Quebec’s Caisse invests $500-million in wind power

www.theglobeandmail.com
8 Jan 2013

Quebec's big pension fund manager, the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, has beefed up its investments in renewable energy by taking a stake in 13 wind farms in the United States and Canada.

The $500 million investment will give the fund a share of 11 U.S, and two Canadian wind farms currently owned and operated by Invenergy Wind LLC, a company based in Chicago that owns renewable energy projects across North America and Europe.

Up to now, the Caisse's direct renewable energy investment has been limited to a $25 million financing of the Seigneurie de Beaupre Wind Farm developed by Montreal-based Boralex Inc. The pension fund also owns equity in Enbridge Inc, and Gaz Metro L.P., utilities that operate some renewable energy projects among their broader portfolios.

The Invenergy Wind investment "is our most important to date" in the renewable sector, Caisse spokeswoman Sarah-Emilie Bouchard said. One of the projects in the group of assets is located in Quebec-the Plateau wind farm, a 139 MW development in the Gaspe region that has been producing power since early last year.

Caisse senior vice-president of infrastructure Macky Tall said the wind projects will broaden the pension fund's presence in a "forward-looking sector" and generate stable and predictable returns over the long term. The companies would not reveal what proportion of the wind projects the Caisse will own, but Invenergy Wind will remain the controlling shareholder of the developments. Over all, the portfolio generates about 1,500 MWs of electricity.

Invenergy Wind is one of the largest independent power companies in North America, with more than 55 facilities that generate power from wind, solar power and natural gas.

Wind energy tax credit

www.theaustralian.com.au
8 Jan 2013

CONTRARY to Graham Lloyds article, the US production tax credit for wind power was extended as part of the fiscal cliff deal passed on January 1 ("Blow to big wind in the power-market stakes", 5 6/1).

Given that most major fossil fuel power plants in Australia were built and funded by governments-and many are still owned by governments-it is not unreasonable that renewable energy is provided with a modest level of support until it becomes more established. The cost of wind power, for example, makes up less than 2% of power bills.

While world markets have proven volatile over the last 12 months due to the stop-start nature of government support in some countries, Australia's 20% Renewable Energy Target has been a consistent and relatively low-cost policy that has provided enough stability to attract financiers and investors.

Australia is well-positioned to substantially increase the share of renewable energy in our generation mix between here and the end of the decade, creating tens of thousands of jobs and unlocking billions of dollars of investment in the process.

Russell Marsh, Clean Energy Council, Southbank, Vic


Graham Lloyd is a recidivist when it comes to misrepresenting the facts, exaggerating or misleading by omission.

New path to more efficient organic solar cells uncovered

www.sciencedaily.com
7 Jan 2013

Why are efficient and affordable solar cells so highly coveted? Volume. The amount of solar power lighting up Earth's land mass every year is nearly 3,000 times the total amount of annual human energy use. But to compete with energy from fossil fuels, photovoltaic devices must convert sunlight to electricity with a certain measure of efficiency. For polymer-based organic photovoltaic cells, which are far less expensive to manufacture than silicon-based solar cells, scientists have long believed that the key to high efficiencies rests in the purity of the polymer/organic cell's two domains -- acceptor and donor. Now, however, an alternate and possibly easier route forward has been shown.

Working at Berkeley Lab's Advanced Light Source (ALS), a premier source of X-ray and ultraviolet light beams for research, an international team of scientists found that for highly efficient polymer/organic photovoltaic cells, size matters.

"We've shown that impure domains if made sufficiently small can also lead to improved performances in polymer-based organic photovoltaic cells," says Harald Ade, a physicist at North Carolina State University, who led this research. "There seems to be a happy medium, a sweet-spot of sorts, between purity and domain size that should be much easier to achieve than ultra-high purity."

Ade, a longtime user of the ALS, is the corresponding author of a paper describing this work in Advanced Energy Materials titled "Absolute Measurement of Domain Composition and Nanoscale Size Distribution Explains Performance in PTB7:PC71 BM Solar Cells." Co-authors are Brian Collins, Zhe Li, John Tumbleston, Eliot Gann and Christopher McNeill.

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Superconductors for efficient wind power plants: Researchers develop cooling system for novel generator

http://phys.org

January 4, 2013

Wind power will make a major contribution to the energy turnaround. Efficient power generation by means of offshore power plants requires powerful, reliable generators that do not cause disproportionately high logistic efforts and do not require complex foundations. Using generators with superconductors, performance can be increased to 10 MW while at the same time reducing the units' weights and sizes. Besides, superconducting generators can be built with less than one hundredth of the quantity of rare earths required for manufacturing the currently most frequently used permanent magnet generator. Superconduction, hence, allows setting up of efficient, robust, and compact wind power plants at reduced building, operating, and maintenance costs.

It is the objective of the EU-supported project SUPRAPOWER (SUPerconducting, Reliable, lightweight, And more POWERful offshore wind turbine) to use the high potential of supraconduction for expansion of wind power. In the four-year project that has started now nine partners from industry and science cooperate under the coordination of Fundacion Tecnalia Research & Innovation, Spain. Together, the partners develop a wind power plant with direct-drive superconducting generator. The innovative direct drive, in addition, reduces transport and maintenance costs and extends the service life of the turbine.

The Cryogenic Engineering Division at KIT's Institute for Technical Physics (ITEP) contributes the cooling system: Below a certain temperature, superconductors have no electrical resistance and conduct electricity without loss. To ensure proper operation of the superconducting generator, the coils must be cooled below this so-called transition temperature. The researchers at ITEP are developing a rotating low-loss cryostat that cools down the superconducting coils to 20 Kelvin (minus 253.15 °C) through pure heat conduction by means of small Gifford-McMahon coolers provided by the project partner Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum.

"Since the cooling performance of such coolers is limited, we must ensure that heat between them and the superconducting coils is conducted well. Besides, we must consider the influence of rotation on the heat pipes we may use. On the other hand, the cryostat needs a highly effective thermal insulation", explains Head of the Cryogenic Engineering Division Dr. Holger Neumann. Work on the cooling system translates the findings from fundamental research to practice and, hence, is most attractive to young scientists.

Jordan to receive Gulf aid for renewable energy

www.albawaba.com
1 Jan 2013

Jordan is set to receive $300 million from the Gulf states to boost investment in renewable energy, officials say, as Amman looks to solar and wind power as potential solutions to the country's chronic energy woes.

According to Minister of Energy and Transportation Alaa Batayneh, some $300 million of a $5 billion grant from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has been earmarked for a series of solar and wind power projects in southern Jordan expected to produce over 125 MWs (MW) of electricity.

In a recent interview with The Jordan Times, Batayneh said the money, set to be secured by the ministry next year, would fund some 50 75MW of solar power and 75-100MW of wind power projects in Maan and Aqaba governorates. The GCC aid, decided at a meeting of the Gulf states last December, includes $1.25 billion each from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar, and will support development projects in the Kingdom over a period of five years.

The $300 million is the latest in a string of international assistance agreements for clean energy in Jordan, including a $112 million loan Jordan secured from the World Bank in July to support the establishment of a 100MW concentrated solar power plant. "These funds will help Jordan develop its one true energy solution: solar and wind", Batayneh told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.

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Sempra Energy completes a wind farm in Maui

www.utsandiego.com
31 Dec 2012

San Diego-based Sempra Energy has announced the completion of a wind farm in southeast Maui capable of powering 10,000 island homes.

Perched on a ridge of the Haleakala volcano, the Auwahi Wind power plant consists of eight new turbines and a battery designed to sustain power during light wind conditions. The plant was built by Sempra US Gas & Power and BP Wind Energy under a 20-year contract with Maui Electric, a subsidiary of Hawaii's dominant regulated utility.

The state is requiring utilities to increase the share of electricity generated from renewable sources to 40% by 2030. California's renewable portfolio standard requires 33% renewable generation by 2020. In a written announcement Wednesday, Sempra recognized the support of neighbors to the project including the Ulupalakua cattle ranch.

Solar energy on the rise in Germany

www.dw.de
1 Jan 2013

Solar energy is on the rise in Germany, with a record 1.3 million photovoltaic systems in 2012. The increase comes as new consumer taxes on energy are to take effect in the country. The recent solar boom means the alternative form of energy now reaches 8 million homes in Germany, a 45% increase compared to 2011, the German Solar Industry Association (BSW) said on Tuesday.

"Germany is now reaping the fruits of its efforts in solar technology," said the BSW's chief executive, Carsten Körnig. "Its share of the power supply has quadrupled in just three years. At the same time, the price of a new solar power system installation has halved."

The new numbers come as a consumer tax increase on energy takes effect. Starting this month, taxes will increase on consumer power bills from 3.6 € ¢ to 5.3 ¢ per kW hour in a bid to help finance the cost of the country's switch to renewable energy. For the average three-person household in Germany, that 47% increase will cost an extra 185 euros annually.

Solar energy currently accounts for about 5% of the country's total electricity usage, the BSW said. The association aims to increase that number to 10% by 2020 and at least 20% by 2030.

Wind power deadline sees US firms rush to build turbines

www.bbc.co.uk
29 Dec 2012

US energy companies are racing to install wind turbines before a federal tax credit expires at the end of this year. Experts say that wind power has exceeded the construction of natural gas plants in recent months. However the financial incentive for wind could be lost as congress struggles to avoid financial deadlock.

Even if the credit is extended it is expected that new installations will decline in 2013. According to industry analysts, the federal government's production tax credit has played an important role in the expansion of wind power across the US since it was first introduced in 1992.

Wind passes gas
At that point there was less than 1.5 GWs of power generating capacity provided by wind across the country. That figure has grown dramatically. This year has seen around 12 GWs of wind power capacity installed, outpacing even natural gas projects which have boomed on the back of cheap shale.

The government subsidy works out at 2.2 ¢ per kW hour of power produced over ten years. This amounts to around $1m (£620,000) for every large turbine. However the deadline is absolute-to get the money the blades on new installations must be turning and generating power before the 31st of December.

"There's a lot of rushing right now to get projects completed by the end of the year", says Rob Gramlich, senior vice president at the American Wind Energy Association. "It is not a great way to run a business with this policy-induced uncertainty". The tax credit has proved contentious with some lawmakers criticising it as too generous. It lapsed previously in 1999, 2001 and 2003. Each time it lead to a collapse in new construction.

The American Wind Energy Association are hoping the tax credit will be passed as part of a compromise package of legislation to help the US avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. The say the most likely outcome is a short term extension of the subsidy. "There's a good chance we could get this extension, it is very hard to predict, but the industry is not making bets on the Congress getting it done", says Mr Gramlich,

Even if there is an extension there is likely to be a significant curtailment of wind installations in 2013. Wind energy companies say they need longer time frames to negotiate deals to sell the power they generate. Iberdrola Renewables is the second largest developer of wind power projects in the United States. The company is racing to finalise new wind installations in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. However the prospects for new turbines in 2013 are slim according to Paul Copleman, communications manager for Iberdrola.

"Even if the tax credit is extended, our new construction plans likely will be ramped back substantially in 2013 compared with the last few years. So much time has passed without certainty that a normal one-year extension would not be a game-changer for our 2013 build plans".

Some analysts argue that all subsidies to wind should end and the industry should stand on its own two feet. They say that the current arrangements mean that energy companies continue to make money even when there is a surplus of wind and the market price is negative.

Dan Kish is with the Institute for Energy Research, a body long critical of subsidies for renewables. He told BBC News the extension of the tax credit was expensive, unnecessary and destabilising to the electricity grid. "Wind produces power at a fraction of its stated capacity, and is increasingly adding unnecessary costs to consumers, just as it is in the UK", he said "They are creations of government and serve only to make their builders and owners wealthy at the expense of the public".

Apple exploring alternative wind power technology and motion-control Mac mice

techcrunch.com
27 Dec 2012

Apple's patent filings today reveal one concept outside their usual product-focused applications, detailing a method for harnessing wind power in a manner different from that employed in traditional turbines. Electricity gathered from a wind turbine would be converted to heat energy and stored in a "low-heat capacity fluid" in Apple's patent, allowing it to be tapped on an as-needed basis whenever the wind dies down.

It all gets pretty technical, but painted in broad strokes, the system would potentially use the motion of the rotor shaft moving against a "low-heat capacity fluid" (such as ethanol or mercury, for instance) to generate heat through friction between the two surfaces. This can then be transferred from the storage fluid to a working fluid which is then boiled off to release steam. The steam powers a turbine, converting the energy to usable form.

Apple's system differs from basic wind-power generators that are highly subject to variances in wind power, as well as systems that use batteries to store energy made through rotational energy for later use when wind isn't actively making that much power. Instead, it is designed to make wind power available on a more "on-demand" basis, which is of significant importance for facilities requiring a constant, uninterrupted power supply. That likely explains why Apple is pursuing this kind of tech: Its massive data centers have huge power requirements, and the company has stated its commitment to harnessing wind, solar and other alternative energy sources to help keep these facilities running smoothly.

So far, Apple has been working mostly on building solar farms and biogas generators to help fulfill its energy needs at data center locations like the one it has in Maiden, NC, and competitor Google recently revealed that it has powered a data center with wind power for the first time.

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EnergyAustralia puts gas-fired plant on hold

www.theaustralian.com.au
28 Dec 2012

Energyaustralia has shelved plans for a $1.3 billion Victorian power station that had been slated to replace some of the big Yallourn brown coal plants in the Latrobe Valley. The gas plant, which had originally been planned as a baseload power station, would potentially have replaced two of Yallourn's four brown coal power units, Yallourn's Hong Kong-owned operator TRUEnergy said in 2010.

EnergyAustralia, the rebranded TRUEnergy, has now told the Victorian government it has put the big project on hold because of a drop in wholesale energy demand and prices. The shelving also comes as a combination of higher east-coast gas prices beyond 2015 -driven by $70bn of coal seam gas export projects being built at Gladstone--and lower expected carbon prices make gas-fired power less economically viable than coal.

Yallourn is currently operating only three of its units after lower demand meant it did not restart a unit that was shut down this year because of flooding. EnergyAustralia's head of markets, Mark Collette, said a new power station may not be needed until much later this decade. "We are seeing further deterioration in the energy market and wholesale prices, and we don't expect conditions to improve in the foreseeable future", he said.

The federal government's abandoning of plans to pay for closure of brown coal power stations has also meant there is little chance EnergyAustralia will look at closing more units at Yallourn.

In documents submitted to the federal Environment Department in 2009, TRUEnergy said the 1000 MW combined-cycle gas turbine plant would "allow for a transition over time from existing coal-fired plant to flexible, economically viable, low-emissions technologies". "The introduction of the (gas) plant is largely dependent on the electricity market and impact of a scheme that places a value on carbon emissions", the submission said.

High gas prices and the linking of Australia's carbon tax with subdued European prices have greatly improved the relative economics of brown coal stations. Earlier this month, GDF Suez--which owns Hazelwood, the nation's dirtiest power station--said high gas prices and lower carbon had improved the outlook for its Australian business.

The date for first gas-fired power from Yallourn had slipped from 2013 to 2017 in documents submitted to the Victorian government in June. In those documents, CLP Group quietly downgraded its plans from a combined-cycle to an open-cycle plant. This meant it would supply just peaking power, rather than baseload, but could be upgraded at some later stage to replace the coal-fired units.

Projects ion of wind farms helps finds endangered lizards

www.abc.net.au
28 Dec 2012

The South Australian Museum says the introduction of wind farms has led to greater discoveries of the pygmy bluetongue lizard in the State's mid-north. For 20 years the Museum has led a research project into the endangered species in the Burra region.

A community group has been formed to help continue the research which has now identified about 27 populations of the rare lizard. Senior herpetology researcher at the Museum, Doctor Mark Hutchinson, says greater environmental scrutiny for wind farm developments has had an unexpected side-effect.

"In the periphery of it where people are looking to put in tracks or other things, down the bottoms of hills and on the edges of where the windfarms are going, the lizards have turned up. "So about four or five of the latest populations have turned up as a side-benefit of having to pay for environmental attention to particular areas in the landscape".

Maine producing enough wind power to supply 175,000 homes

www.pressherald.com
25 Dec 2012

(US) AUGUSTA--Wind power generated in Maine is now producing nearly 500 MWs, enough to supply the average needs of 175,000 households. However, it's still well short of the state's goal for wind generation by 2015. But new projects that are in conceptual stages, under regulatory review or approved but facing challenges could catapult the state to half of its wind-power goal of 2,000 MWs by 2015. The Legislature has set that goal for installed wind power capacity, along with 3,000 MWs by 2020.

Maine's operating wind power plants have a capacity to produce 468 MWs online now, according to figures from the state Department of Environmental Protection, which regulates grid-scale projects in Maine's Unorganized Territory. The year's end brings the possibility of big change to the industry. The federal Production Tax Credit, used to encourage development of renewable energy projects, is due to expire at the end of 2012.

That's caused "very legitimate" concerns among wind power developers, said Jeremy Payne, executive director of the Maine Renewable Energy Association. "It's a very important piece of development" in wind projects, he said. A national industry group, the American Wind Energy Association, says that with the looming expiration of the credit, wind project developers are not making plans in the United States and American manufacturers are not receiving orders, costing jobs.

Developers' interest does not appear to have waned in Maine, which is by far New England's largest wind producer but accounts for only a small fraction of total U.S, output. According to the American Wind Energy Association, the U.S, wind industry totaled 51,630 MWs of cumulative wind capacity through the end of September.

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Flexible solar cells can stick to just about any surface

www.technologyreview.com
20 Dec 2012

solar panels are typically heavy, which makes them expensive to install, and rigid, which limits where they can be used. In the current issue of Nature Scientific Reports, researchers describe a novel, potentially cheap way to make solar cells that are both lightweight and flexible.

The technique is meant to work with thin-film solar cells. The active part of thin-film solar cells—the part that gathers sunlight and generates electricity—is thin enough to be flexible, but the cells usually have to be manufactured on rigid materials such as glass to achieve the highest quality.

Researchers led by Xiaolin Zheng, a professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford University, demonstrated a way to transfer the active materials of the solar cell from a rigid substrate onto another surface, such as a sheet of paper or plastic, the roof of a car, or the back of a smartphone. As with other solar cells, wires would then be connected to deliver power, but flexible solar cells could be used on curved surfaces, and, because they're lightweight, they would be easier to install than conventional panels.

Although Zheng has demonstrated that the process can transfer solar cells even to cheap surfaces such as paper, in practical applications, the materials used would be limited by the need to protect the cells from the elements.

These aren't the first flexible solar panels. Several companies already manufacture them. But Zheng says prior approaches to making flexible solar cells have drawbacks. Manufacturers often modify processing steps to accommodate flexible substrate materials that can't tolerate high temperatures or certain chemicals, but this can reduce the performance of the resulting solar cell. And manufacturers have typically used costly flexible substrate materials, such as foils with extremely uniform surfaces, in order to produce high-quality thin films.

The trick to peeling thin-film silicon away from a solid substrate of silicon dioxide involves depositing a layer of nickel on top of an underlying wafer. After the cell is finished, it's immersed in room-temperature water. The water interacts with the nickel and silicon dioxide, causing the solar cell to come loose. It can then be peeled away and deposited onto another material. The researchers demonstrated that the efficiency of the solar cell wasn't affected by the transfer process.

The current paper shows that the process works for dislodging a solar cell from a silicon and silicon dioxide wafer. Zheng says the group has also demonstrated the process with solar cells made on a glass surface, but this work has not yet been published. This could make it possible to use the technique with copper indium gallium selenide solar cells, which are nearly twice as efficient as amorphous ones.

China to Promote Solar-Power Consolidation

online.wsj.com
19 Dec 2012

China opened the door to consolidation and bankruptcies among its troubled solar-products companies, steps that could help trim overcapacity in a global industry that has suffered losses and liquidations and has sparked a global trade spat.

In a statement late Wednesday, the State Council, China's cabinet, said it would reform the industry, such as by encouraging mergers and acquisitions. The cabinet will reduce government support and ban local governments from supporting failing domestic solar companies, it said.

The State Council also said it would make good use of a "bankruptcy mechanism", suggesting that China would make it easier for companies to declare bankruptcy--a rarity in the solar industry, as well as in China as a whole.

The statement didn't offer details, and it wasn't clear whether Chinese officials would follow it up with specific policies that could lead to shutdowns of Chinese companies and factories. Any such efforts would face considerable opposition from city, county and provincial governments that rely on the companies for tax revenue, employment and economic growth.

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Emissions sink as consumers turn off coal

www.smh.com.au
20 Dec 2012

Weak demand for electricity across eastern mainland states has sparked a "dramatic fall" in greenhouse gas emissions from Australia's power stations, the latest review of data by consultants Pitt and Sherry has found. While demand for base-load electricity from black coal-fired power stations has been in retreat for about three years, the decline has extended in recent months to two of Victoria's emissions-intensive brown coal-fired plants, Hazelwood and Yallourn.

Changes in demand of electricity on this scale are unprecedented in the entire 120 year history of the electricity supply industry in Australia Hazelwood, one of the country's oldest and dirtiest power plants, was operating at only 67% capacity in November, down from the mid-80% range in May and June, Hugh Saddler, principal consultant in the climate change business unit of Pitt and Sherry, said.

The data, analysed from half-hourly reports to the Australian Energy Market Operator, also show Yallourn was operating at just 56% last month even after it announced it was mothballing one of its four units. That ratio is down from 90% capacity use in December last year, Dr Saddler said.

In NSW, power stations were operating in the 60-70% capacity range, with Eraring down to 44% and Bayswater 64% last month. The slide in coal-fired power generation means "it should really be quite easy" for the government to meet its goal of cutting Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 5% by 2020 from 2000 levels, he said.

Total emissions from energy use for the year ended September 30 were 2 million tonnes of CO₂ lower than in the year ended July 2012. In November alone, CO₂ emissions from energy dropped another 600,000 tonnes based on a rolling 12 month data series.

Pitt and Sherry analysis shows demand for electricity fell 2.5% in year to November, compared with a year earlier, led by a decline of more than 5% for NSW. South Australia and Tasmania posted falls of about 3%, with Queensland and Victoria registering small retreats in demand. Higher electricity prices appear to be an important prompt to the demand drop.

"The price is a signal to consumers to use less electricity", Dr Saddler said. "There's also been a dramatic increase in residential use of small-scale reverse cycle air-conditioners, which have become very much more efficient in recent years".

Using electricity demand in 2008-09 as the base, annual demand to the end of November 2012 has seen an 11% fall in Victoria, 8% in NSW, with smaller drops in other states. "Changes in demand of electricity on this scale are unprecedented in the entire 120 year history of the electricity supply industry in Australia", the Pitt and Sherry report said.

The rapid spread of solar photovoltaic panels is also beginning to erode demand, although the full impact may not be felt until more companies rather than homes install the technology, he said. Commercial power demand typically matches solar PV output more closely than residential use.

Solar boost Meanwhile, one of Australia's biggest PV installers, Mark Group, has begun offering additional solar payments to foster demand even as state governments roll back feed-in tariffs.

Earlier this year, Victoria cut its feed-in tariff from 25¢ per kW-hour to 8¢. Mark Group, along with retailer Diamond Energy, has lifted that rate to 33¢, with plans to roll out similar programs in NSW, Queensland and South Australia next year.

A surge in Chinese PV production has seen the cost of panels drop from $1.80 to 65¢ per kW capacity in the past two years. "We're not that far from operating without subsidies", Rob Grant, chief executive of Mark Group's Australian operations, said. "The biggest uptake is going to commercial".

Australia takes a shine to solar energy research

www.smh.com.au
13 Dec 2012

The Gillard government will step up its investment in joint solar power research with the US, using additional funds from its new $2.2 billion renewable energy agency.

Martin Ferguson, Minister for Resources and Energy, will today announce more than $83 million for research as part of the United States-Australia Solar Energy Collaboration (USASEC) launched in 2010. The funding taps into money not yet spent from the $50 million Australian contribution to USASEC, managed by Newcastle-based Australian Solar Institute (ASI).

In addition, the new Australian Renewable Energy Agency will contribute about $38 million in funds to the research. The agency will absorb the ASI at the start of 2013. "These projects will leverage an investment of $140 million from industry, resulting in more than $220 million for solar research and involving over 40 organisations across Australia and the US", Mr Ferguson said in a statement. Most of the combined funding will be spent on two research endeavours.

About $33 million will go to the US-Australia Institute for Advanced Photovoltaics to develop the next generation of PV technologies and spur increases in performance and lower costs. The University of New South Wales will lead the research, supported by other universities in Australia and the US, and commercial partners including Blue-Scope Steel and Suntech Power R&D Australia.

The other major research focus, the Australian Solar Thermal Research Initiative (ASTRI), will receive $35 million aimed at making Australia a global leader in so-called Concentrating Solar Power technologies. The effort will be led by the CSIRO and mostly involve Australian and US universities, and Sandia National Laboratories Corp. An additional $15.5 million will be allocated to collaborative research projects under the Open Funding Round of the USASEC, the statement said.

Projects range from developing an Australian Solar Energy Forecasting System-a venture the CSIRO had sought funding for-that will improve the integration of solar power generation, to a solar device that simplifies incorporation of solar power into hybrid fossil fuel applications.

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New wave of wind energy

phys.org
13 Dec 2012

The temporary 1:8 scale wind turbine test site was installed Nov. 29 and will be in place for up to three months. Following a successful test, UMaine's patent-pending VolturnUS test prototype will be placed off the coast of Maine in two locations in 2013.

Components of the floating turbine are being manufactured at the UMaine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center, and will be shipped to Cianbro's facility in Brewer, where the unit will be assembled including hull, tower, turbine and blades, and placed in the Penobscot River in a vertical position. The floating turbine unit will be towed down the river and moored at sea for testing to evaluate the technology and environmental impacts, and to collect data to validate design tools.

Once in the Gulf of Maine, the turbine will be the first grid-connected offshore turbine in the United States, marking a critical milestone for the development of floating turbine technology. The demo project is designed to de-risk the technology and pave the way for private investment in a commercial scale-park by 2018-20, according to Habib Dagher, director of UMaine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center. The technology was tested in a wave-wind basin at the 1:50 scale in 2011.

Following a successful offshore test next year, a small 12 MW demonstration project consisting of two, 6 MW turbines is proposed for construction in 2015-17. A commercial-scale park, expected to be in the 500 MW range, will have more than 80 turbines in a space of 4 miles by 8 miles, and will be positioned more than 20 miles off shore, beyond the horizon. "We're here at the beginning of an exciting era that could create a whole new industry in our state, and reduce our reliance on imported fuels", says Dagher.

UMaine President Paul Ferguson notes that the work of the Advanced Structures and Composites Center features a remarkable blend of student and faculty researchers, as well as public and private partners who characterize the University of Maine as a leading 21st-century research university. "The center is poised to lead the transformation in deepwater offshore wind research", Ferguson says.

The deepwater offshore wind research is a key transformative technology that the U.S, needs in order to compete globally, says Sen. Susan Collins, who has been instrumental in helping secure critical federal seed funding to advance the project's R&D efforts.

"Maine has been at the forefront of deepwater floating turbine technology, and I am confident Maine will be at the forefront of making deepwater offshore wind a hallmark of U.S, innovation", Collins says. "The Advanced Structures and Composites Center is developing cutting-edge research, providing an outstanding education for the next generation of engineers, and, best of all, spurring economic growth for our state and new jobs for our people".

UMaine formed the DeepCwind Consortium with more than 30 commercial partners in Maine and beyond who are collectively working on prototype floating wind turbines. The Maine Ocean Energy Task Force has set a goal of producing 5 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030. Building this 5 gigawatt network of floating offshore farms could attract nearly $20 billion of private investment to Maine and potentially create thousands of jobs, according to Dagher.

Carnegie wins EPA green light

au.news.yahoo.com
11 Dec 2012

Fremantle-based Carnegie Corporation Energy has won the race for Australia's first environmental approval of a wave energy project, but yesterday's green light from WA's watchdog has swung the spotlight on streamlined approvals for the renewable energy sector.

The Environmental Protection Authority announced that it had approved Carnegie Corporation's $31 million, 2 MW wave energy development for the Royal Australian Navy off Garden Island, without a full public review (PER). Carnegie Corporation is backed by prominent Perth investors, including John Poynton, Tim Roberts, Dale Alcock and Tim Holmes.

EPA chairman Paul Vogel told WestBusiness any perceptions that renewable energy projects were given favourable approval treatment was misplaced, and Carnegie Corporation's plan could be managed within existing maritime planning regulations. He also said the wave-power pioneer had done a mountain of work to reassure the EPA that there would be no damage to the environment.

"Each project is assessed on a case-by-case basis on their merits", he said. "Their environmental plan needed a bit of tweaking (such as how marine trenching might be rehabilitated),,, but they did a good job of front-end loading the process and addressing all of the issues".

However, Dr Vogel said the EPA was aware of growing angst in the community about wind farm developments, as in Victoria, and it would be issuing a bulletin next year to clarify its thinking on the issue. Dr Vogel said that while it had approved wind farms in the past without full PER's, as for other renewable energy projects, they still had to meet rigorous standards.*

Sustainable Energy Association adviser Ray Wills said renewable projects should have the same, not more, rigour applied to them as other projects and said industrial developments on the Kwinana strip were not assessed for low frequency sound impacts, as for wind proposals.

Carnegie Corporation chief executive Michael Ottaviano said the company's submerged power buoys had no visual impact, an environmental footprint no different to other buoys and its project had attracted marine life to the area. Its shares closed unchanged at $0.042

*In fact there is no "growing angst" regarding windfarm developments in Victoria, there is a small group of people attempting to portray that sentiment however and it is being exploited by the Victorian government.

Feds fund four projects to simplify solar gear designs and predict power output

www.forbes.com
7 Dec 2012

The US Department of Energy said Friday it will give $29 million to four projects for reducing the costs of installing solar panels and helping utilities figure out how to manage the growing amount of solar electricity that flows into their grids.

The funding is part of an initiative called SunShot, which was launched in early 2011 to make solar electricity cheap to produce and therefore competitive against energy from coal or natural gas power plants. The goal is to cut the production costs of large-scale solar projects to $1 per watt--or about $0.06 per kW-hour-by 2020.

The department plans to dole out up to $21 million over five years to two projects that will create "plug-and-play" solar power producing equipment. The idea is to make it simpler and cheaper for homeowners to buy, install and bring online a system of solar panels, electronic equipment and wires that connect solar panels to the grid-all in one day.

The North Carolina State University ($9.1 million) will work on standardising the designs of the components and the overall solar power system for a home's rooftop. A research center in Cambridge, Mass., called Fraunhofer's Center for Sustainable Energy Systems ($11.7 million) will work on designing cabling that will make it easier for connecting the solar panels to a smart meter and the grid. Fraunhofer also will design a system to allow the solar power equipment to check itself for proper installation and to send its power generation data to the local utility.

The energy department will provide up to $8 million to two projects that will create better tools for predicting the amount, timing and location of electricity generation from solar power plants. Currently there are ways for solar power plant owners to crunch numbers to project how much electricity their power plants might generate year after year. But some of the methods aren't sophisticated or they aren't proven, particularly since the U.S, doesn't have many solar power plants that have been operating for decades.

The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research ($4.2 million) in Boulder, Colo., will research the impact of clouds on solar power generation and design short-term forecasting techniques. The IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center ($3.8 million) in Armonk, N.Y., will use a supercomputer to analyze various forecasting methods and figure out the best ways to predict solar power production.

Being able to forecast solar power production is crucial for maintaining the health of an electric grid. The amount of solar electricity flowing from a power plant can fluctuate, sometimes significantly, depending on the weather and other conditions. At the same time, an electric grid runs smoothly only when there is a balance of supply and demand. Making sure that a surge of solar electricity into the grid-or a big drop off of it-will not disrupt the grid and cause a blackout is a big worry for utilities and electric grid operators.

There are several ways to ensure the grid runs well. Utilities could use a type of natural gas power plants that can turn on and produce power quickly to make up for any shortfall. Using batteries or other equipment to store solar electricity and drawing on the power when needed is another way. The need to engineer energy storage equipment that could work well with solar or wind power plants has prompted many private and public investments in battery and other storage technologies.

NextEra buys 165MW Kansas wind project

www.newenergyworldnetwork.com
4 Dec 2012

US utility NextEra Energy Resources has completed purchase of a 165MW wind project from CPV Renewable Energy, for an undisclosed price. The Cimarron I development is located in south-west Kansas and is expected to be operational by the end of this year. Once complete, it will consist of 72 turbines supplied by German technology giant Siemens.

Power produced at the site will be sold to the Tennessee Valley Authority under terms of a 20 year deal, with a subsidiary of NRG Energy will own and operate the plant. Armando Pimentel, president and CEO of NextEra Energy Resources, said, 'The addition of the Cimarron Wind Energy Center is consistent with our strategy to add fully-contracted clean energy projects to our portfolio.

'In addition to generating clean, emission-free energy, this project will have a positive impact on the local economy for years to come. With continued public policy support for wind power generation, we look forward to bringing the economic and environmental benefits of wind power to other communities across the nation.'

Sean Finnerty, senior vice president of renewable development at CPV, added, 'CPV is extremely pleased to have worked with NextEra Energy Resources on this transaction; a company that is leading the way increasing the amount of clean, renewable resources available to power our electricity-intensive lives.

'With excellent wind resources, an ideal location, a 20 year contract with a blue-chip off-taker, and dedicated firm transmission, Cimarron Wind Energy Center is a prime example of the type of clean energy project CPV is proud to develop.'

Wind Power - A solution to the energy crises

www.sundaytimes.lk
2 Dec 2012

(Sri Lanka) The President while presenting the 2013 budget offered a basket of incentives for the renewable energy sector to attract both local and foreign investors to embark on this much neglected renewable energy sector that has not received the desired attention in its development drive for the last six decades.

He emphatically noted that promoting renewable energy is a key necessity to slash the heavy crude bill and the resultant foreign exchange savings would have a positive cushioning effect on the trade deficit. Hence, the granting of tax concessions through exemption of import taxes for solar, wind and bio mass power systems and other renewable energy equipment which could not be manufactured in the country backed by the slashing of corporate tax rates to concessionary 12% is viewed as a noteworthy incentive given for the development of wind farm projects in the right direction.

In this context it is heartening to note that a team of new investors who have had hands on experience in the construction of mega wind power plants in Europe are expected to meet government authorities this week, even before the dust of the second reading of the budget debate settles down in response to the budget proposals. These three experts-Micheal Huntings Ford, Peter Crone and Jens Dickmann who have been reportedly instrumental in setting up the world's largest off shore wind farms in Array and Bristol, UK, where there are generating 1,000 MW and 1.500 MW to the national grid of UK-, are expected to have a series of discussions with the Sri Lankan Government.

Undoubtedly, it is a herculean task for the government to convince them on the commercial viability of the off shore wind farm projects in Sri Lanka in the light of the tax concessions and other forms of incentives declared in the 2013 budget and secure their technical and financial support, as Sri Lanka is woefully lacking expertise and technology in this wind farm energy sector.

Read More…

Texas wind power sets a record, but continues to take it up a notch

www.examiner.com
30 Nov 2012

As reported in Renew Economy on Nov. 30, 2012, that a new wind power record was set by the state of Texas. The percentage of wind power utilized among the entire state grid has achieved a 26% of total supply of wind power generated for Texas.

In west Texas, wind farms generated 7,000 MW of power, and the wind turbines of the Gulf of Mexico generated around 1,000 MW. There was a total of 8,521 MW generated by wind power in early November. It was a slight rise from the previous record of which it only has risen by 150 MWs. The amount of electricity generated was enough to bring electricity to 4.3 million homes in Texas.

According to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, this represented 85% of the state's optimal wind power output.

We have surpassed previous wind power records several times this year," said Kent Saathoff, ERCOT vice president of Grid Operations and System Planning. "While added capacity is one reason for this growth, experience and improved tools are enabling ERCOT to integrate this resource into the grid more effectively than ever before.

Texas is now considered to be the state with the most installed wind capacity in the US Consisting of 10,929 MW. There is currently a focus on wind power resources in west Texas to be channeled to the eastern high population areas where activity and energy demand is at its highest.

Read More…

Chalmers researchers develop synthetic molecules to store solar energy

bulletin.sciencebusiness.net
29 Nov 2012

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology and University of California, Berkeley have developed a system which can store solar power in chemical bonds. The system is based on a synthetic molecule that is changed by sunlight. The molecule can be transported and stored for several years and then used to generate heat on demand.

​Many researchers believe that using the sun as the energy source offers the best opportunities for developing a sustainable energy system. One challenge in this area is to find efficient storage methods for saving the captured energy and transporting it to other locations.

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have made progress in developing an "all-in-one" system for the capture, storage and use of solar power. The method is known as the thermochemical process. It attracted a lot of interest during the 1980s, but researchers at the time were unable to resolve the issue. Two years ago, a group of American researchers demonstrated that the method is theoretically possible. Chalmers researchers Kasper Moth-Poulsen and Karl Boerjesson, working with researchers from University of California, Berkeley in California, have now progressed from theory to practical devices.

Read More…

Fanning fear: the wind farm nocebo effect

www.abc.net.au
28 Nov 2012

Most wind farms around the world have no history of complaints, but the few that do have seen the local area targeted by external activists who spread panic. Simon Chapman reflects on the nonsense claims of anti-wind farm activists.

Later today, the Senate will release the report of a committee into a Private Senators' Bill examining the proposal that wind turbines should not be accredited if the sound emitted exceeds 10 decibels of the background noise at any time, measured within 22 metres of a house.

The Bill was proposed by Democratic Labor Party Senator John Madigan and independent Senator Nick Xenophon. Both have form in expressing opposition to wind farms. Like Don Quixote who tilted at windmills, Madigan previously claimed (PDF) he was fighting a "sinister" and "dangerous" industry and Xenophon believes turbines affect brain activity.

No one following the latest historical example of what is quite plainly technophobic Luddism has any doubt that the tabling will see a minority report that the proposed standard be adopted. The bill will be defeated on party lines, with the Greens supporting the Government. But it has provided a conduit for a Niagara of mostly boilerplate protest material from the tiny but highly organised opponent groups.

Read More…

Todays's expected report will contain the equivalent nonsense about wind farms. It will make interesting reading 10 years from now.

Simon Chapman is professor of public health at the Sydney University. He tweets @simonchapman6.

Senate Environment and Communciations Legislation Committee – Report
Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment (Excessive Noise from Wind Farms) Bill 2012

Renewable energy sector grows but barriers remain

phys.org
26 Nov 2012

The Climate Commission's report on the state of the sustainable energy market, titled "The Critical Decade: Generating a renewable Australia (PDF)", was released as world leaders gathered for global climate talks in Doha this week. "Australia has world-class solar and wind power resources in many parts of the country", said the report, adding that investment in solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind power infrastructure could help create jobs, reduce air pollution and save consumers money. "Solar PV and wind could be the cheapest forms of power in Australia for retail users by 2030, if not earlier, as carbon prices rise", the report said.

While China has the most installed renewable energy infrastructure and is the sector's biggest investor, "South Australia's wind power per capita is higher than any major country in the world and wind is now contributing approximately 26% of the state's total electricity production", the report said. Report author and Climate Commissioner , the University of New South Wales' Professor Veena Sahajwalla, said that global investment in renewable energy reached almost $250 billion in 2011.

"A renewable energy future is inevitable we are headed in that direction worldwide", she said. "With these renewable technologies, they are only going to cheaper and cheaper". However, Mark Diesendorf, deputy director of the Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of New South Wales, said the report failed to discuss the barriers to renewable energy sector growth in Australia, which include fossil fuel subsidies to the tune of over $10 billion a year. "obviously they are trying to put a rosy glow on the situation to avoid criticising federal and state governments", he said.

Read More…

Hot rocks cool for geothermal industry

www.abc.net.au
27 Nov 2012

On paper, the potential for geothermal energy in Australia is staggering. Government data suggests that using just 1% of our hot rocks to generate power could meet Australia's energy needs for 26,000 years. But for now it seems the hot rock industry has gone cold. In August, one of Australia's largest geothermal supporters, Origin Energy wrote off its investments in GeoDynamics' Cooper Basin wells, one of Australia's only active geothermal projects. "They lost patience with geothermal", says Graeme Beardsmore from geothermal consultancy Hot Rocks. They haven't seen the returns that they anticipated ten years ago when they got involved. It's a similar story with EnergyAustralia".

In March, TRUEnergy, which recently merged with EnergyAustralia, also gave up its stake in another major geothermal project, the Paralena joint venture in South Australia. Mr Beardsmore says the decisions of both companies have a flow-on effect for all investment in the industry. "Other investors with money look at the project and say 'that project hasn't returned anything in ten years, so why should we believe that we are going to get our money back any time sooner?' "It becomes a difficult business model to raise investment on and that's the case the world-over for geothermal projects. "So the industry is at a crossroads".

Off the back of this difficult investment environment, the Federal Government downgraded the geothermal sector in its Energy White Paper, released earlier this month. Just a year ago it was predicted that geothermal would provide 23% of Australia's total electricity needs by 2050. That figure has now been revised to just nine%. "That probably was always much more realistic", says Mr Beardsmore. "It's certainly not insignificant, but it's not been a good year for the geothermal industry. "But I'm still optimistic-next year's looking much rosier. "I think we should actually have the first power generated from geothermal outside Birdsville".

The geothermal plant currently supplying power to Birdsville in Queensland was the last project to be built in Australia, over 20 years ago. Now, industry talk points to the Cooper Basin as the likely home to Australia's second geothermal power plant. Despite the loss of primary investor Origin Energy, GeoDynamics is expecting to have a new, trial one-MW-plant operational about 11 km from Innamincka by mid-2013. According to Geoff Ward, managing director at GeoDynamics, that's one geothermal project that isn't short of cash.

"We closed out our remaining insurance claims from events in 2009 when we had a well incident, and recieved that payment" he said., "We've also sold two large drill rigs,.. and are well supported by the Australia Renewable Energy Agency, and Sentient and Sunsuper groups. "But we've been exploring for hot rocks in the Cooper Basin for over 11 years now. "We've just completed our sixth deep, hot well, 'Habanero 4', in September, and we're now undertaking a major simulation to test it".

GeoDynamics are also advancing plans to provide geothermal energy to large customers like the Gove alumina refinery in the Northern Territory.

Solar and wind the cheapest sources of energy and could power Australia, the Climate Commission says

www.adelaidenow.com.au
25 Nov 2012

SOLAR and wind could become the cheapest sources of energy and almost exclusively power the country in coming decades as carbon prices climb, the Climate Commission says. A report, to be released today by chief commissioner Professor Tim Flannery, notes the vast potential from sunlight and wind and "solar PV and wind could be the cheapest forms of power in Australia for retail users by 2030, if not earlier, as carbon prices rise".

Prof Flannery said improvements had driven down the cost of renewable energy so much that Australia's uptake had increased more than a decade faster than earlier imagined. He said people might find it hard to believe communities could one day be powered almost entirely by renewable energy, but people would never have believed they would one day carry around little computers in their pockets.

"It's like anything, computers or mobile phones, they started off expensive and over time the cost just declines and we've seen that with wind and now with solar,'' he said. But the report The Critical Decade: Generating a Renewable Australia (PDF) has no detail around how renewable energy and fossil fuel prices might compare in the future. Prof Flannery said technology moved so quickly, it was impossible to form concrete predictions. Renewables currently make up 10% of Australia's energy mix and the report says growth was subject to innovation, community acceptance and regulation.

Wind farm study aims for quiet achievement

www.abc.net.au
28 Nov 2012

Researchers are hoping a wind turbine experiment will give them greater insight into the noise problems some people complain about. An University of Adelaide team says it is investigating precisely how the turbines produce noise, especially in the low-frequency range. They hope they can produce findings which will improve wind farm design and noise control efforts. Associate Professor Con Doolan said many questions remained about noise sources, particularly in the low frequencies.

"We have a fair amount of knowledge around the noise generation mechanisms but, particularly in the low-frequency ranges, we don't know a lot about how they combine together", he said. "This project is aimed at getting to the bottom of what is creating the noise that can cause disturbance". The team will build a small wind turbine in the University's wind tunnel in Adelaide and use advanced techniques to measure aerodynamics and acoustic factors.

"If we can understand what's creating these sounds then we can advise governments about wind farm regulation and policy and make recommendations about the design of wind farms or the turbine blades to industry", Professor Doolan said.

Sunny start for energy co-op

www.stuff.co.nz
18 Nov 2012

New Zealand could be about to gain a new co-operative company in the form of Energyshare, which aims to make the installation of solar power arrays more financially attractive. Chris Olson unveiled Energyshare at the Greenstage Gathering in Auckland yesterday.

Greenstage is an electric vehicle developer. The gathering showcased an array of electric vehicles, including the Tesla Roadster and the GS750V-Greenstage's own lithium iron phosphate-powered electric supercar, as well as a number of other electric conversions based on open-source control platform software called Tumanako. Energyshare is designed to kickstart solar power use in New Zealand.

Olson said NZ was lagging behind Australia, where the one millionth solar array is expected to be installed in the first half of 2013, though admittedly it is sunnier there. One of the biggest barriers to solar adoption is the lack of feed-in tariffs, payments made to small generators for supplying the grid with surplus electricity. In other countries, that's enough to make the difference and encourage solar investment. Energyshare is trying to tackle that problem by reducing the cost of deploying photovoltaic cells.

Olson, whose background is in electricity trading, engineering and business analysis, both here and in the UK, describes Energyshare as an "ethical co-operative" company created to produce and deliver renewable electricity and other energy-related products and services to its members.

While a prospectus, investor statement and other documents are still being prepared, Olson said, the plan is that members will own shares in the business and have a say in how it operates, and the services and products it delivers. Energyshare will purchase, install and own and operate renewable electricity generation systems located at the point of use, so that members can use photovoltaic electricity at a lower cost than buying energy off the grid. Members also get a share of any future profits.

Installation will cost members nothing, but they will pay Energyshare, at below retail rates, for solar electricity consumed. It is planned that further down the track Energyshare will also provide members with retail energy from the electricity market to supplement their solar electricity. The cost of the solar equipment is paid for by Energyshare co-operative investors, who receive a fixed return on their money. Energyshare members can also be Energyshare investors as well.

Olson said, all going to plan, the first arrays should be being installed around February next year. But there are broader benefits from distributed solar power generation. The need for transmission lines is reduced, as is exposure to fossil fuel costs, and resilience of electricity supply will be boosted, Olson said.

Profits will be distributed to the members in proportion to the value of all purchases they make with the co-operative to ensure those who support the operations of the co-operative will be rewarded. Owners of buildings on which the solar equipment is installed will be asked to sign an agreement outlining the commitments regarding "hosting" this equipment long-term. Olson said with electricity prices rising faster than the rate of inflation, the financial benefits of membership are expected to increase over time.

Tilting towards wind energy

www.smh.com.au
21 Nov 2012

AUSTRALIANS overwhelmingly want more renewable energy over the next five years and half of them want the brands they regularly buy to declare the source of the energy that went into making them. That's two of the findings in a study across 20 countries commissioned by Vestas Wind Systems, the world's biggest maker of wind turbines, and Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Almost three-quarters of the 1000 Australians polled prefer to have their energy supplied by renewable sources, and just 5.6% for fossil fuels-almost the reverse of the country's actual energy mix. But while the study had the support of Vestas Wind Systems, its findings also reveal Australians are less enthusiastic about wind as the renewable energy source of choice.

Almost 1 in 6 Australians, for instance, were opposed to having wind turbines ''within visible proximity of their lives'', compared with a 1-in-20 ratio globally. Those strongly in favour came in at 13.7% locally versus almost a quarter internationally. Despite the concerns, wind turbines are expected to continue to expand rapidly because of their relatively cheap cost of power generation. From about 2500 MWs of installed capacity now, the industry is likely to erect turbines with a total capacity of 1000 MWs each year for the rest of the decade, said Ken McAlpine, director of Vestas Wind Systems' policy and government relations.

Several challenges, though, remain. For starters, the government is under pressure from fossil fuel-fired generators to tinker with the renewable energy target, putting at risk $17 billion in potential investment. And New South Wales may follow Victoria in restricting wind turbines to within 2 km of a house without the consent of the owner. ''There's been a lot of interest from developers of projects in NSW, despite the anti-wind movement there,'' Mr McAlpine said. ''We have a lot of faith that the government will take a balanced approach.''

Morten Albaek, Vestas Wind Systems' group senior vice-president, in Australia to launch the Energy Transparency campaign on Wednesday, said the media magnified opposition to wind turbines. Vestas Wind Systems recently helped fund the launch of WindMade, a consumer label identifying products produced using wind power-a concept the company is in talks to introduce in Australia in the March quarter next year.

Participating companies must obtain at least 25% of their electricity from wind sources, a level that many firms-particularly those in South Australia with its soaring wind power supplies-will be eligible to apply for, Mr Albaek said. The corporate shift will be voluntary because large firms ''want to set themselves up to a commercial reality where it comes close to impossible to sell a 'black' product,'' Mr Albaek said. With the completion of two big wind farms in Victoria and Tasmania, Vestas Wind Systems will control about 60% of the wind turbines in the country.

Call for noise-based wind buffer laws

qcl.farmonline.com.au
20 Nov 2012

LANDHOLDERS supporting a proposed wind farm south of Kingaroy have called on the State Government to introduce buffer zone legislation based on the noise impacts in the specific region rather than a blanket exclusion area. The State Government will finalise the approval process for wind farm development early next year as part of its six-month action plan, released in July.

The Department of Energy and Water Supply is examining a range of matters associated with wind farm developments, including those relating to noise and health. Earlier this year, the Department of Energy and Water Supply released a discussion paper for public consultation on technical issues relevant to wind farm development in Queensland.

While the issue of buffer zones has been raised in the discussion paper responses, landholders hosting the proposed AGL Energy's Coopers Gap wind farm project have held recent meetings with several Queensland Cabinet ministers to call for a buffer zone framework based on noise impacts. Among the host landholders is Ian Schafferius, whose 1000 hectare combined horse stud and Wagyu commercial properties will see nine turbines constructed if the AGL Energy project goes ahead.

The 10 host landholders were reluctant to speak up about the positives of the project, fearing most in the region were against the development after an initial outspoken criticism across the small rural community. However, since forming the Coopers Gap Wind Power Supporters six months ago, more than 420 people have joined the group.

Mr Schafferius said the group was formed to publicly address some of the "rumours and untruths being peddled by opponents". He said he strongly believed the majority of the region supported the development of the AGL Energy wind farm. "It's clean and it's green and it is better than a big open cut coal mine", he said. "I think people can see it will bring a lot of benefits to the region".

Debate over wind farms continues to rage across Australia amid concerns over property devaluation, potential health impacts, "shadow flicker'' and "blade glint''. Anti-wind farm advocates claim infrasound sound emissions from wind turbines in frequencies below human hearing range can harm the health of nearby residents.

Despite the concerns, the National Health and Medical Research Council has stated that while a range of effects such as annoyance, anxiety, hearing loss, and interference with sleep, speech and learning have been reported anecdotally "there is no published scientific evidence to support adverse effects of wind turbines on health".

Furthermore, wind power looks set to become a major agenda item in the push for alternative power sources with the Federal Government amending the Renewable Energy Target (RET), which has bipartisan support in Canberra, to provide 20% of Australia's electricity generation from renewable energy sources by 2020. While opposing the Federal Government plan, the NSW government has also pledged in September to triple the amount of energy generated by wind turbines and solar panels over the next eight years.

According to a CSIRO report released this year, community acceptance of wind farms could be increased by developers intentionally adopting a 'social licence to operate' approach, or similar frameworks for transparent and well-structured community engagement. The report found there was evidence that increased community acceptance from such approaches would result in more approvals and installations of wind farms, and would thus increase the possibility of achieving Australia's renewable energy target in a cost-effective way.

Mr Schafferius said he believed AGL Energy had been on the front foot in its interactions with the region. A Community Consultative Committee (CCC) was formed this year which meets monthly to discuss a range of concerns and benefits relating to the project, with academic experts often brought in to answer landholder questions.

He said the host landholders had met with Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney and representatives for Minister for Energy and Water Mark McArdle in recent weeks to discuss the group's preference for a buffer zone based on noise impacts as opposed to a designated distance, such as the two-km distance between any residence and a wind turbine which is being called for by the South Burnett Regional Council.

"The distance of 2 km is excessive when looking at the scientific data available to us from credible technical experts, which you will no doubt be seeing throughout this process", the landholders wrote in a letter to the State Government earlier this year. "If a buffer zone is put into guidelines, we believe that an allowance should be made for an agreement between the resident owner and the developer to allow the turbines to be built closer. "We feel noise levels should be the overriding criteria pertaining to distance from a residence. "Many factors determine how and where noise carries".