WAM Abu Dhabi, 20th May 2013 (WAM) - The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), the country's independent nuclear regulatory body, has invited the public to review and comment on its draft Regulatory Guide on the Certification of Reactor Operators and Senior Reactor Operators at Nuclear Facilities.

TOKYO, May 17 Kyodo

MODEC Inc., a maker of floating oil production platforms, and theSaga prefectural government have announced that what they call the world's first experiment to generate electricity from a combination of tidal and wind energy systems will start this fall off the coast of the prefecture.

WYLFA nuclear power station could generate electricity until the end of 2015 - potentially securing more than 600 jobs for another 15 months.

The Anglesey nuclear plant secured permission in October 2010 to extend the operational life of the two reactors to December 2012.

The following information was released by the Department of Energy, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory:

Enough Northwest wind energy to power about 85,000 homes each month could be stored in porous rocks deep underground for later use, according to a new, comprehensive study. Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Bonneville Power Administration identified two unique methods for this energy storage approach and two eastern Washington locations to put them into practice.

Compressed air energy storage plants could help save the region's abundant wind power which is often produced at night when winds are strong and energy demand is low for later, when demand is high and power supplies are more strained. These plants can also switch between energy storage and power generation within minutes, providing flexibility to balance the region's highly variable wind energy generation throughout the day.

From the Caribbean Summit of Political and Business Leaders that took place in the British Virgin Islands last week, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) and NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) on Friday announced a new global alliance to expand the use of renewable energy systems at Starwood properties.

The alliance will begin with three properties, including the installation of a 1.3 megawatt (MW) solar array at the Westin St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands where NRG will build, own and operate the project. This array will provide clean, efficient power to the resort helping to reduce local air emissions and the impact of shipping on the fragile Caribbean ecosystem by directly reducing demand for diesel fuel imports.

NTE Hybrid, the hybrid renewable energy technology joint venture between NTE Energy and Energy Investors Funds (EIF), is pleased to announce the award of its second set of patent claims by the United States Patent & Trademark Office. This patent expands the applicability of NTE Hybrid's groundbreaking hybrid technology to non-combined cycle fossil fuel fired power plants, including coal, oil and natural gas fired facilities. This new patent substantially increases the range of facilities in which NTE Hybrid's technology can be applied.

NTE Energy and EIF formed NTE Hybrid in 2010 with the goal of creating one of the world's lowest cost and most reliable renewable energy technologies. Following the award of its first patent issued on April 24, 2012, NTE Hybrid has continued to develop and improve the efficiency, applicability and versatility of the company's hybrid renewable energy technology to expand its application throughout the power industry.

New Delhi, May 20 -- GE (NYSE: GE) and Greenwich, Conn.,-based Green Waste Energy (GWE) today announced they have signed a frame agreement for GE to supply an undetermined number of ecomagination[1] qualified Jenbacher gas engines to power a series of Advanced Recycling and Energy Conversion (AREC) plants that GWE's development subsidiary, Green Waste Energy Development (GWED), plans to build around the world.

The Bonneville Power Administration issued the following news release:

Enough Northwest wind energy to power about 85,000 homes each month could be stored in porous rocks deep underground for later use, according to a new, comprehensive study. Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Bonneville Power Administration identified two unique methods for this energy storage approach, and two eastern Washington locations to put them into practice.

Compressed air energy storage plants could help save the region's abundant wind power - which is often produced at night when winds are strong and energy demand is low - for later, when demand is high and power supplies are more strained. These plants can also switch between energy storage and power generation within minutes, providing flexibility to balance the region's highly variable wind energy generation throughout the day.

Chinese solar panel manufacturer Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) will supply panels to the first solar energy field, which is under construction at Sde Boker. As part of the $20 million deal, Suntech will also supply panels to another solar energy field, which is under construction at Kibbutz Hatzerim.

Ministry of Power, The Government of India has issued following news release:

The surplus power from the States can be transferred to a power deficit State through the Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) from the source of supply depending upon the available transfer capacity (ATC) between the point of supply and point of drawl. Open Access in transmission (introduced by the Central Government through Electricity Act, 2003), trading mechanism and Power Exchange in accordance with the relevant regulations notified by CERC facilitate this process. National Grid, for evacuation of power from generating sources located in different regions in the country and facilitating transfer of power from surplus to deficit regions, is in place. In addition, licenses have been granted for trading of power. Power exchanges have also been set up for facilitating transfer of power from surplus to deficit States. The surplus power available with the States is also supplied by the States to other needy and desirous States under bilateral arrangements.

The State of California has issued the following news release:

The military services have installed a total of 130 megawatts of solar photovoltaic energy systems at U.S. installations, and have plans to complete 1.1 gigawatts of new photovoltaic capacity by 2017, according to a new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association.

ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 21 -- Chih-Cheng Tai, Sunnyvale, Calif., Lucas J. Myslinski, San Jose, Calif., Chyh-Yih Chang, Xinzhuang, Taiwan, Shih Ming Tseng, Campbell, Calif., and Shih Hsiang Tseng, Campbell, Calif., have developed a patent (8,441,152) for a "renewable energy transmission, generation, and utilization device and method."

TOKYO, May 17 Kyodo

Nuclear power generation accounted for a record low of 1.7 percent of the 940.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity generated by Japan's 10 utilities in fiscal 2012 amid the closure of most nuclear plants, an industry body said Friday.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power Jyotiraditya M Scindia replies to a query on 'Hydro Power Generation Capacity' raised by Kishanbhai Vestabhai Patel and Ravneet Singh on April 25, 2013.

Question (Starred; # 428):

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority has issued a notification, paving the way for power distribution companies to gradually recover fuel price adjustment of past eight months from consumers, an unpopular move that may spell trouble for the incoming PML-N government.

 ContourGlobal announced today that it has acquired 100% of the shares of the company holding the wind and diesel power generation assets on the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire from the administrator of the company's shareholder.  The assets are the sole power generation facilities on the island of Bonaire and integrate renewable and conventional energy production sources to provide reliable power to the island's 16,500 inhabitants.

Take notice that on May 9, 2013, pursuant to sections 206 and 207(a)(2) of the Rules of Practice and Procedure of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) 18 CFR 385.206 and 385.207(a)(2), sections 206 and 306 of the Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 824(e) and 825(e), and section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA), Exelon Corporation, on behalf of its subsidiaries Exelon Wind 1, LLC, Exelon Wind 2, LLC, Exelon Wind 3, LLC, Exelon Wind 4, LLC, Exelon Wind 5, LLC, Exelon Wind 6, LLC, Exelon Wind 7, LLC, Exelon Wind 8, LLC, Exelon Wind 9, LLC, Exelon Wind 10, LLC, Exelon Wind 11, LLC, and High Plains Wind Power, LLC (Complainants) filed a formal complaint and petition for enforcement requesting that the Commission find that Xcel Energy Services Inc., and its operating subsidiary, Southwestern Public Service Company (Respondents) violated PURPA and Commission's regulations. Complainants requests that the Commission exercise its authority and initiate enforcement action against Respondents.

GENEVA, May 20 -- Publication No. WO/2013/067698 was published on May 16.

Title of the invention: "COMBINED POWER GENERATING DEVICE USING SOLAR AND WIND ENERGY." Applicants: QINGDAO MINSHEN WIND POWER TECHNOLOGY LTD. CO. (CN) and Chunhui Jiang (CN). Inventor: Chunhui Jiang (CN). According to the abstract* posted by the World Intellectual Property Organization: "A combined power generating device using solar and wind energy is provided, which comprises a generator and an airflow generating device.

CHENNAI, May 20 -- Power transmission losses, which had continued to rise under the DMK regime and peaked at 9.82 per cent in 2009-10, reduced during 2011-12, after the AIADMK led by J Jayalalithaa took over the reins of the government.

These are among the inferences contained in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), which was tabled in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on May 15, on the functioning of the State's electricity body between 2007 and 2012.