[MonteQuest]

There is a lot of talk about "potential" energy sources, whether it be wind, coal to liquids, more nuclear, or the myriad of “other” solutions. But what is actually being built? Where are the ground-breaking ceremonies taking place?

Let us use this thread to post reports on actual facilities and infrastructure being built, not planned or under consideration, but where the ground has actually been broken and construction has started.

Here is a general list of things to report on:

Nuclear power plants

Coal & Natural gas powerplants, including LNG ports.

Solar/Wind/Tidal power plants

Biofuel production facilities

Geothermal/hydroelectric power plants

Tar sands/oil shale production facilities

Oil refineries

Remember, post only reports or articles on actual construction.

Not planned or proposed or budgeted, or "in the works."

Let's try to keep the chat to a minimum and use this mostly as a "news update."

[tokyo_to_motueka]

Te Apiti Wind Farm
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')e Apiti is Meridian Energy's first wind farm, located north of the Manawatu Gorge in the north island of New Zealand. It is situated across 1,150 ha of farmland owned by four separate landowners including Meridian Energy.
It is the first New Zealand wind farm to use megawatt-class machines. Each of the 55 turbines produces 1.65 MW, capable of generating enough power for up to 900 average homes, or up to 45,000 average homes in total for the wind farm.

[Starvid]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4247950.stm

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he life of the Dungeness B nuclear power station in Kent is to be extended by 10 years up to 2018.

[Starvid]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Finland: Construction of the Olkiluoto-3 nuclear power reactor was marked on 12 September with the laying of the foundation stone. The stone will be buried under the foundation of the main cooling water pumping building of the new unit. First concrete for the new reactor was poured in July. An Areva and Siemens consortium is constructing the 1600 MWe European Pressurised Water Reactor (EPR) for Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO). Commercial operation of the unit is scheduled in 2009. (

[deconstructionist]

yeah they're planning a big wind farm 4 miles off the coast of nantucket. planning...

what this thread demonstrates is that talk is cheap. what's being done? there is a lot of talk here about what COULD be done. so... what's being done? i would be really happy if this thread was being added to on a regular basis with communities all throughout the globe (including the US) reporting on new solar and wind farms, biomass and geothermal plants, algae biodiesel production... but it has been depressingly dormant.

[Starvid]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Namibia: A ceremony was held at the Langer Heinrich uranium project to officially mark the start of construction activities at the site. The ceremony was attended by a number of Namibian government officials (including the Minister of Mines and Energy, Mr E Nghimtina), local community representatives, as well as Namibian media. The project, based on the original feasibility study schedule, is progressing as planned, with engineering and design well advanced and on-site works now commencing. Langer Heinrich will be the country's second uranium mine and will make Namibia the fourth largest uranium producing country in the world.

[Jaymax]

Doh! Here I go again. Maybe one post a day will keep me out of trouble

Spain deployed 2GW of wind in 2004, taking the total to over 8GW "leading the world for the first time"

http://www.ewea.org/documents/0818_WD_Spain_release.pdf
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')o dismiss wind energy as an expensive, niche green luxury, as many do, is to ignore what has happened in Spain, the world’s number one wind market”, said Millais. “The political drivers in Spain have largely been about economic development especially in the regions, creating jobs, competing in world markets, all against a background of surging energy demand, an increasing proportion of expensive energy imports, and recently a challenging Kyoto target. On all these points, wind is a winning choice

[small_steps]

Improved (cost) methane digester:

http://intrepid21.com/biofuels.htm

I believe they are selling the product into the NG lines int he area, they plan on implementing the tech on various farms in the area. Thing is, this area has one of the lower NG prices around, if the farm was closer to an urban area, the Ng would have a premium market, and the bitching about the smell would be greatly diminished as well.

a bit here, a little there, soon you have something

[small_steps]

Dig into this company

http://www.northernpower.com/

and the projects they have worked on and those they are working on

[Petromax]

New windfarm in Norway

Europe's biggest land-based wind-farm was opened yesterday. (Norway's total electicity production from hydropower is 119 TWh, approx. 25000 KWh per capita)

Link

[aahala]

Century Wind Project in northern Iowa had completion ceremonies
last week. It's 150MW, and the company claims they will add 35MW
more before year's end.

[deconstructionist]

Not exactly in production currently, but unless Greenfield blows up, should be in place in the next few months. This AP article was printed in the Boston Metro newspaper this morning:

Firm Speeds Up Alternative Fuel Efforts

A Massachusetts-based biodiesel company announced plans yesterday that could make the alternative fuel more available and cost-efficient across the Northeast.

Northeast Biodiesel president Lawrence Union said 75 percent of the biodiesel his company plans to start making will be sold to Biofuel Brokers, a Michigan company that will distribute the fuel to nearby refineries and wholesale suppliers.

"The mission here is to have biodiesel available on every street corner," Union said.

But that goal isn't about to happen overnight.

Northeast Biodiesel still needs to build its production facility, which is scheduled to open in a Greenfield industrial park next spring. And by the end of 2006, Union said the company will be ready to make about 5 million gallons of biodiesel a year from the recycled vegetable oil it's been buying from a New York-based business.

Biodiesel, which can be used on its own or blended with petroleum-based diesel fueld, can be used as home heating oil and can power cars, trucks and farm equipment with diesel engines. It can be made from recycled vegetable oils or soybeans. <i>[deconstructionist's note: Vegetable oils and Soybeans are two of the least effecient sources of biomass with which to produce biodiesel. Check out this list of biodiesel yields from various sources. Soybeans are near the bottom of the list. Rapeseed is the most common feedstock for biodiesel production in Europe--it is far more effecient than soybeans. We should get on that tip...]</i>

Its popularity has been growing since 1992 when Congress passed the Energy Policy Act to reduce the nation's dependency on foreign oil. <i>[deconstructionist's note: I'm gunna have to check up on that act, we have not reduced our dependence on foreign oil one iota since 1992. In fact, we have increased it.]</i> It has since been approved by the federal Environmental Protection Agency as an alternative fuel.

[Starvid]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Canadian reactor rejoins grid.
After nearly eight years being laid-up, Ontario Power Generation's Pickering 1 nuclear reactor has been reconnected to the grid after a 14-month, C$ 1 billion refurbishment.

[Starvid]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Czech Republic: The Ministry of Industry has decided to keep open the country’s only uranium mine, Dolni Rozinka, owned by state-owned Diamo, due to a turnaround in the mine’s prospects because of the soaring price of uranium. The mine had been set to shut by in mid 2006. However, the ministry said that some 687 tonnes of uranium could be extracted using conventional mining methods without much further investment and the mine can run profitably until the end of 2008.

[Starvid]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Sweden Approves Power Uprates For Ringhals
The Swedish government has approved power uprates for units one and three of the Ringhals nuclear power plant, as well as the relincensing of unit two, it has been confirmed.
In a statement on 20th October 2005, the government said Ringhals plans to uprate the two units by a combined total of 200 megawatts (MW). Ringhals-1 is an 830 MW boiling water reactor that began commercial operation in 1976. Ringhals-3, a 915 MW pressurised water reactor, began commercial operation in 1981.
Ringhals was the first of the Swedish nuclear licensees to apply for increased power in its reactors. The Swedish government is also due to make a decision on uprate applications from Forsmarks Kraftgrupp AB, for all three reactors Forsmark nuclear power plant, and OKG AB, for unit three of the Oskarshamn plant (see also News in Brief No. 39, 11th October 2004 and News in Brief No. 81, 13th September 2005).
An environmental court reviewing Ringhals’ environmental impact statement asked the government in May 2005 to consider the uprates and the relicensing. The court decided the issues were of such significance that, by law, the government should make the decision (see News in Brief No. 53, 11th May 2005).

[Starvid]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Preparations Continue At Pakistan’s Chasnupp-2 Site
Site preparations for the pouring of first concrete at Pakistan’s third reactor unit at the Chashma nuclear power plant, also known as Chasnupp, are continuing as planned, despite the earthquake that hit the country on 8th October 2005.
But the third refuelling outage of the Chasnupp-1 reactor unit, which went into commercial operation in 2000, was suspended for two days.
The China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), which is a partner in the project to build the Chasnupp-2 300-megawatt pressurised water reactor, told NucNet the site felt the effects of the earthquake, but preparatory work has continued.
The CNNC said buildings and related technical equipment, and all other systems withstood the effects of the earthquake and aftershocks. On site monitoring confirmed the effects of the earthquake were “well below” design specifications.
First concrete is scheduled to be poured at Chasnupp-2 by the end of 2005 (see World Nuclear Review No. 137, 2nd September 2005).
Source: NucNet / CNNC

[Starvid]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]China: The Tianwan-1 nuclear power reactor reportedly began generating electricity on 23 October, following the successful loading of fuel into the 1060 MWe VVER.

[cube]

I can't believe no one has mentioned the 3 gorge dam project in China. It's "only" the largest civil engineering project in the history of man-kind.

Aside from being a pretty big dam, it will also be the "largest single electricity generating facility in the world".

[Starvid]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'O')ver 120 GW of generating capacity is currently under construction in China, as a result of the new projects approved since 2002, but it will likely be take until 2007 for generating capacity to catch up with demand in most areas, given the roughly 15 percent-per-year rate of increase in demand. The largest project under construction, by far, is the Three Gorges Dam, which, when fully completed in 2009, will include 26 separate 700-MW generators, for a total of 18.2 GW. Plans were announced in March 2002 to reorganize the Three Gorges project into the China Yangtze Three Gorges Electric Power Corporation. The reservoir created by the dam began to fill in June 2003, and it began operating its initial turbines in July 2003.

Another large hydropower project involves a series of dams on the upper portion of the Yellow River. Shaanxi, Qinghai, and Gansu provinces have joined to create the Yellow River Hydroelectric Development Corporation, with plans for the eventual construction of 25 generating stations with a combined installed capacity of 15.8 GW.

Many of the major developments taking place in the Chinese electricity sector recently involve nuclear power. China's total installed capacity for nuclear power generation increased from 2 GW at the beginning of of 2002 to 15 GW as of mid-2005. The first generation unit of the Lingao nuclear power plant in Guangdong province began commercial operation in May 2002, with a capacity of 1-GW. The second 1-GW generating unit began operating in January 2003. An additional 600-MW generating unit at the Qinshan nuclear power plant in Zhejiang province began operation in February 2002, and another 600-MW unit at the same site came online in December 2002. A new 6-GW nuclear complex is planned for construction at Yangjiang in Guangdong province, to begin commercial operation in 2010. A second generating facility also is planned for Daya Bay. Chinese government policy emphasizes nuclear power generation as a source of clean electricity generation and a means of reducing dependence on fossil fuels. China plans a total of 27 GW of additional nuclear generating capacity to be completed by 2020, but even with this large capacity expansion, it will be less than 5 percent of total installed capacity at that point.

[Starvid]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Namibia: Paladin Resources Ltd announced that the mineral resource estimate for the Langer Heinrich uranium project had been significantly expanded following the latest drilling program. Applying a 250ppm ore cut-off grade has contributed additionally to the resource base of the deposit, with a total of 20 200 tonnes of contained U3O8 now identified in the Measured & Indicated Resources categories. The previously reported mineral resources at a 300 ppm cut-off were 17 100 tonnes of contained U3O8. There were also 40 million tonnes of Inferred resources grading 0.06% U3O8 containing 23 800 tonnes U3O8, representing a substantial increase from the previously Inferred resource of 15 700 tonnes U3O8. The Langer Heinrich mine is expected to start production in September 2006.