Global Monitor

A study proposed by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) could shed more light on how safe it is to store high-burnup used nuclear fuel in dry casks. In an August 2013–released draft test plan

By 2035, renewables will hold a 30% share of the global power mix, but only 1% of the world’s fossil fuel–fired power plants will be equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS), reports the

The Power Finance Corp. (PFC), India’s nodal agency that conducts bidding for 16 proposed Ultra-Mega Power Plants (UMPPs)—coal projects of a 4,000-MW scale to make power available at a minimum cost—in

Plans to build the $12 billion Inga 3 hydropower project may be finally coming to fruition after a new energy treaty signed by South Africa and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) promised to give the

Europe’s largest pumped-storage power plant was inaugurated this October in the Júcar River basin in Spain’s eastern province of Valencia as Spanish utility Iberdrola commissioned the final

First Kundankulam Unit Synchronized to Grid. The state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) on Oct. 22 synchronized to the grid the first of two units at the Kundankulam Nuclear Power

Germany’s levy to promote renewables under the 2008 Renewable Energy Act (EEG) will climb to €0.624/kWh in 2014—a 20% increase that represents nearly a fifth of residential electricity bills. The measure

Up to 18% of the world’s electricity could be generated with wind energy by 2050, but the massive jump from 2.6% today would require the nearly 300 GW of current wind capacity worldwide to increase eight- to

RusHydro Completes First Stage of New Far East Hydro Project. The RusHydro Group on Oct. 3 announced it had officially completed the first stage of the 570-MW Ust’-Srednekanskaya hydropower plant on the

A new study from Stanford University suggests that, if the overall amounts of fuel and electricity required to build and operate energy storage technologies are factored in, grid-scale batteries make sense for

SustainX in September completed construction of what it says is the world’s first megawatt-scale isothermal compressed air energy storage (ICAES) system. The system at the company’s headquarters in

A tremendous amount of offshore wind capacity—from 100 MW to 13,000 MW—is expected to play a major role in Germany’s transition to sourcing 80% of its power from renewables by 2050. However, Energiewende

Following the election of President Francois Hollande in 2012, France has engaged the public in a series of regional and web-based debates to pin down key tenets of its so-called “energy transition.” The

In a noteworthy measure this August, Chinese authorities scrapped proposals for a 2-GW coal-fired power plant, citing—for the first time—concerns about air pollution. And as the authorities in Baguang

Jordan’s First Nuclear Reactor Gets Construction Green Light. Jordanian regulators on Aug. 20 granted permission for construction to begin at the Jordan Research and Training Reactor (JRTR) at the Jordan

A new 2-MW power-to-gas (P2G) plant inaugurated by Germany’s E.ON in late August will convert excess wind energy into synthetic natural gas that can then be fed into the regional gas grid, where it can be

Energy-hungry India’s power sector is financially hemorrhaging due to a number of critical issues relating to the availability of coal and gas, its loss-making state power distribution companies, and costly

A prototype 100-kW floating wind turbine that has been tested off Nagasaki near Japan’s Kabashima Island since May 2012 is slated to be replaced by a full-scale, grid-connected 2-MW wind turbine this fall

Joining the growing list of major small modular reactor (SMR) technology developers is California-based General Atomics, which says its patented Energy Multiplier Module, EM2, is one of the “most advanced

Norwegian company Thor Energy began a five-year-long irradiation test of thorium fuel at the Institute for Energy Technology’s research reactor in Halden, Norway, marking the most recent investigation into

The $2.9 billion London Array—the world’s biggest offshore wind farm—opened this July in the Outer Thames Estuary about 12 miles off the coasts of Kent and Essex. The 175-turbine installation is arranged

China hit two of its most significant hydroelectric milestones in recent months: Initial operation of the 13.86-GW Xiluodu project—the country’s second-largest hydropower project after the 22.5-GW Three

In his climate change speech earlier this summer, President Obama announced a major policy shift: The U.S. government will end financing for virtually all new coal power plants oversees. In the wake of that

Mexico Creates Council to Meet Clean Energy Target. The Mexican Energy Secretariat on July 5 announced creation of the Renewable Energy Council , a body designed to spearhead eight initiatives outlined in a

Two VVER-1000 reactors built and designed by Russian state firm Atomstroyexport under a $3 billion contract are slated to be commissioned this summer in the State of Tamil Nadu in India.

South Korea, the world’s fourth-largest producer of nuclear power, in June warned of “unprecedented” power shortages this summer after it shut down two reactors due to faulty safety equipment and delayed the start of operations of another last month.