2014-02-27 Energy Week

2-21

¶   By a 4-1 vote, the Vermont Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee approved S.201, a bill that would give communities hosting new energy projects more say in the Public Service Board’s review process. [Brattleboro Reformer]

¶   The world’s largest district heat pump is on show. Located in the city of Drammen in Norway, it harvests heat from the freezing waters of the fjord and boosts it to 90⁰C for heating the buildings of the city. [PR Web]

¶   China’s National Energy Administration announced it has set a 2014 goal of incentivizing 14 gigawatts of domestic solar capacity, 6 gigawatts aimed at utility-scale and 8 gigawatts aimed at distributed generation. [Energy Collective]

2-22

¶   According to the latest Energy Infrastructure Update report from the FERC, non-hydro renewable energy sources accounted for more than 99% of all new domestic electrical generating capacity installed during January 2014 for a total of 324 MW. [PennEnergy]

¶   The Guardian has run an unprecedented banner headline in response to the record-smashing deluges that have inundated the UK: “Climate change is here now. It could lead to global conflict. Yet the politicians squabble.” [Energy Collective]

¶   ”Despite New Plants, Nuclear Future Still Decades Away” The Energy Department provided financing for the nation’s first new nuclear plants in years, but a generation of new plants remains a long way off. [U.S. News & World Report]

2-23

¶   EIA’s latest prediction that about 60 gigawatts of coal will retire by 2016 is up from about 40 gigawatts that it predicted just last year, and more than double the 27 gigawatts it predicted in 2012. [Energy Collective]

¶   The government of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu has drawn up an ambitious plan to generate 3,400 MW through solar energy, of which 700 MW of solar power plants are expected to be commissioned this year. [The Hindu]

2-24

¶   Numerous investors, including state government agencies, have filed shareholder resolutions with such fossil fuel companies as Exxon Mobil and Chevron, seeking an explanation of their strategies for competing in a low-carbon global market. [Triple Pundit]

¶   As Exxon Mobil’s CEO, it is Rex Tillerson’s job to promote the hydraulic fracturing enabling the recent oil and gas boom, and fight regulatory oversight. Nevertheless, he joined a lawsuit that cites fracking’s consequences when it is near his home. [CleanTechnica]

¶   A report on Australia’s liquid fuel security warns that a severely declining oil refining industry, and increasing demand, could result in a scenario in 2030 where it has less than 20 days worth of fuel in reserve, and 100% imported liquid fuel dependency. [RenewEconomy]

¶   With the right policy and regulatory support, the Baringa report and Scottish government analysis shows renewables in the Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles can deliver up to 5% of Britain’s electricity demand by 2030. [reNews]

2-25

¶   Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. has begun commercial operation of the 17.5 MW Northwest Stave River run-of-river hydroelectric facility. The facility is located in British Columbia, Canada . [RenewablesBiz]

2-26

¶   Yet another Florida nuclear plant may be in trouble. More than 3,700 tubes that help cool a nuclear reactor at Florida Power & Light’s St. Lucie facility exhibit wear. Most other similar plants have between zero and a few hundred.[Tampabay.com]

¶   After years of predictions that China would begin investing more in a smart grid than the US, Bloomberg New Energy Finance has reported that China invested $4.3 billion on smart grid in 2013, far outpacing U.S. spending of $3.6 billion in the same period. [Energy Collective]

¶   Australia’s largest renewables company, Infigen Energy, is confident the fixed renewable energy target of 41,000 GWh will remain in place, citing the emergence of sovereign risk among financiers, and soaring domestic gas prices as key arguments for its retention. [RenewEconomy]

2-27

¶   Research from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California in San Diego now shows the impact of melting arctic sea ice on global warming has likely been significantly underestimated. [Energy Collective]

¶   One thing we did not see prominently in the news was that in 2013 China installed about 40 GW of solar water heating capacity. You see solar hot water may be quite boring, but it still owns solar power in terms of installed capacity. And China has the most. [Energy Collective]

¶   Advanced Energy Economy, has released a report finding that the global advanced energy economy — which includes efficient transport, biofuels, commercial and industrial efficiency, and clean electricity generation — was valued at $1.1 trillion in 2013. [Energy Collective]

2014-02-20 Energy Week

2-14

¶   Even before TVA finishes building its new nuclear unit, the utility is preparing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to replace faulty steam generators in the new reactor within the first decade of its operation. [Chattanooga Times Free Press]

2-15

¶   In a study by iSeeCars, the Tesla Model S had an averaged used sale price of more than $99,700. That’s about $10,000 more than the top-tier 85 kWh P85+ model sells for new, and doesn’t even factor in the $7,500 Federal tax credit or local incentives. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Leading investment bank Citigroup says Australian utilities will be impacted by the ‘energy Darwinism” that is currently sweeping the global electricity industries. And Australian utilities have a high risk that they will come off second best.[CleanTechnica]

¶   New analysis shows that the additional costs associated with building to the proposed Zero Carbon Standard in the UK have declined significantly since 2011, and are expected to continue to fall as we approach 2020. [CleanTechnica]

2-16

¶   A new white paper report finds that wind energy is keeping electric bills low for American homes and businesses, thanks to plummeting wind energy costs driven by technological improvements. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Stanford Professor Mark Jacobson and his colleagues have put online a new roadmap to renewable energy for all 50 states. The interactive roadmap is tailored to maximize the resource potential of each state. [Science Codex] (The site is not given in the article, but is at THIS LINK. Scroll down for the roadmap.)

¶   Operators of the Davis-Besse nuclear plant that sits beside Lake Erie say workers there found a gap within the concrete of a protective wall. An NRC spokeswoman told The Blade newspaper in Toledo it’s too early to say whether the gap was a problem. [Michigan Radio]

¶   2013 was more than a rough year for weather. It was a sign of things to come. Drought and storms have always been with us, but climate change is making them more intense—the equivalent of pumping them with steroids. [Energy Collective]

2-17

¶   Farmers in the UK are increasingly finding that renewable power production makes their farms financially more viable. Almost 40% of U.K. farmers are investing in renewable energy compared with just 5% in 2010. [Triple Pundit]

¶   The Abbott government has appointed a self-professed climate sceptic to head an “extensive” review of Australia’s renewable energy target. Abbott has signalled before Christmas the target could be wound back or the scheme scrapped. [The Guardian]

¶   Larger companies from a variety of backgrounds, including ExxonMobil, DuPont, and BP, are seeing the potential in biofuels and are investing in a range of different advanced biofuel technologies. [DailyFinance]

¶   Exposure to companies with extensive fossil fuel reserves and companies with high carbon emissions ranks as the top concern among trends in environmental, social and governance issues, driving pension funds to examine the risks and to craft responses. [Pensions & Investments]

2-18

¶   A Seattle company hopes to harness some of the fiercest winds off the Pacific Coast. Principle Power has got a nod from the U.S. Department of the Interior to proceed with its application to lease 15 square miles of federal waters near Coos Bay, Oregon. [Yakima Herald-Republic]

¶   International ratings agency Fitch said that nuclear generators are likely to be cash-flow negative in 2014 because of large spending programmes and weak electricity demand in western Europe, amid a general environment of uncertainty.[Nuclear Engineering]

¶   Egypt’s domestic market may reach 80% usage for new and renewable energy by 2025, according to Mohamed Moussa Oumran, first secretary at the Ministry of Energy and Electricity. [Al-Bawaba]

¶   China is set to become the global leader for electric vehicle (EV) fast charging. ABB, a power and automation technology group, is working together with Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co. on the rollout of a record EV fast-charger network. [CleanTechnica]

¶   ”Benefits of a 100% renewable New York” How does this sound for New Yorkers: saving $2,000 in annual energy costs – or saving $4,100 per person in energy, health and climate costs each year? [Investigative Post]

2-19

¶   Wind power has saved Ireland more than €1 billion in imported energy costs, cut greenhouse gas emissions and has not added to customers’ energy bills, according to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. [Irish Times]

¶   A recent poll of climate experts asked what investments they would recommend to combat climate change. The numbers are: 29% for distributed renewable power, 26% for efficiency, 17% for next-generation nuclear, and 10% for centralized renewables. [IEEE Spectrum]

2-20

¶   Imperial College research says useful life of turbines may be longer than some people have asserted, countering claims machines need replacing after just 10 years. Wind turbines can remain productive for up to 25 years. [Business Green]

¶   Saudi Arabia will spend $173 billion on energy projects between now and 2018. Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in renewable energy in a bid to curb domestic consumption of fossil fuels, which eats into oil export revenues. [ArabianBusiness.com]

¶   A large amount of radioactive water, estimated to be 100 metric tons, has leaked from a holding tank at Fukushima Daiichi. The water is being absorbed into the ground, and is not going directly into the ocean, according to TEPCO. [CNN]

¶   Stanford University professor Mark Z Jacobson’s proposed roadmap t0 a 100% renewably-powered US has a lot of solar and hydro in it, but for the most part, it is full of windpower. Bio-mass is notably absent. [Motherboard]

¶   Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced 18 projects that receive funding through the Renewable Heat NY program, to help install high-efficiency, low-emission wood-fired heating equipment, according to a recent article in Biomass Magazine. [EIN News]

2014-02-13 Energy Week

2-7

¶   Chicago-based Exelon Corp. said Thursday on a conference call following its quarterly earnings results that it will shut down nuclear plants to save money if it doesn’t see a path to steady profits this year. [Chicago Tribune]

¶   Several Caribbean nations committed on Thursday to start replacing diesel generators, the most common means of producing electricity on islands, with renewable sources like wind, solar or the earth’s heat. [New York Times]

¶   Ikea’s energy program dedicates over $2 billion–three times as much as originally planned–to clean energy investment through 2015. It is designed to protect the company from energy price shocks and to tap into customers’ green wishes. [CleanTechnica]

2-8

¶   A new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) says the renewable energy industry is responsible for 615,000 jobs in the United States. Many Americans, from all political stripes, want to see more of it.[Natural Resources Defense Council]

¶   2014 looks like it will be an even better year for electric vehicles than 2013. IHS Automotive predicts that global electric vehicle production will increase by 67% in 2014, while global production for vehicles overall is forecast to increase by only 3.6%. [CleanTechnica]

¶   India has pledged to build the world’s most powerful solar plant, with a nominal capacity of 4,000 MW. The ‘ultra mega’ project will be more than ten times larger than any other solar project built so far. [Scientific American]

¶   Sumitomo Corp. has developed and installed the world’s first large-scale power storage system which utilizes used batteries collected from electric vehicles. The prototype for a grid-scale storage system will begin operating in February 2014. [Today’s Energy Solutions]

¶   A new process for the creation of gasoline-like fuels from cellulosic plant waste materials has been developed by researchers from UC Davis. Cellulosic plant waste is in very plentiful supply. [CleanTechnica]

2-9

¶   At a cost of $8 billion, a 3000 MW windfarm is being developed on a cattle ranch in Wyoming owned by Anschutz. Transmission lines will carry the power to southern California. Construction is expected to start in 2015. [Los Angeles Times]

¶   ”Biofuels Companies Rev Up While Oilcos Sputter” What’s going on – aren’t biofuels supposed to be dead, and fracking changing everything forever in oil & gas? Yet, public oil companies languish, while bellwether renewable fuel equities are on the rise. [Alternative Energy Stocks]

2-10

¶   Political delegations from several small Caribbean islands who gathered on Richard Branson’s private isle have committed to working with his renewable energy non-profit organisation and move at a faster pace to cut their dependence on fossil fuels. [Yahoo!7 News]

2-11

¶   The Louisiana Democratic Party is supporting lawsuits demanding that 97 oil and gas companies pay for damages to the state’s marshes that led to coastal wetlands loss and contributed to higher storm surges during hurricanes. [The INDsider]

¶   Decommissioning Sellafield nuclear power station in the UK will cost taxpayers at least £70 billion as costs hit “astonishing levels,” senior MPs said yesterday. “What’s worse is that the cost is likely to continue to rise.” [Morning Star Online]

2-12

¶   The Indian government is aiming to swap out 26 million fossil-fuel-powered groundwater pumps for solar-powered ones, Bloomberg reports. The pumps are used by farmers and currently rely on diesel generators or electric power from the grid. [CleanTechnica]

¶   In his latest action to prevent a windfarm from being built off the coast of Aberdeen, within sight of his Scottish golf resort, Donald Trump has been once more rebuffed by a Scottish court. He claimed his human rights were being violated. It did not work. [EarthTechling]

¶   The UN has issued its climate change report, which concludes that global warming is unequivocal, human influence on the system is clear, and limiting climate change will require substantial and sustained reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. [Energy Collective]

¶   ”Renewables’ Disruption Of The Utility Business Model Is A Good Thing” Renewables were 69% of new capacity added in 2012 in Europe and 49% in the United States. Not surprisingly, this threatens outmoded business models and fossil-fuel generation. [CleanTechnica]

2-13

¶   The Solar Foundation says Vermont is ranked first for solar jobs per capita. There are approximately 1,300 solar jobs total in installation, manufacturing and project development. Vermont added about 990 solar jobs from 2012 to 2013.[Bennington Banner]

¶   Citing levelized cost of energy data from the National Renewable Energy Lab, the Department of Energy says that the average price for a utility-scale PV project has dropped from about $0.21/kWh in 2010 to $0.11/kWh at the end of 2013. [EarthTechling]

¶   The European Commission has delivered what Greenpeace UK says can only be called a scathing initial verdict on the UK Government’s deal with French state-owned EDF to build the first new nuclear reactors in the UK for a generation. [CleanTechnica]

¶   Renewable energy plants constructed in the last 10 years will save Turkey $5.5 billion in natural gas imports each tear for the next 49 years, according to Turkey’s Energy Minister.[www.worldbulletin.net]

¶   Legendary hedge fund investor Jeremy Grantham says there is no doubt that solar and wind energy will completely replace coal and gas across the globe, it is just a matter of when. He says, “The question is only whether it takes 30 years or 70 years.” [CleanTechnica]

2014-02-06 Energy Week

1-31

¶   The investment bank Goldman Sachs is supporting renewable energy projects with around $40 billion of investment between now and 2021, with bosses expecting large profits as a direct result. [Blue & Green Tomorrow]

¶   The suppression pool of the Fukushima Daiichi Unit No. 2 reactor may have a 3-centimeter hole in it, through which the highly radioactive water might be leaking out, the plant operator said. [RT] (Unit 2 is the one in the group of 1 to 4 that did not blow up.)

¶   The Vermont House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to sharply expand the net metering program nearly four-fold. Current law requires utilities to accept customer-generated electricity up to 4% of their peak capacity that cap is being increased to 15%. [Product Design & Development]

2-1

¶   The world’s first magma-based geothermal energy system has been built in Iceland, taking advantage of the Earth’s heat to generate electricity. Iceland’s new system is the first to produce that steam in a region of molten, rather than solid, rock. [Wired.co.uk]

¶   Shell’s incoming CEO announced that a court ruling has placed “significant obstacles” in the way of oil exploitation in Alaska. The company also announced it will cut capital spending by around $10 billion this year and sell many of its assets. [inhabitat]

¶   The U.S. wind power industry didn’t put a whole lot of new generating capacity into operation in 2013, but it laid the groundwork, beginning construction on a whopping 10,900 megawatts in the fourth quarter. [EarthTechling]

2-2

¶   Bloomberg New Energy Finance has revealed that China “outstripped even the most optimistic forecasts” to install a record 12 GW of photovoltaic projects in 2013. In fact, a boom at the end of the year could have pushed the total up to 14 GW. [EnergyCollective]

¶   A new, relatively low-temperature means of creating liquid fuels from common plastic waste has been developed by researchers from the Centurion University of Technology and Management, and the National Institute of Technology, both in India. [CleanTechnica]

¶   ”Why traditional utilities are like frogs in warming water” Jim Rogers, the recently retired head of Duke Energy, the biggest utility in the US, says regulations and business models will not change quick enough to save traditional utilities in face of solar. [RenewEconomy]

2-3

¶    A study from UC Boulder Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research says the global warming we are seeing is outside any kind of known natural variability, and it has to be due to increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. [Energy Collective]

¶   The Japanese region of Fukushima, left devastated by the 2011 nuclear disaster, has said it will aim to be 100% dependent on renewable energy by 2040. The region already has an offshore wind farm, which was developed following the disaster. [Blue & Green Tomorrow]

2-4

¶   Faced with a plunge in profits, Germany’s power utilities are having to bend to the will of the government and join the renewable energy revolution, while smartening up on the retail front with new customer-friendly energy saving products.[Business Recorder]

2-5

¶   Saying Entergy Corp. “is under no legal obligation” to shut down the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, the NRC has asked Entergy for additional information before granting its request to be exempted from costly studies and safety improvements. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

¶   Burlington Electric has settled with current owners of the Winooski One Dam for a purchase price of $16 million. This will allow Burlington Electric to provide a 100% renewable power supply and provide greater energy security. [WCAX]

¶   The Ivanpah Solar Power Plant, the world’s largest solar thermal electric plant has begun operating its three generating units, which will soon deliver enough clean energy to power more than 140,000 homes in Northern and Southern California. [RenewablesBiz]

2-6

¶   In a decisive vote, 341 to 263, the European Parliament called for three binding targets for 2030: a 40% cut in greenhouse gases from 1990 levels; at least 30% of energy to come from renewable sources; and a 40% improvement in energy efficiency. [The Guardian]

¶   “Victory for the Arctic Ocean: No Drilling Next Summer or Maybe Ever” The wild Arctic Ocean just got a blast of good news. Shell Oil bowed to the inevitable and announced it will not be drilling for oil off the coast of Alaska this summer. [Energy Collective]

¶   Azle Texas has suffered a swarm of earthquakes — more than 30 — that has cracked the foundations of the houses, frightened local residents, created sinkholes and raised concerns about property values. Increasingly, science blames fracking. [Resilience]

¶   EDP Renewables will use GE’s Wind PowerUp software to increase the power output of 402 GE 1.5-77 wind turbines located at five U.S. wind farms. The result is expected to be an additional 420,000 MWh each year, enough for 33,000 average US homes. [PennEnergy]

¶   Smithfield Foods commitment to renewable energy is starting to show tangible results according to the company. Anaerobic digesters in Missouri and Utah will soon deliver electricity to neighboring communities. [Hoosier Ag Today]