When we think of wind energy, we generally think of those multi-megawatt farms in western Texas, the plains states, and California.  Conversely, when we think of solar PV, we normally conjure images of “distributed generation” — “DG” for short — rooftop mounts on thousands of geographically dispersed homes and commercial buildings.

Increasingly, however, wind is sporting a DG face, with smaller turbines appropriate for “campus” settings: schools, cities, counties, farms, factories, communities, and other large power users who want to stabilize their energy costs.

My colleague Jim Boyden acts as an advisor to a company called Continental Wind Power, which offers a range of campus wind solutions.  Considering that an incremental 8 gigawatts of new capacity will be installed in the U.S. alone this year, this may not be a bad place to be.

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Think we advocates of renewables in the U.S. have trouble? Our friends in the U.K. are running into a buzzsaw of misinformation, like the report “Renewable Energy: Vision or Mirage”, published today by the Adam Smith Institute and Scientific Alliance. The report includes:

“Wind does little to reduce carbon emissions.”

and

“Nuclear and gas are the most viable energy sources for the near future.”

What a remarkable thing to say, when the U.K. has already installed enough wind turbines to provide clean electricity to more than 3.2 million homes, according to RenewableUK, the trade association representing the wind, wave, and tidal energy industries.  RenewableUK also makes the point that I always do about nuclear: even if you consider it safe, it takes a minimum of eight years to permit and build a reactor, and the cost overruns are legendary.  Referring to it as “viable” seems ridiculous.

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The press is reacting to the recent price drops in solar equipment as though they are the result of temporary oversupply or of a trade war. This masks what is really going on: a long-term, consistent drop in clean energy technology costs, resulting from decades of hard work by tens of thousands of researchers, engineers, technicians and people in operations and procurement. And it is not going to stop: In the next few years the mainstream world is going to wake up to wind cheaper than gas, and rooftop solar power cheaper than daytime electricity. Add in the same sort of deep long-term price drops for power storage, demand management, LED lighting and so on – and we are clearly talking about a whole new game.

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In the U.K. however, they come in the form of certain members of the nobility. According to The Guardian, the Duke of Edinburgh has made a fierce attack on wind farms, claiming that “they don’t work,” and describing them as “a disgrace” and “absolutely useless.” Pictured here, however, he looks rather jolly. Who would know that such scathing (and foolish) statements lie behind such a winsome smile and excellent breeding?

Fortunately, some Brits who were born without such privilege, i.e., mainstream scientists, don’t see it that way.  For example, Professor Jim Skea, research director of the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC), responds to the Duke:

On the “they don’t work” issue, it’s quite clear that they do generate electricity. If you look at the machinery they are getting nearly 30% compared to their peak capacity [the load factor]. There is a limited degree of predictability about the wind so they do need to be backed up. But not as much as people think because the law of statistics means that the wind is likely to be blowing somewhere.

The UK has one of the best wind resources in Europe. Far better than Germany. Going off-shore the wind resource is even better – with load factors up to 40%. If you are going to capture energy from wind it’s as good as you’re going to get. It’s just a question of whether you think it’s worth it. We as researchers say this is the best guess of the costs; it is a political choice whether you want to pay for it.

Wind-farms are being subsidised. For onshore wind, subsidies are going down compared with the cost of gas which is going up. If you include the carbon costs, in the future you can see a point where there is parity between non-renewable and wind energy. Perhaps 2020.

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It always feels good to get back in the saddle, so to speak, plying one’s original trade. I spent a few hours yesterday with 2GreenEnergy client Dr. David Doty, CEO of Windfuels, and 2GE Associate Terry Ribb, talking about naming, positioning, creating a new market category – all those wonderful things. Memories from decades of meetings with clients all over the planet came rushing back to me as we walked leisurely through the PowerPoint and made the strategic business decisions that will open the doors to growth and guide Windfuels effectively into the future.

I love the rich diversity and high purpose of the 2GreenEnergy experience – but it’s always nice to go back to the “good old days.”

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I spent a few happy hours walking around the wind power show here in Anaheim yesterday, put on by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Whenever I go to the major wind and solar trade shows, I’m struck with a number of observations:

Scope: I find myself in a convention center where thousands of exhibitors sprawl over half a million square feet, but I realize that this very show, if it were held 10 years ago, could have fit neatly in my living room.

Geographic Diversity: Though everyone speaks some level of English, it’s certainly not the first language for a great number of exhibitors. Those without a working command of German and Mandarin are unable to take part in some of the richest conversations.

Business Diversity: Many hundreds of different business disciplines are represented – some with only tangential relevance to the subject at hand. Sure, there are tons of people with variations of the wind turbine theme: different sizes and materials, some with gears, some (more all the time) with direct drive, and unique approaches to efficiency, noise reduction, safety, reliability, etc. But in addition to the folks with the actual turbines, I met people whose products and services are not at all unique to the wind power industry: folks who protect people from falling off things, forge large (100-pound) bolts, lift stuff with winches, do the windings in generators, sell wrenches the size of golf clubs, and provide tape to repair the leading edge of the blades as they become damaged from sand, hail, and even rain over the years of constant operation.

Quite an interesting day.

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Earlier today, the UK’s Committee on Climate Change reported that renewable energy should “make a major contribution to decarbonising the UK economy over the next decades. (They) conclude that a renewable energy share of around 30% by 2030 would be appropriate, with scope for a higher share (e.g. up to 45%) depending on the extent to which renewable technology costs fall and possible constraints on deployment of low-carbon alternatives.”

Rather than moaning and calling one another names, the UK seems excited about the 50,000 new jobs that will be created as they build out a huge commitment to offshore wind.  They seem strangely united behind a cause. Go figure.

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I’ve added a hot new business plan to the list I’m now featuring. I spoke yesterday with Joe Speace, CEO of “Project Renewable Energy” near Kansas City, whose doing a capital raise for a wind farm that will feature compressed air energy storage (CAES). This looks quite strong.

Storage will be a big deal soon, as the penetration of renewables increases and the intermittence of solar and wind starts to become an issue.  I’m hearing about it connected with an increasing number of deals in this space.

And CAES is far more efficient than it sounds.  When I first heard about it, I asked, “You’re going to take mechanical energy (a spinning wind turbine), turn it into electrical energy, power a compressor, then, on demand, somehow release the compressed air to turn a turbine and generate electrical energy — again? Doesn’t that sound like a disaster in terms of efficiency?”  It turns out that it’s close to 90%!

And what about the huge underground caverns that store the compressed air?  Some are man-made, some naturally formed, e.g., those that formerly held natural gas.  Don’t they leak at high pressure? Yes, but there is a technology for plugging leaks.

Impressive stuff.  And again, that stuff will become increasingly important as time goes by.

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