By Susan Kraemer •
December 31, 2009
Today, a European company put the finishing touches on a wind project in North Dakota which Americans have known for decades is “the Saudi Arabia of Wind.”
Spain’s Iberdrola Renovables, the parent company of Iberdrola Renewables Inc that built the project became a giant global wind company in the wake of the Kyoto Accord. The European renewable energy sector grew from the resulting renewable energy legislation in Europe.
The result is that it is European wind companies such as Vestas and Iberdrola, [...]
By Susan Kraemer •
December 3, 2009
Utilities got a boost last year, when the new investment tax credits from the federal government were extended to allow public utilities to qualify for the full credit, to help utilities invest in renewable power. Since utilities must get more renewable power onto the grid (in all of the states with Renewable Portfolio Standards), extending the ITC to them, too, is the right means to help them do just that.
PG&E in California has to get 20% of its renewable power on grid by 2010 to meet the California RPS, and has just announced that it has contracted with Iberdrola Renewables, Inc., the U.S. arm of the world’s largest provider of wind power, to purchase and operate a major wind generating plant, to send clean electrons from Kern County’s Tehachapi region to Northern California PG&E customers.
By Susan Kraemer •
October 30, 2009
Renewable energy comprised more than half the energy added this year to the Northeast grid, comprising part of Canada and 6 US states. 17 GW of renewable energy projects in the region will be completed in the next five years.
It is no coincidence that each of these states has a state renewable portfolio standard which requires utilities to add an increasing percent of renewable power to the grid each year. New York’s RPS requires 24% by 2013, Maine:40% by 2017(met), Vermont:20% by 2017, New Hampshire:16% by 2025, Rhode Island:16% by 2019, and Connecticut:27% by 2020 )
The Renewable Portfolio Standard is a sure way to get more homegrown climate-friendly renewable power on the grid and is up for votes yet again this year (in the American Clean Jobs & American Power Act) after multiple previous attempts to pass it.
By Susan Kraemer •
August 17, 2009
Which state makes 15 percent of its electricity entirely from wind power?
Iowa. In 2006, according to the Iowa Utilities Board, wind power provided 5 percent of the state’s electricity. Now, just three years later, Iowa produces between 15 and 17 percent of its own electricity from wind power.
MidAmerican Energy, Iowa’s biggest utility, pays farmers $3,500 a year (plus 2% increase annually) to rent locations for 102 wind turbines. To scout the best locations, they paid $5 an acre to survey likely farmland, and will pay $10 an acre per year to keep those options open for future additional wind turbines.
Photo: Sonia Fridman
By Jeff Kart •
June 2, 2009
The United States have already started down the path of Renewable Portfolio Standards.
There are now almost 30 states with their own RPSes, which require utilities to generate more of their power from renewable sources, like wind and solar and even landfill gas. Different states have set different standards, often with percentages based on years: 15 percent by 2015, for instance. It’s more catchy that way.
Now Congress [...]
