Domestic Fuel

New Jersey-based Energy Storage and Power says it is investing $20 million over the next three years to develop an underground compressed-air storage system for wind turbines and other power sources.

This story from C|Net.com says Energy Storage and Power is a joint venture formed by energy developer PSEG Global and Michael Nakhamkin, who designed the only compressed air-storage facility in the U.S.:

With Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES), air is pumped into underground formations, such as depleted natural gas wells or salt caverns, using a natural gas-powered machine. The pressured air is released later to drive a turbine to make electricity.

Energy Storage and Power said that it intends to develop equipment for storing renewable power resources at a large scale. Utilities are already using more wind and solar, but energy storage means that they can be used more broadly since electricity can be “dispatched” as needed.

Energy Storage and Power joins General Compression in the commercial compressed-air storage wind energy business. General Compression is also designing a wind turbine that has a compressor built into the nacelle, the housing at the top of a wind turbine tower.

Right now, the U.S. gets just one percent of its energy needs from wind power, but experts say that could be increased 20-fold in a short time.

This story from the New York Times says the current electrical grid was thought up 100 years ago… designed to be kind of a system of “streets, avenues and country roads:”

“We need an interstate transmission superhighway system,” said Suedeen G. Kelly, a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Achieving that would require moving large amounts of power over long distances, from the windy, lightly populated plains in the middle of the country to the coasts where many people live. Builders are also contemplating immense solar-power stations in the nation’s deserts that would pose the same transmission problems.

The article goes on to say that politicians in the nation’s capital have known about the grid’s limitations but don’t want to trample on states’ rights over the grid… although a 2005 energy law does allow the federal Energy Department to step in if states don’t act. But when the feds tried to do that, 14 U.S. senators signed a letter saying the department was being too aggressive.

I guess it’s back in Congress’ court as to whether this country moves forward with a clean energy source… and the infrastructure to support it.

If you’ve been watching any of the Democratic Convention you’ve been seeing plenty of windy people talking up a storm (hey, they’re politicians… Republicans will spew plenty of hot air next week!). But wind energy (the kind that turns turbines), along with solar and biodiesel, is helping behind the scenes.

National Geographic’s Green Guide blog has details:

This week’s Democratic Convention is boasting that it will be the greenest political convention ever. Hybrid, alternative fuel and biodiesel buses are transporting the delegates; the stage will be painted with low-VOC paints and solar power, wind energy and biodiesel generators will all be incorporated in running the event.

The post says it is the same thinking that has prompted many big-time concerts to adopt similar measures to reduce their carbon footprints.

Wind turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems has launched a $100-million ad campaign.

But, as CNNMoney.com reports, the company isn’t trying to convince everyone in the country to pick up one of its 100-ton wind energy machines:

Instead, the world’s largest seller of wind turbines sees the need to raise Americans’ awareness of wind energy’s potential. To that end, Vestas budgeted $ 100 million for the next two years to bring its “Vestas, No. 1 in Modern Energy” campaign to U.S. living rooms, company Chief Executive Ditlev Engel told Clean Technology Insight.

“We want to show people: Here’s technology you have but don’t use,” Engel said.

The article goes on to point out that the marketing effort has political intentions, too, as the industry is still smarting from Congress not mandating more energy from renewable sources:
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While Congress debates whether America should drill for more oil along the coasts of the country, a more valuable, greener source of energy could be offshore.

The idea of massive wind farms off the coasts of California, New England, the mid-Atlantic, Washington state, the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico could be appealing as winds are strong and more sustainable just a few miles out to sea. And this article from the Bellingham (WA) Herald says those potential wind farms could generate as much power as the country currently produces from all sources:

The winds blowing 15 miles or even farther off the U.S. coasts potentially could produce 900,000 megawatts of electricity, or roughly the same amount as nearly all the nation’s existing power sources combined, according to Department of Energy estimates.

“This is an energy frontier we are just starting to explore,” said Walter Musial, a senior engineer with the Energy Department’s Wind Technology Center in Colorado, adding that far offshore windmill projects in the United States could start appearing between 2012 and 2015.

The article goes on to say that while some windmills near the shore have caused controversy because they could “damage the view, (thanks Ted Kennedy!)” these platforms would be far from shore. And with today’s technology, having deepwater windmills is quite possible.

General Wesley Clark, the former Supreme Allied Commander of military forces in Europe and former presidential candidate, will be leading the opening day’s session at the HUSUM WindEnergy trade show and congress in Husum, Germany Sept. 9-13, 2008.

Clark will be speaking at the “Wind Power Forum: The New Energy Economy,” at the conference.

HUSUM is the world’s largest, longest-running and best-attended wind energy industry trade show, congress and job fair taking place in Husum, a small North Frisian coastal town.

More details about HUSUM are available at the event’s web site.

Retail giant JCPenney has inked an agreement with BroadStar Wind Systems to install BroadStar’s unique wind turbines at the retailer’s massive 1.6 million-square-foot distribution center in Reno, Nevada.

This press release posted on MarketWatch.com has details:

The pilot program will utilize BroadStar’s innovative, building-mounted AeroCam wind turbines, which capture wind energy and generate power more efficiently than conventional propeller and fixed-blade turbines. After installation is completed in November 2008, JCPenney will purchase electricity generated by the system from BroadStar.

Commenting on the agreement, Jim Thomas, vice president and director of corporate social responsibility for JCPenney said: “This wind power project furthers our commitment to incorporate sustainability into all aspects of our operations. We will closely monitor the results to determine how we can best leverage this technology to make use of renewable energy while also benefiting our business.”

BroadStar officials tout their system not just for its compact design but also for its ability to operate in turbulent wind conditions… something conventional propeller turbines have trouble with.

General Electric has teamed up with Spanish energy company Acciona to build a wind farm in the Dakotas that will power 60,000 homes.

This Reuters story says the $381 million wind farm will crank out 180-megawatts of electricity:

GE Energy Financial Services is investing $141 million in the Tatanka Wind Farm, which spans 14,000 acres along the border of North Dakota and South Dakota. Wachovia Investment Holdings LLC also provided financing for the project, which went online last month.

The farm is owned and operated by Acciona Energy North America. It is the first U.S. wind farm built entirely by Acciona, the companies said.

Acciano officials say the project will provide power throughout the Midwest.

Mark your calendar, and check your passport because the town of Husum, Germany is set to host the world’s largest and longest-running wind energy industry trade show, HUSUM WindEnergy.

A press release from HUSUM’s web site says the five-day event, September 9-13, 2008, will have 700 exhibitors from 35 countries, with an expected record for North American participation… 17 from the United States and 13 from Canada.

More than 20,000 visitors from 40 countries will participate in the 2008 trade show in the North Frisian coastal town, located in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein.

“HUSUM WindEnergy is both a showcase and market place in what truly has become a global discussion for clean energy development and transmission,” said Managing Director Hanno Fecke. “We provide the ideal environment for making and expanding international contacts, as well as a forum for enhancing multinational dialog exchange.”

Governors from 22 wind-rich states have been invited to participate in the event.

The fight between Democrats and Republicans in Washington, DC has hurt the biodiesel and wind energy programs in this country.

The Des Moines (IA) Register reports that Congress, deadlocked and heading for its August break, failed to renew tax credits for wind power and biodiesel that are due to expire at the end of the year:

Republicans have successfully blocked the tax package and other legislation from getting through the Senate because of the Democratic leadership’s restrictions on what GOP energy proposals can be put to a vote.

The biodiesel industry is heavily dependent on a $1-a-gallon tax credit that is at stake in the bill. The primary feedstock for biodiesel is soybean oil, and prices for that have been so high recently that biodiesel producers have been struggling to stay in operation even with the subsidy.

The August break is a chance for lawmakers to go back home and hear from their bosses… the people who elected them in the first place. Maybe its time they got an earful from all of you for them to get their heads together and get these important tax credits passed… before they run out at the end of the year.

The world’s superpowers… the current reigning one and the up-and-comer… are also super when it comes to wind power.

This story from CNN says the U.S. and China are leading the world in wind energy development. And as we’ve reported before, the American charge is being led in Texas, which produces more wind energy than any other state:

Several Texan transmission companies announced Monday they were forming a consortium to invest in the $5 billion cost of building new power lines to take advantage of the state’s vast wind power.

Those new lines, dubbed by Oncor as a “renewable energy superhighway,” will accommodate about 18,500 megawatts of wind generation by 2012– enough energy to power 4 million homes.

And America’s biggest rival is also rivaling it in wind energy development:
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Dakota Wind Energy has announced South Dakota’s first intrastate public offering, where shares in the community-based wind project are offered to residents of that state.

This press release says Dakota Wind Energy wants to develop more than 750 megawatts of community-owned wind farms throughout South Dakota:

“We want landowners participating in Dakota Wind Energy to have the opportunity to own units in the company,” says Gerry Fisher, a member of the Dakota Wind Energy board of advisors. “An intrastate public offering makes this possible. It also allows us to return a portion of the development proceeds to Dakota Wind Energy members over a long-term period.”
All South Dakota landowners that reside within the project’s footprint may receive ownership units in Dakota Wind Energy. Landowners who grant wind-related rights to Dakota Wind Energy can receive either a traditional cash payment, or units in Dakota Wind Energy through this offering.

“Shared ownership is what makes Dakota Wind Energy different from traditional wind developers,” says Mark Lucas, Vice President of National Wind. “Most other developers do not offer ownership; they only provide turbine lease agreements. In our wind developments, even if landowners do not end up with a wind turbine on their property, they still have the opportunity to own a part of Dakota Wind Energy. More than any other private offering structure, an intrastate public offering allows for the greatest number of local landowners to participate.”

Back in April, Dakota Wind announced it had put up two on-site meteorological towers to measure the wind regime in Marshall County, where part of the community-based wind project will be located.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas has approved $5 billion worth of new power lines that will carry wind energy from the western part of the state to more populated areas.

This article in the Houston Chronicle says it will give a major boost to a state that is already leading the country in wind-generated power:

It should boost the state’s wind farm business, already the largest in the nation, to even greater levels. It would increase capacity for wind generation to 18,456 megawatts.

“What this will net is significant long-term savings because we will not be burning nearly as much natural gas, and it will reduce the overall cost of electricity,” Smith said. “It also will create significant new jobs and reduce pollution in our urban areas.”

As the need for wind energy grows… expected to grow at double-digit rates in capacity over the next 20 years… the need for workers who can construct, repair and maintain those green energy systems grows as well. To help meet that need, a college in Northwest Iowa… an area known for its wind power generators… is offering a program to train those workers.

This story from KTIV-TV in Sioux City says Iowa Lakes Community College in Estherville (in full disclosure, my alma mater) is helping meet the growing need:

Even with all of that growth there is one place where the wind industry is falling short. “Man power, there is a shortage of man power to man the wind turbines that are being operated across the country and that is where our program comes in,” Zeits said.

According to the American Wind Energy Association those trained workers can’t come to soon. “We expect that we are going to have a need for a 180,000 workers in the industry within the next 22 years,” said [John] Dunlop.

The article goes on to point out that portion of Iowa, Southern Minnesota and South Dakota is right in the middle of a booming wind power generation area… right around that little college that has a wind-powered sailboat as its symbol. Kind of befitting, huh?

With utility rates rising… and expected to get even higher… it’s no wonder people are looking at generating their own electricity.

This story from the Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch says backyard wind power generators are growing in popularity, despite their sometimes hefty price tag:

“They are definitely growing [in popularity],” says Ron Stimmel of the AWEA, the national trade association for the wind energy industry. Sales of turbines that generate 2 kilowatts to 10 kilowatts of electricity, the smallest category of turbine and the ones most likely to be in residential use, have been rising nearly 25% annually, he said.

The rising cost of electricity has been driving wind-turbine sales. Homeowners in an area of high winds with a properly sited turbine can shave up to 80% off their monthly electricity bills, industry experts say.

Some wind turbines can cost anywhere from $12,000 – $50,000, which, even if they save homeowners 80 percent of their electricity costs (as some do), it can take some time to recoup their costs. Some state governments are helping people get back some of that money to encourage the growth of the home-scale wind farms. The article points out, for example, in New York, homeowners can get back as much as 40 percent of the start-up costs… two-thirds of the money upfront to help buy the system and the rest when it is connected to the power grid.