The New York Times has a nice article by Kate Galbraith summarizing the technological and logistical obstacles to building bigger, better, more efficient and more economical wind turbines.

Some interesting notes:

• Current largest turbine: manufactured by German company Enercon, 7.5 MW capacity, 135m tower, 127m diameter Wind Swept Area
• Average US turbine: 1.8 MW
• Land-based turbine size is limited by width/weight capacity of roadways and bridges during delivery – offshore turbines are expected to keep growing because space constraints are less important.
• Turbine manufacturers are working to improve the radar transparency of their turbines.
• Some newer turbines now generate power via a direct-drive mechanism linking the rotor and generator directly, while many still rely on a high-speed gearbox to transfer power from the rotor to the generator.

Expect the wind industry to keep evolving and improving – as Galbraith notes, the modern wind turbine industry is still in its infancy compared to other established industries, like the automotive industry.  Learn more about wind energy at the AWEA.

On July 18, 2011, Wisconsin Public Utility Institute hosted a one-day program covering the concept of using public utility infrastructure to deliver energy to a new generation of vehicles, including electric cars/trucks, and those powered by compressed natural gas, biogas, landfill gas or other novel fuels.  Several eHub members were in attendance at the event and reviews were very positive.

Speakers addressed questions such as:

• How do transportation fuels factor into the overall electricity and natural gas load projections used by utilities?
• What are the economic, environmental and policy considerations of deriving more transportation energy from publicly-regulated utilities instead of traditional gasoline and diesel suppliers?
• How are other regions preparing for utilities to supply more transportation fuel?

Wisconsin Eye filmed the entire program, and the videos are available online.
Click here to access the video library.

On Friday, April 29, Energy Hub traveled to Meister Cheese Co. in Muscoda, WI and the NextEra Wind farm in Montfort, WI. At Meister, we had the opportunity to see the factory’s biomass boiler. The boiler generates steam for cheese production and is fueled by wood byproducts from a neighboring lumber company.

At the NextEra Montfort Wind Energy Center, a wind farm located on over 3 miles of farmland, we learned about wind turbine construction, operation, and siting policies. We had the chance to go into the 200-foot-tall shaft of a turbine and also to see the central control system used to monitor and remotely operate turbines.

The tour offered an enlightening glimpse of the use of renewable energy in Wisconsin and an opportunity to meet other students who share an interest in energy.

A special thanks goes out to our hosts at Meister Cheese Co. and Montfort Wind Energy Center.

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Prof. Paul Murtaugh
Statistics Department, Oregon State University

Thursday, April 28
1106 Mechanical Engineering
Refreshments served at 4:00 p.m., talk begins at 4:15 p.m.

Part 4 in “Carbon, Energy, the Economy, and Population: A Series on the Four Main Levers of Carbon Emissions”

Sponsored by the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE), the WAGE Governing Global Energy Collaborative, the UW Energy Institute, and the European Union Center for Excellence

Overview:
Some people who are serious about wanting to reduce their “carbon footprint” on the Earth have one choice available to them that may yield a large long-term benefit – have one less child. A study by statisticians at Oregon State University concluded that in the United States, the carbon legacy and greenhouse gas impact of an extra child is almost 20 times more important than some of the other environmentally sensitive practices people might employ their entire lives – things like driving a high mileage car, recycling, or using energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs.

The research also makes it clear that potential carbon impacts vary dramatically across countries. The average long-term carbon impact of a child born in the U.S. – along with all of its descendants – is more than 160 times the impact of a child born in Bangladesh.

Speaker Biography:
Dr. Paul Murtaugh is a professor in the Statistics Department at Oregon State University. His current research interests include statistical ecology, biostatistics, and survival analysis. He received a Ph.D in Zoology in 1981 and a Ph.D in Biostatistics in 1989 from the University of Washington.

For more information, contact Energy Institute Research and Education Coordinator Scott Williams by e-mail

On Wednesday, April 20, join the WUD Society and Politics Committee at a screening of the 2010 documentary “Gasland”  before filmmaker Josh Fox visits UW on Thursday, April 21. Gasland explores the impact of the natural gas drilling technique hydraulic fracturing, or “hydrofracking” on communities in the western United States. This screening offers an opportunity to watch the film before engaging in discussion about the issue with Fox on the 21st.

Wednesday, April 20
7:00pm
The Marquee, Union South

Sponsored by Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Society and Politics; WUD Film; Center for Culture, History, and Environment; WISPIRG Big Red Go Green; REthink WI; UW College Republicans; Amnesty International; UW-Madison Sierra Student Coalition; Wisconsin Ecology; Energy Hub; and F.H. King.

Tour registration is now closed.

On Friday, April 29, we’ll be departing from UW-Madison Engineering campus at 11:00am sharp.  First, we’ll head to Meister Cheese Co. in Muscoda, WI to see their biomass-fired boiler technology and learn about reducing food-miles and environmentally-friendly waste/byproduct practices.

Then we’ll visit the NextEra Energy wind generation installation in Montfort, WI. Here we’ll learn about wind farm construction, siting, and economics in the shadows of towering 1.5 Megawatt Enron wind turbines.

Lunch will be provided – likely sandwiches with a vegetarian option.

After we return to campus, join us at the new Union South for discussion and socialization.

Tour Itinerary: Friday 4/29

• 10:50am – check-in on UW-Madison Engineering Campus near Engineering Mall (look for the school bus)
• 11:00am – depart toward Muscoda, WI
• 12:30pm – arrive Muscoda, WI – Meister Cheese Factory
• 2:10pm – arrive Montfort WI – NextEra Energy wind farm
• 4:30pm – arrive at UW-Madison Campus
• 4:45pm – debriefing/socialization at new Union South

Tour is open UW-Madison students only, including undergraduate and graduate students from all colleges and majors.  Tour registration is now closed.

Contact: Energy Hub Co-Chair Nathan Pinney, npinney@wisc.edu, (859) 992-1843

general info: info@uwehub.org

ARPA-E, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, is a Department of Energy Agency created in 2007 to fund transformational energy technologies. The agency was created to help encourage U.S. ingenuity and innovation in energy solutions that reduce dependence on foreign energy, reduce energy-related emissions, and improve energy efficiency.

Dr. David Shum, an ARPA-E Program Director, will discuss ARPA-E’s vision and mission, and the potential role of UW in advancing U.S. energy innovation. Dr. Shum’s primary areas of focus at ARPA-E are demand response & distributed generation, and industrial process and material energy efficiency.

Thursday, April 14, 2011
3:30pm-5:00pm
UWBC Auditorium

Sponsored by the UW Energy Institute and Energy Hub

For more information, visit http://www.energy.wisc.edu/?p=3958, or contact Scott Williams at spwilliams@wisc.edu

Part 3 in “Carbon, Energy, the Economy, and Population: A Series on the Four Main Levers of Carbon Emissions”

April 5, 2011

4:15 p.m. in Room

1106 Mechanical Engineering

Sponsored by the UW Energy Institute, the WAGE Governing Global Energy Collaborative, the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE), and the European Union Center for Excellence (EUCE)

Economic growth is the over-arching policy objective of governments worldwide. Yet its long-term viability is increasingly questioned because of environmental impacts and impending and actual shortages of energy and material resources. Furthermore, rising incomes in rich countries bear little relation to gains in happiness and well-being. Growth has not eliminated poverty, brought full employment or protected the environment. Results from a simulation model of the Canadian economy suggest that it is possible to have full employment, eradicate poverty, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and maintain fiscal balance without economic growth. Is it time to turn our attention away from pursuing growth and towards specific objectives more directly relating to our well-being and that of the planet? In this third part of the 4-part Carbon, Energy, the Economy, and Population lecture series, hear Professor Peter Victor of York University, Toronto, Ontario share his views and findings.

For more information, contact Scott Williams by e-mail or (608) 890-2199.

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Last minute notice for a talk organized by UW-Madison Women in Nuclear!

Nuclear Proliferation: How it Has Happened
Dr. Kirsten Laurin-Kovitz
Manager, International Nonproliferation Engagement
Argonne National Laboratory

5:30pm, Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Rm 1106 Mechanical Engineering, 1513 University Avenue

There is no greater threat to global peace and security than the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

This talk describes the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the evolution of the nonproliferation regime to address the threat. The speaker will describe how proliferators have historically acquired the goods and technology they needed including examples that illustrate procurement tactics. The talk includes an overview of the multilateral nonproliferation export control regime and concludes with a discussion of recent trends

Dr. Laurin-Kovitz is a Mechanical Engineer in the National Security and Nonproliferation Department of the Nuclear Engineering Division at Argonne National Laboratory, a US Department of Energy Office of Science Laboratory. Dr. Laurin-Kovitz is Manager of the International Nonproliferation Engagement Section which provides training on nonproliferation and export control of WMD-related technologies through cooperative programs with foreign partners. Her primary areas of responsibility include Ukraine, the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia), and S. America (Argentina and Brazil). Recently, Dr. Laurin-Kovitz has used her experience and expertise to train US export control enforcement personnel on strategic WMD-related commodities. Dr. Laurin-Kovitz has more than fifteen years experience in nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear reactor analysis.

Dr. Laurin-Kovitz received her B.S. from the University of Illinois and her M.S. and Ph.D. from Northwestern University.