Wind

Rapid recent solar and wind price falls are likely to bring new markets and mass adoption a step closer over the next decade and raise the prospects of mergers.

The financial crisis coupled with a ramp-up in China, which now leads the world wind and solar manufacturing, have led to over-capacity and pressured prices in the past three years.

Natural gas is the main fossil fuel rival and still wins on price after U.S. shale gas finds created a global glut.

But wind and solar are now competitive in niche markets after prices of turbines fell by a fifth … Read more

Scientists from Stanford University and the University of California at Davis have crunched the numbers and come up with a plan for how the world might economically and feasibly make the move to renewable energy in the next 20 to 40 years.

In a two-part paper (Part 1 PDF, Part 2 PDF) published in the journal Energy Policy, Mark Z. Jacobson and Mark A. Delucchi show in great detail the who, what, where, and how of implementing a renewable energy-run world. It includes solutions to economic, material, and transport issues.

Jacobson, an atmospheric scientist and professor of civil and environmental … Read more

The American Wind Energy Association reported a substantial fall in U.S. wind power installations in 2010, saying some project developers held off from investing because of uncertain federal policies.

The trade association said that 5,115 megawatts of wind power capacity were put online last year, compared to 10,000 megawatts of capacity in 2009. The 2010 number also falls below annual installations for 2008 and 2007, according to AWEA data. (Click for PDF of report.)

At the same time, AWEA reported that the price for electricity from wind has fallen. Recent power purchase agreements to buy energy from … Read more

Given how many variables are involved, predicting the future of energy with accuracy is difficult. But BP's annual Energy Outlook, which came out today, is a closely watched indicator for the state of the energy industry.

The BP Energy Outlook 2030 (click for PDF) forecasts energy sources will diversify more in the future, with a bigger role for renewable, nuclear, and hydropower. Demand will continue to grow around the world, with developing countries consuming a larger share of energy.

Energy growth was mostly met with increased use of fossil fuels over the last 20 years. In the next 20 … Read more

Veteran wind turbine manufacturer Southwest Windpower unveiled a highly efficient small wind turbine at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today.

Southwest Windpower claims the Skystream 600, its follow-up to the Skystream 3.7, can produce 7,400 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year when used in an area with an average annual wind speed of 12 mph.

If true, that's a pretty impressive small wind turbine. Many small wind turbines sold in recent years have touted around 2,000 kilowatt-hours annually under average conditions.

Consider that Helix Wind claims about 3,362 kilowatt-hours annually with an average … Read more

Some Martha's Vineyard households will soon be receiving smart appliances from General Electric as part of a pilot project, GE announced today.

It's part of mission to promote smart grid and renewable energy use on the island that has been spearheaded by The Vineyard Energy Project (VEP), a nonprofit community energy group started in West Tisbury, Mass., and the island's energy co-op, Vineyard Power.

In December 2010, VEP was granted almost $800,000 toward its goal of deploying smart grid technologies on the island, including smart appliances, via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.… Read more

MidAmerican Energy plans to install 593 megawatts worth of wind power in Iowa, the company announced yesterday.

The Des Moines, Iowa-based company is a subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings, which itself is a listed subsidiary of Warren Buffett's holding company Berkshire Hathaway. About 89 percent of MidAmerican Energy Holdings is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, a MidAmerican spokeswoman told the Associated Press.

MidAmerican Energy has signed a deal with Siemens Energy to provide the wind turbines for the project, which will consist of 258 of Siemens' giant 2.3-megawatt wind turbines installed throughout several counties in Iowa by the end … Read more

The developer of a proposed wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island doubled the size of the project, saying that greater scale would allow it to sell the electricity produced at a lower price.

Deepwater Wind said it now plans to install 200 wind turbines some 20 miles off the shore of the smallest U.S. state. The project could generate enough electricity to meet the needs of 800,000 typical American homes.

The high price of electricity generated by proposed offshore wind farms has generated fresh public opposition to the projects as developers reach agreements to sell their … Read more

The Obama administration yesterday unveiled plans to begin issuing new offshore wind energy leases as soon as next year under an accelerated approval process.

The U.S. Interior Department said it will work to identify high-priority areas off the Atlantic coast for offshore wind energy development, as well as revise regulations to simplify the leasing process as part of its new initiative.

"To fully harness the economic and energy benefits of our nation's vast Atlantic wind potential we need to implement a smart permitting process that is efficient, thorough, and unburdened by needless red tape," Interior Secretary … Read more