Vestas Whiffs On Earnings As Wind Energy Sputters

August 20, 2010

The wind business continues to suffer from a lack of credit and government policy.

This was evident in a disappointing earnings report from wind turbine market leader Vestas Wind Systems. The Danish company on Wednesday responded to the downturn by cutting its annual sales forecast to 6 billion Euros from 7 billion and said it expects an EBIT margin (before interest and taxes) of about half of its previous estimate.

Its explanation was that turbine shipments to projects in Germany, Spain and the United States were delayed.

Here are several details from the financial report:

*Second-quarter shipments of 283 turbines were down 54 percent;
*Second-quarter revenue was off 17 percent;
*The company swung to an after-tax loss of 119 million Euros from a profit of 43 million Euros a year ago;
*The company laid off 300 people in Denmark. It still expects to add 3,000 employees in 2010, down from previous target of 3,400.

“The decline in revenue and earnings reflects the very low level of activity in the wake of the credit crisis and Vestas’ decision not to adjust its capacity further because of short-term market developments,” the company said in a press release.

Vestas tempered the news by pointing out that second-quarter orders rose to 3,031 megawatts of turbines, a record. Banks are more critical of projects than they were before the credit crisis began, but now more are venturing into the market, the company said.

And yet, there is no doubt this burgeoning industry is being held back by a lack of finance. The European Wind Energy Association acknowledged the same in early July as it reported that 118 offshore wind turbines were installed in Europe during the first half of 2010. “Developers are severely constrained.”

A more dire report came from the American Wind Energy Association late last month. The trade association said wind power installations so far this year were off 71 percent from 2009. Only 700 megawatts of equipment was added in the second quarter – below levels from 2007.

The trade association blamed the lack of national renewable portfolio standards mandating the use of renewable energy.

While the second half of the year could be better, installations for the full year will likely be 25 percent to 45 percent below last year, it said.

It could be some time before this boom and bust industry regains its once lofty status.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

DOE Home Weatherization Looks More Like PACE – $120 Million To Speed Up Efforts

August 19, 2010

PACE is dead. But the Department of Energy is turning up the heat under its home weatherization – or more accurately retrofit – efforts.

The department said Thursday that 31,600 homes across the country were weatherized in June, a record. The target for the summer: 80,000. It also said that for the first time, weatherization will include renewable energy – such as solar – along with energy-efficient appliances, cool roofs and tankless water heaters.

To fuel the effort, Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Thursday awarded $120 million of Recovery Act funds to more than 100 organizations to expand programs and undertake pilot projects.

With PACE, or Property Assessed Clean Energy, on the sidelines, alternate efforts to improve the energy efficiency of homes and buildings have been necessary. PACE came to a near halt this spring and summer when Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Fannie regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, barred lenders from writing mortgages for PACE homes. (PACE programs, which were taking root in 23 states, typically lend government money to homeowners and place special assessments for repayment on property tax bills.) Fannie and company worried PACE liens would receive priority over mortgage leans in the even of defaults.

To mimic the work of many PACE programs, Chu said the government would now permit weatherization programs to install renewable energy – solar panels, solar heating systems and wind turbines – as well as cool roofs, insulation, high-efficiency appliances, tankless water heaters, combination boilers for heat and hot water, in-home energy monitors and ductless heat pumps. In other words, weatherization begins to look more like energy retrofit.

Retrofit projects in 27 states will get $90 million of the money. The work will be performed by 103 local companies. An additional $30 million will support 16 pilot projects targeting low-income households and testing new ways to finance retrofits and new technologies.

For instance, one program in Washington, D.C., received $2.6 million to improve energy efficiency at 2,500 eligible housing units. A $1.25 million loan loss reserve will be set up so nearly $8 million in private loans can be made to homeowners.

Another $850,000 will go to a program in Utah to create a revolving loan program offering low-interest financing to low-income households.

The Energy Department said its weatherization program created 13,000 jobs for carpenters, electricians and other workers during the second quarter.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Offshore Wind Farms A Political Tinder Box As Turbines Get Taller

June 4, 2010

The 130-turbine Cape Wind farm continues to stir controversy on Cape Cod, where opponents vow to tie up the project for years in the courts.

Tempers exploded on the other side of the Atlantic after a consortium of three companies, including Siemens, came together Friday to build one of the United Kingdom’s largest wind farms off the Welsh cost.

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Siemens joined forces Friday with RWE and a Munich utility to build a one of Europe's largest offshore wind farms in Wales.

Wind farm politics remain a fiery affair. This is especially true as the size of turbines and farms grows larger Government officials push hard to find renewable energy in the shallow, coastal waters of the Atlantic, the North Sea and the Great Lakes. Many residents object, fearing they will lose something they can’t regain.

As wind towers begin to stand 400 feet or more above sea level, they create a greater threat to the panoramas that have defined ocean-side living for centuries. The result is that projects become more controversial and difficult to site.

This is the case in north Wales, where Siemens, German-based RWE AG and Munich’s municipal utility formed a $2.4 billion partnership on Friday to install 160, 492-foot turbines 10 miles off the coast. The farm is to be completed in 2014 and will be one of Europe’s largest.

Residents complain jobs will be created in Germany instead of Britain. But mostly they worry at the way views of the sea will be changed at the resort community.

Similar complains sound off in Cape Cod. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approved the 130-turbine project last month. Residents complain the 440-foot towers will interfere with air traffic. But they direct most of their complaints at the way the farm will alter views of the sea and Nantucket.

Similar complaints confront farms planned for the Great Lakes. On Friday, New York added an additional project to the mix, saying it would chose among five proposals for large farms on lakes Erie and Ontario expected by 2015.

Expect more controversy as nations balance change and energy independence.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Modern Wind Turbines Not Cleared On Bird Deaths

June 4, 2010

A government-sponsored study examining bird and bat deaths from wind turbines found that newer, slower spinning turbines don’t necessarily ease the killings.

The report by the National Wind Coordinating Collaborative and funded by DOE may not end the controversy surrounding older turbines and the fear they are to blame for more than their share of deaths. But it will sound the call for more study.

Study finds modest number of bird deaths - fewer than 14 annually per MW hour of electricity.

The report found that wind farms in total are responsible for relatively few deaths – fewer than 14 bird deaths annually per MW hour of electricity. Many farms have fewer than four.

This is lower than deaths from other sources, such as vehicles, transmission lines, windows and cats.

More uncertainty appears to exist about bat deaths. Some farms report a relatively high death rate while others find few fatalities.

But perhaps its most significant observation is that taller turbines with wider blades are no pancea. The potential impact on birds and bats is uncertain, the report stated.

In the past, many blamed the high level of bird deaths at older wind farms, such as Altamont Pass in California on the outdated turbines that spin there.

The study, by in large, should ease the worries of some environmentalists. As wind energy expands in the U.S. and massive killing of wildlife isn’t expected. But that doesn’t mean continued technological efforts to reduce collisions aren’t needed.

This is especially true when considering that most birds killed at wind farms in the United States are smaller songbirds – three-quarters of the total. The most dangerous times of the year are spring and fall, when the birds are migrating. Often they fly at night and above the reach of wind turbines. It is believed they are most vulnerable when they land.

The most at-risk bats are tree-roosting species, such as the Eastern Red Bat and the Hoary Bat. The most dangerous periods are in the late summer and fall, again when migrations occur. But direct collision with a turbine blade isn’t the only danger for a bat. Some likely die from the trauma of suddenly having a spinning blade alter nearby air pressure.

In the past, Altamont Pass in California was often thought of as the killing for birds, in particular predators, such as hawks and golden eagles that hunt there. This was believed due to the older turbines and the large bird populations.

But newer towers aren’t off the hook. Today’s wind turbines stand 260 feet tall with blades that stretch 260 feet in diameter. Older turbines were no more than 80 feet high and blades only 60 feet in diameter.

While these monster turbines spin slower (20 or so revolutions a minute) their span is huge, sweeping more than a acre of sky. In three years, the sweep will expand to 1.5 acres. This broader reach increases blade tip speed to 150 miles a hour or more.

As it turns out, this may be no deliverance for birds and beasts.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Airborne Wind Turbine Designer Plans Trial This Year

April 16, 2010

Joby Energy says it plans to launch its first airborne wind turbine off the California coast this year in a trial that could make or shatter dreams of power stations in the sky.

The company was vague about details of the test during a presentation late Thursday. But it said its goal is to fly a tethered rectangular kite-like device with eight blades about 2,000 feet above Santa Cruz before the end of the year.

Joby founder JoeBen Bevirt and a picture of his proposed ariborne wind turbine

“We are in the final stages of planning,” Joby founder JoeBen Bevirt said during a Silicon Valley appearance.

The 30 kW, 180-pound turbine is a precursor to 10 MW and 20 MW machines Bevirt hopes to eventually send aloft. He says he conceived of piping the electricity down tether cables and into the electrical grid for 3 to 4 cents a kWh. Ground based turbines can be 5 cents or more.

Bevirt’s flying turbine is by no means the first to be designed for use in the atmosphere. Development has gone on in Holland, Italy and elsewhere in the United States, but little commercialization has followed.

Nevertheless, the potential is high. While wind is inconsistent and intermittent on the ground, it is steadier and often non-stop in the atmosphere. By some measures, winds aloft have 10 times the energy of sun light, with the highest concentrations in the jet stream. However, flying kites and turbines that high creates navigation hazards for aircraft.

Bevirt initially hoped to fly in the jet stream, but was dissuaded by the Federal Aviation Administration, which said it would take years to secure permission. His fall back position is below 2,000 feet, where navigational hazard is less.

While engineers have conceived of sending turbines aloft for decades, only recently have materials become light and strong enough to make the technology viable. Tethers, for instance, can be made of Kevlar, and blades can be designed smaller and still capable of spinning faster than those of ground-based turbines.

Bevirt says he built his kites in 40-foot modular sections. The assembled modules for a 5 MW kite would measure 240 feet in length. Yet, the “control system is really the heart of the challenge,” he says. “We’ve put most of our time into this.”

Now after months of design, he says, Joby is ready.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Army Tries Out Mobile Wind Turbine.

April 7, 2010

The military used to cart around mobile generators for power on the go.

WindTamer said it sold a mobile wind turbine to the Army Research Development and Engineering Command

Now it has begun to haul mobile wind turbines. WindTamer said Wednesday it sold its first trailer-mounted wind turbine to the Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland.

The turbine will undergo testing as an energy source for batteries in communications gear. The 1 KW device includes electricity storage.

WindTamer of Rochester, N.Y., said it sees the military as a significant market for mobile turbines.

The demonstration unit, if successful in the field, could lessen the Army’s need to haul fuel and generators to forward positions. RDECOM is a technology development arm of the service.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Using Wind Turbines At Home

March 26, 2010

They seem beyond your reach, don’t they? Residential wind turbines cost in the neighborhood of $40,000 each and carry their weight only when the wind is blowing.

And yet more than 10,000 American homeowners and small-business managers install these tiny wind turbines every year – more when the economy is humming. And some boast a respectable payback.

So, could you?

According to the American Wind Energy Association, 10,500 home wind turbines 100 KW and less were sold in the U.S. in 2008 generating $77 million in sales. Global sales that year added up to 19,000 units and $156 million in revenue. The recession hit the industry hard last year. Yet the market is to grow 30 fold by 2013.

Of course that outlook will prove optimistic if the price of turbines doesn’t come down significantly.

Homeowners and small businesses bought 10,500 wind turbines in 2008

Still, homeowners are able to make the financial equation work. That is in part due to an eight-year, 30 percent federal tax credit that Congress reauthorized in February 2009. States also kick in incentives, including California, Oregon, Arizona, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey.

The real decision-maker, however, is the wind level. The association says turbines can pay if 10-mile-an-hour winds are frequent at your home. This is likely too rosy.

A better candidate for wind turbines is Ernest Ramirez, who was interviewed by the Los Angeles Times. Ramirez lives in Oak Hills on the fringes of Los Angeles and benefits from gusts that come over the Cajon Pass. They can rise to 35 miles an hour.

He says he uses a 10 KW turbine to power his expansive 3,250-square-foot home. Electric bills that were once $400 are now $100 a month. California’s incentive also softened the blow. It can be up to $12,500, making the investment easier to swallow.

Still, wind is a decade-long investment. And it needs a steady breeze.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Ontario Jump Starts Venture Capital Industry In Push For Clean Tech Silicon Valley

March 1, 2010

Ontario is eager to be a major player in clean tech.

With top research universities, entrepreneurial talent, a diverse population and a commitment to renewable energy, many of the ingredients are in place. Just last month, the Canadian province attracted Samsung, which will build plants to make wind turbines and solar modules.

Ontario has the opportunity to build a clean-tech cluster like Silicon Valley, says Deputy Minister George Ross. "One of the things we've been lacking is capital."

“We do believe there is an opportunity to build a cluster like Silicon Valley,” says George Ross, deputy minister at the ministry of research and innovation. “One of the things we’ve been lacking is capital.”

To remedy that, the province set out to build a clean-tech venture capital industry. That meant attracting C$205 million for a fund of fund to serve as a source of money for venture firms. Of the total, C$90 million came from the government.

It also meant setting aside C$29 million in government funds for seed-stage investments in young companies, and a C$250 million government fund to co-invest alongside VCs.

In late February, XPV Capital, the first new venture firm, closed its inaugural fund. Ross says he anticipates four more funds will close within a year. The target size for a fund is about C$100 million.

Start-ups also are getting money. So far, C$9.8 million has been invested in 20 companies, according to the ministry.

“The whole goal is to move money quickly into those companies,” says Ross. “We’re more or less a silent partner.”

Coupled with a commitment to renewable energy and efforts to create a climate for companies to prosper, “it’s a comprehensive strategy,” he adds.

Let’s see if it has the size and scale to work.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Clean Tech University Research In The US Shows Strong Emphasis On Solar

December 1, 2009

Clean-tech research at American universities appears to have a heavy focus on solar technologies as the nation looks for 21st Century ways to battle climate change.

Several of the country’s top educational institutions list solar as their top green research area, including novels approaches such as using nano-materials, organic semiconductors and solar thermal systems to get more energy from the sun.

MIT's Ernie Moniz says he is optimistic about the development of clean tech technology. But business models won't change until public policy is in place

This emphasis appears to earmarked more resources for solar breakthroughs than for other green-tech efforts, such as advanced batteries development and the evolution of smart energy grids.

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for instance, solar is at the top of the university’s clean-tech agenda, along with energy storage, says Ernie Moniz, director of MIT’s energy initiative.

The research focus includes efforts with solar thermal – or mirror technologies – and organic semiconductors, Moniz said Monday evening at Google-sponsored green tech event in San Francisco.

Stanford University also describes solar as among its biggest research areas. The institution’s Global Climate and Energy Project awards about $20 million a year for projects, and among the initiatives is an effort to use nano-structured materials to better capture energy, says Lynn Orr, director of the Precourt Institute for Energy.

The University of California, Berkeley has a similar emphasis on solar and nano solar research, even as it works on advanced energy storage and wind turbines, says Daniel Kammen, director of the renewable and Appropriate Energy Lab.

MIT is optimistic about the development of technologies to solve global warming, says Moniz. The challenge is putting public policy in place so that energy industry business models can change to keep pace.

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Windation Approaches Milestone In Urban Wind Turbine Market

November 27, 2009

A key milestone is approaching for Windation Energy Systems,

The Menlo Park wind turbine start-up is about to put its first demonstration product in place, and a lot rides on its success. The roughly 9 foot square unit designed for urban use is about the size of a commercial rooftop air conditioning unit and will go on the top of a parking garage in the Silicon Valley town of Palo Alto.

Windation says 30 potential sales await the results of the first field test of its urban wind turbine

If it does what its supposed to do – generate 1 to 2 KW of electricity – more than 30 other sales could follow. They are awaiting the results of the Palo Alto project, says CEO Rez Sheikhrezai.

The spurt of sales would be a welcome event for Windation – and for the micro-turbine industry. Big hulking 300-foot tall turbines for commercial farms have caught on everywhere from China to Scotland. But the home and commercial buildings market remains small, despite the potential for generating energy in windy cities such as Chicago, Buffalo and Oklahoma City.

Sheikhrezai says there are signs of market interest. There have been 3,000 hits on the company’s unadvertised Website in the past month and 90 product inquires, he says. “There is public interest, for sure.”

The big drawback has been cost. Windation’s product is easier than many to permit because its turbines are contained in a box instead of exposed as propeller blades, considered more dangerous in an urban setting. But its cost is about $30,000 installed, meaning payback can be five years or so.

Nevertheless, Windation is upbeat. Sheikhrezai says it is possible the company can sell 1,000 units a year, which at a discounted price of $23,000 each, would translate to $23 million in revenue.

Hospitals, which have high energy demands, are part of his first target market. “Very positive people are looking” at buying, he says.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

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