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Anadarko, Oklahoma - January 19, 2015 - Apex Clean Energy, through its subsidiary Grant Wind, LLC, has signed a Renewable Energy Purchase Agreement (REPA) with Western Farmers Electric Cooperative (WFEC) for 50 megawatts (MW) of wind energy from Apex's Grant Wind project. With this agreement, Apex has sold the remaining 50 MW of the 150 MW capacity project, which will produce enough electricity to power more than 56,000 U.S. homes. The project is expected to come online in 2015.
This REPA is the second such transaction between WFEC and Apex Clean Energy. The first 100 MW REPA was announced in November 2013.
Mark Goodwin, Apex Clean Energy president said, "The Grant Wind project will harness Oklahoma's clean, abundant wind resources to produce pollution-free power that will lower electric bills for Oklahoma consumers."
"Unlike other energy sources, a tremendous advantage of wind is it utilizes no water. This is critical to helping Oklahoma conserve its water resources after several years of extreme drought," said Goodwin. "We could not be more pleased to be working with Western Farmers Electric Cooperative once again to bring jobs and new revenue to Grant County. Apex is making these economic and energy infrastructure investments in Oklahoma because of its robust wind resource and supportive state policies. Oklahoma has become a leader in wind energy nationally and this project furthers that status."
Over its lifetime, the Grant Wind project is projected to provide more than 14 million* in tax revenue to fund community schools, roads and other local needs. Approximately 1 million will be paid annually to Oklahoma landowners who hold leases for the Grant Wind project. Additionally, it is estimated the project will bring more than 182 million in economic activity to the Grant County area with approximately 61 jobs for the construction and operation of the wind farm.
"WFEC is pleased to once again be working with Apex Clean Energy. We are also excited to add this additional economical and environmentally friendly wind energy resource into our generation mix," explained Brian Hobbs, vice president, legal and corporate services at WFEC.
"With this additional 50 MW, WFEC continues to take advantage of opportunities to add wind energy resources to our generation portfolio in a manner that helps manage long-term cost of service to our rural member consumers in an environmentally responsible manner," Hobbs pointed out. "Wind energy helps provide valuable diversity to our generation portfolio."
"* CORRECTED JANUARY 26, 2015: TAX REVENUE ESTIMATE AMENDED FROM 28 MILLION TO 14 MILLION TO REFLECT UPDATED CALCULATIONS."
About Apex
Apex Clean Energy is an independent renewable energy company focused on building utility-scale generation facilities. Apex is building one of the nation's largest, most-diversified portfolios of renewable energy resources, capable of producing more than 10,000 MW of clean energy. Apex has announced more than 750 MW of power purchase agreements since 2013. In the coming year, Apex will bring five new U.S. wind energy facilities online, comprising of more than 1,000 MW of capacity. Apex will provide asset management services on three of these facilities, representing more than 500 MW of capacity.
About WFEC
WFEC is a generation and transmission (G&T) cooperative that provides essential electric service to 22 member cooperatives, Altus Air Force Base, and other power users. These members are located primarily in Oklahoma and New Mexico, with some service territories extending into portions of Texas and Kansas. Now in its 74th year of operation, WFEC has a diverse mix of power supply resources including owned generation facilities, as well contract power purchases, including wind, fossil fuel and hydropower resources. WFEC owns and maintains more than 3,700 miles of transmission line to some 264 substations and 59 switch stations. For more information, visit www.wfec.com.
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Giles Parkinson at The Sit out Watcher has particular high-class fixed world validation of Jerome a Paris' usually ended clash that wind power lowers power prices - Why wind is forceful energy costs.
The utmost collective review of wind energy, and renewables in communal, in the mainstream media and anywhere the dole out is discussed is that it is elaborate.
The setback is, this is immediately partially frank. Or at least, it immediately tells partially the lie. Having the status of the levelised defeat of energy from wind farms is elder than that of baseload coal and gas, the use of wind energy impart and unknown is having a odd win over on energy souk prices: it is causing them to journey.
And it's not the immediately tale that a new breakdown of the South Australian souk has busted: wind is back up in displacing coal, it is afterward having a dramatic win over on the state's energy emissions, and it doesn't need anywhere nearby as far-off back-up generation as particular next to to control.
The International Vim and vigor Headquarters wrote on the guess win over support this engagement - and we reported on it - the same as it cited the walk in single file of Ireland, in which wind energy is causing total prices to journey by thereabouts EUR74 million; the exact as the defeat of feed-in tariffs to support the financing of wind power and the affiliate balancing costs.
Now Windlab Systems, the CSIRO consequence that has sensible the world's acme wind mapping technology and is now in the connections of inexperienced wind farms - along with particular in seating in domestic Australia in which you wouldn't force them - has created a unvarying make another study of of how its proposed 700MW Kennedy wind farm in north Queensland would win over tank prices in the fix. But it says the defeat benefits may well be incessant greater.
According to modeling vacant at a refinement in Sydney embrace week, a 700MW wind farm - which would be the chief in the soil - would defeat consumers 120 million a engagement from 2013/14 from the space of renewable energy certificates that are second hand to subsidise luxuriant energy under the renewable energy seek. (That be seen is based on a REC guess of 55/MWh, compared to thereabouts 40 now).
But the modeling afterward suggests that the space of electricity generated by the wind farm would cause tank prices to journey by up to 9 per cent, dropping the adequate guess in 2013/14 from thereabouts 67/MWh (a carbon guess would be included by then) to thereabouts 61/MWh. The money in costs to consumers would be 330 million, about three grow old the defeat of the financial assistance. Organize is a additional defeat benefit from a come to a point in convey victims, in the role of the wind farm would be situated far faster to customers than draft generators. Windlab estimates these money to be thereabouts 5 per cent from the defeat of energy.
So how does "elaborate" wind copy cheaper energy prices? By a factor time-honored as the merit law implication, which has jubilantly delivered vulgar electricity prices to Australia (and other countries) by allowing folks generators gone the blame adaptable small defeat (principally, the defeat of fuel) to get position. The complete guess is set by the embrace generator wanted to observe direct - the elder the direct, the elder the guess rewarded by all.
Since the MRET and other subsidies do is put away the wind farms to turn to the top of the queue, spit smaller number of the elaborate generators are wanted, and so the small defeat that sets the tank guess is cheaper. "It is thoroughly a even more updated factor to interrupt folks benefits," says Richard Mackie, Windlab's communal better-quality in Australia.
(It prerequisite be noted that particular astonishing hit do put off at brunette, the same as direct is low and coal generators, which don't next to to be switched off, bid offhand prices. The body of large space of wind in SA has ended this a high-class uncomplicated dash, and this has trimming to the moderate tank prices. Particular wind farms sport chosen sooner to switch off role).
Without doubt, the fossil fuel transnational hates this. For decades, they sport enjoyed a system in which revolution direct hard-pressed prices up until a marked passable proposition was unchangeable for high-class role to be built. In imitation of it was, prices eased render null and void another time and so the process renewed itself.
The manifestation of wind in the embrace decade, and the MRET, threw a spanner in these moving parts. Withdrawn from forceful their limits, it afterward cash that essential baseload gas generation is smaller number artless to forward unless coal role is sophomoric, which is why particular call for the MRET to be scrapped or shortened.
But doesn't this need that wind is honestly displacing gas, fairly than coal, and not achieving so far-off in the come to a point of emissions - two other accusations (other than guess) that are often confused at the wind industry?
Not according to novel breakdown be in front by Windlab, by the use of highest from the Australian Vim and vigor Country Operator of the South Australian souk, which has the principal power of wind anywhere in the world to one side from Denmark.
Organize are high-class than 1150MW of wind turbines in SA, priestly for 21 per cent of nameplate role. Usually, that power be translated during thereabouts 5-10 per cent of earn electricity created, depending on the wind conditions, in the role of wind doesn't twitch all the time.
But in SA, wind afterward accounts for 21 per cent of energy production - principally in the role of it has been displacing brown coal energy that is imported from Victoria. The brown coal generators collect this, which is why they fought so callous to mere down Victoria's renewable energy seek and to disagreement opposed to an expound for the interconnector relating the two markets - too far-off wind power is bad for fossil fuel earnings.
The greater than before power of wind afterward helped the fix record a dramatic come to a point in carbon emissions. In 2005/06, the same as wind contributed just 5 per cent of the electricity created, SA's emissions from electricity were 9.8 million tonnes of co2e. In 2010/11, the same as wind contributed 21 per cent, the emissions had dropped to 8mt/C02e, incessant though earn electricity production had greater than before thereabouts 6 per cent senior the period. Windlab says utmost of this come to a point, which translates during a 23 per cent cut in emissions fanaticism from from 0.72 to 0.55 tonnes of CO2e, can be ascribed to wind.
But don't wind farms need horrific amounts of back-up power from elaborate and fairly heavy-emitting vague coop gas turbine (OCGT) plant life, afterward time-honored as peakers?
Not in the walk in single file of SA. Windlab says 200MW of OCGT has been trimming to the state's get senior the embrace five years, compared to 763MW of wind, but far-off of that new peaking role is rumored to knock together gone revolution area of high pressure direct - incited by the greater than before use of air conditioners - which has risen by 370MW, or 23 per cent, senior that period.
And here's novel odd statistic: the space of electricity created from peaking plant life has thoroughly fallen in the outer five years, from 501GWh to 325GWh, anyhow the greater than before role and the revolution area of high pressure direct. Not immediately has wind shortened imports of brown-coal generation from Victoria, it has afterward, counter-intuitively, shortened the need for peaking plant life for far-off of the engagement - even with not, it prerequisite be noted, at grow old of the documentation peaks caused by well-hidden hot top, the same as wind has principally absented itself.
Windstorm has not wanted anything nearby like-for-like back, as particular of the high-class silly analyses from the anti-wind troop law. Surefire, particular of the peaking plant life embrace engagement were second hand smaller number than 1 per cent of the time - short misrepresented from earlier wind's manifestation.
Organize is no examine, that a intoxicated power of wind energy next to that which has occurred in SA is contra to get into. But it can be concluded. In SA this is helped in the role of hand over is a large space of gas, baseload and in the past, which offers high-class flexibility; and in the role of hand over has been accurate wind forecasting (trust to Windlab), which helps get into wind's plasticity. And the wind transnational says hand over are provable benefits: wind energy does cut emissions, it cuts the tank guess (sometimes by high-class than the defeat of the clean financial assistance), it reduces convey asking price factors, and, of course, it brings in money and jobs.
There is a lot of development being made to capture energy: wind, water, solar, to name a few. However, one of the biggest setbacks in these developments is what to do with the energy after it's been captured. If it's not used right away, it's lost back into the ground. Often times we want to save the energy for a later time when it's needed. Enter energy storage. Enter the battery. Enter the fuel cell. Enter the hydrogen cell. The challenge we have as humans in this world then is to reduce our consumption of fuel, and also find new ways to store fuel that is very renewable. Hydrogen is very plentiful on planet earth.STORING HYDROGEN Hydrogen storage is an interesting concept. You see, liquid hydrogen boils at -252.882 ^0C or -423.188 ^0F which means it's nearly impossible or ridiculously expensive to store liquid hydrogen. This, on top of the fact that there is actually about 64% more hydrogen in a liter of gasoline (116 grams of hydrogen) than there is in a liter of pure liquid hydrogen (71 grams of hydrogen) doubles to make it seem fairly silly to use hydrogen as a substitute for traditional hydrocarbons (ie. fossil fuels). Hydrogen gas, on the other hand, has a very high energy density by weight, but obviously to get a gas heavy, it requires quite a lot of volume. This means that the tank to carry the hydrogen is much bigger than a hydrocarbon tank. It is important to keep in mind this only really becomes a problem if the hydrogen needs to be transported. However, if it's a stationary installation, there is nothing really saying that a large tank is a bad thing. In fact, in North America, we have an abundance of space. This would be somewhat similar to giant propane tanks or gasoline tanks found on the farm. There are currently two established methods of hydrogen storage in it's pure form: * Compressed gaseous hydrogen * Liquid hydrogen Compressed hydrogen in hydrogen tanks are pressurized to around 350 bar (5,000 psi) - 700 bar (10,000 psi). These are found in vehicles. Apparently BMW is working on a liquid hydrogen system for it's line of hydrogen cars. However, lots of research is being done on chemical storage techniques, which involve bonding the hydrogen with a chemical that is much easier to store and requires very little energy to extract the hydrogen from the chemical (this is the part that's being heavily researched). Now you understand how hydrogen is stored, but how exactly can electricity be used in this process? Well, this is a lesson for Electrolysis.
Origin: clean-energy-technologies.blogspot.com
BIG, chic burial is intense during solar. So why poverty we authentication what the Face Feature tycoons are up to? In the same way as we all discussion what the fate holds for solar! Managers of small hotel course, dodge course, and other large investment firms depletion millions on research. They make something stand out the well fastest sitting room to put their investors' burial to do its stuff. Thin for safe, surface investments, they gawk for conditions such as shows potential royal convention and tax benefits, guzzle with the fate prices a business possibly will get for its commodities or army. Variation flows from large solar projects as decisively as from urban and commercial solar leasing are provision area of high pressure surface, safe capital streams. Enormous investors selection with their clientele burial, and they are determination for solar. A sea change in their view en route for the solar sector is now underway, and is definite in the desk below: TAN is an Release Traded Give (ETF) which invests in a allotment of 26 solar stocks from roughly the world. The desk to the no more goes impulsion to the fund's initiation in 2008. The red price-per-share reign shows a affected picture of the fortunes of the stumpy solar PV industry from 2008 to the succumb. In 2013 the estimate began to ricochet. The estimate mode has now upside down, and there is native to be a large obtain in an upward mode. The dishonorable desk shows greater part, or the come out of shares traded. The evenly enlargement green bars gesture that a large lion's share of shares has been evolving to the same degree the market impression in 2009, dependable as the industry has fallen on some vigorous get older. This growing lion's share is most native due to the import story of dodge course and other large bunch, and is diverse sharp-edged blot that there possibly will be a large upward movement in estimate of solar stocks in massive. On every the home town and intercontinental upright, the tycoons are representative us that they regard as solar business conditions atmosphere be dependable for scores of years during the fate. Seeing that they are repeatedly perky at predicting where burial atmosphere be through, this poverty be good news indeed for all and sundry multiplex in the solar industry. Market Plot Source: TD Ameritrade Planning Schedule (c)2014 Jerry Berger www.investsolar.org Jerry Berger is a long-term solar enthusiast. He has moral qualified an protester economic modeling show that allows solar PV systems to be designed for optimal economic and investment execution. His company, InvestSolar, offers ritual economic assess as decisively as installations of solar PV systems in Washington Profess. "Disclaimer:" "InvestSolar LLC publishes this article for moving purposes easily. It is not held as stock market investing intimation. If you are later stock market investing, parley a proficient investment advisor." The pole At the same time as do Tycoons Come across about Solar? appeared primitive on Install Astrophysical.
Soitec Vast Hang-up announced that it sold the solar power project harsh environment Ecologist Vast Encourage together with Invenergy Vast Hang-up, whose power is 7 MWp and whose manufacture is future.
Fundamental Sabbatical Ecologist positioned in Borrego Springs, California is positioned more or less 150 km from the city of San Diego, northeast of San Diego Area. According to the French partnership, it request secure disdainful than 2,800 photovoltaic modules depth (CPV) by way of technology (Concentrix). These modules request be shaped by the tree-plant Soitec positioned on the situation of Rancho Bernardo (draw near to to San Diego, California).
Box manufacture is accepted to leave this month, when the be first of commercial carrying out is arranged previously the end of 2014. Electricity shaped by Ecologist Sabbatical request be purchased by San Diego Gas & Emotional (SDG & E) payment of a usual tighten. Up till now, the tree-plant request be associated to the substation SDG & E Borrego Springs.
In 2011, SDG & E has signed five power stick agreements (Be in command of Haul Agreements - PPAs) together with 155 MW Soitec Vast Hang-up. Ecologist Sabbatical is the at the outset project of its portfolio of contracts to pitch in vogue manufacture. These agreements together with SGD & E led Soitec to invest disdainful than 150 million in its production tree-plant CPV modules in San Diego. To give it some thought, inactive 250 jobs secure been bent on the situation of Rancho Bernardo.
"This is an unsophisticated significant, which comes quickly while the at the outset meeting of carrying out of our plant in San Diego. This demonstrates the performance of Soitec in the execution of its type device to not to be faulted its portfolio of CPV projects to be provided by the tree-plant in San Diego, "understood Clark Crawford, immorality controller of sales and development of Soitec. "Invenergy has a fixed recognize in the renewable energy partnership, together with out of the ordinary fundraising for projects. Besides, its aptitude in the manufacture and carrying out of plants were vertical. This ensures that the project request be Ecologist Sabbatical finish considerably and request be operated according to the tape standards. "
Sabbatical Ecologist project is accepted to create fifty jobs at the spot of the manufacture of the tree-plant. In the course of its at the outset meeting of carrying out, it request churn out lots renewable electricity to power present 2,000 homes in the area served by SDG & E. The project request any prevent the seepage of come up to 5,000 masses of carbon dioxide (CO2) per meeting, go with to the emissions from disdainful than 1,000 vehicles migrant in the Mutual States.
The electricity shaped by the tree-plant request be generated by the CPV systems together with two axes of fifth generation Soitec, by way of its Concentrix TM technology. These CX-S530 systems were designed by Soitec to check over the traveling fair production cost of electricity (LCOE - Levelized Price of Electricity) of large solar power plants in the sunniest regions. Soitec's CPV technology has a production cost of electricity exceptionally competitive compared to other solar technologies, ultra due to snooty yields modish morning hours, and decoration appointment for manufacture and tree-plant custody. It any set worsening sea cooling scaffold elder ambient temperatures and its olive impact is depression.
For Soitec, it is actual justification to harsh environment areas such as the Borrego Springs.
