MORE NEWS, 10-7: BIG COAL ACCUSED BY NATIVE AMERICANS; WORLD’S BIGGEST WIND IN TEXAS; NEW JERSEY CAN’T GET ENOUGH SUN; IRISH FUND OCEAN ENERGY

BIG COAL ACCUSED BY NATIVE AMERICANS
A Dirty New Low for Peabody Coal; Takeover in Hopiland
Brenda Norrell, October 5, 2009 (Counterpunch)

"Former chairmen of the Hopi Nation have revealed that the Hopi Tribal Council has been taken over by a pro-Peabody Coal faction. Further, Hopi reveal that the tribe's attorney and the media are being used to carry out Peabody Coal's agenda.

"Peabody Coal used the same tactic originally to seize Black Mesa for coal mining and bring about Navajo relocation for coal mining, by way of attorney John Boyden, who worked for Peabody and the Hopi Tribe. The media was also coopted in the original seizure of Black Mesa by Peabody Coal, with the media cheerleading and proclaiming the so-called Navajo Hopi land dispute."

Black Mesa on tribal lands in northeast Arizona. (click to enlarge)

"When the Hopi Tribal Council banned 'environmentalists,' and Navajo President Joe Shirley, Jr., agreed last week, Navajos and Hopis defending the land were shocked and appalled.

"Vernon Masayesva, executive director of Black Mesa Trust and former Hopi Chairman, points out that Hopi are true stewards and the Hopi Tribal Council has been taken over by a pro-Peabody Coal faction. Masayesva, in a letter to Arizona Republic, also points out that the newspaper is printing only one-side of the story at Hopi, press releases written by a former employee of the newspaper…"

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[Vernon Masayesva, executive director, Black Mesa Trust and former Chair, Hopi Tribal Council:] "The real story on Hopiland, that is yet to be revealed, is the take-over of the government by pro-Peabody legislators with the support of their legal counsel, Scott Canty, and the ensuing corruption and abuse of power by an illegally constituted Council…To be a Hopi is to be a conservationist, a caretaker and a steward of planet earth. So, by implication, the Council has banned all Hopi people from their land."

"Masayesva said the Grand Canyon Trust came to Hopiland to install photovoltaic panels on homes that have no electricity [but the corrupted Council is expected to suspend that project]…"


WORLD’S BIGGEST WIND IN TEXAS
Massive Texas wind farm operating
John McFarland, October 1, 2009 (AP)

"The world's largest wind farm [is] officially…up and running…[A]ll 627 towering wind turbines [are] churning out electricity across 100,000 acres of West Texas farmland.

"The Roscoe Wind Complex, which began construction in 2007 and sprawls across four counties near Roscoe, is generating its full capacity of 781.5 megawatts, enough to power 230,000 homes, the German company E.ON Climate and Renewables North America said…[It is] 300 miles south of the land where billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens had planned an even larger wind farm before he scrapped the idea…"

The rich get richer: Looks like Texas is going to have another big quarter and another big year. (click to enlarge)

"Texas leads the nation in wind power production, and this wind farm tops the capacity record of 735.5 megawatts set by another West Texas farm…Renewable energy makes up a small fraction of the electricity grid, but the wind and solar sectors were among the fastest growing in the U.S. before the recession. Wind power in Texas has grown again this year but has slowed from the 2008 rate…

"At the Roscoe wind farm, the turbines range in size from about 350 to 415 feet tall, and they're generally spaced about 900 feet apart…The land is leased, mostly from dryland cotton farmers who continue to work the fields around them…Texas is the nation's leading producer of cotton, most of it from West Texas…"

In them old cotton fields with wind... (click to enlarge)

"…[One of the top 10 wind power companies in the world,] E.ON has facilities around the state, but it could be awhile before the company builds more huge wind farms in West Texas because of the glut of wind companies and lack of transmission lines…The state is planning more lines from West Texas to more heavily populated areas, but they won't be completed for at least two more years.

"Pickens cited the transmission problem when he bailed out on his planned wind farm. He had already invested $2 billion in 687 turbines when he pulled the plug on the 200,000-acre project…"


NEW JERSEY CAN’T GET ENOUGH SUN
New Jersey's solar installation effort outshines the nation
Tom Hester, Sr., 5 October 2009 (New Jersey Newsroom)

"Enough solar energy equipment has been installed in New Jersey in the past three years that it would meet the electricity needs for more than 15,000 houses, Gov. Jon Corzine announced…New Jersey now has the most solar installations in the country per square mile, surpassing California by nearly two to one, the governor said…

"Corzine also said that since 2006, more than 110,000 homes and nearly 6,000 businesses in New Jersey have received energy efficiency improvements…20 percent of new homes – approximately 18,000 – are certified New Jersey Energy Star Homes…[The Govenror applauded] the Obama administration for a new federal-state partnership that promotes clean energy, greenhouse gas reductions, and ‘green' jobs across the nation…"

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"Corzine added that the U.S. Department of Energy through its Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program has just released $14.4 million in aid for the state government to hand out to local governments…[New Jersey] will use the ARRA funds to continue state and local efforts to implement programs and projects that reduce fossil fuel emissions, expand renewable energy generation, decrease energy use, and improve energy efficiency."

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"Corzine also highlighted his administration's other short- and long-term clean energy projects and programs under…[the energy master plan] adopted by the state last year…[including]…[1] Reaching 4000 solar installations this past summer, making New Jersey second only to California in number of installations and capacity…[and first in] the amount of solar installed per square mile…[2] Building New Jersey's solar generating capacity…[to over the] 100 megawatt threshold… [3] Completion of the geophysical work and substantial progress on the geotechnical and ecological research required…[for] three proposed offshore wind farms…[4] Crossing the 50,000 threshold of customers in the state's Comfort Partners program, a collaboration with the state's utilities to bring energy efficiency to limited-income households.

"Corzine also re-affirmed his commitment to supporting aggressive clean energy programs that stimulate economic growth, combat climate change, and express the benefits of regional cooperation with regards to developing challenging energy projects…[T]hrough 2020, the actions that his administration has taken are projected to stimulate $33 billion worth of investment into energy infrastructure, create jobs, save consumers nearly $30 billion in energy savings, spur continued energy efficiency innovation, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the electricity and heating fuel sector to 23 percent – below 1990 levels…"


IRISH FUND OCEAN ENERGY
€4.3m announced for ocean energy research
5 October 2009 (RTE Business)

"Ten Irish companies developing ocean energy technologies are to receive €4.3m in funding from Sustainable Energy Ireland [SEI], the national energy authority has announced.

"Aimed at stimulating the development and deployment of ocean energy devices that can generate renewable electricity, the funding will enable the companies to take their proposals and prototypes to the next stage of development."

The Wavebob point-absorber ocean wave energy device. (click to enlarge)

"Participating companies include Wavebob Ltd and Ocean Energy, which have been trialling their prototype wave energy converters in Galway Bay, and OpenHydro, which is developing a tidal turbine system.

"Other companies receiving assistance in conducting research and feasibility studies include Technology from Ideas Ltd based in Waterford and the Marine Renewables Industry Association. Individual company grants range from €20,000 to €2m."

The OpenHydro seabed-mounted tidal stream device. (click to enlarge)

"Ireland is working to become a leader in ocean energy technology, and the government has set a target of having 500MW of ocean energy connected to the national grid by 2020.

"SEI's Ocean Energy Development Unit is working closely with development companies to test their technologies and make them not only operationally but also commercially viable."