Wind

The U.S. Department of Commerce on May 13 awarded the Distribution Wind Energy Association (DWEA) a two-year grant to develop a roadmap to identify common manufacturing gaps for distributed wind equipment. The $488,634 grant from the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) calls on DWEA to form the “Strategies for Manufacturers Advancing Research and […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) on Wednesday selected three projects to proceed to the second phase of its offshore wind advanced technology demonstration initiative: Fishermen’s Atlantic City Windfarm, Principle Power’s Oregon project, and Dominion Virginia Power’s Virginia Beach project.  Assistant Secretary of the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) David Danielson revealed […]

Gas, wind, and solar are it for any new generation in North America for the next five to 10 years (with a few one-offs), speakers at this year’s Platts Global Power Markets conference agreed. The annual event for those involved in power project development, financing, and litigation was held in Las Vegas Apr. 7 to […]

Oklahoma’s Gov. Mary Fallin (R) on Monday signed into law a measure that would allow regulated electric utilities to recover revenues needed to pay for transmission infrastructure as the number of distributed generation users increases.  Senate Bill 1456, which drew strong opposition from environmental and distributed generation groups, reversed a 1977 law that prohibited public […]

According to recently released data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), 80% of total wind generation in 2013 was produced in only 12 states. A little more than 21% of the total—35,875 GWh—was generated in Texas. While that is a significant figure, Iowa would actually have led the nation in wind production if generation […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) plans to make an additional $4 billion in loan guarantees available to help commercialize U.S. renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies that avoid, reduce, or sequester greenhouse gases. The DOE on Wednesday issued a draft loan guarantee solicitation under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (through Section […]

The 270-MW South Kent Wind project has been completed in Ontario. The project includes 124 wind turbines and is the largest wind power facility in Canada. The wind farm utilizes Siemens 2.3-MW wind turbines with blades manufactured at the company’s Tillsonburg facility and towers made by CS Wind at its Windsor location using Ontario-made steel. […]

In a stark departure from the zero-nuclear future proposed by a previous administration, the cabinet of Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Friday endorsed restarting the country’s idled nuclear reactors as it develops more renewables.  The cabinet on Friday officially adopted the first Basic Energy Plan since the Fukushima disaster, a 78-page document (in Japanese) that […]

The crown for the world’s most powerful operating wind turbine was transferred this January to Danish wind turbine maker Vestas, as its first 8-MW prototype began generating power at the Danish National Test Center for Large Wind Turbines in Østerild. Compared to the first 450-kW offshore wind turbine that was installed in 1991 at Vindeby, […]

In the past week, as the Cape Wind project planned for offshore Massachusetts saw crucial legal victories, New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities (BPU) on Wednesday rejected a  $188 million offshore wind farm that was planned along the Atlantic City coast.  Federal Court Upholds DOI Approval of Cape Wind Issuing rulings in four lawsuits challenging […]