For today’s entry, we’re going up the East Coast a little, where one state – New Jersey – is going gangbusters over solar, and one company – Verdant – is using a unique approach to wind to generate power in New York’s East River.
The Garden State hit 100 megawatts of solar capacity last October, and by the end of January, had more than 5,100 solar electric systems installed, according to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. The state proudly proclaims that it’s tops in the U.S. for solar panels per square mile.
And the utilities board last summer approved more than $500 million in projects that will more than double the amount of solar power generated in New Jersey, putting it Number Two behind only California in sun-generated power, according to the Associated Press. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine says he wants to generate nearly a third – 30% - of the state’s energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Turbines under the water
One company, Verdant Power (http://verdantpower.com/) is using an innovative approach to generate renewable, emissions-free – as well as “invisible” – electricity for New York City: It’s installing specially designed wind turbines to capture energy produced by the current in the East River.
Under Verdant’s Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy (RITE) Project, the company could start installing as many as 30 underwater turbines in the East River by 2011 after licenses are approved, according to the New York Daily News. Collectively, the turbines would collectively provide 1 megawatt of electricity, enough to power 30,000 homes.
Once the East River project is underway, the company plans to explore similar hydropower installations in the Hudson River and Long Island Sound, according to the Daily News.
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www.thesolarandwindexpo.com
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Something wrong with your math or understanding of electricity or both. An average U.S. household uses about 10,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity each year. One megawatt energy from a turbine can generate between 2.4 million and 3 million kWh annually. Therefore, a megawatt of wind generates about as much electricity as 240 to 300 households use.
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