geoharvey

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]

Opinion:

¶   Renewable power is under attack because it works and is threatening financially to fossil fuel and nuclear interests. [Deming Headlight]

World:

¶   The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development recognizes the significance of Italian policies for renewable energy in its “Environmental Performance Review: Italy 2013” report. [solarserver.com]

¶   The European Commission’s draft paper on energy targets says the EU must cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40% and increase renewable energy to 30% by 2030. [Reuters]

¶   After taking a hit in 2011 from losing nuclear power plants, E.ON has returned to making a solid profit in 2012. [Expatica Germany]

¶   India’s leading solar project developer, Welspun Energy Ltd., has commissioned Asia’s largest solar power facility in the state of Rajasthan ahead of schedule. [Ecoseed]

US:

¶   Some environmental groups are blocking renewable energy projects [by focusing narrowly on local damage without weighing global impact]. [Forbes]

¶   A study to be published in the journal Energy Policy, finds it possible to power New York state by wind, water and sunlight, while creating jobs and cutting costs. [Siliconrepublic.com]

¶   As national standards require increased use of renewable transportation fuels by 2022, Maine is positioned to be a leader in wood-based cellulosic ethanol production and use. [Bangor Daily News]

¶   Five companies are interested in developing wind farms in the ocean off North Carolina. [News & Observer]

¶   The New York State Senate passed legislation to help encourage the installation of renewable energy technologies by making them more cost efficient and accessible. [Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production Magazine]

Opinion:

¶   “Reuters Goes All CleanTechnica On Solar Power & Utility Profits.” The director of CleanTechnica, reflects on an article from Reuters, known for dry and neutral reporting, that says utilities will be dinosaurs of the energy world. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶   A dynamic technology from Siemens should make it possible to store wind and solar-generated electricity that would previously have gone unused by converting excess power into hydrogen. [PACE Today]

¶   New Energy Technologies, working with the US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is developing a solar cell that can be an invisible coating on window glass. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   A World Development Movement report says close links between senior government ministers and the oil industry favor a high carbon energy policy pushing the planet to the brink of climate catastrophe. [Greenwise Business]

¶   Problems abound as Japan commemorates the second anniversary of the tsunami and Fukushima Disaster. [The Japan Daily Press]

US:

¶   Nearly one in six U.S. nuclear reactors experienced safety breaches last year due in part to poor oversight by federal regulators, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. [Oakland Press]

Opinion:

¶   “Graph of the Day: Even France could go 100% to renewables” [RenewEconomy]

¶   “Analysis – Renewables turn utilities into dinosaurs of the energy world” [Interactive Investor]

Science and Technology:

¶   “Where has all the ice gone?” The Earth Policy Institute tracks glacial melting. [InvestorIdeas.com]

¶   The power from solar and wind generators can be stored in the form of hydrogen. At Hanover Messe, 130 companies show off their technologies. [Nanotechnology News]

¶   Controlled whirlwinds can be used to generate electrical power. [Geekosystem]

World:

¶   Italy’s ERG more than doubled its core earnings in the fourth quarter, helped by an improved performance at its renewable energy and power and gas businesses, as it shifts from volatile refining. [Climate Spectator]

US:

¶   The US has a trade surplus in the solar trade with China, according to Pew Charitable Trust. [United Press International, Asia]

¶   Palo Alto, California, has instituted 100% renewable energy purchases. [Virtual-Strategy Magazine]

¶   As coal plants retire, and new sources of power come online, the grid is being upgraded. PJM has $5 billion in upgrades in the pipeline. [Platts]

¶   The Union of Concerned Scientists released its report on near-misses in nuclear plants. [The Advocate]

Science and Technology:

¶   Initial marketing tests show customers are strongly inclined to buy algae-based diesel fuel. [Autochannel]

Economics:

¶   The massive global increase of installed solar PV-systems has an enormous impact on the position of energy utilities, which need to compensate with changes to their business models. [InvestorIdeas.com]

¶   Fossil fuels are the fastest growing energy source. [Commodities Now]

World:

¶   In the UK, Hinkley Point’s nuclear power plans are under threat, as talks between owner EDF  and the Government reach crisis point, and could fail at any time. [South West Business]

¶   In Gujarat, India, forty-five hundred farmers walked out of a public meeting on a new nuclear power plant in protest. [Times of India]

¶   Weekly anti-nuclear rallies are continuing in Japan. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶   The sequester means a cut of 8.7% in renewable energy grants. [Greentech Media]

¶   The proposed New Hampshire moratorium on wind power is being held in committee over the summer. [New Hampshire Public Radio]

¶   There may be more storage tanks leaking at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation than the six we have already been told about. [OregonLive.com]

¶   There are mixed reactions to the appointment of Ernest Moniz, an advocate of both nuclear power and hydro fracking, to the position of Energy Secretary. [Energy Collective]

¶   Fire safety improvements the NRC required at the Oconee nuclear plant for 2012 are still not completed. The owners, who already failed to get the NRC to give them until the end of 2014, now say they cannot do them until 2016. [Anderson Independent Mail]

Economics:

¶   The fossil fuel industry’s party is about to end, according to Deutsche Bank and Standard and Poor’s. [RenewEconomy]

Science and Technology:

¶   Alta Devices has reached 30.8% solar cell efficiency from the company’s first implementation of a new generation solar cell technology. [SYS-CON Media]

World:

¶   Renewable energies can give hard-pressed farmers in the UK an important alternate source of income. [meatinfo.co.uk]

¶   Members of the UK parliament’s Energy Select Committee are warning that the government needs to plan for what happens if it cannot get new nuclear reactors built. [Telegraph.co.uk]

US:

¶   The greatest obstacle to taking advantage of the rich wind resources of  Texas is a need for new transmission lines. [El Paso Inc.]

¶   Some conservative lawmakers are souring on nuclear power because of its high costs. [NBC 29 News]

World:

¶   Tokelau, which has a grid supplied 100% by solar power, is taking on the fossil fuel industries. Their cry is, “We are not drowning, we are fighting.” And they are asking the rest of the world to join them in their fight. [Bay Area Indymedia]

¶   The CEO of Vestas, the world’s largest wind turbine company, met with the President of the Philippines, to talk about more wind power. The Philippines already has ambitious goals for renewable power. [4-traders]

US:

¶   Tidal power is making progress in Maine. [Co.Exist]

¶   The US budget sequestration is reducing available incentives for clean energy. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Warren Buffet is putting substantial amounts of money into investments in renewable energy. [MINING.com]

¶   The sequester is reducing the budget for nuclear waste cleanup, which is delaying progress at the Hanford site in Washington, where six tanks are known to be leaking highly toxic radioactive material. [Idaho Business Review]

¶   The US may eventually phase out nuclear power for economic reasons. [Newsroom America]

World:

¶  Libya could generate five times the amount of energy from solar panels alone than what it produces from crude oil, according to research by Nottingham Trent University. [Blue & Green Tomorrow]

¶   Citizen groups are questioning the accuracy of the government’s contamination data for the area around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. [Deutsche Welle]

¶   China added 50 MW of wind capacity in 2012. [Hydrogen Fuel News]

US:

¶   Solar energy production in the US increased by 138.9% last year compared to 201. [Solar Novus Today]

¶   Three state legislatures have bills that target renewable energy initiatives. [Inside Climate News]

¶   A lobbyist for Koch Industries drew attention for having private talks with members of a Kansas House committee regarding a bill to weaken renewable energy requirements. [Kansas City Business Journal]

¶   A bill that started out as a three-year moratorium on wind projects in Vermont has been changed, but still has the strong opposition of renewable-energy advocates who argue it would essentially halt those projects. [BurlingtonFreePress.com]

¶   The list of fixes needed at Fort Calhoun is growing. [Omaha World-Herald]

¶   The cost of the outage at San Onofre now exceeds $400 million. [Los Angeles Times]

¶   Washington Governor Jay Inslee is demanding that the federal government clean up the Hanford site. [KREM]

World:

¶   Estonia is the first country to establish a system of fast-charging stations for electric vehicles. [Nitrobahn]

¶   India has added 10,431 MW of renewable power in the last three years, surpassing a target of 9,623 MW. [SteelGuru]

¶   Analysts at Deutsche Bank predict that the global solar PV sector will transition from a subsidised market to a sustainable market within a year, citing the arrival of “grid parity” in a number of key markets, unexpectedly strong demand, and rebounding margins. [RenewEconomy]

¶   As demand for coal is falling in the US, it is rising in much of the rest of the world. [MIT Technology Review]

¶   The government of Taiwan is willing to accept a referendum on the controversial Fourth Nuclear Power Plant project, Premier Jiang Yi-huah said Monday, amid mounting calls by anti-nuclear activists to have the nearly completed project scrapped. [Focus Taiwan News Channel]

US:

¶   The State of Hawaii, known for being a difficult place for permitting renewable energy projects, is  working on making things easier. [eco-business.com]

¶   The biggest obstacle to getting North Dakota windpower to the grid is the lack of high voltage transmission lines. [Public News Service]

Economy:

¶   “Taking a fresh look at solar energy’s benefits” [Highlands Today]

World:

¶   At European power rates, it is less expensive to install unsubsidized solar panels on the roof than to buy power from utilities. [The News International]

¶   Japan’s nuclear reactors are at 16 power plants. At present, none of the plants has met safety standards to become operational. The owners of nine plants say they are not sure when they will be able to pass safety standards. [Asahi Shimbun]

¶   The government of Iran has announced significant finds of uranium ore and that it is planning 16 more nuclear reactors. [Arab Times Kuwait English Daily]

US:

¶   US utilities are increasingly turning to wind power, which is increasingly cost-competitive. The number of utilities owning large wind farms has increased by more than 50% in the last year. [Power Engineering Magazine]

Science and Technology:

¶   NASA has been developing a new form of nuclear power, which proponents claim could put a reactor into every house, car, or airplane. [Forbes]

World:

¶   A goal of 100% renewable power is turning out to be the new normal. It is a goal for communities, companies, and nations. Some are for the near future. At least one has already been achieved. [CleanTechnica]

¶   More than 100 GW of windpower is currently in the production pipeline in China. Current government goals are for 10 GW of solar and 18 GW of wind to be installed in 2013. [Greentech Media]

¶   Germany is getting serious about developing grid-scale energy storage. [Electric Light & Power]

US:

¶   Nine US-based companies have been awarded gold medals for sustainability practices in RobecoSAM and KPMG’s Sustainability Yearbook 2013. They include Molson Coors, Alcoa, Sonoco Products, Waste Management, PepsiCo and others. [Environmental Leader]

¶   The problem with high-level nuclear waste leaking at the Hanford site in Oregon is much worse than had been known, and involves at least six underground tanks. [Huffington Post]

Science and Economics:

¶   Fossil fuel prices do not include the costs of their side effects such as air pollution and the associated health care costs for premature deaths or asthma attacks. [ThinkProgress]

¶   Global Warming may be to blame for increased number and intensity of blizzards. [Huffington Post]

World:

¶   French electricity bills are set to increase 30% from now until 2016, with a large part of the increase being due to investment in developing renewable energy supplies. [The Connexion]

¶   Solar power is cheaper in England than nuclear, with the result that growth in the nuclear sector is appearing less and less likely. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The UK Office of Gas and Electricity Markets is warning of power rate increases, as more the nuclear sector is not growing and electricity is to be imported. [Public Service]

¶   The UK’s Government is reportedly set to offer guaranteed subsidies for up to 40 years to energy firms that agree to build new nuclear power stations. [ITV News]

¶   Taiwan’s main opposition political party wants to halt new nuclear projects. [Hong Kong Standard]

US:

¶   Under the provisions of the Sanders-Boxer bill, a fee on carbon pollution emissions would fund what the senators call “historic investments” in energy efficiency and sustainable energy technologies, such as wind, solar, geothermal and biomass. [Renew Grid]

¶   The Waterford nuclear power plant is asking the NRC to allow it to use warmer water to cool its reactors as the water temperature of Long Island Sound hit a record high this past year. [Patch.com]

¶   A spike in fuel costs has driven up bills for Entergy’s New Orleans ratepayers. [NOLA.com]

Science and Technology:

¶   Reciprocating engines may have a future in electric generation for balancing the grid. They can be put in place quickly, are efficient, and can run on various types of biofuels. [Power Engineering Magazine]

World:

¶   The German opposition is rejecting a plan to limit increases in household electricity bills put forward by the ruling coalition. [Electric Light & Power]

¶   The Scottish government announced approval of construction of a 96-turbine wind farm that could generate as much as 288 megawatts of power. [UPI.com]

¶   China is ahead of schedule in a program to install 140 GW of windpower by 2015. [Greentech Media]

US:

¶   Bipartisan legislation introduced in the senate would streamline the permitting process for renewable energy projects on public lands. [Huffington Post]

¶   News on the attack on renewables in state legislatures:
… Renewable energy advocates are bracing to defend critical policies that have helped Texas become the leading wind-power state. [Fort Worth Star Telegram]
… Lawmakers in both the Kansas senate and house have started to hold hearings aimed at rolling back the state’s existing renewable energy portfolio standard. [ThinkProgress]

¶   The mayor of San Diego has asked the NRC not to allow San Onofre to restart, saying allowing the plant to operate would endanger millions of people. [OB Rag]

¶   An underground tank storing high-level radioactive waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southeast Washington is leaking. [CNN]

¶   An Entergy vice president tried to convince the Public Service Board that problems at the Vermont Yankee plant during the 10 years of Entergy ownership were irrelevant to the question of whether the plant should be allowed to run for another 20 years. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]