QUICK NEWS, 3-24: HARMLESS WIND ‘MELTDOWN’ OVER IN A WEEK; NEW ENERGY LOOKS BETTER ALL THE TIME; SCHOOLS BUILDING SUN; SUN AND WIND TOGETHER

HARMLESS WIND ‘MELTDOWN’ OVER IN A WEEK
Rugby wind farm resumes operation after accident
Dale Wetzel, March 21, 2011 (Chicago Tribune)

"A wind energy project in north-central North Dakota has resumed generating power…a week after the rotor and three giant blades on one of its towers plummeted to the ground.

"The wind farm has 71 turbines perched atop steel towers just north of Rugby, about 150 miles northeast of Bismarck, and is capable of generating up to 149 megawatts of electricity. It was inspected after the March 14 accident and judged to be safe to resume operation…"

(from Pierce County Tribune – click to enlarge)

"…[A]n investigation into the cause of the accident has not been completed…[Plant owner-operator Iberdrola Renewables] said the tower suffered a ‘rotor assembly failure.’

"No one was injured…The wind turbine's manufacturer, Suzlon Wind Energy Corp., described the mishap as ‘an isolated incident.’"

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"…North Dakota had more than 1,400 megawatts of wind generating capacity at the end of last year, which ranked it ninth among states…[and] enough wind energy to power 430,000 homes.

"The Iberdrola wind farm sells its energy to Missouri River Energy Services, based in Sioux Falls, S.D., which supplies electricity to 60 municipal utilities in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa…"


NEW ENERGY LOOKS BETTER ALL THE TIME
Japan's nuclear disaster boosts renewables
March 21, 2011 (UPI)

"With perceptions of nuclear power souring amid the unfolding Japanese disaster, analysts expect subsequent gains for natural gas and renewables.

"…[Japan’s is] the worst nuclear disaster since the 1986 meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant…[A]n alternative energy analyst…[said] the Fukushima disaster could change nuclear energy policies across the globe."

(from the Financial Times - click to enlarge)

Robert Clover, analyst, HSBC:] "…[W]e expect that nuclear's loss could be natural gas, energy efficiency and renewable's gain…"

"Japan's nuclear reactors were taken offline after the quake, leaving the country with a 20 percent energy deficit. Japan is buying additional oil and natural gas to make up for the shortfall."

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"Global energy markets were able to make up for the shortfall after an earthquake struck Japan in 2007. The crisis in Libya, however, left oil producers scrambling to make up for the millions of barrels [needed this time]…

"Energy prices in part because of the dual crises are at highs not seen since the global financial meltdown in 2008."


SCHOOLS BUILDING SUN
SPG Solar, SunEdison Inaugurate 2 MW School Projects
16 March 2011 (Solar Industry)
and
California School District Breaks Ground On 2 MW Installation
17 March 2011 (Solar Industry)

"Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) in California, SPG Solar and SunEdison have officially connected 2 MW of solar power to the grid. The installations are part of a multi-school program that is expected to generate 25% to 60% of each campus' electrical consumption.

"Comprising more than 7,300 solar panels at 15 IUSD sites, the solar deployments are expected to generate more than 2.9 million kWh of electricity per year, and more than 51 million kWh over 20 years. IUSD will use all of the energy produced to offset its demand from the grid."

An Irvine middle school (click to enlarge)

"The solar power systems were made possible through a strategic solar power service agreement…SunEdison financed and deployed the solar power arrays…IUSD will purchase the power produced from each system at long-term predictable rates for 20 years. SPG Solar was responsible for the design and construction…"

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"Lodi Unified School District, in cooperation with Cupertino Electric Inc.'s (CEI) Energy Alternatives Division, has begun the construction phase of a 2 MW solar photovoltaic system located in Lodi, Calif.

"The CEI-designed solar system will comprise four smaller systems mounted on parking lot canopies throughout the district…Construction is expected to be complete by late summer…"


SUN AND WIND TOGETHER
SolRWind: Company set to build hybrid solar, wind farm
Jennifer DeWitt, March 20, 2011 (Quad-City Business Journal)

"…[A] class of [environmental science] college students…[envisions] what the area will look…[as they are led by SolRWind CEO Amy Maresca through a field where her company will build] a hybrid solar and wind farm on a five-acre tract of the 200-acre Goose Lake farm…[who shows them] what the company must do as part of its environmental impact assessment.

"With plans for installing groups of wind turbines at three high-points on the acreage as well as solar equipment, the project is just one component of the start-up company. In fact, SolRWind was founded in 2008, as a research and development company by James Law, the company’s president…[H]e pulled together their small team of five…[and] recruited Maresca, a quality engineer who lost her previous job due to a plant closing, to run the business side of the company."

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"SolRWind is in the process of designing its own unique solar panel, which it plans to mass produce and sell to the industry beginning next year. It already is a distributor of other companies’ wind and solar energy products to the residential and commercial markets…[T]he Goose Lake farm…is one of three generation sites it is pursing. It is [also] working on a wind farm…and a solar garden…

"…[The Goose Lake farm] owner…approached [SolRWind] about a wind farm…But SolRWind envisions the manufacture of solar panels to evolve into the largest part of its business. While they are working with a Chinese manufacturer to assemble one component of the solar panel…[generation project development will] produce the jobs [locally]…[It is also] exploring a few locations to site the [solar panel] manufacturing plant…"

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"While wind energy is becoming part of the manufacturing fabric of the Midwest, solar power is just emerging…SolRWind has found itself having to educate potential customers, government representatives, bankers and others about the emerging industry and its products…[though players like SolRWind have] high hopes…

"The SolRWind team also sees the students…as part of their future…{Executives lecture to environmental studies [classes weekly]…But SolRWind also learns from the students, whose questions prepare them for those they could face from county boards, city councils and others…"