ Solar Impulse 2 has successfully landed in Varanasi, India. It seems there was some drama on the tarmac in Ahmedabad, of which the details have not yet come out. Turbulence and short sleep schedules add to the difficulties of the flight, as the solar-powered airplane flies around the world. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin, who were among the authors of a new study published this week in the journal Nature Geoscience about the huge, fast-melting Totten Glacier in Antarctica, say it contains enough ice to contribute at least 11 feet (3.4 meters) to the rise the global sea level. [CNN]

¶ DNV GL, a large international testing body, gathered views from over 1,600 energy sector participants across more than 70 countries. Eight out of 10 respondents believe that the electricity system can be 70% renewable by 2050. Almost half of them believe this can be achieved in the next 15 years. [Your Renewable News]

World:

¶ Public Investment Corporation, South Africa’s largest pension fund, has announced it will take a 20% stake each in two CSP projects with an investment of $1.8 billion. Both of these projects are expected to be commissioned by 2017 and will use parabolic trough reflectors, with a capacity of 100 MW each. [CleanTechnica]

Solar trough collectors in Hawaii. Photo by Xklaim, from Wikimedia Commons.

¶ The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority has challenged the private sector to invest in renewable energy projects to support their own operations and ease the power deficit from the national grid. Zimbabwe’s power capacity remains at an average of 1,300 MW due to ageing infrastructure. Demand is 2,200 MW. [The Herald]

¶ New rules intended to combat air pollution from EU power plants could be weaker than coal standards currently in place in China, the US, and Japan, according to media reports. Apparently, industry lobbyists comprise over half (183 of 352) of the key official group formulating the new EU limits. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Japan approved a proposal to cut the incentive for solar power by as much as 16% as the costs of operation and maintenance fell. The tariff for applications approved from April 1 to June 30 will be lowered to ¥29/kWh (24¢/kWh) from ¥32 as proposed last month. The tariff will be lowered to ¥27/kWh on July 1. [Bloomberg]

¶ A report from Ernst & Young finds a perfect storm of disruption – from technologies such as renewable energy storage and generation, pricing, debt and project finance, and global sentiment on climate change. And financial analysis is catching up, with longer term perspectives that factor in these risks. [The Fifth Estate]

¶ Kyushu Electric Power Co hopes to restart a nuclear reactor in southwestern Japan in July, marking what would be the nation’s first resumption in about two years following stringent safety checks that were imposed after the 2011 Fukushima crisis. There may be further delays in courts, however. [TODAYonline]

US:

¶ According to a new report, the costs associated with offshore wind in New York could be reduced by as much as 50% over the next ten years by a the combined actions of specific actions taken by New York State and/or other states, ongoing technological improvements, and continuing industry advances. [CleanTechnica]

Offshore wind turbines

¶ A decision by the US IRS to give wind developers an extra year to bring projects online and still collect the $0.023/kWh production tax credit sets the stage for two years of robust growth. Prior to the decision, windfarms delayed by lack of congressional action had to be finished by the end of the year. [Windpower Monthly]

¶ Akuo Energy has signed a power purchase agreement with Walmart for 50 MW of power from a wind farm in Del Rio, Texas. According to the agreement, Walmart will purchase 80% of the output from 50 MW of the project for a period of 12 years. The project should be complete in the third quarter of 2016. [Greentech Lead]

¶ Georgetown, Texas will be among the first cities in the US to get its electricity exclusively from solar and wind energy. SunEdison says it is building a 150-MW solar farm to serve the city’s municipal utility about 30 miles north of Austin. That farm will produce about half the city’s needs, with the rest from wind. [Texas Public Radio]

Opinion:

¶ “Cutting Carbon Pollution Can Drive Montana’s Economy While Improving Health” – Investments in clean energy have and will continue to create new jobs, expand the economy, reduce pollution, lower electricity bills, and improve public and environmental health across the state. [Natural Resources Defense Council]

Montana Wind

Science and Technology:

¶ Scientists have raised concerns about a large, rapidly thinning glacier in Antarctica, warning it could contribute significantly to rising sea levels. They say they’ve discovered two openings that could channel warm seawater to the base of the huge Totten Glacier and bring the threat of potentially disastrous melting. [CNN]

World:

¶ New polling numbers from Britain’s YouGov has found that 71% of Scottish adults are in favor of the continued development of wind power as part of the country’s energy mix, a number that has increased from 64% two years prior. Wind power produced 146% of Scottish household needs in January of this year. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Italian company Enel Green Power has announced that the construction on three solar PV plants in South Africa has commenced. Solar power generated by the three PV plants will be sold to South African power utility Eskom based on erstwhile power supply agreements made by EGP. [African Review]

¶ A £1 billion tidal lagoon off the coast of south Wales will form the centerpiece of ambitious renewable energy plans to be unveiled today. George Osborne is set to use his Budget today to announce that the Government is beginning formal talks on funding the project to produce energy from turbines in Swansea Bay. [Daily Mail]

¶ Rooftop solar power generation and net metering have been introduced in Dubai. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority launched the initiative under the name “Shams Dubai” which allows generation of solar energy on buildings and their connection to the grid. It is the first such program in the Gulf Region. [Greentech Lead]

¶ China aims to install 17.8 GW of solar power capacity this year, China’s National Energy Administration said in a document posted on its website. This is up nearly 20% from the original goal of 15 GW of installations and nearly 70% from the 10.52 GW of solar generation capacity China installed last year. [Reuters Africa]

¶ MAN Truck & Bus South Africa has officially announced the conversion of its Pinetown assembly plant to solar power. The complete truck and bus-chassis assembly plant is now capable of operating entirely off solar energy. It is the first 100% carbon-neutral truck production site in Africa, and for MAN worldwide. [Media Update]

¶ Lebanon simply does not generate enough electricity to keep the lights on. Daily power outages affect every corner of the country – at least three hours even in well-to-do quarters of Beirut, and much longer in other areas. Now, Lebanon’s first solar farm will soon be connected to ailing power grid. [Ya Libnan]

The Beirut River Solar Snake project is set to contribute to Lebanon’s power network by the end of April 2015.

¶ A new initiative of a series of environmental groups called the Global Coal Plant Tracker identifies, maps, describes, and categorises every known coal-fired generating unit proposed across the world since January 1, 2010. It finds that two plants have been shelved or cancelled worldwide for every plant completed. [Business Spectator]

¶ China Ming Yang Wind Power Group Limited announced it has commenced commercial operation of its 6.5-MW super compact drive offshore wind turbine prototype at the at Longyuan Rudong Intertidal wind power farm in China. Ming Yang’s SCD wind turbine is designed for extreme offshore weather conditions, [PennEnergy]

¶ China approved the construction of new nuclear reactors for the first time since Japan’s Fukushima disaster in 2011 as the world’s biggest polluter seeks to drive protective masks out of fashion. The world’s largest energy consumer derived 77% of its electricity from coal and gas-fired utilities last year. [Bloomberg]

US:

¶ Members spoke and their co-ops listened. The result will be two 500-kW solar projects in Illinois. The projects announced March 10 will be built in the service territories of two of the G&T’s distribution co-ops. One solar installation will be located not far from the Shelbyville headquarters of Shelby Electric Cooperative.[Electric Co-op Today]

¶ State Representative John Szoka of Cumberland County, North Carolina, filed legislation designed to make it easier for businesses to obtain electricity from solar power and other renewable energy resources. It’s called The Energy Freedom Act. Szoka said it will create competition in the market for electricity. [Fayetteville Observer]

¶ Massachusetts had the fourth most new solar capacity added last year in the nation, according to the recently-released US Solar Market Insight 2014 Year in Review , but finished Number 1 for the first time among Northeast states. The state added 308 MW of solar capacity, bringing its total to 751 MW. [RenewablesBiz]