QUICK NEWS, 3-30: IN JAPAN’S INDOOR EVAC ZONE; DELAWARE OCEAN WIND GETS GO; BEST IN SOLAR; SO DAKOTA WIND TEMPTS UTILITY

IN JAPAN’S INDOOR EVAC ZONE
Japan quake: Inside the evacuation zone
Dai Saito, 29 March 2011 (BBC News)

"I am still in the area. Once my mother decided to stay I knew I could not leave her. However I never imagined the situation would become so serious…There are still not enough fuel or relief supplies but some shops are gradually opening and, as long as we don't want a luxurious life, we can get on…My life has calmed down considerably compared to immediately after the earthquake but we still need relief supplies.

"Rice, bread and emergency rice (onigiri), drinking water, petrol and kerosene are all rationed…But we don't get enough daily necessities like toilet rolls…And although we get fuel rations they are usually not enough…This is my life now. We can't live a 'relatively normal' life if we stay inside our house for too long but also, I have to worry about my health when we have to go outside to pick up the rations."

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"The nuclear power plant is a worry. When will this situation end and what will happen now? …I don't have confidence in the government's actions especially because I am in the area that has been ambiguously designated the "Indoor Evacuation Zone" …[and] apparently they are now encouraging voluntary evacuations from here…

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"Indoor evacuation makes no sense because you cannot stay at home all the time. It makes me wonder if this is a ploy by the government to avoid responsibility if we all suffer health issues as a result of radiation exposure - I suppose they could argue that they had informed us not to go out. One just has to laugh...

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"It angers me that that they are putting much effort into covering up and making deliberately ambiguous statements. We now know that some of the reports were at least a day old at the time of disclosure. Even today, they reported the finding of plutonium at a press conference that was held in the middle of the night…The fact that our lives are in danger right at this minute is apparently less important than the number crunching they seem to do in a safe office far away."

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"I personally think this accident at the nuclear power plant is, at least partly, a man-made disaster therefore it is Tepco's duty to hold a press conference and report the facts…However, they have been releasing reports that don't give us accurate pictures and at such times that no one would be awake to see them.

"One cannot help but think they are deliberately trying to tell very little to people like us who live in the area…I am not aware of any actual aid organised by Tepco. The president and the chairman of Tepco have not been seen in public since the earthquake. I demand prompt disclosure of information and immediate relief for the people in the stricken area."


DELAWARE OCEAN WIND GETS GO
Delaware energy: Bluewater wins right to take the next step; Offshore wind energy project clears federal hurdle
Aaron Nathans, March 25, 2011 (Delaware Online/Gannett)

"NRG Bluewater Wind has won the exclusive right to negotiate with the federal government to build an offshore wind farm off Delaware, federal officials announced…The decision is the first formal step along a gamut of environmental and permitting reviews that company officials expect will culminate in a landmark renewable-energy project supplying enough power to support at least 54,000 homes.

"Bluewater is planning a wind farm13.2 miles off the Delaware coast, with between 49 large turbines and 150 smaller ones…The decision by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement [BOEMRE] marks the first time that it has begun lease negotiations with a wind-power developer under new federal rules, and comes nearly three years after Bluewater signed a 25-year supply contract with Delmarva Power."

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"The contract requires the turbines to start producing electricity no later than 2016…[It] helps Bluewater avoid further delays in its effort to gain a lease and permit to start construction…because it won't have to grapple with another developer for the rights to build on the ocean tracts it has chosen [and done environmental and technical studies for]…[T]he decision was [taken as] a vote of confidence in Bluewater's financial and technical ability [- backed by new parent energy giant NRG Energy -] to complete the project…

"Bluewater officials estimated in 2008 that the project would bring 400 to 500 construction jobs to the state, as well as at least 80 ongoing operations and maintenance jobs. A Port of Wilmington official estimated last year that building a regional turbine assembly facility there could result in about 770 jobs during construction, and another 750 operational jobs."

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"…[I]t's difficult to predict when turbines [will] begin spinning. In addition to lease negotiations, Bluewater will need rigorous environmental reviews that will weigh the impact each turbine will have on the ecosystem and human activity…Bluewater expects later this year to build an offshore tower to measure wind speeds and bird migration patterns…

"…Bluewater's planned Mid-Atlantic Wind Park may not be the first offshore wind farm in the nation. A small pilot project in state waters off Atlantic City has a faster path to permitting…And the planned Cape Wind offshore wind farm off Massachusetts already has its construction permit under old federal rules. With offshore wind energy's high price, however, it's struggling…As the first developer to use the new federal rules, Bluewater's Delaware project is blazing a trail that all large U.S. offshore wind farms are expected to follow…"


BEST IN SOLAR
target="_blank">BELECTRIC tops Global PV System Integrator Rankings: German suppliers continue to dominate
March 23, 2011 (IMS Research)

"Germany’s BELECTRIC developed more than 300 MW of PV systems in 2010, propelling it to the top of IMS Research’s 2010 Global PV System Integrator Rankings…

"…[D]espite the top spot and a three-fold increase in PV systems developed, BELECTRIC still only managed to capture a 2.4% share of the non-residential PV market, estimated at 13.2 GW by IMS Research."

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"The company (formerly known as Beck Energy) narrowly edged out Germany-based juwi, and ranked five places ahead of 2009 leader Q-Cells International, which saw close to zero MW growth last year…

"The latest global rankings also reveal Germany’s ongoing PV dominance, with 13 of the top 30 system integrators from that market. And despite the fact that newly added annual German PV capacity is expected to decline in the coming years, it is clear that these companies will remain prominent…"


SO DAKOTA WIND TEMPTS UTILITY
N.C. wind company eyes Meade County; Spokesperson says weather data ‘encouraging,’ but project is early stages
Heather Murschel, March 26, 2011 (Black Hills Pioneer)

"Data from a meteorological tower in Meade County [that Duke Energy Renewables, a renewable energy business unit that is a part of North Carolina’s Duke Energy Corp., began reading in 2009] is already showing encouraging results that it is in an ideal location for a large-scale wind farm…

"Steve Wegman, the executive director of the South Dakota Wind Energy Association, said Duke Energy is one of many companies [in preliminary stages of] competing for wind energy projects [which are five or more years from construction] in western South Dakota…"

Look at all that wind! (click to enlarge)

"Because [Duke] is simply in the in the exploratory stage…no specifics on the scale, or exact location of the project have been set…[but is clear about] the advantages of constructing a large-scale wind farm in Meade County include the proximity to transmission lines that the wind project could tap into, and the availability of private land for potential lease…[Duke is aware of and plans to protect the regional heritage] of Bear Butte…

"…[A Duke spokesman said] the company will only commit to building a commercial renewable energy project…after it has signed a long-term agreement with a power purchaser, typically regional utilities, electric cooperatives or municipalities…[and has not] secured one yet [in South Dakota]...Wegman said the actual construction of a wind farm, depending on the size, takes less than 180 days…Wegman said the success of any wind energy company in South Dakota is directly related to economic development…"

South Dakotans could get 135 times more electricity from their wind than they need. If they invested in wires, they could get richer than Texas. (click to enlarge)

"Duke Energy is no stranger to the wind energy business…[It] has more than 5,500 megawatts in its pipeline…[and] upwards of 1,000 mega-watts of wind energy online at nine wind farms in the United States. Since 2007, they have invested more than $1.5 billion, and are already in the top 10 for wind generation capacity.

"…[O]ne megawatt would serve approximately 300 homes with electricity, and a typical residential home uses 1.8 kilowatts an hour, while small businesses such as a hotel or a grocery store, uses 500 kilowatts an hour."