280-Megawatt Solar Boiler Uses Magnifying-Glass

The solar power plant Abengoa Solar will build in Gila Bend, Arizona, won’t rely on fancy photovoltaic panels. No, it uses pretty much the same trick your evil ass used on bugs and leaves way back when: focusing sunlight to create high heat. In this case, mirrors focus the sun’s rays into tanks of heat-transfer oil, heating it to about 400°C, boiling water for a steam turbine.

The appeal of the system is its low cost and high scalability. MIT’s Technology Review says that, according to one expert, “solar thermal power will become cost competitive with other forms of power generation decades before photovoltaics will.” And even though solar thermal costs more than wind power (around 15 cents per kilowatt versus wind’s 8 cents per kilowatt), solar thermal energy, trapped in the form of heat, is much more easy to save up. Energy can be generated even when the sun isn’t shining—in the case of Abengoa’s Arizona plant, part of the heat doesn’t directly boil water but is transferred to molten salt tanks, where it can be stored to power the turbine for up to six sunless hours.

The plant goes operational in 2011, and will generate 280 megawatts, enough to provide energy for 70,000 homes, customers of the Arizona Public Service in Phoenix.

Renewable energy key to economic development

UN officials are urging governments and industry to invest in renewable and other forms of clean energy.

The call came during a special dialogue on energy, and a day after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched an advisory group on energy and climate change.

Mr. Ban pointed out that more and more industries and government are seeing the opportunities in a "green economy" and are investing in renewable energy technologies. Such investment could help alleviate poverty and empower billions of people whose development is held back by a lack of electricity, for example. But, the Secretary-General stressed, it must be made more widely available:

"One obstacle is limited access to finance. This includes villagers, and it includes larger businesses. Renewable energy often involves considerable capital outlay, but once it is functioning its costs are little. Unlike coal-fired power stations, wind farms and solar installations need no fuel. Geothermal energy comes from the ground. Biomass energy often comes fro agricultural waste."

Mr. Ban said the climate change conference to be held in Copenhagen in December could create momentum for the "green economy".

China wind power to exceed 30,000 mW by 2010

China Daily reports that China’s wind power installed capacity is expected to exceed 30,000 megawatts by the end of 2010, an official with the National Energy Administration (NEA) said.

To achieve this target, China needs to invest an additional 100 billion yuan in the sector, said Shi Lishan, deputy director of the new energy department under the NEA.

China now has the fourth largest wind power capacity in the world. By 2020, China would have wind power capacity of 100,000 mW, accounting for around 10% of the country’s total power generation capacity.

Wind turbine plan blights house sale

A devastated resident fighting plans for six massive wind turbines close to Stafford villages says her house sale has fallen through because of it.

Elizabeth Kennerley and her husband Gordon were about to move out of High Onn Manor in High Onn.

But the buyer decided to pull out this week after telling the owners he was concerned about the King’s Street wind farm plan at nearby Brineton.

Bristol renewable energy company Wind Prospect wants to install the turbines on land at the Bradford Estate, part of Weston Park. The turbines would be 426ft high and would generate enough electricity to power 6,000 homes.

But householders living in nearby Marston, High Onn and Church Eaton say it will wreck the area, dwarfing trees and buildings, and send house prices plummeting.

The Newsletter revealed last week that almost 100 campaigners packed into a Church Eaton parish council meeting last week to express their disgust at the plans.

They also accused Wind Prospect of bribery by saying if the scheme goes ahead the company will provide Church Eaton with a trust fund to benefit the school and community projects.

Mr Kennerley said: “The purchaser pulled out and he specifically said it was because of the wind farm plans. It will have an effect on the whole area. The turbines will be clearly seen from here and some of the lanes will be widened.

“Our house has been on the market since August for £650,000. It has been difficult enough to find a purchaser in the current climate but the prospect of selling it now seems even more difficult.”

Residents are planning to step up their campaign and were meeting this week to plan their next move.

Wind Prospect is planning a consultation event on June 24, from 2pm to 8pm. It has yet to submit a formal planning application to South Staffordshire Council.

Paul Grimshaw, development manager, said: “Wind energy is a clean, reliable and proven technology for generating electricity. The proposal at King’s Street represents a real opportunity for South Staffordshire and the West Midlands to make a significant contribution towards satisfying the need for green energy generation, help in the drive to meet regional, national and European renewable energy targets and reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels.”

Wind turbine noise is rattling some residents in Michigan's Thumb

Wind turbines are creating some bad buzz in Michigan's Thumb.

The big blades have been welcomed by many, including Gov. Jennifer Granholm, as they've gone up in the farm fields of Huron County in recent years.

But a handful of people who live near some of the 46 turbines at a wind park in Bingham and Sheridan townships are now complaining about ongoing noise and rumble from the 300-foot-tall renewable energy generators.

"You can't go outside and have a nice, peaceful quiet night anymore," said Curt Watchowski, 42, who lives about 1,500 feet from two turbines on Purdy Road.

Watchowski, like some other residents, also complains of sleepless nights due to the noise, which he likens to the sound of a jet plane flying over.

Huron County officials have taken a half-dozen complaints in recent months, and have asked John Deere Wind Energy, which owns the park near Ubly called Michigan Wind 1, to hire an independent firm to conduct a noise study, said Russell R. Lundberg, director of the County Building and Zoning Department.

The county has a wind energy zoning ordinance with complex noise requirements. But the county has no way to measure the decibel levels from the turbines, Lundberg said.

"The turbines are assumed to be in compliance with the ordinance simply because we had a pre-construction wind study completed," he said.

The complaints come at a time when the Thumb is in the spotlight for new wind development.

Utilities including DTE Energy have leased land for future wind turbine developments to help meet a state renewable energy standard signed into law last year.

A recent report from the Michigan Wind Energy Resource Zone Board has identified parts of Huron, Sanilac, Tuscola, Bay and Saginaw counties as one of four regions in Michigan with the highest level of wind energy harvest potential.

Watchowski questions the decision to have John Deere contract for the study.

He said he hopes Huron County leaders will make sure there's better planning for future projects.

"They were rushed in here without enough review," Watchowski said. "I'm not against wind energy ... but there is proper places for it, and it's not next to homes."

David Peplinski, Watchowski's brother-in-law, lives nearby and within 1,300 feet of a turbine. He said he's had problems with rumbling, or "infrasound."

Peplinski compares the rumble to the feeling of a train moving by, or distant thunder. He said the rumble varies depending on wind direction, but seems to occur most often in the early morning hours.

"When I lay in bed, that's what wakes me up. That's what's not allowing us to get a good night's sleep," said Peplinski, 44.

John Deere Wind Energy has been meeting with residents to discuss their questions and concerns, said Angela Gallagher, a company spokeswoman.

"John Deere has engaged a consulting engineering firm to complete a study based on the measured sound level of the turbines in Ubly," Gallagher said in a statement.

"We will share an update when the study is available and this date will be determined once the testing and report is complete."

A common complaint among the handful of residents is that a setback requirement for the wind turbines, to be within 1,000 feet of a home, wasn't strict enough.

Several studies have examined connections between wind turbine noise and health issues.

A researcher named Dr. Nina Pierpont of Malone, N.Y., has coined the phrase "wind turbine syndrome" for sleep problems, headaches, dizziness and other maladies experienced by some people who live near wind energy farms.

Her research says wind turbines should never be built closer than two miles from homes, according to a report in The Oregonian.

Lundberg said the 1,000-foot setback requirement was put in the county zoning ordinance after much study.

He questions whether the people who are complaining would be doing so if they signed leases to locate windmills on their property and were collecting profits from the turbines.

"If you were getting a little green for it, maybe the noise wouldn't be so bad," he said.

But Peplinski said that's not the case.

"I wouldn't wish this on anyone," he said. "That's part of what drives me to even take these steps, because I fear for the people who've signed up and their health."

Lundberg said county officials expected to have noise complaints after the turbines were operating, due to a small group of residents who were against the development.

He encourages companies who are considering building more windmills in the Thumb to get everyone involved, including people who won't have turbines on their land.

Lundberg said the county has formed a subcommittee to deal with the complaints, oversee the wind noise study and decide whether the local zoning ordinance needs to be changed.

One possibility is a separate setback standard for homes that aren't part of a wind energy park, he said.

Photovoltaic cell production in the world

As one of the new solar energy Sony laptop battery, in addition to extensive use of light in the form of heat that is common in the form of the use of solar water heaters, etc., can also generate electricity. One of the more common is the photovoltaic power generation, that is, solar radiation will be converted to electrical energy, is more mature power generation technology, widely used.

National Association of Industry and New Energy Chamber of Commerce executive vice president, group-wei, chairman of the board, said Liu Hanyuan, with renewable energy is hydroelectric power, wind power, Toshiba Laptop Battery and Fujitsu Laptop Battery compared with the four major advantage of solar power generation. The first few links into the use of direct. At present, crystalline silicon solar cell conversion efficiency in the practical level of 15-20 percent, to be used in one-time conversion of energy efficient new energy. The second is less consumption of resources. Solar power generation area of land occupied by wind power is only 1 / 8-1 / 10, and biomass power generation of 1 / 100, to build large-scale hydropower dams to the land occupied by much smaller. Third, the volume contains abundant solar energy resources. Judging from the current development of China can contain the amount of resources, approximately 378,000,000 kilowatt hydropower, wind power, about 253,000,000 kilowatt, while solar energy is 2,103,900,000,000 kilowatt. The fourth is in the process of solar power is no waste residue, waste, waste water, waste gas generated. Judging from the current generation of various forms of carbon emissions, if we count the upstream area, solar photovoltaic power generation close to zero emissions, coal and oil for power generation, natural gas and even wind power, he must meet certain emissions.

For this reason, solar photovoltaic industry has been regarded as the most environmentally clean and sustainable energy forms, in recent years has been the rapid development of the world. Over the past 10 years, the global PV industry average annual growth rate of 41.3 percent in the past 5 years was 49.5% in 2007 than the 56.2 percent growth in 2006. In the face of resource depletion, environmental degradation caused by the energy crisis, solar energy, with its broad distribution of the resources of clean, renewable energy technology development, as well as the full, has been favored by many countries.

Sync with the global, China is rapidly emerging as a solar PV cells produce power. In 2000, Chinese production of photovoltaic cells was only 3 megawatts by the end of 2007 reached 1088 megawatts, ranking first in the world. Since December 2005 Suntech Power Co., Ltd. in New York Stock Exchange, less than two years, there have been more than 10 Chinese enterprises in the PV market at home and abroad.

The local market to be developed

The Chinese government supports the development and utilization of solar photovoltaic power generation. 2002 to 2004, the National Organization of the rural power transmission project, the central and local governments will total 4.7 billion of funds in Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Sichuan, Tibet and Shaanxi provinces and regions in 12 townships in the city of 1065, Sony PCGA-BP2T battery the building of a Photovoltaic power granted to renewable energy-based power plant.

Before and after the Olympic Games in Beijing this year, solar photovoltaic skill demonstrated time and again. May, Suntech's successful Olympic torch climb Everest services, and later for the main Olympic stadium provides a bird's nest of green emergency power system. In the landscape of the Olympic Park Avenue, Sony PCGA-BP2V battery stands the Art produced by the Group of 29 solar power generation components of the column of information, played a shade, power generation, multi-function watch, and so on.

Cop Cars Get Solar Panels

Ohio state trooper cruisers are getting small solar panels to assist in the powering of their onboard equipment. 1,150 Ford Crown Victoria cruisers will get 5 watt solar panels to improve battery peformance and reduce fuel consumption.

The solar panels will help power the radio and other electronics when the cars’ engines are turned off. Currently electronics drain batteries when the cars are not running. The official press release states the solar panels will decrease the chance of an officer being unable to respond to an incident due to her or his car having a dead battery. The panels will be installed in the rear deck area, and their brackets have been made from recycled license plates. Each panel costs $37 and could last five years.