Wind power News for February 2012

Wind power News Archive

Endurance and Met Office cooperate on UK wind assessments

Small wind turbine provider Endurance Wind Power (EWP) and the UK's Met Office are joining forces to provide wind speed assessments for UK customers.

Nordex sees tumbling Chinese sales in 2011

Nordex saw an operating loss (EBIT) of €29.7 million in 2011, compared to an EBIT of €40.1m in 2010 due to decreased sales and one-off costs.

Suzlon's S95 wind turbine delivers 102%

Suzlon has completed testing and certification of its S95 Standard Temperature Version (STV) 2.1 MW wind turbine in its 50 Hz and 60 Hz variants, achieving 102% of its estimated power curve.

GE and JP Morgan invest US$225m in Texas wind farm

GE Energy Financial Services and JP Morgan will invest US$225 million in NextEra Energy Resources' 662.5 MW Capricorn Ridge wind farm in West Texas, USA.

Siemens supplies 200 MW of wind to Thailand

Siemens Energy will supply 90 wind turbines totalling 200 MW for two wind farms, Korat 1 and Korat 2, in Nakorn Rachasrima Province in north-eastern Thailand.

Chile launches 450 MW onshore wind farm tender

The Chilean Government has launched an international tender call for three land-use concessions for up to 150 MW each of onshore wind.

Gamesa supplies 10 MW of turbines for Ontario wind farm

Gamesa will supply five of its G97 2 MW wind turbines for the 10 MW wind farm planned in Highgate, Ontario, Canada, marking the first Canadian project for the Spanish company.

Consent for Scottish offshore wind turbine test facility

SSE Renewables has received consent for an offshore wind turbine test facility at Hunterston from North Ayrshire Council in Scotland.

Scotland and North East England vie for Gamesa investment

Gamesa's plans to invest £150 million in offshore wind manufacturing, maintenance and logistics in the UK, have led to two ports vying for the contract.

Vestas signs contracts for 206 MW of wind in Italy and the USA

Vestas will supply 56 MW of wind turbines for a wind farm in the Apulia region in Italy, and 150 MW for an undisclosed project in the USA.

REpower and Maïa Eolis agree 250 MW of French wind

REpower Systems SE and Maïa Eolis have entered a framework agreement for up to 250 MW of onshore wind farms in France.

Mainstream and Goldwind JV to build 70 MW wind farm in Chile

Mainstream Renewable Power and Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co Ltd have formed a 50/50 joint venture (JV) to build the first 70 MW phase of the Ckani Wind Farm in the Antofagasta region of Northern Chile.

Editor's blog: Risky business

An interesting report from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) crossed our desk recently. The EIU spoke to 284 senior-level renewable energy executives about the risks in financing, constructing and operating renewable energy projects, as well as the risk management challenges that the renewable energy industry must confront.

Scotland welcomes offshore wind, wave and tidal blueprint

Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond has welcomed a blueprint to streamline the scoping, planning and consenting of offshore wind, wave and tidal developments.

RES sees financial close for Roos wind farm in the UK

Renewable energy developer RES has closed a financing deal for its 17.1 MW Roos Wind Farm in Yorkshire, UK.

UPDATED: Renewable Energy Focus plans UK Offshore Wind supplement UPDATED: Renewable Energy Focus plans UK Offshore Wind supplement

Renewable Energy Focus is planning a UK Offshore Wind supplement to go alongside the May/June issue.

Gaia-Wind to provide 190 small wind turbines to UK in 2012

Gaia-Wind will provide 190 of its 133-11 kW small wind turbines to renewable energy provider Myriad CEG Power for installations in England and Wales over the next 12 months.

Mitsubishi enters German offshore wind grid projects

Mitsubishi Corporation has entered into the offshore wind high-voltage cable projects BorWin1 and BorWin2.

Slowdown in Spanish wind

The Spanish wind power sector experienced the slowest growth ever recorded in percentage terms with a 5.1% increase in accumulated power to just under 21.7 GW in 2011.

UK small wind endangered by feed-in tariff cuts

UK trade association RenewableUK says it is “concerned” over the Government's proposed lower levels of feed-in tariffs for small wind turbines.

DONG opens 367.2 MW Walney offshore wind farm

DONG Energy has opened the 367.2 MW Walney offshore wind farm in the UK.

UK announces £50m Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult

The Carbon Trust, National Renewable Energy Centre (Narec) and Ocean Energy Innovation has been selected by the UK Technology Strategy Board (TSB) to set up the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult.

Suzlon to manufacture wind turbines in South Africa?

Suzlon Energy Ltd has revealed plans for a potential 400 MW wind turbine manufacturing facility in South Africa.

Chinese court dismisses AMSC IP case against Sinovel

A Chinese court has dismissed AMSC's case against Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Sinovel where AMSC accuses Sinovel of contractual breaches and intellectual property theft.

Vestas sees disastrous 2011 – CFO and Chairman resign

Vestas fell into a net loss of €166 million in 2011, compared to a profit of €156m in 2010, during what the company terms “a very challenging year”.

Worldwide wind installations up 21% in 2011 Worldwide wind installations up 21% in 2011

Over 41 GW of new wind power was installed in 2011, up 21% from 2010, bringing the total to over 238 GW, says the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).

Goal of 50% UK content in UK wind farms

At a meeting of the Offshore Developers Forum, co-chaired by Department of Energy and Climate Change Minister Charles Hendry, it has been put forward that UK firms should provide more than 50% of the content of future wind farms.

3TIER opens EMEA office

Solar and wind energy assessment and forecasting company 3TIER is opening an EMEA office in the UK in response to increasing demand in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

India saw US$10.3bn of clean energy investment in 2011

India saw clean energy investments reach US$10.3 billion in 2011, 52% higher than 2010, and accounting for 4% of global clean energy investment, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Wind speeds 5-10% above normal in northern Europe in 2011 Wind speeds 5-10% above normal in northern Europe in 2011

3TIER's wind performance map of Europe for 2011 shows that wind speeds were 5-10% above normal in northern Europe, and up to 10% below normal in southern Europe.

Samsung plans offshore wind base in Scotland

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) plans to place its first European offshore wind project in Methil, Fife, in Scotland, creating over 500 jobs.

Vestas low-wind V100 wind turbines to China

Vestas China has received its first order for the low-wind V100 wind turbines from Datang Hubei Renewable Energy.

Corrosion protection for floating offshore wind foundation

Coating supplier Hempel is taking part in a project to performance test an offshore corrosion protection system on the semi-submersible floating offshore wind turbine foundation, WindFloat.

Moulding wind turbine blades to meet growing US demand

Molded Fiber Glass Companies (MFG), a leading North American contract manufacturer of wind turbine components, recently shipped the 1000th set of 37 m (121 ft) long blades for 1.5 MW turbines from its facility in Texas.

Nordex installs 30 MW of wind in Spain

Nordex will assemble and install the 30 MW Barbers wind farm consisting of 12 of its N90/2500 wind turbines for Eolia Renovables, in Spain.

Gamesa and NREL collaborate on next-gen wind turbines

Gamesa and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are collaborating on next generation wind turbines for the US market.