GE's DE 2.7 gearbox
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Turbine longevity: Pro-active gearbox maintenance

New data-trending solutions are emerging for turbine operators that will allow them to stay one step ahead of gearbox problems, while maximising production.

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Vessels: Rethinking offshore safety, operations and maintenance

WindEnergyupdate speaks to John Bonafoux, Managing Director of BMT Nigel Gee, design consultancy for specialised ships and boats, about optimising the operability and safety of vessels servicing Round 2 and 3 offshore wind farms.

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John Bonafoux, Managing Director of BMT Nigel Gee
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Moving on from the BP oil spill: Obama’s Clean Energy Future

Millions of Americans tuned in Tuesday night to watch President Obama deliver his first address from the Oval Office. At the heart of the president’s speech was his diagnosis of the BP oil spill. If the disaster can be thought of as a disease, then treatment of the symptoms are the current efforts to clean up the spill and restore the Gulf Coast. But, like with any disease, the most critical step is to understand the cause and prevent a future outbreak. What began as an update on the oil spill cleanup efforts ended as a push for a clean energy future, led by solar, wind, and energy efficiency.

This oil spill was not merely an accident, but a consequence of “America’s century-long addiction to fossil fuels.” As Obama made clear last night, the larger lesson from the spill has been that “drilling for oil these days entails greater risk” and our nation must transition to a clean energy future. Cause and prevention are inextricably tied – preventing future oil spills require eliminating our dependence on oil. “The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now,” President Obama declared, “Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash America’s innovation and seize control of our own destiny.”

Clean technology continues to develop, but much of it is already available. A clean energy future is not, as Obama insisted, “some distant vision for America.” Our nation has already taken “unprecedented action to jumpstart the clean energy industry” with solar panels, wind turbines, and energy efficient windows. Your home pollutes more than two times what your car pollutes. Power your home with clean, solar energy, and you are making a bigger difference than you think. For each home that goes solar, 40% of that home’s pollution is offset. And for every six homes that go solar, 1 clean American job is created.

This is why we’ve created a national cause for 10,000 additional solar roofs in the U.S. in 2010, in addition to the 50,000 new solar roofs projected to be added this year. It’s clear that the time for a clean energy future is not in the future, but the present. We must, as our president urged us last night, “seize the moment….rally together and act as one nation” to make that hope a reality. People all over the country, including solar companies, are uniting behind the 10,000 Solar Roofs Challenge. What more are you waiting for?

Please support a clean energy future by spreading the word and joining the cause today.

Visit the original post at: Solar Power News

Ammonia Borane is not Boring for Hydrogen Fuel Cells

My most recent post about using ammonia borane as a chemical carrier of hydrogen for fuel cells was posted in September 2009. In fact, I’ve talked about the possibility of using ammonia borane several other times in the past as well.

On of the disadvantages of using ammonia borane as a chemical carrier of hydrogen is that it takes significant energy to re-hydrogenate the spent chemicals. Researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and University of Alabama are working on solving this issue.

Now, currently, researchers at Purdue University are using hydrothermolysis of ammonia borane (and water) to produce high yields of hydrogen. According to Purdue Professor Arvind Varma, “This is the first process to provide exceptionally high hydrogen yield values at near the fuel-cell operating temperatures without using a catalyst, making it promising for hydrogen-powered vehicles. We have a proof of concept.”

The new process will use waste heat from the fuel cells to separate the hydrogen from the ammonia borane in a reactor. This reactor will produce hydrogen at a safer compression (200 psi as opposed to 5,000 psi to 10,000 psi used in most current hydrogen vehicles).

The next step is for the researchers to scale up their design to work in a hydrogen fuel cell car and carry it at least 350 miles. Transporting an inert chemical compound such as ammonia borane will make a hydrogen refueling infrastructure much easier to build in comparison to using trucks with tanks of 10,000 psi or more on back (using the current gasoline infrastructure model).

So, you see, ammonia borane is not so boring after all.

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Asia Weekly: Goldwind shelves IPO, four funds commit
Wind turbine maker cancels its $1.2B IPO, while Origo Partners, Gensol Consultants, IDG Capital Partners and Solvay look to invest in Asian cleantech innovation.

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Europe Weekly: Acquisitions in smart grid, rare earth recycling
Russian gas company Gazprom and Canada’s Neo Material Technologies make cleantech acquisitions, while six VC deals are announced.

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Permitting Wind Turbines in Wisconsin: The Way Forward

From a presentation by Michael Vickerman, RENEW executive director, at the MREA Energy Fair:

What 2009 Act 40 Does
1) Require PSC to establish, by rule, uniform siting standards for all wind turbines, covering, but not limited to:
? Setbacks
? Sound levels
? Shadow flicker
? Studies and testing requirements
? Decommissioning
2) Create procedures for municipal review of permit applications and a process

RENEW’s Positions on the Rule
? Health and safety-based standards should be based on objective, fact-based research and analysis
? Rule should rely less on prescriptive setbacks and more on measurable physical impacts
? There are no grounds for establishing property value guarantees
? Rule should standardize complaint procedures
? With proper management and attentiveness to community concerns, wind turbines do become an accepted part of the landscape (the lesson of the Kewaunee County projects)

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Portable Fuel Cell Charger by Horizon, Now Available Commercially

Horizon, a fuel cell manufacturing company from Singapore, has recently unveiled a small hydrogen fuel cell charger that could juice your gadgets (PDA, phone, MP3, etc). It’s called MiniPAK, and it uses refillable solid-state hydrogen cartridges (called HydroSTIK) to store its power.

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Stimulus Bill Funds Still Not Reaching Cleantech
Most of the $787b stimulus bill funds have been spent, but the impact on cleantech has fallen below expectations. The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) allocated $36.7b to the Department of Energy (DOE), but as of 6/4/10 only $4.5b has been spent and most of it did not go to cleantech companies.
Visit the original post at: Renewable Energy News – RenewableEnergyWorld.com

Oil Spill Underscores the Need for Renewable Resources

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5 Choices You Can Make To Move Your Family Away From Fossil Fuels

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Sustainability at the Limits of Consumption and Production

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