Wind

Wind and Solar Cheer US Election Results

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The American Wind Energy Association and Solar Energy Industries of America, the leading groups for the most important renewable energy industries in the country, were feeling pretty good in the wake of Tuesday’s elections.

Both groups issued press releases on Wednesday, with the AWEA putting its focus on the success of candidates who supported the production tax credit, which the organization now believes has a good chance of being extended before its Jan. 1, 2013, expiration, and the SEIA taking advantage of the opportunity to heap copious praise upon President Obama. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 9, 2012 at 10:30 AM

Discovery Showcase: ABB Claims Breakthrough in DC Transmission

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Quick Take: Not only can old dogs learn new tricks. They can invent them. Usually our Discovery Showcase pieces highlight breakthroughs from small startups or government research labs. This time, however, we’re putting the spotlight on new technology from ABB, the 129-year-old industrial giant headquartered in Switzerland. The firm claims to have invented a circuit breaker for high voltage direct current (HVDC). If so, then HVDC just became a much more viable alternative for the long-distance transfer of large amounts of power. – By Jesse Berst

ABB’s super fast high voltage direct current (HVDC) circuit breaker will, the company says, open the doors to more efficient and reliable electrical supply systems and the efficient integration of renewable energy. It combines extremely fast mechanics and power electronics that will be able to interrupt power flows “equal to the output of a large power station within five milliseconds – 30 times faster than the blink of a human eye.” Keep reading →

 /  Published November 8, 2012 at 2:45 PM

The Wind Doesn’t Need an Extra Generator

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One criticism of wind and solar power is their lack of reliability. Both depend on the weather for energy production and any change in weather affects their ability to produce electricity. In many regions, wind has the added liability of producing power when it is least needed. To solve this challenge, some suggest pairing standby generators with wind and solar farms so continuous power can be produced. Under this scheme, proponents argue that standby generators should be capable of varying its output to assure continuous energy production.

Varying output is called load following or turn down. The physical objective is to throttle back power generation to response to changing demands. The financial objective is to turn down without increasing fuel consumption on a unit basis. The environmental objective is to minimize air pollution, specifically carbon. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 30, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Has Germany’s Wind Power Sector Escaped the Grim Fate of Solar PV?

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While Germany’s once soaring photovoltaic sector is going through very hard times – a consequence primarily of cheap Chinese imports – the country’s wind energy sector, also a market leader, has so far managed to stay on its feet. But the industry is not booming like it did just a few years ago and is scaling back its expectations for 2012. Experts in Germany say that the German wind industry should expect even tougher competition coming its way soon, possibly from China.

In Germany one of the country’s solar panel manufacturers after another closed their doors over the past year and a half: Battling with China and other new competitors the world-wide industry created a glut and prices went tumbling down in 2009 and 2010. With them went under what had been several of the choicest success stories of Germany’s post-unification economy, many of them in the former eastern Germany which had benefited immensely from the upstart renewables industry. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 29, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Voices of Wind: GWEA’s Henning Dettmer

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In 1996, when the German Wind Energy Association (GWEA) came to life, the full force of Germany’s onshore wind power amounted to a handful of entrepreneurs experimenting with a budding but imperfect technology.

Today, only 16 years later, onshore wind power constitutes 8 percent of Germany’s energy supply, generating nearly half of the nation’s renewable electricity. More than 24,000 wind turbines dot the German landscape with a capacity of more than 32,000 megawatts. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 26, 2012 at 11:00 AM

The Business of Wind Energy in Europe

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The European Union (EU) has the reputation of a bureaucracy awash in red tape. Yet when it comes to wind power, and above all onshore wind, its policies over the last decade have proven enormously effective getting this precocious branch of business in Europe on its feet – and even booming.

Despite an ongoing economic crisis, Europe’s wind power industry has flourished as few others, not least as a consequence of the EU targets, national action plans, and other framework regulation including carbon pricing. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 23, 2012 at 1:00 PM

Urban Energy Elections Issues

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In the noisy back-and-forth of the presidential elections, it can be difficult to remember that many other offices are highly contested – positions that in many ways could have a more direct influence on the energy business than high-profile but more general US federal policy or international treaty efforts.

Elected officials need to take down the barriers that make it hard for cities to innovate, C40 Climate Leadership Group Director Michael Marinello said in this video panel discussion with Breaking Energy. Cities have in many cases proven that they can move ahead with technology implementation and market changes at the local level; federal officials who can’t help need to get out of the way, he says here. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 16, 2012 at 10:30 AM

‘The Simple Life’ on Canada’s Lasqueti Island (Off the Grid)

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This is the fourth of a five-part series called “Off the Grid,” in which we explore environmentally sustainable, self-sufficient communities across the globe. We’ll attempt to answer the question: Is green, off-grid living our future? This week, we take a look at a self-sufficient island community off the coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.

 /  Published October 15, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Contributing to a Sustainable Energy Future: Future Cleantech Forum

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Many renewable energy technologies are technically mature and could contribute significantly to a sustainable energy future. And though deployment and investment in renewables remains high, much more could be achieved given the right frameworks and support.

We designed the Future Cleantech Forum for European professionals in the energy and Cleantech area who are interested in developing and implementing strategies for deploying renewable energies. Encompassing the wider scene, we look at the current patterns and trends in energy demand, at strategies to deploy renewable energies and at new emerging technologies across the spectrum. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 12, 2012 at 11:00 AM

Cities and Energy Video Panel

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Often implementing programs that create meaningful change don’t involve pure innovation, groundbreaking technology or original approaches. In many cases – in both the private sector and across regulatory spheres – the best implementations rely on learning from leaders and applying established solutions to new environments.

With cities driving the global economy and the world tipping further into being a more thoroughly urbanized place, urban energy leaders in both the private and public sector world are trying less often to “reinvent the wheel” as they are learning from what C40 Climate Leadership Group director Michael Marinello says in this video is a “network effect.” Keep reading →

 /  Published October 9, 2012 at 10:30 AM
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