During the course of the research for a new report just published by Wind Energy Update, it ultimately became clear that reliable and verifiable data on wind industry O&M cost trends is quite rare. In fact, there are no current widely available data sets illustrating these wind industry O&M costs. Proprietary research, reviews of scarce secondary sources and anecdotal evidence obtained through confidential interviews with wind industry owner/operators and component suppliers suggest that O&M expenses are double or even triple what was originally projected, particularly with the latest class of multi-megawatt machines now permeating the global wind market.

Of course, nearly all machine and electrical components have a certain chance of failure within their design lifetime, and wind turbines are no different. Savvy operators can make problematic turbines look better through innovative in the field O&M strategies, and vice versa. Nonetheless, the wind industry’s promises of delivering cost effective clean renewable energy to combat global climate change is being compromised by higher than expected component failure rates. Gearboxes allegedly designed for a 20-year life are breaking down prematurely across most major manufacturing brands, are failing after only 6 to 8 years of operation.

Even with the introduction of the new Kerry-Leiberman-Graham legislation during Copenhagen, a surprisingly broad set of interests are beginning to emerge on behalf of fresh alternatives that may include incentives for renewables, EPA regulations and maybe even a novel market-based approach:  a carbon fee that is rebated back to the public.

Organizations as diverse as Sierra Club and Chevron are quietly contemplating what a “Plan B” might include, and how it could yield broader political support, and more environmental success, than today’s competing House and Senate omnibus “cap-and-trade” bills.

Shortly thereafter, however, the evolution of the electric services industry evolved to a state-regulated monopoly market, taking away incentives for microgrid developments.

Today, however, a variety of trends are converging to create promising markets for microgrids, particularly in the U.S. it has been become increasingly clear that the fundamental architecture of today’s electricity grid based on the idea of a top-down system predicated on unidirectional energy flows is now obsolete. With the election of Barack Obama as President of the U.S. in 2008, and the subsequent passage of government stimulus funding packages in 2009 to respond to the economic recession, significant new federal funds are being earmarked for the “smart grid,” positioning the U.S. as the global market leader in microgrids.

New Chevron CEO John  Watson has inherited a mess from outgoing CEO David O’ Reilly – but with challenge comes opportunity. It is clear that Chevron’s historical reliance upon litigation to get what it wants is being eclipsed by new activist strategies that have effectively boxed Chevron into a corner.

On Sunday, September 13th, come to the Dance Palace in Point Reyes Station and learn about the movement to transition communities from dependence on fossil fuels to a local food, local energy, and local farm future...and then visit McEvoy Olive Ranch near Petaluma.

Bernie Stephen of Transition West Marin will describe how communities can create resilience and reduce carbon emissions in response to peak oil and climate change.

Why is it different?

First off, I was not only the author, but the Art Program manager. What that means is that I was responsible for selecting and gaining permission to use over 90 photographs, 42 line illustrations, 18 maps and 8 Tables. The book features historical photos, many of them from Pacific Gas & Electric and Chevron, featuring early hydroelectric innovations in the Sierra Nevada foothills as well as early oil development in southern California.

The other aspect that is different is that this is a science-based reference book. No need to preach to the choir. Let's try to look at energy in a comprehensive and non-politicized way.The theme that runs through the book is that California has always gone out on a limb and embraced nearly every energy source with wild-eyed enthusiasm.

Today, Coke’s Kerala plant is closed – a casualty of the global pressure placed on the company. But the campaign against corporate water has only grown stronger. Today, the focus is on bottled water, which critics point to as a wasteful, expensive example of water privatization – companies taking public water, repackaging it, and selling it back to us for a profit.

But the water wars have just begun. Bottled water may be today’s popular target. But activists are beginning to look beyond bottled water, setting their sites on much bigger objectives. At stake, they believe, is whether water is recognized as a basic human right, or becomes simply another commodity controlled by giant corporations.

The United Nations (UN) projects that the total “technically exploitable” potential for waterpower (including marine renewables) is 15 trillion kilowatt-hours, equal to half of the projected global electricity use in the year 2030. Of this vast resource potential, roughly 15 percent has been developed so far. The UN and World Energy Council projects 250 gigawatts (GW) of hydropower will be developed by the 2030. If marine renewables capture just 10 percent of this forecasted hydropower capacity, that figure represents 25 GW, a valid possibility and the likely floor on market scope.

Yet Imperial County is also home to the “crown jewel” of all geothermal steam resources in the U.S., making it a prime spot to showcase how renewable energy can help spur the new green economy so enthusiastically touted by the Obama Administration.

Among the primary findings of a new report funded by the Energy Foundation and prepared for the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies (CEERT) are the following:

· If California obtained a third of its electricity from renewable energy by 2020, state manufacturing employment could increase by almost 200,000 jobs.

· Complying with this goal could pump as much as $60 billion into the state’s stagnating economy .