MISO delivers $billions in benefits to region

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Excerpt: The Midwest Independent Service Operator says its annual Value Proposition study shows it provided between $2.2 and $2.7 billion in quantitative benefits for the region in 2011. The regional transmission organization provides the benefits through its ongoing grid reliability and efficiency measu …

Cost of wind power close to $0.03/kWh with incentive

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Excerpt: Briefing materials are available to summarize a recent analysis of onshore wind energy cost trends. The analysis was conducted jointly by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), titled: “Recent Developments in the Levelized Cost of …

Investing in capacitor banks

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Excerpt: Voltage regulation and volt ampere reactive (VAR) compensation wield the most influence over the efficiency of a power distribution system, according to Sergio Arellano, product line manager with Thomas & Betts. “The fastest way to improve the efficiency of power distribution is to install …

Where aesthetics meet engineering

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Excerpt: What do you get when you combine an architect, engineer, biologist, ecologist, and a poet? A winning entry. The Windstalk, conceived by New York collaborative design studio Atelier DNA, placed second in an international competition. Dario Nunez-Ameni of the studio explains that communities often res …

A product catalog for those who work waaay up

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Excerpt: Spider, a division of SafeWorks, LLC, announced the release of the 4th edition of its Spider Solutions Catalog, a comprehensive product catalog for the suspended-access industry. Celebrating the company’s 65th anniversary this year, the company says it has updated in-depth product information …

Lift assists improve tech moral, productivity, and safety

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Excerpt: Power Climber Wind has completed installation of 66 IBEX 1000P climb assist systems at Erie Shore Wind Farm near Port Burwell, Ontario, Canada. The wind farm is one of the largest wind power facilities in Canada, owned by Capstone Infrastructure, representing about 2.2% of installed wind capacit …

Superconducting cables closer to commercialization

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Excerpt: A developer of high temperature superconducting (HTS) materials and associated technologies says General Cable Superconductors Ltd. (GCS) has completed testing of STI's second generation (2G) HTS wire. General Cable Superconductors, a HTS continuously transposed cable provider in New Zealand, develo …

Wind energy performance map for Europe

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Excerpt: A recent map illustrates that for 2011, wind speeds were 5-10% above normal in northern Europe and up to 10% below normal in southern Europe. The data, collected by renewable energy assessment and forecasting company 3TIER,  shows departures from long-term mean wind speed with above normal area …

Weather operations now include Alberta

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Excerpt: MDA EarthSat Weather says its current wind-generation forecast product has now been expanded to include AESO (Alberta). Already providing accurate and reliable hourly forecasts for ERCOT, MISO, and BPA, PJM, CAISO and IESO, this web-based system uses state-of-the-art forecast methods to produce …

Report: O&M costs headed up

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Excerpt: A trend line suggests O&M costs actually go up over the time period of consideration, especially when considering new data as a result of this survey. This is also supported from anecdotal data suggesting an increasing trend in wind O&M costs. Scatter is also observed with the Lawrence B …