QUICK NEWS, 2-18: 1ST U.S. WAVE PROJECT TO OREGON; MARYLAND’S ABUNDANT SUN; OKLAHOMA GETS MORE BIG WIND; BIG & YELLOW & GREEN IN SOCAL

1ST U.S. WAVE PROJECT TO OREGON
Oregon is first U.S. site for a wave-power farm
Tracy Loew, February 17, 2010 (USA Today)

"…Construction has begun off Oregon on what would be the nation's first commercial wave-energy farm, said Sean O'Neill, president of the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition, a Maryland-based trade association that promotes marine energy. It is planned to supply energy to about 400 homes…

"Wave power draws from the energy of ocean surface waves, according to Phil Pellegrino, spokesman for New Jersey-based developer Ocean Power Technologies [OPT], which is developing the project…A float on a buoy rises and falls with the waves, driving a plunger up and down…The plunger is connected to a hydraulic pump that converts the vertical movement into rotary motion, driving an electrical generator. Electricity produced is sent to shore over a submerged cable, he said."

The Ocean Power Technologies PowerBuoy. (click to enlarge)

"The first [OPT] buoy will measure 150 feet tall by 40 feet wide, weigh 200 tons and cost $4 million…Nine more buoys are planned to deploy at a site in Reedsport, Ore., by 2012, at a total cost of $60 million…

"Some don't believe wave energy can work, said Onno Husing, director of the Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association…The world's first commercial wave farm opened in 2008 off the coast of Portugal, at the Aguçadoura Wave Park, Husing said. It ran into financial difficulties last year and was suspended indefinitely…A wave-power device from another company, Finavera Renewables of Canada, sank off Oregon's coast two years ago…Other projects are under development in Spain, Scotland, Western Australia and off the coast of Cornwall, England…"

Ready to put to sea and generate electricity. (click to enlarge)

"Capturing that power is a challenge. The size of waves can fluctuate widely…There's also controversy about impact on the marine environment. Oregon fishers and crabbers worry the project will hurt their livelihoods…Ocean Power Technologies, the state of Oregon, conservation groups, coastal residents and fishers and crabbers have been working for more than three years to reach an agreement on how the ocean will be shared…

"The Oregon project is being funded by Ocean Power, the U.S. Department of Energy, Oregon tax credits and money from the Pacific Northwest Generating Cooperative…Because the technology is still being developed, wave power costs five or six times as much as wind power…[but experts believe] wave power eventually will be competitive with other alternative power sources, because waves are more predictable than either wind or sun…"


MARYLAND’S ABUNDANT SUN
Maryland aims for 100,000 solar rooftops in 10 years
Meredith Cohn, February 16, 2010 (Baltimore Sun)

"…[T]hree solar related bills being considered by the General Assembly…will make it easier to use solar power…will create jobs and… will lessen dependence on fossil fuels, according to Environment Maryland and the Maryland Energy Administration.

"Environment Maryland says a quarter of Maryland homes are ready for solar panels that could capture energy that is now going unused. The group cites information from the International Center for Sustainable Development that shows the state gets about 196,000 gigawatt-hours of solar energy on a sunny summer day. That's more than what's produced at the state's mostly coal-fired power plants here in a year…"

click to enlarge

"The move [to solar energy] could reduce greenhouse gases and air pollution, as well as make energy distribution more efficient by creating it locally. It could also save consumers money and create local jobs…

"…First, Gov. O’Malley has introduced legislation that would require a quicker ramp-up of the solar portion of the state’s renewable portfolio standard. This would mean that utilities would have to get a greater percentage of their energy portfolio from solar power sooner, which would jumpstart job creation and cut down on our emission of greenhouse gases."

click thru for Go Solar Maryland

"Second, Del. Hecht and Sen. Middleton are leading an effort to introduce legislation that would give municipalities the means by which to loan people money for solar and other clean energy projects at very low interest rates, resulting in more homeowners taking advantage of the clean, reliable electricity that solar energy generation provides.

"Finally, Dels. Pinsky and Hecht are working on "net-metering" legislation, which would require utilities to pay customers back for surplus energy they create with the solar panels on their roofs…[in addition to now available state and federal government incentives]…"


OKLAHOMA GETS MORE BIG WIND
CPV Renewable Energy Company ('CPV REC') Closes Keenan II Wind Farm Financing; 152-Megawatt Green Energy Facility to Power Cleaner Sooner State
February 16, 2010 (PR Newswire)

"CPV Renewable Energy Company -- an affiliate of Competitive Power Ventures, Inc. -- announced that it has closed on financing and plans to begin construction on the 152-megawatt (MW) Keenan II wind farm, over approximately 8,000 acres 12 miles southwest of Woodward, Oklahoma. The project is scheduled for completion by year's end. It is the second phase of a multi-phased wind generation project with a total build-out potential exceeding 400 MW.

"Keenan II is expected to generate enough electricity to power approximately 45,000 average Oklahoma homes and avoid approximately 413,000 short tons a year in greenhouse gas emissions…the equivalent of taking nearly 72,000 cars off the road. The project has secured a 20-year power purchase agreement with Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company."

Oklahoma is a state that knows how to develop its energy assets and it has wind assets. (click to enlarge)

"CPV REC selected an eight-bank club to provide a debt facility to fund project costs during construction, which converts to a term financing facility upon commercial operation…The Delaney Group, Inc. will construct the project, which will consist of 66 2.3 MW turbines.

"The commencement of construction on Keenan signals that CPV shows no signs of slowing down its brisk pace of renewable energy development exhibited throughout 2009. In the second half of 2009 alone, CPV REC executed over 500 MW of long-term power purchase agreements. CPV REC has contracted wind farms scheduled to enter commercial operation in 2010, 2011 and 2012…"


BIG & YELLOW & GREEN IN SOCAL
Ventura gets first plug-in hybrid electric school bus in Southern California; The Ventura Unified School District will put the $200,000, state-of-the-art bus into service this week. It's expected to achieve 30% better fuel economy than a conventional bus.
Jerry Hirsch, January 27, 2010 (LA Times)

(Thanks to Rick Cole, Ventura City Manager and city planning visionary, for the tip on this story.)

"Major automakers are readying a wave of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles for consumers, but one local school district is already taking advantage of the technology.

"The Ventura Unified School District unveiled a $200,000, state-of-the-art, plug-in hybrid electric school bus…the first in Southern California…[which] replaces a polluting, 1977 model."

click to enlarge

"The bus, built by the IC Bus subsidiary of Navistar Inc., is powered by a lithium ion battery pack and is expected to improve fuel economy up to 30% and reduce emissions up to 40% over a conventional gasoline-powered school bus.

"Michael Chiacos, transportation specialist with the Community Environmental Council in Santa Barbara, believes the bus will do even better, improving fuel economy more than 60% compared with a traditional school bus…"

And buses. (click to enlarge)

"The bus comes to the district through a nationwide initiative called the Plug-In Hybrid Electric School Bus Project. The Community Environmental Council applied for funding through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District…"

[Michael Chiacos, transportation specialist with the Community Environmental Council:] "While school buses are first to the market, consumer plug-in hybrid cars will soon be available from many manufacturers…Plug-in hybrids and electric cars are the largest revolution in a century of vehicles…[and] will help us transition to a future free from dependence on imported fossil fuels."