The Great Lakes Zephyr - Wind Energy & Hydrogen Journal

WIND.ALERT FOR DECEMBER 2003 FROM WINDPOWER
MONTHLY

Here are your summaries of the top stories in the December 2003
issue of Windpower Monthly. For a descriptive list of this month's
full contents just go to http://www.windpower-monthly.com/current

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The role of the weather forecaster
Windpower Monthly, Vol 19, No. 12 2003
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Forecasting wind strengths and predicting output from wind
power stations is becoming a whole new wind industry business.
But how much value do accurate forecasts add to a wind kilowatt
hour and in which circumstances do they add most? When does
investment in forecasting pay off? And who stands to financially
benefit from it? What our survey reveals has surprised us. While
forecasting has an important role... (Go to
http://www.windpower-monthly.com/current,#focus to read more
about this article)

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Wizards at work
Windpower Monthly, Vol 19, No. 12 2003
-------------------------
Misguided pursuit of a supposedly simple solution to the
failings of Britain's Renewables Obligation is threatening to
send the wind power business down yet another blind alley.
Rather than extending a clearly flawed policy, what is needed
is a fix to make that policy work. In London a small team of
financial wizards have been applying their magic to just such
a fix. The aim is to unlock the billions needed to finance a
huge amount of development just waiting for the money to
roll... Read the entire opinion column at
http://www.windpower-monthly.com/currentleader

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Politicians take bottom out of world's largest wind market
Windpower Monthly, Vol 19, No. 12 2003
-------------------------
The decline of the world's largest wind power market is
likely to be sharper than previously forecast. In a proposed
revision of Germany’s renewable energy law, hammered out
between the federal economy and environment ministries
last month, all development of wind plant on low wind speed
sites is ruled out. If the proposal is passed by parliament
this month, about a quarter of projects in early stages of
development will be dropped, says the German wind
association, Bundesverband Windenergie (BWE). Commercial
wind power developers, however, are not as alarmed as the
popular wind power movement would have us believe. Read
why -- and more about the volume of projects hit -- in the
December issue of Windpower Monthly.

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British focus on fixing the Renewables Obligation
Windpower Monthly, Vol 19, No. 12 2003
-------------------------
A key topic of the British Wind Energy Association's annual
conference was an innovative proposal for a surprisingly
simple fix of the Renewables Obligation (RO), aimed at
solving a series of its flaws without causing further
uncertainty in the market. The proposal, dubbed Vintage
Roc 'n' Roll, is designed to tear down the barrier to
commercial financing -- identified at the conference as
the key hurdle to rapid growth of wind power in Britain.
In this month's issue of Windpower Monthly we report
on what the inventor of the concept has to say about
achieving bankable long term power purchase contracts
in the British wind market.

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American utilities disagree on wind's emission reduction
potential
Windpower Monthly, Vol 19, No. 12 2003
-------------------------
Two of the nation's largest owners and developers of
electric generation have signed on to the Bush
Administration's Climate Leaders program and volunteered
to cut carbon dioxide emissions from their portfolio of
generating plants by 18%. But that's where the similarities
between the two end. One says it will cut CO2 emissions
through carbon sequestration projects, energy efficiency
and purchased green credits, but that non-polluting wind
generation is too problematic to contemplate. The other
says it will increase the size of its generating portfolio, but
still reduce emissions per kilowatt hour, with wind
generation playing a key a role in its strategy. In this
month's issue we report on why the two giants are at
such odds over wind's potential.

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Strong criticism of Danish government's offshore tender
Windpower Monthly, Vol 19, No. 12 2003
-------------------------
If the Danish government fails to change the proposed
terms for its invitation for bids for construction of the
country's next major offshore wind station it might as
well cancel the tender, says the national wind turbine
owners association. As proposed, the tender framework
is worse than that which has put a stop to all wind plant
development on shore, adds DV. The EU-wide tender is
to be issued in the new year for the third of five 160 MW
demonstration offshore wind plants. Read about the
problematic terms of the tender in the current issue
of Windpower Monthly.

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Scandinavian exchange launched for green credit trade
Windpower Monthly, Vol 19, No. 12 2003
-------------------------
With several years of experience under its belt,
Scandinavia's power trading exchange, NordPool, is to
launch a marketplace in Sweden for trade of green power
certificates. The hope is that the Swedish initiative could
become the model for a European exchange for cross
border trade of green power. "We have been asked by
many players in the industry in Sweden to set up such a
market," says NordPool's Morten Johnsrud. "Now seemed
to be the most appropriate time." Wind industry members,
however, are not satisfied yet. They are already urging
changes. Find out more in Windpower Monthly's December
issue.

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Spanish grid operator at the bottom of a steep learning curve
Windpower Monthly, Vol 19, No. 12 2003
-------------------------
Such is the power wielded by Spain's transmission system
operator that despite its threat to disconnect wind plant in
the name of grid stability -- and the limit it has already placed
on installed wind power capacity -- wind industry representatives
feel they have no choice but to sing to REE's tune. Improve
your grid integration technology or die, is the grid operator's
message to the industry. In laying down the law, however,
REE chooses to ignore the lessons already learned by its
counterparts in northern Europe, which have far more
experience of wind integration. Arguments from REE that
Spain is a special case, put forward in the current issue of
Windpower Monthly, are failing to convince the wind industry.

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