Wind

In Energy, America’s Economy Is Just ‘Emerging’

By


Transformative price shifts and innovative technology combined with an aging existing infrastructure leave the US energy sector looking more like that of an emerging economy than a traditional developed one: And that’s a good thing.

Infrastructure in the energy sector is still built to serve an economy that looks more like the 1950s than 2012, with a transport sector almost entirely dependent on oil products and a centralized hub-and-spoke electricity system dependent on a blend of coal and nuclear with natural gas and renewable generation still in the minority. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 23, 2012 at 9:00 AM

Utility-scale Battery Technology Could Be Around the Corner

By

A rare earth mining operation in China’s Jiangsu province

A rare earth metal called vanadium could provide an energy storage solution for some of the challenges renewable energy sources face. The intermittent nature of wind and solar power can make these distributed sources difficult for utilities to manage within the electrical grid. Vanadium flow batteries can accommodate renewable energy by storing massive amounts of electricity and releasing it into the grid as needed when demand increases. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 22, 2012 at 11:00 AM

Wall Street Speaks On Renewable Energy: Focusing On Fundamentals

By


As some of the most tempting government financial incentives begin to fade from the renewable energy space ahead of deadlines at the end of 2012, bankers and project developers specializing in renewable energy projects are reworking their models.

The 1603 program that gave cash grants in lieu of tax credits and the production tax credit that underpinned the wind industry are both on the sidelines as financiers review upcoming projects still in the pipeline. The pipeline of proposed projects is flush, but shifting priorities, transmission limitations and near-invisible overall power demand growth are weighing on a sector already struggling to compete with low natural gas prices. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 20, 2012 at 11:00 AM

A Smarter Grid for Natural Gas, Power, Water – Even Renewables

By


Smart grid technology benefits everyone from utilities to consumers and a business case can be made for the large capital investment required to get us there.

That’s the message eMeter Co-Founder and CTO, Larsh Johnson gave Breaking Energy during a recent interview. Energy and infrastructure giant Siemens acquired eMeter in January 2012. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 19, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Supply Chain Adaptation Needed In Renewable Energy: Consultants

By


Is there a future in the US for renewables without federal incentives?

That is the question PA Consulting Group asked itself recently, and renewable energy expert Barbara Sands came up with a three-part answer that focuses on supply chain shifts. Producers need to act on multiple fronts to manage the impact of expiring federal cash grants at the same time that demand ahead of renewable portfolio standard 2020 requirements in the states begins to rise. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 16, 2012 at 11:00 AM

Portable Wind Turbine Makes Roughing it Easier

By


It’s 20 below and the sides of your Arctic Oven tent are snapping in the wind, but you have a hot cup of coffee and your laptop is juiced, thanks to the Revolver.

Revolver, a favorite in frog‘s first internal design competition, Future or Fiction, comes across solidly future, delivering 35 watts of wind power even in the most temperate of breezes. In addition to being very lightweight, and thus portable, the prototype for this mobile energy-on-the-go is also very easy to set up. Simply attach (or unfold) the die-cast magnesium legs, push the collar on the central column (where the flexible blades are attached) up and hold it in place with (presumably) a cotter pin assembly, and you have a working wind turbine. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 15, 2012 at 3:30 PM

Overturning The Eight Biggest Myths In Renewable Energy Today

By


Misconception and myth hang over the entirety of the US energy sector, but with renewable energy equally likely to get bogged down in political wrangling over subsidy levels and climate change, getting to the truth remains a particular challenge.

Accounting firm Ernst & Young is accustomed to crunching data from a wide range of sources and sorting it into manageable categories. The company has taken an increasing thought-leadership profile in energy, and recently released an update to its substantial renewable energy attractiveness indices as part of that practice. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 15, 2012 at 3:00 PM

Renewable Energy Will Cost Grid More: MIT

By


Integrating more renewables into the US grid will be costly and have unintended consequences, including potential for increased carbon emissions, that policymakers need to plan for, warns a new Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Initiative study.

The study, unveiled Monday, looked at what needs to be done to accommodate increasing percentages of renewables on electricity grids, said MITEI head Ernest Moniz. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 13, 2012 at 9:15 AM

EU On Track to Exceed 2030 Renewable Generation Target

By


Renewable energy resources, according to the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), are poised to meet over half of EU’s electricity demand by 2030. In a statement released in mid-January 2012, Justin Wilkes, EWEA’s Director of Policy, said that the EU had already achieved the 21% target set in a 2001 directive for the end of 2010 by generating somewhere between 665-673 TWh from renewable resources, or 21% of total EU consumption of 3,115-3,175 TWh in 2010.

That is an impressive feat. But even more impressive is what Mr. Wilkes says can be achieved by 2020 and 2030 if EU merely stays the course. If renewable electricity production in the EU continues to grow at the same rate as it did from 2005 to 2010 it would reach 36.4% and an amazing 51.6% of electricity consumption within EU block by 2020 and 2030, respectively. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 6, 2012 at 3:30 PM

Cost Review Set For World’s ‘Most Expensive Wind Farm’

By


A developer hoping to build America’s first offshore wind farm is taking another look at its costs after reports attacked its plans as too expensive, technically unproven, and likely to have a negative effect on the local economy.

Fishermen’s Energy, a consortium of fishing companies, plans to build the wind farm in New Jersey waters three miles off the coast in a five-turbine pilot project that it hopes will pave the way for a bigger installation in federal waters farther offshore. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 6, 2012 at 2:30 PM
Page 24 of 391...202122232425262728...39