geoharvey

Science and Technology:

¶   Researchers at the Ohio State University have succeeded in combining a battery and a solar cell into one hybrid device, thus creating the world’s first solar battery. A mesh solar panel allows air to enter the battery, and light and oxygen enable different parts of the chemical reactions that charge the battery. [EE Times India]

¶   To meet global climate change commitments, the International Energy Agency recently called on the United States, the European Union, China and India to invest a combined $380 billion in energy storage by the middle of the century. A large variety of companies are developing many technologies. [New York Times]

¶   The 2014 Nobel prize for physics has been awarded to three scientists for their invention of energy-efficient blue light-emitting diodes, a breakthrough that was a cornerstone in the development of energy-saving lighting. This invention made white light from LEDs possible. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

World:

¶   Britain won EU approval for a new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point on Wednesday, allowing the government to commit to 35 years of financial support for Europe’s biggest and most controversial infrastructure project. EU commissioners from at least five countries voiced opposition to the plan. [Financial Times]

¶   UK Energy Secretary Ed Davey has broken ranks within government to launch a stinging attack against his coalition partners in the Conservative Party for undermining the onshore wind sector. He accused Tory Communities Secretary Eric Pickles of verging on “abusing ministerial power.” [reNews]

¶   Global energy consultants Pöyry published a report suggesting the cost of solar and wind power may drop to the same level as fossil fuels within a decade, ending a need for renewable subsidies in Europe. Pöyry’s report suggest that Spain could achieve wholesale grid parity in solar power as early as 2021. [pv magazine]

¶   The Clean Energy Council, the peak body for wind and solar power in Australia, has defended a plan to exempt the aluminium industry from the federal renewable energy target, saying it would come at only a trivial cost to consumers. They believe it might salvage bipartisan support for the target. [Sydney Morning Herald]

¶   For Carnegie Wave Energy, the expensive, decade-long process of developing its wave technology – to convert ocean swell into renewable power and freshwater – is approaching a critical moment, as the company prepares to deploy its underwater buoys at a commercial test site off the Australian coast near Perth. [BRW]

¶   In its half-yearly report for 2014, the World Wind Energy Association said the overall volume of global added capacity came in at 17,613 MW in the six months to June – up from 13,978 and 16,376 in the first half of 2013 and 2012 respectively. This is a clear indication of recovery for the industry. [Sourceable]

¶   In the past, over the years, Australia’s electricity supply industry grew ­accustomed to the inexorable growth in electricity demand. That growth was constant and reliable. Beginning 2007, demand growth flattened, and then began to decline. This was a big surprise. [The Australian Financial Review]

US:

¶   The state of New York will provide $750 million dollars for a huge solar plant in Buffalo Governor Cuomo announced this week. The facility will be used by SolarCity, and Elon Musk has pledged 5 billion dollars for the project, which could create 5,000 jobs in the state. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Offshore wind power is not usually associated with lower-cost energy, at least not in the public imagination. But it turns out that installing 54 GW of offshore wind power off America’s coasts can cut the cost of electricity in the US by an astounding $7.68 billion a year. [Natural Resources Defense Council]

¶   As the drought in California continues to strain the state’s hydropower resources, natural gas and renewables are locked in competition to determine which will capture the lion’s share of the lost hydropower capacity. Natural gas output has an inverse relationship with hydropower generation. [Platts]

¶   The electricity market is very complex and changing. The 40-year-old Ginna nuclear plant on the shore of Lake Ontario in upstate New York is becoming an example of an emerging trend. Its income is down because cheap natural gas and renewable energy have depressed the market. [New York Times]

¶   The results of a Natural Resources Defense Council poll were overwhelming: nearly 8 in 10 New Yorkers support a moratorium on fracking, and support crosses geographical, ideological and racial divides. At the same time, respondents showed tremendous support for renewable energy. [Natural Resources Defense Council]

Opinion:

¶   “While Critics Debate Energiewende, Germany is Gaining a Global Advantage” When viewed in context, there are many reasons to believe investments in Energiewende will reap economy-wide rewards, giving Germany a competitive global advantage over other countries that lagged behind investing in the future. [Environmental Defense Fund]

World:

¶   Greensmith, one of the world’s leading providers of energy storage management software and related services, recently made the announcement that it has seen huge growth in the grid-scale energy storage market, with the commissioning of 23 MW of the company’s GEMS energy storage software platform this year. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Northern Rivers Energy, Australia’s first community-based renewable energy retailer in the northern rivers region, plans for the region to become fossil free within years. This is the first Australian attempt to adopt the community energy company model that has had dramatic effects in Hamburg and Colorado. [Echonetdaily]

¶   Infigen Energy chief executive Miles George says asset write-downs would be premature for the wind power producer, given increasing signs that the Renewable Energy Target may survive with only relatively minor changes. He was hopeful of no need for impairments of Infigen’s $900 million Australian business. [WA today]

¶   Work on a hybrid power plant for solar and wind energy in southern Bahrain is expected to start in the next three months. The 5 MW pilot station will be built on 30 acres of land near Al Dur Power and Water Plant, and will be linked to Bahrain’s power-distribution grid by the first quarter of 2015. [Gulf Daily News]

¶   GE Energy Financial Services in Stamford, a unit of Fairfield-based GE, has joined Kuni Umi Asset Management and Toyo Engineering in an investment in Japan’s largest solar power project, a 231-MW facility to be built in Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture, at a cost of about $1.1 billion. [The Advocate]

¶   Under the terms of the new regulations in Chile, ‘Residential Generators’ in the country are now able to connect renewable energy systems, such as solar, to the distribution system and receive payments for the surplus electricity they generate. [Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production Magazine]

¶   The EU Tracking Roadmap from the Keep on Track monitoring body warned that 14 of the EU 27 member states are expected to fall short of their targets, with another four states hanging in the balance. This is despite 22 states hitting the interim targets for 2011/2012, indicating a slowing in progress. [Windpower Monthly]

¶   France’s energy minister Segolene Royal believes it would be better to build new renewable energy projects than to keep up heavy investments maintaining old nuclear power plants. Royal pointed out that reactors in nuclear plants don’t last forever and “you have to re-invest and that is very expensive.” [Recharge]

¶   Austria will take the European Commission to the European Court of Justice if the executive approves Britain’s plans for €20.4 billion nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset, a spokesman for the country’s chancellor said on Sunday. A vote is expected on Wednesday (8 October). [EurActiv]

US:

¶   New Jersey legislators will consider a bill this week to promote the installation of solar arrays, a change that will affect mostly homes and small businesses seeking to deploy the systems. The measure also addresses fundamental changes in the structure of the energy industry. [NJ Spotlight]

¶    GE Power & Water’s Distributed Power business announced that it has signed a contract to provide Sky Global Partners LLC with six 8.6 MW Jenbacher gas engines along with a 30-year contractual service agreement for a new 50 MW high-efficiency power plant in Colorado County, Texas. [Today’s Energy Solutions]

¶   California’s drought has cut the amount of power it gets from hydro in half, but the renewable energy industry has picked up some of the slack. Wind now accounts for more electricity generation than hydro, and on clear sunny days, solar can supply the state with 14% of its power needs by mid afternoon. [OilPrice.com]

¶   At least 54 GW of US offshore wind energy generation capacity could be deployed by 2030, according to a new study funded by the DOE, which focused on helping DOE achieve two goals: reducing the cost of offshore wind energy and shortening the time required to deploy offshore wind generation capacity. [Triple Pundit]

¶   Two agencies in western Massachusetts, the Franklin Regional Council of Governments and the Connecticut River Watershed Council, are intervening in a proposal to allow the Northfield Mountain hydroelectric station temporarily to boost output by pumping and releasing more river water at its mountaintop reservoir. [The Recorder]

Opinion:

¶   “Why Warren Buffett Is Betting $30 Billion on Solar and Wind” Utility projects are attractive because they allow for continued reinvestment and add-on acquisitions, as Buffett has been doing since acquiring MidAmerican energy, the largest electrical utility in Iowa, in 1999 for $9 billion. [NASDAQ]

Science and Technology:

¶   Younicos is a company that combines different kinds of battery systems with software to provide grid backup. A system of 2 GW, providing 1 hour of backup capacity, could replace all thermal power plants in Germany that are used for frequency regulation, providing for 60% renewables on the grid. [RenewEconomy]

World:

¶   The deadly eruption of Mount Ontakesan in central Japan has rekindled concerns about whether Japan’s nuclear power plants, such as the Sendai plant in Kagoshima Prefecture, have adequate safeguards for dealing with such a disaster. At least 51 people were killed in the volcanic upheaval. [Asahi Shimbun]

¶   In the English county of Somerset, there are two mills that were recorded in the medieval Domesday Book. Now, continuing the long, local tradition of imaginative reinvention to suit the times, at both mills the infinitely renewable flow of water through the valleys generates electricity. [The Guardian]

¶   In its bid to double India’s installed wind energy capacity over the next five years and to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy plans to set up windmills at 500 places across the country. About 14,158 MW of wind energy is currently produced in 13 states. [India Today]

¶   Bloomberg New Energy Finance data shows that Australia is on track to record its lowest level of asset financing for large-scale renewables since 2002 – as just $193 million was committed in the third quarter of the year. From ranking No 11 in the world in 2013, Australia is seeing its industry collapse. [RenewEconomy]

¶   A pioneering green gas scheme in Scotland is set to benefit farmers, homeowners, and the environment. A new £10 million anaerobic digestion plant in the Borders will inject eco-friendly gas – made from locally grown grains – directly into the national supply network, supplying enough energy for up to 4,000 homes. [Scotsman]

US:

¶   California just achieved a new record for utility-scale solar power generation. On September 29, 4.903 GW of electricity was generated by solar PV from utility-scale sources and concentrated solar power. About 2.8 GW of California’s solar capacity is not included in the data because it is not utility-scale. [Solar Love]

¶   You might not picture former Secretary of State George Shultz as someone who drives an electric car, or has solar panels on the roof of his home. But he does — and Shultz has become a vocal proponent of action to combat climate change. He brought that message to MIT in a talk on advocating further efforts. [Energy Collective]

¶   Ameren Missouri has filed its 20-year plan supporting cleaner energy in the state of Missouri, including major expansions of solar and wind power, with the Missouri Public Service Commission. Such a plan is filed every three years, examining how Ameren will supply electric customers’ projected long-term energy needs. [Fierce Energy]

¶   Idaho Power Company has developed a Renewables Integration Tool (RIT) so grid operators can use wind energy more cost-effectively in Idaho and Oregon. RIT models and databases for forecasting weather conditions and the availability of wind energy resources are now fully operational. [RenewablesBiz]

Science and Technology:

¶   Investment bank Citigroup says the return on investment for solar and battery storage by 2020 will beat the payback from solar now. That means socket parity in some countries by 2020, and utility-scale grid parity in large parts of the world by 2030. Fossil fuel generators and utility business models will be terminally challenged. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Renewables have been capturing a larger and larger portion of the total global energy infrastructure pie, while the portion nuclear energy has not just been stagnating but actually shrinking somewhat. More interestingly, solar and wind energy are each gaining fast on nuclear independently. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Two Swiss pilots plan to fly a solar-powered plane around the Earth, pushing human endurance as well as the boundaries of a technology that the aviators say isn’t anywhere near reaching its full potential for industry. The plane has the wingspan of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet but the weight of a family car. [Independent Online]

World:

¶   New figures from Bloomberg New Energy Finance covering the first three quarters of global clean energy investment for 2014 show that the industry is sustaining its year-long recovery after two years of decline, with a 16% lead over the same three quarters a year earlier. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The 231 MW solar energy project currently being developed in Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture, Japan – the largest such project in Japan – is being funded via large investments by Toyo Engineering Corporation, GE unit GE Energy Financial Services, and Kuni Umi Asset Management, according to recent reports. [CleanTechnica]

¶   There is good news coming for nearly 25,000 Indian villages still passing nights under darkness due to unavailability of electricity. Instead of relying over power grids, these villages will get electricity by using novel clean energy solutions, achieving the dream illuminating rural areas without grid electricity. [Oneindia]

¶   El Hierro, one of the Canary Islands, will be 100% by renewable energy within a few months. The island’s new wind energy/water turbine battery system (finished earlier this year) will be generating all of the island’s energy needs of up to 48 GWh, offsetting 6600 tons of diesel oil, each year. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A tsunami of 26 meters would inundate the already-stricken Fukushima Daiichi power plant, causing a huge amount of radioactive substances to spill into the sea, according to TEPCO’s updated estimates. Such a towering tsunami could cause hundreds of trillions of becquerels of cesium-137 to be released into the ocean. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   New England has always endured high electricity costs, but this year’s 37% price surge reflects a relatively new problem: As many old coal-burning plants have retired, natural gas accounts for about half the region’s electricity generation. Utilities and customers  are both exposed to gas price spikes. [Boston Globe]

¶   North Carolina ranked behind only California and Arizona in solar-power installations last year, with an added 261 MW, a 114% increase over 2012. Most of that was accounted for by massive solar farms generating electricity for Duke Energy’s grid, but ordinary rate payers are also getting solar installed. [Asheville Citizen-Times]

¶   Renewable energy’s share of Minnesota’s power has quadrupled since 2000, to 16 percent, and now the state is touting the jobs that have been created as a result. There are 15,338 clean-energy jobs in the state, according to a report from the Department of Employment and Economic Development. [Mankato Free Press]

Opinion:

¶   “Great Plains Power Grid Operator Sowing Confusion about the Clean Power Plan” Some players – notably the Great Plains region’s transmission grid operator – are jumping the gun with premature warnings of dire consequences for the grid. They back these with poorly done analysis. [Natural Resources Defense Council]

¶   “EPA’s Clean Energy Standards Could Actually Lower Electricity Bills” It’s frustrating to hear opponents of climate action once again use the threat of higher electricity rates as a scare tactic to try to stop the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. The good news is that we have more evidence than ever before to prove our opponents wrong. [Care2.com]

Science and Technology:

¶   The author of a recent report investigating the impact of low-frequency sound on the human inner ear has responded to British newspapers which misled readers by claiming that wind farms could cause hearing impairment. He said the research did not include anything relating to windfarms. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A Stanford study funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) confirms a growing body of research that finds “The atmospheric conditions associated with the unprecedented drought in California are very likely linked to human-caused climate change.” [Energy Collective]

World:

¶   In the last week, half Japan’s 10 general electricity utilities have announced that they would suspend reviews of proposals for new generation from renewable energy producers or take measures to ensure that the addition of that energy does not compromise their transmission and distribution networks. [Scientific American]

¶   Suggestions that the current Australian Renewable Energy Target of 41,000 GWh by 2020 is infeasible have been laughed off by global wind development company Windlab, who have released figures showing that not only is the target feasible, but could be met by existing approved wind energy that has simply yet to be constructed. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A solar power plant has been launched in Russia’s Astrakhan province on the basis of the photovoltaic modules produced by Kazakhstan’s Astana Solar LLP, Kazatomprom. ‘Narimanov’ solar power plant, with the installed capacity of 250 kW started to operate on September 29. [Trend.az]

¶   At a geothermal demonstration project in Cornwall, engineers showed that water can be heated to 60° C using the Earth’s internal heat. The project was designed and managed by Geothermal Engineering Ltd, with funding assistance from the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change. [Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production Magazine]

¶   The cost of solar power plus battery storage is about to dip below the average electricity bill in Germany, according to new analysis by the global investment bank HSBC. The bank projects that the dropping prices of home solar and home battery storage is about to massively disrupt traditional power generation. [ThinkProgress]

¶   A landmark deal to use British taxpayers’ money to build a £16 billion ($25.6 billion) nuclear power station has triggered opposition from a quarter of EU policy-makers, who want to overturn approval from the top European regulator, EU sources said. Critics say it breaches EU law over when government funding is allowed. [Daily Times]

US:

¶   The Department of the Navy is requesting bids for renewable power at fourteen installations in southern California, in amounts of up to 150 MW for each. The Navy is seeking to get 50% of its power from renewable sources by 2020, and at least 1000 MW by 2015. [Desert Dispatch]

¶   In his recent speech on climate change at the United Nations, President Obama stated: “Over the past eight years, the United States has reduced our total carbon pollution by more than any other nation on Earth.” According to data found in the BP Statistical Review, he is correct. [Canada Free Press]

¶   A settlement reached between the Public Service Company of New Mexico and some “intervenors” over a plan to close two units at the San Juan Generating Station would reduce future rate increases. The settlement has been sent to the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. [Farmington Daily Times]

¶   Construction has commenced on Minnesota’s largest solar generation site. Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport will house a 3-MW solar installation on the top decks of two parking structures. The project also includes converting more than 7,700 metal halide light fixtures to energy-saving LED technology. [PennEnergy]

Science and Technology:

¶   Navigant Research says in a new report that between January 2013 and September 2014, 91 new grid-scale energy storage systems totaling 362.8 MW were announced or launched. Lithium-ion technology is most commonly used, but flywheels and flow batteries are emerging as storage options. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   A new consortium hopes to become Australia’s first community owned retailer, with big plans to build, generate and sell renewable energy in the northern rivers. Community owned retailers are common in Europe and the US. In Germany, retailers and local network operators are commonly owned by local councils. [Echonetdaily]

¶   Joining the move for renewable energy in India is National Aluminium Company Ltd, considered as one of the biggest aluminium production companies in the world. It has recently announced plans to install a 100 MW wind energy project, which would require a $110-million investment. [EE Times India]

¶   Global wind and solar company Mainstream Renewable Power has signed an agreement with Swiss developer NEK Umwelttechnik to build and operate Ghana’s first utility-scale wind farm. The 225-MW project will cost $525 million and is expected to generate power early in 2016. [GhanaWeb]

¶   Britain has increased its budget to subsidize electricity projects that use renewable sources by £95 million to £300 million ($486 million), according to the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change. Britain plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% from a 1990 baseline by 2050. [Reuters]

¶   The US and India are committed to creating a binding climate deal next year, a joint statement from the two nations said. US president Barack Obama and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi held talks in Washington yesterday, at which they recognized the importance greenhouse gas emissions and improving resilience. [Argus Media]

US:

¶   NJ Transit has received $1.3 billion in federal funds to improve the resilience of the state’s transportation system in the event of devastating future storms. The funds include $410 million to develop the NJ TransitGrid into a first-of-its-kind microgrid capable of keeping the power running when the electric grid goes down. [Energy Collective]

¶   Installed PV capacity among US schools has soared over the last decade, rising from 303 kW to 457,000 kW, according to a TSF-SEIA report. That has resulted in prevention of 442,799 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year, the equivalent of taking some 100,000 cars of U.S. roads annually. [Triple Pundit]

¶   Renewable energy producer ReEnergy Black River has been awarded a 20-year contract by the US Defense Logistics Agency to supply renewable energy to the Fort Drum army base in New York. ReEnergy’s Black River 60-MW plant originally was a coal station. It has been converted to burn locally grown shrub willow as a fuel. [BioEnergy News]

¶   After being tweaked for several months, Gundersen Health System is marking the completion of its joint cow power project near Middleton, Wisconsin. The $14 million GL Dairy Biogas Farm, has actually been producing methane and electricity from cow manure since late last year. [La Crosse Tribune]

¶   The office of the Texas State Comptroller released a report recommending that tax incentives wind power be ended as they give wind an unfair advantage. The Executive Director of The Wind Coalition argues that oil and gas received 99.6% of state and local incentives. [Bakken.com]

¶   A partnership between the local utility and state and federal government will build Kentucky’s largest solar array at Fort Campbell. The solar array will cover about 20 acres on an abandoned landfill at the army base, and will produce 5 MW of power, enough to power about 500 homes. [WKMS]

¶   NV Energy, part of billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, is seeking proposals to secure up to 100 MW of additional renewable energy resources in Nevada. The request for proposals is the first of three for 100 MW each that the utility will issue through 2016. [Recharge]

¶   The Florida Public Service Commission ordered Duke Energy to credit $54 million to customers that the company was collecting for nuclear power equipment it never received. The charges were being levied for two nuclear power plant projects that have been canceled. [TBO.com]

¶   The contractors building two new reactors at SCE&G’s VC Summer nuclear plant in Fairfield County, South Carolina, said Thursday it would cost an additional $1.2 billion to finish the work there. SCE&G has not agreed to the consortium’s new cost estimates nor any projected new completion dates. [Hilton Head Island Packet]

Science and Technology:

¶   SunEdison announced that its advanced polysilicon technology is now in production and on target to produce solar material at low cost. The company claims this development is a step-change in technology and will it enable it to deliver a 400 watt peak solar panel at a cost of $0.40 per watt peak by 2016. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

World:

¶   Sweden’s Social Democrats and Green Party are set to offer more support for renewables and move away from nuclear under a coalition government. The two parties could form a minority government as early as tomorrow, and will set up an “energy commission” to develop a strategy for an all-renewable energy system. [Recharge]

¶   Spanish manufacturer Gamesa is to supply CPFL Renováveis with 231 MW at nine wind farms in Rio Grande do Norte in north-eastern Brazil. The contract is for 110 of Gamesa’s G114-2.0MW turbines, which will be equipped with the company’s MaxPower technology increasing nominal capacity to 2.1MW. [reNews]

¶   In India, the government has signed a memorandum of understanding with a group of companies to build the country’s first ever offshore wind power project as part of New Delhi’s pledge to increase renewable energy sources. The 100 MW plant will lie off the coast of Gujarat and be partly financed by state subsidies. [Businessworld]

¶   The third largest city in Germany, Munich, has become a world leader in sustainability. Munich is aiming for 100% renewable electricity by 2025 – just 11 years away now. If Munich achieves its goal, it could become the first city with a population of over a million to do so. [The9Billion]

¶   In a first for Australia, a council has voted to make on-site clean power generation on all new homes and some commercial buildings compulsory. The City of Nedlands in Perth has led the way in turning more of the vast ocean of under-utilised rooftops in Australia’s towns and cities into power generators. [Energy Matters]

US:

¶   EDF Renewable Energy and Microsoft Corporation celebrated the launch of the Pilot Hill Wind Project with a groundbreaking ceremony. Located 60 miles southwest of Chicago in Kankakee and Iroquois counties, the 175 MW wind project is expected to begin commercial operation early in 2015. [Rock Hill Herald]

¶   New Hampshire now allows group net metering. Thanks to this law, which flew under the radar when it was working its way through the statehouse, solar energy in the Granite State is set to boom. There are enough projects in planning stages to double the amount of solar power on the grid in just two years. [New Hampshire Public Radio]

¶   The president of the Natural Resources Defense Council demanded that the American Legislative Exchange Council immediately stop misrepresenting NRDC’s position on renewable energy, and urged the group to clear up other false claims, such as its insistence that it doesn’t deny the reality of climate change. [eNews Park Forest]

¶   Following intense outcry, the state’s electric company, Black Hills Power, has withdrawn a proposal that would have penalized customers who generate their energy through solar or wind systems, the Rapid City Journal reports. The proposed surcharge would have been a $5 to $20 per month. [NationSwell]

¶   Carbon emissions in the US increased in 2013 over 2012. The EPA laid the blame specifically on coal-fired power plants, which have been used more to power America’s electric gird this year because of price increases in natural gas, following very low prices in 2012 caused largely by the fracking boom. [ThinkProgress]

Opinion:

¶   “Why Local Energy Ownership Matters” Solar and wind projects can mean big bucks for communities – but only if they keep them local! The number of jobs and economic returns for communities are substantially higher when electricity generation from wind and sun can be captured by local hands. [CleanTechnica]

¶   “How a Top Liberal State Is Creating an Electricity Market That Conservatives Should Love” Imagine an electricity market that gives small businesses and consumers the same ability to compete and make money that utilities have always had. The market simply prioritizes consumer-side distributed energy. [Energy Collective]

Science and Technology:

¶   The record-setting heat wave in Australia last year was “largely attributable” to human-caused climate change, according to a synthesis report released Monday. Heat waves in Japan, Korea, China and Europe were also “substantially influenced” by global warming, the report found. [Huffington Post]

¶    Synthetically produced hydrogen can store huge amounts of power. Germany will require about 30 TWh of storage capacity, when the nation is 100% renewably powered. Existing gas infrastructure can store up to 200 TWh in gas generated. Wind plants with the ability to store energy as hydrogen are already starting up. [Business Spectator]

World:

¶   Malmö, in southern Sweden, is the third largest city in the country. Various neighborhoods throughout the city are transforming from brownfield industrial sites into eco-friendly enclaves through the use of renewable energy, energy efficiency, green building and alternative transportation. [GreenBiz.com]

¶   A floating power station using the solar energy stored in Grand Cayman’s warm tropical waters could provide the first firm renewable energy supply capable of replacing diesel generators on the island. The project would be the world’s first commercial power plant using ocean thermal energy conversion. [Cayman Compass]

¶   Samsung Renewable Energy and Pattern Energy Group LP signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with the Ontario Power Authority for the 100 MW Belle River Wind project in Ontario. They will jointly develop, own, and operate the project, which will be built in Lakeshore, Ontario. [PennEnergy]

¶   Michael Renner, senior researcher with Worldwatch Institute writes that nuclear energy’s share of global power production has declined steadily from a peak of 17.6% in 1996 to 10.8% in 2013. Renewables increased their share from 18.7% in 2000 to 22.7% in 2012. [Domestic Fuel]

¶   A Korean province has a growing and power anti-nuclear campaign, and it is not merely another popular movement. The campaign has expanded from the city of Samcheok, the designated site of a new nuclear power facility, to include 18 city and county councils, the governor, and various civic groups.  [The Hankyoreh]

¶  The volcanic eruption of Japan’s Mount Ontake over the weekend may strengthen the argument of activists campaigning to keep the country’s 48 reactors shut. Japan’s atomic plants are off-line for safety checks as a result of the  Fukushima Disaster more than three years ago. [Businessweek]

US:

¶   Six new pro-EV bills were recently signed into law in California by Governor Jerry Brown. The new efforts to promote the use of electric vehicles include increase in direct incentives, measures to improve the ease of ownership, and the granting of special access to the state’s ubiquitous carpool lanes for EV owners. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A long-term plan to eliminate dependence on fossil fuels in Vermont’s capital of Montpelier is getting a boost from two new projects: one to install more solar panels at an insurance company and another to meet more heating needs with a new biomass heating facility. [BurlingtonFreePress.com]

¶   California Governor Jerry Brown has signed an Environmental Defense Fund-sponsored bill that accelerates the use of demand response, a voluntary, cost-effective tool that relies on people and technology, not polluting, water-intensive power plants, to meet the state’s rising electricity needs. [RenewablesBiz]

¶   The city of Lowell, Massachusetts has signed a contract through which Hampshire Power will supply electricity to about 31,000 residential and 4,200 commercial ratepayers citywide. The deal will provide Lowell ratepayers with renewable power at a rate that is 33% lower than the default grid power. [GazetteNET]

¶   The US DOE has drafted a federal loan guarantee opportunity that, if it goes into effect, could help provide $12.6 billion for nuclear power projects. The program would be available for advanced reactors, small modular reactors, uprates, plant upgrades, and fuel cycle projects. [Nuclear Street – Nuclear Power Portal]

Opinion:

¶   “Did the UN Summit Shift the Dial?” The UN Climate Summit has come and gone and leaders from many countries have made announcements, pledges or at least offered moral support. But are we any better off as a result? Reflecting on the last few days in New York, I would have to argue for the “yes” case. [Energy Collective]

Science and Technology:

¶   Modern lithium batteries come with their own environmental baggage. Scientists at Sweden’s Uppsala University, seeking a more eco-friendly alternative, have created a new smart battery made from organic materials that they say produces just as much power as its lithium counterpart. Plus, it’s recyclable. [Big Think]

¶   “ALEC feigns leap off faltering climate denial bandwagon; Fools no one.” The American Legislative Exchange Council had a really bad week. Coming under fire for its climate denial, the typically secretive ALEC answered with a cringe-inducing position statement on climate and renewable energy. [Natural Resources Defense Council]

World:

¶   A week and a half after Scotland voted not to split away from the United Kingdom and the Government is already back on track, approving the Middle Muir wind farm for construction. The 60 MW Middle Muir wind farm is comparatively small, but illustrates the importance of certainty to investors. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Thousands of solar- and wind-power supporters across Australia turned out for protests at key federal government ministers’ electorate offices calling for “no reduction” to the Renewable Energy Target. In all, there were rallies at 30 locations around the country calling for the government to “accept the RET”. [The Daily Telegraph]

¶   In the Philippines, the National Renewable Energy Board has recommended an increase in the volume of wind power projects that may avail of tariff incentives. The NREB has proposed to the Department of Energy an increase in the installation cap for wind from the existing 200 MW to 500 MW. [InterAksyon]

¶   After finalizing the financial plan for the facility, Covanta, a US firm, has made a deal with Dublin City Council to construct, own and operate a €500m waste to energy plant, which will be designed to handle 600,000 tons of waste annually and generate 58 MW of energy. [Hydrogen Fuel News]

¶   More than 11 GW of renewable energy capacity have been installed in Japan over the past two years, when the country’s notable feed-in tariff incentive plan was launched, according to the country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Of this, 10.88 GW was solar power. [CleanTechnica]

US:

¶   The Tehachapi Energy Storage Project — the biggest battery energy storage project to date in North America — has now opened. The 32 MWh battery energy storage system built by Southern California Edison has lithium-ion batteries stationed in a special 6,300 square-foot facility in a substation in Tehachapi, California. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A 3-year, $6.3 million dollar project to improve every aspect of the American wind turbine production process/industry was recently begun via a partnership between Sandia National Laboratories, Iowa State University, and TPI Composites (an operator of a wind turbine blade factory). [CleanTechnica]

¶   The Sierra Club announced joining with Ratepayer and Community Intervenors to file a lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court challenging a Public Service Commission ruling. The ruling would add $140 million to residents’ electric bills to upgrade and expand a coal-fired power plant in Chautauqua County. [Triple Pundit]

¶   AllEarth Renewables and Claire Solar Partners have completed a 2.2 MW solar tracker farm in South Burlington, Vermont. JA Solar provided PV modules for the project. It is the largest in North America with distributed inverters and dual-axis trackers to maximize production. [Your Renewable News]

¶   One of the largest battery-based energy storage systems in the US, capable of running 2,500 homes, will soon be powering up UC San Diego. The system will be added to the school’s microgrid, which distributes 92% of the electricity used on campus. The battery will provide 2.5 MW and store 5 MWh. [NBC 7 San Diego]

¶   The Oregon Global Warming Commission has endorsed the Obama administration’s proposed regulations to reduce carbon emissions from power plants, while urging the Environmental Protection Agency to grant more flexibility to Oregon and other states to meet their targets. [Portland Tribune]

¶   On Monday, 17 anti-nuclear groups said they are preparing to file a federal court challenge if a recent NRC decision on waste storage at power plants takes effect. NRC commissioners voted to adopt a new rule that waste could be housed at plants’ dry-storage facilities indefinitely. [Nuclear Street – Nuclear Power Portal]

Science and Technology:

¶   A new Copper-Indium-Gallium-Selenide thin-film solar cell conversion efficiency record was recently achieved by researchers at the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research in Stuttgart. The new conversion efficiency record of 21.7% beats the previous record of 21%. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Chinese solar manufacturer JA Solar Holdings says it has attained 20% solar energy conversion efficiency in its multi-crystalline silicon solar cell, which it says is a world record for a multi-Si solar cell efficiency. This is just 9 months after it had set a previous record of 19% efficiency in its multi-Sci cells. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   Brazilian auctions to be held in November received bidding applications from 1115 projects totalling 53.87 GW. Wind power has the greatest capacity share. Wind’s chief competition is from 39 combined cycle gas projects totalling 20.61 GW and 224 solar photovoltaic projects totalling 6.1 GW. [Windpower Monthly]

¶   Cutting the renewable energy target will leave Australians reliant on natural gas and drive up electricity bills, a group of consumer and community advocates say. They have written to prime minister Tony Abbott urging him to reject recommendations of a review that called on the government to cut the target. [Echonetdaily]

¶   Two Japanese utilities, responsible for about a fifth of the nation’s power, say they have had their fill of renewable energy, in a move that could add pressure on community leaders to allow idled nuclear reactors back on line. There have been 68,000 MW of solar power licensed, and the utilities claim they fear instability of the grid. [Financial Times]

¶   Britain’s first ever floating solar panel project has just been built in Berkshire. The 800-panel green energy project was installed earlier this month on a reservoir at Sheeplands Farm, a 300-acre soft fruit farm near Wargrave. The project will supply 200 kW. The developer says larger systems could be easily built. [Telegraph.co.uk]

¶   Saskatchewan’s government-owned power utility is set to launch a carbon-capture-and-storage project this week. SaskPower says it is the world’s first and largest commercial-scale, carbon-capture operation of its kind. It will capture carbon dioxide emissions from burning coal to store them deep underground. [Financial Post]

US:

¶   Solar Frontier, the solar arm of Japanese oil refiner Showa Shell Sekiyu, has revealed bold plans to build a solar manufacturing facility in Buffalo, upstate New York. The company was attracted by low solar costs that make PV in the US an attractive energy option for many. [pv magazine]

¶   A 1.8 MW solar project has been installed in New Bedford, Massachusetts. In all, 16.25 MW of projects are now installed or under construction. When all 16 MW of projects are completed New Bedford will have exceeded the city’s 2011 goal of purchasing 10 MW of power from renewable sources within five years. [SouthCoastToday.com]

¶   Panda Power Funds and Texas officials gathered to dedicate the company’s 758 MW natural gas-fueled, combined-cycle power plant in Temple, Texas. The plant is one of the most advanced gas-fueled power stations in the nation, establishing new standards within its class. [Today’s Energy Solutions]

¶   Carbon emissions in the US are higher than expected for 2014. Carbon dioxide emissions due to the consumption of coal were more than 12% higher during the first half of 2014 than during the first six months of 2012, while those from natural gas and petroleum rose by 7.3% and 0.8% respectively. [Business Green]

¶   Unsatisfied with the pace at which the federal government is acting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, several US states are forging ahead with their own initiatives. The first year of the California program was a resounding success, with the state’s economy expanding while at the same time adding renewable energy. [OilPrice.com]

¶   In Oregon, the Department of Transportation is building solar stations along the roads. It has already built two solar stations and is looking into a third, built without state money and on property already owned by the state and cleared for development as highway right-of-way. [Construction Equipment Guide]

Opinion:

¶   “INSIGHT-Taxes, fees: the worldwide battle between utilities and solar” It’s still less than one percent of energy capacity worldwide, but the surge in installations of rooftop solar panels is beginning to hit utilities and their business model of charging customers on the basis of consumption. [Reuters]

¶   “Will US-India Summit Bring Historic Climate Action?” This week’s meeting of President Obama and Indian Prime Minister Modi is an opportunity to accelerate climate action in economically advantageous ways for both countries and for the world, if they take immediate action to curb climate change. [Natural Resources Defense Council]

Science and Technology:

¶   Concrete is the most-used construction material in the world and a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. But by using a different chemical formula to make the material, new research suggests it’s possible to significantly reduce concrete’s carbon footprint. [Scientific American]

¶   “7 Ways Energy Efficiency Affects National Security” Whether electricity, natural gas, or gasoline, the American economy wastes most of the energy it consumes. That waste puts our national security at risk by making the US more vulnerable to instability abroad and economic disruptions at home. [Care2.com]

World:

¶   The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is providing a $25 million loan for the construction and development of SunEdison’s 20 MW solar photovoltaic power plant in Jordan to help address the country’s energy shortages through utilizing its world-class solar resource. [Utilities-ME.com]

¶   The Asian Development Bank has agreed to finance a $65 million private sector power project being set up on Pakistan’s Poonch river, upstream from Mangla Dam. The project envisages construction and operation of a 102 MW run-of-the river hydroelectric generation facility. [DAWN.com]

¶   In an unprecedented speech delivered on behalf of the king of Morocco, the country’s prime minister denounced the long-term consequences of colonialism. He pointed to Morocco’s pioneering efforts at developing human resources as well as renewable energy, including solar and wind power. [Morocco World News]

¶   A flurry of meetings between the president of South Africa and his Russian counterpart, and the lack of detail on the nature of their discussions, have contributed to a growing sense of disquiet over the deal that would have Russia build nuclear plants in South Africa. Some are warning that it is too early to commit to nuclear. [Independent Online]

US:

¶   Elon Musk will soon be building what amounts, essentially, to being another “Gigafactory”, in New York State as per a recent agreement with the government there. This time it is a manufacturing plant that will produce more than a gigawatt of solar panels a year. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The proposed $8 billion California wind energy project could blow the socks off the regional renewable energy market. The key to the project, the thing that helps fulfill the Los Angeles vision of a sustainable, secure energy source, would be a massive compressed air energy storage system using salt caverns in Utah. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Federal energy regulators have given final approval for construction of a 330-mile electric transmission line to carry lower-cost Canadian hydroelectric power to New York City. Supporters say the line will make the state less bound to the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Westchester County. [Oneida Dispatch]

Science and Technology:

¶   A new study found that in the long run, natural gas does little to curb emissions since it would boost consumption (high supply means it will be cheaper) and displace renewable energy. Even without the methane leaks, the overall climate benefits of gas are likely to be small. [ZME Science]

World:

¶   In Scotland, a new wind farm will have the potential to power 28,000 homes in South Lanarkshire and will generate community benefit funding of £6.37 million over its lifetime. It is noteworthy that it will have the tallest turbines in the UK at a height of 152 metres (500 ft). [Scotsman]

¶   The International Energy Agency says the global renewable expansion will slow over the next 5 years unless lawmakers provide clear conditions and policy certainty. Future investments are likely to fall from the $250 billion in 2013 and the pace of development likely to slow even though technology costs continue to fall. [Breaking Energy]

¶   Penetration rates of no-carbon generation have increased from 50% to 56% in recent years in Europe, as European Union countries work toward renewable energy and greenhouse gas emissions targets. Renewable generation and nuclear generation are both considered no-carbon sources. [Energy Collective]

¶   Fresh statistics from the Department of Energy and Climate Change estimate renewables met a record-breaking 46.4% of electricity use in 2013, up from 39.9% in 2012. The Scottish government says this indicates Scotland is on track to meet its targets of 50% by 2015, and 100% by 2020. [Utility Products]

¶   The UK government is pressing ahead with plans to allow shale gas companies to drill under people’s homes without their consent despite 99% of respondents opposing the consultation proposals. It would change the trespass laws for shale and geothermal developers. [Business Green]

¶   An Austrian minister is calling on the European Court of Justice to prevent the UK from pursuing its plan to pay a guaranteed price to EDF for energy produced at the Hinkley point nuclear power plant. He would support any legal action to annul any decision to support the plan at the European Court of Justice. [PennEnergy]

US:

¶   Officials in the California community of Victor Valley on Friday unveiled what is claimed to be the United States’ first carbon-neutral wastewater treatment plant. Biogas produced from food waste and sewage powers the plant while keeping tons of garbage out of landfills. [TakePart]

¶   Activists delivered 6,000 cards and letters to the state New Mexico regulators asking for more renewable energy in a plan to replace coal-fired power from the San Juan Generating Station. The owner is seeking to use natural gas, nuclear, and increased capacity in remaining coal-fired units in addition to solar. [Bakken.com]

¶   According to the latest Monthly Energy Review put out by the US Energy Information Administration, the US dumped significantly more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere in the first half of 2014 than it did in the same period over the previous two years, reversing a decline in emissions from 2010-2012. [KCET]

¶   As increasing levels of solar, wind, geothermal and biomass are integrated onto the grid, utility hiring is impacted. Solar, however, has the most employment, averaging 41 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees per 100 MW of PV interconnections vs. 12 FTEs per 100 MW of total renewable capacity. [Fierce Energy]

¶   A collaborative study of Long Island’s offshore wind resources is underway for the development of the Deepwater ONE project, a 210 MW offshore wind farm to be located approximately 30 miles east of Montauk, proposed by Deepwater Wind in response to a request for proposals for renewable energy. [Fierce Energy]

¶   In the State of New York, a looming power supply shortage is spurring regulatory action to support a smarter, less centralized and more robust power grid. The initiative could revolutionize the utility industry in that state, while solving the supply problem — in both a functional and business sense. [Energy Collective]

¶   Entergy expects to complete a detailed decommissioning site assessment for the Vermont Yankee plant in the next 30 days. Also, Entergy has slightly revised its schedule for moving the plant’s spent fuel into more-stable dry cask storage, saying it will be done by 2020. [Brattleboro Reformer]

A Quote for the Day:

¶   “Climate action is not just a defensive play, it advances the ball. We can turn our challenge into an opportunity to modernize our power sector, and build a low-carbon economy that’ll fuel growth for decades to come,” Environmental Protection Agency Gina McCarthy told Resources for the Future, a non-profit research group. [USA TODAY]

Science and Technology:

¶   The first net zero energy sky scraper is being built in Jakarta, the capital and the largest city in Indonesia. Scheduled to be ready for inauguration in 2019, the 99-story building will include a mosque, a sports center and a 2000 seat auditorium for performing arts. It will be powered by wind, solar and geothermal energy. [Archinect]

¶   A new report from Navigant Research examines the global demand response market with a focus on two key sectors: commercial/industrial and residential. The report says the total worldwide capacity of demand response programs is expected to grow from 30.8 GW in 2014 to more than 196.6 GW by 2023. [Transmission and Distribution World]

World:

¶   Welsh tidal power developer Tidal Energy has signed an energy-supply deal with EDF, becoming one of the first tidal ventures in the world securing its spot in the grid. The Power Purchase Agreement provides a guarantee that EDF will purchase electricity and renewable certificates at a pre-agreed price during the first year of operations. [E&T magazine]

¶   WRB Enterprises has secured a solar supply contract with the Jamaican Public Service Company grid for a 20 MW PV project scheduled for completion in 2015. Construction on the project will begin within 60 days, with WRB subsidiary Content Solar overseeing the completion of the $60 million plant. [pv magazine]

¶   It is approximated that there is about 29 gigawatts of electricity that can be produced via geothermal energy sources in Indonesia, but only about 5%, or roughly 1,340 megawatts, of the country’s geothermal resources are currently utilized. By the end of 2014, three new geothermal plants will be operational. [Hydrogen Fuel News]

¶   In the UK, the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s quarterly energy statistics show gas partially replaced coal power between May and July this year. Low carbon energy sources such as wind, solar and nuclear generated almost 5% more electricity than in the same three months last year. [Carbon Brief]

¶   A new pan-European offshore wind cost-cutting initiative has been launched aiming to spearhead grid-connection of at least 30 GW of projects in UK, Danish and German waters by 2025. The venture seeks to achieve a levelized cost of energy below £100/MWh ($163/MWh) through knowledge management and other cost reductions. [Recharge]

¶   The global offshore wind power market is expected to significantly grow from 7.1 GW in 2013 to 39.9 GW by 2020 as more countries get involved, says GlobalData. The company’s latest report also revealed that the global offshore wind energy space registered substantial growth between 2006 and 2013, rising from 0.9 GW to 7.1GW. [Maritime Journal]

¶   The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) paper predicts an “auspicious future” for sustainable biomass, outlining that total biomass demand could reach 108 exajoules worldwide by 2030, which would represent 60% of total global renewable energy use, if its full potential is realized. [Business Green]

US:

¶   Following Google, Facebook has cut ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council, bringing the number of corporations that have done so to at least 87. Facebook and Google’s high-profile departure from ALEC will likely put pressure on corporations still sending funds to the conservative group, such as Yahoo and eBay. [Business Spectator]

¶   According to a new report from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, utilities and their shareholders could see substantial declines in revenues as solar penetrations increase – assuming they don’t seize the solar opportunity themselves. Solar reduces both utility power sales and new equity investment. [Greentech Media]

¶   A new report by the Energy Information Administration shows that the Texas power grid has been catching up with added windpower capacity in the state, as a massive, multi-year, multi-billion dollar infrastructure upgrade has been taking effect. This cut the number of curtailments and negative pricing events in Texas. [RenewablesBiz]

¶   The state of Vermont has received 26 requests totaling more than $6 million, for the first $2 million in funding that will be distributed from the Windham County Economic Development Fund. The fund was established after Entergy Vermont Yankee signed an agreement with the state regarding closing the nuclear power plant. [Brattleboro Reformer]

Opinion:

¶   “Can energy utilities keep their customers, or will they flee the grid?” One of the great imponderables for the global electricity industry at the moment is to what extent they have a captive audience. For decades, most consumers have had no choice but to use electricity supplied through the grid, and were happy to do so. [RenewEconomy]

¶   “Wall Street & Main Street Vote For Clean Energy” When Congress returns after Labor Day, it will pick up the debate over the clean energy provisions in the tax extenders package. But, as in so many areas, Washington is behind the curve. The debate is over. Clean energy won. [CleanTechnica]

¶   “Why we won’t be getting any nuclear power plants from Russia anytime soon” South Africa’s Department of Energy recently issued a statement regarding a new partnership in nuclear energy. But let’s not get excited. Nuclear power is a diversion from the real issues in the energy sector – and the culmination of a whole lot of dreaming. [Daily Maverick]

World:

¶   Major new analysis produced by Australia’s ClimateWorks, along with Australian National University, shows that 15 of the world’s biggest economies can move to “net carbon zero” by 2050, and it need impose no extra costs over business as usual. In fact, electricity bills will be lower than what they are now. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A UN summit on climate change agreed to raise billions of dollars for developing countries in an effort to forge a wide-ranging deal to slow global warming. The one-day summit set goals to halt losses of tropical forests by 2030 and hike the share of electric vehicles in cities to 30% of new vehicle sales by 2030. [Times of Malta]

¶   Kyushu Electric Power, the utility on the southwestern Japanese island of Kyushu, says it will temporarily stop reviewing grid-access applications from renewables developers until it can determine how much more capacity it can accept. The utility will continue to accept grid-access applications for home systems below 10 kW in size. [Recharge]

¶   A day after world leaders gathered for a United Nations Climate Summit in an attempt to garner the political will needed to confront climate change, New York’s Empire State Building played host Wednesday to an alliance of civil society, private sector and diplomatic leaders planning a transition to a carbon-neutral future. [Al Jazeera America]

¶   The world needs to more than double its annual investment in renewable energy by 2030 in order to achieve the target to restrict global rise in temperature of 2° C by the end of the century, the International Renewable Energy Agency has stated in one of recently published reports. [CleanTechnica]

US:

¶   Continued growth of wind energy in Iowa places it ahead of other states in meeting a proposed rule that would require existing power plants to cut carbon emissions. Iowa would be required to cut carbon emissions 16% by 2030, under the proposed rule, but that  target is lower than the 30% national average. [DesMoinesRegister.com]

¶   New Jersey’s Public Service Electric & Gas has begun building a 10.14-MW solar farm at a landfill in Bordentown. It will be the biggest system of solar arrays yet to be built in New Jersey by the utility. The solar system at the capped former garbage dump complies with an initiative to develop landfills and brownfields. [NJ Spotlight]

¶   A proposed $1.5 billion energy storage site in rural Utah that is part of a larger, ambitious clean energy initiative would be an economic boon to the state and could potentially make the area a hub for similar projects, state officials said Wednesday. The Millard County facility is about 130 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. [Reading Eagle]

¶   A group of wealthy businessmen with ties to the Obama political machine has put out an email blast asking Americans to submit public comments to the EPA in favor of the president’s “aggressive plan to tackle climate change.” The EPA is accepting comments from the public through December 1. [WND.com]

Opinion:

¶   “300,000-Plus People March for Climate Action, In Pictures” The Sunday morning rush hour is not usually known for packing people into subway cars like sardines. But September 21, 2014 was not your average Sunday commute as hundreds of thousands showed up for the People’s Climate March. [Scientific American]

¶   “A strong economy depends on climate action” When we act on climate, we seize an opportunity to retool and resurge with new technologies, new industries and new jobs. We owe it to our kids not just to act, but to lead. When we do, we’ll leave them a cleaner, safer and opportunity-rich world for generations to come. [The Hill]

¶   “Climate action – who is stopping us?” Fossil fuel industries are the only obstacle to a safe future and a stable climate, says Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo. But even the rich in industrialized countries know that they can’t hide from devastating climate change in their gated communities. [eco-business.com]

Science and Technology:

¶   Growing use of natural gas fails to benefit the environment because it slows the spread of renewable energy sources, according to a study released today. While natural gas releases less carbon dioxide than coal when burned to produce electricity, it hampers growth of cleaner energy such as wind and solar. [Mynextfone]

World:

¶   The Ernst & Young Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index ranks 40 markets worldwide on the attractiveness of their renewable energy investment and deployment opportunities. China is in first place, ahead of the US. Political uncertainty in the UK and Australia have dropped them in the rankings. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Mexico is facing an energy problem. A growing population and an expanding middle class are driving energy demand to increase 4% per year.  Mexico has a 60 GW energy demand, but that number will expand to 110 GW by 2024. And they want to solve this dreary problem with renewables. [Energy Collective]

¶   David Cameron announced at the Climate Summit that shale gas is part of Britain’s solution to tackling global climate change. Friends of the Earth however slammed Mr Cameron’s speech saying promoting fracking at a climate change summit “is like trying to sell cigarettes at a hospital.” [Energy Live News]

¶   The sub-Saharan African region is set to commission 1.8 GW of renewable power capacity in 2014. The region is emerging as an “exciting market” for investments in renewable energy technology such as onshore wind, small-scale and utility-scale solar and geothermal power. [African Review]

¶   In New Zealand, the new chief executive of the country’s Petroleum Exploration and Production Association told Radio New Zealand this morning that his industry is ready and willing to adapt to “the transition that we know will ultimately occur.” This leaves political climate change deniers out in the cold. [Scoop.co.nz]

US:

¶   Black Oak Wind Farm, LLC has just opened a new equity investment round for New York residents and companies, to join the existing investors in owning a group of 7 GE turbines on a ridge in the Finger Lakes region. The purpose of the offering is to allow local community ownership in the wind farm. [Your Renewable News]

¶   An alliance of four companies say they have found an answer to an energy storage problem in an underground salt formation. The group proposes an $8 billion power project that would store power from a huge wind farm in Wyoming and deliver it to over 1 million households in Southern California. [NEWS.GNOM.ES]

¶   California Governor Jerry Brown has long helped promote regulations to reward power companies for how much energy they save and mandated that a third of electricity come from sources such as solar. His latest ambition is for 1.5 million zero-emission cars on state roads in the next decade. [Businessweek]

¶   Vestas Wind Systems A/S announced on 23 September 2014 they had received a firm and unconditional order in the United States for 55 V110-2.0 MW turbines corresponding to 110 MW. The order was placed by Duke Energy Renewables. The turbines will be installed in a wind farm in Texas. [Newswire Today]

¶   Decommissioning of the idled San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in northern San Diego County will cost an estimated $4.4 billion, according to a plan submitted Tuesday by majority owner Southern California Edison. The plan is said to be fully funded. [Times of San Diego]

Finance:

¶   Developers have begun to spin off their renewable energy assets into investment vehicles called YieldCos. These attract low-cost capital by appealing to institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies, who together manage more than $71 trillion in assets. [Business Green]

¶   A new handbook shows how forward-looking communities around the world are already moving away from reliance on fossil fuels and generating their own power with 100% renewables − while also becoming more prosperous and creating jobs. [eco-business.com]

Science and Technology:

¶   MasseReaction Inc. says its World Patented ViPARtm technology (Vertically integrated Photo Array Reactor) is the first industrial scale algae carbon capture technology that is sustainable on both environmental and financial levels. [PR.com]

¶   Dashing hopes and trashing projections, a new study shows global carbon dioxide emissions not only rose again last year, but are also on track to reach a new high this year, pushing the planet further toward irreversible climate change. [NEWS.GNOM.ES]

¶   In the past few years, to the surprise of many, both China and the US have taken major steps away from coal. This opens up a crucial window of opportunity to achieve what many thought was a lost cause – a peak in global emissions of heat-trapping gases well before 2020. [RenewEconomy]

World:

¶   Yorkshire Water has invested £56 million to increase the renewable energy being generated by the firm by nearly 80%. The investment is helping the company to generate an expected 75 gigawatt hours this year, enough energy to make over three billion cups of tea. [bdaily]

¶   Slowing demand for coal in China is a major financial risk for coal industry investors. Demand for coal in China could peak as early as 2016, as the country brings in measures to tackle air pollution and boosts its use of renewables, gas, nuclear power and energy efficiency. [Energy Voice]

¶   Saudi Arabia has announced it will build solar power stations in five regions by the end 2015. The solar power stations would be built by King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, based in Jeddah, where there also are plans to generate power from landfill. [ArabianBusiness.com]

¶   Enough electricity for almost 5,000 homes could soon be generated in a mammoth solar power farm situated on Green Belt land less than one mile from Upminster, northeast of London. The solar plant will have 60,100 solar panels. [Brentwood Gazette]

¶   German wind turbine manufacturer Nordex has received its largest individual order in its home market to date, from developer PNE Wind for the 57.6 MW Chransdorf wind farm in eastern Germany. [Recharge]

¶   On Sunday, Japan’s new trade minister said the country would find it difficult to formulate an energy policy without nuclear power, given its lack of energy resources and the high cost of utilities for companies and households. [Daily Times]

US:

¶   A state group aims to form a new electric cooperative in Arkansas, a cooperative that relies on solely on solar energy. The cooperative aims to create group negotiating power for the purchase of solar energy systems. [KATV]

¶   With the UN Climate Summit coming up, major companies, including Big Oil, will make pledges to help fight global warming by cutting their heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions, protecting the world’s forests and reducing methane leakage from fossil fuel production. [Pensacola News Journal]

¶   Green Mountain Power is biting back after the Federal Trade Commission got a complaint asking that GMP’s claims and practices marketing renewable energy be investigated. GMP’s CEO points out that renewable power in Vermont grew from 10 MW to 150 MW in five years. [Fierce Energy]

Opinion:

¶   “Errors and Emissions – Could Fighting Global Warming Be Cheap and Free?” Two reports both claim strong measures to limit carbon emissions would have hardly any negative effect on economic growth, and might even lead to faster growth. But will anyone believe the good news? [New York Times]

Science and Technology:

¶   Last month was the warmest August since records began being kept in 1880, according to NOAA. They also projected out scenarios for the rest of the year making clear that 2014 is going to be one of the very hottest years on record — and possibly the hottest. [Energy Collective]

¶   The Center for Biological Diversity has said the Earth is currently going through its sixth mass extinction of plants and animals. Now, researchers at the University of Georgia have concluded that species are going extinct 1,000 times faster than normal. [The Weather Channel]

¶   Australian battery technology developer RedFlow says trials of its zinc-bromine “flow” batteries shows that the technology is “cost competitive” in large-scale applications on the electricity grid. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The Germany-based Novatec Solar has commissioned a new solar plant that uses direct molten salt technology. The plant can operate at temperatures well above 500° C, resulting in a significant increase in power yield and an ability to act as baseload generators if required. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   The largest self-use solar rooftop power plant in the Philippines was launched yesterday at a shopping mall in Laguna. The 700-kW Central Mall Biñan solar rooftop project is part of the country’s efforts to promote renewable energy and reduce dependence on coal. [Philippine Star]

¶   A march in London today to demand urgent action on climate change is one of 2,000 events taking place in 150 countries around the world ahead of a United Nations climate summit next week. Some 100,000 people are expected to get involved in New York City. [Daily Mail]

¶   On the eve of the UN Climate Summit, Desmond Tutu argues that tactics used against firms who did business with South Africa must now be applied to fossil fuels to prevent human suffering. [The Guardian]

¶    The world is running out of water resources. This threatens conventional electric supplies, as coal, gas, nuclear, and hydroelectric sources are all subject to limitations by the coming water shortage, because they all depend on water either for power or for cooling. [Motley Fool]

US:

¶   Consumers in 13 states and the District of Columbia could be overcharged $433 million in annual utility bill savings over the next three years, and $127 million annually after that point, because PJM is undercounting energy efficiency’s effectiveness in cutting power demand. [CleanTechnica]

¶   After years of advocating for wind energy and the importance of the Renewable Portfolio Standard, Kansas Governor Brownback says he is in favor of repealing the RPS. His opponent in the election says the repeal is intended to eliminate competition for the Koch brothers industries. [hays Post]

Science and Technology:

¶   Rocky Mountain Institute’s Micropower Database documents the global progress of distributed, rapidly scalable, and no- or low-carbon generators. Its most astonishing finding: micropower now produces about one-fourth of the world’s total electricity. [Forbes]

¶   French investment bank Kepler Chevreux analysis says $100 billion invested in either wind energy or solar energy – and deployed as energy for light and commercial vehicles – will produce significantly more energy than that same $100 billion invested in oil. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   The Polish town of Kisielice has received the European Commission’s ManagEnergy Award 2014 for its clean energy leadership. It is 100% powered by renewable energy (wind and biomass, to be specific). [CleanTechnica]

¶   Solar power program was a flagship project of previous Indian government. Now, the current government is all set to take it to a higher level. It is planning to double the target of the upcoming phase of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission to 3,000 MW. [Oneindia]

¶   Work on Vietnam’s first nuclear power plant will not begin at the end of this year as originally planned, Deputy Trade Minister Cao Quoc Hung said Thursday. Construction was pushed back until 2020 or 2022 to ensure the highest safety precautions. [Thanh Nien Daily]

¶   Jamaica Public Service Co signed 20-year power purchase agreements with three renewable energy providers for projects that will be completed by the end of next year. The two wind farms have a combined capacity of 58 MW, and the solar farm’s capacity is 20 MW. [Mynextfone]

¶   Brazilian wind power developers registered another 55 projects with a total capacity of 1.4 GW for the A-5 auction that was rescheduled for November 28, Brazil’s energy planning authority, EPE, said in a statement. [Recharge]

US:

¶   Montana Governor Steve Bullock said Friday that his state can meet the Obama administration’s goal of reducing climate pollution while protecting energy-related jobs and avoiding the closure of coal plants that generate the bulk of the state’s emissions. [Reading Eagle]

¶   Consumers in The Panhandle could see long term benefits if one company invests in renewable energy. Xcel Energy wants to expand new solar resources that could power up to 200,000 homes by the end of 2016. [KFDA]

¶   Texas is a national leader in wind energy, with more installed capacity, more wind turbines, and more jobs than any other state. Potential for more job growth in this field seems likely, given the US DOE’s push for 20% of US electricity to be wind-generated by 2030. [Chron.com]

¶   Kansas’s first community solar farm will be the nation’s largest solar tracking community solar array, soon to provide 1.2 megawatts of locally-produced clean energy production available to Midwest Energy customers throughout central and western Kansas. [High Plains Journal]

¶   First Wind is starting  construction at the company’s Oakfield Wind Project, in Aroostook, Maine. It is the company’s sixth wind energy development in Maine and is its largest in New England at 148 MW. It will include 48 Vestas V-112 turbines. [Area Development Online]

¶   Used batteries from plug-in electric vehicles could help California meet its goals for energy storage, a report from the University of California, Los Angeles, and UC Berkeley law schools said. The EV batteries can be repurposed for grid storage when their automotive life ends. [Scientific American]

¶   The University of California higher education institution recently made the largest ever solar energy purchase in the US by a higher education institution, 206,000 MW-hours per year, as part of a new deal to power its many campuses and medical centers with renewables. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶   Three out of four nuclear plants under construction world wide are behind schedule and over budget. Peter Bradford, former member of the US NRC, says nuclear power is too expensive for generating electricity and not an essential part of the world’s climate change strategy. [Your Nuclear News]

World:

¶   The decision by the Scottish electorate to remain within the UK leaves the way open for a number of projects that are dependent on UK subsidies to proceed. Independence would have required negotiation on energy with the remainder of the UK, creating market uncertainty. [Windpower Monthly]

¶   Ahead of a UN climate summit, institutional investors managing £15 trillion ($24.6 trillion) of assets are also calling on governments to phase out subsidies for fossil fuels, an estimated £370 billion ($606 billion) worldwide a year, five times the £60 billion paid in renewables subsidies. [The Guardian]

¶   So far, Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority has only deemed Kyushu Electric Power’s Sendai reactor in the southwest ready. An analyst with JPMorgan Securities Japan, says he thinks only half of the 48 reactors will come back, and that might take until 2018. [Businessweek]

¶   Small and medium businesses supplying renewable energy projects around Australia have jointly written to the government, urging it to retain the current policy, rejecting the recommendations of the recent Warburton review to cut the Renewable Energy Target. [Business Spectator]

¶   In a speech at the National Press Club in Canberra, Greens leader Christine Milne has called on Australia to commit to being “net carbon zero” by 2050, and commit to cutting emissions by up to 60% by 2030. She suggested introducing emissions standards to phase out use of coal. [RenewEconomy]

¶   One of the largest coal power plants in Germany — EON SE’s Wilhelmshaven hard coal plant on the coast of the North Sea — was recently forced to shut down for a week (or so) owing to the water inflow pipes becoming clogged with huge masses of mussels. [CleanTechnica]

US:

¶   The White House has unveiled more than 50 actions and commitments designed to provide a major boost to the US solar power and energy efficiency industries. The package is predicted to avoid nearly 300 million ton of emissions by 2030 and save consumers more than $10 billion. [Business Green]

¶   In an effort to expand on the rapidly growing PV market, the DOE’s Solar Instructor Training Network has a pilot job training program for veterans at up to three military bases starting this fall. The goal is to engage 400 community colleges to train 50,000 workers by 2020. [PV-Tech]

¶   Environmental groups are simultaneously praising Duke Energy for its investment in solar power while criticizing the utility for operating some of the dirtiest power plants in the nation. Duke just committed $500 million to solar, but still runs some of the nation’s dirtiest coal plants. [WCNC]

¶   Montana ranks second in the nation for wind energy potential, but currently isn’t even ranked in the top 20 for existing wind development projects. And instead of deploying windpower, it is maintaining one of the dirtiest coal-burning plants in the country. [MTPR]

¶   According to the CEO of SolarCity, within ten years every set of solar panels sold by that company will come with a battery backup system, and the energy produced will be less expensive that grid power. [Treehugger]

¶   Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is investing in 540 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects nationwide. The money, $68 million, will come as loan guarantees and grants. [Clarksville Online]

¶   A report released by Environment America, a national federation of statewide advocacy groups, compares carbon emissions from US power plants to world power plant carbon emissions (all sources, all countries). The dirtiest coal plant in the US produces more CO2 than Sri Lanka. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit yesterday rejected a petition from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to rehear a case ruling that  federal law does not permit the long-standing practice of paying big users not to use energy at peak demand times. [Crain’s Chicago Business]

Global Warming:

¶   On Sept. 21, a huge crowd will march through the middle of Manhattan in a loud and pointed reminder to our leaders, gathering that week at the UN to discuss global warming, that the next great movement of the planet’s citizens centers on our survival and their pathetic inaction. [Monterey County Weekly]

¶   A UN summit on climate change will see the world begin to seriously tackle global warming, UN climate envoy Mary Robinson said. “The message from the climate summit and the message going forward to Paris is that it’s not business as usual with a little bit of green attached.” [Tengrinews]

¶   A newly released report says an ambitious global plan to rid the world of fossil fuels – and generate half of the world’s new energy from renewable sources in just 15 years – could produce more economic benefits than costs, considering the anticipated boost to public health. [Slate Magazine]

Science and Technology:

¶   A Gamesa-developed ‘bat shield’ technology has been shown to reduce the number of fatalities at wind turbines. Research to date with US development partner University of Delaware reveals a drop of 90%. However, under longer-term data a reduction range of 30% to 50% is anticipated. [reNews]

World:

¶   Solar power may be the best weapon to counter India’s power crisis. The Telangana government is going to implement a new scheme under which solar panels would be attached to handwater pumps to convert them into dual purpose motor pumps in rural areas. [The New Indian Express]

¶   Atlantis Resources is ready to draw down cash for its MeyGen tidal array project off the north coast of Scotland after satisfying all conditions in a £51.3 million funding package. The largely public funds will enable works on the 6 MW phase 1a to get underway. [reNews]

¶   It has taken banks and financiers some time to get used to solar technology, a very safe investment. However, one promising development is news that Goldman Sachs is offering financing for solar PV projects in Japan for a lower rate than banks. [PlanetSave.com]

¶   The Australian Labor party has ruled out negotiating with the Federal Government to scale back the large-scale Renewable Energy Target. The Government is believed to be searching for a bipartisan compromise to scale back the green scheme. [ABC Online]

¶   The total worldwide capacity of demand response programs is expected to grow from 30.8 GW in 2014 to more than 196.6 GW by 2023, according to a recent report from Navigant Research. Demand response shifts part of the grid demand from peak periods to low-use periods. [PennEnergy]

¶   With more countries utilizing offshore wind potential, the global offshore wind power market is expected to increase more than fivefold from 7.1 GW in 2013 to 39.9 GW by 2020, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   Enel Green Power announced it has started construction on a 61 MW wind power farm in Chile. The Talinay Poniente wind farm will have 32 wind turbines that will generate enough power to provide electricity for 60,000 households in Chile. [PennEnergy]

US:

¶   Clearly, politicians across the ideological spectrum are realizing that voters like clean energy. And for good reason, as wind and solar are big-time job creators and economic drivers, making them not just good politics but smart policy investments for any state’s future. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Large wind farms and solar plants are now cost-competitive with gas-fired power in many parts of the US even without subsidy, according to Lazard, raising the prospect of a fundamental shift in the country’s energy market. [Financial Times]

¶   Fifty-two months after NextEra Energy Seabrook nuclear power plant filed for a 20-year extension to its license, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has again revised its schedule for the application, with the decision date reset for March of 2016. [The Daily News of Newburyport]

Science and Technology:

¶   For renewables power sources, nearly all energy inputs are original production and mitigating the waste from that production. More energy is produced than the fossil fuels used. Wind is the most efficient fuel for electricity, creating 1164% of its original energy inputs. [Wall Street Journal]

¶   MIT professor Fikile Brushett is working on taking the power generated by wind and solar, chemically lashing it to molecules derived from flora and fauna, and storing it in liquids until it’s needed to electrify our homes. The process may reduce costs of redox flow batteries. [PennEnergy]

¶   A recent study by GE and NREL shows that the entire eastern US grid could achieve a dramatic increase in wind penetration without suffering any major destabilizing effects, without threatening electric reliability, and without installing any costly energy storage. [Scientific American]

¶   Scientists at the University of Glasgow found a new way to make hydrogen that is 30 times faster than the state-of-the-art method, offering a solution to some common problems with generating electricity from renewable sources such as solar, wind, or wave energy. [Nature World News]

World:

¶   Australia’s coal industry is in a flap after an announcement from the Chinese government it would ban the import of certain types of coal. According to the Wall Street Journal, the directive is primarily aimed at low-grade coal mainly coming from Indonesia and Australia. [Energy Matters]

¶   The Kosh-Agach solar PV pilot power plant in the Altai region of Russia is now online. The 5 MW project is apparently the largest solar power plant to be installed in Russia to-date, and is serving as the prototype for a further four more such projects in the region. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Germany switched on Europe’s largest commercial battery plant on Tuesday, an installation powered by 25,600 lithium-ion batteries that will help stabilise the region’s growing supply of renewable energy. The €6 million plant is the size of a school gymnasium and stores 5 MWh. [Economic Times]

¶   New Delhi is going through a rooftop revolution because of a freshly-minted regulation by the power watchdog, the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission, which permits enterprises and residents to not only generate their own solar energy but also sell it to the grid. [Khaleej Times]

¶   Over the past 17 years, the German village of Wildpoldsried has invested in renewable energy projects that include 4,983 kW of photovoltaics, five biogas facilities, 11 wind turbines and a hydropower system. Now it produces 500% of the energy it needs and sells the excess. [Inhabitat]

US:

¶   The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant has begun a gradual reduction of the electricity it generates that will end with the plant shutting down in December. The coast-down period will end the plant’s operating cycle as the nuclear fuel in the reactor is depleted. [WAMC]

¶   A heat wave that set year-to-date records for California statewide power use on Monday and Tuesday was thwarted by electricity infrastructure that has been upgraded in recent years and increased power from renewable energy sources. Over 10% of demand was met by solar power. [Press-Enterprise]

¶   The EPA announced it is extending the Clean Power Plan’s public comment period 45 days, making the new deadline December 1.The head of the EPA office writing the new rule said she still expects to meet the June deadline for making revisions to the rule based on the comments. [Journal and Courier]

¶   In the Vermont, the Green Mountain State, sunflowers are an emerging source of renewable energy. Sunflowers are grown on several farms and then harvested for their oilseeds which are then converted to biodiesel and livestock feed. [Examiner.com]

Opinion:

¶   “Solar & Wind Power Can Be Cost-Competitive In Any Country, Says IEA” A new look at an almost-new report notes that the International Energy Agency says any country can reach a high share of renewable energy cost-effectively, mostly by relying on solar and wind power. [PlanetSave.com]

Science and Technology:

¶   This past August was the warmest since records began in 1881, according to new data released by NASA. The latest readings continue a series of record or near-record breaking months. May of this year was also the warmest in recorded history. [Huffington Post]

¶   Demonstration systems from Hawaii to the eastern banks of Canada are showing that a “fleet” of water or space heaters can act as a sort of fast-acting sponge that absorbs extra electricity on the grid, especially wind power, making the grid more stable and storing energy. [Environment & Energy Publishing]

World:

¶   The Legislative Affairs Office of China’s State Council released the first draft of the highly-anticipated revisions to the national Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law, providing hope that blue skies won’t always be so fleeting as they have been of late. [Energy Collective]

¶   A week before heads of state meet at the United Nations to discuss climate change, a major report on Tuesday from global political, environmental, and industry leaders says it’s possible to grow the world economy while tackling global warming. [National Geographic]

¶   Mainstream Renewable Power has signed an agreement with Swiss wind farm developer NEK Umwelttechnik to purchase the 225 MW Ayitepa Wind Farm in Ghana, which is under development. The project is expected to start generating power early in 2016. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶   The government of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has lined up three major projects to produce 2,500 MW of solar power in the Rayalaseema region of the state. A memorandum of understanding for these projects will be signed tomorrow. [NDTV]

¶   Finland’s economy minister has rejected an application from power utility Teollisuuden Voima to extend the permit for a new nuclear reactor in the west of the country, throwing the project into doubt. [Reuters]

US:

¶   San Diego has one of the highest adoption rates of electric vehicles in the world, and it is seriously fashionable to drive an EV in San Diego. The city has a notable milestone to celebrate this year with more than 10,000 EVs on the roads in the metro region. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The proportion of coal miners who suffer from progressive massive fibrosis, a particularly lethal an advanced form of black lung disease, has skyrocketed in central Appalachia in recent years, according to experts with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. [Huffington Post]

¶   A group of four Vermonters is asking federal regulators to force Green Mountain Power to stop marketing its power as renewable. They say by selling credits for green power to customers out of state to offset fossil fuel use, GMP is effectively making Vermont dependent on coal and gas. [Vermont Public Radio]

¶   REC Solar, a national leader in commercial solar system design and installation, today announced growing momentum across the state of Hawaii, with the completion of six solar energy systems for Hawaii’s historic Dole Plantation and W.M. Keck Observatory. [AZoCleantech]

¶   US electric power holding company Duke Energy has made a $500 million commitment to the expansion of solar energy in North Carolina. The company will construct three PV facilities – totaling 128 MW of capacity – which will be built in Bladen, Duplin and Wilson counties. [PV-Tech]

¶   With the passage of HB 4385/SB 2214 early last month, Massachusetts has joined New Hampshire and Wisconsin as the only states to provide incentives for the use of clean, renewable fuels to heat and cool buildings. [The National Law Review]

¶   A mysterious telephone poll asked questions of Vermonters about the potential continued operation of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. Neither Entergy, the plant’s owner, nor Green Mountain Power, Vermont’s largest utility, was involved. [Rutland Herald]

Opinion:

¶   “Happy nuclear free birthday to the people of Japan” Every birthday is special – but today Japan is celebrating something unique. Japan has been nuclear-free for one year. One year ago today, the last commercial nuclear reactor operating in Japan was shutdown. [Greenpeace International]

Science and Technology:

¶   Wind farms can interfere with ground radar systems due to turbine blades returning a radar signal that can be mistaken as an aircraft or weather pattern. New technology is being used in some Vestas turbines to reduce problems with radar. [Energy Matters]

¶   The director-general of the International Renewable Energy Agency says in REthinking Energy — the first edition in a new IRENA series — that solar PV costs fell by two-thirds between the end of 2009 and 2013 – “a speed of change comparable to that seen in the IT revolution.” [eco-business.com]

World:

¶   At least 150 major companies worldwide – including ExxonMobil, Google, Microsoft and 26 others in the United States – are already making business plans that assume they will be taxed on their carbon pollution, a report today says. [USA TODAY]

¶   A pioneering new school project was opened in South Africa’s Gauteng Province. Harnessing the latest renewable energy technologies, the solar-powered internet school connects teachers and pupils to the internet, bringing them into the digital age. [The Guardian]

¶   Irrigators from around Australia have met to discuss how they can cope with rising electricity prices. Power prices in most Australian states have doubled over the past seven years, with higher network charges making up much of the increased costs. [ABC Online]

¶   More than 15,000 Australian businesses have installed solar power to reduce energy bills, and there is the potential for tens of thousands more to do so if the RET remains unchanged, the Clean Energy Council has said. [EcoGeneration]

¶   Leading environmentalists from 44 countries have teamed up to call on foundations and philanthropists around the world to use endowments worth billions of dollars to turn the tide on global warming. [reNews]

¶   Eight UK wind power companies are launching a campaign aimed at dispelling myths around onshore wind power, specifically to convince MPs that it is the cheapest and one of the most popular forms of renewable energy. [Business Green]

¶   A controversial windfarm has been given the go ahead by the UK government. The Clocaenog Forest Wind Farm was given permission by the planning inspectorate to start work on the project. It will see 32 wind turbines erected in the Clocaenog forest near Ruthin. [News North Wales]

US:

¶   The U.S. Navy and the University of Hawaii have formed a partnership to work on a $2.5 million energy research project to come up with a power grid modernization strategy and action plan to meet the future needs of the Navy in Hawaii. [Pacific Business News]

¶   A new poll said 88% of Wisconsin voters support an increase in solar energy use, and similar figures were recorded for biomass energy and wind power. One prominent environmentalist says voters clearly believe using more renewable energy would lead to more jobs in the state. [Public News Service]

World:

¶   The six Central American countries had a total solar capacity of 6 MW in 2013. The total is expected to reach 22 MW by the end of 2014. However, market researcher IHS believes it can reach up to 243 MW in 2015 and continue growing rapidly from there. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Electric utility executives around the world are watching developments in Germany nervously as renewable technologies they once thought irrelevant begin to threaten established business plans. Many in poor countries are considering skipping the fossil age altogether. [New York Times]

¶   The first renewable energy scheme in Scotland to draw heat from a river is set to be installed by the University of Glasgow in a bid to lower the university’s heating bill by a quarter. A heat pump will extract latent heat from water that is between 8° C and 10° C all year round. [Herald Scotland]

¶   In an effort to mitigate spiralling energy prices after the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, Japanese companies are pouring money into fuel-efficient technologies. Ireland’s Glen Dimplex’s fuel-efficient, energy-saving heating solutions have become a popular choice. [Irish Independent]

¶   India Power Corporation Ltd, a power generation and distribution company, is augmenting its renewable power procurement plans. It has also planned to add 200 MW of windpower capacity by the end of 2015. [Hindu Business Line]

US:

¶   A federal judge ruled last Thursday that BP acted with “gross negligence” in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. This decision could result in the company paying an estimated $18 billion in fines. Most must be spent on restoring the environment and coastal communities. [Energy Collective]

¶   After a seven-year-long investigation, scientists at the National Audubon Society issued a grim report finding that more than half of the 650 or so bird species in North America may be threatened by global warming. [Canada News]

¶   The two Democrats who hope to regulate utilities in Arizona admit they face an uphill battle winning election in a Republican state, but they insist they are on the right side of the issue that resonates most with voters: renewable power. [azcentral.com]

¶   Google’s most recent investment in renewable power is in a project that sits on an old oil and gas field. It is Google’s 17th large investment in renewables and puts the company’s total tab at more than $1.5 billion on three continents for a capacity of more than 2.5 GW. [Forbes]

¶   Olympic National Park in Washington says that for the first time in more than a century, chinook salmon have been spotted in the upper reaches of the Elwha River following the recent removal of two dams. [KOMO News]

Opinion:

¶   “Nuclear power – insanity at taxpayers’ and consumers’ expense” Nuclear power exists for one reason only, writes Ralph Nader – government support. Without the taxpayer subsidies, accident liability waivers and exploited consumers, nuclear power wouldn’t exist. [The Ecologist]

Science and Technology:

¶   The Archimedes, a Dutch renewable energy start-up is currently working on a novel wind turbine small enough to be mounted on the roof of a typical home, but which is still highly efficient at converting wind to energy and is nearly soundless. [Jetson Green]

¶   ABB has announced it will install its PowerStore solution, a commercial flywheel technology, to integrate with a battery system on Kodiak Island, Alaska, and enable the integration of more renewable energy from an expanded wind farm to the island’s microgrid. [North American Windpower]

World:

¶    Recently published analysis shows Chinese coal consumption fell for the first time this century in the first half of this year. Even more striking, China’s gross domestic product growth and coal consumption have decoupled, suggesting a structural shift in the Chinese economy. [Energy Collective]

¶   As part of its inaugural Rethinking Energy report, the International Renewable Energy Agency looks at some of the economic benefits that the now – it says – inevitable shift to renewables will bring. High among these is job creation. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Currently, Ontario gets 2312 MW of windpower, 4091 MW of hydro, and 159 MW of other renewable energy, for a total of 6562 MW of renewable energy. That means Ontario is getting 35% of its 19.000 grid load from renewable resources. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Indian Prime Minister Modi on Friday called for a solar-powered corridor along the India-Pakistan border in the deserts of Rajasthan and Gujarat, with two pilot projects of 5 MW being initiated as part of promotion of the renewable energy, specially the solar energy. [Free Press Journal]

¶   A wind farm which will generate enough electricity to power around 14,000 homes has officially been opened in Scotland. The £26 million Twinshiels wind farm has 10 turbines and adjoins Eneco’s Tullo wind facility – a seven-turbine development. [Energy Live News]

¶   Siemens, together with universities and local utility Allgäuer Überlandwerk GmbH, will for three years look into how to best manage energy systems with distributed renewable power generation, batteries, district heating, biogas plants and diesel generators. [Mynextfone]

¶   Chile’s Environmental Assessment Service has approved a 698-MW solar power development. The ‘South Campos Sol project’ will require $1.6 billion in investment and will be built over more than 2,000 acres in the Copiapó province, in the Atacama Region. [PV-Tech]

US:

¶   A state energy board gave conditional approval Friday to a $140 million wind farm that would rise south of Blue Hill in south-central Nebraska. The Cottonwood Wind Project would have 52 turbines and a capacity to generate 89.5 MW of power. [Omaha World-Herald]

¶   Minnesota Power’s rededication ceremony of the 4-MW 91-year-old Winton hydroelectric station. The electric power company is highlighting its recent investments in its 11 Minnesota hydroelectric stations this year with its Hometown Hydro Celebration ceremonies. [Tower Timberjay News]

¶   Renewable energy is helping Montana families and businesses take charge of their power supply like never before. There are now more than 1,000 solar arrays, small-scale wind turbines and micro-hydro generators producing clean energy in the state. [MTPR]

¶   A new poll found that a substantial majority of Midwesterners believe renewable energy is a reliable and affordable option that is not only an increasing source of good jobs, but is also a good way to ensure the country’s energy generation is self-reliant and secure. [CleanTechnica]

Opinion:

¶   “Good News: EPA Standards Could Lower Electricity Bills” The Clean Power Plan may just spell out what many in the industry already knew: Fossil fuels are not as cheap as they may seem. [Environmental Defense Fund]

Science and Technology:

¶   Experts say the combined energy from two recent solar events will arrive at Earth on Saturday, prompting the Space Weather Prediction Center to issue a strong geomagnetic storm watch. Such storms can damage the electric grid – you might want to keep a flashlight handy. [CNN]

World:

¶   Contracts with connect the Greek islands of Mykonos, Paros, Tinos and Syros with Greece’s mainland grid have been signed. The cost of the project is €240 million, but the switch is expected to save Greek ratepayers €100 million each year. [pv magazine]

¶   What will the world look like in 2025? Expect a lot more solar power. In fact, according to a report by Thomson Reuters, in 2025, solar will be the primary source of energy on our planet. 2025 may sound a ways off, but it’s only 11 years away. [Energy Collective]

¶   The Indian government is expecting $ 100 billion investment in the renewable energy sector in the next four years as it firms up a new policy framework for the same. It also expects $ 50-60 billion investment in power transmission and distribution in the same time. [Economic Times]

¶   India is set to introduce an offshore wind policy targeting 1 GW by 2020, seeking to mimic Europe’s success in generating power at sea. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy will seek cabinet approval for the policy shortly, according to Joint Secretary Alok Srivastava. [Businessweek]

¶   The cost of solar electricity generation will decline to half of the current level by 2020 in China, an important technological breakthrough in raising the use of the clean energy, making it the same as the cost of coal generated electricity. [ecns]

¶   Domestically generated renewable energy can be the next big “game-changer” for the Irish economy, creating “thousands of jobs” and saving the State more than €1 billion per year from the importation of fossil fuels, according to Glen Dimplex chief Sean O’Driscoll. [Irish Examiner]

¶   General Electric is considering investing in Polish wind farms in addition to providing turbines as changes in clean-energy subsidies encourage developers to hasten projects. Poland gets 90% of its power from coal and wants will go to auctions for fixed-price contracts in 2016. [Businessweek]

¶   The Director of the Electrical Inspectorate Services, Abayomi Adebisi announced in Abuja that the federal government of Nigeria plans to add about 2,483 MW of electricity from renewable sources to Nigeria’s electricity grid by 2015. [Nigerian Bulletin]

¶   Former prime minister of Japan, Naoto Kan, warned Ireland against following in his country’s nuclear footsteps. He told a panel of Irish energy-industry heavy hitters that nuclear power should be consigned to the history books within a few generations. [thejournal.ie]

US:

¶   Ohio utilities are asking their Public Utilities Commission to allow rate increases to cover extra costs of generating power at existing coal-burning power plants. But according to Public Policy Polling, most Ohio electricity customers said the request should be denied. [Public News Service]

¶   The three candidates for governor agree that energy costs in Maine are too high, but Republican Gov. Paul LePage, Democrat Mike Michaud and independent Eliot Cutler are deeply divided in their visions for the state’s energy future. [Reading Eagle]

¶   Politically “red” and “blue” US states are increasingly turning green as they push energy efficiency and renewable power to save money and protect the planet, says a report today from Stanford University and the Hoover Institution with prominent bi-partisan support. [Sydney Morning Herald]

Opinion:

¶   “This Revolution Is Not Being Televised” This new quiet revolution doesn’t show up in magazines or the nightly news, though it should. But like all revolutions, it is about power – in this case, electricity. [Huffington Post]

¶   “Wind energy keeps costs low and improves reliability” Congress must extend the renewable Production Tax Credit and Investment Tax Credit as soon as possible, to provide wind power the critical policy stability Congress has given to other energy sources for the last 100 years. [The Hill]

Science and Technology:

¶   A group of Australian solar power experts known as the Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium has been working on printable solar cells over the past seven years. And they’re finally just about ready to hit the market. [ScienceAlert]

World:

¶   Carlos Jericho Petilla is the Secretary of Energy for the Philippines. He recently explained that rooftop solar panels are now cheaper than coal there. The explanation is simple, and appeared in a publication of the Philippine Department of Energy. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Market research firm IHS has confirmed that there are currently 132 GW worth of solar PV projects at various stages of development around the world, with almost half of that residing in the US and China. China’s share is small compared to that of the US, however. [CleanTechnica]

¶   According to Lux Research, the solar industry is expected to grow at an annual rate of 8.3% worldwide – from 37.5 GW in 2013 to 65.6 GW in 2019. Emerging trade disputes involving China, as well as global policies, still cast a shadow over short-term prospects. [Energy Collective]

¶   Helsinki recently announced some major environmental initiatives. The coolest of these may be the installation of an underwater reservoir tank 100 yards below the city center to store 9 million gallons of cold lake water. It will be used for a district cooling network. [inhabitat]

¶   The New Zealand Green Party’s clean energy plan aims for 100% renewable generation by 2030. They are pushing for a strong price on carbon and a new Green Investment Bank to slow investment in dirty energy, and want a single buyer to reduce bills. [TVNZ]

¶   More than 15,000 Australian businesses have installed solar panels says the Clean Energy Council. They invested almost $460 million in solar power systems for a saving of about $64 million on their bills every year. [Energy Matters]

¶   A former coal-burning thermal plant in northwestern Ontario is now operating entirely on biomass, making it the largest power plant in North America fuelled completely by biological material. The plant burned its last coal for electricity production on Sept. 11, 2012. [CanadianManufacturing.com]

¶   Friends of the Earth has denied dropping its opposition to nuclear power after the BBC reported that the green group had made a “huge and controversial shift” in its stance. The group’s executive director released a statement saying they were unchanged on nuclear. [The Guardian]

US:

¶   Google is providing $145 million in equity financing for the Regulus solar plant in Kern County, California. The 737-acre 82 MW solar PV power plant will feature over 248,000 SunEdison mono-crystalline solar PV modules. [Energy Business Review]

¶   The University of Iowa is working to achieve a “net-negative” energy growth this decade, meaning it aims to be using less energy in 2020 than it did in 2010, even as its campus expands. To do so, the university is ramping up its use of biomass. [Iowa City Press Citizen]

¶   By 2050, 80% of the electricity used in New Jersey should be generated by renewable energy, according to a bill being drafted by lawmakers. The proposal is expected to be introduced as early as Monday. [NJ Spotlight]

¶   The NRC rejected a recommendation from a senior federal expert that California’s last operating nuclear power plant be shut down until the agency can determine whether its twin reactors can withstand powerful shaking from nearby earthquake faults. [Bridge River Lillooet News]

Science and Technology:

¶   The world has more groundwater that is salty than fresh and drinkable. For example, 60% of India is underlain by salty water −and much of that has no electric grid to run conventional desalination plants. Sun-powered desalination could deliver clean water for off-grid villages. [ScienceDaily]

¶   The global shift to a world powered predominately by decentralised renewable energy is happening, whether we are ready for it or not. This is the main takeaway message from the latest report from the International Renewable Energy Agency. [RenewEconomy]

World:

¶   The construction of two of the world’s largest floating solar plants is set to begin in late September in Japan. Plans have begun to build a series of floating solar plants that combined will have a generating capacity of 60 MW. [Chinatopix]

¶   Swiss power company ABB has signed an $800 million (£497 million) contract to install a 100-mile cable under the Moray Firth to link up north-east Scotland’s power network. The cable will be equipped to transmit 1.2 GW of renewable energy into the grid by 2030. [Herald Scotland]

¶   Iran’s Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian said that a wind power plant will be established with a generation capacity of 100 MW in Khaf region of Khorasan Razavi province, in northeastern Iran, by the end of the current year, according to Iran’s IRNA news agency. [Trend.az]

¶   The bill for decommissioning Britain’s ageing nuclear power stations has increased by £6 billion in a single year to almost £70 billion, campaigners warned yesterday. Manchester-based Nuclear Free Local Authorities called for switching from nuclear development to renewables. [Morning Star Online]

¶   Japan’s nuclear watchdog gave the green light for two reactors to restart, one year after the energy-poor country shut down its last unit in the aftermath of the Fukushima crisis. Any restart is unlikely before the year end because other approvals are also necessary. [Channel News Asia]

US:

¶   New figures from GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association’s Q2 2014 U.S. Solar Market Insight report show that the US installed 1,133 MW of new solar PV capacity in the second quarter, pushing the cumulative operating capacity for solar power to 15.9 GW. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Commissioners, utilities, and stakeholders in South Carolina are ironing out details of a solar law that enables third-party leasing and contemplates the state’s investor owned-utilities utilities installing 300 MW of renewable energy by 2021, up from about 8 MW currently. [Energy Collective]

¶   Maryland-based Enviva LP is investing $214 million in the two mills to make wood pellets to be shipped to customers in Europe from Wilmington, North Carolina. The pellets are made from pulverized chips, using low-value leftovers from the harvest of sawmill timber. [The State]

¶   Six months after the landmark installation of two power-producing wind turbines at Honda Transmission Mfg. of America, Inc., the turbines are producing 6.3% more renewable, low emissions electrical power than was originally anticipated. [MFRTech]

¶   A new factory producing cellulosic ethanol has just opened its doors in Iowa. Instead of using corn to produce the ethanol, the $275 million factory will use farm waste from left over corn stalks, husks, corn cobs, and leaves. It is expected to produce 25 million gallons per year. [OilPrice.com]

¶   Dakota Power Community Wind, led by a group of South Dakota landowners, is planning a wind farm of up to 1,000 MW. The project would supply power to the Rock Island Clean Line, a 500-mile line designed to transfer up to 3,500 MW to Chicago and eastern states by 2017. [Sioux Falls Argus Leader]

¶   Construction has begun on a $1 billion solar power generating station in the Mojave Desert that officials say will produce 250 MW, enough electricity to power about 80,000 California homes, when it is completed in 2016. [PennEnergy]

Science and Technology:

¶   Global mining group Rio Tinto has thrown its weight behind the continued role of coal in energy generation, arguing for the development of technologies to more efficiently generate electricity from coal as well as to capture its carbon emissions in tackling climate change. [Sydney Morning Herald]

¶   Unless the world urgently shifts to renewable and clean energy the impacts of climate change could be “catastrophic”, the International Renewable Energy Agency warns in their new report. REthinking Energy. [Blue & Green Tomorrow]

World:

¶   Beyond the grid solar start-up Devergy believes the time has come for the next evolution in clean energy access markets: mini-grids. Their mini-grid systems consist of many solar home systems with battery back-up and charge controllers distributed throughout a village. [Energy Collective]

¶   The Chinese solar giant Suntech is aiming to install about 1 GW of new solar PV generation capacity in Japan during the next 3 years, according to an economic journal in Japan known as Nikkei Keizai Shimbun. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The assessment of AGL Energy, Australia’s largest privately-owned power generation company, is that Australia has too many dirty coal-fired power stations that have operated way beyond their working life, and their owners are refusing to shut them down. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Speeding up the adoption of renewable energy technologies is the most feasible route to reduce carbon emissions and avoid catastrophic climate change, according to a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency. [PennEnergy]

¶   This week Denmark and Sweden hit major milestones in wind energy and waste management, respectively. Denmark has got 41.2% of its energy from wind so far this year. Sweden is sending only 1% of its waste to landfills, and actually imports waste to convert it to energy. [Energy Digital]

¶   Seven million people die due to air pollution across the world every year but deployment of renewable energy can check this trend, according to senior officials in Abu Dhabi. It can also have very positive socio-economic benefits. [gulfnews.com]

¶   Energy officials in Saudi Arabia have announced plans to become a major nuclear energy state. They intend to move fast, beginning construction by year’s end, on a program that will eventually include over a dozen nuclear power plants. [Forbes]

US:

¶   The US Energy Department is pumping $4.5 million to fund four new wind turbine technology projects, one of which will focus on analyzing bird and bat flight in and around wind farms and wind turbines. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Illinois Governor Pat Quinn announced on Wednesday a $102 million capital investment by the state in improving high-speed trains in the state. The capital will be used to construct a new bridge and double-track a busy corridor on the Chicago–St Louis high-speed train line. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The two Power Purchase Agreements signed with Frontier Renewables will provide solar energy to the University of California for 25 years. At the same time, the University will supply 206,000 MWh per year of solar energy to California’s electrical grid. [University Herald]

¶   A Montana state committee of four Democrats and four Republicans, voted 8-0 to give final approval to a study of the effectiveness of the Renewable Portfolio Standard that requires public utilities to obtain 15% of their retail customer sales from renewable resources by 2015. [Great Falls Tribune]

¶   San Diego Gas & Electric announced Monday that it is looking to buy 500-800 MW of electricity from local producers to replace what had flowed from the San Onofre power plant. At least 200 megawatts would need to come from renewable sources, according to SDG&E. [Seaside Courier]

¶   First Solar has kicked off construction work at the 250 MW Silver State South solar PV project in Primm, Nevada. A subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources will own and operate the project, which is expected to be fully operational in early 2016. [reNews]

Opinion:

¶   “Clean Power Plan to Reward Texas, not Wyoming Coal-Backers” The coal industry’s doomsday rhetoric and heel dragging has hurt Texas a lot more than the Clean Power Plan will. We agree the future does not look bright for dirty coal companies. But that need not be Texas’ problem. [Energy Collective]

¶   “Fusion Power: The Case of the Wrong Competitors” Startups hoping to bring fusion power to the market will fail for a simple economic reason. While their power plants may be competitive with traditional nuclear or fossil fuel plants, they will not be competitive with wind or solar. [Forbes]

Science and Technology:

¶   Renewable energy, essential for meeting global CO2 emission targets, needs a stable regulatory framework, a cut in fossil fuel subsidies and more interconnected power grids to develop, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. [Phys.Org]

¶   Recent developments in technology such as solar power, batteries, and smart thermostats and appliances could radically increase competition in the energy market, bring down bills and secure a decarbonized energy system, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research. [Scotsman]

World:

¶   The Australian government appears to be edging away from the closure of the country’s renewable energy target (RET) scheme, with the education minister, Christopher Pyne, reportedly giving his full support to the scheme at a private meeting. [The Guardian]
… The Australian Industry Minister Macfarlane and others within the Coalition are now publicly disowning the recommendations of the Warburton Review. Macfarlane told The Australian: “No one’s talking about scrapping the RET – no one.” [Business Spectator]

¶   Indian Coal and power minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday said the government is geared up to comply with the Supreme Court’s verdict on the fate of the “illegally” allocated captive coal blocks and will ensure “quick action” to provide adequate coal supplies to every power plant. [Indian Express]

¶   The so-called E7 group of the seven major emerging economies, which include the world’s biggest manufacturing centres, cut their carbon intensity – carbon dioxide emissions per dollar of gross domestic product – by an average of 1.7%, outpacing the G7 countries. [Financial Times]

¶   Renewable energy is the most competitive source of power, according to a new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency. The report highlights the energy landscape and analyses major dynamics under way. It is the product of four years of research. [The National]

US:

¶   A telephone poll, carried out between August 21-24, found that 76% of Coloradans support net metering. 73% were opposed to the state’s largest utility, XCEL Energy, cutting the amount of credit it provides for customers who feed electricity into the grid. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The partnership of Green Mountain Power and NRG Energy will deploy a series of new products and services for Vermont businesses and residents. Among them are a personal energy management system, community solar, and microgrid systems, along with others. [Foster’s Daily Democrat]

Opinion:

¶   “Building bridge to clean energy” As New England closes older and dirtier generating facilities — such as coal plants and Vermont Yankee — and as we move transportation and home heating away from gasoline and oil, we need to make sure we transition to cleaner supplies. [Rutland Herald]

¶   “Will US Utilities Offer an Electricity Triple Play?” Could utilities create a value-added service that combines solar with fixed energy storage (both individual and community) and electric vehicles (EV) into an energy triple play? [Energy Collective]

World:

¶   The transition to a global renewable energy economy could save $71 trillion by the year 2050, according to an IEA report. Put another way, $44 trillion in investment by the year 2050 would translate to about $115 trillion in energy savings ($71 trillion in net savings). [CleanTechnica]

¶   This summer, the community of Kisielice won the European Commission’s ManagEnergy Award 2014, the top prize for outstanding local and regional sustainable energy projects. The town has replaced dependence on coal with 94.5 MW, of wind turbines and 6 MW of biomass. [Energy Collective]

¶   The Philippine Department of Energy is pushing for more renewable energy. Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said the Philippines can rely on the stability of renewable sources as oil prices go up or if there is a shortage in supply in the global market. [Rappler]

¶   Indian’s Union Minister of State for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal stated in Delhi on Saturday that a solar power park with generation capacity of 1,000 MW would be set up in Mahabubnagar district. [The Hindu]

¶   Six UK renewable energy trade associations have issued a joint call for “clear and consistent” backing for renewables ahead of the next general election. The group argues that the sector can cut reliance on volatile energy imports, help meet emissions targets, and create high value jobs. [Business Green]

¶   The government of South Africa is unflinching in its drive for more nuclear energy and will press ahead with the project, brushing aside concerns about affordability and urgency. It is estimated the nuclear programme will cost the country between $28 Billion and $93.5 billion. [Independent Online]

US:

¶   California’s monopoly utilities failed in what many perceive as their latest attempt to squash community choice aggregates. Assemblyman Steven Bradford could not find a senator willing to sponsor his controversial bill. California’s “Monopoly Protection Act,” AB 2145, is dead. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The day of the solar garden has dawned as the number of projects and investment dollars have piled up across the nation. About 30 community-based solar arrays, or gardens, have been built or are planned in Colorado, while at least 37 are slated in 17 other states. [The Denver Post]

¶   Maryland’s Renewable Portfolio Standard puts the onus on counties and municipalities to develop their own alternative energy projects. Four years after it was put into place, Somerset, Worcester and Wicomico counties have just begun to adopt larger alternative energy solutions. [Delmarva Daily Times]

¶   Long stymied by high costs and local opposition, offshore wind is finally nearing takeoff in the Untied States as 14 projects enter “advanced stages” of development, the Energy Department reports. These projects represent about 4.9 GW of capacity. [Pensacola News Journal]

¶   First Solar, based in Arizona, announced Thursday that it had completed the first phase of its Barilla Solar Project, adding about 18 megawatts of solar capacity to Texas’ electric grid. The company expects to have a total of 30 megawatts installed by the end of the year. [Midland Reporter-Telegram]