The concept of improving company profitability through flexible energy consumption is relatively new to most company managers. The identification of flexibility is not part of most energy reviews. Grid regulation across Europe has been blind to the benefits of onsite wind power with local consumption. Transmission, distribution and generation companies have little reason to champion the […]
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Reaching the Power of High Altitude Winds
A 16-meter long helium-filled cylinder will rotate creating considerable lift force. A ground-based winch-generator will convert the lift force into electricity. Once the cylinder has reached its maximum height, its rotation is stopped and the module descends to its starting position. During trials in April 2015, the airborne module will fly below 500m of height […]
Unexpected Twists and Turns Before English Wind Energy Project Succeeds
There can be many unexpected twists and turns before an English wind energy project succeeds, as the Blackshaw Environmental Action Team discovered. Wind turbines are a proven and fast-maturing technology. Small wind turbines are relatively cheap. With feed-in tariff payments, they should provide an excellent return to investors. But… Building a sustainable community Local food schemes, […]
Loss of Feed-in Tariffs pushed Community Wind Power into Decline in Denmark
When the Government of Denmark replaced feed-in tariffs for wind turbines with top-ups for electricity sales, community wind power went into decline. While the Danish wind power story remains one of success, there are actually fewer wind turbines than there used to be and wind turbine ownership is becoming concentrated in fewer hands. Danish Wind […]
U.S. Offshore Wind Turbines Now a Near-Certainty
The installation of more than 100 wind turbines off the coast of the United States is now a near certainty. The first power is expected to flow from the turbines during 2013. Cape Wind Associates plan to build 130 wind turbines with a generation capacity of 420 MW near the island of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, […]
Argentina’s Wind Power Balancing Act
Argentinians have been purchasing fossil fuels for electricity generation at prices that are well in excess of the cost of wind power. The country has massive wind power potential. The problem has been accessing the capital needed to exploit that potential. The China Development Bank Corporation has agreed to provide Grupo Isolux Corsan SA project […]
South Africa Renewable Energy Program is Under Way
Round 1 of the renewable energy development program (REIPP)in South Africa is finally under way. The government will sign final agreements with 28 project developers in the next few days. They plan to build 1.4 GW of generation capacity and invest US$5.4 billion. The government has also announced plans for a major extension of the […]
Investors in Indian Wind Energy want rapid depreciation not feed-in tariffs
Investors in Indian wind energy want rapid depreciation as an incentive not feed-in tariffs – choosing certain savings now over government incentives that are dependent on the performance of their wind turbines. Developers in India installed a record 2,827MW of wind energy capacity in 2011. China and the US were the only countries to install […]
Wind Is The Cheapest Power Source in Uruguay
Wind Is The Cheapest Power Source in Uruguay. Uruguay’s state utility UTE is purchasing wind-generated electricity at less than half the price per MW hour that it pays for power generated from fossil fuels. The average winning price in a recent Uruguayan auction for three 50MW wind power projects was US $63.70 per MWh. The cost […]
Pakistan Looks to Wind Power in a Crisis
Pakistan’s national electric power regulatory authority has proposed a feed-in tariff for wind power projects of 14.66 US cents per kWh to run for 20 years. The tariff will be limited to projects of 5MW to 250MW that achieve financial close before the end of 2012. A tariff of almost 15 US cents is one […]
