| When it comes to talking about the growth of alternative energy, the numbers are truly astonishing. And you can read all about it in enerG Magazine.
In the first three months of this year alone, the U.S. wind energy industry built wind farms at a breakneck pace, putting 1,400 megawatts or approximately $3 billion worth of new generating capacity in place. That’s enough capacity to serve 400,000 homes.
The new wind power facilities installed in those three months span 10 states—and many of them are in the western United States. They bring total U.S. wind power capacity to over 18,000 MW, or enough to serve the equivalent of five million homes. And a further 4,000 megawatts of projects are now also under construction nationwide.
In Colorado alone, wind power capacity has quadrupled over the last 18 months.
And solar power, too, is seeing enormous annual growth rates, with states like California leading the way. Installed solar power in the U.S. increased 125 percent between 2006 and 2007.
Solar power is growing so quickly that there are predictions that it could account for 10 percent of the electricity generated in the United States by 2025. And then there are the advances in biomass and geothermal power.
A relatively new magazine--enerG--is covering these developments and a whole lot more in the alternative energy area.
enerG recently entered its third year of publishing with increased circulation, and increased interest from readers and advertisers. The magazine, which is published six times a year, has increased its circulation to 17,000, North America-wide.
enerG Magazine covers all areas of alternative energy, including wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and biofuels, such as ethanol. And it features many stories on alternative energy projects in the West.
Recent articles have included the start-up of Colorado ’s Cedar Creek Wind Project and a profile of the largest solar power system in the U.S. , at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. Check out these stories and others on our web site.
Over the past several years, there has been growing interest in alternative energy, and billions of dollars have been invested in alternative energy projects, much of it in the Western United States . And the West is a hotbed for alternative energy, with Colorado being home to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
In that time, we’ve also seen environmental issues, such as global warming, move from being concerns to becoming critical issues. Industrial economies, and consumers, are being hit with high energy costs, with that energy often being sourced from increasingly unstable regions of the world.
Both of these are key drivers in alternative energy development and the huge investments currently being made in alternative energy projects and technology. Alternative energy has the potential to address both of these areas of concern.
We continue to see huge changes in the energy industry, and alternative energy sources are becoming a larger, long-term part of the industry. All this considered, the timing for a magazine all about the business of alternative energy could not be better.
A look at what’s coming up in the September/October issue of enerG Magazine gives you some idea of the dynamic developments in alternative energy.
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The process of using algae to produce biofuel is getting a lot of attention from major companies, such as Chevron and Shell, and small start-ups, due to its huge potential. And a lot of the pioneering work was done at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado
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Many California companies are seeing the light and going solar, but the Far Niente winery of Oakville, California is going solar with a different approach—it has nearly 1,000 PV solar panels mounted on 130 pontoons floating in an irrigation pond.
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The Langdon Wind Energy Center project in wind-rich North Dakota involved a giant in the wind power generation business—FPL Energy—teaming up with regional utility Otter Tail Power Company in a successful business venture that is now supplying 159 MW of wind generated renewable power.
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A profile of the Exelon-Epuron Solar Energy Center in Pennsylvania , the country’s fourth largest solar PV power generation system.
That truly is just a taste of the stories to come in enerG Magazine for the balance of this year, and going into 2009.
And with a change in government coming in Washington , D.C. —with possibly an increased focus on alternative energy—there will be no shortage of news to cover and alternative energy projects to feature in the magazine.
Intrigued by all this? You can check out past issues of enerG here.
You can also subscribe online.
As the saying goes: Read all about it—in enerG Magazine!
Paul MacDonald is the editor of enerG Magazine. He can be reached at editor@altenerG.com
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