Climate change could bring stronger winds, more wind power

A new study by the British Antarctic Survey, the University of Oxford and the University of Bristol looked at what effect a warmer world would have on winds, specifically across the UK and Northern Europe where wind power is already becoming a major source of energy. In a world that is on average 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer, winds would be stronger and as a result, wind power would make up a significantly larger chunk of the electricity produced in that part of the world.

A warmer world brings with it more wind.

Using data from 282 onshore wind turbines over a span of 11 years paired with climate model data for that 1.5 degree increase in global temperature, the researchers found that in the UK alone there could be a 10 percent increase in wind energy generation. That's equivalent to meeting the energy demands of an additional 700,000 homes based on the current wind power capacity. The UK is quickly increases wind power installations, so that number would likely be even higher in the future.

Germany, Poland and Lithuania would also see major gains in wind energy production, but the UK stood out from the rest.

Read the story from Treehugger by Megan Treacy - “Climate change could bring stronger winds, more wind power.”

Is Buying Renewables Anti-American?

COUNTRIES AROUND THE world are embracing renewable energy like solar and wind power and switching from coal to natural gas. But as they plan to invest billions of dollars in such infrastructure projects, they might also have to pick a side.

With the U.S. betting heavily on natural gas and China tightening its grip on the manufacturing of solar panels, choosing one technology over the other might risk alienating – or could end up currying favor with – one superpower or the other.

In short, new solar facilities – while friendly to the global environment – could one day become seen as the anti-American choice.

Read the U.S. News and World Report story - “Is Buying Renewables Anti-American?”

Britain reaches new wind power output record

Britain reached a new record of wind power output on 17 March, as wind farms generated 14.2GW.

New wind power record for Britain.

The National Grid confirmed that at 14:30 GMT, wind power accounted for 34.2% of all energy generated in Britain.

Gas was producing 20.3% of energy, Nuclear created 17.6%, and coal only accounted for 12.9%.

“2017 was a record year for green energy and it’s looking likely 2018 is set to exceed that,” commented Fintan Slye, Director of the System Operator at National Grid.

Read the Energy Digital story by Sophie Chapman - “Britain reaches new wind power output record.”

Winds of change: Britain now generates twice as much electricity from wind as coal

Just six years ago, more than 40% of Britain’s electricity was generated by burning coal. Today, that figure is just 7%. Yet if the story of 2016 was the dramatic demise of coal and its replacement by natural gas, then 2017 was most definitely about the growth of wind power.

Wind provided 15% of electricity in Britain last year (Northern Ireland shares an electricity system with the Republic and is calculated separately), up from 10% in 2016. This increase, a result of both more wind farms coming online and a windier year, helped further reduce coal use and also put a stop to the rise in natural gas generation.

Read the story by a Teaching and Research Fellow from the Chemical and Biological Engineering at the  University of Sheffield, Grant Wilson, on The Conversation - “Winds of change: Britain now generates twice as much electricity from wind as coal.”

Dutch public trains now powered entirely by wind

Netherlands public transport trains to be
running entirely on wind power in 2017.

As of the beginning of 2017, all public transport trains in the Netherlands are being powered entirely by renewable energy sources, namely wind power.

Dutch railway company NS has announced all of its fleet of electric trains now run on 100 per cent renewable wind power.

In 2015, Dutch railway companies, of which NS is the largest, collaborated with energy company, Eneco, to reduce emissions.

Read the ClimateAction story - “Dutch public trains now powered entirely by wind.”

Wind power to generate 20% of global electricity by 2030

The Global Wind Energy Council has released its biennial Global Wind Energy Outlook, according to which wind power could generate 20 per cent of global electricity by 2030.

The report estimates wind power capacity to reach 2,110 GW globally and generate up to 20 per cent of the world’s electricity, attracting around 200 billion euros of annual investment.

Last year, global wind installations were worth 433 GW.

An increase in wind capacity would also create up to 2.4 million new jobs and help reduce carbon emission by 3.3 billion tonnes a year.

Read the ClimateAction story - “Wind power to generate 20% of global electricity by 2030.”

SA weather: Safety settings caused wind farms to reduce output during SA's blackout, regulator says

A wild storm that smashed through SA
damaged vital infrastructure,
contributing to a state-wide blackout.

Safety settings that kicked in during SA's wild storms caused a number of wind farms to disconnect or reduce their output in the lead up to the statewide blackout, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has said.

But it said the most well-known characteristic of wind power — variation of output with wind strength — was not a material factor in the blackout.

South Australia was plunged into darkness with some parts losing power for days — after a mid-latitude cyclone smashed through SA in late September, damaging vital infrastructure.

A preliminary AEMO report said severe weather, including high winds, thunderstorms, lightning strikes, hail and heavy rainfall, resulted in multiple transmission system faults.

Read the ABC story - “SA weather: Safety settings caused wind farms to reduce output during SA's blackout, regulator says.”

World’s first typhoon turbine could power Japan for 50 years

One typhoon contains enough energy
 to power Japan for a year.

Japanese engineer Atsushi Shimizu has developed the first typhoon turbine in the world.

The new turbine has been designed to withstand the force of typhoons and cyclones as well as harness the energy they produce.

According to the Atlantic Oceanographic & MeteorologicalLaboratory, a mature typhoon generates an amount of kinetic energy "equivalent to about half the world-wide electrical generating capacity", which means the energy of one typhoon could power Japan for 50 years, says Shimizu.

Japan currently imports around 84 per cent of the energy it consumes, and the country’s few attempts at turning to wind power have been unsuccessful.

Read the ClimateAction story - “World’s first typhoon turbine could power Japan for 50 years.”

Renewable energy needs a smart power grid

Wind power is now as cheap as coal, and in some places, solar is cheaper than natural gas. But there's one thing that most people assume still holds back renewable energy in the U.S.: power plants need a constant source of energy, and there isn't a cheap enough way to store wind or solar at a large scale yet.

But a new study suggests we don't actually need to store that power. Instead—because the wind is always blowing somewhere in the U.S., and a cloudy day in one city will be sunny elsewhere—researchers suggest we just need a bigger grid, and better power lines that could send energy wherever it's needed.

Read the Co-Exist story - “A National Power Grid: The Answer To Renewable Energy's Storage Problem?”

Simple bike ride ends up with intense dislike for wind farms

I

n the not too distant past Tony Abbott hopped on his bike and set off for a ride around Rottnest Island.

Tony Abbott once rode past a wind-farm
and has disliked them ever since,
 attacking them verbally and via policy.

His path took him right under the West Australian island’s sole wind turbine, and according to the prime minister this helped him form the view that windfarms were visually awful, noisy and potentially a health risk.

It must have been a particularly offensive turbine. Because in recent times Abbott has launched a number of verbal and policy assaults on wind energy.

But to his detractors this is only part of the picture. His government, they argue, has sought to undermine the entire A$20bn (£9.4bn) Australian renewable energy industry.

Read the Guardian story - “Tony Abbott's fight against solar and wind power in Australia”.

Abbott denies Australia access to efficient energy source

W

ind and solar power are quickly becoming one of the world’s best sources of energy.

That news, however, has not reached the ears of Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott as he persists with his “war on wind”.

Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, Adam Gartrell has said Tony Abbott has dramatically escalated his war on wind power, creating a new cabinet split and provoking a warning he is putting international investment at risk.

The story continues: “Treasurer Joe Hockey and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann​ have issued the so-called green bank with a directive to change its investment mandate, prohibiting new wind funding. It's understood the directive was issued without the approval or knowledge of Environment Minister Greg Hunt, angering the minister.”

Read Gartrell’s story - “Tony Abbott has escalated his war on wind power”.

Wind power meets and exceeds Denmark's domestic electricity needs

S

o much power was produced by Denmark’s windfarms on Thursday that the country was able to meet its domestic electricity demand and export power to Norway, Germany and Sweden.

On an unusually windy day, Denmark found itself producing 116% of its national electricity needs from wind turbines yesterday evening. By 3am on Friday, when electricity demand dropped, that figure had risen to 140%.

Interconnectors allowed 80% of the power surplus to be shared equally between Germany and Norway, which can store it in hydropower systems for use later. Sweden took the remaining fifth of excess power.

Read the Guardian story - “Wind power generates 140% of Denmark's electricity demand”.

Carbon dioxide emissions were halted in 2014

Giles Parkinson from
Reneweconomy.

Carbon dioxide emissions were halted in 2014 even though the global economy grew.

Writing on Reneweconomy, Giles Parkinson, said, “The International Energy Agency has hailed a “surprising” and “unprecedented” halt in the rise of global carbon dioxide emissions – an event it directly credits to the growth in solar and wind power, increased hydro, and the decline in coal-fired generation.”

His story, headed: “Solar, wind power aid unprecedented halt in global emissions”, says, “The IEA says global CO2 emissions stood at 32.3 billion tonnes in 2014, unchanged from the preceding year, despite a 3 per cent increase in global economic growth.”

He writes: “It says this is the first time in 40 years in which there was a halt or reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases that was not tied to an economic downturn such as the global financial crisis.”