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North Dakota plans more wind power capacity

North Dakota expecting more wind power on its grid, touting its diversity in the era of shale oil. File Photo by UPI Photo/Gary C. Caskey BISMARCK, N.D., Aug. 26 (UPI) — In parallel with the White House, North Dakota said it was planning to connect a 43-turbine wind farm to the grid as part of an "all of the above" strategy. North Dakota Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley was on hand for a ceremony to celebrate the upcoming completion of the Thunder Spirit wind farm, a 43-turbine wind farm with a maximum capacity of 107 megawatts of power. "The completion of the Thunder Spirit wind farm marks another important milestone in North Dakota’s ‘all of the above’ energy production journey," Wrigley said in a statement. Using data provided by the American Wind Energy Association, the state government said it’s the national leader in wind energy , with wind power accounting […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Next Texas Energy Boom: Solar

FORT STOCKTON, Texas—A new energy boom is taking shape in the oil fields of west Texas, but it’s not what you think. It’s solar. Solar power has gotten so cheap to produce—and so competitively priced in the electricity market—that it is taking hold even in a state that, unlike California, doesn’t offer incentives to utilities to buy or build sun-powered generation. Pecos County, about halfway between San Antonio and El Paso and on the southern edge of the prolific Permian Basin oil field, could soon host to several large solar-energy farms responsible for about $1 billion in investments, according to state tax records. On a recent day, contractors for OCI Solar Power LLC erected posts for a solar farm that will be the size of more than 900 football fields. First Solar Inc. FSLR -5.51 % was negotiating to lease an adjacent property, its second project in the county. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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First offshore wind farm in the United States begins construction

U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on Lindoe Offshore Renewables Center Source: In July, American offshore wind developer, Deepwater Wind , installed the first foundation for what is expected to be the first offshore wind farm in the United States. The project will be located three miles southeast of Block Island, Rhode Island. With five turbines totaling 30 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity, the Block Island Wind Farm is expected to come online in 2016. Deepwater Wind, the developer, is also planning two larger offshore projects along the Atlantic Coast, but their timing remains uncertain. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimates that the United States has 4,200 gigawatts (GW) of developable offshore wind potential, compared to its estimate of 11,000 GW of onshore wind potential. Wind resources are classified on a scale of zero to seven based on their power density, and more than 66% of offshore wind in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Undamming Rivers: A Chance For New Clean Energy Source

Many hydroelectric dams produce modest amounts of power yet do enormous damage to rivers and fish populations. Why not take down these aging structures, build solar farms in the drained reservoirs, and restore the natural ecology of the rivers? Hydroelectric power is often touted as clean energy, but this claim is true only in the narrow sense of not causing air pollution. In many places, such as the U.S. East Coast, hydroelectric dams have damaged the ecological integrity of nearly every major river and have decimated runs of migratory fish. Conowingo Dam Photo credit: American Rivers. If Maryland’s Conowingo Dam were removed, large-scale solar projects could be built on the site of its drained 9,000-acre reservoir. This need not continue. Our rivers can be liberated from their concrete shackles, while also continuing to produce electricity at the site of former hydropower dams. How might that occur? A confluence of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Solar-Power Fight Hits Home in Arizona

Arizona, the epicenter of a nationwide fight between solar companies and utilities, is introducing new rules for firms that offer solar panel leases, which consumers increasingly prefer to buying the rooftop systems outright. But some solar companies call such rules unnecessary, contending that there have been few complaints. Instead, they say, the regulations are a new effort by traditional utilities to try to stop the spread of residential solar in the state. Claims about consumer protection are camouflage for opposition to solar power among utilities and some government officials, said Lyndon Rive, chief executive of SolarCity Corp. SCTY 2.64 % , which has sued the state and a Phoenix-area utility over measures the company says are meant to deter customers from adopting rooftop systems. These fights, and proposals from four other Arizona utilities to change their policies in ways that would hurt the solar industry, make Arizona “the most […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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The Aquaponics Solution

Vertical hydroponics systems at Victus Farms. In Brief Our current industrial food system is unsustainable. Demand for food continues to grow while soil erosion, groundwater depletion and climate change are constricting supply. In addition, intensive use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, water, fossil fuels, and genetic engineering are eroding human, community, and environmental health. The rise of local, sustainable food systems present solutions to many of these problems, but these approaches are unable to consistently provide quality food on an annual basis. Aquaponics holds the promise of solving this fundamental problem of local food systems, and does so while requiring far less land, water, fertilizers, pesticides, fossil fuels, and genetic engineering. This article reports on a novel, sustainable, and economically viable model for aquaponic food production year-round, even in locations with harsh winter climates. Key Concepts Our current industrial food system is environmentally and socially unsustainable. The rise of local, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Solar Desalination Could be a Game Changer for California Farms

Let’s be clear from the outset: I’m no fan of conventional desalination. The idea of using climate-altering fossil fuels to drive an energy-intensive de-salting process that threatens coastal environments in order to produce drinking water that, in most cases, could be secured more cheaply through conservation and efficiency improvements, simply fails to pass the bar of economically sensible, environmentally sound solutions to our water problems. But now desalination of a very different stripe is under way – not by the sea, but in California’s drought-stricken Central Valley farming region. The project is turning salty, contaminated agricultural drainage into fresh water that can be re-used to irrigate crops. Powered not by fossil fuels, but by the sun, the technology has the potential to shift the way water is used and managed in parts of the west, where agriculture accounts for 70-80 percent of water use. Developed by a San Francisco-based […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Israel signs deal for $1.1 billion thermo-solar power plant

Israel signed a deal to build a 4 billion shekel ($1.05 billion) thermo-solar power plant in the country’s south, aimed at boosting electricity production from renewable energy sources, the Finance Ministry said on Sunday. The 121 megawatt plant, which will also be able to store electricity, will be built by a consortium of Israel’s Shikun & Binui and Spain’s Abengoa in Ashalim in Israel’s southern Negev desert near another solar plant. The plant, to be built under a build, operate and transfer program, is expected to come online in the first half of 2018, the ministry said. Both plants – along with a planned photovoltaic power plant nearby – will provide 2 percent of total electricity production in Israel, which has a target of 10 percent coming from renewable sources by 2020. They will be financed by the European Investment Bank and the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corp. The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple