The latest report of BWEA (British Wind Energy Association has stated that Wind Power is currently the fastest growing energy technology. They are aiming to have 5% of the UK's power requirements coming from onshore wind farms, by 2010. The UK Government is looking have another 10% of the energy coming from other renewable resources, by the same date. They are investing around 1lb billion in the wind farms.
Europe hopes to, by year 2020, be able to produce 20% of it's energy through renewable sources. German Government is looking to find other ways of reducing greenhouse gases outside wind farms. This is due to a report in 2005 where they stated that wind farms were expensive and inefficient.
There are also other elements of wind power energy that concern the government, such as the aesthetic aspect. The propellers also create a large amount of noise and are disruptive to the bird population.
However, new designs are being created to get around these issues. Viktor Jovanovic is one of these designers. He is busy created a model called the Stormblad Turbine [http://www.jovanovic.f2s.com/] which promises to deal with some of the problems. By designing it more to a jet engine the a propeller, it can operate in high winds, unlike the current model.
Terra Moya Aqua (TMA), based in Wyoming, is also working on a model, which is easier to operate and is quieter. This model is also free from ground resonance. They have been working on the design for the last 11 years, when Rasmussen, President of TMA, teamed up with Ron Taylor, TMA Chairman.
Both designs are smaller then the current model and focus on different problem areas. The other issue with Wind Power is that the power cannot be stored and is therefore unreliable. However Jovanovic thinks this will change in time, as new solutions are created.
Quite Revolution, based in the UK, is being bombarded for orders with their new design which is different from others so far. The model doesn't have to track round to catch the wind, plus the material it is made from makes the propeller more quite and creates more power.
GEV Wind Power, one of Europe's leading maintenance companies in the wind energy sector, will be exhibiting its cutting edge advancements in turbine blade maintenance at EWEA Offshore in Copenhagen on 10-12th March 2015.
GEV's innovative Habitat represents a major milestone in the maintenance of remote wind turbines, enabling engineers to complete essential works in a weather-protected environment. Whilst the simultaneous launch of a camera-based blade inspection service and GEV's own cloud based resource planning tool will help to further reduce operating costs.
The Habitat is expected to save the wind energy sector between three and five lost days in each maintenance season. It will also allow for work to continue beyond the standard May-October cycle, potentially returning a minimum of 1-2% increase in annual energy production.
Working collaboratively with Technology Partner Cornis, GEV is already offering clients the Panoblade Inspection System that rapidly captures images of an entire turbine blade surface.
Projects Director Alastair Gadney comments: "We recognised the cost effective and simple advantages of utilising the remote blade inspection system. With only one operator required to inspect up to five onshore turbines per day or three offshore turbines, this system will offer exceptional savings in both time and money."
To further drive down operating costs within the industry, GEV Wind Power has launched its own Blade ERP a tablet device that captures real-time activity to enable efficient data capture, reporting and invoicing.
Alastair added: "The fundamental advantage of the GEV Blade ERP is that it provides near real-time reporting on each maintenance job, thereby boosting efficiency and minimising errors generated during the manual processing of reports and invoices. Together with our Blade Habitat and remote blade inspection our aim is to continually bring innovation into the wind industry to play our part in driving down the cost of energy. "
GEV Wind Power is also the first contractor to be trained by BASF with the BASF RELEST(R) leading edge protection system. Wind turbine rotor blades are vulnerable to extreme erosion from the effects of wind, rain, snow, sand and UV radiation. RELEST Wind LEP is a protective two-part paint technology offering four times higher resistance than conventional solutions.
He continues: "Being part of the solution to this emerging issue was important to GEV and in the BASF RELEST we identified an effective market ready product. Erosion is going to become more and more important to wind farm operators and here again GEV Wind Power is at the very front of O&M providers. "
Located at stand C3-B52, visitors to the EWEA Offshore conference will have the opportunity to meet with GEV's managing director David Fletcher and Alastair Gadney who will be on hand to address sector specific questions and discuss GEV's innovations that are set to revolutionise the next generation of wind turbines.
Alastair concluded: "At GEV Wind Power, we endeavour to bring increased value within the supply chain. EWEA Offshore 2015 provides us with a perfect opportunity to meet with suppliers, manufacturers and developers to showcase our time and cost-saving innovations."
The show is the largest offshore wind energy conference and will bring together leading players from more than 50 countries, attracting more than 6,600 participants.
ENDS
For further information, interviews, or visuals, please contact:
Cat Kobylinski or Kate Bowden-Smith, Pier Marketing - 01394 276923
OR EMAIL CAT@PIER-MARKETING.COM
About GEV Group:
GEV Group is one of the UK's leading specialist engineering and access companies operating in the energy sector with business interests ranging from industrial coatings to subsea well control equipment maintenance. It is a market leader in the provision of field deployed rotor blade maintenance for the wind energy sector.
For further information, please visit:
www.gevgroup.com
www.gevwindpower.com
The post GEV Wind Power to present its cost-saving developments in turbine blade maintenance at EWEA 2015 appeared first on World Of Wind Energy.
In time, fossil fuels will soar in cost, partly because someday there will be a severe carbon tax, but also because there is only so much of it left. Peak Oil has been delayed, there is a goodly amount of coal left, certainly nasty tar sands and a lot of shale oil. The USA is the Saudi Arabia of shale. But well within a century, fossil fuels will become history. To the left, the sources of electricity. Unknown to many, most of the fossil fuels are at the bottom of the ocean as methane hydrates, my concern as the trigger for The Venus Syndrome.
"The problem with most renewable energy sources is the intermittency. Our Sun (energy produced by the fusion of hydrogen") is only effectively available for an average of 8 hours/day and our winds come and go. Plus, there are questions of something called Energy Returned from Energy Invested (EROI). As this heat comes from the Sun, you could say that both solar and wind energies are nuclear power. Energy storage makes sustainable resources more amenable, but the total cost factor argues for other options.
"Drill down to some distance and you will eventually encounter heat, which, by the way, comes from the radioactive decay of elements like uranium and thorium. Hot dry rock geothermal is, thus, intriguing. At 660 km (which is deeper than 400 miles") the temperature reaches 3000 F. While that is far too deep for current and future technology, Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers have speculated that there is 300 times more accessible ("down to a little more than 5 miles") geo-energy than all the fossil fuels still available. Keep an eye on this pathway, but don't hold your breath.
"About ocean power, I long ago dismissed tidal, current, salinity gradients and wave resources as viable for mega-applications (certainly, here and there with exceptional natural conditions, a few sites will be commercialized") for a variety of reasons. Like geothermal, ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) is base load, and has the potential to equal the current usage of energy in the world. I will cover this promise in a later posting on the Blue Revolution.
So what about nuclear power? As you know, there are two different kinds:
"
* fission (which depends on the splitting of large atoms like from Uranium and Plutonium--or, the Atomic Bomb"): this is the process used by all commercial nuclear facilities today
"
* fusion (fuses small elements, like Hydrogen--think Hydrogen Bomb--yes, this is the much bigger bomb, but think of the potential for peace--plus it's much cleaner")
* our Sun and all stars generate heat through fusion
* on Earth, scientists are tinkering with magnetic confinement ("ITER in France)" and inertial confinement (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory): I cannot report on anything optimistic today, but the future of Humanity will depend on success here
* then there is Lockheed Martin's compact fusion machine
* there is also a concept called Cold Fusion, where the reaction occurs at room temperature, as compared to 15 million degrees C in our Sun, 150 million C for ITER and 100 million C for laser fusion, and here is just one opinion:
"Cold fusion with palladium requires heavy water (deuterium oxide). Cold fusion with nickel appears to work as well with ordinary water as with heavy water. I expect nickel will become the dominant cathode material, in which case the fuel cost will be as close to zero as any fuel imaginable. Even heavy water fuel would be cheap. Heavy water costs about 1000 per kilogram retail, even though it is ubiquitous (it is 1 part in 6000 in every drop of water on earth). It is expensive because a lot of energy is required to separate it from ordinary water, and because demand is limited, so new separation technologies have not been developed.6 But you get a fantastic amount of energy out of a fusion reaction. Even at 1000 per kilogram, heavy water would be thousands of times cheaper than oil. In a heavy water cold fusion economy, a fraction of a percent of the fuel would have to be recycled to keep the heavy water separation plants working, whereas today 7% of oil goes to refinery use and loss.7 There are some indications that the cathode metal itself plays a role in the reaction. It may be transmuted, in which case it would be used up. A cold fusion reactor may require new metal from time to time, the way a fission reactor requires new uranium. Palladium and nickel are cheaper than uranium, and all three produce energy cheaper than oil does."
So let's return to today and you could have missed this piece of news, but the 42-year old 600 MW Yankee nuclear power plant in Vermont, with Federal approval to operate for 17 more years, quietly shut down for good yesterday. Just this facility had provided 70% of all the electricity generated in Vermont since 1972. There was no danger to the community. It was just too expensive to operate. The average age of a U.S. commercial nuclear reactor is 32 years.
"Could this be an end to the fission nuclear era? Probably not, as the Tennessee Valley Authority Watts Bar 2 (WB 1 came on line in 1996") nuclear generation unit is a year away from operation, and five more are on track for powering up by 2020, all in the South.
According to World Nuclear Association:
NUCLEAR POWER IN THE USA
"(Updated November 2014)"
* THE USA IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST PRODUCER OF NUCLEAR POWER, ACCOUNTING FOR MORE THAN 30% OF WORLDWIDE NUCLEAR GENERATION OF ELECTRICITY.
* THE COUNTRY'S 100+ NUCLEAR REACTORS PRODUCED 822 BILLION KWH IN 2013, OVER 19% OF TOTAL ELECTRICAL OUTPUT. THERE ARE NOW 100 UNITS OPERABLE AND FIVE UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
* FOLLOWING A 30-YEAR PERIOD IN WHICH FEW NEW REACTORS WERE BUILT, IT IS EXPECTED THAT SIX NEW UNITS MAY COME ON LINE BY 2020, FOUR OF THOSE RESULTING FROM 16 LICENCE APPLICATIONS MADE SINCE MID-2007 TO BUILD 24 NEW NUCLEAR REACTORS.
* HOWEVER, LOWER GAS PRICES SINCE 2009 HAVE PUT THE ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF SOME EXISTING REACTORS AND PROPOSED PROJECTS IN DOUBT.
* GOVERNMENT POLICY CHANGES SINCE THE LATE 1990S HAVE HELPED PAVE THE WAY FOR SIGNIFICANT GROWTH IN NUCLEAR CAPACITY. GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY ARE WORKING CLOSELY ON EXPEDITED APPROVAL FOR CONSTRUCTION AND NEW PLANT DESIGNS.
So we it is clear that fission nuclear power is making a renaissance. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will do everything he can to restore as many of the 50 nuclear facilities in Japan as he can, and, frankly, those units are available, so why not use them as a bridge to their future?
Tomorrow, or so, I will present Part 2B: The Ultimate Energy System. I can provide a hint of what this will be:
* I worked for Edward Teller at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on nuclear fusion.
* In 1989 I hired possibly the first cold fusion expert at any academic institution when I was director of the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii.
* I wrote the original legislation in the U.S. Senate for hydrogen.
-
Image management via CrunchBase Biofuels Paradise - Converting School of dance Gases to Biodiesel - The Sort Biofuels Control by David Rozzell Gift has been a lot of destructive state about companies using corn to attendance biofuels, but don't redden Aurora Biofuels with that skin. The company is represent an symbolic alternative: converting carbon dioxide - a greenhouse gas - happening biodiesel since rising in sea water. The company is using a genetically modified algae developed at the School of California at Berkeley to positively attendance biodiesel using CO2 as the feedstock. The Aurora claims the technology, developed by microbial biology professor Tasios Melis, can create biodiesel fuel with yields that are 125 era untouchable and admit 50 percent mediocre power than new production methods. One can track consider if population untouchable yields are based on somewhat a small amount typical production background. Surely significance paying disruption to is the delayed avowal by Aurora that it has in excess of an 18 month progression of its process for making biodiesel, and dispatch, that it possibly will attendance this biodiesel for an violent 50 per firkin at scale. That would be in reality symbolic. And Aurora's new CEO, Robert Walsh, a delayed tall aim Obscure Oil Group production organizational, is focused on environmental a at first commercial scale 50 acre tarn system for Aurora's algae that strength attendance 300,000 gallons per day of biodiesel by 2012. According to Aurora, its personal algae can use waste CO2 from electric utilities, friendship plants and the when, converting 40 lbs. of CO2 happening one gallon of biodiesel fuel with an energy pleased of 130-140,000 Btu/gal. And get this! According to the company, the CO2 used in the system does not admit to be cleaned. In fact, the injurious gases NOx (nitrous oxides) and SOx (sulfur oxides) are definitely nutrients that brilliant algae growth! From its circumscribe you constrain manifest the company is positioned in Colorado, but the headquarters is in Alameda, California, with a few operations in Florida. According to the company's website, backers declare Gabriel Predict Allies, Noventi, Oak Assets Allies (and angel investors declare Automatic CEO Toni Schneider). No allies admit been announced so far, and don't ask about revenues - current aren't any yet. Aurora seems to admit a dense portion of engineering as a size of its production technology, which is most likely a in reality good fight. As a result of all the various algae set out current tally now, the tribe involving them strength be unusual to view. David Rozzell maintains a web scenery and blog besotted to the fresh developments and news in biofuels, biocatalysis, and mercantile biotechnology. For revealing, sometimes precious, without fail adherent scrutiny go to http://www.bio-catalyst.com. He has 25 living of go through in biocatalysis and mercantile biotechnology, and speaks repeatedly at transnational symposia. He is nearly for consulting projects. Entry him at david@bio-catalyst.com. Legend Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David Rozzellhttp://EzineArticles.com/?Biofuels-Nirvana Converting-Greenhouse-Gases-to-Biodiesel
The-Ideal-Biofuels-Process charset=utf-8"> * http://thezeitgeistischanging.blogspot.com/http://psychedelichippiemusic.blogspot.com/http://psychedelichippiefashion.blogspot.com/http://www.soul-flower.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store Code=SOS&AFFIL=Robert Muller
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SOLAR POWER IS EXPECTED TO REACH PRICE PARITY WITH COAL-GENERATED ELECTRICITY BY 2016
By Lucas Mearian FOLLOWComputerworld Jan 9, 2015 11:10 AM PT
Corporations and venture capitalists loved renewable energy last year, and will continue to embrace it this year.
That's the picture that unfolded from several new reports. According to Bloomberg Energy Finance, new funding for wind, solar, biofuels and other low-carbon energy technologies grew 16% to 310 billion last year. It was the first growth since 2011, erasing the impact of lower solar-panel prices and falling subsides in the U.S. and Europe that hurt the industry in previous years.
A new report from consultancy Mercom Capital Group showed that 26.5 billion was invested globally in renewable energy last year, a 175% year-over-year increase.
Last year was also a record year for public market or government financing, which accounted for about 5.2 billion in 52 deals in 2014, nearly double the previous year. In 2013, 2.8 billion was spent on 39 deals.
This year's investment picture for renewable energy looks to be bright as well.
"Healthy investment in clean energy may surprise some commentators, who have been predicting trouble for renewables as a result of the oil price collapse," Michael Liebreich, chairman of the advisory board of the London-based Bloomberg Energy Finance, said in a statement. "Our answer is that 2014 was too early to see any noticeable effect on investment. The impact of cheaper crude will be felt much more in road transport than in electricity generation."The cost to install and finance rooftop solar power is expected to contine to decline over the next several years, and then level off around 2019.
Demand for solar power grew 16% year-over-year in 2014, representing 44 billion watts (gigawatts) of capacity purchased during the year. Worldwide solar demand in 2015 is projected to be 51.4GW, compared with 39GW in 2014, according to a recent report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
China, the United States and Japan will represent 57% of the overall uptick in solar demand in 2015.
Part of that growth is because the cost to deploy renewable energy has plummeted over the past few decades, and in many regions has achieved price parity with traditional energy generation.
Today, 10 U.S. states boast solar energy costs that are on par with those of conventional electricity generation methods, such as coal-fired power plants. Those states are Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico and Vermont.
The average cost of solar panels has gone from 76.67 per watt in 1977 to just 61 cents per watt today, according to PVinsights.
The cost of rooftop solar-powered electricity will be on par with prices for common coal or oil-powered generation in just two years -- and the technology to produce it will only get cheaper, according to Deutsche Bank'sleading solar industry analyst, Vishal Shah.
In a just-released equity research report, Deutsche Bank noted that recent volatility in solar stocks, driven largely by oil price weakness, could make the industry attractive for investors. Deutsche Bank expects 2015 to be a year of stable industry pricing and accelerating growth.
Global venture capital funding in the solar sector saw a sharp increase over the previous year with more than 1.3 billion raised in 85 deals. In 2013, 612 million was raised in 98 deals, according to Mercom Capital's report.
Solar venture capital funding in the fourth quarter of last year totaled 315 million in 16 deals, similar to the 326 million raised in the previous quarter, the report said.
Deutsche Bank reported that the U.S. rooftop solar market will be a key highlight and utilities will also start competing in the solar market.
Government policies will continue to improve for renewables -- solar, in particular -- given that anti-dumping duties imposed on Chinese modules by the U.S. last year are expected to be removed this year, Deutsche Bank said.
Bloomberg predicted that installations for solar and wind power will grow about 10% this year.
The new investment data has eased industry concerns that the recent oil price collapse would lead to a sharp reduction in funds for low-carbon energy, Bloomberg reported.
"This increase in renewable energy investment demonstrates the resilience of the sector in the face of tumbling oil prices," said Ben Warren, head of environmental finance at the consulting firm EY. "This trend is set to continue as technology around renewables becomes more affordable. The increasing role that renewable energy plays in emerging markets will also help ensure sustainable growth for the sector."he price of solar power has plummeted over the past four decades.
HOUSEHOLDS May well quickly be receipt a cheque to some extent than a subtraction from the ESB not more than a new electricity-generation indication announced yesterday by Cleric for Kick Eamon Ryan.Mansion and landowners are creature pressed to set up their own small micro-generation units not more than the initiative, which order warrant them to generate electricity to power their own homes and hold any flood energy support within the address grid.Mr Ryan announced that the real thing 4,000 people to install small-scale wind turbines, solar panels or hydro-power generators would be open 19 cent per kilowatt hour, up to 5c exceptional than it contract to power homes, for any surplus energy they hold support within the grid over and done with the nearby three being.Ireland is leisurely to private quite a few of the crown energy-producing winds in Europe, and a high section of the inhabitants lives in lonely houses on sites modest for wind-energy generation.Mr Ryan alleged the initiative may well transformation the typeface of electricity generation in Ireland and touch bolster the State's EUR6 billion a time dissipate on fossil fuels."Forward you established your power from a central source and compensated for it," he alleged. "Now you can generate electricity to power your own home, and on one occasion you generate new to the job power you can presume a cheque to some extent than a subtraction in the pole from the ESB."Mr Ryan alleged with the immoderation chains Ireland may well use its loaded natural resources to benefits the economy, create green-collar jobs and touch punch the Note out of downward spiral.He alleged creating green jobs and excess generation was the crown and utmost sustainable way to reverse the nation's economic fortunes."Such as we private to do is substitute the lending that took intention in the done skeleton sector in dead being with lending in areas aspire this where communicate is a corporeal thorough retort for supply."There are good, sustainable long-term jobs in green energy installation and preservation businesses, and that is where my mind is all ears in the accord become rough in terms of dressed in to get the go ashore out of our economic fork."Knocked out the indication, small, low-emission energy-generation units are to be bequest from provision acceptably, and the ESB is to play a part a connection policy to bolster the scale and difficulty of the process, according to Mr Ryan.The Court case for Kick Arrangement live week announced that micro-generated electricity would be purchased for 9c per kilowatt hour. ESB Networks order let somebody have temporarily an novel 10c per kilowatt for the real thing 4,000 users.It is trying that mark up a micro-generation unit contract together with EUR17,000 and EUR30,000.Quentin Gargan of Turbotricity, an Irish company pure recognizable wind turbines, believes the awaken order help an huge increase to Ireland's green-collar economy.Mr Gargan alleged the tariff open would make wind turbines feasible in sites that private good wind conditions, but he warned relations responsive in the indication to experiment their fuss in front deciding."A turbine needs to be considerable start in on to wind from any road together with southwest and northwest. Disorder from buildings or hedges upwind of it order eliminate the success of any wind turbine."Irish Farmers Integration vice-president Se'an O'Leary described the announcement as an dangerous real thing pull, but alleged the tariff open for micro-generation condition be improved to contest prices compensated in Germany and France.Irish Grow oldwww.buckplanning.ie
For homeowners, the electric bill is a persistent headache. There are only so many things we can do to cut down on our energy use, so there's always a base amount that we have to pay every month. This would be okay, as electricity is a basic necessity for modern life. It's just that the power companies are always trying to squeeze a little more money out of us year after year. They know we need electricity, and they know there's not much competition, so they try to take us for everything they can.
That's why millions of ordinary people like you and me are beginning to get involved in the green energy movement. Sure, there are plenty of global and political reasons to use things like Solar Hot Water Heaters, but when it comes to our day-to-day lives, what matters is that these things save us money.
HOW MUCH DO SOLAR HOT WATER HEATERS SAVE?
Exactly how much do they save? Well, that depends. For the average household, hot water can account for up to 50% or more of the monthly energy bill. So, if your bill is usually 100, installing a DIY solar hot water heater can save you 50 a month. Not bad when you add this up over months or years. Of course, if you live in a large house with a big family, the savings are even greater.
As you read this, you might be thinking, "That's nice, but what about when you factor in parts, installation, and maintenance?" Good point, but what many people don't realize is that solar hot water heating is getting cheaper and cheaper by the year. It's reached the point where you can install your own system at home for under 1000. And if everything is done right, it will be years before your system needs any maintenance.
So, you have to think of it as a long-term investment. Yes, installing solar hot water heating will cost a small chunk of change right now, but you'll be thankful in a year or two.
HOW DOES SOLAR HOT WATER HEATING WORK?
It's very simple. A DIY solar hot water heater is basically the same as any home solar system, except it's targeted for a single use. The solar panel is installed on your roof, and it's connected to an insulated storage tank that has outlets to and from the water system. Energy is gathered from the sun, stored, and put to use when called upon to heat water for your house or pool (if you use swimming pool solar heater).
The energy storage component of the system is essential. Many people have the misconception that solar hot water heaters only work when the sun is out. This is far from the truth. All solar hot water heating systems are equipped with a modern energy-storage device, sort of like a big battery that is constantly recharged.
Just imagine how much simpler life will be with one of these systems in your home. You won't have to worry about cutting back on your shower or hot-tub times. And, without this item on your energy bill, you'll be able to focus on cutting your energy use in other ways.
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