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Economics and Finance:

¶    A report from the Institute of Self-Reliance says locally owned renewable energy projects create more economic benefits than absentee-owned projects, and they are less likely to encounter community opposition. By enacting policies to support local renewable power, states stand to gain thousands of jobs and millions of dollars. [San Diego Free Press]

Science and Technology:

¶   Inspired by bamboo’s adaptation to wind, University of Vermont engineers developed a low cost micro-wind turbine. The small bamboo vertical axis wind turbine is combined with a solar panel. Bamboo has a tensile strength similar to steel, but without the weight, and it is grown rather than mined. [Energy Matters]

¶   As electricity is more intermittent, fuel-powered plants are kept idling to ramp up quicker when there is a need for more power. They take minutes to respond and, in many cases, it has taken more than 20 minutes to minimize the mismatch between generation and loads. Batteries can respond in seconds. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   To provide electricity for India’s rural population, the Rockefeller Foundation will provide 65% funding for a $100 million initiative to establish 1,000 mini power grids in the next three years. Generally, each mini power grid would provide power for 150-250 households with about 1,000 people. [indiatvnews.com]

¶   Norther Irish wind energy company, Simple Power officially launched seven new wind turbines on farms this week. This brings the total number of turbines erected over the past four months to nine and marks significant success for the company as it continues to progress with its development strategy. [Farming Life]

¶   The Philippine’s bid to wean itself off fossil fuels and tap its massive potential for renewable energy has received a big boost following the completion of the largest wind farm in Southeast Asia. EDC Burgos Wind Power Corphas commissioned its 150-MW wind project in Burgos, Ilocos Norte. [Yahoo Philippines News]

¶   ACWA Power, based in Saudi Arabia, is looking to secure money to pursue renewable energy projects valued at $7.4 billion. The developer currently has projects operating or under construction in several countries in the Middle East, Africa and southeast Asia, and is bidding for a 100-MW solar power plant in Mecca. [SmartMeters]

¶   ACME Solar has emerged as the largest successful bidder in the recently concluded solar power capacity auction in Andhra Pradesh. With this success on projects totaling 160 MW, the company claims that it is on track to have an installed solar power capacity of 1 GW in India by 2017. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Despite concerns from nearly all neighboring countries, including the European Union, about Armenia’s elderly Metsamor nuclear plant, Armenia and Russia before the end of the year will sign an intergovernmental agreement to extend Metsamor’s service life until 2026. [Silk Road Reporters]

US:

¶   For millions of Americans, and many more worldwide, rooftop solar is already cheaper than electricity from the grid, but until recently, utility-scale solar projects weren’t cheaper than other types of power plants (ignoring externalities, which we shouldn’t really do but we do). That has been changing. [Treehugger]

¶   The solar power industry, viewed more than a decade ago as a game-changing, jobs-producing juggernaut in California, took its lumps during the recession. But now it’s coming back with a vengeance, both here and globally. Some California solar system installers have work backlogs, and new deals are being announced regularly. [Sacramento Bee]

¶   PacifiCorp announced it is participating in an “energy imbalance market” with California’s independent grid operator. This could save customers $10 million to $65 million a year, improve grid reliability, reducing emissions, and enable use of far more renewable energy. It will also pay for itself almost immediately. [The Oregonian]

Opinion:

¶   “Sendai nuclear plant should not be model for reactor restarts” The process leading to the reactivation of the idled reactors at the Sendai plant has raised serious doubts about the government’s approach to the issue. The government is moving toward restarting the Sendai plant’s reactors without sufficient accident preparations. [Asahi Shimbun]

Science and Technology:

¶   When researchers talk about “islanding,” or isolating, from the grid, they are discussing a fundamental benefit of microgrids, or small systems powered by renewables and energy storage devices. The benefit is that microgrids can disconnect from larger utility grids and continue to provide power locally. [Science Daily]

World:

¶   A small German town in southern Bavaria is participating in an interesting experiment proving that a high-renewables future is viable. Wildpoldsried (pop. 2,600) currently produces 500% more energy than it needs through renewable energy systems, and sells the surplus power back to the grid. [RenewEconomy]

¶   The UK’S largest single roof mounted solar panel array is to be installed at Marks and Spencer’s Castle Donington distribution center. The solar PV system will span the site’s 900,000 sq ft roof and will generate over 5,000 MWh of electricity per year, enough to power 1,190 houses. [LoughboroughEcho.net]

¶   Cuba’s National Electric Development program aims to increase the island’s electricity production capacity significantly. Cuba seeks to generate 24% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, which will save nearly $780 million annually on fuel. Cuba currently gets 96% of its electricity from fossil fuels. [teleSUR English]

¶   A 231-MW solar power plant broke ground in Okayama prefecture, western Japan. It is expected to be Japan’s largest solar power plant. The plant is located in a disused salt pan. It is scheduled to begin operation in the first half of 2019 with 920,000 solar panels installed. The project will cost $950 million. [Daily Times]

¶   The man responsible for maintaining India’s power supply says he wants the country’s coal production to double within the next five years. The Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable energy, says India needs to dig twice as much coal as it does today if it is to meet its soaring energy demand. [Truthdig]

¶   The UK’s High Court has refused an application for a judicial review of the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s decision to end subsidies under the renewables obligation scheme for solar farms with a generating capacity of more than 5 MW by 2015, two years ahead of the original schedule. [E&T magazine]

¶   Lightsource Renewable Energy, the UK’s largest solar developer, has connected a 6.1-MW solar farm near Ramsgate in Kent. Thorne Solar Farm is located to the south of Manston Airport and occupies just under 11 hectares (27 acres) of land and is predicted to generate enough electricity to power 1,800 local homes. [Solar Power Portal]

¶   The port of Ghent in Belgium will see the construction of the largest biomass power plant in the world, at 215 MW. Belgian Eco Energy selected Abengoa to develop the plant, which will be fueled by 100% raw material biomass such as wood chips and agro-residues. The project will cost over €315 million. [IHB]

¶   A solar eclipse next March will test European electricity grids because of the massive increase in solar power production on the continent, according to French power grid RTE. On the morning of March 20, 2015, an almost total solar eclipse will block direct sunlight over parts of Europe, North Africa and Russia. [TODAYonline]

US:

¶   About 26% of the electricity Boston-based Partners HealthCare buys this year for the facilities it owns will come from renewable sources. Its leaders wanted to reduce pollution from traditional fossil-fuel energy sources and the illness burden that pollution causes, as well as to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change. [ModernHealthcare.com]

¶   NStar became the second utility in recent weeks to deliver a winter shock to Massachusetts energy consumers, asking state regulators for an average 29% increase in electric bills starting in January. NStar provides electricity and natural gas to more than a million customers in metropolitan Boston and Cape Cod. [Boston Globe]

¶   A study conducted by the Minnesota Department of Commerce in coordination with the Midwest regional independent grid operator Mid-continent Independent System Operator found that the state of Minnesota could obtain 40% or more of its electricity from wind and solar energy without suffering any grid reliability issues. [CleanTechnica]

Opinion:

¶   “What Happens When Solar Energy is Cheaper Than Local Electricity Prices?” There is an enormous battle behind the scenes over the nitty-gritty of everyday power plant operations, and making money from older, inefficient plants, as the price of solar power goes down. [The Equation: Blog of the Union of Concerned Scientists]

¶   “The End of the Big Oil and Gas Game Has Come” Sheikh Ahmed-Zaki Yamani said in 2000, “Thirty years from now there will be a huge amount of oil – and no buyers. Oil will be left in the ground.” A decade and half later and we are coming to the end of Big Oil. Why? Pollution, grid parity, and competition with zero marginal costs. [Huffington Post]

World:

¶   SunEdison has signed an agreement with the government of the Indian state of Rajasthan to set up 5 GW of solar power capacity over the next five years. The projects will be set up in increments of 500 MW. Rajasthan is particularly rich in solar resources and was among the first states in India to have a solar power plant. [CleanTechnica]

¶   GE plans to begin construction of a 100-MW wind power farm in Kenya early next year and expects it to be up and running within 18 months after that, a company executive said on Thursday. Kenya is pushing to expand its power generation capacity by 5,000 MW by 2017 from about 1,700 MW now. [The Standard Digital News]

¶   Quebec’s call for bids on 450 MW of wind energy received bids totaling 6627.5 MW. Hydro-Quebec Distribution received 54 submissions from 10 developers, including bids from established players such as EDF EN Canada, Boralex, Innergex, Invenergy and Northland Power. [reNews]

¶   Cost differences between renewables and fossil fuels have guided new renewable energy additions, especially in developing countries. Market economics often made new fossil fuel generation cheaper, but those days are ending. Renewable electricity is now just as affordable an option as fossil fuel in 55 emerging nations. [Energy Collective]

¶   There is more than enough geothermal energy in British Columbia to power the province’s grid, yet not one site has been developed. Geothermal energy has never been invited to bid on calls for power. In fact, with 150 known hot springs in western Canada, there isn’t a single developed geothermal site in the country. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Enel Green Power and Empresa Nacional de Electricidad SA have signed 20-year supply contracts for two wind power projects and 25-year contracts for three solar projects in Chile. The contracts are worth approximately $2.3 billion. The wind and solar plants will have 307 MW of capacity. [reNews]

¶   Regional authorities in Japan approved the restart of the idled Sendai nuclear plant of Kyushu Electric Power Co, paving the way for a revival of the stalled industry more than three years after the Fukushima disaster. This is a victory for the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. [Reuters]

US:

¶   Siemens Energy Management, Microsoft, and FuelCell Energy have produced the nation’s first zero-carbon, waste-to-energy data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The project uses biogas methane produced by common waste byproducts at the nearby Dry Creek wastewater facility to power the fuel cell system. [Broadway World]

¶   Ice Energy today announced it has been awarded sixteen contracts from Southern California Edison to provide 25.6 MW of behind-the-meter thermal energy storage. Ice Energy’s proprietary Ice Bear system uses electricity at low-demand times to freeze water, which provides cooling during high demand periods. [Rock Hill Herald]

¶   ISO New England Inc, the operator of the New England power system and wholesale electricity markets, issued its 2014 Regional System Plan. The plan guides long-term power-system planning efforts in New England, including identifying grid areas needing transmission upgrades and market responses. [MarketWatch]

¶   Projections for a “death spiral” in the utility sector are premature, according to Moody’s Investors Service. The industry is being transformed by widespread adoption of distributed generation, but utilities, state lawmakers, and regulators are acting to refine utility cost-recovery models, decreasing the threat of disruption. [Platts]

¶   Vestas has received an order for 100 turbines for First Wind’s 200MW South Plains wind farm in Texas. The Danish manufacturer expects to deliver V100 2-MW machines in late 2015. The deal includes supply and commissioning as well as a 10-year service agreement. [reNews]

World:

¶   The Scottish renewables are among the world’s best performing, and new data from WeatherEnergy has shown that October had them generating more than enough electricity from renewable sources to power the country. Windpower produced most of the power, but solar production was impressive. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The sulfur levels in marine bunker fuel are as high is 100 to 3,500 times what is permitted in diesel fuel for road traffic in China. As a result, one container ship cruising along the coast of China emits as much diesel pollution as 500,000 new Chinese trucks in a single day. [Energy Collective]

¶  As India grapples with power shortage problems, Power Minister Piyush Goyal is expecting an investment of $250 billion in the next four to five years. He says renewable energy will be a feed-in for power sector and government will engage top 250 tax payers to invest in solar and wind projects. [Moneycontrol.com]

¶   A $27 million investment from Spanish corporate, GRI Renewable Industries offers South Africa a giant leap forward in the provision of renewable energy alternatives with the facility capable of producing 150 wind towers a year. This is welcome news at a time when problems meeting electric demand are increasing. [Cape Business News]

¶   While Germany’s nuclear power phaseout seems to be going along fairly well, there have been some bumps in the road. Three of the four largest power companies, EON, RWE, and Vattenfall, have brought over 20 lawsuits demanding billions in Euros for compensation relating to the phaseout of nuclear power. [DigitalJournal.com]

¶   In Australia, Fotowatio Renewable Ventures and its engineering, procurement and construction contractor Green Light Contractors Pty Ltd broke ground on construction of the 70-MW Moree Solar Farm today. At the ceremony, the company noted the importance of the Renewable Energy Target. [Business Spectator]

¶   A dozen Canadian clean-technology companies, many of them nurtured by the government, accompanied Ontario’s Premier Kathleen Wynne, hoping to sell everything from environmentally friendly fertilizer to systems for cleaning ship exhaust as she met China’s Science and Technology Minister in Beijing. [The Globe and Mail]

¶   Oman’s Rural Areas Electricity Company is partnering with Masdar to build a $125 million wind farm that when fully operational will provide power to 16,000 homes. The company also estimates investments in solar, wind, and nuclear energy will reach $100 billion in the GCC region over the next five years. [SmartMeters]

¶   Wind generation hit a record high to provide 24% of the UK’s energy mix on October 20. The previous high of 22% was in August. Wind’s share of October’s electricity mix was 12.3% compared with 8% in October, 2013. Also, wind generated more power than nuclear for 11 full days during October. [reNews]

US:

¶   On Tuesday night in the US, Republicans – and particularly those who reject climate science and despite renewable energy, won big in the US Congressional elections. This is not good news for climate. The Senate is now in the hands of a group of people who make pro-coal Australian politicians look moderate. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Environmental groups lost big in the elections, but there was one surprising winner: The Northeast’s multi-state carbon-trading plan. Pennsylvania Governor-elect Tom Wolf, the sole bright spot for Democrats on the state level, has promised to move Pennsylvania to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. [National Journal]

¶   The EPA says it is considering an extended time frame for reducing reliance on coal to 2029, giving utilities almost an extra decade to adapt. The EPA’s shift comes after intense lobbying by utilities, which want to wait until their plants reach the end of their natural life spans. [Businessweek]

¶   SolarCity, the largest US solar panel installer, reported a 20% rise in quarterly revenue and said it had cut system costs more than expected. The company said third-quarter revenue rose 20% to $58.34 million from $48.6 million a year earlier. Analysts were expecting revenue of $60.23 million. [Reuters]

¶   Not so long ago, Exelon, which runs six nuclear energy plants in Illinois, was extolling the merits of an open market for power as its profits rolled in. Now, with power prices plunging, Exelon has lost enthusiasm for the open markets and wants the Legislature to protect its profits, quite likely driving up utility bills. [Chicago Sun-Times]

¶   Southern California Edison today detailed how it intends to generate enough power to run nearly one million homes with a mix of technologies, including energy efficiency, renewables, and energy storage. Part of the solution is 85 megawatts from a distributed collection of refrigerator size batteries in buildings. [Xconomy]

Science and Technology:

¶   The cost estimates for solar PV used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its latest report fail to take into account most recent cost reductions for the technology, reports Helle Abelvik-Lawson, and exaggerate financing costs. The result is to understate the importance of PV in a low carbon future. [The Ecologist]

¶   A new flow battery system from Imergy Power Systems  can use vanadium extracted from fly ash waste rather than more expensive purified vanadium. That helps keep the cost of the vanadium flow battery to just $300 per kWh, almost half the current industry standard. [Sustainablog]

¶   Japan’s Eco Marine Power is developing a number of sustainable shipping technologies that harnesses both wind and solar power, and has been making steady progress towards a commercial system over the last few years. One example is a rigid sail capable of using both wind and solar energy to help power a vessel. [Ship & Bunker]

¶   Clean technologies could generate more growth in innovation and the economy than fossil fuel based technologies, Imperial College researchers report. Clean technologies include smart devices, renewable energy such as wind power and green transportation including electric cars. [Imperial College London]

World:

¶   Five towns in New South Wales have raised their hands to become the first zero net energy town in the state – and indeed in Australia. Walcha, Manilla, Tenterfield, Uralla, and Bingara all made applications to become a signature town of the 21st Century and center of green innovation. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Several of Egypt’s major cement producers have begun retrofitting their plants to run on energy from imported coal, beating high gas prices and energy shortages that have curbed industrial output this year. Supply from state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company has been intermittent. [Reuters]

¶   In Cornwall, the Lanhydrock Estates Company has applied for a solar farm to be constructed on two fields at Newtons Margate. If granted planning consent, the 12,000 modules will provide 3 MW of electricity for Tulip Ltd’s food production factory at Bodmin, with surplus going to the grid. [cornishguardian.co.uk]

¶   In a growing grassroots movement, citizens of Berlin are banding together to try to buy back the electricity grid, in the hope of seeing more renewable energy used in the city. Berlin’s energy grid has 35,000 km of underground cable and more than 8,000 substations that feed electricity to more than 2 million customers. [Radio Australia]

¶   The Australian government has cut almost half a billion dollars from research into carbon capture and storage – which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change deems crucial for continued use of coal – despite the prime minister insisting coal is the “foundation of our prosperity”. [The Guardian]

¶   TEPCO completed the removal of 1,331 spent fuel rods from the upper levels of the badly damaged reactor No. 4 building at Fukushima Daiichi on Wednesday. The No. 4 building was a source of concern during the disaster because of fears it would collapse in another earthquake, leading to exposure of the spent fuel. [AsiaOne]

US:

¶   According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), no new coal-fired plants came to service in the first 6 months of 2014, and only two small units are projected to come on line by the end of the year. The prospects for more coal-fired plants in the future look dismal for several reasons. [RenewEconomy]

¶   In New Mexico, anger has spread over news that the country’s largest methane leak, near the Four Corners region, is three times larger than originally reported. The methane leak is attributed to gas production. For many New Mexicans, the dangerous human health and environmental hazard is a wake-up call. [Deming Headlight]

Opinion:

¶   “As Scientists Sound the Alarm on Climate, a Reason for Hope” The climate report paints a scary picture, but its most important message is that we still have time to turn the corner on climate change  and we can do it affordably. As a matter of fact, it’s the cost of inaction that’s the true threat to our economy. [Huffington Post]

Science and Technology:

¶   The potential for saving electricity from used car batteries is growing steadily. The International Energy Agency estimates that there will be 4 million electric cars on the roads by 2015, rising to 20 million in 2020. An estimate of capacity could be 40 kWh, implying that used car batteries could provide storage capacity of 128 GWh by 2020. [Bellona]

World:

¶   Etrion Corporation, a solar independent power producer, announced it has completed construction of the 70-MW Salvador project in the Atacama region of Chile. Project Salvador is the world’s largest solar power plant-based on spot market electricity revenues and is the second-largest solar park connected in Chile. [Your Renewable News]

¶   Scottish wind turbines generated an estimated 982,842 MWh of electricity last month – with environmental group WWF Scotland suggesting this was enough to power 3,045,000 homes, the equivalent of 126% of the electricity needs of every home in Scotland, based on analysis of data from WeatherEnergy. [Scotsman]

¶   Progress is being made on the construction of a £100 million-plus power station on the site of the old Brigg Sugar Factory in North Lincolnshire. The straw-burning power station aims to generate 40 MW of electricity – enough to supply 75,000 homes –  and is expected to open in December next year. [Scunthorpe Telegraph]

¶   The Indian power sector is heading for a $1 billion, or Rs 6,000 crore, saving in coal transportation cost and earnings of another Rs 3,600 crore by additional generation as the government plans to tweak fuel supply arrangements to ensure that coal from each mine or port is shipped to closest plant. [Economic Times]

¶   Fed up with constant electricity cuts and government-enforced “power holidays”, Indian IT firm ValueLabs has turned to the sun for help. In July, it finished building a 13 MW solar plant, enough to power 6,000 homes, to keep the lights on and computers humming for more than 3,000 employees at its base in Hyderabad. [Businessworld]

¶   In China, Nanyang Technological University will be building a hybrid micro-grid integrating multiple large-scale renewable energy sources. The hybrid micro-grid will test and demonstrate the integration of solar, wind, tidal-current, diesel, storage and power-to-gas technologies. [Asian Scientist Magazine]

¶   The UN’s IPCC has again urged the end of use of fossil fuels for power generation, but Australia appears to be thumbing its nose. With greenhouse gas levels at their highest in 800,000 years, brown coal’s share of Australia’s national electricity generation has risen BY 4% to 26% and black coal’s by 3% to 51%. [Energy Matters]

¶   India has called for effective international cooperation and responsible action by governments to strengthen nuclear security and prevent non-state actors from acquiring vulnerable atomic material. The amended Convention would make it legally binding for states parties to protect nuclear facilities and material. [Free Press Journal]

US:

¶   The DOE launched a new $2.3 million pilot program to accelerate the transfer of innovative clean energy technologies from the DOE’s National Laboratories into the commercial marketplace. Lab-Corps aims to better train and empower national lab researchers to move their discoveries into the private sector. [Today’s Energy Solutions]

¶   US Bank and Microgrid Solar have joined together to boost renewable energy and help non-profit institutions in the St Louis area save thousands of dollars in energy costs by installing new solar energy systems, financing the installation and operation of up to 120 solar PV systems to benefit 56 organizations. [REjournals.com]

¶   Apex Clean Energy has kicked off the Article 10 permitting process for the 201-MW Lighthouse wind project in upstate New York on the shores of Lake Ontario. The Virginia-headquartered developer has submitted a preliminary ‘public involvement program’ plan for review by the state Siting Board. [reNews]

¶   Utilities are generally pessimistic about their future role in the effort to expand the US electric grid and make it stronger. They believe they will see new competition become increasingly involved in the initiative. But they disagree strongly about what the future of energy transmission will look like. [Breaking Energy]

¶   The bipartisan Governors’ Wind Energy Coalition urged the US DOE to support FERC Order 1000, as the group says it could help bring more renewable energy to power markets. The 23-member group makes its call after the US Court of Appeals recently denied a rehearing a decision upheld the order. [North American Windpower]

Climate Change Report:

¶   In its “synthesis report,” the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that the hundreds of authors involved in the study were even more certain than before that the planet is warming and humans are the cause. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters that action must come soon. [CNN]

¶   Climate change is happening, it is almost entirely man’s fault and limiting its impacts may require reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero this century, according to the UN panel on climate science. The fourth and final volume of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s giant climate assessment offered no surprises. [Huffington Post]

Opinion:

¶   “China’s renewable energy revolution: what is driving it?” China now has the largest amount of installed electric capacity in the world at 1250 GW, exceeding the US 1160 GW power system. Around 30% of China’s capacity was renewable (water, wind, solar) in 2013, but fossil fuels, mainly coal, were 69%. [Japan Focus]

¶   “Meanwhile, down at the nuclear power plant, something’s going wrong” The EPA has recommended increased radiation exposure limits following major releases. It would save the industry a bundle to permit large human exposures, rather than shut down rickety reactors. [Las Vegas Informer]

World:

¶   In a report produced for the Liberal Democrat energy and climate secretary, Ed Davey, renewable energy trade bodies, community energy groups, and academics say that major future wind and solar farms should give communities the chance to invest and own as much as a quarter of projects. [The Guardian]

¶   French energy giant EDF has underlined its commitment to the offshore wind sector, announcing late last week that it has acquired the rights to develop the high-profile Blyth Offshore Wind Demonstration Site in Northumberland. The site is the largest consented offshore wind testing facility in the UK. [Business Green]

¶   When the European Commission came forward with its proposal for a 2030 energy and climate framework earlier this year, transportation was a missing piece. Transportation is responsible for around a quarter of EU CO2 emissions – a share that is increasing while CO2 emissions from other sectors are generally falling. [Business Green]

¶   As its solar projects move forward, the joint venture of Bronzeoak Philippines and ThomasLloyd Cleantech Infrastructure Fund has announced a $90-million investment for a 20-MW biomass power plant in Negros Occidental. The plant will be located in San Carlos City. [BusinessWorld Online Edition]

¶   Staff at South Africa’s Majuba electric station noticed a crack in a coal storage silo on Saturday afternoon. Forty minutes later, the structure collapsed, causing the station’s output to drop from 3,600 MW to 1,800. Now there are rolling blackouts in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Port Elizabeth. [AllAfrica.com]

US:

¶   There are many important considerations when voters in Wisconsin go to the polls Tuesday, but the state’s largest environmental organization says party affiliation makes little difference to voters in one respect – all show support for renewable power in Wisconsin’s energy future. [Public News Service]

¶   The Northwest Grid’s Bonneville Power Administration has started to offer its customers the opportunity to schedule energy transactions in 15-minute increments, giving utilities a new measure of flexibility in responding to swings in power generation as they buy, sell and transmit energy. [Electric Co-op Today]

¶   A 750-mile interstate power line promises to deliver wind-generated electricity to Columbia, Missouri at nearly half the price the city now pays. Columbia would pay $20 to $30 less per megawatt-hour for electricity, according to Clean Line Energy Partners, the company behind the project. [Columbia Missourian]

Opinion:

¶   “The Peak Oil Crisis: A Reality Check” For the last four or five years, we have been bombarded with a stream of stories about the “shale revolution.” What the stories about all this abundance fail to address, outside of vague generalizations, is just how long this upward surge is going to last and what happens then. [Resilience]

¶   “How You Can Fight Climate Change and Make Money Doing It” No matter what your belief is on what is causing climate change or who is responsible there’s really only one thing within our control that will fix it. The good news is that the solution is becoming more of a reality every day. [Nasdaq]

Science and Technology:

¶   The United Nations’ expert panel on climate science on Saturday finished a report on global warming that the UN’s environment agency said offers “conclusive evidence” that humans are altering the Earth’s climate system. The document is scheduled to be released on November 2. [Phys.Org]

¶   A completely functional 3D-printable graphene battery was recently developed by researchers at Graphene 3D Lab. The new prototype 3D-printable graphene battery was unveiled at the recent Inside 3D Printing Conference that took place in Santa Clara, California. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   Through the effective implementation of existing policies India’s wind energy capacity could double over the next five years, latest estimates of the Global Wind Energy Council show. According to the report, India could increase its installed wind energy to almost 50 GW by the end of this decade. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A huge power outage in Bangladesh left tens of millions of people nationwide without electricity for hours. It began around 11 am Saturday, causing widespread disruption across the nation of more than 160 million people. Power started to come back around 11 pm Saturday. [CNN]

¶   South Australia Premier Jay Weatherill and Environment Minister Ian Hunter have switched on the second stage of the Snowtown wind farm, adding 90 turbines increasing the farm’s capacity by 1350 GW. The Premier has also warned such projects are at risk if the federal government scaled back the Renewable Energy Target. [Sky News Australia]

¶   Seventies-style blackouts could become a reality as the threat of worsening stormy weather looms over Wales’ ageing electricity infrastructure. Fires in three fossil fuel plants have caused them to go offline for repairs, and two nuclear plants are down because of reactor cracks. [WalesOnline]

US:

¶   Plans for what will soon be the biggest municipal fleet of electrified vehicles in the nation were recently pushed through in the City of Indianapolis, through a new initiative dubbed the “Freedom Fleet.” The EV fleet of 425 EV or PHEV sedans is expected to be deployed in early 2016. Police will continue with gas-powered cars. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The latest monthly numbers on new electric capacity have been released by FERC. The result is another big month for renewable energy… and natural gas. Wind power accounted for 61% of new power capacity. Natural gas accounted for 19%, nuclear uprates 12%, and solar 7%. Natural gas still leads for the year. [CleanTechnica]

Opinion:

¶   “What Would Republican Control Of Senate Mean For The Energy Industry?” Tuesday’s elections could well see a major upheaval in American politics, with Republicans possibly achieving control of both the House and Senate. (Obama can still veto legislation, and it’s not clear how reluctant or enthusiastic he will be.) [Forbes]

¶   “Learning the tragic lesson of Fukushima: No nuclear restart at Sendai” In March 2011, Japan suffered the worst nuclear catastrophe in a generation, with triple reactor core meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi. The catastrophe was a stern warning about the perils of depending on nuclear power. [Greenpeace International]

Science and Technology:

¶   A multidisciplinary engineering team developed a new nanoparticle-based material for concentrating solar power plants designed to absorb and convert to heat more than 90% of the sunlight it captures. The new material can also withstand temperatures greater than 700° Celsius and survive many years of weather. [ScienceDaily]

¶   The Vertiwind will be part of EDF-EN’s offshore wind farm project called Inflow, which the European Commission is helping fund. It is a vertical axis wind turbine of 2 MW. There are a number of reasons why such a turbine might be used in a variety of locations, including urban areas. [Windpower Engineering]

World:

¶   Australian households and businesses have installed more than 1 GW of rooftop solar since July, 2013, with the rate of installations growing in the last few months due to uncertainty about the future of the renewable energy target. Queensland the biggest market, followed by Victoria, NSW and South Australia. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Brazil finally entered the solar power sector on Friday, granting contracts for the construction of 31 solar parks as it tries to diversify its sources of generation amid an energy crisis caused by the worst drought in eight decades. The 31 solar parks will have a combined installed capacity of 1,048 MW. [Reuters]

¶   Barbour ABI has released new data revealing that a total of 405 renewable energy projects are in the pipeline for the UK. The projects represent investment of more than £81 billion. These projects account for approximately 47% of proposed UK infrastructure projects before 2025. [H&V News]

¶   A solar plant built on a disused airfield in the United Kingdom is now meeting the energy demands of 10,000 average homes, energy company RWE said. RWE announced its Kencot Hill solar park was completed and connected to the British grid, adding 37 MW to the regional power sector. [UPI.com]

¶   A roof section of a structure covering the No. 1 reactor at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was removed Friday, and another panel may be removed today. The utility will then confirm the effects of the antiscattering agents it applied and conduct a thorough examination of the rubble’s condition. [The Japan News]

US:

¶   Renewable energy development and implemented energy efficiency measures are responsible for 70% of the drop in US carbon dioxide emissions seen since 2007 (when a slow decline began), according to a new report from Greenpeace. The findings argue against detractors of renewable power. [CleanTechnica]

¶   When Debbie Dooley became solar energy’s most vocal champion in Georgia last year, solar advocates in other states began wondering how they could replicate her efforts. They may have an answer as Dooley is testing the waters in Florida, Virginia and Wisconsin. South Carolina, Louisiana and Kansas may be next. [Energy Collective]

¶   National Grid’s 37% price hike takes effect for electricity in Massachusetts takes effect on November 1. Rhode Island customers could also face higher rates by the start of the new year. The reason is that New England has become increasingly reliant on natural gas, but pipelines are being built slowly. [Providence Eyewitness News]

¶   More than 100 people rallied in support of a wind farm proposed off Long Island’s coast at a meeting of the Long Island Power Authority board. Ratepayers, community activists, labor and political leaders convened outside the utility’s headquarters, and once inside the building, they packed the conference room. [Long Island Press]

¶   Pattern Energy notched a 94% rise in proportional electricity sales to 710 GWh in the third quarter of 2014 as it continued to add to its owned wind fleet. Sales over the nine months ended 30 September were 2,026,233 MWh compared with 1,331,149 MWh in 2013. [reNews]

Opinion:

¶   “Green Tech Can Soon Meet 100% Of Global Energy Needs” We don’t need fossil fuels anymore. Many would argue that the reason we can’t stop burning fossil fuels and address climate change is that our modern civilization can’t continue without them. This is a myth that must be busted soon, given the rapid advance of climate change. [Huffington Post]

World:

¶   Solar energy is a must for Saudi Arabia if the kingdom wants to maintain its high standard of living, according to the Executive Director of the Saudi Electricity Company. He said if Saudi Arabia continued on its present consumption rate without developing solar power, a great opportunity to develop renewable energy would be lost. [Chinatopix]

¶   Northern Power Systems of Barre, Vermont has commissioned four of its NPS 100 wind turbines as part of a South Korean island hybrid energy project. The 100 kW turbines are in a hybrid system with solar, storage, and diesel to provide power at $.25 per kWh, a substantial saving for customers. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   Earlier this year, the Denmark’s leadership announced that it planned to phase out coal by 2030 and run its economy entirely on renewable power by 2050. Soon after, the Danish government reported that wind was becoming far cheaper than fossil fuels. Now, it says it wants to kill coal in ten years, not fifteen. [Motherboard]

¶   Siemens’ Wind Power and Renewables Division has received two new orders for onshore wind projects in Ontario, Canada. The contracts include the supply, installation and commissioning of a total of 137 wind turbines rated at 2.3 MW. Pattern Development will receive 91 turbines and Suncor Energy will take 47. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   GDF Suez has struck a deal with a community wind farm on the Isle of Lewis, off the coast of Scotland, to buy all the electricity generated from it. The Power Purchase Agreement with Beinn Ghrideag windfarm is the first such agreement of its kind with a community owned renewable generator. [Energy Voice]

¶   Preparatory works for the installation of the 7-MW oil pressure drive-type wind turbine on the three-column semi-sub floater at Onahama port, Fukushima, are almost completed, and delivery of the floater from Nagasaki to Onahama started on Thursday as part of the second term of the project. [The Maritime Executive]

¶   The UK Secretary for Energy and Climate Change, the chairman of Iberdrola, and the energy executive vice president of Dong opened West of Duddon Sands offshore windfarm. The €2 billion wind facility, developed Iberdrola subsidiary ScottishPower Renewables, was commissioned over two months ahead of schedule. [Your Renewable News]

¶   Renewable energy projects reached an installed capacity of 4,725 MW in Romania. Wind parks totaled 2,805 MW, along with 1,245 MW of solar, 574 of micro-hydropower, and 101 MW of biogas. New projects have added some 400 MW of installed capacity in the first nine months of the year. [Romania-Insider.com]

¶   The French Interior Minister said the government has begun investigating drones flying above as many as 10 French nuclear power plants this month. The French office of the environmental activist group Greenpeace has denied any connection to the drone flights and denounced the lack of security. [Ars Technica]

US:

¶   To make the Model S more affordable, Tesla made a new deal with US Bank to offer more favorable lease terms, lowering the lease cost by as much as 25%. The new lease now comes with a “happiness guarantee” that lets customers return the car after three months if they’re not totally satisfied. [CleanTechnica]

¶   During the eight-month period from January through August, the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in the Mojave Desert generated 254,263 MWh of electricity, according to US Energy Information Administration data. That’s roughly 38% of the power output that had been anticipated. [RenewablesBiz]

¶   New Hampshire has approved Palmer Capital’s 14.25-MW Jericho Mountain wind project in Coos County. The state executive committee voted in favor of a $4 million bond to help finance the fully-permitted project, which will employ 5 GE 2.85-MW turbines. Jericho Mountain is expected to come online in 2015. [reNews]

¶   The next step in a years-long drive for North Myrtle Beach to become the offshore wind energy capital of South Carolina will begin next month, when Coastal Carolina University, the University of South Carolina, and others begin assessing the quality of areas in off the coast of South Carolina for the development of wind farms. [SCNow]

Thoughts on Science and Technology:

¶   “Wind Power Is Cheaper, More Reliable, Than Natural Gas” There is a lesson to be learned from the debate in Australia and the analysis it produces: Not only is traditional fossil generation intermittent – and dangerously so – but the intermittency of some renewables is simply not a problem. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   British energy regulator Ofgem announced Monday its plans to allow £1.1 billion in funding for a new subsea transmission link in the north of Scotland to connect 1.2 GW of renewables capacity to the grid. The plan calls for a new subsea cable to be installed under the Moray Firth with completion expected in 2018. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A 10-MW canal top solar power plant has been installed in the Indian city of Vadodara, over a Narmada river canal branch. The total capital cost of the system has been about $15 million. The same engineering firm that managed design and construction provide operation and maintenance for 25 years for $1.6 million. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Siemens Canada Limited has confirmed an agreement to supply turbines to Suncor Energy’s 100-MW Cedar Point wind farm in Ontario. The manufacturer will deliver and install 46 SWT 2.3-MW 113 direct drive turbines to the project. The deal includes a two-year service and maintenance agreement. [reNews]

¶   JinkoSolar announced that it will supply 19 MW of solar modules for a PV project in Chile’s Atacama Desert region, which has one of the highest irradiation levels in the world. The 19 MW solar power plant is expected to generate about 50,000 MWh of electricity annually, about what 30,000 local households use. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   Germany can expect to see its greenhouse gas emissions fall this year as a result of a drop in energy demand and increased renewables investment, according to researchers at AG Energiebilanzen. They predicted that energy consumption in 2014 in Germany will be at its lowest since the country’s reunification in 1990. [Business Green]

¶   Germany is considering removing some of its coal plant capacity as part of a raft of new policies to help meet greenhouse gas emissions goals. On 3 December, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet is to decide on a programme that is likely to include steps to boost energy efficiency and possibly reduce coal generation. [EurActiv]

¶   In the first-ever delay in the plans to dismantle reactor 1 at TEPCO’s stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the government and the utility have agreed to postpone the removal of fuel rods from the spent-fuel pool by two years from the initial plans, NHK reported Thursday. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶   Xcel said last week that it has made deals with three energy developers to build as many as three huge solar power farms in Minnesota, which could result in almost 200 MW of new power coming online by 2016. Xcel is the biggest power company in Minnesota, with 1.2 million customers. [Hydrogen Fuel News]

¶   The future of rooftop solar energy in Louisiana could hang in the balance in the November 4 election race.  The chairman of the  Public Service Commission is a favorite of utility companies, which give his campaign hundreds of thousands of dollars. His opponent is a renewable energy advocate. [Alexandria Town Talk]

¶   Rooftop solar PV systems have reached grid parity – which means it costs the same or less than getting electricity from the power grid – in 10 US states. According to the latest report of the solar energy analyst at Deutsche Bank, by 2016, solar rooftop will reach grid parity in all 50 US states. [Treehugger]

¶   Exelon Corp has stepped up lobbying in its effort to have state legislators reward the company’s six nuclear plants in Illinois for producing electric power without emitting greenhouse gases. Three of the plants could be closed because of competition. Environmentalists, however, say nuclear power is not clean. [Chicago Tribune]

Words to Remember:

¶   “Every­thing is im­pos­sible until it is done,” says an official of the German region of Rhein-Hunsruck. The district uses wind, sol­ar, bio­mass and hy­dro sup­ply 177% of its elec­tri­city, and sells the sur­plus. C02 emis­sions have fall­en by 64% since 1990 and the economy has $50 million per year more than it had. [Edmonton Journal]

Science and Technology:

¶   A draft of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Synthesis report warns of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts. To keep the temperature from rising above the 2° threshold, net global emissions of carbon must drop 40-70% by 2050, hitting zero by the end of the century. [International Business Times UK]

World:

¶   The results of India’s latest solar auction are in, and it is bad news for developers of Australian coal projects – solar PV is cheaper for Indian users than the electricity price needed to pay for imports of coal from Australia. The low bids were below $0.09/kWh, at a price at which coal imports are not economically viable. [RenewEconomy]

¶   China is on course this year to build four times the total wind power installed in all of Denmark as developers push to build the turbines ahead of cuts to incentives originally designed to spur the industry. The nation may add as much as 20 gigawatts of wind power in 2014 and maintain that pace next year. [Businessweek]

¶   While home owners in regional locations of Australia often make a choice to go off-grid, particularly those who have to pay a high connection fee for new homes, it is becoming increasingly clear that taking some towns and villages off the grid may also be a better solution. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Poor nations are adding capacity from renewable energy projects at nearly twice the rate of developed countries, a new interactive report found. The surge reflects the economic advantage that cleaner technologies have in emerging markets with expanding populations and economies. [International Business Times]

¶   Europe is on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 24% by 2020 from 1990 levels, four percentage points higher than its goal, the European Environment Agency reported. The bloc was also on its way to meet the target of having renewable sources account for at least 20% of energy needs by 2020. [Channel News Asia]

¶   With increasing integration of wind power and conversion of CHP plants to use biomass, around 71% of Denmark’s electricity supply will be renewable by 2020, compared to 43% in 2012. Denmark is also close to meeting the Danish national targets of reducing carbon emissions by 40% by 2020. [Copenhagen Capacity]

US:

¶   The Post Carbon Institute has released a report, “Drilling Deeper,” which examines Energy Information Administration’s forecasts for 12 shale plays that  together cover 82% of tight oil and 88% of shale gas production. It says the EIA is almost certainly overstating the amount of oil the plays can produce. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Renewable energy sources accounted for 40.61% of all new US electrical generating capacity put in service during the first three quarters of this year, according to the latest Energy Infrastructure Update report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Only natural gas provided more new generating capacity. [North American Windpower]

¶   NRG Energy and MGM Resorts International announced that the world’s largest rooftop PV array on top of a convention center has been successfully completed. The 6.4 MW installation covers an area of 8.1 hectares on top of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, generating enough energy for over 1,000 US homes. [PV-Tech]

¶   September was the biggest month ever for Tucson Electric Power’s Renewable Energy Department. Over 500 applications for new solar connections came in and October seems to be keeping apace. What’s driving this surge? Better financing options for consumers and better information. [Arizona Daily Star]

¶   Utilities see themselves losing ground to new competitors as the US strives to significantly expand and strengthen its electrical grid, according to a Mortenson Construction survey of utility executives, engineers, and suppliers at the 2014 IEEE PES Transmission & Distribution Conference. [PR Web]

¶   New Jersey’s Public Service Electric and Gas Company has started construction of its largest solar project to date, an 11.18-MW project atop the closed Kinsley Landfill. Kinsley is the utility’s third project to transform the state’s landfill space into solar farms under the Solar 4 All initiative. [reNews]

¶   A lawsuit claims that the NRC and Pacific Gas and Electric Co changed a key element of the Diablo Canyon plant’s license related to seismic safety without allowing public input as required by law — or even notifying the public at all. The changes concern the strength of earthquakes that the plant can withstand. [SFGate]

Science and Technology:

¶   A new policymaking tool to discern the most efficient and effective means within the multiple choices and better enable the shift to renewable energy has been developed by researchers at the University of California–Berkeley. It facilitates assessment of economic and environmental implications of policies. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   Laos plans to quadruple its hydropower generation capacity from current levels by the end of the decade and step up electricity exports to its neighbouring countries, its vice minister of energy and mines said on Tuesday. Laos is among Asia’s poorest countries but has big ambitions to become the “Battery of Southeast Asia.” [Daily Mail]

¶   The UK’s Department of Communities and Local Government has upheld the resolution to grant planning permission for a six turbine wind farm near Carlisle. The city council had granted permission, but was appealed. Now, assuming no legal challenge in a six-week period, the project will begin construction in 2015. [BQ Live]

¶   New data highlights the catastrophe of the Australian Coalition government’s campaign against renewable energy. In a period when possibly 1,000 MW of solar projects should have been commissioned, just 10 MW of solar projects have been committed in 2014, almost one third of them on IKEA’s rooftops. [RenewEconomy]

¶   GE announced it will supply equipment and procurement contractor HydroChina and wind farm customer Sapphire with 33 GE 1.5-82.5 wind turbines for the Sapphire Wind Power farm in the southeastern Pakistani province of Sindh, located outside the provincial capital of Karachi. [The Nation]

¶   The growth rate of wind farms and solar plants in China, India and an array of smaller developing countries is starting to outpace that in many of the world’s richest nations. Wind and solar equipment manufacturers are helping drive a major shift to green energy, a year-long study of developing countries’ energy use suggests. [Financial Times]

¶   Wind capacity could increase nearly seven-fold by 2030, reaching a total of more than 2000 GW and meeting almost 20% of electricity demand, according to a new report, the Global Wind Energy Outlook 2014. It says that while growth has been flat at about 40 GW per year, conditions are likely to improve. [Business Spectator]

¶   A new political party has been established which supports the current Renewable Energy Target and seeks to increase Australia’s emission targets. The Australian Progressive Party seeks to provide certainty for an industry currently suffering from the “inconsistency and short-sightedness” of successive governments. [Climate Control News]

¶   The state of Saxony-Anhalt in Germany is investing in electricity storage by developing a 30 MW lithium-ion battery there. It will be built by SK Innovation Co Ltd, a South Korean company. About €9 billion have been invested in solar power infrastructure in Saxony-Anhalt since 1991. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A town in southwest Japan became the first to approve the restart of a nuclear power station on October 28, one step in Japan’s fraught process of reviving an industry left idled by the Fukushima nuclear crisis in 2011. Satsuma-sendai, a town of 100,000, has long relied on the Sendai nuclear power plant for government subsidies and jobs. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   UC Merced leaders say the campus could be completely powered through renewable energy by the end of 2016, sooner than originally planned. The campus already gets about 15% of its power from its solar panels, and will get 60 percent from a Fresno County solar site in the next couple of years. [Merced Sun-Star]

¶   A new Alevo factory in Concord, North Carolina will produce shipping containers loaded with Alevo batteries to provide 2 MW of power (1 MWh of energy) to be attached to grids at strategic locations. These units will also provide a range of services to deliver efficiencies and eliminate waste. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶   Broken Bow II, a 75-MW wind farm developed by Sempra U.S. Gas & Power Co, in central Nebraska, was dedicated Monday. The farm’s 43 turbines generate enough power for about 30,000 homes. Nebraska Public Power District has bought all of the wind farm’s electricity under a 25-year contract. [Lincoln Journal Star]

¶   The states of New York, Connecticut, and Vermont and the Prairie Island Indian Community in Minnesota filed separate appeals to challenge the NRC’s review on nuclear storage. They contend that federal officials did not conduct a thorough analysis of the long-term risks of dry-cask storage. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

Science and Technology:

¶   The risk of severe winters in Europe and northern Asia has been doubled by global warming, according to new research. The counter-intuitive finding is the result of climate change melting the Arctic ice cap and causing new wind patterns that push freezing air and snow southwards. [The Guardian]

World:

¶   A2Sea has installed the first turbine at Dong Energy’s Borkum Riffgrund 1 offshore wind farm in the German North Sea. The Sea Installer erected the first of 78 Siemens 3.6 MW machines on 25 October. The wind farm has a total capacity of 312 MW. It is planned to be fully commissioned in the first half of 2015. [reNews]

¶   The chief executive of the UK’s £3.8 billion Green Investment Bank says that after months of uncertainty over support for renewable energy, confirmation of contracts for major offshore wind schemes and clarity around the Renewable Obligation support scheme should ensure projects could move forward. [Business Green]

¶   Cruise ships now have a green alternative when they dock at the Port of Halifax, Nova Scotia. There is a new shore power system that lets vessels plug in. The shore power jib lets ships shut down their auxiliary engines and connect to the electrical grid while docked. This shore power project is the first of its kind on the East Coast. [Globalnews.ca]

¶   An official from The Institute of Energy Economics of Japan says Russia may play an important role in Japan’s efforts on energy security, possibly through a direct gas pipeline. Japan needs to diversify as nuclear reactors are currently shut down following the Fukushima Disaster. [ICIS]

US:

¶   Over a dozen solar businesses in Ohio have sent a letter to the White House backing the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan. One organizer with Environment Ohio says leaders need to reverse the freeze on the state’s renewable-energy standards and strengthen clean-energy laws to make the plan work. [Public News Service]

¶   The Board of Public Utilities of New Jersey wants to award up to $3 million to energy-storage projects, a policy officials say could help government, commercial, and industrial facilities have a backup power source in the event the traditional power grid fails during an extreme storm. [NJ Spotlight]

¶   There has been some movement to apply pressure to Georgia Power to adopt more solar. Georgia is a conservative state, so there has been a resistance to disrupting the main utilities’ reliance on fossil fuels. However, the dramatic drop in solar power prices has made even a resistant utility begin to embrace it more. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The National Park Service is investing $29 million in 81 individual energy efficiency and water conservation projects at national parks throughout the greater Washington region. This move to reduce energy use and generate energy from renewable sources is the Interior Department’s largest so far. [National Parks Traveler]

¶   Speaking last week at a conference hosted by Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, EPA administrator Gina McCarthy says the US has arrived at a pivotal moment in its pursuit of clean energy, a time on par with the very creation of the EPA almost 44 years ago. [Agri-Pulse]

¶   Solar giant SunEdison made several announcements last week in relation to major solar energy projects in California, as it completes major phases of project development. To date, the company has completed 382 projects in California in total, adding more than 489 MW of solar capacity in the state. [Energy Matters]

¶   Wärtsilä will supply a 50 MW Smart Power Generation power plant to Hawaiian Electric Company on the island of Oahu. The plant will help enable the integration of more solar PV generation on the island by providing backup power as needed. Wärtsilä is based in Helsinki, Finland. [FINNBAY]

World:

¶   According to data published by the China Coal Resource, China’s coal use has dropped this year by 1.28%, a downward trend started in the second quarter of 2014 and continued in the third. This, despite the fact that electricity consumption has actually increased by 4% over the year to date. [CleanTechnica]

¶   In Germany, the tiny village of Feldheim is at the renewable energy movement’s vanguard. The hamlet was Germany’s first to leave the national grid, using 100% local, alternative energy. It has an excess of electricity from wind and solar, which it sells, and uses methane from a bio-digester for heat. [The Local.de]

¶   Australian Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane says the government hasn’t walked away from a 20% renewable energy target, but a drop in power consumption has required a “recalibration”. The government wants to adjust the RET to a “real 20%”, in effect slashing it from 41,000 GWh to about 27,000 GWh. [Yahoo!7 News]

¶   Korea’s Ulleung Island, with a population of 10,000, will be energy independent through using renewable energy sources from 2020, according to its governor. The governor took Samsø Island in Denmark as an example. In Samsø, 100% of the electricity comes from wind power. [Korea Times]

¶   In India, Rajasthan-based solar EPC firm Rays Power Experts plans to invest Rs 200 crore ($327 million) for developing independent solar power parks across the country and eyes Rs 1,000 crore ($1.635 billion) by FY ’16. The company expects to have 400 MW of operational capacity by FY ’16. [Economic Times]

¶   Solar Impulse representatives have arrived in Abu Dhabi to meet with local authorities in preparation for the plane’s arrival in January. The plane’s historic flight around the world, entirely on solar power, is scheduled to take off from Abu Dhabi next March. Pilots of the Solar Impulse 2 will conduct test flights in the meantime. [Emirates 24/7]

¶   The intensified demand for electricity from renewable sources has kick-started the hydropower development into a new era: An unprecedented number of dams for electricity production is currently under construction or planned worldwide. However, the boom will affect some of the most important sites for freshwater biodiversity. [AZoCleantech]

¶   Masao Uchibori, the only party-candidate running, won the Fukushima gubernatorial election, according to The Yomiuri Shimbun. While all six candidates aimed to decommission the all remaining nuclear reactors in the prefecture, Uchibori was the only one to back restarting other Japanese nuclear reactors. [The Japan News]

US:

¶   OneEnergy Renewables and Constellation announced the development of a 4.3 MW solar electric project on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The is part of an electricity supply agreement between Constellation and the National Aquarium, which will receive about 40% of its power from the project. [AZoCleantech]

¶   DTE Biomass Energy today celebrated the completion of its 9.6-MW landfill gas-to-energy project at a landfill, which is owned and operated by Republic Services of North Carolina. Landfill gas at the site is used to generate renewable energy which is subsequently sold to Duke Energy Progress. [AZoCleantech]

¶   Increasing numbers of Michigan homeowners are making an investment in renewable energy, especially as prices for the equipment come down and their electricity bills edge up, according to utility companies and solar proponents. Many want to act before the federal tax credit expires in 2016. [Detroit Free Press]

Notable:

¶   Rick Piltz passed away. He was a prominent whistleblower during the George W. Bush administration, leaking internal documents, showing that the administration was actively obscuring climate science. A White House staffer later admitted to editing reports to downplay effects of climate change. [Scientific American]

World:

¶   Marks & Spencer is building the UK’s largest array of rooftop solar panels on a distribution center. Spread across 900,000 sq ft with more than 24,000 photovoltaic panels, the system will generate nearly enough energy to power the distribution center which handles all the goods M&S sells via its online store. [HITC]

¶   Iran is planning to produce 5,000 MW of electricity in the next five years using renewable energy sources, an Iranian official says. Due to its geographical and geological position, Iran enjoys enormous potentials for production renewable energies, including geothermal, solar and wind power. [News.Az]

¶   ABB is working with Vestas to provide rural communities in developing countries with affordable clean electricity. The two companies have announced plans to jointly deliver power technology and system integration solutions for remote off-grid and microgrid communities. [SmartMeters]

¶   Mainstream Renewable Power has reached full commercial operation at the 46-MW Oldman 2 wind project in Alberta. The Irish developer erected 20 Siemens 2.3-MW 101 turbines whose main components were manufactured in Kansas and Iowa. Oldman 2 is the third Alberta wind farm to come online this year. [reNews]

¶   Nuclear power generation will account for less than 30% of all electricity generated in Japan, according to the newly appointed economy minister. This is the first time a minister has referred to a specific rate for electricity generated at nuclear power plants since the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011. [The Japan News]

US:

¶   The Ford Focus Electric 2015 edition is getting a significant price cut of about $6000, down to $29,995, according to recent reports – thus finally putting it on competitive terms with the market leader, the Nissan LEAF. This is actually the second price cut for the Ford Focus Electric, which debuted at $39,995 four years ago. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The US Navy has committed to get half of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2020. It is looking to extract energy from tides, currents and waves to help with that goal, and has given the University of Washington an $8 million contract to develop marine renewable energy. [UW Today]

¶   The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville today released a request for proposals for a 25 MW Combined Heat and Power (CHP) renewable energy project at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. The Redstone Arsenal project is a 30-year Power Purchase Agreement. [Greentech Media]

¶   Xcel Energy Inc. said Friday that it has signed deals with three Minnesota energy developers to construct up to three giant fields of solar panels near the cities of North Branch, Marshall and Tracy by late 2016 to comply with a new state renewable energy mandate. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

World:

¶   European leaders agreed to cut carbon emissions by at least 40% by 2030, in a move that could pave the way for a global treaty on tackling climate change next year. The wording means that the target could be raised to 50% in the event an ambitious emissions reduction deal is agreed in Paris next year. [Business Green]

¶   The United States has challenged the Japanese government over moves to ramp up exports of coal-fired power technology and to offer cheap loans to lure buyers, according to a U.S. source with direct knowledge of the matter. Japan’s shipments of the equipment soared to nearly $8 billion last year. [Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide]

¶   DuPont is part of a plan by the government of Macedonia to create a market for cellulosic ethanol in the Pelagonia region of that country. Ethanol Europe and DuPont will work toward building a market for the fuel in Europe, which would support a commercial-scale second-generation ethanol plant in Macedonia. [The News Journal]

¶   Japan warned that a volcano in southern Japan located roughly 64 km (40 miles) from the Sendai nuclear plant was showing signs of increased activity that could possibly lead to a small-scale eruption and warned people to stay away from the summit. The government is trying to get the Sendai plant restarted soon. [www.worldbulletin.net]

US:

¶   For years, the utilities responsible for providing electricity to the nation have treated residential solar systems as a threat. Now, they want a piece of the action, and they are having to fight for the chance. If utilities embrace home solar, their deep pockets and access to customers could be transformative. [Scientific American]

¶   County ballot issues to ban fracking could have a large impact outside those counties. And the campaign money being spent on both sides – but primarily by big energy companies – shows how much is at stake. The highest profile and most contentious ban is the one on the ballot in Denton, Texas. [Resilience]

¶   SunEdison, a leading solar technology manufacturer and provider of solar energy services announced today that it has closed on construction financing. The funds will be used to construct the 26 MW DC Vega solar power plant located in Merced County, California. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   Renewable energy experts Thursday credited Sonoma County with a leading role in the expanding green power industry, a sector combating climate change as it creates jobs – including economic growth fueled locally by one of the state’s first public electricity programs of its kind. [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]

¶   In its 2015 State Solar Panel Rankings Report, solar advocacy group Solar Power Rocks has graded states based on a complex set of criteria. New York and Massachusetts both get A+ grades, and Connecticut, New Jersey and Vermont each get a solid A. The rest of the nation, despite less cloudy skies, is mostly not doing as well. [Mother Nature Network]

¶   Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court upheld approval of the 39-MW Passadumkeag Mountain wind project by the Board of Environmental Protection after an appeal by a local opposition group. The court decision also clarified that the board has a broad power to review the decisions of state regulators. [reNews]

¶   The Solar Community initiative is the first nationwide bulk solar purchase program launched to give homeowners easy access to more affordable, clean, renewable energy. The initiative presents a new approach to purchasing, financing and installing solar panels at a uniform discounted price to anyone in the US. [WebWire]

¶   Wind energy is generating most of the dollars being invested in renewable energy in Michigan, according to a study released by the Pew Charitable Trust on Thursday, October 23. More than $2 billion was invested in renewable energy in the state between 2009 and 2013, according to the study. [The Ann Arbor News]

¶   Since Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey, darkening swaths of the nation’s most densely populated state for days, a microgrid at Princeton University has emerged as a national example of how to keep power running for residents, emergency workers and crucial facilities when the next disaster strikes. [Princeton University]

Opinion:

¶   “Scratch below the nuclear hyperbole” – Six reasons why nuclear is not the answer to climate change (without even mentioning Fukushima) – The nuclear industry is pouring money and political influence into selling the United States and Wall Street on the lie that nuclear power is the answer to climate change. [Commons]

World:

¶   The Ikea Group may be putting a price on carbon emissions and is making great strides to become more sustainable. It has committed to investing €1.5 billion until 2015 in renewable energy, mainly wind and solar power. Ikea aims to produce at least 70% of its energy consumption from renewable sources by 2015. [Triple Pundit]

¶   The Ugandan authorities have approved an additional nine renewable electricity plants – some of them under the Global Energy Transfer for Feed-in Tariffs program – to generate a total of 132.7 MW to boost Uganda’s transformation into an upper middle class country. Eight of the plants will go online by 2018. [Bernama]

¶   The public sector will play an important but secondary role in financing the French energy transition, according to a new study. The state-funded study says an additional investment of €20 billion per year is needed to complete the energy transition. The study gives an overview of France’s fight against climate change. [EurActiv]

¶   Australia’s Renewable Energy Target will not be scrapped, but the government is negotiating industry exemptions with the opposition. The government, led by coal advocate Tony Abbott, called for cuts, exemption for some mining industries, or a complete abolition. Labor rejected these but proposed further talks. [PV-Tech]

¶   One of Australia’s main wind turbine tower manufacturers has announced it will shed 100 staff after the federal government revealed its intention to seek a cut to the Renewable Energy Target. Continued uncertainty over the large-scale RET led the company to mothball “most” of its wind tower fabrication facilities. [Business Spectator]

¶   China’s installed wind power capacity will reach 100,000 MW by the end of 2014, a year ahead of the scheduled targets for the year outlined in the country’s 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), a senior official said on Wednesday. China’s installed wind power capacity had already hit 83,000 MW by the end of August. [ecns]

¶   The UK is way off track to meet its target to have 25% of heating provided by low carbon sources, such as heat pumps and biomass boilers, a new report from WWF has revealed. The Warm homes, not Warm Words report shows that just 2% of UK heating demand currently comes from low carbon sources. [Business Green]

¶   Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, known as a firm opponent to nuclear power following the 2011 Fukushima meltdowns, on Wednesday criticized current Japanese leader Shinzo Abe’s policy to revive the country’s nuclear power generation. Last May Koizumi established a body to promote renewable energy. [GlobalPost]

US:

¶   Trash to fuel, the stuff of the 1980s sci-fi comedy movie trilogy “Back to the Future” is now a reality. The 2015 Bi-fuel Chevrolet Impala – not a tricked-out DeLorean – really can run on leftovers, table scraps and, oh yeah, grains from brewing beer, as Quasar Energy Group uses organic waste to produce biogas, which can fuel the car. [Florida Weekly]

¶   The US is reducing oil dependence, slowing the growth of electricity needs, and making energy services more affordable to all Americans – and our smarter use of energy is the single most important contributor to these positive trends, according to a report released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced more than $53 million for forty research and development projects that will aim to drive down the cost of solar energy, tackling key aspects of technology development in order to bring innovative ideas to the market more quickly. [Utility Products]

¶   New York Governor Cuomo today announced the first transactions of NY Green Bank to kick off clean energy projects across New York. Such projects are traditionally difficult for the private sector to finance because the financial industry has little experience with them and there is no way established way to evaluate risks. [InvestorIdeas.com]

¶   Satellite observations of huge oil and gas basins in East Texas and North Dakota confirm staggering 9% and 10% leakage rates of heat-trapping methane. Scientists evaluating this put the use of fracked gas in perspective. In short, fracking speeds up human-caused climate change, thanks to methane leaks alone. [ThinkProgress]

Opinion:

¶   “When Grid Defection Makes Economic Sense (Graphs & Charts)” A Rocky Mountain Institute and Cohn Reznick report, “The Economics of Grid Defection,” addresses the question of when it makes sense to go off the grid in various parts of the US for those in the residential or commercial sectors. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   The UK’s wind farms generated more power than its nuclear power stations on October 21, the National Grid says. During a 24-hour period on that day, spinning blades produced more energy than splitting atoms. Wind made up 14.2% of all generation and nuclear offered 13.2%. [BBC News]

¶   The Australian clean energy industry and Labor Party have immediately rejected the Abbott government’s opening gambit in negotiations to find a bipartisan agreement on the future of the renewable energy target. Labor rejected it as a job-killing “phoney” offer before it was even announced. [The Guardian]

¶   The Cook Islands Prime Minister opened Infratec Renewables’ 960-kW Te Mana o Te Ra solar plant in Rarotonga. The panels are expected to produce about 5% of the Cook Islands’ electricity. The country aims to produce 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by next year, rising to 100% by 2020. [SundayNews.co.nz]

¶   Greece’s dominant power utility PPC won approval from the energy regulator to produce electricity at two wind parks it plans to build in northern Greece. The production licence opens the way for construction of parks of 106-MW capacity in Rodopi, a project which is estimated to cost €127.2 million ($161.47 million). [Reuters Africa]

US:

¶   The Department of Defense released its 2014 Climate Change Adaption Roadmap, outlining how the military plans to adapt to climate change. For the first time, the Pentagon discusses climate change as an immediate risk – a factor to be incorporated into how the military operates today. [Energy Collective]

¶    General Motors’ new 2.2-MW solar array at its Lordstown Complex will be complete by the end of 2014. It will be GM’s largest solar installation in the Western Hemisphere. GM remains on track to meet a company goal of 125 MW of renewable energy deployed globally by 2015. [Today’s Energy Solutions]

¶   Sharyland Utilities, a power transmission company, has filed an interconnection agreement with Unity Wind at the Texas Public Utility Commission. The filing covers a wind farm in Deaf Smith County with a capacity of up to 240 MW and a projected second phase of 100 MW of solar generation. [Amarillo.com]

¶   GE’s Distributed Power business, Western Energy Systems, and Phoenix Energy announced they have signed an agreement for GE to supply Jenbacher gas engines to power a series of bioenergy plants that Phoenix Energy plans to build around California. The plants will use biomass gasification for fuel. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   Cornell University expanded its renewable energy portfolio as Distributed Sun, Building Energy and ABM announced they successfully launched production for Cornell’s Snyder Road Solar Farm, consisting of a 2-MW array on eleven acres of Cornell property in the Town of Lansing. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   In the first program of its kind, 3M Co. is one of three large US companies that are offering assistance to employees who want solar panels at their homes. The program, called the Solar Community Initiative, promises discounts of 30% to 35% on solar-panel projects, and help on planning and installation. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

¶   A new report from the US DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley and National Renewable Energy Laboratories on the price impacts of its SunShot initiative has found the cost of solar energy in America fell by up to 19% in 2013, with utility-scale PV systems falling below $2 a watt – 59% below what modeled pricing predicted in 2010. [Energy Matters]

¶   Ecoplexus Inc has closed financing and commenced construction on three solar PV projects totaling 21 MW and costing about $40 million. The projects have signed long-term power purchase agreements contracts with Duke Energy Progress and are expected to achieve commercial operations in 2014. [PennEnergy]

¶   Allison M. Macfarlane, chairman of the NRC, announced that she will resign to take a teaching job at George Washington University. She still has more than three years left in her term, but said she would leave January 1 and become director of the university’s Center for International Science and Technology Policy. [Washington Post]

¶   The US wind industry saw installations surpass last year’s total last month, according to new data published this week. The American Wind Energy Association announced that the total for the first nine months of 2014 was 1,254 MW. The installations for 2014 have now exceeded the 1,088 MW installed during the whole of last year. [Business Green]

Opinion:

¶   “Oil decline: Price makes the story” When the world’s business editors sent their reporters canvassing to find out what is behind the recent plunge in the world oil price, they looked at normal economics in action. But the issue here has much more to do with politics than with supply and demand.  [Resilience]

Science and Technology:

¶   The technology for managing a distributed energy landscape includes smart inverters, advanced power electronics, other grid edge devices, communications networks and software platforms. Now, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the DOE’s ARPA-E program bring us microsynchrophasors. [Energy Collective]

¶   A new, somewhat clever means of managing and improving the efficiency of the power grid was recently unveiled by a coalition of some of the world’s largest automakers. It is in fact simply a technology that allows for the direct communication of utility companies and plug-in electric vehicles, via the cloud. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   A report from the EU on power prices is only the latest of a number coming to the same conclusion. Along with three earlier reports, it proved that “wind energy is one of the lowest cost options for reducing carbon emissions,” with each focusing on a different attribute of wind energy’s performance. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Renewable energy lies at the heart of a dispute between Spain and France: Spanish wind turbines easily produce more power than is needed in the domestic market but that energy is wasted because there are few transmission lines to carry it across the border to France, but France wants to protect its nuclear reactors from competition. [Financial Times]

¶   Global wind capacity could reach 2000 GW by 2030 and meet up to 19% of electricity demand, according to a report released by the Global Wind Energy Council and Greenpeace International. It also says that the sector could create more than 2 million jobs worldwide and cut CO2 emissions by more than 3 billion tonnes per year. [reNews]

¶   According to the Clean Energy Pipeline, global clean energy investment jumped 11% in the third quarter of 2014 over figures a year earlier, clearing $64 billion. The third quarter figures represent a 3% decrease on Q2 2014 numbers, but are still healthy growth over a year earlier. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Dutch power grid operator TenneT has signed a contract for a €150 million ($192 million) loan to finance a grid project to help connect offshore wind farms in the Netherlands. The Netherlands aims to build offshore wind farms with a total capacity of 3,450 MW by 2020. [Energy Live News]

¶   A portion of the Northwest Russian Karelian Republic’s boiler systems will gradually be shifted to local forms of fuel such as peat and lumber production refuse now that the region’s government has decided to transfer 35% (250 MW) of its heat generation to these sources. [Bellona]

US:

¶   In the next Vermont legislature, a renewable portfolio standard could be created to establish how much electricity generated from wind, solar and other renewable resources utilities must sell. Under the current voluntary goal, utilities are allowed to sell renewable power credits out of state to reduce electric rates. [vtdigger.org]

¶   The hot summer was the third in which Southern California went without 2,200 MW from the San Onofre nuclear plant. Drought reduced the state’s hydroelectric output by another 1,628. Despite these events, California did not have any major outages, primarily because of its increased renewable capacity. [KCET]

¶   Minnesota’s highways are poised to become green energy generators with up to five 1-MW PV arrays built on public right-of-way. If the pilot project proceeds as planned it would exceed the capacity of a solar installation expected to go online next fall that is touted as the largest in Minnesota. [MinnPost]

¶   Michigan wind turbines could be erected without regard for some local laws under recently introduced legislation. The bill would amend Michigan’s Right to Farm Act to include wind production. It would allow wind turbines to be constructed on agricultural land without zoning or building permits. [Michigan Capitol Confidential]

Opinion:

¶   “Is France’s Love Affair with Nuclear Over?” During the next 11 years, France will reduce the percentage of electricity coming from nuclear from 75% to 50%. To do that, estimates are that as many as 20 of France’s 58 reactors would have to be closed and replaced with efficiency and renewable sources of power. [OilPrice.com]

¶   “Germany’s Energiewende Proves Electricity can be Clean and Reliable” Since 2004, the year of the first major revision of Germany’s Renewable Energy Act, the country has added at least 35 GW of solar and 35 GW of wind to its electric grid – enough to offset upwards of 35 coal plants. [Environmental Defense Fund]

World:

¶   The Philippines will have its largest wind farm once Energy Development Corp completes the 150-MW Burgos Wind Project in November. Groundbreaking for the Burgos Wind Project took place in April 2013 while the Construction for the initial 87 MW capacity of the wind farm started in June 2013. [GMA News]

¶   Green Power Panay Philippines Inc is currently developing a 35-MW biomass power plant in Mina, Iloilo, Panay. Biomass are renewable organic materials, like wood, agricultural crops or wastes used as a fuel or energy source. Biomass can be burned directly or processed into ethanol and methane biofuels. [Rappler]

¶   The Turks and Caicos Islands deepened its commitment to advancing renewable energy by joining the Carbon War Room’s Ten Island Challenge. The Rocky Mountain Institute will provide a range of technical, project management, communications, and business advisory support services. [Turks and Caicos Weekly News]

¶   Morocco’s first solar energy plant will begin operating in 2015, as part of a project the oil-scarce kingdom hopes will satisfy its growing energy needs. Morocco expects to build five new solar plants by the end of the decade with a combined production capacity of 2,000 MW, at an estimated cost of $9 billion. [Peninsula On-line]

¶   Investors are seeking funding from the UK government for an ambitious plan to import solar energy generated in North Africa. The TuNur project aims to bring 2 GW of solar power, enough for 2.5 million UK homes, to the UK from Tunisia if the company wins a contract for difference. [BBC News]

¶   British farmers will no longer be eligible for any farm subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy for land from January 2015. The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs claims that the move “will help rural communities who do not want their countryside blighted by solar farms”. [Solar Power Portal]

US:

¶   Geothermal power was once king of California’s renewable energy, but the industry’s shortsightedness and slowness to innovate left it floundering for three decades as solar and wind energy grew. Now, industry leaders say it is poised for a renaissance, powered by new technology. [Los Angeles Times]

¶   Minneapolis council members approved a contract with Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy, while also creating a public-private board to pursue the development of renewable energy options. Some environmental activists say the arrangement is a big step forward, but some others are skeptical. [Minnesota Daily]

¶   Using figures from the US Energy Information Administration, a Greenpeace team has calculated that only around 30% of the country’s emissions reduction came from switching from coal to less carbon intensive gas. The news comes after a study in Nature suggested fracked gas could cause increased emissions. [Business Green]

¶   A recent Union of Concerned Scientists study found that America can nearly quadruple its renewable electricity in the next 15 years, reaching 23% by 2030. This comes in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal that America set a modest goal of 12% renewable energy by 2030. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The state of Vermont has won a nearly quarter-million-dollar grant to help promote connecting renewable energy projects to the state’s electric grid. The US DOE grant goes to a partnership being set up between the state Department of Public Service and Vermont’s largest electric utility, Green Mountain Power. [Daily Journal]

Opinion:

¶   “Offshore wind can be our answer to region’s challenges” Wildlife and future generations are counting on us to build a set of solutions that match the scale of our environmental challenges. Responsibly developed offshore wind power can be New England’s greatest contribution to this goal. [Boston Globe]

Science and Technology:

¶   Researchers have developed a new catalyst that could lead to inexpensive and more efficient biofuels. Led by Professor Yong Wang from the Washington State University, the researchers mixed inexpensive iron with a tiny amount of rare palladium to make the catalyst. [Economic Times]

World:

¶   The International Energy Agency just released its second annual Energy Efficiency Market Report 2014 confirming energy efficiency’s place as the world’s “first fuel” and estimating the value of the energy efficiency market at between $310 and $360 billion and growing. [Energy Collective]

¶   Prudential is poised to become the key investor in a £1 billion tidal power station, securing the future of the infrastructure project. Its investment arm M&G is to inject up to £100 million in the Swansea Bay Tidal power station. The project is scheduled to open in 2018, and with Prudential backing is likely to get a go ahead. [Telegraph.co.uk]

¶   In Pakistan, the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has decided to embark on an ambitious plan for hydro and solar power projects to end the scourge of power load shedding. It has also approved a fund of Rs 10 billion ($97.24 million)  for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Oil & Gas Development Company Limited. [Business Recorder]

¶   Projects are beginning to grow renewable energy infrastructure in South Africa. The government has allocated about 70 renewable energy projects including 35 based on solar PV technology, with over 1,500 MW of capacity expected to be added. Wind energy and solar thermal power projects have also been allocated. [CleanTechnica]

¶   With the Small and Medium Enterprises playing a vital role in the economy of Sri Lanka, financing has become the biggest challenge, according to Syed Zed Al Qudsy, President of Malaysia’s SME Factors, speaking at a media conference held at the Kingsbury in Colombo on Wednesday. [The Sunday Times Sri Lanka]

¶   The switch has been flicked on New Zealand’s biggest solar energy installation, which is based in Whangarei. The 240-kW grid-connected solar electricity system will offset 80% to 90% of the air conditioning costs at the Tarewa Mega Centre, generating enough energy to power more than 40 homes. [Stuff.co.nz]

¶   India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has released revised guidelines for auction of solar photovoltaic power projects with a significant hike in overall capacity. The government plans to add 15 GW of solar power capacity by Q1 2019. The first of the auctions will involve 1,000 MW of capacity. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A record 264,000 becquerels of radioactive cesium per liter has been detected in groundwater at Fukushima Daiichi, TEPCO disclosed Saturday. The sample was taken Thursday from an observation well near reactor 2 reactor of the plant, which was destroyed by the March 2011 quake and tsunami. [The Japan Times]

¶   Japan’s Economy, Trade and Industry Minister has asked the chairman of a power industry group to decide soon whether seven nuclear reactors that will reach their 40th year of operation by July 2016 should be decommissioned. The aging reactors tend to be small, so it is possible utilities will let them go. [The Japan News]

US:

¶   Michigan’s entire Upper Peninsula is facing an energy crisis. A regional electrical power grid authority has ordered We Energies to continue running a nearly 60-year-old, coal-fired power plant it wants to close. This triggered a more than $8-million-per-month cost to keep the coal-belching plant going. [Detroit Free Press]

¶   JinkoSolar Holding Co, Ltd, and sPower have announced details of their first partnership. JinkoSolar is supplying nearly 115,000 of its 305-W high efficiency solar PV modules to sPower for a 34-MW solar facility comprised of four separate projects located in Lancaster and Victorville, California. [IT Business Net]

¶   Siemens has landed a contract to provide Hutchinson-made wind turbines for a new wind farm in Iowa and small expansion of another. MidAmerican Energy announced recently it plans to spend $280 million on the project, which will include installation of 67 turbines in southwest Iowa. [Hutchinson News]

Opinion:

¶   “Why Abbott’s faith in coal could be wrong – very wrong” In the baking expanses of the high desert near Reno, Nevada, a project is under way that could well make a mockery of Tony Abbott’s prediction this week that the coal industry will underpin Australia’s prosperity for decades. [Sydney Morning Herald]

World:

¶   Queensland network operator Ergon Energy wants to take some remote customers off-grid because of the cost of maintaining its sprawling grid network. New technology, such as solar and battery storage, costs so little it makes sense that some customers have stand-alone energy systems. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The decision by the Australian National University to end its investment in fossil fuels is a bellwether moment for Australia. It’s democracy up against crony capitalism, science up against ideology and renewable energy against the old polluting industries. Tony Abbott’s derision of ANU as “stupid” is a raw ideological refusal to face facts. [The Guardian]

¶   The Indian government said initial discussions have started for setting up an integrated power transmission grid connecting India with its neighboring nations including Bhutan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Excess production of power in one region can easily be used to meet deficit elsewhere. [Economic Times]

¶   South African electricity utility Eskom has plugged its first wind farm into the national grid. The Sere wind farm, 350 km north of Cape Town, is the utility’s first large-scale renewable energy project. The farm is a major step towards reducing South Africa’s reliance on coal-powered energy. [South Africa.info]

¶   A report by SmartestEnergy’s Energy Entrepreneurs estimates that manufacturers in the UK increased their investment in commercial-scale on-site power by £53.3 million (US$91.4 million) to a total of £164.3 million (US$281.7 million). This represents a 36% jump in investment. [Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production Magazine]

¶   A prominent volcanologist disputed regulators’ conclusion that two nuclear reactors are safe from a volcanic eruption in the next few decades, saying such a prediction is impossible. He said a cauldron eruption at one of several volcanoes surrounding the Sendai could cause a nationwide disaster. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶   One year ago, Georgia Tea Party members joined forces with environmental advocates to force Georgia Power to procure more solar power competitively as they were upset about the $1.5 billion in cost overruns from the Vogtle nuclear power plant. Now, results of competitive bidding show solar is very cost-competitive. [Energy Collective]

¶    A $500 million biorefinery is one of only three commercially sized plants in the country that use only plant waste, such as stalks and leaves, for production and thus do not compete for food crops. The second-generation ethanol plant has the capacity to produce 25 million gallons of ethanol per year. [Hutchinson News]

¶   Debbie Dooley, co-founder of the Atlanta Tea Party and national coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots, plans to push for more solar in Florida as she has in Georgia. Her goal is to end utility monopoly control in Florida. She has launched Conservatives for Energy Freedom, with the first chapter in Florida. [Tampabay.com]

¶   The North American Smart Climate Agriculture Alliance will bring together California farmers, ranchers and foresters to collaborate with energy industry experts. The focus will be on sustainability, resilience to climate change, reducing greenhouse gasses and reviewing the latest science on climate change. [California Forward Reporting]

¶   The NRC issued a much-delayed report on Thursday on Yucca Mountain’s suitability for vast shipments of spent nuclear fuel, saying it would be safe for storing nuclear waste. The 780-page staff report concluded the site “with reasonable expectation” could satisfy federal licensing requirements. [The Fiscal Times]

¶   Officials with the soon-to-close Vermont Yankee nuclear plant said Friday it could cost up to $1.24 billion to decommission the reactor, and that they currently have about half that much in a fund dedicated to paying for that work. The figure was contained in a “site assessment study.” [Washington Times]

Science and Technology:

¶   For years, some critics of renewable energy have contended that it’s really no better than fossil fuels when you consider the entire life cycle that goes into making their components. But comprehensive research recently released shows how far off their thinking is from reality. [GreenBiz.com]

World:

¶   Wind power is blowing gas and coal-fired turbines out of business in the Nordic countries. Nordic wholesale forward power prices have almost halved since 2010 to little over €30 per MWh as capacity increases while demand stalls due to stagnant populations, low economic growth and improved efficiency. [AsiaOne]

¶   Japan’s utilities say they are being swamped by green power and the grid does not have enough capacity to cope with the rocketing levels of electricity from the growing crop of solar power plants. Yet the same utilities are pushing to restart the nation’s mothballed nuclear reactors. [The Japan Times]

¶   EU leaders are likely to agree a new decade of climate and energy policy next week despite the “legitimate concerns” of several nations, Europe’s climate boss said on Thursday. European Union leaders have set themselves a deadline of the end of October to agree on green energy goals for 2030 to follow on from 2020 policy. [Reuters UK]

¶   Business and political leaders around the world, most notably in the United States and China, are pressing for action to avert the potentially huge financial repercussions of climate change. But this year, the most vocal climate change sceptic in the Group of 20 leading industrialised nations is its current host, Australia. [Daily Mail]

¶   Orix Corp, a Tokyo-based finance and leasing company, will continue to pursue the development of its 800 MW solar PV pipeline in Japan, despite recent reports of some utilities restricting grid access for new solar projects. Half of the projects are already under development or in operation and the rest will proceed as planned. [pv magazine]

¶   Innergex Renewable Energy Inc has announced that the Mesgi’g Ugju’s’n Wind Farm, LP has obtained the government decree from the Quebec government for a 150 MW wind project located in the Gaspé Peninsula, in Quebec. This concludes the project’s environmental approval process so construction may begin. [Stockhouse]

¶   Sweden has called on the EU to adopt a greenhouse gas emission reduction target of 50% by 2030s, 10 percentage points higher than current proposals. The call from Stockholm’s new centre-left government comes less than a week before EU leaders are set to gather to discuss the bloc’s climate and energy strategy. [RTCC]

¶   Italian utility Enel is considering phasing out 23 “obsolete” thermal power plants in Italy in the near future, accounting for 11 GW or 43% of the company’s existing thermal generation capacity. The decommissioning procedure for nine plants has already started, Starace added, listing units with a combined capacity of 2.2 GW. [ICIS]

¶   The UK’s National Audit Office has begun an investigation into the controversial subsidy regime for the planned new Hinkley Point C nuclear plant. The financial watchdog will be checking whether the guaranteed prices of £92 a megawatt hour – double the current cost of electricity – represented “value for money”. [The Guardian]

¶   Energy watchdog Ofgem has named five new potential interconnector projects that could link the UK with France, Ireland, Norway and Denmark. Together with the ElecLink and Nemo projects that Ofgem has already assessed, the schemes could provide up to 7.5 GW of additional electricity capacity in the UK. [reNews]

US:

¶   Earlier this year, the governor of Ohio signed a law that temporarily froze the energy efficiency and renewable energy standards. Now the Ohio state senate packed known opponents of renewable energy onto the review panel mandated to determine whether to make the current freeze permanent. [Huffington Post]

¶   The US Government has announced funding worth $1.4 billion to improve the delivery of electricity to rural communities. It includes $106 million to install smart grid technologies and $3 million for renewable energy systems, according to the US Department of Agriculture. [Energy Live News – Energy Made Easy]

¶   CB&I is working with Exelon Generation on a demonstration plant in Texas for Net Power. The project is designed to demonstrate Net Power’s Allam Cycle technology, which uses carbon dioxide as a working fluid to drive a combustion turbine. The plant will use a new turbine supplied by Toshiba, a collaborator on the project. [The Construction Index]

¶   The Army is gaining ground on its goal of going fossil fuel-free at many of its installations, according to the recently released program summary for its Net Zero initiative. The report, which covers fiscal 2013, breaks down efforts at nine pilot installations in the program. [Defense Systems]

Opinion:

¶   “Pa. backs fossil fuels instead of clean energy” Governor Corbett has signed letters demanding that the EPA reconsider its proposed rule to limit carbon dioxide pollution, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection refuses to allow its own Climate Change Advisory Committee to advise on how to implement the rule. [GoErie.com]

¶   “In Minnesota, jobs are the newest sign of climate change” Will Steger: On my arctic expeditions, I was an eyewitness to the devastating effects of climate change. Today, I am celebrating because of people like Jon Kramer, whose solar company has grown from a two-person business in 2010 to employ 20 today. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

Science and Technology:

¶   US-based aerospace giant Lockheed Martin says it has devised a new type of miniature nuclear fusion power generator. In the announcement of October 15, the defence technology company said its new compact fusion reactor could be developed and deployed in as little as ten years. [The Australian]

¶   An international scientific study, published today in the journal Nature, says the argument that fracking can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by eliminating a need for coal is misguided because the amount of extra fossil fuel it will produce will cancel out the benefits of its lower pollution content. [eco-business.com]

World:

¶   The price of oil has gone down because of high production levels from Saudi Arabia. In order to protect market share, the Saudi’s have decided to keep producing at current levels. While they are still making a good profit, US producers cannot break even with crude oil prices hovering around $80/bbl. [Resilience]

¶   In early March, when Russia first sent troops into Ukraine, oil was trading comfortably above $100 per barrel. Now, it is around $81, a three-year low. That’s tough for Russia since the country relies heavily on oil revenues to bankroll its budget – over half of the government’s revenues come from oil and gas. [CNN Money]

¶   Nissan Motor Corporation has begun testing a system to use electric vehicle technology to help power grids cope with peaks in demand. The energy management system could also make electricity from renewable sources, like the wind or sun, more viable by storing power to be used during periods of high demand. [Autocar Professional]

¶   Germany’s renewable energy surcharge is set to decrease for the first time in 2015, from 6.24 euro cents per kWh of power to 6.17 cents, raising the prospect of lower energy prices for households. But the move attracted criticism from the Green Party, which pushed for deeper cuts. EurActiv Germany reports. [EurActiv]

¶   India announced draft rules to auction 1,000 megawatts of solar capacity in Andhra Pradesh as Prime Minister Narendra Modi accelerates clean-energy deployment. Companies will be invited shortly to bid for contracts to build plants at a solar park in the southern state. [Businessweek]

¶   Environment Minister Ian Hunter said this week’s successful passage of the Pastoral Land Management Bill through the Lower House cemented South Australia’s reputation as the national leader in renewable energy and would provide a major boost for economic development in regional areas. [Roxby Downs Sun]

¶   A decline in Chinese power consumption has been mainly led by a slower economy and milder temperatures. Rising pollution is also a major concern for the Chinese economy, and it is dealing with excess debt and capacity. As a result, the Chinese government placed greater emphasis on environmental sustainability. [Market Realist]

US:

¶   The renewable power that Vermont homeowners and businesses generate has more than doubled since 2012, according to a report by the Department of Public Service on the state’s net-metering program. This growth is expected to continue ahead of looming uncertainty over the federal solar tax credit for solar PVs. [Reformer]

¶   The Texas Public Utility Commission is looking at whether to charge wind and solar farms higher transmission fees than fossil fuel and nuclear plants. The premise is that renewable power is variable by nature, requiring more backup than coal-fired or natural gas-fired plants. [Dallas Morning News]

¶   Vermont Electric Power Co is building a high-resolution forecast tool that aims to provide accurate, localized weather predictions. The two-year project will cost $16.6 million. The project aims to predict weather up to two days in advance, to manage the grid better by predicting solar and wind energy generation. [vtdigger.org]

¶   Marylanders really, really want to get more of their electricity from renewable sources like solar and wind, a new poll by George Mason University finds. Most also apparently back government mandates to make it happen, even if they have to pay a little more for their power. [Baltimore Sun]

World:

¶   A new survey of Australian households conducted by Ernst & Young across regional and metro Victoria, NSW and Queensland found 9 out of 10 Australians have considered or would consider switching to solar power. The main motivation is cutting electricity bills, but environmental benefits have appeal too. [Treehugger]

¶   A number of major companies are sending EU leaders a strong message before they meet at a decisive summit on 23-24 October. And they want some serious results from that meeting. They want an agreement on binding targets for the climate and energy package far more ambitious than what is being considered. [Greenpeace International]

¶   Just a few years ago, with prices of coal through the roof, it was cigars and caviar time for an industry who were proposing more new projects than you could point an activist at. A long and glorious future was expected, based on China’s insatiable demand for coal. Now, things have changed, and coal companies are in trouble. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Skanska and Ecotricity will invest up to £500 million in onshore wind through a new 50/50 joint venture, with their first three projects all based in Scotland. The firms have created a joint venture called Skylark, which would predominantly develop onshore wind projects in Scotland. [Construction News]

¶   Renewable energy could be the key to growing power demands on the African continent, according to a new statement from the International Energy Agency. Sub-Saharan Africa could, in fact, harvest enough renewable energy to meet its rising demands as soon as 2040, the agency says. [RTT News]

¶   Canada’s nuclear industry is in an uproar. The nuclear sector is fed up with the “green energy” title the wind sector has and considers the title undeserved. So the nuclear industry has started a public relations assault against wind energy. Nuclear sector professionals claim wind power just isn’t as green as they claim. [Greener Ideal]

US:

¶   Central California, already painfully stressed by the worst drought in 50 years, has another problem with its water supply. Aquifers that supply drinking and irrigation water have recently had to swallow almost 3 billion gallons of tainted wastewater from nearby hydraulic fracturing. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The heirs and still majority owners of the Walmart fortune, the Walton family, have been spending millions of dollars in recent years funding more than two dozen anti-solar energy groups, according to a recent study from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Among those funded is the American Legislative Exchange Council. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Yampa Valley Electric Association co-op members will soon be able to participate in one of Northwest Colorado’s first solar ventures. Clean Energy Collective, a group that aims to provide clean power generation to people regardless of housing ownership status, partnered with YVEA on a solar garden. [Craig Daily Press]

¶   Vega Biofuels, Inc recently announced it has entered into the Joint Venture to build and operate a pilot manufacturing plant in South Carolina to produce Bio-Coal, among other torrefied products. When completed in Q1 2015, the plant will use a patented torrefaction technology to produce the Company’s green-energy Bio-Coal. [Chem.Info]

¶   Texas sunshine will soon begin feeding electricity to the Houston Food Bank with the completion of a 280 solar panel installation. The 5,300 square foot solar array is expected to save enough in energy costs to fund the equivalent of just over two meals per hour in the Houston community every year. [RenewablesBiz]

¶   BYD Motors has unveiled the world’s largest electric bus, or eBus. It is a 60-foot, articulated battery-electric vehicle that can drive over 170 miles on a single charge with a passenger load of up to 120 passengers. The bus can has an off-peak charging time of two to four hours. [DigitalJournal.com]

¶   Green Mountain Power today announced that it is once again sponsoring a program to help eight non-profits construct solar arrays. The Vermont Public Service Board approved a GMP proposal to award eight matching grants of up to $20,000 each to non-profit groups all across Vermont, and GMP is encouraging organizations to apply. [vtdigger.org]

¶   Analysis at the Union of Concerned Scientists found that increasing non-hydro renewable energy sources from about 6% of electricity sales today to 23% by 2030 could  be achieved relatively easily and reduce carbon emissions nearly twice as much renewable energy as the EPA proposed. [The Equation: Blog of the Union of Concerned Scientists]

Science and Technology:

¶   The International Energy Agency has reassessed the roles of both photovoltaic and thermal solar energy sources and published its findings in a new Technology Roadmap (for) Solar Thermal Electricity. The agency predicts reduced medium-term prospects for solar thermal electricity, but the long-term prospects are unchanged. [CleanTechnica]

¶   This past September was the warmest since records began in 1880, according to new data released by NASA this weekend. The announcement continues a trend of record or near-record breaking months, including last May and August. This means 2014 will become the warmest year on record. [Huffington Post]

World:

¶   Onshore wind is cheaper than coal, gas or nuclear energy when the costs of ‘external’ factors like air quality, human toxicity and climate change are taken into account, according to an EU analysis. The report says that onshore wind costs roughly €105 per MW/h, while gas comes in at €164, coal at €233, and nuclear at €125. [The Guardian]

¶   Of the total €120 billion to €140 billion in energy subsidies handed out by the 28 EU member states in 2012, coal accounted for €10.1 billion, exactly the same amount as onshore wind, despite it being a markedly more mature industry and its central role in driving up greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. [Business Green]

¶   The University of Glasgow in Scotland has taken a page from Stanford and other US colleges. It has become the first EU academic institution to divest fossil fuel holdings. The university court voted to divest $29 million (£18 million) of investments in the fossil fuel industry. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The Australian town of Uralla is vying with five others to become the first town in the country to rely solely on renewable energy. Mayor Michael Pearce says the move will cut power bills for the town’s ratepayers and businesses. It could also mean wind turbines become a fixture on the Uralla landscape. [Armidale Express]

¶   Remote communities in Australia’s Northern Territory will reap the benefits of solar power thanks to a $55 million (US) project funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the Northern Territory Government, and managed by Power and Water Corporation. [solarserver.com]

¶   Despite weak momentum at the moment, energy from sources such as wood, manure and agricultural by-products could go a long way toward replacing coal in Europe over the next two decades, a leading consultancy says. McKinsey & Company sees bio-energy being cost-competitive with coal. [Sourceable]

¶   IKEA Group may introduce an internal carbon emissions price to help its drive to protect the environment and create a “new and better” company. IKEA, seen as global trend-setter among retailers on green issues, is also on target to invest $1.5 billion in solar and wind power by 2015. [Voice of America‎]

¶   Less than a week after the European Commission decided financing and pricing guarantees for the Hinkley Point power plant in Britain did not constitute an illegal subsidy, headlines show Europe remains embroiled in post-Fukushima debates over the risks and merits of nuclear power. [Nuclear Street – Nuclear Power Portal]

US:

¶   In the report, Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said uncertainty in climate change projections cannot be an “excuse for delaying action.” The 20-page report was released as Hagel attended a conference in Peru with his counterparts from North and South America. [International Business Times]

¶   The US is creating opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while delivering net economic benefits, according to a report by World Resources Institute. The report also says emerging technologies could help the US achieve deeper reductions even faster with targeted policy support. [Environmental Leader]

¶   Webster Groves, Missouri is the latest city to have been officially designated by the US EPA as a Green Power Community (GPC). To become a GPC, the city, including local government, businesses and residents must collectively use enough green power to meet or exceed EPA’s Green Power Community purchase requirements. [Fierce Energy]

Opinion:

¶   “WSJ Gets it Wrong on ‘Why Peak Oil Predictions Haven’t Come True'” A wrong version of how our economy works has been handed down through the academic world, through our system of peer review, with each academic researcher following in the tracks of previous academic researchers. [Energy Collective]

Science and Technology:

¶   An emerging class of electrically conductive plastics may bring low-cost, transparent solar cells, flexible and lightweight batteries and ultra-thin antistatic coatings for consumer electronics and aircraft. One example, PTMA, is about 10 times more electrically conductive than common semiconducting polymers. [Science Daily]

World:

¶    Just two weeks after the largest climate march in history, over 250 groups from nearly 40 countries urged United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, to reject fracking as a part of the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative. This came on the eve of the Global Frackdown, a day of action to ban fracking on October 11th. [eNews Park Forest]

¶   Solar PV project development in Russia has been accelerating recently – with a number of large, notable projects announced recently. Among those projects are a number to be developed in Crimea — no doubt being developed with the intention of making the peninsula more or less energy independent. [CleanTechnica]

¶   While the Japanese government wants to restart some nuclear reactors, new energy policy announced last April aims to decrease Japan’s nuclear dependence while boosting renewable energy sources. The change includes moving to fuel cells powered by hydrogen, and car makers will do that starting next year. [The Japan Times]

¶   Owing to Chile’s great renewable energy potential, its current reliance on expensive fossil fuel imports, its energy-intensive mining operations, and its supportive government, the country is now considered by many to be the world’s “top” renewable energy market. And solar power is already at grid parity there. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The church will not change its stand on the issue of reviving the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, according to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos  said the Church’s position on the issue was researched and discussed before a decision was taken. [Inquirer.net]

US:

¶   The shift to renewable energy sources in Michigan – particularly wind – has picked up in the past few years. One reason: It’s about half as expensive to produce than utility companies initially expected, down to as little as $50 a megawatt hour last year from more than $100 a megawatt hour in 2009. [Detroit Free Press]

¶   Honda and SolarCity announced at the SXSW Eco Conference in Austin, Texas a fund the companies said is expected to finance $50 million in solar installations for Honda and Acura customers and dealerships. This is a follow-up to a $65 million fund the companies created in 2013. [TechnologyTell]

¶   Eastern New Mexico is set to be the home of a new wind farm. The Anderson Wind Farm is under construction in Lea County – in the heart of the state’s oil and gas country – and could start generating power by December. The facility features nearly two dozen 264-foot-tall wind turbines of either 1.85 or 2 MW each. [Beaumont Enterprise]

¶   John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, delivered a strongly-worded warning concerning climate change and how it will impact not just the United States but the entire globe. The best way to prevent even more climate change from occurring in the future is to embrace clean energy alternatives. [Beta Wired]

¶   Residents who live in Massachusetts towns that have municipal electric companies enjoy smaller monthly electric bills than customers who live in communities served by National Grid. The difference will grow even wider on the heels of a 37% rate increase by National Grid that will go into effect on November 1. [Worcester Telegram]

A Look at History:

¶   “The Story Of Germany’s Off-Shore Wind Farms” Germany was not the first European nation to install offshore wind farms. There were plants in Denmark and England years before the first turbine was erected a mere 500 meters off the quay wall of the Rostock international port in 2005. [CleanTechnica]

Electic Vehicle Technology:

¶   Since last summer there have been rumors that GM is building a $30,000 electric car with a driving range of 200 miles, and the Detroit Free Press reports that GM has confirmed the existence of this EV, minus any revealing details. Select investors and media were invited to check out several upcoming GM vehicles. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Dr Heinz-Jakob Neusser, Volkswagen’s head of powertrain development, thinks that electric cars with over 300 miles of range aren’t too far off. The foundation of his argument is that the energy density of electric car batteries has been improving rapidly and will continue to do so. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   China has announced it will reintroduce import tariffs of 6% a tonne on thermal coal used to generate electricity and a 3% a tonne on metallurgical coal used to smelt iron. The tariffs are not new but a return to those that were in place when China first began to import significant quantities of coal. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Four offshore wind farms capable of powering 1.4 million homes have been approved by the Scottish Government. Energy minister Fergus Ewing has given development consent to Neart na Gaoithe, Inch Cape, and Seagreen Alpha and Bravo, which will together generate up to 2.284 GW of electricity. [Holyrood.com]

¶   In the new world of alternative energy sources, Tokyo is about to have its day in the sun. There are currently 20 citizen groups operating or in the planning stages for solar power generation businesses funded by private contributors in the nation’s capital, according to the Tokyo-based People’s Power Network. [Asahi Shimbun]

¶   ZooShare Biogas Cooperative Inc is building a 500-kW biogas plant conveniently located across from the Toronto Zoo. Scheduled to be operational by December 2015, the facility will produce renewable power for the Ontario grid, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 10,000 tonnes each year. [Canada NewsWire]

¶   Solar Power Inc, a renewable-energy developer backed by China’s LDK Solar Co, has agreed to build a solar farm with 20 MW of capacity in Inner Mongolia. The company expects to complete the project and connect it to the grid in the fourth quarter. The project is Solar Power’s first in China’s Inner Mongolia region. [Businessweek]

¶   Germany has started talks with all the countries it borders about closer power-market cooperation to save money when it comes to maintaining spare capacity, according to two people close to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government. The country’s Economy Ministry confirmed the talks, declining to give more details. [Businessweek]

¶   Nanos Research examined the views of Albertans on a wide range of electricity issues. Their research found that almost 80% of those surveyed say the Government of Alberta has not done enough to develop wind power and other renewable forms of large-scale electricity generation. [Your Renewable News]

US:

¶   The installed price of solar energy in the US is continuing to decrease steadily, but is still considerably more expensive than it is throughout much of Europe, according to the most recent Tracking the Sun report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which looks at data through 2013. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Iowa’s reputation as a leader in wind energy production got another boost Friday when MidAmerican Energy announced plans to invest an additional $280 million in the renewable energy. The Des Moines-based utility will add 67 wind turbines at two western Iowa locations. [DesMoinesRegister.com]

¶    A new study by the environmental group World Resources Institute says that improving buildings’ energy efficiency, boosting the fuel-economy of automobiles and cutting leaks from the production and transport of natural gas can save money now and cut climate change later. [Bloomberg]

¶   Skidmore College’s 2-MW solar array is now complete. The system, comprised of 6,950 modules mounted in an eight-acre solar field will provide 12% of Skidmore’s annual electrical usage from clean, renewable power. It is among the largest solar arrays in New York State. [Saratoga TODAY Newspaper]

¶   Entergy executives already have begun to disclose plans for shutting down and decommissioning the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. And those plans will become even more clear when a detailed site assessment – billed as the first of its kind – is released, likely later this month. [Brattleboro Reformer]

Opinion:

¶   “Walmart Is the Biggest Corporate Solar User. Why Are Its Owners Funding Groups That Oppose Solar?” Walmart has 89 MW of installed solar capacity on its retail rooftops. But in 2010-2013, the Walton Family Foundation has donated nearly$4.5 million to groups working to impede clean energy development. [Mother Jones]

Science and Technology:

¶   Wind power is on track to achieve cost parity with fossil fuels thanks in part to an open-source software tool being developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The software enables high-fidelity analysis of wind turbine and wind plant performance under a full range of atmospheric and land conditions. [HPCwire]

World:

¶   Poland says it will need cash and help in curbing its emissions if it is to sign up for a new decade of EU green energy policy at talks this month, according to a document seen by Reuters. The document shows the 28 EU member states are broadly ready to agree a new set of 2030 goals. [EurActiv]

¶   In Pakistan, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority has awarded licences to two sugar mill-owners for setting up bagasse-based power generation with a cumulative capacity of 45 MW. The licencees were Mehran Sugar Mills Limited and Alliance Sugar Mills Limited. [The News International]

¶   India Inc cumulatively promised to invest upwards of 1 lakh crore rupees ($16 billion) in different sectors in Madhya Pradesh after Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Chouhan asked them to take full advantage of the “ease to do business” policies that have been rolled out by the  state government. [The New Indian Express]

¶   GE’s Wind PowerUp service has helped Eon boost output from 283 turbines. Eon signed a total of 469 GE machines up for the manufacturer’s software scheme, which was launched last year and increases a wind farm’s output by up to 5%. Once validated, it could provide a projected increase of 87 GWh per year. [reNews]

¶   Less than 4 GW of natural gas-fired power plants are being built in Western Europe, the lowest level in more than 10 years, according to the Platts Power in Europe Project Tracker. The Tracker which shows electric power generation capacity and construction in Europe. [Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide]

¶   In line with a campaign promise by President Francois Hollande in 2012, the French parliament has voted to reduce the share of nuclear energy in electricity generation to 50% from the current level of 75% and has also adopted a program to drastically reduce energy consumption before 2050. [Kuwait News Agency]

¶   The Austrian government will challenge at the European Court of Justice the European Commission’s OK to use of billions of taxpayer pounds to back the planned Hinkley Point C nuclear plant in the UK. Vienna believes the EC decision could pave the way for the construction of other new nuclear power stations closer to home. [Recharge]

¶   A former Irish minister of state has called on the Government to join Austria in a legal action it plans against a proposed nuclear power station at Hinkley, Somerset, in southwest England. He said the EU Commission’s decision to allow the proposed €31.2 billion deal to build the power plant was surprising. [Irish Times]

US:

¶   First Wind has implemented GE’s PowerUp services in Utah, and plans to expand its use further into US GE wind turbine fleet. In one year, more than 1,400 wind turbines contracted under the software platform realizing up to 18,000 MW/h of additional generation, an improvement of 5%. [Newswire Today]

¶   A new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts says North Carolina “has emerged as a clean energy leader” in the southeast. The state ranks third in new renewable energy capacity, third in private investments and eighth in energy- and environment-related jobs, according to Pew. [WRAL Tech Wire]

¶   SolarCity Corp, which is the leading residential solar service provider of the US, now has plans to offer loans to homeowners for solar systems, under a program called MyPower. The company says this move could reshape the rooftop solar market and drive rapid adoption. [Zacks.com]

¶   The California Utilities Commission on Thursday issued proposed modifications to a settlement between utilities and ratepayer groups regarding the financial responsibilities in shutting down the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Consumers would pay about $3.3 billion over 10 years. [Seaside Courier]

World:

¶   Far from imposing burdens on the economy, a switch to greener electricity would result in $1.8 trillion of savings between 2015 and 2035. Eliminating oil in transport could potentially add as much as $3.5 trillion with the right policy choices, researchers from the Climate Policy Initiative claim. [Business Green]

¶   Indian manufacturer Suzlon has taken the wraps off plans to build 2-GW of wind projects in the state of Madhya Pradesh over the next five years. The company added that it will establish manufacturing facilities to support the work, which will be carried out for “the small and medium enterprise sector and independent power producers.” [reNews]

¶   Reports yesterday claim the government has ditched the Warburton review, which called for renewable projects to be scrapped or phased out. Talks between the government and Labor to save the target have begun after both sides agreed to exempt struggling aluminium smelters from the RET costs. [Warrnambool Standard]

¶   The UK climate change minister, Amber Rudd, has said that subsidy-free solar PV should be “the goal” by 2020. Speaking at the opening of a 2.7 MW solar project at Kingspan Insulation’s manufacturing plant in Selby, the minister said that the industry was on track to be subsidy free by 2020. [Solar Power Portal]

¶   Global solar PV installations are expected to push past 19.5 GW in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to new figures from analysis firm NPD Solarbuzz, reaching ever closer to a global cumulative PV deployment of 200 GW. This is of no real surprise given recent analyst predictions for countries such as China and Japan. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Several countries have urged the EU to significantly enhance its emissions reduction target to provide impetus to the global carbon market as well as the slow-moving climate change negotiations. Poland’s new prime minister has stated that she could veto a proposal by the EU to increase the emissions reduction target. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The Rajasthan state government has a policy that dwarfs the national solar power policy itself. While the current national policy aims at 22 GW installed capacity by 2022, the Rajasthan solar power policy targets 25 GW installed capacity over the next five years.The state has about 600 MW installed solar power capacity as of now. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The decision by the European Union to approve Britain’s €20 billion plan to build a new nuclear plant only 150 miles from the Irish coast has sparked controversy. Irish Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said the European Commission sign-off allows electricity to be generated at Hinkley at twice the price of alternative renewables. [Herald.ie]

US:

¶   The US DOE has issued a Presidential Permit for the 1 GW Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission Project, which will deliver hydro generation from Quebec in Canada to New York City. The buried 333-mile HVDC line will run the length of Lake Champlain and through parts of the Hudson River. [reNews]

¶   Less than five months since breaking ground on a new 2-MW solar project in Brattleboro, Vermont, Winstanley Enterprises was joined by development team members and supporters to officially mark the project’s completion. The system will produce 40% of Brattleboro’s immediate electrical needs on a clear afternoon. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   Starting this May, 20,000 Sonoma County, California, electricity customers will get renewable power at a lower cost than from their previous electric utility, Pacific Gas & Electric. A new nonprofit, locally controlled utility will deliver the power to a collection of cities and towns in the county. [CleanTechnica]

¶   ABB Ltd recently rolled out a key renewable energy transmission project in Texas. For this project, the company had developed a novel clean energy solution, the Station Service Voltage Transformers, for a couple of Texas-based utilities. The 362-kV transformers are expected to save $1 million each. [NASDAQ]