[Originally published at Red, Green, and Blue] According to a new report, the cumulative impact of developing Canadian tar sands over the next 30–50 years could be as high as 166 million birds lost, including future generations. Written by scientists from the Natural Resources Defense Council, Boreal Songbird Initiative, and Pembina Institute, the peer-reviewed paper suggests that avian mortality from continued development of Canada’s tar sands would provide a serious blow to migratory bird populations in North America.

“This report is yet another wake up call to the government in Alberta, as it confirms that the cumulative impact of oil sands development is on an unsustainable trajectory,” said Pembina Institute’s Simon Dyer, a contributing author to the report.

It is estimated that half of America’s migratory birds nest in the Boreal forest, and each year 22–170 million birds breed in the area that could eventually be developed for tar sands oil if the rate of development continues at it is currently planned.

“At a time when bird populations are rapidly declining, this report puts into perspective the far reaching effects of tar sands oil development on North America’s birds,” said the report’s lead author Jeff Wells, Ph.D. of the Boreal Songbird Initiative. “The public needs to understand the real and long-term ecological costs of this development and determine if this is acceptable,” added Wells.

In Alberta, tar sands mining and drilling causes significant habitat loss and fragmentation. Expansive toxic tailings ponds are protected by propane cannons that are used to keep ducks from landing in them.

When those cannons fail, we see unfortunate accidents like the one this past summer in Alberta when some 500 ducks were killed after landing in a tailings pond. Toxic tailing ponds result in 8,000 to 100,000 oiled and drowned birds annually.

Authors of the report suggest that an immediate solution to the unsustainable pace of development and to environmental problems relating to tar sands oil development is a moratorium on all new projects, project expansions, and to clean up existing projects.

For Canada to take the kind of substantive action necessary to prevent the ecological damage suggested by this report, it may require international pressure; the kind of pressure that could be applied by a renegotiated NAFTA that strengthens environmental laws, something that president-elect Obama has suggested he would like to see.

Images courtesy of: 1. & 3. David Dodge/Pembina Institute; 2. & 4. D. Faucher/Ducks Unlimited; 5. Sun Media Corp.; 6. Jeff Nadler

2008 was also a year I bumped up my posting quantity and social media presence, which had a positive impact on readership and traffic numbers. In celebration of the year that was, here are the ten most popular posts of the year as determined by total pageviews:

10. Congress Passes New Small-Wind Tax Credit: Along with the extensions of the renewable energy production tax credits and investment tax credits, Congress passed a new investment tax credit in October for small and micro wind turbines that generate up to 100kw.

9. Cape Wind Wins Another Appeal: In July, A Final Decision issued by the Director of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife upheld an earlier decision that the proposed offshore wind farm, Cape Wind does not constitute a “taking” under the state’s Endangered Species Act and that wildlife issues will be managed by the appropriate Federal Agencies.

8. 74 Percent of Republican Senators Doubt Human Causes of Global Warming:The good news? The number of Senate skeptics is down from 77% in 2006

7. Windpower 2008: A Texas-Sized Conference: Thanks to the generous support of the American Wind Energy Association, I traveled to Houston in June for Windpower 2008, the biggest wind energy conference and trade show in the world.

6. Canada’s Largest Wind Farm Goes Live, Country Still Lags: Canadian Hydro Developers announced the completion of the largest wind farm in Canada, accounting for more than 10% of the country’s entire wind energy capacity of 1,876 MW. While a landmark development for Canadian wind energy, wind only provides for 0.8 percent of Canada’s total electricity demand, largely because of the country’s vast hydropower resources.

5. The Infeasability of Oil Shale Development in the American West: In August I wrote: “The most persuasive argument against oil shale thus far, has been the high prohibitively high cost of extracting oil from rock. The technology showing the most “promise” would require simultaneous super-heating and super-cooling of the rock formation, a process requiring tremendous amounts of both electricity and water.” Especially now that oil prices have fallen sharply since I wrote this post in August, oil shale, for the time being, is not viable economically. But that does not mean it is a dead issue; just a resting one.

4. Vestas to Create 1,350 Jobs at New Colorado Win Turbine Blade Plant: Vestas Wind Systems has emerged as an anchor to Colorado’s growing presence in the renewable energy industry.

3. Oil Giant Norway to Double Spending on Renewable Energy: What is Norway using all of their oil money for? Investing in renewable energy. Well, not all of it…

2. Rhode Island Angling to Build First Offshore Wind Farm in U.S.: Since Massachusetts’ Cape Wind project has been caught up in a regulatory cobweb for the last eight years, it is fair to speculate that it may not be the first offshore wind farm in the United States. Texas, New Jersey and Rhode Island are all battling to lay claim to the country’s first .

1. U.S. Installed Wind Energy Capacity Tops 20,000 Megawatt Mark: In September the United States surpassed an impressive landmark in building a clean energy infrastructure by passing the 20 gigawatt mark of total wind energy capacity. This particular post was by far the most visited of 2008.

Thank you all again for visiting and I hope to make 2009 even better.

-Tim Hurst

[Cross-posted at Red, Green, and Blue] In what must have triggered a collective moan of ‘are you kidding me?’ from environmentalists and renewable energy advocates across the country and the world, Minnesota Representative Jim Oberstar, a Democrat, has asked the United States Coast Guard to delay its final recommendations on the proposed Cape Wind project. If built, the project would be the first offshore wind farm in the United States.

Oberstar, Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee sent a letter to Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen requesting an extension of at least 60 days to conduct a public comment period to gauge opinion on the wind farm’s potential impact on marine radar and safety.

>>More on Cape Wind

In a written statement released Friday, Clean Power Now Executive Barbara Hill condemned the move as a stalling tactic that directly contradicted the position of Massachusetts residents, as well as the position of the vast majority of his party, including president-elect Barack Obama. Hill writes:

“Congressman Oberstar asked for this extension at the 11th hour and after 8 years of regulatory review. This is clearly a device to create further obstacles for Cape Wind at a time when the country needs and is ready to move toward wind power energy.”

An overwhelming 87 percent of Massachusetts voters recently voted to support the Cape Wind project which is awaiting final regulatory approval from the Minerals and Mining Service sometime before the end of the year. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne must then wait the required 30 days to make the decision official, which means the official decision will come after Barack Obama’s term begins - and after Kempthorne has been relieved of his duties.

The project has been in regulatory pinball for the last eight years.

Image: Christopher Owen Jones via flickr under a Creative Commons License

Now that the team of expert judges (including yours truly) have sorted through heaps of excellent submissions and narrowed them down to a manageable 81, the contest voting has opened up to the general public. And that’s where you come in. Head on over to OD/1, take a gander at the submissions and vote up the ones you like.

The idea with the most votes not only gets presented to the Obama transition team, but the winning submitter also wins a trip to Washington D.C. for January’s presidential inauguration.

The ad comes from a project called This Is Reality, which is made up of a coalition of environmental groups including, the Alliance for Climate Protection, Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the League of Conservation Voters. The project’s goal is to counteract the aggressive PR push from the coal industry touting the benefits of clean coal.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, applauded His Holiness Pope Benedictus XVI Joseph A. Ratzinger in a statement, for this “environment friendly move and frequent calls to save the planet and curb environmental degradation.”

As the long battle over a proposed wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts inches towards a conclusion, project supporters won an important, albeit, symbolic victory on November 4th, as Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly voiced their approval of what would be the country’s first offshore wind farm.

Eighty seven percent of voters in eleven Massachusetts towns in the south shore voted Yes on Question 4, a non-binding question that read:

“Should the state representative from this district be instructed to vote in favor of legislation that would support the development of Cape Wind in Nantucket Sound and other possible future onshore and offshore wind power developments in Massachusetts?”

73,397 of the 84,417 voters who answered this question answered Yes.

The results of Question 4 are consistent with independent public opinion surveys carried out by the Civil Society Institute in March that found 86% statewide support for Cape Wind.

Question 4 on Cape Wind was included in the ballots of Massachusetts voters in the towns of: Braintree, Holbrook, Randolph, Cohasett, Hingham, Hull, Marshfield, Scituate, Hanover, Norwell and Rockland.

Several citizens organizations active in those communities worked together to collect the necessary signatures and compose the language of the ballot question, according to a release from Cape Wind.

The 130-turbine project still awaits final decisions from the state Energy Facilities Siting Board on a bundle of state permits and a final report from the Minerals Management Service on its federal environmental impact statement. Final regulatory decisions are expected to be delivered by the end of the year.

Image: Christopher Owen Jones via flickr under a Creative Commons License

With the spark of a road flare, engineers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory lit its new, smoke-free Renewable Fuels Heating Plant today. The $3.3 million project is the Laboratory’s latest step toward operating as a net-zero energy facility.

The RFHP will heat NREL’s South Table Mountain Campus laboratory buildings by burning woody biomass, including wood chips from trees lost to the region’s mountain pine beetle epidemic.

Operating smoke-free and odor-free, the plant will offset about 4.8 million pounds of carbon dioxide each year and as much as 75 percent of the 50,000 million Btus of natural gas used annually to heat the STM campus.

The wood chips are roasted to the point where they are gasified. The wood gases then are mixed with air for complete combustion in the heat recovery boiler. Temperatures in the two-stage process reach 1700° F (930°C), and leave very little ash or soot.

The wood chips for the boiler cost $29 per ton or $2.42 per million BTUs — about one-quarter of the cost of natural gas.

“Wood chips are NREL’s best resource for large scale, on-site renewable energy,” said RFHP project manager Chris Gaul in a statement.

It doesn’t look like there will be a shortage of biomass for the NREL furnace any time soon. As the pine beetles cross the continental divide and move eastward they are expected to wipe out 100% of the state’s ubiquitous lodgepole pines.

Recycling in America has become much more than a simple act of separating one’s bottles and cans from the rest of the household waste. Along with replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones, recycling has—like it or not—come to represent the quintessential individual action of the environmental movement. And as global demand for raw materials continues to climb, recycling has also come to mean big business.

Though it may have passed you by, November 15th was the 11th annual America Recycles Day and in observance I’ve picked out a few links that celebrate, inform, explain and even decry the rite of recycling in America.

This month’s Popular Mechanics has several good pieces about recycling including a debunking of the 5 myths of recycling as well as a straight forward look at recycling by the numbers. There is also a clever animation at Celsias explaining exactly how recycling works.

In The New York Times there is an excellent piece about an electronic recycling or “e-waste” facility in New York that, despite the economic downturn, has no shortage of business. In fact, the facility is looking to expand, buy new equipment, hire more people and run the massive shredder even more often.

Finally, my colleague at Green Options, Jeff McIntire-Strasburg has a different take on the third leg of the reduce, reuse, recycle mantra and vows to make 5 recycling resolutions. Jeff writes: “I do think we tend to approach the act of recycling as a sign of virtue. I don’t know that this is always the best way to get more people not only separating out waste paper and aluminum cans from the “trash,” but also thinking about the impact of their consumption choices.”

Image: pomme_rewny via flickr under a Creative Commons License

The Swiss federal government has launched an aggressive system of feed-in tariffs that pays any renewable energy generator for every kWh of electricity generated. The Swiss system, which is just four months old, has a schedule of tariffs differentiated by technology, size and application, which sets payments per kilowatt-hour (kWh), for solar photovoltaics, wind, hydro, geothermal and biomass.

The payments are made for periods of 20 to 25 years, depending upon the technology.

The new Swiss tariffs, among the highest in the world, are the first to include a specific tariff for small wind turbines, under 10 kW. The states of Michigan, Illinois, Rhode Island and Minnesota have proposed similar tariffs for small wind turbines, US $0.25/kWh, but none of the proposals have yet become law.

Tariffs for large wind turbines use the German system of tariff differentiation by resource intensity. “Because of the rugged Swiss terrain, the program’s designers needed to provide tariffs for wind energy that would enable profitable operation in deep valleys as well as on windy mountaintops, while at the same time protecting ratepayers from unnecessary costs,” writes wind energy expert and renewable energy advocate, Paul Gipe.

Funds to pay for the tariffs will come from a systems benefits charge of 0.006 SWF/kWh on all electricity consumption. This is equivalent to about US $310 million, at current exchange rates.

While there is no MW cap on the program, there is a cap on the portion contributed by each technology to the total program. Hydro generation is capped at 50% of the fund, and wind at 30%. However, the entire program is capped at 150% of the funds collected.

The program will be reviewed every five years. The first review may be within three years.

Renewable Energy World
Photo: Fr Antunes via flickr under a Creative Commons License

Canadian Hydro Developers have announced the completion of phase II of the Melancthon EcoPower Centre, located near Shelburne, Ontario. With the completion of phase II, the project now generates 199.5 MW of wind power, making it the largest wind farm in Canada, accounting for more than 10% of the country’s entire wind energy capacity of 1,876 MW. But while this is a landmark development for Canadian wind energy, wind only provides for 0.8 percent of Canada’s total electricity demand, largely because of the country’s vast hydropower resources.

Construction of the Melancthon EcoPower Centre began with the 67.5 MW phase I in the spring of 2005 and achieved commercial operation in March 2006. Construction of the 132 MW Phase II of the project began in the autumn of 2007. Completion of the project puts the province of Ontario at the front of the provincial wind energy race in Canada.

“We are proud that Canadian Hydro Developers picked Ontario as the location for Canada’s largest wind farm,” says George Smitherman, deputy premier and minister of energy and infrastructure. “This important investment not only has valuable spin-off benefits for the local community, but benefits all Ontarians by boosting our supply of nonpolluting power.”

Wind energy development has lagged somewhat in Canada as compared to its counterparts in Europe and the United States. Canada’s total installed capacity is a paltry 1876 MW. Whereas, the U.S. installed 1389 MW in the third quarter of 2008 alone, putting the total nameplate capacity over 21,000 MW (21.2 GW). The slow development of wind energy in Canada is largely because of the country’s massive hydroelectric resource, which provides 60% of its electricity. And because of this excellent hydroelectric resource, the country may be able to integrate the inherent variability of wind energy more seamlessly than other grids.

The country’s major wind energy industry group, the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) is spearheading an initiative to generate 20 percent of the country’s demand by 2025, bringing total Canadian wind-energy capacity to 55,000 MW. A concerted effort like the one proposed by CanWEAwould make the Canadian wind-power sector a major player in an international wind-energy market valued at $1.8 trillion. Development on this scale would also have a major impact on the economy, CanWEA argues, creating 52,000 full-time jobs.

North American Windpower
Images: Warrenski via flickr under a Creative Commons License; CanWEA

“I don’t consider this to be a good format for me, which makes me more cautious. I often find myself trapped by the questions and thinking to myself, ‘You know, this is a stupid question, but let me … answer it.’ So when Brian Williams is asking me about what’s a personal thing that you’ve done [that's green], and I say, you know, ‘Well, I planted a bunch of trees.’ And he says, ‘I’m talking about personal.’ What I’m thinking in my head is, ‘Well, the truth is, Brian, we can’t solve global warming because I f—ing changed light bulbs in my house. It’s because of something collective’.”

I couldn’t agree more. While important, changing your ‘f—ing light bulbs’ to the more energy efficient compact fluorescent ones is not going to solve global warming/climate change. Personal choice is part of what got us into this problem and collective action is what has to get us out.

“Xcel Energy already is the nation’s No. 1 wind power provider, and this agreement advances our commitment to meet aggressive renewable energy requirements,” said Richard C. Kelly, Xcel Energy’s chairman, president and CEO in a statement. “We believe our partnership with enXco also will allow us to meet our goals in a cost-effective manner for our customers.”

The projects will require $900 million in investment over three years and will be fully transferred to Northern States Power Company (Xcel) upon completion thereof.

In addition to these proposed wind farms, Xcel Energy is aiming to complete contracts for additional Community Based Energy Development (CBED) wind projects in Minnesota. If successful, the individual projects could begin operating in 2009.

With even more reported under construction, the industry is on track to surpass the banner year of 2007, when 5,249 MW were installed, with a total of about 7,500 MW this year (7,500 MW would generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of about 2.2 million homes).

The industry is also aggressively expanding its manufacturing base in the U.S. and creating jobs in a difficult financial climate. That growth will no doubt be sustained thanks to the recent extension of the renewable energy production tax credits, although industry leaders would much prefer a longer-term extension to provide even more investment security.

“The market, in spite of all its turmoil, clearly points to wind power as one of the most attractive energy options available today,” said AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher. “But if we are to keep this momentum going, the new President and Congress will need to put in place what the majority of the American people support but the country still lacks: a long-term renewable energy policy.”

AWEA’s report tallies the opening of eight new wind turbine component manufacturing facilities this year; the expansion of nine facilities; and the announcement of an additional 19 facilities. As a result of recent manufacturing investment, AWEA estimates, the share of domestically made components in wind turbines has risen from about 30% in 2005 to 50% today. The new facilities will create an estimated 9,000 jobs.

Addressing attendees of the second annual Colorado New Energy Economy Conference, Ritter said that Jefferson County alone has about 500 renewable energy companies. The Governor cited the wind turbine maker Vestas‘ new turbine tower manufacturing plant, which, along with the company’s blade manufacturing plants in Windsor and Brighton, will provide about 2,500 good paying green collar jobs to the people of Colorado.

So how is Colorado doing it? Well, it’s not just because of the excellent solar and wind resource; and it certainly isn’t because we let the market sort it all out. The renewable energy industry has taken root here because the state has made it a priority and the people have embraced it.

Companies have sprouted up partially because the state’s excellent research universities have focused attention on energy programs, but it also helps that the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory spins off many companies that end up settling near NREL’s Golden campus. Not to be overlooked is the state’s role in attracting already established companies to the area by giving grants and zero interest loans for renewable energy pilot projects and for giving tax breaks for job training and job creation.

Ritter has ridden the wave of the clean energy movement in Colorado since the outset of his campaign. The Democratic governor promoted a “new energy economy” when running for governor in 2006 and has repeatedly said he wants to diversify the state’s economy, which has been bolstered by a natural gas boom. I’m not necessarily saying that Ritter is the reason Colorado is becoming a clean energy hub, but that he has hitched his wagon to a good train to be on right now.

Forbes
Image: Brooke Anderson via flickr under a Creative Commons License

[Adapted from my post at Red, Green, & Blue] Squeezed into the much-ballyhooed $700 billion economic bailout were several “sweeteners” that were necessary to push the package through so quickly. Extended were the tax credits for solar, wind, and geothermal as well as tax credits for green building and energy efficiency. But what also passed was a new federal-level investment tax credit for qualified small wind turbines. The ITC is valued at $500/.5kw capacity for up to $4,000 and available for small and micro-wind turbines (up to 100kw), including vertical-axis wind turbines, installed through 2016.

The U.S. small wind industry projects that the enactment of the credit, combined with a forthcoming equipment certification program, will provide thousands of new green collar jobs and contribute to an estimated 40% annual growth for the industry.

“With the new federal tax credits and several State incentive programs, small wind is now an increasingly more affordable solution for consumers who want to reduce their environmental impact and their energy bills, said Andy Kruse, Co-founder of Southwest Windpower, makers of the popular Skystream 3.7, a “plug and play” unit I previously featured as one of the top micro-wind turbines.

Tax credits have been shown to boost advances in utility-scale renewable energy industry and technologies And they have been shown to be a critical part of the rooftop solar PV industry, but tax credits for small wind have not existed for several years. This lack of federal support has kept small wind technology, and the cost-effectiveness of it, from growing as quickly as other renewable energy technologies.

U.S. Senator championed small-wind credit

The passage of the credit was due in no small part to Colorado Senator Ken Salazar (D) who fought to keep the credit applicable to homeowners, not just farmers and businesses. Salazar said,

“Cutting edge small wind systems can play an important role in our efforts to expand the production of clean, homegrown energy. These tax credits will provide America’s consumers, small business owners, and farmers and ranchers the opportunity to bring down their energy costs, while helping to advance us toward an energy independent future.”

A small wind provision added to the Farm Bill by Salazar (D) was removed from the final version that passed this earlier this year.

Image credit: NREL