The Energy Blog

Pickens Mesa Power Orders 1,000 MW of Wind Turbines

Per press release, edited slightly:

Mesa Power LLP, a company created by T. Boone Pickens, has placed an order with General Electric to purchase 667, 1.5 megawatt wind turbines for the worlds largest wind farm, capable of generating 1,000 megawatts, nameplate, of electricity, enough to power more than 300,000 average U.S. homes. The order is part of the $2 billion first phase, see previous post, of the Pampa Wind Project planned in the Texas panhandle by Mesa.

When all the phases of the project are completed it will become the world's largest wind energy project, with more than 4,000 megawatts, nameplate, of installed capacity. When completed, projected to be in 2014, the wind farm will be five times as big as the nation's current largest wind power project, now producing 736 megawatts.

Pickens said he expects that first phase of the project will cost about $2 billion. When complete, the Pampa Wind Project will cover some 400,000 acres in the Texas Panhandle.

Pickens envisions that large scale renewable energy projects like his Pampa Wind Project will permit the United States to become less dependent on foreign oil. Large scale renewable energy projects such as this are difficult to execute because they rely upon the Federal Production Tax Credit, which provides incentives for development of renewable energy. However, large scale renewable energy projects require commitments years in advance, while Congress has only extended the Production Tax Credit one or two years at a time.

Worlds Largest, $1.8 Billion, 500 MW, Wind Farm to be Built off the Coast of UK

Per Fluor Corporation press release:

Fluor Corporation, Dallas, TX, (NYSE: FLR) announced Wednesday that it has signed a contract with Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) to design and construct the 500 megawatt (MW) Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm. The venture is the world's largest offshore wind farm project to move into the construction phase and will be built approximately 25 kilometers off the Suffolk coast of the United Kingdom (UK). The new award will be booked in the company’s second quarter of 2008 and is worth approximately $1.8 billion (£900 million).  . . .

The first UK offshore wind farm to be built outside territorial waters, the project will feature 140 wind turbines each having a rated capacity of 3.6 MW. The turbines will be supplied by Siemens Wind Power A/S under a separate contract with SSE. Fluor will be responsible for the installation of the turbines which will be mounted on steel monopiles and transition pieces in water depths between 24 and 34 meters. A new electricity substation will be built near Sizewell, Suffolk, UK.

Construction work is scheduled to commence for the offshore site in summer 2009, with work to prepare the site for the onshore substation already underway. The wind farm will be commissioned in two phases, with the entire construction scheduled to be completed in 2011.  . . .

“The success of the Greater Gabbard Wind Farm will clearly establish Fluor as a leader in the rapidly growing market to develop and construct large-scale offshore wind farms,” said . “Wind farms represent just one aspect of Fluor’s strategy of applying our expertise and resources to assist clients in making meaningful reductions in carbon emissions and providing significant amounts of new, clean and renewable energy.”

Stephen Dobbs, senior group president of Fluor

This award of a project of this size and to a major engineering and construction company is a sign that wind power has reached maturity. A $1.8 billion project, without the turbines as I read it, is a major project by any standard.  The price seems high to me, but the energy is free. Offshore wind power is more expensive than land based wind power and this project is quite a ways off shore and in fairly deep water for wind power, which explains at least part of the high price. Still at half the size of a typical power plant, this is not that big a plant. 

Missouri City Goes 100% Wind Power

Following the opening of a new 5 MW four-turbine wind farm last week, Rock Port, a town of 1,395 in North West Missouri, has become the first U.S. town to get all its electricity from wind power. The $90 million Loess Hills Wind Farm, was built by St. Louis-based Wind Capital Group and the John Deere Corp.

When fully operational, the four Suzlon 1.25 MW S-64 wind turbines will have the capacity to generate 16 million kilowatt hours a year. Historically, Rock Port electrical customers use approximately 13 million KwH annually.

Missouri Joint Municipal Utilities will buy excess power from the farm, expected to eventually generate 16 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year. As part of this powerpurchase agrreement  MJMU will supply Rock Port's power needs when the wind turbines are not generating at capacity.

Pickens Wind Farm to Get Underway

Texas oil man T. Boone Pickens is commencing action, with plans for his company, Mesa Power, to build, over the next four years, the previously announced $10 billion wind farm, the world's largest, that will eventually generate 4,000 megawatts of electricity - the equivalent of building two commercial scale nuclear power plants - enough power for about 1 million homes.

Next month Mesa Power, will begin buying land and ordering the first 500 wind turbines of the 2,700 turbines required for the project, at about $2 million each, to be located across 200,000 acres of the Texan panhandle.

"Don't get the idea that I've turned green. My business is making money, and I think this is going to make a lot of money."

-- Pickens in the Guardian

Pickens grand plan, not to be built by him, for resolving the energy needs of the US. is to build wind farms on a corridor of land running north to south through the middle of the US - along the great plains and to harvest solar energy from a corridor running east to west from Texas to southern California.

Pickens certainly thinks big, and somebody has to, as the U.S. government is doing little to resolve our compounding needs for new power sources. I assume thermal solar power would be used for the solar part of his plan as it currently is much less expensive than PV solar and thermal solar power can be quite easily adapted to thermal storage, although that brings the price up to where the total cost is quite expensive.

The only other comment I have is on Pickens grand scheme, and that would be to utilize geothermal power in addition to solar and wind.   Conventional geothermal would be used in the northwestern part of the U.S., primarily in California, Nevada, Idaho and Oregon, Hawaii and along parts of the New England coast. Hot dry rock or deep geothermal/EGS can be used in almost all of the U.S. and would serve the southern and eastern parts of the country, where solar and wind are not particularly applicable. The current cost of geothermal is comparable to natural gas power and thus is very attractive. Geothermal has the advantage of being a baseload power source, whereas wind and solar are not particularly suited for this application.  Thermal storage can be added to thermal solar but that would be more costly than geothermal. Significantly improved utilization of wind and solar can be obtained by tying geographically diverse sources together with an extensive grid. However, that is costly and would have to be studied in detail.

I personally think that a part of this plan would have to be to use generation III+ nuclear reactors and clean coal with sequestration to compliment the renewable power portions of this plan. This will be required to improve the baseload properties of the grid and provide the required power we need until the renewable power providers have built up sufficient capability. If Pickens, through his companies, can finance a $10 billion project that will supply 4 gigawatts of power, I would think that there would be several other companies, utility companies in particular, that could spend that much and supply all the incremental needs for power. Companies like Glitner and Chevron are capable of very large geothermal plants. Other diversified oil companies could get into the act as the supplies of oil get even more expensive and the world turns to electrictity as a larger and larger share of its power supply.

Sodium Sulfur Batteries to be Used for Energy Storage at MN Windfarm

Xcel Energy, (NYSE: XEL)in partnership with the University of Minnesota, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Great Plains Institute, will soon begin testing a one-megawatt sodium-sulfur battery storage system to demonstrate its ability to store wind energy and dispatch it to the electricity grid when needed.

Fully charged, the batteries could power 500 homes for six and one-half hours. Xcel Energy will purchase the batteries from NGK Insulators, Ltd. that will be an integral part of the project. The sodium-sulfur battery is commercially available and versions of this technology are already being used in Japan and in a few US applications, but this is the first U.S. application of the battery as a direct wind energy storage device.

The 50-kilowatt battery modules, 20 in total, will be roughly the size of two semi trailers and weigh approximately 60 tons. They will be able to store about 6.5 megawatt-hours of electricity, with a charge/discharge capacity of one megawatt. When the wind blows, the batteries are charged. When the wind calms down, the batteries can be used to supply energy to the grid as needed.

"Energy storage is key to expanding the use of renewable energy. This technology has the potential to reduce the impact caused by the variability and limited predictability of wind energy generation."

-- Dick Kelly, Xcel Energy chairman, president and CEO.

The project will take place in Luverne, Minn., with the battery installation beginning this spring adjacent to a nearby 11-megawatt wind farm owned by Minwind Energy, LLC. Testing will begin in October and is expected to last up to two years.

Commercial projects are now underway that use flow batteries, compressed air energy storage, thermal energy storage, pumped hydro, and sodium sulfur batteries for energy storage in connection with renewable energy projects.  American Electric Power (AEP) is also using NaS batteries in a couple of their systems, but not in connection with wind power. While not enough experience has been gained with any of these technologies to make any decision as to which technology is best under what conditions, pumped hydro and sodium sulfur batteries are the most well proven and thus seem to be the first choice of electric utilities. Thermal storage is gaining acceptance for use with thermal solar systems, the only energy technology that it is suitable for use with. As Mr. Kelly stated, energy storage is essential to widespread use of renewable energy technologies. 

Acconia Windpower Opens U.S. Production Facility

Acconia Windpower, a Spanish producer of wind turbines, announced that it has opened a $23 million wind turbine generator production plant in West Branch Iowa. The 200,190 sq. ft. facility was constructed in seven months.

The plant is scheduled to produce 200 wind turbines in 2008, with plans to increase to 400 turbines per year in the future. The facility will supply turbines primarily for Acciona Energy wind farms throughout North America and will utilize proprietary technology to produce its AWP 1.5-77 models.  (This model is believed to be part of the AW 1500 series, in particular the AW-77/1500-CII (1,500 kW, 77 meters diameter), which is available in classes I, II and III, with rotors between 70 and 82 meters in diameter and tubular steel towers of 80 and 60 meters high, more details here) The blades will most likely be produced at a facility in Lumber (Navarra, Spain) which is scheduled to open this year.

The new plant at West Branch is Acciona’s fourth wind turbine plant to be installed, with two plants currently operational in Spain and one in China. Acciona’s West Branch plant will increase the company’s total production capacity up to 2,280 MW a year. Acconia, as of Sept 30,2007, had 3 windparks in the U.S. with a total power of 141 MW.

ACCIONA Energy, the parent company to Acconia Windpower, is a world leader in renewables with a strong presence in eight sectors. It is the first developer of windparks in the world with more than 5,300 MW installed in twelve countries. The company recently launched Nevada Solar One^TM, the largest solar thermal power plant (64 MW) built in the world in the last 17 years, has installed more than 40 MW of photovoltaic and 29 MW of solar hot water power in Spain, and owns three biomass plants (33 MW) and 19 small hydro power stations (59 MW). In the field of biofuels, the company produces biodiesel from vegetable oil and biotethanol from wine-surplus alcohol.

Wind Power as a Baseload for Electric Power

A study conducted by Stanford University confirmed that interconnected multiple wind farms can be used to provide baseload electric power. Interconnecting wind farms with a transmission grid reduces the power swings caused by wind variability and makes a significant portion of it just as consistent a power source as a coal power plant.

"This study implies that, if interconnected wind is used on a large scale, a third or more of its energy can be used for reliable electric power, and the remaining intermittent portion can be used for transportation, allowing wind to solve energy, climate and air pollution problems simultaneously," said Archer, the study's lead author and a consulting assistant professor in Stanford's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

This is an advantage that wind and wave power have over solar power (without storage) unless the geographical diversity of the solar power is so great that there are significant differences in the period of sunlight, which would make the cost of transmission too great using current transmission techniques. High-voltage direct current (HVDC) or high temperature cryogenic transmission could alter this picture. The European super grid described in a previous post depended on both the diversity of wind farms and advanced transmission techniques, but such a large geographical diversity is not required. A previous post reported on an earlier study that came to even more favorable results using a mix of all the renewable technologies. The study found that by combining a diversity of geographical locations and a diversity of technologies, "renewables combined with domestic combined heat and power could ultimately make the following contributions to Britain's total energy supply: wind 35%, wave and tidal 15%, combined heat and power 15%, and solar 5-10%." 

An energy storage system, using compressed air storage, here and here, makes wind power dispatchable, but is dependent on suitable geological conditions to store the energy. A vanadium redox battery energy storage system, that stores both solar and wind power as electricity, and thus is not dependent on location, is being planned for an Irish wind farm.

This combined with fact that wind power is less expensive than conventional power in some locations and that solar thermal power should reach that point within a few years, makes utility scale renewable power very possible within a few years and the phasing out of fossil fueled power and energy security realistic goals. Perhaps five years after that PV solar should be competitive opening up another technology for very wide spread use. The limitation at that point will be the production capacity of manufacturers of renewable energy equipment and shortages of some natural resources, such as silicon and vanadium, needed to make the equipment. Alternatives such as non-silicon solar will then be called on to meet the demand. First Solar is already a successful commercial producer of non-silicon solar cells. Market forces will then drive the production capacity without any need for subsidies.  In the meantime subsidies may be justified to keep the industries competitive.

Noted in Passing: Britain Plans Enough Offshore Wind to Power Every Home

Britain plans to generate enough electricity through offshore wind farms to power every home in the country by 2020.

Business secretary John Hutton says the government plans to reach the target through a fourfold increase in the amount of space off Britain's coast allocated for wind farms. Hutton acknowledges that the move will change Britain's coasts.

But he says the need for energy self-sufficiency leaves no choice. 

But its says a shortage of turbines will make it difficult to raise Britain's wind power production to 33 gigawatts by 2020 from the current level of half a gigawatt. . . . more

Google's Goal: Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced a new strategic initiative to develop electricity from renewable energy sources that will be cheaper than electricity produced from coal. The newly created initiative, known as RE<C, will focus initially on advanced solar thermal power, wind power technologies, enhanced geothermal systems and other potential breakthrough technologies.

In 2008, Google expects to spend tens of millions on research and development and related investments in renewable energy. As part of its capital planning process, the company also anticipates investing hundreds of millions of dollars in breakthrough renewable energy projects which generate positive returns.

"There has been tremendous work already on renewable energy. Technologies have been developed that can mature into industries capable of providing electricity cheaper than coal. Solar thermal technology, for example, provides a very plausible path to providing renewable energy cheaper than coal. We are also very interested in further developing other technologies that have potential to be cost-competitive and green. We are aware of several promising technologies, and believe there are many more out there."

"With talented technologists, great partners and significant investments, we hope to rapidly push forward. Our goal is to produce one gigawatt of renewable energy capacity that is cheaper than coal.  We are optimistic this can be done in years, not decades."

-- Larry Page, Google Co-founder and President of Products

Supergrid to Supply Europe with Wind Power

The Independent reports that a proposed supergrid could supply Europe with carbon free electricity primarily from wind power. The 5,000-mile electrical grid, stretching from Siberia to Morocco and Egypt to Iceland, would slash Europe's CO2 emissions by a quarter, scientists say.

The scheme would make the use of renewable energy, particularly wind power, so reliable and cheap that it would replace fossil fuels on an unprecedented scale, serving 1.1 billion people in 50 countries. Europe's 1.25bn tons of annual CO2 output from electricity generation would be wiped out. High-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines, up to 100 times as long as the alternating current (AC) cables carried by the National Grid's pylons, would form the system's main arteries. HVDC lines are three times as efficient, making them cost effective over distances above 50 miles.

Building the supergrid would require an investment of US$80bn (£40bn), plus the cost of the wind turbines – a fraction of the €1 trillion the EU expects to pay for a 20 per cent reduction of its carbon footprint by 2020. The average price of the electricity generated would be just 4.6 euro cents per kWh, competitive with today's rates, which are likely to rise as fossil fuels run out.  . . .

New Brushless Generator Improves Wind Turbine Reliability

Wind Technologies Ltd, the result of a collaboration between Dr Richard McMahon at Cambridge University and Prof Peter Tavner at Durham University has developed the Brushless Doubly-Fed Generator (BDFG), a new maintenance-free generator which doubles the lifetime of generators in wind installations and significantly reduce maintenance costs and increase reliability.

According to this article, the BDFG system employs two 3-phase stator windings of different pole in a single frame in combination with a special form of ‘brushless’ rotor, which along with eliminating the need for brush replacement, also doubles the life time of the generator from 90,000 hours to 180,000 hours before failure, according to the managing director of Wind Technologies, Dr Ehsan Abdi.

Typically one stator winding is connected to the mains or grid, and hence has a fixed frequency, and the other is supplied with variable voltage at variable frequency from a converter.

In the majority (more than 90%) of newly-installed wind turbines in the world, generation is from a doubly-fed slip-ring induction generator (DFIG). There are drawbacks to the use of slip-ring generators, particularly the additional cost and bulk of a machine which incorporates slip-rings and the need to maintain brush-gears including replacement of the brushes on a regular basis. Studies have shown that problems with brush-gear are a significant issue in wind turbine operation and reliability, and that the problem will be more severe in machines deployed offshore where there are stronger winds and accessibility is impaired.

Clipper to Develop 7.5 MW Wind Turbine

Clipper Windpower Plc (LON:CWP) announced today that it will develop the world's largest offshore wind turbine rated at 7.5 MW. It has established a Centre of Excellence for Offshore Wind in Blyth, United Kingdom and the " Project" has attracted support from the UK's One NorthEast Regional Development Agency.

The development of the 7.5 MW wind turbine will build upon the advanced architecture and technology of Clipper's Liberty 2.5 MW turbine which, in September 2007, was recognized for its unparalleled levels of efficiency, reliability and reduced cost of energy by way of a commendation awarded to Clipper by the United States Department of Energy.

One NorthEast's Blyth-based New and Renewable Energy Centre (NaREC) will provide the Britannia Project with a support package for engineering and test laboratory, including its world-class wind turbine blade testing facilities. Engineering for the project will be shared between Clipper's Advanced Technology Group, based in Carpinteria, California, and Clipper operations in Blyth. Funding provided by One NorthEast also will support the development of Clipper's turbine supply chain and related manufacturing facilities.

Clipper considers the North East as its global location of choice for this project which may lead to future manufacturing and job creation in the region.

Windspire 1 kW Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Mariah Power’s Windspire is a neat looking 1kW vertical axis wind turbine that provides an aesthetically pleasing wind power option. It is appropriate for rural, urban, and residential environments alike, and at 30 feet and producing only 25 db, it conforms to typical residential and urban zoning restrictions.

Windspire is a low-cost, easy-to-install wind power device that provides a safe and attractive method for harnessing power from the wind. At only 30 feet tall and 2 feet wide,the moving rotor section is a full 10 feet off the ground, well out of the way of people.

It is distinguished by its propeller-free design, silent operation, producing only about 25 dB, taken 5 feet from the base; rugged construction, simple installation and affordable pricing. Windspire spins at about the same speed as the wind. This makes it virtually silent, clearly visible, and very safe for both people and birds.

At $3,995.00 it comes complete with:

1. The rotor ("turbine")
2. The generator
3. The inverter
4. The pole and pole stand
5. Wiring down to ground level
6. The installation kit - everything you need to install the turbine
7. Owner's and Installation Manuals
8. A 5-year warranty Rugged yet simple construction means durability - the Windspire is rated for winds up to 100 mph.

DeWind Offers Simplified Drive Train, No Power Conversion Electronics

Wind turbine manufacturer, Dewind Inc.,Irvine, CA, (formerly EU Energy (EU)), a subsidiary of Composite Technology Corporation (CTC) (OTC BB: CPTC) has taken a different approach to its drive train technology than other manufacturers. From the start, the heart of the drive has been a trend-setting combination of a double-fed asynchronous generator and a pulse-width modulated IGBT type inverter. In October 2005, EU and Voith Turbo of Germany announced a joint co-operation agreement for the development of the WinDrive for use in a 60 Hz DeWind D8.2 wind turbine aimed at the US market. The WinDrive hydro-dynamic torque converter functionally decouple the mechanical gearbox output shaft from the generator input shaft causing drive train vibrations to be dampened and shocks and peak loads to be substantially reduced, and the power conversion electronics to be eliminated.

The first 2 megawatt DeWind D8.2 wind turbine incorporating the WinDrive technology is now fully operational and has been producing electricity since the 6th of January, 2007 at the DEWI-Offshore and Certification Centre GmbH (DEWI-OCC) test site in Cuxhaven, Germany.

CTC announced on July 16, 2007 that DeWind received certification of the 50 Hz version of their 2 Megawatt D8.2 wind turbine from DEWI-OCC according to the Deutsches Institut für Bautechnik (DIBt) standards

In June 2006 US-based Composite Technology Corporation (CTC) announced the completion of the acquisition of EU Energy Ltd., the owner of the EU Energy and DeWind group of companies.

Alstom Enters Wind Power Market, Aquires Ecotecnia

Per Alstom press release:

Alstom is taking a significant step into wind power generation with the signature on 25 June 2007 of an agreement to buy Spanish wind turbine company, Ecotècnia, for 350 million euros (debt free/cash basis).

Ecotècnia, headquartered in Barcelona, designs, assembles and installs a wide range of onshore wind turbines spanning 640 kW to 2 MW. It is currently developing new wind turbines with a capacity of up to 3 MW. The company has taken a significant part of the development of the Spanish wind energy market, which is ranked second in Europe, and currently generates about 50% of its sales from other European countries.

To date, Ecotècnia has installed or is installing more than 1500 wind turbines in 72 wind farms, corresponding to a total capacity of 1,433 MW (about 2 % of the worldwide installed base). Ecotècnia has also recently become active in the field of solar panels, playing an important role in the Spanish market.

Ecotècnia employs 765 people in its five factories in Spain. In 2007, Ecotècnia should achieve sales between 300 and 350 million euros, with an estimated Ebitda margin of 7%.

This acquisition, when completed, will consolidate Alstom’s position as the company with the broadest and most complete range of products and systems in power generation, including gas, coal, hydro, wind, solar and conventional islands for nuclear power plants. This acquisition will strengthen Alstom’s offer in renewable energies, including hydro power where Alstom is the worldwide leader.

Las Vegas Company Acquires Chinese Windmill Company

Dakshidin Corporation, Las Vegas, NV (OTC: DKSC.PK) announced that it has finalized the purchase agreement with Kensam Echo-Tech Services Co. Ltd. (Kensam) in the province of Yunnan, China and acquired the controlling interest of this firm.

Kensam in the first stage of developing and manufacturing two electric windmill types -- one being a 30kw low wind speed model and the other a 250kw modified Darius style. This Darius style windmill is anticipated to be as much as 25% more efficient than the current wind turbines in use today.

Restec (a subsidiary of Dakshidin)/Kensam has committed a significant percentage of production to an undisclosed company to develop a new 40-megawatt wind farm in China. The initial number of windmills that will be required is anticipated to be in excess of one thousand units. The wind farm electricity purchase rate has already been negotiated with the Chinese Government.

Suzlon Adds 300 MW to Contract with PPM, Now Totals 700 MW

Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation just extended its contract with PPM Energy to add 300 MW of wind turbine capacity making it one of the largest single contracts in the history of the company and the U.S. wind energy industry. The original agreement called for delivery of 300 MW of turbine capacity in 2008 and 100 MW of capacity in 2009, but this addition of 300 MW in 2009 brings the total to 700 MW over two years.

The turbine agreement includes the total supply of 143 units of the S88-2.1 MW in 2008 and 191 units in 2009. Suzlon is also contracted for operations, maintenance and service of the wind turbines for two years and an option for five, and will do so by expanding its service territory with new facilities to meet the demand.

Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation, is the US-based subsidiary of Suzlon Energy A/S of Denmark. Suzlon is the world's 5th leading wind turbine producer with 2,700 MW of wind turbine capacity supplied across the world. Suzlon has manufacturing facilities in Belgium, China, India and the United States – covering the entire value chain from wind turbine components to complete wind turbine systems. Suzlon is undertaking an aggressive expansion program to expand its base to 4,200 MW of capacity by January 2008.

PPM Energy is part of the IBERDROLA group of companies, the world leader in wind power, with more than 6,500 MW of combined wind power capacity.

Pickens Wants to Build World's Largest Wind Farm

Betsy Blaney, Associated Press Writer, - Billionaire T. Boone Pickens is planning to cash in on the wind energy boom by building the world's largest wind farm in West Texas.

The oil tycoon wants to install large wind turbines in parts of four Panhandle counties in a project that would produce up to 4,000 megawatts of electricity, Pickens spokesman Mike Boswell said Wednesday. The farm would have as many as 2,000 wind turbines, and some would be large enough to generate 2.5 megawatts each. . . . continued

Dispatchable Wind turbine System

Attleboro, MA - General Compression, Inc., the pioneer of dispatchable wind power, has successfully closed an initial round of funding for over $5,000,000. These funds will be used to accelerate the development of General Compression's revolutionary dispatchable wind technology.

The company focuses on collecting energy from the wind as compressed air, storing the compressed air in pipes and underground geologic features, and expanding the air on demand to make electricity. The company anticipates that this technology will lead to a dispatchable wind energy platform that will offer utility scale energy parks creating wind energy on demand at competitive prices.

Dispatchable wind energy can be sold when prices are high, and stored when prices are low.

Conventional turbines need to protect their generators from accepting too much energy. When the wind blows over 10 meters/second (m/s) most turbines feather their blades to begin shedding incoming wind energy. When wind speeds reach 15 m/s, most turbines stop accepting any new energy, and at 25-30m/s the machines shut down.

Their system is not limited in its output like a generator, and can accept much higher energy inputs and rotor speeds. In windy sites, this means that for the same foundation, tower, and blades, energy production can be substantially improved.

Sandia helps develop new wind turbine blade design

A new wind turbine blade design that researchers at Sandia National Laboratories developed in partnership with Knight & Carver (K&C) of San Diego promises to be more efficient than current designs. It should significantly reduce the cost-of-energy (COE) of wind turbines at low-wind-speed sites.

Named "STAR" for Sweep Twist Adaptive Rotor, the blade is the first of its kind produced at a utility-grade size. Its most distinctive characteristic is a gently curved tip, termed "sweep," which unlike the vast majority of blades in current use, is specially designed for low-wind-speed regions like the Midwest. The sites targeted by this effort have annual average wind speeds of 5.8 meters per second, measured at 10-meter height. Such sites are abundant in the U.S. and would increase by 20-fold the available land area that can be economically developed for wind energy.

Proof load testing on the new blade using 55-gallon drums to test blade strength is shown above.

AMSC/Windtec to Develop 3MW and 5MW Wind Energy Systems with Sinova

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Windtec™, has signed a multi-million-dollar wind energy system joint development contract to jointly develop 3 and 5 megawatt wind Energy systems with Sinovel Wind Corporation Limited. The order significantly expands Windtec’s business with Sinovel. Since 2005, Sinovel has ordered electrical components from Windtec for 785 wind energy systems rated at 1.5 megawatts (MW).

Based in Beijing, Sinovel plans to begin series production of 3 MW systems during 2009 and 5 MW systems the following year.

“AMSC’s Windtec business enabled Sinovel to quickly establish itself in the wind power market,” said Han Junliang, Chairman and President of Sinovel. “We believe the 3 and 5 MW systems we will jointly develop with Windtec will allow Sinovel to grow its market share and position us as a technology leader in the industry. We look forward to benefiting from our expanded relationship with Windtec as we continue to implement our plan to manufacture 500 wind energy systems in 2007, 800 in 2008 and reach an annual capacity of 1,000 wind energy systems in 2010.”

Wind Energy to Charge Vehicle Batteries, Reduce Peak Demand

PG&E eyes power grid plan to boost electric cars
Leonard Anderson, Reuters, February 23, 2007

California's biggest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric Co., is considering a plan to charge fleets of battery-powered cars overnight with wind energy and let consumers sell back some of the stored electricity during the day.

In addition to reducing oil consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from standard cars, the plan could help stoke production of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and give power managers more energy capacity on the grid for hot summer afternoons, speakers said at a "clean technology" investment conference in San Francisco this week. ...

A power grid-to-car-batteries hookup, however, is probably at least five to six years away, Felix Kramer, founder of CalCars, said at the cleantech conference. ...

New Transmission Line to Bring Wind Energy to all of Texas

Airtricity backed consortia to energise Texas with 4,200MW of wind energy via new $1.5 billion transmission loop
Airtricity press release, February 19, 2007

A consortia backed by Airtricity [an Irish renewable energy company developing wind farms] today announced its commitment to the construction of a ground-breaking electricity transmission ‘loop’ in the Texas Panhandle Plains region. The ‘Panhandle Loop’ will be a revolutionary 800-mile transmission project bringing 4,200MW of wind energy to the Texas Panhandle. ...

The scale of this project is unprecedented ... the 345k V loop will enable the entire state of Texas to benefit from wind generated energy ... by 2010. ... [In addition to the wind energy] the loop will result in the investment of over $10 billion in new generating capacity, including 2,000MW of gas-fired power and 1,800MW of coal-fired power. ...

This is an example of the size of transmission projects required to bring the benefits of wind power to populated areas.  The resulting construction of fossil fueled power plants is surprising -- is this an indication of the amount of back-up power required for the wind plants or just an indication of the need for more power in the region? I suspect the later.

Cold Storage for Wind Power

The production of wind energy is quite variable, relatively unpredictable and not necessarily occurring at peak demand, thus as its use becomes more widespread it becomes more problematic to integrate it into the grid than conventional sources of power as it is not easily accommodated by switching on and off conventional energy suppliers, like coal fired power plants. The "Night Wind" project in the Netherlands uses an energy management methodology in which existing refrigerated warehouses are used to store wind energy produced during periods of low demand (at night) and then recover this energy during high demand periods (primarily during the day) thus relieving the grid of some of its demand during peak periods. An article in Nature described the process as follows:

The idea seems simple. Say you lowered the temperature of all large coldstores in Europe by just 1°C during the night when electricity demand is low, then let it rise 1°C by switching them off during the day when demand is at peak. The net effect would be that the warehouses would act as batteries -- potentially storing 50,000 megawatt-hours of energy -- i.e. store over twice the projected 2010 EU average hourly wind power production.

Germany Counting on Wind Energy to Reduce Foreign Energy Reliance

Germany Putting More Wind Into Energy
Julio Godoy, IPS, Feb 15

Germany is blowing more wind into energy with the setting up of new offshore facilities. Germany already has the world's largest installed capacity for wind energy.

By the end of this year, German researchers will have installed a new facility in the North Sea, some 80 km west of the island of Sylt. The experimental facility will provide crucial data on conditions a wind turbine must satisfy to function efficiently on the high seas. ...

Germany has an installed wind energy capacity of 20.6 megawatts, that comes from 18,685 wind turbines installed on the mainland. This represented 5.7 percent of all electricity generated in the country last year. ...

UK Wind & Gas Project: First of Kind

On Feb. 8 Eclipse Energy UK plc (‘Eclipse’) announced that it has been granted consent to construct and operate a unique dual energy scheme, the Ormonde offshore wind farm and to generate and export electricity from the adjacent Ormonde Gas Fields development by the UK Government. This completes the series of principal permissions necessary to construct the world’s first co-development of offshore gas and wind energy, in the East Irish Sea offshore from Lancaster.

When constructed Ormonde is expected to have the ability to provide up to 200MW of electricity from its gas turbines fueled by two natural gas fields and dedicated offshore wind farm of 30 turbines. The Ormonde project will be able to supply the equivalent of three-quarters of Cumbria’s domestic load generating enough electricity to power over 155,000 homes, the equivalent of which 71,000 would be powered by renewable energy, it will also save up to 286,000 tons of CO2 per year. The project anticipates first energy in 2009.

Ormonde Project Facts
	Wind	Natural Gas
Revenue Split	80%	20%
Installed Capacity	108MW	93MW
Generated Electricity	59%	41%

Mid-Atlantic Coast Could Supply 330 gigawatts of Electricity

Researchers Find Substantial Wind Resource Off Mid-Atlantic Coast

Tracey Bryant, U Daily, University of Deleware, Feb 1, 2007

The wind resource off the Mid-Atlantic coast could supply the energy needs of nine states from Massachusetts to North Carolina, plus the District of Columbia--with enough left over to support a 50 percent increase in future energy demand--according to a study by researchers at the University of Delaware and Stanford University.

Researches found that the wind over the Middle Atlantic Bight, the aquatic region from Cape Cod, Mass., to Cape Hatteras, N.C., shown left, could produce 330 gigawatts (GW) of average electrical power if thousands of wind turbines were installed off the coast.

Supplying the region's energy needs with offshore wind power would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 68 percent and reduce greenhouse gases by 57 percent, according to the study

AWEA Says US Wind Power Grew 27% in 2006

Wind Power Capacity in US Increased 27% in 2006 and is Expected to Grow an Additional 26% in 2007

AWEA press release

Wind power generating capacity increased by 27% in 2006 and is expected to increase an additional 26% in 2007, proving wind is now a mainstream option for new power generation, according to a market forecast released recently by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Wind's exponential growth reflects the nation's increasing demand for clean, safe and domestic energy, and continues to attract both private and public sources of capital. ...

SCE Signs 1,500 MW Contract with Alta Windpower

Southern California Edison (SCE), the nation’s leading purchaser of renewable energy, has signed a ground-breaking wind energy contract  with Alta Windpower Development LLC, a subsidiary of Allco Financial Group Inc. (ASX: AFG.AX) of Australia that will provide 1,500 megawatts (MW) or more of power, the largest wind energy contract ever signed by a U.S. utility. 

The project, which more than doubles SCE’s wind energy portfolio, will be is located in the Tehachapi Wind Resource Area in Southern California, about 75 miles northeast of Los Angeles, will involve the development of a wind farm on 50 square miles of land that Allco controls and or owns – triple the size of any existing U.S. wind farm.

The new turbines would generate twice the power of the biggest U.S. wind farm, the Horse Hallow Wind Farm in Texas. This project, once built, would blow past Texas’s 2,400 MW by bringing California’s total installed capacity up to 3,800 MW. California currently has around 2,300 MW of wind installed throughout the state.

Audubon Society Stands Up in Support of Wind Energy

The Audubon Society "strongly supports wind power as a clean alternative energy source," pointing to the link between global warming and the birds and other wildlife that scientist say it will kill wrote John Flicker, the president of the National Audubon Society, in the November-December issue of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) national membership magazine. Thus the venerable environmental organization and avian champion is now on record as embracing wind power.

In an interview with AWEA's Wind Energy Weekly industry newsletter, Flicker said that the organization's decision to speak out about wind came as a result of the recent increased urgency on the part of the scientific community with respect to global warming. Specifically, he cited a recent study by John Hansen for the National Academy of Sciences suggesting that if greenhouse gases are not reduced in the next decade, a significant number of plants and animals could face extinction by the middle of the century.

Birds are over 10,000 times more likely -- at least -- to be killed by other human-related causes (e.g., by buildings, vehicles, pet cats, pesticides, etc.) than by a wind turbine.

FPL Energy To Partner with KidWind to Bring the Wonders of Wind Energy to Teachers in Texas

FPL Energy, LLC, a subsidiary of FPL Group (NYSE:FPL), today announced a partnership with the KidWind Project to bring the science of wind energy into classrooms throughout Texas.

The goal of this innovative project is to introduce teachers to the benefits and wonders of wind power through hands-on science activities which are challenging, engaging and address state and federal science and technology standards. Teachers will be able to take what they learn in hands-on workshops into their classrooms thereby exposing hundreds, if not thousands of students to wind energy.

Through the KidWind Project, FPL Energy will be sponsoring a series of one-day workshops that will introduce teachers to a variety of topics in wind energy and technology. The workshops are split between lecture and hands-on lessons related to wind energy and technology. Teachers will also be provided with classroom materials and a comprehensive curriculum package so that they can bring the lessons learned in the workshop back to their students.

American Superconductor to Aquire Windtec

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), best known for its high temperature superconducting products, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Windtec, a private company based in Klagenfurt, Austria that develops and licenses proprietary wind turbine system designs, and sells wind turbine electrical systems. The all-stock transaction, worth $12.4 million, is expected to close in January 2007. Including Windtec, next year's revenues for AMSC's Power Electronic Systems Business Unit is expected to more than double to approximately $50 million. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to earnings beginning in its first full quarter of operations.

Windtec designs a wide variety of wind turbine systems from the ground up, and in certain cases licenses these designs to third parties for an upfront fee and royalty payments for each installation of a Windtec-designed wind turbine system. They provide development, design, calculation, optimization and certification of complete wind turbines or individual components.

Rand: 25% of Energy from Renewables by 2025

The Wall Street Journal reports that a Rand Corp. study shows that if the the falling costs of ethanol, wind power and other forms of renewable energy continue to fall, as they have historically, such sources could supply as much as 25% of the U.S.'s conventional energy by 2025 at little or no additional expense.

This is certainly good news if costs continue to drop as they forecast, the problem they didn't mention is whether the manufacturing infrastructure can expand that rapidly.

The Rand study concludes that because prices for gasoline, natural gas and coal are likely to remain high, their cost advantage over renewables will erode, furthered by the hope that ethanol from farm wastes will be available by 2020.

I would agree that fossil fuel costs will remain high and that would allow cellulosic ethanol to be, not only competitive, but lower in cost than fossil fuels.

BP Executive Draws Attention to Climate Change

Vivienne Cox, BP Chief Executive, Gas, Power & Renewables gave a speech on Sept. 27 to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council entitled "Why Clean Electricity Is Critical in Combating Climate Change- Steps to Accelerate America's Low Carbon Power Economy."  Some exerpts from her speech are alarming, bring attention the seriousness of our CO2 emmissions and explain what BP is planning to do about them.

The power sector is the world's single largest source of CO2 emissions. Globally, and in the United States it accounts for over 40% of these emissions. That's twice the level of CO2 emissions from the transport sector. ... A recent study projected that global CO2 emissions will be around 75% higher than they are today by 2030. ...  One projection by Cambridge Energy Research Associates indicates that power will contribute 50% of total global emissions by 2030 - if there are no significant policy interventions. ... We have bought a wind developer Greenlight. ... Greenlight has a pipeline of 39 development projects across the US with a total potential capacity of 6.5GW. ...

Suzlon Energy; Indian Wind Power

The New York Times had an article on an Indian wind power company that indicates how fast the technology is spreading.

Wind power may still have an image as something of a plaything of environmentalists more concerned with clean energy than saving money. But it is quickly emerging as a serious alternative not just in affluent areas of the world but in fast-growing countries like India and China that are avidly seeking new energy sources. And leading the charge here in west-central India and elsewhere is an unlikely champion, Suzlon Energy, a homegrown Indian company.

Suzlon already dominates the Indian market and is now expanding rapidly abroad, having erected factories in locations as far away as Pipestone, Minn., and Tianjin, China. Four-fifths of the orders in Suzlon’s packed book now come from outside India.

Suzlon passed Siemens of Germany last year to become the fifth-largest producer by installed megawatts of capacity. It still trails the market leader, Vestas Wind Systems of Denmark, as well as General Electric, Enercon of Germany and Gamesa Tecnológica of Spain.

Wind Power for You Cabin?

An Ultra-quiet wind turbine that delivers up to 900 Watts of power is claimed to be Ideal for cabins, it features 12V battery charging, remote power and backup power. Adjusts from 12 to 48V DC and features overspeed protection. The turbine is available from Amazon for $2,300.00.  A similar model, as described in TreeHugger, a 12 Volt, 400 Watt Wind Generator, weighing 17 pounds is also available from Amazon, for $799.99, from Northern Tool for $700.00 plus shipping. Maybe two of the smaller models for $1400, of almost the same capacity, would be the better deal. Northern Tool also has the best description of both models.

Rated power: 900 Watts of power at 28 MPH wind speed

Delivers 100 kW per month (3.4 kW per day) in a 12 MPH average wind

Works in winds as low as 7.5 MPH

Adjusts from 12 to 48V DC in minutes

Includes controller to protect turbine and storage batteries

Side-furling overspeed protection turns alternator & blades out of high winds without cutting power output

Survival wind speed: 120 mph

7ft. dia. rotor

Polypro/carbon glass reinforced blades ensures low wind noise

Cast aluminum frame, double sealed ball bearings

Alternator has cast aluminum body

4-bearing spindle for long life

Bronze bushing and large-diameter furling pin for smooth furling action

Maintenance-free - only 3 moving parts

Uses 2.5in. Schedule 40 mount

Installs in a few hours with no welding or concrete work required

1-year limited warranty

Shipping Weight: 74.00 pounds

Free shipping for a limited time from Amazon

World's Largest Wind Farm Completed in Texas

From Energy Central: With the completion of its Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center in Texas, FPL Group Inc. said it now has the largest wind farm in the world.

The project generates 662 megawatts, enough power to serve about 165,000 average homes. When it is completed, FPL Energy will generate about 735 megawatts in Taylor and Nolan counties.

The Texas project includes 291 GE 1.5-megawatt wind turbines and 130 Siemens 2.3-megawatt wind turbines spread over nearly 47,000 acres.

VRB Power announces sale of 12MWH VRB-ESS

An announcement was made this week when VRB, a Canadian supplier of vanadium redox  battery energy storage systems revealed the sale of a large system to an Irish wind farm. This sale is significant because the developlment of large energy storage systems is necessary before sun and wind power can become a truly integral part of our power generation system.  Because of the intermittency of these sources, they, by themselves, are not dispacthable to meet the demands of the grid. Some means of storing the energy so that it can be used (dispatched) as needed is required.  Llke a huge battery energy storage systems serve this need.  Numerous types of systems are in use at a small scale, but very few at a large enough scale to be useful to a utility.  The following is from the press release:

VRB Power Systems Inc. (TSX-V: VRB) announced that they have entered into a sale agreement with Tapbury Management Limited of Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, Ireland ("Tapbury") for the sale of a 1.5 MW x 8 hour (12 MWH) VRB-ESS(TM). Tapbury oversees the management of Sorne Hill Windfarm, a recently commissioned 32MW windfarm which is located in Buncrana, Inishowen, Co. Donegal, Ireland ("Sorne"). This 12MWH VRB-ESS will be coupled to phase II of the Sorne project which is an additional 6.9 MW of wind power for which turbines have been ordered and are due to be installed in the Fall of 2007. This will make Sorne, at 38 MW, one of the largest wind farms in Ireland. The total contract value for VRB Power from this sale is approximately US$6.3 million.

PacWind VAWT

PacWind Technologies scaleable Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) is made in the U.S.A., and solves several of the inherent problems of traditional propeller based wind turbines. The model SeaHawk is available now.

Traditional propeller based wind turbine have several inherent disadvantages, such as noise, susceptibility to cross-winds and the need to control blade speed for self-preservation.  A VAWT solves these issues.

• The units run completely silent and vibration free. No noise is emitted from the turbines regardless of wind speed.
• The VAWT eliminates the need to slow down the turbine under high wind conditions, because the design permits full power output at 60 mph plus and simply won’t turn any faster.
• The VAWT is not affected by cross-winds, as the direction of wind is irrelevant.
• The turbine features only one moving part minimizing maintenance, utilizing a direct drive generator
• The PacWind generates usable power at low wind speeds of 10 MPH.
• The VAWT is bird and wildlife friendly. Birds view the VAWT as a solid object. Propeller based turbines, which are invisible to the birds, cause possible injury and death. The VAWT is wildlife friendly. Animals are not frightened by the VAWT due to its silent and vibration free operation.

Wind Energy Sets Records

From an American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA) press release:

As the U.S. wind energy industry stayed on pace for another record year to install more than 3,000 MW, Texas, with a cumulative total that now stands at 2,370 MW, for the first time topped historic leader California with  2,323 MW, as the top state in cumulative wind power capacity, according to the AWEA Second Quarter Market Report.

AWEA forecasts that the industry remains on track to install more than 3,000 MW of new wind capacity, which would decisively eclipse the previous record of 2,431 MW set in 2005. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that slightly less than 10,000 MW of new natural gas plants will be brought online in 2006, and that less than 400 MW of new coal- and oil-fired generating plants will be added, making wind power second only to natural gas in new capacity and new power generation for the second year in a row.

Small Wind Generator Announced

A new small residential wind generator from Southwest Windpower will give homeowners another choice in the fight against rising electricity costs. Skystream 3.7(TM) is the first fully integrated wind generator designed specifically for the grid-connected residential market.

A combination of new technologies, developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, resulted in a product that quietly produces electricity for a fraction of the cost of current technologies. According to Skystream the generators low cost and low profile provides homeowners an affordable energy supplement that's appropriate for installation in many residential areas around the country. With no batteries, Skystream 3.7 connects directly to the home to supply power. When the wind is not blowing, the home is powered by the electric utility. Depending on the local utility, excess electricity can be sold back to the utility or used at a later date.

Cape Wind Project Has New Hope

Key federal lawmakers have agreed to drop Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's veto power over the proposed Cape Wind project, adopting a compromise that could boost the project's prospects. The new bill, breaking weeks of stalemate on Capitol Hill, also ensures the Coast Guard a primary role in deciding the fate of the offshore wind farm.

Kennedy and other lawmakers, concerned about the Coast Guard bill's fate, last month dropped their demands that Romney and succeeding governors be given veto power over wind farm locations. Instead, they urged that the Coast Guard commandant be given veto power over such projects. That demand was not included in the latest compromise. The new legislation enhances the Coast Guard's role in determining whether the off shore wind projects poses navigational hazards.

Solar Sailor: The Wind, Solar Hybrid Ferry

Two plug-in hybrid tourist ferries powered by the wind and sun, augmented a diesel engine, will carry visitors to San Francisco’s Alcatraz island under a contract between the National Park Service and ferry operator Hornblower Cruises and Events, who is purchasing the ferries from the Australian company Solar Sailor.  The hybrid vessels in the winning proposal by Hornblower were designed by Solar Sailor and modeled on the Solar Sailor ferry in service at Sydney, Australia (above).

The ferries will pollute less and get better mileage because they run on electricity much of the time. The new hybrid ferries will hold 600 passengers and capable of operating at 12 to 15 knots.

The ferries will have a large, rigid wing covered with solar panels that captures solar and wind power while also allowing sail navigation when conditions are right. In bad weather, the sail folds down flat above the deck like a roof.  Batteries allow the diesel engines to be turned off at port, which means no smells or emissions at the boarding ramp. The vessels can also be plugged into an onshore power outlet to recharge the batteries.

Energy Usage Forecast

The June issue of Popular Science features an article on energy technologies that they say will cut our oil consumption in half and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels to produce electricity almost entirely by 2025.

They forecast that ultralight parts and plug-in hybrids could reduce fossil fuel consumption by 19% and that use of biofuels could reduce fossil fuel consumption by 30%.

Electricity needs could be reduced by the following technologies and conservation.

Home Electricity Conservation - 36%
Wind - 20%
Biopower - 17% (biomass gasification and methane generation)
Distributed Generation - 10%
Solar Power - 10% (PV and thermal solar power)
Geothermal Power - 5%
Ocean Power - 2% (wave power and tidal power)

While I don't think that I would have come up with the same numbers, the numbers give some idea of what mix of technologies could be used to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.  My two concerns are that, while that degree of conservation proposed is possible, electricity costs would have to be extremely high before sufficient motivation for this degree of conservation would be possible.  After reducing consumption as much as forecast by conservation the percentage of electricity produced by wind, solar, and ocean power is higher than could easily be integrated into a grid, without massive energy storage or a much stronger grid, because of the intermittency of these generation methods.  Economical energy storage on a large scale is unlikely by 2025.  Geographical separation of these methods in an area as large as the U.S. reduces the effects of intermittency, but a much stronger grid is required to transport the energy from one area to another which would mean a very costly investment in the electrical infrastructure.  The area between the great plains and the east coast is not especially suitable for these methods and the grid would have to be reinforced significantly in this area. Superconducting power transmission would be especially useful, but development of economical systems is progressing rather slowly, although some usage could be expected by 2025.

I would hope that plug-in vehicles would be in wider use by this time, but that is very dependent on the acceptance of the technology by manufacturers. Their forecast for use of biofuels, although possible someday, is very unlikely by 2025.

The articles (without statistics) can be viewed at http://www.popsci.com/popsci/energy/

New Adaptive Blades for Low Speed Wind Turbines

Knight & Carver’s Wind Blade Division has developed an innovative wind blade that produces energy in low wind speed regions. Development was was conducted as part of a $2.8 million shared cost Department of Energy contract to design, fabricate and field test a sweep-twist adaptive blade for utility scale wind turbines as part of the Low Wind Speed Turbine Initiative.  The longer-than-conventional blade automatically twists during high wind to reduce loads on the machine thus producing a maximized amount of wind energy. Therefore, longer blades than normal can be safely used in regions regarded as lower-wind production areas. In wind-energy production, the term “low wind speed” means winds of up to 15 knots.

Sized at 27.2 (85 ft) meters x 2.4 meters (7 ft), the Adaptive Sweep Twist Blade is designed both for maximum efficiency at lower-speed wind conditions and to automatically adjust to higher wind gusts when necessary. Production is expected to begin next year.

Large Offshore Wind Turbines Under Development

The Technology Review has a nice article about large offshore wind turbines, located out of sight, over the horizon, that may overcome the NIMBY-ism that is limiting efforts to deploy wind turbines within vision of the shoreline.

GE is partnering with DOE to develop 5-7 megawatt wind turbines by 2009.  These turbines should make wind power more economical, because the cost of building and installing offshore wind farms depends primarily on the number of turbines, not the size.  The new turbines will be mounted to towers rising 90 to 95 meters and will have rotors measuring 140 meters in diameter. 

The turbines would be installed where the water depths are up 50 meters, too deep to economically use towers sitting on the sea floor.  Instead MIT proposes using "tension leg" platforms that oil companies use for deep-water rigs.  The wind turbines and towers would be assembled at a shipyard and placed on top of large floating cylinders ballasted on the bottom with concrete to keep the structure from tipping over.  After towing out to sea the cylinder is anchored to the sea floor with cables.

See the entire article for more details.

Turby Vertical Axis Windmill

Turby is a revolutionary vertical axis wind turbine designed for use in an urban or built-up environments. It is a 2.5 kilowatt wind generator designed for high rooftops and can generate enough electricity to reduce the electric bill of a typical home by two thirds. The Turby has 3 helically shaped composite blades located at a fixed distance from the shaft. It has very low vibrations, very low noise level and an excellent efficiency. 

Modern horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT) usually have a rather high efficiency but their construction is expensive. They have to be directed in the direction of the wind, either manually or by the use of an on-board sensor control mechanism. Vertical-axis turbines do not need such a control system; it is completely irrelevant from which side the wind blows; the position of the rotor is always right. Because of their relative simplicity, their construction cost is much less than a HAWT.

Cape Wind Project Needs Help

I was saddened to hear of the proposed actions by both the Feds and the sate of MA to kill the Cape Wind Project.  Cape Wind is the proposed offshore wind farm that would provide 75 percent of Cape Cod's energy needs with wind power and kickstart the nation into a clean energy revolution.

Congress comes back to Washington in two weeks, and I hope they'll return to find a mountain of angry emails, faxes and phone messages. Take Action! Tell Congress not to block the future of wind energy.

A last minute attempt to save the project is being made by Greenpeace.  You can send a letter to your congressmen yourself or sign up here to have Greenpeace take care of it.

Wind Energy Costs Dropping Below Conventional Sources

The cost of wind-generated electricity for consumers is now less that of electricity from conventional sources in some markets. An article from the Earth Policy Institute gives an interesting insight about the inroads that wind energy is making into our energy infrastructure.

When Austin Energy, the publicly owned utility in Austin, Texas, launched its GreenChoice program in 2000, customers opting for green electricity paid a premium. During the fall of 2005, climbing natural gas prices pulled conventional electricity costs above those of wind-generated electricity, the source of most green power. This crossing of the cost lines in Austin and several other communities is a milestone in the U.S. shift to a renewable energy economy.

Overall, U.S. wind-generating capacity expanded by 36 percent in 2005, reaching 9,149 megawatts. This year it could expand by 50 percent. At the end of 2005, there were commercial wind farms in 30 states. (Data at can be found here.)

Wind power generation would grow even faster if it were not constrained by the availability of turbines. General Electric, now supplying 60 percent of the U.S. wind turbine market, is sold out through 2007. Clipper Windpower, a startup turbine manufacturer, is planning to produce 20 of its 2.5-megawatt Liberty turbines per month by mid 2006 and a total of 250 turbines in 2007. Its production is also committed well into the future.

Energy Storage: A Nontechnical Guide

I recently received the book, Energy Storage: A Nontechnical Guide, by Richard Baxter, which I enjoyed reading and would recommend to anyone who would like a good reference on energy storage.

The book is written in a language that should be easily understandable to anyone, technically trained or not.  It clearly explains how energy storage can decouple generation from demand, thus making possible a variety of uses including:  storing power during off peak for use during peak periods, smoothing peaks and valleys in demand, eliminating or delaying expansion of generating facilities, dispatchable power, reducing the intermittency of renewable resources, making the grid more reliable and improving the quality of power.

Over one-third of the book is devoted to a description of 10 energy storage technologies. It goes through a comprehensive description of each technology from an overview to more details on several aspects of the technology, examples of installations and the status and challenges facing each storage technology. The design and operation narratives go into enough detail to fully understand the technology without bogging down the reader with theoretical details. His many examples of how energy storage is or could be used make it much easier to understand the technologies and how they can be used. 

The chapters on how energy storage can benefit the electric power industries and the role energy storage could play with renewable energy generation are very insightful to understanding the potential of energy storage systems.  The role energy storage systems can play in stabilizing our increasingly unstable grid while reducing the need for many new generating facilities and transmission lines is an important concept which shows that our grid can be more distributed than was once believed.