Minneapolis-based community wind developer National Wind has brought Peter Mastic on board as President and Chief Development Officer. He will be responsible for project development and finance and will report to company CEO, Leon Steinberg. Mastic will be at the helm of developing the company’s project portfolio, that currently consists of 15 community wind farms delivering over 4,000 megawatts (MW) …
Ride for Renewables
This past Sunday, Tom Weis left Boulder, Colorado on a hybrid electric-assist recumbent trike on a 2,500 mile journey that will end in Washington, DC. Coined the Ride for Renewables, Weis is set out to gain support for his plan that calls for a 100% renewable electricity grid for the U.S. by 2020. Weis believes that 2010 is the year …
Free Webinar: A Legal Discussion on Wind Energy
In anticipation for the upcoming Midwest Wind Summit & Expo on October 4-6, 2010 in Brookings, SD, law firm Faegre & Benson is hosting a free webinar: A Legal Discussion on Wind Energy: Looking Past the Wind Industry’s Hurdles & Focusing on Completing Projects on September 24, 2010 from 10:00 am – 11:00 am CST. The webinar will focus on …
Canada Invests $81 Million in Biodiesel, Wind Ventures
The Canadian government is putting about $81 million in a couple of wind and biodiesel ventures. This Reuters article says the money will be spent over the next decade in Quebec: The government announced a C$65 million injection over 10 years in two wind farms in the Gaspe region in Eastern Quebec. The two farms, Carleton and L’Anse-a-Valleau, are owned …
Cape Wind Under Fire As Elections Heat Up
There are less than eight weeks until the next elections and experts are predicting that Republications will be swept into office. Should this be the case, clean energy could have even more barriers to overcome, especially since many candidates are running on the platform that clean energy will cost more money. Once such fight is underway in Massachusetts where candidates …
Ethanol Industry Urges DOE to Fix Loan Program
Ethanol and other renewable energy industry groups are urging the Secretary of Energy to fix the Department of Energy’s Renewable Energy Loan Guarantee Program (LGP) and keep Congress from raiding it for other projects. Growth Energy, along with the Renewable Fuels Association and six other organizations, sent a letter to DOE Secretary Steven Chu urging him to restore billions in …
Company Debuts Biodiesel Hybrid Wind Turbine
A Colorado-based wind turbine company believes it has the solution when winds are not enough to generate electricty: team the turbine up with clean-burning biodiesel. Smartplanet.com says Hybrid Turbines Inc.’s SmartGen system will use biogas, biodiesel and natural gas to run a back-up power generation system fuel the back-up power system that will operate during the 70 percent of time …
Midwest Wind Summit Focuses on Policy, Infrastructure & Smart Grid
This year has marked the first year in several that wind installation in the U.S. is on the decline. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) reported in July in that only 700 megawatts (MW) of wind energy were added in the second quarter of this year. This is down 57 percent from 2008 and 71 percent from 2009 levels. One …
Energy Use Down But Wind, Solar Power Production Up
The U.S. is using less energy, but more of it is coming from renewable sources, such as wind and solar. CNN Money reports a new report from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) says the 5 percent drop in American energy usage during 2009 is the largest annual drop on record. But wind energy production alone rose more than one-third …
Chicago School Districts to Make Wind Power & Money
Three school districts in the Chicago area plan not only to make all the power they need at a new wind farm, but they’ll also net an extra $3 million in the process. UPI reports that the Keeneyville School District 20, Carpentersville’s Community Unit School District 300 and Prospect Heights School District 23 will be getting all of their energy …