wind

It's been ages since I posted a Netbook deal, in part because the entire product category seems to have stagnated, and in part because prices haven't budged in months.

In honor of Cyber Monday, Office Depot is budging a little: you can get the MSI Wind L1350-436US 10-inch Netbook (blue) for $199.99 shipped (plus sales tax in some states).

Update: Ack! This is already sold out (though try checking back later, as Office Depot may add more stock). Newegg has a similarly equipped Asus Eee PC 1001PX-EU17-BK for $199.99 shipped (no sales tax in most states!), … Read more

The Obama administration yesterday unveiled plans to begin issuing new offshore wind energy leases as soon as next year under an accelerated approval process.

The U.S. Interior Department said it will work to identify high-priority areas off the Atlantic coast for offshore wind energy development, as well as revise regulations to simplify the leasing process as part of its new initiative.

"To fully harness the economic and energy benefits of our nation's vast Atlantic wind potential we need to implement a smart permitting process that is efficient, thorough, and unburdened by needless red tape," Interior Secretary … Read more

Massachusetts utility regulators today approved the initial power purchase agreement for Cape Wind, bringing the controversial offshore wind farm product closer to construction.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities approved a 15-year power purchase agreement between Cape Wind and utility National Grid to buy half of the electricity produced at the proposed farm in the Nantucket Sound off the coast of Cape Cod.

The rates at which National Grid agreed to purchase power from Cape Wind are above market rates. But the Department of Public Utilities concluded that Cape Wind is in the public interest and the prices are acceptable … Read more

The Philadelphia Eagles stadium will run on self-generated energy as of September 2011.

The football franchise made the announcement today at a press conference Webcast from Lincoln Financial Field that was attended by Eagles owners Jeffrey and Christina Lurie, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell, and SolarBlue CEO Lee Maher.

The Eagles franchise believes Lincoln Financial Field will be the first major stadium in the world to convert completely to self-generated energy.

The team has partnered with renewable energy company SolarBlue, who is now "the official energy provider of the Philadelphia Eagles," according to … Read more

There's a small cadre of companies trying to crack into the wind power business with a seemingly improbable approach: making machines that work in low-wind areas.

V Squared Wind (V2 Wind) today is competing as a finalist in the Clean Tech Open competition in Santa Clara, Calif., where it will reveal details on the technology it's developing. The company has been funded by friends and family until now and is looking to raise money.

The two founders of V2 Wind have designed an unconventional device which they say taps into an area of fluid dynamics that few other … Read more

Wind data provider Onsemble announced today that it's completed a sensor network capable of tracking the wind data near 95 percent of the wind farms in Texas.

The Onsemble Network sensors, which collect data on wind speed, direction, and temperature, were placed on cell phone towers between 80 meters and 120 meters above the ground. As with other wind data sensor systems, the data is relayed back to a central hub and analyzed by a computer program to predict future behavior.

In the case of wind forecasting, Onsemble says collecting wind speeds at such heights, close to the height … Read more

The U.S. wind power industry had its slowest quarter since 2007 in the just-ended third quarter, as investors turned away from the sector after Congress did not pass a renewable power mandate, an industry group said.

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) said U.S. developers added 395 megawatts of electricity capacity at wind farms in the third quarter--the slowest quarter since 2007. Year-to-date installations of 1,634 MW, were down 72 percent versus the same period last year.

The U.S. Senate has not passed a national renewable energy mandate that would have required power utilities to … Read more

Swedish energy company Vattenfall announced today that it's partnering with Germany's largest utility to build a massive offshore wind farm in the North Sea at a cost of about 1 billion euros ($1.4 billion) .

The DanTysk wind farm will consist of giant wind turbines supplied by Siemens and spaced out over a 70-square-kilometer area about 70 kilometers (42 miles) west of the German island of Sylt. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2012 and to wrap up by the start of 2014.

Once complete, the 288-megawatt wind farm is expected to produce about 1,320 gigawatt-hours of … Read more

Wind energy could be supplying 22 percent of the world's power generation by 2030--and 12 percent as soon as 2020.

That's according to the most aggressive estimate on wind energy in a report released today and funded by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and Greenpeace.

The 60-page Global Wind Energy Outlook 2010 (PDF) offers three scenarios for how the wind energy industry may develop between 2010 and 2030 depending on the political will, growing energy needs, corporate manufacturing development, and grid infrastructure changes.

The most optimistic estimate--based on what the GWEC believes would happen in the event … Read more