Energy

Ohira, Japan (Agence France Presse ) 19Oct

As the impact of Fukishima continues to terrify the Japanese people, a remote Toyota plant in northeastern Japan is poinitng the way forward after the devastating quake-tsunami more than two years after it was completely shut it down.

Employees roll out more than 100,000 Corolla and Yaris sedans a year and the factory looks like most operated by the world’s biggest automaker.

But the plant is unusual for something that cannot easily be seen: it produces its own power – and its own peppers.

A gas-fired power system supplies 7,800 kW of energy — about 70% of present needs — to help keep production moving, and virtually nothing is lost.

The factory recycles heat from the burning of gas and uses it to dry the paint on finished vehicles. Hot water from the gas turbine runs through pipes into a nearby greenhouse that grows green peppers, which will later be sold.

Solar panels also supply some power to the plant.

The factory is tapped into the local energy “micro-grid” and could supply the nearby village of Ohira in case of another disaster.…

The growth of Renewable Energy could usher in a future where our energy is produced at the same place where it is consumed – and power is literally returned to the people.

But well-intentioned government subsidies in the USA and the UK are threatening to turn the wind industry businesses into subsidy junkies, churning out energy for the good of the large utilities instead of benefiting the end users or the environment.

All over America and Britain, regional grid operator are ordering wind farms to reduce output or stop running — a process called curtailment. Letting them all operate at certain times could overload the grid and jeopardize reliable service.

What is worse – the grid operators are PAYING the wind farms each time they are ordered to reduce their output,
Britain’s National Grid has paid out over $50 MILLION in the past year according to industry analysts at the Renewable Energy Foundation (REF).
The problem could get worse in the future, according to the grid operators, if many more wind projects go on line, as planned.
Wind companies knew about these constraints when they built the plants. But utility rules meant to encourage renewable energy let them install feeder lines that meet only minimum standards.
Upgrading transmission lines will take money, and that will come from ratepayers. It’s too soon to say how much the upgrades would cost.
But the investors in wind farms still make money, even if the power isn’t sold on the grid, because of how these projects are financed and the rates companies have negotiated for their energy.…