Opinion:
¶ Three major atomic accidents in 35 years are forcing the world’s nuclear industry to stop imagining it can prevent more catastrophes and to focus instead on how to contain them. When the next nuclear accident occurs, we to need to know how to limit damage. [Bloomberg]
Science and Technology:
¶ Energy efficiency contributed 63 exajoules (EJ) of avoided energy use in 2010 – that’s larger than the supply of oil (43 EJ), electricity or natural gas (22 EJ each), said a first- ever “Energy Efficiency Market report.” [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ Norway may seem like an odd place for electric cars to thrive, but the 1,493 Tesla Model S new registrations last month set a new single-model sales record. That’s more than sales of the two next-best selling models, the Volkswagen Golf and Nissan Leaf, combined. [CleanTechnica]
¶ A London-based firm is using coffee waste from cappuccinos and lattes to generate clean energy. Beanergi collects waste from coffee shops in the capital and processes it in its facility, which can use 50,000 tonnes per year, producing 260 GWh of electricity. [Energy Live News]
¶ For UK businesses, rooftops are about to become solar energy goldmines. At least, that’s the hope of ministers who today brought out the Government’s first ever solar strategy with plans to slap solar panels on thousands of government buildings, factories and schools. [Energy Live News]
US:
¶ The White House recently released its long-awaited Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions. Promised in President Obama’s Climate Action Plan last June, the methane strategy is a big step in the right direction. [Energy Collective]
¶ NAACP leaders Thursday called for policies promoting renewable energy and efficiency programs. Most African-Americans live near coal-fired power plants and are disproportionately affected by them, with both health and wealth suffering. [Lake Expo]
¶ Wind power in the US is putting a significant dent in emissions, according to a forthcoming report from the American Wind Energy Association. Wind power avoided 95.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2013, and produced a 4.4% cut to power sector emissions. [Huffington Post]
¶ US clean energy continues to be hurt by policy uncertainty, with 2013 investment down 9% from 2012 to $36.7 billion, according to a report from The Pew Charitable Trusts. It finds that steep declines in wind installation overshadowed a record annual deployment of 4.4 GW of solar. [Renew Grid]
¶ Americans used more energy in 2013, according to the most recent energy flow charts released by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Americans’ carbon dioxide emissions increased to 5,390 million metric tons, the first annual increase since 2010. [Daily Fusion]
¶ Boeing and NRG Energy have partnered to build a solar plant in Guam designed to deliver up to 25 MW of locally-based renewable energy. The Guam Power Authority will acquire power from the facility over 25 years to supply electricity to as many as 10,000 households. [ExecutiveBiz]
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