Does your blog seem a little sluggish? Wishing you could ditch the coal-burning furnace keeping the internet connection blinking? Worried that your blog’s carbon footprint is embarrassingly large considering it doesn’t even have feet? My fellow blogger, you need some renewable energy, which means it’s probably time to call on Megan Schutt. Megan has been … Continue reading
Tag Archives: offshore wind energy
You don’t need a weatherman to tell you which way the wind’s blowing
Even if you are interested in wind energy in North Carolina (this blogger), and even if you attempt to feign interest in local policy matters (again, this blogger), the news last week that our governor’s office has requested an extended buffer against offshore wind farms may have flown under your radar. The NC Department of … Continue reading
Are all of our wind energy estimations wrong?
Estimating the wind resource available around the world is a major component of the development of wind energy technology. Not only do we need to know how much wind there is to meet the energy demand, but we also need to know what specific locations have the most wind when compared to others. So what … Continue reading
Should we let local politicking shape the conversation about offshore energy development?
One of the most effective arguments against offshore energy developments (of many types – not just offshore wind) is the negative impact to the local viewshed. In North Carolina in particular, the Outer Banks are dominated by land designated as ‘National Seashore,’ and therefore under much greater effective protection from any sort of development than … Continue reading
Cetaceans react to sonic exploration
This article is in follow-up to Serena’s earlier post about NOAA’s emerging guidelines in marine mammal acoustic protection. As Serena noted, marine mammals, including cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), are constantly communicating underwater using sound waves. Humans have also begun to use sound waves underwater to make processes of mapping the ocean floor easier and … Continue reading
Here’s a gust of new information about wind farm efficiency!
Everyone’s familiar with the ‘shading effect’ that occurs on solar energy schemes. If a tree or high rise building casts a shadow on your photovoltaic cell’s glass face, that means your system isn’t generating as much energy as it could, because it’s not catching as much sunlight as it could. But did you know that … Continue reading