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Walking the floor of WINDPOWER 2008, the annual conference and trade show for the wind energy industry, one couldn’t help but be transfixed by all of the different types of turbines - at least I couldn’t. The wind turbine has become the iconic symbol of clean, renewable energy. But the classic three-bladed horizontal axis wind turbine, with its gracefully swooping blades, has become the symbol of not only renewable energy, but also of environmental consciousness and ecological possibility.
Despite the ubiquity of the three-bladed turbine, the oft-overlooked vertical-axes turbines are making quite a splash in the world of wind energy, especially in small and micro-applications. So what’s all the fuss about? Vertical-axis turbines apparently do not suffer from some of the same problems that plague small wind applications in urban settings including, aesthetic concerns, space requirements and sound levels.
Other advantages of vertical-axis turbines:
- Can produce up to 50% more electricity per year than conventional turbines with the same swept area
- Generate electricity at much lower wind speeds, as low as 4 mph (1.5 m/s)
- Will continue to generate power in high wind speeds, up to 130 mph (60m/s) depending on the mode
- Direct-drive units have no gearbox. No gearbox means a more efficient transfer of energy and no leaking oil
- Will not harm wildlife, in terms of bird and bat strikes
Below, I’ll cover some more basic differences and show you a few photos and short videos of some of these turbines I saw down in Houston at WINDPOWER 2008.
Houston, TX - Another large wind turbine manufacturer has decided to get in on the incredible growth in the U.S. wind energy industry by building a new manufacturing facility. The German company Nordex, announced Tuesday at WINDPOWER 2008** that it will be spending around $100 million over the next few years to establish its own U.S. production facilities for turbines and blades. As early as 2009, the first locally produced 2.5 MW N80/90 wind turbines will be entering the US market. The investment will be spent on establishing annual production capacity of 750 megawatts by 2012. As of 2010, Nordex wants to invest two thirds of this sum in rotor blade production. Roughly 600 jobs will be created at the new production facility.
On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to sit down with company founder Carsten Pederson for a couple of minutes to talk about the new U.S. manufacturing facility and what effect a lapse in the federal renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) might have on the wind energy industry. He jokingly agreed to chat with me under the conditions that I didn’t ask him tough questions like where exactly the new facility would be located (presumably because they haven’t finalized the deal yet).
The American Wind Energy Association held a press conference today (4/21/08) to discuss the present and future of their industry in the United States. Representatives from Siemens, Vestas, GE and Gamesa were there to share their perspectives and answer questions. What they revealed was an industry both optimistic and tenuous; their products are in high demand, but they are reliant on tax credits for large-scale expansion. Given the increasing popularity and regulatory necessity of sustainable power generation, both American and international turbine producers are eying the practically limitless growth potential in the United States. All they need is stability in policy to dramatically expand their manufacturing and R&D capabilities, simultaneously creating thousands of jobs and a competitive American industry.
The United States has a natural edge when it comes to wind energy. Unlike Europe, we have a lot of land with which to harness wind, including across sparsely populated areas. If NIMBY isn’t a problem, the potential for sustainable energy generation is even greater.
Renewable energy was in the spotlight during this last week of Congress. The Udall-Platts amendment to the House energy bill calls for a renewable portfolio standard (RPS, sometimes also called a “renewable energy standard”) that would require the nation’s utilities to get 15 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020. But it failed to get a vote yesterday because of computer problems with the voting system and a dispute over
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Photo credit: NREL
A new study by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) found that U.S. manufacturers dominate the world’s market share of small wind turbine sales. Comparatively, global sales of larger, utility-scale turbines are led by companies like Denmark’s Vestas, Spain’s Gamesa and India’s Suzlon, who are also hungrily eying the U.S. market.
The 2007 Small Wind Turbine Global Market Study reports that about
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By EcoGeek Blog •
June 5, 2007
Editor's note: Yesterday, we discovered that both Green Options and EcoGeek have representatives visiting WindPower 2007, the American Wind Energy Association's annual convention and trade show. In order to give readers of both sites a wide range of coverage, we decided to join efforts and share our posts. This first one comes from EcoGeek writer Ransom Riggs, and was published earlier today.
Day one of the Windpower 2007 conference
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Walking the floor of WINDPOWER 2008, the annual conference and trade show for the wind energy industry, one couldn’t help but be transfixed by all of the different types of turbines - at least I couldn’t. The wind turbine has become the iconic symbol of clean, renewable energy. But the classic three-bladed horizontal axis wind turbine, with its gracefully swooping blades, has become the symbol of not only renewable energy, but also of environmental consciousness and ecological possibility.
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