Maine could be the proving ground of a significant new renewable powerhouse for the Northeast, as scientists and builders use composites and robotics in hopes of harnessing wind and wave power. + Image Rendering: Courtesty of NREL/Walt Musial Cianbro Corp., Pittsfield, Maine, is constructing a new $30-million Offshore Wind Laboratory, scheduled for completion in June. It has 4-ft-thick test floors with a waterproof blade-tip pit, 30 ft wide x 75 ft long x 16 ft deep, to be used as a wave basin for testing models of floating wind turbines. “It’s challenging keeping up with constantly evolving equipment technology,” says
Four major oil companies said on Feb. 17 they are ready to deploy an interim system to cap future leaks in deepwater oil wells, paving the way for deepwater activity to resume. The system was created by the Marine Well Containment Co., a consortium formed by ExxonMobil, Shell, ConocoPhillips and Chevron after the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement required that such a system be in place before it issues any new deepwater drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico. The new device, made by Trendsetter Engineering, Houston, includes a subsea capping stack with the ability to either
The nation’s second new nuclear enrichment facility could be under construction before the end of the year, while a third languishes in need of a Dept. of Energy loan guarantee. The new facilities—one in Idaho, one in New Mexico and a third in Ohio—are needed to supply existing nuclear powerplants in the United States and could be expanded to supply new ones. Rendering: Courtesy Areva Eagle Rock plant in Idaho would be a French-U.S. engineering joint venture. Photo: Courtesy Urenco Plant in New Mexico is in production. Paris-based Areva on Feb. 11 signed a two-phase contract with San Francisco-based URS
The 130-turbine Cape Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts has spurred more support for offshore wind generation, including a $199-million terminal construction at the Port of Paulsboro, N.J., and a $35-million project on the waterfront in New Bedford, Mass. That new port infrastructure as well as recently announced federal programs to support offshore wind infrastructure may finally help launch the U.S. offshore wind industry, which has lagged behind countries such as the United Kingdom and Denmark where the offshore supply chain was developed years ago. New Bedford is Cape Wind’s designated hub for offshore wind staging and assembly. Kristin
China, which has surpassed Japan as the world’s second-largest economy, signaled its intent to invest in North America as Calgary-based natural-gas producer Encana Corp. on Feb. 13 announced the largest Chinese investment in Canada to date. Under terms of a $5.4-billion cooperation agreement, PetroChina, an arm of China’s state-owned National Petroleum Co., will acquire a 50% share in Encana’s Cutbank Ridge gas production facilities, representing 255 million cubic feet per day of proved reserves of approximately one trillion cu ft on 250,000 hectares straddling the Alberta-British Columbia border. Photo: Courtesy Encana Infusion of Chinese capital aimed at priming Cutbank Ridge-area
As European offshore wind power development accelerates, a series of costly failures has undermined confidence in turbine tower foundations. Now, a leading risk management company has produced new design guidance in a bid to prevent tower settlement that can cause potentially costly stresses in support structures. Photo: courtesy of Scira Sheringham farm designers had time to alter the monopiles while they were still in fabrication. + Image Image: courtesy of DNV Norway’s Det Norske Veritas A/S, H�vik, began reviewing its seemingly faulty design guidance in the fall of 2009 following reports of support failures in some completed turbine installations. DNV
India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Sources (MNRE) is working on a master plan for establishing 60 “solar cities.” The MNRE says the plan will help reduce fossil fuel use by 10% by 2018. The objective of the program is to promote renewable energy in urban areas and enable local governments to use public-private partnerships to meet sustainable energy challenges at the municipal level, explains Arun Tripathi, MNRE director. “This is the first time a plan is being structured in a consolidated manner,” Tripathi says. Currently, 45 cities have been given the green light, and a consultant will be
Five European energy companies this month announced a joint-venture agreement to develop and build an electricity link under the North Sea between the U.K. and Norway. The NorthConnect joint venture aims to have the 1,200-MW to 2,000-MW power cable operational by 2020. The total length of the high-voltage, direct-current interconnector could measure from 350 miles to more than 400 miles, depending on the choice of the landing points. For the shortest link, Scotland is likely to be the preferred U.K. landfall, though other options will be studied during the next 12 to 18 months. The non-profit Scottish European Green Energy
The European Wind Energy Association is forecasting that up to 1,500 MW of offshore wind power will be connected to European national grids this year, continuing the region’s growth trend in offshore wind-power installations. + Image The association says offshore wind-power installations grew 51% to 883 MW last year from 582 MW in 2009, even though onshore wind-power installations (8.4 GW) were down 13.9% compared to the same kind of installations (9.7 GW) in 2009. However, monopiles are considered suitable in water depths up to about 30 meters. As wind farms are sited farther from shore, new styles of foundations
Disputes between Bechtel Corp., San Francisco, and Duke Energy, Charlotte, N.C., have become a focus of those questioning cost overruns at Duke’s integrated gas combined-cycle (IGCC) plant in Edwardsport, Ind. Photo: Courtesy of Duke Energy Indiana The 630-MW integrated gas combined-cycle powerplant, the biggest facility of its type, is being built by Bechtel for Duke Energy. As the price of the facility—which is 60% complete—has risen to $2.9 billion now from $1.6 billion in 2006, the Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana and others are calling on the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to probe whether fraud, concealment and gross mismanagement are