DETERMINING RENEWABLE POSSIBILITIES. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), in collaboration with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), will soon make the decision making process for renewable energy projects a lot easier - and for free.

NRCan's RETScreen(TM) software can be used to quickly assess or "screen" the cost-effectiveness of renewable energy technologies (RETs) in a fraction of the time of conventional pre-feasibility studies. With a link to a NASA database, RETScreen users have access to such satellite weather data as the amount of solar energy striking the surface of the earth, global temperatures and wind speeds.

With the additional NASA data, RETScreen is expected to become an international standard for determining the potential of renewable energy projects. Added to RETScreen's five existing models - wind energy, small hydro, photovoltaics, solar air heating and biomass heating - new tools have also been added to assess passive solar heating, solar water heating and ground-source heat pumps. Visit NRCan's RETScreen at http://retscreen.gc.ca/ and NASA's database at http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/sse/ .

REJUVENATING OLD HYDRO. While environmentalists balk at new large scale hydroelectric projects, small hydro or refurbishing older hydro plants for better efficiency are still possibilities. Decades old projects equipped with more efficient turbines and/or generating equipment can result in greater output - more power to the grid from the same facility.

GE Hydro, a division of General Electric Canada, has announced that GE will acquire the hydro electric turbine business of the Kvaerner Group, a leading Nordic manufacturer. GE Hydro is the hydro turbine and generator division of GE Power Systems and produces turbines and generators with capacity up to 800 megawatts.

This acquisition will provide GE with turbine technology for pump, Pelton and small hydro projects, representing almost one-third of recent hydropower equipment business activity. Kvaerner turbine technologies will assist in refurbishment and modernization projects, particularly in smaller-sized plants. Visit GE Hydro at http://www.ge.com/powergeneration/pg9.htm and the Kvaerner Group at http://www.kvaerner.com/ .

POWER FOR THE PEOPLE. Convincing people that renewable energy can work - can provide ample, reliable power - is one of the great challenges for the industry.

In the U.K. an architect-designed platform has been built to view the largest wind turbine in the nation. At the site, visitors can find out for themselves how wind power works and have the chance to experience the workings of the turbine. The Enercon E-66 1.5 megawatt wind turbine installed outside of Swaffham, Norfolk is the tallest and most powerful turbine in the country and will provide enough electricity for half the local population - around 3,000 people.

In the U.S., branding is being tried to assure consumers that the power they buy is indeed from renewable sources. Green-e branding from the Center for Resource Solutions means that power providers must comply with a Code of Conduct for power generation in order to use the Green-e brand certification. Mack Services Group is the newest company to offer Green-e brand renewable power to customers in the state of Pennsylvania. Visit Enercon at http://www.enercon.de/ , Green-e at http://www.green-e.org/ and Mack Services at http://www.mackservicesgroup.baweb.com/ .

Back Issues Visit Green Energy News on the Web at http://www.nrglink.com/ . For free ENERGIES subscription contact bmulliken@nrglink.com. Copyright Green Energy News Inc. 8/14/99 vol.4 no.19.