Domestic Fuel

A new report commissioned by Paris-based Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) shows that the renewable energy sector continues to perform well despite the continuing economic recession, incentive cuts and low natural gas prices. In fact, “Renewables 2011 Global Status Report” calculates that renewable energy supplied around 16 percent of global final energy consumption and accounted for nearly 20 percent of global electricity production. The report was authored by Janet Sawin, a senior fellow with the Worldwatch Institute along with a global network of research partners.

When you include large and small hydropower, which is estimated to have added 30 gigawatts of power in 2010, renewable energy accounted for approximately 50 percent of total added power-generating capacity in 2010. Also increasing in capacity last year was the solar water and space heating industry which added approximately 25 gigawatts-thermal (GWth) or about 16 percent.

“The Global Status Report shows that despite the recession, renewables are growing at an enormous rate,” said Director of Climate & Energy Alexander Ochs who contributed to the report. “Still, there are 1.5 billion people who don’t have any access to energy, and 3 billion people relying on traditional biomass sources and coal. If we want to prevent climate change from spinning out of control, we need to scale up our efforts to accelerate renewable energy development and deployment at all levels. Worldwatch will continue to provide guidance as to how this can be done.”

The driver for growth continues to be renewable energy policies. By the beginning of 2011, there were at least 119 countries that had some policy target or renewable energy policy at the national level. In 2005, this number was only 55. The report details that more than half of these countries represent the developing world and at least 95 countries have policy specifically to grow renewable power generation. In the United States, for example, 30 states (plus Washington, D.C.) have Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS).

While feed-in tariffs are somewhat taboo in the United States, they remain the most common mechanism worldwide to encourage adoption of renewable energy sources. Also somewhat lacking in the U.S. private investments in the industry on a global scale reached $211 billion last year, up from $160 billion invested in 2009. Money invested in renewable energy companies, utility-scale generation, and biofuel projects increased to $143 billion, with developing countries surpassing developed economies for the first time, according to the Global Status Report’s recently released companion report, “UNEP’s Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2011.” Not surprisingly, China attracted $48.5 billion, or more than a third of the global total.

In addition to the report, REN21 also launched its Renewables Interactive Map, a tool for gathering and sharing the renewable energy developments.

While wind energy is growing exponentially, renewable energy in the U.S. makes up less than 4 percent of total energy use. To increase energy created from wind power, several issues need to be address including transmission infrastructure and advanced energy storage. These very opportunities will be discussed and more during the first Wind & Transmission Leadership summit in Big Sky Montana from September 25-28, 2011.

The C-level summit will focus on seeking solutions to energy policy and wind development and will bring together leaders from the wind, energy storage and transmission industries as well as people from state and federal governments, finance and investment firms, academia, associations, environmental groups, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

“This conference is well positioned to bring together the leaders in industry and government that are working to solve our greatest challenges to establishing a renewable energy standard for the U.S. and to address the continued risk to our economy and environment,” said Randy Stratton, Conference Co-Chairman. “We can solve these challenges with the private sector working with the government to fund research and development in wind, energy storage, transmission technology and electric vehicles. We must move forward now before we fall further behind the rest of the world.”

Several break-out sessions will occur during the three-day summit and focus on a key segments of the market. Sessions include: community wind development, transmission solutions, state and federal policies and incentives, opening electricity markets in the West, siting issues, large wind technology, public lands and transmission infrastructure, wildlife concerns, national and regional energy programs, eminent domain, smart grid advancements, finance/investment and risk/liability issues.

Tom Kaiserski, Director of Energy Promotions for the State of Montana added, “This summit is designed to bring together the players with the vision and resources capable of building a 21st century clean and renewable power and transmission system that will result in thousands of new jobs, billions of investment, millions in new tax revenues that will help secure our energy future.”

Click here to learn more about the conference and for online registration.

I’ve been traveling around the country quite a bit this summer and I can’t get over the growth of the wind industry. On a few occasions I’ve watched components of wind turbines pass me by and I’ve always wanted to get up close just to see how big these blades and the base really are. Well now I know. I pulled over at a rest stop in Davenport, Iowa on Monday and there were four trucks carrying wind turbine blades parked in the lot and boy were they creating interest.

So just how big are these blades? I walked from tip to tip and it took me 39 seconds walking at a normal pace. Here is a video of my journey. BTW – the song is called “Wind Energy Song” and was written by Monty Harper. Here are some of the lyrics:

This is the sun shining down on Earth.

This is the warmth of the
sun shining down on Earth.

This is the air rising up through the
warmth of the
sun shining down on Earth.

This is the wind blowing in beneath the
air rising up through the
warmth of the
sun shining down on Earth.

This is the rotor spinning in the
wind blowing in beneath the
air rising up through the
warmth of the
sun shining down on Earth.

I also took photos as I was driving (don’t try this in the car!) and I have pictures of a wind farm off of 1-80 Iowa. Did you know that Iowa is the second leading state for wind power generation behind Texas? The state is also the leader in renewable energy – 20 percent of Iowa’s power comes from renewable resources. Take that California! I also took pictures of a wind farm in off of 1-74 in Illinois. Click here to see my Summer 2011 photo album.

First Wind has completed a 60 megawatt (MW) wind farm in Penobscot County, Maine. The Rollins Wind project is comprised of 200 wind turbines that are estimated to power nearly 23,000 average sized homes each year. The power is being delivered to Maine homes and businesses and is cost-competitive due to two long-term electricity supply contracts with Bango Hydro and Central Maine Power, the state’s Public Utilities Commission.

“The Rollins Wind project is clean energy, made in Maine for the people of Maine. It will deliver clean, renewable energy to Maine homes and businesses at a cost competitive with fossil fuel plants, but without the emissions of many other forms of energy,” said First Wind CEO, Paul Gaynor. “This is a significant addition to our growing portfolio of wind projects in Maine that now have the capacity to generate 185 MW of clean energy. We’d like to thank all of our partners, the members of the surrounding community and our supporters for helping to make this project a reality.”

First Wind says this project was a significant source of revenue and new jobs in the area with more than $30 million spent directly with 97 Maine-based businesses. The Rollins Wind Project will also generate additional activity through its ongoing operations.

“The State of Maine is fortunate to have a company like First Wind and its partners in the Rollins Project bringing such a significant investment into the Lincoln Region,” said Rep. Stacey Fitts, House Chair of the Legislature’s Energy Utilities and Technology Committee, who spoke at the event. “This project is a significant step in the effort to move Maine away from our dependence on fossil fuels. This is not easy, and we should congratulate everyone involved in this project for their efforts.”

According to a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), clean energy policies would boost Midwestern economies. Last week, the Brookings Institution released a study that found the private-sector “green” economy in the Midwest already employs nearly 40,000 people. However, “A Bright Future for the Heartland: Powering the Midwest Economy with Clean Energy,” estimates that this number is already higher and will continue to grow.

In particular, the report found that the Midwest has great potential to produce electricity from renewable resources including wind, biomass and solar. Iowa is already the leading state for wind and biofuels and other Midwestern states like Minnesota are following close behind. The UCS report says that renewable energy has the ability to cut home and business energy bills, drive billions of dollars in new business investment and create thousands of jobs. All of this can happen, says the report, while reducing the use of energy created by coal.

“Adopting stronger clean energy standards can help transform the region’s economy,” said Steven Frenkel, director of UCS’s Midwest office. “Generating more renewable energy will put people back to work manufacturing the components needed to power the clean energy economy, such as wind turbines and solar panels. At the same time, reducing energy use can help keep Midwest businesses competitive by cutting their energy costs.”

The study analyzes the possible impact of a clean energy strategy that would help the economy. The duo approach includes policy combined with the adoption of energy efficient technologies. More specifically, the “proposed” policy would require 30 percent of each state’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030 coupled with the goal of a 2 percent reduction in annual power consumption by 2015 with an additional 2 percent reduction each following year. The study also found that while individual state policies can have an impact, the greatest achievement would happen if all states acted together.

Claudio Martinez, UCS energy analyst and report author added, “Few places in the world have the combination of a great renewable energy potential, a strong manufacturing base and the skilled workforce needed to realize that potential. And the Midwest is one of those places.”

Yards Brewing Co. is now brewing its beer with wind power. The company is one of Pennsylvania’s largest breweries and to fulfill its mission of “going green” the company is participating in Washington Gas Energy Services’ (WGES) 100% CleanSteps WindPower to Yards program. One reason the company chose wind power to provide renewable energy is because they said it produces no air or water pollution.

“Our green power purchase just makes sense – it fulfills our business philosophy and falls in line with our community efforts to be more environmentally sustainable,” said Yards Owner and Founder Tom Kehoe. The company hopes other Philadelphia businesses will follow suit and also switch to clean power.

For companies who participate in the WGES program, there is no installation of new equipment or wiring needed. Instead, CleanSteps (SM) WindPower customers receive one monthly bill from the local electric utility with WGES charges reflected as a separate line item. In addition, the local utility company continues to deliver electricity (aka wind energy) read meters and respond to any issues such as power outages.

Harry Warren, president of WGES added, “WGES is very excited to be able to help Yards Brewing Co. meet its environmental goal of reducing its carbon footprint. Yards Brewing Co.’s purchase of 100% WGES CleanSteps (SM) WindPower is equivalent to burning approximately 52,000 fewer gallons of gasoline or taking 91 cars off the road for one year.”

Wind energy and biofuels are part of the campaign for Congress launched this week by former Iowa first lady Christie Vilsack.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do, from supporting biofuels and wind power, to bringing broadband internet to our rural communities,” Vilsack says in her campaign YouTube video. Her website, ChristieVilsackForIowa.com, features a rural wind farm in the mast head. “We have more wind turbines in this district than anyplace in the country outside of Texas,” Vilsack says under Christie’s Plan on the website. “Why can’t some of their 8,000 component parts be made right here in Northwest and North Central Iowa?”

Vilsack officially announced her bid to represent Iowa’s newly formed 4th district yesterday with her husband Tom, current U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and former Iowa governor, at her side.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved two loans totaling $78.3 million to help build two wind farms in the Dominican Republic. Once completed, the renewable energy projects will combined provide 80.6 megawatts to the grid. The wind farms are being developed by private companies, and demonstrate the growing confidence in the Dominican energy sector. The Corporación Dominicana de Empresas Eléctricas Estatales (CDEEE) is one utility that will purchase the electricity produced from both wind farms through seperate 20-year power purchase agreements.

The first loan of $50.7 million was awarded to the Parques Eólicos del Caribe (PECASA) project, located in the southern province of Mote Cristi. The $127 million wind farm is under development by Gamesa, Grupo Delta Intur, Aquiles Mateo, and Miguel Ángel Muñiz. The project will consist of 25 Gamesa G90 turbines with a capacity of 2 megawatts each.

The second loan of $27.6 million was awarded to Grupo Eólico Dominicano, a company controlled by the Spanish group Inveravante. This $68.9 million project, located in Baní, part of the Peravia province, will be comprised of 17 Vestas V90 turbines, with a capacity of 1.8 megawatts each.

To support both projects, 138-kilovolt transmission lines will be constructed to connect the wind farms to the national grid. In addition, access roads will be built along with several new substations and control stations.

Two hundred miles west of Wichita will be the home of the newest wind farm in Kansas. Duke Energy Renewables has announced they have purchased the 131-megawatt Cimarron II Windpower Project in Gray County. Construction will begin this fall and the project is expected to be generating wind power by June of 2012. The wind farm will be cited on 16,000 acres of leased farmland and Duke estimates that the wind farm will generate enough energy to power 40,000 homes each year.

Duke purchased the project from CPV Renewable Energy who will maintain ownership of the first phase – Cimarron I. Kansas City Power & Light will purchase all generated power as well as the associated renewable energy credits for 28 years.

“Duke Energy Renewables is pleased to acquire this high-quality wind power project from CPV Renewable Energy and looks forward to helping Kansas City Power & Light deliver zero-emission electricity to its customers,” said Duke Energy Renewables Senior Vice President Tony Dorazio.

In the past month, Duke Energy has announced plans to add three wind farms to its portfolio. Once the projects are complete, the company’s wind-generated capacity will be nearly 1,300 megawatts or enough to power approximately 400,000 homes.

Sean Finnerty, senior vice president with CPV Renewable Energy Company added, “CPV Renewable Energy Company has teamed up with Duke Energy Renewables to ensure Cimarron II meets the needs of Kansas City Power & Light’s customers. The project will bring significant benefits locally and to the citizens of Kansas.”

Renewable energy production has surpassed nuclear energy production in the U.S. according to the latest issue of Monthly Energy Review published by the Energy Information Administration. Production of alternative energy is also beginning to close in on domestic oil production.

During the first three months of 2011, energy produced from renewable energy sources (biomass/biofuels, geothermal, solar, hydro, wind) generated 2.245 quadrillion Btus of energy equating to 11.73 percent of U.S. energy production. During this same time period, renewable energy production surpassed nuclear energy power by 5.65 percent. In total, energy produced from renewables is 77.15 percent of that from domestic crude oil production.

When looking at all energy sectors, production of renewable energy has increased by a little over 15 percent when compared to first quarter of 2010, and by more than 25 percent when compared to the first quarter of 2009. Of this total, biomass/biofuels accounted for approximately 48 percent of this total followed by hydropower at 35.41 percent, wind at 12.87 percent, geothermal at 2.45 percent and lastly solar at 1.16 percent.

Despite a seemingly low number for solar power, when compared to first quarter last year, solar power has increased by 104.8 percent while wind power increased by 40.3 percent. Hydropower and geothermal energy also increased by 28.7 percent and 5.8 percent respectively. While nuclear energy has seen a slight increase in power generation, for the most part it has remained steady.

“Notwithstanding the recent nuclear accident in Japan, among many others, and the rapid growth in energy and electricity from renewable sources, congressional Republicans continue to press for more nuclear energy funding while seeking deep cuts in renewable energy investments,” said Ken Bossong, Executive Director of the SUN DAY Campaign. “One has to wonder ‘what are these people thinking?’”

To learn more about the effects of energy facilities on wildlife, the Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) has created a wildlife and renewable energy program. The study aims to understand the movements of birds and bats and how they interact with various forms of energy such as wind turbines. BRI is currently involved in several areas of wind power research and marine spatial planning in the Eastern United States.

“Careful siting of renewable energy development may play a key role in minimizing impacts to wildlife,” said David Evers, Ph.D., BRI’s executive director and chief scientist. “However, this requires detailed knowledge of where animals breed, winter, and migrate.”

For the past two and a half years, the BRI team has studied migration and movement patterns of birds and bats over the Gulf of Maine and along the Atlantic coast. They discovered that migratory owls will fly hundreds of miles out over the Atlantic on their way south to South America and the Caribbean. BRI believes this could be important in understanding how these owls, and other birds, could be affected by offshore wind turbines.

“Wind developers and wildlife managers in both the U.S. and Europe have called for the collection of preconstruction monitoring data to minimize the potential impacts of facilities on wildlife,” says Kate Williams, director of BRI’s wildlife and renewable energy program. “This can be a hot-button issue, but BRI’s main goal is to provide sound scientific data to decision makers and the public to inform debate on siting and other issues. We don’t have a pro- or anti-wind agenda.”

One of BRI’s goals is to make the information available to policy makers as well as the general public. They will be hosting a two-day workshop about the ecological effects of offshore wind power on November 8-9, 2011 at the University of Southern Maine in Portland.

According to a new study released today by Vestas Wind Systems, 90 percent of consumers worldwide want more renewable energy, 65 percent prefer to purchase brands produced using wind energy and 53 percent in China and 7 percent of respondents in the U.S. view climate change as the greatest challenge. The Global Consumer Wind Study 2011 as well as the Corporate Renewable Energy Index (CREX) 2011, show the relationship between consumer demand for renewable energy in the products and services they purchase. In addition, the studies highlight what corporations are or are not doing to meet consumer demands for greater use of renewable energy.

Ditlev Engel, President and CEO of Vestas said, “Consumers around the world see climate change as the greatest single challenge, and 90 percent of consumers want more renewable energy. This shows a real global desire to reduce carbon emissions. It gives corporate decision makers something to think about and act upon.”

The Global Consumer Wind Study 2011 is the largest undertaken of its kind with 31,000 respondents participating in 26 countries. The goal of the survey was to learn more about consumer demand for products made with renewable energy. Consumers were asked how energy decisions made by companies affect their purchasing decisions. In addition, consumers were asked about their perceptions of climate change. The annual study was commission by Vestas and conducted by TNS Gallup.

“The Global Consumer Wind Study provides insight into the role of renewable energy, in particular wind, in relation to the products and services consumers buy,” added Engel.” This in turn should drive the adoption of renewable energy sources by the corporations that sell these products and services.”

The Corporate Renewable Energy Index, with 176 respondents, was based on data from CREX, commissioned by Vestas and conducted by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The companies using the most renewable energy are News Corp., Plum Creek Timber, Kohl’s Corporation, and Whole Foods Market, who uses 100 percent wind energy and has been named Global Wind Energy Champion.

Woe is a country who can’t break its dependence on foreign oil. But how do you make such a bold move when our entire society is built upon its wares? And even more so, how do you break the chains when there are no other alternatives? This are some of the topics discussed in this week’s book, “Life Without Oil: Why We Must Shift To A New Energy Future,” by Steve Hallett with John Wright. Hallett is a professor in the department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Purdue and Wright is an energy and environmental journalist.

The premise of the book is that the world is running out of oil while at the same time depleting itself of its natural resources. These two issues can combine to cause destruction and complete collapse of a society. The book begins by highlighting some of the societies that have disappeared due to lack of resources whether it be water or trees or others. One of the most famous case studies he uses is that of Easter Island, now owned by Chile, and the irony that although the people knew their future was in jeopardy due to diminished resources, they used them all anyway. Will this be society today?

Hallett is not a fan of biofuels as a solution to our problems. He also believes renewable energy, such as wind or solar, will only become mainstream when it is the only option. He also doesn’t think we will be laughing 30, 40, 50 years from now about how peak oil and climate change were myths.

In terms of the future energy sources, Hallett believes it will be one in which nuclear and hydrogen play major roles.
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It’s global renewable energy week. Today is Global Wind Day and Saturday is world SolarDay, at least for those in North America. To celebrate, the Ecotech Institute, the first and only college whose sole focus in preparing Americans to work in green jobs, is hosting an open house on June 18. Since the school installed a solar energy system in January 2011, the system has generated more than 10,000 kilowatt hours of electricity.

One field of study at the EcoTech Institute is its Solar Energy Technology Program designed to educate students about all things solar energy technology. The program has updated facilities, modern labs and small class sizes – all things the school considers ideal for learning. Since opening, more than 300 students have attended the Aurora, Colorado, based school.

The solar curriculum prepares students for various jobs after graduation including construction, installation and repair of solar energy systems as well as working with architect or engineers as they design and install solar projects. For more information about the open house or to learn more about Ecotech Institute programs, click here.

A new international label for companies and products using wind energy is being proposed by a new organization.

Wind energy industry leaders gathered in New York today on Global Wind Day to unveil the proposed WindMade™ standard for public comment and to promote it worldwide. This event was co-sponsored by the new WindMade™ organization, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, and the Wind Energy Foundation, of Washington, D.C.

“I believe that WindMade has the potential to develop into a truly global movement, with consumers around the world demanding transparency on the companies and products they choose,” said WindMade CEO Henrik Kuffner. “WindMade can make a real difference in driving consumer demand for sustainable products, and I am excited to be given the opportunity to spearhead this groundbreaking initiative.”

The proposed standard requires participating companies to source a minimum of 25 per cent of their electricity demand from wind power and it was developed by a committee made up of representatives from founding organizations, including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), LEGO, Climate Friendly, Gold Standard, and Vestas Wind Systems. “We believe that the label will build a bridge between consumers and companies committed to clean energy,” said Steve Sawyer, Chairman of the WindMade™ Board and Secretary General of GWEC.

Organizers say that WindMade™ will be “dedicated to increasing corporate investments in wind power by informing consumers about companies’ use of wind energy, and increasing demand for products that embrace this clean and renewable energy source.”