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.

The United States Army, The Government of USA has issued the following news release:

On May 9, 2013, the Defense Logistics Agency Energy (DLA Energy), in close coordination with the Army Energy Initiatives Task Force (EITF), released a Request for Proposal (RFP) to procure solar energy from a photovoltaic Renewable Energy Generation System (REGS) located on Fort Irwin in California. The government estimates the size of the system at 15 megawatts, subject to final specification by the selected developer. The Solicitation, SP0600-13-R-0412, is posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website at www.fbo.gov.

ENP Newswire - 20 May 2013

Release date- 16052013 - On 23 April 2013 Green Rock Energy Ltd (ASX: GRK and GRKOB) announced that the Company would make an offer to those GRKO option holders whose GRKO options expired on the 31 March 2013, to subscribe for new options.

By the end of this year, it is likely that renewables will be the country's main source of electricity, providing more power than nuclear, coal or gas. Far from being "alternative energy", renewables is now a major part of our energy mix, and a significant part of Scotland's economy.

Latest figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change showed that in 2011 renewables in Scotland generated more power than coal or gas for the first time ever, and that we are very much nipping at the heels of nuclear power - the largest single source of generation.

Agency of Nuclear Projects, The State of Nevada has issued the following news release:

The owner of Vermont’s only nuclear plant sued the state last month, charging that state regulators have delayed approval of a backup emergency diesel generator.

Yankee is under orders from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to install a backup power source by September. The generator is supposed to be available if the plant is disabled and loses electricity from the transmission grid.

April power demand in Bolivia rose 6.5% to 569GWh compared to the year-ago month, according to statistics from the national dispatch committee (CNDC).

Publication No. WO/2013/069785 was published on May 16 by WIPO.

Title of the invention: LIGHT GUIDE BODY, SOLAR CELL MODULE, AND PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER GENERATION DEVICE

Applicants: SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA [JP/JP]; 22-22, Nagaike-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka 5458522 (JP)
Inventors: TSUKIO Daisuke; .
UCHIDA Hideki; .
UMEDA Tokiyoshi; .
YUI Hideomi; .
ASAOKA Yasushi;

1.0 Background

Luminant Generation Company, LLC. (Luminant) submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Combined License (COL) Applications for two United States--Advanced Pressurized Water Reactors (US-APWR) in accordance with the requirements of Part 52 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Subpart C, "Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants." These reactors will be identified as Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant (CPNPP), Units 3 and 4, and are located at the existing Comanche Peak site in Somervell County, Texas. The NRC docketed the application on December 2, 2008, and is currently performing a review of the application. In addition, the NRC is currently performing a detailed review of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. application for the design certification of the US-APWR.

2.0 Request/Action

The regulations specified in 10 CFR 50.71(e)(3)(iii) require that an applicant for a COL under Subpart C of 10 CFR part 52 shall, during the period from docketing of a COL application, until the Commission makes a finding under 10 CFR 52.103(g) pertaining to facility operation, submit an annual update to the application's Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR), which is a part of the application.

International Resource News - 20 May 2013

ContourGlobal, a New York based international power-generation company, has acquired 100 percent of the shares in the company that holds the wind and diesel power generation assets on the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire, from the company's shareholder administrator.

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.

 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.

El Salvador saw April capacity demand hit a record 1,004MW, breaking the previous mark of 978MW set this March, according to BNamericas research.

GENEVA, May 20 -- Publication No. WO/2013/069785 was published on May 16.

Title of the invention: "LIGHT GUIDE BODY, SOLAR CELL MODULE, AND PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER GENERATION DEVICE." Applicant: SHARP K.K. (JP). Inventors: Daisuke Tsukio, Hideki Uchida, Tokiyoshi Umeda, Hideomi Yui and Yasushi Asaoka. According to the abstract* posted by the World Intellectual Property Organization: "A light guide body has a first principal surface and a first end surface and includes at least one optical functional material. The at least one optical functional material includes a first optical functional material that emits light anisotropically. The light guide body is configured at least so as to allow the light emitted from the first optical functional material to propagate and exit from the end surface. The first optical functional material is oriented so that an angle formed by a direction in which the emission intensity of the light emitted from the first optical functional material is the largest and the normal line of the first principal surface becomes a critical angle or more." The patent was filed on Nov. 9, 2012 under Application No. PCT/JP2012/079171. *For further information, including images, charts and tables, please visit:

According to the company, when completed next year, the project will enable Verizon to annually generate more than 70 million kilowatt hours of its own green energy - enough to power more than 6,000 single-family homes a year - while eliminating more than 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide - enough to offset the annual CO2 emissions from more than 1 million gallons of gas. The fuel cell and solar products will be installed at a variety of Verizon buildings, including corporate offices, call centers, data centers and central offices. "This is a natural evolution of our sustainability efforts and of our use of alternative energy to power a variety of our facilities," said James Gowen, Verizon's chief sustainability officer.

GREEDY energy giants have pushed up household bills by more than £250 a year and given their profits a multi-billion pound boost.

New research reveals today that power industry mark-ups - the difference between what firms pay for energy and the price they charge customers - rocketed by 39% for electricity and 69% for gas in the past 10 years.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Lynch, Project Manager, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-1524; email: Steven.Lynch@nrc.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 26, 2013 (SMT-2013-012, Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML13088A192), SHINE Medical Technologies (SHINE) filed with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) pursuant to Section 103 of the Atomic Energy Act, and Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), a portion of an application for a construction permit application for a medical radioisotope production facility in Janesville, Wisconsin.

The following information was released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI):

The Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE) compiled the present status of introduction for facilities generating renewable energy as of February 30, 2013, and hereby announces the results.