Some things we’ve been noticing lately: 

Move It 

If you ask people in the wind energy business to name the biggest challenge to further growth in the United States, they’d probably say, “It’s the transmission lines.”  Fortunately, there’s been some notable progress lately.

Utility regulators in Texas approved a $4.9 billion strategy for new transmission lines to shuttle the juice from west Texas wind farms to big urban centers like Dallas and Houston. The new lines, with a planned capacity of 18,500 megawatts, are slated for completion in 2013.

And Denver-based Anschutz Corp. will soon seek approval for a $3 billion transmission system to deliver Wyoming wind energy 900 miles to the desert Southwest. How much more would it cost to enable that system to deliver solar-generated electricity to Wyoming when it’s needed?

(more…)

Cameron Potter is a power prediction engineer, a snappy way of saying that he works on improved methods for forecasting the watts generated by wind farms.

You may recall from the post Forecasting 101 that, while we expend a lot of effort predicting the weather, we’re ultimately informing wind farm operators and utilities about the power output they can expect from their turbines. That way, they can plan accordingly by selling all the power they generate, or by buying power from other sources to compensate for becalmed turbines.

How to Decipher a Power Curve

An important element in predicting energy output is the power curve — either provided by a wind turbine manufacturer or derived by observation — that describes the energy generated by a turbine at various wind speeds.

(more…)

Photo courtesy of yourpanama.com/images.html.

From a technopark located only meters from the Panama Canal, Kris McCahon and a rapidly growing team tend to 3TIER’s Latin American operations.

Latin America is a big place, so 3TIER’s business there, which is primarily wind-related, represents many stages of maturation. Most clients are working on new wind energy developments: They’re using our FullView wind resource assessments to identify promising wind farm sites. In Chile, where potential natural gas shortages have spurred interest in renewable energy sources, 3TIER enjoys a partnership with Seawind International, an engineering, construction, and operations firm that both contracts to external clients and develops projects on its own. Seawind and 3TIER collaborate to deliver value to clients all the way from prospecting through due diligence and operations.

At the other end of the spectrum are polities that are looking for ways to include renewables in their national energy strategies. They may be interested in a national wind map, such as the one the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation engaged us to develop for Bolivia. In that vein, other groups seek wind maps of smaller areas to learn  where they might site so-called distributed energy projects, or installations that directly power an inhabited area without requiring a long-distance grid of power transmission lines.

Kris has been with 3TIER for just over a year, but he’s been studying and working in Latin America since his junior year in college. Romance convinced him to settle in Panama, but he makes it clear that it’s no sacrifice. “Panama is nice!” Kris says, describing the temperate highlands, the generous benefits to retirees, the opportunity for permanent residence with an investment in reforestation. Panama now dominates the escapist fantasies with which I frequently torment my family. “Honey,” I said to the husband, “pack your woodworking tools. We’re buying a hectare of teaks.”

Many of our clients in Latin America are also familiar with Arturo Méndez, who directs 3TIER’s business development efforts from Baja California to Ushuaia.  If you are interested in joining Kris and Arturo in our Panama office, see our Careers page for information about additional opportunities. 

In a story posted yesterday, Forbes.com makes use of 3TIER’s wind and solar maps to help illustrate the slide show “In Pictures: America’s Best Places For Alternative Energy.” Also see the accompanying article. 

Legendary oilman T. Boone Pickens may soon be known, instead, as a legendary renewable energy man. Today, Pickens – who recently placed the turbine order for what will be the world’s largest wind farm – announced the Pickens Plan, a national alternative energy strategy to reduce America’s reliance on foreign oil.

The Pickens Plan calls for capturing the full potential of wind energy across the US plains states, and new transmission lines to deliver the juice. By meeting 20 percent of our electricity demands with wind, Pickens says, we can shuffle the domestic natural gas currently used for power production to the transportation sector, thereby offsetting 38 percent of our oil consumption — and a big chunk of the $700 billion we spend each year buying imported oil. With the help of incentives, Pickens predicts this goal can be achieved in 10 years with an investment of $1.2 trillion.

And how is Mr. Pickens illustrating his plan, you ask? With wind maps from 3TIER, of course. See the video at the Pickens Plan home page, and images accompanying the plan’s details. 

Editor’s Note: While 3TIER has contributed wind maps to help illustrate the Pickens Plan, we are not his representatives and are not in a position to help readers communicate with him. We do welcome your comments, but suggest that you visit the Contact page at the Pickens Plan website to find out where to direct missives to Mr. Pickens.

BusinessWeek reports that the European market for second-hand wind turbines is blossoming as communities hurry to meet the European Union’s renewable energy goals amid a shortage of new equipment. And the demand for used equipment from utilities in eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America is growing, too. Fortunately, veteran wind generators in Spain and Germany are beginning a five-year plan to transition to newer equipment. ”That means more than 5,000 secondhand machines are expected to go on the market by 2013,” quoth BusinessWeek writer Mark Scott. Profiting from used equipment also means that utilities ultimately pay less to upgrade to new, more efficient turbines.

While buyers of used turbines accept some risks — expired warranties, potential repair costs, no telling if the miles on the odometer were city or highway — at least one company, Windbrokers, now offers assurances on the reconditioned turbines it sells. That should help some tire-kickers on the lot commit to giving wind power a spin.

Across the pond,  the United Kingdom hopes to build 7,000 new offshore turbines to help meet its commitment to the European Union to get 15 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020. The UK subsidizes wind energy development as part of its Renewables Obligation program, which is variously criticized as overly generous, and hamstrung by approval hold ups and the inadequacy of the grid.

You’ll recall that Royal Dutch Shell recently backed out of what would have been a massive offshore project in the UK, citing high costs. In this latest initiative, Her Royal Majesty et al. will pay half the tab for securing planning approval. Is that enough to draw developers?

Here at home, America’s first offshore wind farm may drop anchor near Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. While the proposed 400-megawatt, 150-turbine project hasn’t yet secured regulatory approval, Delmarva Power has agreed to buy up to 200 MW of the installation’s output from developer Bluewater Wind. The Earth2Tech blog offers a smart brief on the project and the difficulties faced by offshore wind developers and enthusiasts. Be sure to watch the Daily Show clip at the end of the Earth2Tech post. It’s one of my all-time favorites.

According to Bluewater, the Rehoboth Beach turbines will be located at least 11 miles offshore. To address concerns about the scenic impact, Bluewater prepared a series of “wind park visualizations.” Well of course it’s PR, but I’d still rather see a bunch of far-off wind turbines than a parade of oil tankers during my day at the beach.

Closer to my home,  German manufacturer of offshore turbines, Multibrid GmbH, is eyeing Ontario as the site for its first North American factory. The Great Lakes have mad wind and shallow waters (but no turbines in the water yet) and Ontario has the same sort of supply, manufacturing, and transport synergies that have made Colorado a hub for the support of wind power development west of the Mississippi. To help assure Multibrid of future orders, developer Trillium Power quickly announced a buyer’s consortium of itself and New Jersey’s Fishermen’s Energy. Hey, a consortium has to start somewhere.

In today’s Financial Times, Ken Westrick closes out an article on the uncertainty in the American wind industry (thanks to the filibuster of HR 6049, see previous post) with his characteristic well-reasoned optimism:

“We put a man on the moon – we can do this,” Mr. Westrick says.  

The rise in the oil price to almost $140 a barrel in recent days will only increase that incentive. “I can tell you what the fuel cost for wind will be in 20 years: It’s going to be zero. That’s a guarantee.”

See “US seeks to breathe life into wind power.” (Free registration may be required.)

Most of the big commercial wind turbines are hopped-up versions of a design that’s nearly 800 hundred years old. As the wind industry has exploded these past few years, so has the number of wind turbine designs. Here’s a round up of just a few of the latest innovations. Mind you, these are not endorsements. This post is for infotainment purposes only!

The BroadStar AeroCam claims to be a lower cost, lower wind speed alternative to traditional horizontal axis turbines that is suitable for use in populated areas.  

(more…)

Here’s a fist bump to EcoGeek for their June 5 post about 3TIER, “A Giant in Wind Forecasting Awakens.” 

If you’re not reading EcoGeek regularly, you should. It’s a great mix of sustainability ethics, news, and brainy delights. Or, as they put it so much better themselves: ”Science, technology gadgets and…baby seals.”