Green Energy News

NextEra Energy Resources withdrew a lawsuit on Friday that the company had filed against Clinton County officials for blocking the construction of a wind farm in the county. In 2016, the Clinton County zoning board, along with the county commissioners, voted to limit the height of wind turbines to 150 feet. That vote prevented construction of nearly 500-feet tall wind turbines in the county. NextEra Energy, based in Florida, then sued the county in 2016, claiming the ordinance was not . . .

FELL TWP. – Brandy Collins can rest assured wind turbines won’t encroach on her property following a unanimous vote by township supervisors Monday night. Supervisors voted to amend the township zoning ordinance by placing restrictions on wind and solar energy facilities in the town. “We’re still happy to have them in Fell Twp., but at least I know they’ll be far enough off of our property that they won’t present a problem,” said Collins, who was one of about three dozen . . .

A government department responsible for heritage sites did not go to court over a controversial planning decision at an ancient monument because its grounds for an injunction had been “fatally undermined” by previous decisions. The revelation came in papers revealed under freedom of information law. It centres on an approval for a wind turbine – which is now operational – near Rathfriland in County Down. The site at Knock Iveagh is regionally significant, dating back 5,000 years. The application was . . .

Northeastern commercial fishermen and seafood businesses are calling for transit lanes four nautical miles wide between rows of offshore wind turbines. The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, a fishing lobby group whose members hail mainly from New England and New Jersey, wrote a letter to the U.S Coast Guard and other federal authorities to make its case for wider lanes, saying they would: – Allow enough room for a vessel to make a significant alteration of course if needed; – Provide . . .

Chinese turbine manufacturer Ming Yang and developer China Three Gorges (CTG) have signed a framework agreement to work together on global onshore and offshore wind development.

January 6th, 2020—Voting results on the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) are in, and the approved proposals will bring an estimated 10% or more efficiency improvement for both residential and commercial buildings that follow the IECC. These changes will lower building energy use for decades to come reducing energy costs and helping to mitigate carbon emissions from buildings. Final energy savings analysis will be released by the U.S. Department of Energy later in 2020.

The vote comes after more than a year of effort by a broad coalition of organizations to update the national model energy code. The preliminary results represent the second biggest efficiency gain for the IECC in the last decade and puts buildings on a glide path to deliver better comfort, higher productivity, increased value and lower operating costs. 

“Homes and buildings account for roughly 40 percent of our energy consumption and carbon emissions, so this is a very big deal,” said Alliance to Save Energy President Clay Nesler. “It will save consumers and businesses money that can be invested elsewhere in the economy while significantly reducing carbon emissions. It is also the most significant step forward in nearly a decade to putting America’s model energy codes on a pathway towards decarbonization.”

The IECC is a model energy code that sets out minimum efficiency standards for residential and commercial buildings related to walls, floors, ceilings, lighting, windows, doors, duct leakage, air leakage, etc. It serves as the go-to basis for states and some cities that can control their building codes to develop local requirements. The IECC is updated every three years through an extensive proposal process and online vote of eligible voters, which come from local governments and related agencies.

Local government made their votes count. In November, when voting for the 2021 IECC opened, local leaders exercised their right to vote and chose to dramatically improve building efficiency. Extensive outreach and education by partners including New Building Institute (NBI), the Energy-Efficient Codes Coalition, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Institute for Market Transformation, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), and others helped raise awareness about the importance of the vote.

“Ultimately, the voting reflects an incredible effort by mayors, cities, governors, sustainability directors, and building officials to cast their votes for a code that helps them achieve their energy efficiency and climate goals,” said William Fay of the

Energy-Efficient Codes Coalition. “Many state and local leaders rely on the IECC as the basis for their own building codes. After two code cycles of stagnant efficiency improvements, these leaders have exercised their power and delivered a stronger code that will help everyday Americans.”

The 2021 IECC also includes two new appendices that provide pathways for states and cities that control their own code to move forward with zero energy performance requirements. The appendices describe energy codes for both residential and commercial buildings that over the course of a year would produce as much energy as they consume. This would be achieved through a mix of aggressive, yet achievable levels of energy efficiency combined with renewable energy like rooftop solar panels.   

“This vote says loud and clear that cities and states, which are voting on the IECC, want advanced energy efficiency,” said NBI CEO Ralph DiNola. “We are encouraged by the progress and especially the adopted zero energy appendices that allow jurisdictions to go even further than what the IECC calls for in residential and commercial projects.” In addition to the zero energy appendices, key areas of improvement include:

Higher Efficiency Through Flexible Points Options for Commercial and Residential.  Proposals to advance the flexibility of both the commercial and residential parts of the energy code were accepted by voters and provide a mechanism that make it easier for jurisdictions that want to further efficiency in codes. Many code requirements are very effective—but only in some climate zones, building types, or building designs. New options for choosing efficiency packages that meet a minimum points requirement provide a solution. By allowing for choices that may be highly effective in some situations but not in others, the code will lead to reduced energy use while providing builders flexibility to choose the path to efficiency that works best for each individual project. 

“This provision will benefit consumers by giving builders the flexibility to choose efficiency improvements for new homes,” said Steven Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

Electrification and Electric Vehicles. As electric vehicles (EVs) grow in popularity, codes addressing them are essential. The accepted EV proposals require new buildings to make a certain percentage of its parking spaces ready for EVs by including electrical infrastructure. Electrification of buildings and vehicles–with clean, renewable power supply–is one of the key policy solutions for tackling climate change, and in new buildings electrification readiness can be done at a very small incremental cost. Also accepted were proposals that require electrification readiness when installing fossil fuel appliances and higher efficiency water heating sources, and require lower efficiency water heater types to be installed with renewables.

Residential Water Heating and Water Use. For the first time, the residential code will consider the water heating equipment chosen for a home. While builders may still select any type of water heater, certain equipment must meet more stringent requirements. As building envelopes have gotten tighter in recent years, a greater proportion of energy costs now involves water heating. Though equipment efficiency levels are generally controlled by the federal government, this proposal is structured to improve efficiency while not triggering federal preemption (as states generally can’t set their own standards for equipment which has a federal efficiency), and still provide builders with choices.

Lighting Efficiency. Multiple lighting-related proposals were passed including proposals to increase lighting efficiency in homes, add lighting controls, and install multifamily exterior lighting. In addition, a proposal on horticultural lighting was accepted that closes a loophole in the IECC that exempts lighting for plant growth.

“Building code officials, sustainability departments, and state and local agencies made their voices heard, and the message was clear: a strong energy code is the best way to make sure new buildings use less energy, reduce utility bills for consumers, and emit fewer emissions that contribute to the climate crisis,” said Lauren Urbanek, Senior Energy Policy Advocate at NRDC.

Kimberly Cheslak, Energy Codes Specialist at IMT, added, “Building codes remain a critical tool to raise the performance of all buildings to benefit all residents and occupants. As municipalities and private companies continue to set ambitious targets to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, the 2021 IECC will be an excellent tool to bring those goals to fruition. We look forward to continued work with our partners in code advocacy to deploy the new IECC."

Now that the voting results are in, they must be certified by the International Code Council’s board of directors before they become official. In the meantime, there is a challenge period where any of the approved proposals can be subject to further review. The final 2021 IECC will be released later in 2020 at which time jurisdictions can begin adoption the new standard.

More about the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). The IECC is developed and managed by the International Code Council (ICC) and is the primary model energy code that states and cities, which control their own code, refer to when development local standards. ASHRAE 90.1 and 189.1 are other national model energy codes often referenced. Because buildings account for about 40% of the energy consumed in the United States, energy codes represent a critical lever for cities and state looking to curb energy use and resulting carbon emissions from the built environment. The IECC sets out minimum efficiency standards for new construction for a structure’s walls, floors, ceilings, lighting, windows, doors, duct leakage, air leakage, etc. Every three years, officials from municipalities and states across the nation vote on proposed changes to the IECC to incorporate new building technologies and practices as they evolve over time, and ensure that new American homes and commercial buildings meet modern-day minimum levels of safety, fire protection, and efficiency.

To see the voting results, visit: https://www.iccsafe.org/wp-content/uploads/PRELIMINARY-2019-GROUP-B-OGCV-RESULTS.pdf

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy acts as a catalyst to advance energy efficiency policies, programs, technologies, investments, and behaviors.

Physicist have shown that the motion of domain walls can be detected by monitoring voltage generated in superconducting devices. This finding can facilitate magnetic racetrack memory applications.

An 80-meter high wind turbine costing hundreds of thousands of dollars caught fire at the Phong Dien 1 Wind Farm Sunday. The farm in Tuy Phong District in the south central province of Binh Thuan has 20 turbines. Witnesses say black smoke billowed out of one of the turbines Sunday and there were explosive sounds before the blade fell to the ground. Due to the turbine’s height, the fire could not be put down by the wind farm’s staff and . . .

The €5m fine imposed on the State for the Derrybrien wind farm fiasco is set to at least double before the problem is rectified. An additional €810,000 in daily penalties has built up and €15,000 more is being added every day. By mid-October the accumulated penalties will match the fine, and all indications are it will take longer than that to resolve the issue. The European Commission, which handed down a damning judgment on November 12, has demanded payment of . . .

The police were forced to close off some roads in Mors, northwest Jutland, on December 30 after a wind turbine went rogue. It was feared the 30-metre, 175 kilowatt turbine, which was turning despite being switched off, might dismantle like a similar turbine in the same area in 2015.

The sudden collapse of a wind turbine in a densely populated New York City neighborhood has alarmed state and city officials, who are promising investigations and new legislation in response to the accident. The turbine on the roof of a strip mall in the Bronx came apart amid high winds Monday, taking with it its foundational monopole tower. The structures fell into the strip mall’s parking lot, flattening one car and damaging several others, according to the New York City . . .

The Maryland Public Service Commission will hold a hearing in Ocean City this month as part of an inquiry into the impact of taller wind turbines off Maryland’s coast. The hearing will be held at noon on Saturday, Jan. 18, at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center, 4001 Coastal Highway, Ocean City, in rooms 215-217, according to a commission news release. Members of the public will have the opportunity to comment on the plans for two offshore wind projects: The . . .

The Government is “undermining” its own renewable energy targets ahead of a general election in which climate change will influence voters’ polling decisions, one of the country’s main renewable energy representative groups has claimed. “At the very moment we need to be deploying wind energy at record levels, the Government, through restrictive new planning guidelines, is undermining efforts to achieve its own targets for renewable electricity,” said Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA) chief executive David Connolly. His comments come ahead . . .

Taiwan’s ministry of economic affairs has cut the flat and tiered feed-in tariffs for offshore wind developers that sign power purchase agreements (PPAs) in 2020.

Vestas plans to become carbon neutral before 2030 without the use of offsetting.

Three appeals filed against the Strauss Wind Energy Project (SWEP) are challenging the installation of 29 wind turbines on a 3,000-acre plot of land in the hills outside Lompoc. At a Planning Commission meeting in November, several environmental organizations argued that the project would have a negative impact on the area’s unique local ecosystem, but were ultimately unable to sway the commission away from the project, which would double the county’s renewable energy capacity. The 450-foot turbines have the potential . . .

Paula Byrne, the Ballyroan-based public relations officer with Wind Aware Ireland had labelled the new wind turbine guidelines as “not fit for purpose”. Over the past number of years, as many as 14 local groups have voiced trenchant resistance to plans for wind farm developments at various locations around Laois. These include Concerned Communities of Laois, Wolfhill Swan Luggacurren Wind Awareness Group, People Over Wind, Save Our Mountain, Save our Stradbally, Concerned Residents of Spink, Laois Wind Energy Awareness Group, . . .

Residents and landowners in Deerwood Township in Kittson County are concerned about one man’s plan to break down wind turbine blades for disposal. The Deerwood Township Board held an informational meeting on Monday, Dec. 16 at the town hall just north of Highway 11 and west of Karlstad. Although the meeting concerned the recent and impending actions of Troy Peterson, he did not attend the meeting. However, about 20 residents and landowners asked questions regarding Peterson’s operations. Peterson has a . . .

Yet another session in the ongoing hearing to consider construction of 650-foot-high windmills in Packer Twp. is set for Jan. 16. The township also enters the new year giving consideration to a proposal for a hydroelectric plant powered by acid mine-polluted water. 26 turbines The Packer Twp. Zoning Hearing Board has been holding hearings into the proposal by Liberty Power to build almost two dozen wind turbines atop the Broad Mountain in the township and Nesquehoning borough. The hearings, which . . .

When it comes to discussions of the proposed offshore Skipjack Wind Farm and the related proposals to bring cables carrying the wind-generated power ashore at the Fenwick Island State Park, there seem to be two – maybe three – schools of thought, generally. The offshore wind farm, which would be the second in the United States and the largest so far in this country, is slated to be constructed about 19 miles off the coast of southern Delaware. Officials from the company . . .