Tag: Wind power
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If You Like Wind and Solar, You’d Better Like Transmission Lines, Too
by James A. Bacon Wind and solar power are becoming increasingly competitive with fossil fuels and nuclear as an electric power source. As Virginia integrates more renewable energy sources into its electric generation mix, a big question is how much can the power grid handle before the intermittent nature of blowing winds and sunny skies threatens…
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Wind Power in Virginia… 2017 or Bust
by James A. Bacon Investors have been trying without success for nearly a decade to build wind turbines along the ridge lines of Virginia’s mountains. Projects have bogged down amid concerns about noise generated by thrumming blades, the slaughter of birds and bats, and the imposition of 500-foot-high machines upon neighbors’ pristine views. While wind turbines have sprouted around the country…
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Environmentalist Update on Offshore Wind
by James A. Bacon Judging from comments made in a Environment Virginia-sponsored webinar held this morning, environmentalists, the McAuliffe administration and Dominion Virginia Power are operating on the same wave length when it comes to developing offshore wind power in Virginia. If environmental groups have big differences with Dominion on how to proceed, no sign of…
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Wind Power's Big Problem: Erratic Output
The great thing about wind power is that the fuel is free. The bad thing about wind power is that you can’t count on getting it when you want it. Wind power may be an economically competitive source of electric power in parts of the country, like the plains states, where wind is strong and steady,…
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Wind Power’s Big Problem: Erratic Output
The great thing about wind power is that the fuel is free. The bad thing about wind power is that you can’t count on getting it when you want it. Wind power may be an economically competitive source of electric power in parts of the country, like the plains states, where wind is strong and steady,…
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Why Doesn't Virginia Have More Wind Power?
Why hasn’t Virginia made more progress in generating energy from wind power? This map from the National Renewable Energy Lab highlights the problems we face. Unlike the plains states, where almost every square mile is wind blown, Virginia has few suitable locations. Wind power is practical only offshore and on scattered mountain ridges. Putting windmills…
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Why Doesn’t Virginia Have More Wind Power?
Why hasn’t Virginia made more progress in generating energy from wind power? This map from the National Renewable Energy Lab highlights the problems we face. Unlike the plains states, where almost every square mile is wind blown, Virginia has few suitable locations. Wind power is practical only offshore and on scattered mountain ridges. Putting windmills…
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Apex Encounters Headwinds in Botetourt Wind Project
by James A. Bacon An interesting player is emerging in the Virginia renewable energy scene — Apex Clean Energy. The Charlottesville-based company has announced that it has erected two test towers for a proposed wind farm in Botetourt County to gather data about wind strength and frequency. The company has proposed constructing up to 25 wind turbines…
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Next Step for Offshore Wind
Earlier this year Dominion Virginia Power received a bid for building two experimental offshore wind turbines that exceeded internal cost projections by more than half, making the proposed project unlikely to win State Corporation Commission approval. In a July stakeholder meeting, DVP executives laid out their analysis of what went wrong. Now stakeholders will convene in…
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Heh, Heh. Virginia Electricity Less Carbon-Intensive than Its Neighbors' — without RPS
by James A. Bacon The Gooze, known in more polite company as Peter G. , is a big fan of solar power and wind power and thinks we ought to have more of both in Virginia. In his most recent post, he seems particularly impressed by the activities of Amazon Web Services, which has announced plans…
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Heh, Heh. Virginia Electricity Less Carbon-Intensive than Its Neighbors’ — without RPS
by James A. Bacon The Gooze, known in more polite company as Peter G. , is a big fan of solar power and wind power and thinks we ought to have more of both in Virginia. In his most recent post, he seems particularly impressed by the activities of Amazon Web Services, which has announced plans…
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Salvaging Wind Power in Virginia
Dominion thinks $400 million is too much to pay for two experimental offshore wind turbines. The utility is exploring ways to drive the cost down.