The United States set a major renewable energy milestone last Tuesday: wind power was the second-highest source of electricity for the first time since the Energy Information Administration began gathering the data.
News on Large Wind
Plans for 17 or more offshore wind turbine arrays off the U.S. East Coast mean more imminent peril for the endangered North Atlantic right whale – unless regulators and wind power developers implement sweeping new protection for the animals, according to one expert on the species.
In order to help civilians, the World Wind Energy Association WWEA and the Global 100% Renewable Energy Platform Global100RE, supported by Global100RE Ambassador Ruslana, are calling for donations of equipment which can supply power independently from the national grid, after all small and stand alone solar systems including batteries, power banks etc.
Erik Grove-Nielsen has confirmed that the Tvindkraft wind turbine was designed to be slightly larger than the Smith-Putnam wind turbine and become the world’s largest wind turbine in 1978.
A massive expansion of wind farms across the UK is now needed for national security reasons, the business secretary has declared, as, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the government considers sweeping changes to planning laws to improve Britain’s energy independence.
Danish wind turbine manufacturing giant Vestas will suspend work on four Russian wind projects in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Vestas will also suspend all new commercial activities in Russia.
Since I posted my article on the revised rating of Smith-Putnam’s famed wind turbine of the 1940s, I’ve received several comments. (See When is a 1,250 kW Wind Turbine Only 1,000 kW? Setting the Smith-Putnam Record Straight.) One was from an old wind hand, Mark Haller. Others also noted the historical record is rife with the error.
China is leading the race for offshore wind, setting a new record year for turbine installations in 2021, according to the World Forum Offshore Wind (WFO)’s annual report.
The Swedish government announced plans for a massive expansion of the country’s offshore wind power generation capabilities targeting capacity nearly equal to the country’s current annual consumption of electricity. Announcing the new program, the government said it had formulated the country’s first comprehensive marine plan but would be looking to update the plan as further offshore areas are identified.
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Inc. plans to lay off workers in Kansas and Iowa because of a reduction in orders for commercial wind turbines.
