QUICK NEWS, 2-16: WORKING TOWARD GREAT LAKES WIND; CONCENTRATING ON ROOFTOP SUN; PENNSYLVANIA FUNDS GEOTHERMAL; CALIFORNIA WAVES

WORKING TOWARD GREAT LAKES WIND
Offshore wind farm developer scaling back plans
Dave Alexander, February 13, 2010 (Muskegon Chronicle)

"Norwegian developers are in the process of cutting their proposed Lake Michigan Aegir Offshore Wind Farm in half and moving it further from the Silver Lake State Park shoreline.

"Officials from Scandia Wind Offshore LLC say they are reacting to overwhelming negative reaction to the location of their original plan for a 1,000-megawatt, $3 billion wind farm. As originally proposed, the 100 to 200 wind turbines would sit on 100 square miles off the near shore of the Oceana-Mason county line…Scandia is reconfiguring its proposal to uniformly move the wind farm to four miles off the Lake Michigan shoreline..."

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"Leaders from the Lake Michigan POWER Coalition — the well-organized group opposing the wind farm — will not end their opposition to the Scandia project based on the changes discussed by the developer…Specifics of the newly designed wind farm layout will be made public by the end of the month…after meetings last week with public officials…The wind farm developers said they hope to have county board advisory votes by mid-summer.

"Scandia will want an initial vote of support for the company to begin costly economic and environmental studies…Public officials will have plenty of points along the development path to object to the company’s plans as state and federal permits are sought, Scandia officials have said. The wind farm timeline has construction beginning in 2015…[Scandia] is not surprised at the…opposition…[They have] been developing onshore and offshore wind farms since 1995…[and they know] some local opposition always arises…Scandia officials said they are “shocked” [that the] proposal is not winning points in Lansing…"

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"Scandia officials have said they want to receive an initial thumbs up or down on their plans from the two [most involved] counties before they formally approach state regulators…The governor-appointed Wind Council has been working on policies and regulations concerning wind farms on the lakes for more than a year…[and produced a] report on siting wind farms on Michigan-controlled waters.

"It was a map [in the] Wind Council report that Scandia used to help find its original wind farm site — an area that is most favorable, due to wind strength, water depths and access to the electrical grid…[T]he state have regulations in place…[but the Wind Council] is developing legislative language for a law setting the rules and process for offshore wind farm approval in Michigan…A bill is expected to be introduced in the coming months… Scandia awaits the legislative process to produce the regulations it must meet if it goes forward on its Lake Michigan plans."


CONCENTRATING ON ROOFTOP SUN
Rooftop CSP: Greening the cities
Rajesh Chahabara (w/Rikki Stancich), 11 February 2010 (CSP Today)

"…With buildings accounting for some 74 percent of electricity use in the United States, it is hardly surprising that energy efficiency and use of renewable energy have become key criteria in green building certification standards such as US Green Building Council’s LEED certification and UK’s BREEAM certification…As a relatively new product to market, micro CSP opens up new opportunities for buildings – green or otherwise - to efficiently generate on-site renewable energy.

"A portable and scalable on-site solar energy solution, micro CSP can be used to generate electricity, as well as to provide heating and cooling. Suitable for generating energy in the range of 75 KW to 20 MW, micro CSP’s size means the system can be installed in a small area - including on the rooftop of a building…Sopogy Inc.. has developed a range of micro CSP solutions…[that use] an organic ranking cycle (ORC), which instead of using steam, uses the temperature difference between fluids in a closed loop. Unlike large-scale CSP, which requires desert-like conditions of perfect direct normal irradiation, Sopogy’s micro CSP can operate in or near cities…"

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"France-based technology developer, heat2power, has come up with its own version of micro CSP, which uses CSP to power traditional cylinder engines…The concept is similar to that of a standard combustion engine, except the engine is powered by compressed air, using an external heat source (air heated on a solar receiver to around 900 - 1200°C) rather than from fuel creating an internal combustion…[T]he heat2power model is scalable…[generates] power from 10KW – 5MW…[and] does not require cooling towers or expensive dry cooling used for condensing steam…

"Micro CSP can help take green building standards to the next level, given that the system reduces the use of fossil fuel to heat, cool and power buildings…Currently, LEED and other green certification systems do not require specific renewable technology, nor do they standardise energy systems…[M]icro CSP promises to significantly help builders achieve points for certification…LEED certification currently allows up to seven points for on-site renewable energy, out of the total 110 points possible…"

If it's hot enough to need air conditioning, there's probably sun enough to use micro CSP to power it. (click to enlarge)

"…[W]hile PV technology may be good for meeting 5-10 percent of a large building’s energy needs, micro CSP on the rooftop can provide 30-40 percent of the energy needed…[and has a] shorter [3-to-7 year] payback period…Compared to other small-scale renewable energy options, micro CSP is a more efficient and, given its capacity for storage, a more stable option…

"Support policies such as feed-in tariffs will play an important role in increasing the market penetration of distributed generation systems such as micro CSP…The UK government recently introduced a feed-in tariff scheme…Such policies, if adopted elsewhere, will undoubtedly boost renewable micro-generation technologies such as micro-CSP…Increasing demand for green buildings from sustainability-committed multinational companies will also expand the number of micro CSP installations…[but industry insiders estimate] it will take about five years before micro CSP becomes commonplace in buildings…"


PENNSYLVANIA FUNDS GEOTHERMAL
State program saves money paying for geothermal heating, cooling; Low-interest loans lower monthly payments to buy systems that also reduce electric bills
Darrin Youker, February 15, 2010 (Reading Eagle)

"Pennsylvania is making it cheaper for people to install heating and cooling systems that tap the earth's energy.

"That means they'll save twice, because [first the program reduces monthly payments and then] the systems, called geothermal, or ground-source systems, also are cheaper to operate… [T]he rebate program [was proposed] to the Commonwealth Financing Authority in an effort to make geothermal systems more affordable…"

How ground source geothermal systems work in winter for homes and buildings large and small. (click to enlarge)

"Geothermal takes advantage of the relatively consistent temperatures inside the earth…A typical geothermal system costs $13,000 to $20,000, depending on the size of the home…The state program offers homeowners a 10-year loan at 1 percent interest to finance half the cost of the system…Federal tax rebates of 30 percent, which can lower the price of the system, also are available…

"Unlike other state energy incentives, which provide tax credits or rebates, the loan program will ensure that money remains available for other homeowners…As loans are paid back the money will go to other borrowers in the program."

How ground source geothermal systems work in summer for homes and buildings large and small. (click to enlarge)

"Geothermal systems are effective at heating and cooling because they tap the underground temperature, which is about 59 degrees year-round. A geothermal heat pump uses less energy to heat or cool air from that temperature than from the more extreme temperatures of outdoor air.

"Interest in geothermal systems has grown in recent years, as homeowners have searched for ways to save money…Federal rebates spurred much of that growth…[and] the state incentives [are expected to] encourage even more people to install systems…"


CALIFORNIA WAVES
PG&E spells out plans for wave project
Sara Hamilton, 15 February 2010 (Pacific Coast Business Times)

"Pacific Gas & Electric has unveiled crucial details about its proposed wave energy project off the coast of Vandenberg Air Force Base…PG&E said the project could be operational by 2014, generating as much as 100 megawatts of power and providing permanent non-fossil-fuel power for the base, one of the largest employers in Santa Barbara County.

"PG&E spokesperson Kory Raftery said a five-megawatt prototype effort in Humboldt County has paved the way for the project off the shores of Point Arguello…PG&E will install four different technologies at the short-term Humboldt facility in order to decide which device would be most effective in Santa Barbara County. The devices capture the ocean’s energy and transmit it through an undersea cable to land, where the energy is conditioned and fed to the electric grid…"

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"Raftery said the location of the project had many advantages, including nearby Vandenberg Air Force Base, which has an existing power grid that can handle a large interconnection. The base also has launch facilities that would allow large wave energy devices to be deployed easily into the ocean.

"The wave energy potential off California’s coastline is approximately 5,500 megawatts, according to a study by the Electric Power Research Institute, and PG&E hopes the 100-megawatt Central Coast project will tap that potential…[It] will likely be phased. The multi-stage approach will start with a small initial phase and potentially build up into a larger facility…[to] supply Vandenberg and a portion of Santa Barbara County…"

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"In December, PG&E applied for a permit for the Central Coast project from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the umbrella agency for wave energy project approval in the nation…PG&E expects permit approval by spring of this year…

"…[A]fter the project is approved…PG&E will start ramping up its outreach projects, conducting more extensive studies at the site and begin offshore mapping. There will also be futher studies on wave management, extensive research into historic wave capability and production and environmental impact reviews at the state, local and federal levels…Denver-based CH2Mhill is handling the environmental feasibility studies and Virginia-based SAIC will assist with the actual technology…The goal…is to produce reliable electric power with no impact on coastal activities…"