Dutch Propose Using Dikes to Generate Power

by Brit Liggett

From: http://inhabitat.com/

Though the Dutch are known for their windmills, they may be looking to underwater turbines for energy in the near future. In 1953 a massive flood decimated a large part of The Netherlands, killing 1,800 people on the south-west coast of the country. Dikes were devised and installed along the coastline to prevent future flooding. In their wake they left a host of man-made freshwater lakes — now stagnant and home to unpleasant algae — and shut the tides out of the large estuaries. A group of engineers is now proposing a plan to cut a few holes in the structures to allow the saltwater to return. The revised dikes would reinstate natural habitat and could create a network of tidal power plants that would provide electricity to the region.

Following the 1953 flood much of The Netherlands followed the south-west region, installing dikes to prevent future catastrophes. The natural Dutch estuaries have been all but destroyed because of what has been referred to as one of the seven wonders of the modern world — along with the Panama Canal and the Chunnel. Without the constant rush of saltwater tides the estuaries have become stagnant and much of the wildlife once present has died off. They are home to smelly algae and the regions have lost much of their prior natural glory.

The Dutch government believes that with new technology the country’s dikes could be used to generate power while keeping the safety of the citizens and the welfare of nature in mind. The government’s committee is hoping that their plan to restore beauty to the region, tap the tides for energy and keep the populous safe will tempt other parts of the country to crack a small hole in their dikes and dams as well. Sounds like the Dutch are going underwater with their mills and we think it’s a great plan.

Via NRChandelsblad

World's Biggest Wind Turbine Generates 10 MW And It Floats!

by Jerry James Stone, San Francisco, CA

Photo courtesy of Trends Updates (this is not a picture of the actual turbine)

In an attempt to make offshore wind farms more profitable, Norway plans to build the world's largest turbine standing 533 feet tall with a rotor diameter of 475 feet. It will also be the most powerful by generating 10-megawatts to power over 2,000 homes, making it three times more powerful than current turbines.

"We are aiming to install it in 2011," said Enova's head of new technology, Kjell Olav Skoelsvik. The prototype will cost $67.5 million to build and Enova's committed to $23 million of it.

The power gain comes from reducing the weight and number of moving parts in the turbine--it uses a gearless generator system.

It will be built by the Norwegian company Sway and tested first on land in Oeygarden, southwestern Norway. Unlike most offshore wind projects where turbines rest on the seafloor, Sway turbines float. This means further offshore development where winds are stronger and more consistent.

The floating tower is a pole filled with ballast beneath the water creating low center of gravity. Anchored to the seabed with a single pipe and a suction anchor, it can tilt 5-8°, and turn around with the wind.

The Scandinavian country is one of the world's top oil and gas producers but obtains most of its own energy through hydroelectric power. Hopefully this turbine can give offshore farms the revolution they deserve.

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Source: Grist

One Danish Island Experiments with Clean Power [+Slide Show]

scientificamerican.com — One small island in Denmark is technically 100 percent powered by sustainable sources of energy. Could the experiment succeed anywhere else?

Click here to read this fascinating Green Article:   One Danish Island Experiments with Clean Power [+Slide Show]

Illinois Drive-In Becomes World’s First Wind-Powered Movie Theater

Written by Timothy B. Hurst

Drive-ins are not as ubiquitous on the American landscape as they once were. Whether sitting outside in lawn chairs, or inside with the windows rolled down, at the drive-in you get to experience movies on a big screen without being crammed into a multiplex theater with a sticky floor.

I can say without equivocation that drive-ins are my favorite way to go see a movie — though, perhaps, not always the greenest. That is, unless you happen by the Harvest Moon Holiday Twin Drive-In in Gibson City, Illinois, where the owners just installed two small wind turbines on the premises that they hope will ultimately produce 100% of the theater’s electricity.

The Harvest Moon’s owner, Mike Harroun expects the small wind turbines to initially cut his costs by 30 percent, but that is only in the first year. Eventually, Harroun hopes the turbines will provide all of the drive-in’s power.

Even though the strongest winds hit Gibson City in the winter, when the Harvest Moon is closed, Harroun is able to take advantage of his utility’s net-metering program by banking the energy he produces in the winter to count against the energy he consumes in the summer. With a consistent 12-15 mph winter breeze, Harroun’s goal of being 100% wind-powered is definitely achievable.

The turbines, a Skystream 3.7 horizontal-axis wind turbine (pictured right) and a Mariah Power Windspire vertical-axis turbine (left) both begin generating power at lower wind-speeds, making them ideal for many applications. Both turbines were also on display on the National Mall and feeding to the Washington D.C. grid during President Obama’s inauguration in January.

>>See also: Top Five Micro-Wind Turbines

The Harrouns hope not only to slash the theater’s rising costs, but also pass savings along via stabilized ticket and concessions prices. “I don’t know why no one else has thought of this before,” Harroun told the Chicago Tribune.

The Harvest Moon in Gibson City is about 30 miles north of Champaign and is the only drive-in in east-central Illinois.

Images: AICAD via flickr (top); Harvest Moon Twin (turbines)

Germany Aims Big with a 960-Megawatt Offshore Wind Farm

by Kristie Wilson

When it comes to offshore wind farms in the North Sea, bigger is certainly better! RWE Innogy, a German-based company, recently acquired the rights to a 960 Megawatt offshore wind project from ENOVA Energieanlagen GmbH, a subsidiary of the ENOVA Group. The offshore wind farm, named Innogy Nordsee 1, is anticipated to run just under 4,000 full-load hours and with the ability to supply over 3 TWh (Terawatt-hours) of electricity per year! Consisting of up to 250 wind turbines planned, each with a capacity of 5 to 6 Megawatts, this will be Germany’s largest offshore wind farm.

This gigantic offshore wind farm will span an area of around 56 square-miles at a location just 25 miles north of the North Sea island of Juist. RWE Innogy and Enova are investing approximately €2.8 billion into the project. Pending approval, its initial preparations will start in 2010 and its first wind turbines could start running as early as 2011. The project expected to be completed by 2015.

RWE’s construction of Innogy Nordsee 1 marks an important step towards achieving the climate and protection targets set by Germany and EU. According to the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, the wind farm alone will avoid approximately 2.6 million tones of CO2 annually—a pretty nice number for a country who has pledged a key role in reducing emissions for the EU. RWE has other ambitious wind farm projects planned for countries such as Poland and Wales, and with competitors from neighboring countries, it doesn’t seem like RWE has any plans to slow down anytime soon.

RWE states: Some 1000 MW of wind power on the high seas – that is the largest single project RWE has undertaken so far in the area of renewables. Even in these times of economic crisis, RWE Innogy is consciously stepping up its investment pace.”

+ RWE Innogy

Via Treehugger

Left: Wind Farm at North Hoyle. Right: Construction of the Rhyl Flats offshore wind farm

Alcatraz Launches Sun and Wind Powered Hybrid Boat

by Jorge Chapa

1.4 million people visit San Francisco’s Alcatraz Island each year, which adds up to a considerable carbon footprint when you factor in all of the gallons of fuel used to power those ferries. To help reduce this environmental impact Alcatraz Cruises recently launched their very own green solution - the Hornblower Hybrid ferry. The multi-hulled hybrid boat uses two wind turbines and a solar array to generate power for its navigation tools, lighting, and even part of its propulsion system.

The Hornblower Hybrid is capable of carrying around 160 passengers from San Francisto to Alcatraz. When the boat is idling or in low propulsion mode it is powered by its batteries, which are charged by its wind turbines and solar panels. Otherwise, the boat runs on Tier 2 marine diesel engines, which the company claims, are cleaner than the standard ones found in these catamarans.

In addition to its energy efficiency, the Hornblower Hybrid meets all the requirements for LEED’s recycled content, including its carpets and the countertops, which are made from recycled vodka bottles. The Hornblower Hybrid recently launched, and Alcatraz Cruises plans to eventually add a second hybrid vehicle to its fleet.

+ Hornblower Hybrid

Mexico fires up $550 million wind farm

Enlarge By Luis Cruz Hernandez, AP A $550 million wind farm project was inaugurated on Thursday in La Ventosa, Mexico, on the narrow isthmus between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean.

By Mark Stevenson, Associated Press

LA VENTOSA, Mexico — Mexico inaugurated one of the world's largest wind farm projects Thursday as the nation looks for alternative energy, in part to compensate for falling oil production.

Mexico is trying to exploit its rich wind and solar potential after relying almost exclusively on petroleum for decades. With oil production down by 9.2% in 2008, Mexico now is turning to foreign companies, mainly Spanish, to tap its renewable riches.

"If we don't do something about this problem of climate change it probably could become — I'm sure it already is — one of the biggest threats to humanity," said President Felipe Calderon at the inaugural ceremony attended by about 1,000 residents, many of whom held on to their cowboy hats on this wind-swept day.

The new, $550 million project is in a region so breezy that the main town is named La Ventosa, or "Windy." It's on the narrow isthmus between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, where winds blow at 15 mph to 22 mph, a near-ideal rate for turbines. Gusts have been known to topple tractor trailers.

Spanish energy company Acciona Energia says the 6,180-acre farm should generate 250 megawatts of electricity with 167 turbines, 25 of which are already operating. The rest should be on line by the end of the year, making the project the largest of its kind in Latin America.

It will produce enough energy to power a city of 500,000 people, while reducing carbon monoxide emissions by 600,000 metric tons each year, according to the company.

Esteban Morras, Acciona board member, said the project could be just the start for Mexico.

"This country has great potential for wind development and should take advantage," he said.

The project is also a joint venture with Cemex Inc. and will provide 25% of the Mexican cement giant's energy needs, fulfilling the company's goal of using alternative fuels.

Mexico hopes to boost the nation's wind energy capacity, mainly at La Ventosa, to 5,000 megawatts — about 10 times its current output. Wind energy now accounts for less than 2% of electricity production.

Energy Secretary Georgina Kessel said the government is planning a series of wind projects that by 2012 should generate 2,500 megawatts of electricity.

"The intensity of wind in various parts of the country can make our plants among the most efficient in the world," she said.

But the project hasn't been welcomed by local residents, who say they see few benefits and aren't being paid enough for use of their lands.

Several hundred protesters blocked a road leading to the site, holding a banner reading "no to the project."

The mayor of Juchitan, the municipality where La Ventosa is located, attended the ceremony but called for more benefits for the local community.

"We want to be part of a project that does not consider us just cheap labor but property owners and partners," Mariano Santana Lopez said.

Critics argue that foreign companies build the turbines, rent the land, run the project and produce the power for companies like U.S.-owned retailer Wal-Mart.

"They promise progress and jobs, and talk about millions in investment in clean energy from the winds that blow through our region," a leftist farm group known as the Assembly in Defense of the Land said in a statement. "But the investments will only benefit businessmen, all the technology will be imported ... and the power won't be for local inhabitants."

The group is calling on supporters to "defend the land we inherited from our ancestors." But so far it hasn't been able to stop the project.

Acciona, for its part, says the construction of the project created 850 jobs.

Local residents, largely Zapotec Indians, are accustomed to foreigners' coveting their land. The United States demanded rights to transport goods over the isthmus in the 1850s, and foreigners tried to build a railway alternative to the Panama Canal there.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Solar and Wind Powered Portable Charger Debuts at CES

Written by Jerry James Stone

Buzz u

Not to be mistaken for a solar powered desk fan (which is what I thought it was), the crafty Kenisis K2 is a solar and wind powered 2-in-1 charger for all your USB needs.

• » Read more on products

It can power a typical cell phone 5-times over on a full charge! Um, where do I sign up?

And while it’s designed to harvest the power of nature, it’s also quite practical. It also includes an AC adapter for when Mother Nature isn’t cooperating.

You can stand the device up or hang it from your bike. I like that idea since I sit next to a big sunny window at work - though I wish the wind turbine would also operate as a fan.

The device is expected to run for about $100. Engadget has a nice video of the device from CES here. LED indicators let you know how much juice the device has, and it has internal storage for multiple adapter tips.

Image: Kinesis.com

Tags: CES 2009, led, portable charger, solar, Wind, wind turbine

Jay Leno's wind turbine

Ed Begley, Jr, says:

Thought I would send along this video from my friend Jay Leno about a new wind turbine called the MagWind from Enviro-Energies that he and I will be installing soon. As many of you have asked about "vertical axis wind turbines," I thought you'd like to see the latest in this technology.

Jay Leno's wind turbine

US Becomes Largest Wind Power Producer in the World

Written by Andrew Williams

The United States has overtaken Germany to become the largest producer of wind energy in the world, generating enough capacity to eliminate the burning of 91 million barrels of oil per year.

According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), US wind producers enjoyed another record year of growth in 2008—the third in a row. The country now has an installed wind power capacity well in excess of 21,000 megawatts (MW), enough to supply electricity to over 5.5 million American homes.

• » Read more on wind energy

According to Randall Swisher, AWEA Executive DIrector, “Wind energy installations are well ahead of the curve for contributing 20% of the U.S. electric power supply by 2030 as envisioned by the U.S. Department of Energy.”

Amazingly, this rapid progress was achieved under a governing administration that to many seemed, at best, indifferent to the plight of the renewable energy industry. If the US wind power industry is capable of becoming a world-leader during such times, it seems quite likely that the picture could improve even further with a more sympathetic leader at the helm.

Image Credit - vaxomatic via flickr.com on a Creative Commons license

No electricity? Island now energy independent

Three-acre property boasts wind turbine, solar panels and Segways

	North Dumpling Island, a private three-acre island off the coast of Connecticut belonging to inventor Dean Kamen, is energy self-sufficient. View related photos
Jessica Hill / AP

MYSTIC, Conn. - Energy independence is still only a hypothetical goal for the U.S., but the owner of a tiny island off the coast of Connecticut says he has already achieved that feat and is offering his work as a model.

Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway and numerous medical devices, jokingly refers to his North Dumpling Island as an independent nation and himself as Lord Dumpling. Kamen claims to have his own currency and offers visas to visitors to the tiny island a few miles from Mystic, where he is the only resident.

But Kamen, who bought the three-acre island in the 1980s as a retreat, is serious about energy independence and the lessons it offers at a time of volatile gas prices and fears about global warming.

"The rest of the world will eventually catch up if the Dumplonians can get their message out," Kamen said.

Kamen's energy plan began when the Coast Guard recently notified him that it was cutting off electrical service to the rocky island, part of New York state, because it was switching to solar energy to power a lighthouse.

"That can typically ruin your day," said Kamen.

Then he had an epiphany: Why not make the island energy self-sufficient and a showcase it to the world?

Energy conservation
Kamen, a prolific inventor who has hundreds of patents, already had been working on energy conservation projects that he has introduced in poor countries.

He also figured his island's timely new status could be used to draw attention to the annual high school robotics competition he created called FIRST, or For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. Kamen believes that by getting children excited about science and technology, the robotics competition is creating a large pool of innovators who can eventually solve the world's energy crisis and other challenges.

Kamen granted "visas" to representatives of a select group of corporate sponsors such as Wal-Mart and other companies, inviting them to North Dumpling Island to brainstorm about his plans for the island and how it could be used to raise awareness and money for his robotics competition.

Visitors arrived on a wind-swept day, with Kamen's wind turbine spinning a generator and solar panels facing the sky. A replica of Stonehenge is lit up with green LED lights that use less electricity than common incandescent light bulbs.

Kamen has been installing LED lights all over the island.

"We have zero tolerance for filaments," he said of incandescent bulbs.

Philips Color Kenetics, a Massachusetts-based company doing the project to draw attention to LEDs, says the lights cut Kamen's electrical use at least in half.

A high-tech island
The tiny island even has rapid transit — Kamen's Segways. He says the self-balancing, two-wheel vehicles go up to 12 mph, faster than traffic moves in most major cities around the world, and his point is underscored as a Segway rider zips past.

Kamen says his island nation will distribute the technology he is demonstrating to poor countries.

"It will be part of our foreign aid program," Kamen says.

Kamen showed his visitors his basement water purification system, which he already has put to work in Honduras. The system can turn water from any source into clean drinking water free of disease, he said.

He also demonstrated the energy-efficient Stirling engine that he has used in Bangladesh to produce electricity by burning methane gas generated by cow manure.

Before Kamen can show off his green nation, he says he'll have to win "re-election." The campaign even features negative advertising, with "Dump Dumpy '08" signs abounding on the island.

"I'm quite sure I'm going to win again," says the island's sole resident. "I'm the only green candidate."

360 Wind Powered Wal-Mart Stores by April 2009

by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 11.21.08

While the solar panel in this photo is pretty much a token renewable energy gesture, Wal-Mart’s wind power commitment is significantly more substantial. Photo: Wal-Mart Stores

Say what you like about Wal-Mart (and I certainly have said some less than flattering things), but sometimes the world’s largest retailer does something undeniably positive: Like make its first major purchase of wind power in the United States.

Announced yesterday, Wal-Mart Stores will be supplying 15% of the electricity in approximately 360 Texas stores and other facilities though wind power, purchased from Duke Energy. Wal-Mart says that the purchase will be the equivalent power of some 18,000 ordinary homes. Here are the rest of the details:

150 MW Wind Farm Will Provide Wal-Mart's Power
Duke will be generating the power from the under construction 150 MW Notrees Wind Power Project, which is expected to begin commercial operations in December and producing electricity for Wal-Mart by April 2009. Duke expects the project to produce about 226 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, an amount which will avoid emitting 139,000 tonnes of CO2. Or, if you prefer more down to earth references, Wal-Mart compares this to washing 108 million loads of laundry (“enough for every household in Austin, Texas to do laundry for a year”).

Speaking about the wind power purchase, Wal-Mart vice president of energy Kim Saylors-Laster said,

We’re purchasing renewable power at traditional energy rates. The wind power purchase will result in a significant decrease of greenhouse gas emissions and aligns perfectly with Wal-Mart’s long-term goal of being supplied by 100 percent renewable energy.

More at: Wal-Mart Stores and Duke Energy

Eco-Friendly Billboard for Times Square

In Times Square, a Company’s Name in (Wind- and Solar-Powered) Lights

By GLENN COLLINS

The first eco-friendly billboard is coming to Times Square, entirely powered by the sun and the wind — but there is one small catch.

Enlarge This Image

Marilynn K. Yee/The New York Times

An eco-friendly billboard will be installed above the Chase sign at 7th Avenue and 42nd Street.

Enlarge This Image

Gigante Vaz Partners NYC

The billboard, seen in a rendering, will have four 45-foot stacks of wind turbines to power it.

When there’s no sun, and no wind? The $3 million billboard goes dark: there is no backup generator.

“We think if that happens, it’s just fine,” said Ron Potesky, a senior marketing vice president for Ricoh Americas Corporation, the office equipment and document-storage supplier that owns the sign.

The billboard — traditionally called a “spectacular” on the Great White Way — weighs in at 35,000 pounds. It will be 55 feet off the ground at 3 Times Square, wrapping around the northwest corner of Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street.

Fitted with 16 wind turbines and 64 solar panels, the sign will be “a first for Times Square,” said Barry E. Winston, a Times Square billboard consultant not involved in the Ricoh project, who has been a sign expert for more than 50 years.

Wind turbines for the vast sign, which is 126 feet wide and 47 feet high, have arrived in a warehouse in Deer Park, N.Y., where preliminary testing is being done. Construction will begin this month, for a lighting ceremony on Dec. 4.

Ricoh would not say how much it was paying for its three-year lease, but based on recent deals, the lease would most likely cost in the low six figures, as much as $200,000 a month, according to sign rental experts who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are contractually forbidden to make public statements.

Such a cost would not be unusual for a sign across the avenue from 1 Times Square, where the ball drops on New Year’s Eve.

By generating its own electricity — enough to light six homes for a year — the sign could save as much as $12,000 to $15,000 per month, according to Ricoh, which estimated that the sign would prevent 18 tons of carbon from being spewed into the air yearly.

The “passive” sign is not studded with light-emitting diodes like so many others in Times Square, but will be lighted by 16 300-watt floodlights. It will feature custom-printed opaque vinyl sheeting bearing the red-and-white Ricoh logo. The sign will be green, nevertheless, a message “to customers, other companies and the world that resources and energy can be used creatively,” Mr. Potesky said. “The point is that there are ways of being environmentally friendly to the planet, even on a billboard.”

Unlike the tall propellers in a typical wind farm, the cylindrical Ricoh drum turbines have no sharp blades. They will provide 90 percent of the sign’s power; the rest will come from the solar panels on the sign, feeding electricity to eight collection batteries up in the sign. The drums are so perfectly balanced, Ricoh says, that their rotors could be turned by the wind from a single household electric fan.

Mr. Potesky said the turbines would most likely generate enough power to keep the sign lighted even after four days without wind or sun. But the company is prepared for the sign to go dark. Mr. Potesky said the only other such sign in the world is one Ricoh put up in 2003 in Osaka, Japan, “using somewhat less advanced technology,” he said, referring to its 26 small propellers and 39 solar panels.

“On dark and rainy days, that sign went dark during the night,” he said.

Passers-by will be able to see the 26 blades spinning in each of the sign’s 16 turbine drums, piled in four 45-foot-high vertical stacks. When operating at their average speed of 10 miles an hour, they put out 22 kilowatts.

Stalklike propeller turbines require unidirectional, or “clean,” wind to function. But the revolving drums on the Ricoh sign can use turbulent, multidirectional winds common to Midtown, said Mary S. Watkins, chief executive of PacWind Inc. in Torrance, Calif., which makes the custom turbine arrays.

PacWind studied meteorological records and did a wind analysis, she said, determining that Times Square has 10-mile-an-hour winds, on average, ranging from no wind to gusts of 85 m.p.h. The turbines provide usable power from winds as weak as 5 m.p.h. and rotate safely in winds up to 100 m.p.h., she said, because the aluminum blades are aerodynamically designed to regulate themselves, slowing automatically in high winds.

The company has designed wind turbines for applications ranging from the sublime to the seemingly ridiculous — including a turbine created for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to capture 400-mile-an-hour winds for a lander on Mars, and a turbine that powers the 20,000-square-foot garage of Jay Leno in Los Angeles.

Ms. Watkins said the Times Square turbines were designed to keep ice from forming on the blades in winter. Birds have not proved to be a problem as the company has installed 50 of its drum turbines across the country, she said, “because they see the turbines not as spinning blades, but as a solid object.”

A version of this article appeared in print on November 15, 2008, on page A18 of the New York edition. More Articles in New York Region »

Hydroelectric island to supply Dutch power when wind drops

Lewis Smith, Environment Reporter

A man-made island housing a hydroelectric plant and generating enough electricity to supply two million Dutch homes is planned for the North Sea by 2020.

It would act as back-up to wind farms by ensuring that electricity is still generated when the wind drops and would provide extra peak-time capacity. If successful, similar islands could be be built to supply other countries, especially those such as Britain that will increasingly come to depend on wind energy. The proposed site, called energy island, is expected to be built 15-20 miles (24-32km) off the Dutch coast, in waters about 20m (65ft) deep, and will be 3.7 miles (6km) long and up to 2.5 miles (4km) across.

Huge dykes would be constructed to hold back the sea and the centre of the island would be dug down to 40 metres (130ft) below sea level. Pipes in dykes would allow sea water to pour in, generating electricity in the same way as some dams. The water would then be pumped out. The electricity generated by the water pouring in is matched or exceeded by that needed to pump it out. The island should make a profit because it consumes electricity at a cheaper rate than it generates it.

Kema, the Dutch company behind the €3-3.5 billion (£2.5 billion) plan, is carrying out a feasibility study to pinpoint the best location. The Dutch Government is among potential investors. The project with a capacity of 1,500MW - similar to two large power plants - should help the Netherlands to reach its renewable energy target and its aim of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 30 per cent by 2020.

Helix Wind Releases Nifty Performance Testing Video

Written by Ariel Schwartz

We’ve written about vertical axis wind turbine company Helix Wind before at Green Options. In addition to being quiet, solid, and easy to place in urban areas, the company’s turbine is also aesthetically attractive. And if pictures don’t convince you, maybe a video of the turbine in action will.