The biggest wind farm in Nebraska’s is set to be operating commercially in the first few months of 2009by the first quarter of 2009, officials say. This story from the Columbus (NE) Telegram says Elkhorn Ridge developers are finishing up testing of the wind turbines that are located near Bloomfield in north-central Nebraska: Columbus-based Nebraska Public Power District has signed …
North Dakota Group Wants Biodiesel, Ethanol & Wind Mandate
A group advocating for the development and use of renewable energy, including biomass, biodiesel, ethanol, carbon and wind, wants a renewable fuels standard in North Dakota. This story from Biodiesel Magazine says the North Dakota Alliance for Renewable Energy (NDARE) has issued a proposal for how the state can be more renewable energy friendly: Regarding biofuels, NDARE recommended that the …
Iowa Agency Offers Energy Independence Plan
An Iowa agency designed to find the best ideas for energy efficiency and production in the state has released its 2008 Plan for Energy Independence. This story from the Environment News Service says the Office of Energy Independence has also issued about $6 million for half a dozen renewable energy projects across the state: Under the plan, Iowa’s Office of …
US Now Tops in Wind Energy
A record-setting year for American wind power keeps getting better as the United States has become the world’s top wind energy producer. This story from Environment News Service cites an American Wind Energy Association year-end report that says steady growth has helped the Americans surpass their German counterparts: AWEA says that this summer, the U.S. wind industry reached the 20,000-megawatt …
Bowl Game Powered by Wind
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… when football fans like me get to feast on a cornucopia of football games! Basically, from now (and even before) until the first week in January, there will be a steady parade of college bowl games, and one I’d like to point out this year is the Emerald Bowl. This posting from …
Green Jobs Fuel US Employment Future
Nothing like high fuels prices this past summer to really jumpstart the domestic job market in the U.S… at least in the alternative energy sector. This article from the Examiner.com offers a pretty interesting look at how biofuels, wind and solar are growing jobs in this country that seem to be safe from being outsourced somewhere overseas: Maritza Schäfer is …
Arkansas Looks to be Windmill Builder
Its mountains and trees might keep Arkansas from being a major wind generator, such as some of the Plains States to the west are doing. But the governor hints his state could become a major builder of the wind generation components. This article in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette says Gov. Mike Beebe alluded to a a fourth windmill manufacturing operation …
Experts: Offshore Grid Needs to be Built for Offshore Wind Power
I found a pretty interesting article in Popular Mechanics that outlined some of the issues regarding offshore wind power… namely, the problem of connecting offshore wind farms to make sure that when the wind is not blowing at one location, another offshore wind farm where it is blowing could pick up the slack. Author Andrew Moseman chronicles some of the …
The “Manhattan Project” of Off-shore Wind Farms Proposed for Maine
A massive, 5GW wind farm could be built off the coast of Maine and be fully operational in 10 years if a think tank of energy advisors get their way. This post from earth2tech.com says the Ocean Energy Institute’s proposal to build five 9.2-square-mile offshore wind farms in the Gulf of Maine could be a boon for the local construction …
WA Supreme Court Green Lights Wind Farm
Washington’s State Supreme Court has cleared the way for a wind farm that had been in limbo during a dispute between local residents and the governor. The Seattle Times reports that the unanimous decision confirmed that Gov. Chris Gregoire had authority to approve a Kittitas County wind farm over the objections of local officials: The project, from developers Horizon Wind …