Wind power News for August 2010

Wind power News Archive

PNE WIND completes second repowering project

PNE WIND AG has completed its second wind farm repowering project with the Görike wind farm in Brandenburg, Germany, quintupling the output.

Goldwind buys wind turbine components from Semikron

Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co Ltd has signed a sales contract with Semikron China for continued supply of SKiiP power modules and complete Semistack power electronic assemblies for Goldwind wind turbines.

Forewind Consortium appoints General Manager

The Forewind Consortium which will develop Dogger Bank offshore wind farm in the UK, has appointed Lee Clarke, former Senior Corporate Development and Strategy Manager with RWE npower, as its new General Manager.

New partner for Irish onshore wind project

Canadian energy producer Finavera Rewables Inc has sold its majority interest for Cloosh Valley Wind Project, County Galway, Ireland, to Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) .

REpower opens wind power technology centre

REpower has officially opened its new wind turbine technology centre in Osterrönfeld in the Rendsburg-Eckernförde district, Germany.

North Sea renewable energy cooperation

The UK and Norway will cooperate on offshore renewable energy in the North Sea, according to a joint ministerial statement on climate change and energy security.

AMSC delivers wind turbine components to India

American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) will deliver 17 wind turbine electrical control systems to Inox Wind Ltd, part of India’s Inox Group of Companies.

Chinese wind turbine production in Northern Ireland

Chinese manufacturing company Xiangtan Electrical Manufacturing Corporation Ltd (XEMC) may set up wind turbine production facilities in Northern Ireland.

Scottish offshore wind worth £7.1bn

Scotland’s offshore wind industry could contribute £7.1 billion of investment and create up to 28,000 direct jobs by 2020, according to Scottish Renewables and Scottish Enterprise.

BASF exhibits turbine products at Husum WindEnergy 2010

Chemicals company BASF will showcase its products for the manufacture of wind turbines at the Husum WindEnergy trade show in September.

Wind farm training courses in Turkey

More training courses for wind farm installation will be offered throughout Turkey due to high demand, GL Garrad Hassan says.

ABB supports Chinese high voltage wind substation

ABB will design, supply and install all 6 main transformers for the 500 kV Tongyu substation under construction to support wind energy in the Jilin province of north-eastern China.

Paul Jordan chairs RenewableUK's Marine Strategy Group

Paul Jordan, Market Sector Director for Clean Energy at Ricardo Plc, has been appointed Chairman of RenewableUK’s Marine Strategy Group.

Trelleborg foam supports floating wind turbine Trelleborg foam supports floating wind turbine

Trelleborg Offshore’s syntactic foam buoyancy technology is being used in Statoil’s floating wind turbine foundation project Hywind.

Morocco builds 200 MW wind farm

Moroccan power utility ONE is building a 200 MW wind farm outside Tarfaya.

SureBlades takes over where Vestas left off

Nearly a year since Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas closed its blade facility on the Isle of Wight, former workers have formed a company that manufactures blades for micro-turbines.

AMSC buys 25% stake in UK blade company

American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) has acquired a 25% ownership position in Blade Dynamics Ltd, a wind turbine blade designer and manufacturer, for US$8 million.

Growing demand for offshore wind personnel transfer Growing demand for offshore wind personnel transfer

Reflex Marine’s TORO crew transfer capsule originally designed for use by oil and gas operators has now entered the renewable energy sector, selling four capsules for use on offshore wind turbine installation barges.

Dow Venture Capital invests in Blade Dynamics Ltd

The Dow Chemical Company, through its Venture Capital group, has made a minority equity investment in wind turbine blade technology specialist Blade Dynamics Ltd.

Wind Prospect sets up in South Africa

Wind energy company Wind Prospect intends to open an office in South Africa, hoping to become the number one service provider to the African wind market by 2012.

Vestas falls into loss in Q2 2010

Vestas has seen a €162 million tumble in net profit to a loss of €119m in the second quarter (Q2) of 2010, and downgrades its full year forecast.

Transporting 62 m wind turbine blades Transporting 62 m wind turbine blades

Goldhofer, a heavy haulage and special transportation specialist, has launched a flatbed semi-trailer for transporting wind turbine blades up to 62 m.

UK’s first wind Lidar & Sodar test site UK’s first wind Lidar & Sodar test site

Natural Power has commissioned what it calls “the UK’s first dedicated Lidar & Sodar test site” in Worcestershire.

Floating offshore wind to Scotland Floating offshore wind to Scotland

Statoil’s Hywind floating offshore wind turbine foundations could be used in Scotland, according to Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond.

Danish mega wind turbine test centre Danish mega wind turbine test centre

Denmark’s Risø DTU is building a test centre for large wind turbines at Østerild in North-Western Jutland.

Gurit launches PVC core range for Chinese wind market

Gurit has completed the development of a new range of PVC structural foam core materials designed for use in the manufacture of wind turbine rotor blades in China.

Obelisk and Heidra cooperate on wind measurement

Obelisk Energy and Heidra have formed Wind Measurement International (WMI), a centre for met masts and anemometry.

Indian Theni wind farm fully commissioned

Indian Energy has fully commissioned its 16.5 MW Theni wind farm and the associated substation.

HgCapital buys 44 MW wind farm in Sweden

HgCapital has bought a 44 MW wind farm in Malå, Västerbotten, Sweden, which will be developed by NV Nordisk Vindkraft AB.

Vestas delivers 140 V112-3.0 MW wind turbines to Australia Vestas delivers 140 V112-3.0 MW wind turbines to Australia

Vestas will deliver 140 units of its V112-3.0 MW wind turbine to AGL Energy Ltd and Meridian’s 420 MW Macarthur wind farm in Australia.

SeaEnergy to use Ampelmann offshore wind O&M platforms

SeaEnergy will be using Ampelmann’s ship-based self stabilising platforms for offshore wind operation and maintenance access under an exclusive agreement.

Siemens and Samsung deliver wind turbines to Canada

Siemens Energy and Samsung C&T Corporation will supply up to 600 MW of wind turbines for wind farms in southern Ontario, Canada.

PNE WIND profit up 22% in H1 2010

PNE WIND AG has reported a 22% increase in first half (H1) profits in 2010 to €6 million.

Pro Ventum and GE build 90 MW Thai wind farm

German wind developer Pro Ventum International and GE are building a 90 MW wind farm about 250 km northeast of Bangkok, Thailand.

Wave and tidal drive train test facility in construction Wave and tidal drive train test facility in construction

A 3 MW wave and tidal drive train technology development and testing facility, Nautilus, is now under construction at the National Renewable Energy Centre (Narec) in Blyth, UK.

Transmission links for 7 offshore wind farms

Transmission links for 7 offshore wind farms have been awarded to three bidders by the UK energy regulator Ofgem.

Four UK offshore wind demo sites announced Four UK offshore wind demo sites announced

Four UK offshore wind demonstration sites, each 100 MW or less, have been awarded by the Crown Estate to four companies.

Renewable energy share rises in the UK

Recent energy statistics from the UK Government show that renewable energy sources’ contribution to the UK’s electricity mix grew 20% in 2009 reaching a share of 6.7%.

ACCIONA Energy invests C$115m Canadian wind farm

ACCIONA Energy is building a 45 MW wind farm in Lamèque, New Brunswick, Canada, representing an investment of C$115 million.

Sentec develops wind turbine control system

Sentec and Wind Technologies Ltd are developing control system for wind turbines, with the first test site in operation.

E.ON joins offshore wind cost cutting effort

E.ON says it will be investing into the UK Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA), which aims to cut the costs of offshore wind power.

Gamesa and Iberdrola build 102 MW wind farm in Honduras

Gamesa and Iberdrola Ingeniería y Construcción will build the 102 MW Cerro de Hula wind farm in Honduras for is Mesoamérica Energy.

Will Poland ever get offshore wind?

Development of offshore wind farms in Poland has been slow, despite the country's leadership of the wind energy sector in Central and Eastern Europe, raising questions about the offshore wind support in Central and Eastern Europe, according to analyst Frost & Sullivan.

REpower repowers German wind farm

REpower Systems AG has launched a wind farm repowering project in the district of Dithmarschen (Schleswig-Holstein) with Repowering Kronprinzenkoog GbR increasing the output of Kronprinzenkoog from 12.3 MW to 30.75 MW.