Alternative Energy / Wind Power

• 2014 Expected to be a Bumper Year for Wind

  According to Bloomberg, Warren Buffet’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. is gearing up to drop $1.9 billion on new wind farms in Iowa. The investment might build as many as 656 new turbines by 2015, which would add as much as 1,050 megawatts of wind power capacity to the 2,285 megawatts the company already operates in the state.The project could also herald a revival in American wind power in general. The anticipated expiration of the production tax credit for wind energy drove a spike in installations in 2012, then a lull into 2013, and finally an anticipated ramp up now that…

• UK Ministry of Defense Deems Wind Towers a National Security Threat

  Twenty-plus years on, the collapse of the USSR in 1991 threatened massive Western defense budgets, bereft of a major enemy like the “Evil Empire.”Western militaries conveniently found a new global enemy a decade later following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, and since then, they have struggled in the light of invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan to adapt their strategies to cope with the new threat, making defending the “homeland” the highest priority.While the U.S. created the “Department of Homeland Security,” Washington’s less prosperous European allies have been forced to seek solutions to indigenous defense largely by themselves beyond…

• Has Belgium Cracked the Problem of Storing Wind Power Electricity?

  Many believed that the 11 March 2011 nuclear disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Daiichi complex was the death knell for worldwide interest in nuclear power.That has not proven to be the case, but many countries have scaled back their nuclear efforts and Germany has abandoned it completely.The central question for countries stepping away from reliance on nuclear power to generate electricity is that renewable energy alternatives such as solar and wind lack the capacity to generate power 24/7.Now Belgium, whose own nuclear industry has experienced setbacks, is considering an innovative sea-based facility, the first to utilize wind produced…

• U.S. Congress Breaths Life into Wind Energy

  The U.S. government announced this week it was issuing a request to see whether or not there was any competitive interest in leasing more than 100 square miles of an area off the coast of Long Beach, N.Y., for wind development. Plans spelled out by the New York Power Authority could open the door for 350 megawatts of renewable energy for area consumers. The federal government said the measure was part of the Obama administration's "all-of-the-above" energy strategy that envisions a diverse resource base. Political intransigence over a federal budget deal, however, nearly brought the fledgling U.S. wind energy sector…

• Are Wind Subsidies the Best Use of Taxpayers Cash?

  The U.S. taxpayers are in better than $16 billion dollars now and just got hooked for another $12.1 billion more.  That’s $161,333 per for 75,000 jobs.  Admittedly, compared to some government subsidy deals this looks cheap. (Roll Eyes)Subsidizing wind energy surely should be at the end of the subsidy era.   The era is 20 years old now.The subsidy locked up in the fiscal cliff deal only includes a one-year extension of tax credits for the wind-energy industry. The whole thing will be with us for recurring years to come.  The worst problem is no one has hard data to know…

• George W. Bush: The Hero of US Wind Energy

  George W. Bush will be remembered for a number of things. He was President for eight momentous years, after all. So it’s easy to make a list of items that you think of when you think of him: 9/11War In IraqTax CutsReal Estate Boom/BustLehman Brothers crisis There are many more.One label that most folks would not think of associating with Mr. Bush is "Friend of Renewable Energy." But that he is.I attended the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) conference in Dallas in 2010 and watched Mr. Bush give the keynote speech. He joked about how life was more relaxed after leaving…

• Wind Energy: Swapping Turbines for Kites

  The ideas to harness wind energy from a kite, or other highflying tethered wind energy collectors are pretty numerous, however most are economically unsustainable even though beautiful, spirit lifting, and fun to watch.  Kites are a blast.  Can they make power?The founders of Berlin-based wind energy developer NTS GmbH are sending stunt kites into the skies to harness the wind and convert the kinetic energy generated into electricity.Stunt kites are used for kite surfing, a fashionable sporting activity, with the number of enthusiasts participating in this cross between wind surfing and stunt kite flying growing at a tremendous pace.  When…

• Bladeless Turbine: The Future of Wind Energy?

  The Saphonian turbine is more efficient, quieter and safer for birds, its makers claim. Could it represent the future of wind energy?Innovation always pushes boundaries, but what about pushing the laws of physics? Tunisian start-up Saphon Energy claims it can do exactly that with the Saphonian, a bladeless turbine that harvests more energy from the wind than previously thought possible.The makers claim that the turbine exceeds Betz’ Law, which caps the amount of kinetic energy that a turbine can harvest at 59.3% of the wind’s total energy.“The basic idea is that you can’t take all the energy out, because the…

• Rural Alaska Shows us the Way for Wind Energy Installations

  The fact that the local jail is one of the only lodging options for visitors to the native Alaskan village of Tuntutuliak is a clear indication of its remote location. But what really stands out about this village isn’t its isolation but instead its incredible story of renewable energy—specifically, the use of wind and smart-grid technology that has the potential to fundamentally change the energy landscape of rural Alaska.The village of Tuntutuliak, known locally as Tunt, is situated in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region—an area about the size of the state of Oregon in western Alaska. There are approximately 400 people…

• Energy and Tax Policies Must be Reconsidered as Wind Subsidy Comes to an End

  Wind power has been a success story of green energy. After several years of rapid growth, it now accounts for about 3 percent of all electricity produced in the United States. It has benefitted from federal support, but that support is scheduled to end on December 31, throwing the industry into a crisis of layoffs and cancelled installations.The country needs wind power, and wind power needs a favorable policy environment. For those reasons, it is tempting to support a simple extension of the current policy. However, it would be even better to use the looming deadline as an occasion to…