Wind power builds bridges between Israel and Palestine
A Palestinian company and another from Israel have announced a unique joint wind power development project that shows working together can bring real benefits to the troubled Middle East.
Despite the deadly flotilla incident near Gaza, Brothers Group Engineering Company from Bethlehem and Israel Wind Power near Tel Aviv hope to install wind turbines for factories, offices and private homes in the West Bank.
According to a recent press release, the venture will include marketing, manufacturing and installation of wind turbines generating from 2 kW to 50 kW of electrical power.
“The Israel Wind Power company will provide its Palestinian counterparts with the technology and professional training to manufacture large capacity turbines, use of resistance accumulators for many years as well as advanced techniques which implement the most advanced standards,” the press release said.
“Business collaboration in the area of wind energy is something which will be for the benefit of everyone, it will serve as a bridge of peace for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” said Dr. Mohammed Salem, CEO of the participating Palestinian company.
Yoram Suissa, the business development manager of Israel Wind Power, reportedly said the joint venture will allow the Brothers Group to receive an open channel to market its products internationally as well as the ability to receive raw materials and significantly upgrade its development. “We will be for our Palestinian friends and colleagues a pipeline for their products to be marketed both in Israel and abroad. We shall partially finance their initial activities and act to raise money for joint projects from various sources.”
Specialising in renewable energy systems, the Brothers Group has developed and installed five wind turbine systems to generate 2 kW of clean off-grid electricity for private homes, collected by batteries. Israel Wind Power specialises in the development, design and installation of wind turbines producing clean electricity for both the private and business sector.
“We see this joint business venture to be a business enterprise which connects these two communities in a blessed way, setting aside the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Salem was quoted as saying. “We believe that this is an example of the ability of ordinary people to bridge gaps between our communities, especially during these stormy days.”
Dependable wind energy begins powering huge US Army electricity needs
As the first wind turbine installed at a US Army base was excitedly celebrated last week in the western desert of Utah, officials at the ribbon-cutting ceremony were already contemplating an expansion of the emissions-free technology.
According to the Army, which is currently fighting two wars and looking to make budgets as efficient as possible, the 80 metre tall turbine with its 38 metre- long blades will result in energy savings of about $207,000 (€165,000) a year. Officials estimate that the wind energy produced can supply approximately one-quarter of the Tooele Army Depot’s electricity needs.
“I felt like it was Christmas morning all day,” base energy manager Jay Weyland was quoted as saying after watching the turbine officially turn on Wednesday. “Imagine a young child that had been shaking Christmas presents for weeks before Christmas, and was finally allowed to open them. That was the type of excitement I was experiencing.”
Depot commander Col. Yolanda Dennis-Lowman said the base, which stores and develops munitions, is trying to embrace renewable energy solutions. “Going green will enable us to remain always at the ready,” said Dennis-Lowman. “This is the first turbine for the depot, but with [Weyland’s] help, hopefully more will come.”
“From the power output that we are seeing right now, I can see we are going to get a higher payback then we anticipated and I believe other turbines here will be justified,” Weyland reportedly said.
Completed a year ahead of schedule, the Army says the turbine was turned on and off for training and maintenance from 29 June to 6 July but still generated electrical power for about 52 hours. During that time, the turbine generated approximately $2,000 (€1,959) worth of electricity.
“Right now this is the only one in the Army, but it is going to be the test case for many other wind turbines throughout the United States,” Dennis-Lowman was quoted as saying in the Tooele Transcript Bulletin. “We hope to see more installed here at this installation.”
Approved in 2007, the $3.8 million (€3.03 mn) project was funded by the Army Energy Conservation Investment Program.
Scientists studying climate change did not manipulate data, new report says
Climate change skeptics whose efforts to stop international policy makers from fighting global warming were dealt another blow Wednesday with the release of an exhaustive study that endorsed scientists from the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia.
Chaired by Sir Muir Russell, the Independent Climate Change E-mails Review investigated the behaviour of CRU scientists following the unauthorized public release of approximately 1,000 e-mails in November, 2009.
Russell’s report noted that the e-mails fuelled challenges to the work of CRU, to the reliability of climate science generally, and to the conclusions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The report added the release of the e-mails occurred shortly before the United Nations annual climate change conference in Copenhagen which was to have resulted in a post-Kyoto treaty on limiting global greenhouse gas emissions caused mostly by burning fossil fuels.
“Climate science is a matter of such global importance, that the highest standards of honesty, rigour and openness are needed in its conduct,” the Russell report noted.
“On the specific allegations made against the behaviour of CRU scientists, we find that their rigour and honesty as scientists are not in doubt.
“In addition, we do not find that their behaviour has prejudiced the balance of advice given to policy makers. In particular, we did not find any evidence of behaviour that might undermine the conclusions of the IPCC assessments.”
The report did add, however, that both CRU scientists and the university failed to recognize statutory requirements regarding the prompt release of requested public information.
Russell’s report was the third review of the hacked or leaked e-mails, which spurred on climate change skeptics intent on de-railing efforts to reduce greenhouse gases by substituting destructive fossil fuels with emissions-free wind power and other renewables.
The European Wind Energy Association would like to point out that each of the three reviews has concluded no climate change data coming from the CRU was falsified.
Eight months after the e-mails were improperly released, it is time for politicians to redouble their efforts against global warming. Embracing wind power would be a good first step.
Power-hungry New York City opens the door for offshore wind power
Offshore wind energy could soon be helping to power the Big Apple following a decision by the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to apply for a 25-year lease from the US government to develop a wind farm in the Atlantic Ocean east of Long Island.
The NYPA said last week that it and partners Consolidated Edison Company, the Long Island Power Authority and the City of New York are evaluating the development of between 350 megawatts and 700 MW of offshore wind by 2016.
“By taking this step, New York moves closer to the clean energy economy which combines the benefits of emission-free generation for a better environment with the economic development opportunities of the jobs and industries that will aim to make New York a leader in the growth of offshore wind,” NYPA Chief Executive Officer Richard Kessel said in a press release.
Equally upbeat, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said renewable sources of electricity must be used to improve air quality, increase energy reliability and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“Beginning the process of leasing the land beneath the ocean will get us closer to developing power from [the] Long Island-New York City offshore wind farm, which when built, will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and promote economic development,” Bloomberg was quoted as saying.
The NYPA — which is the nation’s largest state-owned electric utility — says the wind project site includes an area of approximately 64,500 acres of underwater land and is approximately 20 to 24 kilometres offshore of Long Island in the Atlantic Ocean’s Outer Continental Shelf, an area under the jurisdiction of the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.
The press release adds the concept for the offshore wind project supports the New York State Master Energy Plan including Governor David Paterson’s “45 by 15” program, which establishes the goal for the State to meet 45% of its electricity needs through improved energy efficiency and renewable sources by the year 2015. The offshore wind project is also aligned with Bloomberg’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in New York City 30% by 2030.