2011 was a year of much political chest thumping but not much progress on the significant issues. Subsidies for wind energy are among the many unanswered questions and are likely victims of the challenging budget decisions. The industry has grown used to generous subsidies for wind generated electricity. The current subsides are going to expire at the end (more…)

More than 9,600 megawatts of wind power capacity was installed in European Union member states in 2011, accounting for about 21 percent of all new power capacity installations, according to an industry report.

New offshore wind farms in the UK and land-based projects in Sweden and Germany pushed EU (more…)

From devastating outbreaks of white nose syndrome to large numbers of bat deaths caused by collision and dramatic changes in air pressure, the health of bat populations has emerged as a major issue for wind farm developers and operators. And while a range of solutions including specialized radar systems and purple wind turbines have been proposed and (more…)

The IPP Sea Breeze Power is launching a $300 million shovel-ready wind farm at the northern end of Vancouver Island, BC. The Cape Scott project will feature 55 Vestas turbines that will generate close to 100MW. It took ten years to develop in partnership with three First Nations and will be the first wind farm on the coast of British Columbia. It is expected to (more…)

Wind power in the UK has reached the 6GW threshold. The landmark figure was reached by the Ormonde offshore wind farm, off the coast of Cumbria and with 120 megawatts (MW) operational, which is enough to power more than 67,000 homes.

“There’s a great feeling of pride throughout the (more…)

What developers and financiers of wind farm projects need to know.

I attended the AWEA Fall Symposium in Carlsbad in November 2011. While it was a good industry gathering, I was intrigued by a panel discussion in which a representative from a major US developer and O&M (operations & maintenance) service provider to wind farms indicated that his (more…)

WindFlip AS is a Norwegian company that has developed WindFlip, a novel approach to transporting pre-assembled wind turbines to offshore locations.

The approach is described in International Application Publication No. WO 2011/051804, (more…)

A recent auction held by the Brazilian National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL), resulted in 42 new electricity generation projects with a total installed capacity of 1,211.5 megawatts (MW), to meet the projected demand of distribution companies in 2016. Of this total, 39 projects were wind farms, totaling 976.5 MW, or 81 percent of the total power traded in the (more…)

For nearly as long as people have harnessed wind to perform work, it has been used to move water from one place to another. Whether used for agricultural irrigation, wetlands drainage or pumping water from wells, wind machines have long been a relatively cheap and easy way to pump water, particularly in off-grid applications where electric alternatives are (more…)

KiteGen thinks that current wind technology only scratches the surface of what’s possible with wind energy. That’s because wind turbines cannot reach higher and touch altitude wind. Rarely wind farms are sited at more than 100m above the ground; the higher they go, the heavier, more unstable and expensive the apparatus becomes. (more…)