The system will use high-tech lithium-ion batteries and superconductor power transistors to even out the load on the electricity distribution network from connected wind farms.

ABB, which has its headquarters in Zurich, said the system would be able to store surplus energy from wind turbines to use during periods of peak demand.

The project is a collaborative research, development and demonstration project, with the SVC Light facility expected to be in operation by the end of 2009.

Allan Boardman, EDF Energy Networks planning engineer said: "This project will make a difference, because it will allow more renewable generation connections to existing electricity networks, and it will also demonstrate the value of energy storage."

Innovation

The Hemsby project is being financially supported by the Innovation Funding Incentive Scheme, run by energy regulator Ofgem.

SVC Light is part of ABB's Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) division working on a number of technologies that could improve security, capacity and flexibility of power distribution systems.

It has been developed to help deal with the flicker effect of the massive power demand of electric arc furnaces in the steelmaking industry. An SVC Light system has been operating at Hagsfor in Sweden since 1999, and another at the Mosel Steelworks in Trier since 2000.

ABB said the Norfolk project would demonstrate the commitment of both itself and EDF to climate change action by improving grid access for renewable electricity production.

"The installation will improve the usability of power from wind farms and avoid the destabilizing effect it can have on the grid," explained Per Eckemark, Head of ABB's FACTS System Group. "It will also provide a useful reference project for energy storage."

MAN President , Alhaji Bashir Borodo, who disclosed these in a telephone interview with Vanguard, yesterday, said that the contract for the wind energy had been signed with a foreign technical partner to start work on the first phase of the wind turbines, which he said is 30 megawatt.

Source: AllAfrica

The contract includes supply, installation, a five-year service agreement as well as a VestasOnline business supervisory control and data acquisition system.

The wind farm will produce approximately 120GWh per year, saving the environment from an annual CO2 emission of more than 47,000 tons. Furthermore, the wind farm will cover the annual electricity consumption of almost 26,000 Spanish households.

The interior West’s abundance of both green-energy resources and traditional fossil fuels make some watchdogs nervous about a rush to build what has been called an Interstate highway system for electrons. The idea of expanding transmission lines is commonly pitched by politicians as a way to put people to work while removing a crucial obstacle to renewable power.

But it’s not going to be just wind and sun on those wires. “[S]ome proponents of expanding coal-fired electricity production are using windfarms as a rationalization for greatly expanding transmission lines through the region.

They talk a lot about wind power, but their real interest is vastly expanded use of coal in generating electricity,” says Larry Swanson, a regional economist at the O’Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West at the University of Montana in Missoula.

Schweitzer does not deny that federally funded transmission lines would also help his state’s coal industry. He says he is a strong advocate not just for renewables but for so-called clean coal technologies.

“We’re going to hook some coal into it,” he says. “Fifty percent of the electricity in America comes from coal. I’m all for change, but unless you are willing to live naked in a tree and eat nuts for the next 30 years, coal’s going to be part of the portfolio.”

Environmental groups have made transmission a priority: Al Gore’s “We Campaign,” for example, is calling for a Unified National Smart Grid, which the group sees as part of a 10-year plan to get the nation using “100 percent clean electricity.”

But they still have some reservations.

“[T]he whole environment community remains concerned about transmission because there is no clear idea of what’s going to be on it,” says Rachel Shimshak, head of the Renewable Northwest Project, a regional advocacy group for renewable energy. “There is nervousness with Montana.”

Nevertheless, her group has been collaborating with power generators, utilities, and regulators on decisions about how and where to upgrade the grid.

Harnessing the prairie wind

In the center of Montana, tucked on rolling prairie land, the population of Judith Gap barely outnumbers the 90 wind turbines cranking out power there. The wind comes roaring from the Crazy Mountains and the Little Belt Range, smooths out as it passes over the grassland, and provides enough force to generate 7 percent of the regional utility’s needs.

Invenergy, the company that owns the Judith Gap wind farm, plans to build more turbines here and in other parts of the state. Other companies are scouting around, too.

The man who chose Judith Gap as the place to plant Montana’s first wind farm warns that transmission is becoming a real limitation.

“There still is quite a lot of wind where there are transmission lines, but most of those transmission lines are full,” says Bob Quinn, an organic farmer who took up harvesting wind with the help of a cousin. “We could light Los Angeles if we had the power lines.”

Plans for new transmission lines are cropping up across the West. Such projects tend to be initiated by a utility, then coordinated through regional planning groups and potentially expanded to include multiple utilities.

In recent years, the private sector has also started building and running transmission lines. This spring, construction will start on the Montana Alberta Tie Line that connects the Canadian and US grids from Great Falls, Mont.

“All of our capacity has been awarded to companies that plan to develop new wind farms in north central Montana,” says Bob Williams, the vice president of regulatory affairs for the Montana Alberta Tie Ltd (MATL), the company building the line.

There’s already skepticism, however, about whether this line will be entirely green. If the wind farms don’t get up and running, short-term power contracts have been signed with six global energy shippers to lease the space, according to a 2007 report in the Missoula Independent newspaper.

Mr. Williams denies that any such short-term contracts have been signed. But “certain potential customers have registered with MATL and they may or may not be awarded short-term capacity in the future,” he says. It depends on whether the wind-power companies want to offer any of their unused capacity back to the market, he says.

An environmental trade off?

“That line is in fact going to carry dirty power,” says Ken Toole, Montana’s Public Service Commissioner. The economics of a power line mean that it has to be full all the time, he explains. And that’s a huge challenge moving forward with just wind and solar power, since their output varies over the course of a day and a season.

“I’ve talked with [MATL] about the concept of ‘greenwashing’ these projects. Talking about them as facilitating wind, giving the public the impression that they are all about clean, renewable power – that’s a little misleading,” says Mr. Toole.

One of the obvious ways to get more green electrons flowing on any new transmission wires is to put pressure on the buyers of the power, says Ms. Shimshak with the Renewable Northwest Project. Many states like California already have emission performance standards that prevent utilities from purchasing power that spews too much carbon.

The federal government could also take away some of the economic imperatives for maximizing the load on the line. Traditionally, transmission lines are built to the size they are needed in the near term. The current discussion of federal dollars is not about financing the entire cost of new lines, but about funding the supersizing of them for future growth, says Doug Larson, executive director of the Western Interstate Energy Board.

“It’s clear if you don’t build the wires, you’ll never tap the wind. From an environmental perspective, there’s this trade off – you could oppose this transmission, but you are cutting off renewables,” says Mr. Larson.

Industry has already begun to develop.  In Columbus, Nebraska, the wind tower manufacturer, Katana Summit, opened its doors in July and now employs over 100 workers full-time.  The company represents a $20 million dollar investment in the community.   

Neighboring states like Iowa and Colorado have rapidly developed wind energy farms.  In 2007 Iowa built 341 new megawatts and Colorado built 776 new megawatts of wind.  Both of these states are currently producing more than 1,000 MW of electricity from wind. 

Currently Nebraska produces 73 megawatts of electricity from wind power and by the end of 2009 that number will jump to 193 megawatts from the new wind produced near Bloomfield.  The projects combined will produce affordable electricity for 38,000 Nebraska residences.  

"We are sitting on a world-class resource that can help us create jobs, improve our economy and the environment in one fell swoop.  Now is the time for Nebraska to go full-scale and harvest the wind," said Mary Harding, executive director of the Nebraska League of Conservation Voters.

Economic impacts are estimated with NREL's Jobs and Economic Development (JEDI) Wind model and include direct, indirect, and induced impacts. Direct impacts accrue from expenditures in the wind industry.  Indirect impacts accrue in supporting industries as a result of increased demand for basic goods and services.  Induced impacts result from reinvestment and spending by direct and indirect beneficiaries.  In some cases, depending on the structure of the local economy, indirect and induced impacts may be greater than direct wind industry impacts.

The study is based on the U.S. Department of Energy and American Wind Energy Association's (AWEA) 20 percent of the nation's electricity supply comes from wind energy by 2030.  In this analysis the modeling forecasts Nebraska to install 7800 megawatts of wind electricity.

The report can be obtained at http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy09osti/44344.pdf

Now government offices in the valley - a tourist destination in the 1970s that is now dotted with tanks and landmines - are powered by a 17kW, 10-turbine wind farm designed and installed by New Zealanders.

Mr Woods believes small, renewable energy generation is the only chance for many of Afghanistan's isolated communities to get electricity. The country has no central electricity grid, and if it did, there is no means to power it.

He would like to build more small, renewable energy projects in New Zealand, but said the market structure made it difficult for many people to afford the installation costs because it did not give a fair price to people who sold surplus electricity to the national grid.

The Panjshir valley wind farm was paid for by the regional government there, after the Asian Development Bank paid Empower to scope the area for possible wind farm sites. Land mines were cleared from the site before building.

Because of their height, many of the best spots for wind power were also look-outs during times of fighting, making them risky areas for mines.

"You don't really want to go wandering over the hillsides like you would in New Zealand," said Mr Woods.

The engineer said the only time he was frightened in Afghanistan was when he had to climb to the top of turbines in the wind, before ropes were secured to balance him.

The Empower team - who were helped with their work by Timaru-based Smart Energy - felt safe from being attacked because the local community strongly supported the wind farm.

"[Communities] really control the security in their areas. We had very open and frank discussions with the local community," he said. "That really takes care of security by itself."

Locals claim Panjshir is the only place in Afghanistan never conquered by Russia or the Taleban, despite at least nine attempts.

Roads to the wind farm site were sometimes impassable in winter, and work stopped for months because of snow and ice.

Mr Woods said the hardest part was the dismantling and hauling of the wind farm parts.

"We enjoy a challenge, but that was an effort, it really was."

Most people in Afghanistan do not have electricity, and those who do mostly rely on diesel generators, many installed by aid agencies as a quick and easy way to power buildings. But as the cost of diesel has risen, Mr Woods said many communities could not afford the diesel.

The wind farm would cost less to maintain than running a diesel generator and would keep working in winter, when trucks carrying diesel could not get to the community.

An Afghani company formed by Empower and staffed by 15, mostly Afghani, engineers will maintain the turbines.

Empower's next task is taking solar electricity to the region.

Mr Woods plans to install solar electricity panels at 18 district health clinics, an orphanage and a women's refuge, as well as four neighbouring villages near the Pakistan border.

The wind farm was officially opened last month.

Although Reid neither is an investor in the project nor promoted the particular wind site, he is a supporter.

"Senator Reid likes the project," said Jon Summers, a spokesman for the Nevada Democrat. "He thinks it's a good idea. It's going to bring clean energy to Nevada."

Summers said Duke Energy has worked to resolve concerns in Searchlight.

The project would boost the Searchlight economy. It would employ hundreds during six to eight months of construction, Duke Energy Managing Director Robert Charlebois said.

Once completed, it would provide permanent employment for 15 workers, he said.

The project could become a key source of property tax revenue for state and local governments.

Nevada has no operating wind power projects now, but several are under development.

NV Energy Inc., which operates utilities with a similar name, on Thursday announced it is proceeding with development of the 200-megawatt China Mountain wind project in northeastern Nevada and southern Idaho.

Analysts generally consider Nevada's wind energy mediocre compared with wind energy in states like Wyoming and Texas, although the Silver State is rich in solar and geothermal resources.

Yet, Charlebois said wind power developers have noticed the potential for wind power in the Searchlight area.

Duke Energy expects tests to demonstrate that the Searchlight project is commercially viable.

Among Searchlight's strong points for wind energy are proximity to Las Vegas where population growth creates demand for additional energy and access to transmission lines.

"We believe that NV Energy (which serves Las Vegas) would be one of our prime markets for this energy," Charlebois said. NV Energy needs to continue increasing its reliance on green power under state law.

Duke Energy is looking at wind sites in a 25,000-acre area controlled by the Bureau of Land Management, and Charlebois said the company will need only a small portion of that land for the wind farm.

About 100 to 150 wind turbine towers will reach 260 feet high.

Drivers on U.S. Highway 95 probably will see wind turbines, and said some turbines may be visible from Searchlight, Charlebois said.

Researchers must determine how much of a threat the turbines pose to birds, but the area doesn't appear to be along the route of regular bird migration, he said.

Charlebois suspects it will take until March 2011 to go through the regulatory review process.

RWE said the wind farm, Nordsee 1, would have a capacity of 960 megawatts. The company expects approvals in 2009 and to start building in 2010. The first turbines should start running in 2011. The company said the capacity would be enough to supply electricity to 780,000 households yearly.

"That is the largest single project RWE has undertaken so far in the area of renewables," Juergen Grossman, the chief executive of RWE, said in a statement.

"Even in these times of economic crisis, RWE Innogy is consciously stepping up its investment pace."

Shares of RWE were trading down 1 percent at euro63.29 ($89.23) in Frankfurt morning trading.