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"Donald Sadoway: The missing link to renewable energy Tweet this talk! (we'll add the headline and the URL) Post to: Share on Twitter Email This Favorite Download inShare Share on StumbleUpon Share on Reddit Share on Facebook TED Conversations Got an idea, question, or debate inspired by this talk? Start a TED Conversation, or join one of these: Green Home Energy=Hydrogen Generators-alternative sources Started by Kathleen Gilligan-Smith 1 Comment What is the real missing link in renewable energy? Started by Enrico Petrucco 8 Comments Comment on this Talk 60 total comments Sign in to add comments or Join (It's free and fast!) Sort By: smily raichel 0 Reply Less than 5 minutes ago: Nice smily raichel 0 Reply Less than 5 minutes ago: Good David Mackey 0 Reply 3 hours ago: Superb invention, but I would suggest one more standard mantra that they should move on from and that is the idea of power being supplied by a centralised grid. This technology seems to me to be much more beneficial on a local scale, what if every home had its own battery, then home power generation becomes economically more viable for everyone. If you could show that a system like this could pay for itself in say 5 years then every home would want one. Plus for this to be implemented on a large scale requires massive investment that could be decades away. Share the technology and lets get it in homes by next year. Great ted talk. Jon Senior 0 Reply 1 hour ago: I agree 100%. Localised energy production would also make energy consumers more conscious of their consumption and encourage efforts to reduce it. We can invent and invent all we want, but the fast solution to allowing renewable energies to take centre stage is to reduce the base energy draw. With lower baseline consumption, smaller "always on" generators are required to keep the grid operational. Town and house-l

Czech utility, CEZ Group (CEZ.BE), is investing 1.1 billion euros in a Romanian wind farm with a projected capacity of 600 megawatts (MW), which--when completed--will be the largest onshore wind farm in Europe. CEZ bought the development rights for two projects from Continental Wind Partners LLC (CWP), which will manage the construction, set to begin next month. The project will combine adjacent Fantanele and Cogealac wind farms. Together, the two projects will be about twice the size of the next largest fully permitted onshore wind farm in Europe, and triple the size of the largest operational wind farm in Europe. The project, which is located about 17 kilometers from the Black Sea, will be completed in two stages. The first stage of 347.5 MW is expected to be completed by the end of 2009. It will comprise 139 GE wind turbines.

Brazilian wind farm buys 80 MW of Vestas wind turbines 13 May 2011 Galvao Energia has ordered 40 Vestas 2 MW wind turbines for a wind farm project in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. By Renewable Energy Focus staff The 80 MW Olho D'Agua, Sao Bento do Norte Farol wind farm will see the first delivers in the third quarter of 2012, with completion scheduled for December the same year.

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, September 2, 2008. The Danish Ministry for Climate and Energy says a new 400 MW offshore wind farm will be built by 2012. The wind farm comes in addition to the 200 MW Rødsand II (online from 2011) and 200 MW Horns Rev II (online from 2009), and will be built between Anholt and Djursland in the Kattegat Sea between Denmark and Sweden. The location was chosen due to the possibility of connecting the wind farm more or less directly to the existing grid, which means the windmills can be put up quicker. Depending on the capacity of the windmills that will be chosen, the wind farm will have 100-175 wind mills.

REpower Systems AG has successfully installed the first of six wind energy turbines for the Belgian offshore wind farm Thornton Bank. The project, located about 30 kilometers off the coast, is the first Belgian offshore wind farm. For the first of three construction phases, REpower is providing six 5-megawatt (MW) offshore turbines, adding up to a total capacity of 30 MW. Gravity based foundations were erected and carried out to sea to form the foundation for the six wind turbines in Thornton Bank. All work at sea is performed in a water depth of approximately 25 meters using jack-up drilling platforms. The 5-MW turbine which has just been erected in Belgium is the twelfth of the model installed by REpower.

U.S. wind industry has raced past the 20,000-megawatt (MW) installed capacity milestone, achieving in two years what had previously taken more than two decades, according to new figures. The 10,000-MW mark was reached in 2006. Wind now provides 20,152 MW of electricity generating capacity in the U.S., producing enough electricity to serve 5.3 million American homes or power a fleet of more than 1 million plug-in hybrid vehicle, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). "Wind energy installations are well ahead of the curve for contributing 20% of the U.S. electric power supply by 2030 as envisioned by the U.S. Department of Energy," said AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher. "However, the looming expiration of the federal renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) less than four months from now threatens this spectacular progress. The PTC has been a critical factor in wind's very rapid growth as a part of the nation's power portfolio." The PTC is currently set to expire at the end of 2008.

A Norweigan company, SWAY A/S, is developing a deepwater wind turbine system. It seems that this system may offer a technical solution to two issues which are related to wind.  These  issues are that turbines are an eyesore for some and that of positioning turbines to receive a consistent wind flow. By enabling turbines to be placed far out to sea SWAY theoretically overcomes the eyesore issue. Also, wind flow may be more consistent in the open ocean and therefore a more approporiate environment to harvest consistent wind.
 

Mexico, one of the leading suppliers of oil to the United States, has increasingly embraced alternative energy in the face of dwindling crude output, infrastructure and investment. In response to energy and economic woes, President Felipe Calderón has pushed through energy reforms, pledging that Mexico will be producing a minimum of 2,500 megawatts of wind capacity by the time his term ends in 2012. So far, Mexico's progress has been impressive. In 2005, the nation only produced 3 megawatts electricity from wind. By the end of 2010, the country had 519 megawatts of installed wind power. And the future prospects look promising.

Wood Mackenzie, a commodities consultancy, said that amongst weak copper consumption in Europe a bright spot is in the demand for wind turbines and the associated subsea cable. The consultancy believes that this sector uses 3.6 tonnes of copper per megawatt of generation capacity and estimates that 22,000t of copper will be consumed in wind turbines in Western Europe in 2012. A European directive for all countries to produce 20% of their energy from renewable sources by 2020 is said to be accelerating growth in green power. Germany are the largest producer of wind turbine sourced electricity, as renewable account for 25% of energy production and wind power is the largest component. Great Britain, the Nordic region and Spain are also expanding their wind power capacity, mainly through offshore wind parks.

China will begin subsidizing the production of wind power turbines, according to an announcement made last Friday. The subsidy will only be available to Chinese majority-owned turbine manufacturers, who will be eligible to receive $88 per kilowatt for the first 50 units capable of generating at least 1.5 megawatts of power. In addition, the subsidy can only be used for research and development. This is the first Chinese subsidy specifically focusing on the wind power industry and it is meant to make Chinese companies more competitive with turbine makers like GE (NYSE: GE) in the U.S., Vestas Wind Systems (VWS.CO) in the Netherlands and India's Suzlon (SUZL.BO).

Wind power is the most mature of mainstream renewable energy technologies and, if the world's electricity generation is to be made cleaner, it must play a large part.\n\nThe International Energy Agency estimates that, if global greenhouse gas emissions are to be halved by 2050, as scientists say is necessary, then wind must represent about 17 per cent of worldwide power generation by that date.

The global wind turbine market has seen rapid shifts in scale and product sophistication on the back of booming demand for wind power globally. Effective wind turbine pricing is a major challenge for all manufacturers as they strive to keep pace with higher volume and more complex demand. Suppliers are expanding their sales and production globally. Turbine prices and cost of installations are increasing as multiple players move on 2 MW turbines and above.

A timely article to remind readers about the status of wind turbines in the US. No longer a marginal form of electrical generation, wind turbine installed capacity in the US is on the up. Apparently, wind already supplies about 1% American electricity, powering the equivalent of 4.5 million homes. However, in spite of advances in the wind field, electricity generated via wind turbines is at this time costlier than that generated from fossil fuels. Also, wind power has the disadvantage of being intermittent and unpredictable, but this matter may be overcome with battery storage in some cases.

"Central America's wind-power generation grew 120% between 2009 and 2010, according to a new study published by regional economic think tank Comision Economica para America Latina (CEPAL). All together, the region comprising Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama and Belize, generated 237.2 Gwh of wind energy during the period. This came mostly from projects in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, CEPAL said, adding that Central America has attracted rising wind investments due to improving regulation for the technology."

"Copper-clad aluminum wire which is composed of aluminum core clad with ETP copper was exploited to solve the problem of the copper price increasing by replacing traditional copper wire with copper-clad aluminum wire in the alternator for vehicle application. The aluminum winding alternator parameter was designed and the alternator was tested. The test data show that copper-clad aluminum can offer most of the advantages of aluminum, such as having lighter weight and lower cost than copper, but without the main perceived disadvantages of aluminum. With right parameter and well welding, aluminum winding can replace copper winding to reduce the alternator cost. "

EDF Energies Nouvelles has signed an agreement with Clipper Windpower for the supply of 67.5 MW of wind turbines. Clipper Turbine Works, a subsidiary of Clipper Windpower, will supply 27 wind turbines, each with a 2.5 MW capacity, to build the first phase of the La Ventosa wind farm in Mexico.

"Nine European countries have today signed a major agreement to develop the world's first large-scale offshore wind energy grid in the North and Irish seas, providing a boost to the continent's fast-expanding offshore wind industry. UK energy minister Lord Hunt joined with ministers from Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden and Ireland to sign the agreement on the sidelines of today's European Council meeting in Brussels."

"Enercon to supply 57.5MW to Brazil wind farm Jonathan Tilley, Windpower Monthly, 28 February 2011, 10:59am BRAZIL: Enercon will supply wind turbines for a 57.5MW project in Brazil owned by Spanish developer Enerfin."

"This investment would result in the first factory in the UK to commercially produce offshore wind towers."