The following information was released by the office of the governor of North Carolina:

Governor Pat McCrory signed into law landmark legislation (H.B. 484) today that creates a framework for the establishment of wind energy facilities in North Carolina and signals the governor's continued support for an "all-of-the-above" energy plan.

Power generation by all plants run by Ukrainian National Nuclear Generating Company Energoatom fell by 5.4% to 29.982 billion kWh in January-April 2013, the company has said.

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.

THE FIRST of 160 wind turbines has been installed at the huge Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm eight miles off the North Wales coast.

With a planned installed capacity of 576 megawatts (MW) the Gwynt y Môr wind farm is one of the largest offshore wind farms currently under construction in Europe and the largest renewables project under construction by RWE npower renewables.

When completed, the installed capacity of Gwynt y Môr wind farm will be equivalent to almost the entire capacity of all onshore and offshore wind farms currently operational in Wales.

Kansai Electric Power Co. on Friday temporarily reduced the power output from one of the country's only two running nuclear reactors to 80 percent for a week of cleaning.

P2 SOLAR INC ("PTOS-L") - Acquires First Renewable Energy Project In India

P2 Solar, Inc. (the "Company" or "P2") announces it has acquired a unique renewable energy project to develop a mini-hydro facility in Punjab, India, on the Sidhwan irrigation canal in the city of Ludhiana. P2 now owns the project outright through its new wholly owned subsidiary, Jagat Energy Private Limited and will be moving to begin construction as soon as this summer.

The project involves the installation of a 700 KW mini-hydro facility in a minor canal diversion project, creating little impact on the water channel and surrounding terrain. This type of hydro power installation has long been used around the world and is highly environmentally sustainable. The project provides rights to several kilometers of canal space, so the possibility for significant project expansion over phases is extensive. A PV Solar power plant can be built on the free space above the canal as well.

Power generation by all plants run by Ukrainian National Nuclear Generating Company Energoatom fell by 5.4% to 29.982 billion kWh in January-April 2013, the company has said.

WASHINGTON, May 17 -- Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a notice called: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request.

The notice, published in the Federal Register on May 14 by Tremaine Donnell, NRC Clearance Officer, , states: "The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) invites public comment about our intention to request the OMB's approval for renewal of an existing information collection that is summarized below. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Registerunder the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).Information pertaining to the requirement to be submitted:1. The title of the information collection:10 CFR Part 50, "Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities."2. Current OMB approval number:3150-0011.3. How often the collection is required:As necessary in order for NRC to meet its responsibilities to conduct a detailed review of applications for licenses and amendments thereto to construct and operate nuclear power plants, preliminary or final design approvals, design certifications, research and test facilities, reprocessing plants and other utilization and production facilities, licensed pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act) and to monitor their activities. Reports are submitted daily, monthly, quarterly, annually, semi-annually, and on occasion.4. Who is required or asked to report:Licensees and applicants for nuclear power plants and research and test facilities, and approximately 100 materials licensees responding to generic communications.5. The number of annual respondents:251.6. The number of hours needed annually to complete the requirement or request:4.88M hours; 1.93M hours reporting (an average of 41.8 hrs/response) + 2.95M hours recordkeeping (an average of 19.5K hrs/recordkeeper).7. Abstract:Part 50 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations(10 CFR), "Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities, " specifies technical information and data to be provided to the NRC or maintained by applicants and licensees so that the NRC may take determinations necessary to protect the health and safety of the public, in accordance with the Act.

Sempra Energy(NYSE: SRE), GDF SUEZ S.A. (GSZ.FP), Mitsubishi Corporation (TSE 8058; LSE MBC) and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (8031.TYO), today announced that they have signed 20-year tolling capacity and joint-venture agreements to support the development, financing and construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility at the site of the Cameron LNG receipt terminal in Hackberry, La. 

The tolling agreements subscribe the full nameplate capacity of the three-train, 13.5- million-tonnes-per-annum (Mtpa) facility that will provide an export capability of 12 Mtpa of LNG, or approximately 1.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfd), and the full regasification capacity of 1.5 Bcfd.  Each tolling agreement is for 4 Mtpa.

The joint-venture agreement calls for affiliates of GDF SUEZ, Mitsubishi (through a related company jointly established with Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha) and Mitsui each to acquire 16.6-percent equity in the existing facilities and the liquefaction project. A Sempra Energy affiliate will retain 50.2 percent. 

Lawmakers are currently considering an omnibus bill that could give the state new, unprecedented authority within the New England natural gas and electricity markets. The energy bill combines components of 10 other pieces of legislation: It expands the mission of Efficiency Maine Trust and changes how Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative money is spent. Most controversially, it gives the Maine Public Utilities Commission the authority to both negotiate and approve contracts to purchase a percentage of natural gas pipeline capacity either within or outside Maine. If that section is not substantially rewritten, it should be thrown out.

This is an ambitious bill, and the Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology will be working during the coming days to refine it and address concerns. Committee members must analyze it carefully because, while this bill has some good elements supported by both parties, such as its funding of energy conservation programs and its directive to Efficiency Maine to focus more on fuel efficiency measures, one component in particular needs attention.

A NORTH-EAST offshore wind farm, capable of providing power for about 40,000 homes, could play a key role in developing the UK energy industry against global competitors.

The transformation of the Electricity Control Board to a broader Energy Regulator is well on track with the final industry adjustments taking place. The transformation was expected to be completed earlier this year but was delayed due to the inherent lengthy legal process. Although a final name for the new regulator and launch date is yet to be decided, members of the ECB remain optimistic that the transition will take place soon.

Calpine Corporation (NYSE:CPN) is one of the nation's largest generators of electricity and, according to a report issued this week, it is among the cleanest. A report by M.J. Bradley & Associates analyzes 2011 power generation and air emissions data for the top 100 power producers in the United States, including investor-owned utilities, independent power producers, and governmental power authorities and utilities districts. The report shows that Calpine, listed as the tenth largest power producer overall and the largest independent power producer, was ranked among the lowest in air emissions rates - 81st for sulfur dioxide, 82nd for nitrogen oxides and 89th for carbon dioxide - among all fossil fuel fleets. In addition, because Calpine's fossil fuel fleet consists of clean, efficient and flexible natural gas-fired plants, it had no mercury emissions.

Calpine's combined-cycle, natural-gas fired plants not only provide power but have the flexibility critical to the integration of intermittent renewable-sourced power into the grid. Calpine's highly efficient natural gas-fired cogeneration plants are partners to American industry, providing steam and power for operations ranging from fruit drying, to airport and university heating and cooling, to petrochemical production. Finally, Calpine's geothermal fleet, unlike intermittent renewables such as wind and solar, provides renewable-sourced power all day, every day.

GENEVA, May 17 -- Publication No. WO/2013/071069 was published on May 16.

Title of the invention: "HYBRID FOSSIL FUEL AND SOLAR HEATED SUPERCRITICAL CARBON DIOXIDE POWER GENERATING SYSTEM AND METHOD." Applicants: PALMER LABS LLC (US), 8 RIVERS CAPITAL LLC (US), Miles R. Palmer (US), Jeremy Eron Fetvedt (US), David Arthur Freed (US) and Glenn William Brown Jr. (US). Inventors: Miles R. Palmer (US), Jeremy Eron Fetvedt (US), David Arthur Freed (US) and Glenn William Brown Jr. (US). According to the abstract* posted by the World Intellectual Property Organization: "The present disclosure provides an integrated power generating system and method that combines combustion power generation with solar heating. Specifically, a closed cycle combustion system utilizing a carbon dioxide working fluid can be increased in efficiency by passing at least a portion of a carbon dioxide working fluid through a solar heater prior to passage through a combustor." The patent was filed on Nov. 9, 2012 under Application No. PCT/US2012/064397. *For further information, including images, charts and tables, please visit:

New Delhi, May 16 -- Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) and Constellation today announced the development of a 2.6-megawatt (DC) solar generation project that will supply clean energy to the company's thermal and acoustical insulation plant in Delmar, N.Y. Scheduled for completion in late 2013, the solar project is designed to supply more than 6 percent of the plant's annual electricity needs and will support Owens Corning's 2020 Environmental Footprint Goals for energy use and greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

The agreement allows EDF to expand its current license from 4,700 users and provide a single software solution for all of its maintenance workers to help maximize generation of power. Following an initial deployment at four nuclear sites and many of its hydro and fossil stations in France, EDF will expand its Ventyx solution coverage across all of the country's nuclear, fossil-fired and hydropower operations.

The Sierra Club issued the following news release:

Today, the Sierra Club's My Generation Campaign welcomed news that California has broken another record in its continued expansion of clean energy generation having reached 150,000 rooftop solar installations.

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have quantified the significant value that concentrating solar power (CSP) plants can add to an electric grid.

A program that encouraged thousands of California homeowners to install solar energy systems is under attack and could suffer crucial setbacks if one of the state's biggest utilities gets it way.

The reason: Utilities say their business model is suffering from residential solar installations.

The Edison Electric Institute, which lobbies on behalf of electric utilities across the nation, blames the solar energy net-metering program for harming utilities' revenue and goes so far as to compare the utilities' battle for relevance in energy distribution to the U.S. Postal Service's competition with private companies like FedEx.

Net energy metering is the system that allows residential and business customers that use solar energy to gain credit for extra energy produced by their solar panels as it flows back to the grid.

Power generated by consumer photovoltaic systems now makes up just 1 percent of the power distributed in the state. (Wind, bio-gas and fuel-cell generation are also part of the net metering program but generate only a fraction of the power that solar does.)

GENEVA, May 17 -- Publication No. WO/2013/068411 was published on May 16.

Title of the invention: "CONTROL OF WATER CURRENT TURBINES." Applicants: TIDAL GENERATION LIMITED (GB), Paul Vigars (GB) and Alexei Ivan Winter (GB). Inventors: Paul Vigars (GB) and Alexei Ivan Winter (GB). According to the abstract* posted by the World Intellectual Property Organization: "A method of controlling a water current turbine (1) which includes a rotor assembly (10) arranged to drive a generator (12) is disclosed. The method includes adjusting the electrical torque of the generator to control the output power of the generator (12). The control also takes loading characteristics of the turbine into account, and allows variation in the output power level in line with predefined power quality requirements." The patent was filed on Nov. 7, 2012 under Application No. PCT/EP2012/072045. *For further information, including images, charts and tables, please visit: