It’s good to see the International Energy Agency (IEA) agreeing with EWEA. And that’s exactly what they do in their latest report. ‘Harnessing Variable Renewables’ points out that so-called “variable” energy sources such as wind can be managed with an intelligent, joined-up grid and a functioning electricity market. In fact, the more flexible the power system, the bigger the role renewables can play, the report says.

It also shows that the larger the ‘balancing area’ – that is, the area for which power demand is matched to production – the more any ups and downs in power supply from variable sources are smoothed out. Another point EWEA has often made.

The European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) has called for a binding target to reach a 45% share of renewable energy in the overall energy mix by 2030, building on the EU’s current targets to reach 20% by 2020.

Today’s call, made at Europe’s Renewable Energy Policy Conference in Brussels, comes as political momentum is steaming ahead for a post-2020 renewable energy target.

Visionary American media mogul Ted Turner lived up to his fiery reputation on Monday at the opening general session of the WINDPOWER 2011 Conference & Exhibition in California by telling attendees that so-called “clean coal” is a fallacy.

Turner also told the conference, organised by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and held this year in Anaheim, that the US wind power industry should prepare an expensive public relations campaign to aggressively fight the corporate coal and oil lobby.

The UK’s National Grid launched an unusual competition last week – to design the electricity pylons of the future that will carry green electricity from onshore and offshore wind farms, and other power sources, to the consumer. The UK has around 88,000 pylons built in a steel lattice tower using a design that has barely changed since the 1920s.

Chris Huhne, UK Energy and Climate Change Secretary, said: “the dual challenge of climate change and energy security puts us on the brink of a new energy construction age. The equivalent of twenty new power stations is needed by 2020, much more beyond that, and they’ll all need connecting to the grid.”

The US wind power industry is expected to experience the second highest rate of revenue growth when compared to other national industry sectors between 2010 and 2016, according to a new market research report which tracks shifting economic data.

Released on Monday, IBISWorld’s report on the top 10 fastest growing American industries forecast that revenue generated by the wind energy sector would grow 11.2% in the next five years.