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Wind turbines have no meaningful impact on property values: DOE-funded study

As the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) draws to a close, I decided to tackle a topic that has been quietly popping up in many of the discussions and panel sessions this week.  In many places the topic of feed in tariffs is under heated debate.

The International Copper Association (ICA) is the leading authority on the fundamentals of future copper demand and substitution. ICA’s portfolio of material demand and substitution work covers global studies, surveys and detailed data sets. Full studies and data sets are used by ICA and its members for market development purposes, and select information is available to market commentators.

Normally these academics would be fine without our fascination. They weren't looking for glory when they decided to study organisms most people either can't see or wish they hadn't. But when the Deepwater Horizon exploded in April 2010, our collective bias toward cute big creatures started to matter a great deal. That's because the instant the spill-cam was switched off and it became clear that there would be no immediate mass die-offs among dolphins and pelicans, at least not on the scale of theExxon Valdez spill deaths, most of us were pretty much on to the next telegenic disaster. (Chilean miners down a hole—and they've got video diaries? Tell us more!)

Mike Utsler, BP's Unified Area Commander, summed up its findings like this: "The beaches are safe, the water is safe, and the seafood is safe." Never mind that just four days earlier, more than 8,000 pounds of tar balls were collected on Florida's beaches—and that was an average day. Or that gulf residents and cleanup workers continue to report serious health problems that many scientists believe are linked to dispersant and crude oil exposure.

For the scientists aboard the WeatherBird II, the recasting of the Deepwater Horizon spill as a good-news story about a disaster averted has not been easy to watch. Over the past seven months, they, along with a small group of similarly focused oceanographers from other universities, have logged dozens of weeks at sea in cramped research vessels, carefully measuring and monitoring the spill's impact on the delicate and little-understood ecology of the deep ocean. And these veteran scientists have seen things that they describe as unprecedented. Among their most striking findings are graveyards of recently deceased coral, oiled crab larvae, evidence of bizarre sickness in the phytoplankton and bacterial communities, and a mysterious brown liquid coating large swaths of the ocean floor, snuffing out life underneath.

Future plans for energy production in the European Union as well as other locations call for a high penetration of renewable technologies (20% by 2020, and higher after 2020). The remaining energy requirements will be met by fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Smaller, less-capital intensive nuclear reactors are emerging as an alternative to fossil fuel and large nuclear systems. Approximately 50 small (<300 MWe) to medium-sized (<700 MWe) reactors (SMRs) concepts are being pursued for use in electricity and cogeneration (combined heat and power) markets. However, many of the SMRs are at the early design stage and full data needed for economic analysis or market assessment is not yet available. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop “target cost” estimates for reactors deployed in a range of competitive market situations (electricity prices ranging from 45–150 €/MWh). Parametric analysis was used to develop a cost breakdown for reactors that can compete against future natural gas and coal (with/without carbon capture) and large nuclear systems. Sensitivity analysis was performed to understand the impacts on competitiveness from key cost variables. This study suggests that SMRs may effectively compete in future electricity markets if their capital costs are controlled, favorable financing is obtained, and reactor capacity factors match those of current light water reactors. This methodology can be extended to cogeneration markets supporting a range of process heat applications.

The study prepared by the European and international climate experts at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the European Climate Forum, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the International Institute for Applied System Analysis, examines the potential for powering Europe and North Africa with renewable electricity exclusively by 2050 and the opportunities this transformation to the power sector presents.  The study provides policy makers and business leaders with clear direction and a step wise approach on how to achieve the 2050 vision.

Electric vehicles are unlikely to become high-volume mainstream products by 2020, according to a study by Boston Consulting Group.

The JRC has published a study mapping the potential of renewable energy sources in Africa. The report analyses the continent's current energy consumption and assesses potential of renewable energy sources - solar, wind, biomass and hydropower - and their cost efficiency and environmental sustainability.

As shown through theory and case study, speed control of refrigeration components provides maximum flexibility, control and energy efficiency

There are several incentives for using speed control on screw compressors: - Drive control will reduce the power penalty associated with slide valve, poppet valve, or throttling capacity control. On compressors with no capacity control, speed control will eliminate other poor control strategies. - Drive control will reduce wear and tear associated with slide valve action. - Drive control allows a precise suction pressure to be maintained. With slide valve, a broad dead band is often maintained to avoid excessive wear. - Drive speed control provides compressor size reduction with the same system capacity demand.