+- +-

+-User

Welcome, Guest.
Please login or register.
 
 
 

Login with your social network

Forgot your password?

+-Stats ezBlock

Members
Total Members: 48
Latest: watcher
New This Month: 0
New This Week: 0
New Today: 0
Stats
Total Posts: 16867
Total Topics: 271
Most Online Today: 42
Most Online Ever: 1155
(April 20, 2021, 12:50:06 pm)
Users Online
Members: 0
Guests: 29
Total: 29

Author Topic: Wind Power  (Read 26719 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Wind Power
« Reply #60 on: November 08, 2014, 03:22:43 pm »

UK Approves 750-Megawatt Offshore Wind Project    

 Alex Morales, Bloomberg 
 November 07, 2014 

LONDON -- The U.K. approved construction of one of the biggest offshore wind farms as the country chases a European Union target to get 15 percent of all energy from renewables by 2020.

The consent allows Dong Energy A/S to install up to 750 megawatts of turbines at the Walney Extension project in the Irish Sea off northwest England’s Cumbria, the Planning Inspectorate said today in an e-mailed statement. Denmark’s Dong said it expects to put in about 660 megawatts of turbines, enough to power as many as a half-million homes.

“This decision to grant development consent now clears the way for the company to make a final investment decision on the project,” Benj Sykes, vice president of U.K. wind for Dong, said in an e-mailed statement.

The U.K. already has more than half of the world’s installed offshore wind-generating capacity, and is pushing the technology to help meet its renewable energy targets.

Dong expects to use 6- to 8-megawatt turbines, it said. The utility owns 50.1 percent of the project, SSE Plc owns 25.1 percent and a joint venture between Dutch pension administrator PGGM and Ampere Equity Fund own the remainder. The project was awarded guaranteed power contracts by the government in April.

It’s the second approval in less than two months for a U.K. project by Dong, the biggest offshore wind developer. Its 250- megawatt Burbo Bank Extension project in Liverpool Bay was granted approval on Sept. 26. That’s next to an existing 90- megawatt farm, and the Walney extension is adjacent to the existing 367-megawatts of Walney 1 and 2 wind farms.

The U.K. currently has 22 operational offshore wind farms totaling 3,653 megawatts of capacity, according to the RenewableUK lobby group. The biggest is the 630-megawatt London Array, a collaboration between four companies, including Dong and EON SE. While no bigger project is currently under construction, today’s approval is the fifth of 750 megawatts or greater to receive consent, according to the data.

Copyright 2014 Bloomberg
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/11/uk-approves-750-megawatt-offshore-wind-project
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Wind Power
« Reply #61 on: November 17, 2014, 03:17:56 pm »

Texas Wind Powers 3.3 Million Homes

Anastasia Pantsios | November 17, 2014 1:36 pm | Comments

When you think of “energy” and “Texas,” you probably think “oil.” But those wide-open spaces sitting on those lucrative oil fields also make it a prime location for another form of energy generation: wind.     


The Roscoe Wind Farm in Texas has an operational capacity of 781 megawatts. The wind farm started operations in 2009 and has 627 turbines installed.

Texas’ own top power source by far is gas (50 percent), followed by coal (32 percent) and nuclear (9 percent). But it is also the nation’s leading producer of wind energy—and growing. While the state is home to the 3rd and 5th dirtiest power plants in the U.S., it also produces nearly a quarter of the country’s total wind power. It has created the second largest number of green jobs after California. Currently, wind is the power source for 3.3 million Texas homes, driven by private investment, a deregulated and competitive electricity market, federal incentives and Texas’ own clean energy goals to reach 10 GW of renewable energy generation by 2025, according to research done by the Pew Charitable Trusts, released at a webinar today.

“Pew’s research demonstrates that a reliable electricity grid requires both a diversified mix of affordable generation sources such as wind and government policy to foster deployment,” said Jeff Clark, executive director of the Wind Coalition. “Texas consumers are benefiting because the state has capitalized on the federal production tax credit to build its wind industry, which provides more than 177,000 jobs.”

Sunny Texas is also rapidly increasing its solar energy capacity. It ranked 8th in new installed capacity last year, providing more than 4,000 jobs statewide. Progressive cities like Austin and San Antonio took the lead with their own aggressive renewable energy goals that encourage such new projects and investment.

“Texas illustrates how state and federal policy can complement one another to spur deployment of clean energy and attract private investment,” said Tom Swanson, manager of Pew’s clean energy initiative. “The outcomes include job creation across the state, energy and cost savings for businesses, and reliable, affordable energy for residential customers.”

According to the Pew report, Texas is also the leader in industrial energy efficiency technologies which produced heat and power from a single source or capture wasted heat to generate electricity. “These technologies can help manufacturers reduce energy consumption, costs, and water use—all of which are critical in Texas given the state’s high electricity prices and chronic droughts,” said the Pew report.


Texas is leading the nation in installed wind capacity and is coming up rapidly in solar generation as well. Image credit: Pew Charitable Trusts

“Texas has emerged as a clean energy leader, with its unparalleled wind and solar resources and a large manufacturing industry ideal for exploiting industrial energy efficiency,” Pew asserted. “With further policy support, the state can continue to tap into this potential and use it for economic growth.”

But further policy support is the big question mark. While Texas surpassed its renewable energy goal for 2025 in 2010, there are signs of possible retrenchment.  :P

According to an interactive tool released last week by Earthworks, “A bill is pending that would eliminate the renewable portfolio standard and strip the Public Utilities Commission of its authority to regulate trading of renewable energy credits.” That’s part of a coordinated nationwide push by heavily fossil fuel-funded groups like the Heartland Institute, Americans for Prosperity and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Similar legislation has been introduced in about two dozen states with only one scalp so far: Ohio froze its clean energy standards in July and its legislature is currently considering repealing them entirely.

http://ecowatch.com/2014/11/17/texas-wind-power/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Wind Power
« Reply #62 on: November 26, 2014, 06:24:24 pm »
11/26/2014 01:44 PM     
 
Finally, US Gets An Offshore Wind Farm, Deepwater Starts Construction Next Spring

SustainableBusiness.com News

After too many years of delays to count, the US is finally about to get our first offshore wind farm.   
 


Deepwater Wind will start construction this spring now that it's received final state and federal permits. Don't get too excited - it's just five turbines near Block Island, considered part of Rhode Island.

 To give you an idea of what these permits are: one is a submerged lands lease with Rhode Island. Deepwater will pay  $150,000 a year for the right to anchor its turbines to the ocean floor. The other permit is federal - giving Deepwater the right of way for the transmission cable that carries the electricity to the grid on land.

The area is prime habitat for migrating right whales, which are extremely endangered, and Deepwater - in concert with environmental groups - came up with a way to make sure they are protected: 

a traffic-light system of red (no construction allowed in early spring) yellow and green is based on when whales are likely to be in the area.

•ships will be slowed to 10-knots from Nov. 1 through May 15 to prevent collisions

•noise-reduction and attenuation technologies developed in Europe will be used

•better surveillance measures will spot right whales - expert ship-based observers; restricted work at night and when visibility is low; and aerial surveillance.


In August, the Department of Interior held its third auction for offshore wind leases, this time offering 80,000 acres off the coast of Maryland, an area which could power 300,000 homes (850-1450 megawatts).

 It took 19 rounds of bidding for US Wind (subsidiary of Italy's Renexia) to win the entire lease for $8.7 million against two competitors, Green Sail Energy and SCS Maryland Energy.

 Notably, the winning bid is much higher than the first two auctions, where winners bid just $1.6 million near Virginia and $3.8 million off the coast of Massachusetts.

The competition was more intense and resulted in much higher bids because Governor O'Malley got the first legislation passed in the US that subsidizes offshore wind. It offers developers up to $1.7 billion for a 200 megawatt (MW) project and higher prices for electricity once it starts producing.

Here's how ocean leasing works:

The winner has a year to submit a Site Assessment Plan for approval, which describes how it will measure wind resources in the lease area. If that's approved by BOEM, the lease has 4.5 years to submit a Construction and Operations Plan, which details the wind project. BOEM then conduct an environmental review of the project, which includes public input, and if it's approved, the lessee gets a term of 25 years.

 Including this latest Maryland auction, 357,000 acres in the Atlantic Ocean have been leased for about $14 million. Last week, New Jersey regulators rejected Fishermen's tiny 5 MW wind project for the second time.

Leases awarded to date:
•Cape Wind - Massachusetts
•Deepwater Wind - Rhode Island/ Mass.
•NRG Bluewater Wind - Delaware
•Dominion Virginia Power - Virginia


On January 29, 742,000 acres off the Massachusetts coast will be auctioned in the largest lease sale to date.

New UK Projects


Danish utility Dong Energy has been cleared to build a 700 MW offshore wind farm off the coast of England, to start operations in 2023. One of the countries biggest, it will power 500,000 homes.

This year, five offshore projects have been approved in the UK, which together will produce 4% of the country's electricity - powering 3 million homes - while creating 8500 jobs. The UK has 22 operational offshore projects with a capacity of  3.7 gigawatts, according to RenewableUK.



Read our article, DOE Announces Three Offshore Demo Wind Projects, Shooting For 35% of US Energy by 2050.
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26028
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Wind Power
« Reply #63 on: December 04, 2014, 07:39:32 pm »
12/02/2014 03:53 PM     
Innovative Wind Turbine Designs From Australia


SustainableBusiness.com News

In the past five years, bigger, more advanced wind turbines have greatly improved performance and lowered the price of wind energy, but that's nothing compared to what scientists in Australia are working on. 

 A team at the University of Wollongong is in the final stages of developing offshore wind turbines that are 1000 times more efficient at one-third of today's price. They hope to see the turbines installed along Australia's wind-blown coast within the next five years.

 The key seems to be the use of superconductors and elimination of the gear box. While gearless turbines have been around for years, replacing it with a superconducting coil captures wind and converts it to electricity without any power loss.

"In our design there is no gear box, which right away reduces the size and weight by 40%," explains lead researcher Shahriar Hossain. "We are developing a magnesium diboride superconducting coil to replace the gear box. This will capture the wind energy and convert it into electricity without any power loss, and will reduce manufacturing and maintenance costs by two thirds."

That cuts the cost of turbines to $3-5 million each, down from $15 million today  ;D, and they would be much easier to transport without the heavy gear box, they say.


 Researchers are making superconducting coil from magnesium and boron, which is inexpensive, durable and easy to make. Since the materials don't generate electrical resistance, they can store electricity without losing any energy, and they can circulate the current indefinitely. 

"With industry support, we could install superconducting offshore wind turbines off the coast of Australia in five years, no problem," says Hossain.

Power WINDows   ;D

Another innovative wind design from the same university is Power WINDows, invented by Professor Farzad Safaei  .  You can see it placed between two city buildings:


WITHOUT Power WINDows wind electricity generators


WITH Power WINDows wind electricity generators  

Wind Turbine Australia [/b]

"My primary aim was to overcome some of the key shortcomings of current wind turbine technology, in particular, enable modular manufacturing, transportation and installation, reduce noise, land usage footprint, and better integration with living environments."

 To do that, he developed a modular design that looks like a large window and can be deployed in metropolitan areas as well as wind farms. Panels inside the window rotate slowly with the wind,  replacing spinning blades. This quiets the turbine and creates less turbulence around it, greatly decreasing its overall footprint. It also makes it cheaper and easier to manufacture, install and operate. Need more energy? Just add more panels.  ;D

 A prototype is under development.

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26033

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiiwYXmCDXs&feature=player_embedded
Quote
Petronas Twin Towers - Wind Tunnel Analysis
Published on Jan 22, 2013

This video presents an external aerodynamic analysis of the Petronas Twin Towers at real scale. The simulation features the adaptive wake refinement scheme available in XFlow to refine progressively the wake as it develops, and ended with a maximum of 315 million elements.

Agelbert NOTE: Let's USE THAT WIND on our skycrapers to generate electricity!

The new and vastly more efficient wind generator technology orders of magnitude greater than we have so far achieved is further proof that Fossil fuels are a DEAD MAN WALKING.   

Renewable energy=                                 =Fossil Fuelers
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Wind Power
« Reply #64 on: December 11, 2014, 06:49:48 pm »
MUST READ article on wind power and it's history in the USA!

Energy Innovation Doesn't Just Happen: How Government Policies Destroyed and Regenerated the U.S. Wind Turbine Industry, Twice

Posted December 8, 2014

By Nathaniel Horner  and Inês Azevedo 


After a decade of annual near-death experiences, the production tax credit (PTC)—a tax benefit for generating electricity from certain renewable sources like wind—was allowed to expire at the end of last year. Like other policies such as investment tax credits and renewable portfolio standards (RPSs), the PTC was designed primarily to help shift the country’s energy supply towards more renewable sources. The response to these policies has largely come from wind generation, which now contributes over 4% of U.S. electricity supply.  A different set of policies in various European countries has enabled wind to meet over 7% of E.U. demand.

There are generally two ways to increase electricity generation from wind: we can construct more wind plants, or we can make the wind plants we build more productive. Arguments for the PTC tend to focus on the former: counting new project starts and added capacity, and noting ancillary benefits like jobs and economic stimulus. This makes sense, since it’s easy to count wind turbines cropping up over the landscape, and the relationship between the presence of incentives and the pace of construction can be readily seen.

The second means of increasing production is through technology innovation, and, in contrast to construction projects, it can be difficult to measure—innovations are not as easily countable as turbine towers, and the response time between implementation of an innovation policy and the appearance of any resulting technological advances in the commercial market is not immediate. Furthermore, when considering incentives for innovation, policymakers face difficulties of determining the counterfactual, i.e., would the advance occur even without the incentive? Nonetheless, innovation has been an immensely important part of the wind electricity success story: turbines today are larger and have higher capacity factors than their predecessors, reducing the cost of wind electricity to levels more or less competitive with conventional generation. If advances in technology had not happened, then wind projects would likely always need subsidies to be economically viable. Thus, it’s worth looking beyond building wind plants to think about how government policies incentivize technology innovation as well.

Innovation policy design


There are two general theories of innovation policy. Under technology-push policies, governments aim to reduce the costs of investing in innovation by providing direct subsidies—most often, R&D funds. Under demand-pull mechanisms, policymakers hope to increase the payoffs of investing in innovation by enhancing the market for the technology. The PTC and RPSs fall under this category—they create a demand for wind capacity, thereby (perhaps) inducing wind turbine suppliers to invest in creating better technology. Within each of these categories, policies can either be market interventions, like the PTC, that give one technology preferred treatment in the market, or command-and-control regulations, like the RPSs, in which a certain standard must be met. We often think of these respective options colloquially as carrots and sticks.

Command-and-control policies can be particularly effective at promoting innovation when they are stringent enough to be technology-forcing, that is, when meeting them is difficult using current technology. Notable examples of technology-forcing regulations in the U.S. occurred with emissions control technologies for power plants and automobiles.

Incentivizing the wind

So which policies, if any, have been successful in the U.S. at not only incentivizing construction, but also inducing innovation? The history of wind technology development in the United States[1] provides a clear example of how important the policy environment can be for innovation.

Many of us think of serious wind development in the U.S. beginning in the 1970s, but the first wind buildup actually occurred in the early half of the twentieth century. Enterprising rural farmers connected parts from water-pumping windmills, generators, and batteries to provide household electricity, and by the 1930s mass-produced “windchargers” could be purchased (via the Sears catalog, among other outlets). Hundreds of thousands of these small turbines soon dotted the American Midwest, but the establishment of the Rural Electrification Administration in 1935 and its subsequent aggressive push to connect these isolated farms to the electric grid essentially killed this industry by the 1950s.

The promise of atomic energy and cheap fossil fuels in the post-WWII era meant little interest in wind. By the latter half of the 1970s, however, stubbornly high nuclear plant costs and the oil embargo sowed the seeds for the first wind renaissance. The U.S. government took two significant policy actions to encourage wind technology. First, the Large Wind Turbine (LWT) R&D program administered by DOE and NASA attempted to develop commercial, utility-scale (multi-megawatt) wind turbines (Figure 1).[2] Second, the government issued what amounted to a 25% investment tax credit on wind turbine construction. Combined with state-level policies, the tax credit in California totaled 50%, and the wind rush was on. Instead of investing in large, complex machines, the order of the day was to build small and build fast. By 1985, 13,000 150-250 kW plants were constructed (Figure 2).

Boeing MOD 2, Goodnoe Hills

Figure 1: Boeing MOD 2 turbines at Goodnoe Hills, Washington, developed as part of the Large Wind Turbine research program. Erected 1980, dismantled 1986. Photo: US Government/Public Domain.

Were these policies successful? The LWT program failed to produce a turbine that made it to commercial production. The large plants proved technically complex and generally unreliable, and while some prototypes met with limited success, many met the fate of the Boeing MOD 2 turbine at Medicine Bow, Wyoming, which was dynamited and sold as scrap for $13,000 just five years after being built at a cost of $6 million.

In California, the tax credit incentivized construction of the turbines, but there was no incentive for those to then produce electricity. As a result, many plants were unreliable: the worst wind farms had capacity factors of less than 10%, and a not insignificant portion were later removed. The most successful turbines were of an older, simple, Danish design.

Altamont Pass Turbines, CA

Figure 2: Old turbines installed at Altamont Pass, CA. Photo: David J. Laporte / CC-BY-2.0

By some accounts, these two policies were high-profile failures that set the industry back a decade as people became disillusioned with wind. To be fair, though, these programs at least established a foothold for wind generation in the U.S. A DOE report found that the R&D program laid the technological foundation for later growth, while in California, the state retained enough working turbines in 1990 to produce over 2.5 TWh of electricity annually.

A second wind renaissance began just before the turn of the millennium. Coincident with the PTC (enacted in 1992) and state-level RPS policies—which mandate a certain proportion of electricity generation come from renewable sources—established beginning in the late 90s, the U.S. has seen dramatic growth in wind production over the past fifteen years.

Measuring innovation

We have mentioned four main policies involved in the history of U.S. wind generation: the level of federal R&D spending, the investment tax credits of the 1980s, the PTC, and the state-level RPSs—one technology-push policy and three demand-pull policies. It seems reasonable to conclude that the investment tax credits were not “technology-forcing,” and thus unlikely to have spurred innovation. But how do we assess policy effectiveness? First, we need to a way to measure innovation.

Economists use patent counts as one possible proxy for innovation, for reasons mainly related to data availability. Notwithstanding the well-documented limitations of this metric, it is not an unreasonable way to get a rough idea of the relative level of innovation activity within a particular technology area over time.

You can see a chart of patent counts juxtaposed with these policy variables in Figure 3 and can probably make a few reasonable hypotheses about the relationship between each policy and patenting activity. If we can also represent these policy variables (and additional “control” factors) quantitatively, we can set up a regression equation to determine which policies are most correlated with innovation. This is exactly what we do in a recent paper, to which we refer you for all the modeling details.[3]

Wind patenting and policies


Figure 3: Wind patenting rate over time (blue) juxtaposed with various wind policies: level of federal wind turbine R&D funding (top, green); counts of state-level renewable portfolio standards (bottom; red); and periods during which various tax credits were in place (bottom, shaded).  Image from our paper (Horner et al 2013 Environ. Res. Lett. 8 044032).

Our results support the conclusion that the investment tax credits had no effect on innovation. Federal R&D had a significant, but small correlation, supporting the idea that these investments have been marginally effective. Perhaps the most interesting finding is that the state-level RPS policies, and not the PTC, are most correlated with patenting activity.

These results make sense for several reasons. First, of these policies, the RPS is the only command-and-control mechanism[4] and is thus most likely to be technology-forcing. Wind farm operators desire to meet renewable generation mandates as efficiently as possible. Some of the costs of building and operating a wind farm, such as land acquisition and tower construction, would be expected to scale on a per-turbine basis. Larger turbines also utilize better quality wind at a higher altitude. Therefore, larger turbines likely achieve lower per-MWh costs. The experience of the federal R&D program indicated the need for technological advances to achieve reliability in these larger sizes, and thus there was an incentive to invest in innovation.

Second, the lack of an effect from the PTC in spurring innovation may have had a lot to do with how the credit was implemented. Beginning in 2000, the credit was renewed for periods of only one or two years and was allowed to expire briefly three times. Because there is a lag between innovation investment and delivery to the market, this short renewal period did not inspire confidence in suppliers that a payoff for investment would still exist in the future. RPSs, in contrast, provided a stable, long-term signal that there would be a market for better turbine technology.

The history of wind turbine technology is quite fascinating, and there’s much more that can be said about how policies have affected its development. However, we’d like to end with two takeaways.  First, transformative innovations often need government support to transition from the high-risk early period to a state where industry can take over.  The fact that wind turbine technology has needed policy intervention to achieve its current level of success should not be seen as an indictment of it.  After all, the IT and aerospace industries are full of technologies now providing huge societal benefit but that needed government support early on.

Second, the manner of this support—policy design—is critically important.  Successful policies balance between rolling out existing technology and incentivizing investment in the next generation of technologies.  The investment tax credits of the 1980s were mis-targeted, and a careful survey of the technology landscape could perhaps have provided a more fruitful direction for the LWT program. One important policy attribute is time horizon: when dealing with innovative technology areas, often a longer-term view is warranted. The lack of predictability in the PTC renewal schedule likely hindered its effectiveness in inducing innovation (though it clearly led to turbine construction), and an expiration date further in the future would perhaps have made it a more effective driver of technological progress.

Policy decisions arguably killed wind in the U.S. in the 1930s and 1980s, and policy decisions brought it back both times. While it doesn’t look like wind is headed for a third death in the near future, the talk of rolling back RPS policies in some states does threaten to bring the same sort of instability that plagued the PTC.  In any case, the lessons learned from the history of wind policy should be useful as we look to incentivize development of other energy technologies.

[1] For an excellent history of U.S. wind energy through the early 1990s, see Robert Righter’s Wind Energy in America: A History (University of Oklahoma Press, 1996).

[2] Only one multi-megawatt turbine had ever been built—forty years previous! The 1.25 MW Smith-Putnam turbine successfully fed electricity into Vermont’s electricity grid in 1941, but suffered two equipment failures, and interest faded in the postwar environment.

[3] Horner NC, Azevedo IL, & Hounshell DA (2013). Effects of Government Incentives on Wind Innovation in the United States. Environmental Research Letters 8 044032.


[4] Admittedly, this is a simplistic characterization of how RPSs are deployed in practice.  RPSs vary drastically from state-to-state; many allow for at least some of the mandate to be fulfilled via purchase of renewable energy credits and have cost-effectiveness requirements.  These attributes can make RPSs less stringent than typical command-and-control policies, and thus less effective technology-forcers.  For a detailed look at how each state’s RPS is set up, see dsireusa.org.


The Authors

Nathaniel Horner is a doctoral student in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, where his research includes innovation policy, energy systems, and energy use in the information technology sector.

Inês Azevedo as an Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, where she also serves as Co-Director for the Climate and Energy Decision Making (CEDM) Center.


http://theenergycollective.com/nathaniel-horner/2167751/energy-innovation-doesn-t-just-happen-how-government-policies-destroyed-and
« Last Edit: December 11, 2014, 11:44:06 pm by AGelbert »
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Wind Power
« Reply #65 on: December 19, 2014, 06:51:23 pm »
Transforming the Grid with Clean Energy — Reliably — Every Day  ;D

John Moore, Senior Attorney, The Sustainable FERC Project 
 December 19, 2014 

Despite years of successful experience, dozens of studies, and increasing utility support for clean energy, urban myth holds that electricity from renewable energy is unreliable. Yet over 75,000 megawatts (MW) of wind and solar power have been integrated, reliably, into the nation’s electric grid to date. That’s enough electricity to supply 17.9 million homes.

And, as a new NRDC fact sheet published today illustrates, the electric grid can handle much higher levels of zero-carbon wind and solar power, far more than what’s necessary to achieve the relatively modest carbon emission reductions in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to limit pollution from existing power plants. But first, a little background on how our nation’s electric system works.

Grid Basics

The nation’s high-power transmission system is made up of three largely separate grids: one on either side of the Continental Divide (roughly) and the third in Texas. The two largest grids are further subdivided into regions managed by different regional and local utility grid operators.



Source: MJ Bradley & Associates using Ventyx Velocity

Grid operators are the air traffic controllers of the power system, managing the flow of electrons from power plants to customers across thousands of miles of transmission lines. They operate the grid under extremely detailed procedures and standards.

Planning for the Next 5 Minutes and the Next 10 Years


To ensure a reliable transmission system, grid operators think in several time frames. In the immediate seconds to hours, they run the grid according to a detailed set of economic and electrical engineering rules embedded in sophisticated computer programs. These programs dispatch power plants with the lowest operating costs first, subject to important constraints to preserve the grid’s stability and avoid blackouts.

Grid operators also plan years into the future to ensure reliability. In the same way that one would not set out to drive across the desert on a half-tank of gas, they want to ensure enough power exists and can be delivered to meet consumer demand years ahead. To do so, they identify factors that could either increase or decrease the need for more power and power lines, and then plan accordingly.

Wind and Solar Power Hit the Big Leagues

There is more renewable energy flowing through the power grid than ever before. At times, wind has supplied more than 60 percent of the total demand on some utility systems, without reliability problems. And solar power now routinely contributes 10 to 15 percent of midday electricity demand in California, which has more solar panel installations than anywhere in the country.



Source: American Wind Energy Association independent analysis based on real time data publicly available by ISOs and utilities

Accurate Forecasts and Advanced Technologies Matter

Due to more precise weather forecasts and sophisticated technologies, grid operators increasingly can predict--and control--wind and solar generation levels. Accurate predictions of wind speed and solar conditions help grid operators efficiently schedule renewable energy into the system. Using advanced and often-automatic control systems, grid operators can both increase and decrease the power output into the grid, which helps to stabilize the grid’s electrical frequency and maintain reliability.

Wind and Solar Need Less Backup Power than Coal, Gas and Nuclear

Every power plant on the grid needs “backup” power in case something happens to prevent it from generating as much electricity as planned. PJM, in charge of most of the grid from New Jersey to Illinois, currently holds 3,350 MW of expensive, fast-acting contingency reserves 24/7 to ensure that it can keep the lights on in case a large fossil or nuclear power plant unexpectedly breaks down. In contrast, MISO – the grid operator for the middle part of the country with the most wind power in the nation – needs almost no additional fast-acting power reserves to back up its 10,000-plus MW of wind power on the system.

Why is so little backup power needed for wind and solar? In contrast to the large, abrupt, and often unpredictable changes in electricity output from coal and nuclear power plants, wind output changes tend to be gradual and predictable, especially when wind turbines are spread over larger areas. The fact that a wind farm is a collection of many smaller turbines also helps, since the failure of one has little impact on the farm’s total output.

Our Grid Is Successfully Integrating Clean Energy Now and Will Continue

The power grid has always adapted to changing state and national energy trends and needs, thanks to regular operations and planning frameworks. Forty years ago grid operators learned to accommodate the sudden losses of generation that can come from integrating very large nuclear power plants into the system.

Now, as utility-scale wind and solar power rapidly expand, grid operators are successfully integrating these new resources into the grid while retiring many outdated, costly, and polluting coal plants. And they’re doing it without most Americans even noticing. Maybe that’s the best proof that wind and solar power are not just ready for the big leagues, they’re already there.

This article was originally pubished on NRDC and was republished with permission.

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/12/transforming-the-grid-with-clean-energy-reliably-every-day
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Wind Power
« Reply #66 on: December 21, 2014, 04:00:54 pm »
WSJ's $21 Billion Subsidy Hypocrisy


by
ClimateDenierRoundupFollow
for
Climate Action Hub.
 
The Wall Street Journal — continuing its tradition of providing free advertising for fossil fuels in the form of opinion pieces — published an oped by Tim Phillips arguing that we should end the wind power Production Tax Credit (PTC), a 22-year-old subsidy for wind power. It just so happens, however, that Phillips is none other than the president of Americans for Prosperity, the oil-loving, Koch-funded right-wing "free market" advocacy group.

Full truth filled article:


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/02/1348794/-WSJ-s-21-Billion-Subsidy-Hypocrisy


Agelbert NOTE: This is not hard. Wind is eating fossil fuel profits even though it receives a PITTANCE in subsidy compared with fossil fuels. Consequently the fossil fuel fascists are DOING what they HAVE ALWAYS DONE to make it go away. Free market, MY ASS! 
 
The "Welfare" of Society is ALWAYS the alibi of Tyrants
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Wind Power
« Reply #67 on: December 24, 2014, 03:42:23 pm »
The Fossil Fuel Funded Profit Over People and Planet PROPAGANDA   

                                




The REALITY:


The Project: Manzana Wind Power Project Creates Renewable Energy and Local Jobs

Project profile of the Manzana Wind Farm


 Renewable Energy World Editors 
 December 24, 2014 

In the wind-rich Tehachapi area near the town of Rosamond, California the 189-MW Manazana Wind Power Project, developed by Iberdrola Renewbles, generates electricity and sells it to San Diego Gas and Electric under a 20-year PPA. The project came online in 2012 and boasts 126 GE turbines.

At the height of construction, when these photos were taken, the wind farm created 290 construction jobs. Minnesota-based Blattner Energy managed construction, with the majority of the work sub-contracted to local California companies. Today, there are twelve permanent Iberdrola Renewables operations and maintenance staff who run the facility and eight or nine additional contractors work for the facility while it is still under warranty.

Click through to see a slideshow presentation of the project.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/12/the-project-manzana-wind-power-project-creates-renewable-energy-and-local-jobs#comment-138675



Manzana Sunlight Hills



= 111%



Fight for the truth. Destroy the lies and deliberate misperceptions pushed by the fossil fuelers so they can continue to degrade our biosphere AND what's left of our Democracy. Pass it on.


We need fossil fuels like a HOLE IN THE HEAD! 



He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Wind Power
« Reply #68 on: December 29, 2014, 07:17:13 pm »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lz9kuJFyAoE&feature=player_embedded
The above video is from the  Department of Energy (DOE). It is WAY too conservative in its projections of wind power growth.

In fact, they admit that their 2008 study projection, prepared by 100's of scientists from 70 plus organizations (like the one NOW they are about to publish), of 48 GW of wind power by 2013 was A BIT OFF.  ;D

By 2013 the USA had 61 GW of installed wind power. The REALITY was 127% of the projection! That's why the Koch brothers and friends have gone nuts trying to kill "big wind". That's why recently, not one, not two, but THREE stalking horses for fossil fuel foot dragging have wormed their way into the DOE.

The video talks about all the REAL cost savings from increasing percentages of wind power in our grid. The FACT that wind power saves HUGE amounts of WATER is mentioned as well.


What it fails to mention is that we DO NOT NEED to wait until 2050 to get a lousy 35% or so. We CAN get that by 2020! That is why the friends of dirty energy in Congress want to kill any benefit, no matter how small, compared with dirty energy subsidies, to slow down the wind renewable energy juggernaut.

The WAR is RAGING!  Watch the video. Keep in mind that the DOE has an "all the above" policy DICTATED by our fossil fuel government. But at least they are not lying about the Social Costs of dirty energy pollutants. They are REAL costs and we-the-people are sick and tired of paying them.   >:(
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Wind Power
« Reply #69 on: December 29, 2014, 09:29:23 pm »
Report finds Iowa’s wind jobs come out on top  ;D



Photo from AWEA's Flickr, all rights reserved

A new report on advanced energy employment in Iowa shows that the wind industry employs an impressive 3,600-plus workers in the Hawkeye State.

The report by the Advanced Energy Economic Institute found that wind energy “dominates” among jobs supported by advanced electricity generation industries in Iowa,, with 68 percent of workers in that segment working in wind. The report is consistent with research by the American Wind Energy Association.



The state numbers are impressive, but what may be most telling in the report is its meaning beyond Iowa’s borders. The report, for instance, notes the correlation between jobs and a commitment to renewable energy. Iowa has a long history of providing a conducive policy environment for tapping its renewable resources. In the 1980s, Iowa became the first state to institute a renewable portfolio standard.

“It’s easy to see why Iowa has a sizable workforce,” the report notes. “The state is a national wind energy powerhouse, as these [2013 American Wind Energy Association] statistics demonstrate: first in the nation in the percentage of electricity generated by wind (27 percent), third in megawatts installed, and third in the number of utility scale wind turbines.”

The report also notes how the growth of wind power has contributed to Iowa economic development beyond the industry itself, citing as examples the decisions by both Google and Facebook to locate data centers in the state—in part because of the availability of clean, affordable wind energy.

Another takeaway that’s applicable elsewhere: Those states most familiar with wind energy seem to like it the most. From the Iowa report: “Iowans overwhelmingly support the growth of the wind energy segment. Fully 85 percent of people in the state view wind energy more favorably than any other energy source, providing political support for pro-wind policies.”

However, the report also found that wind energy employment in the state has declined compared to 2013. The report states that “[t]his decline occurred during a sharp downturn in the U.S. wind industry associated with the expiration, followed by renewal, of the federal production tax credit (PTC), which resulted in the 90 percent drop in wind industry revenue in 2013.”  :evil4:

To avert more of the all-to-familiar boom-bust cycle, Congress must implement long-term policies to promote wind --  states like Iowa depend on it.   

http://aweablog.org/blog/post/report-finds-iowas-wind-jobs-come-out-on-top






Agelbert NOTE in regard to the relation between our survival and the autotrophic biomass health: Already, Negative effects on MIDDLE TROPHIC levels of climate change are being documented.

Quote
Climate change enhances the negative effects of predation risk on an intermediate consumer.

We found that both predation risk and increased air and sea temperatures suppressed the foraging of prey in the middle trophic level, suggesting that warming may further enhance the top-down control of predators on communities. Prey growth efficiency, which measures the efficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels, became negative when prey were subjected to predation risk and warming.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24947942

The proof that the autotrophs (phototrophic - algae, phytoplankton, grass, trees - photosynthetic life forms and the prokaryotes, the cyanobacteria, the lithotrophs and the methanogens) are affected by higher temperatures to the point of endangering Homo SAP survival has already been documented.

I will provide more info on the growing awareness of the scientific community about our UNSUSTAINABLE path BECAUSE of the danger to autotrophs as well as the middle trophic levels.


Quote
Autotrophs, being the primary producers, are always at the bottom of the food chain. They are responsible for converting CO2 to a form required by the heterotrophs.

They have not been able to make FIRM conclusions because of the complexity of life form interactions but they are getting there. 

Quote
Research has already found that due to global warming, bacteria and fungi reproduce more rapidly (Agren, 2013). At the same time, they even use a larger share of the available carbon for their own respiration, bringing more CO2 into the atmosphere which stimulates atmospheric warming even more (Agren, 2013). This is how micro-organisms are believed to contribute to global climate change. Both in the carbon and nitrogen cycles there are certain levels of complex metabolic activities which are influenced by inorganic nutrients (Six et al ., 2006).

These activities are quite vigorous and fluent but will tend to alter if there is change within the surrounding environment. This may result in vehement effects and impacts on global climatic phenomena leading to change in its natural occurrences.   

http://www.academia.edu/7609928/Role_of_micro-organisms_in_climate_change

Save the autotrophic biomass from climate change so your ass won't be grass. Demand 100%  transition to Renewable energy PLUS (for sequestering of carbon and bioremediation of planet polluting poisons) NOW!
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Wind Power
« Reply #70 on: January 06, 2015, 09:10:07 pm »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opP13e-TvHM&feature=player_embedded
Excellent info on wind turbines for the home.


Many golden tidbits of essential information including wiring efficiency differences between AC and DC, why AC turbines are a better deal with a rectifier located where your juice does the work or goes into a battery bank, why odd numbered blade turbines are better  , a good discussion of blade materials, angles and designs and also a discussion of turbine towers.   

The sun will weaken PVC blades and high speed winds will DESTROY them.  :P Do NOT buy PVC blades. 

In fact, ANY plastic is TOAST under daily sunlight after a while. I suppose fiberglass would work but they would be much heavier than metal ones. Heavier blades mean higher wind speeds to get them moving. So, if you are in a low wind area, fiberglass is out too.  8).

I learned a lot from this video. The discussion of the charge controller, inverter and how EXACTLY they are connected was great. Also, the "dump load" feature to keep a wind turbine from wind milling was particularly enlightening. 

Renewable energy=                                 =Fossil Fuelers
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Wind Power
« Reply #71 on: January 10, 2015, 08:04:13 pm »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3SEmD7_Cb4&feature=player_embedded
The WIND TREES are coming!  ;D

Quote
What a strange sight! It's like a tree with little plastic spinning leaves. What on earth is it for?

 It's for producing energy!
The Wind Tree is made up of a steel trunk and mini turbines. It's designed to harness energy from even the slightest of breezes, so it's producing energy even on days with very low wind.

 From the French start up "New Wind", these silent and powerful windmills should appeal to those who oppose the size and noise of traditional turbines.

 They stand 11 meters tall, and are designed to fit into the urban environment.

 One will be placed in Paris, right on the Champs- Elysees!

 --Bibi Farber

This video was produced by Reuters - See more at: http://www.nextworldtv.com/videos/energy/-wind-tree-turbine-perfect-for-cities.html#sthash.4wBsuvaD.dpuf
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Wind Power
« Reply #72 on: January 22, 2015, 06:09:02 pm »
 

01/22/2015 02:56 PM     China Leads World On Wind Additions Again; Offshore Wind Creates Double the Jobs As Drilling
SustainableBusiness.com News

The results are in for wind industry growth in 2014, with the US and China continuing their leadership positions.


Developers in the both countries (and Germany) rushed to get projects in the ground before incentives declined or expired -leading to 4.7 gigawatts (GW) added in the US and an impressive 20.7 GW in China, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).



In the US, projects had to be started by the end of 2014 - which means a good year ahead   - and in China, the feed-in tariff will soon be cut.  :P

Last year, capacity grew 38% in China, where a total of 96 GW of wind is now installed, says BNEF. After leading the world with 16 GW installed in 2013, China's government raised the target to 200 GW by 2020.   ;D

Even though China leads on capacity, the US pumps out more wind energy.     

The other top countries for wind additions are Germany (3.2 GW), Brazil (2.7 GW) and India (2.3 GW).



The 947 MW Alta Wind Energy Center in California. it is the biggest wind farm in the world so far.


Jobs From Offshore Wind

Just as the US is about to get its first - if tiny - offshore wind farm and Republicans get ready to push for extensive offshore oil drilling in the Atlantic, another report shows the advantages of offshore wind. 

Offshore wind would create double the jobs and double the energy as offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean, reports Oceana, while drilling would actually threaten the 1.4 million jobs in fishing, tourism and recreation. And the threats begin with oil exploration - where seismic airguns blast the ocean floor from Delaware to Florida, harming millions of fish, dolphins and whales.


"Unlike offshore drilling, offshore wind provides power directly to coastal communities where we need energy the most, without the risk of oil spills or carbon pollution,"
says Andrew Menaquale, author of the report and energy analyst at Oceana. "It's time for the US to use the lessons learned from more than 20 years of offshore wind development internationally and apply them to generating clean, renewable energy off our coasts."

Findings include:
 

•In 13 years, offshore wind could generate more energy than all economically recoverable offshore oil and gas resources.

•Gradual offshore wind development for the next 20 years, would supply electricity to over 115 million households.

•Extracting all recoverable oil would meet 5 months of demand, and 10 months of gas demand at current consumption rates.

•The Atlantic Ocean contains less than 4% of US oil reserves and less than 3% of gas reserves.

A previous study shows offshore wind could power the entire Atlantic coast, while creating 300,000 jobs, and would also protect the coast from devastating hurricanes.
   


Read Oceana's report, Offshore Energy By the Numbers:
 
Website: http://usa.oceana.org/reports/offshore-energy-numbers

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/26114
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Wind Power
« Reply #73 on: January 23, 2015, 03:15:42 pm »


Photoessay: A Day in the Life of a Wind Farm Operator

Christine Duval, First Wind
 January 23, 2015

Have you ever wondered what it takes to run a wind farm? You’ve seen all the amazing photos taken from the tops of turbines, but do you know what the technician is actually doing up there?

A photographer followed around the crew at the Bull Hill Wind farm in Maine. Here’s a glimpse into their daily lives on the job.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1421914688&x-yt-cl=84503534&v=-dymM8K5EQQ&feature=player_detailpage
Bull Hill Wind Farm Video

Bull Hill Wind is composed of 19 wind turbines and powers about 16,000 homes annually.


Agelbert posted comment:
 

 A. G. Gelbert   
 January 23, 2015 

Thank you, Christine Duval. I love to see people making a decent living working on behalf of future generations on jobs that will never be outsourced.

I predict that, in the near future, both the ten minute climb and the ten minute descent will be eliminated by a one man electric winch elevator.

These "winches" are old technology used by scaffolding workers that wash skyscraper windows. It is simply a drill that attaches to a fitting on the scaffolding frame and cables (you need two men running a drill on both ends to raise the scaffolding evenly - a tricky process if one drill is running faster than the other - not for the feint of heart).

I'm certain a better version for wind turbines will be developed to enable quicker access. Time is money.
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Wind Power
« Reply #74 on: January 23, 2015, 03:36:37 pm »
Wind power to create 4,200 Maine jobs this year, boosts state economy   


by John Lamontagne

in Bingham · Bull Hill · Development · Economy · Hanc ock · Maine · Mars Hill · Oakfield · Rollins · Stetson · The Future of Wind
— 6 Jan, 2015



A new economic report predicts that the wind energy industry could create as many as 4,200 jobs in the state of Maine alone in 2015.

In addition, the report demonstrates that the industry has already invested nearly $550 million into the Maine economy since 2006 and will invest another $750 million in the next few years.

The analysis of wind energy in Maine released today shows that the industry has made a significant positive impact on the state’s economy, not only in terms of investment, but also in terms of creating jobs.  The study states that the industry has been employing more than 1,500 people per year and helping to open new markets for Maine companies.

Conducted by Charles Colgan, Ph.D., and the Maine Center for Business & Economic Research at the University of Maine in conjunction with Wind for Maine and the Maine Renewable Energy Association (MREA), the report’s major findings include:

◾New investment of nearly $1.28 billion between 2006-2018;

◾$1.14 billion in employee earnings over the same period;

◾Creation of 1,560 jobs per year, peaking in 2015 at 4,200; and

◾Development of new markets for 23 Maine-based companies that led to nearly $89.6 million in sales in 2011-2013 and 390 jobs in Maine
.


Wind for Maine and MREA announced the results of the report at a press conference today and in a press release.

read more: http://www.firstwindblog.com/wind-power-to-create-4200-maine-jobs-this-year-boosts-state-economy/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

 

+-Recent Topics

Future Earth by AGelbert
March 30, 2022, 12:39:42 pm

Key Historical Events ...THAT YOU MAY HAVE NEVER HEARD OF by AGelbert
March 29, 2022, 08:20:56 pm

The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth by AGelbert
March 28, 2022, 01:12:42 pm

Electric Vehicles by AGelbert
March 27, 2022, 02:27:28 pm

Heat Pumps by AGelbert
March 26, 2022, 03:54:43 pm

Defending Wildlife by AGelbert
March 25, 2022, 02:04:23 pm

The Koch Brothers Exposed! by AGelbert
March 25, 2022, 01:26:11 pm

Corruption in Government by AGelbert
March 25, 2022, 12:46:08 pm

Books and Audio Books that may interest you 🧐 by AGelbert
March 24, 2022, 04:28:56 pm

COVID-19 🏴☠️ Pandemic by AGelbert
March 23, 2022, 12:14:36 pm