Renewable Energy Development

Some of the wind power states in the US are doing a good job in meeting the potential as far as favourable wind and the power that is created from it. North Dakota is one of the windy states of the US that, while it produces a lot of energy from the wind, has a long way to go to meet its potential.

As of August 2009 there are enough wind turbines operating in North Dakota to generate over 700MW of power and there are plans in development to add another 6000MW. This is according to the state Public Service commission. Even if all proposed developments are brought to completion the 7000MW of power is below the potential wind power creation of the state.

According to the American Wind Energy Association North Dakota has the potential to produce 138,400MW of power, more than any other state.

With these figures in mind the state hopes that it can lure more wind turbine manufacturers and other wind power equipment makers to the state. There are tax and job training incentives in place to make the location in North Dakota even more attractive and the fact that there is so much development in planning should ensure that there will be plenty of room for expansion of business.

The North Dakota Commerce Department is hoping that they can recruit companies that make wind turbine nacelles. This is a more specialized field than the wind turbine blade and tower manufacturing that is becoming more commonplace. More and more European companies are setting up wind power plants around the US.

As the industry becomes more established with the manufacture of components made locally, costs should start to fall over the next few years.

The 2009 Carbon Trust Innovation Awards have been announced and applications are being sought for innovative ideas in the development and deployment of low carbon technology solutions. With the closing date of the competition looming on October 9 there is only a little over a month to get the entries in.

The idea of the Carbon Trust Innovation Awards is to recognise the forward thinking solutions that have been devised to help fight the growing carbon problem in the world. Not only is there recognition that goes with the award but also there will be a means of accelerating the new clean technologies to the market.

The recognition also brings other opportunities by making businesses and investors aware of what is being done with past winners finding an attraction of customers and commercial partnerships.

There are six categories for the awards with 4 of them for technology developers and providers and 2 of them for users and early adopters of low carbon technologies.

The four technology innovation categories are open to individuals and groups who can show that they are researching or developing a new technology with strong commercial potential and the ability to significantly reduce CO2 emissions. The specific areas of development are: Power; Buildings; Transport, and; Industry.

The two users of low carbon technology awards recognise the important role that early adopters can play in stimulating the market for emerging low carbon technologies. Organisations will need to demonstrate innovation in the use of low carbon technologies, going well beyond standard industry practice. The awards are divided into 2 categories: Public Sector, and; Private Sector.

This is a way of rewarding and encouraging further low carbon innovation to speed up the process of exploring alternatives to the higher carbon emitting methods. It is hoped that the way in which users use energy will also be changed through the innovations that are fostered by these awards.

Technological innovation may be aimed at renewable energy sources such as wave power, tidal power, geothermal energy, carbon capture and storage. It may also come up with ways in which the energy used within major buildings can be reduced through various forms of on-site power generation.

In order to justify why there is so much technological and monetary effort going into solar power and the development of new solar energy facilities it might be worthwhile going over a few of the significant benefits that are achieved from using solar energy. Some of these may seem obvious, some may be debatable and some may be surprising to some, but make no mistake, regardless of the detractors, solar energy is a valuable resource to develop and to refine.

So here are 10 benefits of solar energy.

1. Solar energy is not only sustainable, it is renewable and this means that we will never run out of it. It is about as natural a source of power as it is possible to generate. Not only are we able to refuel our vehicles with it we can heat our water and light our homes.

2. We can generate our own source of electricity via solar panels potentially enabling us to live off grid. In other words we need not be dependent on the public utility companies to supply our power and we also won’t be required to pay for out power.

3. The creation of solar energy requires little maintenance. Once the solar panels or troughs have been installed and they are brought up to maximum efficiency there is little else to do to ensure they are in working order.

4. They are a silent producer of energy. There is absolutely no noise made from photovoltaic panels as they convert sunlight into usable electricity.

5. The creation of solar power is unobtrusive, particularly the solar electricity that is generated from photovoltaic panels that sit on top of the roofs of buildings.

6. Many governments around the world and locally offer generous rebates and monetary incentives to install solar panels and solar hot water systems. The governments of various nations understand the importance of the creation of electricity from renewable sources is to the entire world and are receptive to making it as attractive a proposition as possible for individuals.

7. If you produce enough solar electricity or if you don’t use all of the electricity that you produce you can sell it back to the utility company for electricity credits. This is a rare occurrence for the most part, unless you are away on vacation for a week or two, in which case your solar panels will go on producing electricity that you won’t be using.

8. Large solar energy facilities can produce electricity regardless of whether the sun is shining or not making them sustainable and reliable electricity producers. The solar power plants capable of achieving this feat are generally thermal solar power producers capable of storing the heat generated and using it when the sun is not shining.

9. The advancements in technology used to create solar energy are continuing to improve making it even more cost effective. As it becomes cheaper to install new solar energy generators the price of solar electricity will continue to drop bringing it more into line with traditional, fossil-fuel generated electricity.

10. Solar electricity power plants and personal solar panels produce zero emissions and make no adverse mark on the environment.

The ocean floor in the waters off the Orkney Islands in Scotland is about to become a location for the latest wave power device that has been developed by the Scottish company aquamarine power. Called the Oyster, this wave power device gives a hydroelectric wave energy converter which is able to use the ocean waves in such a way that it can be converted into usable electricity.

The Oyster has a few design features that help it to stand out from other wave power facilities currently in development around the world. It’s a system that is capable of operating at shallow depths and it uses an onshore base that makes it a lot easier and cheaper to maintain than other wave power designs.

Hydraulics are used by the Oyster asset transfers high-pressure water to shore. The high-pressure water is then converted to electricity using wave power to fuel a hydroelectric plant located onshore. The waves motion activates the device which then works an oscillator powering pistons which pump the water through a pipeline. Water is converted into electricity via onshore generators.

The oyster devices are designed to be deployed in multi-MW arrays. Each device is capable of delivering the capacity of 300 to 600 KW and when a farm of 10 devices are installed they would be capable of producing enough renewable energy to power around 3000 homes.

The Oyster combines the new world technology of wave power with more conventional hydroelectric power to produce a new hybrid kind of renewable energy. It is hoped that this new hybrid produces electricity in a reliable fashion and at a price that is competitive with other forms of electricity creation.

The fact that the Oyster works best at depths of around 12 – 16 m means that it is using waves that are more consistent will result in less wear and tear on the device. This shallow depth also makes it possible to deliver energy in a more consistent fashion than otherwise may have been possible.

The development of this device is still in the very early stages and a trial demonstration is about to be conducted in the waters off the Orkney Islands. Should this demonstration proves that successful developers are hoping to introduce the system in the waters off Spain, Portugal, the US, South Africa, Australia and Chile. There are many locations that would prove conducive to the type of conditions where the Oyster would be suitable.

In October 2008 it was announced that a solar power plant was planned at the Fort Irwin base in the Mojave Desert in California. This installation is to have a capacity of 500MW, originally generated from thermal solar power.

Further news has just been released regarding the project and a couple of development partners have been announced for the project, namely Clark Energy Group and Acciona Solar Power. Details about the source of the solar power has also been revised with the revelation that it won’t be coming from a single solar power plant but instead, a series of projects will be created spread over 14,000 acres of desert land.

Also, the power will now be created through a combination of photovoltaic and solar thermal technology.

Construction isn’t expected to be going to begin until at least 2011, if all of the necessary approvals have been granted, with the aim completion date for the entire project slated for 2022.

It is estimated that when it is completed the power plant would be capable of providing power for over 100,000 homes. In addition to this the power generated by the facility will also be used to supply power to Fort Irwin too.

Total cost for the sloar power plant project is expected to be in the order of $2 billion. 

The location of the planned power plant is in the high Mojave Desert between Los Angeles and Las Vegas and is an ideal location for either a photovoltaic power plant or a thermal solar power plant.

The proposed Wave Hub project that was announced late in 2008 and is planned for siting off the coast of Cornwall has just taken an important step forward in becoming a reality when the official green light to proceed was given by the South West Regional Development Agency (RDA).

The Wave Hub project still has a planned completion date in 2010 to be producing electricity from its position 10 miles off the the coast of St Ives in Cornwall. The initial capacity is going to start at 20MW with the design allowing for it to be expanded to 50MW.

At this week’s Low Carbon Industrial Strategy the government has made available £9.5 million to assist with the Wave Hub project. An additional £20 million has also been secured from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Convergence programme.

The project has signed legal agreements with Ocean Power Technologies Limited for the first berth to be filled at the Wave Hub by its PowerBuoy device. Testing of the device in situ will begin immediately.