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NW Iowa wind energy development a boon to local economy
In May 2013, MidAmerican Energy Company announced the Highland Wind Energy project, a $1.9 billion development that will add 448 wind turbines producing 1,050 megawatts of electricity at five sites in Iowa. The largest of those sites is in O’Brien County, where 211 turbines producing 495 megawatts are being erected. MidAmerican later announced it was expanding the Highland project, and a total of 214 turbines will be built. [ read more … ]
Small turbines get second wind from climate regs
t’s important to understand what small or distributed wind is — “behind-the-meter” generation generally found on farms, industrial sites and rural homesteads. It generates on-site power first, and then it can feed extra electricity to the grid. What small wind is not: towering turbine farms dotting ridgelines and feeding megawatts of electricity to wholesale markets. Smaller turbines are lower to the ground, generating little noise and posing less of a threat to wildlife than their tall cousins. It is also not what Bergey calls “eggbeater” turbines stuck on the roofs of office buildings. [ read more … ]
Barack Obama’s quiet war on oil
President Barack Obama’s enemies have long accused him of waging a “war on coal.” But a very different war on oil and gas is coming next. The newest phase of Obama’s environmental agenda has the oil and natural gas industry in its crosshairs, with plans to curb greenhouse gas pollution from rigs and refineries, tighten oversight of drilling on public lands and impose a strict ozone limit that industry lobbyists slam as “the most expensive regulation ever.” [ read more … ]
Navy makes largest ever federal renewable purchase
The Navy will set the record next week for the largest renewable energy purchase by a federal entity. The service is entering into a solar power purchase agreement with the Western Area Power Administration and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power LLC to buy 210 megawatts of solar power from an array in Arizona. The agreement is expected to supply one-third of the power used by the 14 Navy and Marine Corps installations in California. [ read more … ]
Solar Is Having a Great Year, Except on Wall Street
By almost any measure, the U.S. solar market is on fire. Installations of solar panels are expected to soar by a third this year, the price of solar power is now cheap enough to compete neck and neck with gas and coal-fired power in places like California, and the fledgling industry received a vote of confidence last week when U.S. President Barack Obama announced a groundbreaking plan to curb power plant emissions. Even China’s currency devaluation could cut panel costs for U.S. solar installers. Wall Street, however, has been dumping solar shares this year, largely on concern, which investors say is misplaced, that tumbling oil prices will sap demand for alternative energy, even though oil isn’t used to generate power. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.