Australia’s largest energy retailer, AGL Energy Ltd (AGK.AX), revived plans to build a major wind farm on Monday, after the government vowed to increase investment security in the sector. AGL said the Macarthur wind farm, previously estimated to cost A$800 million ($716 million), will be constructed in a joint venture with New Zealand’s state-owned generator… Read more »
An offshore North and Baltic Sea electricity grid could be in place within 10-15 years, but its development is being slowed by political and regulatory differences between countries bordering the North and Baltic Seas, according to a report published by the OffshoreGrid consortium. The European Commission-funded consortium – made up of eight organizations* – stated… Read more »
Australia’s top operator of renewable energy assets, AGL Energy Ltd. (AGK.AX), will shelve up to A$1 billion worth of planned investments in wind energy, citing uncertainty in the government’s climate change policies. AGL said on Friday the government’s current rebates for small renewable technologies, such as solar water panels and heat pumps, had flooded the… Read more »
Federal regulators have received leasing proposals from two Virginia companies seeking to develop offshore wind farms capable of supplying clean energy to hundreds of thousands of homes. Apex Wind Energy Inc. is proposing to lease 116,000 acres for an undetermined number of wind turbines with the potential to generate up to 1,500 megawatts of power…. Read more »
Government of UK has planned to craft Britain a center of green manufacturing, for which it won a major accolade from plans which will begin the job hunts. The authority in command, has decide to create a plan for a green manufacturing hub in Britain which has been promoted, when the same got unleashed with… Read more »
The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) and the Community of European Shipyards’ Association (CESA) are calling on the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support the building of new ships to serve the expanding offshore wind energy market over the coming years. EWEA and CESA urge the European Commission to develop programmes… Read more »
A state bill that would open wind power to private developers was praised by a variety of groups during a legislative hearing on Wednesday, including some who called it a potential milestone for Nebraska’s fledgling wind power industry. “I think this is the most significant legislation relating to electricity in this state, probably, since the… Read more »
One of the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturers is in talks with the government about setting up a factory in Britain. Gamesa, the Spanish turbine company, is being urged by Iberdrola, the owner of Scottish Power, to build a manufacturing facility to serve the British market, according to Ignacio Galan, Iberdrola’s chief executive. Gamesa confirmed… Read more »
It’s really not surprising to many of us in North Dakota, but a new report from the American Wind Energy Association says there’s more wind energy potential in the Dakotas than previously estimated. The report lists North Dakota number six in the nation in wind energy potential. However several companies are arguing that the state… Read more »
Kansas learned last week that it’s second only to Texas among states for its potential wind generation, according to a new report co-authored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Now, the state and its leaders, with help from Congress, should take the second-place status and run with it, turning that potential into power, jobs and… Read more »
The potential amount of wind energy in this country is actually more than three times what is was previously thought to be. This post from the Energy Collective blog says a new analysis from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) credits the increase to improvements in wind turbines over the last decade and a half:… Read more »
Current DEP restrictions prohibit wind turbines within 500 feet of a mean high water line, but a bill the Senate approved today would roll back that rule for Atlantic City.The bill, which the Senate passed 39-0, would allow turbines to be built on a city pier in the 12 months after the law was enacted…. Read more »
Wyoming may be one of just a few states aggressively developing wind energy, but the new National Environmental Scorecard released today by the League of Conservation Voters ranks the state last when it comes congressional representation on energy and conservation issues. The organization has put the tally together for 30 years, and this past year,… Read more »
A radical windmill design could hold the key to making offshore wind power more economical and helping the UK meet its ambitious renewable energy targets. The Aerogenerator turns conventional windmills on their side, with a 100m tall V-shaped blade rotating on a vertical, rather than the usual horizontal, axis. By building all the moving parts… Read more »
Wind capacity in the United States has tripled and is enough to meet U.S. electricity consumption, according to a new report co-authored by the Department of Energy. President Obama has promoted renewable energy sources such as wind as well as nuclear power plants as ways to generate carbon-free energy. The country’s wind could generate 37… Read more »
Northern New Brunswick’s cold, icy weather is causing wind turbines to freeze and stop producing power at the Caribou Wind Park near Bathurst. The new wind farm’s 33 turbines have been generating power since November, but they have been forced to shut down for the past two days due to ice forming on some of… Read more »
The Wyoming House has approved a state excise tax on commercial wind energy generation and sent the measure to the Senate. House Bill 101 would impose a $1 per megawatt hour tax, generating an estimated $3.8 million annually under current production rates. The House approved the bill Thursday with two-thirds support. Representatives opposed to the… Read more »
The port at Quonset Point will receive more than $22 million to improve its dock and buy cranes so it can accommodate a wind turbine developer, serve container cargo ships and create jobs in a state with nearly 13 percent unemployment, officials said Wednesday. The federal stimulus money is meant to support Deepwater Wind LLC,… Read more »
Annual wind power contribution in the Falkland Islands is set to rise to 40 per cent of total energy generated with the installation of three new wind turbines, which started going online on 15 February. The installation of the first three wind turbines in 2007 has resulted in the displacement of 26% of annual fuel… Read more »
Plans have emerged to turn the former Anglesey Aluminium site into a wind turbine factory. Smelting operations at the Holyhead metal plant, which was the largest employer in north Wales, ended in September last year. A turbine company is now looking at the possibility of using the site as a factory, although Anglesey council stresses… Read more »
Small-scaled wind turbines are currently something of a renewable energy niche product in Germany at this time. But this situation can change very quickly – especially if you look at the market success and the potential of small-scaled wind turbines in other countries. The New Energy Husum trade fair now offers a worldwide overview. With… Read more »
Mumbai: REpower, in which Suzlon Energy holds a majority stake, said it has got an order from France-based EOLE-RES SA to supply 26 wind turbines. REpower has entered into an agreement with EOLE-RES SA to supply 26 wind turbines of 2 MW each, generating a total capacity of 52 MW, Suzlon said in a filing… Read more »
A company in Spain that makes generators for high-tech wind turbines will put a new factory in Milwaukee. Mayor Tom Barrett confirmed in his \”state of the city\” address Monday that Ingeteam will locate in the Menomonee Valley between downtown Milwaukee and the Miller Park baseball stadium. Julia Taylor of the Greater Milwaukee Committee says… Read more »
General Electric Co., the biggest maker of wind turbines in the U.S., filed a new patent-infringement lawsuit against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and plans to appeal an earlier case it lost. The new complaint, filed Thursday in federal court in Dallas, claims Mitsubishi Heavy infringes two patents. One is related to the base frame supporting… Read more »
The Global Wind Energy Council, a trade association based in Brussels, estimates that wind power capacity grew by 31 percent worldwide in 2009, with 37.5 additional gigawatts installed, bringing global wind power capacity to 157.9 gigawatts. China accounted for a third of the new capacity, and the Chinese market experienced more than 100 percent growth…. Read more »
The EU will meet its 2020 20% renewable energy target – slightly exceeding it – according to an analysis by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) of all 27 Member States’ national forecast documents. The EWEA analysis shows that EU member states are on course to achieve over 20% renewable energy by 2020, with 21… Read more »
General Electric Co.’s energy finance unit said it may double the capacity of a wind farm in British Columbia, increasing its bet on renewable-power in Canada’s westernmost province. GE and Vancouver-based Plutonic Power Corp. last year bought the unfinished, 144-megawatt Dokie Ridge Wind Project, the first equity investment in wind energy in Canada for both… Read more »
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd said it is considering building a wind turbine plant in the United States, and will a make final decision after seeing how demand recovers. Mitsubishi is currently tussling with General Electric over wind turbine patents, with the GE this month filing patent suits against the Japanese company in a U.S. Court…. Read more »
Vestas Wind Systems has secured an order to help produce 33 new turbines for a New Hampshire wind farm, a contract that experts say should help sustain work at its Windsor plant. The Weld County operation, where the blades will be constructed, temporarily halted turbine work in December in light of weak sales. “The turbines… Read more »
The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) this week at a workshop in Turkey, said that Turkey must exploit its huge wind energy resources if it wants to meet its increasing power demand while becoming less dependent on energy imports. The workhop on integrating wind power was held in Ankara and organized by the European Wind… Read more »
Funds from the $787 billion stimulus package and other federal assistance kept growth in the renewable energy sector strong in 2009, a trend that will probably persist as federal investment continues to pay off over the coming year, industry leaders said in a teleconference Tuesday. The picture was especially good for the solar industry, which… Read more »
The Michigan Public Service Commission has approved two grants totaling about $1.7 million for studying the development of offshore wind technologies in the state. Grand Valley State University’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center and the University of Michigan’s Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute are getting $1.3 million for jointly researching offshore wind and ice data… Read more »
It started as just an idea, but now the thought of a wind farm in mid-Missouri could become a reality. Mark Chamberlin is a chicken and dairy farmer who originally had the idea to put a wind turbine on his property. “You always have a lot of time to think when you’re in tractors,” Chamberlin… Read more »
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar journeyed out into Nantucket Sound on a Coast Guard vessel last week to signal the Obama administration’s readiness to put some muscle behind wind energy. To do that, Salazar has to resolve a battle over building a wind farm on 25 square miles of open water that has driven a rift… Read more »
President Obama is spending $2.1 million to help Suntech Power Holdings build a solar-panel plant in Arizona. It will hire 70 Americans to assemble components made by Suntech’s 11,000 Chinese workers. That gap shows the challenge Obama faces as he works to create “green” jobs. Asia makes more than half the world’s wind and solar… Read more »
The world’s wind power capacity grew by 31 per cent in 2009, according to statistics released by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). The boost added 37.5 GW to total global wind power installations, bringing the figure up to 157.9 GW. One third of these additions were made in China, which experienced yet another year… Read more »