geoharvey

Opinion:

¶   A new popular movement is coming together, resisting the dominance of fossil fuels. [OpEdNews]

World:

¶   Donald Trump told the Scots not to build a wind farm built within sight a golf course he owns. He even threatened to cancel a hotel and housing project there if it was built. Naturally, the project has been approved. It will power half the homes in Aberdeen.  [Mother Nature Network]

¶   Turkey’s energy minister says Turkey plans to increase the portion its energy coming from renewable resources to 30% by 2023. [Journal of Turkish Weekly]

¶   The government of Cuba is increasing the amount of renewable energy it intends to be using, and is calling for foreign investors to participate. It is planning five new biomass, wood, solar and wind energy projects. [Cuba Standard.com]

¶   The operator of South Korea’s nuclear power plants, says it has separated its internal computer network from the internet in an effort to guard against possible cyber attacks. [Yonhap News]

¶   Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant is said not to have been damaged by the earthquake that hit it, but the event moved emergency officials in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to meet on Sunday in Saudi Arabia to discuss the risk of radiation from any disaster that might happen at the plant. [Times of India]

US:

¶   Duke Energy now has over 100 MW of solar capacity. Duke has been investing in renewable power for several years, and has put over $2.5 billion into the sector. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   Researchers have linked local temperature spikes in China to Chinese fossil fuel use and carbon emissions. [Christian Science Monitor]

¶   Europe is on track to achieve its 2020 renewable energy targets, but could stand some improvements in policy. [Greentech Media]

¶   Australia is the world’s biggest exporter of coal, but the cost of power from wind is less expensive there than the cost of coal or any other fossil fuel. [Energy Digital]

¶   Five Taiwanese KMT lawmakers went against party lines on a bill to stop the construction of the controversial Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in the Gongliao District of New Taipei City. The KMT caucus says lawmakers who voted against party instructions will be fined at least NT$10,000 ($334).  [Taipei Times]

¶   Some 28,500 containers of low-level radioactive waste were dropped into the English Channel between 1950 and 1963. Experts have assumed that the containers had long since rusted open, and the contents slowly dissipated. But at least some of the containers have been discovered intact. [Spiegel Online]

¶   The Point Lepreau nuclear plant in the Canadian province of New Brunswick is offline to get the chemistry of the water in the boilers adjusted. Power at Point Lepreau has been reduced a number of times in recent weeks because plugs at each end of the fuel channels are too tight. [MetroNews Canada]

US:

¶   According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 100% of all new generating capacity added in the United States in March, 2013, was from solar power. During the first quarter, 82% was renewable. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The first commercial, grid-tied enhanced geothermal plant in the United States has gone online in Nevada. [Utility Products]

¶   Wind power capacity grew by 28% in 2012 in the United States. It accounted for 42% of all new generating capacity during the year. [Treehugger]

¶   The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities’ Office of Clean Energy is suggesting taking some funding away from support for solar power and  putting it toward energy storage. [The Green Optimistic]

¶   Virginia is creating an agency to support nuclear power development. Anti-nuclear groups are upset because the agency will not have to comply with the state’s Freedom of Information Act and a number of other laws. [Daily Press]

World:

¶   Solar power has reached grid parity in Italy and India, according to a report from Germany’s Deutsche Bank. It will soon reach grid parity in other countries, as well. [EcoSeed]

¶   A new study published in Energy Policy, suggests that a bold-but-not-extreme carbon price could make providing all of Australia’s electricity needs with renewables cost-effective by 2030. [Energy Collective]

¶   Even though there has been an enormous amount of solar and wind power capacity installed in Europe, the greatest source of renewable power there is from burning wood. In some countries, such as Finland and Poland, it accounts for 80% of renewable energy production. [Presseurop]

US:

¶   Xcel Energy wants to sell the surplus renewable energy credits it collects from a power plant in Benson, Minn., that burns turkey droppings. Utilities in North Carolina are interested in buying those credits to meet that state’s renewable energy mandate, which requires a portion of the power produced by its utilities to come from poultry litter. [Pioneer Press]

¶   The latest data shows alternative fuel use is up, and among the groups using fuel for vehicles at the highest rates, the larger, medium duty vans, most are picking to replace non-renewable oil with biodiesel. [Domestic Fuel]

¶   In Vermont, the Shumlin Administration, drawing on lessons learned from Tropical Storm Irene and the Fukushima Disaster, wants Vermont Yankee to pay more to help emergency officials respond to a nuclear accident. [Vermont Public Radio]

¶   Top Democrats in the Colorado Legislature moved Monday to expand renewable-energy mandates in rural areas, which have more lenient requirements than urban areas. [Cortez Journal]

¶   A study, conducted by scientists with the Radiation and Public Health Project, found that babies born on the West Coast shortly after the Fukushima Disaster were 28% more likely to suffer from congenital hypothyroidism than were children born in those states during the same period one year earlier. [San Diego Free Press]

Opinion:

¶   “Why 100 per cent renewables is possible… and affordable” [Business Spectator]

Science and Technology:

¶   The United Nations reports that more people die each year from air pollution than from AIDS and malaria combined. [msnNOW]

¶   The US DOE is beginning research into using solar power to increase the energy content of natural gas. [New York Times]

World:

¶   Renewable power has driven Australian carbon emissions to a ten-year low. [Power Engineering International]

¶   French Utility GDF Suez, which supplies 25% of the country’s electricity, is using renewables for half of its production. [Utility Products]
… GDF Suez plans to close three of the four gas-fired power plants it operates in its home country because their profitability fell. [Fox Business]
… GDF Suez was upgraded by analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report. [Mideast Time]

¶   After finding that three out of seven underground tanks storing radioactive water were leaking, TEPCO announced it will move the water out of all of them. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   In the new budget, President  Obama proposed a dramatic increase in clean energy spending, expanding support for electric cars, wind power and other “green” technology. He would pay for the expansion in part by eliminating tax breaks and subsidies for oil, gas and coal industries. [Business Spectator]

¶   Many predictions were that 2012 would be a bad year for renewable power, but the industries surpassed expectations and appear to be positioned for continued growth. [AOL Energy]

¶   The GAO has issued a report saying evacuation plans for nuclear accidents are faulty. Reports of an accident would cause people outside an official evacuation zone to try to escape, filling roads and blocking the way for those within the evacuation zone. [Huffington Post]

¶   The Falmouth, Massachusetts, Town Meeting narrowly rejected a measure to authorize a town-wide vote on whether to borrow $14 million to dismantle two turbines. [Boston Globe]

¶   President Obama has unexpectedly called for the possible sale of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the largest publicly-owned U.S. power company. [Businessweek]

¶   The NRC has announced its preliminary determination that a request for a license amendment to restart one of San Onofre crippled nuclear reactors does not pose a significant safety hazard. [U-T San Diego]
… California Senator Boxer and Massachusetts Representative Markey sent a letter to the NRC this week demanding a comprehensive investigation of the plant before any units be permitted to operate. [Village News Network]

¶   A plant designed to turn plutonium from nuclear bombs into commercial reactor fuel is three years behind schedule, and its projected have grown from $4.9 billion to $7.7 billion. Now, the Obama administration says we must explore other options to dispose of the plutonium.  [The Augusta Chronicle]

World:

¶   China’s new leaders are taking steps to tackle problems seen in the country’s clean energy development, namely major bottlenecks in connecting wind and solar farms to the grid. They are also pushing for a surge in small-scale renewable energy production, where ordinary people become suppliers to the grid. [chinadialogue]

¶   Bloomberg New Energy Finance has doubled its expectations for Japanese PV installation for 2013 to 6.0-9.4 GW. This would see Japan overtake the US as the second largest PV market in 2013, and it may move even ahead of China. [Business Spectator]

¶   Moody’s Investors Service is warning that the trend toward solar and wind power has been so strong that it’s threatening the credit quality of thermal generation companies. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A third tank storing radioactive waste water has been found to be leaking at Fukushima Daiichi. [Environment News Service]

¶   After decades of debate over where nuclear waste should be stored, the government of Germany has reached a “new milestone” in a decision to start over from scratch. [Deutsche Welle]

US:

¶   Renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and hydro, accounted for 82% of all new domestic electrical generating capacity installed in the first quarter of this year, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s latest Energy Infrastructure Update report. [North American Windpower]

¶   According to a peer-reviewed study by researchers at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment, coal power is far more economically vulnerable than most analysts have realized. [Washington Post] (Thanks to Tad Montgomery for spotting this.)

¶   ResHydro, based in New York, has announced plans to establish operations in Glasgow, Scotland. Their plan is to work with the University of Strathclyde to advance its hydrokinetic energy generation device, which uses ocean currents to make power. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Fair Oaks Farm, one of the largest dairy farms in the country, is using a biodigester to make compressed natural gas, which it is using to power the tractor-trailers it uses to deliver milk. CEO Gary Corbett told the New York Times, “As long as we keep milking cows, we never run out of gas.” [Opposing Views]

Science and Technology:

¶   Sol Voltaics has developed a process to make semiconductor nanowires of gallium arsenide that can boost the conversion efficiency of standard solar panels by as much as 25%. [Businessweek]

World:

¶   China increased its wind power production by 41% in 2012. The country generated 100.8 billion kWh of wind power last year, compared with 71.5 billion kWh in 2011. [Businessweek]

¶   A former NRC chairman says all 104 nuclear power reactors now in operation in the United States have a safety problem that cannot be fixed and they should be replaced with newer technology. [New York Times]

¶   German nuclear-power operators will have to pay an estimated 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion) for identifying and building an atomic-waste depository, Environment Minister Peter Altmaier said. [Businessweek]

¶   The Japanese government will not ask people to save electricity this summer because utilities are expected to have sufficient supplies, sources said April 8. Supply is expected to exceed demand even if all idled nuclear reactors remain offline. [Asahi Shimbun]

¶   Experts who investigated the Fukushima nuclear disaster and the ongoing decommissioning process say the recently formed Nuclear Regulation Authority is being very lax with its oversight role in TEPCO’s post-disaster processes. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   Production of power from wind turbines in the California ISO grid hit 4196 MW, a new record, on April 7. [EON: Enhanced Online News]

¶   The head of U.S. forces in the Pacific says that climate change is a top concern for the military. The Army is proceeding with a “Net Zero Energy” initiative, aiming to produce as much energy and water as they use. Cost and reliability are primary reasons, but cutting carbon pollution is one of the outcomes. [Greentech Media]

¶   Town meeting members of Provincetown, Massachusetts voted 197-2 to call on Governor Deval Patrick to request the Nuclear Regulatory Commission close Entergy’s Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. [Cape Cod Today]

Opinion:

¶   The old catch-cry ‘renewables can’t provide baseload’ continues to haunt discussions about our long-term energy future.  But this really misses the fact that we’re moving into an entirely new power system paradigm where traditional baseload won’t be required. [Business Spectator]

Science and Technology:

¶   A study published in the journal Nature Geoscience says fossil fuel use has severe impact on coral growth. [French Tribune]

World:

¶   A £200 million deal will turn fats, cooking waste from restaurants and food-processing companies that are currently a nuisance for from London sewage works, into renewable energy. [Greenwise Business]

¶   A new survey of property and construction industry insiders has shown that nine out of ten believe that Ireland should harness wind as its primary source of energy going forward. [thejournal.ie]

¶   A group of more than 50 MPs, academics and green campaigners have requested the National Audit Office should be tasked with undertaking a review of the negotiations between the government and EDF over Hinkley nuclear plant construction. [Business Green]

¶   A French nuclear expert warns that financial problems facing EDF could force it to pull out of the £14 billion Hinkley nuclear project. “EDF is in big trouble. The whole of the nuclear power industry in France is in big trouble.” [Telegraph.co.uk]

¶   The cost for overseas reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel from Japanese nuclear power stations has nearly tripled since 1995 because of problems at a contracted British plant, including leakage of waste liquid. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   A study, led by researchers from Stanford and Cornell universities, provides a theoretical road map to how New Yorkers could rely on renewable energy within 17 years. [Huffington Post]

¶   Arizona Public Service, said last week that it added a record 148 megawatts of solar capacity in 2012, impressive enough on its own. But in 2013, new capacity should come in at more than twice that figure. [EarthTechling]

¶   The Brattleboro, Vermont Selectboard has agreed to enter the town into a 20-year contract to purchase solar power from a photovoltaic system which will be built in the coming year. [Brattleboro Reformer]

World:

¶   Despite the ongoing shutdown of all its nuclear energy-producing facilities, Germany exported the greatest amount of power in 2012 of any year in the past five years. This happened because Germany’s renewable energy industry grew to produce 23% of nation’s power in 2012. [Utility Products]

¶   A big, largely unreported, news message is that some European countries, especially Germany, have launched projects that combine renewables like solar and wind with hydrogen for energy storage, implying clean, zero-emission, stable power grids that require no coal, oil, or nuclear power. [Bangkok Post]

¶   A partnership between a wind farm in India and a waste management project in Colombia sets both to benefit from a new to offset the carbon emissions of the United Nations Environment Program and the United Nations Office for Project Services. [Waste Management World]

¶   For the second time in as many days, radioactive water has been found to have leaked from an underground storage tank at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. [Deutsche Welle]
… News of the leak of contaminated water from a storage tank at Fukushima Daiichi is the latest blow to local fishermen who had hoped to restart their livelihoods. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   NorthWestern Energy, Montana’s largest electric utility, is attempting to use the courts, the Legislature and state regulators to restrict severely any new power it must buy from small, independent wind power projects in Montana. [Billings Gazette]

¶   A Gallup poll conducted in March, 2013, found that 2 out of 3 Americans, including Republicans, want the U.S. to place more emphasis on the development of solar, and wind energy was not far behind. [Truth-Out]

Opinion:

¶   “Renewable energy could make utilities obsolete in the future.” [Hydrogen Fuel News]

World:

¶   Malaysia’s Sustainable Energy Development Authority made a tender for 20 MW of PV systems under 500 kW for non-individuals. The quota was allocated within the first hour of opening the online application system [PV-Tech]

¶   A compromised storage tank at Fukushima Daiichi has leaked 120 tons of radioactive water. [RT]

¶   After a rat caused cooling to fail for Fukushima Daiichi spent fuel pools, TEPCO started working on preventing a similar problem in the future. The work they were doing caused another blackout itself. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says he is optimistic that Cape Wind, the nation’s first offshore wind farm, will break ground this year after more than a decade of delays. [Washington Post]

¶   The US Army is beginning its largest solar project so far at Fort Bliss, in an effort to reduce carbon emissions. The ultimate goal is net zero emissions. [Energy Live News]

¶   The US DOE is undertaking a new initiative to restore the country to a place of leadership in energy technology and manufacturing for clean energy. [SmartMeters]

Science and Technology:

¶   A team of researchers at Virginia Tech has succeeded in using xylose, the most abundant simple plant sugar, to produce a large quantity of hydrogen. The method can be performed using any source of biomass. [AZoCleantech]

¶   The Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo and researchers at the Delft Technical University are working to develop a bladeless wind generator that operates on electrostatic charge on water droplets. [ENGINEERING.com]

World:

¶   European electric generation from renewables is expected to exceed that of fossil fuels by 2020, according to a report from ENTSO-E, the European association of European transmission line operators.  [Inside Climate News]

US:

¶   The Arkansas legislature rejected a proposed renewable power mandate when House Bill 1390, the Arkansas Distributed Generation Act, failed to make it out of a joint committee on energy. [Budget & Tax News]

¶   Entergy, owner of Arkansas Nuclear One, says it will take weeks to restart the Unit 1 reactor, which had been tripped by the accident at Unit 2. [Businessweek]

¶   The owner of the San Onofre nuclear plant says that as part of the experimental plan to restart one of the crippled San Onofre nuclear reactors, they expect to have to shut it down and restart it four or five times in the next two years. [eNews Park Forest]

Opinion:

¶   “More renewables for states”  An overwhelming majority of Americans — Democrat and Republican, pro-business and pro-environment — support renewable energy, and for good reason. [Politico]

Science and Technology:

¶   A company called Advanced Rail Energy Storage has proposed running loaded boxcars on a steep track to store electricity. The energy cannot be dissipated over time, and the system is claimed to be 90% efficient. [The Green Optimistic]

World:

¶   Denmark is now getting 25% of its electrical power from offshore wind. The goal for 2020 has been increased from 35% to 50%. The hope is to eliminate coal-burning generation altogether within 20 years. [Design & Trend]

¶   New research from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia has drawn the conclusion that a “fully renewable” electricity system could not only be possible but cost-effective. [pv magazine]

¶   Ahead of the proposed commissioning of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, around 2,000 fishermen onboard 200 boats today laid siege to a housing colony of KNPP employees at Chettikulam as part of the ongoing protest. [Indian Express]

¶   The government of Quebec will issue no permits for uranium exploration or mining until an independent study into its environmental impact has been completed. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission says such a moratorium is not founded on science. [World Nuclear News]

US:

¶   Nevada’s largest utility plans to begin closing four coal-fired power plants northeast of Las Vegas and invest more money in renewable energy. [Reno Gazette-Journal]

¶   State House lawmakers in North Carolina are moving ahead with a proposal to freeze and repeal the state’s renewable energy standards. [WRAL.com]

¶   Owners of the San Onofre nuclear plant hope to get a license extension in time to start one reactor by June 1. A representative of the NRC says that schedule represents a challenge. [KPBS]

Science and Technology:

¶   A European project called H2SusBuild demonstrated the feasibility of using excess power from renewable sources to produce hydrogen for power or heat that can be used during periods of low power production by wind and solar. [Nanowerk LLC]

World:

¶   Portugal got 70% of its electric power from renewable sources during the first quarter of 2013. [The Portugal News]

¶   British Prime Minister David Cameron has replaced wind power skeptic John Hayes as energy minister after warnings over a coalition split on new green targets. [UPI.com]

¶   Procter & Gamble has reduced its total waste by 68% over the past five years. It uses 45 zero waste sites, where waste from the manufacturing process is recycled, repurposed or converted into energy, with less than 1% left over. [Waste & Recycling News]

US:

¶   SolarReserve has finished building a 110 MW molten-salt solar power plant in Nevada. It will be the nation’s first commercial-scale solar power tower facility with energy storage and will produce power 24 hours per day. [Your Renewable News]

¶   A paper by NASA’s climate change scientist James Hansen is making headlines today for its claim that nuclear power has already saved around 2 million deaths related to pollution, and could save many more in the future. [Jobs & Hire]

¶   Underground tanks holding radioactive waste at the Hanford nuclear site pose a possible risk of hydrogen explosion, according to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. [The Associated Press]
The board also says the treatment plant that the Energy Department is counting on to stabilize the radioactive … waste at Hanford also has design problems that could lead to chemical explosions. [New York Times]
… The DOE responded by saying the tanks were vented and monitored. Their statement implies that the tanks are safe. [HydroInsider.com]

World:

¶   Germany exported 22.8 billion kWh last year, up from 6 billion kWh the previous year, despite closing numerous nuclear plants. The surplus power was worth €1.4 billion ($1.8 billion). [Stockhouse]

¶   The Japanese government is introducing a plan to split the utilities to reduce monopolies on the grid, keep the electric supply stable, and reduce prices. [4-traders]

¶   Shellfish numbers have declined and one species of shellfish has disappeared from the waters along an 18-mile stretch of coast at the Fukushima Disaster. Those shellfish that are alive are highly radioactive. [United Press International, Asia]

US:

¶   The US Government is calling on small businesses in rural areas and agricultural producers to seek help for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. [Energy Live News]

¶   Combining the wind power production of Wyoming and Colorado by transmitting power between the states would help stabilize the grid in both and benefit both economically, according to two new studies. [Billings Gazette]

¶   A license amendment the owners of the San Onofre plant hope will allow it to be restarted has been submitted to the NRC. [Huffington Post]

¶   A photograph showing the collapsed gantry collapse at Arkansas Nuclear One tells us this will not be an easy cleanup. [Vertikal.net]
… The fallen stator weighs 500 tons. [Nuclear Street – Nuclear Power Portal]

Technology:

¶   GE has installed a new prototype wind turbine in the Netherlands. It increases efficiency by 25%. [EcoSeed]

World:

¶   The government of the UK is locked in negotiations with EDF this weekend over the future of nuclear power generation. There are growing fears that the Government might have to pay a very high price to reach a deal. [This is Money]

US:

¶   New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has awarded $46 million to large-scale solar power projects in 33 counties across the state. The will have an overall generating capacity of 52 megawatts. [EcoSeed]

¶   An Exxon pipeline ruptured in Arkansas, spilling thousands of barrels of Canadian crude oil. [Huffington Post]

¶   Hundreds of protesters marched against the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. [Rutland Herald]

¶   The legislative attack in North Carolina on a Renewable Energy Standard appears dead in the water, as it languishes before committees. [StarNewsOnline.com]

¶   One person was killed and three injured in an accident at Entergy’s Arkansas Nuclear One plant. The accident took place in an area where no radioactive material is handled. [Fremont Tribune]

¶   Congressman Peter Welch is planning to announce legislation that he says will make it easier to pay for renewable energy projects in Vermont and around the country. [Albany Times Union]

Opinion:

¶   “Stop the fossil-fuel subsidies” Every country in the world would benefit from the honest pricing of energy. [Washington Post]

¶   “Can America Blow Away Nuclear Power?” As wind power produces increasingly long periods of negative prices, nuclear power generators suffer most. We might ask whether this is fair. [Insider Monkey] (I suspect more people would answer ‘yes’ than the author expects.)

World:

¶   Japan’s Prime Minister Abe says that restarting the two undamaged reactors at Fukushima Daiichi and the four reactors at Fukushima Daini would probably not be possible because of local opposition, even if the reactors were safe. [The Daily Yomiuri]

US:

¶   The governor of Maine says the Renewable Energy Standard in that state limits the amount of renewable energy that can be used, and so prevents citizens from getting access to less expensive renewable energy. [St. John Valley Times]

¶   In a recent poll, would-be car buyers were 23% more likely to say they would choose an electric car, if they knew it would be supplied by, wind or small-scale hydroelectric power. [MetroNews Canada]

¶   The US Department of Agriculture is seeking applications to provide assistance to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. [PoliticalNews.me]

World:

¶ The German government is to help Greece develop its renewable energy sector under an agreement signed Thursday by the two countries and an EU taskforce for the debt-laden country. [Capital.gr]

¶ Renewable sources supply 12.5% of India’s electricity. [Press Information Bureau]

¶ When Scotland set its new record for electric power production, the amount it achieved was sufficient for 100% of the country’s residential power demand. [Power Engineering Magazine]

¶ Nuclear power generation is well established, but efforts worldwide to develop permanent disposal sites for highly radioactive waste remain nascent at best. In the US, the Blue Ribbon Commission hopes to have a site operating by 2048. [POWER Magazine]

¶ A report from TEPCO says, “We must sincerely accept that we were unable to draw on human wisdom to prevent [the Fukushima Disaster].” In effect they are saying they should have foreseen the waves that destroyed the plant. [New York Times]

¶ TEPCO is setting up an internal safety organization that is, in theory, independent of the rest of the company. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶ The DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory is looking at an investment practice called securitization to reduce it’s levelized cost of energy down. This could save as much as 16% on an industrial-sized solar project. [Clean Energy Authority]

¶ Two additional water infiltration areas have been discovered at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant’s switchgear rooms. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

Science and Technology:

¶   Closing a nuclear reactor in California has prevented an estimated 4,319 cases of cancer in the past 20 years, according to a new study published in the journal Biomedicine International. [Healthline]

¶   A research project called Combined Power Plant 2 (Kombikraftwerk2) shows how it is possible to provide power using renewable energies while maintaining a stable grid and without increased risk of blackout. [Phys.Org]

¶   Chemists at the University of Calgary, in Canada, have found an efficient way to turn electricity from wind and solar energy into hydrogen, which can be stored and used as needed for stable electrical power. [Huffington Post]

World:

¶   China is now getting more electricity from wind power than from nuclear. [Arabian Gazette]

¶   The Swiss supreme court on Thursday ruled that the country’s Muehleberg nuclear power plant can continue operating beyond the end of June, overturning a cut-off date for decommissioning. [Expatica Switzerland]

¶   The Dutch power grid is undergoing a radical change. With solar photovoltaic panels becoming increasingly cheaper and energy prices continuing to rise, solar energy generated on private roofs is now cheaper than grid energy. [InvestorIdeas.com]

¶   An investigation found that an Osaka non-profit organization has been getting ¥20 million ($212,500) per year from Kansai Electric Power Company to spread pro-nuclear power propaganda. [The Japan Daily Press]

¶   Tohoku Electric has announced that they are cancelling their plans to build a new nuclear power station in Fukushima Prefecture. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   A Gallup poll of Americans on power found 76% supported solar, 71% supported wind, 46% supported production of oil, 37% supported nuclear, and 31% supported coal. [Solar Industry]

¶   Federal regulators have cited the TVA with three violations at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant over thousands of parts the utility purchased that are not documented as nuclear-grade quality. [Chattanooga Times Free Press]

World:

¶   The International Monetary Fund argues that the world “misprices” fossil fuels to the tune of some $1.9 trillion per year, through subsidies, and a big step toward fighting global warming is to stop that practice. [Washington Post]

¶   Feldheim, Germany’s first village powered by 100% renewables, has local energy costs of 16.6 euro cents per kWh are just a little more than half of the 27-30 cents Germans pay on average. [Business Spectator]

¶   The European Commission is trying for a 40% reduction in carbon emissions for 2030. [E2B]

¶   New figures released by Ofgem show wind energy costs UK households 2.67 pence per day. Wind accounted for almost 59% of renewable energy generation in the UK in 2011-2012. [This is Scunthorpe]

¶   Scotland set a record for renewable energy generation last year. The total for the year increased 7% over the previous year. The power generation for the country was 39% from renewables. [Businessweek]

¶   Observed Danish CO2 emissions fell 10.3% in 2012 compared with the previous year. [The Copenhagen Post]

¶   A recent study examining the potential for rooftop photovoltaics in Tokyo to replace nuclear capacity reveals some of the answer is already in place – pumped hydroelectric storage. [Energy Matters]

¶   The Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority will finally start the first official investigation into the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis. [Morning Star Online]

¶   The capital of Taiwan lies inside the evacuation zones of two operational nuclear power plants. Two legislators have proposed moving the capital. [Taipei Times]

US:

¶   Energy analysts at international investment bank Citigroup question assumptions that gas and renewables will compete with each other. [RenewEconomy]

¶   A Maryland-based company wants to build two 2,250-foot-tall solar wind generating tunnels in the Arizona desert that would use downdrafts to provide a gigawatt of renewable energy to the grid. [KCET]

¶   The Brattleboro, Vermont town schools can look forward to saving 10 percent on electricity because of a $130,000 solar net metering credit purchase. [Commons]

¶   The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant reported a failed underground flood seal, compromising the flooding-prevention design of a nerve center where cables from the plant’s control room are routed to the rest of the plant.[Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

Science and Technology:

¶   A study published in the Journal of Power Sources challenges a common belief on the intermittent nature of windpower, coming to the conclusion that fossil fuel and nuclear generating facilities may not be necessary for baseload support after all. [Midwest Energy News]

World:

¶   A study by the German VDE Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies indicates that power storage will only become crucial as Germany approaches having 80% of its power from renewable sources. [KCET]

¶   A report on coal power in Alberta says it costs $300 million for health expenses and leads to nearly 100 premature deaths each year. [Globe and Mail]

¶   Italy got 28.2% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2012. [Electric Light & Power]

¶   Pacific Islands are getting $530 million in funding for renewable energy projects. [NewNet]

¶   Two UK government ministers published a strategy for nuclear power aiming at new construction of 16 GW of nuclear reactors in the next decade. The report does not include details on what the power produced would cost. [Economic Times]

¶   South Korean temporary nuclear waste storage facilities are 70% full. There is no permanent solution in sight. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶   With a fair amount of political drama, the Vermont senate advanced a heavily modified version of a bill on windpower. [Vermont Public Radio]
… The bill was gutted. The parts wind advocates found most objectionable were removed. [vtdigger.org]

¶   The Vermont Supreme Court has dismissed a petition by the New England Coalition to shut down the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

¶   Kyocera Solar and VGI Energy are teaming up to bring solar power to affordable multifamily housing units in Urban Chicago. [Energy Collective]

Science and Technology:

¶   Weird looking marine animals called tunicates may become important for providing both renewable fuel and food for farmed fish. [AZoCleantech]

¶   Vincent Callebaut Architects has designed a series of six sky-high “farmscapers,” futuristic residential and business towers equipped with wind turbines and solar cells to create renewable energy. [New York Daily News] (Personally, I think tunicates are prettier.)

World:

¶   Under budget and ahead of schedule, the Niagara tunnel project has been completed, providing Ontario with a new source of hydro power. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶   Some German nuclear plants have been closed because they were old. The rest of the plants are being closed for safety reasons. What remains is a continued search for an answer to the question of how to deal with the waste. The solution is to form a commission. [Deutsche Welle]

US:

¶   Ernest Moniz, who has been appointed to be energy secretary, has an unusual number of connections to the fossil fuel and nuclear industries, leading some to believe he cannot be even-handed on renewable energy issues. [Facing South]

¶   Vermont’s new commissioner of the Public Service Department wants the NRC to provide more details about the federal agency’s 2012 decision to relicense the nuclear plant, after two equipment failures in one week. [vtdigger.org]

Science and Technology:

¶   New research could help create nuclear batteries that have controllable energy release like conventional batteries but with many times the storage capacity. [The Engineer]
… (The article says the battery depends on natural decay of Bismouth-212. It does not say so, but the radioactive daughter isotopes have extremely short half-lives, and decay into lead-208, which is stable, in minutes.)

World:

¶   The Australian Federal Government has decided to maintain the Renewable Energy Target to ensure at least 20% of Australia’s electricity comes from sources such as solar and wind power by 2020. [eco-business.com]

¶   Pacific countries spend 10% of their GDP on diesel to generate electricity and the region’s leaders are in Auckland lobbying for funds to create renewable energy projects. [TVNZ]

¶   A Democratic Progressive legislator is accusing the Taiwan Power Co of deliberately overestimating future demand and underestimating the future capacity to support projections that a nuclear plant is needed. [Taipei Times]

US:

¶   Proponents of both sides on the fracking debate are in agreement for a voluntary set of tough new standards for hydraulic fracturing in the Northeast that could lead to a major expansion of drilling. [Casper Star-Tribune Online]

¶    Pennsylvania produces 1% of the worlds greenhouse gas emissions, and has new bills to increase the percentage of renewable power in the state’s energy portfolio. An opinion piece from a legislator addresses the need. [The Mercury]

Opinion:

¶   Three expert predictions on renewable energy for 2050: Solar will prevail, Europe will lead, and the world will be 80% to 100% run on sustainable power. [Big Think]

¶   “Accident Highlights Nuclear Peril” A rat gnawing on a cable showed both how vulnerable and how dangerous Fukushima Daiichi is, more than two years after the disaster there. [The Japan Times]

News Analysis:

¶   “Life After Oil and Gas” A reviews of the news leads to a question of how much New York State really needs fossil fuels, as demand can be nearly entirely met with from renewable sources. [New York Times]

World:

¶   United Nations buildings across the world are more efficient and less dependent on fossil fuels. The offices in New York are getting 100% of their electric power from wind. [Electric Light and Power]

¶   Anti-nuclear statements by the Mayor of Taipei show internal disunity of the Kuomintang, Taiwan’s ruling party. [Taipei Times]

US:

¶   Thanks to recent opportunities in community solar and crowdfunding, we may see a renewable energy market in America where everyone wins. [EarthTechling]

¶   In Washington State, officials of the Cowlitz County Public Utility District, who vehemently fought a losing battle against an energy mandate six years ago, are now fighting to prevent changes to the it. [Longview Daily News]

World:

¶   Associated Press reports that Suntech, one of the largest manufacturers of solar panels in the world, has been pushed into bankruptcy following a missed $541 million payment to bondholders. [New York Injury News]

¶   About 75% of Germans polled said they prefer an unrestricted shift to green energy and rejected the plan to cap electricity price increases proposed last month by the environment and economic ministers. [Electric Light & Power]

¶   The European Commission wants to impose huge fines on several of its member states for failing to put EU renewable energy laws into national legislation. [Energy Live New]

¶   The UK’s renewable energy industry welcomed new figures that show support for wind power last year cost consumers less than three pence per day. [Business Green]

¶   The mayor of Taipei City, considered a star of the ruling Kuomintang, has spoken out against a fourth nuclear being built for Taiwan. [Focus Taiwan News Channel]

US:

¶   Massachusetts is set to have 250 MW of solar capacity four years ahead of the state’s 2017 goal, and showed a price decline of 29% year over year from 2011, so the goal could be expanded. [WWLP 22 News]

¶   Google has spent billions on renewable energy projects. The investment has not been just to benefit the environment. It was made with a goal to making a profit in the future. [NASDAQ]

¶   The CEO of Dominion Resources is warning against excessive reliance on natural gas, as prices will increase. [Fox Business]

¶   The owners of the San Onofre nuclear plant may seek changes to its operating license as they look for the quickest way to return the facility to service. [Reuters]

¶   Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE, says his company is backing a broad range of energy options, including coal, natural gas, solar, wind and nuclear but is cautious about the outlook for nuclear. [The Australian]

World:

¶   Regional demand in Africa and the Middle East for solar photovoltaic power will reach 1000 MW in 2013, a 625% year-to-year increase from 2012′s 136 MW. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Motions that state-owned Taiwan Power Co suspend construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District were passed yesterday by the legislature’s Economics Committee. [Taipei Times]

US:

¶   Only a year after being given a D rating on power by Greenpeace, Apple is 100% renewable for its data centers. [Businessweek]

¶   The California grid will support 33% renewable power by 2020. [Electric Light & Power]

¶   The NRC decision on vents for boiling water nuclear reactors is controversial. The new vents’ filters will be under study for a year before a decision is made on whether they are required. [RenewablesBiz]

¶   Restarting one of the crippled San Onofre nuclear reactors this summer would cost Southern California Edison’s customers three times as much as keeping it shut down. [YubaNet]

¶   Anti-nuclear organizations in three states say Entergy is not financially qualified to operate nuclear reactors and are calling for the NRC to enforce its regulations on the matter. [vtdigger.org]

¶   The cost of a plant to turn weapons-grade plutonium into nuclear fuel has risen from $4.9 billion to $7.7 billion. The project was supposed to be finished in 2016, but that date has been pushed back to 2019. [Businessweek]

¶   Entergy is taking the State of New York to court to prevent it from interfering with the relicensing process for the Indian Point nuclear plant. [Courthouse News Service]

Opinion:

¶   We can protect the environment and develop renewable energy at the same time in Vermont, and Senate Bill 30 will make that a more difficult goal. [vtdigger.org]

Science and Technology:

¶   Green energy produces more jobs than fossil fuels or nuclear. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   In a statement from GDV, the German insurance trade body, Germany’s insurers said they want politicians and regulators to ease rules restricting their ability to invest in renewable energy and infrastructure. [Business Spectator]

¶   If renewable energy grows at its current rate until 2020, Germany will have to struggle with “dramatic over-production of electricity”, according to the Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Environment Ministry. [Electric Light & Power]

¶   The global market for utility-scale renewable energy storage technologies is projected to reach $33.6 billion by 2018, primarily driven by the growing contribution of solar and wind energy. [Renew Grid]

¶   The power outage that stopped cooling for four spent fuel pools at Fukushima Daiichi, a matter of grave concern possibly leading to much worse problems, was caused by a rat gnawing on a cable. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶   A San Antonio-based refiner has agreed to purchase algae-derived “green” crude oil from Sapphire Energy’s algae farm in Columbus, N.M. [San Antonio Express]

¶   The US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory released a study saying the US can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector by over 80% by 2050. [Fuel Cell Today]

¶   The American Legislative Exchange Council has joined with other agenda-driven political groups to dismantle the Renewable Portfolio Standard in every state that has one. [Natural Resources Defense Council]

¶   The Vermont Senate has delayed a vote on Senate Bill 30, which would make it more difficult to build wind farms, apparently to allow absent supporters to return before the vote is taken. [Vermont Public Radio]

¶   Changes in the energy marketplace have forced Entergy Nuclear to write down the value of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant from $517 million to $162 million. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

¶   Vermont’s Governor Shumlin is confident the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant will be closed down, if not by courts then by economic necessity. [Vermont Public Radio]

Science and Technology:

¶   Teenager Sara Volz  built an efficient algae-based biofuel lab under her bed. It won her a $100,000 four-year scholarship from the Science Talent Search. [ExtremeTech]

World:

¶   The German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg plans to install a further 1,000 wind turbines by 2020 to meet its renewable energy targets. [Utility Products]

¶   A refuelling problem at a nuclear reactor in New Brunswick could cost the utility $400,000 to $600,000 a day in replacement power. [Brandon Sun]

¶   The Japanese NRA is giving an exemption to the Ohi nuclear plant so it can continue running to the end of summer. Ohi is Japan’s only operating facility, but it is sitting on an active geological fault. [The Japan Daily Press]

¶   Power has been restored, and cooling systems for all spent fuel pools at Fukushima Daiichi are running once again. [The Associated Press]

¶   The Hinkley Point nuclear plant in Somerset has been given per mission for construction, but it is still very unclear whether work will ever begin because of economics. [Construction News]

¶   Former state nuclear physicist He Zuoxiu says China is heading for a nuclear accident if it continues with current construction plans, and it is highly probable that it will happen before 2030. [chinadialogue]

US:

¶   The US could cut fuel emissions from vehicles by 80% by 2050, according to a National Research Council report. [Los Angeles Times]

¶   The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities announced that New Jersey now has over 1000 MW of installed solar capacity. [The Sparta Independent]

¶   An attempt to kill the renewable energy standard in Kansas has failed. [Topeka Capital Journal]

¶   The NRC voted 3 to 2 to require improvements to the emergency vents at 31 American boiling water reactors. [New York Times]

¶   The NRC says a decision on a restart of a reactor at San Onofre, expected in April, will be delayed until May or June. [abc7.com]

World:

¶   The spent fuel pools for Fukushima Daiichi’s Units 1, 2, and 4 have all lost cooling because of a power loss. The cause of the power loss is unknown, and temperatures are rising. [AFP]
… TEPCO says power has been partly restored. [Businessweek]

¶   Suntech, one of China’s leading solar panel manufacturers, has defaulted on a $541 million bond payment. [The Guardian]

¶   A poll says 62% of people in Scotland would favor large-scale wind projects in their local council area, more than double the number (24%) who said they would support shale gas. Nuclear got 32% support. [Energy Live News]

¶   In Germany, renewable power is growing fast, nuclear is falling. A series of graphs illustrate the point. [RenewEconomy]

US:

¶   Thanks to technology advances, competition and state Renewable Portfolio Standards, the average price utilities spend for renewable energy has come way down. [SustainableBusiness.com]

¶   Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont are working together to fast-track a joint solicitation aimed at creating a significant buyer’s market for renewable energy and driving down its costs in New England [Platts]

¶   The Electric Reliability Council of Texas says the cost of integrating wind to the grid is cheap – $0.50 per MWh. [Greentech Media]

¶   The NRC is concerned about the potential for flooding at two nuclear plants owned by the TVA. [Greenville Daily Reflector]

¶   A report on San Onofre says the plant could hit the full-power mark, but it would be too risky to remain at that level for more than 11 months. The owners say that means the plant meets the NRC safety parameters for restart. [Albany Democrat Herald]

Opinion:

¶   “Fossil-fuel interests unfairly trash renewable energy.” [The Providence Journal]

Science and Technology:

¶   Solar power, having now surpassed the 100 GW threshold, has finally arrived. It is good to go, in many places, without subsidies. [Triple Pundit]

World:

¶   Global clean energy investment reached $250 billion in 2012. [Times of India]

¶   Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark are planning together for a future where renewable energy will meet most of the local demand. The renewable power source most talked about is tidal. [Channel Television]

¶   The UK’s Southwest is falling behind in building renewable resources, and could miss out on 24,000 new jobs as a result. [Insider Media]

¶   A deal on the price of power from nuclear reactors in Somerset, expected Tuesday, is still far away. [This is Money]

¶   Only 29 Japanese local governments have been able to produce required evacuation plans for nuclear emergency. The other 127 are late. [The Daily Yomiuri]

US:

¶   Southern California energy providers called for specific legislation federal lawmakers can enact, not only to support California policies, but to benefit the entire country, environmentally and economically. [ThinkProgress]

¶   The U. S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has cleared the way for a 130-square-mile research are for offshore wind off the coast of Virginia. [MarineLink]

¶   The NRC is having a webinar tomorrow on the question of pressurized thermal shock at the Palisades reactor. Participants need to register today. [Michigan Radio]

World:

¶   The Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is planning 30,000 MW of renewable power for the time of 2012 to 2017. [Press Information Bureau]

¶   The Bank of America is talking about putting put $50 billion up for support of the renewable energy sector in Bangladesh. [Financial Express Bangladesh]

¶   Abu Dhabi has opened a 100 MW concentrated solar plant, increasing its solar output by a factor of ten. [Businessweek]

¶   A new UK tax on gas and coal-fired power stations will increase profits for wind farms. [Telegraph.co.uk]

¶   The CEO of Areva has been lobbying the European Commission for support for new nuclear stations while demanding cuts in both renewable energy subsidies and aid for poor people needing fuel. [The Independent]

¶   The decision to build a nuclear plant in Somerset will be announced March 19. The costs are believed to include an unbreakable contract for construction and power at double the current rate. [Express.co.uk]

¶   Windfarms do not cause illness, other than the alarm spread by opponents, an Australian study has found. [The Guardian]

¶   The record for the most radioactive fish found near Fukushima Daiichi has been broken once again. [Times LIVE]

US:

¶   Clean Line Energy Partners wants to build a $2 billion, 500-mile high-voltage transmission lines to move wind-generated electricity from Iowa to Chicago. [Sioux City Journal]

¶   The 10th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals rejected a challenge by the energy industry attempting to force the Secretary of the Interior to issue oil and gas leases on public lands in Utah and Wyoming. [Kansas City infoZine]

¶   Wisconsin is missing out on a wave of solar power development that’s going on around the country. Wisconsin utilities seem to want to make sure that continues. [MENAFN.COM]

¶   Cleanup at the Hanford nuclear reservation is mired in arcane issues, slowing things down for years and costing billions. [OregonLive.com]

Science and Technology:

¶   Researchers from the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, are working on technology that could turn carbon dioxide into liquid and gaseous fuels. [Hydrogen Fuel News]

¶   Scientists at Transatomic Power, a nuclear reactor design company with affiliation to MIT, claim to have developed a “Waste-Annihilating Molten Salt Reactor” that uses nuclear waste efficiently. [Nature World News]

¶   We have more information on the reliability of wind power, continuing comments in an article that was referenced here on March 12, “Is baseload power more reliable than wind?” [Climate Spectator]

World:

¶   Highland councillors are being advised by planning officials to back controversial plans to construct the world’s largest offshore wind farm off the Scottish coast. The project will cost £4.5 billion and have 339 turbines. [Power Engineering Magazine]

¶   A royal advisor has slammed Government proposals to guarantee a minimum price for the electricity generated by EDF Energy for the next 30-40 years, saying it was a “£50 billion bet on the wholesale price of energy”. [East Anglian Daily Times]

¶   Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party has dropped six of eight members who voted to completely phase out the use of nuclear power from the all-new post-Fukushima energy policy advisory board to the government. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   A report from Pike Research says we can expect US grid storage capacity to expand by 56 GW over the next decade, driven by wind and solar installations. [The Green Optimistic]

¶   The Vermont Senate will debate a bill next week that would give towns much more authority to ban projects. Many environmentalists object to the bill. [Rutland Herald]

¶   Owners of the San Onofre nuclear plant want to collect $768.5 million from Southern California utility customers to pay for the steam generator replacement project that failed. [U-T San Diego]

¶   Several Cape Cod towns have ballot referendums on closing the Plymouth nuclear plant. [Cape Cod Today]

World:

¶   Danish farmers are increasingly interested in investing in renewable energy, particularly solar, simply because it is very good business to do so. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶   An independent panel said the operator of Japan’s tsunami-crippled nuclear plant misinformed investigators and blocked equipment inspections last year, but that it was not part of a cover-up. [Washington Post]

US:

¶   A report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory says that wind power may be a good hedge against rising prices for natural gas, and now is a good time to make that hedge. [Energy Collective]

¶   American wind power’s generation increased 117% last year, and produced more than 10% of the electricity in nine states, up from five states in 2011. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   The renewable energy market is expected to double by 2022, despite low prices for natural gas. [U.S. News & World Report]

¶   The federal government approved three renewable energy projects combine to produce enough energy for 340,000 homes. NextEra Energy as a 750 MW solar project; the others are a 150 MW solar farm and a 200 MW wind farm. [Chicago Tribune]