California Energy Bill Encourages Regulators to Consider Geothermal Power

Newly amended legislation urges California power regulators to encourage the use of geothermal power to help meet the state’s renewable energy targets, with a long-term goal of generating money to repair the Salton Sea.

The ailing desert lake, which straddles Riverside and Imperial counties, has steadily shrunk and will lose its largest remaining supply of water in four years. Yet virtually nothing has happened on the $8.9 billion restoration plan unveiled in 2007 to solve the sea’s environmental problems.

Japan panel head eyes incentive seen boosting solar power

The head of a Japanese panel suggested on Wednesday that utilities pay 52 cents per kilowatt-hour (kwh) for solar power supplies in a renewable energy incentive scheme, a rate that could encourage business investors to enter the budding market.

Japan will introduce in July a new feed-in tariff scheme, which was originally aimed to help cut fossil fuel consumption and has become a key policy as Japan tries to reduce its reliance on atomic power after last year's Fukushima disaster.