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Rock Port Wind
The small town of Rock Port, Missouri (pop. 1,300) is the first city in the US to be 100% powered by wind. The city's wind farm will produce about 16 million kilowatt hours annually, while Rock Port only uses 13 million. The extra power will be sold off to other communities in the area. The small town of Rock Port, Missouri (pop. 1,300) is the first city in the US to be 100% powered by wind. The city's wind farm w... more
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Welcome to Pickens Plan
Welcome to Push.PickensPlan.com!
We are a community of individuals who support reducing our nation’s dependence on foreign oil through the use of domestic energy alternatives.
Push.PickensPlan.com – or “Push” as we like to call it – is a place to interact with fellow Pickens Plan supporters. On this website we discuss strategies for encouraging our elected officials to support policies that move America towards energy independence, we network with fellow Pickens Plan supporters, and we TAKE ACTION!
Our ultimate goal as a community is to force Congress to enact an Energy Independence Plan within the first 100 days of the new administration in 2009. All of our actions are designed around working toward that goal. Click here to tell your Member of Congress to support the Pledge!
We’d love to have you as a member of the Push community. Please click here to join. Invite your friends to join with you. Find groups in your state. Learn about events taking place in your area, or host your own event. Participate in a discussion forum.
Let’s work together to Push the Pickens Plan! Welcome to Push.PickensPlan.com! ... more -
Home Energy Swedish style: Great balls...of wind?
Home Energy -- (a Swedish-company) revealed an innovative wind turbine that spins in a spherical formation.
'Eschewing traditional rotors for a sleek orb structure, this beautiful rethinking of conventional wind turbine design utilizes the Venturi principle, which funnels wind within the turbine’s blades. The resulting spherical wind turbine features increased efficiency and lower noise levels - making it ideal for small scale energy needs such as personal home use. Best of all it’s called the Energy Ball...
check out more cool eco-trends on ecorific.com Home Energy -- (a Swedish-company) revealed an innovative wind turbine that spins in a spherical formation. ... more -
U.S. installed wind energy tops 20,000 megawatts
The American Wind Energy Association released today that the U.S. wind industry has surpassed the 20,000-megawatt (MW) installed capacity milestone, achieving in two years what had previously taken more than two decades (the 10,000-MW mark was reached in 2006). Wind now provides 20,152 MW of electricity generating capacity in the U.S., producing enough electricity to serve 5.3 million American homes or power a fleet of more than 1 million plug-in hybrid vehicles.
“Wind energy installations are well ahead of the curve for contributing 20% of the U.S. electric power supply by 2030 as envisioned by the U.S. Department of Energy,” said AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher. “However, the looming expiration of the federal renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) less than four months from now threatens this progress. The PTC has been a critical factor in wind’s very rapid growth as a part of the nation’s power portfolio.” The PTC is currently set to expire at the end of 2008.
Swisher and other wind industry leaders noted the 20,000-MW milestone from Minneapolis, where the Republican National Convention is currently being held. Joining Swisher in Minneapolis were AWEA President Jim Walker, of enXco, as well as officials from other leading companies in the wind industry, including Xcel Energy, Vestas Americas A/S, Renewable Energy Systems Americas, and Horizon Wind Power.
Xcel Energy, the host utility for both the Republican convention and the Democratic National Convention held last week in Denver, is providing sufficient wind-generated electricity from its system to power both events. A 131-foot wind turbine blade, which has been on display at both conventions, was manufactured by wind turbine maker Vestas at a U.S. blade factory.
The 20,000 MW of wind power installed in the U.S. today can generate as much electricity every year as 28.7 million tons of coal or 90 million barrels of oil. Wind generation currently displaces 34 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to taking 5.8 million vehicles off the road. A U.S. Department of Energy study released in May found that wind could provide 20% of U.S. electricity by 2030. At that level, wind power would support 500,000 jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions as much as taking 140 million vehicles off the road.
The U.S. is now the world leader in wind electricity generation. While Germany has more generating capacity installed (about 23,000 MW), the U.S. is producing more electricity from wind because of its much stronger winds. AWEA expects over 7,500 MW of new wind capacity to be added in 2008, expanding America’s wind energy fleet by 45% and bringing total U.S. capacity to some 24,300 MW.
Although 20,000 MW is an important milestone, wind power provides just over 1.5% of the nation’s electricity, far below the potential identified by experts. Still, it is one of the fastest-growing electricity sources today, providing 35% of the total new capacity added in 2007 (second only to natural gas). The U.S. had 1,000 MW of wind power installed by 1985; 2,000 MW installed by 1999; and 5,000 MW by 2003. Its first 10,000 MW was installed by mid-2006.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s 20% Wind Energy by 2030 report, wind power is capable of becoming a major contributor to America’s electricity supply over the next two decades. As an inexhaustible domestic resource, wind strengthens our energy security, improves the quality of the air we breathe, slows climate change, and revitalizes rural communities. The American Wind Energy Association released today that the U.S. wind industry has surpassed the 20,000-megawatt (MW) installed capac... more -
Energy ball - a cheap and efficient wind turbine
As our dependence on fossil fuels will be reduced, we will need new ways of harnessing renewable energies. Actually, there are lots of ways to get energy - wind, solar, wave and tidal will replace oil in the future. The problem is that we have to find efficient and cheaper options to get power from the sun or from the wind.
Home Energy is a Swedish company which has designed a new wind turbine that is very silent and it’s based on six curved rotor blades attached to a rotor hub at both ends. The new and futuristic wind turbine is called Energy Ball and when it rotates it looks like a sphere and it creates a wind flow which resembles the rapids of a river - this wind flow pattern is called the Venturi effect.
Thanks to the Venturi Effect, the Energy Ball is more efficient aerodynamically as it also catches low-winds to generate electricity. Although the costs seem to be cheaper than for a conventional wind turbine, for the moment we don’t know when Home Energy will start manufacturing and when they will deliver the first Energy Ball wind turbines. As our dependence on fossil fuels will be reduced, we will need new ways of harnessing renewable energies. Actually, there are lots of... more -
Appalachian Power signs long-term wind energy pact
American Electric Power subsidiary Appalachian Power has signed a long-term power purchase agreement for renewable wind energy with Beech Ridge Energy, a subsidiary of Invenergy Wind.
Through the 20-year agreement, Appalachian Power will purchase all of the output -- between 100 and 147 megawatts -- from the first phase of the planned 186-megawatt Beech Ridge Energy wind project currently under development in Greenbrier County, W.Va.
The wind farm is expected to be on line by March 31, 2010. The agreement is subject to approval from the Public Service Commission of West Virginia and extension for 2009 of the federal production tax credit for renewable energy. Pricing terms are confidential.
"Wind and other renewables are becoming an integral part of the diverse power generation mix necessary to meet our customers' electricity needs," said Michael G. Morris, AEP's chairman, president and chief executive officer.
"Adding these renewable generation resources, along with our plans for new baseload generation using clean coal and other technologies, positions us to continue to meet our customers' needs while also reducing our carbon footprint."
The new agreement is part of AEP's voluntary plans, announced in 2007, to add 1,000 megawatts of new wind energy by 2011 as a component of the company's comprehensive strategy to address its greenhouse gas emissions. The addition of wind capacity to AEP's energy portfolio avoids an increase in greenhouse gas emissions that would otherwise occur if AEP used traditional fossil generation to meet growing customer demand.
"The agreement with Beech Ridge Energy brings our long-term renewable-energy purchase commitments up to 422 megawatts in the year since we established our 1,000-megawatt goal," Morris said. "We have additional requests for proposals out for up to 600 megawatts of renewable energy, so we are well on the way to meeting that goal.
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What could be more abundant and cheap than wind energy in Appalachia without the pollution? It sure isn't coal. American Electric Power subsidiary Appalachian Power has signed a long-term power purchase agreement for renewable wind energy with Be... more -
Wind, solar energy built on temporary tax breaks
Congress is putting the short-term future of renewable energy companies in jeopardy even as the presidential candidates and most lawmakers hail windmills, solar panels and biofuels as long-term solutions to high gasoline prices and global warming.
Some $500 million in investment and production tax credits will expire Dec. 31 unless Congress renews them. Without that help, solar and wind power companies say they will reverse planned expansions and, in many cases, cut payrolls and capital investment.
Investment tax credits, available to homeowners and businesses that invest in solar power equipment, and the production tax credit, based on kilowatt hours of energy produced by wind, geothermal, biomass and other renewables, are only two of dozens of temporary tax breaks that die out after a year or two if Congress does not revive them.
This year Congress is considering tax-extenders worth more than $50 billion over the next decade. The production tax credit would cost $7 billion and two solar investment credits would cost $2.7 billion over 10 years.
In addition to breaks for renewable energy and energy conservation, several dozen other tax breaks are targeted to businesses and individuals. They include people paying state and local sales taxes; parents with higher education tuition costs; and teachers with out-of-pocket expenses.
Almost all the provisions are popular. But Senate Republicans have blocked consideration of tax-extender plans by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont. GOP lawmakers are protesting efforts to offset the costs with other taxes or other items attached to the proposals. In the House, conservative Democrats promise to block any extension that adds to the deficit.
Putting expiration dates on tax breaks is a useful budget gimmick for lawmakers seeking to mask the growing federal budget deficit.
Because they are set to expire at a certain date by law, they do not count as revenue losses after that date even though most people assume Congress eventually will act to extend them. The Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 are the biggest extenders of all in this respect. Trillions of dollars will be added to the federal debt if Congress chooses to make them permanent after they are set to expire in 2010. Congress is putting the short-term future of renewable energy companies in jeopardy even as the presidential candidates and most lawma... more -
Texan bilionaire investing in wind energy.... New York Times Opinion
Published New York Times Opinion: July 22, 2008
T. Boone Pickens, the legendary wildcatter and corporate raider, has decided that drilling for more oil is not the answer to the nation’s energy problems. President Bush should listen to his fellow Texan and longtime political ally.
The 80-year-old Mr. Pickens does not oppose drilling. He’s been doing it for most of his life. Nor has he become a born-again eco-warrior (a conservative, he helped underwrite and made no apologies for the Swift Boat campaign against John Kerry). But he knows something that his friends in the White House won’t acknowledge: that a nation holding less than 3 percent of the world’s oil reserves while guzzling 20 percent of the world’s production will never be able to drill its way out of its dependency on foreign oil.
He also considers it absolute madness — financially and in terms of national security — to be spending $700 billion every year on imported oil produced in volatile and in some cases hostile countries.
His answer is to develop wind power in states with steady, forceful winds (like Texas) and use it instead of natural gas to produce electricity (natural gas now generates about one-fifth of the power in the United States). He would then use the natural gas saved to fuel cars and trucks. He predicts that oil imports would drop by 40 percent and the country would save $300 billion a year.
There are, he concedes, obstacles. The country would need to rebuild the power grid to transmit wind energy from the Great Plains to consumers in the big population centers. It would need lots of service stations capable of selling natural gas. And automakers would need to produce cars that run on natural gas. There are about 8 million such vehicles in the world, but only 142,000 in the United States.
Mr. Pickens is putting his money where his ideas are, and in Texas he has begun assembling the pieces of a huge wind farm. He estimates the cost at $6 billion to $10 billion (his Mesa Power is the lead investor but his personal stake is unknown). He confidently forecasts that this wind farm and others like it will not only reduce the demand for oil but create thousands of construction and operating jobs.
Mr. Pickens concedes that people may suspect that his sudden enthusiasm for alternative energy is just another way “to make Boone Pickens rich.” But with at least $3 billion in the bank, he really doesn’t need the money anywhere near as much as the country needs alternative energy and new ideas. Published New York Times Opinion: July 22, 2008 ... more -
Designer Windpower
Renowned designer Philippe Starck has created a consumer wind turbine that could dramatically decrease your energy intake.
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To The Politicians and People:
$427 million. That’s what the oil and coal industries spent during the first half of 2008 on lobbying and advertising. They’re protecting their interests – and hurting ours.
This ad is running on TV right now, but we need millions more to see it. The special interests will outspend us, but we can compete head-to-head with them when we find ways to share these messages for free $427 million. That’s what the oil and coal industries spent during the first half of 2008 on lobbying and advertising. They’re protect... more -
China overtakes UK on renewables
The Chinese government's energy policy has led to a large rise in investment in renewables, helping it to dislodge the UK in a ranking of the top five most attractive countries for investment in renewable energy, according to a study published on 19 August. The Chinese government's energy policy has led to a large rise in investment in renewables, helping it to dislodge the UK in a ra... more
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Renewable Power's Growth in Colorado Presages National Debate
In Colorado -- a state historically known for natural gas and fights over drilling -- wind and solar power are fast becoming prominent parts of the energy mix. Wind capacity has quadrupled in the past 18 months, according to Gov. Bill Ritter (D), and Xcel has become the largest provider of wind power in the nation.
The politics and economics of energy are shifting here in ways that foretell debates across the country as states create renewable-energy mandates and the federal government moves toward limiting carbon emissions. One advocate calls Colorado "ground zero" for the looming battle over energy. In Colorado -- a state historically known for natural gas and fights over drilling -- wind and solar power are fast becoming prominent... more -
would wind turbines disturb you as much?
psh! come on now! they are acting like its something that has ruined the land.. blah blah.. his sleep is ruined at night because of the humming.. maybe someday we will put wind turbines away from us and into more remote places.. but untill then, deal with it i say! its a better environment!! psh! come on now! they are acting like its something that has ruined the land.. blah blah.. his sleep is ruined at night because of th... more
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Affordable windmill for your home
The Windspire is a low cost, attractive, plug-n-produce wind power appliance that provides a safe and attractive method for harnessing power from the wind. At only 30 feet tall and 2 feet in radius, Windspire is distinguished by its sleek propeller-free design, ultra quiet operation, rugged construction, and affordable pricing. Designed for operation where we live and work, it sells for $4,995 and comes complete with a high efficiency generator, integrated inverter, hinged monopole, and wireless performance monitor. The Windspire is a low cost, attractive, plug-n-produce wind power appliance that provides a safe and attractive method for harnessing... more
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Brown unveils £100bn renewable energy plan
Thousands of new wind turbines could be built across the UK as part of a £100bn investment in renewable energy that could create hundreds of thousands of new "green collar" jobs, Gordon Brown announced today.
The prime minister unveiled what he described as a "green revolution" and "the most dramatic change in energy policy since the advent of nuclear power".
He wants to build up Britain's clean power supply in order to reach the EU-imposed target of producing 15% of the country's energy from renewable sources by 2020. This will require £100bn of investment from the private sector, which the government will encourage with financial incentives due to be announced later by the business secretary, John Hutton.
In a speech to an energy summit at the Tate Modern art gallery in central London, Brown said that the North Sea, which has passed its peak in terms of oil and gas supplies, will be turned into "the equivalent for wind power of what the Gulf of Arabia is for oil". Wind turbines will also be built inland, but with sensitivity towards local communities... Thousands of new wind turbines could be built across the UK as part of a £100bn investment in renewable energy that could create hundr... more -
US now world leader in wind power production
Environmental Finance, 7 August 2008 - US wind capacity is expected to increase 45% in 2008 although Congress' failure to extend the production tax credit (PTC) for the renewable energy industry threatens to derail further development, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
Total US installed wind power capacity now stands at 19,549MW, up 2,726MW from the end of 2007, making the US the world leader in wind electricity generation, according to the AWEA's second quarter 2008 market report. Germany has installed generating capacity of about 23,000MW, but the US produces more electricity because of stronger winds, the AWEA said.
The AWEA projects 7,500MW of new capacity will come online in 2008, a 45% increase over 2007. “The increased cost of fuel, particularly natural gas, has had an amazing impact on the industry," said AWEA executive director Randall Swisher.
The rapid growth of the wind energy industry, however, is being threatened by the inability of Congress to pass legislation to extend the PTC for renewable energy projects, he said. The PTC is set to expire at the end of 2008, and many projects are being rushed to completion by the end of this year, Swisher said.
Investment in new wind energy projects beyond 2008 has stalled due to the failure to extend the credits, Swisher said. “If there is a great deal of uncertainty in the market and in policies in the market, that investment capacity will be deployed elsewhere”, he said. “It's just ludicrous that the Congress is letting this opportunity slip away.”
The AWEA also reported a strong increase in domestic investment in wind turbine and wind turbine component manufacturing facilities over the past 18 months with at least 41 new or expanded facilities creating more than 9,000 jobs when operating at full capacity. But uncertainty about the PTC also threatens that investment, according to the AWEA. Environmental Finance, 7 August 2008 - US wind capacity is expected to increase 45% in 2008 although Congress' failure to extend ... more -
10 family homes powered by single kite
"A traditional childhood pastime could provide a breakthrough in renewable energy, after successful experiments in flying a giant kite at one of Europe's top research centres.
Scientists from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands harnessed energy from the wind by flying a 10-sq metre kite tethered to a generator, producing 10 kilowatts of power.
The experiment generated enough electricity to power 10 family homes, and the researchers have plans to test a 50kW version of their invention, called Laddermill, eventually building up to a proposed version with multiple kites that they claim could generate 100 megawatts, enough for 100,000 homes."
"Ken Caldeira, a climate scientist at Stanford University's Carnegie Institution, has estimated that the total energy contained in wind is 100 times the amount needed by everyone on the planet. But most of this energy is at high altitude."
The rest of the article is really interesting, I'd definitely recommend reading it. (The video's bearable, but by no means spectacular) "A traditional childhood pastime could provide a breakthrough in renewable energy, after successful experiments in flying a giant... more -
NASA wind maps may help in locating best wind sources
According to an article in Mendo Coast Current, " MendoCoastCurrent, July 9, 2008
Efforts to harness the energy potential of Earth’s ocean winds could soon gain an important new tool: global satellite maps from NASA. Scientists have been creating maps using nearly a decade of data from NASA’s QuikSCAT satellite that reveal ocean areas where winds could produce energy.
The new maps have many potential uses including planning the location of offshore wind farms to convert wind energy into electric energy. The research, published this week in Geophysical Research Letters, was funded by NASA’s Earth Science Division, which works to advance the frontiers of scientific discovery about Earth, its climate and its future." According to an article in Mendo Coast Current, " MendoCoastCurrent, July 9, 2008 ... more -
Appalachian residents have found the antidote to coal: Wind
If Senator Barack Obama ever needs a living symbol of change we can believe in, and a hopeful way to transcend the dirty politics of our failed energy policies, he should go and see the future of renewable energy in the Coal River Valley in West Virginia.
Yes, renewable energy in Appalachia.
Something historic is taking place in West Virginia this summer. Faced with an impending proposal to stripmine over 6,600 acres -- nearly 10 square miles -- in the Coal River Valley, including one of the last great mountains in that range, an extraordinary movement of local residents and coal mining families have come up with a counter proposal for an even more effective wind farm.
Mother Jones, the miners' angel, once declared: "Pray for the dead, and fight like hell for the living."
Having witnessed the destruction of over 470 mountains and their adjacent communities in Appalachia, the Coal River Valley citizens are doing just that. On the frontlines of one of the most tragic environmental and human rights scandals in modern American history, the community-wide Coal River wind advocates have devised a blueprint to get beyond the divisive regional politics and break the stranglehold of King Coal on the central Appalachian economies.
The Coal River Wind Project is the first bottom-up community-based full scale assessment to directly counter the nightmare of mountaintop removal with a renewable energy and economy alternative prior to the actual mining.
We have a choice. It is not simply coal or no coal. Jobs or no jobs. The issue is how do we create jobs and clean energy forever, and begin the transition in Appalachia and America away from dirty coal.
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This is so wonderful. To see residents standing up to big coal to truly bring jobs and health to the Appalachians. Wind is the alternate energy source for this area, and I stand with them in getting this done. And if Barack Obama does care for change, he will stop touting "clean coal" and stand by these residents and their initiative to bring real clean energy and jobs to this part of the country that has been so devastated by the toxic legacy coal has left in its wake. If Senator Barack Obama ever needs a living symbol of change we can believe in, and a hopeful way to transcend the dirty politics of o... more -
Wind-energy dreams gain altitude
Wind turbines fill the horizon along Interstate 70 west of Salina, Kan. The state is said to have the third-best wind of any state for such projects, and that is raising the hopes of renewable-energy advocates.
That breeze you’re feeling may be the sudden gust of news about wind energy, until now almost a boutique producer of power in America.
Oilman T. Boone Pickens began flooding the media this month with a $58 million campaign to sell a plan to build thousands of wind turbines. He wants wind to grow from supplying 1 percent of the nation’s electricity to 20 percent in a decade.
This week, global-warming guru Al Gore announced a plan to spend at least a trillion dollars in the next 10 years on renewable energy, including wind, to break the nation’s fossil-fuel addiction cold turkey.
And we’re smack in the middle of those plans.
Kansas has the third-best wind of any state, and Missouri’s tiny Rock Port is winning national attention as the first town in America to operate solely on wind power.
Pickens’ plan could be wind-spun gold for the wind-tunnel corridor, stretching from central Texas to the Canadian border, as many thousands of jobs are created to build turbines, erect wind farms and string transmission lines to the East and the West Coasts.
“I’m over the moon about it,” said Nancy Jackson, executive director of the Lawrence-based Climate and Energy Project, a nonprofit climate-research group.
“This gives Kansans a chance to stay home and have jobs where they have grown up, which is great,” Jackson said.
Of course, everyone agrees Pickens’ and Gore’s plans are darned ambitious, and some are questioning whether they can be accomplished so quickly.
“This is not business as usual,” said Christine Real de Azua, a spokeswoman for the American Wind Energy Association, the national trade association for the industry. “To make this work, clearly we would need a different set of policies in place.”
Real de Azua said it is exciting that the energy crisis is suddenly up front and center in America, but Washington does not usually move fast on energy issues.
Both Pickens and Gore believe the energy crisis should be the No. 1 issue of the election — one reason for the timing of their own energy campaigns.
Pickens has said that to implement his plan within 10 years, both Congress and the White House must treat the current energy situation as “a national emergency and take immediate action.”
That goes beyond what either presidential candidate has said, but both expressed support this week.
“Pickens’ proposal to break our addiction to foreign oil and significantly ramp up our investments in renewable energy is precisely in line with what Obama has proposed in his comprehensive energy plan,” said Debbie Mesloh, communications director for Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign in Missouri.
In a statement Thursday, Obama said he strongly agreed with Gore that “we cannot drill our way to energy independence, but must fast-track investments in renewable sources of energy. … It’s a strategy that will create millions of new jobs that pay well and cannot be outsourced.”
Sen. John McCain said in an interview with The Star on Thursday that moving to renewable energy is a “good idea” that should be studied. To move away from coal-fired power plants, he said, he favors building at least 45 nuclear power plants by 2030. Wind turbines fill the horizon along Interstate 70 west of Salina, Kan. The state is said to have the third-best wind of any state for... more
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Wind Energy
