This week's news round up includes: India's GBI scheme, NRG Bluewater Wind, Constellation Energy, US Windforce, Dong Energy, E.ON and Masdar, PNE Wind and Vattenfall, Indian Energy and ReGen Powertech, EQT Infrastructure, Swedegas, Statoil ASA, Fortum and E.on Ruhrgas, Areva and Multibrid.

Indian government backs wind energy sector

India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has announced a generation-based incentive for India’s wind power producers.

The introduction of the GBI scheme is expected to provide investors with increased predictable, long-term cash flows and returns.

Under the scheme, a generation-based incentive (GBI) of Rs. 0.50 (US$.01) per unit of electricity will be provided with an overall cap of Rs 62 lakh (US$133,000) per MW.

India has installed wind power capacity of around 11,000 MW, ranking fifth in the world after the US, Germany, Spain and China. Its projected wind power capacity of around 45,000 MW, is expected to increase by 4,000 MW by 2012, owing to the GBI.

India’s Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) will implement the GBI scheme. The existing framework utilised by state utilities for data collection of electricity generation will be used to disburse the tariff. Additional safeguards will be put in place to facilitate the roll out of the GBI.

NRG Bluewater Wind to supply power to Maryland

NRG Bluewater Wind, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, will supply up to 55MW of power from renewable sources to the state of Maryland in the US.

This will be the company’s second power purchase agreement (PPA) in the region, adding to its 25-year, 200 MW PPA with Delmarva Power & Light Company.

NRG Bluewater Wind expects to secure the PPA this month from the University of Maryland.

The agreement falls under the Maryland’s Generating Clean Horizons (GCH) request for proposal programme, designed to spur the development of commercial-scale renewable energy projects.

It also supports the recently signed tri-state partnership by the Governors of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware, which calls for the Mid-Atlantic States to leverage resources to bring offshore wind energy to the region.

The University System of Maryland has so far approved and awarded four renewable energy projects that will produce over 20 percent of the institutions’ and state agencies’ annual electric needs.

The awards will be made to US WindForce for a 55 MW on-shore wind energy project, Constellation Energy for a 13 MW solar project in Central Maryland, and Bluewater Wind for up to 55 MW of wind energy as an extension to the proposed Delaware off-shore wind project.

London Array signs €2bn contract

Dong Energy, E.ON and Masdar have signed six supply and installation contracts for the first phase of the London Array offshore wind farm.

The contracts, totalling €2 billion (US$2.9bn; £1.8bn), have been signed for the required components and expertise required for construction of the first 630MW phase of the 1 GW project.

Offshore work is scheduled to start early in 2011, with phase one construction to be finished by the end of 2012.

The London Array wind farm is being installed on a 233 km² site located around 20 km off the UK’s Kent and Essex coasts.

Details of contracts are as follows:

• The largest contract, worth around €1bn (US$1.4bn; £900mn), has been signed with Siemens Wind Power. The company will be supplying 175 turbines for the first phase of the project.
• The JV between Per Aarsleff and Bilfinger Berger Ingeniuerbeau has been awarded the foundations contract.
• The contract to design, fabricate and install the two offshore substations required for phase one has gone to Future Energy, a joint venture between Fabricom, Iemants and Geosea.
• Nexans Norway AS has been awarded the contract to supply the 220km of 150kV subsea export cable connecting the offshore substations to the shore. JDR Cable Systems will supply the 210km of 33kV array cables that will link the turbines to each other and to the offshore substations. Visser & Smit Marine Contracting and Global Marine Systems Limited have been selected to carry out the installation of the export and array cables.
• The two offshore substations electrical systems and onshore substation work will be undertaken by Siemens Transmission and Distribution, which has already begun work building the onshore substation at Graveney in Kent.

Siemens opens wind power research centre

Siemens has chosen Sheffield University’s Kroto Innovation Centre as the location for its global wind turbine generator research centre.

The centre will specialise in providing the overall technology, architecture and design of onshore and offshore wind turbine generators for the global market.

Siemens has already established core competence centers for wind turbine R&D in Keele (UK), Copenhagen (Denmark), Aachen (Germany), Delft (Netherlands) and most recently in Boulder, Colorado (USA).

Dong to fully acquire Borkum Riffgrund 1 and 2

Dong Energy is set to become the sole owner of Borkum Riffgrund 1 and 2, which are situated in the German part of the North Sea.

Dong Energy is to acquire PNE Wind AG’s 50 percent ownership stake in each of the two German offshore wind turbine projects, Borkum Riffgrund 1 and 2.

The company previously acquired Vattenfall’s 49 percent ownership interest in Borkum Riffgrund 1 Holding (which owns 50 percent of Borkum Riffgrund 1).

The German authorities have approved the erection of 77 offshore wind turbines at Borkum Riffgrund 1, and an application in relation to Borkum Riffgrund 2 has been filed. 

Dong Energy will continue the development of the projects in the years ahead. PNE will continue contributing to the development of the two offshore wind farm projects, acting as a service provider for Dong Energy.

Indian Energy secures project finance approval

Independent power producer Indian Energy has received in-principle approval from India’s largest public bank the State Bank of India for the project financing of Phase I and Phase II of the 49.5 MW Theni Project in the State of Tamil Nadu.

ReGen Powertech will construct the wind farm in two phases. Phase I of the expected to be fully commissioned by June 2010.

Theni will eligible for Indian government’s Generation Based Incentive (GBI). Under this scheme, a GBI of Rs. 0.50 (US$.01) per unit of electricity will be provided with an overall cap of Rs 62 lakh (US$133,000) per MW.

The company also has a pending application for GBI for its existing wind farm at Gadag Plains, Karnataka.

Dong Energy to sell stake in Swedegas 

Dong Energy, along with other co-owners of the Swedish company Swedegas, has announced that it will sell its shares to Nordic fund EQT Infrastructure.

Swedegas is the owner and operator of the largest part of Sweden’s gas transmission network located in southern and western Sweden.

Dong owns 20.4 percent of the shares in Swedegas. The other owners include Statoil ASA, Fortum and E.on Ruhrgas.

The transaction, which should be completed in 2010, remains subject to the approval of Sweden’s competition authorities.

Offshore laser wind sensor tests successful

Field test trials of wind resource assessment buoy, WindSentinel, have been successfully completed by AXYS Technologies.

The development has been confirmed by Manassas, Virginia –based Catch the Wind.

The field trials were conducted at Race Rocks Island, in the coastal waters of British Columbia, Canada. The field trials were designed to determine if motion affected wind measurement.

WindSentinel is designed to assist offshore wind farm developers in determining the available wind resource at potential wind farm sites.

The technology at the heart of the WindSentinel is the Vindicator Laser Wind Sensor, a solid-state laser designed to accurately measure wind from moving platforms.

Areva achieves milestone in Germany

Areva’s German subsidiary Multibrid has installed and commissioned the first six M5000 turbines for the Alpha Ventus project, the first German offshore wind park located in the North Sea.

The six turbines have now entered the test phase, scheduled to end this winter, and have already generated around 30 million KWh since commissioning.

During the second half of November, the turbines ran at full load of 30 MW.