MORE NEWS, 7-9 (A FILM ABOUT A CHOICE ND BUYS IN ON MIDWEST WIRES FOR WIND; NC DEAL FOR RALEIGH SOLAR POWER PLANT)

A FILM ABOUT A CHOICE
WindWorks! Northwest Announced the Release of Its Short Documentary Film, “Chasing a Legacy: the Story of Wind Power in Kittitas County”
June 25, 2009 (Business Wire)

"WindWorks! Northwest, a regional organization that advocates for wind power development, announced the release of its short documentary film, Chasing a Legacy: The Story of Wind Power in Kittitas County."

"The film features residents of rural Kittitas County, Washington, making the case for bringing wind farms to their community...[and] tells the story of ranchers, small businesspeople and local residents standing up to Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) opponents…"

From WindWorksNW via YouTube.

"The story also features experts like Dr. James Walker, outgoing President of the American Wind Energy Association, who highlight the value of wind energy.
Denis Hayes, environmental advocate and author, compares the story told in “Chasing a Legacy” to the protracted fight over the Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound…

"A celebration of the film’s release, hosted by law firms Gordon Thomas Honeywell and Perkins Coie, will be held in Seattle in July. The film’s director, Sarah Koenigsberg, of Square Pixel Media, a graduate of Whitman College and resident of Walla Walla, will briefly share her experience…"


ND BUYS IN ON MIDWEST WIRES FOR WIND
3,000-mile Green Power Express has ND partner
James MacPherson, July 7, 2009 (AP via Forbes)

"Bismarck-based MDU Resources Group Inc. is the first to join a Michigan company developing a high-voltage power line that its backers say would transmit wind energy from the Dakotas to homes in Chicago and other cities.

"ITC Holdings Corp., of Novi, Mich., has proposed the Green Power Express project, a 3,000-mile, 765-kilovolt power line from the Dakotas to the Chicago area. It would cost up to $12 billion and go online in 2020. Backers say the Green Power Express is intended to move wind-powered electricity through parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana."

click to enlarge

"…[T]erms of the agreement are still being negotiated and will not be disclosed. The project, which is still being planned, will still need other backers and financing to move forward…MDU's participation should spur agreements with other companies…

"MDU, an energy, mining and construction company with operations in 44 states and Brazil, is North Dakota's only Fortune 500 company. It also is based in a state touted as among those with the best wind energy potential in the U.S. The state is among the windiest in the nation because its flat, largely treeless terrain is at the "polar front," an area where cold air from Canada meets warm subtropical air…"

It's easy to understand why a big energy company would want to get this to market. But is it an excuse to get more coal to market? (click to enlarge)

"…[T]he exact spot where the line would begin in North Dakota has not been set…[T]he project is not designed to tie in with existing wind farms in North Dakota, or to supply power to North Dakota…North Dakota would benefit from jobs during the construction phase and from tax revenue…The line is still in the early planning stages and faces several regulatory hurdles…[I]t could be years before the project is under way…

"…[D] evelopers have identified 12,000 megawatts of wind-generated electricity that could be sent through the line…Under federal law…the power line also could be used to transmit electricity from other sources, some not considered so green…"


NC DEAL FOR RALEIGH SOLAR POWER PLANT
Raleigh land to sprout solar panels; Project could power 200 homes
David bracken, July 8, 2009 (Raleigh News & Observer)

"Ten city-owed acres at Raleigh's southeastern edge will soon be used to generate solar electricity under a plan approved by the City Council…The project, a public-private partnership involving Progress Energy Carolinas and two other companies, will allow Raleigh to burnish its green credentials without investing any taxpayer money.

"The deal calls for Raleigh to lease 10 acres of farmland next to its Neuse River Wastewater Treatment Plant to Morrisville-based Southern Energy Management and Charlotte-based NxGen Power. The two companies will install solar panels that are expected to generate 1.7 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year…the energy used by 200 homes annually, or the amount of power required to operate the wastewater treatment plant for a month."

NC is one of the few states with a "solar carve out." (click to enlarge)

"The installation, which is expected to be in operation by early next year, will be the state's largest solar installation on property owned by a local government…Progress Energy has agreed to buy all the electricity produced for the first 20 years the system is in operation. Raleigh will have the opportunity to buy the system from Southern Energy and NxGen after six or seven years."

click thru for more info

"The project is the fifth, and largest, solar-array installation announced by Progress Energy Carolinas since the company sent out a request for such projects last year…Progress and other utilities are under pressure to comply with legislation passed by the General Assembly in 2007…[requiring] utilities such as Progress get at least 3 percent of their retail sales from renewable energy sources [and solar energy] by 2012…

"The project is part of a larger effort by Raleigh officials to make the city more energy-efficient…[T]he cost of the solar installation [is estimated] at $8.5 million…[T]he success of the project could help the city determine whether additional solar installations would make sense…"