Blame the Scots!

I learned something new the other day. That the Scots have a claim on building the first wind-electric system. I'd aways thought this was held by Charles F. Brush of Cleveland, Ohio but evidently not so. Or is this just another Pavel Chekov Russian moment? (Book: How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World and Everything in It by Arthur Herman)

Timeline: The History of Wind Power - Guardian (UK) - 17 Oct 08

"July 1887, Glasgow, Scotland

The first windmill for electricity production is built by Professor James Blyth of Anderson's College, Glasgow (now Strathclyde University). The professor experiments with three different turbine designs, the last of which is said to have powered his Scottish home for 25 years.

Winter 1887 – Ohio, US

Professor Charles F. Brush builds a 12kW wind turbine to charge 408 batteries stored in the cellar of his mansion. The turbine, which ran for 20 years, had a rotor diameter of 50m and 144 rotor blades."

Letters: Devil's Wind - New Scientist - 11 Dec 93

"The first person to harness the wind to produce electricity was a Scotsman, James Blyth ('America reaps the wind harvest', 21 August). He first consulted his colleague, Lord Kelvin, about the possibility of using a windmill for the purpose. Kelvin thought it would be possible and urged Blyth to set up a large horizontal windmill at his holiday home in Marykirk near Montrose in 1888.

Blyth lit his own house and offered to light the streets of Marykirk, but his offer was not accepted because the villagers thought electricity was the work of the devil. He did, however, provide emergency power for the local asylum."

An academic paper that explores this discovery.

James Blyth – Britain's first modern wind power pioneer
Author: Price, Trevor J.
Source: Wind Engineering, Volume 29, Number 3, May 2005 , pp. 191-200(10)

A summary of his wind papers at the University of Strathclyde:

Summary of Records:

Complete specification of James Blyth's 'Improvements in Wind Engines' from Office of Commissioners of Patents (Patent No. 19,401) November 1891 (Copy of descriptions and diagrams)

Stereoscopic photograph of Box Horizontal Windmill, Mavy Kirk, Kincardinshire c.1888

Paper 'On the application of Wind Power to the generation and storage of Electricity', read before the Philosophical Society of Glasgow' 2nd May 1888

( Read more... )

Blame the Scots!

I learned something new the other day. That the Scots have a claim on building the first wind-electric system. I'd aways thought this was held by Charles F. Brush of Cleveland, Ohio but evidently not so. Or is this just another Pavel Chekov Russian moment? (Book: How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World and Everything in It by Arthur Herman)

Timeline: The History of Wind Power - Guardian (UK) - 17 Oct 08

"July 1887, Glasgow, Scotland

The first windmill for electricity production is built by Professor James Blyth of Anderson's College, Glasgow (now Strathclyde University). The professor experiments with three different turbine designs, the last of which is said to have powered his Scottish home for 25 years.

Winter 1887 – Ohio, US

Professor Charles F. Brush builds a 12kW wind turbine to charge 408 batteries stored in the cellar of his mansion. The turbine, which ran for 20 years, had a rotor diameter of 50m and 144 rotor blades."

Letters: Devil's Wind - New Scientist - 11 Dec 93

"The first person to harness the wind to produce electricity was a Scotsman, James Blyth ('America reaps the wind harvest', 21 August). He first consulted his colleague, Lord Kelvin, about the possibility of using a windmill for the purpose. Kelvin thought it would be possible and urged Blyth to set up a large horizontal windmill at his holiday home in Marykirk near Montrose in 1888.

Blyth lit his own house and offered to light the streets of Marykirk, but his offer was not accepted because the villagers thought electricity was the work of the devil. He did, however, provide emergency power for the local asylum."

An academic paper that explores this discovery.

James Blyth – Britain's first modern wind power pioneer
Author: Price, Trevor J.
Source: Wind Engineering, Volume 29, Number 3, May 2005 , pp. 191-200(10)

A summary of his wind papers at the University of Strathclyde:

Summary of Records:

Complete specification of James Blyth's 'Improvements in Wind Engines' from Office of Commissioners of Patents (Patent No. 19,401) November 1891 (Copy of descriptions and diagrams)

Stereoscopic photograph of Box Horizontal Windmill, Mavy Kirk, Kincardinshire c.1888

Paper 'On the application of Wind Power to the generation and storage of Electricity', read before the Philosophical Society of Glasgow' 2nd May 1888

( Read more... )

Mega-Battery in Maine?

Yet another scheme to store electrical energy. This time with underground caverns you flood and pump out. May be more efficient than compressed air but one would have to look at the numbers.

A Giant Water Battery - New Republic - 17 Oct 08

"Maybe it's time for Maine to change its license-plate slogan (currently 'Vacationland') to something more energetic and 21st century, like... "Humongous-Battery Land." A Canadian startup [Riverbank Power] has announced its intention to build what's essentially a giant battery where the decommissioned Maine Yankee nuclear power plant used to be.

Their plan, which has some impressive backing, is to blast giant caverns out of the bedrock 600 meters below and then, during times of peak electricity demand, divert water from the Black River into the caverns, which would power electric turbines on the way down. When demand is low, meanwhile, excess electricity would be used to operate the turbines in reverse, pumping water back out of the caverns.

Because the power generated at a hydroelectric plant is proportional to the height the water travels, and because the Maine project would be twice the height of the tallest hydroelectric dam in the world, this underground hydro plant could generate a huge amount of electricity. It would have a capacity of 1000 megawatts, and could run at full bore for six to eight hours before its storage caverns were full. "

Mega-Battery in Maine?

Yet another scheme to store electrical energy. This time with underground caverns you flood and pump out. May be more efficient than compressed air but one would have to look at the numbers.

A Giant Water Battery - New Republic - 17 Oct 08

"Maybe it's time for Maine to change its license-plate slogan (currently 'Vacationland') to something more energetic and 21st century, like... "Humongous-Battery Land." A Canadian startup [Riverbank Power] has announced its intention to build what's essentially a giant battery where the decommissioned Maine Yankee nuclear power plant used to be.

Their plan, which has some impressive backing, is to blast giant caverns out of the bedrock 600 meters below and then, during times of peak electricity demand, divert water from the Black River into the caverns, which would power electric turbines on the way down. When demand is low, meanwhile, excess electricity would be used to operate the turbines in reverse, pumping water back out of the caverns.

Because the power generated at a hydroelectric plant is proportional to the height the water travels, and because the Maine project would be twice the height of the tallest hydroelectric dam in the world, this underground hydro plant could generate a huge amount of electricity. It would have a capacity of 1000 megawatts, and could run at full bore for six to eight hours before its storage caverns were full. "

French Government Wants US Loan Guarantees to Sell Us Their Stuff

Since Areva is mostly owned by the French government, so why not this subject? Looks like the home of Jerry Falwell - Lynchburg, VA - is up to its keister in Areva's local game.

Areva Looks to Federal Loan Guarantees for New Reactors - NewsAdvance.com - 20 Oct 08

"Lynchburg has a lot at stake in the situation. Already one of the region’s largest employers, Areva is undergoing a $25 million expansion and hiring 500 people to finish the detailed designs of its Evolutionary Power Reactor and get several built in the U.S. The expansion will get $2.5 million in state incentives and up to $1 million from Lynchburg."

"PPL said in a news release that its decision on whether to build Areva’s EPR in Pennsylvania depends in part on receiving a federal loan guarantee. Singer said, 'We believe that the loan guarantees are necessary because these are new projects.'

The lack of federal backing 'would make it very hard,' he said. 'Wall Street, especially nowadays, is very conservative in who they loan to, and they do a risk analysis of it.'

The loan guarantee program was authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to encourage clean electricity sources such as nuclear and wind. Loan guarantees can cover up to 80 percent of a project’s total cost. This year Congress appropriated $18.5 billion for nuclear loan guarantees. DOE started taking applications on June 30.

It got a lot of suitors. On Oct. 2, it announced that companies had submitted applications for $122 billion in guarantees to support 21 new reactors. The agency now is looking at those applications to decide which ones are top priorities."

French Government Wants US Loan Guarantees to Sell Us Their Stuff

Since Areva is mostly owned by the French government, so why not this subject? Looks like the home of Jerry Falwell - Lynchburg, VA - is up to its keister in Areva's local game.

Areva Looks to Federal Loan Guarantees for New Reactors - NewsAdvance.com - 20 Oct 08

"Lynchburg has a lot at stake in the situation. Already one of the region’s largest employers, Areva is undergoing a $25 million expansion and hiring 500 people to finish the detailed designs of its Evolutionary Power Reactor and get several built in the U.S. The expansion will get $2.5 million in state incentives and up to $1 million from Lynchburg."

"PPL said in a news release that its decision on whether to build Areva’s EPR in Pennsylvania depends in part on receiving a federal loan guarantee. Singer said, 'We believe that the loan guarantees are necessary because these are new projects.'

The lack of federal backing 'would make it very hard,' he said. 'Wall Street, especially nowadays, is very conservative in who they loan to, and they do a risk analysis of it.'

The loan guarantee program was authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to encourage clean electricity sources such as nuclear and wind. Loan guarantees can cover up to 80 percent of a project’s total cost. This year Congress appropriated $18.5 billion for nuclear loan guarantees. DOE started taking applications on June 30.

It got a lot of suitors. On Oct. 2, it announced that companies had submitted applications for $122 billion in guarantees to support 21 new reactors. The agency now is looking at those applications to decide which ones are top priorities."

Tire Slashers for McCain

You kinda knew this was coming at some point. What's interesting is that the reaction just might work for Obama who has a slight lead in North Carolina.

Tires Slashed During Obama Rally - Fayetteville Observer - 20 Oct 08

"Someone slashed the tires of at least 30 vehicles parked outside the Crown Coliseum on Sunday during a rally for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, authorities said. Sheriff’s deputies are investigating. The tires were cut while people were inside the Crown Coliseum listening to speeches, said Maj. E. Wright of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office."

"Sarah Revis, who lives on Wilkes Road, said the slashed tires left several women, including a single mother and a toddler, stranded and upset. At least four tow trucks were sent to move the vehicles from the Crown, Revis said.

'This is an embarrassment to this city and to me as a citizen,' Revis said. 'I’ve seen women out here crying and men cussing. This is a crying shame.' Lynne Steenstra said she thought that the slashings were scare tactics designed to keep her and others from supporting Obama. Even though it cost her roughly $120 to get her Dodge Caravan towed and fixed, Steenstra said the act would not intimidate her from voting. 'It hasn’t deterred us one bit,' Steenstra said. 'It has only encouraged us more. I just hope whoever did this pays the price.'"

Tire Slashers for McCain

You kinda knew this was coming at some point. What's interesting is that the reaction just might work for Obama who has a slight lead in North Carolina.

Tires Slashed During Obama Rally - Fayetteville Observer - 20 Oct 08

"Someone slashed the tires of at least 30 vehicles parked outside the Crown Coliseum on Sunday during a rally for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, authorities said. Sheriff’s deputies are investigating. The tires were cut while people were inside the Crown Coliseum listening to speeches, said Maj. E. Wright of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office."

"Sarah Revis, who lives on Wilkes Road, said the slashed tires left several women, including a single mother and a toddler, stranded and upset. At least four tow trucks were sent to move the vehicles from the Crown, Revis said.

'This is an embarrassment to this city and to me as a citizen,' Revis said. 'I’ve seen women out here crying and men cussing. This is a crying shame.' Lynne Steenstra said she thought that the slashings were scare tactics designed to keep her and others from supporting Obama. Even though it cost her roughly $120 to get her Dodge Caravan towed and fixed, Steenstra said the act would not intimidate her from voting. 'It hasn’t deterred us one bit,' Steenstra said. 'It has only encouraged us more. I just hope whoever did this pays the price.'"