Depending on your source, Iowa is now either #3 or #4 in the country in wind energy generation. Add to that the Iowa Power Fund, Iowa’s $100 million renewable energy research and development initiative, and Governor Chet Culver’s mission to make Iowa “…the nation’s undisputed renewable energy leader.” Given all that, you’d think that Iowa is a GREEN POWER haven! Not so! There is a battle going on and you can help. (more…)
You can’t depend on wind they say. When you least expect it, the wind dies, the sails luff, the power goes. As we stretch to reach national 25×25 goals, there are plans afoot to tame the will-o-the-wind. The Iowa Stored Energy Park, a joint project of Iowa, Minnesota and the Dakotas, is one such effort. How do they plan to get wind energy on demand? Why, simply harvest the wind’s energy and store it for future use. And once again we see that grassroots organizing is so important! (more…)
Earth Day 2008 is a far cry from its launch in 1970. Then, Earth Day was a protest against corporate environmental misconduct and the stench of environmental pollution embraced as “the whiff of prosperity.” Today, Earth Day has become a marketing strategy to sell the ‘green’ side of everything from SUVs, to snack food, to 1-800-flowers. (more…)
Think “wind power” — and electricity, generators, light bulbs, and air conditioners all pop into mind. But the city of Seminole has a pilot project in the works that will use wind power to desalinate groundwater to make drinkable water. How will they do that you ask? (more…)
Ah, a few more entries in the Wind Songs hunt. Same song title - The Will of the Wind- two different takes; two different artists - both are on YouTube. The Will of the Wind by Jim Photoglo and The Will of the Wind live by Kenny Loggins are both worth a listen. Each is a beautiful piece that you will surely want to add to your positive wind music collection.
If your project is a large community wind project, a small to medium wind farm, or even a single turbine you want to connect back into the power grid, you may run into the Power Grid Debate. The national power transmission system is old, vulnerable, and inadequate. But will your project have any impact on the transmission grid where you aim to be connected? (more…)
Wind turbines, radio towers and tall buildings have the potential to affect radar. They are signal reflectors. If sited in the wrong location, wind turbines can impact the ability of radar to perform its mission. But to what extent is radar interference a large enough problem to halt wind farm development and how exactly do turbines interfere with radar? (more…)
In 2005, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued its proposed regulations for connecting wind projects to the grid. The technical requirements it proposed recognized the proliferation of wind farms, and their special nature and potential impact on grid reliability. (more…)
Of all the reasons for resisting a wind project, the most emotional has to do with the potential for wind turbines to kill birds. The most notorious case in point, and the one that has probably done more damage to wind power development than any other, is the history of bird kills in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area in California. (more…)
In January 2006, Congress mandated a study of the effects of proposed wind turbines on military operations. Many folks at the time viewed this as a political ploy by powerful senators to stall development of the Cape Wind project on Nantucket Sound. So what’s the deal? Is radar interference real ….or something else? (more…)