Green Options » hydropower

U.S. Hydrokinetic Installation Squeezes More Clean Power from Mississippi River

Tina Casey — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:59:53 +0000

With the flick of a switch, the first ever commercial-scale hydrokinetic power plant in the U.S. officially commenced operation in the Mississippi River yesterday. The hydrokinetic turbines, manufactured by Hydro Green Energy LLC, are located below an existing hydropower plant at Hastings, Minnesota. The initial turbine has a capacity of 100KW. When fully operational, the new facility will have a capacity of 250KW, adding more than 5.7% of sustainable energy generation without the need to expand the existing dam or build a new one.

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China’s Iconic Panda May Face Extinction in Two to Three Generations

Rhishja Larson — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:27:42 +0000

As China marches forward with aggressive infrastructure construction plans, years of panda conservation face major setbacks.

Despite the panda’s status as China’s signature animal, China’s desire for economic development may spell doom for this shy and gentle creature.

The panda’s already fractured habitat is being split up into even smaller pockets by construction of highways at nature reserves. According to People’s Daily Online, WWF China has reported several panda populations have already been forced into habitats just 1 kilometer wide.

Pandas limited to fragmented home ranges are unable to breed with other populations, severely impacting opportunities for genetic diversity within the species - and leading to extinction in the wild.

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Renewable Energy on the Rise, Fossil Fuels Declining

Zachary Shahan — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:45:43 +0000

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported good news for renewable energy enthusiasts this week. Energy from renewable resources has increased significantly over the last year. It is now higher than energy produced from nuclear power.

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Hydrovolts, Inc. Fishes for New Energy in Old Canals

Tina Casey — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 03:25:06 +0000

The Seattle-based company Hydrovolts, Inc. has discovered an economical way to tap waterways for hydroelectricity. Rather than damming mighty rivers or installing turbines in unpredictable oceans, Hydrovolts has aimed its sights on a much smaller target: placid canals and other managed-flow water courses. Even at low flows, a predictable and reliable current is more than enough to power the company’s unique Flipwing Turbine. Though small in scale, the simple and relatively affordable turbine could go a long way toward meeting the electrical needs of local communities as well as farms, factories, and other facilities.

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Obama Administration Announced Plans to Expand Hydroelectric Program

Ruedigar Matthes — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:37:31 +0000

July 1, 2009 - The U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that up to $32 million dollars of Recovery Act funding will be used to expand the harvest of hydroelectric power. “There’s no one solution to the energy crisis, but hydro-power is clearly part of the solution and represents a major opportunity to create more clean energy jobs,” said Secretary Chu.

The funding would be used on existing facilities in order to modernize the current infrastructures, increase efficiency and reduce the impact that the facilities have on the environment. “Investing in our existing hydro-power infrastructure will strengthen our economy, reduce pollution and help us toward energy independence,” said Chu. The announcement made today is designed to work on non-federal facilities; increasing energy output and environmental stewardship by supporting the deployment of turbines and control technologies.

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Peru Building Crazy 12.5 Mile Tunnel Through Mountain for Irrigation & Electricity

Levi Novey — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 04:25:26 +0000

Peru is sponsoring a project to divert river water from one region to another by constructing a 12.5 mile long tunnel through a 6000 foot high mountain. Is this a crazy abuse of human power, or a wonderful use of our capabilities?

The tunnel is part of the Olmos-Tinajones Hydroelectric-Irrigation Project and will divert water from the Huancabamba River of Peru’s Cajamarca region to the neighboring region of Lambayeque. It will be completed by year’s end, and will irrigate approximately 150,000 hectares of land (~ 375,000 acres) and generate up to 600 MW of electricity.

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Alternative Energy Education: Fuel Cells, Hydropower, and Global Warming Science Kits

Derek Markham — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:11:47 +0000

Our sustainable future is only going to come with the full participation of the next generation, our children. Put the tools for learning about alternative energy and sustainable living in their hands with one of these fantastic science kits from Thames & Kosmos.

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BREAKING: Obama Tax Breaks for Solar and Wind Approved!

Jerry James Stone — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 04:41:12 +0000

House Committee OKs $20 Billion In Energy Tax Credits, Over $10 Billion of Which For Renewable Energy. Homeowners Also Qualify.

Today, the U.S. House Ways & Means Committee approved $20 billion in energy tax credits and related financial incentives as part of the Obama administration’s plan to revive the American economy. Can I get a w00t!?

The tax breaks benefit the wind and solar energy industries and encourage energy-efficiency improvements to existing homes. Other facilities that generate electricity from renewable sources such as biomass, hydropower, landfill gas and ocean currents also qualify for the credit. Facilities will have to be in place by 2012 to be eligible for the credit.

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Bipartisan Senate Bill To Extend Renewable Tax Credits

Jerry James Stone — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 06:31:33 +0000

After much arm wrestling, the Senate came to an agreement on energy tax breaks which are set to expire later this year. Both Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), of the Senate Finance Committee, made the announcement on Tuesday.

The tax package will provide $17 billion in renewable energy tax breaks. It will also adjust the alternative minimum tax, extend tax credits for children and create several business tax cuts. It will also set aside $7 billion in tax relief for those affected by recent floods and hurricanes. The bill extends the solar and wind investment tax credit for eight years, and the production tax credit for biomass and hydropower for up to two years.

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Sarah Palin - An Overview of Her Record on Renewable Energy

Andrew Williams — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:15:29 +0000

Ever since the announcement that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin would be joining John McCain on the Republican ticket, much of the media focus (or should that be furore?) has concentrated on her personal life and beliefs. In terms of energy policy, the general ‘knee jerk’ view seems to have been that she’s a staunch supporter of the ‘drill, baby drill’ school of thought, with little real analysis beyond that.

However, now that the dust is (sort of) starting to settle, some more sober analysis of the Vice Presidential candidate’s record on renewable energy is starting to emerge.

For starters, as Alaskan Governor, there are signs that she may have paid more than lip service to her supposed support for alternatives to oil. She promised green campaigners that she would put together a comprehensive plan on renewables, and even appointed someone to head up the mission. Beyond this though, there has been little genuine conviction or leadership in support of the sector. In fact, as the summary below reveals, her record on the issue is decidedly shaky:

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North Sea Grid Could Bring Wind Power to 70 Million Homes

Andrew Williams — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:48:11 +0000

European Union officials are studying plans for an international wind power grid in the North Sea that could provide energy generated from renewable sources to 70 million European homes.

The proposed offshore grid would be more than 3850 miles long, and connect more than 100 wind farms, containing a total of 10,000 turbines to seven countries, including Britain, Denmark, France, Norway, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The plans, based on a report written by Greenpeace and environmental consultants 3E, assume that 68.4 gigawatts of capacity, across 118 identified wind farms, will be in place across the North Sea within 10-20 years, and could meet an impressive 13% of the annual energy needs of the countries involved.

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Scotland Could Boost UK Hydropower by 50%

Joshua S Hill — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:24:50 +0000

In an attempt to cut their dependency on fossil fuel driven energies, the British government hopes that renewable energy will provide 20% of electricity by 2020. And thanks to a new report, the UK might be looking to Scotland to double their hydropower generation by 50%.

The study by the Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland showed that there were still 657 megawatts of fiscally safe, small scale hydroelectricity schemes available to them. This figure equates to about half the amount of installed hydro generation currently running in Scotland, and could power about 600,000 homes, a quarter of the nation’s homes.

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Portable Charger Powered by Kinetic Motion Will Be Released Next Year

Ariel Schwartz — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:34:32 +0000

Shouldn’t a strenuous run provide something more than a rush of endorphins? Something, perhaps, like power to charge your cell phone? M2E Power agrees. The company, which works with kinetic motion technology, announced plans today to release a portable charger for mobile devices sometime next summer.

The charger, which is the size of a pack of cards, derives power from cumulative motion from walking, jogging, cycling, or driving. Six hours of motion provides 30 to 60 minutes of extra power. And at $25 to $40, M2E’s catch-all charger won’t break the bank.

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Canadian Groups Battle Large-Scale Hydropower Bound for U.S. Electricity Markets

Timothy B. Hurst — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:28:19 +0000

[Note: This a guest post from Ioana Radu of Fondation Rivieres (Rivers Foundation), an environmental advocacy organization based in Quebec]

As part of electricity restructuring efforts in the last few years, 25 states have adopted a Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS). This new policy promotes renewable energy sources that are consistent and compatible with competitive electricity markets and if efficiently implemented can develop 3,800 MW of new renewable energy capacity and maintain another 3,600 MW of existing capacity that might otherwise go off line. The RPS obliges retailers to include in their portfolios energy from renewable sources such as wind and solar. Such a move makes economic sense as the Energy Information Administration showed that by 2020 the nation’s energy bill can be lowered by $15 billion per year with only a 10% renewable-based energy supply compared to a heavily fossil-based supply mix.

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Africa Backing Hydropower

Joshua S Hill — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:31:20 +0000

The quest for cleaner energy generation is one that is going to be a main focus for the next several decades. Without a doubt, humanity has finally realized that our insane overdependence on oil and other fossil fuels is, if nothing else, simply not healthy. It will eventually run out, and we’ve decided to, finally, look for alternate sources.

But turn our eyes away from the mainstream and western face of this planet, and we see that Africa is already on the renewable energy bandwagon.

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Damage to Dams in China Leaves Millions at Risk

Sarah Lozanova — Thu, 22 May 2008 11:32:19 +0000

Many dams in Southwest China sustained significant damage after the recent massive earthquake.

The Min River and its tributaries have 30 dams upstream from Dujiangyan and 16 incurred significant damage from the recent earthquake. The Zipingpu dam is an example where a dam failure could have disastrous consequences.

Zipingpu dam threatens millions

The Zipingpu reservoir can hold a staggering 1.1 billion cubic meters of water, but the dam wall was cracked after the earthquake. Dujiangyan, with a population of 600,000 would be devastated by a dam failure first. Within a couple hours, water would then hit the provincial capital, Chengdu.

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3TIER Moves to India, Advocates Leapfrog to Renewable Energy

Govind Singh — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:05:30 +0000

3TIER: one of the largest independent providers of wind, solar and hydro energy assessment and power forecasting worldwide announced the opening of an office in Bangalore, India today. It should be noted here that India is one of the top four wind-power markets in the world and also, the most developed market in Asia.

According to Kenneth Westrick, fonder and CEO of 3TIER, “India has the elements needed to prove that it is possible to leapfrog fossil fuels and fully integrate renewable energy projects into a country’s energy portfolio. He further elaborated on his statement by informing that India has good wind resources in its southern and western states, tremendous potential to tap into solar and hydropower, a government commitment to explore renewable energy sources and a market of more than 1 billion people – including 420 million people with no access to electricity.

Of the total number of villages in India with no access to electricity, it can said with absolute certainty that close to 40% of these cannot be electrified using fossil fuels. Thus, renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and hydropower can play an even greater role by electrifying remote parts of the country. “As the most densely populated country in the world with many villages that have no electricity, there is strong demand to augment the power grid in India,” said Steven Cashen, 3TIER’s Director of International Marketing Development. “3TIER will work closely with developers to assess and forecast potential wind, solar and hydro energy projects.” explained Cashen.

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New faucet design saves energy while saving water

Carol Gulyas — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:49:59 +0000

People are familiar with motion-sensing faucets that turn on when people move their hands under them, and automatically turn themselves off, so they don’t have to handle the germy handles. People like that. But Toto takes this design much further with its Ecopower faucet, which saves energy AND water. How? It uses “self-generating hydropower” to automatically recharge a tiny battery in the faucet, thus saving the electricity normally used to make these motion-sensing faucets turn on and off.

“The EcoPower faucet recharges itself every time it is used. The flowing water causes a turbine to spin, creating a current that’s stored in the rechargeable batteries. The faucet will stay charged with as few as five uses per day.”

Why is this so exciting? Because it shows that engineers are beginning to think of ways to save energy in even the most mundane of processes and applications. So the EcoPower faucet uses a mere .25 gallons in ten seconds, and also saves energy by not requiring any electrical energy to turn it on and off. Beautiful!

China Poised to Become Clean-Energy Leader?

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 22:02:32 +0000

China regularly takes its fair share of heat for its pollution problems, tainted seafood and lead-based toys, but maybe it’s time to give it some credit too. While the country is on pace to pass the U.S. as the world’s top emitter of carbon dioxide, it might also be on its way to becoming the global leader in renewable energy.

According to a report released this week by the Worldwatch Institute, if China keeps heading down the path it’s on, the nation could see 30 percent of its energy coming from renewable sources by 2050. In the nearer term, China aims to get 15 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020. If if keeps moving forward as it has, though, it might even exceed that target, according to the Worldwatch report.

“China is poised to become a leader in renewables manufacturing, which will have global implications for the future of the technology,” said Eric Martinot, a senior fellow at Worldwatch who authored the report with Li Junfeng, vice chair of China’s Renewable Energy Society.

This year, China is expected to spend more than $10 billion in building new renewables capacity. Its wind and solar-energy sectors are growing especially rapidly (both doubled last year), so much so that China is likely to pass solar and wind leaders in Europe, Japan and North America in the next three years.

For comparison’s sake, only Germany is likely to invest more in new renewables this year. Total global spending on renewables in 2006 was $50 billion-plus.

Martinot pins China’s success so far on “a combination of policy leadership and entrepreneurial savvy.”

As of this year, China can boast of four major domestic makers of wind turbines, as well as six foreign wind-power subsidiaries. Another 40-plus companies are in the development stage of commercial wind-turbine production. The country has also seen its production capacity for solar photovoltaic cells more than quadruple over the past three years, from 350 megawatts in 2005 to an expected 1,500 megawatts this year.

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More Huge Hydropower for China

Maria Surma Manka — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 13:11:24 +0000

Last week China reiterated its commitment to renewable energy, particularly hydropower. The Asian nation plans to triple its hydropower production to 300,000 megawatts by 2020.

Chinese officials also asked the world to cut them some slack in their efforts to cut global warming pollution.

China’s contribution to global warming has been relatively small compared to the more developed Western nations, they argue, and they shouldn’t be held overly accountable. According to Chen Deming of the National Development and Reform Commission, "I hope the international media will give us some development rights, some development space and not overly blame us."

Wind power and biofuels, in addition to big hydro, will help China reach its goal of producing 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. But it’s the hydropower expansion that is raising the eyebrows of some who are concerned about the large dams’ environmental impact.

Chen Deming argued that cutting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that contribute to global warming is more important than any negative environmental impact of huge hydropower. Other groups like Greenpeace argue that the damage caused by large dams – like the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River — could have more consequences than conventional power plants because of the massive amount of CO2 released when trees and plant life are destroyed.

AFX News, via Forbes
Associated Press, via DelawareOnline

Image: China’s Three Gorges Dam