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Non-Tech : Alternative energy -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: sageyrain who wrote (4857)	5/27/2008 10:48:24 PM
From: sageyrain	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 16955

Problems with jatropha? I had relatively high hopes for this one, time will tell: TEESIDE, UK: Researchers have criticised BP and D1 Oils for bloating jatropha's promise as the next biofuel wonder crop, according to media reports. Raymond Jongschaap, from the plant sciences group at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, questioned the partners' "optimistic" estimates on jatropha's yields. Jongschaap said BP and D1 Oils have based their estimates on 20 to 30 year old trees, which will not be realistic for large commercial plantations. He also criticised D1's plans to cultivate jatropha in areas with poor quality soil. "The plant will grow in marginal soils. It survives under those circumstances but it does not produce under those circumstances," he said. In absence of proper research, farmers have been misled to plant the crop based on the estimates, the Times Magazine reported, citing an industry consultant. A Filipino government official also told Time Magazine farmers in the country have abandoned nurseries after struggling to get a good yield and buyers for the harvest. A D1 spokesperson however, defended the company's investment in jatropha plantations during an interview. "We a have always been very conservative about the yields. I don't believe D1 has ever said jatropha is a miracle crop. We have always said it requires care, maintenance and the application of good science. We wouldn't be doing this if we didn't believe it would work." D1-BP Fuel Crops, the joint venture between D1 and BP, previously aimed to plant one million hectares of jatropha primarily in India and Africa by 2011.

To: sageyrain who wrote (4857)	5/27/2008 10:50:17 PM
From: sageyrain	Respond to of 16955

StatoilHydro plans world's first floating wind turbine Filed from Houston 5/22/2008 1:24:11 PM GMT StatoilHydro floating wind turbine KARMOY, NORWAY: StatoilHydro will build the world's first full-scale floating wind turbine. To be tested over a two-year period offshore Karmoy, Norway, the project is a US$80 million pilot of StatoilHydro's self-developed Hywind concept. The project, announced at the All-Energy conference in Aberdeen, Scotland, today, will see a 2.3-MW wind turbine attached to the top of a Spar-buoy with a planned startup in autumn 2009. "We have drawn on our offshore expertise from the oil and gas industry to develop wind power offshore," said Alexandra Bech Gjørv, Head of New Energy with StatoilHydro. The rotor blades on the floating wind turbine will have a diameter of 262 feet (80 m), and the nacelle will tower 213 feet (65 m) above the sea surface. The flotation element will have a draft extending 328 feet (100 m) below the sea surface, and will be moored to the seabed using three anchor points. The wind turbine can be sited in waters with depths ranging from 394 feet (120 m) to 2,297 feet (700 m). "Taking wind turbines to deep water presents new opportunities. The wind is stronger and more consistent, areas are large and the challenges we are familiar with from onshore projects are fewer," said Gjørv. The pilot project will be assembled in Åmoyfjorden near Stavanger and will be sited six miles (10 km) offshore. The wind turbine itself will be built by Siemens. Technip will build the flotation element and be responsible for the offshore installation. Nexans will lay cables to shore, and Haugaland Kraft will be responsible for the landfall. Enova is supporting the project with US$11.8 million. A 10-foot (3-m) tall model has already been tested with success in SINTEF Marintek's wave simulator in Trondheim, Norway. The goal of the pilot is to qualify the technology and reduce costs to a level that will mean that floating wind turbines can compete with other energy sources. Bech Gjory explained, "If we succeed, then we will have taken a major step in moving the wind power industry offshore. Floating wind turbines can make a major contribution to providing the world with clean power, but there are major technical and commercial challenges that need to be resolved. If we are to succeed, we will need to cooperate closely with the authorities. As with other technologies for renewable energy, floating wind power will be dependent on incentive schemes to be viable."