Regional Energy News – Rocky Mountain West:
Duke Energy Generation Systems is planning to build a 51-megawatt wind farm on the eastern plains of Colorado. The group, which is a commercial arm of the university, negotiated an energy purchase agreement with Tri-State Generation and Transmission, an organization of dozens of energy cooperatives in the region. The wind farm will span roughly 6,000 acres on the eastern plains and is slated to open in 2010 (Source: Charlotte Business Journal, July 6).
This wind project will connect directly into the existing Tri-State transmission lines, enabling the quick 2010 turnaround to Tri-State customers. This project is the second renewable energy partnership announced by Tri-State this year; the first was for a 30-megawatt solar generating facility located in New Mexico, which was announced in March (Source: Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, July 6).
As a non-profit network of cooperatives, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association has a very interesting operations model. Every day, Tri-State focuses on maximizing minute-to-minute energy price savings for its customers as it directs power to its grids while simultaneously adhering to a hodge-podge of regional and national regulations. In addition, Tri-State negotiates long-term deals with energy providers to help meet the same goals over longer-term time windows. As a group that’s fully accountable to its’ customers, it serves as a possible model for energy operations on a larger scale in the long-term. What’s interesting about this deal with Duke is that Tri-State is taking action to exclusively support this project, rather than simply purchasing renewable energy credits from disparate sources throughout the region.
While other energy cooperatives exist and function in largely the same manner, few if any grapple with the unique geographical challenges and sheer physical span that Tri-State does while serving large portions of Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, and New Mexico. At the very least, it will be interesting to see how many additional renewable energy projects that Tri-State either backs or outright purchases in the next few years. For more information about Tri-State, please visit their website, http://www.tristategt.org/ .
Offshore Wind Farm Study:
One of the more interesting announcements in the wind energy sector came on June 24, 2009, when the Federal Government announced that it would lease offshore land to wind-energy companies for data gathering on potential wind farm construction. The land spans an area of six to 18 miles off of New Jersey and Delaware and the idea follows suit with some established European energy strategies in countries like Denmark (Source: WindEnergyNews.com, June 24).
Without the use of some federal land, particularly in such population dense areas as the eastern seaboard, wind energy will be difficult to utilize. In addition, the densely populated areas in those regions are most in need of reliable renewable sources. If the results of the study are positive, the involved companies may be able to build wind farms within the next five years.
High Altitude Wind Power:
On the research front, a study on high altitude wind patterns was announced in the Energies Open Access Journal this June. The study looked at jet-stream driven wind patterns around 30,000 feet above sea level to assess whether or not that energy may be an efficient source for some larger cities. According to the study, wind energy potential at this altitude is up to 10 times stronger than on land (Source: WindEnergy.com, June 19).
The technology of capturing wind energy at high altitudes, however, is still tenuous at best. In order to stay in place at high altitudes, a device must include a floating or flying mechanism (an engine), which requires energy to operate and potentially renders it less efficient. An equally, if not more difficult issue is the transmission of this power to the ground. Thus far, the devices being developed for this application include sky-to-ground tether lines that would transmit the generated energy to a plan or line on land. A third, and less often discussed challenge for this method of energy collection, involves our current use of air space. Though heavily regulated and monitored above 18,000 feet, air space and flight travel may prove to be very tricky hurdles for energy companies to get over with the federal government.
Duke Energy Generation Systems is planning to build a 51-megawatt wind farm on the eastern plains of Colorado. The group, which is a commercial arm of the university, negotiated an energy purchase agreement with Tri-State Generation and Transmission, an organization of dozens of energy cooperatives in the region. The wind farm will span roughly 6,000 acres on the eastern plains and is slated to open in 2010 (Source: Charlotte Business Journal, July 6).This wind project will connect directly into the existing Tri-State transmission lines, enabling the quick 2010 turnaround to Tri-State customers. This project is the second renewable energy partnership announced by Tri-State this year; the first was for a 30-megawatt solar generating facility located in New Mexico, which was announced in March (Source: Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, July 6).
As a non-profit network of cooperatives, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association has a very interesting operations model. Every day, Tri-State focuses on maximizing minute-to-minute energy price savings for its customers as it directs power to its grids while simultaneously adhering to a hodge-podge of regional and national regulations. In addition, Tri-State negotiates long-term deals with energy providers to help meet the same goals over longer-term time windows. As a group that’s fully accountable to its’ customers, it serves as a possible model for energy operations on a larger scale in the long-term. What’s interesting about this deal with Duke is that Tri-State is taking action to exclusively support this project, rather than simply purchasing renewable energy credits from disparate sources throughout the region.
While other energy cooperatives exist and function in largely the same manner, few if any grapple with the unique geographical challenges and sheer physical span that Tri-State does while serving large portions of Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, and New Mexico. At the very least, it will be interesting to see how many additional renewable energy projects that Tri-State either backs or outright purchases in the next few years. For more information about Tri-State, please visit their website, http://www.tristategt.org/ .
Offshore Wind Farm Study:
One of the more interesting announcements in the wind energy sector came on June 24, 2009, when the Federal Government announced that it would lease offshore land to wind-energy companies for data gathering on potential wind farm construction. The land spans an area of six to 18 miles off of New Jersey and Delaware and the idea follows suit with some established European energy strategies in countries like Denmark (Source: WindEnergyNews.com, June 24).
Without the use of some federal land, particularly in such population dense areas as the eastern seaboard, wind energy will be difficult to utilize. In addition, the densely populated areas in those regions are most in need of reliable renewable sources. If the results of the study are positive, the involved companies may be able to build wind farms within the next five years.
High Altitude Wind Power:On the research front, a study on high altitude wind patterns was announced in the Energies Open Access Journal this June. The study looked at jet-stream driven wind patterns around 30,000 feet above sea level to assess whether or not that energy may be an efficient source for some larger cities. According to the study, wind energy potential at this altitude is up to 10 times stronger than on land (Source: WindEnergy.com, June 19).
The technology of capturing wind energy at high altitudes, however, is still tenuous at best. In order to stay in place at high altitudes, a device must include a floating or flying mechanism (an engine), which requires energy to operate and potentially renders it less efficient. An equally, if not more difficult issue is the transmission of this power to the ground. Thus far, the devices being developed for this application include sky-to-ground tether lines that would transmit the generated energy to a plan or line on land. A third, and less often discussed challenge for this method of energy collection, involves our current use of air space. Though heavily regulated and monitored above 18,000 feet, air space and flight travel may prove to be very tricky hurdles for energy companies to get over with the federal government.
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