Apex Clean Energy to Operate IKEA Canada Wind Farm, Wintering Hills
Wintering Hills Wind Farm. Photo courtesy of Teck.
Project Is Third IKEA Partnership with Apex
Apex Clean Energy (Apex) announced today a multi-year contract with IKEA Canada to manage and provide remote operations for the Wintering Hills wind farm located in Alberta, Canada. The 88 MW facility produces enough power to supply approximately 26,000 Canadian homes.
IKEA US purchased two U.S. wind farms from Apex: the 165 MW Cameron Wind facility located in Cameron County, Texas, in November 2014; and the 98 MW Hoopeston Wind facility located in Hoopeston, Illinois, in April 2014. Apex operates and maintains both facilities.
“This expansion of our Asset Management business sends a strong signal to the market,” said Mark Goodwin, president and CEO of Apex.
Apex put more wind energy on the U.S. grid than any other company in 2015. Looking ahead, Apex also has the industry’s largest and most diverse pipeline of projects in active development. The Wintering Hills facility is the eleventh project in the Apex Asset Management fleet, bringing the total generation under management up to 1,729 MW.
“Wind asset management is a science, and we’re able to use the science to safely and reliably push the boundaries of performance,” said Andrea Miller, vice president of asset management for Apex. “When it comes to getting maximum power and profit from a wind farm, we measure and analyze the data that others aren't, so we can take action on opportunities and realize gains that others don’t.”
The Wintering Hills project consists of 55 General Electric 1.6 MW turbines, each with a hub height of 80 meters and a nominal speed of 16.8 rpm.
Two-thirds of Americans give priority to developing alternative energy over fossil fuels
Majority of Americans want U.S. focus to be on alternative energy
Maxine Joselow, E&E News reporter
Published: Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Approximately 65 percent of Americans prioritize the development of alternative energy sources compared with 27 percent who would put greater emphasis on expanding U.S. fossil fuel production, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center.
This marks a slight uptick in preference for alternative energy since December 2014. At that time, the Pew Research Center found that 60 percent of Americans stressed developing alternative energy over developing fossil fuel sources.
The study demonstrates increased popular support for alternative energy at a time when President Trump is pledging to boost production from fossil fuel energy sources like coal.
Trump's incoming administration was quick to post an energy policy summary on the White House website that calls for "reviving America's coal industry, which has been hurting for too long" (Greenwire, Jan. 20).
"There's a perception that we're about to make major changes in energy policy," said Cary Funk, associate director of research on science and society at the Pew Research Center. "So I think these data are particularly important in terms of giving a portrait of where the public sits."
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Our First Open House: A Chance to Meet the Community
We would like to thank everyone who attended the very first Heritage Wind open house last week! The event was standing room only at the Barre Town Hall for much of the time, and we had some great questions and input from attendees. We're looking forward to our next open house, which is set for Saturday, February 11 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at our new office, located at 49 North Main Street in Albion.
Thanks also to the Town of Barre, which allowed us to host the open house at the Barre Town Hall, and the Orleans Hub, Batavia Daily News, and Channel 13, all of which covered the event. Here are a few pictures from the Orleans Hub article:
Photos by Tom Rivers of the Orleans Hub
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Renewable generation capacity expected to account for most 2016 capacity additions
Originally published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration
Once final data are in, EIA expects 24 gigawatts (GW) of new generating capacity to be added to the power grid during 2016. For the third consecutive year, more than half of these additions are renewable technologies, especially wind and solar.
Of the 2016 renewable additions, nearly 60% were scheduled to come online during the fourth quarter. Renewable capacity additions are often highest in the final months of the year, in part, because of timing qualifications for federal, state, or local tax incentives. Estimated fourth-quarter capacity additions for 2016 are based on planned additions reported to EIA and are subject to change based on actual project schedules.
Monthly U.S. renewable electricity generation peaked in March as high precipitation and melting snowpack led to a monthly peak in hydroelectric generation and strong wind resources led to a monthly peak in wind generation. Most renewable generation comes from the Western census division, which accounted for the majority of the hydroelectric (63%) and solar (77%) generation in the United States in 2016. Wind generation was more evenly spread across the country with 37% occurring in the Midwest, 35% in the South, 24% in the West, and the remaining 4% in the Northeast.
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Accelerating the Shift to Clean Energy
Heritage Wind and its parent company, Apex Clean Energy, are committed to accelerating the shift to clean energy, here in New York and across the country. Our newest publication, Accelerate: Clean Energy Insight, covers all different aspects of wind farm development, from securing financing to optimizing turbine performance to delivering community benefits.
Check out the first volume here.
Turning to Turbines: A Welcome Source of Income for Farmers
CRESTON, Neb. — The midday sun pushed temperatures past the 70-degree mark late last week while the fifth and sixth generations of the Brockhaus family gathered the last 20 acres of the fall harvest near here.
Brothers Terry and Steve Brockhaus, along with Steve’s sons Jeff and Jon, typically reap corn from these fields, but as a slight westerly breeze picked up, Steve Brockhaus looked southward over the last remaining rows of the 2016 corn crop to the purveyors of their newest cash crop: four 1.7-megawatt General Electric wind turbines.
“I’m surprised on days like today when it seems like there’s hardly any wind on the ground and they’re still turning,” Steve Brockhaus said. Read more here.
National Farmers Day
A very special thank you to each and every farmer, young and old, big and small, in our area! Your work keeps our community strong.
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AWEA: Fact Check: Wind Power Protects Wildlife with a Legacy of Care
The wind industry has always taken big steps to reduce its environmental impacts on wildlife, and in particular, bats. In addition to extensive environmental studies and siting procedures, the wind industry has also created the Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative, in an effort to reduce impacts on bats in the vicinity of certain mountaintop wind facilities. In 2015, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) announced new voluntary best practices that would reduce impacts on bats by 30%.
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Eagle Conservation and Wind Power Go Hand in Hand
Protecting America’s wildlife is one of my deepest passions; it’s a big part of why I’ve devoted my career to safeguarding our nation’s natural heritage. President Nixon once correctly pointed out that “Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed”.
No species is more emblematic of America than the bald eagle. Once facing extinction, these magnificent birds have rebounded nicely, thanks in large part to protective laws like the Endangered Species Act and a ban on the pesticide DDT. Seeing a bald eagle is much easier today than it used to be. In fact, there is a nesting pair just down the street from my home.
Despite this good news, a number of looming threats could reverse our progress. According to scientists, one of the largest threats to eagles—and many other species of wildlife—is climate change. The Audubon Society says that over 300 different bird species, including eagles, are at risk because of rising temperatures, which could cause them to lose up to half of their ranges by 2080.
Read more here.
Wildlife advocates support wind power
Wildlife advocates support wind power
Scientists tell us that our wildlife, from the tiniest pollinators to the largest mammals, are facing an unprecedented threat from climate change. Pollution is altering our climate much too quickly for wildlife to adapt. We are in real danger of losing many of the animal and plant species we enjoy and depend on.
The good news is that we have technology available today to reduce that pollution – and electricity rates – by using cleaner sources of energy. One of the best ways to reduce climate pollution is wind power.
As an emission-free electricity source, wind directly combats climate change. In 2015, wind reduced the equivalent of over 28 million cars’ worth of carbon pollution. Greater savings will be seen as wind generates even more of America’s electricity. By 2030, it could eliminate up to 20 percent of the electric sector’s carbon emissions. By 2050, wind could save $400 billion worth of climate change damage.
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