Today's Top Stories
1. Harvesting energy: The power of tornadoes
2. EU's largest onshore wind project complete
3. NRG-GenOn merger a good news, bad news tale
4. Duke Energy adds more solar to its repertoire
5. Sempra secures buyers for proposed solar project Also Noted: University TechWatch
Spotlight On... U.K. closer to smart meter vision
Data goes unanalyzed; successful social networks and much more... Transmission policy could transcend Washington gridlock
Optimism regarding the federal energy policy debate has tempered in recent years. Opinions differ widely on how to best handle a number of issues, including hydraulic fracturing, offshore drilling and greenhouse gases. With President Obama in the White House for another four years, both sides of the debate wonder how the policy discussion will shift in the near term. Article News From Across the Energy Industry:
1. Research: 2013 cyberattacks more intense than last year
2. Order 1000 leaves some transmission problems unsolved
3. Asia-Pacific driving transmission and distribution investment
| This week's sponsor is SmartGrid Careers. |  | | Market Your Open Smart Grid Career Opportunities to 17K Qualified Smart Grid Professionals! |
Today's Top News 1. Harvesting energy: The power of tornadoes
AVEtec has been awarded an approximately $350,000 grant from Breakout Labs and the Thiel Foundation to promote innovation in science and technology, in this case harnessing clean energy.  | | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | AVEtec's proposal is to harness the power of atmospheric vortexes (tornadoes). The Atmospheric Vortex Engine (AVE) produces inexpensive and clean energy by harnessing the physics of tornados. By design, warm or humid air is introduced into a circular station where it takes the form of a rising vortex (i.e., a controlled tornado). The temperature difference between the heated air and the atmosphere supports the vortex and drives multiple turbines. The vortex can be shut down at any time by turning off the source of warm air. According to AVEtec founder Louis Michaud's website, the vortex engine has the same thermodynamic basis as the proven solar chimney except the physical tube of the solar chimney is replaced with centrifugal force. There is no need for a solar collector, as the solar collector is the earth's surface in its unaltered state. Michaud also contends on his website that if an enormous amount of energy stored in the latent heat of water vapor and the stored heat content in tropical ocean waters could be released and completely depleted, they would be completely replenished by solar energy from the sun in 10 days and 100 days, respectively. AVEtec projects that the cost of the energy it generates could be as low as $0.03 per kilowatt hour, making it one of the least expensive forms of energy production. An AVE power station could have a diameter of 100 meters and generate 200 MW of electrical power, the same order of magnitude as conventional coal power stations. AVE power generation has many benefits outside of its low cost, among them: AVE doesn't generate emissions or need energy storage. "The power in a tornado is undisputed. My work has established the principles by which we can control and exploit that power to provide clean energy on an unprecedented scale," said Michaud. "With the funding from Breakout Labs, we are building a prototype in partnership with Lambton College to demonstrate the feasibility and the safety of the atmospheric vortex engine." For more:
- see this article
- see this article Related Articles:
Energy harvesting edging out batteries
For energy storage, batteries could be replaced with energy harvesters Read more about: Louis Michaud, AVEtec
back to top |
| This week's sponsor is Zpryme. |  | Zpryme's Smart Grid Insights and FierceSmartGrid are conducting a survey to assess the current sentiment and outlook for the Smart Grid industry on a monthly basis. We would like to invite utility, energy, and Smart Grid executives to participate in this month's survey. Click here to take the survey.
|
2. EU's largest onshore wind project complete
Europe's largest onshore wind project is fully operating and producing enough clean energy to power more than one million Romanian homes a year. The first wind turbine of the Fantanele-Coegalac wind park was launched in June of 2010. The final wind turbine for the Fantanele-Cogealac wind park was connected to the regional grid in late November. Before the completion of this project, Romania had just 14 MW of installed wind capacity. Now the Fantanele-Cogealac wind park has a full 600 MW and features 240 GE 2.5 MW wind turbines. The wind park is located in Dobrogea, Constanta County, Romania which is said to be one of the most promising wind power regions in the country. CEZ Romania, central Europe's largest utility, has invested 1.1 billion Euros into the wind project. In the U.S. and Europe, 40 percent of new power generation installations over the last four years have been wind. Romania's generous green certificate system has attracted large foreign utilities, as well as local developers and private equity investors, to that country's wind industry, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. For more:
- see this article
- see this article Related Article:
Research: Global cleantech back sliding Read more about: Fantanele-Coegalac wind park, CEZ Romania
back to top |
3. NRG-GenOn merger a good news, bad news tale
NRG Energy and GenOn Energy have received Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and New York Public Service Commission (NY PSC) approval for the merger of the two companies. The FERC and NY PSC approvals are the final regulatory authorizations required to complete the merger. NRG and GenOn should receive a written order confirming the merger approval after which the transaction can be fully closed. Once combined, NRG and GenOn will create the nation's largest competitive electricity generator, with 47,000 MW of generating capacity. The companies' portfolio is comprised of both conventional and renewable generation facilities, and can power approximately 40 million homes. The merger's final approval is good news NRG and GenOn, but it's not good for everyone. As part of the merger, jobs have begun being eliminated at Houston-based GenOn. Up to 500 jobs are predicted to be eliminated between NRG and GenOn; however, GenOn officials insist that the jobs will be brought back to Houston. For more:
- see this article Related Article:
New generation co to power 40M homes Read more about: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
back to top |
4. Duke Energy adds more solar to its repertoire
Duke Energy has purchased a commercial solar power project in Tucson. Located within the University of Arizona's Science and Technology Park, the 6 MW Gato Montes project uses 48,000 solar photovoltaic thin-film, amorphous silicon technology -- a first in the Duke Energy Renewables fleet. The project is also unique at the UA Tech Park, where various solar projects are being tested under identical operating conditions to evaluate the most beneficial technology for solar energy production in the Southwest. "Gato Montes is our fifth solar power project in Arizona in the past two years," said Duke Energy Renewables President Greg Wolf. "In fact, we'll have 37 MW of solar energy in production in Arizona by the end of the year, representing more than half of the 67 MW in our growing portfolio of solar projects nationwide." The Gato project is Duke Energy Renewables' 12th wholly owned commercial solar project in the U.S. Construction began in December 2011 and is expected to achieve commercial operation within the week. Tucson Electric Power Company will buy all of the electricity from the project under a 20-year agreement. For more:
- see this article Related Article:
Sempra to quintuple solar generation by 2013 Read more about: Duke Energy Renewables
back to top |
5. Sempra secures buyers for proposed solar project
Los Angeles and Burbank have approved a 20-year solar power purchase agreement for 250 MW from Sempra U.S. Gas & Power's proposed Copper Mountain Solar 3 project. The agreement provides the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) with the bulk of the power produced by the solar power plant -- 210 MW -- through an agreement with the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA). SCPPA is joint power authority consisting of 11 municipal utilities and one irrigation district that finances power and transmission resources on behalf of its members. Burbank will purchase the remaining 40 MW through a similar agreement. The project will bring Burbank to within as much as 1 percent of its 33 percent renewable energy goal by 2020. "It has taken six years to make that elusive goal real," said Fred Fletcher, assistant general manager of power supply for Burbank Water and Power. Copper Mountain Solar 3 and its two adjacent Copper Mountain Solar facilities in the Nevada desert combined create one of the largest solar power complexes in the Southwest. This is Sempra's fourth utility-scale renewable energy project in Boulder City. When complete, in late 2015, the Boulder City solar projects will have a combined capacity of more than 450 MW, adding to Sempra's 700 MW of solar power already under development in Arizona and California. "Copper Mountain Solar 3 is another important step toward reaching our goal of 1,400 megawatts of renewable capacity by 2016," said Jeffrey W. Martin, president and CEO of Sempra U.S. Gas & Power. Construction on Copper Mountain Solar 3 is expected to begin next month. For more:
- see this article
- see this article Related Article:
Sempra to quintuple solar generation by 2013 Read more about: Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
back to top |
Also Noted | This week's sponsor is University TechWatch. |  | University Clean Tech Directory and Database
More than 400 technologies and startups - mined, vetted and indexed from 200+ U.S. universities - plus continuous database updates
Use discount code "FIERCE2012" for $100 off
See www.universitycleantech.com |
SPOTLIGHT ON... U.K. closer to smart meter vision The U.K. government has published its rules for customer engagement, privacy and security in relation to smart meter installations. The Government's vision is for a smart meter in every home in the United Kingdom. Smart meters will play an important role in the U.K.'s transition to a low-carbon economy and meeting the long-term challenges of ensuring an affordable, secure, and sustainable energy supply. Article Quick news from around the Web >Less than 1 percent of world data is analyzed. Article
>Benefits of safeguarding customer data. Article
>Alcatel-Lucent secures funding, stays afloat. Article
>Strategies of successful social networks. Article
> White paper: Cyber Security and the Energy Sector Utilities face many security challenges today. AT&T and Sierra Wireless are working together to provide strong and proven security technologies enabling utilities with a secure and flexible two-way communications infrastructure to connect and communicate in real time. Download now. > Survey: Take the Smart Grid Index Survey Zpryme's Smart Grid Insights and FierceSmartGrid are conducting a survey to assess the current sentiment and outlook for the Smart Grid industry on a monthly basis. We would like to invite utility, energy, and Smart Grid executives to participate in this month's survey. Click here to take the survey. > Reach Over 17K Smart Grid Professionals for $249! Market your open Smart Grid career opportunities to over 17,000 qualified Smart Grid candidates. Our career marketing package leverages a powerful combination of e-mail marketing, social media promotion and visibility to over 4,500 targeted unique site visitors every month! www.smartgridcareers.com | |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Keep a civil tongue.