QUICK NEWS, 4-7: MINE COLLAPSE RAISES QUESTIONS; MORE POWER FROM WIDESPREAD WIND; BIGGER, CHEAPER SUN; NEW ENGLAND’S BIGGEST WIND

MINE COLLAPSE RAISES QUESTIONS
Mine deaths spark criticism of operator's record
April 6, 2010 (CNN)

"The deaths of at least 25 workers in a West Virginia coal mine this week have turned a harsh spotlight on the safety record of the mine's owner, which has paid record fines for safety and environmental violations.

"Virginia-based Massey Energy Co. has racked up millions of dollars in penalties in recent years. The Montcoal, West Virginia, mine where Monday's fatal explosion took place received 458 citations from federal inspectors in 2009, and more than 50 of those were for problems that the operators knew about but had not corrected, according to federal mine safety records."

The Massey Energy Upper Big Branch mine. (click to enlarge)

"The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration hit the company with nearly $900,000 in fines in 2009 and has sought more than $100,000 in the first quarter of 2010. Inspectors cited the operators more than 100 times in the first quarter of 2010, including six times for "unwarrantable failure" to correct violations…

"Massey Energy has paid less than $200,000 of the penalties assessed at the Upper Big Branch South Mine in Montcoal and is challenging some of the penalties…Massey Energy is the fourth-largest American coal producer and the largest mine operator in central Appalachia. It churned out 38 million tons of coal in 2009, 1.2 million tons of which came from the Upper Big Branch South Mine, and reported earnings of $497 million."

There will be a time to write about the dirtiness of coal but now, with lives hanging by a thread of hope, is not that time. From freekoss via YouTube

"Its annual corporate [report] says that safety is its No. 1 concern…[But the ] explosion at the Upper Big Branch South Mine was the fourth fatal accident there in 12 years…[A] 2006 fire killed two miners in the Alma Mine No. 1, operated by Massey subsidiary Aracoma Coal Co. Aracoma pleaded guilty to 10 criminal charges in connection with the fire and paid a record $4.2 million in fines and civil penalties…In January 2008, Massey paid $20 million in fines for Clean Water Act violations…Federal regulators accused the company of violating its Clean Water Act permits more than 4,500 times between January 2000 and December 2006, sometimes discharging more than 10 times the allowable amounts of metals, sediment and acids into rivers and lakes in those states…

"Industry analyst Ellen Smith said the safety record of Massey mines has improved…and three installations won safety awards in 2009…[W]hat raises the biggest red flags at the Upper Big Branch South Mine, which employs about 200 miners, are "unwarrantable failure" violations, which include citations involving escape routes for miners and air quality ventilation…"


MORE POWER FROM WIDESPREAD WIND
Offshore Wind Farms in U.S. Should Be Linked, Researchers Say
Jim Efstanthiou Jr. (w/Romaine Bostick and Larry Liebert), April 5, 2010 (Bloomberg News via BusinessWeek)

"Power from planned wind farms off the U.S. East Coast would be more reliable if the projects were connected by transmission lines, researchers at the University of Delaware said in a study.

"Linking the farms would reduce fluctuations in power when the wind fails in one area, said Willet Kempton, a professor at the university’s College of Earth, Ocean and the Environment in Newark, Delaware. The study used wind data from 11 meteorological stations spread over 1,553 miles (2,500 kilometers) along the East Coast to examine the theoretical effect on wind farms."

The unique value of spending for offshore wind and interconnecting transmission is that it is immediately adjacent to a huge chunk of the U.S. population. (click to enlarge)

"The U.S., the largest windpower producer in the world, has no offshore farms. Six projects off the coastline from Massachusetts to Delaware are being planned independently to meet power demand in adjacent states. Electricity from interconnected farms would be easier to manage and more valuable than from wind at a single location, according to [Electric power from offshore wind via synoptic-scale interconnection]…

"The U.S. had 35,159 megawatts of windpower capacity last year, followed by China and Germany…About 300 gigawatts will be needed, 54 gigawatts from offshore turbines, to reach an Energy Department target of producing 20 percent of U.S. power from wind by 2030…Wind power accounts for 2 percent of U.S. electricity generation and is ahead of schedule to meet the 2030 target…"

The EU is already planning a transmission system just being hypothesized in the U.S. (click to enlarge)

"Leveling wind power with transmission lines is cost competitive with the traditional methods of using reserve generators and redundant power line routes, and ‘far more’ economical than utility-scale electrical storage, according to the study. Linking all the planned Atlantic Coast offshore projects with 350 miles of undersea cable would add $1.4 billion [10%] to the $10.5 billion estimated construction cost…

"During the five-year study period from 1998 to 2002, power from a theoretical offshore transmission grid never dropped to zero. Fossil fuel generators have a 5.6 percent planned outage rate…Two-thirds of the offshore wind power in the Northeast can supply all electricity, light vehicle transportation fuel and building heat for states from Massachusetts to North Carolina, according to the study."


BIGGER, CHEAPER SUN
CSP innovation: Technologies that crash the cost barrier; Several companies are breaking ground with new technologies that promise to drive down costs and boost efficiency
Rajesh Chhabara, 1 April 2010 (CSP Today)

"A number of innovative technologies are being developed and tested with the aim of improving efficiency, while driving down construction and operational costs of concentrated solar power plants.

"…Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s multi-faceted renewable energy initiative, turned CSP on its head with the announcement of its ‘Beam Down’ technology…[R]eversing conventional solar tower technologies, where scores of mirrors on the ground direct the solar radiation onto a receiver at the top of a tower to heat a heat transfer fluid to generate steam, Masdar’s beam down layout inverts the process…Flat mirrors placed on the ground reflect the solar radiation on to another set of mirrors, called secondary mirrors, on top of the tower, which in turn directs the radiation to a concave receiver- a liquid filled cylinder- at the base of the tower. Eliminating the need to pump heat transfer fluid up to the top of the tower enables the beam down process to bypass an energy intensive – and costly – process."

The Masdar beam-down solar power tower. (click to enlarge)

"Improving on the beam down prototype developed many years ago by the Weizmann Institute in Israel, which used a monolithic mirror at the top of the tower to redirect sun energy to a receiver on the ground, the Masdar project uses a set of 48 mirrors with a reflectivity of 98%…While the extra set of mirrors reduces cost efficiency by around 15 to 20 percent, this efficiency-loss is more than offset by removing the need to pump the fluid…Like other Masdar renewable energy projects developed for the region, the beam down process is aimed at creating power for cooling. A key challenge is presented by the UAE’s proximity to both the desert and the coast. High humidity before and after the sunset causes condensation on the mirrors, while strong wind causes the sand to stick to the mirrors, reducing reflectivity…

"The need to drive down the cost of CSP is driving several other initiatives. Early this year, the aluminium manufacturer Alcoa partnered with the National Renewable Research Laboratory (NREL) in the US to jointly test a new parabolic trough system that uses highly reflective aluminium mirrors in place of the conventional glass mirrors…[A]n all aluminium solar field can reduce the cost of a CSP project by 20% on account of lower installation costs…[T]he aluminium mirrors can be mass-produced, resulting in further cost saving due to economies of scale. Aluminium is also more sustainable, given that it can be repeatedly recycled…Alcoa expects the commercial production of aluminium troughs to begin in two-three years…"

Rendering of the HelioFocus device. (click to enlarge)

"In Israel, HelioFocus says it has developed a solar thermal system that significantly reduces the amount of land required to build a CSP plant. The system will be a six-story high parabolic dish, which will concentrate the solar radiation onto an optical receiver placed at the centre. The receiver will convert the concentrated radiation into hot air with temperatures reaching up to 1000 Celsius. The hot air will then be channelled to drive a gas turbine…The vertical design of the HelioFocus structure [also] removes the need to have a flat ground…

"Australia-based Solar Fusion Power has developed low cost wire braced heliostats to collect heat from solar radiation and uses calcium hydride as a storage medium instead of molten salt…Solar Fusion says the system can achieve 50% conversion efficiency compared with 20% efficiency that conventional CSP plants can reach. The cost reduction is achieved through higher efficiency and low cost of storage system…Tyco Flow Control has developed a mechanism that uses molten salt…for transferring heat instead of conventionally used oil. Tyco developed a pipe that is wrapped with a heat tracing cable to keep…the salt from freezing…Iberdrola is currently experimenting with this device…[M]ost of these technologies however have yet to be tested…"


NEW ENGLAND’S BIGGEST WIND
First Wind Holds Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony to Mark Operations of Stetson Wind Expansion; Local leaders, community members and businesses join First Wind at ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the project’s environmental and economic benefits
April 6, 2010 (Business Wire)

"First Wind, an independent U.S.-based wind energy company…marked the completion of the 26 MW expansion of its Stetson Wind project. To celebrate the commencement of commercial operations of the expansion, also known as the Stetson II project, First Wind hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony…"

[Paul Gaynor, CEO, First Wind:] “The Stetson Wind project has been a huge economic driver for the region…Today, we are very pleased to commemorate the successful expansion…Not only is the Stetson Wind project currently the largest wind energy project in operation in Maine and New England, but it is also a powerful example of the strong economic impact that these projects can have on the region. During construction, First Wind spent millions with Maine-based businesses and created hundreds of development and construction jobs.”

A visit to Stetson Wind. From firstwindfan via YouTube

"The first phase of the Stetson Wind project was a 57 MW facility that commenced operations in January 2009. In March 2009, First Wind received approval from the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission to build the 26 MW expansion or second phase of its Stetson Wind project. Breaking ground in November 2009, the expansion was managed by the dedicated team at Reed & Reed and created about 200 construction jobs to install the 17 additional GE 1.5 MW wind turbines. When combined with the first phase of the project, the Stetson Wind project is now an 83 MW clean, renewable energy facility. First Wind hires in-state businesses to conduct much of the needed work…"

Just wait 'til Maine starts building off its coast - THAT will be big wind. (click to enlarge)

"Last year, Harvard University announced that it will purchase half of the power generated by the Stetson Wind II facility as well as the associated Renewable Energy Certificates.

"The Stetson II project has generated business for dozens of companies all across Maine – from engineering, environmental and development firms to grocery stores, hotels and gas stations…"