Green Energy News

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) has proposed a new answer to people complaining about wind farms in Germany: offering money to those willing to live near them. “Those people who accept windmills in their neighborhood, and so make the expansion of renewable energy possible, should be rewarded,” SPD environment spokesman Matthias Miersch told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung newspaper. The cash could be handed to local community authorities, with the stipulation that it be spent on direct benefits to citizens, though . . .

RUSHFORD – The Allegany County Industrial Development Agency is facing criticism for scheduling a public hearing on the controversial Alle-Catt Wind Farm between the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Invenergy, the corporate parent of Alle-Catt Wind Farm, has applied to the IDA for $1.35 million in sales tax exemptions for construction and equipment and a 20-year $17.45 million payment in lieu of taxes (P.I.L.O.T.) agreement. At the outset of Monday morning’s IDA public hearing at the Rushford Fire Hall, IDA Executive . . .

Six wind farms have missed a December 31st deadline to install new “Aircraft Detection Lighting Systems” on their turbine towers, as required by state law.. Those wind farms were permitted after June of 2016. That new system replaces the blinking red lights or strobes on wind towers, and only light up when an aircraft is in the area, detected by radar. “We all know that this technology has been talked about for a long time,” Fedorchak said. “It’s been promised . . .

Researchers are on the brink of commercializing the world's most efficient lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery, which could outperform current market leaders by more than four times.

Suzlon’s stock has risen 46% since the turn of the year, amid reports that the troubled OEM plans to ask lenders for a 68% discount on restructuring its debts.

A former state representative is calling on local officials to denounce a proposal for offshore wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine he believes could hurt tourism in the Seacoast. Fred Rice, a retired representative from Hampton, called for the Hampton Beach Village District commissioners at their last meeting to oppose offshore wind, a proposal being examined by a newly formed three-state federal task force. The turbines are expected to lower greenhouse gas emissions and create thousands of jobs, and . . .

Offshore wind giant Orsted will pay £4.5 million into energy regulator Ofgem’s redress fund over the huge power cuts that left more than a million customers without electricity. The company’s Grimsby-based Hornsea One wind farm, together with an RWE gas-fired power station at Little Barford, Cambridgeshire, did not stay connected following a lightning strike on an overhead transmission line on August 9 last year. Both will contribute to the watchdog’s compensation package. Ofgem’s investigation found that the combined loss of . . .

Mount Vernon city leaders have made their decision on how to move forward on wind and solar project regulations. Common council members say they need more time before adopting the ordinance. In its third reading, the vote was unanimous, 5-0, to reject it. No Mount Vernon council member was in favor of putting proposed regulations into law without revisions. In November, the planning commission approved new amendments to the county’s existing zoning ordinance. Copies have gone out to towns who . . .

In addition to delivering improved energy production, the repowering could qualify the turbines for another round of the federal production tax credit, which lapses after 10 years of operation.

In response to the writer who thought the $18 million offered was free money: The offer that Orsted made to DNREC is not free money. It is a bribe in order to use state parkland to build an industrial electric substation on land that DNREC is supposed to protect. Are we supposed to look the other way and pretend that there won’t be any environmental impacts? The area that will house this beautiful substation is on the shore of the . . .

On Thursday in Posey County, Mount Vernon City Council members vote on a zoning amendment that would regulate wind and solar energy within city limits. You can read that amendment in its entirety here. In a unanimous 5-0 vote, council members rejected in Mount Vernon, asking for more changes. Since the amendment was last considered, four new council members were voted in, and only one, Andy Hoehn, returned. So what is the next step? “It needs to go back to . . .

In the past year, the Murphy administration focused on how to transform the state into a clean energy economy, a daunting task that led to a few major policy initiatives but left significant challenges unresolved. With the aim of shifting to 100% clean energy by 2050, the state mapped out how to achieve that goal in a new energy master plan, one that was promised to be released by the new year but has yet to be made public. The . . .

CONNEAUT – The years-long fight over the wind turbine at Conneaut Middle School may soon be settled. A pair of wind turbines were built in Conneaut in 2009 and 2010, one next to the city’s waste water plant, and another next to Conneaut Middle School. NexGen Energy Partners, the operator of the wind turbine, filed suit in 2011 against the companies that made and sold the turbine, Elecon Engineering and Reflecting Blue Technologies, respectively. A trial is set for Jan. 22, . . .

The numbers are staggering for a small New Mexico county, commissioners acknowledge. But they emphasize that the county is not liable for repayment of the $2.8 billion approved for industrial bonds connected to wind power projects. At their December meeting, commissioners approved a resolution relating to the proposed taxable industrial revenue bonds for several series, listing the projects as Duran Mesa LLC, Tecolote Wind LLC and Red Cloud Wind LLC, and directing the county clerk to publish notice of the . . .

ST. PAUL – Minnesota Senate Republicans on Thursday, Jan. 2, announced they’d introduce a plan to require the state’s electric utilities to move away from fossil fuel sources. A similar plan had bipartisan support last year but came up short in the divided state Legislature. Now, with the support of a key gatekeeper in the Senate, it could have a path to the governor’s desk. Sen. David Osmek, R-Mound, chairs the Senate Energy and Utilities Committee and previously opposed the proposal . . .

Hornsea One owners Ørsted and Global Infrastructure Partners have agreed to pay £4.5 million (€5.3 million) into UK energy regulator Ofgem’s voluntary redress fund for their role in an August power cut that hit more than one million customers.

Electric cars are the future of personal vehicles – they’re more efficient than conventional gasoline options, cost far less to operate, and enable significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Electric vehicle (EV) sales are growing quickly; some experts predict they will account for more than 11% of new sales in the United States by 2025, and a majority of sales by 2040. To support this market shift, we need to rethink our transportation infrastructure, and especially how we fuel – or charge – our vehicles.  

Most electric vehicle drivers do more than 80% of their charging at home because it is most convenient (and charging overnight is also often when electricity is cheapest). But for most homes, built long before EVs were widely available or a practical choice, this requires more than just a convenient outlet. Hiring an electrician to install a new circuit and run wires to and from a vehicle charger in a single-family home can be expensive and intrusive. And for commercial and multifamily buildings, how do owners and tenants even agree on the best locations for the chargers or how many to install?  

Fittingly-timed on the brink of a new year, last month produced a powerful step forward for EV-readiness through a mechanism that isn’t in the typical transportation policy toolbox: building energy codes. For the first time, starting with the next update to the model building energy code that states and local governments adopt, all new construction – homes apartment buildings, condominiums, commercial high-rises, and office parks – will be pre-wired for charging the vehicles of the future.

Why Build New Houses and Buildings That Aren’t Ready for EV Charging? 

One study found that installing the high-voltage circuitry needed for EV charging equipment costs on average $1500-1600 in existing single-family houses and $4000 per parking space in existing commercial buildings. Another study found charging installation at buildings to range from $2400-$3700 for each parking space. That same study found that installing the circuits when a building is under construction, in contrast, costs only about $900 per space. And building in the circuits during the construction of a new house costs a fraction of that, and is likely to go even lower if the feature becomes standard in construction.

Right now, most buildings lack the electrical panel capacity, circuits, wiring, and receptacles needed for an EV charger, even though electric vehicles will soon be commonplace and at-home charging will be in high demand. They’re going to have to be retrofitted, at higher cost. A number of cities have begun to fix the problem by requiring charging infrastructure in new construction and major renovations – but in most of the country, we’re still doing it wrong.

New Model Building Code Ensures Low Cost Installation of Chargers

Model building energy codes set the bar for how we build new homes and multifamily and commercial buildings, and their impacts are felt for decades. The main building energy code – the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) – is updated on a national basis every three years. The model code is then made available for states and local governments to adopt and enforce – a nationally-consistent but locally-driven policy. 

The Alliance’s 50x50 Commission, in its 2018 consensus report on reducing energy use in U.S. transportation, called for codes that ensure new buildings are ready for EV charging. That recommendation was timely, as 2019 was the development year for the next update to the IECC. The Alliance-created Energy-Efficient Codes Coalition (EECC) was already working on scores of code proposals that would boost building efficiency by at least 10%. This confluence was a big opportunity to prepare for our future EV charging needs.

In January 2019, based on the 50x50 Commission’s recommendation, the Alliance, EECC, and allies put forward proposals to add EV charging to the model building energy code. Over the last year, these proposals gained momentum and earned the support of a wide range of groups, including the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association.  

Code development stakeholders, led by the voting members of the International Code Council (ICC), delivered a preliminary version of the 2021 IECC just before Christmas, and it’s a big gift of cost savings and greenhouse gas emissions reductions. ICC voters – generally code officials and other representatives of state and local agencies – approved two EV proposals jointly developed by the Alliance, the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, Edison Electric Institute, and New Buildings Institute. The provisions require that all new homes will be pre-wired for EV charging and all new commercial and multi-family residential buildings will have EV charging infrastructure and at least 20% of all parking spaces capable of accommodating future chargers.  

States and Municipalities Can Use This Code to Reduce Carbon Emissions

Most states have building energy codes in place, but they vary widely; some have adopted codes similar to or exceeding the most recent version (2018 IECC), while others use older (less stringent and less flexible) versions. In the coming weeks and months, ICC will finalize and publish the 2021 IECC, which will be ready for states and local governments in 2021.

States and local governments are increasingly relying on building energy codes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pave the way for the coming transition to EVs. The EV-ready provisions in the 2021 IECC, when finalized, will offer officials across the country a ready-made, nationally-consistent approach to ensuring new buildings are ready for vehicle charging – and in turn reducing carbon emissions. We’re counting on it.

A German onshore wind tender before Christmas was oversubscribed for the first time in more than a year, but it remains to be seen whether pressure has been alleviated on the sector, according to industry organisations and regulators.

LOWVILLE – The first wind farm in the north country approved through the state’s Article 10 process requested a “rehearing” of its project, disputing the legitimacy of some of the conditions they are required to meet. On Dec. 12, Number Three Wind Farm LLC, owned by Chicago-based Invenergy, filed a petition for a rehearing by the Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment, contesting a number of conditions in the order granting the Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need. . . .

Wind farms dot the horizon in many states. The drive for renewable, “clean” energy has become a fetish and a lucrative investment in many areas thanks to generous federal and state government subsidies. Still a small proportion of the nation’s total energy needs, wind turbines are being thrown up at a dizzying pace on private and public lands, and thousands more will be built in the next few years. The first wind farms began appearing in the ’80s, but the . . .