http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/nyregion/26wind.html?ref=environment

In the race to become the premier alternative energy source, wind power seems to have a new selling point. While different stakeholders disagree about the best way to approach the problem of energy efficiency, advocates of wind turbines have a new technology to leverage their case. The new strategy to encourage wind power relies on air storage, which allows the energy to be stored for peak use and not necessarily only when there is a lot of wind to generate it. By compressing the air and then keeping it underground, the system prevents the fear of running on empty when the wind ceases to be present.

“This is a game-changing technology,” said Stephen C. Byrd, the president of P.S.E.G. Energy Holdings, which will invest $20 million over three years. “There is a desire for energy independence, and this will reduce the need for oil and natural gas.”

 

The venture has met with utilities that might buy the storage technology. Compressed air can be produced by a variety of fuels. But the new venture hopes to put wind power generated during off-peak hours to use during peak hours — typically 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. — and especially on hot days.

 

One of the main challenges to using wind power is that the wind, in general, is unpredictable, which makes it harder for utilities to rely exclusively on it since they prefer to buy energy a day or more in advance.

While the new feature for wind power sounds promising, the debate continues as to whether it is necessary, or if it is the best choice to reduce the dependency on oil. But with Mayor Bloomberg and T. Boone Pickens staking their claims behind the technology, their influence and financial stamina may be enough to blow the competition away.

The New York Times; August 26, 2008

Submitted by K. Rutherford