geoharvey

Opinion:

¶   “Avoidable Problem of the Wrong Answer for Climate Change” A recent article claiming that nuclear power is necessary to avoid climate change is a sad example of the faulty conclusions being reached by people consider themselves environmentalists. [Dissident Voice]

World:

¶   A new survey shows Australians love having their household own solar power, but the government has a bill to abolish the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, which has already passed in the house, going to the country’s senate. [PV-Tech]

¶   A survey of British farmers, conducted in association with energy company E.ON, showed that 67% of respondents planned to make operations more efficient in the coming 12 months, with 48% saying rising energy costs were a key priority. [FarmersWeekly]

¶   Construction of three wind power plants with a total capacity of 135.3 megawatts in Azerbaijan will be completed in 2015, according to the State Agency for Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources. [Eurasia Review]

¶   International banks provide 75% of their energy project support for  fossil fuel projects in 12 high emitting developing nations. Rich countries spend seven times more supporting coal, oil and gas than they do helping poorer nations fight climate change. [The Progress Report]

¶   TEPCO and three Mitsubishi group companies plan to construct two cutting-edge coal power plants in Fukushima. The new facilities are expected to open as early as 2020, and should be about 20% more efficient than conventional coal-fired plants. [Channel News Asia]

¶   TEPCO has transported 22 fuel assemblies from the Unit 4 of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan to the nearby common pool building at the power plant for safe storage. [Energy Business Review]

US:

¶   Duke Energy has agreed to pay $1 million over the deaths of more than a dozen protected eagles and other birds at its wind farms. The 14 eagles are not of an endangered species, but are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. [The Hill]

¶   Duke Energy, together with SCE&G, joined Clemson University in South Carolina on November 21 to dedicate what is claimed to be the world’s most-advanced energy systems testing and research center. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶   Dominion dedicated the Somers Solar Center – capable of producing enough electricity to power more than 1,500 homes – marking a major milestone in the development of renewable energy in Connecticut. [Sacramento Bee]

¶   When Facebook settled on Altoona, Iowa as the location for their fourth data center, one of the deciding factors was the opportunity to help develop a new wind project in the state. [Environmental Defense Fund]

Science and Technology:

¶   New research says there were errors in earlier measurements of global temperatures that indicated global warming had slowed, because data from Africa was omitted. It says global warming has continued in a way consistent with earlier computer models. [Energy Collective]

¶   Researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have developed a process to convert carbon dioxide and hydrogen, two of the most common elements on earth, into a renewable alternative for crude oil. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

World:

¶   The potential for many thousands of battery systems to act as a grid stabilizer has been highlighted at a renewable energy storage conference underway this week in Berlin. The solution is cost-effective and be optimized for battery life. [RenewEconomy]

¶   The UK’s National Grid said Thursday it expects to spend around £1 billion ($1.6 billion) on new connections and system reinforcements to the power network to connect up EDF Energy’s planned 3 GW new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset. [Platts]

US:

¶   In January 2014, leftover pasta and other unfinished food from the dining commons will be put to use as the newly established UC Davis Renewable Energy Anaerobic Digester converts organic waste into campus electricity. [The Aggie]

¶   New York State is falling behind on its goal of converting 30% of the state’s electric grid to renewable energy sources by 2015, according to a new report. The state currently generates about 22% of its energy from alternative energy sources. [Capital New York]

¶   Construction of Du Pont’s cellulosic biorefineries is underway in Nevada, Iowa. The biorefinery will use agricultural waste from neighboring farms as a feedstock and annually supply 30 million gallons of cellulosic renewable fuel. [Zacks.com]

¶   According to a report released by the PennEnvironment Research and Policy Center, wind energy is providing more than 2.2 million MWh in Pennsylvania, and that number is expected to rise 97% in the next five years, reducing pollution and water use. [90.5 WESA]

¶   Tisbury, Massachusetts, on Martha’s Vineyard, is seeing its large first solar array built. The 1.2 MW project is expected to save the town more than $78,000 over the first year, and an estimated cumulative total of $2.3 million over 20 years. [Martha’s Vineyard Times]

¶   One of the largest solar projects in Vermont is up and running. The 15-acre solar farm near the Harbor View housing development will generate enough electricity annually to power more than 400 homes. [St. Albans Messenger]

¶   According to the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 25% of a building’s energy performance is directly related to occupant behavior. This means software can improve efficiency by allowing occupants to become engaged in new ways. [Buildings]

¶   Trinity Solar has completed a 12.3 MW residential solar installation at United Communities LLC, the private manager of the military multifamily community at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., that serves over 2,100 military families. [Solar Industry]

¶   The TVA will retire more than 3 GW at eight coal units in Alabama and Kentucky to address “challenging trends” that point to lower power demand, a slow economy, uncertainty in commodity pricing, and tougher air pollution rules. [POWER magazine]

¶   Nuclear Regulatory Commission staffers are rejecting the concerns of lawmakers, state officials and watchdog groups who say nuclear waste tightly packed in spent-fuel pools at U.S. power plants is vulnerable to terrorist attacks. [National Journal]

236

Opinion:

¶   “Green Energy Is Grassroots Energy In Germany” One of the most misunderstood aspects of Germany’s energy transition is the assumption that this is top-down mandate to adopt green energy. Nothing could be further from the truth. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶   Researchers have made the first battery electrode that heals itself, opening a new and potentially commercially viable path for making the next generation of lithium-ion batteries for electric cars, cell phones and other devices. [Science Daily]

¶   NEC Corporation has developed the world’s first technology that enables direct remote control of a large number of consumer’s stationary batteries, thereby enabling coordinated control of the charge and discharge of individual units. [DigitalJournal.com]

World:

¶   First Solar Inc. announced that it will invest approximately $100 MM in Japan to develop solar power plants. Japan is expected to become one of the key solar markets due to its significant energy demand. [CIOL]

¶   Days after the Abbott government confirmed it would slash funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, ARENA has revealed it will be providing financial backing for a strategy to build up Australia’s community renewable energy sector. [RenewEconomy]

¶   One of the largest wind farms in Australia’s state of Victoria has started producing electrical power. The Mt Mercer wind farm, 30 km south of Ballarat, features 64 turbines with a capacity of 131 megawatts. [Weekly Times Now]

¶   What lies ahead at Fukushima Daiichi is a decades-long journey filled with uncertainty. Nobody knows exactly how much fuel melted, or where exactly the fuel went — how deep or in what form it is, somewhere at the bottom of reactor Units 1, 2 and 3. [ABC News]

¶   Environmental concerns and the still haunting images of the Fukushima disaster continue to divide the world on whether nuclear energy should grow or go away. Hungary, however, is opting for nuclear. [Budapest Business Journal]

US:

¶   A carbon tax of $25 per ton of emissions would cut the deficit by $1 trillion over a decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Of 103 cost-cutting ways detailed, the carbon tax was far and away the biggest deficit reducer of any option listed. [CleanTechnica]

¶   After much debate and speculation, Colorado regulators proposed new air quality rules for the state’s booming oil and gas industry on Monday, including the nation’s first statewide standards for methane emissions from drilling. [Huffington Post]

¶   General Motors and Detroit Renewable Energy (DRE) today announced a renewable energy project to turn solid municipal waste from Metro Detroit into process steam that will be used to heat and cool portions of GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant. [Your Renewable News]

¶   The Department of Interior has approved the 900-mile Gateway West Transmission Line project, to stretch from southern Wyoming to southern Idaho and will carry 1,500 gigawatts of energy, mostly generated by wind farms. [International Business Times]

304

Opinion:

¶   “The UK Needs to Take a More Serious Look at Importing Renewable Electricity” Imports of renewables may have a significant role to play in diversifying supply and limiting the total costs of providing low-carbon power.  [Energy Collective]

Science and Technology:

¶   West-facing rooftop solar panels produced 49% more electricity during peak demand compared to south-facing panels, according to a new study from Pecan Street Research Institute. The research is the first of its kind to evaluate orientation of PV panels. [Energy Collective]

World:

¶   Premier Solar has partnered with Chicago-based New Generation Power to set up solar farms in Andhra Pradesh. The Indo-American consortium has a project underway for 70 MW capacity. It hopes to finalize another 245 MW soon, and foresees 1,000 MW. [DealCurry]

¶   Dong Energy has committed to build out the 330 MW Gode Wind 1 and 252 Gode Wind 2 offshore wind farms in the North Sea 45 km off the German coast. The €2.2 billion project will feature a total 97 Siemens turbines of 6 MW each. [reNews]

¶   A private company is proposing to build a renewable energy station in Perth that would add power to the south-west energy grid using recycled waste. Gas produced from waste material will be burnt to produce electricity for the grid. [ABC Online]

¶   Political squabbling about the UK energy sector is leaving renewables investors, particularly those involved in offshore wind, in “a state of heightened uncertainty”, according to Ernst and Young’s Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices. [reNews]

¶   Poland, host of the climate change negotiations, is going to extreme lengths to protect its coal-fired electricity industry, even going so far as erecting a form of electronic barrier to keep renewable energy from neighboring Germany out of its grid. [RenewEconomy]

¶   South Korea’s nuclear regulator has cleared the way for one of six closed reactors to restart after checks on welding. It also said it had approved replacement cables for three more shut in a safety scandal, but it was unclear when these would restart. [Reuters]

¶   Tokyo Electric Power Co. has started removing nuclear fuel from a damaged reactor building at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant for the first time, marking a new stage in the decades-long decommissioning process. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), has introduced the American Renewable Energy and Efficiency Act. It would require electric utilities to get at least 25% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025, starting at 6% in 2015 and rising gradually. [Grist]

¶   Renewable Energy Group® formally opened the latest in a series of major enhancements to its biodiesel operations Friday with a ribbon cutting at the new barge loading facility at the company’s Seneca, Illinois biorefinery. [Your Renewable News]

Opinion:

¶   “Renewable Energy Can Pave The Path To Peace – Analysis” One way or another, society has to pay the price of conflict over energy, more often than not perpetuating an endless cycle of poverty. Procuring energy does not need to be so brutal. [Eurasia Review]

World:

¶   The newly projected 350% growth of Japan’s solar market from 2012 to 2013 dwarfs estimates made earlier this year. The latest forecast is almost a full gigawatt higher than the 5.3 gigawatts expected by analysts earlier this year. [EnergyCollective]

¶   Swedish furniture giant IKEA announced Thursday it has purchased a 46-megawatt wind farm currently under construction in Pincher Creek, Alberta, about 200 km south of Calgary — the company’s first wind farm outside of Europe. [Calgary Sun]

¶   On Nov. 12, Neste Oil committed itself  to a Dutch initiative aimed at the deployment of sustainable biofuel in the aviation sector. Neste Oil’s role in the initiative is to explore the production opportunities for aviation biofuel and scaling up production. [Biomass Magazine]

¶   DuPont has begun construction of a 4.4 MW solar power plant in Cernay in northern France. Once completed, the facility will be the largest installation on company’s grounds to date. The solar farm is planned to cover about 15 acres, and will feature 17,952 PV panels. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶   ClearSky Advisors (Toronto) says that South Korea’s shift away from its emphasis on nuclear power in the wake of a scandal over safety certificates could be positive for the continued development of renewable energy over the long run. [solarserver.com]

¶   Japan took a major step back Friday from earlier pledges to slash its greenhouse gas emissions, saying a shutdown of its nuclear power plants in the wake of the Fukushima disaster had made its previous target unattainable. [New York Times]

US:

¶   California is set to nearly double its wind and solar power generation over the next seven years as utility companies try to meet the state’s requirement to source 33% of energy from renewables by 2020, reliability regulators said. [Business Spectator]

¶   Legislation is moving through both houses to tweak the tax code to let clean energy developers form master limited partnerships, publicly traded companies not subject to corporate taxes. Fossil fuel companies have used MLPs to raise hundreds of billions. [Kitsap Sun]

¶   Iowa has 3,200 wind turbines producing 5,100 megawatts of wind energy, or 25% of the state’s electric needs. It also is home to 13 manufacturers producing wind turbine parts. Tom Wind, an expert on windpower in Iowa, says there is growth ahead. [Quad City Times]

¶   Obama administration officials, under pressure from advanced-biofuel producers and farm-state lawmakers, have told industry representatives that they’re considering raising the quota for their product next year above what was contained in an August draft plan. [Bloomberg]

¶   A rift has developed among New England states over who should pay for transmission lines needed to carry electricity from renewable energy projects. The issue is whether ratepayers across the region should foot the bill for power lines needed for southern NE. [MPBN News]

289

Opinion:

¶   “The elephant in the room” There’s an African saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Here in Vermont, achieving 90% renewable energy by 2050 can be done one house, one business, and one institution at a time. [Commons]

¶   “The six U.S. nuclear power plants most likely to shut down” A report by investment research firm Morningstar in its latest Utilities Observer publication warns about the sector’s risks. The nuclear power industry is melting down financially. [Grist]

Science and Technology:

¶   Eos Energy Storage says it has a breakthrough energy storage systems that could make a huge impact on the energy market. The 1-MW/6-MWh Aurora energy storage system can reportedly achieve 10,000 cycles and costs $160/kWh for a DC system. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   Two separate coalitions of green businesses and energy companies representing more than €250 billion of annual revenue and 176,000 jobs have thrown their weight behind the push for a new renewables target for 2030. [Business Green]

¶   Electricity from the Kalkbult solar PV power station flowed into the national grid on Tuesday, making it South Africa’s first solar plant to come online – three months ahead of schedule. The 75 MW plant will generate power for 33,000 households. [South Africa.info]

¶   A remote-controlled robot has succeeded in pinpointing two holes in the containment vessel of the damaged Unit 1 reactor at Fukushima Daiichi. The robot’s camera captured images of water leaking into the building housing the reactor. [RTT News]

¶   The head of the World Energy Council has warned that without governments providing financial support to nuclear power projects, the sector’s share of the power generation market will remain stationary. [PennEnergy]

US:

¶   Facebook says it will begin operating its new data center in Altoona in early 2015 powered entirely by renewable energy that will come from a new wind project in Wellsburg, Iowa. [DesMoinesRegister.com]

¶   By 2015, Nebraska will have the potential to generate more than 1,200 megawatts of electricity from wind farms. Nebraska currently has 459 megawatts of installed wind power capacity but will add 750 megawatts this year and in 2014. [Lincoln Journal Star]

¶   Google and global private equity firm KKR are to make a joint $400m investment into six solar plants – five in California and one in Arizona – with a combined capacity of 106 MW of electricity. [NewNet]

¶   A new report, “The Values of Geothermal Energy: A Discussion of the Benefits Geothermal Power Provides to the Future US Power System,” has been released by the Geothermal Energy Association and the Geothermal Resources Council. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶   A report by the Union of Concerned Scientists says that the NRC is ignoring its own safety regulations at Diablo Canyon. They say the plant is located dangerously close to recently discovered fault lines, which could potentially put people living nearby at risk. [KCOY.com]

285

Opinion:

¶   “The $523 Billion In Fossil Fuel Subsidies Is Money We’re Not Spending On Renewables” One of the hardest problems in halting climate change is the way countries continue to subsidize the problem, and the problem is fossil fuels. [Co.Exist]

¶   “Quebec holds the answer to Ontario’s power problems” A plan to increase nuclear power generation would cost twice as much as what Quebec is selling: clean, renewable power for right now. [Toronto Star]

Science and Technology:

¶   A recent breakthrough from and the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory could spark U.S. solar manufacturing when the approach hits the assembly line next year. The approach simplifies manufacture and lowers costs. [Energy Tribune]

World:

¶   Nicaragua is what many experts call a paradise of renewable energies. The country has extensive geothermal resources, resulting from its large volcanic chain and seismic activity, with excellent exposure to the wind and sun and a variety of water sources. [Nicaragua Dispatch]

¶   Iceland’s president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, says developing geothermal and hydropower resources boosted their economy and slashed carbon dioxide emissions. Iceland now wants to export its clean energy model to Europe, the US and China. [Petroleum Economist]

¶   China will build more renewable power plants through 2035 than the European Union, U.S. and Japan combined, according to the IEA. The share of renewable energy sources in world electricity supply will rise above 30% in that period. [Businessweek]

¶   Japan’s flagging anti-nuclear movement is getting a boost from two former prime ministers, Junichiro Koizumi and Morihiro Hosokawa, who are calling for atomic power to be phased out following the Fukushima disaster. [Richmond Times Dispatch]

¶   Donald Trump’s legal challenge to an offshore wind farm project is expected to get under way on Tuesday. He opposes the 11-turbine project off the Aberdeenshire coast, claiming it will spoil the view from his nearby luxury golf course. [stv.tv]

US:

¶   The Vermont Electric Cooperative hopes to build the state’s largest utility-owned solar power project as part of the effort to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The 5 MW project would be built in the western part of the co-op’s service territory. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

¶   A new power plant that burns wood and sawdust is now producing power at Domtar Corp.’s paper mill in north-central Wisconsin. The biomass plant produces up to 50 MW of electricity, while also supplying steam to the paper mill. [Wisconsin State Journal]

¶   MidAmerican Energy Co. has unveiled additional details about its plan to develop up to 1,050 megawatts of additional wind generation in Iowa by the end of 2015. Construction activity is now underway at each of the five project sites. [RenewablesBiz]

342

Opinion:

¶   “3 Ways Superstorm Sandy Could Change Utilities Forever” Half of Manhattan went black after Hurricane Sandy overwhelmed a substation one year ago. But Manhattan was relatively lucky. Most of the lights came on within days. Not so for other places … [theenergycollective]

World:

¶   Japan switched on the first turbine at a 1000 MW wind farm 20 kilometers (12 miles) off the coast of Fukushima on Monday, feeding electricity to the grid tethered to the tsunami-crippled nuclear plant onshore. [Ventura County Star]

¶   Eltek, the world leader in high efficiency power systems for telecommunications, industrial applications and renewable energy projects has more than 430 successfully deployed solar projects in 17 African countries. [Your Renewable News]

¶   The Chief Development Officer of Energy and Climate Change for Sydney, Australia, intends to have the city rely 100% on renewable energy sources for power, heating, cooling, and transport by 2030. [CleanTechnica]

¶    Abundance Generation is in the business of crowdfunding solar and wind projects where everyone benefits.  The company finances clean, renewable energy projects. Individuals can participate in these projects by investing as little as £5. [Crowdfund Insider]

¶   Two Maryland-based companies have  announced they have been awarded a contract to build, operate, and transfer three solar sites, each of 100 MW, in the eastern region of Ethiopia. [Your Renewable News]

¶   Serbian Minister of Energy, Development and Environmental Protection Zorana Mihajlovic says that the construction of a nuclear power plant in Serbia is out of question for environmental reasons and because it would be extremely expensive. [Balkans.com Business News]

¶   Fundy Tidal and Clean Current Power Systems have signed an agreement to test and demonstrate a 3.5 meter diameter Clean Current tidal turbine as part of a Tidal Power System project in Digby County, Nova Scotia. [Energy Business Review]

¶   Officials, experts, and other workers interviewed by the AP say the quality of the tanks at Fukushima Daiichi suffered because of unavoidable haste, because there is so much contaminated water leaking from the wrecked reactors. [Las Vegas Sun]

US:

¶   Starting in 2014, California is implementing a tsunami of building code revisions called Title 24. These revised building codes will move California’s residential and commercial buildings toward Zero Net Energy, making as much energy as they take. [Triple Pundit]

¶   The United States Department of Energy has announced a plan to spur solar power deployment by cutting red tape for residential and small commercial rooftop solar systems. Cutting red tape can cut a large part of the costs of a system. [SmartMeters]

¶   A wind farm just west of Anchorage produced 50,092 megawatt hours of energy at the one-year anniversary September 24. That’s enough power for about 6,422 homes. Now, its owners are planning on doubling the wind farm’s size. [Anchorage Daily News]

¶   Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station officials have announced the pending layoff of seven administrative positions, and no one should be surprised. It is hard for a nuclear plant to make money in the face of cheaper energy alternatives and new regulations. [Wicked Local Kingston]

229

A Helping Hand:

¶   After the devastating typhoon, it may be months before power is restored to some parts of the Philippines. A Chicago-area non-profit called Watts of Love hopes to have 10,000 solar lights to the area by Christmas. [CBS2 Chicago]

World:

¶   The Scottish island of Gigha is to be the focus of a £2.5 million experiment aimed at solving a major technological problem: how to store energy generated by wind, tide and wave power plants. [The Guardian]

¶   Ethiopia is planning to multiply its power output by five over the next five years, increasing from 2,000 MW to 10,000 MW. Primary power sources will be wind, hydro, and geothermal. [Tadias Magazine]

¶   The European Commission’s energy chief says a proposal on mandatory disaster insurance for nuclear power plants will be presented in coming weeks. The proposal may be one of the first items on the European Parliament’s agenda after May elections. [Las Vegas Sun]

¶   TEPCO will begin implementing a plan early next month to freeze water in tunnel pipes where they connect with turbine buildings as part of a battle to remove highly radioactive water accumulated in the pipes at Fukushima Daiichi, according to sources.[The Japan News]

¶   Another leakage of water with excessive concentration of radioactive substances has taken place at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant in Japan, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, which operates the power plant, says. [The Voice of Russia]

US:

¶   Consumers Energy has broken ground on the 105 MW Cross Winds Energy Park, located in Akron and Columbia townships of Tuscola County, Michigan. The project is scheduled to feature 62 General Electric 1.7 MW turbine units. [SmartMeters]

¶   The USDA has announced it is awarding nearly $10 million to a consortium of academic, industry and government organizations to research using insect-killed trees in the Rockies as a sustainable feedstock for bioenergy. [Prairie Star]

¶   Now is the right time to purchase solar panels for your home or business according to a group of solar panel local experts in Colorado.  They spoke in favor of alternative power and said it is time to ditch your local power company and invest in solar. [Daily Herald]

¶   In 2011 and 2013, Xcel spent more than $2 million telling the citizens of Boulder that the utility knows better than the community when it comes to power production. Now Boulder has voted 2 to 1 in favor of a municipal utility. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Three Rutland residents are forming a group they call “Vermonters for Responsible Solar” to oppose plans for a 2.3 MW solar power installation that would be built in part of a 15-acre field in the Vermont town. [Danbury News Times]

¶   The fire at Unit 1 at the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station Tuesday night was caused by degraded electrical cable insulation, NRC officials said Friday. The insulation on the cables was found to have some cracking. [Timesonline.com]

¶   The owner of a North Texas nuclear power plant has tabled its request for federal permission to expand the plant. Luminant Generation had asked the NRC for a license to build two new reactors at Comanche Point, but is putting the request on hold. [CBS Local]

119

Opinion:

¶   “Climate Science, Nuclear Power, and a Renewable Energy Future” The usefulness of nuclear power for avoiding the worst impacts of climate change is limited at best. Renewable energy technologies are cheaper, less risky, and ready for deployment today. [The Equation: Blog of the Union of Concerned Scientists]

¶   “Clean energy in big business: How to make it happen” WWF’s Power Forward report showed 60% of Fortune 100 and Global 100 companies have climate goals, but buying and investing in renewable energy is challenging. [Christian Science Monitor]

¶   “CNN Documentary Propagates 3 Nuclear Power Myths” The pro-nuclear power film “Pandora’s Promise” claims nuclear is less expensive than renewables, downplays nuclear waste issues, and blames anti-nuclear “scare-tactics” for lack of deployment.  [Media Matters for America]

Science and Technology:

¶   According to David Olinger, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, tethered underwater kites could be used to generate large amounts of electricity by harnessing the power of ocean waves and currents. [inhabitat.com]

World:

¶   The UK’s largest offshore facility for wind farm testing has received planning consent. The National Renewable Energy Centre will construct 15 turbines with a total capacity of 99.9 MW off the coast of Blyth, Northumberland, at a cost of £350 million. [BBC News]

¶   German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and the Social Democrats agreed to retain a moratorium on fracking for gas and cut incentives for wind power in areas where it is abundant, if they form a new coalition government. [Reuters]

¶   Scottish Renewables has published a set of standards which will deliver numerous benefits for local communities including improved financial benefits and a more consistent approach to the development of community benefits packages. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶   A floating experimental wind turbine set around 20 kilometers off the coast of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is seen to be a huge step toward building the world’s largest offshore wind farm, and possibly replacing nuclear power. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   Farmers Electric Co-op, the oldest rural electric cooperative in Iowa, has plans to purchase about nine acres of land close to their headquarters near Kalona. The co-op manager says they are about to take solar power to a whole new level. [WRAL.com]

¶   A glitch in the wording of a state law has prevented solar power from being purchased for Illinois electric customers even though they are paying into a fund for that purpose. So far, they have paid $53 million. [Chicago Tribune]

¶   Hoosier Energy and local guests celebrated official start-up of the Livingston Renewable Energy Station just north of Pontiac, Illinois. The newly refurbished adds a 15 MW generating to Hoosier Energy’s clean energy portfolio. [MyWebTimes.com]

¶   California leads the nation in solar installations, with ambitious targets for the percentage of power generated through sustainable means. Examples include the Adobe Star, California Community College, and the San Luis Obispo County PV projects. [GetSolar.com]

¶   Arizona announced that Apple is opening up a new manufacturing facility there. In announcing the new facility Governor Jan Brewer and the Arizona Commerce Authority also said that Apple would power the facility with solar and geothermal power. [Clean Energy Authority]

¶   For the third time in 18 months, inspectors have uncovered missing flood seals at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, a problem that could compromise the plant’s ability to operate electrical safety systems. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

¶   A string of unplanned shutdowns in the past year at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station has led the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to downgrade the performance rating of the 41-year-old Plymouth facility and increase scrutiny by regulators. [Boston Globe]

Opinion:

¶   “Dave’s atomic white elephant: Hinkley Point C is a truly terrible deal for the consumer” Nuclear physics is a mysterious subject to most of us, but not nearly so incomprehensible as nuclear economics. [Conservative Home]

¶   “5 Reasons Solar Is Already Beating Fossil Fuels” The solar industry is growing dramatically every year, while fossil fuels continue to be phased out. Solar is no longer the cottage industry it was decades ago. [Huffington Post]

Economics and Finance:

¶   Wind farms and solar parks are changing hands at record rates, signaling both an increased taste for the assets among pension funds and hard times for utilities that are the biggest sellers. [Bloomberg]

World:

¶   Wind energy giant Vestas recently announced that it is expanding its wind energy education campaign, “Acts on Facts,” to the Swedish, UK, and Irish markets. The campaign was created to educate the general public and counter common misconceptions about wind power. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The European Commission’s energy department published today (5 November) guidance for member states on how to award subsidies for electricity generation. The aim is to bring greater clarity and predictability to processes, particularly in feed-in tariffs for renewable energy. [European Voice]

¶   Spanish wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa has signed a framework agreement for the supply of up to 285 MW in Finland. The deal with TuuliWatti covers up to 57 of the company’s G128 and G132 5 MW machines. [reNews]

¶   Canadian Solar has selected ABB, a world leader in power and automation technologies, and its consortium partner Bondfield Construction Company to supply a 100 MW PV power plant in Ontario. The solar farm will be Canada’s largest PV project. [Your Renewable News]

¶   Kyocera has announced the launch of a 70 MW solar power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Japan. The Kagoshima Nanatsujima Mega Solar Power Plant went online on November 1. [Your Renewable News]

¶   On-site renewable energy schemes could save businesses up to £33 billion between 2010 and 2030, according to new calculations from analyst firm Verdantix that suggest distributed generation from renewable technologies could generate significant economic benefits. [Business Green]

¶   In the UK, renewable energy capacity has increased by almost 40% since 2012, with renewables now supplying a record of more than 15% of electricity generation and employing 35,000 people. Businesses have invested £31 billion in renewables over the last three years. [Plastics & Rubber Weekly]

US:

¶   New research released by an independent grid operator confirms that wind energy is drastically decreasing both the price of electricity and emissions of harmful pollutants. The study was led by PJM, which serves all or parts of 13 Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes states. [CleanTechnica]

¶   In Colorado, Xcel Energy earlier this year set a new record, generating 60.5% of its electricity using the wind, up from its previous 56.7% record. At the time, the wind farms generated 1,874 MW of the total 3,100 MW load (power demand from Xcel’s generator network). [CleanTechnica]

¶   Hawaiian Electric Co. is asking Hawaii regulators to allow it to negotiate with developers of six additional renewable energy projects that could be up and running quickly to provide electricity on Oahu at a lower cost. [Pacific Business News (Honolulu)]

World:

¶   The UK’s biggest developer of solar farms has said it wants to spend £100 million developing 20 sites in Northern Ireland over the next two years. Lightsource Renewable Energy is currently considering two large-scale farms in County Antrim and one in County Down. [H&V News]

¶   PetroEnergy Resources Corp. on Tuesday announced the Philippine Electricity Market Corp.’s  approval for MGI’s power facility in Santo Tomas, Batangas, to be a direct trading participant in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, effective November 4. [Business Mirror]

¶   Lightsource Renewable Energy is investigating installing a 6.5 MW solar farm at a farm in Devon. A key aspect of the solar farm could be the role solar development could play in boosting local biodiversity, including consideration for hedgerows and a wild flower meadow. [Solar Power Portal]

¶   Researchers in Fukushima on the Pacific coast of Japan are uncovering higher than expected rates of thyroid cancer in children. One prominent former thyroid surgeon – a veteran of the Chernobyl disaster – says that cancer cases in Fukushima are appearing faster than expected. [Radio Australia]

US:

¶   As part of an effort to become carbon neutral, Microsoft Corp. has entered a 20-year deal to buy power from a new wind farm in Texas, the first time the tech giant is directly purchasing electricity from a specific source. [Longview News-Journal]

¶   Existing law in Michigan sets a 10% target for renewable power that must be met in 2015. A report issued Monday to Gov. Rick Snyder says 15% renewable power by 2020 and 30% by 2035 are “achievable.” [Iron Mountain Daily News]

¶   Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, and Turner Renewable Energy have started commercial operations of the 139 MW Campo Verde solar facility in Imperial County, California. The project includes 2.3 million PV modules, and will power around 48,000 homes. [Energy Business Review]

¶   Michigan is about to become one of only a handful of states to generate more than a gigawatt electricity from wind power. More than 40 companies in the wind industry now employ more than 3,000 Michiganders. [CBS Local]

¶   Many Mainers are surprised to know that nuclear waste is still stored at the former Maine Yankee site in Wiscasset. Even more shocking is that if you use electricity in Maine, you are paying to maintain that waste. [WLBZ-TV]

¶   Entergy Nuclear wants another $790,000 in attorney’s fees on top of its earlier claim of $4.6 million from the state of Vermont over the energy’s company fight with the state over the future operation of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

Opinion:

¶   “Nuclear energy verdict: Costly, slow and very high maintenance” An analysis from Deutsche Bank makes some interesting observations about the cost of nuclear, the comparisons with gas, the price of abatement, and the cost of upkeep for France’s existing fleet. [RenewEconomy]

¶   “Australia poised to ride a wave of success” The immense power of Australia’s oceans has the potential to provide huge amounts of clean energy if we can get the technology and the policy settings right. It could also create a major opportunity to create a high-value export industry. [Business Spectator]

Science and Technology:

¶   Four of the world’s leading environmental scientists urged politicians and environmentalists to back the development of ‘safe’ nuclear power plants to stop global warming, instead of planning to rely on solar and wind power, which they said was ‘unrealistic’. [Daily Mail]

World:

¶   Scotland’s Energy Minister has warned that the UK Government’s Electricity Market Reform proposals could undermine Scotland’s renewables sector and supply chain, while threatening security of supply across the UK, and further price increases on consumers bills as a result. [The Edinburgh Reporter]

¶   Azerbaijan’s State Agency for Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources reports that potential capacity of alternative energy sector in Azerbaijan exceeds existing generating capacities of traditional energy sector, and is talking about ending use of oil and gas. [Azerbaijan Business Center]

¶   Wind and solar farms have become an accepted part of the Cornish landscape and can even enhance the visitor experience, according to a major new survey of holidaymakers in Cornwall. Of visitors polled, 94% said they make no difference, and 4% found them an added attraction. [DCA]

¶   Solar power produces electricity at mid-day, when it is most needed, when prices use to be highest. In Germany, peak wholesale electric prices have dropped 30%, and in southern Italy, the wholesale price of electricity at noon is nil, because home-produced solar provides all needs. [The Guardian]

¶   South Africa approved 33.8 billion rand ($3.3 billion) for 17 clean-energy projects in the third of five bidding rounds of a program to cut its reliance on coal. The Department of Energy received bids for 6,023 megawatts of capacity and allocated 1,456 megawatts. [Businessweek]

US:

¶   Vote Solar and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council concluded the policy outlook for distributed generation from solar energy is bright as ever in Freeing the Grid 2013, the 7th annual report card ranking all 50 US states on net metering and interconnection policies. [RenewEconomy]

¶   The city council of Cambridge, Massachusetts has created a “Getting to Net Zero” task force framework as a step to a new building code. The aim is to require that all new large-scale buildings be net-zero producers of carbon emissions. [Cambridge Chronicle]

Executive order by President Obama:

¶   “PREPARING THE UNITED STATES FOR THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to prepare the Nation for the impacts of climate change …” [Newsroom America]

Opinion:

¶   “The Financial Case for Divestment of Fossil Fuel Companies by Endowment Fiduciaries” by Bevis Longstreth, Former SEC Commissioner. Rising global temperatures are a reality, and so too is the primary cause: Energy-related CO2 emissions caused by human-beings. [Huffington Post]

Science and Technology:

¶   New research from the University of Delaware suggests the existing tight grid layouts of offshore wind farms reduce power generation. Spacing turbines farther apart and staggering rows decreased output losses from eddies 14% and improved overall performance by 33%. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   In the 1990s, a wave of sell-offs swept away countless publicly owned enterprises. But now the trend is being reversed in Germany. In a referendum in Hamburg a month ago, 51% voted to buy back the energy grid the city sold. [BBC News]

¶   A revolution is under way in personal finance in the UK. Investment in clean energy projects is going retail, as people plough their savings and pension funds into renewable energy ventures offering much greater returns than bank deposits. [The Ecologist]

¶   Recent political messaging risks undermining job creation and investment in the UK’s renewable energy industry, the Renewable Energy Association has warned. recent moves putting energy policy at the center of political electioneering’ are increasing perceived investor risk. [OilFiredUp]

¶   TEPCO has accepted Washington’s offer to help with the cleanup and decommissioning of Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The move comes as TEPCO prepares for the major operation of removing fuel rods from Unit 4. [RT]

US:

¶   Nebraska ranks 13th in the nation for potential solar production, yet only half a percent of the energy produced in Nebraska is, in fact, solar. That could change if Nebraska would allow residents to join a community solar garden, allowing credit on their electric bills. [Kota]

¶   In just weeks the Texas electrical grid will get another 18,500 MW, all from wind power farms in West Texas, as 3,600 miles of transmission lines come into service. The system also utilizes the best electrical storage technology. [Marshall News Messenger]

¶   A new analysis by an anti-nuclear organization says earthquake risks were seriously underestimated when Washington state’s only commercial nuclear power plant was built about 30 years ago at the Hanford nuclear reservation. [Bend Bulletin]

¶   Scientists at the University of Alaska are concerned about radiation leaking from Japan’s damaged Fukushima nuclear plant, and the lack of a monitoring plan. Some radiation has arrived in northern Alaska and along the west coast. [CBC.ca]

Investment and finance:

¶   As renewable energy companies have grown and improved profits, their stocks have outperformed big oil by a wide margin. While ExxonMobil and Chevron showed declines in revenue, earnings from First Solar and SunPower have crushed everyone’s expectations. [DailyFinance]

¶   World demand for electric vehicles is projected to increase 6.5% per year to $122.5 billion in 2017. In the mature motor markets of the US and Western Europe, growth in demand will be driven by rebounding motor vehicle production and a healthier fixed investment environment. [InvestorIdeas.com]

Science and Technology:

¶   Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Taiwan’s largest high-tech applied research institution, has introduced the first biochemical technology for bio-butanol transportation-fuel production with a negative carbon footprint. It can achieve a transportation-fuel price of $2.00/gallon. [InvestorIdeas.com]

World:

¶   Irish state-owned utility Bord na Móna has announced plans to establish a new wind energy export business, a clean energy hub which will generate 2 GW when operational and create an export business worth €1 billion in annual revenue. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶   Iran plans to widely expand its use of renewable energy, according to Iranian Deputy Energy Minister Houshang Falahatian. Iran’s private sector will build 600 wind power turbines by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2014). [Tehran Times]

¶   Some 300 million manats (about $380 million) have been invested in the development of alternative and renewable energy sources in Azerbaijan. The plan is to achieve 20% renewables by 2020, which will cost about 7 billion manats ($8.9 billion). [AzerNews]

¶   TEPCO President Naomi Hirose said the utility will work with the U.S. Department of Energy in decommissioning the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and in dealing with radioactive water amassing at the site. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶   The Skylands Sierra Club Group will host a presentation about an initiative called NJ FREE, a renewable energy policy plan for New Jersey, seeking adoption of a state requirement for 80% renewable electricity by 2050, with an intermediate requirement of 30% by 2025. [The Advertiser News South]

¶   A new report from Progress Now says that of the 37 bills introduced in 2013 attacking states’ renewable portfolio standards, which set minimum levels for power from renewable sources like solar and wind, only one had any success, and that was partial. [Huffington Post]

¶   Duke Energy has established a group that will determine how to develop and operate solar projects at its regulated utilities. The utilities currently purchase some renewable energy, but they own almost no generating capacity of their own. Duke expects that to change. [Charlotte Business Journal]

¶   As part of the international Open Government Partnership, which President Obama formed in 2011, he announced the US will start publishing annual totals of federal subsidies for fossil fuels. There are 60 countries participating in the Open Government Partnership. [SustainableBusiness.com]

Opinion:

¶   “Graph of the Day: Nuclear prices itself out of market” The extent to which nuclear is being priced out of electricity markets has finally been revealed by the pricing mechanism unveiled by the British government in the deal to subsidize the Hinkley C nuclear. [RenewEconomy]

Science and Technology:

¶   Increases in global emissions of CO₂ slowed to 1.1% in 2012, down from an average annual increase of 2.9% over the last decade. This is remarkable, as the global economy grew by 3.5%. Meanwhile, the share of the ‘new’ renewable energy sources solar, wind and biofuel went from 1.1% in 2006 to 2.4% in 2012. [Business Spectator]

¶   A multi-million Euro project has advanced global progress on capturing tidal and wave energy. Estimates suggest that 0.1% of ocean generated energy could be capable of supplying the entire world’s energy requirements five times over. [Balkans.com Business News]

¶   Lockheed Martin and Beijing-based Reignwood Group are to kick off design work on a 10 MW Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion plant in a drive to commercialize the technology. The companies signed a contract that will see the US giant provide project management, design and systems engineering services. [reNews]

World:

¶   Azerbaijan’s State Agency for Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources is preparing feasibility study for construction of hybrid power stations to work on wind, solar and biogas energy in 10 regions of the country. Each station will make 30 MW. [Azerbaijan Business Center]

¶   German citizens owned 48% of the nation’s solar PV capacity in 2012, or roughly 15 GW. This compares to only 3%, or roughly 1 GW held by utilities. For overall renewable energy including wind and biofuels, citizens held 47%, or 34 GW, as compared to 9 GW (12%) held by utilities. [solarserver.com]

¶   The Areva-Siemens consortium has increased its claim against Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj to €2.6 billion ($3.5 billion) in relation to the delay and cost overruns of the Olkiluoto EPR. Areva-Siemens had previously sought damages of €1.9 billion ($2.6 billion) from TVO. [World Nuclear News]

US:

¶   Senator Markey, D-Mass., has introduced his first bill since joining the Senate. It would require utilities to get at least 25% of the power they sell from renewable sources such as wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and biomass, but 2025. The starting requirement would be 6% from such sources in 2015. [The Patriot Ledger]

¶   Xcel Energy customers interested in solar energy will have a redesigned incentive for rooftop solar under a proposal filed today with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. The proposed system would provide an incentive based on the amount of energy produced, rather than making an upfront payment. [4-traders]

¶   After Arizona’s largest utility admitted it had been secretly contributing to outside nonprofits running negative ads against solar power in Arizona, a utility commissioner is asking for all the key players in a debate over a solar energy policy in the state to be open about PR campaigns. [Huffington Post]

Opinion:

¶   “UK Risks Looking ‘Economically Insane’ on EDF Nuclear Deal” At a cost of 16 billion pounds ($26 billion), Hinkley Point C will be the most expensive power plant per megawatt produced. EDF is set for returns of as high as 35% and the contract may create cash dividends of as much as £80 billion at the expense of UK consumers. [Businessweek]

Science and Technology:

¶   Copper foam batteries — a new, cheaper-to-manufacture, faster-to-charge, and longer-lasting alternative to the batteries in common use today — may soon be headed to the commercial market. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   The leaders of British Columbia, California, Oregon, and Washington just formally joined forces to reduce emissions and transition toward renewables by signing the Pacific Coast Action Plan on Climate and Energy. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Prime Minister David Cameron’s review of green levies won’t touch renewable subsidies for solar power and wind, a statement from the Department of Energy and Climate Change suggests. The department’s tacit support for the Renewables Obligation and Feed-in Tariff has reassured some green energy trade groups. [Energy Live News]

¶   Three counties in the southwest of England are the top UK domestic solar producers. Devon has 17,564 installations on people’s homes, producing 61,683 kW of energy. Cornwall is second with 9,584 domestic schemes which generate 35,572 kW of electricity. Wiltshire was a distant third with 5,234. [This is Cornwall]

¶   Dutch utility Eneco has been granted the final permit for its 210 MW Q4 West wind farm in the North Sea off Bergen aan Zee. The 70-turbine plan is around 26 kilometers offshore and immediately west of the company’s already consented Q4 project, which totals 78 MW. [reNews]

¶   In Brazil, wind is emerging as a prize for energy planners who see the howling gusts that arrive from the east as a way to offset fresh limits imposed on hydropower. A string of wind-turbine parks is being built in the nation’s windiest stretches, in what planners here see as the beginning of an extraordinary transformation. [Washington Post]

¶   Offshore wind power installations are on track for a seventh consecutive annual record in 2013. Developers added 1,080 MW of generating capacity in the first half of the year. Although still small compared with the roughly 300,000 megawatts of land-based wind power, offshore capacity is growing at close to 40% a year. [Treehugger]

¶   A new update from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in India has proclaimed the country has passed the 2 GW landmark for grid-connected solar. The figures showed that, as of September 30, 2013, the total solar installed capacity was just over 2000 MW, while off-grid power amounted to just south of 140 MW. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Anti-nuclear protesters, many wearing business suits, marched in Tokyo district in the evening of Oct. 30. The group started at a park near Shinbashi Station at 7 p.m and marched nearly 2 kilometers in the business district, shouting slogans such as “No to restarts,” “Stop contaminated water” and “Stop export.” [Asahi Shimbun]

¶   South Korea may be thinking about reducing its dependence on nuclear power, but a new report from the International Atomic Energy Agency said the country would struggle to provide enough energy if it did so. South Korea has no natural energy resources to fill the holes left by a declining use of nuclear power, IAEA said. [PennEnergy] (Presumably the IAEA believes that in South Korea the sun never shines, the wind never blows, the tide never changes, the earth has no warmth, rivers do not flow, …)

US:

¶   In an important decision, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has found ground mounted solar photovoltaics to be an “accessory use” permitted as of right in all zoning districts. Contrary zoning interpretations had been risking stalling parts of the clean energy sector. [CleanTechnica]

¶   RGS Energy, the commercial and utility division of Real Goods Solar, and St. Albans Solar Partners have completed a new 2.2 MW solar farm ahead of schedule. The energy produced by the PV system in Vermont is expected to generate approximately 3.1 million kWh annually, enough energy to power more than 400 homes. [RenewablesBiz]

¶   New York state Attorney General Schneiderman is criticizing the NRC’s assessment of waste storage risks and calling on the NRC to strengthen its proposed assessment of the environmental, public health and safety risks of storing highly radioactive nuclear wastes on-site at the more than 100 reactors around the country. [Long Island Exchange]

From the REV Conference:

¶   The Board of Directors of REV presented a near-term goal of “20 by 2020” at their conference and exposition Tuesday, calling it critical to address climate change, strengthen our local economy and meet the state’s clean energy goal of 90 percent by 2050 goal. [Vermont Biz]

Science and Technology:

¶   Nearly a third of the world’s economic output will come from countries facing “high” to “extreme” risks from the impacts of climate change within 12 years, according to a new report, the Climate Change Vulnerability Index, from UK-based risk analysis firm Maplecroft.[CNN]

¶   Temperature anomalies develop in the earth beneath cities. In the past decades, groundwater in conurbations heated up considerably. This heat can be utilized to produce electricity. [Daily Fusion]

World:

¶   Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd., a Dublin-based renewable-energy developer, will build three wind farms totaling 360 megawatts in South Africa. Mainstream is investing about 9 billion rand ($910 million) in the project. [Businessweek]

¶   Sunlabob Renewable Energy and Fondation Energies pour le Monde have announced the completion of a solar-powered mini-grid that is now delivering reliable, affordable electricity to nearly 500 people in a remote village in Luang Prabang Province, Laos. [pv magazine]

¶   Honda is aiming to be more proactive in using renewable energy to minimize the environmental footprint of its business activities. Honda Energy do Brasil will be the first automaker in Brazil to start wind power generation business. [4-traders]

¶   The £165 million Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant began burning straw on Tuesday, October 22, and is due to be fully operational from January next year. The plant will burn up to 50 bales of straw an hour creating enough electricity to power 65,000 homes [This is Lincolnshire]

¶   On September 1, 2013 Ukrainian renewables produced more than 1 billion kWh. The amount of energy from renewable sources for the first 8 months of this year in the Ukraine is 32% greater than what was produced in the whole entire year of 2012. [Ukrainian Biofuel Portal]

¶   Huge interest in large-scale solar PV and wind energy generation has delayed proceedings in the third round South Africa’s national renewable energy program. Final decisions have not been taken after a total of 93 bids were made. [RenewEconomy]

¶   While nuclear power advocates within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are unhappy about their former leader Koizumi repeatedly calling for abolishing all nuclear plants, opposition politicians woo him to counterattack the pro-nuclear Abe administration. [Asahi Shimbun]

¶   Switzerland’s state-controlled energy company BKW said its Muehleberg nuclear plant would go offline in 2019, as the country seeks to exit nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster. [Straits Times]

US:

¶   Two US Senate Democrats, Mark Udall of Colorado and Tom Udall of New Mexico, have unveiled a bill requiring utilities to generate 25% of their electricity from renewable energy sources, including wind and solar, by 2025. [Platts]

¶   The Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant, near Omaha, is being heated up to test its pressurized steam pipes for leaks after an outage that dates to April 2011, federal regulators said Tuesday. [DesMoinesRegister.com]

¶   Nuclear safety experts say there are problems with how employees are screened and trained at the Dresden nuclear plant. Two people are being charged with conspiracy to rob a bank at a time they were employees. Other employees have had troubles with police. [Nuclear Street – Nuclear Power Portal]

Finance:

¶   The upgrades to the outlook for the solar PV market continue, with analysts at Deutsche Bank now suggesting that some module manufacturers expect the global market to rise as high as 50 GW in 2014. [reneweconomy]

World:

¶   The first Energy Efficiency Market Report was just released by the International Energy Agency. In 2010, the most recent data year, savings from energy efficiency was greater than the output from any fuel source, including coal, oil, nuclear and gas. [theenergycollective]

¶   According to latest energy statistics, Britain is more than halfway to hitting its 2020 renewable-generated electricity targets. Figures for the second quarter of 2013 show that 15.5% of Britain’s generated electricity came from renewables, and offshore windpower increased 50% from 2012. [Seawork International]

¶   Scotland’s renewable energy sector has received a further boost, after the government late last week approved an extension to one of the country’s largest onshore wind farms. Nine wind turbines will be added to the Mid Hill wind farm, bringing the total to 34 and the capacity to 102 MW. [Business Green]

¶   In terms of purchasing power, Berlin has the most expensive electricity in Europe. But steep electricity prices have not dampened Germany’s support for the policies driving high prices. Distributed power is mostly owned by local people and organizations who benefit from the policies. [Forbes]

¶   A vast program of financing solar, wind and other renewable electricity technologies for developing countries using the UN’s new Green Climate Fund is being proposed. A report by the World Future Council suggests feed-in tariffs in developing countries as an effective financial tool. [Responding to Climate Change]

¶   It started with a few bogus safety certificates for cables shutting a handful of South Korean nuclear reactors. Now, the scandal has snowballed, with 100 people indicted and Seoul under pressure to rethink its reliance on nuclear power. [Reuters India]

¶   Attempts by TEPCO to restart reactors in another nuclear power complex was blocked on Monday by Japan’s nuclear regulator which suggested TEPCO to improve its management in crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant first. [Xinhua]

¶   Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka held a rare meeting Monday with Tokyo Electric Power Co. President Naomi Hirose to discuss ways to get a grip on the radioactive water spilling from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶   This summer, there were waiting lists for bus tours of the Lake Winds Energy Park in Ludington, in Michigan. The tour was created in response to the sheer number of people who would stop their cars and take pictures of the energy park’s 56 industrial sized pinwheels. [CleanTechnica]

Finance:

¶   Al Gore has spent most of this week flooding the media with the idea that oil and gas stocks are sub-prime investments, saying the are absurdly overvalued and encouraging investors to dump their holdings in fossil fuel companies. Some investment managers agree. [Motley Fool]

World:

¶   Challenged by the surge in distributed renewables and a strong decline in revenues, one of Europe’s largest utilities, RWE, is reportedly planning to transform itself completely from a traditional electricity provider into a renewable energy service provider. [theenergycollective]

¶   The market for renewable chemical ingredients, replacing petrochemicals, is booming. The overall renewable chemical ingredient market is expected to top $83 billion by 2018, compared with $57 billion this year, according to the research firm Markets and Markets. [DesMoinesRegister.com]

¶   The first phase of Dubai’s $3.3 billion Mohammed Bin Rashid Solar Park has gone live as part of a push to diversify energy supplies in the UAE. The initial 13 MW photovoltaic plant is the biggest of its type in the Middle East and North Africa. [Utilities-ME.com]

¶   Africa’s biggest wind farm, at Ashegoda in Tigray, Ethiopia, has been inaugurated after a three-year construction period. The 120 MW wind farm is expected to produce a total of 400,000 MWh per year. [The Ecologist]

¶   Starting early November, TEPCO engineers will remove 1,533 rods of highly irradiated spent fuel from the damaged storage pool alongside the Number 4 reactor and move them, without exposing them to air, to safer longer-term storage. The project will take 18 months. [South China Morning Post]

US:

¶   2013 has been slower for the wind industry in Kansas than last year, its backers say, but they pointed to signs it will improve in 2014. Records were set in 2012, when capacity increased to 2,713 megawatts, a gain of more than 1,441 megawatts. [Topeka Capital Journal]

¶   Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority has approved a plan for UIL Holdings, parent company for United Illuminating, to install solar panels on nine acres at an old landfill in Bridgeport. The plan is to use approximately 1000 solar panels for about 5 MW of power. [Ct Post]

¶   A 15 MW solar to be built by SolarCity for Hawaiian Electric, will be the state’s largest utility-scale solar project and will trim annual oil use by 1.8 gallons while saving $64 million over its lifetime. The fact that Hawaii uses oil for power is why power is so expensive there. [EarthTechling]

¶   Aroostook County, Maine is becoming a major hub for wind power development. Two companies are installing major wind farm. One, at 250 MW, will be New England’s largest, but the other, of 150 MW, is not far behind. [Kennebec Journal]

¶   Entergy, Pilgrim’s owner and operator, has poured $500 million into the 41-year-old plant since buying it in 1999, yet various problems have forced the operation to shut down six times this year, making it No. 1 in the U.S. fleet of 100 commercial nuclear reactors for shutdowns. [Capecodonline]

Opinion:

¶   “Solar expert tells Cameron – UK solar can build Hinkley Point C in two years” A leading UK solar energy generator has written an open letter to David Cameron, urging the government toward immediate deployment of sustainable energy technologies. [Energy and Environmental Management Magazine]

World:

¶   Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Goldwind has orders for 4.2 GW, including overseas orders of 151.75 MW, with a further 3.62 GW of deals waiting to be inked. The company has also had a marked increase in profits. [reNews]

¶   Senior officials of the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change are seeking to exploit a loophole that will allow the UK Government to extend the legally binding renewable energy targets for 2020 by a further two years. [Click Green]

¶   Poland could halve its demand for coal by 2030 with a shift to renewable energies that would end its image as a laggard in European Union efforts to slow climate change, according to a study by researchers in Germany and Poland and environmental groups. [Reuters]

¶   A 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit the Pacific Ocean about 200 miles east of Japan’s main island, the US Geological Survey reported. The Japanese Meteorological Agency issued and then cancelled a tsunami advisory for the area around Fukushima Daiichi. [CNN]

US:

¶   The Energy Information Administration issued a report that shows continued declines in America’s carbon intensity. It says US cut carbon dioxide emissions by 3.8% last year – a decline that came even as population and economic productivity increased. [theenergycollective]

¶   The US DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy has a new program aiming to accelerate widespread EV adoption by improving driving range and reliability. Some research will be done by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. [Today’s Energy Solutions]

¶   In California, Imperial County officials have approved a deal that aims to restore the declining Salton Sea. The deal hinges on generating $3 billion in revenue from selling renewable geothermal energy. This may have risks of causing earthquakes. [Neon Tommy]

¶   Carrying colorful signs, chanting songs and faking their own deaths, dozens of members of the University’s Student Climate Culture club and other participants rallied for divestment at the board of trustees’ October meeting this afternoon. [Vermont Cynic]

¶   In the race for commercial solar power, Wal-Mart is way out ahead. The company now has almost twice as much capacity as second-place Costco. A better comparison: Wal-Mart is converting more sun into energy than 38 US states. [Bloomberg]

¶   The GAO has concluded that no one has taken responsibility for assessing and managing risks to the US lithium-7 supply. The isotope is needed to run 65 US nuclear power plants, and the only current sources are Russia and China. [Chemistry World]

¶   In Vermont, the Shumlin administration is recommending that Vermont Yankee be allowed to continue operating through the end of next year, but with conditions that include setting aside at least $60 million for a site restoration fund. [BurlingtonFreePress.com]