Wind Blog

I was notified this morning that we have provisional approval to operate the new turbines. So I jumped into the car, and drove the 10 minutes to the site, and pressed “Start”. The winds were about 20 m/sec (75 km/hr) – more than enough to produce at capacity. One turbine had an error that prevented it from starting – it was a safety switch on the hatch into the nacelle. When the hatch is opened, the turbine shuts down, to prevent a technician from working in the nacelle while the turbine is operating. The latch needed a quick fix. Vestas had it fixed within 2 hours. The turbines are producing at capacity, and have been all day. We will probably produce 80,000 kWh today – enough to power 100 homes for a month.
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Jason Margolis reports on Ontario’s standard offer contracts on BBC World. I hear the details on the Standard Offer will be out on Nov 6. A good report. And Energy Minister Dwight Duncan shows an impressive grasp of the topic. The global warming story is worth a listen too. Seems I’m not the only one who believes that climate change will cost us a lot. Perhaps we should try to do something about it?
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There are some interesting design tradeoffs evident in the Vestas V82 and V80.  The tradeoffs no doubt affect the overall lifetime costs of the equipment.

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I just returned from the annual conference of the Canadian Wind Energy Association in Winnipeg. I had a few errands to run.

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Piedmont Biofuels is open! The plant in North Carolina made its first batch of bio diesel – 1250 gallons. That’s equal in energy content to about 50,000 kWh, which will be a good day when the three turbines are spinning. Way to go ! The fuel supply of Chatham County just got a bit cleaner. If it were gasoline, that would be enough to drive my car 31,000 km. Blogging is easy on a day like this.

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The Federal government, to much fanfare, announced the Clean Air Act today. It is truly remarkable in its content. It basically commits the government to making no progress on cleaner air within its mandate.
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Today, it was 2nd down, and 1/2 yard to go. And we didn’t cross the finish line. The two new turbines will produce no power tonight. And likely no power tomorrow, or Thursday. And who knows for how long. Arrrrrrrgggghhhh!!!!!
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I live in Bruce County, where many young people leave the area to go to school, and to find work. But the Flow Away from Bruce Complex is not a medical condition, or a state of mind. Nor does it describe the population flows of young people.
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The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) ruled yesterday to cut regulated prices for consumers.  The rate will drop from 5.8 cents/kWh for the first 1000 kWh to 5.5 cents, and from 6.7 to 6.4 cents for anything above 1000 kWh.  The rates go into place on November 1.
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The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) is a vital voice for the wind industry. It is essential that anyone who has aspirations in the wind business join, and if possible, attend the annual conference. It is held in Winnipeg this year – very appropriate since the Manitoba government has announced intentions to install 1000 MW of wind above and beyond their current 100 MW.

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