The Resources Inventory
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Oil transporter Canadian Enbridge Inc. announced that it is considering purchasing a 50% stake in the Massif du Sud wind farm in Quebec, Canada, a 150-megawatt wind energy project, for $170 million.
Endbridge is the biggest transporter of Canadian oil to the United States. It has been diversifying its assets by branching into wind energy projects.
For its planned acquisition of the stake in Massif du Sud wind farm, Endbridge will once more partner with EDF EN Canada, a company that specializes in developing renewable energy sources. Endbridge and EDF had earlier made a joint investment in the Lac Alfred wind farm, a 300 MW wind energy project in Quebec.
The Massif du Sud wind farm will host 75 wind turbines that can provide clean electrical power for 35,000 homes in Quebec. Its construction began back in November 2011 and it is scheduled to be completed before the end of 2012.
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Recent studies by two different US science teams suggest that the Earth has enough wind energy to powered the world. Unfortunately, the cost of building wind turbines and wind farms may outweigh the report’s findings.
Based on the research, wind energy can provide up to hundreds of trillions of watt power, which already ten times what we consume today. Potentially, wind energy can produce even up to 20 times current world consumption rates.
Despite wind energy providing to be an ideal, environmentally-sound alternative source, finances remain the biggest hurdle to any dramatic increase in the use of wind. The cost of building a system of turbines is too high, plus it would also take too much land.
Wind energy must also compete with coal and fossil fuels, which are often more preferred because they enjoy government subsidies. Natural gas is still cheaper compared to wind power. So despite the potential, the economic reality puts the reports in the backseat.
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Although North Dakota is currently experiencing an oil boom, state regulators are looking into renewable energy alternatives to sustain its economy. The energy industry has been one of the major contributors to N. Dakota’s progress, but regulators are looking into sustainability on the long-term.
Last Wednesday, the state approved a $200 million wind energy project by Allete Clean Energy. The development, to be located in western North Dakota just north of the city of Glen Ullin, will cover 19 square miles of the Mercer and Morton counties.
Kevin Cramer from North Dakota’s Public Service Commission confirmed Allete had been given the construction permit last Wednesday but the energy company would still need to present details of the wind project, including where wind turbines will be constructed.
Allete Clean Energy is already operating a wind farm in the southwestern part of the state and is presently building two others.
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A report by the Department of Energy reveals the state of Iowa has one of the booming clean-energy industry in the country. A huge percent of the state’s electricity is generated via wind power.
This brings good news to a country facing rising energy costs especially in oil and coal. The wind energy industry not only helps in reducing reliance on non-renewable energy sources but it also supports thousands of jobs for Americans. President Obama’s support for alternative, and cleaner energy is also seen in his recent decision to call on congress to extend tax credits to the sector.
On a national scale, wind power saw an additional 32% in new electric capacity. According to the report by the DoE, the wind energy industry employs over 70,000 Americans especially when it came to construction and maintenance of the power infrastructures.
You can read more on the DoE report here.
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by Giles Parkinson of RenewEconomy
The Australian government’s chief energy forecasting body has published a dramatic revision of its cost estimates, predicting that onshore wind and solar PV will deliver the cheapest forms of energy by 2030 — with solar PV dramatically cheaper than all other energy forms by 2050.
The Australian Energy Technology Assessment (AETA) prepared by the government’s Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE) slashes its previous estimates of the cost of a whole range of renewables technologies, and in some cases doubles the predicted cost of coal-fired generation in the decades to come — with or without the addition of carbon capture and storage.
Do you think that 2030 is way too long for alternative energy sources to be more cost-effective? What is your opinion on the matter? Share us your thoughts on the article: andrewbrayden@gmail.com or tweet us.
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