Federal oversight of wind energy’s adverse impacts to birds, bats and other wildlife will increase due to two recent developments: the pending first programmatic take permit under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (“BGEPA”) and the first criminal enforcement action for avian fatalities under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”). Wind farms face a… Keep reading →
Mexican lawmakers have passed an energy reform bill that will open up the country’s oil and gas resources to foreign investment, ending a 75-year monopoly by state-controlled Pemex. According to the Wall Street Journal, the voting process involved both fistfights and accusations of treason. [Wall Street Journal] Plans for the 99-story Pertamina Energy Tower, to… Keep reading →
Renewable energy sources and natural gas should be considered as complements and not rivals. A hybrid gas-electric clean energy provides a workable engineering solution while 100% Renewables models based heavily on wind, solar and efficiency fall short of the meeting the functional needs of a modern technology intensive society. Natural gas and renewables are already… Keep reading →
Canadian government negations with energy industry representatives regarding a carbon emissions mitigation strategy have reportedly been underway for the past two years with little to show for the effort. A climate plan could improve the Keystone XL pipeline’s chances of being approved by the US government. [Reuters] The boom and bust cycle that characterizes PTC-dependent… Keep reading →
The Audubon Society is upset with a US Department of Interior decision to allow wind farm operators to obtain permit extensions allowing accidental bird death or injury for up to 30 years. Interior says the permit extensions provide regulatory certainty to wind developers, but Audubon thinks the move fails to balance “the need for conservation… Keep reading →
In what has to be seen as a discouraging sign for offshore wind power – a key component of the United Kingdom’s scheme to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions – RWE said it is abandoning the planned 1,200-megawatt Atlantic Array, in the Bristol Channel. The company said unspecified technological challenges of the project made it “uneconomic for RWE at this… Keep reading →
More efficient technology combined with low costs and good wind resources are making wind cost-competitive with some of the cheapest forms of fossil energy in the Midwest. “In the Midwest, we’re now seeing power agreements being signed with wind farms at as low as $25 per megawatt hour,” said Stephen Byrd, Morgan Stanley’s Head of… Keep reading →
The oil production targets agreed to in Iraq’s service contracts with international oil companies in 2009 were unrealistic from the start for technical and political reasons, and it now appears output thresholds at several of the country’s largest fields will be scaled back. [Wall Street Journal] A small bankrupt energy company is seeking to force… Keep reading →
Two state-of-the-art wind turbine drivetrain test facilities are now open for business: the Clemson University Wind Turbine Drivetrain Testing Facility in South Carolina and a National Renewable Energy Laboratory dynamometer at the National Wind Technology Center in Colorado. The two test facilities will be used to evaluate in a controlled environment the mechanical systems that convert the aerodynamic forces… Keep reading →
Solar poised to challenge wind’s historical dominance According to a newly released report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), 2013 is expected to become the first year in which solar PVs beat wind in terms of megawatts of new installed capacity on a global level. It is a remarkable feat for solar energy, which is… Keep reading →
