QUICK NEWS, July 11: HOW WIND WILL USE NEW BIRD RULES; A BETTER SOLAR ROOF; THE HVDC ADVANTAGE

HOW WIND WILL USE NEW BIRD RULES How Wind Developers Can Successfully Navigate FWS Siting Guidelines

David Stout, 5 July 2012 (North American Windpower)

“The U.S. wind industry has made an unprecedented and extraordinary commitment to develop projects that are compatible with the highest environmental standards…[as laiod out by] the Secretary of the Interior's Windpower Siting Guidelines Committee…[T]he U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) [guidelines] provide the template for consistent, reasonable and scientifically justified analysis that facilitates environmentally compatible wind power projects.

“Scientific data, which allow the wind community to better understand wind power/wildlife interactions, are steadily being acquired…[O]perational modifications to reduce bat mortality, bat deterrents, use of radar to detect incoming birds and bats, and post-construction surveys for mortalities have been very informative…[Results] are quickly filling in knowledge gaps and are reducing the uncertainty of environmental-impact predictions…”

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“…Site studies should be narrowly focused on legitimate scientific uncertainty for environmental conditions and project configuration…[I]conic species such as the golden eagle need enhanced baseline population studies to establish the status and trends of the population range-wide...[G]uidelines are fundamentally a template for risk assessment…[T]he ultimate decision regarding an acceptable level of risk is up to the developers…

“…The primary incentive the FWS can offer is enforcement discretion...[Developers should be able to expect that the FWS will work with the company to alleviate the adverse impact, rather than commence an enforcement action under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act…Service enforcement actions concerning bird mortalities due to transmission lines and oil and gas facilities are not unusual and have resulted in substantial fines; to date, there have been no FWS enforcement actions against a wind facility… ”

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A BETTER SOLAR ROOF Companies To Develop 34-Meter Solar Module On A Roofing Membrane

6 July 2012 (Solar Industry)

“ISOVOLTAIC, Isosport, Renolit, Konarka AIT and Hymmen are developing a 34-meter-long flexible solar module on a roofing membrane. The companies say these modules have potential to produce more cost-effective power due to reduced production and installation costs.

“Flexible solar modules that combine the roofing membrane and solar module in one structural element can be handled like conventional roofing membranes. A roll-to-roll process can be used to manufacture the modules, which employ flexible solar cells.”

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“Upon completion of the joint effort, individual project members will install pilot plants enabling visual and technical monitoring of the flexible solar modules…This partnership project is being funded by the Climate and Energy Fund and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency…

“…ISOVOLTAIC and Isosport have developed the special films required for encapsulation of the flexible solar cells. The two flexible solar cells used were developed by Konarka and another thin-film solar manufacturer…Renolit developed the roofing membrane and other components for the product's construction. The Energy Department of the Austrian Institute of Technology is acting as consultant and is involved in measuring and characterizing the materials and modules. Hymmen Industrial Systems is providing [composite material] information…”

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THE HVDC ADVANTAGE Is HVDC Transmission Project Potential Just Lots Of Hype?

4 July 2012 (Renew Grid)

“If all of the planned transmission projects using high-voltage alternating-current (HVAC) and high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) technologies were to be built between now and 2020, cumulative global investment would be a little over $217 billion, according to Pike Research…[but] the research firm says that officially announced budgets and schedules for HVDC systems overstate the likely outcomes by nearly a factor of two…

“…[More likely] the cumulative spending for HVDC systems between now and 2020 will be between $110 billion and $120 billion…Worldwide growth of electricity [demand and] infrastructure is expected…[T]he transmission systems necessary to support this growth will be a mix of HVAC and HVDC [and there is definitely a need for HVDC systems around the world but several challenges are expected to slow the massive project build-outs that have been predicted]…HVAC was typically used for interconnected short length lines and HVDC was used for long-distance point-to-point bulk power transmission. New developments in HVDC conversion technologies are beginning to blur that distinction…”

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“… [Some] argue that very large HVAC systems built within grid networks can satisfy new demand. Others argue that the future belongs to HVDC overlays that interconnect very large grid systems and, ultimately, enormous regions on a global scale…[V]irtually all new construction is occurring in Europe, India, China and North America…In North America, where 29 systems worth about 75 GW are planned, 75% of future investment in HVDC comes from merchant transmission companies due to the balkanized regulatory framework of the region. In Europe, where 23 systems worth approximately 20 GW are planned, large amounts of renewable energy generation are anticipated, along with the interconnection of many national grids.

“Economic growth and the need to complete national electrification in China and India, where 33 systems worth about 266 GW are planned for both countries, result in the largest single market for HVDC systems. Meanwhile, in the rest of the world, a handful of very large projects - 12 systems worth 37 GW - dominate in regions with great need but very limited resources…”

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