STUFF ... Utility-scale solar 60% toward cost-competitive el production goal: DOE. 3 yrs into 10-yr Sun Shot Initiative. Target 6 cents/Kwh. Now 11 cents. Avg. US el price ~12 cents. $25M DOE funds announced today to further develop PV, CSP, maintain domestic solar industry ... Alumni New Energies launched share placement for $5B Namibian energy scheme ... Suzlon $172M 4Q loss, 9mo loss ~$470M ... Suntech delisted from NYSE ... Japan to cancel FITs for 672 too-long-delayed solar projects ... Hareon Solar Tech (China) to build 150Mw in 2 provinces ... US ITC prelim decision today on China-Taiwan solar duties ... New Generation Power Texas started construction on 1st phase of 400Mw wind farm. $650-700Mw total cost ... Duke: only 30-39K tons coal ash spilled into Dan R. (O.) ... Turkey energy minister: country saving $5.5B/y of NG imports from clean/ren buildout last 10 yrs ... First Wind's 30Mw Oahu wind farm back online at full cap. Batt storage fire in Aug '12. Batt system replaced by volt-amp reactive system ... Methane leaks negates benefits of NG as transportation fuel (with present tech): study. Switching trucks, buses to NG from diesel could actually harm climate more unless new tech (already available) used. Leaks from drilling, pipelines, distribution. Study by scientists at Stanford, MIT, NREL. Already ~50% more methane in atmos than previous EPA est. But switching from coal to NG at power plants helps atmos. Sept report said methane leaks from frack sites on avg lower than EPA levels. (So. EPA needs to raise standards to best tech. But EPA not allowed to regulate fracking. Folks, if the world isn't ending soon this is something else to get right.) ... 3-4K gals spilled in latest crude train derail in PA. 2 derailed cars had LPG (ka-boom) ... Train hauling crude jumped tracks, almost toppled over Philly bridge Jan 20. (Buy or look at Greenbriar.) ... Farmers can keep pace with increasing population, climate change by adopting suite of new techs: 3-yr study ... Millions of Fed dollars will be provided drought-stricken livestock farmers as Obama, Cal officials confer on ways to prevent "tsunami" of climate change ... States with greater "wind penetration" seeing lower el rates: analysis ... Cal groundwater supply being pushed toward rock bottom: experts ... PA NG well still burning. Exploded Tuesday. Worker still missing ... Unplanned interruptions of global supply chain up ~30% in '13: DOE. Most in Libya. OPEC disruptions averaged 1.8Mb/d, hit 2.6M at yearend ... Pakistan and Asian Development Bank loaning $900M for $1.5B 1.2Gw coal power plant in Pakistan. $220M from Islamic Development Bank. $380M from Pakistan ... TVA replacing 2 oldest coal plants with combined cycle NG in KY. $1B. Online '17. Longterm TVA sees 20% NG, 20% coal, 20% hydro and other clean E, 40% nuke ... NOAA study links tuna heart probs in GOM to crude ... Great Lakes ice cover near record. (Silver lining: cuts down lake effect snow events.) ... Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic declining in WY: survey ... Save the Monarch Butterfly for real ... Arctic warming may be driving new parasitic infections ... Church of England: climate change "great demon of our day" ... Extreme weather changes could increase stroke risk: study (think?) ... NREL: adequate transmission, energy storage options to better integrate clean energy grid ... Japan wind lobby says enviro assessments curbing new work ... China granted Sinopec permission for commercial av biofuels. Hydrotreated palm oil, recycled waste cooking oil, other feedstocks ... U of TX researchers producing biofuel from yeast + sugar ... Norway comp turned on waste-to-energy plant in Oslo. To produce biometh from household food waste for bus fleet. Will treat 50K tons waste/y to produce ~14K cub met /d of biometh ... Optim Energy (TX) - Bill Gates investment fund (rut roh) - chap 11. 3 power plants. 1 coal, 2 NG. East TX. Can't deal with lower losses. 3rd chap 11 after Dynegy, Edison Mission. Price of el down ~40% last 5 yrs in Optim's market to ~$38/Mwh ... Appeals court dismissed challenge to GOM spill medical claims ... Court OK'd suit over BP spills in AK ... Trash bags make good transport fuel: report ... Cal voters oppose bullet train: poll ... Enviros suing util over sludge dumping into Potomac R ... China offering incentives to pollution-cutting cities ... Java volcano eruption.