Wind Energy and renewable energy blog

How is Obama Influencing US Energy Investment?

Obama’s policies to “roll back the specter of a warming planet” are beginning to shape the new US energy horizon, however whether they will result in a new green, low carbon country is up for debate. The US House of Representatives sanctioned the ‘American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act” this week reinforcing the message that Obama is serious about renewable energy.

Wind Farm Landowner Experience

If you are thinking of hosting a wind farm on your land, check out the following You Tube video for the views and experiences of one farmer.

Up to 7000 Wind Turbines Mooted for the UK Coastline

A new government report says there is potential for between 5000 and 7000 offshore wind turbines around the UK Coastline. The report was commissioned by the department of Energy and Climate Change and recommends that offshore wind energy developments should minimise impacts on the tourism and fishing industries by locating new turbines at least 22km from the coast.

Tidal Power One Step Further towards Reality in the UK?

5 tidal barrage and lagoon projects for the UK Severn Estuary were chosen for a government shortlist today.

The huge 10 mile long Cardiff Weston Barrage proposal from Weston Super Mare to Cardiff could generate as much as 5% of UK electricity requirements, whereas the smaller Bridgwater Bay Lagoon project between Hinkley Point and Weston Super Mare has the potential to generate just under 1%.

People get Creative with UFO Wind Turbine Story

The wind turbine that lost its blade a few weeks is now famous and has sparked the imagination of a huge number of people on the web. Check out the You Tube video above. A satellite image of the site on the morning following the prang, is included below. For further pictures try The Register.

English Politicians Reject 50 MW Wind Farm Whilst Scots Surge Ahead

English Councillors this week voted to object to a controversial 19 turbine, 50MW wind farm near Marshland St James, in the Norfolk Fens. Meanwhile over the border in the Highlands of Scotland, local officials approved the 25 turbine, 50MW Camster Wind Farm between Lybster and Watten.

These decisions do not come as a surprise. Approval rates for wind energy projects have been higher in Scotland than in England and Wales for more than a few years.

UK Supermarket to Generate Electricity from Unsold Food

UK supermarket Sainsbury’s is to start converting its annual 60,000 tonnes of food waste into energy instead of sending it to landfill.
Under the new scheme, the waste will be taken to anaerobic digester plants and converted into methane gas which will in turn generate electricity. The scheme has already been trialled at a digester [...]

Free Renewable Energy Advice for UK Planners

A free advice service is to be launched in the UK in February offering planning officers support on renewable energy.

The Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) has been commissioned by the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department of Communities and Local Government to pilot the initiative further to the government’s Renewable Energy Strategy consultation in June. A new network, will offer free support of up to one-day’s worth of an expert’s time to be able to deal with complex queries that require more in-depth research, clarification and response.

Masdar – Green Home of the World Future Energy Summit

Earlier this week Abu Dhabi ruler, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed used the eve of the World Future Energy Summit as a world stage for announcing the Emirate’s new green credentials through the imposition of a challenging 7% renewable energy target. Almost none of Abu Dhabi’s energy currently comes from renewable sources.

Earth4Energy Ebook Review

There are many people in the world keen to make their own renewable energy using either solar panels or wind turbines. A number of ebooks claim to show you how. I read one of the most popular books and below is my review.

How to Install Solar Panels

If you are interested in DIY household renewables, check out windysolar’s series of videos describing how he has successfully made his own wind turbine. He has also installed his own solar panels.

Why Home Made Electricity is so Important

Utilisation of a country’s indigenous energy is essential if we are to become less reliant on gas and oil supplies from unpredictable parts of the world.

Russia is the biggest natural gas producer in the world and provides the EU with a quarter of its supply, around 80 per cent of which is transported via a pipe through Ukraine.

Wind Energy Overtakes Hydro as Leading Renewable Technology

Published statistics from the UK government’s restats website show rapid growth in the contribution of the wind energy sector to UK electricity generation.

Total electricity generation from renewables rose to 4.98% in 2007. The main contributors to this substantial increase were 917 GWh from onshore wind (+26%) and 439 GWh from large scale hydro (+ 11%). Electricity output from wind energy overtook hydro to become the most significant and leading technology for renewable generation.

Wind Energy Questions – Does Wind Turbine Infrasound Attract Aliens?

Last week the press went wild over a wind turbine suffering one lost blade and a second damaged blade. Was it a cow, was it a plane, was it a UFO? Maybe it was the eerie mangled looking photographs or maybe it was because wind turbines are also still seen by some members of the public as mysterious sci-fi structures and not to be trusted.

The Daily Mail even went as far as saying that the UFO beings were smart to damage the wind turbines because the devices interfere with the scenic beauty of the countryside.

Floating Wind Turbine Company to Receive Government Grant

The UK’s Energy Technology Institute has selected a floating 5 MW offshore wind turbine project as one of the first four recipients of funds under a new grant initiative.

Project Deepwater Turbine, a London based consortium made up of Blue H, BAE Systems PLC, EDF Energy, CEFAS, SLP and Romax wants to position offshore wind energy turbines between 30 and 300m deep in seas otherwise too inhospitable for construction of conventional foundations.

The Best Renewable Energy Generation Solutions

New ideas for renewable energy generation have enjoyed prominence in the press over the last year. A wind energy collection turbine was one student’s idea which captured peoples imagination, with a structure supporting two wind turbines arching over the full width of a highway. The idea is that the turbine collects energy from the moving cars and converts this energy into electricity.

Wind Energy Intermittency Effects on the UK Grid

Claims are sometimes made that wind turbines create electricity intermittently and because of this a) the grid cannot cope and b) back up power stations are needed resulting in no carbon dioxide savings.

Wind Power Report Questions International Energy Agency Motives

A recent Wind Power report by the Energy Watch Group claims that the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts for world -wide wind energy capacity have been significantly underestimated.

The report points to the IEA’s 2002 forecast predicting 104 GW wind energy by 2020 noting that it was exceeded in real terms in summer 2008.

Oxford University Wind Energy Study

This post is to provide information to people who are interested in wind energy and how it can help the UK produce greener electricity. The study referred to was carried out in 2005 so capacity factors (and the amount of electricity generated figures) for wind turbines are probably now even higher.

UFO Stories Surround Damaged Wind Turbine

A wind turbine located in the east of England lost a blade on Sunday with a second blade being seriously damaged. An investigation is currently being carried out on the site operated by Ecotricity.

The cause of the damage is currently unknown but wind speeds were not exceptionally high. A neighbour to the wind farm claims to have seen mysterious lights that night prompting stories of UFO’s.