by Timlynn Babitsky
Huge wind turbines are easy to find now across the U S. But smaller residential wind generators, a bit less easy to find, are also appearing across the US landscape. Small Wind is now considered a “tiny but red-hot market.” And about 45 US manufacturers are producing systems to service the small wind market here and abroad. In rural, suburban and even urban areas “small wind” is catching on. (more…)
by Timlynn Babitsky
In the unfolding case study of off-shore/on-shore wind power projects in the Delaware area, the battle continues between Bluewater Wind and Delmarva Power. Tommy Wonk, a.k.a. Tom Noyes, is keeping tabs on the stakeholders, advocates and resistors. His latest post leaves you shaking your head. (more…)
by Timlynn Babitsky
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) just released a first-of-its-kind report examining the technical feasibility of wind energy’s potential to provide up to 20 percent of the nation’s total electricity needs by 2030. This 248 page report is a must read for wind project advocates. If you want the real story on wind power potential you need to do your homework. (more…)
by Timlynn Babitsky
Eric Chamberlain researched municipal wind energy, evaluated local wind resources, then shook his network connections at Wind Capital Group and John Deere Credit and asked: “Why not wind power for my town?” On Friday, April 18, 2008, Rock Port Missouri became the first city in the U. S. to be 100% wind powered and the entire community turned out to celebrate! (more…)
by Timlynn Babitsky
Depending on your source, Iowa is now either #3 or #4 in the country in wind energy generation. Add to that the Iowa Power Fund, Iowa’s $100 million renewable energy research and development initiative, and Governor Chet Culver’s mission to make Iowa “…the nation’s undisputed renewable energy leader.” Given all that, you’d think that Iowa is a GREEN POWER haven! Not so! There is a battle going on and you can help. (more…)
by Timlynn Babitsky
You can’t depend on wind they say. When you least expect it, the wind dies, the sails luff, the power goes. As we stretch to reach national 25×25 goals, there are plans afoot to tame the will-o-the-wind. The Iowa Stored Energy Park, a joint project of Iowa, Minnesota and the Dakotas, is one such effort. How do they plan to get wind energy on demand? Why, simply harvest the wind’s energy and store it for future use. And once again we see that grassroots organizing is so important! (more…)
by Timlynn Babitsky
If your project is a large community wind project, a small to medium wind farm, or even a single turbine you want to connect back into the power grid, you may run into the Power Grid Debate. The national power transmission system is old, vulnerable, and inadequate. But will your project have any impact on the transmission grid where you aim to be connected? (more…)
by Timlynn Babitsky
Wind turbines, radio towers and tall buildings have the potential to affect radar. They are signal reflectors. If sited in the wrong location, wind turbines can impact the ability of radar to perform its mission. But to what extent is radar interference a large enough problem to halt wind farm development and how exactly do turbines interfere with radar? (more…)
by Timlynn Babitsky
In 2005, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued its proposed regulations for connecting wind projects to the grid. The technical requirements it proposed recognized the proliferation of wind farms, and their special nature and potential impact on grid reliability. (more…)
by Timlynn Babitsky
Of all the reasons for resisting a wind project, the most emotional has to do with the potential for wind turbines to kill birds. The most notorious case in point, and the one that has probably done more damage to wind power development than any other, is the history of bird kills in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area in California. (more…)