A new regular feature on the Bail, John provides a weekly update on news in the green energy sector.
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Groundbreaking Apple Patent Could Transform Wind Power Industry
A patent application the company filed last year, first revealed on Apple Insider, shows that some of that cash on which Apple is sitting could be invested in a new clean energy technology.
The application describes a set of rotating blades that converts rotational energy from a wind turbine into heat that is then stored in a vessel containing “low heat capacity fluid.” The system would then selectively transfer the heat as needed from that low heat capacity fluid to a “working fluid” and hence would generate electricity. Heat, not rotational energy, would would be the result of the turbine’s blades rotating; and even more exciting, energy could be used when needed, as when there is little or no wind.
The bugaboo of conventional wind power turbines is the inconsistent amount of energy generated due to the fluctuations in the speed of wind. There is not often enough wind during peak demand, and conversely turbines could produce excessive amounts of energy during periods of low demand. Plus the pesky issue of energy storage hinders the ability of wind power to contribute effectively to local grid systems. So according to the lead author of the patent application, Jean Lee, “what is needed is a mechanism for mitigating variability and/or intermittency associated with the production of electricity from wind energy.”
Carbon Tax Named Australia's 'Blunder Of The Year'
THE carbon tax has been branded 2012's biggest public relations disaster after an analysis of public reaction on social media and mainstream news sites.
EU carbon markets may decline to record LOW due to glut
European Union emission permits are poised to drop to a record low in the first half as member states in the world’s largest carbon market fail to diminish the biggest- ever glut.
Allowances will fall below the record 5.93 euros ($7.75) a metric ton reached last month, according to eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. That implies a decline of at least 8.3 percent from yesterday’s closing price. The surplus may rise 18 percent this year, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
World Bank to strengthen focus on climate change
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, who took office in July, said the lender’s November climate change report already has had an effect on its 188 member countries. "The response was quite surprising," Kim told Bloomberg. "It was as if ‘we’ve heard this all from the environmental groups, but my goodness, if the World Bank tells us this is an issue, then there must be something different to the story."
That report warned of cataclysmic changes resulting from heat waves, rising sea levels, decreased food supplies and a possible 4-degree Celsius temperature increase this century. Kim said climate change would get a sharper focus as the World Bank becomes more selective about the programs it pursues.
Does NOAA keep two separate books for climate in the USA?
At issue is the difference between temperature data claims in the NCDC State of the Climate reports issued monthly and at year-end and the official NCDC climate database made available to the public. Please read on for my full investigation.
How the PTC Was Rescued - Obama Saves the Day
It took a last minute change to a highly controversial bill and the last vote of the 112th Congress for Big Wind to eke out one more extension to the Production Tax Credit (PTC). With the dust now settling, it has become clear: President Obama rammed through the extension without debate or compromise.
Top energy dept. advisor departs to become NY energy czar
Richard Kauffman, a top adviser to Energy Secretary Steven Chu and expert in green technology finance, is leaving to become New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) “energy czar.” Cuomo announced the “Cabinet-level” position in his annual “state of the state” address Wednesday.
Chu himself is widely expected to step down soon as part of the broader second-term turnover in President Obama’s Cabinet. Kauffman will “coordinate the state's clean-tech agenda and oversee the state government's energy portfolio,” according to a summary of Cuomo’s remarks. Kauffman’s the former CEO of the investment firm Good Energies, Inc. (which this year changed its name to Bregal Energy), and before that chaired the Global Financing Group at Goldman Sachs.
Rousseff denies there is any risk of electricity shortages or rationing stemming from a historic drought that has left hydroelectric dams short of water. But some independent analysts disagree, saying it depends on whether summer rains finally arrive in coming weeks.
Even if the worst is avoided, the crisis has already pushed up electricity prices on the spot markets and could torpedo Rousseff's delicately balanced economic agenda. She is trying to revive an economy that likely grew less than 1 percent last year, while also keeping a lid on inflation now running above 5.7 percent. Rousseff flew back to Brasilia on Tuesday and will sign off on steps to stem the crisis that energy officials are expected to propose on Wednesday.
Clinton lays out goal of integrated power gid in the Americas
It aims to achieve universal access to electricity by the year 2022 through electrical interconnection in the hemisphere, linking electrical grids throughout the hemisphere from Canada all the way down to the southern tip of Chile, as well as extending it to the Caribbean. The Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, all the countries in the Organization of American States have joined this project. It stems from a broader effort called the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas, which I launched in 2010, which has sparked a wave of innovative partnerships across the hemisphere.”
Google invests 200 million in Texas spinning spur wind
The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that Google has made a $200 million investment in theSpinning Spur Wind Project 70-turbine wind farm located 35 miles from Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle built by EDF Renewable Energy.
Spinning Spur latest Google alternative energy investment
The Spinning Spur Wind Project was completed in December and consists of 70 wind turbines each capable of generating 2.3 megawatts of power, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The investment is part of Google's $1 billion portfolio of alternative energy holdings that include the Atlanta Wind Connection, an offshore wind project that is envisioned to stretch from New Jersey to Virginia and generate 7,000 megawatts, and a residential solar energy company called SolarCity.
Mega solar matchmaking in California
Flexing its billion-dollar muscles once again in the renewable energy space, MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company (famously backed by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.) is buying two co-located solar projects in California from SunPower, billed as the world's largest permitted solar PV power development. The deal for Antelope Valley Solar Projects (AVSP), totaling approximately 579 megawatts (AC) combined generation capacity, is for an unspecified amount between $2-$2.5 billion.
A spot on comment re: above story that mysteriously disappeared last night ...
"It looks like Caudill likes the Time of Delivery (TOD) factors that SCE is offering for RE projects- See CPUC Resolution E-4442 dated December 1, 2011. Mid America will be getting a pretty penny from you for many years to come as their cash flow will be rather nice during the summer at super peak times. Your costs for generation (actually it’s SCE costs, but you end up paying for it) will be give or take $0.2903 per kwh at super peak times in the summer months."
Shares of Buffett's Chinese electric car maker tumble
Shares of BYD, the Chinese battery and electric car maker in which Warren Buffett is a major investor, tumbled in Hong Kong trading Wednesday after an analyst in China slashed his firm's target price for the stock to virtually nothing.
Transmission operators fight for right to build grid
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (Ferc) Order 1000 transmission policy, launched in July 2011 and currently receiving comments from industry, forces public transmission firms to take part in regional planning processes that consider the need for new grid links with reference to federal and state-level renewable energy targets.
A key issue in the policy is the question of who will build new lines, with Ferc facing opposition over its attempt to remove the right of first refusal (ROFR) for incumbent transmission-building utilities. Prior to Order 1000, incumbents used ROFR to sidestep competition by building lines themselves.
Two major transmission operators that between them operate lines in all or parts of 25 states - PJM Interconnection and Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) - are among those aiming to retain ROFR.
Why tamil nadus solar tender failed to attract more bidders
There were two major doubts in the minds of developers — (a) payment security given that the buyer of the power, TANGEDCO, is almost bankrupt (b) availability of grid, because wind power people in the recent past have been unable to sell their power because the grid was not made available to them. Neither issue was addressed adequately by TANGEDCO.
Caisse invests in US and Canadian wind
Pension fund manager Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec has invested about $500 million US in wind farms in the United States and Canada owned by Invenergy Wind. Chicago-based Invenergy said Tuesday that the portfolio of 11 operating wind farms in the United States and two in Canada have a combined output of about 1,500 megawatts. One of the Canadian operations is the Le Plateau wind farm in Quebec's Gaspe region. It has been in commercial operation since early 2012 and sells all of its renewable energy to Hydro-Quebec under a long-term contract. Invenergy said it remains the majority controlling shareholder following the transaction.
First Wind projects 50% portfolio growth due to passage of wind tax credit
"With the passage of the wind energy tax credit extension, First Wind and other wind energy companies around the country have predictable federal policy in place that will allow for millions of dollars of investment in local communities over the next few years," said Paul Gaynor, CEO of First Wind. "We are planning to substantially expand our portfolio - by as much as 50 percent or more - with several projects starting construction by the end of 2013. That will mean jobs and investment, and consumers will be getting clean energy at a competitive price."
VIDEO: First Wind CEO boasts about getting expedited stimulus money
(NECN) - On This Week in Business, Paul Gaynor, the CEO of First Wind talks about the upturn in the IPO market and his meeting in Washington this week with Treasury Secretary Geithner and Energy Secretary Chu about the role stimulus money has played in helping his business. Gaynor also talks about how to determine whether to set up a wind farm on land or offshore.
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Read Last Week's Green Energy Stories...
Diagram from Apple's wind patent.
