STUFF

Mac and cheese veggy pancakes. Think about it, pards. With soft boiled egg on top.

Smog persists in Beijing despite factory shutdowns, car removals.

Iran accusing BP of fouling Caspian.

"Charities" funneling millions to climate change denial.

Fed appeals court overturned EPA rule mandating refiners to generate or buy cellulosic biofuels. EPA set goal of 8.65M gal for '12. US production was 20K. That was exported to Brazil. EPA's '13 goal late in coming. 32 comps building or have built cellulosic ethanol plants in US. Projecting at least 308M gal capacity by '16.

Oak Ridge study (Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuke Future - co-chaired by DOE's Chu) determined if and when US ever decides to pursue tech to recycle nuke waste, it would take 20 yrs to develop. They suggest bury 98% of current stockpile and forget about it. 68 metric tons. 2% can be used for research into recycling, storage tech. Helen Caldicott Foundation: recycling is reprocessing is worst polluter of air and sea, direct conduit to proliferation, ups ante for reactor accident danger (MOX fuel has plutonium in it).

Scotland set goal to cut power industry emissions over 80% by '30. 50 grams CO2/Kwh. Criticized UK for not setting same goal. UK withholding until '16. Scots aiming to get all E from clean/ren by '20. They were 27% in '11. UK targeting 30%, 12% now.

US fed approved A123 sale to China.

Japan to better than double budget for clean E in FY start April 1 to $1B. $1B. 1st cut in total govt budget in 7 yrs.

Furukawa El (Japan) record volts through superconducting cable. 30 meter cable. 275Kv. (Where is US? AMSC?)

Chernobyl ('86) perhaps real cause of USSR collapse. Gorby agrees. But there was Reagan/Thatcher/Pope. Poland's Walesa. Afghanistan. But Chernobyl made citizens aware of the system's woeful ineptitude and lying about it compared to West. And the world changed.

USAID signed agreement with Georgia to help spur private development of hydropower projects by giving producers easier means of selling power to Turkey, other regional marts. Dollars not reported.

Smakraft (Norway) plans 6 hydro plants this yr for $49M. Total cap 25Mw. Norway '10 elgen ~95% hydro. Norway, Sweden common green certificate market last year to spur clean E.

Nevada Geothermal (NGLPF) seeks buyers, partners for 4 remaining geothermal power projects. Vancouver-based comp got $98.5M DOE loan guarantee in '10. Now name change to Alternative Earth Resources. No profit for at least 10 yrs.

JP Morgan bought interests in 8 Ormat geotherm plants in Cal and NV for $35.7M. Plans to pay $8.7M more for 25% of value of production tax creds for those plants through '16. JP invested $24.9M in 4 Ormat plants in '11.

Centrotherm Photovoltaics (German solar PV cell/panel maker) bankruptcy plan approved. 1 share for 5. May save 1K jobs.

Next Era Energy to add 900Mw of solar contracts by '17. Sees '13 being "down" year for wind power.

Study: Cal wind turbines kill fewer birds.

Exelon announced launch of Constellation Peak Response. Allows commercial, industrial, el supply customers to reduce future capacity, transmission costs by lowering el use during peak demand.

Guardian Energy bought BioEnergy's 60M gal/y ethanol plant in MN for $55M. Online in '07. 21M bu of corn/y. Lost $3M 1st 9 mo of '12.

Global Partners buying crude oil and ethanol plant in OR for $95M. 200K bl storage. Largest eth plant on west coast.

U of Leuven (Belgium) researchers show it would take 30 yrs to repay carbon debt from jatropha production on arid or semiarid land if yield reached 9-14 tons of seeds/hectare/yr.

Australia comp planning country's 1st ethanol plant to use forestry waste feedstock. $100M est. cost. Suppliers to get $75/ton of green forestry waste. Pilot plant already operating.

Biox resuming production at Ontario biodiesel plant. Suspended production in Oct. from lack of demand. 25% demand increase seen for '13 to 1.28B gal plus reinstatement of biodiesel blending credit.

German ethanol production from sugarbeet up 54% in '12. 253K metric tons from 2.7M tons of beets. Overall ethanol production up 7.4% to 613K tons. Increased demand for E10.

Argentina suspended complaint to WTO against Spain after Spain dropped biodies trade barrier.

EC recently proposed duties on imported US ethanol. Growth Energy, RFA joint answer: legally vulnerable on numerous grounds. Flies in face of over 30 yrs of consistent EC practice.

SG Biofuels (US), backed by Airbus and others, seeking to reduce costs, boost yields in jatropha biofuel.

Study backed by oil industry finds E15 damages auto (truck?) systems.

Russia says Ukraine owes $7B for NG not used in '12. Ukraine says "nuh uh."

Shell announced landing deal with Kinder Morgan to export LNG from Georgia. Facility still in construction. Only facility in region with permits to export. 500MCF of NG/d to countries with free trade agreements with US.

Saud prince assured us that Saud Arabia will maintain current crude export levels through '30.

Over 1/2 of coal power projects planned in Germany in '06 now abandoned. Coal plant coming online in '15 will never make money over 40-year life.

US's National Marine Fisheries Service (did you ever hear of them before?) proposal will allow US Navy to kill, injure or disrupt behavior for over 30M marine mammals over 5 yrs beginning Jan '14. Thursday's Fed Register. (What the FRACKING HELL?!)

EU stopped short of ban on bee-threatening insecticides.