Green Energy News | July 29, 2001

July 29, 2001 – Vol.6 No.18

ENERGIES... week of July 29, 2001

WORLD WIND WATCH - IT’S A SIGN OF THE TIMES. True to this oft used company advertising jingle, when a major U.S retailer begins selling wind turbines via its website something is definitely changing. Admired and trend-setting Target is now offering one-kilowatt Bergey turbines through its Target.com on-line store.

The Bergey XL.1 turbine is being offered as environmentally clean and back-up power for homes and small businesses. The eight-foot diameter turbine operates in a wind speed range of 7-24 miles per hour with maximum power output at higher wind speeds. Target is offering the XL.1 for $1700 and 32 or 40 foot towers for $490 and $690 respectively.

Before you jump into wind energy for your home, perform a wind and electricity analysis of your property. Make sure a small wind turbine will meet your expectations or recoup your investment in it. Most U.S. homes need more than 1 kilowatt of power. Check local building codes and consult with your neighbors too. Visit Target at http://www.target.com/ (click Home Furnishings - Energy Savers for the turbine)

WORLD WIND WATCH. Elsewhere on the planet wind energy is tightening its secure grip as major power supplier to the grid.

If developers persevere, waters off the New England coast will become home to world’s largest offshore wind farm. Wind developer Cape Wind Associates is working on plans to build a 420 megawatt facility on Horseshoe Shoal centered between the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard and the Cape Cod mainland.

Ocean-front property owners are objecting to the project though the turbines will be a few miles from shore and would be seen only on the horizon. Environmentalists and boaters too are objecting to the project. But if built and complete in 2004 the Cape Wind project could supply half the power needs of the usually environmentally concerned residents and businesses of the Cape and Islands. The project would have an average capacity of 168 megawatts.

Scotland will be the home of the UK’s largest wind farm to date. The 240 megawatt facility to be built at Whitelee Forest, part of the Eaglesham Moor 10 miles south of Glasgow, will have 140 turbines and supply enough power for 150,000 homes. Though not announced officially, sources predict that turbines will be supplied by Vestas, which is now building a manufacturing plant in Kintyre on the west coast of Scotland. The wind farm will be built by ScottishPower and the $215 million facility should be operating by 2003. Visit Vestas at http://www.vestas.com/ .

Seven kilometers off the coast of North Wales, National Wind Power will be developing the North Hoyle Offshore Wind Farm. To be complete by 2003 the farm will have 30 turbines with an expected capacity of 60-90 megawatts.

To market power generated from North Hoyle, Npower, a sister company of National Wind Power, has set up a green power product known as Juice. Npower hopes to have 50,000 Juice customers by the time North Hoyle is operating. For now, Juice customers will have their power supplied by a hydro plant and on-shore wind farms. Visit National Wind Power at http://www.natwindpower.co.uk and Npower at http://www.npower.com/ .

The state owned Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) is planning to build a 40 megawatt wind farm in the Ilocos Norte province in the northern Philippines. To be built by PNOC-Energy Development, the project is the first phase of 120 megawatts of wind power planned for the region. This phase will be the largest wind project in Southeast Asia and should be complete in 2004.

The government of the Brazilian state of Ceara will build two wind projects with a combined capacity of 60 megawatts. Power distributor Coelce will operate the wind farms and purchase all of the energy for resale. Visit Coelce at http://www.coelce.com.br/ . (no English version)

According to reliable sources - though unconfirmed - Mayflower Corporation of the UK is nearly ready to enter the wind turbine business. Among a number of business units, the company is best known for building buses and motor vehicle bodies.