1-17
¶ A US renewable energy start-up says it has developed effective scaled-up production methods for spray-on solar PV technology. New Energy Technologies developed the technology in collaboration with NREL and the University of South Florida. [Sourceable]
¶ UN climate chief Christiana Figueres called on big firms that manage trillions of dollars of investments to dump fossil fuel stocks in favor of greener alternatives, arguing that such a shift would help the firms’ clients as well as the climate. [Grist]
¶ The construction of the first nuclear power plant in Vietnam is likely to be delayed until 2020 instead of its previous schedule in 2014. The purpose of the delay is to ensure safety and efficient exploitation of the power. [Xinhua]
1-18
¶ Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and University of Connecticut analyzed more than 122,000 home sales near 26 wind facilities in densely populated Massachusetts, yet was unable to find any impacts to nearby home property values.[Windpower Engineering]
¶ Vermont lawmakers have a plan to open up the state’s so-called “net metering” program to match the growing demand. A new bill offers a fast-track solution to take advantage of federal solar tax credits before their possible expiration in 2017. [vtdigger.org]
1-19
¶ Germany’s economy minister wants to cut the support price paid for electricity from solar and wind power generators by about a third by 2015, according to a draft proposal for the government. [Business Recorder]
¶ Nearly one-third of the Japan’s local assemblies, including those at the prefectural level, have submitted statements calling for the abolition of nuclear power plants to the Diet since the Fukushima crisis in 2011. [Asahi Shimbun]
¶ We may be witnessing a historic change in our driving habits. It’s not so much that our automobile love affair has ended, rather that maybe, just maybe, it’s not quite as hot and heavy as it has been. [Energy Collective]
1-20
¶ ”Five Ways to Play the End of the Natural Gas Renaissance: Interview with Bill Powers” Bill Powers is an independent analyst, private investor and author of the book “Cold, Hungry and in the Dark: Exploding the Natural Gas Supply Myth.” [Energy Collective]
¶ Booming levels of shale oil production will not affect the country’s commitment to cutting its carbon footprint, US energy secretary Ernest Moniz has said. Efficiency, alternative fuel use and electrification were the “three prongs” the USA would use to get off oil. [Responding to Climate Change]
1-21
¶ The UK Government faces criticism for failing to make people aware renewable heating systems could trim their bills by 45%. A new report released yesterday shows “widespread” lack of awareness from the public about switching to renewable heating. [Energy Live News]
¶ In Australia, a new report suggests that the improving economics of solar and battery technology mean that by 2020 it would be cost-effective for new housing projects and regional towns to employ stand-alone power systems and go off-grid. [Business Spectator]
¶ Market research firm IHS estimates that only 340 MW of commercial grid-connected energy storage systems were installed across 2012 and 2013. However, the firm forecasts annual installations will reach over 6 GW in 2017, 43% of that in the US. [Renew Grid]
1-22
¶ The European Union will propose to cut the region’s greenhouse-gas emissions by 40% in 2030 to accelerate efforts to reduce global warming, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said. [Bloomberg]
1-23
¶ European Commission plans call for 40% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030, 27% of energy from renewables, and no national mandates. Reactions range from very supportive to outrage. Christiana Figueres said it meant the EU was “on track”, adding on Twitter it was a “positive signal for meaningful 2015 agreement.”
¶ The new cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and center-left Social Democrats (SPD) has endorsed key points of a planned revision of renewable energy law in a bid to limit subsidies and price hikes.[Deutsche Welle]
¶ Volvo Construction Equipment’s site in Braås, Sweden, completed its journey towards becoming carbon dioxide neutral. It is the first construction equipment production facility in the world to be powered entirely by renewable energy.[AZoCleantech]
Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell 