STUFF

Japan to nationalize Fukushima. 10-yr, $12.6B plan.

Most areas of US had below-avg precip 1st 4 months this year. Overall temps warmest on record.

Utility taking 1,300 damaged tubes out of service at crippled Calif reactor.

Australia's CBD Energy to buy WEST in all-stock deal.

UK in talks with Iceland to send excess geothermal power to UK via undersea high-volt cable.

Emerald Biofuels to build 85M gal/y renewable diesel refinery at Dow Chem site in Louisiana. To use Honeywell Green Diesel Fuel tech. Natural oils, animal fats feedstock. 2 other green diesel projects going up in the state, total cap 297M gal/y when all completed.

Deal made to build 72M gal/y corn ethanol facility in SD. Wagner Native Ethanol and Quertus Global Capital Market.

Canada will probably not meet already-diminished GHG reduction targets. Emissions expected to be 7.4% higher in '20 than '05.

PA made ~ $3.5B in revs from Marcellus in '11. Drillers produced >1TCF NG. WV produced ~350BCF.

Baker Center: solar energy subsidized in US about same rate as other E sources.

Pub Service of NH suspended ops at flagship 460MW coal-fired power plant because its cheaper to buy el on the open market. Oversupply, cheap NG prices the main driver. Weather, stagnant demand other factors. New England coal-fired plants had 35% capacity factor last year.

Largest low concentrating PV solar plant now online in Calif. Convert Italia, Solaria built. Horizontal tracking - gens up to 30% more el than fixed array.

Indian wheat rotting out in the open after bumper harvest. That's simply a lack of  storage and/or transportation. But definitely, lack of care and planning. Sad.

And what's up with Putin? Tells Obama he'll skip G8 summit and touts Russia's "wordly might" while dissidents are being jailed. Some "reset".