North Dakota has been at the top of many lists. And recently, the state was added to yet another one. The American Wind Energy Association names North Dakota as one of the top ten wind producing states in the country. P-S-C Commissioner Tony Clark says it a pretty remarkable accomplishment for the state. Nearly ten… Read more »
The global race to develop clean technology is not just about who can build the best solar parks or wind farms. It is also shaping up as a contest between Chinese-style capitalism and the more market-oriented approach fancied by the United States and Europe. The question comes down to this: will China’s highly capitalized command-and-control… Read more »
State regulators have designated a region in the Thumb area of Michigan and a west Michigan region as those likely to be most productive for wind energy. In designating the “wind energy resource zones,” the Michigan Public Service Commission said the primary zone is a region that includes parts of Bay, Huron, Saginaw, Sanilac and… Read more »
Operations at a 2,000-acre wind farm in Cadillac, Mich., are meeting the electricity demands of roughly 2,000 homes, Michigan utility Detroit Edison said. Anthony Earley, chairman at Detroit Edison’s parent company DTE Energy, said the wind farm fit within Michigan’s vision for a clean energy future. “We’re focused on finding clean, cost-effective new sources of… Read more »
For years, the interest in harnessing wind power has grown in Iowa to the point where our state is looked upon as a national leader in that alternative energy source. Recently, Iowa surpassed California to claim second-in-the-nation status in wind energy capacity, trailing only Texas. Large wind farms in rural areas have become a familiar… Read more »
Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister is eyeing the potential for wind power along Haiti’s coastline as part of the effort to improve the earthquake ravaged country’s capacity for power production. Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said Monday technology will be an important element of rebuilding in Haiti after its infrastructure was devastated in the Jan. 12… Read more »
A Texas-based wind energy company has chosen Clovis for its venture into wind farm operation and turbine manufacturing. Officials at Vert-I-Go, a subsidiary of Plano, Texas-based Abundant Energy, say they expect the New Mexico plant to produce 60 jobs by 2013. Vert-I-Go has reached a preliminary agreement with Clovis officials to purchase six acres south… Read more »
On a mountain top 80 miles northeast of Bangor, Maine, in country where houses and gravel pits are mere pinpricks on a map green with forest, Paul Gaynor is making stimulus work. Gaynor, chief executive of First Wind, is using $40 million in federal funds to help build a wind farm that will produce enough… Read more »
After eight years of review, the future of a controversial wind farm off Cape Cod now rests in what would seem to be friendly hands – an Obama administration that’s pledged to make the U.S. “the world’s leading exporter of clean energy.” But it’s tough to tell if Cape Wind’s prospects just got better or… Read more »
China Wind Power International Co Ltd, which was listed on the Toronto Venture Exchange, said in an update on its project pipeline in Du Mon County, Heilongjiang Province, including its Sino-Danish project, has been identified by the Heilongjiang Province Development and Reform Commission as one of the key development areas in the province. China Wind… Read more »
Populations continue to swell. Cheap energy begins to fade. And rising oceans swallow urban lands. Such problems demand solutions to the current path of energy, according to scientists, business leaders and politicians who gathered at a recent public forum at UNC-Chapel Hill’s William and Ida Friday Center. But it’s still unclear what alternatives are viable,… Read more »
PPG Commercial Coatings today launched its advanced “thin-film” HSP-7401 Polyurethane Primer and AUE-50000 Series Polyurethane Topcoat wind turbine blade coating system. The coating system is designed specifically for wind turbine blades and uses a thinner build to reduce labor, material use and weight while providing unparalleled adhesion, erosion resistance and flexibility protection properties. PPG technical… Read more »
The head of one of the largest utilities in Massachusetts is not sold on the state’s largest wind power project.NStar chief executive Thomas May said yesterday that although he believes in alternative energy, he’s not counting on the proposed Cape Wind project. Cape Wind, which has been supported by the Patrick administration, would place wind… Read more »
Europe’s fledgling offshore wind industry will grow this year by 1,000 megawatts, or 75 percent, the European Wind Energy Association forecast in a report Monday. That compares with a 54 percent growth rate in 2009, when nearly 2,000 turbines and 373 megawatts of offshore wind were installed. “This is an incredibly good result considering the… Read more »
Wind turbines offshore in the Great Lakes have the potential to generate a huge chunk of Ontario’s power, but a more streamlined approval process is needed if the offshore industry’s potential is to be achieved. That’s the conclusion of a report from wind developer Trillium Power Wind Corp., which calculates that the Ontario government has… Read more »
Omaha Public Power District Board of Directors has approved a power purchase agreement expected to substantially increase the district’s renewable energy portfolio. Under the agreement the utility plans to purchase up to 40.5 megawatts (MW) of wind energy for twenty years from a wind farm to be built in Boone County near Petersburg, Nebraska. The… Read more »
In a new twist on opposition to wind farm development, the sector is now experiencing infighting, with the largest owner of wind farms in the U.S. challenging a recent state decision that aids another company. Now, instead of fighting environmentalists or NIMBYs (not in my backyard types), MidAmerican Energy must face off against electricity giant… Read more »
Staff members at the Public Utility Commission will get to work today trying to please a district judge who threw a $5 billion wind energy transmission plan back to the agency. The city of Garland’s municipally owned utility had objected to losing out on an opportunity to build some lines to take West Texas wind… Read more »
In 2009, a total of eight new wind farms consisting of 199 offshore wind turbines, with a combined power generating capacity of 577 MW, were connected to the grid in Europe. This represents a growth rate of 54% compared to the 373 MW installed during 2008. For 2010, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) expects… Read more »
Arabic script is about to appear on television sets across the country, with the Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens helpfully reading an English translation, Clifford Strauss writes in The New York Times. “Go back to sleep, America; the oil crisis is over,” Mr. Pickens intones, deadpan, in the new video. Seductive Middle Eastern music plays… Read more »
Installation of the largest wind turbine in the history of Long Island was completed last month. The 100-kilowatt turbine stands 121 feet tall but the tip of its rotors will reach a height of 156 feet above the ground. The clean-energy device was installed at a 1,200-acre wholesale nursery in Laurel, in Riverhead Town, at… Read more »
What’s that on the sixth-floor deck of Adobe headquarters in downtown San Jose? Those slender silver spires, spinning quietly in the breeze, are actually turbines producing environmentally friendly electric power. Workers installed the 20 wind turbines over the December holidays at Adobe Systems’ high-rise offices at Park Avenue and Almaden Boulevard. Officials at the big… Read more »
The Blaine County Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved an ordinance that will permit and regulate wind-energy facilities, bringing to an end a process that has taken about a dozen public hearings and witnessed multiple drafts. At a regular meeting at the Old County Courthouse in Hailey, the commission made minor editorial changes to the draft… Read more »
Wearing two hats, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar set April as the deadline for his final decision on the Cape Wind project. Following a series of consultations with supporters and opponents in Washington Jan. 13, Salazar told reporters that there are “two fundamentally important national priorities that are at stake here.” There is President Obama’s… Read more »
The development of a new European industry – offshore wind power – took an important step forward today with the announcement by the British government of the go-ahead for offshore wind farm development areas with a capacity ten times greater than Europe’s existing European offshore wind energy capacity. A total of nine development zones –… Read more »
The EU should continue leading by example despite the failure of the UN climate talks, the wind industry says. Christian Kjaer, Chief Executive of EWEA, said: “The world needs global climate leadership from the EU in 2010 more than ever, now that the other super-powers have shown their lack of ambition.” The Copenhagen Accord is… Read more »
On September 23, 2009, the SGS Wind Competence Center presented Norderland Projekt GmbH with a Statement of Compliance (SoC) for the design basis of their two offshore wind farms – Northern Energy Global Tech II and Northern Energy Global Tech III. The Statement of Compliance for the design basis is the conclusion of the first… Read more »
Harmonised and clear rules for the connection to the electricity system are necessary due to the dramatic increase in wind power penetration across Europe, says the wind industry. Harmonised rules will lower wind energy production costs, contribute to an efficient management of the system, and lower the cost of the electricity for consumers. The European… Read more »
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to provide €300m for the construction of the BritNed Interconnector, a new electricity transmission cable between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Paul Wilczek, EWEA’s Regulatory Affairs Adviser, commented: “Today’s decision by the EIB is a small but highly significant step towards what everyone in the business knows… Read more »
Commenting on the political declaration signed by nine countries to cooperate on the development of a North Sea supergrid today, Justin Wilkes, EWEA Policy Director, said: “These nine countries have taken a step in the right direction. The building of a supergrid in the North Sea is vital for fully exploiting Europe’s biggest energy source… Read more »
Use of Wind Energy – Future Development The share of renewable energy sources in total energy consumption is to be increased to 20 % in 2020. To achieve this extremely ambitious target, the share of renewable energy sources in electricity generation in the European Union has to be increased to approximately 34 % by 2020…. Read more »
In the run-up to the crucial climate change talks in Copenhagen, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) has published a league table showing which EU countries are best at exploiting CO2-cutting wind energy. Top of the table is Denmark, with the highest amount of wind energy capacity per square kilometre of national territory. Germany comes… Read more »
Today, as European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs speaks to the European Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) Committee on the European Economic Recovery Plan, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) warned that the EU needs to speed up its stimulus package. The €5 billion plan, approved by the European Parliament last May, includes €565 million… Read more »
European Offshore Wind 2009 conference and exhibition (EOW09) – the world’s largest gathering of offshore wind energy professionals took place in Stockholm from 14-16 September. The event, organised by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), was hailed a huge success, doubling in size from its previous edition in 2007. {pagebreak} Over 4,800 participants saw more… Read more »
SGS Presents Wind Energy Services at the Korea Green Energy Show 2009 The SGS Wind Energy Competence Center participated in the Korea GreenEnergy Show 2009 as the main exhibition for the energy industry in Korea.Attendees had the chance to learn more about the project life cycle of windturbines and about the services that SGS offers… Read more »
The Asia-Pacific Weeks (APW) Wind Energy Conference in Berlin was a great opportunity for SGS to present its Wind Energy Technology Center (WETC). The presentation held by Torsten Muuß, Global Technical Manager for Wind Energy from SGS, proved to be a success as participants showed great interest in the services provided by the Center. {pagebreak} The Asia-Pacific Weeks… Read more »