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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said on Monday it would award $27.6 million in federal funding to 19 projects that enhance the capability to simulate, track, and evaluate the potential risks of carbon dioxide (CO₂) storage in geologic formations.

The first federally licensed in-stream hydrokinetic power project in the U.S. began operating commercially on the Mississippi River in Hastings, Minn., on Thursday.

An explosion thought to have been caused by a pressure surge in water pipes at Russia’s largest hydroelectric power station, the 6,400-MW Sayano Shushenskaya plant in southern Siberia, on Monday killed at least 12 people and injured scores of others. Dozens more are feared dead as a result of the accident.

Australia’s parliament rejected a government-backed plan last week that would have forced the country’s worst 1,000 polluters to buy carbon dioxide permits covering 75% of national emissions to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 5% to 25% by 2020. The government struck a deal with opponents today (Aug. 19), however, to mandate that 20% of the country’s energy will be produced from renewable sources by 2020.

An agreement reached between the City of San Francisco and Mirant Corp. could permanently shut down a controversial 50-year-old natural gas–fired power plant by the end of 2010 and force the Atlanta-based company to pay the city $1 million to address pediatric asthma in nearby communities.

Progress Energy Carolinas said on Tuesday that it would permanently shut down three coal-fired power plants near Goldsboro and seek state regulatory approval to build a new natural gas–fueled facility at the site. The decision will ensure compliance with North Carolina’s Clean Smokestacks Act, which establishes more stringent emission-reduction targets in 2013, the company said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Monday issued final regulatory approval for Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s 77–wind turbine project with a nameplate capacity of 115.5 MW. The $250 million project, which will cover 30,000 acres about 15 miles south of Minot, N.D., could be the largest cooperative-owned wind farm in the nation when it is operational in early 2010.

Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens and media magnate Ted Turner have teamed up in calling for a utility sector “cash-for-clunkers” program, which they say could save money and reduce emissions right away.

Dynegy on Monday said it would sell eight power plants to LS Power, a private equity firm that is a major stakeholder in the Houston-based generation firm. The transaction, estimated at $1.5 billion in cash and stock, is expected to enhance Dynegy’s "strategic and financial flexibility."

Montana last week revoked an air quality permit needed by the Southern Montana Electric (SME) Generation and Transmission Cooperative to build a 250-MW coal-fired power plant east of Great Falls, Mont. The decision was reportedly made at SME’s request.