The creation of the EcoGrove I Wind Farm was precipitated by the State of Illinois adopting a Renewable Energy Standard that required the state to generate at least 25 percent of its power from renewable energy sources by 2025. Cleaner air, using an abundant and renewable energy source, and providing various community benefits make wind farm development likely to continue, at least until more Americans change our energy-intensive ways.  From my perspective, however, energy independence is more about breaking free from our fossil fuel addictions to coal, natural gas and oil rather than simply securing domestic sources of energy that are polluting and/or add more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

The $200 million EcoGrove I Wind Farm is owned and operated by the sustainability-focused business Acciona Energy North America; its parent company is Acciona S.A., headquartered in Spain. EcoEnergy LLC and The Morse Group managed various aspects of the planning, mapping, permitting, engineering and interconnections for the project.

The EcoGrove 1 Project comprises 67 turbines spread across about eight thousand acres to create a 100 megawatt (MW) wind farm capable of powering over 25,000 homes. Thirty of the 67 Acciona turbines were manufactured in West Branch, Iowa, with the rest coming from Spain. The energy produced is sold to ComEd (Exelon Corporation) which then directs the energy where needed. An additional two phases are planned.

“The upper Midwest has tremendous wind energy potential and EcoGrove is one great step toward harnessing that potential.” said Kimberly L. Smith, Vice President Construction and O&M Services, Acciona Energy North America.

Below are of the few of the benefits in more detail, though our group was blown away by their sleek design of the blades and the way they towered over the emerging cornfields in early summer.

Read more of this story »

Bill would require just 15% of electricity to come from renewable sources

House Democrats negotiating a climate and energy bill have reportedly reached a compromise on a renewable energy standard (RES) as part of the American Clean Energy & Security Act that would allow those states unable to meet the requirement to make up for it with gains in energy efficiency.

The agreement would break what has been a point of contention for House negotiators for weeks. Concerned that they would be unable to meet the target of 25 percent renewables by 2025 first proposed in the Waxman-Markey draft in March, Southern Democrats balked, arguing that they didn’t have access to strong solar or wind resources the other states do and that high cost would make such a target cost prohibitive.

Read more of this story »

In Washington, D.C. today, governors from the 23 states that make up the Governors’ Wind Energy Coalition released a report outlining the benefits of wind energy for their states and the country. At the crux of the governors’ policy recommendations is a national renewable electricity standard.

The report shows that a national renewable electricity standard would be an important step toward solving global warming and revitalizing our economy. To date, 28 states and the District of Columbia have passed renewable electricity standards, with California requiring 33 percent.

Read more of this story »

Two freshmen U.S. senators—who also happen to be cousins—have introduced a bill that would create a national renewable energy standard (RES) of twenty-five percent by 2020.

The bill would initiate a federal minimum standard mandating retail energy suppliers to diversify their portfolios with the first requirement of six percent for 2012, and consistently increase thereafter until meeting the 2025 goal. The proposal dovetails with that of President Obama who has proposed a goal of doubling renewable energy within the next three years.

Twenty-eight states already have renewable generation standards with various timelines and targets and this legislation would not preempt states that have stronger standards.

On paper, the proposed RES would appear to surpass the EU enewables requirement of twenty percent by 2020. But municipal and other publicly-owned power plants and rural electric co-ops would be exempted from the requirements.

Read more of this story »

In an executive order signed on Monday, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger committed to getting a third of California’s electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Schwarzenegger made the announcement while speaking at a solar panel factory in Sacramento. California Executive Order S-14-08 puts the state’s renewable energy requirement at 33% by 2020, securing its place as the most aggressive renewable energy mandate in the country.

The order comes Just three days after Schwarzenegger issued another unprecedented executive order to state agencies telling them to make preparations for rising sea levels caused by global warming.

Read more of this story »