During the first day of the conference, the focus was on defining the green economy and demonstrating that taking care of the environment can mean the recovery of the economy as well.

On the second day, the focus shifted to sharing examples of green economy successes. I found these examples to be educational and inspiring. I’ve provided links to a few of these examples to allow you to explore the progress of these companies.

• Gamesa - a Spanish based, worldwide wind power company founded in 1996 “is engaged with the manufacturing, sale, installation and operation and maintenance of Gamesa wind turbines” in the USA, Canada and around the world. With a manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania, headquarters in Philadelphia, and three offices in Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Texas, Gamesa has completed wind farms in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Texas and has plans in progress for additional wind farms in other areas. Establishing this company in Pennsylvania is expected to add 1000 jobs across the manufacturing plant and the headquarters. Additional jobs will be found in other areas where they have offices and wind farms.
• Johnson Control - Originally founded to manufacture an electric thermostat in 1885, this global company, with 140,000 employees in more than 1,300 locations serves customers in 125 countries, has become a global leader in “automotive experience, building efficiency and power solutions.” Johnson Control has a fairly long history of sustainability and social responsibility and has a plan to be carbon neutral in five years. One of their most exciting energy efficiency projects will require 60,000 new employees in major cities around the United States to conduct energy audits and retrofit the buildings to increase energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gases, and lower utility bills. You can scan job openings within North America and beyond.
• Terracycle - In 2001, two college students founded an innovative company that packages waste (fertilizer created from worm waste) in recycled waste (used soda bottles collected by students and community groups around the country). In 2004, Home Depot started carrying their product, now Whole Foods, Wal-Mart Canada, and many other companies carry a variety of products produced by Terracycle and distributed in recycled packaging. The company never manufactures their packaging. Instead they set up collection brigades for particular packages that have been previously used (a soda bottle, a yogurt container, a juice box, or a energy bar wrapper) and pays the senders a few cents for each item delivered. Take a look at Terracycle’s products to see how they’ve come up with viable products that are made from or packaged in recycled items. Voted one of the 100 most innovative companies in 2004, it’s still worth tracking their growing and expanding success! Explore their career opportunities to learn more about how they work.

Innovation is one of the keys to the green economy. Add inspiration to your life. Watch for innovations in your geographic area and your profession.

Photo Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory

A thought-provoking new study by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) has found that locally-owned renewable energy projects generally hold more local economic benefits than large-scale ones.

The “Economies and Diseconomies of Scale” concludes that bigger is not always better. The Minneapolis-based ILSR analyzed the costs and return of wind power and ethanol, both major renewable energy sources in the Upper Midwest. While they are both less expensive to produce on a large scale, the costs of having to transmit the energy across long distances can negate those savings. That, coupled with the fact that large projects are generally owned by corporate or out-of-state interests, makes smaller, local projects more beneficial for the immediate community.

ILSR recommends that states follow Minnesota’s example, where law provides a favorable tariff for locally owned renewable energy projects, requires 51 percent ownership by Minnesota residents, and designates 51 percent of financial benefits to local owners. In addition, the federal production tax credit (PTC) for wind should be changed to allow it to be taken against ordinary income rather than only applying to passive income (such as from rent). This would allow greater access to the tax credit and open it up to more individuals to be renewable energy investors.

A carbon-constrained world presents us with many options for change. Do we want to create – and is it realistic – a totally new energy system, one that is locally owned, producing energy for the local area, with the majority of economic benefits going to the local community? Or does the urgency of global warming demand as much renewable energy as possible, as fast as possible, owned by whomever possible?

Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Minneapolis Star Tribune

• Moving $16 billion in tax incentives away from oil companies and putting it towards renewable energy.
• New energy efficiency standards for appliances and building codes.
• The creation of a Solar Energy Industries Research and Promotion Board to raise national awareness of solar energy options. The program would be funded completely by a portion of solar industry revenues, with no appropriations authorized.
• A modified 4-year extension of the wind power Production Tax Credit (PTC) that limits the credit to 35 percent of wind project costs.

Not in the bill is an increase in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) standards (a.k.a. “fuel efficiency”) that was a hot topic as the session came to a close. By avoiding a vote on CAFE standards, Democrats avoid public in-fighting with fellow Dems from auto industry states, notably Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI).

The Senate already approved an increase in fuel efficiency back in June, which will be just another piece of the Senate bill to be reconciled with the House version in conference committee this fall. In addition, the White House has threatened to veto any legislation containing a renewable energy standard.

Renewable Energy Access
The Sietch Blog
Yahoo News

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 a vote on an agricultural bill. However House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed that the amendment would be taken up today.

An RPS is a key policy tool to create a reliable renewable energy market in this country. In fact, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) was spurred to create a new website called the Power of Wind to educate readers about wind power and why an RPS – and the Udall-Platts amendment in particular – is so important.

Besides information, the Power of Wind gives the reader suggestions of actionable items to promote wind power. Learn how to contact your elected official on specific wind energy legislation or tell a friend about the issue. AWEA also has an impressive new TV ad promoting an RPS.

The best feature of the Power of Wind is certainly the Current Issues section that explains wind power policies in plain English. I hope that Current Issues stays updated; it amazes me how many times I try to find new information on energy legislation, only to go advocacy groups’ online newsrooms or press releases and find that the most recent updates are from 2004.

The site is still young, but my recommendation would be to add state-level news about wind power. There is so much action happening around the country; it would be great to have one-stop shop for all your wind power news needs.

Overall, the site is much easier to read and navigate that AWEA’s main website, which is rather overwhelming, even for me. The Power of Wind promises to be an accessible, informational place for wind advocates and those wanting to learn more about it.

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 half of U.S. manufacturers’ sales are made overseas, and the other half satisfies about 98 percent of the small wind demand here at home. Small wind systems are defined as those with 100 kilowatts (kW) of capacity or less, and in 2006 nearly 7,000 Americans purchased them for their homes, farms, or businesses.

The key to building up the market for small wind, according to AWEA and other wind power advocates, is to provide stable federal tax credits and incentives. Ron Stimmel, AWEA’s small-wind advocate, pointed out that “small wind is the only renewable energy technology without a federal-level tax credit.” At $10,000 - $55,000 each, small wind turbines aren’t cheap.

It’s good news that, for once, the U.S. is leading the way in something small, clean, and local. Whether it’s for a community school, a farm, or a home, small wind allows people to reduce their reliance on dirty energy and create their own clean source. American wind power of any size, however, suffers from unreliable federal policies, like the production tax credit (PTC) for large wind that has to be renewed every few years. Wind farm construction increases quickly when the PTC is renewed and dies off as it nears expiration. This boom-and-bust cycle is bad for the wind power economy and our energy system. We need consistent incentives for a versitile energy source that can power a utility or a farm down the road.

Alternative Energy Retailer
AWEA Small Wind Turbine Global Market Study
State Energy Conservation Office
Union of Concerned Scientists

Today the U.S. House is likely to vote on the Udall-Platts Amendment to the energy bill. This legislation would require 15 percent of our nation’s electricity to come from renewable sources by the year 2020. It’s high time the federal government catch up to so many states that already have implemented 21st century policies like this one.

But in addition to broad state and federal programs, consumers can also do some renewable energy good for themselves, even if they don’t own a wind turbine or live in a sunny area. They can buy green power.

“Green power” is a term for clean, renewable energy. More than 600 utilities in 36 states give their customers the option to buy their power from renewable energy sources (depending on the state, they normally include solar power, wind, biomass, hydropower, or geothermal) rather than traditional ones (likely to be coal). Although the transmission system can’t guarantee that particular energy from a wind farm makes it to your refrigerator, the total amount of green electricity that travels over the entire system is increased because (ideally) the utility is taking all of the extra revenue and investing in more renewable energy sources.

My fellow blogger Philip Proefrock just covered a green power program he is considering in his homestate of Michigan. Green power programs do vary, whether it’s the location from which the renewable energy is coming (in state or out of state) or the source (I know of one municipal provider that promotes destructive Canadian hydropower as an eco-friendly option, so make sure you know where the energy is coming from).

Here in Minnesota, I purchase wind power through Xcel Energy’s Windsource program. The initial cost is a little more than $3.50 per 100 kWh block, but I also get a credit on my bill for the avoided fuel costs of conventional (i.e. coal) power. The credit varies each month, but my cost last month was less than $11. Windsource was also audited by the Green-e program to ensure that ratepayers’ money is going to build new renewable energy sources, and it passed with flying colors: Windsource funds the costs associated with Xcel purchasing wind power from private owners of wind turbines and new wind generation facilities across the state, so I feel good about my investment.

Find out whether you can buy green power in your state at the U.S. Department of Energy. If you can’t buy green power locally, consider investing in renewable energy credits (RECs) to offset your emissions.

Sierra Club, North Star Chapter
Union of Concerned Scientists
Xcel Energy

A renewable portfolio standard – also called a renewable energy standard – is a measure requiring utilities to get a certain amount of their power from renewable sources by a particular time.

Last month in the Senate, Senator Jeff Bingaman’s (D-NM) RPS amendment to the energy bill was killed before a vote could be held. Although the current House version of the energy bill does not have an RPS provision, Representatives Tom Udall (D-NM) and Todd Platts (R-PA) are expected to offer an amendment requiring utilities to get 20 percent of their energy from renewables by 2020. This amendment is based on H.R. 969, which calls for an RPS and is also authored by Udall and Platts. (Make sure your Representative is one of the 120 co-sponsors here).

In her meeting with wind power supporters, Pelosi underscored the critical role an RPS would play in moving the nation towards global warming solutions.

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, a 20 percent by 2020 RPS would save consumers nearly $11 billion on energy bills by 2030 and save nearly 2 billion short tons of coal from being burned up into the atmosphere. Similarly, the American Solar Energy Society found that an RPS could help create nearly 40 million new jobs in the U.S. by 2030 in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors.

It’s Getting Hot in Here
Union of Concerned Scientists
Wind Energy Weekly

Increasingly, homeowners and businesses are getting bank loans and even grants to install solar and wind power systems on the site of their property. The Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency is a great place for homeowners to start. It is common to now receive an incentive to reduce the cost of these systems from 25 to 40%, depending on location, of course. The state of Oregon now has 50% Business Energy Tax Credit for all renewable project costs. Not only does this incentive make alternative, local power generation an affordable option, but in provides individuals, families, and groups with the possibility of claiming energy independence from the electric grid.

Following is a supreme example of how the business management of renewable energy systems is gaining strength and incentives. The largest investment bank in the U.S., Morgan Stanley, will finance and own the PV systems that are to be installed atop 7 Wal-Mart stores in California. The way this works is that Morgan Stanley signs on as a financing partner of SunPower, the supplier, designer, installer, and maintenance supplier of the systems. Morgan Stanley pays for the system up front and the customer pays for it over a long period of time, as opposed to 100% up front. This means low investment risk and instant availability. Big business is seeing green in dollars returned by investing in alternative energy that makes good business sense to them. Not only is it just good business because it looks good and tops their environmental checklist, but it’s economical. Tiffany’s, for example is expecting a $500,000 annual savings on the 1.3 megawatt solar installation divided between 2 distribution centers in New Jersey.

I am not writing to debate the politics of appreciating solar value, market value due to commercial demand, and increasing utility prices; I’d just simply like you to appreciate that there is a greater demand. According to Solar Buzz, “Over the last 20 years the cost of solar energy systems has come down seven fold…” According to The Economist, “Global investment in renewable power-generation, biofuels and low-carbon technologies rose from $28 billion in 2004 to $72 billion in 2006.” If you think about it fundamentally, it makes sense that there be more value at a cheaper cost to us in something that is renewable. These businesses are not signing the Declaration of Energy Independence (yet), but they are partially acting on the economical incentive present. Even though designing these stores and warehouses to maximize on natural light might be the most energy efficient option, investing in solar to power the devices within this space has to be applauded.

In honor of the holiday and the American Dream of freedom and exploration, I am going to help you declare an “energy independence” today (at home anyway). Today, we are going to decrease our dependency on finite natural resources such as coal and natural gas used to generate much of the energy we consume in this country. The interesting lesson is that these finite resources are burned to generate steam that drives a shaft through magnets, resulting in an electromagnetic inductive reaction that generates electricity; the same principles on which wind power is generated.

Today’s topic to shout from the mountaintops is how to make your own affordable wind turbine. Did you know that the energy in the wind more or less follows the human 24-hour power consumption cycle? So I’m here to say, lets utilize that wind while we simultaneously use up the electricity.

I have personally not built this mechanism, but being a declared experimental designer, I like to rig things up and love to figure out how things work. Thus, I have reviewed many instructions and debriefed for you an informative and simple process from a Do-It-Yourselfer in Arizona who built his for under $150. If you crave more specific instructions, visit his site or one of the many options at the bottom of the page. There are hundreds of ways to build each sub-construction, so get creative and think about efficiency in weight, size, and aerodynamics.

Without further ado, following is a simple and cheap process of instructions on how to build your own wind turbine at home!

The bare necessities that every wind turbine has in common:
1. A Generator
2. Blades
3. A mount and wind vane to keep it turned to the wind
4. A tower to put it up in the sky
5. Rechargeable batteries and an electronic control system

With that said we will follow these 5 recommended steps to simplify your way to a great affordable turbine.

1. The Generator
First, the heart of the whole mechanism: the generator. An electric generator is quite simple when you refer back to your knowledge of physics. To put it simply, the generator will convert the mechanical energy in the wind intercepted by the blades and into electrical energy. If you want to learn how a common generator works inside, refer to this site. To get the basic principles of electromagnetism, refer here.
Electric generator: image courtesy of wvic.com

Generator Shopping:
Many electric motors work as generators, as they function the same fundamentally only in reverse. Instead of outputting a voltage from the crank of a shaft, a motor would crank the shaft from an applied voltage. The only problem is that many motors have to be driven much faster as a generator to reach their rated voltage.

I am told that Ametek motors are the best for home built turbines. The Ametek 99 voltDC, although large, is the best one they make. But word on the street says it’s a hard one to find, so if you can't find the top dog, don’t worry, they make many alternatives as do other companies.
The best advice for motor/generator shopping I can give you is look for a motor that is rated for:
1. High DC voltage
2. Low rpm’s
3. High current

If you’d like to leverage the properties of the different Ametek generators visit this site!

Another great motor I’ve heard a lot about is the MiniGen Motor. Although it doesn’t have a huge power output, it is small and can serve as your hub to attach your rotor blades to directly. It outputs AC power so when you get to the electronic controller stage you will need a rectifier instead of a blocking diode.

MiniGen Motor

Once you’ve acquired and decided on your generator we are ready to move on to the blades.

2. The Rotor Blades and Hub

Many people use ABS, or PVC piping. You can carve your own out of wood, which I have done, but be sure to use as light a wood as possible. If you want to get real slick and sexy, you could use styrofoam and carbon fiber, but those materials are neither sustainable nor healthy. A great site to refer to while constructing aerodynamic efficiency is the Danish Wind Industry Association.

With a plastic pipe 6” in diameter and 24-36” long depending on the intended scale of your project. This is what you want to do (scale is set for 24” blades).
1. Cut the pipe into 4 equal parts around the circumference (you only need 3)
2. Cut the blade at the angle you prefer (usually about 20 degrees)
3. Sand the edges to maximize the aerodynamics
4. Next you need a hub to bolt your blades onto (4-6” diameter hub will be perfect) with a hole in the center that will fit the motor shaft.
5. Mount the ends of the blades onto the hub with screws and bolts each 120 degrees from the other.
6. If you can find a plastic half sphere to cover the front of this construction, it will improve the airflow therefore the efficiency of the unit by directing air into the rotor blades.
Hub and Blades: Image courtesy of Mike Davis

3. The Mount

The mount and wind vane are important because they hold all the parts and direct the blades into the wind. The wind vane or tail is the balancing tool of the mechanical energy operation. It keeps the turbine from capsizing, therefore sacrificing harvestable wind.

1. It is easiest to use a 2×4” piece of wood about 35” long. This measurement can be imprecise as long as it fits the motor and is long enough to allow the vane to work with ease, so feel free to use any scrap lying around. Again, it is important to keep this whole construction light. This will facilitate movement of the mount in the direction of the wind.
2. Mount the motor to one end of the 2×4 so that the motor shaft is fully extended beyond the end of the wooden mount. (It is a good idea to cover the motor with something to insulate it form weather conditions-metal electrical boxes work as well as a piece of PVC pipe.)
3. Mount the rotor blades and hub construction onto the motor shaft.
4. Next, Wind Vane: All you need is a rigid piece of material to stand up about 8 inches and extend down the mount about 14 or longer. This is the mechanism that really controls the direction of the turbine. It is very important. Although the rotor blades can catch the wind and aid turning the construction in the right direction, the vane does this with much more ease. (Common materials are sheet aluminum, plastic, or even a thin wood. If you want to go green and creative- find a piece of flashing that’s laying around, cut up an old plastic binder, or cut up the lid to an old Tupperware container. [Note: all these materials are very light].)
5. Cut a groove in the wooden mount just wide enough for the thickness of your chosen vane material.
6. Slide it in. If it’s not tight enough, glue it into place to secure stability and function.
7. Add a weight of any sort to the bottom of the wind vane end on the 2×4. This will be your counterweight to the generator. You can use a lead weight (although not a magnet), a sand filled balloon…

An alternative to this construction is to find a 2 ¼” pipe or something large enough to fit the generator into. Insert the generator. Attach the hub to one end. Cut a slit in the other end in which to insert your wind vane. You can also place your counterweight inside the pipe. This construction is a bit sleeker in appearance.

4. The Tower

The height of your tower will be highly dependent upon your location in this world. If you live amongst many a canopy of tall trees, you will have a lot of interference to compete with. If you live on the plains, the wind will “go whipping o’r the plain” freely and quite low in the sky.

What you need for the tower is a long pole with something that functions as a bearing at the top to allow the mount to turn freely towards the wind. These are the step-by-step instructions from Michael Davis of Arizona who scratched his head at the local home center store over this for a couple hours. I think his solution is quite functional yet the resistance/friction on the bearing could be lower and more efficient.

1. Attach a 1” pipe fitting to the bottom of the generator end of the mount about 7-8” in.
2. Screw a 1” diameter, 6-12” long pipe nipple into the pipe fitting
3. Slip the pipe nipple into a 1 ¼”, 10-20’ conduit (depending on your locational interference).

With this construction you can drill a hole in the 2×4” mount and feed the wires from the generator right down through the pipe fitting, through the nipple, down the conduit, and out to the control system.

4. Find a scrap piece of wood that is about 2×2’. This will serve as your base.
5. Make a U shaped assembly out of 1” pipe fittings and pipes.

The Tee construction will function as a hinge that will allow you to raise and lower the tower.

6. In the center of the assembly put a 1 4” Tee. Insert in it a 1 ¼” close nipple, a 1 ¼” to 1” reducing fitting, and a screw into that a 1” diameter, 12” pipe nipple.
7. Drill a hole in pipe nipple, large enough for the wire to come out from the conduit.
8. Next drill holes 1” in diameter in the base platform that line up with the pipe fittings. This will allow you to drive shafts into the ground to stabilize your platform. The shafts will extend from the earth into the parallel components of the U construction, thus grounding the tower!
9. Attach 4 guy-lines to the conduit about 10’ up. Tie a rope to each line. Anchor each rope 90 degrees from the other in the earth with some stakes. Make sure these are secure, as you don’t want your turbine to come tumbling down. If you see this unnecessary then skip the whole u construction and anchor the conduit directly into the ground.
Mike's Base Construction

5. The Controller System

Here comes the interesting part that takes a bit of research, but once you do it step by step it all begins to make sense. The controller stores the power created by the spinning turbine and sent down by the generator.

Here are the items you need, what they do, and how they work:
1. First the power sent down from the generator is stored in one or more small batteries.
2. The surplus power is sent out to a larger storage/load when the primary batteries get fully charged, because they will.
3. A 40 amp blocking diode. These are one-way valves that allow the charge to be pumped in but not back out. This prevents the batteries from powering the generator as a motor and spinning the turbine voluntarily. If you use an AC motor you will want to use a rectifier instead. Rectifiers capture the peak and trough of an alternating current. I referred to this earlier in the generator section.
4. A charge controller. The controller monitors the voltage in the batteries and decides where the power from the turbine is needed and should be stored. If you are savvy with wiring up your own electronics this site will show you detailed diagrams of circuit construction and a couple links to help you out. If you don’t want to go there, then search eBay or some of the sites below for a wind power controller. Our friend Mike in Arizona built a fully functional controller, check it out.
5. The cord. If you have an old extension cord, dysfunctional on one end, perfect! If not find some insulated electrical wire with a decent size gauge (¼ – ½”). Attach a couple spade lugs to each end. Attach one to each output on the generator. Then thread the chord through the conduit and connect the spade lugs on the other end to the controller unit.
6. A 120-volt inverter. This is very important because it allows you to use the DC power generated. You will connect this to the battery load unit. It converts the 12V DC power stored in the batteries and into 120V AC power. From this you can plug in any household device you would plug into the wall: your computer, a toaster, a lamp…
Going Further Bonus: you can get a digital or analog computer-interface multimeter (can be found at Radio Shack or your local Electronics supply shop) that will connect to you computer for data logging!
Ahhh, I think I pretty much covered it all. Now that you have all the parts put together, you have yourself a beautiful turbine that initiates or enhances your independence from the communal electric power grid!

I challenge you to get as creative as possible in your project. In my research, I saw project constructed of 100% reused materials. It isn’t difficult, you just have to dig a little bit deeper. Maybe the shape or material you need is in that object you just put in the recycling bin, or even better in the trash. I also saw collapsible and portable turbines to take camping and on road trips. Here are a couple sites that I hope will inform and inspire your project:

Science Fair Wind Generators
Minigen
Otherpower.com Discussion Board: My First Wind Turbine
Otherpower.com Discussion Board: Wind
How I Home-Built an Electricity-Producing Wind Turbine

Also, get creative on how you hook up the power supply. You could connect it to your water heater or your electric oven. You could rig it up so you have multiple removable secondary loads. Use the secondary battery packs to take inside and power your computer throughout the day or your telephone (but don’t forget to take the inverter too). If you think you are harvesting enough power, look into connecting it to the power supply in your home. If you are not quite there yet don’t worry, the experiments have just begun. Have fun, and please let me know if I can direct you to additional information.

The three-year contract raises worker salaries by more than 10 percent, as well as provides for bonuses and benefits for roughly 600 employees. Michael Peck, a Gamesa spokesman, called the contract “a world-class agreement." Tom Conway, USW international vice president, agreed:

“Our union is proud to partner with Gamesa to further grow their domestic manufacturing base and promote wind energy as a source of clean, renewable energy and good jobs.”

Gamesa and other wind power companies have been lured to Pennsylvania by a host of tax incentives and the adoption of a Renewable Energy Standard that doubled the state's renewable energy use to 20 percent. PA is one of the top green power purchasers in the nation according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The United Steelworkers have been longtime supporters of wind power; they and the Sierra Club founded the Blue Green Alliance that advocates for a cleaner environment and good jobs. USW also co-founded the Apollo Alliance, a coalition of labor, business, and environmental organizations supporting clean energy and a strong economy.

Bucks County Courier Times
Gamesa Corporation
Philadelphia Inquirer, via Topix
Renewable Energy Access
United Steelworkers
The Green Options Interview: Van Jones

Editor's note: Since David was only able to spend one day at WINDPOWER 2007, we asked Jessica Jensen, co-founder of Low Impact Living, to offer her take on the rest of the conference. Here are her impressions of Day 2.

Day 2 at WINDPOWER 2007, the national wind energy expo hosted by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) continued to be exciting. With over 400 companies exhibiting and 6000+ visitors, this is by far the largest wind energy conference in the U.S. Yesterday's events focused on the small wind energy market. Small wind is defined as systems producing < 100 KWs. Home wind-power systems typically require 1-10 KW (generated by one turbine) and farms and small businesses can use anywhere between 10-100 KW.

The day started with an excellent session on "Growing the Market for Distributed Wind Energy." Trudy Forsyth of the National Renewable Energy Lab spoke both of very encouraging growth in the small wind market but also about the obstacles to greater growth. Certain states– including California, New York, Vermont and Massachusetts offer strong financial incentives for investment in wind systems and also make the permitting processes navigable.

Many other states, however, do not help make wind an attractive option for consumers and small businesses– even states with progressive solar energy support policies. Andy Kruse, Co-founder of Southwest Wind Power (one of the big firms in the small wind market distribution) commented that, "25 states have significant support for solar– and it's more like 4-5 states on the wind side." He added that SWWP is partnering with another other major US small wind power firm, Bergey Windpower, on lobbying for better policy support in Colorado and Pennsylvania. Almost everyone speaking today heralded the need for better federal and state level incentives to make the investment in small wind technologies appealing to consumers and small businesses– so the lobbyists have their work cut out for them.

Image source: AWEABut even with the policy hurdles still to be overcome, the growth in the small wind industry seems to be very strong. Steve Wilke, Sales & Customer Service for Bergey Windpower, wouldn't share unit or dollar specifics but noted that Bergey is doubling its production capacity this year to meet demand. He cites improved state-level support for financial incentives and growing consciousness about the need for green power alternatives. Bergey’s primary production facility is co-located with the company headquarters in Norman, OK. The company has also recently opened a new manufacturing facility in China. "We're doing a lot of development in China– the demand is huge," he added. Other manufacturers echoed the sentiment that growth is steep in the small wind market both in the US and abroad.

One of the most compelling presentations at the end of day focused on wind energy as a power solution for schools. As it turns out, schools are often ideal candidates for wind power. Schools typically have the land and clearance needed for turbines. They also have access to cheap capital and are comfortable with payback periods in excess of 8-10 years. The market potential for the school segment is massive: there are over 5,000 schools in Texas alone and almost all of them would need systems around 50 KW. Developing this market across the US would not only replace the use of polluting coal-fired plant capacity but would also help to drive down costs in the wind-system manufacturing industry by growing production volume. So tell your kids to ask their principals if they have looked into wind power.

Today was the conference’s last day, so if you were in Los Angeles, we hope you had a chance to stop by. It’s very heartening to see so many companies and people dedicated to renewable energy.

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 has come to an end, and having just rubbed elbows with something like 6,000 attendees, 400-plus exhibitors and national legislators and policymakers from around the country, I thought I'd try to make sense of it all. The confab was put on by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), and heavily attended by many of folk who belong to it: wind energy producers, manufacturers who produce things like wind turbines, poles, and transmission lines and wind outreach and education organizations. The conference features tons of panels, discussions and presentations, but much of the talk at this year's Windpower focused on just a few issues:

• A lot of people -­ and not just wind industry representatives, either ­- believe that wind energy is and will remain an increasingly crucial part of our national renewable energy portfolio. No one had anything particularly negative to say about nuclear or other non-c02-emitting power generation technologies, but all agreed that of those other options, none were as ready as wind power was to step up to the plate and work. (It takes years and years to bring a nuclear power plant online, for instance, and not nearly as long to build and permit wind turbines). The wind industry feels that its golden moment is now.
• The AWEA has set a really tough goal for itself and for the wind industry: to produce 20% of the U.S.' power by the year 2020. As good as that sounds, no one really knows how it's going to be accomplished. Panelist Bob Lukefahr, of BP's alternative fuels division, stressed the challenges: It will require "technology we haven't invented yet," he said, and entails "political and economic complexity this business has never faced before." For starters, they're going to have to figure out how to deliver all that energy; even if we had the turbines to do it right now, it would cost at least $60 billion to build the transmission lines to get that power onto the country's grid, according to AWEA President Randall Swisher.
• The future of the wind industry depends on the White House, and if the next few presidents we have aren't wind-friendly, wind will stay small for the long haul.

The good news is, there are plenty of states out there interested in having the wind industry set up shop in their regions. At Monday's confab alone, the mayor of Los Angeles and the governors of Montana and Iowa made nice to the assembled windustryites, and at least one congressman (D.C.'s own Jerry McNerney) and a senator (Tom Daschle) lent their support to the cause as a whole. In short, the industry is booming, consumer interest in renewable energy has never been higher, and the future ­ depending in part on what happens in the 2008 election ­ looks bright.

But a provision in the bill has other clean energy supporters up in arms.

Subtitle D, called the Global Warming Wildlife Survival Act, would require new hoops and hurdles for wind power production. The American Wind Energy Association says the law would “effectively shut down the wind energy production industry in the United States,” and House members of both political parties questioned why the wind industry should face new requirements that have never applied to other energy sectors. Some of those requirements include:

• Directing the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) to review every existing and planned wind project and penalize operation of wind energy facilities not formally certified by USFWS.
• Landowners and farmers with wind turbines on their property would be subject to inspection requirements at any time.
• Landowners and farmers could face one year in jail or a $50,000 penalty for constructing or operating an uncertified wind turbine, regardless of whether it is for personal or commercial use.

In response to the Global Warming Wildlife Surivial Act, the wind industry points out that it is working with wildlife advocates, government officials, and scientists on a Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee to examine a national strategy for siting turbines. These stakeholders should decide how best to protect wildlife and support the growth of clean wind power, AWEA says, not Washington bureaucrats.

A report released by the National Academy of Sciences earlier this month concluded that wind turbines cause about .003 percent of human-caused bird mortality. That’s about one thousand times lower than bird deaths from house cats. Previous studies have come to similar conclusions. The report also points out that the locations of wind farms must be sited carefully to minimize the negative impacts on birds and that each wind project should be considered on its own merits. The Audubon Society’s Director of Conservation Policy, Mike Daulton, testified before Congress on May 1 that turbine siting must be done cautiously to minimize the impact on wildlife, but did not discount wind power entirely:

“As the threats of global warming loom ever larger, alternative energy sources like wind power are essential. Many new wind power projects will need to be constructed across the country as part of any serious nationwide effort to address global warming…Audubon strongly supports wind power as a clean alternative energy source that reduces the threat of global warming. Each individual wind project, however, has a unique set of circumstances and should be evaluated on its own merits.”

Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV) introduced H.R. 2337. West Virginia is the second largest supplier of our nation’s coal.

Further action is scheduled for June.

Alliance to Save Energy
American Wind Energy Assocation
Audubon Society
United Press International
West Virginia Coal Association

A seemingly simple alteration a wind turbine blade’s traditional shape could result in huge improvements in efficiency.

WhalePower Corporation out of Toronto, Canada has designed a turbine blade with rounded, teeth-like bumps along the leading edge. The company’s name is a nod to the humpback whale, whose flipper was the inspiration for the design.

The agility of the humpback whale is astonishing, given that they can be over 50 feet long, weigh nearly 80,000 pounds, yet move quickly and tightly in the water. One of the animal's advantages, according to scientists, is the unique row of bumps or “tubercles” along the leading edge of their flippers that dramatically increase the whale’s aerodynamic efficiency. Specifically, researchers found a 32 percent lower drag and 8 percent improvement in lift from a flipper with a serrated edge compared to a smooth one.

Businessman Stephen Dewar heard about the humpback research and contacted one of the scientists involved, Professor Frank Fish of West Chester University in Pennsylvania. After a few meetings, they enlisted the help of some local engineers and formed WhalePower, taking a cue from Mother Nature and modeling their blade design after the whale’s flipper.

WhalePower claims that their turbine design can capture more wind energy at much lower speeds than traditional designs. The channels created by the teeth at the blade's edge cause separate wind streams to accelerate across the surface of the blade in rotating flows. These “energy-packed” vortexes increase the lift force on the blade. For example, Dewar told the Toronto Star that this design produces the same power at 11 miles per hour that one would expect at 18 miles per hour. Furthermore, he claimed these channels prevent airflow from moving along the span of the blade and past the tip, which can create noise, instability and a loss of energy. By keeping the air flow nicely channeled, more wind is captured and noise is reduced.

Dewar sees this “biomimicry” design – the fusion of biology and engineering – reaching beyond wind power.

“’This changes the game,’ says Dewar, adding that any system using a fan or turbine could also benefit from the new design. This includes everything from better turbines for hydroelectric generation to residential ceiling fans that use less electricity. ‘If we've got what we think we've got, then the range of applications is staggering.’”

The Ontario Centres of Excellence and the Ontario Power Authority have contributed over $60,000 USD for early research and to encourage collaboration with a wind engineering group at the University of Western Ontario. The next and arguably most crucial step to commercial production is independent, third party verification of the blade’s performance.

Toronto Star
Wikipedia

Cross posted at Maria Energia

The Mayor also urged residents and businesses to participate in the Blue Sky program, which gets its electricity from six wind power facilities and is one of the most popular green power programs in the nation. Mayor Godfrey’s Blue Sky Community Challenge aims to get 5 percent of businesses and households signed up for renewable energy by the end of October.

Increasing investment in renewable energy is an important economic move for Ogden, a city of about 78,000 people. It has been attracting several outdoor recreation companies, and Mayor Godfrey explained that having clean air is “critical” to attracting these businesses.

The Sustainable Ogden Committee developed the challenge, and has other initiatives in the works. A Fresh Air Friday program will encourage the use of public transportation, converting city vehicle fleets to renewable fuels, and a downtown bicycle program.

Ogden’s purchase of wind power will cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions – a main contributor to global warming – by 900 tons each year. That’s equivalent to planting about 354 acres of trees, according to a statement from the Mayor. If Ogden residents meet the Blue Sky Community Challenge, it would cut CO2 emissions by about 5,900 tons each year. A typical household could get 100 percent of its energy from renewable power for an extra $11.70 per month.

Rocky Mountain Power
Salt Lake Tribune, via Headwaters News

Wells Fargo credit card and bank card customers have another choice in redeeming rewards points. Now, in addition to gift cards or airline tickets, Wells Fargo is offering up wind power. 5,000 points will get you 6,000 kilowatt hours, which they say is "equivalent to the clean air benefits of three acres of pine forest storing carbon for one year." 10,000 points will probably offset your carbon output for a whole year.

The green power points will be available to cardholders in May, which is the same time Bright Planet's Bright Card is set to launch. Bank of America isn't far behind Bright Planet on the US front, and The Barclaycard will hit the UK this summer.

So, the big question is (aside from, "What's in Your Wallet?") will people take advantage of these green credit options or will they stick with the emission intensive air miles? Would you choose to support wind power projects or put your spending power towards travel?

Via Environmental Leader; Paymentsnews.com

I’m not one to think a hydrogen economy is right around the corner – let’s make sure our energy efficiency and current renewable technology are maxed out first – but this invention caught my eye.

The WindHunter is the concept of an offshore, floating system of wind turbines that make electricity, electrolyze sea water, and make hydrogen. The architects of the idea envision four two-megawatt wind turbines mounted on a moveable framework connected to the deck of a ship. The electricity produced from the turbines is sent to four electrolyzers in the hulls or inside the deck, and then the collected hydrogen is compressed and stored in tube tank trailers until transported to shore. From the website:

“This continuously manned, safe and stable system will be easily maintained on-board while relocating to the best wind conditions for the wind turbines…. These large ships or platforms will operate out of sight of land either moored or anchored while facing into the wind and the oncoming waves. Millions of them can operate on the world’s oceans with minimal environmental impact and human resistance.”

The WindHunter is an interesting concept and we’re going to need to consider all ideas to transition ourselves to a clean energy economy. But this system has quite a ways to go before it sees the light of day, let alone feels an ocean breeze. The WindHunter company is in Phase One of developing a feasibility study of a vessel and its wind turbines. Next come the design, build, and launch of the system and then finally producing the hydrogen. According to the company, the estimated total cost is $100 million of the research and design process, and could take at least six years.

Via Ecogeek
WindHunter

 The Columbia Gorge Community College on the boundary of Oregon and Washington is offering the first training for wind energy technicians on the West Coast. Its location near the center of the Columbia River Gorge is a focal point for wind development in the region and makes the school a natural choice to train the new generation of clean energy technicians. Susan Wolff of Columbia Gorge told Wind Energy Weekly:

“Seeing all the wind turbine components being transported through the Gorge signaled the possibilities of jobs for our region. A feasibility study was completed and resulted in the creation of a new program to provide a highly skilled workforce to this rapidly growing industry.”

The college has partnered with the industry to develop a curriculum for the six-month pilot program that began in January. The Wind Turbine Maintenance Technician Training project will also include a one-year certificate and two-year degree programs that begin this fall. Those industry partners include Clipper Windpower, GE Wind Energy, PPM Energy, Suzlon, Vestas, and Western Wind Power.

Columbia Gorge Community College
Wind Energy Weekly

A $250 million wind farm is planned for Langdon in the northeast corner of the state. The 106 wind turbines will start spinning later this year or early next year, pumping out 159 MW of electricity – enough to power about 48,000 homes. The Langdon Wind Project is a partnership between Minnkota Power Cooperative of Grand Forks, Otter Tail Power of Minnesota, and FPL Energy of Florida, the world’s largest wind developer. From the Fargo Forum:

Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker was on hand for the announcement, which he applauded as a big step in North Dakotas development of renewable energy.

We understand this is not going to replace everything, Walaker said, but added that it will help reduce the nations dependency on foreign oil. I am so happy that this has gone forward.

The project will produce 10 permanent full time jobs, 50 construction jobs, $1 million in yearly sales tax revenues, a half million in yearly property tax revenues, and a half million in yearly lease payments and royalties to landowners, according to FPL. A 35-mile transmission line and substation will also be upgraded.

American Wind Energy Association
Fargo Forum
U.S. Department of Energy

A typical wind turbine has a generator that sits on the turbine (the nacelle), and the electricity from the generator goes down the turbine and onto the grid. General Compression places an air compressor on the nacelle that sends highly compressed air down the tower and into underground storage (like a cave or empty gas well) or through pipelines. The pressurized air can be expanded and released when needed to make electricity. According to the General Compression website, this power would be “the lowest cost per megawatt of any wind farm in the world." See a video of the technology here.

If this idea works, it would revolutionize the wind power industry. Using compressed air to store energy is not a new idea, but companies have been wary of pursing commercialized concepts in the past because of the cost and technology barriers. But with the cost of wind power falling and worries of fossil fuel prices increasing, there’s a renewed interest.

Josh Magee, senior wind analyst at Emerging Energy Research, told CNET news.com:

"If you could figure out a way to do it cost effectively and show [utilities] you can be very profitable at it…then you would have the ability to rapidly scale wind power. If all of the sudden you had capacity, you can make a bigger dent in climate change, energy security and make a significant contribution to peak demand."

Currently a prototype device of the air compressor exists and a large-scale version is being tested later this year. General Compression plans to test on a turbine in the field in 2008.

General Compression has to overcome quite a few hurdles to make this concept a reality, including finding appropriate sites for their wind turbines, which not only have to be located in windy areas, but also near geological formations suitable to storing compress air. However the company says that where the geology isn’t conducive to storage, underground pipelines could store 6-12 hours of a wind farm’s power.

CNETNews.com, via EcoToolbox.com
General Compression