Category: Wind

Land-based wind power now entrenched in national electricity grid, a report from the U.S. Department of Energy finds. File photo by Pat Benic/UPI WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (UPI) — With more than 30 percent of new electricity coming from wind power, the U.S. Department of Energy said the industry is becoming entrenched in the power sector. The Department of Energy published a 24-page document highlighting trends in the renewable power sector . Wind energy, the report said, is becoming a "mainstream power source," accounting for 31 percent of all new electricity capacity added to the U.S. grid between 2008 and last year. "Wind now provides 4.4 percent of total U.S. electricity generation, 23 states have at least 500 megawatts of wind installed, and in nine states, wind exceeds 10 percent of total in-state electricity generation," the report said. As of last year, there were 65,000 MW of land-based wind power […]

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U.S. government auctions off the rights to develop offshore wind energy installations in the federal waters off the coast of New Jersey. File photo by Teun van den Dries/UPI WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (UPI) — Two energy companies won the rights to advance wind energy off New Jersey’s coast, where the potential exists to power 1.2 million homes, the government said. RES America Development and U.S. Wind Inc. bid more than $1.8 million collectively for the rights to consider the potential to develop wind energy in the federal waters off the coast of New Jersey. "We are optimistic about the promise of a strong renewable energy future offshore New Jersey, as well as for the entire nation," Abigail Ross Hopper, director of the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said in a statement. The estimated 344,000 acres off the New Jersey coast has, by the federal government’s estimate, the potential […]

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Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) Note: Hourly averaged generation shown. Instantaneous peaks highlighted in the hour in which they occurred. Wind generation on the Texas electric system recently hit several all-time highs. The latest all-time instantaneous peak of 12,238 megawatts (MW) reached on October 22 replaced the short-lived records of 11,467 MW on September 13 and 11,950 MW on October 21, based on data from the grid’s operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Substantial additions of new wind generating capacity, coupled with strong wind conditions amid unseasonably warm early-autumn temperatures, drove the recent generation records. During the recent peaks in September and October, wind generators in ERCOT were running at an overall 75%–81% utilization of total generating capacity (called the capacity factor ), lower than the 83% capacity factor recorded during an earlier generation peak in February 2015 […]

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« Hyundai delivers 50 more ix35 Fuel Cell vehicles across Europe in October | Main | Hyundai Motor launches new global luxury brand Genesis » The world’s largest 2nd-life battery storage unit will soon go into operation in the Westphalian town of Lünen. A joint venture between Daimler AG, The Mobility House AG and GETEC, it will be operated from the beginning of next year at the site of REMONDIS SE and marketed in the German electricity balancing sector. The stationary storage unit, with a total capacity of 13 MWh, uses second-life battery systems from the second generation of smart electric drive vehicles. Under the banner of “E-Mobility thought to the end,” Daimler, The Mobility House, GETEC and REMONDIS are mapping out the entire battery value creation and recycling chain with their project in Lünen. The process demonstrably improves the overall environmental performance of electric vehicles, thereby helping to […]

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Scottish government grants license to build a floating type of wind farm off its coast. File photo by Teun van den Dries/Shutterstock ABERDEEN, Scotland, Nov. 2 (UPI) — The Scottish government said it granted a license to the operators of what Edinburgh said may be the world’s largest offshore floating wind energy development. Norwegian energy company Statoil was granted a license for its Hywind pilot project that envisions up to five turbines installed by an anchoring system that developers said would facilitate deep-water installation. "Hywind is a hugely exciting project in terms of electricity generation and technology innovation," Scottish Deputy First Minister John Swinney said in a statement. "The momentum is building around the potential for floating offshore wind technology to unlock deeper water sites." At full capacity, the company said the floating installation could generate 135 megawatts of power annually, enough to meet the energy demands of about […]

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U.S. government reviewing potential impacts off offshore wind farm construction starting with Rhode Island program. File photo by Teun van den Dries/Shutterstock WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (UPI) — Starting with a development off the Rhode Island coast, the federal government said it was studying the real-time impacts of offshore wind farm construction. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said it started its Real-Time Opportunity for Development Environmental Observations — or RODEO — program with Rhode Island. BOEM Chief Environmental Officer William Brown explained the program will provide real-time data on potential environmental impacts and seafloor disturbances related to wind farm installation offshore. "The first opportunity to conduct this research is through the historic Deepwater Wind project," he said. The Rhode Island government in May 2014 signed off on environmental permits for what will become the nation’s first offshore wind farm, Deepwater Wind’s Block Island project. The wind farm will generate […]

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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP)—The federal government plans to lease nearly 344,000 acres of the ocean floor off the coast of New Jersey to companies interested in building offshore windmills to generate electricity. The Interior Department and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management say that if fully developed, the leases could result in enough wind-generated electricity to power 1.2 million homes. The leases are to be sold Nov. 9. “On the heels of this summer’s historic ‘steel-in-the-water’ milestone for the nation’s first commercial offshore wind farm, today’s announcement marks another major step in standing up a sustainable offshore wind program for Atlantic coast communities,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said Wednesday. In July, construction started on Deepwater Wind’s $225 million, 30-megawatt offshore wind project off Block Island in Rhode Island that will provide electricity to Block Island and Rhode Island mainland consumers. So far, 13 companies have been qualified to bid […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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