High-Altitude Wind Energy: Huge Potential — And Hurdles

Tuesday, September 25th, 2012

The wind turbines that increasingly dot the landscape peak at around 300 feet above ground, with the massive blades spinning a bit higher. The wind, however, does not peak at 300 feet. Winds are faster and more consistent the higher one climbs, maxing out in the jet streams at five miles and above. (more…)

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Clean Energy Patent Growth Index Shows Big Gains in Solar and Wind

Wednesday, September 12th, 2012

The Clean Energy Patent Growth Index (CEPGI) recently published its Q1 2012 Results.

Although fuel cells are still in the top spot with 232 patents, they were down 18 relative to the first quarter of last year. The report shows large year on year gains for solar patents, up 50 at 188, and wind, which totaled 157 patents, up 71 from Q1 2011. (more…)

Earth’s Wind Resources Could Meet Global Energy Demands

Tuesday, September 11th, 2012

The earth contains enough wind energy to meet all of humanity’s power needs if future technologies are able to tap into high-altitude winds, a new study says.

Using models to quantify wind energy potential, researchers at the Carnegie Institution for Science and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (more…)

Distributed Generation Holds Promise, Faces Challenges

Monday, August 27th, 2012

Those of us who maintain optimism for a future than includes sustainable practices in energy generation place a great deal of hope in “distributed generation” – the concept in which the model of buying electricity from huge utilities becomes increasingly irrelevant, and in which individual users generate more – or all — of their own. Such a schema has many obvious (more…)

Green Energy Background Check: The U.S. Military Passes the Test

Friday, August 24th, 2012

People all over the world respect the U.S. military, but not just for the justice they bring against criminals and enemies of the state. The U.S. military is also famous for their innovations beyond the realm of war; for example, the care to which they give their troops and their contributions to civil engineering are extraordinary. (more…)

Energy Policy – Hitting the Broad Side of the Barn

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2012

I’ve been thinking about my up-coming meeting with Dr. Raj Pachauri, who, among other things, serves as the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Pondering this in advance of the meeting, I wonder what I would do, given the power, to deal with climate change. (more…)

Great Green American College Campuses

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2012

According to a 2011 survey conducted by The Princeton Review, 65% of students surveyed said they “would value having more information about a college’s commitment to the environment”, and 24% said a college’s commitment to the environment would impact their decision to apply to or attend a school. (more…)

Life-Cycle Analysis and Wind Power

Monday, August 13th, 2012

I heard a really good talk about lifecycle analysis (LCA) yesterday that took wind energy as an example, and examined the overall ecological footprint associated with an individual large turbine. On average, about 7.8 megawatt-hours of energy goes into extracting the materials, forging the pieces, transporting, assembling (more…)

U.S. Wind Energy Capacity Equal to 11 Nuclear Plants, Group Says

Monday, August 13th, 2012

Electricity produced by wind energy in the U.S. now equals the output of 11 nuclear power plants, according to a new report from the American Wind Energy Association, a trade organization.

As congressional leaders consider the extension of a tax credit for the emerging wind energy sector, the (more…)

California Meets 20 Percent of Electricity Demand With Clean Energy

Tuesday, August 7th, 2012

California power utilities are now achieving more than 20 percent of the state’s electricity needs with renewable energy sources, state regulators say. In its latest quarterly report, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) said that the state met 20.6 percent of its electricity demand with renewable sources — including wind, solar, and geothermal — (more…)

 
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