QUICK NEWS, 8-12: OCEAN WIND WINS PRICE APPROVAL; FOR SOLAR POWER PLANTS; WAVE ENERGY GETS CLOSER; AIR FORCE FLIES TO PV SUN

OCEAN WIND WINS PRICE APPROVAL
RI energy commission approves wind farm agreement
Eric Tucker, August 11, 2010 (Bloomberg Businessweek)

"The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission…approved a power purchase agreement for a proposed wind farm off the coast of Block Island.

"The commission…approved the agreement between developer Deepwater Wind and National Grid PLC, the utility, after weighing factors including economic and environmental benefits and whether the terms of the deal were reasonable for taxpayers."

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"The agreement involves an eight-turbine wind farm planned off Block Island's coast. It calls for National Grid to buy the energy generated from the wind farm at 24.4 cents per kilowatt hour.

"The PUC…had rejected a similar agreement in March as too costly to taxpayers. The rejection led to new legislation from the General Assembly aimed at speeding the regulatory approval process."


FOR SOLAR POWER PLANTS
Stakeholder engagement: Garnering support for CSP; Poor stakeholder engagement could lead to countless showstoppers for CSP developments
Neil Jaques, 5 August 2010 (CSP Today)

"…While the US solar thermal market compound annual growth rate (CAGR) stood at an unremarkable 2% per annum between 2001 and 2009…[It could surge] to 46% for the period 2010 to 2020…[A] Klondikian dash for South West desert is inevitable.

"So too is opposition, often of the paradoxical “green on green” variety, with environmentalists objecting to either the concept of development itself or, almost certainly, the manner and location in which it occurs…Utility-scale CSP plants are obtrusive constructions, particularly on pristine landscapes that take thousands of years to recover."

Where a "Klondikian dash" for desert is already going on. (click to enlarge)

"Typical stakeholders concerns include biodiversity issues (for example, desert tortoise, sage grouse, big horned sheep, and various plant species), anxiety about the socio-economic benefits of the construction, and the depletion of precious groundwater.

"The US’s bureaucratic steeplechase to attain project approval is perplexing enough as it is; with ineffectual stakeholder engagement it becomes nigh on impossible…If developers remain blind to the vicissitudes of due process, are poor listeners, or are incapable of communicating the complexities of their project in user-friendly manner, countless showstoppers loom on the horizon…"

Some species potentially threatened by solar power plant development and certainly threatened by climate change. (click to enlarge)

"Broadly speaking, the nascent CSP industry has far more responsible credentials than traditional utilities, but many developers still run into problems, particularly those first on the ground…The situation for many first-moving developers running into such issues may have been different had all the support mechanisms that exist today been around. Encouragingly, things are improving all the time, with putative future plans including the introduction of zones pre-screened for solar development…

"So, existing and future support mechanisms aside, what is the secret to getting stakeholders on board and avoiding time and cost-intensive hitches?…[D]irect engagement was particularly important…[Stakeholder concerns] have changed over time; two years ago the carbon footprint of development was pressing. Post-global recession, the talk is all about job creation and regional economic benefits…The main issue, however, is water…"


WAVE ENERGY GETS CLOSER
Ocean Power Takes Step Toward First Commercial U.S. Wave Farm
Alex Morales, August 4, 2010 (Bloomberg News)

"Ocean Power Technologies Inc., a New Jersey-based marine technology developer, reached agreement with 11 federal and state agencies that draws it closer to installing the first commercial wave farm in the U.S.

"Ocean Power’s agreement with the agencies covers issues including water quality, recreation, crabbing and fishing…The deal is a ‘major step’ toward getting the first wave farm license ever issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, it said."

Oregon is just one of many sites that will support wave energy. (click to enlargy)

"Ocean Power plans to install 10 of its PowerBuoy devices off Reedsport, Oregon, once it gets the go-ahead. The farm would have a capacity of 1.5 megawatts, enough to provide electricity for 1,000 homes."

OPT's buoy is just one of many technologies that will deliver wave energy. (click to enlarge)

[George Taylor, Chair, Ocean Power Technologies:] “This development will help pave the way for the United States to retain a technological advantage in wave power…Wave energy has the potential to create manufacturing jobs in America while providing low-cost clean, environmentally benign electricity to help replace the use of fossil fuels.”

[Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski:] “When the 10-buoy wave power project is built, a whole new industry will be created to benefit our coastal communities…”


AIR FORCE FLIES TO PV SUN
Solar construction at Luke set for 2011
Rebekah L. Sanders, August 11, 2010 (Arizona Republic)

"SunPower Corp. expects to begin building one of the largest solar arrays in the nation at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale by the beginning of next year…

"As many as 550 workers, including civil engineers, electricians and construction crews, should be hired to complete the project, pending approval from the Arizona Corporation Commission, in the coming months. The six-month construction project is expected to be completed by summer."

It wouldn't be like the Air Force to waste such an abundance of fuel. (click to enlarge)

"Arizona Public Service would pay for and own the array of high-efficiency panels that San Jose-based SunPower would design, build and maintain. APS would sell the energy to its Valley customers and charge Luke a fixed electricity rate under a 25-year agreement. Luke would provide the 101 acres for the project south of its runway…[on] vacant land that otherwise would not have been developed because of regulations to protect Luke flight operations…

"The 52,000 photovoltaic T0 Tracker panels will use blue anti-reflective coatings and no mirrors…[A]ny glare for Air Force jet pilots should be like flying over a lake…A rotating axis system allows the panels to tilt as the sun crosses the sky, capturing 25 percent more energy than if the panels were stationary…"

President Obama touring the 14 MW PV array at Nellis AFB. (click to enlarge)

"Building closer to the metro Phoenix homes it will serve saves APS money on transmission lines and makes the project more efficient because electricity is lost as it is transmitted across distances…The 15-megawatt array will generate power equivalent to running 3,750 Arizona homes at once in direct sunlight.

"APS officials said it will cut more than 19,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year… will cost $68 million or more…[and] will be the largest on government property, eclipsing the 14-megawatt SunPower facility at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, which opened three years ago…"