Is Wind Energy the Real Answer? – Guest Blogger Anil

March 2, 2010

In recent times, there has been a lot of attention being given to usage of green and clean energy. The governments of different nations are bent upon adoption of green and less polluting energy options. The International Energy Agency (IEA), the European Commission (EC) and other national governments back up the economic models of energy policy decisions. In the process, they tend to ignore the risks involved such as fuel price risk, supply risk and political risk.
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By Anil | Posted in Wind Energy | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Wind Power

December 20, 2009

PhotobucketI recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Amir Mikhail, Senior Vice President of Engineering for Clipper Windpower, in an effort to develop my chapter on wind for my upcoming book on renewable energy.  This talk was full of interesting nuances about the physics and engineering aspects of cutting-edge the technology for extracting energy from the wind and converting it to mechanical – and ultimately to electrical energy.  And, as suggested by today’s photo, we began with some fascinating history on the subject.

But Dr. Mikhail raised a few basic points about the renewables industry in general that I thought I would share in this post:

The issue of energy storage is – for the US at this point at least – something of a red herring.  With 2% overall penetration of clean energy (across all forms of renewables) the fluctuation associated with the intensity of the wind – even locally — is of essentially no consequence to overall energy availability levels whatsoever.  Moreover, by the time the penetration rate increases to anywhere resembling that of Europe, we will have developed smart grid technologies that will enable far better real-time control of large sections of the grid.  E.g., if the wind is not blowing strong in area A, let’s see what it’s doing in area B, C, or D. 

We also discussed the tough choices forced upon us a we migration  to renewables.  The wind industry takes seriously the issue of environmental damage associated with its farms, and conducts ongoing research to ensure that the size of turbine rotors and the hours of operation are creating a minimum of negative impact.  In the early days of commercial wind, the primary issue was large raptors; now, decades later, the focus is on bats, whose tiny lungs cannot handle the differential in air pressure around the turbines.  The industry also is making an effort to build farms in areas that already have a significant human footprint, recognizing the imperative to preserve the true wilderness wherever possible. 

However, Dr. Mikhail points out that there are no existing clean energy technologies that come with zero environmental impact.  We do have to make choices, and each of these choices will represent some level of sacrifice.  “The people in a coal mining state back east were offered a choice of either putting wind turbines on a local mountain, or chopping off the top of the mountain, pulling the coal out of it, and burning it.  Craig, do you realize that they chose the latter?  There are choices.  We simply have to make the best ones.”

Again, Dr. Mikhail, thanks for the insights.    

 

By Craig Shields | Posted in Wind Energy | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Breakthroughs in Materials Science Critical to Quest for Renewables

November 25, 2009

PhotobucketOn the things I find so fascinating about the migration to renewables is that it represents the confluence of so many different scientific and technological disciplines – especially in the quest to drive down costs. To take an obvious example, wind turbines are rooted in straightforward fluid dynamics as well as electricity/magnetism. But some real cleverness is required to get wind (and the others) to a point at which, as a source of renewable energy, it is cost-competitiveness with fossil fuels. As we’ve noted here numerous times, there’s plenty of renewable energy out there if you’re willing to pay enough for it. The problem is that we’re on a tight budget here, and that’s where this becomes interesting.

Enter materials science as a potential solution. The way we fabricate things out of steel has created a practical limit to the size of a wind turbine; really big units have been fantastically difficult (and thus expensive) to build. But a material called HT Ferro may represent an abrupt change to that.

Ferrocement, meaning the variety of composite materials in which steel (wire, mesh, rebar) and concrete are used, are widely used in building, due to its great strength and economy. HT Ferro, a wild new variation on this theme, is a patented technology owned by associates of 2GreenEnergy based in New Zealand. According to what I’ve been able to learn, it is vastly superior to steel on many important ways, along the following important dimensions:

a) It was developed for marine application, thus wind turbine components made from it are virtually maintenance free — even in the rugged ocean environment.

b) These components will be far less expensive than steel.

c) Most importantly, a unique manufacturing process enables components to be fabricated in enormous sizes.

It appears that this makes possible very large units that will generate 10+ MW apiece.

More on this soon.

By Craig Shields | Posted in Wind Energy | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Offshore Wind Farms

September 26, 2009

PhotobucketIn this quite lucid and compelling video on offshore wind farms, The Sierra Club points out the numerous benefits of this technology. Until I watched it, I was unaware that turbines could be 12 miles offshore, and that the continental shelf off the eastern US was shallow enough such that the units could be anchored to the ocean floor that far from land. In my mind, this makes a compelling case. Of course, the issue is cost, which the video does not mention.

Sierra spokeperson Ivy Main, the renewable energy chair for the club’s Virginia chapter does an excellent job in contrasting this solution with dirty power sources like coal, but does so in a calm, measured, and professional tone.  She also points out that this idea does not require the transmission of large amount of power over thousands of miles, which, of course, is a requirement of the solution I favor, solar thermal. However, with high voltage direct current (HVDC), which I also favor, there is relatively little power loss in such a scenario.

Again, it is my fondest wish that we can somehow put politics aside, conduct a fair-minded study of all the options that are available to us as a nation, and make the right decision. There are, of course, numerous reasons that this is not happening — the most obvious of which, as I’ve covered many times, is the power of the interests that are working to prevent it.

But here’s another wrinkle: we seem to be working within the paradigm that a great number of different technologies are all going to be part of the long-term solution, and that anyone who holds a contrary position is an extremist. Frankly, I’ve never understood that. I liken this “macro” decision to the “micro” decision that I would make if I were going to take our farm off the grid. Would I have some array of wind turbines, solar panels, and geothermal heat pumps? Probably not. I’d do a study, and try to remove the biases of the salespeople.  Then I’d adopt the technology that made the most sense and implement it in sufficient quantity to fulfill my needs.

I really fail to see where this analogy breaks down. There must be a single best solution. It’s my hope that we can identify it and get it done.

By Craig Shields | Posted in Wind Energy | Tagged , , , | Comments (3)