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African and Islander nations going for small scale, off-grid, renewable technology

Africa: First African Renewable Energy Confab in Accra All Africa, BY AYUUREYISIYA KAPINI ATAFORI, 8 JUNE 2012  “….Off-grid technology is extremely important throughout Africa with many of the continent?s inhabitants without access to the grid.

…….A pioneering role in renewable energy development in Africa has been taken by Cape Verde. The West African islands have set a goal of 50 per cent renewable energy by 2020. Abrao Andrade Lopez, Director General of the Ministry of Industry and Energy, announced that the country was currently running a study to explore how to achieve 100 per cent renewable energy.

In a related development, decreasing dependency on oil imports encouraged 39 of the small island developing states (SIDS) in Africa, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific to meet in Barbados to work out energy efficiency plans.

Islands like Tonga and Tokelau plan to become fully energy independent by 2013, and others are following suit. The small island developing states are writing the stories of their future, said Veerle Vandeweerd, Director of Environment and Energy at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Continue reading →

June 9, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, OCEANIA | Leave a comment

Japanese government ‘in the pocket of the nuclear industry’ will restart reactors

“By ignoring them and continuing his reckless push to restart Ohi, prime minister Noda is compromising the health and safety of millions, and showing just how deep his government is in the pocket of the nuclear industry,”

U-turn on nuclear as Japan PM decides: ‘We can’t do without it’ Scotsman.com 9 June 2012  Japan’s prime minister has ruled that two mothballed nuclear reactors in the west of the country must be restarted to protect jobs and ensure the “survival of society”, risking a backlash amid safety fears more than a year after the Fukushima disaster. Continue reading →

June 9, 2012 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

USA federal ruling means delay in licensing of nuclear power plants

The New York attorney general’s office said the ruling means the NRC cannot license or relicense any nuclear power plant until it examines those risks. That process could take a couple of years, Geoff Fettus, an attorney who argued in court on behalf of the Natural Resources Defense Council, told msnbc.com.

“The need for a new strategy is urgent,” the panel wrote in its report, “not just to address these damages and costs but because this generation has a fundamental, ethical obligation to avoid burdening future generations with the entire task of finding a safe, permanent solution for managing hazardous nuclear materials they had no part in creating.”

Nuclear headache: What to do with 65,000 tons of spent fuel,  By Miguel Llanos, msnbc.com   http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/08/12127578-nuclear-headache-what-to-do-with-65000-tons-of-spent-fuel?lite   In a blow to the nuclear energy industry, a federal appeals court on Friday threw out a rule allowing plants to store spent nuclear fuel onsite for decades after they’ve closed, and ordered regulators to study the risks involved with that storage – 65,000 tons now spread across the country, and growing at 2,000 tons a year.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission “apparently has no long-term plan other than hoping for a geologic repository,” the unanimous ruling stated . “If the government continues to fail in its quest to establish one, then SNF (spent nuclear fuel) will seemingly be stored on site at nuclear plants on a permanent basis. The Commission can and must assess the potential environmental effects of such a failure.” Nuclear plants have been storing spent fuel onsite for decades and the NRC recently said, barring a repository, they may continue to do so even after they shut down. Continue reading →

June 9, 2012 Posted by | USA, wastes | 1 Comment

Fukushima radiation added to human impact on oceans

 Fukushima radiation is showing up in tuna caught off the California coast. A new study published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says that bluefin tuna caught off America’s West Coast are carrying radiation from the nuclear power plant  in Fukushima badly damaged in a tsunami last year. Fortunately, the radiation is not at levels that would be harmful to humans…… Video bonus: It’s hard to find a better ambassador for the sea than Sylvia Earle, who’s been exploring the deep for more than 40 years. Here’s her TED talk  from a few years ago, but it’s more relevant than ever

Roiling in the Deep, Smithsonian.com, 8 June 12“……  marine biologist Callum Roberts wrote in Newsweek,  “With an ever-accelerating tide of human impact, the oceans have changed more in the last 30 years than in all of human history before……. Since today is World Oceans Day,  here’s a rundown of 10 things we now know about the sea that we didn’t a year ago. Continue reading →

June 9, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, oceans | Leave a comment

So far, 2012 USA’s warmest year on record

Warmest U.S. Spring On Record: NOAA, PLanet Ark, 08-Jun-12,  Deborah Zabarenko,  So far, 2012 has been the warmest year the United States has ever seen, with the warmest spring and the second-warmest May since record-keeping began in 1895, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported on Thursday. Continue reading →

June 9, 2012 Posted by | climate change, USA | Leave a comment

Japan should have evacuation plans, and evacuation costs paid by nuclear plant operatrors

Post-Fukushima safety standards should include a .. mechanism to deal with a large nuclear accident. For example, the owner of a plant could be required to work with the regulator to come up with a credible evacuation plan for the residents within an 80-kilometer (50-mile) radius of the installation…… The plan should aim for a complete evacuation within 24 hours…. 

It is also important to specify who pays for an evacuation…

 Since power-plant operators have the largest influence on the probability of an accident, those companies should be required to bear this cost.

How Japan Can Avert Nuclear Disaster Bloomberg, By Takeo Hoshi and Anil K Kashyap Jun 7, 2012  On May 5, the Tomari nuclear plant in Hokkaido shut down for routine maintenance, leaving Japan with no operating nuclear-power plants.

There is a confused debate over what to do next. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has called for restarting the reactors at Ohi plant in Fukui, insisting that bringing them online is
imperative for the economy. Although the government may prevail, many Japanese remain skeptical about nuclear safety…… Continue reading →

June 9, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

USA legislation introduced to boost renewable energy investment

Legislation Would Give Renewable Energy Investors Access To Tax Advantage in News Departments  Policy Watch by SI Staff 08 June 2012 Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan., have introduced the Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act  (MLP Parity Act), legislation that is designed to level the energy playing field by giving investors in renewable energy projects access to a decades-old tax advantage that is currently available only to investors in fossil-fuel-based energy projects.

The Solar Energy Industries Association, among other organizations, has endorsed the legislation…..   http://solarindustrymag.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.10485

June 9, 2012 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) ranks G20 nations on renewable energy

G20 Nations to be Ranked in Global Renewable Energy Scorecard, Sacramento Bee, By Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, D.C., Jun. 8, 2012 
WASHINGTON,  – /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ –– On the eve ofthe Rio+20 Earth Summit, a new Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) report ranks the world’s biggest countries on their deployment of renewable energy and shows how better policies can significantly increase renewable energy deployment in the G20 countries and worldwide….. http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/08/4548242/g20-nations-to-be-ranked-in-global.html#storylink=cpy

June 9, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

India’s solar-powered buses

Apoorva Renewable Energy to make solar-electric buses for transport body Business Line, BANGALORE, JUNE 8: Buses in Bangalore may soon be powered by solar energy. The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has placed orders with Apoorva Renewable Energy Products to design solar-electric hybrid buses, the company CEO, Mr Suresh Babu, said on the sidelines of the Global Investors Meet 2012.

“The BMTC has asked us to provide a sample hybrid vehicle and we have accepted the order and will start working on it,” Mr Babu said. Several other government bodies such as the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) are in talks with the company too, he said.

The company makes three-wheeled vehicles powered by electric and solar power, and customises products for Indian conditions. “Using a common technology, we design products as per customer requirements and outsource the manufacturing,” Mr Babu said.

EXPORTS Currently, the company’s vehicles are used in Delhi and parts of Karnataka and it will start exporting in two months from now….. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/article3505672.ece

June 9, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, India | Leave a comment

Japan’s re-opened nuclear plants will not be safe until after 2015

Filtered vents that could substantially reduce radiation leaks in case of an accident ; a radiation-free crisis management building; and fences to block debris washed up by a tsunami won’t be ready until 2015. This means the plant, as well as plant workers and residents, won’t be fully protected from radiation leaks in case of a Fukushima-class crisis…

Japan readies for reopening of nuclear reactors amid safety concerns, guardian.co.uk,   8 June 2012 Prime minister Yoshihiko Noda assures citizens’ safety and says reactors must be restarted to boost economy… Prime minister Yoshihiko Noda said the government has taken ample safety measures to ensure the two reactors in western Japan would not leak radiation ifan earthquake or tsunami as severe as last year’s should strike them. Continue reading →

June 9, 2012 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

All Africa Renewable Energy Conference for October

Africa: First African Renewable Energy Confab in Accra All Africa, BY AYUUREYISIYA KAPINI ATAFORI, 8 JUNE 2012 The first conference in Africa solely focused on off-grid renewable energy technologies will be held in Accra in October this year with a special look at applications in rural communities of developing countries….. Continue reading →

June 9, 2012 Posted by | AFRICA, renewable | Leave a comment

Russia’s Putin backs Iran’s nuclear developments

Putin says Iran has ‘absolute’ right to nuclear energy, Tehran Times, 8 June 12 TEHRAN – President Vladimir Putin calls Iran a close friend of Russia and says Iran has “absolute right” to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

In a meeting with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the fringes of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Beijing on Thursday, Putin also said, “Russia has always defended the rights of the Iranian nation in all international organizations and considers peaceful use of nuclear energy as the absolute right of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

The remarks by Putin come as Iran and the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) are preparing to hold nuclear talks in Moscow on June 18-19…. http://tehrantimes.com/politics/98558-putin-says-iran-has-absolute-right-to-nuclear-energy

June 9, 2012 Posted by | Iran, politics international | Leave a comment