Going 100% Green Will Pay For Itself in Seven Years, Study Finds
A Stanford University professor whose research helped underpin the U.S. Democrats’ Green New Deal says phasing out fossil fuels and running the entire world on clean energy would pay for itself in under seven years.
It would cost $73 trillion to revamp power grids, transportation, manufacturing and other systems to run on wind, solar and hydro power, including enough storage capacity to keep the lights on overnight, Mark Jacobson said in a study published Friday in the journal One Earth. But that would be offset by annual savings of almost $11 trillion, the report found.
“There’s really no downside to making this transition,” said Jacobson, who wrote the study with several other researchers. “Most people are afraid it will be too expensive. Hopefully this will allay some of those fears.”
Read more at Bloomberg
If the World ran on Sun, It wouldn’t Fight over Oil
by Bill McKibben
No one will ever fight a war over access to sunshine – what would a
country do, set up enormous walls to shade everyone else’s panels?
(Giant walls are hard to build – just ask Trump.) Fossil fuels are
concentrated in a few places, giving those who live atop them enormous
power; renewable energy can be found everywhere, the birthright of all
humans. A world that runs on sun and wind is a world that can relax.
Read more at The Guardian
Warren Buffett is spending billions to make Iowa 'the Saudi Arabia of wind'
Warren Buffett is spending billions to turn Iowa into "the wind capital of the world, the Saudi Arabia of wind," he told the Financial Times.
Berkshire Hathaway's billionaire boss isn't emulating Greta Thunberg, however. Rather than leading the charge on climate change, hoping to cut carbon emissions at any cost, he told the newspaper he was simply taking advantage of government incentives for renewable-energy investments.
"We wouldn't do [it] without the production tax credit we get," he said.
Read more at Business Insider
ExxonMobil Eyes $3.4-$3.6B Gain From Norway Asset Divestment
Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM expects a gain of $3.4-$3.6 billion from the divestment of Norwegian assets. This will likely give a boost to its fourth-quarter 2019 results. The company’s recent regulatory filing showed that the gains from this divestment can offset lower margins from chemicals and refining businesses.
Read more here
New York Confirms Plan for 1GW-Plus Offshore Wind Solicitation in 2020
The Empire State’s second offshore wind procurement targets 1 gigawatt of capacity — “and perhaps substantially more.”
New York confirmed plans to issue its second solicitation for offshore wind farms this year, expected to add at least 1 gigawatt to the state’s pipeline.
The upcoming solicitation, to be overseen once again by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), will run alongside a separate competitive process to award $200 million in public funding for offshore wind-related port infrastructure improvements, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo, who gave his 10th State of the State address on January 9, 2020.
The offshore wind solicitation "is expected to yield at least an additional 1,000 megawatts of clean power, and perhaps substantially more," according to a detailed document (PDF) laying out the various plans in Cuomo's 2020 State of the State.
The new capacity will come on top of the 1.7 gigawatts of capacity the state awarded in its first offshore wind solicitation last summer to developers Ørsted and Equinor.
Read more at Greentech Media
Showing posts with label wind turbines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wind turbines. Show all posts
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Friday, December 2, 2016
Cities and States: Rise of Clean Energy can't be Trumped
 |
| A wind turbine in Adair, Iowa. Credit Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press |
IOWA CITY — THE wind turbines that rise out of the cornfields here reminded me on a recent drive of one postelection truth, even in the red state of Iowa.
As President-elect Donald J. Trump considers whether to break the United States commitment to the Paris climate accord, the rise of clean energy across the heartland is already too well entrenched to be reversed.
By 2020, thanks to MidAmerican Energy’s planned $3.6 billion addition to its enormous wind turbine operations, 85 percent of its Iowa customers will be electrified by clean energy. Meanwhile, Moxie Solar, named the fastest-growing local business by The Corridor Business Journal of Iowa, is installing solar panels on my house, and is part of a solar industry that now employs 200,000 nationwide.
Doomsday scenarios about the climate have abounded in the aftermath of the November election. But responsibility for effectively reining in carbon emissions also rests with business, and with the nation’s cities and states. Those are the battlegrounds. Worldwide, cities produce as much as 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.
Many of the planet’s cities lie along the coasts and are threatened by slowly rising seas. Seventy percent of those cities are already dealing with extreme weather like drought and flooding. Add in aging infrastructure and waves of migrants and it is obvious that city planners, mayors and governors have had to re-envision how their cities generate energy and provide food and transportation.
“The concept of a regenerative city could indeed become a new vision for cities,” the Germany-based World Future Council reported recently. “It stands for cities that not only minimize negative impact but can actually have a positive, beneficial role to play within the natural ecosystem from which they depend. Cities have to constantly regenerate the resources they absorb.”
This idea won broad support at a recent gathering of city leaders from around the world in Quito, Ecuador, hosted by the United Nations. The Habitat III conference approved a “new urban agenda” that urges cities to adapt to climate change but minimize their harm to the environment and move to sustainable economies.
In a changing climate, these approaches make sense. As Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, told the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce recently, “Cities, businesses and citizens will continue reducing emissions, because they have concluded — just as China has — that doing so is in their own self-interest.”
With or without significant federal support, reducing greenhouse gas emissions will require major private investment, as it has here in Iowa, and ambitious private-public initiatives from mayors and governors. We need to activate a new era of “regenerative” cities and states.
California’s recent move to reduce its carbon emissions by 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 is a hopeful shift that other cities and states should emulate. This would involve setting high benchmarks for developing green enterprise zones, renewable energy, cultivating food locally, restoring biodiversity, planting more trees and emphasizing walkability, low-carbon transportation and zero waste.
Following this regenerative approach, the Australian city of Adelaide reduced its carbon emissions by 20 percent from 2007 to 2013, even as the population grew by 27 percent and the economy increased by 28 percent. The city experienced a boom in green jobs, the development of walkable neighborhoods powered by solar energy, the conversion of urban waste to compost and a revamped local food industry. The city also planted three million trees to absorb carbon dioxide.
Over 10,000 climate initiatives are underway in cities worldwide, according to the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, which represents 80 major cities. In nearby Des Moines, for instance, Mayor Frank Cownie recently committed the city to reducing its energy consumption 50 percent by 2030 and becoming “carbon neutral” by 2050.
Initiatives like those have become a “fill the potholes” reality for many mayors, regardless of political games in Washington. In San Diego, the Republican mayor, Kevin Faulconer, helped to push through a climate action plan that commits the city to 100 percent renewable energy by 2035. Other cities are following his lead.
“Dull, inert cities, it is true, do contain the seeds of their own destruction and little else,” the urban visionary Jane Jacobs wrote. “But lively, diverse, intense cities contain the seeds of their own regeneration, with energy enough to carry over for problems and needs outside themselves.”
In an age of climate change, and a possible shift in the federal government’s priority on climate action, never have those words been truer.
Jeff Biggers, the author of “Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland,” is the founder of the Climate Narrative Project at the University of Iowa.
New York Times
As President-elect Donald J. Trump considers whether to break the United States commitment to the Paris climate accord, the rise of clean energy across the heartland is already too well entrenched to be reversed.
By 2020, thanks to MidAmerican Energy’s planned $3.6 billion addition to its enormous wind turbine operations, 85 percent of its Iowa customers will be electrified by clean energy. Meanwhile, Moxie Solar, named the fastest-growing local business by The Corridor Business Journal of Iowa, is installing solar panels on my house, and is part of a solar industry that now employs 200,000 nationwide.
Doomsday scenarios about the climate have abounded in the aftermath of the November election. But responsibility for effectively reining in carbon emissions also rests with business, and with the nation’s cities and states. Those are the battlegrounds. Worldwide, cities produce as much as 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.
Many of the planet’s cities lie along the coasts and are threatened by slowly rising seas. Seventy percent of those cities are already dealing with extreme weather like drought and flooding. Add in aging infrastructure and waves of migrants and it is obvious that city planners, mayors and governors have had to re-envision how their cities generate energy and provide food and transportation.
“The concept of a regenerative city could indeed become a new vision for cities,” the Germany-based World Future Council reported recently. “It stands for cities that not only minimize negative impact but can actually have a positive, beneficial role to play within the natural ecosystem from which they depend. Cities have to constantly regenerate the resources they absorb.”
This idea won broad support at a recent gathering of city leaders from around the world in Quito, Ecuador, hosted by the United Nations. The Habitat III conference approved a “new urban agenda” that urges cities to adapt to climate change but minimize their harm to the environment and move to sustainable economies.
In a changing climate, these approaches make sense. As Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, told the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce recently, “Cities, businesses and citizens will continue reducing emissions, because they have concluded — just as China has — that doing so is in their own self-interest.”
With or without significant federal support, reducing greenhouse gas emissions will require major private investment, as it has here in Iowa, and ambitious private-public initiatives from mayors and governors. We need to activate a new era of “regenerative” cities and states.
California’s recent move to reduce its carbon emissions by 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 is a hopeful shift that other cities and states should emulate. This would involve setting high benchmarks for developing green enterprise zones, renewable energy, cultivating food locally, restoring biodiversity, planting more trees and emphasizing walkability, low-carbon transportation and zero waste.
Following this regenerative approach, the Australian city of Adelaide reduced its carbon emissions by 20 percent from 2007 to 2013, even as the population grew by 27 percent and the economy increased by 28 percent. The city experienced a boom in green jobs, the development of walkable neighborhoods powered by solar energy, the conversion of urban waste to compost and a revamped local food industry. The city also planted three million trees to absorb carbon dioxide.
Over 10,000 climate initiatives are underway in cities worldwide, according to the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, which represents 80 major cities. In nearby Des Moines, for instance, Mayor Frank Cownie recently committed the city to reducing its energy consumption 50 percent by 2030 and becoming “carbon neutral” by 2050.
Initiatives like those have become a “fill the potholes” reality for many mayors, regardless of political games in Washington. In San Diego, the Republican mayor, Kevin Faulconer, helped to push through a climate action plan that commits the city to 100 percent renewable energy by 2035. Other cities are following his lead.
“Dull, inert cities, it is true, do contain the seeds of their own destruction and little else,” the urban visionary Jane Jacobs wrote. “But lively, diverse, intense cities contain the seeds of their own regeneration, with energy enough to carry over for problems and needs outside themselves.”
In an age of climate change, and a possible shift in the federal government’s priority on climate action, never have those words been truer.
Jeff Biggers, the author of “Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland,” is the founder of the Climate Narrative Project at the University of Iowa.
New York Times
Cities and States Lead on Climate Change
By JEFF BIGGERS
Op-Ed Contributor
New York Times
Nov. 30, 2016
Saturday, March 15, 2014
60 Businesses Urge Cuomo to Lead on Renewable Energy
Local Businesses Call for 'Winds of Change'
Buffalo, New York — Thursday morning, business owners, concerned
residents and union representatives gathered to call on Gov. Cuomo to make a
commitment to boost wind energy in the state.
The event, hosted by the Sierra Club Niagara Group and Beyond Coal
Campaign, was to celebrate sixty local businesses signing on to the campaign.
“Fossil fuel plants across the state drive climate change and can
make people sick with diseases like asthma,” said Sierra Club Beyond Coal
organizer Charlotte Olena. “New York can
be a leader in clean energy production.
Sixty local businesses have spoken: it’s time for Gov. Cuomo to lead on
climate issues and make a serious commitment to boosting wind energy across the
state.”
The Sierra Club’s “Turn, Don’t Burn” campaign is calling on Gov.
Cuomo to be a champion for wind in New York State by doubling onshore wind
energy by 2018 and support an offshore wind project this year. With questions emerging about the viability
of power production from sources like the Huntley Coal Plant, the Sierra Club sees
wind energy as the way forward for Western New York.
“If given a fair chance and a level playing field, wind can
compete dollar for dollar with the fossil fuels, and in some cases it’s cheaper
because the fuel is free” said Thom Fleckenstein, the owner of Niagara Wind and
Solar. Businesses across Western New
York have endorsed the Turn, Don’t Burn campaign, including
Fleckenstein’s. “As a small-scale wind
developer, a commitment from Gov. Cuomo to support wind like the NY Sun
Initiative would mean a lot to my business and open doors for others like me in
New York.”
Clean energy is not just a concern for environmentalists or wind
developers. For New York’s workforce,
clean energy programs can mean well-paid jobs.
“We have an obligation to our future generations to provide good jobs and
a clean environment. We can and must
achieve those goals simultaneously,” remarked Michael Murphy, Rapid Response
Coordinator for the United Steel Workers Local 8823, based in South Buffalo.
“Western New York is poised to emerge as a leader in wind development
both because of being home to some of the richest wind resources in the state,
and also because of our region’s history of manufacturing. All we need is for Governor Cuomo to make it
happen.”
It is not only businesses signing on to the Sierra Club’s
campaign. Last week, State Senator Mark
Grisanti submitted comment to NYSERDA calling for more wind energy in the
Governor’s State Energy Plan. His
statement too, called on Gov. Cuomo to “make New York a climate leader,” with a
commitment to increase wind capacity.
“It is up to this generation and this Governor to take action
immediately to transition from fossil fuels to renewables,” commented Lynda Schneekloth,
the chair of the Sierra Club’s Niagara Group.
Fossil fuel powered plants are the biggest drivers of climate change due
to carbon emissions. Even natural gas
plants pose the risk of leaking methane, which, according to the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change can be 34 times worse than carbon
dioxide as a heat-trapping gas.
“The climate is changing and we can just let it
happen or we can design a way forward.
We have the technology in wind power, and if states like Iowa, Texas and
South Dakota can get 20% of their electricity from wind, New York should be
able to do the same. Governor Cuomo, we
ask you to lead us there.
The group’s efforts this spring have been around uniting concerned
residents, business owners, and organizations to bring attention to the issue of
clean energy in Western New York.
~ ~ ~
Report in The Buffalo News: Group pushes for New York State’s help in building wind turbines
Power Grid Can Handle More Renewable Energy -- Google Seeks 100%
Nation's Largest Grid Operator: Huge Renewables Expansion Won't Be a Problem
By John Moore
PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest power transmission grid organization, announced last week that wind and solar power could generate about 30 percent of PJM’s total electricity for its territory covering the Mid-Atlantic region and part of the Midwest by 2026 without “any significant issues.” That’s engineer-speak for “no big deal.” Even better, we would see more clean power at less cost and with far less pollution than our current mix of coal and natural gas power plants.
PJM’s new renewables integration report, prepared for it by General Electric, is required reading for anyone who questions the ability of the electric grid to handle large amounts of wind, solar, and other renewable energy. GE estimates that about 113,000 megawatts (MW) of installed wind and solar power resources (including distributed/generation), could produce about 30 percent of the region’s total energy. That’s enough energy to power 23.5 million homes annually. Here’s the breakdown of the resource mix in one of the scenarios studied in the report:
Significant benefits from more clean energyThe report estimates that 30 percent wind and solar power in PJM would bring the following benefits:
- 40 percent less carbon pollution than “business as usual.”
- Lower average energy prices across PJM’s footprint – because wind and solar would avoid $15.6 billion in coal and natural gas fuel costs.
- Very little additional power (only 1500 MW) needed to support the minute-to-minute variability of the renewable power (like when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow).
- No additional operating (known as “spinning”) reserves needed for backup power. (Wow!)
- 44 percent less gas-fired generation and 21 percent less coal-fired generation—which also reduces the amount of carbon pollution emitted into the atmosphere.
Read more at NRDC SWITCHBOARD
Google Exec: 'Our Goal Is To Be 100 Percent Renewable Powered'
by Khier CasinoGoogle spent $2.25 billion in its last quarter on data centers and infrastructure, giving it a reason to use solar, wind and other alternative energies to cut everyday costs for the company.
"We've invested over a billion dollars in 15 projects that have the capacity to produce two gigawatts of power around the world, mostly in the US, but that's the equivalent of Hoover's Dam worth of power generation," Needham said.
Google recently opened the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating Station, located on federal land on the California-Nevada border southwest of Las Vegas. The field of mirrors rein in solar and energy and cuts energy costs.
"The fact is that all of these things, procuring power for ourselves, investing in power plants, renewable power plants, they all make business sense, they make sense for us as a company to do. We rely on power for our business," Needham adds.
Other companies in Silicon Valley are as devoted as Google in investing in sources of renewable energy.
"Silicon Valley is leading the charge to be more efficient, to work on solutions to some of these problems," said Ben Schachter, senior Internet analyst at Macquarie Securities. "Google is ahead of the pack and we'll have to wait and see how it works out. They are certainly trying many different initiatives to figure out how best to manage their footprint in the environment, as well as how to manage the cost of all their energy."
The original article is here.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Public Forum: Alternative Energy in the Buffalo-Niagara Region
Business Gets Green Speaker Series
- WHEN: Tuesday, January 15th, 5:30-7:00pm
- WHERE: Daemen College, Schenck Hall, Room 202, 4380 Main St., Amherst [Campus Map & Parking]
- THIS MONTH’S TOPIC: “Alternative Energy in the Buffalo-Niagara Region”
This
event is free and open to the public
Representatives from three local
companies in the renewable energy fields of solar, wind and geothermal
power will present the obstacles and opportunities to advancing
alternative energy systems in the Buffalo-Niagara region.
Featured Speakers:
Bill Nowak will speak on the Feed-In Tariff legislation and current developments in New York State to institute a better pricing system that promotes renewables. Bill will also touch upon the challenges for the company, Buffalo Geothermal in pushing through local geothermal projects. Check out more about Buffalo Geothermal here: http://
Bridget Reagan from Solar Liberty will come as a representative from our region’s largest solar panel installer. She will reveal what has helped made Solar Liberty successful and what needs to be improved upon to bring more solar energy potential to areas like Western New York. Check out more about Solar Liberty here: http://www.solarliberty.com/
Kean Stimm, President of Kean Wind Turbines, will present on a new wind power system that will revolutionize the viability of generating power by using wind. An emerging entrepreneur from the region, Kean will give attendees a glimpse into his current challenges and opportunities in getting his company off the ground. Check out more about Kean Wind Turbines here: http://keanwindturbines.com/
Featured Speakers:
Bill Nowak will speak on the Feed-In Tariff legislation and current developments in New York State to institute a better pricing system that promotes renewables. Bill will also touch upon the challenges for the company, Buffalo Geothermal in pushing through local geothermal projects. Check out more about Buffalo Geothermal here: http://
Bridget Reagan from Solar Liberty will come as a representative from our region’s largest solar panel installer. She will reveal what has helped made Solar Liberty successful and what needs to be improved upon to bring more solar energy potential to areas like Western New York. Check out more about Solar Liberty here: http://www.solarliberty.com/
Kean Stimm, President of Kean Wind Turbines, will present on a new wind power system that will revolutionize the viability of generating power by using wind. An emerging entrepreneur from the region, Kean will give attendees a glimpse into his current challenges and opportunities in getting his company off the ground. Check out more about Kean Wind Turbines here: http://keanwindturbines.com/
The Business Gets Green format features several speakers from pertinent areas within the local green business community, as well as the opportunity for all attendees to introduce themselves and report any brief announcements that may be of interest to the audience.
RSVP's are strongly encouraged as there is limited space at this venue. Join the event on Facebook, here: http://www.facebook.com/
“Like” Greenworks || Buffalo Niagara's Facebook group page to get updates on future events, here: Greenworks || Buffalo Niagara
Monday, December 17, 2012
TAKE ACTION: Stand Up for Clean, Renewable, Wind Power
December 13, 2012
The renewable energy production tax
credit (PTC) – the business incentive that has reinvigorated American
manufacturing, diversified our electricity portfolio, driven down
electricity costs for consumers, and stimulated much-needed rural
economic development – is set to expire in just 18 days. Congress has
yet to come to an agreement on legislation to extend this provision, nor
to address the broader fiscal cliff issues that are up for debate.Legislators are expected to adjourn this session of Congress at the end of next week. They have not yet publicly announced any agreement on a legislative package.
Please take a few minutes to call your legislators today.
It’s very simple – just follow these steps:
Dial 1-888-496-5061 or click here to be connected. You will be connected to the Senator’s office whose zip code corresponds to your phone’s area code. Please redial to be connected to your second Senator’s office.
Relay this message:
“I urge the legislator to work with colleagues to pass a fiscal cliff bill that includes an extension of the renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) before adjourning.”
After you speak to your Senators’ offices, please dial 1-866-899-9078 (or click here) to be connected to your Representative. Please relay that same message to your Representative’s office.
Thank you very much for taking action at this key time. We will keep you up to speed on any developments that we hear about in DC.
Sincerely,
Peter Kelley
Vice President, Public Affairs
American Wind Energy Association
P.S. If you can’t make calls today, please be sure to take a moment to email your legislators instead.
Friday, November 9, 2012
TAKE ACTION: Petition for Clean, Renewable, Wind Power
We ask you to take a moment to sign our petition to Congress that does just that – urges a PTC extension as a strategic move for the U.S.
The PTC is an effective tool to encourage development of proven renewable energy projects. Equipped with the PTC, the wind industry has driven over $15 billion of private investments into the U.S. economy in each of the past five years, and has grown the U.S. manufacturing sector to include nearly 500 wind-related facilities. With the PTC set to expire on December 31st, 37,000 wind industry jobs and over $10 billion of related private investments are at risk.
Let's power our homes and businesses with more of this plentiful homegrown energy.
Please encourage your colleagues, friends, and family to sign this petition as well. We’re looking to gather an impressive number of signatures by November 12th, and release this petition just as our legislators are returning to D.C.
Your support will help to keep this issue on the front burner! Many thanks for your support!
Sincerely,
Peter Kelley, Vice President, Public Affairs
American Wind Energy Association
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Visiting Author Inspires Young Stewards for the Planet
By David Kowalski
Lynne Cherry, a children's author, illustrator and filmmaker, visited Windermere and Smallwood Elementary Schools this week to interact with the children and encourage them to explore Nature through observation, drawing and writing.
Cherry also gave an evening presentation which I attended at Smallwood Elementary School. She spoke while showing slides and film clips from her "Young Voices for the Planet" project. She encouraged children and parents to enjoy Nature more (and TV less) and to protect our
environment. She introduced them to clean energy sources through images of wind turbines and solar panels, as well as through group participation in a song featuring Pete Seeger in a music video called "SolarTopia!"
She carries her own reusable spoon and bowl when she travels, as shown in the photo below taken at Windermere School. She does so to avoid using disposable plastic utensils and dishware. She also favors a ban on plastic bags.
She carries her own reusable spoon and bowl when she travels, as shown in the photo below taken at Windermere School. She does so to avoid using disposable plastic utensils and dishware. She also favors a ban on plastic bags.
 |
| Derek Gee / Buffalo News |
 |
| Derek Gee / Buffalo News |
Cherry told me that she explained to the children the concept of watersheds, and how plastic waste can make its way from land to streams, rivers and lakes, and ultimately pollute Earth's oceans, which are all interconnected.
Lynne Cherry is the author and/or illustrator of over thirty award-winning books for children. Her best-selling books, such as The Great Kapok Tree and A River Ran Wild, teach children to respect Earth. To learn more about these and other books, visit her personal website.
"Young Voices For The Planet" is a series of short films produced by Lynne Cherry. She has documented inspiring success stories of older kids shrinking their carbon footprint, finding solutions to the global warming crisis, banning plastic bags, planting trees, reducing waste, experiencing the excitement of scientific discovery through citizen-science, and conducting energy audits that save energy and money. View the video trailer below:
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Wind Power: Clean, Renewable Energy for New York
By Dave Bradley, Wind Action Group ~ You might be surprised to learn that there are 5 wind turbines working on the frozen continent of Antarctica. In fact, these are among the more productive ones presently operating in the world. The total installed capacity is only 1.6 megawatts. But that is still more than the installed capacity of all but 8 of NY State's 62 counties. That leaves a lot of room for improvement in NY State.
For NY State, it will probably take a whole new way to price renewable energy, and an understanding that replacing the pollution-sourced electricity (natural gas, coal, nuclear) can provide a working career for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers. That would put a nice dent in the estimated 1 million New Yorkers who need a job, and these jobs would provide decent pay.
The most successful pricing system for renewable energy is known as FIT, for Feed-In Tariff (Examples are in Ontario, Spain, Germany, and Denmark). Another name for FIT is CLEAN contract (Clean Local Energy Accessible Now). New manufacturing jobs, supply chain, real-wealth creation are the goals, and the byproduct is clean electricity that displaces pollution-based electricity and often fuel imports that also require exporting real wealth.
If you want details of how FIT/CLEAN contracts work and what they can do, see this link to an excellent Green Paper written by Bill Nowak for the NY Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter.
If you want to see a highly-condensed summary in the form of a Powerpoint presentation (.pdf format), download this one by Dave Bradley.
If you are interested in a presentation and discussion of this material for a group, email Dave Bradley at Tantalum73@verizon.net. After all, there is a lot of "misunderstanding" and "lack of awareness" as to what renewable energy can do.
This report is a condensed version of the full article edited by David Kowalski. The full article by Dave Bradley is available at the Wind Action Group Engineering website.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Benefits of Using Wind Farms to Produce Electricity
Wind farms continue to sprout up around the globe. Generating electricity using Nature's wind energy is proving to be not only a useful complement to using fossil fuels and nuclear energy, but also more beneficial in a number of ways. Below are a few examples drawn from recent reports.
Wind Power Cheaper than Nuclear
Generating energy from wind turbines at sea would be cheaper than building new atomic power plants, according to Connie Hedegaard, the EU climate change commissioner. She told the European Wind Energy Association's annual conference in Brussels that the problems facing nuclear power put renewable sources of energy, such as wind and solar power, back in the spotlight. Read more here.
Wind Turbines Stronger than Nuclear
Despite assertions by its detractors that wind energy would not survive an earthquake or tsunami, the Japanese wind industry is still functioning and helping to keep the lights on during the Fuksuhima crisis. There has been no wind facility damage from either the earthquake or the tsunami. Even a semi-offshore wind farm (see photo) about 300km from the epicenter of the quake survived. Read more here.
Kamisu Wind Farm 300 km from earthquake epicenter, by Wind Power Ibaraki
Wind Turbines Survive Cold Weather as Fossil Fuel Plants Falter
Wind energy played a major role in helping keep the lights on as the Great Plains dealt with a record storm this winter. Wind energy limited the severity of the blackouts, providing enough electricity to keep the power on in about 3 million households. Fifty fossil fuel power plants experienced outages and went offline due to the cold weather. Two large coal-fired power plants went offline due to pipes freezing or breaking. Some gas-fired plants also experienced outages due to the cold, and others were unable to produce as scheduled due to low gas pressure in the pipelines. Read more here.
Wind Power is Big and Friendly in Texas
Texas is the nation’s leader in generating electricity from wind, with 9,700 megawatts of about 41,000 megawatts in the US last year. By 2025, Texas plans to generate 38,000 megawatts, enough for 90% of the state's current residential electricity needs.
Farmers and ranchers are profiting from wind power, receiving from $3,000 to $10,000 a year for each wind turbine permitted on their land. Also, since wind turbines occupy only 1% of the land, the land can still be used to grow crops or graze cattle. Read more here.
Wind power is friendly to people and the environment. Unlike fossil-fuel power, wind power does not pollute the air or water. Also, today's windmill blades spin slowly and quietly. People can even partake in outdoor fun, like tossing a frisbee (see photo), in the open space around the majestic towers of wind turbines (this would not be fun or healthy to do at a coal-fired power plant).
[Click image to enlarge]
Wind Power is Less Harmful to Birds
Fossil fuels pose higher risks to wildlife than wind power. Coal - which wind directly replaces - is by far the largest contributor to wildlife risks. Compared to wind turbines, domestic cats kill 100 times more birds, and buildings kill over 5000 times more. Wind turbines are estimated to cause less than three out of every 100,000 human-related bird deaths in the U.S., and will never cause more than a small fraction no matter how extensively wind power is used in the future, according to the National Academy of Sciences. Read more here.
Wind Power Cheaper than Nuclear
Generating energy from wind turbines at sea would be cheaper than building new atomic power plants, according to Connie Hedegaard, the EU climate change commissioner. She told the European Wind Energy Association's annual conference in Brussels that the problems facing nuclear power put renewable sources of energy, such as wind and solar power, back in the spotlight. Read more here.
Wind Turbines Stronger than Nuclear
Despite assertions by its detractors that wind energy would not survive an earthquake or tsunami, the Japanese wind industry is still functioning and helping to keep the lights on during the Fuksuhima crisis. There has been no wind facility damage from either the earthquake or the tsunami. Even a semi-offshore wind farm (see photo) about 300km from the epicenter of the quake survived. Read more here.
Kamisu Wind Farm 300 km from earthquake epicenter, by Wind Power Ibaraki Wind Turbines Survive Cold Weather as Fossil Fuel Plants Falter
Wind Power is Big and Friendly in Texas
Texas is the nation’s leader in generating electricity from wind, with 9,700 megawatts of about 41,000 megawatts in the US last year. By 2025, Texas plans to generate 38,000 megawatts, enough for 90% of the state's current residential electricity needs.
Farmers and ranchers are profiting from wind power, receiving from $3,000 to $10,000 a year for each wind turbine permitted on their land. Also, since wind turbines occupy only 1% of the land, the land can still be used to grow crops or graze cattle. Read more here.
Wind power is friendly to people and the environment. Unlike fossil-fuel power, wind power does not pollute the air or water. Also, today's windmill blades spin slowly and quietly. People can even partake in outdoor fun, like tossing a frisbee (see photo), in the open space around the majestic towers of wind turbines (this would not be fun or healthy to do at a coal-fired power plant).
[Click image to enlarge]Fossil fuels pose higher risks to wildlife than wind power. Coal - which wind directly replaces - is by far the largest contributor to wildlife risks. Compared to wind turbines, domestic cats kill 100 times more birds, and buildings kill over 5000 times more. Wind turbines are estimated to cause less than three out of every 100,000 human-related bird deaths in the U.S., and will never cause more than a small fraction no matter how extensively wind power is used in the future, according to the National Academy of Sciences. Read more here.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
No Fuel Costs or CO2 using Wind Turbines
Dave Bradley of the Buffalo Wind Action Group wrote informative answers to questions asked about my post, Clean Coal: More Expensive, Less Desirable. The answers are in the comments section below that post, but in case you missed them, I decided to post them here:
Question: How much of that $1.5B cost for Huntley is government subsidy?
Answer: Most of that $1.5 billion (and it could be $2 Billion) is the cost of constructing the facility AND the Air Separation plant(s) to supply it with O2 instead of air. The subsidies come from allowing the CO2 pollution to occur, and also from the long term power purchase agreement that would take place between NRG and the New York Power Authority (NYPA). The price stability (very hard to find in NY) would protect it from competition from lower cost generation, such as onshore wind turbines.
There may also be certain subsidies from either NY State or the Dept. of Energy for this initial trial plant (though other such projects have been done on a slightly smaller scale). But the main subsidies are the essentially cost free allowance to pollute our atmosphere with fossil fuel derived CO2, not including the costs of coal mining (like mountain top removal), and the preferential stability that a Power Purchase Agreement gives (wind projects get no such treatment from NYPA in NY). That will lower the financing insecurity, and save the owners billions in higher interest costs that would otherwise happen if NRG has to sell this power on the NYISO at whatever rate NYISO goes for at any given time - the so-called free enterprise route.
Question: And how much solar or wind generating capacity could that much money buy? 680 MW?
Answer: As for the $1.5 billion in capital, that could buy 750 MW of installed onshore wind capacity - a very decent sized wind farm, or set of farms. With an average of 33% output (typical NY value), this would deliver an average of 250 MW of power. However, most of the costs would be involved in paying down the debt - no fuel costs for wind turbines. That avoids this terrible fate.
The Huntley plant was built for $40/ton coal, and so far this year, prices are now near $108/ton, with this just the early part of summer. The coal price spike is due to oil and natural gas prices going up, as well as the devaluation of the dollar, which allows Europeans (Euro currency) to buy our coal cheap (to them) and the increased demand just spikes U.S. prices. The one virtue of coal used to be its cheapness - and that is also fading away.
Question: How much of that $1.5B cost for Huntley is government subsidy?
Answer: Most of that $1.5 billion (and it could be $2 Billion) is the cost of constructing the facility AND the Air Separation plant(s) to supply it with O2 instead of air. The subsidies come from allowing the CO2 pollution to occur, and also from the long term power purchase agreement that would take place between NRG and the New York Power Authority (NYPA). The price stability (very hard to find in NY) would protect it from competition from lower cost generation, such as onshore wind turbines.
There may also be certain subsidies from either NY State or the Dept. of Energy for this initial trial plant (though other such projects have been done on a slightly smaller scale). But the main subsidies are the essentially cost free allowance to pollute our atmosphere with fossil fuel derived CO2, not including the costs of coal mining (like mountain top removal), and the preferential stability that a Power Purchase Agreement gives (wind projects get no such treatment from NYPA in NY). That will lower the financing insecurity, and save the owners billions in higher interest costs that would otherwise happen if NRG has to sell this power on the NYISO at whatever rate NYISO goes for at any given time - the so-called free enterprise route.
Question: And how much solar or wind generating capacity could that much money buy? 680 MW?
Answer: As for the $1.5 billion in capital, that could buy 750 MW of installed onshore wind capacity - a very decent sized wind farm, or set of farms. With an average of 33% output (typical NY value), this would deliver an average of 250 MW of power. However, most of the costs would be involved in paying down the debt - no fuel costs for wind turbines. That avoids this terrible fate.
The Huntley plant was built for $40/ton coal, and so far this year, prices are now near $108/ton, with this just the early part of summer. The coal price spike is due to oil and natural gas prices going up, as well as the devaluation of the dollar, which allows Europeans (Euro currency) to buy our coal cheap (to them) and the increased demand just spikes U.S. prices. The one virtue of coal used to be its cheapness - and that is also fading away.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Offshore Wind Turbines: a Powerful Plan
A report from the University at Buffalo urges New York State to develop a comprehensive plan for production of clean, renewable offshore wind power from wind turbines located in Lakes Erie and Ontario. Doing so would create a demand for wind-power energy, as well as large-scale manufacturing of wind turbines and components, that could bring new jobs to Western New York. The report is the product of UB law professor Robert Berger, director of its Environment and Development Clinic, and Dwight Kanyuck. The full report can be viewed here.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Happy about Wind Power in Bliss, NY
The region’s newest wind farm of 67 turbines just opened in Bliss, NY. Noble Environmental Power built the $260 million Noble Bliss Windpark in Wyoming County. Another 84 towers will be added by the end of 2008 in Eagle and the adjacent town of Wethersfield. And that's not all. Projects in Chautauqua County, Cattaraugus County and Allegany County are being developed. Also an 18-tower expansion of the big 2.5MW turbines at the Steel Winds project in Lackawanna and Hamburg is in the works. For the Buffalo News story by John F. Bonfatti, click here.
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