News, comment, trends and opinion for renewable energy professionals

The Biden administration is pursuing plans to develop wind farms off the coast of California. State Governor Gavin Newsom commented: "This is a big deal. And we're looking to scale this vision." Although the Pentagon had expressed concerns about potential interference with military training, exercises and radar operations, Colin Kahl, undersecretary of defense for policy, said: “I think we got to a place where we think that any negative effects were mitigated and certainly balanced against the imperative of moving in a clean energy direction. We at the defense department are satisfied that there's not a trade off between the clean energy goals of this endeavor and our military readiness.”

 

Bloomberg

New York Times

Reuters

Reuters

Washingtonpost.com

Wall Street Journal

GreenStruxure has announced a partnership with ClearGen under which as many as 120 microgrids will be developed nationwide. George Plattenburg, ClearGen co-founder and chief commercial officer, commented: "Energy consumers face a range of challenges, including decarbonization goals, cost and risk management, and the reliability of supply that affects critical operations. We are excited to partner with GreenStruxure to identify new investment opportunities, provide real value for customers, and meet the significant demand for behind-the-meter energy systems in North America."

 

Power Engineering Magazine

Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee is being urged to speed up energy transition by a group of solar developers, policy specialists and energy consultants, amid an electric grid sale in the state. Kenneth Payne, a former senior policy adviser to the state Senate and the lead signator of a letter to the Governor, remarked: “The sale of a distribution company is a rare occurrence. But it is a time when you can really say, ‘Let's plan for what we need prospectively, rather than just doing what we did in the past.'"

 

Renewable Energy World

Siemens Energy and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) have signed a partnership agreement under which the two groups will collaborate on the application of renewable energy technology. Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA commented: “Partnerships are the cornerstone of global efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals and key to the rapid acceleration of the global energy transition. This public-private initiative is representative of a shared vision for a low-carbon energy future and of a joint commitment to meaningful action.”

 

Renewable Energy News

Energy Global

Recharge

New analysis by the Renewable Infrastructure Development Group (RIDG) for advocacy body RenewableUK suggests that the UK runs the risk of becoming a net importer of renewable energy in future. RenewableUK’s director of future electricity systems Barnaby Wharton commented: “The UK has the best wind resource in Europe, and we should be making the most of the clean electricity we’re producing for UK consumers at the lowest cost and ensuring we can export the massive amount of power we’re generating when there’s a surplus." He went on: “[UK grid regulator] Ofgem needs to have a specific net zero remit to ensure we maximise our zero carbon generation as a matter of urgency - and this should be addressed by ministers alongside the government’s forthcoming strategy and policy statement for Ofgem.”

 

Recharge

Forbes reports on the transition from fossil fuels to renewables in Australia, stating that "What is happening in Australia may signal what will happen in the US with oil and natural gas, because oil dominance in the U.S. is comparable to coal dominance in Australia." It concludes that "Studying Australia could very well show how the U.S. should face losing oil and gas production."

 

Forbes

Underwater hydropower turbine inspections will be caarried out using remote operated vehicles (ROV) as part of a new project launched by GE Renewable Energy. The firm stated that the vehicles have the ability to inspect "hard-to-reach areas of any type of hydropower turbines."

 

Renewables Now

Renewable Energy News

Independent renewable energy producer Albioma has begun a major project at its thermal plant of Bois Rouge in La Réunion, where existing boilers will be converted from bagasse and coal to fully green energy combustion. The scheme is intended to contribute to increasing the renewable energy rate of the total energy mix in La Réunion to 51%, from a current level of 35%.

 

Power Engineering Magazine

Independent renewable energy producer Albioma has begun a major project at its thermal plant of Bois Rouge in La Réunion, where existing boilers will be converted from bagasse and coal to fully green energy combustion. The scheme is intended to contribute to increasing the renewable energy rate of the total energy mix in La Réunion to 51%, from a current level of 35%.

 

Energy Global

Forbes comments on reactions to Pembrokeshire County Council's plans to nominate the county in the U.K. for a prototype fusion energy plant. The article states: "Innovators of complex, misunderstood technologies like fusion must also win the war for public opinion before comment sections and social media hijack the conversation," and concludes that "the general public needs to understand that fusion energy is truly the holy grail of clean energy and will provide safe, affordable, clean energy everywhere, forever."

 

Forbes