MINDblowing Copenhagen

Denmark will generate 50% of its electricity from wind energy by 2020. Copenhagen will be CO2 neutral by 2025. Copenhagen will show Europe and the rest of the world how to become carbon neutral by 2025! Truly MINDblowing!

100KW Energy Storage System On Gigha

Creag Bhan, Isle of Gigha

Energy Cooperatives Ireland (ECI) reports that Irish renewable energy storage company RedT has acquiried a £3.5M grant from the UK Department of Energy (DECC) to develop a utility scale energy storage system on the Scottish Island of Gigha.

The Gigha project will involve the installation of a 100KW/1.26 MWH RedT vanadium redox battery (VRB) system which will enable the island’s community to maximize the benefits of renewable energy supplied by its wind turbines. This utility scale system will be a valuable proving ground for the technology at the utility scale which could provide the most viable solution to the renewable energy intermittency issue.

Connemara Ireland Wind Turbine Installation

The video set to music by the Marcus Hernon family is of the installation of the Proven Energy 6kW wind turbine supplied by RES Wicklow by Paraic Conneely Electrical in Connemara, Co Galway.

School Wants Credit For Energy It Produces

Note the wind turbine in the school's crest!

A school in Co Galway yesterday turned its playground into a farmyard complete with livestock in an unusual protest directed at the Government’s energy policy. Lisheenkyle National School, four miles from Athenry, Co Galway, claims to be the only school in the Republic with its own wind turbine.

Teachers and pupils were protesting against restrictive green energy regulations that preclude a school – as opposed to a farm or other kind of enterprise – from obtaining credits or cash for the wind energy it produces out of school hours. As the turbine quietly sliced the air in the windswept school yard, the pupils eagerly got involved in the “farm sit-in”. They petted a pony, a calf, chickens and pups brought along for the day by local farmers, parents and friends.

Scotland Shows The Way On Community Ownership

Public opinion is largely in favor of wind energy in Germany and Denmark -- arguably Europe's original wind powerhouses. This social acceptance is driven by a high ownership of projects by communities since the 1980s. Nearly half of the total wind capacity in Germany is owned by farmers or cooperatives, while in Denmark, the figure is 88%. Indeed, in Germany, the public has embraced the idea so wholeheartedly that in some parts of the country it is generally accepted that the only people who can build a wind farm are those living in that area and such projects are expected to be virtually immune to legal challenge.

On the other side of the North Sea, however, such involvement by communities in wind farm development is almost unheard of. When plans for a wind farm are unveiled in the UK, most of the action tends to come from those in opposition, while those in favor often remain silent. Permitting rates by project dropped to 54% in the UK in 2011. If involvement by communities has had such positive benefits in Germany and Denmark, why has it not taken off in the UK?

Global Wind Day Photo Competition

Wind energy is more than a technology. It is our past, our present imperative and our future. It captures the imagination, inspires, fascinates and captivates. We each have a wind energy story to tell – so why not share yours? "Discover the Power of Wind Energy" is a photo competition by Global Wind Day.

Entries must be received by May 5, 2013. Click here for the entry form and more information.

Ádh mór ort!

Aesthetic Aero Art

Horst Gläsker Aero Art - A novel combination of aesthetics and technology.

Life's A Breeze!

Life's a breeze. And then you thrive!

Discover the wonders of clean, renewable energy from wind. Life is a breeze!

Local Farmers Get On Board With Wind Co-op

 

Local farmers are propelling wind power through leasing their land for the development of Northern Ireland’s first wind energy co-operative – Drumlin Wind Energy Co-op – and are calling on the rest of the agri-sector to invest in and benefit from this democratic venture.

Drumlin Wind Energy Co-operative has launched a public share offer and is aiming to raise up to £3.4m to build five 250KW single wind turbines across five sites in Northern Ireland including Pomeroy, Kells, Larne and Ballyclare. The innovative model allows local people to take direct ownership of renewable energy, deriving both financial and environmental benefits from the scheme. Individuals, businesses and organisations may invest between £250 and £20,000 in the shares, which are eligible for Enterprise Investment Tax Relief at 30%, and will receive an attractive return on their investment averaging approximately 7% – 10% per annum over a 20 year period. The share offer period ends on 21st September 2012.