Start-ups working with solar, battery, hydrogen, wind, and fuel cell technologies raised $445.1 million in venture funds nationally in the first six months of this year, 56.1 percent more than the $285.2 million raised by such companies in all of 2005, according to figures newly compiled by the National Venture Capital Association trade group.

Engineers at Sandia National Laboratories have designed a data system which can continuously track the performance and of large wind turbines that produce electricity. The project, called Accurate Time Linked Data Acquisition System II, is contained in shoebox-sized aluminum structure that contains data-collection equipment and lightning protectors.

Bozeman - In a little lab on the campus of Montana State University, John Mandell, Dan Samborsky, and scores of students, have been breaking things to advance the field of wind energy.

Clipper Windpower Plc has announced that under a supply Agreement with UPC Wind, eight of the company’s first commercially-available 2.5MW Liberty wind turbines will be utilized in the Steel Winds Wind Farm, the first wind power project to be built on the US shores of Lake Erie.

A group of entrepreneurs is harnessing the perpetual motion of the ocean and turning it into a commodity in high demand: energy. Right now, machines of various shapes and sizes are being tested off shores from the North Sea to the Pacific — one may even be coming to the East River in New York State this fall — to see how they capture waves and tides and create marine energy.

...huge turbines in development at General Electric could make battles with coastal residents a thing of the past. Researchers say the turbines could be placed on floating platforms, far at sea and invisible from the shore.

Ishpeming, Michigan [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] Construction is currently under way this month on a rare wind energy project, a 200 kilowatt (kW) vertical-axis wind turbine outside a large residential complex in Michigan.

If Southwest Windpower’s plan works, homeowners one day could buy their very own windmill at a local Home Depot for $5,000, get a contractor to install the contraption in a back yard and - presto - customers would get clean-burning and free electricity to power air-conditioners, televisions, lights, refrigerators and more.

...unlike with wind and solar power, geothermal plants are what Ran called a "24/7 facility." Geothermal production isn't limited only to daylight hours or windy days, meaning it can be a baseload source of power, available all the time, Ran said.

At Tehachipi pass, a well-known wind farm in Central California, even the smallest wind turbine, the tips of its blades whirling at just the right speed, gives off a radar signal larger than that of a Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet, according to Gary Seifert, Program Manager, Idaho National Laboratory, who spoke at last week's annual U.S. wind power industry conference.

Coal, the nation's favorite fuel in much of the 19th century and early 20th century, could become so again in the 21st. The United States has enough to last at least two centuries at current use rates — reserves far greater than those of oil or natural gas. And for all the public interest in alternatives like wind and solar power, or ethanol from the heartland, coal will play a far bigger role.

Wilmington facility to consolidate engineers, technicians

Huge turbines mounted on floating platforms could make wind power competitive with fossil-fuel-generated electricity. These advanced wind turbines, which are in development, could be situated far from the shore, too, avoiding battles with onshore residents who object to the presence of large wind farms.

Clarkson Professor Ken Visser and his team of graduate students have been researching wind turbines for the past six years. They've been trying to come up with a design small and efficient enough for the average consumer.

To continue its rapid growth, wind energy must overcome some major hurdles in the next few years. Market development in the United States is strongly dependent on the federal PTCs, which for now must be periodically renewed by Congress.

Cheaper, user-friendly turbines could pave the way for more investment.

April 24, 2006 issue - As projects to build "wind farms" of massive, electricity-generating wind turbines continue to multiply, so do the ranks of "not in my backyard" protesters.

Niskayuna, New York [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] From the country with still not one wind turbine installed offshore comes news of a partnership between GE Energy and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on a research and development contract to build a new fleet of next generation offshore wind turbines. And with the turbines expected in the 5-7 MW range, these could be the largest turbines ever built.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Wind Technology Partnership rolled out a new tool to aid energy planners and wind developers in China's Hebei province.

AWEA and Wind on the Wires (WOW) filed protests with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), asking it to reject out of hand the Midwest Independent System Operator's (MISO) proposed changes to the rule's pro forma low voltage ride-through (LVRT) and reactive power provisions for wind generators.