Henry Harrell"s Blog: September 27 Green Energy News

Headline News:

Statkraft has officially opened the 73-MW Banja hydropower plant in Albania, the first of two projects that will make up the 256-MW Devoll hydro scheme. The plant, which is located 65 kilometers southeast of the capital Tirana and is Statkraft’s first in the country, will generate about 255 GWh of electricity a year. [reNews]

Hydro dam (Statkraft image)

The owners of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant had to keep a lot of spare parts around to keep the facility running. While the plant was open, the VY had a warehouse filled with equipment that workers might need in case something broke down. It closed in December 2014, and now the plant is auctioning off inventory. [Vermont Public Radio]
In the UK, controversy over fracking has been reignited after a surprise announcement that a future Labour government would ban it. Shadow minister Barry Gardiner won loud applause at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool when he attacked the Government’s policy on promoting shale gas. The Green Party supported the announcement. [BT.com]
On September 27, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals is hearing challengers’ arguments against the Clean Power Plan, but many power companies are not waiting for the courts to resolve the legal challenges. Instead, they are cutting carbon emissions already and accelerating the shift to clean energy. [Natural Resources Defense Council]
New York City is thinking big on energy storage, 100 MWh by 2020. In addition, Mayor Bill de Blasio has expanded solar power targets. He announced an expansion of targets to 1,000 MW of citywide solar capacity by 2030. That level of capacity could meet the power needs of more than 250,000 households. [Energy Matters]

Henry Harrell"s Blog