QUICK NEWS, 11-2: VOTE COULD END NE CLIMATE FIGHT; FLORIDA PLANS WIND; NEWEST WAVE ENERGY DEVICE; TO MEASURE MORE WIND

VOTE COULD END NE CLIMATE FIGHT
Maine and New England Stew Over Climate and Energy Projects
Christa Marshall, November 1, 2010 (NY Times)

"…The outcome of the [Maine Governor’s] race among Republican climate skeptic Paul LePage, Democrat Libby Mitchell and independent candidates, analysts say, could determine the state's role in the nation's only cap-and-trade system, operating in the Northeast. It also is an example of the political intensity hovering over the region…as governor's races from Maine to Connecticut rank as tossup contests…

"…The next [Maine] governor will hold sway over how the state regulates and finances energy projects, as well as its degree of participation in negotiations over low-carbon fuel standards and other regional initiatives…LePage is likely to win because of a split vote between liberal-leaning voters wavering between Mitchell and Cutler…At debates…Cutler and Mitchell expressed concern about climate change and praised the Northeastern states' regional cap-and-trade program, known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI. LePage fielded questions about his prior comments questioning climate science while raising concerns about energy costs associated with wind and solar power…Cutler and Mitchell said they supported 2010 goals set by the state Legislature for 3,000 megawatts of wind in the next decade…"

How can Maine elect somebody who is not committed to developing this wealth? (click to enlarge)

"…LePage said no, citing the challenges of storing wind power…[He favors natural gas which] currently fires about 44 percent of Maine's electricity, with hydroelectric dams and other renewables powering 50 percent…The state Department of Environmental Protection is too adversarial to the private sector, LePage said at another debate…Nuclear and additional hydroelectric power, as well as offshore drilling off of Maine's coast, need to be under consideration along with renewables, he said. The state has torn down too many hydroelectric dams, he said, referring to closings to protect fish…

"Cutler called the idea of offshore drilling in Maine waters "absolutely nuts." He pushed for creation of a financing authority to construct energy infrastructure and invest in renewable and natural gas projects. He questioned whether LePage's support of increased natural gas to decrease state dependence on home heating oil would work without such a financing authority to build gas pipelines."

They were going to stand together but the wrong leaders could let them go down separately. (click to enlarge)

"Mitchell said…renewables such as offshore wind could displace "the need for 30 nuclear power plants," echoing environmentalists' charges against LePage over the nuclear issue. She [said she was for fighting] climate change without a prompt…[and mentioned the jobs that could from it] when asked about state job creation. When queried about the state's future fuel mix, she immediately turned to RGGI, which has been capping carbon dioxide emissions in the Northeast since 2008 by requiring utilities to participate in carbon auctions…

"…Mitchell's frequent mentions of climate change are [seen as] a smart political strategy, since environmental activism is popular in the state. He said it is a way of reminding voters of a LePage "weakness" -- his former comments about global warming that are contrary to the views of most scientists…LePage also has called for abolishing the Department of Energy and U.S. EPA…LePage hasn't outlined his position on RGGI or the state's existing greenhouse gas targets, but his comments raise questions about how aggressively his administration would participate in RGGI…"


FLORIDA PLANS WIND
Wind plan taking shape
Susan Salisbury, October 31, 2010 (Palm Beach Post via Herald-Tribune)

"…[Florida’s] Next-Era Energy Resources, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, formerly known as FPL Group [produces the most U.S. wind energy]…[It] has 76 wind farms in 17 states and Canada. Its roughly 9,000 wind turbines are capable of producing enough emissions-free energy to power about 1.9 million homes…Florida, where wind resources are considered minimal, has no wind farms, and Florida Power & Light Co., NextEra Energy's utility subsidiary, wants to change that…

"In June 2007, two days after regulators rejected its proposal to build a coal plant, FPL announced its plans to build the first wind farm in Florida [a $45 million project with six wind turbines] on Hutchinson Island…[but it] met resistance from nearby residents [the St. Lucie County Audubon Society, 1000 Friends of Florida, the Indian River Keeper, the Conservation Alliance and other groups]…The site was FPL land surrounding its nuclear plant…FPL has yet to be granted a hearing…and the project is on hold…"

Florida has little onshore wind so far identified. (click to enlarge)

"…FPL has turned its attention elsewhere…[though] Florida has limited wind…FPL plans to begin testing in northwest St. Lucie soon. There might be a pocket of wind off Lake Okeechobee…St. Lucie County rancher Mike Adams said his land is being considered…Before the tests can begin, FPL is working with the county on changes in the land-use regulations to allow meteorological towers…

"In 2008, FPL was awarded a $2.5 million state grant to help pay for the coastal project estimated to cost more than $45 million. It has spent $153,800 of that on wind studies and efforts to obtain permits. That grant can be used only for the Hutchinson Island project…[Tests show] Hutchinson Island has sufficient winds [at 80 meters] to make a project economically viable…"

Florida has offshore wind riches worth investing in. (click to enlarge)

"If the wind speed at 80 meters is 1.85 times higher than at 10 meters, as the report indicates, hurricane-force winds could be a problem, said Juan Soto, a Sunrise engineer hired by the Save St. Lucie Alliance. That is because there are no wind turbines manufactured to sustain gusts that would be as high as 211 mph…Soto said environmental concerns [also] include the effects on wetlands, birds, bats, fish and sea turtles…[He] said FPL is pursuing the project for the federal tax credits…

"FPL said the federal tax credit for wind projects applies only if the turbines are producing energy and that 100 percent of the benefit goes to customers…Recent reports zero in on offshore wind in the Atlantic or the Gulf of Mexico as where the energy potential lies for Florida…Like Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina, Florida is too low and too flat…"


NEWEST WAVE ENERGY DEVICE
Sea For Life Collaborates with INEGI
28 October 2010 (Sea For Life)

"…Sea For Life, an ocean oriented R&D company, wants to deploy its wave energy conversion system – WEGA (Wave Energy Gravitational Absorber) – at sea and, therefore, INEGI (Instituto de Engenharia Mecânica e Gestão Industrial), will cooperate with Sea For Life.

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"INEGI is a Private Nonprofit Association that works as an interface Institution between University and Industry, oriented to the activities of Research and Development, Innovation and Technology Transfer.

"The installation and monitorization of the system in near-shore is part of the second phase of the WEGA Project which aims to demonstrate its technical feasibility. Exposing the device to different sea states, during an extended time window, will assure that fundamental features such as the device survivability or its power generation capacity are dominated."

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"This collaboration was born following the contacts which have been undertaken by Sea For Life in order to establish relationships that foster the development of the exploitation of this source of marine renewable energy."


TO MEASURE MORE WIND
Patrick-Murray Administration Celebrates New Wind Measurement Manufacturing Facility and Development of Wind Energy Data Partnership
October 27, 2010 (Massachusetts Clean Energy Center)

"Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Ian Bowles today visited wind measurement company Second Wind…[and] announced a partnership between Somerville-based Second Wind, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and Arlington-based WindPole Ventures to construct a wind measurement information network that will aggregate real-time, hub height standardized wind speed data, which will be used for future real-time forecasting and assure that Massachusetts’ wind farms operate more efficiently…

"Secretary Bowles announced that Second Wind, WindPole Ventures, and MassCEC will…deploy a regional network of technology to gather wind resource information, which will provide high quality data to help the state make the most of its wind resource. Massachusetts is the first state in the nation to deploy this type of regional network."

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"…[A] pilot wind measurement network in southeastern Massachusetts…will consist of seven to ten sites in which wind data will be collected on the ground with Second Wind’s Triton Sonic Wind Profiler technology or via hub-height-tower based collection methods provided by WindPole. The wind data collection will serve a variety of wind project development needs…

"…[Also,] Secretary Bowles joined Second Wind executives to announce the opening a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Newton, where Massachusetts-based workers will manufacture the Triton Sonic Wind Profiler, the global wind power industry’s market-leading remote sensing system, and export it to more than 20 countries around the world, including China. In 2008, Second Wind received a $500,000 loan from the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust to help develop the Triton. Today, the company employs twice as many as it did in 2008, and expects that the new manufacturing facility will add 115 jobs by 2014."

Measuring at height. (From WindPole - click to enlarge)

"WindPole Ventures provides ‘data as a service’ from its network of more than 12,000 hub height towers to top U.S. wind developers and a regional ISO with a high penetration of wind. In December 2008, WindPole raised its first round of capital with support from MassCEC…

"Wind power in Massachusetts has increased tenfold under Governor Patrick, from 3.1 MW in 2007 to over 30 MW by the end of this year. In addition, the Patrick-Murray administration landed a $25 million federal stimulus grant to construct a Wind Technology Testing Center (WTTC) in Charlestown. Now under construction, the WTTC will test the next generation of wind turbine blades…Wind energy companies that have already chosen to locate here include Siemens, FloDesign, American Superconductor, TPI Composites and Vestas Power Systems, and developers and installers such as First Wind and Solaya Energy…"