Wind Energy Planning

China Pilots Battery Storage Project

The Chinese State Grid company is to join the energy storage seekers this year according to state news agency Xinhua this week.

The State Grid is set to build a pilot integrated renewable energy power storage system this year utilising battery technology. The demonstration project is to be built in Zhangjiakou, Hebei and speculators predict the build costs will be circa 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion).

Climate Change Campaigners Call for Action Against UKIP MEP

Environmental campaigners have called for action against UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom after his comments ‘glorifying terrorism’.

The MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber appears in a YouTube video congratulating the French secret service for bombing the Greenpeace ship ‘Rainbow Warrior’ in New Zealand in 1985. Portugese Greenpeace photographer, Fernando Pereira, was killed in the attack. In the video climate change denier Mr Bloom says that he does not usually have anything good to say about the French but in the case of the Rainbow Warrier bombing “Vive La France”.

The MEP’s comments came during the UN Climate Summit last December. The YouTube film was made in Copenhagen harbour, where Mr Bloom is seen posing by the Greenpeace boat.

Storm Brews Over UK Electricity Needs

Electricity regulator ‘Ofcom’ announced this week that there is doubt over the energy market delivering sustainable electricity supplies for British needs.

Ofgem blames the global financial crisis, tough environmental targets, increasing gas import depency and the closure of ageing power stations.

In response to this discovery the Regulator recommends ‘far reaching energy market reforms’. Reform options have been put forward for further consultation and include a centralised renewable energy market and a central buyer of energy.

Ofgem’s Chief Exec Alistair Buchanan said:

Wind Energy Protesters Dirty Tricks Campaign

Anti-wind farm campaigners were caught red handed faking letters of objection to a wind farm the BBC revealed this week.

The local planning authority in central England discovered the fraudsters after writing to acknowledge the objections. According to Harborough Council, nearly 100 people responded saying they had not written the letters. Harborough Council are ‘reviewing their processes’ as a result of the revelations.

The Gartree Wind Farm comprises 3 turbines proposed on an airfield to the west of the town of Market Harborough. It was refused by local councillors last week. Community wind farm company Energy4All expressed its disappointment over the reasons for refusing the 3 wind turbines.

Energy4All’s John Malone said “We and our many supporters are obviously disappointed not to have won approval at the first attempt particularly as we felt objections were already addressed….We, together with the Council, also seem to have been the victim of a dirty tricks campaign. The Council has received many letters of objection to our proposals purporting to be from individuals, who when contacted by the Council were concerned to state that they had sent no such letter. We understand that the police are looking into this, and suggest it is symptomatic of a range of false allegations and the myths perpetrated by a small number of protesters.”

Welsh Hopes for Wind Turbine Manufacturing Jobs

Engineering firm Mabey Bridge wants to invest £38 million in a Welsh wind turbine factory according to the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) this week. The investment could create 240 new green collar jobs in Chepstow on the England/ Wales border.

The Chepstow wind turbine factory would build and paint new wind turbine towers but only if the demand for wind turbines in Wales increases. Planning consent and grid infrastructure are the two key wind energy constraints currently holding the country back from meeting its green energy targets. Onshore wind delivery currently stands at only 17% of 2010 targets.

Head of the Welsh division of BWEA, Llwelwyn Rhys said: “This is exactly what the renewable energy industry and the Welsh Assembly Government have been hoping for – our own manufacturing plant that supplies the materials needed to drive the green energy revolution. This is wholly in line with the Welsh Government’s intention of creating a low carbon economy and generating green jobs”.

US Announces $20.5 million for Community Renewable Energy Projects

The US Department of Environment Secretary – Steven Chu has announced the release of $20.5m (£12.6m) for new community renewable energy projects.

The funding comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and is being ploughed into five differerent biomass, wind and solar projects. The DOE hopes the funding will promote investment in clean energy, promote widespread energy installations and create jobs. The five trial projects are expected to serve as models for other local governments and campuses, encouraging communities to design projects that fit their individual size and energy needs.

“Smaller, more localized renewable energy systems need to play a role in our comprehenseve energy portfolio” said Chu. “These projects will help create jobs, expand our clean energy economy and help us cut carbon pollution at the local level”.

COP15 Branded a Disaster by Green Groups

The climate conference at Copenhagen has been branded a distaster after leaders failed to put in place legally binding carbon reduction targets.

Despite an accord to limit global temperature rises to 2 degrees, several countries refused to sign up to legally binding carbon reduction targets. The result is that there will not be a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

Friends of the Earth said the conference, which ended on Friday had been an “abject failure”, pointing out that the effects of global warming would be felt most by the poor. The blame for the failure has been cast in many directions- in particular towards the US and China, the two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases.

The agreement to the targets stalled when head of China’s climate delegation Xie Zhenhua, refused to agree a process allowing inspectors into China to verify that the country is meeting its carbon reduction committments. This process was a condition insisted upon by US President Obama and the lack of agreement to it has been seen by many as China asserting its power in the new world in a way other countries will not be happy about.

UK Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said that the outcome of the conference was “disappointing” but claimed that important progress was made in the challenge to deal with global warming.

New Study Reveals No Health Effects From Wind Turbine Sound

The British Wind Energy Association has welcomed the findings of a further study demonstrating that there is no evidence of health effects from wind turbines.

The joint AWEA / CanWEA report on Wind Turbine Sound and Health Effects was put together by a multidisciplinary panel who conducted the most extensive study of its kind to date. The seven-member panel included experts in the fields of medicine, audiology, acoustics, environmental and public health from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Denmark.

The report is based on a review of a large body of scientific literature on sound and health effects, and specifically with regard to sound produced by wind turbines. After extensive review, analysis and discussion, the panel concluded that sounds or vibrations emitted from wind turbines have no adverse effect on human health.

CanWEA president Robert Hornung said: ‘’The Canadian Wind Energy Association supports the responsible and sustainable development of wind energy in Canada. This study will go a long way in addressing people’s concerns and answering their questions about the effects of wind turbines. Canada’s wind energy industry will continue to take a proactive role in ensuring wind energy developments are good neighbours to the communities that have embraced wind energy.’

A week of Controversy in Copenhagen

The mainstream press has been keeping a close eye on the COP15 conference in Copenhagen which was always set to generate a host of strong feelings both outside the conference hall and within.

A week into the conference and it has not failed to deliver the expected controvery. At the end of the first week an unauthorized 40,000 person demonstration yesterday led to 13 people being detained overnight.

The conference kicked off a week ago with the EU promising more money to combat global warming. The EU committed to fund 7.2 billion euro (US $10.5 billion) for tackling global warming over the next three years. The move was described by the UN climate chief as “hugely encouraging” for the climate conference process.

EU leaders also agreed to contribute 2.4 billion euro (US $3.6 billion) a year until 2012 to help poorer countries combat global warming. With the UK contributing one third of this – the average woman on the London street has however been left asking what happened to the contributions from other EU countries.

Framework Deal for Repower Wind Turbines Signed

It was announced this week that German wind turbine manufacturer Repower signed a deal with French utility EDF for the supply of wind turbines for five wind farms in Canada.

The framework agreement is for the supply of turbines totalling a capacity of 954 Megawatts for wind farms in Quebec, developed by Saint-Laurent Energies, a company part owned by EDF.

With a shortage of wind turbine supply across the globe still causing the wind energy industry problems, companies are seeking out framework deals with turbine manufacturers, sometimes even before they have planning consent. Framework deals have the benefit of providing more certainty, especially for financially marginal projects – even if overall the wind farm operator does not make significant savings.

Although there were 35 new Chinese wind turbine manufacturers entering the market last year, it will be some time until these turbines have been tested and proven in the European, US and Canadian marketplace. With the offshore wind energy market set to expand at unprecedented rates over the next few years, it seems that the global turbine supply shortage will not be remedied quickly.

Daily Mail Climate Change Denier ‘Grossly Irresponsible’

In the very week that President Obama announces he will be going to Copenhagen and committing the US to a carbon dioxide emission reduction target for the US, climate change sceptics refuse to accept that doing something about the issue is warranted.

The Obama promise of a 17% emissions reduction target below 2005 levels by 2020 were welcomed by some but described as inadequate by green groups. However a much smaller sector has been striving for media attention. Describing prominent scientists who try to warn people about climate change as ‘totalitarian’, Daily Mail columnist Melanie Phillips claimed on the BBC last night that ‘there is no evidence of global warming and that global temperatures are going down not up.’

Phillips told the gasping audience ‘you may find this hard to understand, but there is no evidence for global warming, the seas are not rising in any way out of the ordinary, the ice is not melting and the polar bears are increasing in number’. The audience, shocked by the claims were quickly becalmed by comedian and broadcaster Marcus Brigstocke, Scottish National Party deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon and Lord Falconer who were quick to point out the irresponsibility of not accepting the possibility.

Bird and Bat Radar Detection For Wind Farms

With many people and organisations concerned about potential bird and bat kills from wind turbines, could radar be the answer?

Radar specialist company DeTect has developed and manufactured a new Avian Radar System ‘Merlin‘ which is aimed at protecting birds and bats from colliding with wind turbines.

The company believes the technology can provide ‘real-time risk mitigation’ and already have over 50 systems operating worldwide. DeTect say the system can be used at operating wind farms to provide an “early warning system of bird activity that presents mortality risk, automatically engaging response mitigation actions up to and including idling of turbines until the risk passes.”

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.

Green Revolution Moves forward a step as China promises Carbon Cuts

The Chinese President announced today that he was prepared to take action on climate change. President Hu Jintao told the UN summit that the country is prepared to make a carbon reduction promise through the introduction of a 2020 target.

Jintao said that notable reductions in emission levels would be made by 2020 from the 2005 levels, a in a move that was welcomed by Chinese green groups.

Although no specific target has been set and there much work to be done, China has for the first time indicated that decisions about the energy future of the country will not be entirely driven by short term economic goals. The announcement demonstrates that pressure from other countries leading the way on carbon reduction can make a difference.

I attended a public consultation exercise for a new wind farm at Spaldington Airfield, in Yorkshire, England at the weekend. Many people were supportive of the proposals and felt strongly that every small move counts in the fight against climate change.

Government Appoints New Scientific Advisor

The UK government has appointed David MacKay Chief Scientific Advisor to the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

David MacKay is a Professor in the Department of Physics at Cambridge University and recently published a book ‘Sustainable Energy – without the hot air’.

Secretary of State Ed Miliband said: “David MacKay is known for making science accessible and helping to explain clearly the urgency and the challenges of moving to a low carbon economy. I want him to bring all of these qualities to the job of advising DECC on how we can meet Britain’s carbon targets and energy security needs.”

Scotland on Road to Fighting Climate Change

Scotland has slashed its greenhouse gas emissions by nearly a fifth since 1990, according to new figures published by the Scottish Government.

The figures show that emission levels stood at 56.9 million tonnes in 2007, but have been reduced 19% on 1990 levels. The carbon cuts are credited to greener energy production through increased use of renewable energy, business and industry, the public sector, waste management, international shipping, housing and agriculture. The bad news is that emissions from international aviation and shipping have increased.

Power generation accounted for 36% of emissions, 22% from transport, 14% from agriculture and 13% from business and domestic fossil fuel use. The Scottish Government has committed to a 42% reduction in carbon emissions from 1990 levels, by 2020 and 80% by 2050.

US Kick Start Renewable Energy Grants Worth US $500 million

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) has today welcomed the announcement by the US government to begin issuing grants for renewable energy projects worth nearly US $500 million.

The Departments of Treasury and Energy made the announcement further to the establishment of a Congress programme with roots in the economic recovery package put together earlier this year. This element of the recovery package aims to boost green energy investment and employment. The grants will be issued in lieu of tax credits of nearly $500 million for 10 wind energy projects in Minnesota, New York, Maine, Pennsylvania Oregon, and Texas.

Oxford Proposes City Wind Turbine

A recent wind turbine proposal for the city of Oxford has sparked up the debate about where it is appropriate to locate wind turbines.

The proposal between Cowley works and Horsepath was announced last week by Oxford City Council and renewable energy developer Partnership for Renewables.

Oxford City Council say the site is capable of hosting a single commercial wind turbine. Local Councillor John Tanner said: “Wind turbines are a beautiful way of helping to tackle climate change with renewable energy. This Horspath site is a first for Oxford and a practical contribution to creating a low carbon city.

How will UK Nuclear Energy be Funded?

UK Government ministers are telling the public that nuclear energy is essential to meet our low carbon electricity requirements over the coming years. When ministers announced that nuclear energy was to be part of the UK’s energy future several years ago they also said that the taxpayer will not subsidise new reactors.

The tabloids a few weeks ago contained numerous articles about the cost of renewable energy. The media has this week started to realise the greater financial implications of nuclear energy.

In order to build nuclear reacters companies need to be confident enough to invest the tens of billions of pounds required. Some utilities are now saying that the economics do not stack up and the next generation of nuclear power stations will not be built unless the Government provides direct financial assistance.

Wind Turbine Manufacturer Blames Nimbys for Factory Closure

The Vice President of Vestas wind turbines told the UK today that despite having some of the best onshore wind sites on the planet, green energy proposals are being thwarted by Nimbys.

In an interview on BBC’s ‘The Report’, Vestas’ VP Peter Kruse said the UK’s limited wind energy market is a problem for wind turbine manufacturers. Kruse said “Don’t blame London, because your government is doing a lot, but if people do not want turbines locally then you can put as many incentives as you want on the table.”

The Vestas factory on the Isle of White is heading for closure and the company is blaming poor demand for wind turbines, mainly due to local planning problems.