Tag Archives: wind power

Wind Energy Will Be Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels Within a Decade

by Patrici1131 Posted on March 17, 2015

Mother Jones

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Wind energy is growing fast. While it still accounts for less than 5 percent of the United States’ total electricity mix, wind is by far the biggest source of renewable energy other than hydroelectric dams, and it accounted for 23 percent of new power production capacity built last year. Some experts think wind could provide a fifth of the world’s energy by 2030. But wind in the US is always in a perilous position, thanks to its heavy reliance on a federal tax credit that is routinely attacked in Congress; the subsidy was allowed to expire at the end of last year, and its ultimate fate remains unclear.

Fortunately, wind won’t be subject to the whims of legislators for much longer, according to a new analysis from the Energy Department. The new report found that within a decade, wind will be cost-competitive with fossil fuels like natural gas, even without a federal tax incentive.

From Bloomberg Business:

Cost reductions and technology improvements will reduce the price of wind power to below that of fossil-fuel generation, even after a $23-per-megawatt-hour subsidy provided now to wind farm owners ends, according to a report released Thursday.

“Wind offers a power resource that’s already the most competitive option in many parts of the nation,” Lynn Orr, under secretary for science and energy at the Energy Department, said on a conference call with reporters. “With continued commitment, wind can be the cheapest, cleanest power option in all 50 states by 2050.”

That would be a huge win for slowing climate change. The report finds that it could also lead to billions of dollars of benefits to the American public, from lower monthly electric bills to fewer air-pollution-related deaths.

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Wind Energy Will Be Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels Within a Decade

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The windmill could get a snazzy green facelift, thanks to Dutch architects

by AbbieBenes Posted on February 24, 2015

Reinventing the wheel

The windmill could get a snazzy green facelift, thanks to Dutch architects

By on 24 Feb 2015commentsShare

The Netherlands just keeps one-upping the rest of the world. Recently, a Dutch construction firm installed a solar panel bike lane and then engineers went ahead and made another bike path glow-in-the-dark. Not that we’re keeping score or anything.

Now, the Dutch Windwheel Corporation has plans to build a 570-foot structure in Rotterdam that would be equal parts architectural marvel and green-tech wünderkind. Basically, the project would turn the nation’s iconic windmill into a high-tech real-estate development.

Here’s Smithsonian with the science:

The Wind Wheel’s design, made of two massive rings and an underwater foundation, plans to incorporate other green technologies, including solar panels, rainwater capture and biogas creation. The biogas will be created from the collected waste of residents of the 72 apartments and 160 hotel rooms that are planned for the inner ring.

The outer ring is set to house 40 cabins that move along a rail like a roller coaster, giving tourists a view of the city and the surrounding countryside, much like the London Eye or Las Vegas’ High Roller, which became the world’s tallest observation wheel when it opened in 2014. The cabins have glass “smart walls” that project information — the current weather, for example, and the heights and architects of buildings — onto the panorama. A restaurant and shops are also planned within the proposed structure.

Another plus: The wind wheel would also be a hub for new green technology businesses and an opportunity to create more jobs in the country.

Sounds sweet, right?

Well, here’s the catch: The technology needed to complete the project is still in the works. More from Smithsonian:

While aspects of the Wind Wheel’s design seem futuristic, the technology will have several years to advance before final construction gets underway. Duzan Boepel, the project’s principal architect, says that the Wind Wheel is still in its beginning phases. … He says if they prove that the wheel’s bladeless turbine tech can be scaled up for use in the Wind Wheel, the building may be finished by 2025.

Yeah, we will all be dreaming about this for the next decade. And yes, the Netherlands could win another batch of green points.

Source:
This Dutch Wind Wheel Is Part Green Tech Showcase, Part Architectural Attraction

, Smithsonian.

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The windmill could get a snazzy green facelift, thanks to Dutch architects

Posted in alo, Anchor, ATTRA, FF, GE, global climate change, Landmark, LG, ONA, oven, Radius, Smith's, solar, solar panels, solar power, Uncategorized, wind power | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The windmill could get a snazzy green facelift, thanks to Dutch architects

Don’t Let Anti-Wind Groups Block Clean Energy in Congress

by RussRenner Posted on January 24, 2015

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Don’t Let Anti-Wind Groups Block Clean Energy in Congress

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Some Republican voters actually do want climate action

by DorcasMessina Posted on January 13, 2015

Some Republican voters actually do want climate action

By on 13 Jan 2015 10:07 amcommentsShare

The Republican electorate has more nuanced views on climate policy than many of the politicians it elects, according to new polling data. From the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication:

We find that solid majorities of self-identified moderate and liberal Republicans — who comprise 30% of the party — think global warming is happening (62% and 68% respectively). By contrast, 38% of conservative Republicans think global warming is happening. At the extreme, Tea Party Republicans (17% of the party) are the most dismissive — only 29% think global warming is happening.

In contrast to the current goal of Republican leaders in Congress to block EPA regulations on carbon dioxide, half of all Republicans (56%) support regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant, including conservatives (54%). Moderate and liberal Republicans are particularly likely to support the policy (74% and 71% respectively), while only 36% of Tea Party Republicans support regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant.

Unfortunately, as Republican politicians are often quick to point out, thinking global warming is happening is different from thinking that humans can do anything to stop it, or that it’s a bad thing. And a voter who believes that CO2 should be regulated as a pollutant is often not as keen to actually regulate the CO2 that is coming out of coal-burning power plants’ smoke stacks right now. The poll found “fewer than half of conservative Republicans (40%), and only one in four Tea Party Republicans (23%), support” the government imposing “strict carbon dioxide limits on existing coal-fired power plants.” And conservative and Tea Party Republicans make up 70 percent of the party.

Yale Project on Climate Change Communication

And unfortunately for that 44 percent of Republicans who support regulating CO2 from existing coal plants, as well as all the independents and Democrats in America who want to take action on climate change, the politicians currently in control of Congress tend to be beholden to the more radical elements of their party. Said radical elements are often the most politically engaged, and the most likely to turn up during a Republican primary and replace their incumbent with a previously-unheard-of, hard-right climate-change denier.

So, in an effort to keep those primarying forces at bay, 39 GOP senators have decided to remain deaf to mounting evidence and to ignore climate science, according to a Center for American Progress appraisal — that’s 72 percent of the Senate Republican caucus.

Jamie Fuller writes at The Washington Post that Republicans’ climate change views could shift — young Republicans tend to be more accepting of climate science. But such a shift would be slow, and there are powerful forces working in the opposite direction — the outsized influence of more radical elements of the party is one force, the fossil fuel industry’s multimillion-dollar lobbying budget is another.

So don’t expect Republican politicians to respond to nuance in their party anytime soon. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking.

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Scientists dig up a new weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria

by Leonore6263 Posted on January 12, 2015

Soil Money

Scientists dig up a new weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria

By on 12 Jan 2015commentsShare

Kids, forget everything your pre-school teachers told you: Go play in the dirt all you like!

This month, scientists — after much hand-wringing and years of expensive drug development — plucked a promising new antibiotic from the ground. Not only is new-kid-on-the-block Teixobactin another tool to fight infections, it could be the first of an entire class of antibiotics that could save us from drug-resistant superbugs.

The researchers, who published their results in Nature last Wednesday, found the bacteria by isolating and domesticating 10,000 strains of microbes found in the soil. Teixobactin — which, like so many good things, apparently comes from “a grassy field in Maine” — was the most promising of the bunch. It managed to clear up a deadly MRSA infection in mice, and did so in such a way that the bacteria showed no signs of developing resistance.

In fact, this is not all new news. It turns out that most of the antibiotics we use today were cultivated from strains found in dirt — but this new technique uses the natural environment of the soil to grow bacteria that cannot be cultivated in a traditional lab culture. It could turn up hundreds of new compounds that could fight infections, even cancer, according to researchers.

Don’t get too excited: Though the new drug was a hit with the mice, it is still probably two years away from human trials, which will take another couple of years. It’s possible that the superdrug will have unforeseen consequences that make it dangerous to people as well as microbes. And some other scientists are skeptical about the claims that diseases will never develop resistance to Teixobactin and family: “The way bacteria multiply, if there weren’t natural mechanisms to limit their growth, they would have covered the planet and eaten us all eons ago,” infectious disease researcher William Schaffner told the New York Times.

I’m being told that hasn’t happened, so I guess we’ll have to wait to see just how wonderful this wonder drug really is, or what others are still hiding in the mud.

Source:
New Antibiotic Stirs Hope Against Resistant Bacteria

, New York Times.

Antibiotics: US discovery labelled ‘game-changer’ for medicine

, BBC.

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Scientists dig up a new weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria

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Walmart isn’t really green, just really big

by ArielO42brir Posted on October 24, 2014

Always low standards. Always.

Walmart isn’t really green, just really big

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24 Oct 2014 1:32 PM

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Walmart isn’t really green, just really big

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Please don’t mistake Walmart’s bigness for greenness. Thank you.

On Tuesday, Slate proclaimed that “Walmart is killing the rest of corporate America in solar power adoption” because the company leads the nation in total “installed capacity” — in essence, it has installed more solar panels than anyone else. In reality, Wally World is a greenwashed clean-energy laggard owned by a family that funds anti-solar groups.

Slate’s data, which shows that Walmart has more than double the megawatts than second-place Kohl’s, comes from the Solar Energy Industry Association, a U.S. trade group. But in that same report, Walmart ranked 11th (out of an undisclosed list of megacorporations) in the proportion of facilities with solar power, at just 5 percent. (For comparison, a small business with one facility and one solar installation would score 100 on that test.)

In all, solar, wind, and biomass accounts for just 3 percent of Walmart’s total U.S. electricity use, according to data from the EPA’s Green Power Partnership. And less than one-fifth of the renewable energy the company purchases from offsite is third-party certified, meaning we just have to take Walmart’s word for it. More than 200 organizations in the EPA program meet 100 percent of their electricity use with green sources, including fellow retail giants Whole Foods, Staples, and Kohl’s.

“The idea that Walmart is a major driver behind the growth of solar is pretty ludicrous,” says Stacy Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. “Last year, Walmart installed about 16 megawatts of solar power. Homeowners installed about 800 megawatts of solar power,” according to this report.

Then there’s the Walton family, Walmart’s majority owner, which is actively undermining renewables. A recent report from ILSR finds that family members have donated nearly $4.5 million to two dozen organizations — including the infamous lobbying outfit ALEC — that lead the charge against clean energy policy.

The family actually owns a company called Solar First, that builds big arrays for big utilities. But while that may seem like a good thing, it means that the Waltons want us all to remain captive utility customers, not produce our own power. The family has worked to block rooftop solar, even scoring a tiny victory in Arizona last year. It’s a typical family strategy: Walmart tried to pay workers in Mexico with store vouchers.

Solar First, which manufactures its panels mostly in Malaysia, is even working via through the World Trade Organization — the enforcer of globalized free-marketism — to repeal solar incentives in several U.S. states simply because those policies give preference to local producers. Thanks, Walton clan.

In short, the super-rich Waltons and their exorbitantly profitable superstore empire won’t spend an extra dime on green energy if it means foregoing all-out profit maximization. The company’s 2013 Global Responsibility Report apologizes for a decline in renewable energy use thusly: “Walmart U.S. was unable to renegotiate an expiring [renewable power] contract with competitive pricing.”

Money above social responsibility. It’s the Walmart way!

Source:
Walmart Is Killing the Rest of Corporate America in Solar Power Adoption

, Slate.

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Walmart isn’t really green, just really big

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Wind Power is Actually Cheaper Than Coal, Nuclear and Gas

by Posted on October 15, 2014

Once you consider the downstream consequences, coal becomes a lot more expensive

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Wind Power is Actually Cheaper Than Coal, Nuclear and Gas

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This lobbying shop is so dirty even oil companies want out

by XLCDevinca Posted on September 30, 2014

This lobbying shop is so dirty even oil companies want out

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30 Sep 2014 4:40 PM

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The mass exodus from the lobbying group ALEC (that’s short for the American Legislative Exchange Council) continues, as more companies shy away from its stance on climate change (read: total denial). Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Yelp, and Yahoo all cut ties with the group over the last few months, thanks to a pretty staggering track record on blocking renewable energy initiatives and other kinds of environmental legislation.

So why would Occidental Petroleum, one of the largest U.S.-based international oil companies, also leave ALEC? For its stance on climate change!

According to the National Journal, Occidential sent a letter to its investment managers declaring its intent to quit the group. An ALEC spokesperson denied the move has anything to do with the current anti-ALEC frenzy, but the letter suggests otherwise.

Occidental’s letter notes a concern that it could be “presumed to share the positions” on global warming and regulations to limit air pollution from the nation’s fleet of power plants held by organizations of which the company is a member, such as the Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute, the largest trade association for the oil and gas industry.

“We do not support all of the positions taken by organizations to which we belong,” Occidental’s associate general counsel, Linda Peterson, wrote.

Oh, the irony: A ginormous oil company doesn’t want to be associated with global warming denial or power plant pollution. Heaven forbid we’d think it doesn’t care about the climate!

But hey, if green is cool even to you, Occidental Petroleum, then by all means: Put your money where your mouth is and leave ALEC in the dust.

Source:
Large Oil Company Bolts From ALEC

, National Journal.

Amid Climate Change Backlash, Even Oil Companies Are Dumping ALEC Now

, Think Progress.

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This lobbying shop is so dirty even oil companies want out

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The little island that could is going 100 percent renewable

by UTKJaimiesgne Posted on September 30, 2014

Isla Bonita

The little island that could is going 100 percent renewable

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30 Sep 2014 7:30 AM

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Europeans thought the tiny island of El Hierro was the end of the world before Cristobal Colon sailed to that other hemisphere. Now it’s the beginning of a post-fossil energy world.

One of Spain’s Canary Islands off Africa’s coast, El Hierro is an active volcanic landmass too remote to hook up to the motherland’s electricity grid. Until recently, 6,600 tons of barged-in diesel were burned each year to generate power for the island’s 10,000 residents.

But today, El Hierro stands mere months away from its goal of 100-percent renewable electricity — thanks to a wind farm that stores excess energy in a connected water turbine system. NPR’s Lauren Frayer tells the story:

This past summer, El Hierro inaugurated the Gorona del Viento power plant, a $110 million wind and water turbine farm. By the end of this year, the plant will generate all of the island’s energy needs of up to 48 gigawatt hours per year.

The plant consists of five big industrial windmills and two lakes. On windy days — and there are plenty — the windmills harness the Canary Islands’ Atlantic gusts. When production exceeds demand, such as at night, excess energy is used to pump water from a sea-level lake up into a natural volcanic crater half a mile uphill.

When the wind dies down, the water is released down through a pipe connecting the two lakes. On its way, it passes through turbines, which generate hydro-power.

Everything is connected with sensors so that within five seconds of the wind dying down, the hydro portion of the plant kicks in. For island residents, the lights don’t even flicker.

The technology used in both the wind and water portions of the plant is simple, but El Hierro is the first to combine the two components, says Juan Manuel Quintero, an engineer who serves on the board of the Gorona del Viento plant.

Next up for the little island that could: completing the transition to energy independence by making every car on El Hierro electric by 2020.

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The little island that could is going 100 percent renewable

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The Big Fix: Sun and Wind Alter Global Landscape, Leaving Utilities Behind

by Myrna Posted on September 13, 2014

Electric utility executives all over the world are watching nervously as technologies they once dismissed as irrelevant begin to threaten their long-established business plans. Link to article: The Big Fix: Sun and Wind Alter Global Landscape, Leaving Utilities Behind ; ; ;

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The Big Fix: Sun and Wind Alter Global Landscape, Leaving Utilities Behind

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