Wind Energy and renewable energy blog

Will the Conservatives Introduce County Renewable Energy Targets?

With the proposed Conservative abolition of regional planning, many renewable energy developers have been asking the question; if the Conservatives get into power next year, who will be responsible for setting renewable energy targets?

Planning Magazine reported last week that the Tories are looking at a return to county structure plans. Most UK development companies, whether they be building houses or wind turbines believe that area development plans should provide for the needs of its area or else the provision of adequate housing and essential infrastructure is at risk. These companies and the people responsible for providing the decision making framework i.e. the planners are therefore concerned that any changes are managed smoothly and effectively.

NREL Installs Siemens Wind Turbine

The US energy department DOE has installed a new wind turbine on its premises near Boulder, Colorado.

The Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has commissioned the 2.3 megawatt turbine on its National Technology Center site as part of an R&D project with Siemens.

The wind turbine has been commissioned in order to allow detailed investigations and monitoring – in what has been described as the biggest government-industry research partnership for wind energy generation ever undertaken in the U.S.

Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Market Continues to Expand

Vertical axis wind turbines appear to be flavour of the year when it comes to small wind turbines. In the UK, supermarket giant Tesco has installed several “Ropatec” vertical axis wind turbines with a rated capacity of 6kW.

The latest vertical axis turbine model to come into the test arena is the new Blackhawk Tilt Rotor Wind Turbine. The turbine is being tested and monitored by researchers from the Blackhawk Project LLC at Idaho’s National Laboratory Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES).

British Aviation and Wind Industry Contract Signed

A contract between the Department of Energy and Climate Change, The Crown Estate, NATS and the wind industry’s Aviation Investment Fund Company was signed this week.

The contract is aimed at solving the problem of aviation radar interference from wind turbines and includes financing worth £5.15 million towards a solution via new technology being developed by Raytheon.

According to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, ED Miliband, objections from the aviation industry are one of the key reasons UK wind energy applications are either being refused or withdrawn.

Its not your back yard, its OURS says Prescott

“Its not your back yard, its ours” Rt Hon John Prescott told anti- wind farm campaigners in his keynote address to the British Wind Energy Association conference today.

The British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) opened its 31st annual conference and exhibition at Liverpool’s ACC this morning with the speech from the ex deputy PM.

Prescott launched into an attack on the UK planning system saying that it discourages the industry and communities from submitting planning applications.

“Three quarters of applications are refused and this is the highest it has ever been and it is getting worse” he said and went on to warn politicians that the system is threatening renewable energy targets.

UK Micro- Renewable Energy Masterclasses

With fixed prices for small scale green energy generation on their way, UK residents are starting to show some serious interest in generating their own renewable electricity.

Green electricity company Good Energy is planning an event to help people get started with their own electricity projects.

The workshop ‘Power from the People: How to Generate Renewable Energy’ is aimed at a wide ranging audience from homeowners to farmers with the objective of helping to get small scale renewable energy projects up and running.

Vauben- The Renewable Energy Powered Car Free District

This month’s Time magazine ran a feature on the ‘Heroes of the Environment’. The feature celebrated those contributing towards green initiatives all over the globe.

The Times report identified and congratulated individuals and groups from those who have brought about sustainability codes for big corporations to developers of new nuclear lazer fusion technology.

My first prize for the ‘most effective’ Heroe(s) of the Environment goes to the residents of Vauben.

Vauben is an urban area on the edge of the city of Freiburg in Germany. The district’s own residents decided to physically ban cars from their own streets and also garages attached to individual houses. As a result of taking the rules into their own hands a car parking space in the district will set a resident back a whopping US $30,000. According to Time, the result is a car ownership rate of 220 cars per 1000 residents compared with 520 cars per 1000 residents in the wider Freiburg area and much higher rates in other European cities. Residents believe that there is now more space for community life without the cars.

Mainstream Kick off 1st South Africa Project

Mainstream and joint venture partner Geneses Eco-Energy kicked off public consultation on their Jeffrey’s Bay wind energy project at the weekend.

Displays showing details of the 100 Megawatt project were on display at the town’s ’shell festival’ over the weekend.

The Jeffreys Bay Wind Farm is one of a number of proposals in South Africa hoping to be in the first tranch to secure a fixed rate tariff from the Government.

Mainstream Renewable Power SA Director Leila Mahomed-Weidman said ‘people have been very positive about the project with many asking how quickly can you get the wind turbines up’.