Recently in Wind
Wind:
Google will buy all the power generated by the 270-megawatt Happy Hereford Wind Farm in the Texas panhandle near Amarillo. No, we're not making that name up.
Commentary:
A major transmission project now being considered by the BLM and other agencies could bring 3,000 megawatts of power from Wyoming to cities in California, Nevada, and Arizona, removing an obstacle to much greater expansion of wind turbines in Wyoming's eagle habitat.
The Grid:
On a cost-effectiveness basis alone, electrical power storage may make a lot more sense for solar energy than it does for wind.
Wind:
At least 27 golden eagles perished at 13 California wind turbine facilities between 1997 and June 2012, with a startling rise in reported mortalities in 2011. That's not including the eagle killing machines at Altamont Pass.
Wind:
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory released a study this month that's bound to generate some controversy: its authors are saying they found no evidence that the presence of utility-scale wind turbines causes a drop in nearby resiidential property values.
Wind:
Pattern Energy, a wind and transmission company with two major projects in California, is planning to go public. But do the numbers work out?
Wind:
According to new reports from the U.S. Department of Energy, the nation's wind power sector is growing faster than ever before. And some of the growth comes in a sector that surprised us.
Wind:
Yet another proposed wind project in the Mojave Desert has been dropped, and the project's likely effect on the local eagle population is a big reason.
Wind:
The company responsible for the worst oil spill in U.S. history says it can't get an adequate offer for its U.S. wind division.
Wind:
The paper published an editorial calling for state and federal agencies to give wind energy a far bigger slice of the pie when portioning out the California desert. Here's why they got it badly wrong.
Wind:
A flash flood hit the southern portion of the Ocotillo Express Wind facility Sunday night, tearing up gravel access roads and dumping enough debris onto State Route 98 that the road had to be closed for a time.
Wind:
First, one California condor. Now, over 100 Indiana bats.
Wind:
Is there really enough wind in Ocotillo to justify the area's wind turbines? That's a question some Imperial County residents are asking this week, as Ocotillo Express Wind's operator Pattern Energy slowly brings back online turbines that had been shut down after a May accident.
Wind:
The company shut its solar thermal division in late June. Now, the head of Siemens' wind division is leaving "by mutual agreement to pursue new career challenges."
Wind:
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell has signed off on a wind power facility that would cover almost 60 square miles of public lands in Arizona near the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
Wind:
A rare bird that had attracted a number of British birders was struck and killed by wind turbine blades as the onlookers watched in horror.
Wind:
Though the Obama administration has recently renewed its commitment to approve more wind facilities on public lands as part of the Climate Action Plan it released this week, a new study indicates that wind development in California has far fewer environmental and social benefits than it does elsewhere in the United States.
Solar:
An Oklahoma firm has produced a map showing the regional energy scenes across the United States, and the results are interesting -- though some of what's going on in California doesn't really show.
Wind:
In case you thought the wildlife and wind turbine conflict issue was limited to eagles, condors, and California, think again. A Vermont wind installation is seeking permission to legally kill four little brown bats a year with its turbines, and says that the permit would save the company $4 million a year.
Wind:
Four California-based wind power facilities have applied to the federal government for permits to harm eagles, ReWire has learned.
News and analysis about renewable energy in California. Blog host Chris Clarke is an environmental writer of two decades standing. He currently lives in Joshua Tree and can be contacted at: rewire@kcet.org.
- Wind Power
- PV and Solar Thermal
- Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROEI)
- Watts and Watt-Hours, Kilo and Mega
- 'Enough To Power X Thousand Homes'
- The Grid
- Distributed Generation
- Conservation and 'Negawatts'
- Grid Storage
- PACE Loans, Feed In Tariffs and Net Metering
- Base Load and Peaking Power
- Capacity Factor
- Renewable Portfolio Standards
- Biomass
- Transportation and Renewable Energy
- Geothermal
