Archive for Alternative Energy
Earth Day Inspired- Make Some ‘Green’
Posted by: | CommentsAs Earth Day approaches and passes, we should take a moment to appreciate the fragile planet we live on, especially in the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake, resulting tsunami, and pending nuclear disaster. Helping the planet all starts with little actions we all can do; recycling for instance. Many of us have unused and/ or outdated electronic equipment, when standards for electronic components were not as strict and may contain harmful substances like lead. Recycling or even selling these products can yield to cash in your pocket; money that can help offset the eventual purchase of newer, faster, and safer products.
Solar Expansion Losing Some of its Shine
Posted by: | CommentsMuch like the global power management semiconductor market (which has direct ties in with the solar market), expansion in the photovoltaic (PV) market is projected to decline somewhat in 2011, down 6% from 2010. This is due to a couple of reasons. First, production capability is starting to match demand. Another is the German market, which dominates the global solar market. Increasing feed-in tariffs and the expiration of buyer incentives has made the market stagnate. However, China will be doing its part to drive spending, many companies becoming vertically integrated. Most of the top 10 companies are Chinese, which will consume nearly half of total capacity expansion in 2011.
American Wind Energy Powering Up
Posted by: | CommentsMove over Henry Ford. Atlantic Wind & Solar is planning to create an automotive-style assembly line for wind turbines. It’s a move that could dramatically boost the wind energy industry in the United States. And it’s one more sign that companies with ties to the American wind industry – especially component manufacturers – should be gearing up for a big boost in demand.
According to the U.S. Energy Department, our country’s share of the wind turbine market has already grown from less than 30% in 2005 to about 50% in 2008, adding roughly 8,400 jobs in 2008 alone. But more is coming. Twenty-eight states have passed laws mandating that utilities get a percentage of their power from renewable sources like wind. Nordex USA – a U.S. subsidiary of a German wind turbine manufacturer – has broken ground on a new plant in Arkansas that will produce 300 turbines a year by 2012. And now Atlantic Wind and Solar is hoping to create an automated fabrication line that would pump out a completed 1.5 Mw wind turbine every hour. That’s 2,080 windmills each year.
Where will Nordex, Atlantic and companies like them get their components? Right here in the U.S.A.
How do I know? Because experts agree that a local supply chain is more important in wind turbine manufacturing and assembly than in many other industries. Over 8,000 components go into a completed wind turbine. Unlike, say, the electronics industry, those parts are not tiny, easy-to-ship microchips. Many are big and heavy, which means transporting them internationally costs big bucks. That makes now the time for component suppliers to lay the groundwork for growth in this expanding market, building up an infrastructure that will get all those windmills turning.
