Sep 7 – McClatchy-Tribune Regional News – Cathy Dyson The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Va.

Original source: http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=16887213

Because of toxic pollution at other sites across the nation where coal-ash waste has been dumped, King George County residents near the landfill should wonder if the same kind of material might contaminate their water, according to a group that recently studied the dangers of coal ash.

“If they’re concerned there could be a threat — and there certainly is that likelihood — they should absolutely test for arsenic, mercury, lead” and other toxic metals in the water, said Kate Pollard, a field organizer for the  Sierra Club. “There’s a much higher likelihood of contaminants from coal ash leaching into the water than what was previously understood.”

The Sierra Club partnered with the Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice to produce a report on coal-ash contamination. Called “In Harm’s Way: Lack of Federal Coal Ash Regulations Endangers Americans and Their Environment,” the report was released in late August.

It was timely on national and local levels. Read more

By MATTHEW L. WALD September 7, 2010, 8:26 am

Original source: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/fresh-capital-in-the-uranium-fuel-race/

For decades, the business of enriching uranium for  use in nuclear reactors was simple: companies bought the uranium and sent it to one of the plants built by the federal government as part of its nuclear weapons program. The government increased the proportion of uranium 235, the kind that splits easily in reactors.

But in the 1990s, the government sold the plants to the United States Enrichment Company, now called USEC. Meanwhile, other companies started looking at the American market.

In June, a company using European centrifuge technology — far more modern than the World War II-era system used by the United States Department of Energy and inherited by USEC — opened a plant near Eunice, N.M., on the Texas border. Industry experts hailed it as part of a “nuclear renaissance.” And in May, the Energy Department gave a $2 billion loan guarantee to a French firm, Areva, to build an enrichment plant in Idaho. That plant will also use centrifuge technology.

USEC, meanwhile, is trying to modernize and use centrifuges, which cut the amount of electricity required to enrich uranium by about 95 percent. But it has had trouble getting a loan guarantee or finding American companies willing to invest heavily enough.

Now the Japanese are buying in. Read more

BY MARY ELLEN KLAS   Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau  Posted on Wed, Sep. 08, 2010

Original source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/09/08/1813038/fpl-bills-to-rise-to-pay-for-nuke.html

Florida’s Public Service Commission voted 3-2 Tuesday to increase Florida Power & Light customers’ bills by $31 million starting in January to pay for development of the company’s nuclear projects.

The decision came after nearly three weeks of wrangling between the company and the commission over whether to conduct a full hearing on the issue after testimony revealed that FPL supplied the commission with inaccurate data last year regarding its nuclear projects.

After a series of votes that indicated that only PSC Chairwoman Nancy Argenziano and Commissioner Nathan Skop seemed interested in a full hearing, Argenziano moved to have the company’s request to have the increase approved, effective Jan. 1, with no discussion.

“I’m not wasting any time, let’s go. It’s where we’re headed,” Argenziano said, resigned to the fact she and Skop were outnumbered. The increase will mean that customer bills will increase 33 cents per 1,000-kilowatt hour to pay for nuclear projects, and the commission will decide sometime next year whether those costs are reasonable.

The motion, supported by Commissioners Lisa Edgar and new Commissioners Art Graham and Ron Brise, effectively nullified Argenziano’s subpoena of FPL chief Armando Olivera, who was sitting in the audience. Argenziano had ordered Olivera to appear under oath to answer questions regarding the inaccurate data submitted last year.

She said she made the motion because she wanted to end the protracted hearing that had gone into overtime. But she said she opposed granting the increase amid evidence that FPL may have intentionally misled regulators last year in its attempt to get approval for similar nuclear costs. By law, the commission must determine if what FPL is allowed to charge customers for planning and development of its nuclear projects is reasonable and prudent.

HEARING NEXT YEAR   Read more

Original source: http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/innovation/09/07/eco.nano.web/index.html

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Nanofluid developed by IT researchers could lead to more efficient computer servers
• Using nanofluid would reduce energy needed to cool vast server farms
• Iceland with geothermal energy has been proposed as good natural site for server farms

(CNN) — The internet may soon be a greener place thanks to new research that looks set to slash the carbon footprint of our surfing by introducing nanotechnology to computer servers.

Computer servers are often housed in giant warehouses, known as “server farms” and generate huge amounts of heat, which in turn requires huge amounts of power to fuel cooling systems.

Researchers from Sweden’s Institute of Technology have discovered that adding some nanoparticles to water can improve its ability to conduct heat by around 60 percent. This nanofluid could then be used in cooling computer servers and reduce the total amount of energy needed to keep temperatures down.

“We have had some really significant successes,” Mamoun Muhammed, Sweden’s Institute of Technology, told CNN.

So far those nanoparticles showing most potential are oxides of metals like zinc and copper, but carbon nanotubes are also being tested.

“What we are using are nanofluids, which are fluids engineered to contain nanoparticles dispersed in such a way that the liquid’s capability to move heat is much enhanced compared to normal cooling fluids,” said Muhammed. Read more

Original source: http://www.renewablesbiz.com/article/10/09/supervisors-move-forward-waste-energy-project

Sep 4 – McClatchy-Tribune Regional News – Rick Longley Orland Press Register, Calif.

Glenn County approved a memorandum of understanding this week in support of a proposed solid waste conversion facility to be built east of Orland.

However, the potential foreclosure of the site property almost derailed the agreement, until supervisors were assured it likely would not occur and the agreement could be canceled if the owner were unable to fulfill her obligations.

Kara Baker of KVB, Inc. wants to build the conversion center on acreage her family owns off Highway 32 about five miles east of town near Stony Creek in the Hamilton City area.

The facility would convert solid waste from the county’s waste stream into a usable product, and extract recyclable materials so they would not go into the landfill, Supervisor Leigh McDaniel said.

It would use technology to make these items into “green” products or energy sources and should operate at 85 percent efficiency, he said, without creating pollution or troubling the neighbors.

“Do we follow our philosophy of green technology and waste management?” McDaniel asked.

“We either start this now or wait 50 years when it becomes a mandate. I say start it now.” Read more

Bill Opalka | Sep 07, 2010

Original source: http://www.renewablesbiz.com/article/10/09/san-diego-goes-solar

Solar projects of different sizes in the San Diego area got a boost from state regulators recently.

The California Public Utilities Commission approved a San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) solar power initiative that provides for 100 megawatts of photovoltaic (PV) solar energy.

Under the initiative, 26 megawatts of utility-owned generation would be slated for construction on existing SDG&E property, with the remaining 74 megawatts to be purchased from independent power producers.

SDG&E now has about 80 megawatts of solar power generated in its service territory and this part of its initiative would more than double its portfolio.

The program calls for SDG&E to install and procure renewable solar power using projects primarily in the 1- to 2-megawatt range and also provides for PV solar installations ranging from less than a megawatt up to 5 megawatts. In addition to developing its own local solar projects, SDG&E will solicit power purchase agreements for solar power at other sites in the region.

SDG&E’s local solar initiative is designed to complement the 1 MW or less solar projects currently developed under the direction of the California Solar Initiative.

According to the decision, the preferred location of these new solar arrays will help meet anticipated high power demand and/or assist in minimizing congestion on SDG&E’s power grid.

“(The) decision reflects the ongoing need for a flexible portfolio of solar resources and options that will help SDG&E derive one-third of its energy from renewable sources by 2020,” said James P. Avery, senior vice president, power supply. “This program is beneficial because it further expands our solar power footprint within our service territory and brings that clean, renewable power closer to the areas of greatest demand.”

The decision SDG&E got approved is part of its overall strategy to increase its solar energy footprint to serve San Diego and southern Orange County in California. It has a Solar Energy Project aimed at increasing adoption of solar power among San Diego-area commercial customers, municipalities and institutions.

That project, under review with the CPUC, seeks to invest up to $125 million over the next five years in utility-owned solar photovoltaic generation and power purchase agreements for projects that may be constructed at governments, entertainment venues and large retail/shopping complexes.

The initiative will focus on facilities that generate more than 1 megawatt of electricity tied to SDG&E’s distribution system.

The new solar generation projects would deliver 20 megawatts to 35 megawatts to help meet peak customer demand, and would include land-based solar tracking systems and potentially photovoltaic arrays that double as parking shade structures.

About two-thirds of the solar generating facilities will be utility-owned; the other third are likely to be customer- or third party-owned.

The editorial staff at RenewablesBiz.com is passionate about exchanging ideas and dedicated to promoting ongoing conversation about renewables and sustainable energy issues. We invite you to join and contribute to our online community. If you have an idea for an article or editorial contribution, please contact me via email, bopalka@energycentral.com, or phone, 860.633.0090.

Posted By Dr. Peter Gleick On September 8, 2010 @ 6:05 am

Original source: http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2010/world/north-america/peter-gleick-californias-next-one-million-acre-feet-of-water/?utm_source=Circle+of+Blue+WaterNews+%26+Alerts&utm_campaign=7be68f3fdc-Weekly_Water_News_September_8_2010&utm_medium=email

This is a key time for California water: we are coming off of three years of serious drought and growing political conflict over water allocations. The Legislature passed a comprehensive water bill last November. A major water bond was proposed to fund a wide range of interventions, but has now been tabled for at least two years and could be greatly altered or even scrapped altogether. New reviews from around the state are calling for prompt efforts to use infrastructure, markets, and institutional reform to address the state’s water crisis. All parties agree that the state will need a diverse portfolio of solutions for our diverse and complex water problems.

^[1]

But the argument that we must do everything at once — conservation, new dams, seawater desalination plants, replumbing the Delta, some of this or that — is disingenuous, and wrong. We must do the most critical and effective things first, from a technical, political, and economic perspective.

And the most effective thing, hands down, is improving water-use efficiency. The Pacific Institute has just released a new analysis that recommends a set of specific actions that can annually save a million acre-feet ^[2] of water quickly and at a lower economic and ecological cost than developing new supplies. These water savings are split 30/70 between the urban and agricultural sectors. Read more

Innovative Solution has Roots in 14th Century Switzerland

Country Name: United States of America Author: Tracy Stanton and Steve Zwick

Original source: http://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/pages/dynamic/article.page.php?page_id=7706&section=news_articles&eod=1

Like many cities around the world, Denver gets its drinking water from rivers and reservoirs, which in turn get their water from forests. Many of those forests, however, are in trouble – thanks to funding cuts, climate change, and a horde of opportunistic beetles. That puts the city’s water supply at risk as well, so Denver teamed up with the US Forest Service to funnel money it collects from water fees into forest restoration. And it’s not the only city to do so.

7 September 2010 | Denver Water¹ delivers clean drinking water to more than 1.3 million people spread across more than 335 square miles, and most of that water comes from rivers and reservoirs that capture run-off from forest-covered hills in clearly-delineated watersheds. The forests both protect the steep slopes from erosion and regulate the flows of water by mopping it up and then releasing it slowly over time.

And therein lies the problem: climate change has extended summers in Colorado just enough to give the northern pine beetle the comfort it needs to multiply like never before.  The bug has taken full advantage – devouring bark at a rate ten times higher than ever recorded, killing trees and leaving them scattered like kindling for wildfires.

And those fires now take hold with increasing frequency, reducing the forest to lumps of silt and sludge.  Lush slopes degenerate into unstable masses of goo.  The water upon which the city depends becomes muddy and irregular, which makes it more difficult – and expensive – to assure people they can turn on their faucets and trust the drinking water that comes out.

Enter the US Forestry Service (USFS), which is charged, in part, with ensuring clean headwaters by maintaining healthy forests.

Both the USFS and Denver Water are struggling to meet their budgets in the face of these challenges, so in August the Forestry Service’s Rocky Mountain office cut a $33 million deal with the Denver utility to proactively manage 38,000 critical acres in five key watersheds – if Denver Water comes up with half the money.  Read more

By JOE McDONALD  The Associated Press Wednesday, September 8, 2010; 6:36 AM

Original source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/08/AR2010090801425.html

BEIJING — Chinese steel mills and mobile phone factories are being idled and thousands of homes in one area are doing without electricity as local governments order power cuts to meet energy-saving targets set by Beijing.

Rolling blackouts and enforced power cuts are affecting key industrial areas. The prosperous eastern city of Taizhou turned off street lights and ordered hotels and shopping malls to cut power use. In Anping County southwest of Beijing, an area known as China’s wire-manufacturing capital, thousands of factories and homes have endured daylong blackouts over the past two weeks.

“We can’t meet deadlines for some orders and will have to pay penalties,” said Han Hongmai, general manager of Anping’s Jintai Metal Wire Co. “At home we can’t use the toilet” on blackout days due to lack of power for water pumps, he said.

While the U.S. and Europe struggle with flagging economies, the power outages are symptomatic of China’s torrid growth and officials’ capricious use of their powers to meet the authoritarian government’s goals.

China’s economic expansion, which hit 10.3 percent in the latest quarter, blew holes in government efforts to curb surging energy demand, pollution and emissions of climate-changing greenhouse gases. Beijing told local leaders to clamp down and stepped up pressure by sending inspectors to see the order was carried out.

“You could say local governments are trying to blackmail the central government: If you order me to do something I can’t deliver, I will pass on the pressure to ordinary people,” said Yang Ailun, a spokeswoman for Greenpeace China.  Read more

SEPTEMBER 7, 2010, 4:17 A.M. ET

Original source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703713504575476740661162412.html?mod=WSJ_Energy_leftHeadlines

SHANGHAI—China’s push for cleaner fuels has kept urban gas distributors in a sweet spot, but an industry regulation being tested in the northern province of Hebei suggests they face a bumpy road ahead.

Hebei’s government wants to cap gas companies’ return on equity at 8% in a bid to keep natural-gas prices in check, especially for households.

Unlike natural gas used in power plants—which had been tightly regulated because of government concern about electricity prices—home-use natural gas, used mostly for cooking, has been left largely unregulated.

While the bulk of energy consumption in China is from industry, consumers are using more energy as they become wealthier. China last year surpassed the U.S. as the world’s biggest consumer of energy, according to the International Energy Association, and the government has been struggling to meet its goals for improving efficiency and reducing pollution.

The city gas sector has been lightly regulated, but that could change as more consumers switch from burning coal and oil to less-polluting natural gas. Beijing wants natural gas to account for 10% of the nation’s energy mix by 2020, up from about 4% now. Read more

The 600 MW project is the third on the river scrapped because of environmental and religious pressure.

Original source: http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2010/world/south-asia/india-cancels-hydroelectric-project-on-ganges-tributary/?utm_source=Circle+of+Blue+WaterNews+%26+Alerts&utm_campaign=7be68f3fdc-Weekly_Water_News_September_8_2010&utm_medium=email

The Alaknanda River and Bhagirathi River form the Ganges river at Devprayag.

India’s central government canceled a dam project on a Ganges River tributary last week, after the leading partner in the ruling coalition intervened because of environmental and religious concerns, the Times of India ^[3] reports.

A group of ministers led by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee green-lighted the 600 Megawatts Loharinag Pala hydroelectric project since the government had already spent Rs 650 crore (US$139 million) on the dam and committed Rs 2,000 crore (US$429 million) in supply contracts, according to the Economic Times of India ^[4].

But leaders of the Congress party, including environment minister Jairam Ramesh, abandoned the agreement because of local and national pressure.

Since it was a run-of-the-river project, the dam on the Bhagirathi River in the northern state of Uttarakhand would not have created a large reservoir, but instead would have dried up a 16-km stretch where the water was diverted through pipes to the generators, the Times of India reports.

Work on the dam stopped in March 2009 after a well-known India scientist, AD Agarwal, nearly died during a hunger strike in protest. Read more

By Darryl Fears  Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, September 5, 2010; 7:58 PM

Original source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/05/AR2010090503232.html

GRAND ISLE, LA. -

This is it. It is over. Summer is lost.

Those were Fred Marshall’s thoughts as he slumped behind his tiny desk at Gulfstream Marina, worry lines criss-crossing his face, redness framing his weary blue-green eyes in this picturesque beach town.

When BP’s oil started flowing into the Gulf of Mexico in April, beachgoers and money stopped flowing into town. By the time the company managed to cap the deep-water well in mid-July, the damage was done. Summer, when Grand Isle merchants earn the profits they rely on for the rest of the year, was gone, said Marshall, 48. Read more