Foreign Wind Stocks Build U.S. Industry

In the U.S, the grasslands of the Central Plains are becoming fertile soil for industrial development of wind power. German-based engineering conglomerate Siemens AG (NYSE: SI), though not a pure play on clean energy, is helping to expand the manufacturing base for wind turbine components in the United States heartland in Kansas. Hutchinson, a town [...]

Stringing Offshore Turbines for Uninterrupted Power

The problem with generating electricity by harnessing the wind is that it doesn’t always blow. And typically, consumers remain intolerant of power interruptions. But there may be a way to ensure a steady supply of wind. The key? Sea breezes–and a lot of wiring.

Willett Kempton, director of the University of Delaware’s Center for Carbon-Free Power Integration, and his colleagues analyzed wind patterns from 11 sites on the U.S. East Coast, from Maine to Florida. By wiring together hypothetical offshore wind turbines along this 2,500-kilometer-long coastline, the researchers found that the turbines could guarantee a steady supply of electricity. In fact, according to their model, there would never be a time when the wind wasn’t producing some electricity–and previous research by Kempton has shown that offshore wind power alone could supply the needs of these coastal states.

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Wind power – Wind turbine – Electricity generation – Florida – University of Delaware

Federal government approves Cape Cod offshore wind farm

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced a federal blessing for the controversial Cape Wind project today–clearing a path for mammoth wind turbines to be built offshore of the Massachusetts vacation destination, the first such offshore wind farm in the U.S. Given that the United Kingdom (alone) has 1 gigawatt of such offshore wind as of 2010 and Denmark has been building offshore since 1990 , you might wonder what’s taken so long? After all, the project was first proposed nearly a decade ago. [More]

Massachusetts – Cape Wind – United States Secretary of the Interior – Cape Cod – Wind farm

U.S. Electrical Grid Undergoes Massive Transition to Connect to Renewables

The U.S. electrical grid is the largest interconnected machine on Earth: 200,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines and 5.5 million miles of local distribution lines, linking thousands of generating plants to factories, homes and businesses. The National Academy of Engineering ranks it as the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th century. What it cannot do is support the massive shift to low-carbon power that scientists warn will be needed to avoid catastrophic climate change impacts. [More]

Climate change – National Academy of Engineers – United States – Electric power transmission – High voltage

String of offshore turbines along East Coast could provide steady supply of wind power

The problem with generating electricity by harnessing the wind is that it doesn’t always blow (though it may seem that way at times). And, typically, consumers remain intolerant of power interruptions. [More]

Going with the Flow: Hydrokinetic Power Developers Face Technical and Regulatory Hurtles in Bid to Tap Tides

The quest to turn the motion of the world’s waterways into a significant source of energy may still be in its nascent stage, but several tidal power projects are making headway. Whether they operate in lakes, rivers or the oceans, projects attempting to harness the tides share the same mission: to improve the technology and offer an economical alternative to fossil fuels. [More]

Breaking the Climate Debate Logjam

There is a growing possibility that the U.S. will pass no climate change legislation in this session of Congress: the uphill climb is at least as steep, and probably steeper, as it is for health care legislation. President Barack Obama cannot presume to hold his own party in line on climate change. Several Democratic senators have already asked him to stop pushing for a bill in 2010, given the proximity to the midterm elections.

The fracture lines are countless, but probably the most important one runs through public opinion. A recent poll showed only 36 percent of Americans believing that the evidence of human-induced climate change is firm, down from 47 percent in early 2008. The rise of unemployment has perhaps made people more reluctant to accept adverse news on living standards. There is also considerable public confusion about climate science and possible remedies.

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