Wind Matters from the Canadian Wind Energy Association
December 14, 2010
In Ontario the Gosfield Wind Project has opened. Owned by Brookfield Renewable Power, the project (a 50MW facility) will produce power for the Ontario Power Authority. Close on its heels is the construction start of another Brookfield project. Its new Comber Wind farm (a 166MW facility)is expected to be on line in a year. Together these two projects will power over 70,000 average Ontario homes.
Also in Ontario, the government is seeking public input into its long term energy plan. Log on and share you thoughts.
In Nova Scotia the Nuttby Mountain Wind Farm (a 45MW facility) is powering up. If you’ve never had the change to visit a facility, have a look at the pics below. They’ll give you a good sense of scale and better understanding of what’s involved in building a project like this. The green colour bands on the posts are new – nice idea. Thanks to Nova Scotia Power for the slide show.
Eye of the Wind
October 22, 2010
Look up, look waaaay up. Yup, that right. There’s something new at the top of that wind turbine.
Grouse Mountain Resort has installed a wind turbine (1.5MW installed capacity) that is capable of supplying up to 25 per cent of the resort’s power needs. Including presumably, the elevator inside of the turbine tower. In under a minute, you and 35 of your closest friends can be on top of the world, or at least on top of the turbine in its one-of-a-kind viewing pod.
The construction was an international affair – the blades were made and transported from Europe as was the viewing pod – made in France, shipped across the ocean and then transported by train across Canada. The tower was made in Washington State and trucked up the west coast to Vancouver.
If you’re in the viewing pod on a windy day, the blades will start up when wind speeds are just under 10 km per hour and cut-out at 90 km per hour. You’ve got to admit it would be pretty cool to be in the pod with the wind howling. And if that isn’t exciting enough, you and your buddies could jump up and down on the glass floor section, in the pod, in the howling wind…
Wind Matters from the Canadian Wind Energy Association
October 20, 2010
Ontario continues to lead the country in installed wind energy capacity. A recent Ipsos Reid survey 565KB PDF, found that most Ontario residents supported wind energy in their region (looks like they are over NIMBY), encourage their municipal governments to facilitate wind energy development and believe wind energy can provide economic opportunities and benefits.
Canada should finish 2010 with 754 megawatts of new wind energy capacity, which represents a whooping $1.7 billion in new investment. Significant, public-supported energy industry growth powered by significant investment equals exciting news.
In la belle province, the federal government’s ecoEnergy for Renewable Power program is set to provide up to $65 million over the next ten years to two wind farms in the Gaspé – Cartier Wind Energy’s 100.5-MW L’Anse-à-Valleau and 109.5-MW Carleton wind farms.
Are you interested in owning your own wind turbine or leasing land to a commercial wind developer? If you’re an Alberta landowner, you’re in luck.
The Pembina Institute’s new detailed Landowners’ Guide to Wind Energy in Alberta (3.1MB PDF) provides information on a range of topics: the province’s electricity market, wind technology, wind energy issues and impacts, the approval process, ownership models and negotiating with developers. This resource is free to download.
There are two wind events coming up in Canada. CanWEA’s 2010 Annual Conference and Exhibition takes place from November 1 to 3 in Montreal. If you’re in the city, CanWEA is looking for volunteers to help at the conference.
And to wrap up a busy year, CanWEA will host Growing Wind in BC, which runs from December 9 to 10 in Vancouver. The event will include an education seminar and discussion forum.
Renewable Power That’s Out of This World
October 19, 2010
You’ve heard of solar power, and you’ve heard of wind power, but what about solar wind power? It’s not just a convenient mash-up of two of the most familiar sources of renewable energy: it’s a hypothetical technology with mile-high potential for power generation.
Solar winds are streams of charged particles that are ejected from the upper atmosphere of the sun, carrying 6.7 billion tons of mass away every hour. Propelling this matter through space, solar winds can move at anywhere between 400 and 750 kilometres per hour. Consider that modern wind turbines turn with wind speeds between 13 and 90 kilometres, and you have some sense of the enormous amount of energy available.
Just how much energy could a satellite harnessing solar winds generate? As much as 100 billion times as much power as the Earth currently uses.
Now, a pair of researchers from Washington State University has suggested that such a so-called a Dyson-Harrop satellite is possible. As Popular Science explains: A 0.4-inch-wide copper wire pointed at the sun, and attached to a solar sail (the wire — which can range in length from 980 feet to more than half a mile) would generate a magnetic field that would capture electrons from the solar wind. The particles would be funneled into a spherical receiver, which produces a current.
The main issue of a solar-powered satellite capable of returning solar wind power to the Earth isn’t a simple one though. Somehow, the satellite would have to be capable of beaming all that power back to the Earth, which would require an intense beam of energy that’s currently beyond our technical ability. If scientists were able to harness all this power, though, it could very well be the last energy solution that the planet requires.
That, or the greatest death ray ever designed by science. Hopefully just the power thing, though.
Stabilizing Offshore Wind Power
August 16, 2010
Barring objections from residents with ocean and lakeside views, one of the chief advantages of offshore wind is that it stays out of sight. Even though a recent report by Ontario’s chief medical officer concluded there was no evidence that the noise from wind turbines leads to adverse health effects, for example, residents are often still uneasy about letting a power plant, even a renewable one, in their backyards. That’s why a new kind of wind turbine, set to be released as a prototype in 2012 off the coast of Maine, offers hope for further offshore wind power.
Because they’re buffeted by wind and waves, offshore turbines have to be anchored to the ocean floor. But in deeper water, these supports aren’t practical, meaning that nearer developments have to contend with nearby residents’ objections. That’s why a consortium of companies calling itself DeepCwind is trying to develop a self-stabilizing offshore turbine.
The three models they’re currently testing float at 1/50th scale in a pool at the University of Maine in Orono. One is a large tube with a massive keel beneath and anchors, another is secured using taut cables and the third, also held in place by cables, is balanced by a pair of semi-submersible platforms, like a catamaran’s. Depending on the results of these tests, DeepCwind will select one for the designs as the basis for a 30-metre-high prototype that will be towed to four kilometres off Maine’s Monhegan Island.
Canada doesn’t currently have any offshore wind, though the NaiKun Wind Energy Group had hoped to be the first: installing 110 turbines in BC’s Hectate Strait. Unfortunately for the project, when BC Hydro announced its Clean Call for new sources of renewable electricity supply, NaiKun was not among them. Given the current level of interest in renewable power sources, however, it seems like offshore wind will eventually be a reality in Canada. If that’s true, and residents surrounding the Great Lakes don’t want turbines there, it won’t be long before Canadians begin looking for self-stabilizing wind turbines of their own.
A little fit over microFIT
July 22, 2010
The Globe and Mail recently profiled a rising wave of resentment over a change in Ontario’s otherwise popular feed-in-tariff (FIT) program. A quiet change to the regime on July 2 reduced the rate paid to solar producers from 80.2 cents to 58.8 cents per kilowatt hour for ground-mounted solar photovoltaic, which has some producers up in arms. Solar PV hadn’t previously been separated into two distinct categories (roof- and ground-mounted).
The change won’t affect the rate being paid to existing producers, who sign a contract for at least 20 years guaranteeing a preferable rate, but it would affect those who are just beginning the process of singing up. That’s inflamed tempers faster than an efficient solar heating panel.
The Globe’s article quotes one would-be producer, John Verway of Copperhill Alternate Energy, in an open letter saying that the change is “a misguided and miscalculated change” that could “destroy the progress so many have made so far.”.
The guaranteed, relatively high rate being paid for renewable power is a cornerstone of Ontario’s Green Energy Act, designed to increase the production of renewable power and associated industries. Under the FIT program, the Ontario Power Authority guarantees that renewable power producers will be paid a subsidized rate in the long term. In the case of the microFIT program, these projects have to generate less than 10 kilowatts.
But while the contracts are meant to guarantee funding in the long term, the change to the payment schedule is happening immediately.
According to the announcement of the change, anyone wanting to comment on the change has until August 2. A subsequent announcement also outlines the government’s rationale for the change, and once the deadline has passed, any complaints made afterward will unfortunately just be hot air. And under FIT, wind power uses a different payment schedule.
Backyard wind power? Not so fast
November 4, 2009
Talk about taking the wind out of urban wind power’s sails.
Graham Findlay in Ottawa was told he cannot install a wind turbine in his backyard, despite support from his neighbours. Besides having to change the zoning of his home, he would have to set up the turbine so that if it fell, it would fall only on his property.
The turbine in question is a ten-meter tall Energy Ball V100, designed for residential areas. According to Ottawa’s current bylaws, wind turbines can only be erected on properties that are at least 0.8 hectares in size; about 8,000 square meters. What does that mean? For urbanites, it’s checkmate. According to Ottawa’s Planning and Development Approvals Commissioner, 8,000 square meters is the minimum plot size for country lots. Lots created for average homes are generally around 2,200 square meters.
The Energy Ball V100 is nothing like wind-farm turbines. It’s actually shaped like a ball, and has a very discreet design. It takes a load off of the local power grid; Findlay says it would supply his house with 10 per cent of its energy needs.
In the future, it may be possible to install smaller turbines in urban backyards. The Green Energy Act seems to stipulate zoning rules don’t apply to certain renewable-energy installations.
However, because the Green Energy Act is so new – only passed in May – Ottawa is still getting its ducks in a row about how it will be put into practice.
Urban wind turbines
August 11, 2009
It’s hard for dense metropolitan areas like New York City to go green. There is no room for say, massive two-hundred-foot-tall wind turbines. Or is there?
Well, there is on a small scale. New York City recently began mounting apartment-sized wind turbines that look a lot like table fans onto their affordable housing complexes. Supplying power directly to homes, the small turbines typically cut electricity costs in half.
Cleveland State University scientist Dr. Majid Rashidi (pictured left) is taking it one step further: he wants to replace the water towers that grace many of NYC’s older buildings with a wind-turbine silo. The logic is New Yorkers are already accustomed to the roof-top structures, making the retro-fit the ideal opportunity to turn the concrete jungle green.
One of the major problems preventing wind turbines from being truly effective in urban areas is the difficulty in harnessing the variable and unstable wind speeds. That’s why Rashidi’s design is generating so much interest.
The silo-like structure containing four wind turbines actually accelerates the wind hitting the turbines and allows them to generate power more consistently than one of the more typical mini airplane propeller type turbines.
And while the building-mounted wind turbine won’t exactly be winning any wind-generating awards, producing only about 8 kilowatts per hour, it is still a gust in the right direction, saving a potential 600,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.
And on the smog-choked streets of New York City, that’s not going to blow past unnoticed.
Wind power takes a blow from the global economy
July 27, 2009
The Atlantic coast is a windy, windy place, no doubt about that.
Luckily, wind is a useful resource, and moves are being made to harness that wind and turn a profit. But, there are obstacles galore.
A $1 billion wind farm in Summerside, P.E.I. was delayed by the sudden economic downturn, as investors backed out at the last minute. Originally going forward in stages, phases one and two are now being combined. Four turbines are expected to be installed by November.
Additionally, the project has run into a strong case of NIMBY. Local residents aren’t completely sold on the project. In 2006, the first two windmills were installed on this farm. They were met with some protest. More seems likely to come.
The provincial government, led by Energy Minister Richard Brown, is trying to turn them around on the idea. He insists the money generated from projects like this will be good for the provincial economy. Given the current economic climate, “good for the economy” may translate into “necessary.”
The province receives a percentage of the revenue generated by wind power. They also get a piece of the action from lands rentals where the windmills are located, and a 16 per cent corporate income tax rate.
Wind power figures to play a prominent role in PEI’s future economic well being. 18 per cent of PEI’s electrical energy is already generated by wind. Provincially-owned wind farms already are in place on either end of the island province.
Many European firms have their eyes on P.E.I. as an excellent location for their windmills.
There’s gold in the winds?
Bird-proof wind turbines under development
March 23, 2009
The debate on how best to maximize green energy and protect wildlife continues to be the source of turbulent debate, at least when it comes to wind power and the deadly interactions with birds and bats.
Relatively speaking, wind turbines are a negligible threat to birds and bats, compared to say, cats. But bird groups advocate for better-sited wind farms in order to lessen the impact on wildlife, prompting scientists to seek ways to essentially bird-proof turbines.
Location, location, location…
The problem with wind farms is that the locations are chosen for the same reason that birds and bats choose their migratory flight paths: the wind. Birds follow the winds because it creates less turbulence than hilly, or tree- and city- covered land, which results in an easier, faster and smoother flight…which puts them right in the path of the wind farms.
Wind turbines have come a long way in the last 25 years. The former ‘lattice’ design of towers used back then provided perches which actually attracted birds to the blades. The wind turbine blade configuration and size, and reduced speed of new designs have had the effect of lowering mortality rates. Though not as effective as the horizontal design, the vertical spires may be a good compromise.
Today scientists, wind companies, and environmentalists are working together to bird-proof the turbines. There are already bird-safe home wind turbines. And for the past several years, wildlife biologists have been observing and measuring the interactions of migratory birds and lake-anchored wind turbines.
