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World:

¶   The United States and China on Tuesday signed eight partnership pacts to cut greenhouse gases that will bring the world’s two biggest carbon emitters closer together on climate policy, but fundamental differences between the two sides remain. [Scientific American]

¶   Global oil production advanced in 2013 by 557,000 barrels per day (bpd), an increase of 0.6 percent over 2012 and a new all-time high of 86.8 million bpd. After declining in 2009, global crude oil production has now increased 4 years in a row. [EnergyTrends Insider]

¶   Germany’s upper house of parliament Friday passed an ambitious renewable energy law which aims to mitigate the effects of the country’s move away from nuclear and fossil-fuel generated power. [Wall Street Journal]

¶   Swiss-based ABB has secured a contract worth about $400 million for the first electricity link between the island of Newfoundland and the North American power grid. The 500 MW connection will bring renewable energy from in Newfoundland and Labrador to Nova Scotia. [Energy Business Review]

¶   Globeleq, a private power generation company in Africa, has celebrated completion of another of its renewable energy projects in South Africa, the 138 MW Jeffreys Bay Wind Farm located between the towns of Jeffreys Bay and Humansdorp in the Eastern Cape. [Your Renewable News]

¶   Funds to help farmers adapt to climate change, ultra-modern solar power plants and schemes to promote women’s safety in cities are among pledges the new Indian government made in its first budget on Thursday. [Reuters India]

¶   Solar PV and wind energy will beat both coal and gas on costs – without subsidies – in the major Asia energy markets of China and India by 2020, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. [RenewEconomy]

US:

¶   The White House threatened to veto a proposed $34 billion House bill setting FY 2015 spending for the DOE, the Department of Interior, and the Army Corps of Engineers, saying it “significantly underfunds” investments to develop clean energy technologies. [POWER magazine]

¶   In Massachusetts, advocates of small-scale solar projects worry that a compromise worked out between large renewable energy developers and utilities — which nationally are pushing back against net metering rules — could darken the state’s successful solar development. [The Recorder]

¶   The Wisconsin Public Service Commission agreed to set up a $16 million revolving loan fund that would work with a commercial lender to help finance installation of solar, wind or bioenergy projects. The program is modeled in part on an initiative already in place in Iowa. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

¶   Dominion Virginia Power has started making test borings in the Atlantic Ocean off Virginia Beach as part of its proposed research project aimed at the eventual harvesting of offshore wind energy. [Richmond Times-Dispatch]

¶   The National Wildlife Federation, pushing for development of offshore windpower, released a report called “Catching the Wind:  State Actions Needed to Seize the Golden Opportunity of Atlantic Offshore Wind Power.” [WMTW Portland]

¶    Even as the TVA builds a newer and bigger nuclear plant, distributed energy is producing more of America’s electricity, using smaller sources such as solar, wind or small gas-generated turbines. [Chattanooga Times Free Press]

World:

¶   Wind and solar accounted for approximately 27% of Germany’s electricity generation in the first half of 2014. With 4% more coming from hydro, renewable energy sources accounted for a larger portion of electricity production than brown coal for the first time. [Business Spectator]

¶   China recently overhauled its basic environmental law in a way that brings it closer to the structure of the US Clean Air Act.  Among other things, the new law also contains a provision authorizing public interest litigation by certain Chinese NGOs. [Energy Collective]

¶   The Tokyo Electric Power Company nuclear power complex at Fukushima 1 has suffered a new and dangerous leak. The flaw is in the fifth reactor unit, not in one of the four originally wrecked in March 2011 in what might still become the world’s worst nuclear accident. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Saudi Aramco has come up with cost-effective ways to get at its tight gas and is now targeting a competitive price of $2.00 to $3.00 per thousand cubic feet. This is seen as a big blow to the US fracking industry. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The Abbott government’s bid to repeal Australia’s carbon tax has again been defeated in the Senate. It is still widely expected that the Senate will pass it, depending on how negotiations progress, but negotiations are not Abbott’s strong point. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Australians can look forward to more affordable energy bills if they keep developing renewable energy options, according to Giles Parkinson, editor of Renew Economy. He says South Australia and Tasmania may achieve virtually 100% renewables in about 15 years. [ABC Online]

¶   The Deep Decarbonization Pathways report, released by the UN secretary general, says the 15 countries that account for 70% of greenhouse gases, including the US, Britain, and China could cut emissions to nearly nothing by 2050, while also tripling economic output. [The Guardian]

¶   The European Commission said Wednesday it had secured a deal with Germany to allow the country to forge ahead with its ambitious renewable-energy laws, having agreed to some key changes to the legislation. [Wall Street Journal]

US:

¶   Collier County, Florida has taken the state to court charging that state regulators have been lax in their oversight a drilling process called “acid fracking,” jeopardizing public health and the environment of the Everglades region. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Apple on Wednesday published an Environmental Responsibility Report covering fiscal 2014, outlining steps the company has taken to reduce impact on climate change, use green materials in its products and conserve resources. [Apple Insider]

¶   Three Washington utilities have been awarded $14.3 million in matching grants from the state’s Clean Energy Fund to lead energy storage projects with ties to federally funded research at the US DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. [Renew Grid]

¶   Chicago is offering rooftop solar panel installations through the summer at 25% below market rates through a partnership with non-profit Vote Solar. The idea, announced Wednesday, is to jumpstart solar installations in the city. [Chicago Tribune]

Opinion:

¶   The US Northeast has a combination of high electricity prices, large cities with high power demand, an older fleet of fossil fuel generation, and difficulty building new transmission lines. This has led policymakers to develop pro-renewable energy policies, and they’ve worked well. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶   Pathways to Deep Decarbonization, a report prepared by researchers in 15 different countries, looks into what’s needed to achieve sufficient cuts in our carbon emissions. The report finds that current government pledges aren’t sufficient. [Ars Technica]

World:

¶   For the first time, a large fraction of the world’s fossil fuels could be replaced at a lower cost by clean energy, with today’s renewable technologies and prices. And virtually no further investments in fossil fuels make long-term economic sense. [Huffington Post]

¶   A project of Irish utility ESB to develop Ireland’s first wave energy scheme has been awarded €23 million by the European Commission under the EU New Entrant Reserve (NER 300) funding mechanism. The 5-MW scheme should be operational by 2018. [Businessandleadership.com]

¶   The European Commission has awarded €1 billion funding to 19 projects to fight climate change under the second call of the so-called NER 300 funding program. Project funding is from revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System, so polluters are paying for it. [Financial Mirror]

¶   A new partnership between British Gas’s solar division, Generation Community and Social Finance has been formed to build a pipeline of solar PV projects worth £60 million across local government sites in the UK to equip sites such as schools and town halls with solar arrays. [Solar Power Portal]

¶   Alinta Energy, Australia’s largest energy infrastructure company, has reached another milestone with its feasibility study into solar thermal generation. It now has recommended an assessment of stand-alone power tower technology at Port Augusta. [Nassau News Live]

¶   GE announced today that SSE Renewables, the UK’s largest renewable power producer, has picked GE to fill its newest wind farm with turbines. Under the agreement, GE will provide specially designed wind turbines, each of 2.85 MW for a total capacity of 94 MW. [Motley Fool]

¶   The Australian carbon tax may be all but dead, but a global plan for avoiding the worst impacts of climate change has found Australia could overhaul its fossil fuel dependent energy supply and cut emissions to zero by 2050 without trashing its economy. [eco-business.com]

US:

¶   Indiana Michigan Power announced plans on Tuesday to build and operate five emission-free, solar power generating facilities. If approved, the company’s Clean Energy Solar Pilot Project will have a combined capacity of about 16 MW, enough to power 2,500 homes. [Muncie Star Press]

¶   Public Service Company of New Mexico’s latest plan for providing power to half a million customers over the next two decades includes a proposal to add more coal and nuclear power, which is drawing fire from renewable energy and environmental advocates. [Santa Fe New Mexican.com]

¶   New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilitys’ Energy Resiliency Bank is beginning to frame the outlines of a new program to help critical facilities remain up and running in the wake of extreme storms, like Hurricane Sandy. [NJ Spotlight]

¶   GE Energy Financial Services and E.ON Climate and Renewables North America announced Tuesday they are teaming up to build a 211 MW wind farm about 26 miles east of Amarillo that could cost up to $422 million. [Amarillo.com]

¶   Privately held solar financing company Mosaic and Enphase Energy Inc. have formed a partnership to offer residential solar-power loan packages that include system maintenance as part of the deal, the companies said Tuesday. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   Apple recently reached another deal with Claremont, North Carolina to acquire 100 acres of land for a third solar farm. This project will bring more land into the city’s corporate limits as well as bring roughly 75 jobs. [ValueWalk]

¶   Though Kansas’ renewable energy mandates are under attack, a report released by the regulatory Kansas Corporation Commission, says all six of the state’s investor-owned utilities are on track to meet them and source 20% of their mix from renewables by 2020. [Next City]

Opinion:

¶   “Solar has won. Even if coal were free to burn, power stations couldn’t compete” As early as 2018, solar could be economically viable to power big cities. By 2040 over half of all electricity may be generated in the same place it’s used. Centralised, coal-fired power is over. [The Guardian]

¶   “Here’s why the forecast for microgrids looks this sunny” If current policy, technology and pricing trends are any indication, the conditions are clearly in place to facilitate mainstream adoption of microgrids. [GreenBiz.com]

World:

¶   Deutsche Bank AG plans to lend about $1 billion for Japan solar projects, joining Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in funding cleaner energy as the government struggles to restart nuclear power plants after the Fukushima disaster. [Businessweek]

¶   DCH Solargiga, a subsidiary of Chinese solar module manufacturer Solargiga, has signed an agreement to install 200 MW of solar power capacity in Ghana. The agreement was signed with the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Increased generation capacity, high wind speeds, and low electricity demand has pushed the share of electricity generated from renewable energy sources to 19.4% in the UK during the first quarter of 2014, a substantial increase from 12.4% a year earlier. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Farmers, businesses and communities across Cambridgeshire have now invested more than £57 million in renewable energy projects such as wind turbines and rooftop solar installations. They produce 223 MW, enough to  power over 146,000 households. [Cambridge News]

¶   One thing that might get lost amidst the headlines on renewable energy is the fact the coal power is increasing, too. It was the world’s fastest growing fossil fuel last year, according to British Petroleum’s annual energy review. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Indian coal-based power plants are struggling to keep up with daily demand and almost have of them only have enough stocks to last a week, the minister of state for power, coal and new and renewable energy said Monday. [MINING.com]

¶   BNRG Renewables, an Irish-based solar energy group, has raised €918,000 via crowdfunding to refinance two solar farms in Kent, England, each with a capacity of 249 kW, enough to power 82 homes. [Siliconrepublic.com]

¶   The build-out of PV projects planned under South Africa’s flagship renewable energy programme continues with the completion of the 40 MW Linde project in the Northern Cape province. The project is the second utility-scale plant built by Norway’s Scatec Solar. [PV-Tech]

US:

¶   ET Solar Energy Corp, a leading smart energy solutions provider, announced that its high efficiency PV modules will power six utility scale projects throughout the state of North Carolina, with a combined capacity of 24.5 MW. [AZoCleantech]

¶   EDF Renewable Energy announced today that the 161-MW Spinning Spur II Wind Project in Texas has reached commercial operation. The company further announced the close of structured equity financing from GE Energy Financial Services and MUFG Union Bank. [AZoCleantech]

¶   The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative. a local Hawaiian cooperative utility, is surging toward 40% renewable energy in the next year, with a third of that total from customer-generated solar. Half its daytime energy will come from solar arrays by the end of 2015. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Maine’s two largest utilities have agreed to jointly develop electric transmission projects to enhance the strength and capacity of the state’s bulk power grid and improve access for new generation resources. [IT Business Net]

Opinion:

¶   “Votes Show Strong Support for Colorado Energy, Rejection of Anti-Fracking Activism” A pro-fracking author writes that the political atmosphere in Colorado supports development of natural gas and oil resources, even if it is fracked. [Energy Collective]

¶   “Give It Up, ‘Skeptics’ — America Is No Longer Debating Climate Change” This week, the Heartland Institute is holding a conference on climate change in Las Vegas, which they’ve dubbed “the biggest gathering of global warming skeptics in the world.” [VICE News]

World:

¶   The UK could save £12.1 billion a year through to 2050 by shifting the focus of its energy policy towards delivering greener buildings that consume less energy and are capable of generating their own heat and power, according to a new report. [Business Green]

¶   Australia is expected to spend some $55 billion on new electricity generation over the next decade and a half, but two thirds of this will be in the form of solar technology, and nearly half in rooftop solar PV, according to a Bloomberg New Energy Finance forecast. [Echonetdaily]

¶   Over 150 companies have called on the Prime Minister to back the UK’s solar industry. A letter signed by outfits including Triodos Bank, Ecotricity, Kyocera and Good Energy was delivered as DECC closed its consultation on proposed changes to support for solar power. [reNews]

¶   Solar Reserve, one of the world’s most advanced solar power companies has shelved plans to develop electricity plants for the public market in Australia because of the Government’s apparent hostility to renewable energy. [ABC Online]

¶   IBM announced an agreement on Monday with the city of Beijing to use advanced weather forecasting and cloud computing technologies to help tackle the Chinese capital’s persistent smog. [New York Times]

¶   The UK government will share new technologies in clean and renewable energy to help India in addressing climate change in a way that its growth will not be affected, according to a British government minister. [eco-business.com]

¶   Green energy developers in Northern Ireland welcome plans to keep wind power subsidies steady until at least 2017, although solar PV installations face support cuts, reflecting changes in technology costs and a need to ensure value for money for taxpayers. [Business Green]

¶   Siemens Energy has reached the significant milestone of 10 GW of installed wind power capacity in the Americas. Siemens has installed more than 5,600 wind turbines in Canada, the USA and South America, including Peru, Chile and Brazil. [Yahoo Finance UK]

US:

¶   After examining the publicly available compliance records of more than 41,000 wells in northeastern Pennsylvania, the Cornell-led researchers reported that 40% of the oil and gas wells in parts of the Marcellus shale region will probably leak methane into the atmosphere. [Energy Collective]

¶   A 150 kW solar orchard powering Vermont’s Woodchuck Hard Cider won two honors at a national solar show. The project was a “Project of Distinction” finalist and won “Project of Distinction 2014 Fan Favorite” at the PV America event in Boston. [vtdigger.org]

¶   Dominion Resources Inc, owner of the closed Kewaunee nuclear plant, has accelerated plans to remove and encase the spent fuel to address concerns raised by members of the local community, according to a company spokesman. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

Opinion:

¶   “As a Solution for Climate Change – Nuclear Power is Falling Behind” A proponent of nuclear power considers why nuclear power is not expanding in a way that is even remotely like that of wind, solar, and other renewable power sources. [Energy Collective]

Science and Technology:

¶   UK researchers today announced what they believe to be a game changer in the use of hydrogen as a “green” fuel, by using ammonia as a clean and secure hydrogen-containing energy source to produce hydrogen on-demand in situ. [phys.org]

World:

¶   In Australia, the combination of low demand and strong output from the Queensland’s 1.1 GW of rooftop solar helped send the state’s electricity prices into negative territory on Wednesday – in the middle of the day, when demand is usually the highest, and prices too. [CleanTechnica]

¶   In India, coal scams during the tenure of the “previous government” adversely impacted the availability of coal forcing the power generation projects with collective capacity of 65,000 MW being shut in the country, according to Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal. [indiatvnews.com]

¶   While the cost of solar energy is declining, the number of people harnessing the sun’s energy in Alberta is on the rise. Over the past three years in Edmonton alone, the amount of solar energy generated in Edmonton has increased by about 16 times. [CBC.ca]

¶   Due to frequent power cuts in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, traffic has become un-manageable in the city, so the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board plans to install solar energy panels to keep traffic signals running during long power cuts, at a cost of $1 million. [Mizo News]

¶   Indian Railways is planning to generate 1 MW solar power at the New Delhi railway station by installing solar panels on the platform roofs. The power project is a part of the Railways’ initiative to convert some of its stations into ‘green buildings’. [The Hindu]

US:

¶   The American Council On Renewable Energy released the results of its “Business Leaders Opinion Polling.” It showed broad support for renewables in all areas , with 78% of business leaders saying renewable energy technologies are a real growth opportunity for the economy. [Electric Light & Power]

¶   Consumers Energy will build three acres of solar arrays on two Flint-area General Motors plants this summer as part of both companies’ efforts to boost renewable energy. The solar arrays will generate an estimated 400,000 kWh of power per year. [Bay City Times]

¶   A solar array in North Brookfield, Massachusetts will provide all of the power for a vocational school in Andover. The 3.6-MW solar energy system will provide 100% of the electricity for Greater Lawrence Technical High School of Andover. [Worcester Telegram]

¶   School division officials in Chesapeake, Virginia hope to have the turbine running by the end of July near the Grassfield High School athletic complex. They anticipate that it will help power the concession area at the football stadium and reduce the division’s energy bill. [The Virginian-Pilot]

¶   New England’s electricity supply is in peril. Natural gas power plants alone produced 46% of the region’s power in 2013, up from 15% in 2000. But in recent years, natural gas has come at an ever-increasing price, with little chance of improvement over 3 to 4 years. [Seacoastonline.com]

World:

¶   Whether it is in reaction to international trade conflicts, booming local demand for solar, or the firm belief that solar PV will soon be a dominant player in the energy market, recent company announcements highlight the great promise that solar manufacturing holds. [Renewable Energy World]

¶   The Abu Dhabi Environment Agency has called on Arab Gulf states to shift their focus to solar and other renewable energy when considering power for desalination to combat rising prices of fossil fuels and growing needs for potable water. [desalination.biz]

¶   A memorandum of understanding signed this past week sets up an agreement between British Columbian First Nations and the Clean Energy Association of BC to cooperate in developing British Columbia’s renewable sector, including hydroelectric power. [Canada First Perspective]

¶   Canada-based Windiga Energy is set expand its footprint across the sub-Saharan region with what would be the largest solar PV project of its kind in the region. The company intends to commission a 20 MW solar PV project in Burkina Faso by December 2015. [CleanTechnica]

¶   In Australia, a group of 25 Coalition MPs signed a petition calling for the renewable energy target to be diluted. Interestingly, most of those who signed it didn’t want their names to become public, which is almost unheard of for political petitions. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Renova Energia SA, a Brazilian renewable energy company, received approval to start a 294.4 MW project in the northeastern state of Bahia, two years behind schedule after a delay in making grid connections. [Businessweek]

¶   The UK government will tender for backup energy generation equivalent to 80% of peak time use as part of the first capacity market auction, intended to guarantee power production in 2018/19, the energy secretary has confirmed. [Out-Law.com]

¶   Kazakhstan has started the construction of the country’s first industrial wind park in Yereimentau. The capacity of the wind farm will be equal to 45 MW, which is likely to be expanded to 300 MW in the future. [AzerNews]

US:

¶   A series of recent industry announcements is pouring cold water on the argument that tar sands development will happen at the same pace and scale with or without major infrastructure projects like Keystone XL. [Energy Collective]

¶   More than 230 earthquakes of magnitude greater than 3.0 have shaken Oklahoma already this year. Before 2008 the state averaged one such quake a year. A study published today in Science explains how wastewater from fracking processes may be to blame. [Scientific American]

¶   Over the past month Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Vermont have all either established climate adaptation laws or created long-term plans to tackle the increasing impacts of climate change. [CleanTechnica]

¶   President Obama recently asked developing countries to forgo the use of coal when building their economies and concentrate on developing “renewable” energy sources. While not naming names. the president’s message was clearly aimed at China and India. [American Thinker]

¶   JEA, the utility for Jacksonville, Florida, is considering how to reduce carbon emissions. Since Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro, Georgia, is scheduled to go online in 2017, JEA is considering increasing its reliance on nuclear power. [Jacksonville Daily Record]

¶   Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant will be allowed to continue discharging millions of gallons of heated water into the Connecticut River until the plant shuts down later this year, despite owner Entergy Nuclear relying on “flawed science,” a draft state permit stated. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

Science and Technology:

¶   Two important studies recently released on the economic costs of climate change show us the very high costs of continuing on our current carbon pollution trajectory. One is from the Risky Business Project, the other from top climate economists Simon Dietz and Nicholas Stern. [Energy Collective]

¶   The EPA has just given the thumbs-up to a genetically modified bacterium from the company Joule, which brings us one giant step closer to next generation biofuels made from sunlight and carbon dioxide. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Aston Martin recently announced a partnership with the Hanergy Global Solar Power & Applications Group that will fit solar panels on the roof of the Vantage GTE racing in the World Endurance Championship. [SmartMeters]

World:

¶   Northern Ireland has confirmed support levels for small-scale wind energy projects will remain unchanged until at least 2017. The decision follows a year-long review by Northern Ireland’s Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Investment. [reNews]

¶   A 50 MW solar PV project, led by India’s National Hydro Power Corporation, is to be constructed in the southern state of Kerala and floated on one of its lakes. The project is expected to cost $64-72 million and the first pilot is scheduled to begin work in October. [Blue & Green Tomorrow]

¶   Canadian Solar Inc. has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Canadian Solar Solutions Inc., has entered into an Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract with Kinston Solar LP for the construction of 140 MW solar PV farm located in Ontario, Canada. [CleanTechnica]

¶   In the UK, onsite generation of power through renewable sources, including solar PV and anaerobic digestion, has increased by more than 25%, with the manufacturing sector leading the way. There have been 38 new schemes commissioned since last year. [Greenwise Business]

¶   TEPCO expected to restart two nuclear reactors at Kashiwazaki in July, though critics have said the goal was unrealistic. Four sources with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters the restart would be postponed. One source said the restart could be delayed by a year. [Investing.com]

US:

¶   The US DOE announced a new $4 billion loan guarantee program to support renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. The program is geared specifically for projects that avoid, reduce or store greenhouse gases and prevent their release into the atmosphere. [FuelFix]

¶   The US DOE has included energy storage projects in a $4 billion loan guarantee programme announced yesterday. The programme is intended to help support new renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in the US that help to mitigate greenhouse gases. [PV-Tech Storage]

¶   Historically, distributed generation has largely been limited to a handful of progressive states. But as solar power gains presence and storage prices go down, microgrids are expanding into new territory. [Energy Collective]

¶   The leading residential solar installer in the US, SolarCity Corp., along with privately held SunRun Inc., has filed a lawsuit against Arizona Department of Revenue as the state decided to impose property tax over leased solar panels. [NASDAQ]

¶   North Dakota regulators have given a green light to Infinity Wind Power’s 110-MW Sunflower project. The state Public Service Commission voted unanimously to issue a certificate of site compatibility for the up to 59-turbine scheme in Stark and Morton counties. [reNews]

Disruption and Transformation:

¶   A new book by Stanford University’s Tony Seba, Clean Disruption of Energy and Transportation, has a dramatic prognosis: Silicon Valley will make oil, nuclear, natural gas, coal, electric utilities and conventional cars obsolete by 2030. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Adnan Z. Amin, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency and initiator of a series of world conferences on off-grid and minigrid electrification, sees our world on the cusp of unprecedented energy transformation. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶   Despite five months of below-average temperatures and twice the normal of snowfall, when the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Net-Zero Energy Residential Test Facility ended its one-year test run, it had produced 491 kWh more than it used. [ScienceDaily]

World:

¶   The latest word from Renewable Energy Network for the 21st Century is that renewable energy has continued to expand across the globe in 2013, increasing by more than eight percent and meeting almost one-fifth of the worlds final energy consumption. [Business Recorder]

¶   Alinta Energy has chosen a stand-alone concentrating solar power plant that could cost as much as $796 million as its preferred option for Port Augusta, South Australia. This is a conclusion of a feasibility study on a new a plant where it owns ageing coal-fired generators. [Courier Mail]

¶   Japan’s Kyocera Corporation has exceeded the 5-GW milestone in accumulated production of solar modules. Since the company began producing solar modules in 1975, they have now produced enough to supply individual 3.5 kW PV systems for more than 1.4 million homes. [EcoSeed]

¶   India-based wind turbine manufacturer Suzlon Group has received a green light from CLP India to proceed with a 100.8-MW wind power project at Tejuva in Rajasthan. The wind project will utilize 48 units of Suzlon’s S97-2.1 MW wind turbines. [EcoSeed]

¶   The rising international price of natural gas is causing electricity providers to return to coal-fired power. Power companies are taking advantage of the export gas price, making more money by selling their gas rather than burning it. [ABC Online]

¶   Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority could give de facto approval for the restart of Kyushu Electric’s Nos. 1 and 2 reactors at its Sendai plant in southern Japan as soon as July 9, the Sankei newspaper reported without attribution. [Businessweek]

US:

¶   The United States will hold a commercial lease auction on 19 August 2014 for the up to 1.45-GW Maryland wind energy area, the county’s third such sale for offshore wind development. [reNews]

¶   The US EPA expanded the types of fuel that can be used to satisfy the federal biofuel mandate. The plan allows compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas produced using biogas [i.e., not fossil fuels] to qualify as cellulosic biofuel. [Reuters]

¶   When it comes to the urgent need to cut carbon pollution and address climate change, businesses and business-minded lawmakers in the Heartland get it. What they realize is this: Cutting carbon pollution is good for both the environment and the economy. [Huffington Post]

¶   San Diego-based EDF Renewable Energy Inc. entered into a 20-year power purchase agreement with KCP&L parent Great Plains Energy Inc. for the 150-MW Slate Creek Wind Project in Kansas. [Kansas City Business Journal]

¶   Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems received 740 megawatts worth of new orders in the last several days, with its machines destined to generate electricity at wind farms in Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico, and North Dakota. [Denver Business Journal]

¶   Portland General Electric hit two high notes in the latest assessment by the US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The Portland-based utility has signed up more customers for renewable energy and sells more renewable energy than any other utility. [Portland Business Journal]

World:

¶   South Africa just crossed 500 MW in installed solar capacity, entering the list of top 10 countries in terms of solar power capacity. The milestone was reached after four utility-scale solar power projects were commissioned in South Africa in May this year. [CleanTechnica]

¶   India’s plans for a major ramp-up in solar power are on hold after a proposal to impose anti-dumping duties on equipment from overseas has led developers to say proposed projects would become unprofitable. [Wall Street Journal]

¶   The UK has installed 1.47 GW of solar PVs so far in 2014, according to the latest report from solar market analyst, NPD Solarbuzz. This is more than the estimated the record 1.2 GW of solar installed in the UK throughout all of 2013. [Solar Power Portal]

¶   As Prime Minister Tony Abbott again attacked renewables for their presumed impact on consumer bills, wholesale energy prices in Queensland have slumped to unprecedented lows as rooftop solar continues to boom in that state. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Two Norwegian state-controlled energy companies are in line to receive £1.6 billion in subsidies from UK consumers, after deciding to invest £1.5 billion in building a wind farm off the coast of Norfolk. [Telegraph.co.uk]

¶   Bloomberg New Energy Finance foresee that by 2030 the world’s power mix will have transformed to one with over half from zero-emission energy sources, saying, “Economics – rather than policy – will increasingly drive the uptake of renewable technologies.” [Business Spectator]

¶   New independent renewable projects in Scotland have seen a 50% increase in a year, and now produce enough energy to power one million homes, according to a new report. More than £66 million was invested in independent schemes. [Scotsman]

¶   President Hassan Rouhani’s government has quintupled its spending on solar power projects in the last year. While being good for the environment, the panels also offer rural Iran steady power amid uncertainty over the country’s contested nuclear program. [Greenfield Daily Reporter]

¶   The German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern generates 120% of its electricity from renewable sources, according to a new publication. Reportedly, there are over 1600 wind turbines in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, which is also a top tourist destination. [CleanTechnica]

¶   EU member states are not obliged to pay renewable energy subsidies to foreign suppliers, the European Court of Justice has decided in a case involving Sweden. EU member states that limit supports to within their borders do not need to overhaul their renewable energy policy. [E&T magazine]

US:

¶   Entergy Corp., which owns the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, has asked for permission to build a second concrete pad on which to store spent-fuel casks after the plant closes at the end of the year. The plant has one pad, and the second could be completed by 2017. [Businessweek]

¶   After studying production data from 65,000 wells from 31 different unconventional shale rock formations in 2012, geologist David Hughes predicted big trouble ahead for North America’s unconventional hydrocarbon revolution. [Resilience]

¶   Quad County Corn Processors beat DuPont and Poet to produce the state’s first-ever gallon of commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol. The Iowa company plans to quickly scale-up so that it’s producing about 2 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol a year. [DesMoinesRegister.com]

¶   The Department of Energy issued a $150 million loan guarantee to support construction of the Cape Wind offshore wind energy project. Cape Wind is to have a capacity of more than 360 MW of clean energy off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. [Utility Products]

World:

¶   ACIL Allen, the modellers hired for the Australian government’s review of the Renewable Energy Target (RET), suggest that the uptake of rooftop solar will be more without the RET because customers would pay higher electricity bills. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The next decade and a half will see renewable energy raise its share of European electricity generation capacity from 40% in 2012, to 60% in 2030, while the share of fossil-fuel sources such as coal and gas falls from 48% to 27%, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. [Nanowerk]

¶   A new report from Bloomberg News Energy Finance has revealed that the electricity generation capacity in the Americas is due for a big boost in the near future. The Americas will add 943 GW of capacity by 2030 – with 522 GW added to the US. [PV-Tech]

¶   In Taiwan, in an effort to conserve energy and reduce environmental impact, an Energy Bureau initiative allowing businesses and households to voluntarily purchase “green power” sourced form renewable sources will commence today. [China Post]

¶   The United States is helping Chile build a major solar power plant in the Atacama Desert, US President Barack Obama said in his meeting with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. The $230 million in backing will come from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. [Jacaranda FM]

¶   Canadian Solar Inc. has announced signing a sales contract to supply 12.6 MW of PV modules to Kayseri Organized Industry Zone and a consortium of companies in the zone, for a solar power project located in Kayseri, Turkey. [Your Renewable News]

¶   Bertrand Piccard, a Swiss psychiatrist-turned-adventurer who circumnavigated the globe in a hot air balloon, now wants to become the first to do it in a solar-powered aircraft. He believes Solar Impulse 2 can promote renewables over nuclear and fossil fuels. [The Japan Times]

US:

¶   New York’s cities and towns can block hydraulic fracturing within their borders, the state’s highest court ruled, dealing a blow to an industry awaiting Governor Andrew Cuomo’s decision on whether to lift a six-year-old statewide moratorium. [Bloomberg]

¶   Georgia currently gets most of its electricity from coal, followed closely by nuclear and natural gas. The EPA’s plan calls for cutting dependence on coal, and many in the state believe this should be done by boosting the share of power from nuclear and gas. [Businessweek]

¶   Governor Pat Quinn today signed legislation to promote the purchase of solar-produced electricity in Illinois. The law requires that a special existing fund be used to purchase solar power and emphasizes the development of distributed solar generation. [RenewablesBiz]

¶   Several research studies have shown that renewable energy could wind up saving US consumers tens of billions of dollars. Two of them found that $26.7 billion a year could be saved in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain states. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The city of Burlington, Vermont now owns a full half of the second-largest power plant in the state. The city just completed payments on a 30-year bond for its stake in the 50 megawatt McNeil generating station, which burns wood chips to generate electricity. [Vermont Public Radio]

¶   As a result of ongoing drought, each of the Hoover Dam’s 17 generating units was derated in June. The total nameplate capacity of 2,074 megawatts has been reduced to a current capacity of 1,592 MW and is projected to decline later this year. [Environment & Energy Publishing]

Science and Technology:

¶    The International Energy Agency’s Renewable Energy Technology Deployment issued a new report looking at how policymakers and regulators may react to the surge in residential prosumers, a trend currently pushed by solar PV and, possibly soon, battery storage. [Energy Collective]

World:

¶   The UK government has finalised plans to procure 53.3 GW of electricity generating capacity via its new capacity market auction mechanism. The 53.3 GW figure equates to some 80% of peak electricity use in the UK today. [reNews] (We will surely hear more on this.)

¶   EU officials look at Belgium as an example for cooperative energy projects, as the 28-country bloc looks to de-carbonize and gain more energy independence. The European Commission estimates that the EU spent €1 billion per day last year on energy imports. [EurActiv]

¶   At one kilometre high, the taller of two new towers to be built in the city of Wuhan in China will be the world’s tallest, but both are also environmentally friendly. They will clean the water and air around them while generating sustainable power for neighbouring buildings. [ScienceAlert]

¶   The Ontario Environment Ministry is giving the green light to a $380-million wind farm that will add 40 turbines in a 16-kilometre corridor along Lake Huron. Most of the turbines will be about a kilometre inland from the beaches, but that is too close for some residents. [St. Thomas Times-Journal]

¶   A £6 million large-scale solar farm in Northern Ireland has been given the green light. Northern Ireland’s Environment Minister announced planning approval for the project in Crumlin, with an installed capacity of 6.5 MW, enough for more than 1,600 homes. [Energy Live News]

¶   The UK Government has given consent to go ahead with the East Anglia One offshore wind farm. It is scheduled to install up to 240 wind turbines and will generate enough electricity to power approximately 820,000 homes. [SmartMeters]

¶   The government of India’s northern state of Haryana is implementing an energy conservation policy making solar power generation mandatory for certain buildings and areas. The move could create 200 MW of power and avoid significant CO2 emissions. [SmartMeters]

¶   UK plans to drive investment in a new fleet of nuclear power stations took a step forward today after Toshiba and GDF Suez inked a deal to build three new reactors on the West Cumbria coast by 2024. [Business Green]

US:

¶   The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has rejected a nearly two-fold increase in fixed charges for CenterPoint Energy Resource’s residential customers, and ordered a mechanism – decoupling – for the gas utility that’s aimed at encouraging more energy savings. [Energy Collective]

¶   The new 600-kW Storms Hog Farm biogas plant in North Carolina has passed its proof-of-concept stage, leaving the field wide open to build even bigger hog manure biogas plants in the state. With a hog population of 10 million, that could add up to quite a bit of biogas. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The Consumer Electronics Association issued a new report on the amount of electricity used by US consumer electronics and the good news is that it’s finally begun to come down. But the total is still enormous, equal to the output of over 50 large polluting power plants. [Energy Collective]

¶   EDF Renewable Energy has awarded two contracts to Vestas to support the 150 MW Slate Creek Wind Project in Kansas with 75 wind turbines of 2 MW each, and the 300 MW Roosevelt Wind Project in New Mexico with an additional 150, also of 2 MW. [Energy Business Review]

¶   Without the economic relief, five of New Jersey’s county landfill projects are in jeopardy of closing this year, according to a lobbyist representing the facilities. They include projects in Warren, Sussex, Burlington, Atlantic, and Salem counties. [NJ Spotlight]

¶   In Vermont, the Washington Electric Co-op is proposing changes to their net metering program. They propose to add a fixed customer charge and a new grid service fee based on the amount of power the net metering member generates. [vtdigger.org]

Opinion:

¶   “How Opposite Energy Policies Turned The Fukushima Disaster Into A Loss For Japan And A Win For Germany” Japan has nine times Germany’s renewable energy resources but makes about nine times less of its electricity from new renewables than Germany does. [Forbes]

Science and Technology:

¶   Microgrids are attractive to universities, hospitals and military installations aiming to protect their critical loads. They are also attractive to communities looking to survive the next storm, a dynamic spurring development of a new, potentially controversial grid model. [Scientific American]

¶   Interest in microgrids has soared as America’s aging infrastructure has fallen behind. Unlike diesel generators for emergency power, modern microgrids frequently integrate batteries with multiple sources of power, including solar panels, wind turbines and fuel cells. [Leader-Telegram]

World:

¶   In the past, renewable power needed incentives. In Germany, however, the energy market is on the cusp of evolving to the next step: An era in which the sun and the wind replace fossil fuels through the sheer, unstoppable force of the market. [Engadget]

¶   Germany is headed for its biggest electricity glut since 2011 as new coal-fired plants start and generation of wind and solar energy increases, weighing on power prices that have already dropped for three years. [SteelGuru]

¶   The Indian government is working towards forming a nuclear insurance pool to cover the nuclear facilities, involving state-owned General Insurance Company and New India Insurance. [Indian Express]

US:

¶   Given the options to adapt or to die, a number of US utilities seem to have chosen a third way – Fight – as captured in a map from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. A total of 19 states have legislative or regulatory assaults on net metering or distributed solar underway. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Risky Business, an organization founded by Tom Steyer, Hank Paulson, and Michael Bloomberg, three business giants, released a report detailing the extraordinary risks that climate change poses to the nation’s economy and to the future business climate in the US. [Energy Collective]

¶    With rapidly growing utility-scale solar capacity, the California Independent System Operator has regularly recorded new hourly output records going back to 2010 when it first began publishing the daily data. [Energy Collective]

¶   Rocky Mountain Power struck a deal with Boston-based First Wind agreeing to purchase 320 MW of solar power over twenty years from four solar facilities in Beaver and Iron counties in Utah. Solar was chosen over other alternatives on the basis of price. [CleanTechnica]

¶   At 8:48 p.m. on March 26, wind generation on the electric grid covering most of the state of Texas reached a new instantaneous peak output of 10,296 MW. At that moment, wind supplied almost 29% of total electricity load, according to the grid’s operator. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Deepwater Wind is beginning construction of a demonstration project to power Block Island. They have a lease on 256 square miles of federal lands 30 miles off the coast of Montauk, where they plan to start with 35 6-megawatt turbines to tie in to Long Island’s electric grid. [East End Beacon]

Opinion:

¶   “Eric Pickles’ war on wind farms could blow UK renewable energy targets” The UK Government’s self-declared war on onshore wind farms will make it very difficult for the UK to meet its EU renewable energy targets, especially as it cuts support for solar PV. [The Ecologist]

¶   “Mo. experience epitomizes quandary for nuclear projects” For people who might want nuclear development in Missouri, there is an obstacle: how to finance it in an era of cheap gas, increasing energy efficiency and renewable energy penetration, and no demand growth. [Environment & Energy Publishing]

World:

¶   An important new World Bank report concludes that just a few key policies aimed at cutting carbon pollution would boost the global economy, with an estimated GDP growth of between $1.8 trillion and $2.6 trillion. [Energy Collective]

¶   First Solar has received vital board approvals for $290 million of financing to support construction of the 141 MW Luz del Norte solar power plant in Chile. The plant is said to be the largest of its kind in Latin America. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶   German lawmakers adopted a law on Friday to reduce renewable energy subsidies as the government seeks to keep its green “energy transformation” on track, curb rising prices and fight nagging criticism. [Yahoo News]

¶   Centre for Science and Environment, a Delhi-based think tank, proposed a model based on mini-grids to eradicate energy poverty in India and claimed that their model would ensure at least 12 hours of electricity to every household per day especially in the rural areas. [Economic Times]

¶   EDF Energies Nouvelles has ordered 24 Vestas V90-3.0MW turbines and eight V80-2.0MW turbines with an option for an additional two V90’s and one V80. The total potential capacity of the French utility’s project, the location and nature of which yet unknown, could be 96 MW. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶   An Aberdeen-based renewable energy firm has submitted a planning application to create Scotland’s first solar energy park in Angus. The solar park proposal would operate with a capacity of 9.5 MW, which would provide enough electricity to power 2,500 homes. [Scottish Daily Record]

US:

¶   Curtailments of wind generation on the Texas electric grid have steadily dropped since 2011 as more than 3,500 miles of transmission lines have been built, largely as a result of the state’s Competitive Renewable Energy Zones program. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Illinois Governor Pat Quinn said he will sign legislation Saturday to free up $30 million for the purchase of solar energy for the stat’s electricity customers, a move expected to help the state catch up on its lagging renewable energy goals. [Chicago Tribune]

¶   The revelation this week that New England state administrators met in closed-door sessions with energy business leaders to craft a plan for billions of dollars of natural gas pipeline development to be passed onto utility ratepayers is raising questions among area lawmakers. [The Recorder]

¶   During the year’s first four months, renewables provided 14.05% of all electricity nationwide. Wind power grew past the 5% threshold, to 5.15% of US electricity production, and solar increased 108.9% from last year. But carbon emissions are growing too. [Justmeans]

¶   The Sierra Club filed a lawsuit Friday challenging Kansas’ latest move to allow construction of a $2.8 billion coal-fired power plant, partly because the state wouldn’t regulate the plant’s greenhouse gas emissions. [Kansas City Star]

¶   The official ribbon cutting ceremony has taken place at the Storms Hog Power facility at the Storms Hog Farm near Bladenboro, North Carolina. The 600 kW facility is North Carolina’s largest swine waste-to-energy system operating. [MRO]

¶   This past week, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator revealed modeling details for a future electricity supply with more renewable energy, less coal, and 23% less CO2 with only a 1% increase in generation costs over 25 years. [The Equation: Blog of the Union of Concerned Scientists]

World:

¶   In Britain, nearly a fifth of all electricity was generated by windfarms or other green technologies in the first three months of the year, according to new statistics released by the Department of Energy and Climate change. In the same period last year, it was about 12%. [edie.net]

¶   New Government figures published on June 26th, 2014 reveal that compared to this time last year solar PV generation is up 77%, according to the British Solar Trade Association. Government now plans to end support for PV plants above 5 MW. [solarserver.com]

¶   Utilities in Queensland are looking to limit and even stop households exporting excess electricity back into the grid from their rooftop solar panels, in a move that other Australian network operators are expected to follow. [RenewEconomy]

¶   China’s renewable energy capacity increased from 27.8 GW in 2001 to 183 GW in 2013, and alternative sources are expected to account for more than 20% of the country’s total electricity generation by 2020, says research and consulting firm GlobalData. [Business Spectator]

¶   Dublin Airport has struck a deal with the ESB which will lead to energy consumption at the airport being cut by almost a third. The Dublin Airport Authority aims to reduce its energy consumption by 33% by 2020. [Irish Independent]

¶   Britain’s energy ministry awarded too much in subsidies to eight renewable energy projects in April – £16.6 billion in total – meaning that consumers will pay over the odds for the electricity the projects produce, a parliamentary watchdog said. [Reuters]

¶   Germany’s Bundestag is expected to pass reforms to its laws supporting renewable energy, ending a week of dispute with the EU over the government’s plan to have German consumers pay a surcharge to finance renewable energy while heavy industry is exempt. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶   Proposals to end or reduce nuclear power generation were submitted to general shareholders’ meetings at nine Japanese power companies on Thursday, but all were rejected as the utilities plan to restart idled reactors in step with government policy. [The Japan News]

¶   Alstom is to supply PGE Energia Odnawialna 30 ECO 110 3-MW turbines for the 90-MW Lotnisko wind farm in Kopaniewo in Poland. The €80 million deal is the first wind power project by Alstom in the country and should be commissioned at the end of 2015.  [reNews]

US:

¶   Michigan Public Service Commission staff released the first draft of a report from the commission’s Solar Working Group offering scenarios in which the state’s two largest investor-owned utilities could expand their solar programs without a spike in customers’ monthly bills. [Greentech Media]

¶   The Fish and Wildlife Service expects to grant a permit to the Shiloh IV Wind Project near Rio Vista, California within 30 days that would allow for the deaths of five golden or bald eagles over a five-year period without penalty. [CNN]

¶   The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and General Motors are partnering on a joint effort to speed up the reduction of automotive fuel cell stack costs through fuel cell material and manufacturing R&D. [Daily Fusion]

¶   Leading waste technology management firm, Covanta Holding Corporation (CVA – Snapshot Report) has entered into a 5-year contract with the City of Boston to provide sustainable waste disposal services. The agreement will start from Jul 1, 2014. [Zacks.com]

Opinion:

¶   “Explainer: did Clive Palmer just save the planet?” Australian kingmaker Clive Palmer has saved the furniture on climate policy, in a bizarre press conference with Al Gore. Spin and media fiction aside, here’s an explanation of what Palmer’s announcement means. [Crikey]

Science and Technology:

¶   New organic, non-toxic, water-based batteries that last five times longer than their lithium counterparts have been developed. Created by researchers at the University of Southern California, the batteries would also be much cheaper than lithium batteries. [The Conversation]

World:

¶   Royal Dutch Shell has blamed air strikes by the government in Kiev against its own citizens in southern Ukraine as the reason it decided to declare a halt to its shale oil projects in the region. But the company was already looking for a way out of fracking in the area. [Energy Collective]

¶   Windsor, Ontario will pocket millions simply by leasing airport lands, that would otherwise remain untouched, to global technology behemoth Samsung for construction of a  400-acre solar-panel facility with a capacity of 50 MW, built on unused airport land. [Windsor Star]

¶   German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Wednesday he will introduce a market for spare power capacity which will help keep loss-making coal- and gas-fired power stations stay open on standby for when wind and solar plants are not producing. [Business Spectator]

¶   Chatham-Kent is now home to the largest wind farm in all of Canada. The farm utilizes 124 Siemens 2.3 MW wind turbines, which are estimated to produce renewable energy for up to 100,000 local homes. [CTV News]

¶   German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday she would push back decisively against the European Commission if it raised further objections to Germany’s system of green power subsidies. [Reuters]

¶   Furious shareholders of TEPCO, the company that runs Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear power station, joined campaigners today to demand the permanent closure of the utility’s atomic plants as it held its annual meeting. [Economic Times]

US:

¶   Senators Corker (R-TN) and Murphy (D-CT) are backing a 12-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax increase to shore up the nation’s highway trust fund, and getting praised for it to boot, as federal outlays supporting roads are outpacing exceed revenues. [Energy Collective]

¶   Rhode Island currently has the capacity to deliver 21.65 MW of solar power. Newly passed legislation, which Gov. Lincoln Chafee is expected to sign, would expand this capacity to roughly 200 MW. [The Providence Journal]

¶   Fuel producers are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a challenge to California’s landmark low carbon fuel standard, the first of a series of cases seeking to roll back state renewable energy laws around the country. [Reuters]

¶   Colorado energy company SunShare has sold out the nation’s largest privately developed and subscribed Community Solar Garden. Having over 10,000 solar panels, it can power over 500 average Colorado homes. Construction will begin in the fall. [RenewablesBiz]

¶   8minutenergy Renewables, LLC has reached an agreement on a 27-year contract with the City of Palo Alto Utilities that would sell 25 MW of power generated from the PV developer’s Hayworth Solar Farm in Kern County, California to the city of Palo Alto. [PV-Tech]

¶   An 80 MW Solar Farm in North Carolina has received final approvals from Duke Energy. Innovative Solar 37, LLC is the solar farm project located in the middle of the state that will supply enough electricity to the grid to power approximately 20,000 average size homes. [PR Web]

¶   The use of executive powers to regulate greenhouse gas emissions has been reaffirmed by the US Supreme Court in a ruling issued on Monday. This suggests President Obama’s climate policy has solid legal foundations. [Carbon Brief]

Opinion:

¶   “Where The US Got Its Oil in 2013” As events in Iraq continue to unfold, many people have asked about just how much oil the US imports from Iraq. The author has tabulated a list of the top 10 sources of crude oil imports for the US for 2013. [Energy Trends Insider]

Science and Technology:

¶   Several developments in the power sector, including growth in smart meters and variable renewable generation, have created an environment conducive to virtual power plants, which Navigant Research expects to be worth $5.3 billion in 2023. [Virtual-Strategy Magazine]

World:

¶   Clive Palmer, member of Parliament from Melbourne, will demand that households benefit from a move to repeal the carbon tax, while the government’s plans to scrap the renewable energy target and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation have been thrown into doubt. [Brisbane Times]

¶   Alten LLC announced it had successfully bid on the capacity allocation tender organized by Russian energy regulator Sovet Rynka to build a 51 MW wind park scheduled to launch in 2015. It will be Russia’s first large-scale wind plant. [Prague Post]

¶   Total wind energy supplied to the states of NSW, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria reached a record 2598 MW at 10:30 pm according to National Electricity Market data analysed by Pitt & Sherry. That supply met 14.9% of total demand. [Sydney Morning Herald]

¶   The number of large-scale solar parks in Wales is set to double, with rural west Wales increasingly being targeted. Eighteen schemes greater than 5 MW are already in operation, with 34 projects in planning or being built, according to website Solarbuzz. [BBC News]

¶   State governments in Australia provided $17.6 billion in subsidies to the minerals and fossil fuel industries over a six-year period, according to a report by The Australia Institute. This figure does not include significant federal government support and subsidies. [Business Green]

¶   Vega Biofuels has entered into an agreement with Austrian based, ECEM Salzburg Energy and Environment Consulting GmbH to sell 50,000 tons of Bio-Coal each year for the next five years. The five year deal will generate approximately $57 million in revenue to Vega. [Baystreet.ca]

¶   The Czech Republic is the world’s fifth biggest power exporter, but fears in Prague are that the rise of renewable energy in the coming decades will cause a fall in prices. They suggest output reductions from coal and postponement of new nuclear power stations. [Radio Prague]

US:

¶   The state of New Hampshire lags behind many New England states in energy-efficiency measures, investment in grid modernization, zero-emission vehicles and in other areas, but a proposed 10-year state energy plan hopes to address many of these issues. [Seacoastonline.com]

¶   Some leaders in the GOP and the industry have backed away from the initial relentless criticism of the EPA’s proposed carbon rule. Michigan and New Jersey provide two among other examples. [Great Lakes Echo]

¶   The vast majority of Vermonters want to use less fossil fuel for their energy needs, but the cost to reduce one’s carbon footprint is a perceived challenge, according to a survey the Energy Action Network released last week. [vtdigger.org]

¶   The owner of a planned trash-burning power plant in Delaware faces millions of dollars in fines and has been ordered to halt construction because company officials didn’t buy enough emissions credits to offset air pollution the facility is expected to emit. [Baltimore Sun]

¶   General Motors is increasing its renewable energy use with 3 acres of new solar arrays at two Michigan facilities. The two will feature 150-kilowatt ground-mount solar arrays expected to generate a combined 400,000 kWh annually. [Greenfield Daily Reporter]

¶   The Northeast Biodiesel Diesel plant in Greenfield, Massachusetts has gotten a major boost toward becoming a reality with a $540,000 grant from the state Department of Energy Resources. The $3.5 million plant has been a work in progress for 10 years. [GazetteNET]

¶   A Spending Bill under debate in Congress would cut over $100 million from renewable energy, grant extra funds for dumping nuclear waste and fossil fuel research, exempt ‘mountain top removal’ coal from regulation, and limit EPA enforcing clean water laws. [The Ecologist]

Opinion:

¶   “Top Ten Reasons Why Business Should Love a Carbon Price” Economists have argued the case for carbon pricing for over two decades. The Chief Climate Change Advisor for Royal Dutch Shell gives ten reasons why carbon pricing makes business sense. [Energy Collective]

¶   “Nuclear power – small isn’t beautiful, safe, or cheap” Small Modular Reactors are supposed to be small and prefab – constructed from parts made in a central location and slapped together onsite like a cheap prefab home. But this is merely old technology in new clothes. [The Ecologist]

Science and Technology:

¶   The Japan Meteorological Agency reported Monday that March-May was the hottest in more than 120 years of record-keeping. It was also the hottest May on record. This is all the more important because we are still waiting for the start of El Niño. [Energy Collective]

¶   New semiconductor materials could mean 50% less energy loss in switched-mode power supplies for PCs, flat-screen televisions, servers and telecommunications systems and could make solar inverters even more compact and cost-efficient. [presseagentur.com]

World:

¶   Germany’s windiest area, Schleswig-Holstein, will probably achieve “100% renewable electricity” sometime this year. Schleswig-Holstein has a goal to generate 300% of its electricity consumption with renewables eventually. [CleanTechnica]

¶   In the Austrian town of Amstetten, a pilot project by the local utility is reclaiming heat energy from the sewer system. This it uses to heat 45,000 square feet of buildings, or cool them in summer, allowing it to dispense entirely with gas and reduce its carbon footprint. [Naharnet]

¶   The administration of the Indian city of Chandigarh has a plan to equip most of the city’s government buildings with PVs by the end of this year. The buildings include 35 schools and all of the 11 police stations. [Times of India]

¶   The pot of money that ministers have set aside to subsidise UK renewable power is likely to run out much more quickly than previously thought, according to research, placing green energy projects in jeopardy. [Financial Times]

¶   One of India’s leading information technology and consultancy companies, Infosys, is planning to implement of the most significant sustainability and clean energy measures in the company’s history, a 50-MW solar park. [CleanTechnica]

¶   The UK’s High Court has overturned a decision by Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, to block a 24-MW solar farm in Suffolk, calling his original decision “perverse”. It also refused the Secretary of State leave to appeal. [Solar Power Portal]

US:

¶   A recent study from Regional Economic Models Inc is the newest released in a series of studies finding that taxing carbon can not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also add jobs to the economy. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Biogenic Reagents, a producer of biocarbon products from renewable biomass, has entered into an agreement with a US subsidiary of West Fraser Timber, the largest lumber producer in North America, to develop renewable biocarbon products, including biochar. [BioEnergy News]

¶   Swedish marine energy technology company Minesto has signed an agreement with Florida Atlantic University to examine the feasibility of harnessing the power of Gulf Stream ocean currents. [reNews]

¶   As more people integrate solar power infrastructure with their homes and businesses, Arizona utility operators and regulators are discussing how best to meet the paradigm shift in terms of grid management. [Modern Times Magazine]

Opinion:

¶   “Might the Bakken Boom Get Derailed?” Bakken crude oil production has many of the classic characteristics of an economic bubble. It looks likely that, as with every bubble before, it will end. Whether it ends catastrophically or just badly depends on how regulators act. [Resilience]

¶   “Utilities unsure of future as environmental regs loom” Coal is under fire, gas and wind are blowing up, and consumers may yet wrestle control of power generation from their utilities. There’s a lot on the mind of your average electric company executive these days. [STLtoday.com]

Science and Technology:

¶   A new book by Vermont architect William McClay shows that net-zero-energy buildings (those that make as much — or more — energy than they consume) not only offer long-term advantages for the planet, but can also save their owners money from the start. [New York Times]

¶   According to a report from the Geothermal Energy Association, geothermal energy is as affordable an energy source as any other and could be quite effective as a primary energy source, especially in parts of the world where geothermal activity is particularly high. [Hydrogen Fuel News]

World:

¶   Polling for the Climate Institute shows 72% of Australians want to keep or expand the renewable energy target, which requires that 20% of energy is sourced from renewables by 2020, as the Abbott government considers abolishing the incentive. [The Guardian]

¶   The board of directors of French power-to-rail group Alstom on Saturday unanimously approved US conglomerate General Electric’s €12.35 billion ($16.8 billion) bid to acquire its energy business. [Business Recorder]

¶   Indian capital city’s pride, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, has earned yet another achievement by commissioning its first rooftop solar power project at one of its stations. The project has an installed capacity of 500 kW and is expected to produce power next month. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Corporate India is going “green” with its new campuses and buildings across the country. And this is primarily because it wants to cut down on power and water consumption, to reduce its operational and overhead costs. [The New Indian Express]

US:

¶   The DOE has announced the selection of three pioneering offshore wind demonstrations to receive up to $47 million each over the next four years to deploy innovative, grid-connected systems in federal and state waters by 2017. [Renewable Energy Focus]

¶   Texas has become a major testing ground for storage technology. For example, Oncor, the state’s largest transmission company, is installing five of the batteries this summer in South Dallas neighborhoods, providing backup power to schools, traffic lights and a fire station. [New York Times]

¶   Companies are increasingly offering ‘green bonds’ in order to raise money for sustainable projects—and to appeal to socially conscious investors. Increasingly, endowments and other institutions are establishing socially conscious criteria for their investments. [Daily Beast]

¶   As its nuclear plants increasingly look like an albatross rather than a boon, Exelon is at a crossroads. The so-called nuclear renaissance has not come, and the company would have to play catch-up other new investments. Or it could split off the nuclear generating business. [Crain’s Chicago Business]

World:

¶   UK planning applications for small and medium-scale wind turbines have grown by 60% in six months according to data from leading agricultural turbine specialist Earthmill. The company has installed more than 150 turbines on farms and land across the UK. [Farming UK]

¶   Close to 7,000 battery systems for storing energy from solar PVs were installed in Germany in 2013. The renewable energies expert at Germany Trade & Invest, expects to see more, with the majority of PV sales probably in conjunction with batteries within two years. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A majority of Britons believe the government is not doing enough to fight climate change, according to a Frost & Sullivan report, but fewer than one in ten of those questioned in the study knew that heating was the single biggest cause of carbon dioxide pollution in the UK. [CITY A.M.]

US:

¶   Barclays’ rationale for the downgrade they gave the entire US utility industry is their expectation that for more than 20% of US electric consumers, solar combined with electric storage will be at least as cheap as power from utilities within 4 years. [Energy Collective]

¶   Climate change may drive a shift to more wind and solar power generation to conserve water, a US DOE report said this week. Thermoelectric power including gas, coal and nuclear, is responsible for 40% of US water use. [Responding to Climate Change]

¶   Portland, Oregon’s regional transit agency has received and will soon be testing an all-electric 40-foot bus for two weeks throughout the region. The zero-emissions, environmentally friendly bus was manufactured by Build Your Dreams Motors, Inc. [Portland Tribune]

¶   Green Power EMC, the renewable energy supplier for 38 Georgia electric membership corporations, has reached an agreement to purchase the full output of a new 20-MW solar project planned for construction in southeast Georgia. [Macon Telegraph]

¶   Chicago Bridge & Iron received an engineering, procurement and construction contract from a subsidiary of Indianapolis Power & Light Company for a 671-MW combined-cycle gas turbine power station near Martinsville, Indiana. The contract is worth $500 million. [NASDAQ]

¶   The Omaha Public Power District  board approved a 20-year generation plan to retire three coal-burning units at the North Omaha Station in 2016. Emissions controls will be installed on the remaining two units, and in 2023 they will be refueled with natural gas. [Kearney Hub]

¶   The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has announced it has taken an important step toward issuing a research lease for a facility to test utility-scale wave energy devices in federal waters off Oregon. [The Maritime Executive]

¶   Denver International Airport’s fourth solar power array is now online, bringing the airport’s total solar energy capacity to 10 MW. The Solar IV array is capable of generating up to 2 MW, or 3.1 million kWh annually. [PennEnergy]

¶   The Hawaii Center for Advanced Transportation Technologies has awarded a $707,550 contract to U.S. Hybrid to build a fuel cell plug-in hydrogen fuel and battery-powered bus for the Big Island. The 25-passenger bus should be ready by 2015. [Pacific Business News]

Opinion:

¶   “The EPA carbon plan: Coal loses, but nuclear doesn’t win” Assuming that states generally adhere to the prime directive of public utility resource acquisition—choosing the lowest-cost approach—the proposed rule will not alter the dismal prospects of nuclear power. [Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist]

Science and Technology:

¶    US researchers studying an environmental life-cycle assessment on specific 2-MW wind turbines conclude that in terms of cumulative energy payback, a wind turbine with a working life of 20 years will offer a net benefit within eight months of being brought online. [Science Daily]

World:

¶   In a rather lengthy decision, the Federal Court of Canada agreed with Greenpeace and other environmental groups that portions of the Joint Review Panel report for the Darlington New Nuclear project were inadequate. There are implications for other industries. [Energy Collective]

¶   Spanish wind turbine manufacturer Acciona Windpower has signed a 153 MW supply deal with Brazilian renewable power producer Atlantic Energias Renováveis. Acciona will deliver 51 of its AW 125/3000 machines to a wind power complex in the state of Río Grande do Sul. [Recharge]

¶   The CEO of the UK government-backed Green Investment Bank says he could raise up to £60 billion to fund low carbon energy infrastructure, from windfarms to wave power, if the restrictions on his ability to borrow in the capital markets were lifted. [The Guardian]

¶   Tata Power Solar, India’s largest specialized solar EPC player, has successfully commissioned the 50 MW solar photovoltaic project for NTPC, as part of their mandate to expand their renewable energy portfolio to 1,000 MW by 2017. [Your Renewable News]

¶   The Renewables 2014 Global Status Report says that 22.1% of the world’s electricity was generated from renewable sources in 2013. That percentage is expected to rise as countries across the globe pour money and resources into alternative, clean energy. [Wall Street Journal]

¶   Japan installed 7,185 MW of PV by the end of the country’s 2013 financial year, which ended on 31 March, according to the latest figures from the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry. [PV-Tech]

US:

¶    After seeking and then getting an international job promoting nuclear power while serving on the NRC, Commissioner William D. Magwood is being urged to resign immediately by 34 leading national and local groups. [InvestorIdeas.com]

¶   First Wind announced agreements with Rocky Mountain Power for clean energy from the largest solar developments in Utah. Four four separate agreements, Rocky Mountain Power will purchase the output of four 80-MW solar farms for 20 years. [Your Renewable News]

¶   The nation’s largest companies are leaving Washington gridlock on climate change behind and rapidly embracing renewable energy sourcing and greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts, according to a new report from Calvert Investments. [Insurance News Net]

¶   The American Bird Conservancy filed suit against the Interior Department of the Interior, charging multiple violations of federal law in connection with its regulation that allows wind energy companies and others to obtain 30-year permits to kill eagles without prosecution. [Surfbirds News]

¶   Responding to customer wishes and pending federal air quality regulations that could cost millions, the Omaha Public Power District announced Thursday it will phase out its aging North Omaha coal plant and reduce emissions at its Nebraska City coal plant. [Lincoln Journal Star]

¶   A four-month public comment period on the federal government’s plan to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from existing fossil fuel-fired electric power plants began this week, allowing anyone to submit feedback through Oct. 16. [Climate Central]

Science and Technology:

¶   James Smith, the former chair of Shell UK, is no climate denier. He says, “Climate change is a problem that absolutely must be tackled, and it is a very urgent problem and the longer we leave it the more and more urgent it becomes.” [Triple Pundit]

¶   Though electric cars may cost more up front, their low-maintenance nature and low-cost fuel make them a natural fit for small businesses that require a lot of daily, local driving. A new study estimates that over a seven-year lifespan, the average electric car saves owners $16,000 in fuel and maintenance costs. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   Despite being quite a grey country, with average solar irradiation levels worse than even the US Northwest and Alaska, Germany is the world’s solar power leader. In the past couple of weeks, it broke another three records, at one point getting 50.6% of demand from solar PVs. [Treehugger]

¶   This year’s International Off-grid Renewable Energy Conference in Manila seems to have achieved balance and a politics-free sense of hope for the industry, investors, new business, and the government agencies that inform the people and support the public good. [CleanTechnica]

¶   French energy and environment minister Ségolène Royal presented a bill that would cut nuclear’s share of France’s energy mix to 50% by 2025 from 75% now, while the share of renewables should increase to 40% from around 15% by 2030. [Wall Street Journal]

¶   The nuclear option is now a certainty as a means to alleviate the South Africa’s energy shortage, according to Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson. Speaking at a business breakfast, she said: “Nuclear will be used. This certainty has been lacking until now.” [BDlive]

US:

¶   Sunetric has deployed a 198.8 kW PV system with automated curtailment and smart-grid controls on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. The system will not feed electricity back into the utility grid, making it easier for the utility to manage the grid. [AZoCleantech]

¶   Four former heads of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency who served under Republican presidents urged lawmakers Wednesday to stop bickering over whether climate change is real and start finding solutions. [Tico Times]

¶   The new administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration has dedicated the nation’s largest federally owned wind farm near Amarillo, Texas with a mission to ensure the safe, secure, and cost-effective operation of facilities in Oak Ridge. [Oak Ridge Today]

¶   Colorado state regulators have approved reopening Xcel Energy Inc.’s Solar*Rewards program that handles rebates and incentive payments for rooftop and commercial-sized solar power systems. [Denver Business Journal]

¶   Massachusetts Deval Patrick and U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced plans for a new proposed offshore wind power area of more than 742,000 acres, or 1,160 square miles, which would make it about the size of Rhode Island. [Treehugger]

¶   SolarCity, the rooftop solar panel business backed by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, has announced plans to expand its production to 1,000 MW a year in one of the world’s largest solar manufacturing plants, located in New York. [Blue & Green Tomorrow]

Science and Technology:

¶   Energy companies generate the lion’s share of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, about 40% of the total. But they will also suffer as global warming picks up pace, as generators – from nuclear reactors to coal-fired power plants – feel the brunt of the weather changes. [The Guardian]

¶    Scientists from Korea University have shown that human urine is a rich source of carbon catalysts, prompting a rethink of how we handle our biological waste. Material called “porous urine carbon” displayed catalytic strength comparable to the widely-used Platinum catalyst. [Asian Scientist Magazine]

¶   University of Utah electrical engineers have designed a thin layer made of a transparent plastic or glass that sorts and concentrates sunlight to boost the overall efficiency of solar cells by up to 50%. [Energy Harvesting Journal]

World:

¶   A poll commissioned by Greenpeace International, found that 85% of those interviewed in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia supported a binding target to reduce energy wastage by 2030, while 86% supported a binding renewable energy goal. [EurActiv]

¶   ScottishPower Renewables and Vattenfall have won approval from the UK Department for Energy and Climate Change to develop a 1.2 GW wind farm off the coast of Suffolk. The project will eventually feature about 325 turbines. [Clean Technology Business Review]

¶   Chinese President Xi Jinping says that his government is drawing up new criteria for reforming energy consumption and production and will move faster to modernize its outdated energy regulations. [OilPrice.com]

¶    France is set to unveil a much-delayed energy transition bill on Wednesday that will avoid making tough choices on its dominant nuclear energy sector, instead focusing on measures to cut red tape currently stifling renewables and boost energy savings. [Reuters]

¶   At 38 GW, more solar PV capacity was installed globally in 2013 than wind and roughly as much as hydroelectric power, according to a new report by the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century. [solarserver.com]

US:

¶   Four in 10 new oil and gas wells near national forests and fragile watersheds or otherwise identified as higher pollution risks escape federal inspection, unchecked by an agency struggling to keep pace with America’s drilling boom, according to the Associated Press. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Mosaic, the first company to crowdsource investments to finance solar projects, has launched Mosaic Places, a technology platform allowing the public to raise funds to put solar on local community centers, schools, libraries, places of worship, and businesses. [Your Renewable News]

¶   Nine Republican governors signed a letter addressed to President Obama urging him to dispose of the recent EPA rules regulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions, including the rule that would require a reduction in carbon emissions of 30% by the year 2030. [Watchdog Wire]

¶   Thanks to new investments in natural gas and utility-scale solar energy, El Paso Electric, a Texas utility with nearly 400,000 customers, announced on Monday that its electricity mix will be free from coal by 2016. [ThinkProgress]

Science and Technology:

¶   Lawrence Livermore’s National Ignition Facility had its first fusion reaction that got more energy from the fuel than it absorbed. The reaction, which was at 50 million° C and a pressure of 150 billion atmospheres, produced twice as much power as was used to trigger it. [Scientific American]

¶   Tesla has managed to bring down battery prices per kWh by half in just four years with plans to half the cost again when its gigafactory comes online in 2020. As electric cars become more affordable, demand should produce even more economies of scale. [ValueWalk]

World:

¶   The Cabinet of Japan on Tuesday approved Japan’s Energy White Paper 2013, which defines nuclear power as an “important base-load power source” and calls for a return to nuclear power generation, local media reported. [Chinadaily USA]

¶   Russia’s OAO Gazprom has halted shipments of natural gas to Ukraine after the collapse of negotiations over gas prices. The shutdown is the first since January 2009. The fact that this is June will naturally mute the impact of the supply cut-off. [Oil & Gas Journal]

¶   A Climate Council report finds Australia faces significant economic and environmental risks due to its ageing, inefficient and unprepared electricity sector. It calls for a faster transition to renewables and provides cost comparisons for sources of electricity generation. [The Daily Telegraph]

¶   The growing number of community-led projects that generate their own power through renewable energy is the focus of Australia’s first Community Energy Congress, being held in Canberra this week. [ABC Local]

¶   At the International Off-Grid Renewable Energy Conference and Exhibition in Manila, large international agencies and financial organizations showing support for off-grid renewable systems that can offer viable, strikingly swift change to remote communities. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Solar project developer Solarcentury has moved into the market for community-owned solar farms, inking a deal for the first solar co-operative in the UK county of Hampshire. The new solar farm will have 2.4 MW capacity, wild flowers, bee hives, and sheep. [Business Green]

¶   Windfarm owners say the head of Tony Abbott’s renewable energy review recently told them they were foolish to “build a whole business model on government largesse”, raising fears he will recommend a severe winding back of the renewable energy target. [The Guardian]

¶   The new leader of Norway’s Labour Party has called for the country to become the world’s first zero-emission nation in an unexpectedly radical speech that signalled a sharp change in the party’s climate policy. [The Local.no]

US:

¶   Cherryland Electric Cooperative in northern Michigan has a relatively modest 224-panel solar array. But it could serve as the catalyst to set renewable energy groups, utilities and the state on a path to find out how community power can be expanded in Michigan. [Great Lakes Echo]

¶   El Paso Electric Monday announced that it’s now getting power from the recently completed Macho Springs solar plant near Deming, N.M., which is, at 50 MW, the largest solar plant in New Mexico. [Businessweek]

¶   GE Power & Water’s Distributed Power business has announced the launch of its new, 10-MW class Jenbacher J920 FleXtra gas engine for the 60-Hz North American segment, offering one of the highest electrical efficiency commercially available today. [Windpower Engineering]

¶   US utility Northwestern Energy has issued a request for proposals for up to 45 MW of community-owned renewable energy generation in Montana. The regulated investor-owned utility is required to purchase energy from qualified community projects. [reNews]

¶   The political action committee of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce has helped recruit candidates to run against GOP members who voted against repealing a state law that requires utilities to generate a specific amount of energy from renewable sources. [Lawrence Journal-World]

Energy Week Videos:

¶   The regular hour edition of the weekly Energy Week series includes commentary from internationally renowned physicist Steve Reucroft of CERN, who joins hosts George Harvey and Tom Finnell as they sort through the week’s energy-related news. [BCTV]

¶   Renowned physicist Steve Reucroft of CERN joins the Energy Week team for in-depth discussion on the future of energy, including the untapped potential of nuclear waste currently lying dormant in sites across the globe, and much more. [BCTV]

Science and Technology:

¶   A new “suction bucket” foundation for anchoring offshore wind turbines to the seabed has the potential to reduce set-up costs of offshore wind energy by up to £1 billion ($1.7 billion) over the next decade. [Energy Matters]

World:

¶   The latest round of UN climate talks concluded in Bonn yesterday on an upbeat note, with a pledge that elements of a draft treaty aimed at curbing global warming would be circulated to the parties as early as July 15th. [Irish Times]

¶   The Government of Kazakhstan will subsidize 50% of expenses to remote households that install renewable power generators. Rates per kWh were also set for renewable power depending on source: 19¢ for solar, 12¢ for wind, 10¢ for small hydro, and 17¢ for biogas. [Tengrinews]

¶   Experts are now calling Germany the world’s first modern renewable energy economy. Germany already obtains 29% of its electricity from renewable sources, meaning photovoltaic, hydro and wind power, and power produced by burning wood or other biomass. [Inter Press Service]

¶   Toshiba Corporation and Toshiba Solutions Corporation today announced that they have started to demonstrate a home energy monitoring system and community management system in the Lyon redevelopment area in Lyon, France. [Wall Street Journal]

¶   Plans are underway to form a pair of state-owned joint ventures that will oversee the construction of renewable energy projects, contributing to India’s energy security and reducing reliance on conventional sources of fuel such as coal. [Livemint]

¶   BT signed long-term Power Purchase Agreements worth £440 million with three wind farms in Scotland, Wales and Lancashire, adding more than 100 MW of renewable energy to help power its UK operations. [Converge Network Digest]

¶   A massive Chinese state-owned company has been given $25 million by the governments of Australia and Victoria to develop more Latrobe Valley brown coal. Shanghai Electric is promising to build a $119 million demonstration plant to process coal into briquettes. [The Age]

¶   The government of the Indian state of Haryana said it will implement an energy conservation action plan under which solar power generation will be made mandatory in different categories of buildings or areas with a suitable enforcement mechanism. [Daily News & Analysis]

US:

¶   Sonoma Clean Power, Sonoma County, California’s new electricity supplier, signed an agreement today with solar project developer Recurrent Energy, to construct 30 MW of solar power in California, and to supply the energy to SCP customers. [Sonoma County Gazette]

¶   After introduction of an innovative, community-focused, solar project in Rutland, Vermont, NRG Energy is developing a similar project in collaboration with the Center for Energy Sustainability at San Diego State University’s Imperial Valley Campus. [Triple Pundit]

¶   The company operating Texas’ only radioactive waste dump site is asking state regulators to allow disposal of depleted uranium and triple the capacity of a burial site that accepts nuclear waste from dozens of states. [LubbockOnline.com]

Opinion:

¶   “Sea Change: Counting the ways Maine gains from renewable power” Maine has a well-earned reputation for Yankee thrift and self-reliance – except when it comes to energy. Maine residents pay $4000 on fossil fuels each year. [Press Herald]

World:

¶   The Philippine Department of Energy will be helping Metro Manila schools reduce their dependence on the Manila Electric Co. through the installation of solar power systems on various campuses. [Inquirer.net]

¶   Technological developments making it possible to derive energy from wind at lower speeds are especially relevant for the UAE, which typically lacks the gales that drive the largest of existing wind farms in Europe and North America. This is causing a change in thinking. [The National]

¶   US company Consilio Group, specialising in electricity generation from solar power, is planning to establish several projects in Egypt with capital of up to $100 million. Egypt has been suffering in recent years from power outages caused by shortages of gas and oil. [Daily News Egypt]

¶   As France rushes to make expensive upgrades to its aging nuclear plants in view of the Fukushima Disaster, a report from Greenpeace shows that maintaining the nation’s dependence on atomic energy will cost more than generating power with solar and wind. [Mintpress News]

¶   Alstom will be supplying a wind project in Brazil with 19 of the French conglomerate’s wind turbines. Under the contract signed with CPFL Renovaveis, Alstom will deliver, erect, and commission 19 ECO 122 wind turbines. [EcoSeed]

US:

¶   A new report conducted by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection shows that the state has made progress with greenhouse gas emissions. It was 5.4% below 1990 levels in the most recent test period, 2010, which is better than hoped. [The Daily Voice]

¶   As the use of solar energy has grown exponentially over the past decade, Massachusetts has become a national leader in the field. Massachusetts currently has 496 MW of solar energy capacity, up from less than 1 MW 10 years ago. [Wicked Local Wilmington]

¶   In meeting federal requirements to cut power plant emissions linked to global warming, Wisconsin’s task was made much tougher by the closing last year of the Kewaunee nuclear power plant. Utilities in the state have made up the generating loss with coal. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

¶  Air Force Academy experts say Smart Grids could shave nearly 20% off power companies’ peak load as they gain popularity. The academy’s Smart Grid Energy Research Group is working on security for smart grids. [U.S. Air Force Academy]

Not Energy, but Noteworthy:

¶   National associations representing food and snack manufacturers are suing the state of Vermont over its law passed last month that will require foods produced with genetically modified ingredients to be labeled as such beginning July 2016. [Food Safety News]

Opinion:

¶   “US Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Deployment Fades Further into an Uncertain Future” Nuclear reactor proponents confront a US economic landscape that has shifted against nuclear power in the near term, while the longer-term outlook remains uncertain at best. [Natural Resources Defense Council]

¶   “Old Reactors v. New Renewables: The First Nuclear War of the 21st Century” Utilities, who had loudly announced the arrival of a “nuclear renaissance”, are desperate to “stay relevant to the game going forward” because they cannot compete with renewables or gas. [InvestorIdeas.com]

Science and Technology:

¶   If solar energy deployment doesn’t increase 12 times over by the year 2030, the world is headed towards a “climate catastrophe,” according to a recent report from the International Renewable Energy Agency. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶   The world is on the brink of a serious surge in batteries. Batteries of the near future will power homes and hospitals and even provide relief for the grid, with an industry that may be worth $200 billion in 2020. [Bloomberg]

¶   The election in Ontario saw the governing Liberal Party score a surprise victory, giving a boost to windpower. During the campaign, Conservative leader Tim Hudak advanced an energy strategy heavily focused on nuclear power, while stopping support for renewables. [Windpower Monthly]

¶   Kyocera Corporation, along with several other organizations, today announced that they have reached a basic agreement to investigate the possibility of operating a 430-MW solar power project on the island of Ukujima (Sasebo City, Nagasaki Pref., Japan). [PennEnergy]

US:

¶   Elon Musk has made yet another highly interesting and somewhat unpredictable move/announcement (in a long line of such moves) — Tesla Motors will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, uses the company’s technology. [CleanTechnica]

¶   New York legislation would let people without their own roofs for solar panels invest in clean energy projects, which is more attractive than ever thanks to recent drops in the price of solar and wind power. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) dashed the hopes of environmentalists, leading manufacturers and renewable-energy businesses Friday and signed a bill shelving requirements for utilities to ramp up the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency. [Washington Post]

¶   Independent energy provider Tenaska closed commercial financing today for Tenaska Imperial Solar Energy Center West, a 150-MW photovoltaic solar electric generating plant near El Centro, California. [Imperial Valley News]

¶   Cirque Energy Inc. announced the signing of a development agreement for a project to install a 2.5 MW biomass gasification power plant to be known as the Midland Biomass Energy Station in Midland, Texas. [Biomass Magazine]

¶   In 2006, Wisconsin passed a law calling for the state to get 10% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2015. Now, two years ahead of schedule, the state announced it has already met its goal. [ThinkProgress]

¶   The Department of Public Utilities has issued two orders that will allow Massachusetts to become the first state in the country that requires electric distribution companies to take affirmative steps to modernize the electric grid. [Berkshire Eagle]

World:

¶   The Government of Gibraltar has signed its first power purchase agreement for the provision of renewable energy. The agreement, which is with Eco Wave Power, is for the provision of an initial 0.5 MW, with a possibility of expanding to 5 MW. [MercoPress]

¶   Clarke Energy has inaugurated the largest landfill gas-powered cogeneration plant in France. The 17.3-MW facility features 10 Jenbacher gas engines, from GE Distributed Power, to generate renewable electricity and heat for residents and businesses. [Business Wire]

¶   The National Grid, which operates Britain’s electricity system, this week said it wants businesses to switch off between 4pm and 8pm on winter weekdays over the next four years to help avoid blackouts. [Western Daily Press]

¶   Australia posted its biggest annual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in 24 years of records in 2013 as the carbon tax helped drive a large drop in pollution from the electricity sector. Emissions are reported to be down 0.8 per cent on the previous year. [Kiama Independent]

¶   Regen Powertech Ltd, one of India’s leading wind turbine manufacturing companies, is all ready to launch wind-solar hybrid systems, the company’s Managing Director, Madhusudan Khemka, has said. [The Hindu]

¶   Uruguay’s government said on Thursday that 84% of its energy last year came from renewable sources. The small South American country has been pushing for an energy diversification policy focused on developing wind and solar energy since 2008. [HispanicBusiness.com]

¶   China Wanxiang Holding announced the planned formation of a joint venture between its wholly-owned subsidiary, Puxing Energy, and NEC Corporation to pursue grid energy storage opportunities in the Chinese market. [Business Wire]

¶   The wind energy industry in the country would see an addition of around 3,000 MW of capacity during the year compared to 2,100 Mw last year, according to the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association. [Business Standard India]

¶   Germany’s government has decided to stop issuing credit guarantees for exports of equipment used for nuclear power generation because the risks to public safety are too great, according to the Economy Ministry. [Reuters]

US:

¶   EPA chief Gina McCarthy said on Thursday that newly proposed rules to slash carbon emissions from U.S. power plants will cut electricity bills after 2030 by forcing power plants to become more efficient. [MarineLink]

¶   The US DOE is spending $500,000 on a project to boost electric grid reliability in Hawaii. Hawaiian Electric will use the money to deploy technology capable of measuring instantaneous voltage, current and frequency at specific locations on the grid. [Associated Press]

¶   Nuclear power plants across the United States are building or expanding storage facilities to hold their spent fuel, radioactive waste that by now was supposed to have been on its way to a national dump. [Associated Press]

Please Note:

The internet has been running badly today, with most of the sites I tried to visit unavailable. I am sure there were important news items missed because of this. 

World:

¶   Australia’s electricity demand has fallen sharply again, with the market operator conceding that power consumption will fall 3.1% below even its most recent downgraded forecasts – made just in November. [RenewEconomy]

¶   South Australia will in the next week reinforce its position as the leading mainland state on renewable energy as the completion of a major new wind farm brings its wind and solar energy production to around 40% of its total generation. [RenewEconomy]

¶   Bord na Móna signed a €50m deal to supply renewable electricity to Irish energy supplier Vayu for resale to its business customers. As part the deal, electricity produced by a new Bord na Móna landfill plant in Co Kildare, will be supplied to Vayu for 15 years. [Irish Examiner]

¶   Mainstream Renewable Power is on track to commission the 46 MW Oldman 2 project in Alberta, Canada in late summer despite a difficult winter construction season, as the Irish developer has erected the first of 20 Siemens 2.3MW 101 turbines. [reNews]

¶   In the early stages of the Fukushima Disaster, Japanese government officials had very little information. They assumed it was because TEPCO was not getting information from the plant, but this was untrue. TEPCO was not giving giving it to the government. [Asahi Shimbun]

US:

¶   Researchers from the University of Vermont released a report Tuesday detailing the impacts of climate change on Vermont. The report aims to translate the scientific certainty of climate change into a grim forecast that is expected to worsen over the next century. [vtdigger.org]

¶   Google Inc. is looking to make a deeper push into the billion-dollar U.S. energy market by developing tools to deliver power more efficiently, with hope that a “smart grid” would be an improvement, as solar and wind power become more prevalent. [MarketWatch]

¶   US Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday heralded America’s oil and gas boom but urged private investors and government leaders to aim, ultimately, to shift their investments away from carbon-intensive fuels. [Investing.com]

World:

¶   Chinese demand for natural gas is expected to almost double in the next five years as the country aims to use cleaner fuels to clear its cities’ smog-filled skies, according to the International Energy Agency. [Financial Times]

¶   Energia has announced that they have commenced operations at its newest wind farm in County Tipperary, supplying energy to homes and businesses across Ireland. The €19 million Hollyford wind farm has the capacity to produce 9 MW of renewable electricity. [Siliconrepublic.com]

¶   Iberdrola has pledged to invest $5 billion in Mexico’s energy sector through 2018 under an agreement with the Federal Electricity Commission. Iberdrola already has more than 5.2 GW in operating nameplate capacity – wind farms and combined cycle natural gas plants. [Recharge]

¶    Expanding its international and renewable energy footprints, GE Energy Financial Services invested in a 32-MW solar PV project in Japan. GE Energy Financial Services’ plan is to invest over $1 billion annually in renewable energy projects worldwide. [AltEnergyMag]

¶   A decision by parties to an obscure convention has huge implications for Europe’s ageing nuclear reactors. Licence extensions for nuclear reactors must follow Environmental Impact Assments comparing them with alternatives – including wind, solar and other renewables. [The Ecologist]

US:

¶   At the Edison Electric Institute’s annual convention, Warren Buffett was reminded by an aide that Berkshire Hathaway had spent on $15 billion on wind and solar power. He responded: “There’s another $15 billion ready to go, as far as I’m concerned.” [Businessweek]

¶   A Minnesota administrative law judge has recommended the state approve Geronimo Wind’s 200 MW Odell wind project. Geronimo proposes to build up to 133 turbines in southwestern Minnesota. The developer is considering several turbines. [reNews]

¶   Duke Energy says too little natural gas can reach the Ashville, North Carolina region to allow Duke Energy to switch entirely from burning coal at its Lake Julian plant. They also say the region’s demand for electricity rules out closing the plant. [Asheville Citizen-Times]

¶   University of California President Janet Napolitano formed an advisory group to help the UC system cut pollution. Napolitano hopes the University of California will reach carbon neutrality by 2025, by cutting some of its emissions and paying to offset the rest. [San Francisco Business Times]

¶   Concentrating Solar Power projects would add additional value of 5 or 6 cents per kWh to utility-scale solar energy in California where 33% renewables will be mandated in six years, a new report by the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory says. [EIN News]

¶   A bill expected to spark investment by South Carolina homeowners and businesses in solar energy has been passed by the General Assembly and signed by the governor. It allows non-utilities to lease solar systems, updates net metering, and establishes other measures. [GSA Business]