wind

GE confirms that wind turbine supply is getting worse

The wind turbine shortage is growing, General Electric has confirmed.

The industrial conglomerate said in its conference call with analysts last Friday that the backlog of wind turbines--i.e. orders that have booked but can't ship--has grown to $12 billion. That's up from $11 billion in the fourth quarter and more than twice the size of the backlog in the first quarter a year ago.

Earlier this month, wind park developers and analysts said that a shortage of wind turbines has forced power providers to push projects into the future and juggle supplier agreements. Some have even speculated … Read more

Study: In Texas, wind power beats natural gas

Wind power is worth it, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

ERCOT studied the costs and benefits of wind power in three scenarios and concluded that expanding wind power in Texas would outweigh the total costs of boosting the state's electrical grid with conventional technologies. (Renewable Energy Access has a more detailed story here.)

The organization estimated the costs of putting in 5.1 gigawatts (GW), 11.6GW, and 18GW of new wind energy as well as the required grid connections. The 5.1GW plan would bring with it a $3.8 billion premium, but save $1.… Read more

Small wind: Mariah Power lands cash for spire-shaped turbine

Mariah Power said on Wednesday that it has raised additional funding to bring its small wind turbine to market.

The company said it has secured $500,000 in funding from venture capital firm Big Sky Partners. As part of the investment, Michael Schwab of Big Sky Partners will join Mariah Power's board.

Mariah Power, based in Reno, Nev., makes a ground-mounted vertical-axis wind turbine that is designed for people's homes or businesses. It's expected to be available later this month for about $4,000.

Company Mike Hess told Greentech Media that its forthcoming spire-shaped Windspire turbine can … Read more

Wind turbines in short supply

Want some turbines to build a wind power park? Get in line.

High demand--coupled with the engineering challenges of building turbines that can extract hundreds of kilowatts or megawatts of power from the wind--has created a shortage. Wind park developers, thus, are being forced to jostle their plans and supply line relationships to keep projects on track.

If you order now, you might not get turbines until late 2009 or later.

"There has been a backlog for a significant period of time. The lead time is around a year to a year and a half," said Myke Clark, … Read more

Intel cracks open Atom-based MID

Intel has posted a video showing the inside of a device using the Atom processor as it rolls out five new Atom chips at the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai.

Video here.

Intel Ultra Mobile guru, Uday Keshavdas, cracked open the back of a mobile Internet device (MID) to show where the Atom processor fits in--literally. (No teardown here. Cracking open the back of the device doesn't qualify.)

The low-cost Atom processor is a technology centerpiece at the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai.

The chipmaker on Wednesday introduced five new Atom processors and Intel Centrino Atom processor technology for … Read more

MSI Wind: Another Eee PC rival blows in

Every man and his dog is making a rival to the Eee PC, and understandably so--cheap, tiny laptops are the shape of things to come. The latest to join the fray is the unfortunately named MSI Wind, which was spotted doing the rounds at CeBIT 2008 in Germany.

It's a little larger than the standard Eee PC and more customizable, so it manages to incorporate either an 8- or a 10-inch display and a keyboard that looks reasonably comfortable to work on. It's said to be based on the forthcoming Intel Shelton '08 platform, with processor speeds ranging … Read more

Ireland: Where wind power is king

DUBLIN, Ireland--It's easier here than in most industrialized nations to green the electrical grid.

Peak demand for electricity in the Republic of Ireland comes to about 5,000 megawatts, Graham Brennan, program manager for renewable-energy research and development at Sustainable Energy Ireland, the government's green-technology arm, said in an interview in SEI's Dublin offices. The peak occurred last December, at 4,907 megawatts.

Studies show that onshore and offshore wind turbines located in the republic could deliver approximately 5,000 megawatts of power over both parts of the island, he added. This figure takes into account only … Read more

GE: Doing cleantech the right way

I have long had a respect for GE (NYSE:GE), and how it runs its business. In cleantech, I am very, very jealous. They have made themselves into the company to beat. Whether by plan, luck, or simply applying sound business discipline, GE has made itself into a top 3 global cleantech player no matter happens. And they did it for a fraction of the price, and a lot less risk than anyone in Silicon Valley or the energy sector. Venture capitalists beware, in cleantech, the behemoths have beat you to the punch, have done it cheaper, faster, and with … Read more

Free Web map shows where the wind blows

When it comes to wind energy, knowing how hard the wind blows is like knowing how much oil you have in the ground.

Renewable-energy assessment company 3Tier released a map that depicts the wind "resources" around the world on Monday at the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC) 2008.

The Firstlook map, which uses Google Maps, falls under the 3Tier initiative "Remapping the World," which the company says marks the first time valuable wind resource information has been made available for free.

Before erecting any turbine, wind developers need to choose a spot carefully and then … Read more