U.S. Led Global Wind Power Surge in 2005
March 1, 2006
Reporting by Roddy Scheer
To the surprise of those who still view Americans as laggards in terms
of alternative energy development, more new wind power generation
facilities were installed in the United States in 2005 than anywhere
else in the world. According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC),
an international trade group which helps promote wind power globally,
the U.S. installed 2,400 megawatts--equivalent to the energy produced by
five large coal-fired power plants in a year--during 2005 alone. The
second-place finisher, Germany, installed 1,810 megawatts of wind power
last year, but leads the world in overall wind capacity, with more than
18,000 megawatts of installed wind power now online. Even after its
banner year in 2005, though, the U.S. still only has about half as much
total installed wind power capacity as Germany.
The fast-growing American wind power industry is grateful to Congress
for extending the wind energy production tax credit which helps keep
costs down on the installation of new facilities. Surges in wind energy
development in the U.S. have gone hand-in-hand with the institution of
the credit, which Congress let expire twice during the 1990s, sending
many small wind producers into bankruptcy.
While wind power sales have become a billion-dollar global industry for
companies like General Electric, still only about one percent of
Americans' total energy consumption comes from it. Christopher Flavin of
the Worldwatch Institute postulates that wind turbines installed on just
0.6 percent of the land area of the contiguous U.S.--mainly on the windy
Great Plains--could meet more than 20 percent of current American power
needs.
GWEC reports that on a global scale, 2005 saw the installation of almost
12,000 megawatts of wind power overall, representing more than a 40
percent increase from the 8,000 wind megawatts added in 2004. Worldwide,
total wind power capacity now stands at almost 60,000 megawatts, an
increase of 25 percent from the previous year.
1500 gallon cistern fed from 2 gable downspouts In January 1996 we
installed a rainwater catchment system to capture Oregon's abundant
rainfall. Portland receives between 3 and 4 feet of rainfall annually.
During a gentle rain a typical Oregon downspout sheds several gallons
per minute. Our twelve hundred square foot roof captures on average 3600
cubic feet (27,000 gallons) of water per year.
In 1998 we received approval from the city of Portland to use this water
for all household use. This system, which cost less than $1,500,
consists of the following components:
* A 1500 gallon plastic cistern, approximate cost: $500. Purchased
from Northwest Irrigation, Tangent, Oregon, 541-928-0114. Contact
local agriculture/farm stores for best prices.
* A 1/2 horsepower shallow-well pump to pressurize the water to
between 20 and 30 psi (pressure is adjustable), approximate cost:
$250. I utilized a Jaccuzzi brand pump.
* Plastic (outdoor PVC and indoor CPVC) piping to connect to the
household cold water system.
* Two particulate filters in series, rated at 20 and 5 micron
particle size, approximate cost: $20 each; replaceable filter
cartridges cost $3-5 each.
* An ultraviolet light sterilizer capable of sterilizing water at 10
gallons per minute. This appliance was recently approved for use
in Oregon. I used the PURA (1-800-292-PURA, Valencia, California)
model UV20-1, cost approximately $350. Uses about 40 watts.
Fluorescent ultraviolet light rated at 9600 hours, about one year
of continuous use. Replacement cost of fluorescent tube: about $80.
* Screen covering the cistern to prevent entry of mosquitoes and to
catch any large particles that make it past the gutter screening.
* A roof-washer which wastes the first 7.5 gallons of captured water
which has "washed" the roof. Once the roof washer has filled, the
rest of the water flows to the cistern. See below for details.
* A 20 gallon water butyl rubber diaphragm pressure storage tank,
approximate cost: $150.
* A reduced pressure backflow prevention device. This was required
by the city to prevent flow of rainwater into the public system.
Cost: $120. This would not be necessary if we used rainwater
exclusively. However, Oregon has very dry summers and our cistern
is exhausted by July. We currently depend on city water during the
summer. The city requires annual inspection of these devices,
costing about $30. (See photo below.)
* A (optional) water meter to measure rainwater output, approximate
cost: $45.
Reduced pressure blackflow prevention deviceRainwater
"machine"Maintenance consists of keeping gutters and cistern screen
clean. Filters and ultra-violet lamp will need periodic replacement. The
tank is thoroughly cleaned annually in the summer when it empties.
Backflow prevention device requires annual inspection. Public health
authorities recommend periodic testing of water for fecal coliform
bacteria, as for any private water system. Several recent tests showed
none. The inside components of our system, pictured here, take up about
6 square feet of floor space.
At the current time we continue to use the public water supply only for
summertime water and occasional drinking and cooking. In fact, during
the rainy season, which lasts from about September to June, our only
connection to the public utility is one faucet at the kitchen sink which
uses less than one gallon per day, which got us into hot water with the
city water bureau.
In my research on rainwater catchment systems the best single reference
I have come across for detailed design guidelines is the Texas Water
Development Board's Texas Guide to Rainwater Harvesting.
Roofwashers. A simple prototype is shown in the TG. It consists of a
length of pipe for storage of the initial flush of water with a trickle
valve (hose bib just slightly opened) and clean out valve at the bottom.
Only when the this pipe fills is water then allowed to continue into the
cistern. It's very simple, no moving parts. The only thing I would
change is to have a narrow section or trap configuration at the top to
reduce mixing of the flush water with the still arriving (clean) water.
Yet another method to aid this is to add a lightweight (like styrofoam)
ball that would seal the intake when the roof washer fills. This simple
design is very inexpensive, easy to drain or clean manually, and works
very well. The TG suggests one gallon of washer capacity for each 100
square feet of roof. So make your roof washer pipe length long enough.
For our model we used 20 feet of 3" ABS. We made it in the shape of a
giant U to get this length. Remember, volume equals length times area.
Area equals pi times radius squared (in our case 3 inches internal
diameter, or .25 foot) and one cubic foot equals 7.5 gallons. To avoid
long lengths of roofwasher pipe, it makes sense to use larger diameters.
Portland's chief residential plumbing inspector commented that our use
of ABS didn't conform to code as plastic may eventually decay in
sunlight. Therefore, you should use copper, iron, or other
sunlight-resistant materials to be completely correct.
Rainbarrels. A rainwater harvesting system can be as simple as a barrel
connected to a downspout. Check the Rainbarrel Tutorial
<http://www.geocities.com/rainsystem/howto.html> for tips on how to put
together a system for as little as $15-20. One of our neighbors has
connected his rainbarrel to his basement washing machine and gets
virtually all his laundry water from this super-soft source for a
miniscule investment.
One notable advantage of rainwater is its softness. Rainfall in the
Portland area contains about 5 mg/liter of dissolved minerals. Compare
this with some hard groundwater which exceeds 500 mg/liter. Portland
city water, which has an exceptionally pure source, is rated at 18 mg/liter.
According to two officials in Alaska and Hawaii with whom I have
communicated, there is a long established tradition of rainwater
collection in some parts of their states. According to Sourcebook
Harvested Rainwater
<http://www.greenbuilder.com/Sourcebook/Rainwater.html#Resources>, in
some areas of the Caribbean, new houses are required to have rainwater
capture systems. Hawaii apparently is currently developing (or has
already developed) guidelines. In Oregon, there is no regulation of
water quality for individual residences -- this is left up to the
homeowner. The only regulations I have come across relating to rainwater
harvesting are from Ohio, whose Department of Health Administrative Code
regulates private water systems
<http://www.odh.state.oh.us/rules/final/chap28/fr28_lst.htm>. Note, in
particular, Rules 3701-28-09 Continuous disinfection and 3701-28-13
Construction and surface design of cisterns, hauled water storage tanks,
and roof washers.
Update Summer 2002 -- A different style of roof washer. This summer we
installed a commercially available roof washer <http://saferain.com.au>
that uses a programmable valve to divert a rain's first flow away from
the cistern. A purported advantage is the absence of standing water that
can stagnate and potentially contaminate the cistern water. (This could
happen, for example, if the trickle valve on the conventional device
were to clog or it were left closed.) Below are two photos of the system
with this new device. The first photo shows the roof washer mounted on a
window frame near the cistern. Rainwater, which enters from the two
downspouts above, can be observed from inside the dwelling. The first
flush is diverted downwards into a holding barrel. An overflow hose from
the top of the cistern also empties into this barrel. Post-flush water
enters the cistern via the roof washer's side port through a screened
cistern entry hole. The barrel overflow is directed to a swale in the
middle of our back yard.
Update January 2004 -- An American-made roof washer and rainwater
sculpture. I never was able to get the SafeRain roof washer to function
properly in Oregon's often drizzly weather. Either the roof washer
diversion valve would not properly close, thus diverting all the
rainwater into the overflow, or it would not open after the rainfall
event ended, retaining dirty water in the device. I attempted numerous
times to adjust it, all to no avail. Unfortunately, for this reason, I
can not recommend this device. The last straw came during recent
freezing weather when the device froze with water in it, rendering it
non-functional. Therefore, recently, I installed a newer style of
first-flush device <http://www.flotrue.com/page/page/485471.htm>. This
device is considerably less expensive (approximately $66 versus $140 at
currency exchange rates 22 Jan 2004, including shipping) for North
Americans, since it is locally made and uses standard pipe fittings. The
first-flush valve kit consists of a hollow ball (see middle two photos
below) which, when filled by the initial flow of water, seats itself
onto a rubber gasket. This closes the overflow pipe and subsequent
rainwater is then diverted to the cistern. After the rain stops the ball
empties and the diversion valve returns to the open position. I will
post a review of how well this device performs at the end of this rainy
season. At this time it already seems to be functioning properly.
Water Sculpture FloTrue Smart Valve Smart-Valve in 4'' cleanout Kinetic
Sculpture detail
At the same time I installed this roof washer I also installed a more
elaborate piping configuration (see photo, above, left) leading from the
downspouts to the cistern that is intended to act as a water sculpture.
Viewable from our dining room window, it will display ten areas of
flowing water, depending on the time in a rainwater event and the
rainwater flow. During a typical Oregon drizzle, only the left most
vertical pipe (see photo, above right) carries water. During a downpour
all three pipes will be filled to capacity and additional flow will
emerge from the 2" elbow.
Update January 2005 -- final roof washer review. Unfortunately, this
second roof washer employs the same mechanism as the earlier,
Australian, model to reset itself after a storm event. Both devices use
a small, hollow, plastic ball that fills with water when rain begins.
While the ball fills, the initial dirty rainwater is wasted. When the
ball is full, it lowers over a drain hole, causing the remaining clean
rainwater to be diverted into the cistern. The problem with both these
devices is that their ball depends on a tiny pin-hole to empty their
water when the rain stops. However, it is all too easy for this hole to
become obstructed with small particles of sand or other debris common in
a gutter. The ball then does not drain properly and the device does not
reset itself. Thus, both devices required close monitoring and frequent
manual cleaning in our system. I regret to say that I cannot recommend
either one. My recommendation at this time is to employ a homemade Texas
style standpipe roof washer. Its simplicity allows it to be constructed
and maintained inexpensively.
We have now sold this house and moved to a different residence. We will
work with the new owners who will continue using this system.