2016-09-01 Energy Week

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.wordpress.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Thursday, August 25:

LNG Carrier Galea. Photo by Wolfgang Meinhart. CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

• A study raises questions about how much exports of Canadian liquefied natural gas would reduce carbon emissions abroad, a core justification for developing such an industry. The CD Howe Institute report said Canada’s LNG exports would likely increase emissions in most potential markets, aside from Asia. [Prince George Citizen]
• The Vermont Public Service Board has approved Green Mountain Power’s plans to distribute $302,719 from a Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited fund to various projects around the state. Anaerobic digester research, renewable energy education, and Rutland solar development are the latest beneficiaries. [vtdigger.org]

Friday, August 26:

• A CNN meteorologist is speaking out about going from questioning climate change to siding with the 97% of scientists who acknowledge human activities are warming the planet beyond repair. “As I tell my 11-year old, It’s OK to be wrong as long as you learn from your mistakes,” Chad Myers wrote this week. [Huffington Post]

A new startup is proposing turning abandoned oil and gas wells into energy storage vaults. Photo: Jurgen Vogt / Alamy / Alamy

• In central Texas, a crew is repurposing an abandoned oil and gas well. They are developing a way to turn oil and gas wells into vaults for storing electricity, pumping water into the earth to be heated and pressurized. When it is released, it races through a turbine-generator above ground, generating electricity. [The Guardian]
• Continuing to defy projections, wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources have set a series of records for domestic electrical generation during the first half of 2016, says a report from the US Energy Information Administration. Renewable generation was up 14.5%, natural gas rose by 7.7%, and coal declined 20.1%. [Greentech Lead]
• The Vermont Green Line says it has entered into a partnership with Citizens Energy Corp to give low-income Vermont residents access to large quantities of renewable energy. Citizens Energy will finance its share of the Vermont Green Line and use its profits to help those in need in Vermont. [North American Windpower]

Saturday, August 27:

Flaring natural gas. Photo by Battenbrook. CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

• Hydraulic fracturing and unconventional natural gas development may be associated with health issues such as sinus problems, migraines, and fatigue, according to a peer-reviewed study. The study acknowledges its own limitations and says more research is necessary to determine whether fracturing caused the symptoms. [Bloomberg BNA]
• The UK can meet its energy and climate change targets without the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant, an Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit report found. More wind farms, gas-fired power stations, and demand management could save £1 billion a year “while keeping the lights on and meeting climate targets.” [This is The West Country]

Sunday, August 28:

Total is investing in SunPower. SunPower image.

• Over the last five years, French oil and gas giant Total has acquired stakes in solar giant SunPower and battery integrators Stem and Sunverge, and has bought a battery company called Saft. Eventually, these companies could create a vertically integrated renewable energy giant of the future, replacing big oil. [Motley Fool]
• Tesla Motors moved a step closer in its bid to buy SolarCity after federal regulators said the $2.6 billion deal doesn’t present antitrust concerns. According to Reuters, the Federal Trade Commission quickly signed off “because the merging companies have few or no overlaps.” The deal was announced earlier this month. [89.3 KPCC]

Monday, August 29:

Recently fallen snow on Colorado National Monument. Photo by Tewy. CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

• “Public lands and the next president” • The GOP platform, approved by the party in July, calls for the sale, privatization, or transfer of our public lands, including our national parks and monuments. The party’s nominee also poses serious risks to our public lands through his denial of the science of climate change. [Grand Junction Daily Sentinel]
• The comprehensive win for Labor in the Northern Territory election means that state and territory governments proposing ambitious renewable energy targets are now in the majority in Australia. The new chief minister, who favors renewables, replaces one who loudly supported coal seam gas and fracking technologies. [RenewEconomy]

M-100 turbine. Nova image.

• Nova Innovation has put power on the grid from a pair of 100-kW tidal turbines in the waters of Shetland. The device developer said the two-unit Bluemill installation is the “first offshore tidal array in the world to deliver electricity to the grid.” The initial M-100 turbine was installed off Shetland in March. [reNews]
• According to US Wind, Maryland is poised to develop the nation’s first large-scale offshore windfarm. The 750-MW project would have up to 187 turbines, producing power for more than 500,000 homes. The company is surveying and installing a meteorological station to assess weather conditions at the site. [Southern Maryland Online]

Tuesday, August 30:

Crystal Serenity in a Norwegian Fjord. Photo by Bundesstefan. CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

• The residents of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, a hamlet of about 1,400 people, welcomed 1,000 visitors as the giant cruise ship Crystal Serenity lay anchor off the shore. In the past, any ships that traveled through the region needed the help of ice breakers. However, now, with record sea ice loss in the Arctic, there isn’t the need. [Globalnews.ca]
• The Iowa Utilities Board has given MidAmerican Energy the green light for Wind XI, the utility’s planed $3.6 billion wind energy investment, the largest renewable energy project in the state. The project is part of Des Moines-based MidAmerican’s goal to reach 100 percent renewable energy for Iowa customers. [The Gazette]
• The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change has 130 institutions, supporting $13 trillion worth of investment. They urged the G20 nations to ratify the Paris agreement, saying countries must ratify the Paris COP21 climate agreement soon to guarantee strong climate policy and attract renewable energy investment. [CleanTechnica]

Wednesday, August 31:

Talk about a market opportunity. (Reuters/Aly Song)

 

• A survey of 3,000 Chinese city-dwellers by Ipsos Mori, a polling company, found that a massive 97.6% of them would like to buy clean power. Of those, over 90% would be willing to pay extra for it. The poll was commissioned by the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association. The problem is no one is selling it. [Quartz]
• Omaha Public Power District announced Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station will cease operations October 24. The plant went into operation in September, 1973. The public power district says the move could save nearly $1 billion over the next 20 years, and executives say the move will keep electricity rates flat for the next five. [KETV Omaha]
• The sharp increase in the use of renewables like solar and wind has provided more flexibility to the German electricity market. Energy-intensive industries have renewables to thank for the decline in wholesale prices. There have been a number of other economic benefits, including creation of jobs and exports. (Graphics) [EurActiv]

 

 

 

 

2016-08-25 Energy Week

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.wordpress.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Since the previous show was recorded on Tuesday, this show has nine days’ news.

Tuesday, August 16:

Solar panels and sheep at the biggest solar park of the Benelux. Photo by Antalexion. CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikimedia Commons.

• University of Queensland is saving $50,000 a year in mowing costs at its Gatton campus solar farm by using sheep to keep the vegetation down. The ABC reports that to mow the grounds used to take 4 days and cost a significant chunk of change. Now, ten sheep help cut mowing costs and seem to be enjoying doing so. [Energy Matters]

• Wind energy still accounts for an extremely small share of all federal energy incentives, according to the most comprehensive review of energy incentives to date. AWEA’s compilation of all available data shows that for every dollar spent on federal energy incentives, wind energy received less than 3 cents. [Windpower Engineering]

Wednesday, August 17:

• The Netherlands may soon approve of an outright ban on new cars fueled by gasoline or diesel fuel by the year 2025. Only zero-emissions cars powered by batteries or hydrogen fuel cells would be permitted. Germany may not be far behind, with growing murmurs in support of a ban on conventional cars by 2030. [CleanTechnica]
• The federal government calls the impact of carbon dioxide the “social cost of carbon,” and the EPA set a price at $36 per metric ton of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. A group of refrigerator makers sued, calling the price “arbitrary and capricious,” but a federal district court ruled against them unanimously. [CleanTechnica]

Thursday, August 18:

Road closed due to weather. FEMA photo, after Hurricane Katrina. Public domain. Wikimedia Commons.

• July was the world’s hottest month ever, according to NASA, the tenth month in a row to break temperature records globally. Since October 2015, every month has set a new global record for hottest temperatures, but the rise may slow down soon. A developing La Nina weather pattern may help, though probably not until 2017. [CNN]
• Electric utilities cannot pass on to their Massachusetts ratepayers the costs of financing new natural gas pipelines, the state’s highest court ruled on Wednesday. The unanimous decision from the Supreme Judicial Court was cheered by environmental groups, which had dubbed the proposed tariffs a “pipeline tax.” [Boston Herald]

Wind turbines in North Dakota. USFWS Mountain-Prairie photo. CC BY-SA 2.0. Wikimedia Commons.

• Wind energy pricing remains attractive to utility and commercial purchasers, according to an annual report released by the US Department of Energy and prepared by the Electricity Markets & Policy Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The levelized long-term price of wind power averages around 2¢/kWh. [EurekAlert]
• Vermont’s largest electric utility has committed to purchase 14 hydroelectric dams in New England and to get power from two others, a buy that will net Green Mountain Power an added 17 MW of energy production for just over $20 million. The dams will help the company meet statutory renewability requirements. [vtdigger.org]

Friday, August 19:

Final turbine installed at Block Island. Deepwater Wind photo.

• Fred Olsen jack-up vessel Brave Tern has lifted the final turbine at the 30-MW Block Island project in Rhode Island, a long-awaited milestone for America’s first offshore wind farm. “The Block Island wind farm is now fully constructed,” Deepwater Wind’s CEO said on Twitter. Crews are working on electrical connections. [reNews]
• The recent power supply auction in Chile got a solar bid of $29.1/MWh (€25.65/MWh) for the Maria ElenaPV park, built by SunEdison. That bid marks the world’s record lowest for solar. The previous record was an offer of $29.9/MWh for the 800-MW third phase of a 5-GW solar power complex in Dubai. [SeeNews Renewables]

Saturday, August 20:

Hydrogen fuel cell cars fueling, Fountain Valley, California.

• When produced using renewable energy, hydrogen could cost nearly the equivalent of 50-cent-per-gallon gasoline, according to a study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The NREL plan assumes large-scale production of hydrogen through electrolysis, but with renewable energy used for power. [Green Car Reports]
• The oil and gas sector is headed for much more “turbulent times” beyond the ongoing oil bust, former Vice President Al Gore said in an interview with the Houston Chronicle. He said the industry will go through the same pains as the coal sector unless it adopts more renewable and sustainable sources of power and fuel. [Houston Chronicle]

Sunday, August 21:

Crystal Serenity.

• In a rare endeavor, Crystal Serenity has embarked on a 32-night journey through the Northwest Passage, the Arctic region north of Canada that was unattainable until just 100 years ago. Crystal Serenity is about to become the largest ship ever to attempt the Northwest Passage. There are nearly 1,000 passengers aboard. [RusTourismNews]
• At least three municipalities in Finland are considering founding solar parks within their city limits to create energy from the sun. In one community about an hour north of Helsinki, a biogas facility would make use of biomass from the local community and agriculture, in addition to the solar-powered electricity. [YLE News]

Monday, August 22:

• Opinion: “UK energy mix faces seismic shift” • These last weeks have been a time when an inescapable set of signals emerges, all pointing in the same direction. The idea that renewables are not competitive with fossil fuels and nuclear power has lost all basis in fact. It’s time to wake up to the energy revolution. [Climate Home]

The ANU solar thermal dish. Image: Stuart Hay, ANU

• A team of Australian National University scientists brought economically competitive solar thermal energy generation closer to reality. They hit a record in efficiency for the technology with a design that boosts conversion of sunlight to steam to 97%. This could produce a 10% reduction in the cost of solar thermal electricity. [RenewEconomy]

Tuesday, August 23:

Arctic Sunrise.

• Navigating through the icy waters of the Arctic, a Greenpeace ship is delivering solar panels to the Inuit community of Clyde River, Nunavut. Delivering solar panels and a team to install the systems for the Clyde River community is Greenpeace’s way of offering a better solution to meet increasing demands for energy. [CleanTechnica]
• A strong national commitment to nuclear energy goes hand in hand with weak performance on climate change targets, researchers at the University of Sussex and the Vienna School of International Studies have found. Pro-nuclear countries have been slow to implement wind, solar, and hydropower technologies. [(e) Science News]

Wednesday, August 24:

Specialist ships are needed to build offshore wind turbines. Nightman1965 / shutterstock.

• A study of the UK’s offshore wind energy potential has suggested that the total amount of economically feasible installed capacity offshore might be up to 675 GW. This could provide more than six times the UK’s present electricity demand. Steady winds and shallow waters make offshore wind in the UK especially attractive. [CleanTechnica]
• Green Mountain Power and Efficiency Vermont are partnering on a community-wide rapid energy transformation project in Panton to reduce energy costs, lower fossil fuel use, and improve comfort. The project is called eVolve Panton, and it will put Panton at the forefront of energy innovation in Vermont. [Vermont Biz]
• As residents of Louisiana this week struggle to recover from a 1,000-year flood, “one of the worst floods in modern history,” there is a chance that federal aid may not be so forthcoming thanks to a trio of Bayou State Republicans, who back in 2013 voted against helping victims of another storm: Hurricane Sandy. [eNews Park Forest]

2016-08-16 Energy Week

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.wordpress.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Scheduling at BCTV made it necessary to record this show on Tuesday, August 16, so it only has five days’ news.

Thursday, August 11:

Kiara Nirghin won Google’s Community Impact Award.

• With South Africa in its worst drought in history, a 16-year-old schoolgirl from Johannesburg created a super absorbent polymer out of orange peel and avocado skins. It is capable of storing reserves of water hundreds of times its own weight, forming reservoirs that would allow farmers to maintain their crops at minimal cost. [CNN]
• Exelon Corp said in its August 9 quarterly Form 10-Q report that the New York ISO has said its doesn’t need the Ginna nuclear plant operating beyond March of next year for grid reliability purposes. Ginna is a 581-MW, single-unit pressurized water reactor located in Ontario County, New York. [Electric Light & Power]

Harestanes wind farm in Scotland (Iberdrola image).

• Wind power generated the equivalent of all Scotland’s electricity needs on 7 August, according to WWF Scotland. Analysis by WWF of data provided by WeatherEnergy found that for August 7, wind turbines in Scotland provided 39,545 MWh to the National Grid. Scotland’s demand for the day was 37,202 MWh. [reNews]
• Germany added 150 bio-gas plants in 2015, with 23 MW of capacity. This was the smallest annual increase since the Renewable Energy Sources Act was first adopted in 2000. The overall pace of additional construction is somewhat disappointing. Nearly 9,000 bio-gas plants are currently operational in Germany. [Blue & Green Tomorrow]

Friday, August 12:

Deepwater wind – first US offshore project. Deepwater wind photo.

• American offshore wind power is one step closer to becoming a reality, with installation of the first turbines at Deepwater Wind’s Block Island project now complete. The Block Island Wind Farm will be America’s first offshore wind farm, and it remains on-schedule to be fully commissioned this fall. [Renewables International]
• A coalition of individuals and businesses seeking to protect Vermont’s environment and repower our state with local renewables have launched a campaign in support of wind power in Vermont. The coalition, Wind Works VT launched a website and will promote wind power as an essential part of the state’s energy future. [Vermont Biz]

Saturday, August 13:

Lightsource solar farm.

• The UK’s surging solar PV capacity has helped the country to a new quarterly renewable generation record. In Q1 2016 renewables generated 25.1% of the UK’s electricity despite lower than expected wind speeds and rainfall. That figure was up 2.3 percentage points on generation recorded in Q1 2015. [Solar Power Portal]

Scotland’s wind turbines (Image: Dorli Photography)

• Scotland is pledging to reach 100% renewable sustainability for energy production by the year 2020, a reasonable goal after meeting 100% of the energy demand through wind power alone for a day. Scotland is believed to have the largest oil reserves in Europe, but has proven they largely do not need it. [Interesting Engineering]
• Britain’s Chinese partner in the Hinkley Point power station deal has been accused of plotting to steal US nuclear secrets. A nuclear engineer for state-owned China General Nuclear is accused of setting up US experts to obtain sensitive information, confirming the worst suspicions of critics of the UK-Chinese nuclear deal. [Sputnik International]

Sunday, August 14:

Mountain Wind Power wind turbines in Uinta County, Wyoming. Photo by CGP Grey. CC BY-SA 2.0. Wikimedia Commons.

“Who owns the wind? We do, Wyoming says, and it’s taxing those who use it” • Four years ago, the Wyoming Legislature began entertaining a lofty question: Who owns all of that wind? They concluded, quickly and conveniently, that Wyoming did. Then they did something no other state has done: They taxed it. [Los Angeles Times]

Residents of Sardar Para in Satjeliya Island and the village’s solar panels. WWF photo.

The World Wildlife Fund offered the people of the village of Sardar Para, in Bangladesh, home solar systems, but many were skeptical. Then local women formed a self-help group and found an acceptable answer. A 4.1-kW PV array provides power, and each home has its own battery-powered energy access kit. [The Weekend Leader]

Monday, August 15:

Stormy weather. (Photo: Ines Hegedus-Garcia / Flickr)

• By mid-morning on Friday, in just a 12-hour stretch, more than a foot of rain fell near Kentwood, Louisiana. It was  a downpour with an estimated likelihood of just once every 500 years, and roughly three months’ worth of rainfall during a typical hurricane season. It’s the latest in a string of what had once been rare rainstorms. [Pacific Standard]
• The crown estate has waded into the battle over Hinkley Point, pointing out that offshore windfarms are already cheaper than the proposed atomic reactors. The crown estate said that windfarms at sea will be on course to meet 10% of the country’s electricity by 2020, sooner than Hinkley Point C can to produce 7%. [The Guardian]

Jeremy Turner, managing forester at Stiles Brook Forest. Photo by Mike Faher/VTDigger

• The managing forester for Stiles Brook Forest, in Windham County, Vermont, sees an uncertain future because of climate change. Some signs are stunted trees, increasing numbers of invasive insects, and a dwindling moose population. A controversial plan to install 28 wind turbines at Stiles Brook is part of the solution. [vtdigger.org]

Tuesday, August 16:

Wednesday, August 17:

2016-08-11 Energy Week

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.wordpress.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Thursday, August 4:

Guilin, China

• Opinion: “What I Saw in China Will Help Change the World” • Air pollution is blamed for 1 million premature deaths a year in China and for reducing life expectancy by nearly 25 months. China alone accounts for 27% of the global carbon footprint. But the country is doing a lot to fight climate change . [Natural Resources Defense Council]
• Opinion: “Institutional investors are heeding climate warnings. Should you, too?” • Most people recognize that climate change is a risk for life on Earth. But a warming planet is likely to be dangerous to investment portfolios, too. Institutional money managers are coming to realize it, and retail investors should pay heed as well. [The Globe and Mail]
• California is the first in the country to publish a draft blueprint for fulfilling the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, for cutting existing power plant emissions. The state’s landmark cap-and-trade program for carbon emissions and proposed amendments to extend that system will be used for compliance. [Environment & Energy Publishing]

Friday, August 5:

Apple solar array.

• SiliconBeat reports that Apple received approval to begin selling off its excess renewable energy. The approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission means Apple will be able to start selling excess energy generated from its solar farms and other renewable energy facilities it has located in Nevada, Arizona, and California. [9 to 5 Mac]

Some politicians blame wind farms for supply problems. Photo: Bloomberg

• AGL said the batteries it plans to install in and around Adelaide will be linked with solar panel arrays in a system that would be the “world’s largest virtual power plant.” The company hopes the system will help meet demand peaks and avoid the need to source electricity from local power stations. [The Sydney Morning Herald]
• “Nuclear Power Is Losing Money At An Astonishing Rate” • Half of the existing nuclear power plants are no longer profitable. The New York Times and others have tried to blame renewable energy, but the admittedly astounding price drops of renewables aren’t the primary cause of the industry’s woes. [ThinkProgress]

Saturday, August 6:

With no access to power lines or plenty of cow manure, Pa Deng’ s villagers have turned to faeces. (Photo: AFP)

• Nestled in a deep pocket of forest, off Thailand’s electrical grid, villagers in Pa Deng have become early adopters and evangelists for an unusual alternative energy source: poop. After successfully lighting up their homes with solar panels and stoves fueled by cow dung, the villagers are now clean energy crusaders. [Deccan Chronicle]

Walney Wind Farm in the Irish Sea. DONG photo.

• US grid operator ISO-New England is mulling a request from DONG Energy, which is seeking an 800-MW of grid capacity for its planned 1-GW Bay State wind farm off the Massachusetts coast. DONG wants the link at Brayton Point power station, where an existing 1-GW coal plant is scheduled to close next year. [reNews]
• The White House Council on Environmental Quality directed Federal agencies to consider the impacts of their actions on climate change in all decision-making. According to the White House, “Federal agencies are required to consider and disclose the potential effects of their actions and decisions on the environment.” [CleanTechnica]
• Hampshire College is constructing the largest campus solar power array in New England. The project will put 15,000 solar panels on 19 acres of campus land to generate 4.7 MW of electricity and includes a battery storage system. Hampshire College will be able to boast that 100% of its electricity will come from renewable energy. [WAMC]

Sunday, August 7:

Manything turns old smartphones into video monitoring devices. Photograph: Manything

• Old smartphones can give us new opportunities. “There are around one billion idle smartphones in America,” the head of a startup business says. “They’re just sitting in drawers at the moment destined for landfill. Yet they’ve got a GPS, two cameras, a microphone, a processor and five or six other useful sensors.” [The Guardian]
• A California project would have 100 turbines on platforms tethered to ocean floor floating 33 miles off the coast. Trident Winds, a Seattle-based company, plans to place the turbines off the coast of Morro Bay. The turbines would be affixed to floating platforms, which would be tethered to the sea floor using cables. [Seeker]

Monday, August 8:

• Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin and Public Service Department Commissioner Chris Recchia announced today that the PSD has reached an agreement with Green Mountain Power that, pending Public Service Board approval, will result in a 0.93% rate increase for GMP customers in the coming year. [vtdigger.org]

Sam Villella wants to add more panels, but a new electric co-op fee is holding him back. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

• Electric co-ops across Minnesota have instituted fees on new residential solar arrays based on a 2015 law, and renewable energy advocates are angry. Lyon-Lincoln Electric charges a customer $49 per month for a rooftop solar connection. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is investigating the fees. [Duluth News Tribune]

Tuesday, August 9:

• EDF’s decision to invest in the £18 billion Hinkley Point nuclear plant should be declared invalid, French trade unions have said. The unions at the French firm said senior board members knew that the UK government was considering delaying its final decision, but did not disclose this before last month’s vote. [The Guardian]

Solar panels were used to charge devices during a power outage on the Aran Islands. A little power is better than none at all.

• A prolonged electricity blackout affecting two of the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland has given renewed impetus to making the islands carbon-neutral and independent, according to a local renewable-energy project. The outage began when a submarine cable was broken on Friday and lasted until Monday night. [Irish Times]
• A festive feeling took hold as Governor Charlie Baker signed an energy bill that could launch an offshore wind industry in Massachusetts. New Bedford is poised to benefit from offshore wind development, potentially at the $113 million, state-funded Marine Commerce Terminal just inside the hurricane barrier. [SouthCoastToday.com]

Wednesday, August 10:

• Alaska averaging 33.9° over seven months may not seem warm to folks in the Lower 48. But that just proves they haven’t lived there. A not-far-above-freezing high from January 1 to July 31 is a virtual heat wave. This year’s average is 8.1° above the 20th century average of 25.8°. So far, 2016 has been the hottest year on record. [CNN]

Power can be created where salt water meets fresh, such as at this estuary. (Photo: 27707 / Pixabay)

• A team of international scientists from Switzerland and the United States developed a powerful osmosis power plant capable of generating more power than any osmotic power generator that has come before. An osmosis power plant creates power by use of a membrane separates salt water from fresh. [Nature World News]
• New figures from GTM Research have revealed that the United States currently has 10 GW of utility-scale solar PV projects currently under construction. In 2015, the entire US solar sector installed a record 7,286 MW. In 2015, the country’s utility solar sector grew 6%, but 2016 may see a growth rate of over 100%. [CleanTechnica]
• The Massachusetts legislature passed a bill to make the state one of only three to have an energy storage mandate, and Governor Charlie Baker (R) signed the landmark measure on August 9. Massachusetts began paving the way for more far-reaching storage policies over a year ago with an energy storage initiative. [Utility Dive]