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The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Northern Scotland goes from nuclear to wind and waves, DW 19 Oct 12, The sparsely populated region of Caithness in northern Scotland once relied heavily on the development of nuclear energy for electric power and for job creation. Now wind and wave energy are set to take over. Continue reading →

October 20, 2012 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

International Renewable Energy Agency’s success in developing countries

The World Energy Forum in Dubai from October 22 to 24 is a major event. It is the first time this event is being held away from UN headquarters in New York.

Renewable energy in developing countries to inspire world http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/environment/renewable-energy-in-developing-countries-to-inspire-world-1.1090242 Around 160 countries joined Irena within a few years — an unprecedented achievement By Binsal Abdul Kader,   October 16, 2012 Abu Dhabi: Initiatives in renewable energy in developing countries will inspire the world to adopt clean energy to address energy poverty and climate change caused by pollution, a top official of International Renewable Energy said on Monday. Continue reading →

October 17, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, decentralised | Leave a comment

USA leads in 5 top countries using renewable energy

5 Top Countries Leading The World In Renewable Energy, Care 2, by Judy Molland October 9, 2012 ”  Sustainable Energy and Renewable Energy are terms that are thrown around a lot these days, but what exactly do they mean, and how many countries are taking them seriously?

The US Energy Information Adminstration  (EIA) estimates that in 2008, 10% of the world’s energy consumption was from renewable energy sources. EIA forecasts that by 2035, consumption of renewable energy will be about 14% of total world energy consumption.

What are these renewable sources?

First, what they are not: the coal, oil and natural gas that the U.S. relies heavily on are all non-renewable, and will eventually dwindle and disappear.

By contrast, the many types of renewable, or sustainable, energy resources, such as wind and solar energy, are constantly replenished and will never run out…. And why do we love renewable energy?

These are clean sources of energy, meaning they have a much lower environmental impact than conventional energy technologies. They won’t run out, their costs revolve around materials and workmanship for facilities rather than on expensive energy imports, and better yet, renewable energy technologies developed and built in the U.S. are being sold overseas. Finally, U.S. energy security is at risk when we become so dependent on foreign oil supplies. Continue reading →

October 10, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

Barefoot Power and Kiva bring decentralised renewable energy across the world

Barefoot Power and Kiva Join Forces, Making Renewable Energy Solutions a Reality http://prwire.com.au/pr/32383/barefoot-power-and-kiva-join-forces-making-renewable-energy-solutions-a-reality, 9 Oct 12, 
Award-winning social enterprise Barefoot Power and non-profit organisation Kiva are working together to improve the lives of millions of families that do not have access to affordable energy in remote communities across the world. Continue reading →

October 10, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, decentralised | Leave a comment

How wind power from Ireland could power UK

Irish Wind Could Help Power The UK By 2020  http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3412 by Energy Matters, 8 Oct 12 Wind power has the potential to deliver billions of Euros to the Irish economy and unlock thousands of new jobs under a plan to supply the UK with renewable electricity via an undersea “Energy Bridge”. Continue reading →

October 9, 2012 Posted by | Ireland, renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Renewable energy resulting in cheaper baseload power

German baseload power cheaper than French 12 months running, Renewables International, 7 Oct 12 Yesterday, the European Energy Exchange (AEX) released figures for September, revealing that the price of baseload power in Germany has fallen by nearly 0.8 cents per kilowatt-hour over the past year – and has been cheaper than baseload power in France for 12 consecutive months.
The EEX published the trading results for September yesterday, but unfortunately the press release is currently only available in German.
What it shows is that day-ahead prices in Germany & Austria are lower than in France or Switzerland both in terms of base load and peak load. Indeed, though the press release explains that prices on the German and French markets “converge 75% of the time” (during periods of low consumption, such as during the night and on weekends), the difference in prices has become considerable, with the difference in base load prices being 4% on the average for September…..
day-ahead prices have been lower in Germany than in France for 12 consecutive months. The average German baseload price in September was slightly below the price in August, so the downward pressure on prices continues. The drop over the past 12 months in Germany has indeed been quite dramatic at around 18% – from 5.264 cents per kilowatt-hour in
September 2011 to the current 4.467 cents last month.

The news is especially important because nuclear power, which provides slightly more than 75% of France’s power supply, is often held to be an especially inexpensive source of baseload power. Furthermore, opponents of renewables repeatedly voice their concern about the cost impact of green power scaring away industry. …..
http://www.renewablesinternational.net/german-baseload-power-cheaper-than-french-12-months-running/150/537/57302/

October 8, 2012 Posted by | Germany, renewable | Leave a comment

Renewable energy taking over in European regions

100 % RENEWABLE ENERGY IS ALREADY REALITY World Future Council,  8 Oct 12, Anna Leidreiter Europe is showing the world that we can move to a sustainable energy future based on cost-effective, clean and stable supplies. Renewable energies (RE) accounted for more than 71% of total electric capacity additions in 2011, bringing renewable energy’s share of total electric capacity to 31.1%. A number of European cities, regions and countries have committed to and even already achieved 100% renewable energy-sourced electricity, heating, and transport.

A network of 100% RE regions in Germany has 74 regions and municipalities that have already reached 100% renewable energy. One of these is Jühnde, the first bioenergy village in Germany. Through its 712kW biogas plant Jühnde produces twice the amount of electricity demanded by the local area and provides heat for 70% of the inhabitants through the co-operative, with 80% of the revenue remaining in the region. The initiative began with a public meeting in 2001 and citizen participation continues to be emphasised.

The municipality of Skellefteå, Sweden, is another good example of ambitious RE targets being set and met through community-owned power. Skellefteå Kraft is Sweden’s fifth largest electricity producer and 100% municipality-owned. The company, therefore, has a social mandate over and above its commercial pursuits. With renewables accounting for nearly 90% of its energy production it is in a good position to contribute to reaching the national targets of 50% share of renewable energy in the energy mix and 10% in transport by 2020, targets that will increase to 100% by 2050 and 2030, respectively.

This is reality not only in small towns: Denmark makes the case that 100% RE targets are set and can be met at a national level in one of the world’s wealthiest countries. As with Germany’s approach to achieving the 100% renewable energy target, the Danish experience has been one of bottom-up, participatory community power. On the Thy peninsula, where the World Future Council‘s workshop on 100% Renewable Energy in European Regions is taking place this wekeend at the Folkecenter, renewable energy – the bulk of which coming from wind – account for 100% of electricity consumption and 85% of space heating. The ‘Fossil-Free Thy’ project initiated by the Folkecenter aims to reach 100% renewable energy heating in the region in several years, and Thy is but one European example already demonstrating the feasibility of a fully renewable energy supply….. http://power-to-the-people.net/2012/10/100-renewable-energy-is-already-reality/

October 8, 2012 Posted by | EUROPE, renewable | Leave a comment

Massive solar power farm for Japan

SMA Solar Inverters To Be Used In Japan’s Biggest Solar Farm http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3409 5 Oct 12 SMA has been selected as the sole supplier of inverters for Japan’s largest solar power plant.

The 70 megawatt solar panel based project operated by Kagoshima Mega Solar Power Corporation will utilise 140 Sunny Central 500CP–JP inverters. SMA will also supply 1,260 Sunny String Monitors for monitoring the massive solar farm. Continue reading →

October 5, 2012 Posted by | Japan, renewable | Leave a comment

Ubnited Nations’ drive for Sustainable Energy for All

Accelerating the Drive toward Renewable Energy    http://cleantechnica.com/2012/10/03/accelerating-the-drive-toward-renewable-energy-exclusive-article-from-adnan-z-amin/ OCTOBER 3, 2012    In 2011, while the cost of renewable energy technologies continued to fall, global total investment reached a record $257 billion, and global renewable power capacity exceeded 1,360 GW. With these investments, renewable energy has moved from a niche, environmentally driven option into an economically viable solution to meet the growing energy demand of a rapidly growing global population.
……    One way of increasing the global momentum of renewable energy technologies, whether in innovation or implementation, is by identifying the business case for renewables. We can do this by demonstrating the many situations where renewable energy has reached grid parity, or where it has created energy access, or reduced the costs of powering businesses. This will empower people to create solutions for the practical issues that are currently constraining uptake.

Fortunately, there are numerous international initiatives that are promoting and recognising practical contributions to renewable energy globally. I have the honour of being involved at a high level with several of these. One is the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s global initiative “Sustainable Energy for All ,” which aims to achieve universal access to modern energy services, double the improvement in energy efficiency, and double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix by 2030. The Secretary-General has called on governments, private sector, and civil society to make commitments towards achieving these complimentary objectives, and many, including the International Renewable Energy Agency, have answered this call.

October 4, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

Small scale renewable energy promoted by California’s Governor

Governor signs bill to ease small-scale renewable energy generation http://westernfarmpress.com/government/governor-signs-bill-ease-small-scale-renewable-energy-generation
Oct. 1, 2012  California farmers, school districts and commercial energy users got a boost with the Gov. Brown’s signing of Senate Bill 594, which removes barriers to on-site renewable energy production. The California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN), a coalition of sustainable agriculture organizations, supported the bill. Senate Bill 594, authored by Sen. Lois Wolk (D-Davis), will allow Net Energy Metering (NEM) customers to aggregate the electrical load of their meters.

The new law will ease the production of small-scale distributed renewable energy production in the state. “California farmers produce more renewable energy on their farms and ranches than their counterparts in other states, but obstacles still exist,” said Jeanne Merrill, policy director with CalCAN. “The governor’s action today moves us closer to developing more on-farm renewable energy production throughout California.”

Farmers and ranchers typically have multiple meters on their property. Current California law prohibits the power generated from an on-site renewable facility to be counted against other meters. Consequently, farmers would have to install a separate facility for each meter, which is extremely inefficient and cost prohibitive; thus limiting their ability to cost-effectively generate renewable energy. Senate Bill 594 addresses this issue and eliminates the need for multiple facilities.

“The governor just made it easier and more affordable for growers like me to produce renewable energy,” said Russ Lester, owner of Dixon Ridge Farms in Winters, Calif. “California agriculture can help the state reduce greenhouse gas emissions and produce clean energy. Senate Bill 594 is an important step forward.”

Senate Bill 594 will move California closer to meeting the governor’s goal of 12,000 megawatts of distributed renewable energy generation in the state.  For more information on Senate Bill 594, please see: http://bit.ly/oNr9fT .

October 3, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, USA | Leave a comment

Australian Government set up a Renewable Energy Package- a good model for USA

What America Can Learn from Australia’s New Clean Energy Future Package http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/29/929441/what-america-can-learn-from-australias-new-clean-energy-future-package/ Sep 29, 2012  by Jennifer Morgan, via WRI Insights  Australia, one of world’s most  carbon-intensive countries, recently began implementing a comprehensive national policy to address climate change and transition to a clean-energy economy. Yesterday, WRI had the pleasure of hosting Mark Dreyfus , Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, who outlined his country’s plans to a group of business, congressional, and NGO representatives.

One point that came through at the event is that Australia’s recent energy and climate choices can be very instructive to the United States. This post provides a quick look at Australia’s new policy and explores how it can inform and inspire U.S. efforts  to move toward a low-carbon future.

Why Did Australia Adopt a National Climate and Energy Policy? Continue reading →

October 1, 2012 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, renewable | Leave a comment

Punjab goes all out for solar power

Punjab to set up solar photo-voltaic power packs across state: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Punjab/Chandigarh/Punjab-to-set-up-solar-photo-voltaic-power-packs-across-state/SP-Article1-937965.aspx  Majithia Punjab is all set to set up solar photo-voltaic power packs in households across the state in a major move to encourage use of solar energy for basic electricity needs, Non-Conventional Energy
Minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia said on Sunday. He said the government was making all
efforts to fulfill the gap in demand and supply of electricity by installing more generating capacity in the renewable energy sector as well as conventional sector.
Majithia said Punjab has considerable sun light available for more than 330 days in a year and this abundant energy could be utilised for generation of power during the day time through solar photo-voltaic power plants.

He said the state is endowed with vast potential of solar energy estimated at 4-7 KWH per one sq mt of solar insulation level and added that Punjab government was committed to tap this resource.

He also said the Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) has planned installation of Solar Power Packs at households in the state of capacity 500Wp to 1000Wp.

Majithia said the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has sanctioned the Central Financial Assistance of Rs. 3.03 crore as first installment and with total project cost of Rs. 10 crore.
He said that besides generating power, Solar Photo-voltaic Power Packs were environment friendly and carbon neutral and were easily produced and consumed.

The Punjab government has set up Akshey Urja shops in all districts of the state, where people can buy these at 30 % subsidy.

October 1, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, India | Leave a comment

France to develop tidal wave energy

Wind energy production in Europe, for example, just reached the 100 gigawatt mark, the equivalent of 39 nuclear power plants

French dive into tidal energy as nuclear plants bid adieu Smart Planet, By Bryan Pirolli | September 28, 2012,PARIS – French conglomerate Alstom is finalizing the purchase of Tidal Generation Ltd from Rolls Royce in the UK. Alstom , one of the largest energy-producing groups in the world, purchased the small company in an effort to expand its every-growing array of renewable energy.

The sale of TGL to Alstom comes just as the new French president, Francois Hollande, announced his commitment to renewable energy and decreasing France’s dependence on nuclear power.

Tidal Generation Ltd  (TGL), formed in 2005, specializes in designing turbines for generating electricity from ocean tides. Continue reading →

September 29, 2012 Posted by | France, renewable | Leave a comment

UK Renewable Energy Capacity has Grown by 42.4% Oil Price.com By Joao Peixe | Thu, 27 September 2012 The government has just released its latest quarterly energy statistics and the results are mixed.

Renewable energy has enjoyed a bountiful year, whereas coal power has also seen an increase in popularity. Continue reading →

September 28, 2012 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

USA’s solar energy – a chequered history, but now resurging

the solar industry is actually expanding quickly in the United States, and under the Obama
administration solar is having a real resurgence, helping lift the cloud that has surrounded the industry.

Changing Cities: Where Are the Solar Panels Mr. President? By Carrie Halperin abc news, Sep 23, 2012   “…..In 1979, [President Jimmy] Carter predicted  at the dedication ceremony of the White House solar system that by 2000 solar panels like the one on the roof would either be supplying cheap, efficient energy or “a museum piece , an example of a road not taken or it can be just a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people.”

During his administration huge strides were taken in curbing the country’s dependence on foreign source of energy, including investing heavily in renewable power.  But with a shift of administrations and the new Reagan era, research and development budgets for renewable
energy were slashed and the Department of Energy eliminated tax breaks for solar and wind projects.
Carter’s worries about his solar panels ending up in the museum proved prescient. Half the panels were taken by the Unity College cafeteria in Maine, but the other half did indeed end up as  museum pieces, now housed in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History , the Carter Library , and the Solar Science and  Technology Museum in Dezhou, China.
Yes, that’s right China, which seems a bit symbolic, since China now produces close to 80 percent of the world’s solar water heaters. Continue reading →

September 24, 2012 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

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