August 18 Green Energy News

Headline News:

July was the world’s hottest month ever, according to NASA, the tenth month in a row to break temperature records globally. Since October 2015, every month has set a new global record for hottest temperatures, but the rise may slow down soon. A developing La Nina weather pattern may help, though probably not until 2017. [CNN]

Road closed due to weather. FEMA photo. Public domain. Wikimedia Commons.

 

• Electric utilities cannot pass on to their Massachusetts ratepayers the costs of financing new natural gas pipelines, the state’s highest court ruled on Wednesday. The unanimous decision from the Supreme Judicial Court was cheered by environmental groups, which had dubbed the proposed tariffs a “pipeline tax.” [Boston Herald]
• Wind energy pricing remains attractive to utility and commercial purchasers, according to an annual report released by the US Department of Energy and prepared by the Electricity Markets & Policy Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The levelized long-term price of wind power averages around 2¢/kWh. [EurekAlert]
• Vermont’s largest electric utility has committed to purchase 14 hydroelectric dams in New England and to get power from two others, a buy that will net Green Mountain Power an added 17 MW of energy production for just over $20 million. The dams will help the company meet statutory renewability requirements. [vtdigger.org]
• Plans for a series of new gas-fired plants in Chile have been put on hold after none of the projects won contracts at the country’s largest-ever electricity tender. More than half of the 12,430 Gwh per year offer was taken by a series of wind and solar energy projects, and all of the remainder was awarded to hydro generation. [Platts]
• The UK government has approved phase two of the world’s largest wind farm, adding 300 turbines to a project 55 miles off England’s shore, in the North Sea. Many people concerned about the long-term dangers of nuclear energy are hoping that renewable projects like Hornsea will pave the way for a complete transition. [ThinkProgress]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.

August 18 Green Energy News posted first on Green Energy Times