The Biggest Roadblock to Building Nuclear Plants in Ontario:skilled construction labour
Ontario’s Liberal government says we need to refurbish our province’s nuclear fleet and build another major plant near Toronto. The opposition Progressive Conservative leader, confident he will win this October’s election, says nuclear will be a cornerstone of his party’s energy policy. Indeed, as countries such as Japan, Germany and Switzerland vow to phase out their nuclear fleets, Ontario appears intent on not only preserving the 50-per-cent share of electricity that nuclear power generation supplies in this province; it is open to giving nuclear an even larger share of the power mix.
Designers Use Toyota's Technologies To Create "Idea's For Good"
With the Ideas For Good competition, Toyota has merged the two into one by opening up five of the company's innovative technologies to be used by designers to create new products that improve the world we live in. After receiving hundreds of submissions,a panel of experts chose a winning design for each technology. This weekend the winners will convene at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA where they will work with CMU engineers and deeplocal to make their ideas a reality in just two days.
GE Just Announces Largest Debt Financing This Year For a Thermal Plant in the U.S.
GE just announced the largest debt financing this year for a thermal
power plant in the US. Located in Riverside County, California, the
massive 800 MW Sentinel Facility will help facilitate the integration of
renewable energy into the power grid.
Europe's Biggest Wind Farm Starts Producing Electricity (In Scotland)
Scottish and Southern Energy's Clyde wind farm in Southern Lanarkshire will soon be the largest wind farm in Europe and it has just started producing electricity.
The wind farm will have 152 wind turbines and will be able to power up to approximately 279,000 homes. The first section of the wind farm is to be finished by the end of the year and the following to sections in 2012.
About $817 million has been invested in this wind farm according to the SSE.
Source: Clean Technica (http://s.tt/12AxQ)
Source: Clean Technica (http://s.tt/12AxQ)
Scottish and Southern Energy’s Clyde wind farm in South Lanarkshire will soon be the largest wind farm in Europe and it has just started producing electricity.
The wind farm will have 152 wind turbines and will be able to power up to approximately 279,000 homes. The first section of the wind farm is to be finished by the end of this year and the following two sections in 2012.
“Clyde is an important project for SSE and for the achievement of wider renewable energy targets and first generation of electricity from the wind farm is a key milestone,” Colin Hood, chief operating officer of SSE, said.
About $817 (£500) million have been invested in this wind farm, according to SSE.
Scotland has the goal of getting 100% of its power from renewable energy sources by 2025, perhaps the most ambitious renewable energy target in the world.
Source: Clean Technica (http://s.tt/12AxQ)
Flying Wind Farms: Future Power Harvesters
How would you like swarms of kite-like airborne turbines spinning at high altitudes sending power down via nano-tube cable tethers to generate power for your community? This could very well be a true picture of future power harvesters according to NASA. A federal fund of $100,000 is being reserved for exploring these high-altitude, nano-tube cable tethered, above-ground wind farms. The project will check all aspects as well as weigh the pros and the cons of a wind farm such as this one.
Challenges Presented:
This plan certainly presents plenty of challenges for air traffic and other unmanned aircraft by its need of a minimum 2-mile no-fly zone. The offshore option also has the extra effort of transporting the energy from sea to land-based power plants.
