2Jan

UK green energy projects fall by wayside in dash for gas

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UK green energy projects fall by wayside in dash for gas

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The construction of new renewable energy generation capacity has fallen dramatically, as the big six energy suppliers pursue a “dash for gas” policy that could put the UK’s climate change targets out of reach and leave households with higher bills.

The number of new wind turbines built this year is down by half on last year. To date, 540MW worth of new turbines, on land and offshore, have been built this year – 200 onshore and 50 offshore turbines. Across the UK last year, 1,192MW of wind capacity was added.

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30Dec

5 Wind Energy Trends to Watch for in 2012

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5 Wind Energy Trends to Watch for in 2012

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As indicated in the previous post by the American Wind Energy Association (Top 10 Wind Energy Stories of 2011), below the picture are 5 wind energy trends the association recommends we watch out for. I’ll just add that I think there will be more and more media attention on the cost-saving benefits of wind energy, but that I think the clean-energy-hating-misinformation campaign will increase its attacks on wind energy. We’ll see — let’s hope for the first and pray the second is avoided or is rightly squashed by everyone not involved in that super-minority campaign. Lastly, from me, I imagine that we will see a more massive global increase in wind energy than ever before, with Asian and South American countries, especially, increasing their installed wind energy capacity.

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28Dec

Scottish renewable electricity on track for ‘record year’

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Scotland looks set for its highest ever renewables output, and could produce almost a third of its electricity from renewable sources by the end of 2011.

The latest Energy Statistics (PDF) from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) show that, over the first three quarters of 2011, Scotland delivered 94 per cent of last year’s totals and 83 per cent of the previous record year.

The Scottish government said that, if the trend continues over the fourth quarter, 2011 will be a record year for renewable electricity in Scotland.

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28Dec

Five US States Now Get 20% Of Their Electricity From Wind Power

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Five US States Now Get 20 Of Their Electricity From Wind Power

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With the calendar year winding down, very nearly everyone, this site included, are putting out their year-in-review content—and the American Wind Energy Association is no different. It’s pretty easy to get down on US renewable energy policy if you’re just paying attention to the nonsense coming out of legislators bought and paid for by the polluting class, but there were some truly great milestones in US wind power in 2011.

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21Dec

5 States with Most Solar & Wind Energy Had Smallest Increase in Electricity Prices 2005-2010

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5 States with Most Solar & Wind Energy Had Smallest Increase in Electricity Prices 2005-2010

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This is, clearly, not a definitive analysis showing that renewable energy such as wind and solar lower electricity rates (or make them increase more slowly), but it is a pretty darn good argument in their favor! And it is also a great piece to share with anyone who thinks renewable energy raises the cost of electricity. Add in the health benefits, job creation benefits, grid security benefits, and environmental benefits and my hunch is that any analysis on the matter would tell us, “Hey, it’s about time we put the Big money into renewable energy!” (More on wind costs and solar costs (.. and solar costs) you might want to take a look at.)

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20Dec

Best of 2011: Advances in wind power technology

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Advances in wind power technology

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When we talk about renewable energy sources, wind power is considered the most effective resource. There have been so many technological advances in the utilization of wind power resulting in a clean, renewable, cost-effective means of generating electricity. In order to obtain optimal efficiency from the smart grid, advancements in power system is essential.

Newer technologies used in connecting the turbines to the grid can enable us to get better energy production and face the electric disturbances smoothly. Here is a list of 2011’s best technological advances in wind power technology.

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19Dec

KiteGen looks to get wind-power off the ground

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KiteGen looks to get wind-power off the ground

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Wind-power has rapidly evolved over the last decade to become a key part of the alternative energy mix with towering rows of turbines now dotting horizons all over the globe. One of the drawbacks to the conventional windmill approach is that they are still low to the ground, so why not go to where the winds are stronger and more consistent – up. Like the Magenn Air Rotor System, KiteGen technology is aiming to do just that. The system generates energy by guiding tethered kites over a predefined flight path in order to rotate a ground based turbine and, while only in the testing and planning phases, it looks to be a promising solution. The large wings (or kites) in the KiteGen system are driven by avionic sensors located in a dome base that also houses an electric generator. The control system is designed to automatically guide the kites in order to rotate the turbine and maximize torque. As altitude increases, average wind speeds increase as well. This is a factor that traditional wind turbines cannot compete against, since they are stationary and are generally only able to reach heights of 100m.

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19Dec

SeaTwirl Offshore Turbine with 1 Moving Part, & It Stores Energy with Seawater

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SeaTwirl Offshore Turbine with 1 Moving Part, & It Stores Energy with Seawater

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SeaTwirl has created a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) that is both direct-drive and stores energy using seawater. It also uses water as a bearing, which has the advantage of low friction.

The generator is of the permanent magnet type. This means that it partially utilizes magnets (magnetic materials such as neodymium) to turn the rotor. The other type of generator (induction) utilizes electromagnets (coils of copper wire) completely.

When the wind speed decreases, the seawater that was drawn into the structure through the shaft and into the torus by centrifugal force is used to maintain turning momentum, acting as a flywheel. The turbine actually collapses its blades to reduce drag so it can spin as a flywheel  and then generate as much electricity as possible.

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19Dec

Piezoelectric harvester generates clean electricity directly from wheat farming

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Piezoelectric harvester generates clean electricity directly from wheat farming

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With the big strides of green technology covering the recent years, we have come across some fascinatingly innovative concepts. But there are few even among them that have that essence of adroit practicality combined with inherent credibility. In simpler terms, these seldom conceptions have the potential to appeal to the common man, and benefit him on a large scale. In relation to this, in our book the intriguing yet uncomplicated piezoelectric energy harvester certainly falls under this exalted category. According to industrial designer Benjamin Wright, the project entails the usage of emerging materials to efficiently contrive a sustainable and efficacious end product.

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17Dec

How WindFlip Will Deliver Gigantic Floating Turbines to Site

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How WindFlip Will Deliver Gigantic Floating Turbines to Site

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To tow the new gigantic off-shore wind turbines now being developed in Europe far out to sea, a Norwegian company has devised a clever and simple mechanism. Their WindFlip tows the turbine out almost horizontal – and then when it gets to the site, tilts it up into position – using only the weight of seawater to do it.

The structure contains 29 air filled compartments. Once at the site each of the compartments inside the Windflip is sequentially filled with water, causing the stern to slowly submerge, so that both the Windflip barge and the turbine it is holding flip up 90°. Then it releases the turbine for connection with a pre-installed mooring spread, and then tips the barge back to horizontal by clearing the ballast tanks of seawater with compressed air.

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