Renewable energy projects now generate a higher percentage of U.S. electricity than ever. The U.S. has surpassed Gemany for global leadership in installed wind capacity but trails Europe for utilization of offshore wind resources. Regulatory, business and political winds are shifting, however, and the first turbines may soon be in the water. Cape Wind, Bluewater Wind, Deepwater Wind and Fisherman's Energy are each planning East Coast projects in various stages of development. Cape Wind, one of the most publicized projects, would place wind turbines in Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts.
The Cape Wind project recently received a favorable environmental impact statement from the U.S. Minerals Management Service, and National Grid has stated it will negotiate a power purchase agreement (PPA) for electricity produced by the project. Meanwhile, Bluewater Wind is banking on Delaware. The company has one 200 MW PPA in place with Delmarva Power and was chosen to produce 55 MW of power for neighboring Maryland under a PPA.
Deepwater Wind plans to build projects 15-20 miles offshore, starting with a 30 MW Block Island project off the Rhode Island coastline. Fisherman's Wind is planning a 20 MW demonstration project off coastal New Jersey. Construction, operational and financial challenges remain for offshore wind projects, including the need for stable incentives and policies to encourage investment in infrastructure and transmission capabilities.
Global Clean Energy Outlook: U.S. and China
Bilateral cooperation between the U.S. and China, including joint R&D focused on energy efficiency, carbon capture and storage, and innovative technologies is opening the door to deployment of new public-private partnerships. China's goal is to derive 15% of its total energy production capacity from renewable sources by 2020, including 20,000 MW of installed solar power capacity.
Wind power generation in China is on track to reach 30,000 MW by 2010 and 100,000 MW by 2020. Some of the largest U.S. clean energy firms are finding lucrative opportunities in China, including development of the world's largest photovoltaic power plant to date, estimated at 2,000 MW. Continued collaboration between the world's two largest energy consuming nations will help standards, technologies, financial resources and other elements of the emerging clean energy economy reach every corner of the globe.
19 Biorefinery Projects Receive Federal Stimulus Money
The Department of Energy has awarded $564 million of Federal stimulus money to 19 integrated biorefinery projects. These projects have also received $700 million in private funding for an overall $1.3 billion investment. The integrated biorefinery facilities will convert biomass feedstock into biofuel, biopower and biproducts. Examples of the types of biomass to be used by these facilities include algae, woody biomass, sorghum and switchgrass.
About $483 million in funding was awarded to 14 pilot scale projects and 4 demonstration scale projects. The pilot scale projects will test the technology of the facilities, as well as gather information about facility operations. The demonstration scale projects are designed to have continuous operations in order to identify any technological issues in advance of the construction of commercial scale facilities. The remaining $81 million was allocated for the ongoing construction of a biorefinery project that previously received funding. Read more...
Copenhagen Climate Talks Leave Unresolved Issues
The climate change session in Copenhagen (part of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change) began with the hope of reaching an international agreement on global climate change as the framework for a treaty to be put in place before the expiration of the existing Kyoto Protocol in 2012. But only limited progress occurred, including an agreement between developed and developing nations to list national actions and commitments towards climate change. The Copenhagen Accord accepts the need to keep global temperature rises to no more than 2 degrees Celsius over 10 years but does not require signatories to take measures to address climate change. Read more...