25Jan

Military bases in Mojave desert could generate 7GW of renewable solar power

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Military bases in Mojave desert could generate 7GW of renewable solar powercould

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According to a study conducted by ICF, a consulting firm for the US Department of Defense, surplus land at four military bases in the Mojave desert in California could be capable of producing up to 7 Gigawatts of solar power. These bases include, the Edwards Air Force base, Fort Erwin, China Lake and Twenty-nine Palms. Some 37,873 acres of land is available for setting these solar power plants, without impacting the space needs of the military for its ongoing operational needs or for potential future needs. The type of solar power plant to be installed, whether silicon flat panels or solar concentrators, has not yet been determined. If the go-ahead happens, power plant construction could commence by 2015.

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20Jan

Tûranor PlanetSolar: World’s Largest Solar Ship About to Complete Trip Around the Globe

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Tûranor PlanetSolar World’s Largest Solar Ship About to Complete Trip Around the Globe

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The epic voyage of the Tûranor PlanetSolar – the world’s largest solar-powered boat – will soon come to a close as the ship closes in on its final stretch. The Swiss vessel is a full-bore high-tech solar harvesting machine whose deck is covered in 537 square meters of photovoltaic panels. The array produced enough energy for the boat to navigate the entire circumference of the Earth without any other means of energy. The Tûranor PlanetSolar is currently set to depart Abu Dhabi en route to their final port in Morocco – the same place the expedition launched on September 27th, 2010. The journey has come full circle in more than one respect, as it was not too long ago the only way to navigate the earth was by harnessing renewable energy with sails.

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19Jan

Google and DOE finance a huge volcano power project in Oregon

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Google and DOE finance a huge volcano power project in Oregon

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Google and the Department of Energy (DOE) have funded a massive project to generate geothermal power from a dormant volcano in Central Oregon. AltaRock Energy of Seattle and Davenport Newberry Holding of Stamford Connecticut are overseeing the geothermal project for clean energy. Google and DOE have already invested $43 million in the volcano power project.

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19Jan

First-ever Terawatt-Hours Tally of Renewable Energy Released

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First-ever Terawatt-Hours Tally of Renewable Energy Released

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Renewable energy generated between 665 and 673 terawatt-hours of electricity in the EU in 2010. With total energy consumption of between 3,115  and 3,175 terawatt-hours, this means that clean energy supplied about 21% of all the EU electricity used in 2010.

In an effective rebuttal to those who constantly pooh-pooh renewable energy capacity as “just nameplate capacity”, the figures were released in terawatt-hours of electricity actually produced and consumed in a year, since power generation is the bottom line for any form of electricity.

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19Jan

Alstom, SSE Renewables Announce World’s Largest Ocean Wave Energy Project off the Orkneys

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Alstom, SSE Renewables Announce World’s Largest Ocean Wave Energy Project off the Orkneys

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France’s Alstom and Scotland’s SSE Renewables, on Jan. 17, announced the world’s largest ocean wave energy development project to date. The partners’ plan for the Costa Head Wave project calls for floating arrays of AWS Ocean Energy’s AWS-III wave turbines with total clean, renewable electricity-generating capacity as high as 200 megawatts (MW) to be installed in waters ranging from 60-75 meters (198-247.5 feet) deep about 5 kilometers off the coast of Orkney Main Island, according to a joint press release.

It will likely require three or more years of dedicated effort to get to the large-scale deployment stage, however. The Costa Head project will serve as the commercial proving ground for the full-scale, 2.5-MW AWS-III floating wave energy devices and AWS Ocean Energy system. A 1:9-scale prototype underwent testing at Loch Ness in 2010. Full-scale component testing is due to take place this year with support from the WATERS fund administered by Scottish Enterprise, and full-scale prototype testing is planned to take place at the European Marine Energy Centre in 2014.

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18Jan

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

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

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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.

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17Jan

Scientists Pour Water Into Oregon Volcano to Generate Energy

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A team of scientists from Seattle-based AltaRock Energy, Inc. and Davenport Newberry Holdings LLC has announced plans to harness one of Mother Nature’s most powerful energy sources by pumping 24 million gallons of water into the side of a dormant volcano in Central Oregon. The team hopes that the water will return to the surface boiling hot, at which point it can be used to generate clean and cheap energy – without the explosive side effects and liquid magma associated with active volcanoes.

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13Jan

MIT Scientists Find Way to Maximize Concentrated Solar Plant Efficacy by Emulating a Sunflower’s Pattern

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MIT Scientists Find Way to Maximize Concentrated Solar Plant Efficacy by Emulating a Sunflower’s Pattern

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Scientists at MIT and RWTH Aachen University may have revolutionized the effectiveness of concentrated solar plants – by emulating the pattern found on a sunflower, otherwise known in science as Fermat’s spiral. By rearranging the CSP’s massive heliostats, or mirrors, to resemble the yellow flower’s petals, the solar power harvester can take up 20% less space. Making the system more compact increases the CSP’s efficacy, giving it a higher potential for energy generation.

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13Jan

WaveRoller Arrives in Portugal for Long Awaited Tests

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WaveRoller Arrives in Portugal for Long Awaited Tests

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The WaveRoller arrived on January 2nd at Portugal’s Peniche Shipyard for a much anticipated pilot test this summer off the coast of Portugal, one of the best testing sites in Europe for ocean energy. The scaled-up version for the pilot test is to be tested in the same waters near the sea shore of Peniche where its smaller prototype showed promise (Previous: WaveRoller Uses Swinging Door for Underwater Wave Energy.)

Wave energy involves very large machines that must survive harsh underwater conditions. Even this pre-commercial version weighs 280 tons, and the test has been financed by the European Commission.

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11Jan

Germany Installs More Solar Panels in December 2011 Than US Did All Year

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Germany Installs More Solar Panels in December 2011 Than US Did All Year

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Some more astonishing stats on the progress Germany is making on solar power thanks to good, steady and predictable renewable energy policy: Greentech Media shares the astonishing fact that in the month of December alone Germany installed 2 GW of solar PV. For the whole of 2011, Germany installed 7 GW.

The US managed to install 1.7 GW in the same time period—which isn’t to knock US installation rates so much as to further highlight the massive Germany push to install more PV before the feed-in tariff for it drop as planned.

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