Super-Yachts Go Green With Wind and Solar Energy
For all those multi-millionaires out there that want to enjoy the seas comfortably while going green, there is a new boat that could fit the bill. The Solar Sailor company based out of Sydney, Australia is creating a series of super-yachts that will run off of solar and wind energy. The idea is to create a solar sail that can multi-task as a sail and it’s energy source. A huge problem with many of the current yachts sailing on the seas is that they guzzle tons of gas and emits tons of pounds of CO2. The reason they require so much energy is that they not only need to run these huge boats, but they also have fancy equipment like Jacuzzis and movie theaters that require tons of energy to operate. One thing that shocked me was to see that they huge yachts can consume as much 1 liter of fuel per second. That’s right not minute but second.
The technology works through a computer system that will control the solar sail. The sail can then be electronically mounted based off of the sun’s position or the direction of the wind. Not only would the vessels be getting 5% of its energy from the solar panels mounted on the sails, but they would also be getting approximately 20-40% of the total energy needs from wind. This could save the owners tons of money to operate their yachts as well as eliminate tons of emissions.
The thing that frustrates me the most about this is: why do you need such a large and elaborate boat? Is it really necessary to have a yacht of such size that requires so much fuel to run? Just because the ultra wealthy that own super-yachts have the money to buy these, why not allocate you money elsewhere. Even after adding these great renewable energy modifications to these boats, they still are going to be burning tons of fuel. They are just burning less that they previously were. This is how our environment has taken such a huge hit. The need to have massive machines and boats that require tons of energy to operate. Even if they were to convert these massive boats to run completely on renewable energy, it still doesn’t make them green or eco-friendly. Tons of materials are needed to build these devices just to make a few people more comfortable when they are sailing. I’m all for supporting renewable energy, but we as a society also need to start conserving more. What are you thoughts.
Texas Walmarts to Begin Using Wind Energy
Walmart recently purchased a huge amount of wind energy from the Duke energy company to power approximately 360 of their stores in Texas. The energy will come from a wind farm that is currently under construction in Notrees, Texas. It will be completed in April of 2009 and will produce 226 million kWh of energy per year, enough to offset 139,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions every year. This energy purchase will push Walmart into the top 15 of EPA’s list of green power purchasers in America.
The motivation for this plan seems to be economical in both terms of saving money on energy costs as well as better press as Walmart will now be seen as “green” by the media. I’m not really a huge fan of Walmart, but this is the right move in my opinion. With our country is such hard economic times, buying this amount of wind energy can really help boost . Hopefully this will encourage other retailers to buy renewable energy and for Walmart to expand using renewable energy in their stores throughout the country.
British Wind Farm Proposal Brings Controversy
The British Environment Agency is considering building an 80 turbine wind farm development that would be partially built on several major water bodies including the River Thames, the River Medway in the North Downs and parts of the Fens. The wind farm should produce approximately 200 megawatts of energy, enough energy to power 90,000 households. Some of them will be built in lands surrounding the agency’s offices and pumping stations. The remaining will be put riverside of the rivers mentioned above. The plan is to produce enough energy to run all of the agency’s offices along with making an additional $5 million in revenue each year by putting extra electricity back into the grid.
By developing these renewable energy projects we are helping to limit and adapt to the effects of climate change, reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and help develop a low-carbon economy. We are identifying the main contributors to our own carbon footprint – such as major pumping stations – and looking at how we can generate renewable energy to power them.
This does seems like a perfect plan on the surface, but it is not pleasing everybody. Many people living in these areas as well as critics of the plan have said that the construction of this wind farm could do more harm that good. The biggest concern they have is the well being of the landscapes in these area’s, being unattractive sites along with harming the local wildlife. There is also a concern that the amount of renewable energy generated by these turbines will not even come close to removing the country’s dependency on fossil fuels.
Wind turbines can have a serious impact on the appearance of a landscape and certainly should not be located in areas of natural beauty or national parks.
The agency ensured that it will consult with the public and take these factors into consideration before finalizing plans. This is really a tough situation. On the one hand, this agency is trying to make a difference by running all their offices on renewable energy as well as provide more for the entire country. On the other hand, the natural landscape could be affected by them being present. In my opinion, I actually like the look of the wind turbines and don’t feel at all that they detract from the natural landscape. I agree with the agency that this is the correct move and to continue our dependency on fossil fuels based on the principal that it controls too much of the market is not the right way to go.
Oklahoma State University Offering Wind Turbine Technology Degree
Oklahoma State University: Oklahoma City is offering one of the countries first wind turbine technologies degree programs. The Oklahoma State Regents voted unanimously to bring OSU this degree program. The two year associates degree program will allow graduates to work on utility-scale wind turbines. The degree program focuses on a variety of topics surrounding wind turbines including:
- Power Distribution
- Operation and Maintenance
- Motors and Generators
- Diagnosis and Repair
- Internship
Dr. Jerry Nielsen, OSU-OKC Science and Engineering Division Head, talks about how important this degree program is for the future of the wind energy market in this country:
The wind industry is such an important factor in Oklahoma’s economy right now. OSU-OKC is on pace to graduate students who can be ready to go to work in the wind patch at the exact time the industry is calling for trained professionals.
This is a really telling quote. It shows that the wind industry is really taking off, especially in the Mid-West where wind is an abundant source. In order to prepare workers to be able to properly work on wind turbines, programs like these are a necessity. There are also other degree program popping up in other smaller colleges throughout America including one in Highland Community College in Kansas. Degree programs like these will probably only be started in areas where wind turbines are being rapidly constructed. Hopefully as wind turbines begin to be constructed all throughout America that more colleges begin to offer this degree program to ensure that wind turbines are properly maintained and repaired.
This Week in Environmental News: October 18th
World Environmental News
Many of the European Union’s 15 original member nations are on target to meet Kyoto treaty commitments original agreement of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 8% by the year 2012. The only countries that our currently behind the others include Denmark, Italy and Spain. Just yesterday a report was released by the European Environment Agency in order to detail each countries progress on meeting the treaty. The report also included that all countries were on target to meeting their long term goal of reducing emissions 20% by 2020. It is good to see that Europe as a whole is pushing all original members to it’s original agreement to reduce emissions that harm our environment. Also in the treaty was that all it’s members be using 20% of their energy needs from renewable energy. Most of the countries are far from meeting that goal, but many countries including Britain are at work to moving their countries to use renewable sources of energy like wind and solar.
Wind Energy News
A business fund owned by Abu Dhabi’s government is buying a 20% share in London Array, the world’s largest offshore wind farm development. Masdar green investment fund invests in the research and development of clean renewable energy. The fund bought 40% of German’s giant energy company E.on current half share in the project. The project could have as many as 271 wind turbines offshore in the Thames Estuary of Britain. The funds provided give the project a surer footing as their have been many financial worries over the past few months. The wind farm will generate an estimated 1,000 megawatts of power, enough electricity to power around 750,000 homes. That amount of energy will boost Britain’s percentage of energy coming from renewable energy in order to meet the EU’s target of 20% by the year 2020.
T. Boone Pickens Meets with Irwin Jacbos in Minnesota
I first introduced you to T. Boone Pickens in an early post about a multi-million dollar television campaign to promote wind energy. Now, T. Boone Pickens has taken it campaign all across America and his latest stop is in Minnesota to the national republican convention. He has also met up with local businessman Irwin Jacob to talk about plans to start a new business venture in the wind energy field. No details have been released about their talks, but it looks promising with Jacobs saying:
“It is in the wind energy area and its just something that I can’t get into at this time. It’s a very natural thing to go with it.” he said, adding that ”it’s not in the turbine business.”
T. Boone Pickens is also pushing the federal government to start offering tax credits to entice more people to build wind turbines. He also would like the expansion of transmission lines so that the wind energy generated in the Midwest can be transported to both the east and west coasts. In order to do so, the government needs to step in to go against local opposition. This makes some feel completely dependent on these Midwestern wind farms to get energy throughout the nation. Another plan may be to start building wind farms on a more local level. Whether it is more efficient or not, this will allow each area to control their own energy production.
This Week in News: August 21st
Local Green News
Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City, has proposed a plan to completely change how the skylines and shores of the city would look. The plan involves building wind mills throughout the city in an effort to produce nearly 10% of the city’s power within 10 years. Though this wind energy plan is still in it’s early stages, it looks to be extremely promising. Bloomberg has already hired private firms and investors to study the financial feasibility and locations as to where the wind turbines can be built. There are many coastal areas that are extremely windy that would be perfect for this plan. Hopefully Bloomberg’s alternative energy plan comes to fruition and New York City can meet it’s renewable energy goal.
He later evoked the image of the Statue of Liberty’s torch, saying he imagined it one day “powered by an ocean wind farm.”
Photo by ProjectedImages.
Water Bottle Ban
The city of London, Ontario just passed a ban on the sale of bottle water with it’s city. The Canadian city is pushing for water fountains to be used instead of expensive and polluting water bottles.
We were selling bottled water for 1.75 dollars per liter right next to a public drinking fountain that dispensed water for less than an eighth of a cent (per liter)
The ban received an overwhelming 14-3 vote despite heavy lobbying from the beverage industry. Other major Canadian cities are also considering a similar ban including Vancouver and Ottawa. It’s great to see that a city is taking a stand against a product that is generally unnecessary. I am a little mixed on this decision though as I think people should be educated on the harmful effects that bottling water has on the environment instead of just banning the product.
Government
The Australian government released a 1600-page environmental effects study (EES) on the construction of a controversial $3.1 billion desalination plant. Even though the study says the plant will have no long-term affects on the environment, 1.4 million tons of greenhouse gases will be emitted during its construction. The government has pledged to purchase carbon credits to offset part of the emissions from the project. Even with the government support there will still be over 70,000 tons of carbon emissions still offset each year. Another concern about the plant is it could negatively affect the wildlife in the area, possibly putting several species and coral reef in great danger. The plant will be fully operational by 2011. As of right now, only 10% of the plant’s energy will be required to come from alternative energy sources. Hopefully that percentage will go way up to reduce some of the negative effects this plant will have on the environment.
