Wind power progresses, with foreign investments [Archive]

View Full Version : Wind power progresses, with foreign investments

Zeno Swijtink

09-09-2008, 10:48 PM

When will we have the discussion where to have the large scale wind power in Sonoma County?

**

September 10, 2008
WORLD BUSINESS BRIEFING | EUROPE
Germany: E.on Orders Turbines (https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/10/business/worldbusiness/10fobriefs-EONORDERSTUR_BRF.html)

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Siemens, the German conglomerate, said it had struck a deal with the German utility E.On to build 500 wind turbines for planned projects in Europe and the United States. The companies said that Siemens Energy, a unit of Siemens, would supply the turbines, which have a capacity of 1,150 megawatts for projects on both continents in 2010 and 2011. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the companies said that each turbine would have a capacity to generate 2.3 megawatts. “This agreement with E.On is the largest single wind power deal Siemens has ever signed in its history,” said René Umlauft, above, chief executive of Siemens’s renewable energy division, part of Siemens Energy.

Braggi

09-10-2008, 09:59 AM

When will we have the discussion where to have the large scale wind power in Sonoma County? ...

How about we start now?

You need a few things to make wind power viable.

1) wind - which means, at a minimum, high altitude relative to the surrounding area (duh)
2) available land that is more or less clear of NIMBY issues
3) infrastructure to carry the electricity to areas of need
4) the funding to put it all together

The hills close to the coast come to mind. We have many possible sites in sparsely populated areas. Land owners there would probably welcome the added income. NIMBY is a big concern, but some sites could probably be found. I also wonder about the hills on the East side of Sonoma valley. No doubt some good sites could be found there.

Hi power infrastructure for the most part, does not exist in Sonoma County since we are a consumer of electricity much more than a producer. It's possible that could change. There are some large towers near Highway 12 in Sonoma Valley that could be pressed into service to make power available in Santa Rosa. Towers from the coast would be a tougher issue.

Now, how about the will of Sonoma County to pay for a huge project? I suppose a package could be assembled that could be sold to the taxpayers assuming the output would lower electric bills in the County into the future.

I'd vote for an added sales tax to fund such a proposal and I don't even have an electric bill! I would expect my payback in the form of lower prices at the grocery store.

Comments?

-Jeff

RichT

09-10-2008, 12:53 PM

When will we have the discussion where to have the large scale wind power in Sonoma County?

I talked to a couple of sales reps at Sol Fest a couple of years ago and was told that Sonoma County has ordinances protesting viewsheds from unsightly apparatus such as wind turbines, and that 90% of the county was off limits for erecting them. One was proposed a year or two ago in Sonoma Valley and turned down for that reason. We would have to go to the Board of Supervisors to overturn restrictions to accomplish this.

hiloboy

09-10-2008, 04:39 PM

Some thoughts...
Before a discussion of where, how about IF.

First steps first.
I would want to see mandatory abatement of reasonably unnecessary & wasteful electricity uses before erecting butt-ugly towers across our beautiful home to produce electricity.
Scale it all back first to needed and efficient uses only, before building expensive production sources. This must include retrofitting existing sub-standard electrically-heated homes & H2O to meet some efficiency and weatherproofing standard.

Let's see; automotive dealerships in PM along 101 come to mind also, electric signs in stores at night, when closed, parking lots when businesses are closed, interior building lights when closed, excessive gas-station lighting, timed auto-shutoff of home room lighting via motion detection or IR, homes larger than 500 ft2 per occupant, 3kft2 aggregate max.

I'd also like to see mandatory solar H2O heating on all new construction before wind plant installs on a large scale. Perhaps even mandatory solar-electric as it's about as local as it gets.
House comes with mount and owner must add a panel or two each year.
Pay for this from the Defense Dept. or Dept. of Heartland security.

I love the concept of wind power, but we need to change our wasteful habits(cheap) before spending mucho dinero on wind just because it's "cool".

Let's also get over the idea that it has to be located "on the coast".
I say place it near greatest use & population density for fewer transmission losses; Sonoma hills, Fountaingrove Parkway, Petaluma hills. You waste, you watch.
Don't try to externalize the costs of visual destruction by siting them where you personally wouldn't have to look at them every day.

Also, who says it has to be land-based; have a look at:

Makani Power Inc. (https://www.makanipower.com)

Tether some high-altitude wind-gen kites to the Geysers site where they have transmission infrastructure in place already.

HB
======

When will we have the discussion where to have the large scale wind power in Sonoma County?

**

September 10, 2008
WORLD BUSINESS BRIEFING | EUROPE
Germany: E.on Orders Turbines (https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/10/business/worldbusiness/10fobriefs-EONORDERSTUR_BRF.html)

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Siemens, the German conglomerate, said it had struck a deal with the German utility E.On to build 500 wind turbines for planned projects in Europe and the United States. The companies said that Siemens Energy, a unit of Siemens, would supply the turbines, which have a capacity of 1,150 megawatts for projects on both continents in 2010 and 2011. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the companies said that each turbine would have a capacity to generate 2.3 megawatts. “This agreement with E.On is the largest single wind power deal Siemens has ever signed in its history,” said René Umlauft, above, chief executive of Siemens’s renewable energy division, part of Siemens Energy.

RichT

09-10-2008, 08:05 PM

before erecting butt-ugly towers across our beautiful home to produce electricity.
Scale it all back first to needed and efficient uses only, before building expensive production sources.

I love the concept of wind power, but we need to change our wasteful habits(cheap) before spending mucho dinero on wind just because it's "cool".

Have you looked at some of the recent postings about vertical axis wind turbines?
NO... I'd suggest taking a look at some of the information provided here in the past few weeks before dismissing wind power as expensive and ugly.

This is just one example of a home generation system that is affordable, close to the same price scale as a comparably sized solar generation system. It is smaller and more efficient than the typical horizontal axis propeller blade units we are used to seeing.
https://www.helixwind.com/en/index.php

When I first moved to Sonoma County in 1984, I noticed the wind powered home beside 101 on the North side of Novato. It is still operating 24 years later. I think it has a unique artsy look to it.

This is a link to a live maps search birds eye view of it.<link href="cid:[email protected]" rel="File-List"><style>  </style> https://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTSN&cp=qbh3jn4sktf2&style=b&lvl=2&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=29870784&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1<o:p></o:p>

Popular science has an article online on how to make your own vertical axis wind turbine. A Google search for vertical axis wind turbine popular science will bring it up.

I agree that the wind power plants we are used to seeing are ugly. This is a look at some of the turbines by Palm Springs. The whole upper end of Coachella Valley is filled with the monstrosities.

<link href="cid:[email protected]" rel="File-List"><style>  </style> https://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTSN&cp=qbh3jn4sktf2&style=b&lvl=2&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=29870784&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1<o:p></o:p>