by jboullion | Apr 27, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article in the Chicago Tribune:
MADISON, Wis.— A poll of Wisconsin residents finds strong support for increasing the use of wind energy, even if doing so would raise electricity bills several dollars per month.
The Wisconsin Public Radio poll was released Friday. It shows that 77 percent of respondents want to see the state invest more in wind energy. Reasons included decreasing the nation’s reliance on foreign oil and helping the environment.
A majority, 69 percent, wouldn’t mind eight to 10 wind-energy machines being placed closed to where they live, and 79 percent favor placing the machines offshore in Lake Michigan.
Click here for poll results.
by jboullion | Apr 20, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Dan Piller in the the Des Moises (Iowa) Register:
State grants West Branch wind facility $3 million
The Iowa Power Fund on Thursday awarded Acciona Wind Energy a $3 million grant to help finance a $19.9 million demonstration project near Mechanicsville that will show off Acciona’s new three-megawatt wind energy system.
“One tower will be steel and the other concrete. We’ve had requests for both,” said Joe Baker, president of Acciona’s plant at West Branch.
The four-year-old West Branch operation makes the nacelles, or the box behind the blade that houses the gears and generation capacity.
Acciona has focused on building 1.5-megawatt wind systems, but the larger units are becoming more standard in the industry, Baker said.
MidAmerican Energy’s wind farms in west-central Iowa have three-megawatt turbines.
“Within seven to 10 years most of the wind turbines will be three megawatts,” he said. A megawatt of electricity can power 200 to 500 standard-sized homes.
Iowa has 3,675 megawatts of wind generation capacity, ranking second behind Texas in total capacity and first as a percentage of its total electricity generation capacity
Acciona is a century-old Spanish company with roots in construction and water treatment. The West Branch facility, opened in 2007, is its only U.S. wind equipment factory, but Acciona operates five wind farms in Illinois, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Nevada and California.
From an article by Laurenne Ramsdell on Fosters.com:
Goss in Durham (MA) delivers first turbine to Chicago-area
DURHAM — Goss International unveiled its newly developed wind turbine components to area officials and state representatives on Thursday morning.
Goss, primarily a printing press company, has worked throughout the past year with Aeronautica Windpower, a Massachusetts-based licensing company, to cross train employees in order to produce the massive turbines.
According to Greg Norris, marketing communications manager for Goss, the first wind turbine that Goss has manufactured will be ready for shipment to Illinois next week. Norris said the eco-friendly equipment will be delivered to Testa Produce, a Chicago-based wholesale produce distributor.
Norris stressed the turbines are midscale electromechanical pieces of equipment that will be used for warehouses, farms, schools and universities, factories, small housing developments and an array of commercial sites.
Those who attended the update session had the opportunity to tour the area of Goss where the 750 kilowatt and 225 kilowatt machines are being manufactured. Wearing safety goggles, the representatives stood in awe at the size and power of the turbines being created.
As of Thursday, the 750 kilowatt turbine going to Illinois was in pieces for shipping purposes. Once the pieces are assembled, the machine is comparable in size to a small school bus.
by jboullion | Apr 13, 2011 | Uncategorized
From a commentary by Mark Z. Jacobson in the New York Daily News:
The powerful earthquake and tsunami that caused reactors at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant to shut down – releasing radiation and endangering workers and evacuees – have many Americans asking whether nuclear energy is worth the investment and risk.
I say not. In fact, it should not have taken a disaster of this kind to move us decisively away from nuclear and toward safe, clean, renewable energy. . . .
If the world’s energy needs were converted to electricity for all purposes – and nuclear supplied such energy – 15,800 large nuclear reactors, one installed every day for the next 43 years, would be needed. The installation of even 5% of these would nearly double the current number of reactors, giving many more countries the potential to develop weapons. If only one weapon were used in a city, it could kill 1 to 16 million people.
***
Why do we need nuclear energy when we have safer, cleaner options that can provide greater power for a much longer period and at lower cost to society? These better options are called WWS, for “wind, water and sunlight.” The chance of catastrophe caused by nature or terrorists acting on wind or solar, in particular, is zero.
During their lifetimes, WWS technologies emit no pollution – whereas nuclear does, since continuous energy is needed to mine, transport and refine uranium and reactors require much longer to permit and install than do WWS technologies. Overall, nuclear emits 9 to 25 times more air pollution and carbon dioxide than does wind per unit energy generated.
***
Some argue that nuclear is more reliable than WWS systems. This is not true. A nuclear reactor affects a larger fraction of the grid when it fails than does a wind turbine. The average maintenance downtime of modern wind turbines on land is 2%. That of France’s 59 reactors is 21.5%, with about half due to scheduled maintenance.
by jboullion | Apr 11, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Nathaniel Shuda in the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune:
More than two years after officials announced plans to build a wind-turbine blade manufacturing plant, the future of the Wisconsin Rapids-based company’s project remains unclear.
Energy Composites Corp.’s plan to bring more than 600 jobs to the south Wood County area is on hold indefinitely while the city continues to negotiate a deal to buy back the land it sold to the company for the project, city and company officials said.
“We have nothing in final form,” Mayor Mary Jo Carson said Friday. “We’ll probably push it through sometime next week.”
Company founder and President Jamie Mancl said a sharp decline in the wind-industry market and a lack of federal energy policy were the main reasons he was unable to secure investors for the 535,000-square-foot plant.
“We still are pursuing options, of course, but given the economic and political environment, especially here in the state of Wisconsin but (also) across the U.S., it has been very challenging at best,” Mancl said Friday.
