The new Kimberlina CSP plant generates electricity by reflecting sunlight with large solar thermal mirrors to heat water in tubes to create high pressure steam. This then turns a steam turbine to generate electricity. The process also includes a storage facility that will allow the generation of electricity around the clock rather than relying on the sun to keep shining.

The Kimberlina solar power plant is compact as far as CSP facilities are concerned, consisting of 3 lines of solar thermal mirrors around 100 feet wide and 1,000 feet long. The technology used by Ausra requires less space to create the same amount of electricity as similar power plants. The space required is also less than that needed by a photovoltaic plant. The simplified design of the system has also meant that the cost to produce the electricity has been reduced.

It’s the space issue that still stands as one of the only environmental impacts of CSP plants and is the argument clung to by opponents of solar energy. When you consider the space taken up with mining and exploration to source the fossil fuels that are already being used, it’s a pretty weak argument.

Ausra is still to get financing for the Carrizo Plains project, but they are moving ahead with plans for further CSP projects in the United States and Australia.

The newly deployed PowerBuoy units are sitting in 100 feet of water around a mile off the coast of Oahu and the electricity generated from the trial is being fed into the Oahu power grid. The project is expected to produce up to 1MW of electricity and according to OPT the power produced is meeting predictions.

Previously, the OPT wave power project at Oahu underwent an extensive environmental assessment by an independent engineering company in accordance with the National Environment Policy Act (NEPA). This study featured evaluation of potential impacts on the seabed; fish, organisms and mammals; vegetation; and sea quality. The study concluded that the project would have no significant impact on the environment, which is the highest such rating.

Ina further boost for the project, the US Navy has recently added a further $300,000 in funding to the project to ensure the operation of the PowerBuoy system continues.

Thermo has a maximum capacity of 10MW of electricity and the technology used by Raser for the project was developed by UTC Power. Electricity is generated by tapping in to underground hot water of temperatures much lower than that needed by other technologies. Effectively a much wider possible energy resource has been made possible by the ability to generate electricity at this cooler temperature.

“This is a momentous occasion,” said CEO Brent M. Cook of Raser Technologies at the plant’s ribbon cutting ceremony. “This power generation plant with its ground-breaking, rapid-deployment design and construction system and UTC Power’s low-temperature technology can make geothermal a mainstream source of energy for the nation.”

The new geothermal power plant was constructed using a modular power plant design reducing the time for construction from the usual 5 to 7 year period down to a staggering 6 months. The possibilities for future projects are enormous.

With a recent National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) report estimating that there is approximately 150,000MW of identified and unidentified shallow geothermal resources, coupled with the fast-track power plant construction method, there is a potential energy resource available to meet one-third of the nation’s energy needs.

The key is making use of low to medium temperature geothermal resources that were thought until recently to be commercially unviable.

Sleaford in Lincolnshire is the proposed location for the 40MW power plant and it will be fuelled by 240,000 tonnes of straw. Where this becomes a significant development is that all of this fuel source will come from within a 30-mile radius of the plant. This straw is fuel that would otherwise be simply ploughed back into the soil.

Transport emissions to get the fuel from the fields to the power plant will be minimised and there is no trouble with using food for fuel because the straw comes from wheat that has already been harvested.

According to David Williams, the chief executive of Eco2, “Between four million and 13 million tonnes of straw a year is just ploughed back into the soil,” said Williams. “The Sleaford plant will only use a quarter of the straw available within a 30-mile radius, so there is huge potential for further plants.”

The wind farm will be located in the region of Coquimbo which lies around 300km north of Santiago de Chile. Developing the project is Norwegian renewable energy developer SN Power.

The current largest wind power facility in Chile is 20MW, so this new project will more than double that. The wind farm will have an estimated annual production of 100GWh and will be able to meet the electricity demands of around 20,000 households.

It is expected that the cost of the project will run to around USD 140 million

This project is the first of what could become a maximum capacity facility of 750MW. This first phase began construction in February and comprises 50 Vestas V-90 wind turbines each with a rated capacity of 3MW.

The electricity generated from the Sherbino Wind Farm will be delivered into the Reliability Council of Texas transmission system and sold on the wholesale power market.

According to Robert Lukefahr, the president of BP Wind Energy North America, “The successful commercial operation of phase I of the Sherbino wind farm with our partner NRG Energy is another example of BP’s commitment to grow its wind portfolio in the U.S…The Sherbino wind farm will produce clean, renewable electricity for the next twenty years.”

The Solar Botanic technology involves artificial trees and plants that look lifelike enough to pass as the real things at a casual glance. The significant feature of these “trees” is that they are capable of producing enough electricity to power an average household.

The way it is achieved is through Solar Botanic’s artificial leaf (Nanoleaf) technology which captures the sun’s radiant energy in photvoltaic and thermovoltaic cells converting the radiation into electricity. The energy production doesn’t stop there because as the leaves are blown by the wind the layers of voltaic material in the stems and twigs are moved and stretched and this movement is also converted into electricity.

The possibilities with Solar Botanic’s new technology are many, for example, areas where wind turbines are unacceptable could be populated with groves of Botanic trees capable of producing commercial levels of renewable sourced energy.

It’s still very early days for this technology and Solar Botanic is looking to select business partners for investment, R&D, manufacturing, distribution and marketing. Government bodies have already shown an interest in what is being achieved by the company.

There are still questions to be answered about the placement of artificial trees around the countryside and I would imagine that, as with all new kinds of technology, complete environmental assessments will be required before full scale production can be considered. But still, the concept is fascinating.

This is the first turbine of a proposed 300 which the city hopes to install in the waterway. Unlike the typical river which flows in a constant direction, the East River is a tidal straight with strong, fluctuating currents which allow for more efficient power generation. Once in place, the system could provide electricity to 10,000 households.

Verdant Power is the company behind the project which is known as the Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy Project (RITE) and the installation of the latest turbine is part of Phase 2 of a three phase project. The previous two attempts to tap the tides of the East River resulted in the turbines failing with the blades shredded by the power of the waterway. The accompanying photo shows the installation of one of the failed turbines.

The aim of RITE is to generate up to 10MW of electricity using the renewable energy source. Because the East River is actually a tidal waterway, the water flow fluctuates in direction which requires a specialist turbine system. The aluminum turbine that has just been installed is the first of its kind in the United States. The earlier versions of this turbine were made of fiberglass over a steel skeleton.

The city has spent $2 million in the past few years studying the impact the turbines would have on local fish and bird populations, but so far it seems that the animals avoid the blades and escape harm. However, regulations state that the impact on the waterway’s animal life must be monitored continuously.

Verdant Power, a small energy company hired for the job, said that this third version was thoroughly tested before being installed; so far it has worked, and is already powering a nearby supermarket. If the blades continue to hold together, the city should soon give further production and installation a green light.

After the upgrade the power plant would burn up to 450,000 tons of waste wood a year compared to the current 200,000 tons. The retrofit will allow the conversion of waste wood to synthetic gas, which is cleaner than coal. Greenhouse gas emissions would be cut dramatically as a result.

After the power plant has been upgraded it will have become the largest biomass-fuelled power plant in the Midwest and one of the largest in the nation.

Xcel will file for approval for the project with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin later this year. Construction is expected to start in 2010, pending project approval. Operation could begin in late 2012.

The Macathur Wind Farm has a proposed maximum generating capacity of 450MW of electricity and will be comprised of 150 wind turbines scattered over 5500 hectares between the townships of Macarthur, Hawkesdale and Penshurst in the Western Districts of Victoria.

The electricity generated from the facility will be enough to power around 150,000 homes per year and will introduce considerable infrastructure development to a rural region. The project will create 200 jobs during the construction phase and will create related job opportunities for the local community.

The actual turbines that will be used for the project are still yet to be decided upon as is the precise location of each turbine, which will be decided after an assessment is made on the impacts each one will have on the adjacent residents.

It is hoped that construction of the Macarthur Wind Farm will get underway during 2009 but there has been no indication given as to when the wind project will be completed and electricity will be added to the national grid.