Cape Wind Flies in Under the Radar
Hyannis, Massachusetts; [RenewableEnergyAccess.com]; June 21, 2007
The most recent Department of Defense (DOD) report analyzing the effects of offshore wind turbines on early warning radar missile defense systems is good news for Massachusetts' highly publicized Cape Wind project, which is scheduled to come online in 2010.
Issued by the Missile Defense Agency, the nine-page report recommends a 25-kilometer (km) wind turbine offset or buffer zone be established to "mitigate impact" on the PAVE PAWS early warning radar system at the Cape Cod Air Force Station (AFS).
The Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound, with its 130 GE 3.6-megawatt XL wind turbines in Nantucket Sound, falls just outside this zone. In addition, the analysis shows the wind turbines in Hull, Massachusetts, are also beyond the recommended buffer.
The analysis by the DOD, however, is the third such report to be issued in recent years that has found the Cape Wind project would not negatively impact or be a concern to the PAVE PAWS radar system.
For wind turbines that lie within the 25 km offset zone, the report notes that further study would be required to assess the impact accounting for location within the radar's field of view and the relative height of the wind turbine and the radar's main beam.
Biomass & Nature's "Extreme" Enzymes
Sandia National Laboratory researchers looking to biology in earth's extreme environments
to help solve lignocellulosic ethanol puzzle
Livermore, California [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] June 15, 2007
Buried beneath a sulfurous cauldron in European seas lies a class of microorganisms known as "extremophiles," so named because of the extreme environmental conditions in which they live and thrive.
Almost as radical, perhaps, is the idea that these organisms and their associated enzymes could somehow unlock the key to a new transportation economy based on a renewable biofuel, lignocellulosic {Fibrous/woody plant (like mesquite) based} ethanol.
However the primary hurdle preventing lignocellulosic ethanol ... its efficient and cost-effective processing. "Extremophiles'" enzymes may get over that hurdle.
Blake Simmons, a chemical engineer and project lead at Sandia's Livermore, California, site, says More than a billion tons of biomass is estimated to be created each year in the timber and agricultural industries, as well as a variety of grasses and potential energy crops."
"Though we're probably decades away from that...." "Because lignocellulosic biomass is such a multifaceted material, we need to have a fundamental understanding of how it works ." {Plant cellulose is strong and highly resistant to rotting and decay. One commenter on the original report pointed out "While there may be millions of tons of lignocellulosic biomass on U.S. soil, collecting and moving it to processing plants may use more energy than is available from lignocellulosic ethanol." Available energy remains a hotly contested quality of ethanol, too.}
Senate Passes Thune Wind Energy Amendment
Washington, DC [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] June 21, 2007
The United States Senate passed U.S. Senator John Thune's energy transmission amendment to the energy bill, which would promote the development of energy transmission infrastructure, on June 19.
"This legislation is critical to promoting the development of wind energy in South Dakota and around the country. As the windiest state in the nation, {whoa, there, Senator! We are ranked fourth-best, according to the American Wind Energy Assoc.} South Dakota will greatly benefit from these provisions {as will the other 19 windy states on AWEA's Wind Energy: An Untapped Resource}.
Thune's amendment, #1609, would promote the creation of energy corridors that would facilitate the transference of wind energy generated in South Dakota to high-demand areas.
"We have the wind energy in South Dakota that the major power consumers in our nation need. The missing link is transmission infrastructure to deliver this power," Thune said.
Yesterday, the Senate Finance Committee voted in favor of energy tax credits, including the Production Tax Credit advanced by Senator Thune, which creates incentives for the development of wind energy. "Today's victories should be celebrated by everyone who wants to promote wind energy in South Dakota," Thune said.
The following guide will have information SDans can put to work in their farm and business energy projects as well as their home energy efficiency efforts.
Guide for Homeowners Considering Renewable Energy
Albany, New York [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] June 22, 2007
Citizens' Environmental Coalition has just completed a 100-page resource guide, The World at Home: A Household Guide to Building Green, by Laura McCarthy, which includes information for homeowners, renters, students and contractors looking for green building materials and strategies.
The guide describes problems with conventional building materials; toxic problems in existing homes and then covers greener possibilities and products for all the building steps from the foundation upward. It includes links to all its resources at the end of each section.
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A handful of low-yield South Dakota wind-
• 5 PM Jun 22, SSW at 7 mph
• 2 PM Jun 22, SSW at 8 mph
• 6 AM Jun 22, SE at 5 mph mist
• Midnight (4) Jun 22, E at 6 mph
• 6 PM Jun 21, ESE at 10 mph.
Do contact me if you want to buy any of this blog's content or would like to have other specific wind power-related content uncovered.
'Til next time. Best Wind.
Friday, June 22, 2007
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