UK Green Energy Supplier to 'Repower' Major Wind Farm
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 06.30.07
When we interviewed Dale Vince, of UK green energy pioneers Ecotricity (whose collaborations with Lotus and Ben and Jerry's have previously made the pages of TreeHugger) , he was pretty scathing about other renewable energy suppliers. His main complaint was that most suppliers simply buy up existing green energy supplies, rather than supporting new generation capacity. Here’s what he had to say:
“Many companies have set up to sell green energy and they do so on the premise that by buying it consumers can reduce their carbon emissions - its marketing led and not fully honest. What's been happening is that companies have been buying up sources of green energy to bundle into 100% tariffs, in the process taking that green power from the current user to sell it to a new one. Before liberalisation we all had about 3% renewables in our fuel mix (in the UK) - following liberalisation and the rash of 100% tariffs - we now all typically have 0% in our fuel mix and a few people have 100%. So its a redistribution of green and of carbon.”
It seems that one of his major competitors, Good Energy, may have been paying attention, as they are making major investments in new generating capacity. The company has announced a major plan to over haul one othe UK’s first wind farms. Under the slogan Repowering Delabole, Good Energy are planning to completely replace the aging turbines at Delabole Wind Farm in Cornwall with larger, state-of-the-art turbines. Juliet Davenport, Good Energy’s Chief Executive, explained more:
“Our aim is to prevent over one million tonnes of carbon dioxide being released into our atmosphere. The repowered Delabole wind farm will enable us to do this over its lifetime. We hope there will be wide support for the project, but understand that not everyone might will like the idea of bigger turbines. We hope that those people will be able to see the bigger picture, and balance what they perceive as negatives with the wider environmental benefits.”
The company is offering anyone interested in green energy a chance to cisit the existing turbines, and to learn more about renewables, sustainability and climate change, by playing host to the Delabole Wind Fair, a free event to be held on the 18th of August. ::Good Energy::
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We too here in Hawaii are having our old wind farm at South Point on the Big Island re-built. The original Mitsubishi Turbines were over 20 years old and many were in disrepair. They were relatively small compared to the new 1.5 GE Megawatt turbines (14 of them) being installed. Also, the towers are much bigger. Once on line (the date has not yet been set), the farm will be providing at least 5% of the power on this island.
The wind at that location is strong and constant to the point that the trees are growning bent permanently at an angle (very funny sight) because of the wind force.
adrianakau2aol.com
Increasing the amount of renewable energy being fed into the grid is very important. But the comment sounds like sour grapes.
Besides supplying power, there needs to be a demand for it. The rise of companies purchasing and reselling renewable electricity is creating a market for it and demonstrating the viability or renewables.
There's a chicken and egg situation. It doesn't matter how much is being produced if you can't get anyone to purchase or use it.
Rising demand for renewably produced electricity will increase the pricer it can bring and will attract more folks wanting to create solar and wind installations to satisfy that demand. There's a genuine role there for aggregators and marketers. As the public becomes better informed, greenwashing claims will be exposed and weeded out. Eventually people will seek out the most responsible companies that best serve their needs.
As the owner of a small company that doesn't own land or buildings, I'm not very likely to to install any solar cells or windmills. But I am interested in purchasing sustainably generated power. I'll seek out companies selling it, and look for a combination of service, price and business ethics before making the decision.
Since my electricity comes through the regional grid, the electrons I actually use can be from any source of production, even the evil, despised nuclear plant. My purchasing sustainably produced electricity (at a higher price) is actually a vote in favor of sustainable production sources, increasing it's proportional representation over time among all the different generating plants. Investment has substantially reduced the cost of solar and wind power, and we can expect it to become ever more efficient in the future, thereby increasing it's viability and overall market share.
Not sure why my prior post on this piece hasn't been published...
There is substantial movement in the installation of renewable electricity generation, worldwide.
Pasted below is a call for large scale renewable energy projects being offered by Massachusetts:
Grant opportunities from Mass. Technology Collaborative
The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC), as administrator of the Renewable Energy Trust Fund (the Trust), is seeking applications for the Large Onsite Renewables Initiative (LORI) Feasibility Study and Design & Construction Grants.
MTC is accepting grant applications for development of eligible renewable energy projects with greater than 10 kilowatts of nameplate capacity that are located at commercial, industrial, institutional, and public facilities that will consume 25% or more of the renewable energy generated by the project on-site. The applicant and project site must be a customer of a Massachusetts investor-owned electric distribution utility. The grant awards may be used to facilitate the installation of renewable energy projects on existing buildings (retrofits) or in conjunction with new construction/major renovation projects, including green buildings. Applications are due August 21. For details, visit www.masstech.org/largeDG/.