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World’s largest offshore wind farm opens for business

World’s largest offshore wind farm opens for business

By James Holloway

Walney wind farm off the coast of Cumbria in the UK yesterday became the world’s largest offshore wind facility. One hundred and two turbines over 73 sq km (28 sq miles) provide a maximum output of 367.2 MW. It’s claimed the facility will provide enough power for about 320,000 homes – half as many again as the total number in Cumbria.

The project’s first phase, Walney 1, has been providing power since January 2011 from 51 137-meter-high (450-ft) turbines, each with a 107-m (350-ft) rotor diameter. The completed second phase, Walney 2, adds another 51 turbines of even greater size to the installation. These 150-m (492-ft) tall turbines have three 18-tonne (19.8-short ton) blades with a total diameter of 120 m (394 ft). Despite the differing dimensions, all turbines are Siemens-made 3.6 MW turbines. All told a single wind turbine weighs a hefty 550 tonnes (606 short tons). The Walney 2 installation was completed in an impressively tight six-month window.

Germany Invests in Hydrogen Technology for Renewable Storage, Vehicles

Germany Invests in Hydrogen Technology for Renewable Storage, Vehicles

By Miriam Widman

The tanks look like they could hold propane, gasoline or any other form of conventional energy.

But the storage tanks in Prenzlau, some 70 miles north of Berlin, hold energy produced from wind. A hybrid power plant sponsored by four large companies is being tested there to see if the plant’s wind-hydrogen-biogas technology will work.

The system takes wind energy and turns it into hydrogen, which allows it to be stored. First electricity is produced in three wind turbines, which is then used to produce C02-free hydrogen. This so-called “green” hydrogen can be stored and mixed with biogas in a combined heat and power plant, to be used as needed in times of higher demand.

New Wave Energy Device Could See 200 Commercial Units in the Next Five Years

New Wave Energy Device Could See 200 Commercial Units in the Next Five Years

Not too long ago, Mat posted about the Searaser wave power generator—a device that uses the power of sea swells to pump water uphill and generate electricity on land.

At the time, Mat had some reservations about scalability (and the name!), but he suggested it might be one to keep an eye on.

5% of California Now Powered by Wind

5% of California Now Powered by Wind

California is the nation’s most populous state, which helps make this landmark even more impressive: According to the LA Times, “Wind energy now supplies about 5% of California’s total electricity needs, or enough to power more than 400,000 households.”

That’s big news. California has effectively doubled its wind power capacity since 2002, and is now home to 4,000 MW. The state installed 921 MW last year alone, and is now ranked just behind Iowa and Texas in generating capacity.

Co-Locating Solar and Wind Power Farms: Can Two Renewable Energy Sources Be Better Than One?

The intermittent, yet often complementary, nature of wind and solar energy has long been observed and increasingly remarked upon of late. Minnesota’s Ecos Energy is looking to take advantage of that by building the state’s largest solar photovoltaic (PV) array on a 13-acre site in southwestern Minnesota, home to more wind farms than any other region state-wide, the StarTribune reports.

At 2-megawatts (MW), the solar power array can’t be considered large by any stretch, but it’s expected to provide enough electricity for 340 homes, about as much as a single wind turbine. Yet more significantly, Ecos Energy’s Slayton project will provide some trailblazing data as to whether or not intermittent solar energy and wind turbine arrays can be used in tandem to provide a more consistent supply of power to the grid.

What’s Next: Low cost wind turbines for the developing world

What’s Next: Low cost wind turbines for the developing world

As we know it

In the present era, the renewable energy realm has a share of about 19 percent in worldwide electricity generation. Now, for the uninitiated, this may seem to be a paltry figure, but if we go by statistical expansion, the ongoing phase is certainly propitious for sustainable output. As a matter of fact, total power capacity from renewable sources momentously exceeded the world capacity of nuclear power for the first time in 2011. In this regard, the major progression was actually witnessed in the case of wind power, with a whopping increment from 6.1 GW in 1996 to more than 200 GW by 2011.

4 GW of Blocked Wind Farms Get Key Technological Support Needed to Move Forward

Four gigawatts (yes, 4,000 megawatts) of wind farm capacity have been held on lock-down and unable to move through the UK’s planning system due to Ministry of Defence (MoD) radar issues. However, it looks like that has all changed now.

What’s Next: Eco friendly hybrid energy generating systems

What’s Next: Eco friendly hybrid energy generating systems

As we move towards a time of increasingly depleted energy resources, we find ourselves faced with the question of how to sustain ourselves and the planet. As it is not feasible to continue using conventional sources like coal and natural gas, we’re leaning more towards renewable sources like solar, tidal, and wind energy. They can produce as much, if not more, power than conventional sources, provided they are harnessed properly using the right technology.

Karachi: 400MW wind power this year

At least 400 megawatts of electricity from wind projects in Gharo and Jhimpir will be added to national grid by the end of current year (2012) which is being observed as the year for wind energy.

This was stated by the chief executive officer of Alternate Energy Development Board (AEDB) Arif Alauddin while talking to media at a reception organised by National Forum for Environment and Health (NFEH) here the other day.

He said that investment commitments of $500 million have been made for energy projects. Four wind projects were at advanced stage, while 12 projects have completed their financial close. They included Zorlu of Turkey, CWE of China, Three Gorges, Fauji Fertilizers, Fauji Foundation, Arif Habib and Lucky Cement, he added. He was of the opinion that 1,200 MW will be added to the national grid every year from 2013.

The WindFlip Barge Concept Installs Offshore Wind Turbines Inexpensively and With Ease

The WindFlip Barge Concept Installs Offshore Wind Turbines Inexpensively and With Ease

The WindFlip barge concept was designed to simplify the installation of offshore wind turbines and in the process has managed to be a solution that also cuts cost. Installing offshore wind turbines can be an expensive task — the process requires skilled technicians to assemble turbines at sea, and to anchor them at great depths. Alternatively, the WindFlip barge allows turbines to be assembled completely on shore, towed to their location, and then simply tipped into place — thus minimizing the need for expensive work at sea. Check out a video of the WindFlip in action after the jump.

UK green energy projects fall by wayside in dash for gas

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.

5 Wind Energy Trends to Watch for in 2012

5 Wind Energy Trends to Watch for in 2012

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.

Scottish renewable electricity on track for ‘record year’

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.

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

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.

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

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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