Independent 24th July 2017, In the first six months of 2017 enough power was generated to supply more
than all of Scotland’s national demand for six days. Wind power output in
Scotland has helped set a new record for the first half of the year,
according to an independent conservation group.
Analysis by WWF Scotland of data provided by WeatherEnergy found wind turbines provided around
1,039,001MWh of electricity to the National Grid during June. Renewable
energy figures show the power generated last month was enough to supply the
electrical needs equivalent to 118 per cent of Scottish households or
nearly three million homes.
In the first six months of 2017 enough power was generated to supply more than all of Scotland’s national demand for six
days. Turbines provided 6,634,585MWh of electricity to the National Grid,
which analysts say could on average supply the electrical needs of 124 per
cent of Scottish households, or more than three million homes.
Dr Sam Gardner, acting director of WWF Scotland, said: “The first six months of
2017 have certainly been incredible for renewables, with wind turbines
alone helping to ensure millions of tonnes of climate-damaging carbon
emissions were avoided. “Scotland is continuing to break records on
renewable electricity, attracting investment, creating jobs and tackling
climate change. http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/scotland-renewable-wind-energy-power-electricity-three-million-homes-118-per-cent-of-households-a7855846.html
July 26, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
renewable, UK |
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Drop in wind energy costs adds pressure for government rethink https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/23/drop-in-wind-energy-costs-adds-pressure-for-government-rethink
Tories urged to look at onshore windfarms which can be built as cheaply as gas plants and deliver the same power for half the cost of Hinkley Point, says Arup, Guardian,Adam Vaughan, 24 July 17, Onshore windfarms could be built in the UK for the same cost as new gas power stations and would be nearly half as expensive as the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant, according to a leading engineering consultant.
Arup found that the technology has become so cheap that developers could deliver turbines for a guaranteed price of power so low that it would be effectively subsidy-free in terms of the impact on household energy bills.
France’s EDF was awarded a contract for difference – a top-up payment – of £92.50 per megawatt hour over 35 years for Hinkley’s power, or around twice the wholesale price of electricity.
By contrast, Arup’s report found that windfarms could be delivered for a maximum of £50-55 per MWh across 15 years.
ScottishPower, which commissioned the analysis, hopes to persuade the government to reconsider its stance on onshore windfarms, which the Conservatives effectively blocked in 2015 by banning them from competing for subsidies and imposing new planning hurdles.
Keith Anderson, the firm’s chief operating officer, told the Guardian that onshore wind could help the UK meet its climate targets, was proven in terms of being easy to deliver, and was now “phenomenally competitive” on price.
“If you want to control the cost of energy, and deliver energy to consumers and to businesses across the UK at the most competitive price, why would you not want to use this technology? This report demonstrates it’s at the leading edge of efficiency,” he said.
The big six energy firm believes that with a cap on top-up payments so close to the wholesale price, onshore windfarms would be effectively subsidy-free – but the guaranteed price would be enough to de-risk projects and win the investment case for them.
“What we are asking for is a mechanism that underpins the investment risk,” said Anderson.
The group believes that any political sting for Tory MPs concerned about public opposition to turbines in English shires would be removed because such a low guaranteed price would see only the windiest sites coming in cheap enough – which means windfarms in Scotland.
“You put these projects in the right place, you will get the correct level of resource out of them to keep the costs down and you will get public acceptance of people liking them,” Anderson said, citing the example of the company’s huge Whitelee windfarm near Glasgow.
Dr Robert Gross, director of the centre for energy policy and technology at Imperial College, said: “Onshore wind has been coming in at remarkably low prices internationally, so a contract for difference price of around £50-60 per MWh looks perfectly feasible for a good location in the UK, one of the windiest countries in Europe.
“Windfarms generally need fixed price contracts in order to secure finance, otherwise volatile electricity prices can make investing in wind risky.”
The Conservative manifesto was seen by some in industry as softening the party’s stance on onshore wind, saying that it did not believe “more large-scale onshore wind power is right for England” but not mentioning Wales and Scotland, which have some of the best potential sites.
The party also promised a review of the cost of energy which the Guardian revealed last week was likely to be led by the University of Oxford economist Dieter Helm, a critic of the cost of today’s renewable and nuclear power technologies.
However, Anderson said he saw the report, due in October, as a good opportunity.
“I would find it surprising if anybody else doing a costs review of the energy sector comes to a fundamentally different argument [to the Arup report],” he said.
Leo Murray, of climate change charity 10:10, said: “It looks increasingly absurd that the Conservatives have effectively banned Britain’s cheapest source of new power.”
July 26, 2017
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Morning Star 21st July 2017, Reading headlines about Donald Trump pulling the US out of the Paris climate deal, Middle East heatwaves and the rampaging activities of the Gulf oil powers, you could be forgiven for thinking the world is crashingtoward a final oil-fuelled armaggedon.
But according to renewable energy investment experts, we are actually on the cusp of the greatest energy
revolution in history. The cost of renewables like solar and cell batteries for electric vehicles are making the carbon-based economy obsolete, with the turning point only a few years away.
Tony Seba, Stanford University professor and energy futurist, sees oil consumption collapsing after 2020
due to disruptive technologies and the fact that renewables are beating the old polluting energies where it matters most: market price. “The age of centralised, command-and-control, extraction-resource-based energy sources
(oil, gas, coal and nuclear) will not end because we run out of petroleum, natural gas, coal, or uranium,” he told investment specialists Southbank Research. “It will end because these energy sources, the business models
they employ, and the products that sustain them will be disrupted by superior technologies, product architectures and business models.
Compelling new technologies such as solar, wind, electric vehicles, and autonomous (self-driving) cars will disrupt and sweep away the energy industry as we know it. For the left and Labour to reap the benefits of these technology revolutions it must embrace the renewable sector, and not make the mistake of focusing purely on distribution, while leaving control
of the energy and transport technology to the market. Public ownership of energy utilities can be part of a planned energy revolution in which we collectively reap the benefits of decentralised non-carbon based energy
systems and resist the rent-seeking plans of monopoly capital.
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-0fd0-The-future-is-here-for-all-to-see
July 24, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
renewable, UK |
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Dave Toke’s Blog 21st July 2017, Dramatic increase in Nevada solar output as big companies abandon utility
in favour of cheap renewables. Solar pv output in the US state of Nevada is
heading for a 60 per cent year-on-year increase in electricity output in
2017 compared to 2016 as Nevada increases its lead as the top US state for
installed solar pv per person.
Nevada, which is heading for getting 10 per
cent of its total electricity from solar pv in 2017 could be setting a
trend whereby business and residential consumers switch to solar simply
because it is the cheapest source of electricity. Of course it is very
sunny in Nevada – indeed a given solar panel will generate around twice as
much electricity per year in Nevada compared to Northern Europe.
But really what’s happening in Nevada is just an advanced guard for other places.
That’s because the costs of solar power continue to crash and so what is
happening in Nevada will happen in lots of other places very soon.
US monopoly electricity utilities are trying to fight back by charging fee
structures to consumers that reduce the benefits of installing solar pv.
But as much as they do that, the prospect of what are increasingly cheaper
battery systems to balance their load is making consumers more and more
independent from the conventional electricity generation and supply system.
Bill Ellard. a consultant for the US Solar Energy Society describes this as
a ‘death spiral’ for the US utilities. The more they fight solar, the more
expensive they become for consumers in general and the more people are
induced to go solar. Ellard favours developing more microgrid systems so
that energy requirements can be balanced more and more on a local level.
http://realfeed-intariffs.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/dramatic-increase-in-nevada-solar.html
July 24, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
renewable, USA |
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Independent 20th July 2017, The Government is planning to give some of the UK’s most polluting
industries a £130m exemption from helping to fund new renewable
technologies, which will “heap costs” onto small companies and households,
environmentalists have warned.
Subsidies for the two cheapest forms of green electricity, onshore wind and solar, have been respectively scrapped
and slashed to the bone, but financial support is still available for
offshore wind and other emerging technologies – to a large degree because
of the potential benefits to the economy.
This is funded by electricity bill payers and the Government has expressed concern about the effect on
“energy intensive industries”. According to the new plan, these companies
would be given an exemption because having to pay extra “can undermine
competitiveness”.
However Gareth Redmond-King, head of climate and energy
policy at WWF-UK, pointed out that this “disappointing decision” would mean
other bill payers would end up paying more and reward firms that are
contributing more than most to global warming.
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/uk-energy-intensive-pollution-companies-climate-change-fund-exemption-targets-regulation-global-a7851331.html
July 22, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
politics, renewable, UK |
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Edie 20th July 2017, Businesses that invest in decentralised energy systems can enjoy the triple benefit of economic value, security of supply and “telling a good story”, the new chief executive of community energy supplier Mongoose Energy has told edie. In his previous role as head of international NGO the Climate Group, Mark Kenber led the RE100 scheme which gets firms to source 100% renewable electricity.
It was revealed by edie earlier this month that the initiative was targeting 500 members by 2020 after passing the 100-member milestone. Kenber, who took the reins at Wiltshire-based Mongoose Energy in April, welcomed the growing number of businesses recognising the financial benefits of sourcing renewable energy.
He cited Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with local suppliers as one of the increasingly popular methods for
companies to meet renewable energy targets, and also improve CSR credentials. “Businesses sign up to RE100 for broadly financial reasons, they know the economics stack up,” Kenber said. “And if you can get a lot of CSR benefit from it, with a local store buying from the localcommunity, it’s a really good story. A lot of them are looking at that. Now
you can get competitive prices which work for both partners.
https://www.edie.net/news/6/Mark-Kenber–Localised-energy-will-revolutionise-the-way-businesses-source-power—/
July 22, 2017
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decentralised, UK |
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German nuclear damage shows atomic and renewable power are unhappy bedfellows, Euractiv, By Dagmar Dehmer | Der Tagesspiegel | translated by Sam Morgan 20 July 17 A Germany nuclear plant was damaged because its operators increased and decreased its output to respond to energy grid fluctuations. The incident supports the theory that nuclear and renewable energy generation are incompatible. EURACTIV’s partner Der Tagesspiegel reports.
The Brokdorf nuclear power station, located in northern Germany, was taken offline in February after maintenance showed its reactor’s fuel rods had begun to unexpectedly oxidise.
A regional nuclear supervisory body has now ruled that the plant can be booted back up but only in “safe mode”, according to Schleswig-Holstein’s energy transition minister.
State Minister for Energy Robert Habeck (Greens) added that the power plant’s output should not be increased or decreased at short notice to adapt to the supply of renewable energies on the electricity grid. The minister warned that “atomic energy is not a bridging technology”.
A 2011 study by Greenpeace also concluded that renewables and nuclear are not compatible and that fuel rod damage is a possible consequence.
Kiel’s nuclear supervisory authority explained that the corrosion of Brokdorf’s fuel rods was a result of the reactor’s capacity being increased from 1,440 MW to 1,480 MW in 2006.
The investigation also concluded that the decision to run the plant as a load-following power station, where output was tailored to grid fluctuations, contributed to the damage.
“According to our findings, this stress has contributed to the unexpected oxidisation of the upper parts of some of the fuel rods,” Habeck explained.
The practice of quickly increasing or decreasing electricity generation to compensate for excessive or reduced renewable output has been particularly prevalent since 2015…….
The German Greens’ nuclear policy spokesperson, Sylvia Kotting-Uhl, warned that Berlin’s environment ministry should share the findings from Brokdorf with the Swiss nuclear authority.
Switzerland’s Leibstadt facility is located on the German border and reportedly has the same problems as its northern German cousin. Kotting-Uhl accused Bern of “closing its eyes and leaving Leibstadt on, even though the problems are not solved”.
The German lawmaker insisted that the Swiss power plant is temporarily switched off “until complete clarity prevails”…..https://www.euractiv.com/section/electricity/news/german-nuclear-damage-shows-atomic-and-renewable-power-are-unhappy-bedfellows/
July 21, 2017
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Germany, renewable |
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Coal, nuclear and renewable bombshells from Trump’s grid study, REneweconomy, By Joe Romm on 18 July 2017, Think Progress On Saturday, we reported that a leaked draft of Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s grid study obtained by Bloomberg debunks his attack on renewable energy.
ThinkProgress has now obtained a copy of that draft, and it has many more surprises — or, rather, findings that are fairly well known to energy experts but may come as an unpleasant surprise to Perry and the White House.
For instance, a large fraction of America’s aging fleet of coal and nuclear plants are simply not economic to operate anymore.
The July draft, which ThinkProgress received from multiple sources, is
here, so the public will be able to compare the final “politically-approved” version with the draft prepared by Department of Energy (DOE) staff.
It is widely feared Perry’s team of Trump appointees will simply erase the the study’s inconvenient truths before it 
finalreport is released to the public.
The release of the study has been delayed several weeks — and the findings in the draft might explain why.
The study was specifically requested to back up Perry’s claims that EPA regulations, along with renewable power sources like solar and wind power, were undermining the U.S. electric grid’s reliability by forcing the premature closure of “baseload” (24–7) power sources like coal and nuclear.
But the leaked July draft concludes the grid is as reliable than ever.
As for baseload plant retirements, factors like environmental regulations and renewable energy subsidies “played minor roles compared to the long-standing drop in electricity demand relative to previous expectation and years of low electric prices driven by high natural gas availability.”
The draft report finds that since 2002, “most baseload power plant retirements have been the victims of overcapacity and relatively high operating cost but often reflect the advanced age of the retiring plants.”
Overcapacity is a major cause of the turmoil in electricity markets. The report explains that because the grown in electricity demand has flattened since 2008, it is harder for “less competitive plants” to survive………
since renewables keep dropping in price, we can expect more and more penetration.
It’s really no surprise that DOE staff would conclude renewables are not threatening grid reliability. After all, many countries around the world, such as Germany, have integrated far higher percentages of solar and wind than we have, while maintaining high reliability.
The only surprise remaining is how many of these findings Trump’s political appointees will erase. http://reneweconomy.com.au/coal-nuclear-renewable-bombshells-trumps-grid-study-42788/
July 19, 2017
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Modern Power Systems 13th July 2017,Engie has entered the UK’s offshore wind energy market with a deal to buy
a 23 per cent stake in the Moray East project in Scotland. The French
energy giant has purchased the stake from EDP Renewables (EDPR) for £21
million and will participate in the development and operation of the 1.1 GW
project.
EDPR and Engie are already partnering in the development of
offshore wind energy projects in France and Portugal, including floating
offshore wind projects. The Moray East project comprises three proposed
offshore wind farms located off the Caithness coast. The projects were
granted development consent in March 2014 and are expected to participate
in the UK’s CFD tender process. http://www.modernpowersystems.com/news/newsengie-buys-into-uk-offshore-wind-5870459
July 17, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
France, renewable, UK |
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Consumers could drive UK solar capacity as high as 44GW by 2050: National Grid, Solar Power Portal, 13 Jul 17 The UK’s solar capacity could soar to as much as 44GW by 2050 if consumers take command of their own power supply, National Grid has forecasted.
The UK’s transmission system operator today unveils its Future Energy Scenarios, charting how it considers the UK’s power market might evolve from now until both 2025 and 2050.
Using various models and insight, National Grid has compiled four principal scenarios of varying levels of ambition, dubbed ‘Steady State’, ‘Slow Progression’, ‘Consumer Power’ and ‘Two Degrees’.
Its most pessimistic scenario Steady State, a word in which security of supply takes precedence and short-term policies are pursued, the UK’s solar capacity will grow to 14.33GW by 2025, an increase of less than 2GW on current levels. Solar capacity will also decrease by 2050 as PV generators are not renewed past their current operational life.
However the most ambitious scenario for renewables deployment – ‘Consumer Power’ – expects the majority of UK consumers to become ‘prosumers’ and generate their own power. This will see 23.53GW of solar deployed by 2025 and 44.15GW – a near quadrupling of current levels – by 2050……..
National Grid has already been quick to highlight the consequences that record levels of solar generation have had on the grid. Earlier this year afternoon demand dipped below that of the night before for the first time in the UK, while solar generation records have been broken already this summer.
The operator said today that this was yet more evidence of the burgeoning evolution in the power market. “Last year I said that we were in the midst of an energy revolution, and this year it is even more evident,” Marcus Stewart, head of energy insights at National Grid, wrote in the document’s foreword, adding that cost reductions in solar and storage had already “driven major change in a short space of time”.
Emma Pinchbeck, executive director at RenewableUK, said: “This year’s report recognises that renewables have transformed our energy system, disrupting the status quo and displacing fossil fuels extraordinarily fast – and that this trajectory is set to continue, with the rapid development of energy storage.” https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/consumers_could_drive_uk_solar_capacity_as_high_as_44gw_by_2050_national_g
July 15, 2017
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Business Green 13th July 2017, Hopes that the Scottish onshore wind industry could be revived over the
coming years received a major boost today with the news EDF Energy
Renewables has acquired 11 wind farm sites boasting the potential for up to
600MW of capacity. The company, which is a joint venture between EDF Energy
and EDF Energies Nouvelles, announced it had purchased the sites from
development specialist Partnership for Renewables. Financial details for
the deals were not disclosed. https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3013757/edf-snaps-up-600mw-scottish-wind-farm-portfolio
July 15, 2017
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renewable, UK |
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Japan vows to ramp up efforts to export renewable energy technology, July 13, 2017 (Mainichi Japan), TOKYO (Kyodo) — Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida pledged Thursday that Japan will aggressively pursue the export of renewable energy technologies to tap into growth spurred via the worldwide transition to clean energy sources necessitated by the onset of climate change.
Emphasizing that energy demand will only grow in China and Southeast Asia, Kishida noted in a message read to a symposium hosted by the ministry in Tokyo that “Japan’s environmental technologies will greatly contribute to Asian nations’ (transition).”
Calling climate change a “common challenge worldwide,” Kishida noted that Japan is a signatory to the Paris Agreement, the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through member nations setting voluntary targets. The accord entered into force in November 2016.
In Fukushima, Japan is currently pursuing the production of hydrogen from renewable sources for use in fuel cells, part of a broader plan to help the prefecture rebuild from the March 2011 quake-tsunami disaster and nuclear accident.
“We will develop Japan’s state-of-the-art technologies in energy-poor countries and regions and contribute to the improvement of energy security,” Kishida added.
However, some analysts have voiced concern that Japan has lagged behind China and the United States in the production of renewable energy, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government preferring to restart nuclear reactors under pressure from the business sector……https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170713/p2g/00m/0bu/078000c
July 14, 2017
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Japan, marketing, renewable |
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Guardian 13th July 2017,A dramatic growth in electric vehicles on Britain’s roads could see peak
electricity demand jump by more than the capacity of the Hinkley Point C
nuclear power station by 2030, according to National Grid.
The number of plug-in cars and vans could reach 9m by 2030, up from around 90,000 today,
said the company, which runs the UK’s national transmission networks for
electricity and gas.
The impact of charging so many cars’ batteries would
be to reverse the trend in recent years of falling electricity demand,
driven by energy efficiency measures such as better boilers.
National Gridacknowledged the cars’ batteries could also provide services andreturn
power for the grid at a time when managing the network is becoming
increasingly complex as variable sources of wind and solar power grow.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/13/electric-car-boom-power-demand-national-grid-hinkley-point-c
July 14, 2017
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energy storage, UK |
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Chernobyl nuclear reactor slated for billion-pound solar park despite radiation fears
Chernobyl was the scene of the world’s worst nuclear accident in 1986, Independent, Fiona Keating, 10 July 17 Ukraine is in talks with one of France’s biggest energy businesses to construct a £969m solar facility at the derelict Chernobyl nuclear reactor plant and its surrounding area.
Ostap Semerak, Ukraine’s minister of ecology, said Engie is starting a pre-feasibility survey, bankrolled by the French government, next week. The results should be published by the end of the year.
“France’s experience in nuclear is one of the reasons that we wanted to work with them,” Mr Semerak told The Washington Post. “They approached us after we announced our intention to develop renewables in Chernobyl.” An Engie spokesman verified that the company is in consultation with the Ukrainian government but refused to reveal any further details on the project.
July 10, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
renewable, Ukraine |
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Historic First: Solar Plant Illuminates Syrian Refugee Camp, Vastly Improving Quality of Life, http://www.environews.tv/world-news/historic-1st-solar-plant-illuminates-syrian-refugee-camp-vastly-improving-quality-life/ (EnviroNews World News) by Julia Travers May 27, 2017 — Azraq, Jordan — The newly activated two-megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant at the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan is the first refugee camp in the world to be powered by a renewable energy facility. The plant started running May 17, 2017, and will provide free energy to about 20,000 of the 36,000 refugees in the area – all victims of the Syrian conflict, now in its seventh year.
There are close to 15 million refugees in the world, and the integration of free renewable energy into their stressful lives is invaluable. “Lighting up the camp is not only a symbolic achievement; it provides a safer environment for all camp residents, opens up [livelihood] opportunities, and gives children the chance to study after dark. Above all, it allows all residents of the camps to lead more dignified lives,” said United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Deputy High Commissioner, Kelly T. Clements.
“Before this, when we cooked a meal we had to throw the leftovers away because there was no safe way to store food. When we got too hot, we had to pour water on our clothes to keep cool. Now we can listen to music or have a cold glass of water, and daily life no longer ends when the sun sets,” Fatima, a 52-year-old from Damascus who lives in the camp with her two adult sons, told the UNHCR.
UNHCR partnered with the Government of Jordan, Jordanian solar company Mustakbal, and IKEA to build this camp. The IKEA Foundation is UNHCR’s largest private sector partner and fully funded the solar installation through their “#BrighterLives4Refugees” campaign. The endeavor raised $9.6 million for the cause by donating a portion of IKEA’s LED light sales in 2015.
20,000 of the individuals now living in the desert camp have had some access to non-renewable electricity since January 2017, and they now receive additional power from the sun. The new solar station is connected to Jordan’s grid and is intended to provide electricity to the remaining 16,000 refugees at Azraq by early 2018. The solar initiative will save UNHCR $1.5 million a year, which it can devote to other refugee services, while reducing annual CO2 emissions by roughly 2,370 tons.
The 500 new solar LED streetlights make the camp safer at night, which was especially concerning for women and girls, UNHCR relayed. Mustakbal also provided training and employment to over 50 refugees. “I wasn’t able to finish my education because of the war and then exile, but this has given me a practical skill that I can hopefully use in the future. If we return to Syria, the infrastructure is all destroyed, but this is a technology that we could use to rebuild,” said Mohammad, 20, who was forced to leave school at age 14.
July 10, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
climate change, Jordan, renewable |
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nuclear-news 