There was a party atmosphere on 14 June in the Turkish capital, as parents, children, wind energy representatives and government officials came together for wind energy. They were attending the opening ceremony of the exhibition of paintings and photos organised by the Turkish Wind Energy Association (TWEA) for Global Wind Day on 15 June.
Children from local schools in Ankara had submitted brightly coloured paintings showing what wind can do – from blowing kites high in the sky to making boats sail. Their proud mums and dads looked on and took photos as their offspring – dressed in their finest – received their awards from Turkish Energy Minister Yildiz. The winner of the photo competition had gone for a far more haunting and mysterious black and white image of numerous hot air balloons rising above the clouds.
On Global Wind Day itself the action continues in Turkey as a bus-load of people is making the overnight journey from Ankara up to Izmir on the Aegean coast to visit Turkey’s first wind farm and tour Enercon and Vestas factories.
Global Wind Day is the worldwide annual day for discovering wind energy and what it can do.
Find out what is going on near you by having a look at the interactive map.
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Thomas Becker, EWEA CEO.
“Gas, coal and nuclear have more political clout than the wind industry”, and the industry has to take a “more visible place in the political landscape.”
So writes EWEA’s new CEO Thomas Becker in the latest Wind Directions.
“The big boys did not see nice ‘alternative’ wind as a threat. Now they do. As old power plants face closure the competition between technologies to fill the gap is intense.
Becker calls for European and national associations to “speak with one voice.”
“Gone are the days when economic growth made expansion easy for all technologies. The associations of the wind industry need to big up – like turbines have. Like the grid we need to be better interconnected: European and national associations must work together much more closely to shape national government and EU energy policy.”
Read the full article in the latest Wind Directions
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Fatih Birol, Opening Session, EWEA 2013 in Vienna.
By subsidising fossil fuels, governments are “stealing money from the pockets of the poor, who would get money otherwise for schools and hospitals”.
So says Fatih Birol, Chief Economist of the International Energy Agency, in the latest issue of Wind Directions.
Fossil fuels get over half a trillion US dollars – six times more than renewables, but 80% of this money goes to households with high and middle incomes, he says.
He adds that if renewable energy subsidies are used intelligently, “they can help kick-off renewables projects which would help us to reduce environmental problems and at the same time help to improve the energy security of countries and help to get jobs in the renewables sector.”
Read the full interview in Wind Directions
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While the wind industry will never face the equivalent of a Deepwater oil spill or a Fukushima nuclear catastrophe, its spectacular growth rates over the last decade do mean there are more health and safety hazards.
An electrical fire can occur; heavy parts can fall from great heights; lifting huge unstable loads with cranes could go wrong; transferring workers from vessels to an offshore turbine in wavy conditions could be dangerous and, when an accident occurs in a remote wind farm, rescue can take longer.
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It’s not easy to measure wind turbine noise as background noise from rainfall to traffic interferes with the results, says the latest Wind Directions based on a recent EWEA workshop. In fact, that background noise – including the wind itself – is usually louder than the sound of the turbines.
At least 17 peer-reviewed studies have found that there is no adverse effect on human health linked to turbine noise.
However, people’s concerns about wind turbine noise must be taken seriously. “Developers must also show respect by answering questions and listening to fears,” said Jeremy Bass, Senior Technical Manager at RES.
Read the full article in Wind Directions now.
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