Green Options

Maldives, one of the most beautiful nations on earth, held the artistic, theatrical event of an underwater government meeting last month, to try to bring more attention to the threats of climate change. Now, they are getting more practical but still grabbing headlines — they are looking to build a wind farm that will generate 40% of the island nation’s electricity needs.

The wind farm plans were announced earlier this week. The project will include 30 turbines and is expected to provide the nation with 75 MW of power, powering the capital city, their international airport, and more!

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about China’s new policy to focus on buying (almost entirely) “China-grown” wind turbines and wind turbine technologies with Chinese patents. That policy wasn’t a big hit internationally and China is back-tracking.

However, is it changing its stance out of international moral pressure or a major financial incentive (recent deal) in the US? And who is to benefit the most from this shift?

Big shifts seem to be stirring in the wind turbine market. Foreign companies are backing out of China due to China’s move to use more home-grown technology. At the same time, China is looking to expand its wind turbine sales into Europe.

European energy giant E.ON “turned on” what is reported to be the largest wind farm in the world this week, in Texas.

The farm contains 627 wind turbines on almost 100,000 acres of land near Roscoe, Texas.

There has been evidence suggested that rooftop wind turbines (micro wind turbines for the home) just aren’t effective, and in some cases even pose a safety risk. However, that hasn’t stopped the engineering of other home wind turbine technologies that might just improve upon those already offerred on the market. In the Dutch Postcode Lottery’s Green Challenge which took place this past week, a new type of wind turbine was unveiled that’s said to have a high-efficiency, working in weather conditions where there is minimal wind; and it also has a more discreet look that better blends in with the architecture of any home.

A new report says that offshore wind “provides the answer to Europe’s energy and climate dilemma” and will soon provide Europe with about 10% of its electricity demand.

The world’s very first floating fullscale offshore wind turbine has officially been inaugurated in the North Sea off the coast of Norway.

The turbine even has a name: Hywind. It measures 213 feet tall and weighs 5,300 tonnes, and it rests on a floating stand which is filled with water and rocks to provide balast. Three powerful cables anchor the stand to the seafloor.

A major move in the wind power industry this week shows international confidence in wind power in the US. A multi-million dollar acquisition by a British investment firm demonstrates that large financial players are seeing the US as a good place to invest in wind power.

On the endless laundry list of markets that have struggled to muddle through the financial mess known as the global economic crisis, the wind sector seems to be showing signs of a rebound, albeit a small one. A recent article featured in the Financial Times highlighted the “period of calm” that wind producers and investors, alike, are more than relieved to see return in the market.

Prior to the global economic vortex that has sent the sensitive wind market spinning (as well as other renewables markets), wind had been showing strong growth in the first half of 2008. The market for turbine installation was worth $47.5 billion and global wind power capacity was 121 GW - more than twice the 48GW capacity in 2004.

Unfortunately, investors and analysts do not even need the figures from late 2008 and the first half of 2009 to know that the pleasant breeze of financial success had turned into a market maelstrom. In the aftermath, there is reason to hope that recent signs of improvement may lead to more growth.

Joining the ranks of such green notables as San Francisco and Portland Oregon, the U.S. Air Force has made the top 20 List of On-Site Green Power Purchasers.  The quarterly list is a subset of the U.S. EPA’s Green Power Partnership program.  It includes organizations, businesses or government entities that purchase sustainable power from sources based in the U.S.A., either directly or through the use of Renewable Energy Certificates.

Wind farms in Italy threaten to wipe out the Golden Eagle, farmers` organisation Coldiretti and national environmental organisations declared recently. As concern about climate change and sustainable, eco-friendly alternative energy grows, it‘s surprising that an industry with so much potential – the wind industry – is under fire from environmental groups.