The TarHeel State for PickensPlan

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Comment by Michael on December 6, 2008 at 12:04am

Hello Phil
Thanks for your good work.
I would like to invite the members of your group to join the group Wanted Patents, New products and stay informed in all the new developments in Green Energy.
Hope to see you all there. Let's all continue to work together on PickensPlan.
Michael
coordinator@wantedpatents.com
http://push.pickensplan.com/group/wantedpatentsprototypesnewproductsinventions/a>

Comment by Ed Matricardi on December 5, 2008 at 2:05pm

As we approach the new year (and get ready for the new WH Administration & Congress), we are shifting gears to begin recruiting Pickens Plan District Leaders in every congressional district to help with activities in the coming months.

Please let me know if you are interested in serving as a District Leader in your area and I will get you additional information.

Thanks.

Comment by Ed Matricardi on November 22, 2008 at 8:38am

5 NC Mayors Sign Pickens Pledge for Energy Independence

To date, 168 Mayors across the nation have signed the Pickens Pledge, joining T. Boone Pickens’ national campaign to reduce foreign oil imports by utilizing abundant domestic resources including wind power and natural gas.

In NC, the following Mayors have signed the pledge:

William Bell, Mayor, Durham
John Grogan, Mayor, Eden
Alfonzo King, Mayor, Goldsboro
Yvonne Johnson, Mayor, Greensboro
Raymond Pennington, Mayor, Lumberton

If your Mayor is not on the list, contact their office today and urge them to sign the pledge for energy independence!

For a complete list of Mayors who have signed the pledge, please visit:
http://www.pickensplan.com/news/2008/11/21/mayors/

Thanks.

Comment by Nemeweh on November 15, 2008 at 7:48am

I'm joining this group in an effort to participate in the what I believe is our country's (and state's) best bet to not only become energy independent ( he best offense is a good defense!) but to create economic growth (jobs and technology) that can not be outsourced.

Comment by Michael, Houston on November 9, 2008 at 12:45am

MAKE MONEY, HELP SOMEONE YOU KNOW GET A GREEN JOB NOW!
Have you noticed the Referral Rewards up to $1,000 listed on Green Jobs Now! group page? Join the Group!
http://push.pickensplan.com/group/greenjobsnowcom

Comment by Michael, Houston on November 9, 2008 at 12:44am

MAKE MONEY, HELP SOMEONE YOU KNOW GET A GREEN JOB NOW!
Have you noticed the Referral Rewards up to $1,000 listed on Green Jobs Now! group page? Join the Group!
http://push.pickensplan.com/group/greenjobsnowcom

Comment by Mike Fox on November 6, 2008 at 11:31am

Any green business looking for manufacturing space , I know of several ex-textile plants(several 100k /sf of space) In the center of the state, great work force, and probally a GREAT deal.

Comment by Mike Anthony Fernald Sr. on October 23, 2008 at 11:15am

Comment by Ed Matricardi on October 16, 2008 at 10:48am

Region ripe for energy jobs?
Forum speakers cite demand, incentives as a nuclear renaissance takes root in the area.

By Bruce Henderson
bhenderson@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008
Growing energy demand and government incentives for renewable fuels make the Charlotte region ripe for a surge of new energy-related jobs, speakers said at an economic forum Wednesday.

Global investments in energy from the sun, wind and other renewable sources are soaring as a predicted renaissance in nuclear power takes root in Charlotte's backyard, industry experts told an audience hosted by the Charlotte Regional Partnership.

The nonprofit agency encourages economic development in a 16-county region of both Carolinas.

What's unknown: whether the global financial crisis will scare off lenders and investors, especially in renewable energy. And whether schools and universities can turn out enough grads to staff high-tech energy firms.

“This is the challenge – matching graduates with the needs of industry,” said Steve Patterson, whose job is to help make that happen.

He's the first director of UNC Charlotte's Energy Production and Infrastructure Center, or EPIC, which intends to produce both a technical work force and technological advances.

Access to capital in a financially dry marketplace will also pose a major challenge, added Mike Horkey, who finances energy efficiency and “green” energy projects for Banc of America Leasing. Many projects involving renewables need longer than average financing, he said, compounding the problem.

“A lot of people have mistakenly thought that the sun is free, the wind and wave action is free,” Horkey said. “It's the conversion of the resources to energy that's not cheap.”

Other speakers included John Sisson, whose InSite Consulting helps companies find new locations worldwide; Duke Energy Carolinas president Ellen Ruff; and Randall Taylor, an executive with the engineering giant URS Corp.

The Charlotte region has shared in the growth that is watching global investment in renewables grow between 20 percent and 60 percent a year.

Duke Energy, meanwhile, is adding to its conventional power fleet for the first time in decades. Duke is building a new coal-fired unit at its Cliffside coal-fired power plant 50 miles west of Charlotte and plans a new nuclear plant just south of Cliffside near Gaffney, S.C.

In the past year, Sencera International Group announced it will invest $36.8 million to build a solar-module factory in Mecklenburg County. Finland-based Metso Power is building a $13.2 million boiler manufacturing plant in Lancaster County, S.C., where the engineering firm URS/ Washington Group brought 400 jobs for a nuclear-design facility. Shaw Power Group added 500 design and engineering jobs in its Charlotte location.

A study last month for the American Council on Global Nuclear Competitiveness, a pro-nuclear group, estimated that South Carolina could generate more than 50,800 new jobs, tops in the nation, if a new wave of nuclear power plants are built. North Carolina could see 20,700 new jobs, the report said.

Subscribe to The Charlotte Observer & Earn Miles.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/local/story/256349.html

Comment by Ed Matricardi on October 16, 2008 at 10:42am

Is the future of N. Carolina's electric power blowing in the wind?

By LIZ MITCHELL lmitchell@islandpacket.com
Published Sunday, October 12, 2008

Five years from now, 210-foot-tall wind turbines could be spinning off South Carolina's coast, generating electric power.

That's the prediction from the S.C. Energy Office, which was recently awarded a $500,000, three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to study the potential for generating wind energy off the coast. Clemson and Coastal Carolina universities and the Savannah River National Lab are also participating in the research.

"The purpose of this (grant) is to develop all the necessary regulations and get a better feel for what's available (in wind resources offshore)," said Erika Hartwig of the state energy office.

EXAMINING THE RESOURCES

The state hopes to build an 80-megawatt wind farm of between 12 and 15 turbines about 3 miles offshore. On a clear day, the turbines would be faintly visible from the beach, Hartwig said.

One megawatt of wind power can produce enough electricity to serve 250 to 300 homes on average each day, according to the DOE.

The pilot project could serve between 20,000 and 24,000 homes.

It would be paid for by utility companies interested in using the power that's generated, Hartwig said. The wind farm location would be determined from studies now under way, but the most likely sites would be between Charleston and North Carolina, Hartwig said.

"The wind field drops offshore as you go south," said Paul Gayes, director of the Burroughs and Chapin Center for Marine and Wetland Studies at Coastal Carolina. "Here at the Grand Strand and on Hilton Head (Island), there is a large demand for power right along the coast. ... (However) wind energy is not as viable (off Hilton Head)."

The farther off from shore the turbines move, the more expensive wind energy becomes.

In addition to potentially harnessing the wind, the grant provides money to study other possible energy sources, including tidal flows and wave currents, Gayes said.

"There are very strong tides in Hilton Head where turbines driven by tidal flow are feasible," he said. "Part of this overall cooperative is looking at how to integrate all the resources that are out there."

THE TOOLS

Ralph Nichols, an engineer at the Savannah River National Lab, said the best way to measure the potential of coastal wind, wave and tidal energy is to use data-collecting technologies.

Buoys, for instance, can measure wave speed, height and temperature.

A 6-foot cube-like box called a sodar can measure wind speed and direction. The box can be placed atop buildings onshore or on platforms in the ocean and measure wind data up to 600 feet high, Nichols said.

Aside from assessing the resources, Nichols said, the study will also:

• Identify the needs and barriers of integrating offshore wind energy into the power grid.

• Identify technology that can transfer the power to the shore.

• Establish a state task force to determine the economic and environmental effects of wind energy and create a permitting process for wind farms in state waters.

THE BENEFITS

Off the coast of South Carolina, winds are estimated to blow between 15 and 16 miles per hour, fast enough to power a wind farm, Nichols said.

"The power you can get out of wind is very strongly related to" wind speed, he said. "If you double the wind speed, you can increase your amount of power by eight times (based on current modeling)."

Nichols said wind power could help decrease the Palmetto State's dependence on other states for energy and boost local economies.

"Wind by itself won't power the whole state, but it can certainly help," he said.

"And, in some of our most congested places, the population ... is expected to grow 20 to 30 percent in the next 30 years. It's hard to get nuclear and coal-powered plants permitted, much less built. So I hope (wind is) one way we can meet the increasing demand."

WHAT IS WIND ENERGY?
Wind energy is a form of solar energy. Winds are caused by the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the irregularities of the Earth's surface and the rotation of the Earth.

Wind energy or wind power describes the process by which the wind is used to generate mechanical power or electricity. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in wind into mechanical power, which can then be converted into electricity.

http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/636429.html

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