QUICK NEWS, 5-27: GREAT LAKES WIND; THE RIGHT SOLAR FOR THE RIGHT PLACE; SCAMS FORESEEN; NEW WAVE SNAKE

GREAT LAKES WIND
The Great Lakes Gear Up for Offshore Wind; It’s near the big one they call Kitchigummi.
Herman K. Trabish, May 26, 2010 (Greentech Media)

"The next frontier for offshore wind could be the Midwest…The first offshore wind project on the Great lakes moved a step closer to reality with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between GE Energy (GE) and the Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEED).

"The MOU was announced by Ohio Governor Ted Strickland at the opening session of WindPower 2010, the annual conclave put on by the American Wind Energy Association and thought to be the biggest U.S. energy event. The MOU commits GE to providing five of its 4-megawatt (MW) state-of-the-art direct-drive offshore turbines, along with maintenance services, for a 20-megawatt installation just off Cleveland's shores in Lake Erie. Governor Strickland described it as 'a first step.'"

Artist's rendering of what turbines off Cleveland's shores would look like. (click to enlarge)

"Offshore industry sources confided that while GE's 4MW turbine is an impressive machine, it has yet to prove itself in the rugged offshore environment and will be especially hard-pressed to perform up to expectations in the brutal and frigid waters of Lake Erie. But savor the irony: the pollution on the once-flammable waters of Lake Erie helped prompt the birth of Earth Day and the modern environmental movement."

There are other Great Lakes and other great opportunities. (click to enlarge)

"LEED President Larry Wagner stressed that 11 of GE's 3MW turbines have been successfully operating in a nearby and similar onshore environment close to the shoreline for five years...If successful, LEED hopes to proceed with the development of 1,000 megawatts of offshore capacity in the same Lake Erie waters. According to Wagner, a rigorous seven-layer GIS analysis conducted by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has identified…[10-to-20 thousand megawatts of] potential…in sectors of the lake unencumbered by environmental, commercial, recreational or military considerations…

"LEED plans for the 20MW GE installation to go online in 2012, preparing the way for the fulfillment of the 1,000MW goal by 2020. Michigan, Iowa, Ontario and Pennsylvania, among other regional states and provinces, are actively courting green energy and manufacturing facilities, as well…One industry source who cautioned the GE turbines were unproven speculated that the project was small enough that GE Energy might be able to arrange financing but would be unlikely to obtain money to go ahead with a large-scale project until the money people see the turbines perform to expectations for two years."


THE RIGHT SOLAR FOR THE RIGHT PLACE
Technology and desert biomes: Location is everything; A solution tailored to specific desert conditions could enhance plant efficiency, and mitigate operations and maintenance costs of a CSP plant.
Rajeesh Chhabara, 20 May 2010 (CSP Today)

"Desert climates may drastically differ from region to region. For example, the United Nations classifies deserts as hyper arid, arid, semiarid and dry-sub humid. There are real deserts such as in the Middle East, India and Australia. Then there are the ‘desert-like’ areas, as in the southwest United States and Spain.

"Diverse meteorological stress conditions may exist in different regions or within the same regions. In the US, hot and humid in Miami (Florida) contrasts with hot and dry in Phoenix (Arizona). In California…warm and humid in Sacramento gives way to hot and dry in Dagget…[It is] hot and mild in Almeria (Spain) and hot and dry in Thar desert (India)…"

click to enlarge

"…Higher radiation level found in actual deserts could impact the plant design in terms of… the size of the storage and the size of the solar field…[but higher radiation] is not limited to actual deserts…Typical real deserts [also] lack naturally available cooling water. Operators then need to rely on dry cooling [which is more expensive because]…dry cooling towers rely on electrically driven ventilation systems…[and] is also relatively less efficient…[C]ompanies that deliver innovative technologies to reduce costs of cooling systems for dry deserts will be winners…

"Higher soiling of mirrors in a desert due to sand storms is another point of difference. More dust and sand means more frequent cleaning, and an additional effort in maintenance…[though the loss is usually offset by higher] radiation…"

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"…[D]iverse climatic stress conditions may offer innovative opportunities for component manufactures to tailor products…[N]iche manufacturers…[may emerge with] specific products or applications suited to the specific climatic condition…However, key players in the mirror and the receiver technology sectors have not yet made attempts to develop such niche products, or to differentiate their products based on climatic conditions…[Instead,] standardisation of mirrors and receiver tubes is currently taking place…

"[T]his situation may change over time…[but the issue of site-specific customisation is not on the industry agenda at present…Solar Millennium, which has CSP projects in various stages in diverse desert regions such as the Middle East, China, Spain, the US, India and North Africa, currently deploys the same equipment across all projects…[E]fforts are more directed toward improving the overall efficiency of products…[like] anti-soiling coatings and low-to-no water cleaning…"


SCAMS FORESEEN
Carbon Fraud Guide Details Dangers of Carbon Markets That Are Contaminated By Offsets
May 18, 2010 (Friends of the Earth)

"A new “guide” for would-be carbon crooks and schemers…[from] Friends of the Earth serves as a warning about the fraud, corruption and gaming abuses that are inherent to carbon trading systems contaminated with offset credits.

"The American Power Act proposed by Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) last week would create just such a system."

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"The guide, Ten Ways to Game the Carbon Market, outlines ten different ways in which fraudsters can game carbon trading systems. Nine methods have already been successfully carried out. Some tricks are variations of classic scams such as Ponzi schemes, phishing and tax fraud. But other cons are more particular to carbon trading."

{Michelle Chan, senior policy analyst/report author, Friends of the Earth:] “Carbon offsets are especially prone to corruption and fraud. Every offset deal requires a story indicating that the emissions reduction would not have been possible without offset revenues, or that emissions would have been higher without the project. Because of this, the offsets market is inherently rife with opportunities for truth stretching—and outright lies…[M]uch of the corruption that we have seen in the carbon markets involves bribes…The ‘American Power Act’ allows for some two billion tons of offsets…”


NEW WAVE SNAKE
E.ON unveils Pelamis-built wave energy hydropower device in UK
May 18, 2010 (HydroWorld)

"…Pelamis Wave Power Ltd. [a UK subsidiary of German utility E.ON AG] developed and constructed the… P2 750-kilowatt wave energy device…The machine will be towed to the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, Scotland, where it will be installed and tested…

"The installation of the Pelamis wave energy converter at EMEC is the first time the P2 machine has been tested anywhere in the world and also represents the UK's first commercial supply contract within the marine energy sector…"

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[Tom Delay, chief executive, Pelamis-funder the UK Carbon Trust:] "This…shows the UK's marine energy industry is rapidly coming of age. We have a clear lead in this sector and must now capitalize on this to secure maximum benefit in creating new jobs and revenue for the UK. Having supported Pelamis with funding from the Marine Renewables Proving Fund, we look forward to…bringing it a step closer to commercial deployment."

click thru for complete info on the EMEC

"The device is 180 meters long and weighs approximately 1,500 tons…[C]alled the "Vagr Atferd" (Norse for wave power), [it] was named by Matthew Rendall of Stromness Primary School in Orkney, following a competition…

"Recently, Pelamis, Marine Current Turbines and other firms were named successful bidders for wave and tidal energy farm development leases in UK waters…[as part of the Crown Estate-run] world's first commercial wave and tidal leasing round."