QUICK NEWS, 4-21: GOOGLE’S $100 MIL FOR OREGON WIND; SUN NEEDS FED LOAN GUARANTEES; WORLD’S BIGGEST WIND STORAGE; BMW GOES TO THE PLUG

GOOGLE’S $100 MIL FOR OREGON WIND
Google Invests $100M in (Another!) Wind Farm
Katie Fehrenbacher, April 18, 2011 (Earth2Tech via Reuters)

"Google…[now rivaling stand alone clean energy investors] has invested $100 million in the world’s largest wind farm, the 845 MW Shepherds Flat project under construction in Oregon. With this investment, Google has put more than $350 million…into clean power…

"[Google now owns a $168 million investment in BrightSource Energy’s solar thermal project, a $38.8 million investment in NextEra Energy Resources’ 169.5 MW wind projects…and a €3.5 million ($5 million USD) German solar photovoltaic farm]…Google’s subsidiary Google Energy — which can buy and sell electricity on the wholesale markets — plans to buy 114 MW of wind power from [a NextEra Energy Resources] Iowa wind farm…"

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"…[Google is] backing the world’s largest wind farm partly because the project will use next-gen wind tech, permanent magnet generators, which can improve the efficiency of turbines, and increase the reliability of the grid connection, and which aren’t readily used in currently installed large utility wind farms…Shepherds Flat will use GE’s 2.5xl wind turbines…[Expected to be fully operational in 2012, it will occupy 30 square miles of Oregon, and cost $2 billion]… Southern California Edison…has [contracted] to buy the wind power.

"…[C]o-investors in the farm’s most recent funding include a subsidiary of Japanese giant ITOCHU Corporation, Tyr Energy, and a subsidiary of Sumitomo Corp.: Sumitomo Corp. of America…[The companies] have put around $500 million into the farm. Previous investors and partners on the farm include GE unit GE Energy Financial Services and wind developer Caithness Energy."

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"Google launched [a 2007 program to make] renewable energy cheaper than coal…[by spending] tens of millions of dollars on R&D…[and building a gigawatt of New Energy]… Rick Needham, Google’s green business operations manager…[said] the North Dakota wind farms were an attractive deal for Google on the basis of the [approximately six cents a kilowatt hour] returns alone…

"Google Energy [may also eventually purchase the power]…Google’s Green Energy Czar Bill Weihl…[said] Google Energy is…about being able to procure energy, specifically clean energy, to power the search engine giant’s data centers…Google can enter into a power purchase agreement contract with…[a developer to] help the developer get a better interest rate for the financing of the plant…[and either use or sell the clean power on the open market…"


SUN NEEDS FED LOAN GUARANTEES
US federal loan guarantee cuts: Job creation, energy security at stake
Uwe T. Schmidt, 11 April 2011 (CSP Today)

[Uwe T. Schmidt, Chair/CEO, Solar Trust of America:] “…The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office has been successful in facilitating the lending of billions of dollars to renewable energy innovators to bring commercial technologies to market…Every dollar appropriated by Congress to the Department of Energy’s Loan Guarantee Program spurs 13 dollars in private investment, dramatically reducing the costs of renewable energy and creating significant employment opportunities.”

[Uwe T. Schmidt, Chair/CEO, Solar Trust of America:] “…House leaders have chosen to target the Loan Guarantee Program for significant funding cuts. The House’s proposal to cut non-nuclear projects needs to be reconsidered…While nuclear power has a role to play in the nation’s energy mix, clearly it comes with risks…[U]nrest in the Middle East demonstrates our economy’s vulnerability…to the global fossil fuel market…[A]ny reduction in Loan Guarantee program funding will result in significant job losses and reduced private sector investment in the industry that can best address these issues…”

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[Uwe T. Schmidt, Chair/CEO, Solar Trust of America:] “The Loan Guarantee Program provides critical support to…companies and infrastructure projects… driving our recovery…[and] poised to create thousands of jobs throughout America in steel production, manufacturing, logistics, construction, and engineering services…[Our] largest solar power facility in the world…will bring over 1,000 direct construction jobs to a region that suffers from 14 percent unemployment…”

[Uwe T. Schmidt, Chair/CEO, Solar Trust of America:] “…Our site is surveyed and fully permitted, transmission rights have been secured, and the 120,000 tons of steel required for the first phase of building is ready to be purchased from American mills, processed by American fabricators, and delivered to the site by American rail and trucks… Once fully operational, the 1,000MW facility - the size of a nuclear power facility - will employ approximately 200 technicians and will annually generate enough clean electricity to power over 300,000 homes…”

Artist's rendering of the Blythe project (click to enlarge)

[Uwe T. Schmidt, Chair/CEO, Solar Trust of America:] “…[N]one of this will happen…[without] the Loan Guarantee Program…[which] is on track to achieve its objectives of job creation, reduced dependence on foreign oil and protecting our environment through the commitment of $26 billion in loans and loan guarantees to $42 billion worth of projects that will create 59,000 jobs across nineteen states…”

[Uwe T. Schmidt, Chair/CEO, Solar Trust of America:] “…[There is a great opportunity to reverse the] decline of America’s manufacturing base and the outsourcing of jobs overseas…by embracing renewable energy technologies that unleash American ingenuity, labor and capital…The value of the Loan Guarantee Program in attracting private capital to the industry cannot be understated…[It] is essential for America to remain a force in [global renewable energy]…”


WORLD’S BIGGEST WIND STORAGE
Duke Builds Largest Storage System With Xtreme at Wind Farm
Ehren Goossens, April 14, 2011 (Bloomberg News)

"Duke Energy Corp, a U.S. utility that operates 986 megawatts of wind-energy capacity, selected Xtreme Power Inc. to design and install the world’s largest power-storage system linked to a wind farm…The 36-megawatt storage system is expected to cost $44 million and will go into operation in the third quarter of 2012…

"The system will retain power generated when demand is low and can be tapped when electricity consumption is highest or the wind is not blowing. It will make the 153-megawatt Notrees wind farm in west Texas a more reliable source of energy…"

Big storage (click to enlarge)

[Greg Wolf, president, Duke Energy Renewables:] “[Storage technology will] help our wind projects, and potentially down the road solar projects, interact with the grid, making sure that any of the potential negatives from an intermittent wind resource or a peak solar resource can be managed…”

"Xtreme Power manufactures dry-cell battery systems for use with wind farms and solar projects, which cannot consistently deliver electricity."

Xtreme Power wind storage in Hawaii (click to enlarge)

[Carlos Coe, CEO, Xtreme Power:] “[Storage is beginning to catch on with renewable energy developers]. We have a few projects of this size awaiting to be announced later this year or into next year that are related to either renewable integration on a large-scale or renewable integration under challenging transmission and distribution circumstances…”

"A 30-megawatt wind project in Hawaii went into operation in March using a 15-megawatt storage system from Xtreme…Duke won in November 2009 a $22 million U.S. Energy Department grant for a large-scale battery storage system at the Notrees project…Electricity from Notrees is sold to Bentonville, Arkansas- based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), the world’s largest retailer…"


BMW GOES TO THE PLUG
BMW gambles sporty image on electric cars
James R. Healy, April 18, 2011 (USA Today)

"BMW, gambling its image as a high-performance brand, will put 700 of its 170-hp ActiveE 1 Series coupes on the streets this fall with an all-electric drive that it says will satisfy sports car fans and also use no petroleum…BMW promised the ActiveE will be ‘100% electric and 100% BMW.’ And it will go about 100 miles on a charge, the automaker says.

"It is the start of a move toward electric power by the car company famous for its smooth, powerful gasoline engines and its crisp-handling sedans. If the test of the so-called ActiveE coupe is successful, BMW will follow with an electric 3 Series vehicle called i3 for production in 2013."

The ActiveE with battery on board (click to enlarge)

"User feedback from the test fleet will help BMW finish development and refine the bigger 3 Series sedan. It shows that BMW is adapting its lithium ion battery packs and electric motors to larger vehicles. The company’s first test was of a handful of electric Mini Coopers…

"BMW will lease 700 ActiveE’s to interested drivers in U.S. coastal cities this fall for 24 months at $499 per month, plus a $2,250 payment at the start of the lease…BMW says the ActiveE will accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 9 seconds. That’s only about as quick as an average family sedan, but should feel brisk enough to suit many buyers…"