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 of 2012 without any guarantee they will be renewed. This leaves the market in an uncertain state.

Along with the government subsidies that provide wind energy producers 2.2cents per kWh, many states have passed renewable energy mandates which required that a certain amount of electricity come from renewable sources. The nascent wind industry has grown a lot recently thanks in large part to innovative insight and support by both state and federal governments. To add to the excitement, wind researchers have produced renewable electricity as cost efficiently as others produce it now from non-renewable sources.

All sources of renewable energy (including solar power and hydro, for example) are in jeopardy of further decline due to the nation’s foreboding economic outlook. It is imperative for wind technology to continue to lower production costs in order to be an important part of the U.S. electricity portfolio moving forward. The bottom line in free markets is invariably cost.

Wind generated electricity has several benefits. Wind provides clean and endless electricity. To survive, the wind industry must effectively combine environmental cleanliness with low cost. In a future with reduced government subsidies and less pressure for renewable energy mandates because of cost concerns, it has to be able to compete on cost to remain viable. In the wind industry’s favor is the fact that fossil fueled power has continually risen over time in cost. If renewables continue to go down in price the two will ultimately intersect.

However, one fossil fuel – natural gas – has made strong advancements in cost. This provides a formidable challenge for the alternative energy industry. Since 2008, new natural gas drilling technology advancements have triggered a dramatic decline in electricity rates in Texas. Texas, along with a number of other states, gets a significant percentage of its power from natural gas plants. Because of this, the wind industry faces a huge cost challenge for the near future.

A major complaint about wind energy is that it doesn’t produce electricity consistently and predictably. After all, simply building wind turbines doesn’t guarantee that the wind will blow to turn them. The result of idle equipment is zero electricity production. Because there are no effective technologies to control the wind, there is no good way to calculate just how much electricity will be generated at any given moment from a particular wind turbine. If the wind industry can develop technologies that first stores the overflow of electricity produced when the wind is active and then steadily supplies it to consumers, then renewable wind energy will grow in future importance. There are many interesting technologies on the horizon for solving this issue, but today none of them are at a stage where they could be implemented on a large-scale and to great effect.

Article by Devon Bass who has been active in the energy markets for 16 years, first as a trader then as a consultant.

He is the founder of Vault Energy Solutions and the Texas Chamber of Commerce Energy Association.

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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 member states to a combined 93,957 megawatts of wind power capacity, an increase of about 10.5 percent from 2010, according to the European Wind Energy Association.

Overall, renewable energy installations accounted for more than 71 percent of all new installed power capacity, with more than 32,000 megawatts installed, according to the report. In the UK, the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the offshore wind industry will unveil new policies today to encourage greater production of wind turbines within the UK, setting a new target requiring that more than half of the equipment for the next generation of wind farms will be made domestically.

Article appearing courtesy Yale Environment 360.

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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 tested, there has been a gap in research and technology that helps predict the movements of migratory bats.

But now, researchers at the US Forest Service have developed a new technology and predictive tool designed to help wind farm operators reduce impacts on migratory bats while maximizing energy production. The interactive tool, created by ecologist Ted Weller and statistician Jim Baldwin from the USDA Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Research Station, allows users to predict the probability of bat presence (See a demonstration of the interactive tool at the Wolfram Demonstrations Project website).

In research conducted at Dillon Wind Energy Facility in the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Resource Area in Southern California (pdf), Weller and his team used devices that detected the bats’ echolocation calls, and then linked the presence of bats to the on-site weather conditions.

“Increasing the wind speed at which turbines begin to spin and produce energy to the grid has proven to be an effective way to reduce bat fatalities; however, bat activity levels depend on more than just wind speed,” says ecologist Weller. “Our work demonstrates the use of a decision-making tool that could protect bats when fatality risk is highest while maximizing energy production on nights with a low chance of fatalities.”

The researchers also found that multiple, properly-deployed echolocation detectors better characterize bat activity at the facility.

“These days, pre-construction echolocation monitoring is as common as meteorological monitoring at wind energy facilities,” Weller explains, “so the basic building blocks for these models are available at most proposed sites.”

Funded by the California Energy Commission Public Interest Energy Research program, the study was a collaborative effort between the USDA, Iberdrola Renewables, and the Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative.

Article by Timothy Hurst, appearing courtesy Earth & Industry.

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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 come on line in early 2013. Two other plants are already in operation in the north-east of the province.

“The wind resource on Vancouver Island is one of the most economic in the world”, said Sea Breeze President and CEO, Paul Manson. “We collected four years of wind data, had twelve sites on an investigative use permit and ended up one of three bidders out of 19 to be approved by BC Hydro,” added project manager James Griffiths.

The project is built on low productivity wetlands with little bird habitat and no migratory routes observed on the radar surveys.

The low energy costs in BC due to its large hydro capacity makes new generation more costly than current rates. With the cost of wind energy decreasing, it has now become competitive. In addition, it offers the advantages of no volatility, only a 10% year-over-year output variance, and a generation curve that matches seasonal demand.

Vancouver Island is becoming a showcase for clean technology with a tidal energy plant, a municipal solar home initiative, a carbon-offset biomass plant (Pacific Carbon Trust), a planned First Nations WtE plant, solar, and now wind generation.

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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 industry that we’ve reached a record high of 6 gigawatts, and there’s a further 19.5GW of capacity under construction, consented, or in planning,” said RenewableUK‘s Chief Executive, Maria McCaffery. “The Government’s Renewable Energy Roadmap is calling for 31GW of onshore and offshore wind combined by 2020, and we’re confident that we can deliver this if we continue to get the right level of Government support”.

The news was announced at RenewableUK’s Annual Parliamentary Reception last Wednesday. To give a better idea of what 6GW represents in terms of power, the UK now has enough installed wind power energy to supply over 3.3 million homes.

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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 organization will sometimes sidestep the turbine OEM (original equipment manufacturer) when it comes to sourcing spare parts.

Generally speaking, the turbine supply agreements which wind turbine OEMs sign with their own customers cover the breadth of their patent protection, but typically only a use license is provided. The ability to modify turbines or use substitutes may not be implicitly provided to the owner/operator of the turbine, calling into question some of the proposed methods developers and O&M service providers may use to help control cost.

Aspects of this topic were previously covered in in this space in a post entitled Infringement Issues in an Emerging Wind Power Cottage Industry.

Interestingly, in other industries, like automotive, we have seen the OEMs create features of certain key components which mean the components or the service can only be provided by an OEM representative or certified technician. This locks in an aftermarket revenue stream for the OEM, and is something they will not want to lose out on as more ‘modern’ turbine fleets begin to come off warranty and age.

As the O&M cost structure and optimization of wind farm operations becomes more of a hot button issue, we will see what steps if any OEMs will take to ensure revenue streams in this increasingly competitive market. Assertion of patent rights is certainly a tool in the toolbox.

Nevertheless, this topic got me to thinking about other areas in which there may be vulnerability of developers, and thus the financiers of wind farm projects, to assertion of patent rights from turbine OEMs.

As we have seen in other industries, as competition emerges and the industry matures, IP owners begin to assert their rights if they feel there is diminishment of their commercial enterprise.

We have seen GE assert its patent rights against many other turbine OEMs on variable speed technology, and even go to court with Mitsubishi in a suit which could have profound implications on future assertion within the industry. AMSC also recently made public the theft of trade secrets by one of its customers.

This begs an important question: Will the turbine OEMs, who have accumulated over 4300 US patents and applications on all aspects of wind turbine technology, begin to seek targets other than their OEM competition for licensing revenue in a US market which is increasingly cost competitive?

For instance, there are many OEMs and key component suppliers with patents on methods of power factor control and curtailment for wind farms. These two particular aspects of wind farm operation and optimization are not only noteworthy for freedom to operate by the competitor OEMs, but operators of wind farms may need to start paying attention too.

U.S. Patent No. 6,479,907 owned by ABB, U.S. Patent No. 6,891,281 owned by Enercon, and U.S. Patent No. 7,663,260 owned by Nordex are good examples of hardware and control methodologies already being employed.

What recourse does a wind farm operator or turbine OEM have to refuse a curtailment order from an ISO if they know that it would infringe on a third party or competitor’s patent?

Also, U.S. Patent No. 7,318,154 owned by GE, which enables remote monitoring and control of wind farms via the SCADA system, could potentially be important to anyone operating a wind farm. FIG. 1 of this patent is shown here:

Nowadays, even connection of energy storage technology or use of high voltage direct current HVDC is becoming more pervasively talked about and deployed in wind, with plenty of pioneering patents and applications on both aspects of technology already in process.

The question is whether or not an OEM would jeopardize a customer or potential customer relationship and turbine sales to assert its patent rights on developers, O&M providers or owners/operators of wind farms for which they did not supply turbines (and the aforementioned use licenses).

Is there a need to add IP due diligence to wind farm development efforts? Perhaps, but there is a long way to go from patents which “may be highly relevant” to getting lawyered up in an effort to fend off opposition. That being said, being proactive could reduce the odds of excessive damage awards.

As FERC continues to evolve their regulations regarding operation of wind farms, we will see if the OEMs can remain one step ahead with patent protection on technologies which could become the new standard for optimized performance of a wind farm or cost mitigation of O&M.

Article by Philip Totaro, Principal at Totaro & Associates, a consulting firm focused on innovation strategy, competitive intelligence, product development and patent search. Article appearing courtesy Green Patent Blog.

To get a deeper look into the patent landscape of the horizontal axis, utility-scale wind industry please visit www.totaro-associates.com and ask about Wind Patent Watch™, a subscription service providing a weekly digest and analysis of the published patents and applications from the wind industry.

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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, entitled “Partially Submersible Wind Turbine Transport Vessel” (’804 Application).

WindFlip is a specialized barge for transporting assembled offshore wind turbines. The assembled wind turbine (24) is transported on a turbine transport vessel (10) in a nearly horizontal position, as shown below in Figure 1 of the ’804 Application.

Once the vessel (10) reaches its destination, it tilts to a vertical position using seawater. More particularly, twenty-nine air-filled displacement tanks are located in the hull (22) of the vessel (10).

The displacement tanks are sequentially filled with seawater, sinking the stern (16) of the vessel (10) and the base of the turbine (24), until both are at a vertical position, as shown in Figure 4.

Once the turbine (24) and vessel (10) are oriented approximately 90 degrees to the sea surface, the turbine (24) is released and maneuvered to pre-installed anchors. After releasing the turbine (24), the vessel returns to a horizontal position by forcing the seawater out of the displacement tanks with compressed air.

See an animation of the process below.

Traditional offshore wind turbine transportation requires deep ocean depths due to the turbines’ draft. WindFlip allows pre-assembled wind turbines to be transported to offshore locations despite shallow or variable ocean depths.

Eric Lane is a patent attorney at Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps in San Diego and the author of Green Patent Blog. Mr. Lane can be reached at elane@luce.com.

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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 auction.

The average price per MWh was R$102.18 (approx. US$ 55 per MWh), which included an average discount of 8.77 percent. According to Brazil’s Energy Research Company (EPE), the auction fully met the demand of energy distribution companies.

New wind energy plants will be installed in different regions of the country: in the northeast (Bahia, Ceará, Maranhão and Rio Grande do Norte), in the heartland (Goiás), in the south (Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina) and southeast (São Paulo). The total projected investment is R$4.3 billion (approx. US$2.3 billion).

Apart from wind, the San Roque hydroelectric power plant (135 MW) was allocated to the state of Santa Catarina at the price per MWh of R$91.20 (approx. US$49.1 per MWh), which was a 25.85 percent discount to the original price, with expected investments of R$652 million (approx. US$351.1 million).

According to EPE, Brazil’s wind energy potential is estimated to be 143,000 MW, with the ability to reach 300,000 MW with the use of modern generators. Between 2009 and 2010, the country’s wind power generation increased by 50.5 percent; and currently accounts for 0.4 percent of the total electricity produced in Brazil.

Renewable energy accounts for 87.1 of Brazil’s electricity matrix, mainly from hydropower. But there’s pressure in the country for government to bring online wind and solar projects as the hydropower industry eyes the Amazon region for future projects, such as the controversial Belo Monte dam.

Article by Antonio Pasolini, a Brazilian writer and video art curator based in London, UK. He holds a BA in journalism and an MA in film and television.

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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 impractical or impossible. And while a handful of companies still make wind pumps, little has changed in the underlying technology for nearly a century — until now. A Massachusetts company announced last week it had sold its first wind-powered water pump system in Colorado.

Worcester, Massachusetts-based Mass Megawatts has developed a wind-powered water pumping unit that it says provides a lower-cost solution when compared to traditional water pumping systems, including those powered by diesel generators.

Mass Megawatts’ wind-powered water pump uses the company’s patented MMW wind augmenter technology to increase the wind velocity directed at the wind turbine. By funneling the wind into narrow channels where it speeds up, the augmenter is responsible for increasing power to its turbines by an average of 70 percent.

According to the company, over three times as much power is generated by its augmenter technology compared to the production wind turbines of an equal power rating in an “un-augmented” air stream. And the technology, according to company documents, does not require the same high-demand components used in other wind turbine technologies, thereby keeping costs down.

The technology is also not limited to use as a wind pump. The company is developing wind machines that generate electricity which can be stored in on-site battery banks.

The company says its technology is scalable from smaller 10 kW ‘home and farm’ systems to multi-megawatt utility installations and provides solutions to the two major wind project stumbling blocks: tower height and lower wind resource. But while the system may have a lower profile than many turbine technologies, the bulky framework required by the wind augmenter may still make it unpopular with some.

Mass Megawatts (OTCBB: MMMW), which began building its turbine arrays and MMW wind augmenters at a Colorado plant in late 2011, is a publicly-traded company with less than twelve million shares issued and outstanding.

Article by Timothy Hurst, appearing courtesy Earth & Industry.

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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.

The company’s technology takes a higher flight with wind technology. Its system consists of tethered kites of a predefine flight path in order to rotate a ground-based turbine. The large wings (or kites) in the KiteGen system are driven by avionic sensors located in a dome base that also houses an electric generator. The control system is designed to automatically guide the kites in order to rotate the turbine and maximize torque. As altitude increases, average wind speeds increase as well.

In the air, the system subtracts energy from the wind at an altitude of 2,624,7/3,280.8 ft with power kites and semi-rigid automatically piloted high efficiency air foils. On the ground, lies all the heavy machinery for power generation. To connect the two parts of the system, high resistance lines transmitting the traction of the kites and at the same time controlling their direction and angle to the wind.

One of the advantages of the KiteGen concept is space efficiency. While a 1000 MW wind turbine farms requires an area of of 96.5 to 115.8 square miles, KiteGen says would need only five to six square kilometers for the same output. It estimates its wind plants could produce around 500 GWh yearly.

The company also envisages big savings in energy costs of US$0.02-$0.05 per kWh, as compared to $0.05-$0.09 per kWh for fossil energy and $0.15 per kWh for current windmills.

KiteGen was founded in 2007 in Chieri, northern Italy and is the brainchild of Massimo Ippolito. Its engineers are working with another company called Sequoia Automation S.r.l., which is developing technical software and mechanical engineering.

The company is seeking investors to produce the first full-sized model and is also developing an offshore system.

Follow the link to find out more about KiteGen’s technology. What do you think? Promising technology or pipe dream?

Article by Antonio Pasolini, a Brazilian writer and video art curator based in London, UK. He holds a BA in journalism and an MA in film and television.

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