ABC 6 NEWS) — A groundbreaking project in southwest Minnesota could spark a new way to store renewable energy.

Xcel Energy’s “Wind to Battery” project is the first test in the country to store power generated by wind farms.

The project uses breakthrough technology to harnesses wind power in a battery.

The battery weighs about 80 tons and is the size of two tractor trailers stacked on top of each other.

“This, of course, is a small test by utility standards, but it should be able to provide us the seed information that would help us determine what the impact might be,” says Xcel Energy spokesman Frank Novachek.

When it is fully charged, the massive battery can power 500 homes for about seven hours.

GREAT POTENTIAL and Future ahead IMHO for anyone LONG on APWR for next few years!
Just hitting the presses now.

SHENYANG, China, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ –

Highlights
– Revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2008 increased to
$85.4 million, up 120% from $38.9 million for the same period of the
prior year;
– Net income for the three months ended September 30, 2008 amounted to
$9.4 million, an increase of 124% compared to $4.2 million for the same
period of the prior year; EPS for Q3 2008 of approximately $0.28;
– Comprehensive income for the three months ended September 30, 2008
increased to $11.3 million, up 144% from $4.6 million for the same
period of the prior year;
– Revenue for the first nine months of 2008 of $183.4 million, up 66%
from the same period of the prior year;
– Net income for the first nine months of 2008 increased to $18.5 million,
up 56% from the same period of the prior year;
– Comprehensive income for the first nine months of 2008 increased to
$22.3 million, up 81% from the same period of the prior year;
– Cash position of $59.7 million as of September 30, 2008

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/quot…

Wish me luck because the stock price sure looks like the earnings wont be any good but given this horrific market, anything is possible! Will APWR get the Thai 300 Million contract??? What will guidance going forward look like given the overall world meltdown in financial credit??? Will the Chinese Govt fund the wind movement???? Answers tomorrow my windy freinds………..

How dirty is the air in China???? The answer may make you puke because the air is so dirty that solar plants are not working correctly due to the smog and pollution blocking the suns rays onto the solar panels. When will wind ramp in China and when will the Chinese wake up to clean air and clean energy???

Mother Nature has its own beating in store for already battered solar energy stocks. As if the plunging price of oil wasn’t enough to bring solar stocks to their knees, the new report by the United Nations shows how China’s toxic pollution may hinder the development of the country’s burgeoning solar industry.

The putrid haze of Beijing that has engulfed China and greater Asia is reducing the amount of sunlight that actually reaches the ground, according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Program.

In addition to being responsible for millions of deaths and blighted crop yields, these so-called Atmospheric Brown Clouds (ABCs) have dimmed China’s skies to the extent that the country’s solar initiative, and its huge solar industry, could become DOA.

How many other projects besides T Boone Pickens have been postponed or put on the back burner?? How will the world meet its up and coming energy needs without credit???? How many wind turbines will China order for 2009???? Will the USA continue to lead the world in installed wind power??? Lots of questions on my part but few if any answers. Wall street has declared that wall street does NOT like indecision in the credit markets and has crushed almost every wind or solar or anything with credit problems or banking or financing. Most Wind stocks are down about 70% in the last year. Almost like an armegedden without the mushroom cloud around most wind stocks. PBW, PWND, FAN, ZOLT, AMSC, and APWR all in deep red downtown.

I went skiing today at Copper Mountain in Summit County, Colorado and noticed the new posters on the ski towers/lifts about Copper Mountain using 100% Wind Power with the wind turbines/logos on the ski towers. Pretty impressive to see companies put their money where there mouth truly is and letting their IDEALS influence their power needs. Whole Foods also uses 100% wind power. Please post any other companies that you know of who use 100% wind power. Nobody seemed to care on the chair lift about China wind power but one never knows when you will ride the chair lift with another wind fanatic like me.

Why do I feel like the only person that can understand simple economics while saving the planet of our own pollution???? Why can’t the current governments of the world commit to saving the planet while generating new green clean jobs???

The “Global Wind Energy Outlook 2008″, published by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and Greenpeace International, looks at the global potential of wind power up to 2050 and found that it could play a key part in achieving a decline in emissions by 2020. By 2020, wind power could save as much as 1.5 billion tons of CO2 every year, which would add up to over 10 billion tonnes in this timeframe.

The report also explains how wind energy can provide up to 30% of the word’s electricity by the middle of the century. More importantly, wind power could save as much as 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2 every year by 2020.

GWEO 2008 explores three different scenarios for wind power:

A reference scenario based on figures from the International Energy Agency (IEA)
A moderate version which assumes that current targets for renewable energy are successful
An advanced scenario which assumes that all policy options in favour of renewables have been adopted
These are then set against two demand projections for global energy demand.

Wind energy is becoming a substantial factor in economic development, providing more than 350,000 green collar jobs around the world today both in direct and indirect employment. By 2020, this figure is projected to increase to over 2 million

Germany leads the world and continues to show the world how to be oil independent.

Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) — Plambeck Neue Energie AG, the German wind-park developer founded in 1995, will post higher profit next year as clients take delivery on projects in time to collect higher subsidies, Chief Executive Officer Martin Billhardt said.

Customers are delaying accepting finished parks until next year, when a government payment for wind power at onshore sites will be raised to 9.2 euro cents (11.70 cents) per kilowatt hour from 8 cents, Billhardt said. For offshore parks, the subsidy will increase to 13 cents from 8.92 cents.

“Customers want them next year,” Billhardt said in an interview in Frankfurt. Plambeck expects to hand over projects with a generating capacity of 114 megawatts in Germany in 2009 compared with about 6 megawatts this year, he said.

Plambeck, a Cuxhaven-based company that sold shares to the public a decade ago, plans and obtains permission for wind farms. The company mostly works with investors, receiving so-called milestone payments while completing projects.

Germany is seeking to increase renewable energy to 30 percent of the total by 2020 from 10.6 percent in 2006, according to the environment ministry

Oil is a six pack of cheap beer. The only problem with oil is that four cans of the six pack are empty and the buzz energy addicted Americans are wanting a major new hangover. With two cans of beer left in the world supply of oil and four already empty, the current dropping current price of oil is not the future and the future is going to be much, much higher unless America starts drinking the ”’Wind Koolaid””. What is the Wind Koolaid??? Its like putting a man on the moon, its like sending 16 Brigades to Iraq, its like a president who can actually THINK what is good for America vs what is good for my freinds in Texas. America must embrace the wind movement with both arms wrapped firmly around the koolaid pitcher and pour wind koolaid to all states and “”"Spend Baby Spend!!!”"”

how can one profit from China and its ambitious Wind Investments???? My guess is APWR and AMSC, two prominent players on Wind in China!

China is roaring ahead with wind power build-out on its way toward 135 GW of installed wind capacity by 2020 — a $300 billion investment over the period. These enormous investment levels are intended to clean up China’ s energy picture, and to support the development of a globally competitive wind turbine supply chain, from turbines to gearboxes and blades. The bottom line: China’ s wind power explosion will have a transformational impact on the global industry. What are the opportunities to participate in China’ s wind development? How can you navigate the complex regulatory and financial environment? Which of China’ s wind turbine and component manufacturers have the strongest position and which are planning to export? EER’ s new study, China Wind Power Markets and Strategies, 2008- 2020, provides critical competitive analysis for those seeking to compete in China’ s wind market — helping to navigate and evaluate opportunities - for those trying to understand the unfolding wind turbine supply industry and its implications for global competition. Key findings in the study:

China is on track to lead the global wind market in annual installations by 2011, supported by strong political will, improving incentives, and vast natural and industrial resources. But growth will depend on greater supply competition, improved and enhanced transparency of project economics, and improvements in the quality of locally manufactured turbines and wind project design. How these factors evolve will determine the size and nature of opportunities in the decade ahead.

China’ s wind development value chain is evolving, with major state generators consolidating their presence while IPPs and foreign entrants seize opportunities as project owners, operators, and technical consultants. China’ s industry-wide demand for project management and technical skills will perpetuate opportunities for foreign ownership, executed in the form of equity-based partnerships.

Turbine and component manufacturers are stepping up to meet booming demand, striking a balance between quality, production capacity, cost, and local content. China’ s national wind power base initiative is creating opportunities for manufacturers to scale up their product offering to capture mega-scale project contracts as well as potential export sales. As the market matures, rapid supply chain build-up should introduce reliable sourcing options for all players, enabling greater standardization in quality and pricing.