A Day in the Life of a Wind Farm Operator

A Day in the Life of a Wind Farm Operator Most of the people have always seen photos taken from turbine tops though they are never aware of what the technicians do up there. In the article, a crew working at the Bull Hill Wind farm is studied by a photographer. This is a 34-MW wind farm that is located in Maine. The wind farm has 19 wind turbines and provides power to around 16000 homes each year. They have six Vestas employees and two First Wind employees working daily to keep the turbines spinning and generating energy. The inspections, periodic repairs, and maintenance of the turbines are done daily by the staff at the site and this is important to keep everything in order. The emergency equipment is inspected on a regular basis to make sure they function effectively. A normal turbine climb takes around 10 minutes and is carried out two-four times every week. They also have a Nacelle that houses the electrical generator, which is driven by the rotating blades of the turbine powered by the forces of wind and coupled to a gearbox. The repair troubleshooting and maintenance of the components are carried out on a programmed basis as well as impulsively in case a piece of any of the equipment fails. Susan Kraemer, A Closer Look at Fossil and Renewable Energy Subsidies, June 10, 2015 This article discusses the stabilization of oil production since its advent in the 1890s. In the article, the comparison is made between the sums of money used in oil drilling when it was merely a start-up and currently when it is a multi-dollar venture. Similarly, the effects of oil exploration on the climate have been highlighted in the article. The article also largely analyses the issue of tax credit and incentives offered to the oil drilling companies. For instance, the article clarifies that during the inception period, oil production was branded with a tax-free status that enabled the mitigation of huge costs involved in the oil exploration. This eventually has enabled federal investment in the coal, oil and gas exploration. This article will be important in describing the strides made in the growth of the global energy sector. Pamela Cargill, Will Solar Plunge Off the Tax Credit Cliff? The articles main discussion is about the Federal Investment Tax Credit, which was set to expire towards the end of 2016. This would be one of the greatest solar incentives with the costs falling from thirty to zero percent for homeowners. The article informs of the intense scrutiny directed towards the clean energy incentives especially in the United States as a result of the fiscal conservations in Washington and also in several other statehouses. Consequently, the article eludes uncertainty in the environment towards the community of investors and other industry professionals. Some approaches and strategies are suggested in the article, such as the extension of the Investment Tax Credit and proper planning of its expiration. Tom Randall, Seven Reasons Cheap Oil Cant Stop Renewables The article outlines reasons why low prices of cheap oil cannot stop the use of renewables. The transition of humanity to use of clean energy cannot be sidetracked by the availability of cheap oil. This is despite the fall of the prices of oil by half which would have endangered the renewable-energy industry a few years ago. In the article, he gives reasons why low prices of oil cannot stop renewables. One of the reasons is that the sun never competes with oil. Oil is used in cars while the renewables are for producing electricity. Oil is very expensive such that it cannot power the grid even if the prices are below $50 for each barrel. Solar instead competes with natural gas, coal, nuclear power and hydro. Though solar is the newest and makes less than 1%of the market for electricity today, it is expected that by 2050 it will be the largest single source in the world according to International Energy Agency. Its demand is very high such that the only limiting factor to its installation may be panels availability. Another reason may also be the fact that the prices of electricity are still increasing. Cheap electricity is a real threat to the renewables. For instance, in the US production of power is exceedingly cheap due to the presence of abundant natural gas. Ann Kenda, Professors Solar-Powered Passive House a Real-life Physics Lesson Jl In this article the Assistant Professor of Physics Alexi Arango tells the Renewable Energy class students of the small house in Maine which is very energy efficient such that it can heat itself up without the need for a furnace. He says that the home of physics entirely operates by the power of solar. He adds that most people have disbelief about it and the concept nearly seems a fairy-tale. But once one goes through it and relates with physics then it is no longer a wild idea. He carries out a research that concentrates on the solar energy systems that are highly efficient and brings home the lessons for the course in the sense of word. He builds and moves in a passive home of 1000 square-foot that relies on the solar power for its operations. He use real-life example to explain and illustrate the concepts of physics and environmental science in the classroom. Most of the students originally were skeptical but have change to being enthusiastic about this particular project. He admits that it is unusual to do what he did but notes that in Germany the passive houses are nearly mainstream. Tom Konrad, Ten Clean Energy Stocks In this article, during the first half of 2015, there was a slight improvement in the wide market but the concerns about increasing rates of interests and the continuing drama by the Greek debt sent clean energy, income stocks and most currencies that were not US currencies down decisively. The articles classical collection highly exposes one to clean energy, income stocks, and foreign stocks. Despite there being a very stormy market for both, the collection delivers admirably. Jennifer Runyon, Tesla CTO: Bulk Energy Storage Will Grow Much Faster than People Expect In 2015, at the Intersolar in the standing-room-only, all talks were about the future of solar and how the storage of energy aided in paving a way for higher adoption of it. The director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, Dr. Eicke R Weber, opened the show drawing the great advancement solar had made in the previous two years through stabilizing its demand and supply. It was expected that in the following years the production capacity and catching up with the market would be seen which meant that we should not anticipate further fall in the prices of PV modules but expect stabilizing of the prices and or even some uncertain increases.