Renewable Energy News

Stuttgart University Invents "The Wind Car"

Students at Stuttgart University constructed a vehicle that is solely powered by wind energy, the Ventomobile. It took them many months of intense construction work to reach this goal. The first wind tunnel testing produced very promising results. The stylish three-wheeler features a two-bladed rotor on top, with a diameter of two meters. The efficiency of this setup proved to be extremely good. On August, 23rd the InVentus Ventomobile competed in the Aeolus Race in Den Helder (Netherlands) on a three kilometre track with five teams from different universities and research institutes from all over Europe. In this unique race the teams were challenged to sail straight into the wind, solely driven by the power of wind. InVentus was created by avid students of Aerospace Engineering in cooperation with the Endowed Chair of Wind Energy. “The Ventomobile is another proof of what can be done with renewable energies”, explains Prof Martin Kühn, Endowed Chair of Wind Energy at Stuttgart University, recalling the time when solar powered vehicles were in their first stages of development.

Austin Approves $2.3 Billion Bioenergy Project

The Austin City Council on Thursday gave Austin Energy, its city-owned electric utility, approval to enter into a US $2.3 billion contract to purchase all power produced over a 20-year period by a proposed 100-megawatt (MW) wood-waste-fueled biomass power plant. The power purchase agreement (PPA) will move Austin closer to its goal that by 2020, 30% of the power generated from Austin Energy will come from renewable resources. "The projection is that natural gas prices will continue to escalate over the long-term. The higher natural gas prices rise, the more this project will save our customers since the biomass-generated power effectively replaces natural-gas-fueled generation for the utility." said Roger Duncan Duncan, the General Manager of Austin Energy The facility, which will be one of be the largest of its type in the U.S., will burn wood waste from logging and mill activity as well as urban wood waste from clearing, tree trimming and pallets. All fuel sources for the plant must meet Texas Renewable Energy Credit standards and Texas Forestry Best Management Practices. It is projected to go on line by the spring of 2012.

The cost of the biomass power would be recovered by Austin Energy through the fuel charge or through the utility’s green power program, GreenChoice. Recovering costs through the fuel charge is projected to result in up to a US $1.50 decrease to a projected US $2.50 increase in the electric bill of the average residential customer beginning in 2012, depending on the cost of other fuels particularly natural gas. “The projection is that natural gas prices will continue to escalate over the long-term. The higher natural gas prices rise, the more this project will save our customers since the biomass-generated power effectively replaces natural-gas-fueled generation for the utility,” said Roger Duncan Duncan, Austin Energy general manager. The biomass plant would be built and managed by Nacogdoches Power LLC, a joint venture between Energy Management Incorporated of Boston and BayCorp Holdings of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The group has developed and owned or operated more than 1,000 MW of generation in the past including biomass, biodiesel, hydroelectric, natural gas and nuclear. The group has also been selected to develop a biomass project for Gainesville (Florida) Regional Utilities.

Wind and Solar Projects Race Against Expiring Incentives

A congressional stand-off that has blocked extension of federal tax credits for renewable energy projects is setting off a boom in the wind and solar industries. Developers and customers are racing to install systems by year's end to qualify for the credits, which can cut the cost of a large commercial system by 30%. Wind developer EnXco has spent millions to ensure wind farms in Minnesota and California are spinning this year, says CEO Tristan Grimbert. "We will go the extra mile to be on time." Randall Swisher, head of the American Wind Energy Association, says 8,000 megawatts of wind energy — the equivalent of 16 average coal-fired plants — are under construction, with developers scrambling to finish most by year's end. Solar panel installations in California are up 74% this year, at least partly due to the tax-break impasse, says Larry Sherwood, a consultant for the Interstate Renewable Energy Council. It's mostly businesses that are racing to beat the clock, says Barry Cinnamon, CEO of installer Akeena Solar. Sempra Generation is hurrying to finish a solar farm in Nevada, though it hasn't lined up a utility to buy the power. "We stepped out a little bit," says CEO Michael Allman, adding he expects to find a buyer.

Extension of the tax credits has wide support in Congress, but the issue has bogged down in partisan battles. Senate Democrats insist the subsidies — costing the Treasury at least $1.7 billion a year — be offset with new revenue, while Republicans insist on an energy package that includes offshore oil drilling. Energy consultant Stow Walker expects the credits to be extended, but Congress plans to adjourn in early October, leaving just weeks to decide. The boom could be short-lived. Uncertainty about renewal of the credits is causing projects scheduled for 2009 and beyond to be delayed or scrapped. If tax breaks aren't renewed by December, up to 115,000 workers could be laid off in early 2009, according to the trade groups for wind and solar. The wind industry endured similar gyrations in 1999, 2001 and 2003 when Congress let the tax benefit expire. Lawmakers ultimately renewed it the following years, but wind turbine installations fell as much as 93%. Students of the Team InVentus at Stuttgart University constructed a vehicle that is solely powered by wind energy, the Ventomobile. It took them many months of intense construction work to reach this goal.

Renewable Energy Videos

Here is a recent collection of some of the better You Tube videos on renewable energy. If you have some favorite You Tube videos relating to renewable energy please send us the links and we will try to include them. Thanks! --Editor

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