LIVERMORE, Calif. - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has signed an agreement with Siemens Energy Inc. to provide high-resolution atmospheric modeling capabilities to improve the efficiency of wind farm sites, turbine design and wind farm operations,

LLNL will provide numerical weather prediction models with resolution as fine as one-kilometer scale to predict power generated by the wind so that wind farms can operate more efficiently while providing more power to hungry grids. Predictive time frames range from an hour ahead to days ahead of time.

Julie Lundquist

Under a $2 million, two-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), the Livermore team will provide modeling that combines Livermore's atmospheric turbulence modeling capabilities with complex databases of topography and sea surface temperature.

Many U.S. wind parks are yielding up to 20% less energy than predicted because of uncertain forecasts.

This loss of energy can have complicated financial consequences, such as significant penalties if operators under-produce their forecasts or no payment for extra power they generate that is more than what was estimated.

More accurate wind predictions will have a positive effect on wind farm operators and owners who can know hours or days ahead of time how wind conditions will affect power generation.

"Knowing the certainty of the forecast can be useful in a day-ahead or futures market where now there are penalties for under-performance," said Julie Lundquist, a Livermore atmospheric scientist who is heading the project. "At LLNL, we have developed improved methods for simulating the turbulent properties of the lower atmosphere, which we think will translate into a significant predictive advantage for wind energy applications."

The wind forecasting project started under a Laboratory Directed Research Development program, a principal source of internal R&D funding at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Reduce Investment Risks

More accurate predictions also could reduce the investment risks in wind-powered projects, could improve the design of tall wind turbines to withstand the high turbulence environment higher in the atmosphere, and enable optimal bids on wind farm production.

The Department of Energy (DOE) and Siemens recently signed a memorandum of understanding to work together on wind technology.

"Through this agreement wind manufacturers, DOE and our laboratories will enhance wind technology capability to be a competitive energy supply for America," said Steve Lindenberg, senior adviser for DOE's Renewable Energy Office. "Siemens growing presence in this country and the partnership with a national laboratory like Lawrence Livermore helps provide a new opportunity to deploy a clean source of energy."

Benefits of Wind Power

Wind offers power with minimal carbon dioxide emission - energy production without exacerbating global climate change. Wind generation is not limited by water availability and serves a viable role in energy portfolios worldwide as economies expand beyond petroleum.

In addition to providing hourly and daily predictions, Livermore will explore impacts of global climate change on wind resources 20 years into the future.

"Estimates of climate change impact can reduce long-term investment risks," Lundquist said.

Wind Forecasts for Turbine Predictions

Lundquist said Siemens would translate LLNL forecasts of wind speed and wind direction at each turbine into power collected.

While the value of forecasting is hard to quantify, several studies have suggested that more accurate forecasting can render not only more clean energy but also enhanced profits for industry.

A study performed by a member of the industry of the effect of 3,300 megawatts (MW) of wind generation in New York state quantified improved forecasting to be worth $125 million a year to that region. Based on a conservative application of this figure, Stiesdal estimates that wind farm owners may be able to increase revenue by as much as 10 percent, making wind power more profitable and ultimately reducing the cost of energy.

Siemens Wind Power Investments

Since 2004, Siemens has installed nearly 1,800 megawatts of power in the United States. The company ranks third among the largest U.S. turbine manufacturers, according to the most recent American Wind Energy Association's annual rankings report.

Siemens Energy is the world's leading supplier of a complete spectrum of products, services and solutions for the generation, transmission and distribution of power and for the extraction, conversion and transport of oil and gas.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

With energy being seen as part of national security, national labs are focused on solving US and global energy shortages that can create international tension.

Founded in 1952, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a national security laboratory, with a mission to ensure national security and apply science and technology to the important issues of our time. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is managed by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.

Large Wind Turbine Drivetrain Testing

Clemson University will receive up to $45 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for a wind energy test facility that will enhance the performance, durability, and reliability of utility-scale wind turbines.

This investment will support jobs and strengthen American leadership in wind energy technology by supporting the testing of next-generation wind turbine designs.

Clean Energy Industrial Revolution

"Wind power holds tremendous potential to help create new jobs and reduce carbon pollution," said Secretary Chu. "We are at the beginning of a new Industrial Revolution when it comes to clean energy and projects like these will help us get there faster."

Clemson Based Large Wind Turbine Drivetrain Testing Facility

The Large Wind Turbine Drivetrain Testing facility will enable the United States, which leads the world in wind energy capacity, to expand development and testing of large-scale wind turbine drive-train systems domestically.

Wind turbine sizes have increased with each new generation of turbines, and have outgrown the capacity of existing U.S. drivetrain testing facilities.

The new testing capability will ultimately improve U.S. competitiveness in wind energy technology, will lower energy costs for consumers, and will maintain rapid growth in the deployment of wind energy systems.

The new facility will be located at the Charleston Naval Complex, a former Navy base in North Charleston, South Carolina, and will be a part of the Clemson University Restoration Institute campus.

The test facility will operate as a non-profit organization with a business model designed for sustainability while providing ongoing state-of-the-art testing to wind turbine manufacturers.

The Large Wind Turbine Drivetrain Testing facility will feature power analysis equipment capable of performing highly accelerated life testing of land-based and offshore wind turbine drive systems rated at 5-15 megawatts (MW). These dynamometer tests of drivetrains are required to demonstrate compliance with wind turbine design standards, reduce wind turbine costs, secure product financing, and reduce the technical and financial risk of deploying mass-produced wind turbine models.

Learn more about DOE's Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct05) authorizes the U.S. Department of Energy to issue loan guarantees to eligible projects that "avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants or anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases" and "employ new or significantly improved technologies as compared to technologies in service in the United States at the time the guarantee is issued".

Early Commercial Use

Title XVII of EPAct05 provides the basis of DOE's program. This title provides broad authority for DOE to guarantee loans that support early commercial use of advanced technologies, if "there is reasonable prospect of repayment of the principal and interest on the obligation by the borrower." Loan guarantees will be another tool that DOE will use to promote commercial use of innovative technologies. This tool is targeted at early commercial use only, not energy research, development, and demonstration programs.

DOE believes that accelerated commercial use of new or improved technologies will help to sustain economic growth, yield environmental benefits, and produce a more stable and secure energy supply.

The US Department of Energy is expected to open the window in 2009 to apply for federal loan guarantees on loans to wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and other renewable energy projects that use commercially proven technologies.

In the first round, the Department evaluated loan guarantee pre-applications for projects that employed technologies in the following areas:

1. Biomass
2. Hydrogen
3. Solar
4. Wind and Hydropower
5. Advanced Fossil Energy Coal
6. Carbon Sequestration practices and technologies
7. Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability
8. Alternative Fuel Vehicles
9. Industry Energy Efficiency Projects
10. Pollution Control Equipment

Financial Institution Partnership Program (FIPP)

This new program--called the "Financial Institution Partnership Program" or "FIPP" because of the key role played by private lenders-- differs substantially from the prior program that guarantees repayment of loans to projects that use innovative technologies. It will use radically different processes than those used so far to apply, evaluate, rank and award guarantees for projects.

The department will release a set of rules for the loan guarantee program at the same time it opens the window--and anyone who wants to apply is expected to have negotiated his or her loan first with a bank or insurance company and then the lender will apply to DOE for a guarantee.

Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC 20585
www.lgprogram.energy.gov

Artist Patrick Marold from Denver, Colorado has created 1,000 polycarbonate poles topped by three aluminum cups. When turned by the wind, each powers a small built-in generator attached to an LED that sends light down into the shaft, thereby, displaying the wind's power. This Windmill Project is featured in an exhibition ("Human=Landscape") hosted by Burlington City Arts in conjunction with the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center and the Energy Project Vermont.

 http://energyprojectvt.com/art.htm

This array of "turbines" maps the behavior of wind and allows us to visualize the resource's invisible potential.  

These tiny wind turbines highlight a huge issue that has been spinning throughout Vermont: Should the State capture the wind to generate power or should Vermont avoid building turbines because they will ruin the view of the scenic mountain ridge lines?

This exhibit will be running through November 1, 2009. You can check out (a sampling of the windmills at ECHO's "Wind: Power & Play" showcase.  Get more information at: http://www.echovermont.org/programs/cafesci-topic9.html

Catch the Wind Ltd., is a developer and manufacturer of the Vindicator(R) laser wind sensor (LWS) and other sensor products

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development and Catch the Wind are launching an evaluation of  the Vindicator(R) LWS for up to three years.

NREL will evaluate how using the Vindicator(R) LWS for forward measurement of wind speed and direction to optimally align wind turbines and turbine blades can reduce stress loads on turbines and improve energy production output.

Phil Rogers, President and CEO of Catch the Wind Ltd. says, "Working with NREL will complement our current evaluation programs and will allow us to demonstrate, on a national basis, the benefits of our forward wind measurement capabilities, including reduced turbine maintenance costs and higher energy output."

Catch the Wind expects to launch the cooperative research and development initiative in October 2009.

   

Catch the Wind Ltd. is a high-growth technology company headquartered in Manassas, Virginia. The company was founded in 2008 to develop and manufacture the Vindicator(R) laser wind sensor.

Catch the Wind serves the commercial market sector for laser based wind sensor systems, recognized for high performmance wind measurement.  For more information, visit www.catchthewindinc.com.

Independent financial consultant Jim Hansen runs every investment through the "peak oil test". In this presentation from the ASPO-USA 2008 conference, he explores traditional energy investments; opportunities in renewables, rail, and electrifying the transportation system; areas to avoid like airlines and trucking; and what to watch, like electric cars and the unwinding of globalization.

In this interview, ecologist and professor Charlie Hall looks at energy return on energy invested. Whether it's a cheetah chasing antelope, or humans making ethanol -- the energy we get back has to exceed the energy we put in, or the story is over. He compares oil's energy return in the 1930's (1 calorie invested returned 100 calories of energy) with the current situation (1:12) and still declining.

Presenters respond to the final question in the Q&A session at the close of ASPO-USA's 2008 conference: how do we better harness the intellect, energy and commitment at this conference, and what one thing would you have people ask an elected official to do about peak oil?
 
Peak Moment Conversation #136 "Energy Investment - Energy Return" with financial consultant Jim Hansen, and ecologist Charlie Hall, plus final Q&A from the ASPO-USA 2008 conference in September, is now online at www.peakmoment.tv (video), and www.globalpublicmedia.com (audio and video).

Additional 10% bump in renewable energy generation to meet 2020 goal for the state's renewable energy portfolio standard.

California committed to getting a third of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 in a Monday executive order by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. This expands on the earlier commitment to produce 20% of its power from renewables such as wind and solar by 2010 as part of its plan to cut emissions of carbon that contribute to global warming.

Read more at California Green Solutions

Shippers: Offshore Wind Farms May Cause Hazards, Increase Emissions

The British government has set a target of having wind generate at least one-third of all its electricity within 12 years. It also wants 33 gigawatts of electricity-generation capacity to be built in the seas around the country by 2020. But the Department for Transport has told the wind industry that shipping operators are concerned about plans to build offshore wind farms to meet the government’s targets, Telegraph reports.

The London Array project plans to erect a constellation of more than 340 wind turbines in the outer Thames Estuary, roughly seven miles off the Kent Coast. It is expected to become the world’s largest offshore wind farm when completed, Array will generate more electricity than the largest offshore farm operational today — Denmark’s Middelgrunden offshore wind farm.

Shipping Dangers from Offshore Wind Farms

Shipping operators fear the wind turbines, some times more than 600 feet tall, will be a navigation hazard in areas that are already busy. In addition, they say diverting ships around the wind farms may lead to an increase in CO2 emissions and cancel out much of the wind farm’s CO2 savings.

Research also suggests that such large structures may interfere with ships’ radar and make it hard to spot other ships.

"This is the breakout growth sector of the next generation," said the author of Next 10's report, "Energy Efficiency, Innovation, and Job Creation in California".

David Roland-Holst, a professor of agriculture and resource economics at UC Berkeley. "We cannot afford to miss this market opportunity."

California's per-capita electricity use is about 40% less than the national average, Roland-Holst said, largely because of government-mandated energy efficiency standards for utilities, buildings and appliances put into effect over the last four decades.

Roland-Holst found that the lower use has enabled Californians to save $56 billion on energy since 1972. That money was spent in the local economy, he said, instead of on imported oil, out-of-state electricity or building new power plants. The result: 1.5 million additional California jobs with a total payroll exceeding $45 billion.

Programs like AB 32 will have a multiplier effect

Next 10's report calculates that energy innovation required by AB 32 will create 403,000 green-collar jobs over the next 12 years as companies spend big on renewables and energy efficiency. Roland-Holst said that would increase household income in California by as much as $48 billion by 2020 and boost the state domestic product by $76 billion.

California's Environmental Innovation Advantage

Some of California's leading companies agree with Roland-Holst's assessment that environmental innovation could become a pillar of the California economy.

Read more about the report: Energy Efficiency, Innovation, and Job Creation in California (by David Roland-Holst, UC Berkeley, Oct. 2008)

The MOU between DOE and the six major turbine manufacturers demonstrates the shared commitment of the federal government and the private sector to create the roadmap necessary to achieve 20 percent wind energy by 2030, DOE Assistant Secretary Karsner said. “To dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance our energy security, clean power generation at the gigawatt-scale will be necessary to expand the domestic wind manufacturing base and streamline the permitting process.”

Today’s agreement builds on the recently released DOE report 20 Percent Wind Energy in 2030 that examines the technical feasibility of harnessing wind power to provide up to 20 percent of the nation’s total electricity needs by 2030.  Most notably, the report finds that by using wind power to meet 20 percent of our nation’s electricity needs, we can eliminate 7.6 cumulative gigatons of CO2 by 2030 and 825 million metric tons in 2030 and every year thereafter.

Under the MOU, DOE and the six turbine manufacturers (GE Energy, Siemens Power Generation, Vestas Wind Systems, Clipper Turbine Works, Suzlon Energy, and Gamesa Corporation) will collaborate to gather and exchange information to define specific needs for achieving 20 percent wind energy by 2030. The MOU addresses the following areas:

• Turbine Reliability and Operability Research & Development to create more reliable components; improve turbine capacity factors; and reduce installation and operations and maintenance costs.
• Siting Strategies to address environmental and technical issues like radar interference in a standardized framework based on industry best practices.
• Standards Development for turbine certification and universal generator interconnection.
• Manufacturing advances in design, process automation and fabrication techniques to reduce product-to product variability and premature failure while increasing the domestic manufacturing base.
• Workforce development including the development, standardization and certification of wind energy curricula for mechanical and power systems engineers and community college training programs.

Read more about ‘20 Percent Wind Energy by 2030.’

Read more information about DOE’s Wind Program.

Full text of the Memorandum of Understanding.