John Hennessy III,
P.E.
Today’s offshore wind turbines, rooted to the seabed by monopile or jacket foundations, are restricted to waters less than 50 metres deep. This rules out sites with the strongest winds and, often, access to big markets. Floating foundations, by eliminating the depth constraint and easing turbine set-up, could open the way for power generation from deeper waters.
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As of December 2016, Recurrent Energy has nine operating solar photovoltaic (PV) projects across Kern County in Southern California. Community leaders discuss the impacts of utility-scale solar development and their experience working with Recurrent Energy.
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U.S. gas production was thought to be in permanent decline as recently as 2005. The advent of shale gas over the past decade has, however, dramatically turned this around and increased production to all-time highs. Notwithstanding this, U.S. gas production peaked in mid-2015 and shale gas production peaked in early 2016, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The question is: How fast and how much can production grow in the future given higher prices and a return to higher rates of drilling?
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Infrastructure is the foundation of Michigan’s modern economy and quality of life. When most people hear the term “infrastructure,” they often think of roads or bridges; however, these assets are just pieces of a larger, more complex picture that includes water and sewer systems, drains and stormwater systems, broadband and communication systems, and electricity and natural gas networks…Michigan’s infrastructure is aging, and maintenance has been deferred for decades, leaving us in a state of disrepair. Failing infrastructure interrupts daily life, slows commerce, jeopardizes public health, pollutes the environment, and damages quality of life.
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Advances in wind power technologies continue to drive cost reduction and expansion into new markets. While onshore wind power is increasingly cost competitive against conventional power generation technologies, growing attention is being paid to technology development for off shore applications that open the door to sites with better wind resources. This combination of higher capacity factors and the availability of large-scale sites makes off shore wind an attractive alternative for utility-scale low-carbon electricity
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Current federal and state transportation policies in the United States often set us back in the fight against global warming. To move toward a carbon-free transportation system, America must adopt a bold new vision for transportation policy – with 50 common-sense policy reforms helping to chart a new way forward.
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North Dakota is one of the most remote places in the United States, or should we say ‘was’ one of the most remote. Thanks to an abundance of natural resources, particularly oil, North Dakota is no longer as open as its range used to be…The Minot International Airport, originally built just 20 years ago, is one project under construction to handle the increase in flight and foot traffic in the region. NECA Contractor Main Electric Construction Inc., and their IBEW 714 craftsmen are building it.
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The wind industry has come a long way, but still more has to be done. World wind power generation capacity reached 435 gigawatts at the end of 2015, which is only 7% of total global power generation capacity. To push this figure higher, governments should implement a range of measures and support schemes like feed in tariffs, renewable portfolio standards in combination with auctions, and production tax credits. As shares of wind continue to increase, countries must also take steps to create power systems that can integrate large amounts of variable wind energy, exploring smart grids, storage technologies and other grid management mechanisms.
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“We’re at a point now where, with more than $44 billion last year, aggregate investment in the U.S. in renewable energy is over $370 billion…In a lot of the developed world, renewables are the biggest single infrastructure investment that’s going on. You’re actually seeing more spent on renewables than on traditional infrastructure like roads and bridges, which is a pretty big surprise.”
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Recently, researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory wanted to know, how well does NREL’s hydrogen infrastructure support fueling multiple fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) for a day trip to the Rocky Mountains? The answer-great! NREL staff took FCEVs on a trip to demonstrate real-world performance and range in high-altitude conditions. To start the trip, drivers filled three cars at NREL’s hydrogen fueling station. The cars made a 175-mile loop crossing two 11,000+ foot mountain passes on the way. Back at NREL, the cars were filled up with hydrogen in ~5 minutes and ready to go again.
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