MORE NEWS, 11-5: RESCUE OR RUIN FOR CLIMATE BILL?; WIND GOES OFF THE RADAR; FORECAST FOR SUN; TIDAL ENERGY PROVES ITSELF

RESCUE OR RUIN FOR CLIMATE BILL?
Kerry, Graham, Lieberman announce a "dual track" on the climate bill
David Fahrenthold, November 4, 2009 (Washington Post)

"Even before a Senate committee could begin marking up the "Kerry-Boxer" climate bill, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) himself announced a new "track" of negotiations over climate policy that makes his original bill look somewhat irrelevant.

"Kerry, appearing at the U.S. Capitol with Sens. Lindsay O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), said the three legislators would work with business groups and the White House to forge a compromise climate measure that could get 60 votes in the Senate."

From climatebrad via YouTube

"These negotiations would be separate from the work that six different Senate committees are doing on climate legislation, including the markup that the Environment and Public Works committee was supposed to begin [but did not because]…Republican committee members, demanding more Environmental Protection Agency analysis of the bill's impacts, are boycotting that markup, so progress on the legislation has stalled."

Apparently not good enough - yet. (click to enlarge)

"Kerry said that the senators were not circumventing that committee's process or ignoring the bill being marked up…[but building on it]…Kerry gave few details about when he and the other senators would be done with their work…[He suggestion] that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) would meld the various climate proposals into a single bill is not a new one: with six committees working on related bills, Democrats have long said that someone would have to stitch them all together. But [the Kerry-Graham-Lieberman] announcement was an early, and stark, signal that the committee bills would not be the only things shaping the final product.

"Kerry, Graham and Lieberman offered few details about the elements of a climate bill they considered non-negotiable. Graham said that the bill should protect the climate, but also allow for more offshore drilling, an expansion of nuclear energy and an emphasis on "clean coal" technology. Asked if the group was committed to a "cap and trade" scheme, like the one used to reduce pollution in a bill passed by the House, Lieberman said yes, but noted that the scheme [is one of many elements that are negotiable]…"


WIND GOES OFF THE RADAR
Stealth wind turbines developed to avoid radar confusion
Paul Ridden, November 3, 2009 (gizmag)

"Plans for the installation of wind farms the world over are being delayed or abandoned due to objections from the aviation community or air defense interests…[Conventional radar cannot with certainty discern] …low flying aircraft [from] wind turbines…Recent tests in the U.K. of "stealth" turbine technology could provide a solution.

"Radar technology tracks moving objects…but if an aircraft flies low over a wind farm… the radar is unable to easily distinguish…[the movement of the turbine blades from the moving airplane]…Technology consultants, QinetiQ (which was formed after the breakup of the UK Government's Defence Evaluation and Research Agency in 2001) and turbine manufacturer Vestas believe that the solution lies in hiding the turbines and blades from the radar using stealth technology."

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"In a project partly funded by the UK Government, radar absorbing materials were integrated in a turbine blade which was then fitted to an existing Vestas V90 turbine. Radar cross section measurements were then taken using a system developed by QinetiQ. The results showed a significant reduction in the radar signature of the turbine.

"Integrating the stealth technology into towers and nacelles as well as blades could, according to the researchers, allow any small remaining radar presence to be factored out of air traffic and air defense systems and make wind farms invisible to radar…"

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"Successful deployment would clear the way for the five gigawatts worth of potential wind generation sites in the UK that, according to the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC), have been blocked due to fears of radar interference.

"In another approach to the problem, researchers from Raytheon will be spending the next 19 months working with the UK's main air navigation service to develop a system that can recognize the difference between turbines and low flying aircraft."


FORECAST FOR SUN
Solar Annual 2009; Total Eclipse
October 2009 (Photon Consulting)

"Solar Annual 2009: Total Eclipse is the definitive research report for a PV sector recovering from the recent macroeconomic crisis. The sector is set to resume its growth trajectory, but a new challenge is on the horizon - saturation of key markets…"

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"The risk of an ‘eclipse’ means industry players must pursue strategies that go beyond ‘volume-up/cost-down.’ In addition to detailing the strategic direction of the sector and analysis of PV market saturation, this report highlights segments of the supply chain and markets best positioned for an eclipse."

"Key points…Price benchmarks and forecast in $/kg and $/W terms for silicon, ingot, wafer, cell, c-Si module, thin film module, BOS, system by company and by market
Cost benchmarks and forecast in $/kg and $/W for silicon, ingot, wafer, cell, c-Si module, thin film module, BOS, system by company and by market…Deeper coverage of specific companies including Canadian Solar, First Solar, GCL, Hemlock, JA Solar, JFE Steel, Kyocera, LDK Solar, M.Setek, MEMC, Motech, OCI (DC Chemical), Q-Cells, REC, ReneSola, Sanyo, Sharp, SMA, Solarfun, SolarWorld, SunPower, Suntech, Trina, Wacker and Yingli, among others..."

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"…[The report] questions about PV supply, demand, pricing, cost and profit for the sector as a whole, for specific PV markets and for leading PV companies for the next 5 years…Provides a comprehensive 5-year outlook for the solar sector…Guides you through the solar sector with in-depth research on 7 leading companies, and dozens of potential leaders…Provides analysis based on deep knowledge of over 700 c-Si and thin film companies..."


TIDAL ENERGY PROVES ITSELF
Marine Current Turbines reveals details of SeaGen's Operating Performance
3 November 2009 (Marine Current Turbines)

"…Peter Fraenkel, Technical Director and co-founder of Marine Current Turbines, the [designer/developer of] SeaGen, the world’s only commercial scale tidal turbine [said] SeaGen is running at full power and fully automatically exactly as planned…driven by a wall of water 27m deep, similar to the height of the Tower of London, that surges back and forth with every tide through the Strangford Narrows in Northern Ireland at speeds of up to 10 miles per hour…

"SeaGen has already delivered [a more-than-expected 350+ MWh] into the Northern Irish electricity grid. The twin generators typically produce an average of 5MWh of electricity during the 6¼ hours of each ebb and each flood tide. This is enough energy to meet the average electricity needs for 1500 UK homes."

SeaGen in a strong flow, wake visible. Photo from Dr D Erwin. (click to enlarge)

"The SeaGen turbine, with its twin 16m diameter rotors, is officially accredited to OFGEM as a “UK power station”, the first tidal power system to secure this. It is earning revenue from the sale of the power that is being generated and it also earns ROCs, the Renewable Obligation Certificates that are awarded for clean renewable generation…

"…SeaGen has been operational for most of this year…[In] September…consent was given to operate it without…environmental scientists (marine mammal observers) on board and onshore. This was an initial requirement under the licensing arrangements to ensure that SeaGen did not adversely affect the marine mammals that are a protected feature of the local waters and restricted SeaGen’s uninterrupted running. However extensive experience gained so far suggests the seals and porpoises are not at any significant risk and as a result SeaGen is now permitted to operate unattended and by remote control…"

Typical output. Explanation below. (click to enlarge)

"…[A]n operator onshore will continue to monitor a sonar image of the passing flow which can show up any seal that ventures too close to the rotors, and the operator has the facility to stop the machine. As confidence and the body of evidence grows, it is expected that full 24 hour running will be permitted in the near future…

"…SeaGen’s output on a typical tide (roughly halfway between Neaps and Springs) [is graphed above]. The black trace shows the speed of the current in m/s (on the right hand scale). The red trace from the instrumentation is the corresponding response from SeaGen, showing the power and shows how it ramps up after slack tide to 1200kW at which point the control system holds the power constant. The dip in the trace was a deliberate shut-down using the pitch control system to stop the rotor safely and it shows how the system then restarted and went back to full power. This illustrates the controllability of the turbines, a vital requirement for any power plant…The area under the red trace is the [5.2MWh of] energy delivered [on that tide]…"