Aiming to cut costs of offshore wind power, British engineers are developing a vertical-axis turbine that would eliminate the need for a tower, reduce stress on blades and foundations and ease installation work. The developer of the 10-MW device hopes to have a 1-MW proof-of-concept machine at work within two years. A full-scale demonstration would follow. Photo Courtesy Wind Power Ltd./Grimshaw In the vertical-axis concept, blades spin close to the ocean surface, like a fan on its back. The device has two rotors attached to inclined arms. These arms rise from a vertical axle in a module sitting just above
Earthquakes, wind and ice can make electric service transmission poles topple like dominoes, costing millions of dollars to replace. Illustration By Walter Konefal div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Jon Rouse, a civil engineering professor at Iowa State University, hopes to eliminate that cost by incorporating hinges into the base of poles to deflect stress and bounce the poles back—like Weebles, the 1970s toys that “wobble but don’t fall down.” Currently, the industry relies on sturdy and costly “dead-end structures” every five to 10 miles to block poles from cascading. Rouse’s 110-kv poles, now being tested at the university, eliminate
Conceding that they lack the votes--at least for now--to pass a comprehensive energy and climate-change bill, Senate Democrats instead will propose narrower legislation. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said July 22 that he soon will introduce a scaled-back measure that includes more accountability for oil spills and a handful of other targeted provisions. After meeting with his fellow Senate Democrats, Reid told reporters that there are no Republican votes at present to support a wide-ranging energy measure. Reid said that "in the next few days" he will introduce a four-part energy package and that it would move to the Senate
A 290-MW photovoltaic powerplant is on track for construction to start later this summer in Arizona, marking the beginning of a wave of utility-scale solar projects expected to wash over the Southwest. Photo: Courtesy First Solar Designed to provide 290 MW of power, this Yuma-area project is expected to be the first of many solar powerplants. The push to build solar plants like the Agua Caliente project near Yuma is driven by two key factors: state renewable-energy requirements and a drop in solar prices, especially for photovoltaic technology. Nine western states have renewable portfolio standards requiring utility electric sales to
Groundbreaking took place this week for the $452-million Lodi Energy Cen-ter powerplant project in northern San Joaquin County. The California Energy Commission and Northern California Power Agency teamed up to get the project off the ground; the NCPA will construct, own and operate the plant. The center will be a natural-gas-fired, combined-cycle 255-MW power generation facility. Completion is scheduled for June 2012. A major component of the center will be a new technology: Designed to allow for the steam turbine’s earlier startup in a process that decouples the gas turbine from the heat-recovery steam generator, the technology is intended to
Alyeska Pipeline CEO Kevin Hostler will retire from management of the 800-mile Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) in September, three months earlier than planned. “Retiring at the end of September is good for the pipeline,” Hostler, 55, said in a statement. Photo: courtesy Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. Alyeska Pipeline CEO Kevin Hostler Hostler announced on July 7 that his last day is September 30. Members of the TAPS Owner Committee are now looking for a new CEO and will appoint an interim CEO if the position is not filled in time. Hostler’s announcement will not alter controversial staffing or maintenance
The planned construction of a $780-million wind power project in Kenya is about to get under way. The consortium heading the project announced it is close to selecting contractors for the construction of transmission lines, roads and bridges to and from the project site, located in the remote district of Marsabit. The completion of the 300-MW Lake Turkana Wind Power Limited (LTWP) project, Africa’s biggest, would increase the capacity of Africa’s installed wind turbines to more than 1,000 MW, or approximately 0.7% of the total worldwide capacity. The consortium, LTWP, led by Aldwych International (51%) and Industrial Development Corp. of
Sweden’s parliament narrowly voted on June 17 to end its long moratorium on new nuclear plants. The move follows last month’s separate decision by Finland to approve in principle proposals for two new plants. Rendering Courtesy Of TVO. Site in Finland envisioned for new boiling-water or pressurized-water reactors. With 174 votes in favor and 172 against, the Swedish parliament reversed a 1980 decision to close two reactors and halt all new nuclear construction. Concerned about carbon dioxide emissions and reliance on imported fossil fuels, the government initiated new legislation allowing more nuclear power last year. Thirty years ago, public opinion
Deepwater Wind, Hoboken, N.J., has revived its 28.8-MW offshore wind project in Rhode Island following passage of a new state law that will make it easier for the project to win approval of its power-purchase contract. The new law requires the state Public Utilities Commission to consider the environmental and economic benefits the $200-million wind farm will bring to the state, rather than just the price of the power. In late March, the commission rejected its power-purchase contract with utility National Grid at a price of 24.4¢ per KWh beginning in 2013. Deepwater says it needs the utility contract to
Uncertainty looms over the petroleum sector. In March, the industry saw new opportunities open up when President Obama lifted a 20-year moratorium on offshore drilling along the East Coast, as well as portions of the Gulf of Mexico and the Alaskan coastline. Three weeks later, the political environment took a dramatic turn following the April 20 explosion at BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The administration ordered a temporary ban on offshore drilling in the Gulf and halted exploration of several new areas. Portions of the oil industry have since been locked in a court battle over
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