Leander A. Bathon is a Professor in the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering at Hochschule RheinMain University, in Wiesbaden, Germany. He is also Co Director of the Institute of Building Materials and Structures at HSRM University.

Despite public opinion that generally supports the use of wind turbines as a sustainable form of generating electricity, important segments of the population, especially those who live near them, oppose the technology, often for aesthetic and environmental reasons.  Sometimes characterized as a NIMBY phenomenon—Not In My Backyard—this attitude wins political support, such that some locales (as my state, Virginia) sport no utility-scale wind generators.

High bat mortality at wind turbines, and the vulnerability of rare bat populations, has led to recognition of the need for effective strategies to reduce bat mortality at wind development sites.  Curtailment of turbine operation during periods of high bat activity is one strategy which can successfully reduce mortality.  However, cut-in speed adjustments reduce power production and revenue, and may cause warranty and maintenance issues for turbines not designed with this practice in mind.  A successful deterrent has the potential to reduce impacts on bats, without altering turbine operation

Engineering Professors from the University of Massachusetts Amherst have been involved in developing renewable energy power systems from the oceans since the 1970’s.  The original proposal on this subject resulted in a pioneering research grant on renewable energy systems from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Wind projects provide a valuable opportunity to understand how individuals make sense of changes to their communities and to the surrounding landscape.

The commercial wind industry has maintained an unusually high degree of standardization in turbine technology for going on 25 years. Wind energy experts usually attribute this convergence to the technical superiority of the now standard 3-blade upwind design, often referred to as the “Danish concept,” or to a grassroots, “bottom up” development path that allowed Danish manufacturers to build the world's most reliable turbines in the 1980s. This new history of the modern wind industry, which focuses on the evolution of turbine design after 1970, challenges both of these explanations.

Power systems are very dynamic in nature, and it is important for power systems to be simulated and modeled accurately for optimal performance of the system. Historically, load modeling coupled with forecasting has always been important for power system operation.  In current times with the onset of the deregulation of the energy industries, load modeling and forecasting have become even more important.

This will be a review of the highlights of the 4th year of our IGERT program and a showing of a video of the fieldtrip to the Bahamas in March by IGERT students enrolled in the WIND ENERGY: Environmental Assessment, Monitoring & Regulatory Requirements course.

"Modeling Offshore Wind Farm Siting as a Portfolio with Economic and Ecological Objectives"