Wind Energy Roundup
Some more top wind energy new from around the internet:
Western Wind Energy Corp. is acquiring a whopping 4,000 MW of wind energy projects from Champlin/GEI Wind Holdings. “Cost of the acquisition is $20 Million US, payable by the issuance of 8 Million common shares at a deemed value of $2.50 per share US.”
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) of India has set wind capacity addition targets of 2,500 MW of wind energy capacity during the current financial year.
Vestas recently signed “15-year service contracts for ten wind power plants in Italy for a total capacity of 268 MW, including 126 units of V90-3.0 MW and V90-2.0 MW wind turbines.” The contracts were signed with ERG Renew and represent half of ERG Renew’s total installed wind power capacity. “The wind power plants produce approximately 572,000 MWh per year, which is enough to meet the residential electricity consumption of more than 500,000 persons in Italy and save the environment from about 222,000 tons of CO2 on an annual basis. Installed between 2002 and 2011, these power plants are located in several provinces of the Campania and Apulia regions.”
Vestas has also won a 90-MW wind turbine order in Ukraine.
Iberdrola, a leading wind energy company, was recently “selected as the Spanish company with the best corporate governance practices, according to the publication World Finance.”
Spanish wind energy leader Gamesa, meanwhile, has made an important offshore wind power step forward. It has started “the permitting process for the installation of its first offshore prototype, the G128-5.0 MW (50 Hz), at Arinaga Quay in Gran Canary Island (Canary Islands, Spain)…. Gamesa expects to begin the installation of this prototype in the second quarter of 2013, with a view to achieving certification in the following months, to permit the installations of the pre-series turbines in an offshore wind farm towards the end of 2013 or early 2014.”
A recent study from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) points out the following: “In 2010 the wind energy sector – both directly and indirectly – contributed €32.43 billion (bn) to the EU’s GDP, 0.26% of the EU’s total GDP for that year. The contribution of the wind energy sector is higher than the contribution of the footwear industry (0.21%)…. In 2010 the increase in the wind industry’s contribution to GDP, at 4.1%, was twice as high as the growth of GDP itself. Between 2007 and 2010 the wind energy sector increased its contribution to GDP by 33%. The wind industry is growing faster than the EU’s economy as a whole and this will remain the case over the next two decades.”
An offshore floating wind turbine test is soon to start off of Kabashima island — one of the Goto Islands — in the Nagasaki Prefecture of Japan. “The trial turbine is a small 100-kilowatt model with three 11-meter blades. The turbine is hollow, allowing it to float, while ballast keeps it upright and wires anchor it to the seafloor.”
A recent article in The Engineer takes a detailed look at offshore wind turbine platforms and offshore wind power for Germany — interesting read.
Enel Green Power has signed a 12-year financing agreement for 180 million euros for “wind farms Zephyr I in Romania, with an installed capacity of 120 MW, Caney River in the USA, 200 MW, and Cristal in Brazil, 90 MW.”
The UK’s EDF has joined Dutch power company Eneco in plans to build a large offshore wind farm off the south coast of England. The wind farm is projected to generate enough electricity for over 800,000 homes. “The joint venture will develop the Navitus Bay Offshore Wind Project in a 50-50 partnership which could ultimately deliver 900-1200 megawatts of capacity, enough power to supply up to 820,000 homes when generating at full capacity.”
Onshore wind power was worth about £500 billion to the British economy in 2011 according to a recent report. “Onshore wind provided thousands of jobs and was worth over £500 million to the UK economy in 2011, according to the findings of a joint industry and Government report…. The publication of the report, commissioned from business consultancy BiGGAR Economics by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and industry body RenewableUK, coincided with Government approval for the Pen-y-Cymoedd onshore wind development in South Wales. When completed, the scheme will have the highest generating capacity of any onshore wind farm in England and Wales.”
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