QUICK NEWS, 5-18: CAPE WIND GETS ANOTHER YES; CUTTING EDGE PV PLANT FOR NV; S. DAKOTA WIND EYES OPEN WIRES; RESERVE A LEAF EV

CAPE WIND GETS ANOTHER YES
Cape Wind gets FAA okay
Beth Daley, May 17, 2010 (Boston Globe)

"The Federal Aviation Administration [has] determined… that the proposed 130-turbine wind farm in Nantucket Sound will not significantly interfere with planes or radar.

"The determination of “no hazard” is one of the last approvals Cape Wind Associates needed for the project, which has undergone nine years of permitting review. US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar gave his final okay -- by far the most important decision for the project -- late last month."

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"Still, the FAA will require Cape Wind to pay for a roughly $1.5 million radar modification to ensure it can clearly spot planes flying above the wind farm. The company will also have to put $15 million in escrow for two years to pay for a digital radar system if the $1.5 million fix does not work…"

There are far more mitigations for the radar issue than there are for baseless interference from recalcitrant humans. (click to enlarge)

"The FAA has reviewed the Cape Wind project four times because each determination expires after about 18 months…[The current approving] assessment comes after the agreement by Cape Wind to make the upgrades…

"Opponents of the project, who have said they are planning lawsuits over a variety of wind farm issues, said the decision would make air travel near the 440-foot-tall wind turbines dangerous…"


CUTTING EDGE PV PLANT FOR NV
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid “Flips the Switch” on Amonix Concentrated Photovoltaic Solar Plant at Southern Nevada Water Treatment Facility; 308 kW (DC) CPV Plant Owned and Operated by the Southern Nevada Water Authority
May 15, 2010 (Business Wire)

"U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid… presided over [the opening] ceremony…at the first Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV) solar energy plant owned and operated by the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) at its River Mountains Water Treatment Facility. Amonix, a leading supplier of CPV solar systems for sunny and dry climates, designed and manufactured the plant…

"…Amonix announced that plans to use $5.9 million of a $9.5 million investment tax credit from the Recovery Act’s Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit awarded in 2010 to establish a new manufacturing facility in Southern Nevada are well underway, and that the facility will be open by the end of 2010. When fully operational, the facility will have an annual production capacity of 150 MW of CPV solar systems and employ 278 people in management, technical and production jobs…"

An Amonix CPV panel with concentrating lenses (insert) (click to enlarge)

"Charged with meeting the Las Vegas region’s growing demand for water with minimal impact on the sensitive desert environment at its River Mountains facility, SNWA partnered with Amonix to install a CPV solar plant capable of producing 308 kW (DC) of clean, renewable power – enough to power 50 medium-sized Las Vegas homes annually. The plant was completed in July 2009 and after a 10-month provisional period is now fully operational and performing as predicted.

"The Amonix system is the company’s third installation in Nevada – first on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, second at the NV Energy Edward W. Clark Generating Station, and today at SNWA’s River Mountains facility…"


S. DAKOTA WIND EYES OPEN WIRES
SD wind farms eye Big Stone transmission upgrades
Dirk Lammers, May 17, 2010 (AP via Bloomberg BusinessWeek)

"Transmission lines originally slated to carry coal-generated power from the scrapped Big Stone II plant could open up a new market for proposed eastern South Dakota wind farms.

"Big Stone II's plans had called for new and upgraded high-voltage power lines in southern Minnesota to carry power to customers to the east from both the 550-megawatt coal-fired power plant near Milbank and nearby wind farms."

Once rejected as coal transmission masquerading as wind transmission, wil Big Stone II end up as wind transmission salvaging a bad coal investment? (click to enlarge)

"The Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator has identified about 1,900 megawatts, enough to power some 500,000 homes, of potential wind projects that could jump on board an upgraded transmission system…One project accepted into the Midwest ISO study is Dakota Wind Energy, a 300-megawatt wind farm planned for…just south of the North Dakota border….

"…The [Big Stone II] project was canceled in November, with developers citing financing problems and the possibility of new federal carbon dioxide restrictions…The Midwest ISO, a regional power-grid agency, immediately stepped in to salvage the transmission line portion of the project."

Something needs to be done to keep all that orange and yellow from going to waste. (click to enlarge)

"Steve Wegman, executive director of the South Dakota Wind Energy Association, said transmission upgrades could inject new life into projects…Building wind farms without transmission lines is like building cars with no roads to drive on, he said…

"Eric Laverty, Midwest ISO's director of transmission access planning, said although only 1,900 megawatts of projects qualified for inclusion in the study, the agency estimates that a system of upgraded lines could carry as much as 2,400 megawatts of power…Wegman said the nation hasn't made any big investments in transmission since the 1970s…"


RESERVE A LEAF EV
Nissan Opens Leaf Reservations To General Public
Jonathan Welsh, May 14, 2010 (Wall Street Journal)

"…Nissan says it is opening its Leaf reservation process to the general public…

"The company last month began offering advance reservations to would-be customers who registered online early to receive information about the Leaf as it developed. Nissan says more than 9,500 consumers signed on. But…[t]here are several steps to getting on the short list to buy or lease the car."

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"Prospective buyers will still have to convince Nissan they are up to the task of owning an electric vehicle based on their driving patterns, living arrangements and other factors.

"Other electric-car makers are similarly vetting buyers. Depending on where you live the wait for a Leaf could be long. It begins a limited rollout in certain markets in December but won’t be widely available until 2012. List price is $32,780. The lease price starts at $349 per month and the reservation requires a $99 refundable fee."