World Wind Watch | Green Energy News

December 3, 2006 – Vol. 11 No. 37

WORLD WIND WATCH.

Birds in Europe are pretty smart. If there’s a big, turning wind turbine in your way it’s best to fly around it rather than risk getting smacked.

One assumes that birds elsewhere on the planet are equally astute.

That’s the conclusion of the 8-year final report - Danish Offshore Wind: Key Environmental Issues - by Danish energy and environment agencies on the impacts of the world’s two largest offshore wind farms, Horns Rev and Nysted.

The report is good news for Cape Wind, the 420-megawatt offshore wind project being developed for waters off of Massachusetts as well as for other offshore projects such as off Long Island, New York and projects in the Gulf of Mexico. Concern over bird strikes is common with all wind projects for that matter.

The report also said that while fish and marine mammals scattered during construction of the wind farms, fish have returned and seals and porpoises are slowly coming back. The effects on other marine life differ by species. The full report is available through Cape Wind at http://www.capewind.org/ (see News, Press Releases)

Clipper Wind, the world’s youngest utility scale wind turbine company, has confirmed orders on its books for 875-megawatts of capacity for its Liberty 2.5 megawatt turbine. Contingent orders are even more impressive: 5065 megawatts to be delivered through 2011.

If all are ordered the company will have to build nearly 2400 machines between now and then, but will keep its workforce busy and presumably well paid. (A good thing.)

The most recent order for the company is for 32 units (80 megawatts of capacity) to be delivered in 2008 to Edison Mission Energy, a subsidiary of Edison Mission Group (EMG).

The order is part of a 280-megawatt supply and development agreement made between Clipper and EMG in July 2006. The agreement could lead to 112 turbines to be delivered though 2008. Visit Clipper Wind at http://www.clipperwind.com/