‘Uttar Pradesh in northern India is among states expanding solar generation to meet government-set targets. The country, which suffers peak-hour power shortages of as much as 25 percent in some regions, is developing large-scale renewable plants to diversify its energy mix and reduce a current-account deficit exacerbated by fuel imports.’

via India’s Uttar Pradesh Signs Contracts for Solar Plants – Bloomberg.

‘The U.S. Department of Energy announced that it has selected NuScale Power as its second winner in the agency’s public-private partnership program to support the development of small modular reactors (or, SMR). The award includes a five-year cost-sharing program including up to $226 million in funding — DOE will provide 50 percent of the cost of the project and requires matching funding from the company.’

via DOE Announces Funding for Small Nuclear Reactors.

‘Methane, the primary constituent of natural gas, can escape during extraction, processing, and distribution. These emissions have the potential to eliminate the carbon advantage of gas over coal and oil. There is heated debate over the extent to which this potential is being realized. A new study suggests that more methane is leaking out of the natural gas supply system than we previously thought.’

via Natural gas: Not all it’s fracked up to be? | Energy Economics Exchange.

‘Thirty years of shrinking Arctic sea ice has boosted extreme summer weather, including heat waves and drought, in the United States and elsewhere, according to a study published today Dec. 8 in the journal Nature Climate Change.’

via Shrinking Arctic Sea Ice Means Scorching US Summers – Yahoo News.

‘An ambitious plan to construct an offshore wind farm about 14 miles off the coast of South Wales has been abandoned.’

via Showdown Over UK’s Green Energy Subsidies Derail Plans For Offshore Wind Farm – Forbes.

‘…Talks culminated in the Warsaw international mechanism for loss and damage to help vulnerable countries deal with impacts of climate change such as extreme weather events and sea level rise but details have been pushed to 2016; there was a lacklustre commitment of $72.5 million by six European countries to help countries adapt to climate change. Work on the new agreement was stymied with political questions unanswered.’

via Warsaw meet: Outcome from climate change talks remains fuzzy – The Economic Times.

‘…Given humanity’s focus on the near and now, the greatest challenge posed by global warming is figuring out how to spur meaningful changes in energy norms based on a risk with this time scale.’

via An Update on Risks of Abrupt Jolts from Global Warming – NYTimes.com.

‘The European Union should set a single target to reduce greenhouse gases by at least 40 percent in 2030, according to Johannes Teyssen, chief executive officer of Germany’s largest utility, EON SE. (EOAN)’

via EU Needs Single Carbon Goal for 2030, EON’s Teyssen Says – Bloomberg.

‘Hitachi Ltd. (6501) unveiled an energy-storage system that the company said will support wind and solar power and allow users to sell electricity into deregulated markets such as California.’

via Hitachi Announces Storage Technology for Renewable Energy – Bloomberg.