Alternative Energy / Wind Power

• Federal, state governments establish Atlantic offshore wind energy consortium

  The federal government and 10 Atlantic coast states announced formation of an offshore wind consortium to coordinate and expedite development of the alternative energy on the Outer Continental Shelf. An office for the new consortium will be established in Virginia. The other states signing the memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of the Interior were Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and North Carolina. The new agreement comes as Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is coping with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which has raised questions about the future…

• Lake Erie Wind Farm to be First Freshwater Offshore Project in U.S.

  The first step in an ambitious project to generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity from offshore wind turbines in Lake Erie was taken this week with an order to General Electric for five massive turbines. The Lake Erie Energy Development Corp., a Cleveland-based nonprofit, said the direct-drive turbines will provide 4 MW each of electricity and would be operational by the end of 2012, generating enough electricity to power 6,000 homes. “Ohio's greatest potential for creating wind energy is offshore in Lake Erie, and this partnership marks a significant step forward,” said state governor Ted Strickland. The Lake Erie project, the…

• Wind Energy Hype: IEA Study Reveals the Real Cost of Wind Power

  The wind energy lobbyists love to claim that installing new wind turbines is the cheapest form of new electricity generation capacity. In fact, I heard that very claim while at a party here in Austin a few weeks ago. But as usual, there’s the hype and there’s the reality. Today, the International Energy Agency, in cooperation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Nuclear Energy Agency, released a study called “Projected Costs of Generating Electricity.” The results are yet another refutation that wind is the least-costly source of new generation. Using what it calls the “levelized costs of electricity,”…

• U.S. Approval of Cape Cod Offshore Wind Project Will Not End Controversy

  The Obama administration approved the controversial Cape Wind project, which calls for a wind farm of 130 turbines in Nantucket Sound and will be the first offshore wind project in the country. The announcement Wednesday was not a complete surprise after President Barack Obama on Tuesday toured the factory in Iowa that will supply the blades for the Cape Wind turbines. But it is sure to generate more controversy as opposition was voiced by everyone from environmental groups to Native American tribes to Cape Cod residents, who are disturbed at the prospect that they will see the wind turbines as…

• UK Wind Turbine Deals Could Help Power Labour Party in Vote

  UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who faces a tough re-election battle in next month’s parliamentary vote, hopes his devotion to clean energy will put the wind at his back. Brown has reaped the benefits of his long courtship of wind turbine manufacturers in recent weeks as one after the other the large international companies have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in new investments that will create thousands of jobs and make the UK a leader in wind energy. The government’s budget last month included 60 million pounds for port improvements that spurred two of the biggest turbine makers, General…

• Offshore Grid Linking Wind Generators Could Power U.S. East Coast, Study Says

  Offshore wind power can power the entire U.S. East Coast in a viable manner if the offshore turbines are spread over a wide area and connected in their own grid to smooth out fluctuations from wind generation, a new academic study says. Leveling out these fluctuations is the biggest obstacle to wind power serving as an alternative to conventional sources, the researchers from the University of Delaware and Stony Brook University say in a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences. “As wind power becomes a higher proportion of all generation, it will become…

• Wind Energy Stimulus Funds Benefiting Foreign Workers, Senators Charge

  Four Democratic senators entered into the clean energy vs. jobs fray, charging that too much federal stimulus money for wind energy projects is going to foreign suppliers and creating jobs abroad instead of in the U.S. The administration and the domestic wind energy industry immediately rejected the lawmakers’ charges, as the political pressure to reduce unemployment continued to fuel the economic debate in Washington. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, joined by Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Jon Tester of Montana complained in a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that three-fourths of the $2…

• New U.S. Study Triples Estimate of Nation's Wind Power Potential

  Wind power potential in the United States is more than triple what was originally thought, according to new estimates from the U.S. Department of Energy, as improved technology makes this renewable energy source more accessible. A new study released last week, the first since 1993, estimated that onshore U.S. wind resources could generate nearly 37,000,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) annually, more than nine times current total U.S. electricity consumption. The previous government survey of wind resources estimated U.S. wind potential at 10,777,000 GWh. “This new analysis confirms that America is blessed with vast wind resources that can energize our economy, create…

• Wind Power - A Renewable That’s Actually Delivering!

  Unlike it’s fellow alternatives such as Solar Energy & Tidal Power, wind power is actually delivering the sort of results we need to see if we are ever to wean ourselves off our addiction to fossil fuels. There has been rapid technological development within this sector (at present wind power accounts for over 1.5% of total global energy consumption) and the market is currently growing at a rate of over 30% per annum. Wind power is much closer to being ready for widespread commercial use than the solar related options. Which is why investment is currently pouring into this area.…