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Clipper Windpower , a member of the Carpenteria
Chamber, has been a leader in the
recognition of wind technology
constraints. Until 2001 conventional wind
turbine architecture had essentially
remained unchanged since the modern
industry's beginnings in the early 1980's -
over the years it has been simply scaled up
again and again.
Over recent years,
at multi-megawatt proportions, this
architecture has been pushed to its design
limits, resulting in increasing component
failures and rising unscheduled maintenance
costs. With an aim to design the next
generation of wind turbine architecture,
Clipper's design team consulted with thought
leaders in wind turbine design engineering,
leaders in construction and operation of
many of the world's mega-scale wind
projects, and leaders in the service and
customer support of fleets among the
industry's largest.
Located between Los Angeles and
Santa Barbara in Carpinteria, Clipper
Windpower was founded by Jim Dehlsen, a
25-year wind industry veteran whose passion
for extracting clean power from wind caused
him to eschew retirement in order to
continue his work.
Since the company's
initial public offering in 2005, their
Liberty 2.5 megawatt turbine received a
Department of Energy award in 2007 for
attaining "unparalleled levels of efficiency
and reduced cost of energy."
How Much Energy?
Kahuku Wind Power, a
subsidiary of First Wind, plans to build and
operate a Hawaiian wind farm near the site
of a previous wind farm built in the 1980s.
First Wind expects to begin construction in
2010. Plans call for the wind farm to
consist of
12 Clipper Liberty wind turbines
each having 2.5-MW capacity. Kahuku Wind
Power will also include a battery energy
storage system to assist in meeting
performance standards and smoothing
fluctuations in wind energy output. The
project also includes a microwave
communication system to connect the wind
farm to the Hawaiian Electric system
operations and dispatch center.
When completed, Kahuku Wind Power will
generate an estimated 80,000 megawatt hours
(MWH) each year -
enough energy to power the equivalent of
9,000 Oahu homes and reduce
carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 96
million pounds per year, according to
statistics from the Energy Information
Administration of the U.S. Department of
Energy.
Although the volume
of turbine installations has slowed along
with the economy, Clipper remains poised to
capitalize once demand returns. Potential
future projects include a 5,000 megawatt
wind farm near Pierre, North Dakota, an
installation so large that it could require
its own manufacturing plant.
Clipper recently
announced the completion of a turbine sale
contract and Maryland wind project
aquisition by Constellation Energy. On
April 7th, Clipper Windpower Inc. and it's
subsidiary, Clipper Windpower Development
Company Inc. announced the completion of
it's agreement with Constellation for the
purchase of 28 Liberty 2.5 MW wind turbines
and aquisition of Clipper's 70 MW Maryland
based Criterion project development. The
Criterion Project, slated for immediate
construction, is expected to be online by
year-end 2010.
Bottom Line:
California companies like Clipper Windpower
are responsible for creating new careers in
the energy technology and development
field.
How many careers will this really add up to?
Answer:
Wind industry jobs now outnumber
those in coal mining.
According to a report released by the
American Wind Energy Association, wind
energy jobs increased 70 percent to 85,000
in 2008, 4,000 more workers than are
employed in coaling mining (based of
Department of Energy figures).
Wind energy accounted for 42 percent of of
all new electricity generation
installed during 2008 in the U.S. Overall
installed wind capacity increased 50 percent
for the year to 25,170 megawatts.
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