2015-07-30 Energy Week

Please note that this post is being developed.

Thursday, July 23:

• Given the availability of solar power at 4¢ per kWh, a price with which crude oil could only compete if offered below $7 per barrel, the ‘carbon bubble’ is expected to burst, Wermuth Asset Management has warned. According to the company, this will have profound implications for the Middle East’s oil producing countries, global financial markets and the world. [Trade Arabia]
• Renewable energy sources accounted for nearly 70% of new electrical generation placed in service in the US during the first six months this year. According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Energy Infrastructure Update, wind alone accounted for nearly 2 GW of new generating capacity – or 50.64% of all new capacity year-to-date. [North American Windpower]
• Scituate is the first community in Massachusetts to generate 100% of its power for public buildings from green energy sources. The town installed the solar farm at the former landfill 2 years ago and the wind turbine was erected 3 years ago on the Driftway. Vice-chair of the Scituate Board of Selectmen John Danehey said each project has earned the town over $250,000 annually. [95.9 WATD-FM]

Friday, July 24:

• In June, Dutch district court ordered the Netherlands to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 25% lower than 1990 levels by 2020. This is several percentage points deeper than the 17% reduction the country had been envisaging. The same reasoning used by the Dutch judges for declaring tort law valid for dealing with climate change could be applied elsewhere. [CleanTechnica]

• Developers in Oklahoma and other windy states are ramping up construction on wind farms in the wake of a last-minute renewal of a key federal tax credit that took place at the end of 2014. The American Wind Energy Association said 13,600 MW of capacity was under construction across 101 projects in 24 states. Oklahoma is expected to add another 1,440 MW. [NewsOK.com]
• The earlier revenue-neutral New York State Carbon Tax proposal has now transformed into a combined tax credit and investment proposal, according to the Network For Sustainable Financial Markets. The proposal would allow for tax credits to low-income groups, in addition to encouraging investments for reduced carbon emissions or climate change mitigation. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, July 25:

• Up until mid-last year, oil prices hovered over $100 per barrel, but with its excessive production paired with falling demand, the prices have declined by half and stayed low. The coal industry has also been struggling. Years of buildup in the mining capacity have forced global coal prices to tumble and there’s little hope that the industry will be back firmly to its knees. [CleanTechnica]
• The state of Massachusetts has a goal to produce 1,600 MW of solar power by the year 2020. To do this, the state Senate voted on Thursday to raise the maximum amount of solar power permitted to be resold by consumers to the main grid. This is part of a far larger bill intended to fight against climate change, called the Climate Change Preparedness Bill. [Apex Tribune]
• Almonds, vilified during the current drought for being one of California’s thirstier crops, have a surprisingly small carbon footprint compared to other nutrient-rich crops, according to a report from a team of researchers at the University of California, Davis, and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. California grows about 80% of the world’s commercial almonds. [UC Davis]

Sunday, July 26:

• “Coal is losing the war” While coal industry supporters blame the EPA for its decline, coal’s enemies also include the vast natural gas industry, rising renewable energy, decreased global demand, Wall Street and deep-pocketed nonprofits that deem coal a public-health threat. And they have recently notched a host of victories that show the war is becoming a rout. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

• An IMF study says worldwide energy subsidies are much greater than previously known. The combination of direct and indirect subsidies is projected at $5.3 trillion in 2015, or 6.5% of global GDP. Most of this arises from countries setting energy taxes below levels fully reflecting damage to the environment associated with fossil fuel consumption. Country-level estimates are available. [imf.org]

Monday, July 27:

• An Entrade Energiesystems E3 micro-scale biomass CHP plant has passed 1000 hours of operation (nearly seven weeks), with almost no human interference. The plant produces 22 kW of electrical energy and 55 kW of thermal energy, and plants can be connected in series. The unit fits in a standard shipping container, and can be installed in less than a day. [Renewable Energy Focus]

• Although Kodiak Island relied on hydropower for 80% of the electricity, it also burned 2.8 million gallons of diesel oil, costing $7 million, per year. Kodiak Electric Association set a goal of producing 95% of the community’s electrical needs with renewable energy by 2020. They actually arrived there well ahead of time, and are now 99.7 % renewably powered. [GreenBiz]
• Schneider Electric, S&C Electric Company, and Oncor, which does transmission and distribution, teaming up to put together a microgrid featuring nine separate distributed generation sources along with energy storage infrastructure. Oncor says the project is the “most advanced microgrid in North America,” and will provide insight into optimization strategies. [CleanTechnica]
• Developers of a plan by a Swanton family for what could become Vermont’s latest large-scale wind power project want to ask for state approval before the end of the year in hopes that construction can begin on what may be a seven-turbine, 20-MW installation before the end of 2016. The Swanton Wind project would be on a ridge northeast of St. Albans. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

Tuesday, July 28:

• Norway is hoping to become the “green battery of Europe” by using its hydropower plants to provide instant extra electricity if production from wind and solar power sources in other countries fade. Engineers believe they could use the existing network to instantly boost European supplies and avoid other countries having to switch on fossil fuel plants to make up shortfalls. [Climate News Network]

• FERC issued its monthly report on new US generating capacity. CleanTechnica added a careful estimate of new rooftop solar capacity, and here are the numbers: 44% of new capacity came from wind power, 41.5% came from solar power, 13% was biomass, and 2% was natural gas. Overall, for the first half of 2015, renewables accounted for 78.4% of new capacity. [CleanTechnica]
• Warren Buffett joined leaders of a dozen major US businesses at the White House in calling for robust action on global warming. Berkshire Hathaway, Apple, Walmart, General Motors, Cargill, Bank of America and others announced over $140 billion in investments in low-carbon projects and other actions as they shift toward greater reliance on renewable energy. [Omaha World-Herald]
• Bill Fehrman, CEO of MidAmerican Energy, said Monday the company could get up to 57% of its energy from wind with its latest renewable energy project. Wind’s growing presence in MidAmerican’s portfolio is encouraging, and so is news that the utility is looking to invest in Iowa solar projects; both community solar and utility-sized solar are being considered. [DesMoinesRegister.com]

Wednesday, July 29:

• ABB has commissioned and handed over the DolWin1 offshore wind grid connection to the Dutch-German transmission system operator TenneT. The 800 MW link connects offshore wind farms around 75 kilometers off the German coast with the country’s transmission grid. The DolWin1 grid connection can integrate enough power to supply around one million households. [PennEnergy]

• A surprise backer of a 50% renewable energy target at the Labor Party’s weekend conference was Australia’s largest coal mining and energy union. The president of the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union supports Labor’s energy policy, on the condition a Labor government provide assistance for thousands of workers who might lose their jobs. [The New Daily]
• Germany’s transition from coal-fired and oil-fired power to carbon-free electricity hit a new milestone on July 25, when solar, wind, and other sources of renewable energy met 78% of the day’s energy demand. That beat the old record of 74%, made in May 2014, according to Craig Morris, a journalist who has covered Germany’s energy scene for more than a decade. [TakePart]

2015-07-23 Energy Week

Please note that this post is being developed.

Thursday, July 16:

• Irreversible damage to overheated batteries in Solar Impulse 2 has pushed the second half of its round-the-world flight to early spring 2016. Despite the hard work of the team to repair the batteries that overheated in the record-breaking flight from Nagoya to Hawaii, Si2 will stay in Hawaii for further repairs. [CleanTechnica]
• It turns out the climate change deniers had one thing right: There isn’t 97% agreement among climate scientists. But the real figure is higher, not lower. The scientific “consensus” on climate change has gotten stronger, surging past 97% to more than 99.9%, according to a new study reviewed by MSNBC. [MSNBC]
• Climate change deniers’ new hero is Valentina Zharkova, a professor at Northumbria University in England. Her research seems to suggest a looming “ice age,” which is making your conspiracy-minded uncle cartwheel with glee. But hold on a minute, is the research legit climate science? Not even close. [MSNBC]

Friday, July 17:

• A Japanese delegation from Fukushima, site of a nuclear disaster in March 2011, visited Switzerland to discuss energy policies, technologies and the development of renewable forms of energy. Almost five years after the Fukushima Disaster, many inhabitants of the prefecture can’t lead normal lives. [swissinfo.ch]

Piles of radiated soil lay along the side of a road in a deserted town near the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on June 22, 2015. (Keystone)

• An Analysis Group report claims the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative involving 9 New England and Mid-Atlantic states has added $1.3 billion in economic activity to the region since 2011 and reduced carbon emissions by 15%. The program has also saved people in the area $460 on electricity. [CleanTechnica]
• The New York Public Service Commission established an innovative Shared Renewables program to expand consumer access to local solar, wind and other clean energy resources, particularly among low- and moderate-income New Yorkers. The program aids those who cannot put solar PVs on their homes. [Business Wire]

Saturday, July 18:

• Since the 1970s, tops of over 500 mountains have been removed and more than 2,000 miles of headwater streams destroyed by mountaintop removal coal mining. Now, the US Interior Department has issued proposed water protection rules that would effectively end the common practice. [CleanTechnica]

• A new report commissioned by the Energy Supply Association of Australia has confirmed that, not only is “off-grid” distributed energy supply a viable option for some regional and remote customers, it is also an option that could lead to significant cost savings and other benefits for network operators. [CleanTechnica]
• This week the Sierra Club is celebrating a new milestone: The 200th U.S. coal plant retirement announcement since 2010. This is a huge deal, because in 2010 there were 535 coal plants in the country, so this is almost 40% of the fleet that is going away, with the oldest and dirtiest plants going first. [Treehugger]

Sunday, July 19:

• Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology are collaborating to test and refine a model of hydrogen-supply infrastructure based on chemically bonding the hydrogen rather than attempting to store it as a gas or liquid. A functioning hydrogen supply center will be opened in the prefecture in 2016. [The Japan Times]
• Iowa could meet 40% of its energy needs from wind power within five years, according to an industry report on the state’s wind potential. The state could push its wind-energy mix to 41% in 2020 and supply enough power to more than match its energy usage by 2030, with excess energy to export to other states, the American Wind Energy Association says. [DesMoinesRegister.com]
• Vermont’s Green Mountain Power and its CEO, Mary Powell, have been getting increasing national notice for moving from traditional one-way generation and transmission of power to an “energy services company,” providing customers with a new wide range of products and services. Tom Kuhn, head of the Edison Electric Institute, calls GMP “a real leader.” [Daily Journal]

Monday, July 20:

• Germany added more than three times the amount of offshore wind capacity in the first six months of this year than in the same period of 2014 and the country looks set to reach half of its 2020 offshore target of 6,500 MW later this year. Some 1,765 MW of new offshore capacity were installed in the first six months of 2015, compared with 492 MW in January-June 2014. [Reuters UK]
• Nevada Power is seeking approval to build two 100-MW solar energy projects as part of a three-year plan to help replace the utility‘s coal-fired capacity. The prices in the proposed 20-year agreements with Boulder Solar and Playa Solar 2 are under $50 per MWh. The average cost of solar renewable energy delivered to Nevada Power in 2014 was $137.65 per MWh. [Las Vegas Review-Journal]
• “The Fossil Fuel Energy Industry Is Now Entering Terminal Decline” The detail is interesting and important, but unless we recognise the central proposition, that the fossil fuel age is coming to an end, and within 15 to 30 years, not 50 to 100, we risk making serious and damaging mistakes in climate and economic policy, in investment strategy and in geopolitics and defence. [CleanTechnica]

Tuesday, July 21:

• Cornell Tech is building an applied sciences campus on Roosevelt Island in New York City. It will feature environmentally friendly classrooms and lots of green space, but its most noteworthy feature will be a 250 foot tall dormitory. Designed to house 520 people when it’s completed in 2017, the dormitory will be the tallest Passive House building in the world. [CleanTechnica]

• Offshore UK wind projects going into construction in 2020 could deliver clean power at a cost that is lower than that delivered by new gas-fired power plants, according to a study by consultancy BVG Associated. The report was commissioned by renewable energy developer Statkraft and details how the offshore wind sector could comfortably beat the £100/MWh goal. [Business Green]
• Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has ensured that a laundry-list of tax incentives, including a two-year extension of the wind energy production tax credit, are included in a bill the Senate Finance Committee will consider on July 21. Allies of non-renewable energy sources have worked hard against the inclusion of the wind energy provision. [North American Windpower]

Wednesday, July 22:

• French lawmakers will adopt a long-delayed energy law on Wednesday to reduce the country’s reliance on nuclear reactors and lower carbon emissions by cutting the use of fossil fuels. The sweeping energy transition law reflects a campaign pledge more than three years ago by President Francois Hollande to cut nuclear energy in favor of renewables. [Bloomberg]

• Ongoing expansion of solar energy capacity in India has prompted Deutsche Bank, the international lender based in Frankfurt, Germany, to revise its growth forecast for the segment in India to 34 GW by 2020. The forecast in the report, “India 2020: Utilities & renewables,” is a 240% increase on the previous projection of 14 GW for the period. [Greentech Lead]
• A plan to run a 1,000-MW power line down Lake Champlain and across Vermont to bring Canadian power to southern New England is getting key support in the Green Mountain State. Vermont officials and the CEO of TDI New England said the company has reached agreements with four state agencies, three towns and the state’s largest power company. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

 

2015-07-16 Energy Week

Please note that this post is being developed.

Thursday, July 9:

• Hundreds of wildfires are burning in Alaska and Canada, fed by record high temperatures and drought. They mark a new milestone in the history of climate change. The fires may speed up the melting of permafrost, releasing methane into the atmosphere, as the permafrost’s natural insulation becomes fuel for the fires. [Wired]

• Governor Charlie Baker plans to file legislation to help bring up to 2,400 MW of hydropower to Massachusetts from Canada. Baker’s energy and environmental affairs secretary says the state needs more renewable energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as required by the EPA Clean Power Plan. [Boston Globe]
• New York’s Governor Cuomo announced awards of about $100,000 each to be given to 83 communities across the state to support microgrid projects. These awards were granted as part of the NY Prize microgrid competition to support a new generation of community-based power. [Hudson Valley News Network]

Friday, July 10:

• Climate change is threatening the survival of bumblebees, significantly reducing the habitats in which they can survive, researchers say. Natural ranges are being compressed in Europe and North America. The analysis indicates that warming is having a greater impact than pesticides or land use change. [BBC News]

• The Caribbean nation of Belize is now aiming to go to 100% renewables, reports say. All of its electricity needs are to be met via renewable energy, and it’s transportation sector to fully embrace electric vehicles.The new goal is to get 89% of its electricity via renewables by 2033, with longer term goal of 100%. [CleanTechnica]
• Duke Energy claims a pair of power plants burning natural gas in North Carolina’s Salisbury and Rockingham counties should get credit for burning biogas from swine waste in Missouri and Oklahoma. The NC Pork Council is upset that it will not use the contributions of a single hog in North Carolina. [News & Observer]

Saturday, July 11:

• World seabird populations have suffered a staggering 70% drop over the last 60 years, according to new international research. This means around 230 million seabirds have disappeared across the globe since the 1950s. Climate change, overfishing, and pollution from plastics and oil have been blamed. [Scotsman]

• On an unusually windy day, Denmark found 116% of its electric power needs were met by wind turbines. When electricity demand dropped for the night, it rose to 140%. Interconnectors allowed 80% of the power surplus to go to pumped storage plants in Germany and Norway, and the rest to Sweden. [The Guardian]
• President Obama and presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) have announced separate initiatives to help low-income and middle-income Americans afford solar power. Sanders introduced the Low Income Solar Act, to establish a $200 million loan and grant program throughout the US. [Computerworld]

Sunday, July 12:

• The global solar industry has seen exponential growth in recent years, and that’s expected to continue. After hitting about 178 GW of capacity by the end of 2014, global solar PV capacity is expected to hit 200 GW shortly. BSW-Solar expects the global solar PV capacity to reach at least 400 GW within four years. [CleanTechnica]
• It has emerged that the Australian government is puting a stop to solar investments other than the largest industrial-scale projects. It opened up another front in its war on renewable energy by pulling the plug on investments in the most common form of alternative energy, rooftop and small-scale solar. [The Guardian]
• A Stratham-based alternative energy company hopes to change New Hampshire’s status as a solar energy laggard. NHSolarGarden.com is working on building solar arrays all over the state that would create more solar energy in New Hampshire than all of the current solar energy projects combined. [Foster’s Daily Democrat]

Monday, July 13:

• Oil prices dropped today as Iran and global powers appear close to a historic deal to loosen sanctions in exchange for curbs on Tehran’s nuclear program. Sanctions have long reined in Iran’s oil exports. Crude prices dropped by 1.6% to around $52 a barrel as investors reacted to the potential new supply. [CNN]
• All Wales’ electricity will come from renewable sources within 20 years if Plaid Cymru wins the 2016 assembly election, the party says. Plaid backs community-owned power schemes and energy efficiency. Wales generates twice as much electricity as it uses but only 10% comes from renewable sources like wind. [BBC News]
• A $600 million project by Iberdrola Renewables will put 102 turbines on 22,000 acres near the coastal community of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, with plans for about 50 more. It will be the South’s first wind farm. It will generate about 204 MW, or enough electricity to power about 60,000 homes. [The Denver Post]

Tuesday, July 14:

• ExxonMobil, the world’s biggest oil company, knew as early as 1981 of climate change, seven years before it became a public issue, according to a newly discovered email from one of the firm’s own scientists. Despite this the firm spent millions over the next 27 years on climate denying research. [The Guardian] (I missed this last week, for which I apologize.)
• The Clean Energy Finance Corporation could have an avenue to fight the Australian government’s ban on investing in wind power and rooftop solar, a senior lawyer says. The Abbott Government already tried to abolish the taxpayer-funded $10 billion CEFC twice and now is trying to redirect its efforts. [ABC Online]
• A new energy plan for the next 20 years released by TVA projects electricity demand in the Tennessee Valley to grow at the slowest rate in TVA’s 82-year history. This negates any need for the federal utility to build new nuclear, coal or other major baseload power facilities during that time. [Chattanooga Times Free Press]

Wednesday, July 15:

• The premier of the Australian state of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, says his government is close to announcing plans to boost investment and jobs in the renewable energy sector by bypassing the Abbott government’s policies. In an attack on the Abbot government, he noted that windpower creates many jobs. [The Age]
• A report from the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy says energy intensity relative to the GDP has fallen from 12,100 BTUs per dollar, in 1980, to 6,100 BTUs per dollar, in 2014. Roughly 60% of the cut came from better energy efficiency. The savings were estimated as $800 billion. [CleanTechnica]
• Alabama Power petitioned the Alabama Public Service Commission last month to install up to 500 MW of renewable energy projects, including solar power, a company spokesman confirmed. The company is seeking a way to provide renewable energy for corporate customers who want it in their energy portfolios. [AL.com]

2015-07-09 Energy Week

Please note that this post is being developed.

Thursday, July 2:

• Researchers from the University of Cambridge have developed a coating that can be applied to turbine blades to reduce the amount of sound they make. The material, which is made of 3-D printed plastic, can reduce the noise generated by a blade up to 10 decibels without affecting aerodynamic performance. [Buildings]
• Dong Energy’s 210-MW Westermost Rough offshore wind plant was officially inaugurated off the east coast of England. The project is the first to use Siemens 6-MW wind turbines on a large scale in a commercial project. Each turbine will have an integrated helicopter-hoisting platform at the rear of the nacelle. [reNews]
• Germany has agreed to mothball about five of the country’s largest brown coal power plants to meet its climate goals by 2020, retaining them as a “capacity reserve” system for power shortages. The decision means Germany could meet its goal of reducing German CO2 emissions by 40% by 2020 compared to 1990. [The Guardian]

Friday, July 3:

• Dong has selected Siemens to supply 7-MW turbines for the 1.2-GW Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm in England. The company will use up to 171 of the next-generation machines at what will be the world’s largest wind farm project. The contract has yet to be signed, and work may begin in 2017 for completion in 2018. [reNews]
• Costa Rica produced 98.55% of its electricity through renewable energy sources in the first half of 2015, according to data of state-run utility Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad. The mix includes hydro, geothermal, wind, biomass and solar power. The goal for thermal generation for the year is 2.9%. [SeeNews Renewables]
• Coal is no longer king in America. That’s the latest findings from the US Energy Information Administration, which provides independent statistics and analysis of the energy sector. Coal lost its number one spot as the nation’s top electricity source for the first time on record this April, when it produced less than natural gas. [EcoWatch]
• The White House has categorically rejected biomass fuels as carbon neutral, saying the idea flies in the face of sound science. The administration issued a policy statement declaring its strong opposition to a House measure it believes would undermine President Obama’s ability to put environmental reforms in place. [Utility Dive]

Saturday, July 4:

• Solar Impulse, powered only by the sun, has landed in Hawaii after making a historic 7,200km flight across the Pacific from Japan. The distance covered and the time spent in the air, 118 hours, are records for manned, solar-powered flight. The duration is also an absolute record for a solo, un-refuelled journey. [BBC News]

• Governments must rethink plans for new coal-fired power plants around the world, which are now the “most urgent” threat to the future of the planet, the head of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development warns. The warning from a “club of the world’s richest countries” is strongly worded. [The Guardian]

 

Sunday, July 5:

• The world’s longest underwater electricity cable will soon enable sharing of renewable energy between the UK and Norway. Starting in 2021 power will be able to move as needed, balancing grid loads, thanks to a 730-km (453-mi) underwater cable between Blyth, Northumberland, and Kvilldal in Norway. [Geographical]

• The London Array, the world’s largest offshore wind farm, had its second anniversary of operation. The 630-MW wind project has produced more than 5 TWh of affordable, renewable electricity, while mitigating more than two million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. It powers about 2% of all homes in the UK. [Khaleej Times]

Monday, July 6:

• The National Trust is to invest £30 million in solar panels, woodchip boilers and innovative technology that can extract heat from a lake, in a bid to supply half of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020. The investment is an eightfold increase on what the trust has made in five pilot projects. [The Guardian]

• Twenty subnational governments, with over 220 million people and $8.3 trillion in GDP, have now committed to targeted reductions in carbon emissions through the Compact of States and Regions, a partnership of The Climate Group, CDP, R20, and nrg4SD supported by the United Nations and others. [CleanTechnica]
• Wind power generated 33% of Scotland’s electricity needs in June, according to analysis by WWF Scotland. This represents an increase of 120% compared with June 2014. WWF also found that homes fitted with solar PV panels typically produced sufficient energy to supply themselves in much of the country. [reNews]
• When Vermont became the first state to ban hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in 2012, Governor Peter Shumlin said the ban was “in keeping with our environmental ethic and our protection of our natural resources.” But now the state seems likely to increase the use of fracked gas from Canada. [Barre Montpelier Times Argus]

Tuesday, July 7:

• New York Governor Cuomo announced the state’s solar power increased more than 300% from 2011 to 2014, double the US growth rate. Over 310 MW of solar panels had been installed by the end of last year, enough to power more than 51,000 homes. Over 304 MW more is under contract as of May 2015. [Energy Matters]
• The biggest highlight of the US electricity generation capacity market is that 74% of new US capacity added in January through May of 2015 came from wind and solar power. Renewables overall accounted for 75% of new electricity generation capacity. Wind and solar now make up 7.6% of the US capacity. [CleanTechnica]
• A bipartisan group of mayors from over 250 cities is taking an important stand against “climate change denialism,” calling for the “swift implementation” of climate education in high schools nationwide. This happend at a conference of the United States Conference of Mayors, for cities over 30,000 in population. [CleanTechnica]

Wednesday, July 8:

• As US coal production has seen gradual decline in the last few years, mountaintop removal mines have taken the hardest hit, according to a report from the US Energy Information Administration. Total US coal production decreased about 15%, but mountaintop removal mining saw a 62% drop. [State Journal]

• In Nevada, NV Energy has lined up what may be the cheapest electricity in the US, and it comes from a solar farm. The Berkshire Hathaway company agreed to pay 3.87¢/kWh for power from a 100-MW First Solar project. Include subsidies, and it is close to a record of 5.85¢/kWh set in January in Dubai. [Daily Democrat]
• The White House has taken steps to boost installation of solar power and other renewable energy for federally subsidised housing. The new goal is to install 300 MW of solar and other renewable energy in affordable housing by 2020, tripling a goal set in 2013 which has already been surpassed. [Business Recorder]