Vertical axis offshore wind turbines take spotlight

Vertical axis wind turbines could provide a “credible” alternative to traditional horizontal offshore turbines in some circumstances, according to a project commissioned by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI), a UK-based company formed from global industries and the UK Government.

The £2.8m Nova project, a UK-based consortia of Wind Power Limited, OTM Consulting, Cranfield University, the University of Strathclyde, Sheffield University, James Ingram & Associates, CEFAS and QinetiQ, was launched by the ETI in January 2009 to look at the feasibility of a novel offshore vertical axis turbine.

Nova is one of the three projects that has looked at new turbine design concepts for offshore wind. The other two are Helm Wind and Deep Water. The aim of the Nova project was to deliver a feasibility study, which will evaluate the design and commercial viability of a 5MW or 10MW vertical axis turbine, based upon the Aerogenerator rotor concept. The project also evaluated design options for drive-train and foundation. 

It examined the technical, economic and environmental feasibility of Wind Power’s Aerogenerator concept and highlighted the potential advantages over conventional turbines.

The study examined whether vertical axis wind turbines could offer significantly cheaper electricity due to the size and scale of the machines as well as simpler maintenance when compared to conventional turbines.

ETI Chief Executive, Dr David Clarke, said that the Nova feasibility project is a radical concept that demonstrates how vertical axis machines are technically feasible and could be used in certain circumstances. 

The study looks at both fixed and floating structures, and concludes that floating turbines could be placed in deep water areas of over 60 metres, which benefit from higher wind speeds.

Wind Power’s founder, Theodore Bird, said that as the company responsible for commercialising the technology it has appointed Arup as Project Management Engineer to take the Aerogenerator Project to the next stage.

 
Ofgem allots first offshore wind transmission licence

Transmission Capital Partners (TCP) has bagged the first licence from energy regulator Ofgem to operate a high voltage link with an offshore wind farm in Great Britain.

TCP is a consortium comprising International Public Partnerships, Amber Infrastructure Group and Transmission Capital.

The project entails the 20-year ownership and operation of the transmission cable connection to the 180MW Robin Rigg offshore farm, owned by E.ON.

A newly created company, to be known as TC Robin Rigg OFTO, will now hold the Offshore Transmission Owner (OFTO) Licence. It will operate the £65 million link transporting renewable electricity from the 180 MW Robin Rigg wind farm to the onshore grid for a period of 20 years. As part of the licence grant, the transmission link has transferred from the wind farm owner (E.ON) to the OFTO.

The development marks the success of the regime’s first tender round for £1.1 billion of offshore transmission links to nine offshore wind farms. Ofgem expects to grant licences for the other eight links in the first round over the next year.

The second transitional round already has eight bidders competing for the first three projects to link over 1.4 GW of offshore wind, with the winners to be announced this summer.

PNE makes progress on Gode Wind II

Wind farm developer PNE Wind is making considerable progress towards the grid connection and financing of the Gode Wind II offshore wind farm.

The company says the documentation required for the binding agreement to the grid connection has been submitted to the transmission grid operator TenneT.

This means that PNE has fulfilled all four criteria in the German Federal Network Agency’s position paper on the maintenance of the unconditional grid connection agreement.

The following documents have now been presented for the construction of Gode Wind II:

• Supply contract for 84 Vestas type V112 wind energy systems.
• Preliminary contract for the supply of 84 monopile foundations by MT Højgaard.
• Preliminary contract for the supply of the internal wind farm cabling by Draka Norsk Kabel.
• Preliminary contract for the supply of the wind farm's transformer station by ALSTOM Grid.

In a related development pertaining to the same project, Vestas shared that an agreement has been reached between the German company PNE and Vestas regarding supply of turbines for the project Gode Wind II. “The agreement is conditioned by final financing and as soon as this is in place, Vestas will disclose a company announcement with further details of the project,” stated Vestas.

Iberdrola to invest heavily in 2010-12

Iberdrola Renovables, a unit of Spanish power utility Iberdrola, has posted a net profit of €360 million for 2010, down 3% on the previous year.

The company says that it built more renewable capacity in 2010 than any other utility in the world, bringing 39 new wind facilities on stream in eight countries with combined capacity of 1,780 MW, lifting total capacity to 12,532 MW. Of its new capacity of 1,780 MW, 60% or 1,043 MW was in the US, 420 MW in Spain, 130 MW in the UK, and 187 MW in the rest of Europe and Latin America.

The company also achieved record output figures in the year, increasing it by 18.2%. The company’s wind farms, which form the core of its business, accounted for 96.5% of the generation mix

The company plans to install between 1,400- 1,500 MW of electricity capacity in 2011, 600 MW to 700 MW of which will be installed in the US.

Iberdrola projects investments of approximately €16 billion between 2010-2012. It will invest €5.3 billion in renewables. 

The Group’s US presence was enhanced by significant growth in its renewable energy subsidiary. The group now has 5,598 MW capacity in the US, of which 4,634 MW is wind power.

The UK, along with the US, will be key markets for Iberdrola Renovables in coming years, with a particular focus on offshore wind energy projects. For this purpose, the company has already set up an Offshore Business Division in Scotland, which will lead development of all marine wind energy projects awarded to the company. These amount to around 12,000 MW worldwide.

In partnership with Vattenfall, Iberdrola Renovables holds the rights to build in the UK one of the world’s largest offshore wind farms, the East Anglia Array, with aimed installed capacity of up to 7,200 MW. At the end of last year this project was given authorisation to connect to the British land-based grid operated by the National Grid.

This is the largest access to a grid ever granted for an Iberdrola Group project. Having obtained this concession, work has now begun on the first phase of the project. Up to 400 wind turbines will be brought on stream at the 1,200 MW facility which will be located 43 kilometres off the coast of Suffolk, in eastern England.

The company has a further 2,300 MW under development in the UK. The company installed an additional 420 MW to bring its total installed capacity up to 5,696 MW in Spain last year. Of the total, 5,302 MW is in wind power, 342 MW in small-scale hydroelectric plants, 50 MW in solar thermal facilities and 2 MW in forestry biomass plants. 

O’Malley supports Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2011

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley last week appeared before the House of Delegates’ Economic Matters Committee to testify in support of the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2011.

The Bill will require that public utilities leverage Maryland’s offshore wind resources by entering into long-term purchase agreements with wind power generation facilities off of the Mid-Atlantic coast.

O’Malley referred to the significance of the emerging green sector and the creation of jobs. It was also highlighted that an analysis conducted at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the US Department of Energy estimates that offshore wind will create more than 20 direct jobs per annual MW, including jobs in manufacturing, engineering, and skilled labour.

A 500MW wind generation facility in the waters off of the Delmarva coast could generate as many as 2,000 manufacturing and construction jobs during the five-year development period, with an additional 400 permanent jobs once the turbines are spinning. 

Also, by harnessing the potential of offshore wind power, Maryland would be in a position to meets its Renewable Portfolio Standard goal of generating 20% of its energy from renewable resources by 2022.

The Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2011 requires development of 400- 600 MW of offshore wind capacity, approximately 10 nautical miles off of Maryland’s coast. This would require the installation of between 80 and 200 wind turbines, depending on project scope and turbine capacity.

The bill seeks to diversify the terms by which energy is purchased in Maryland by requiring long-term power-purchase agreements with offshore wind generation facilities. These purchase agreements allow Maryland to lock-in rates over the long-term, providing price stability and predictability in what is otherwise considered to be a potentially volatile commodity market.

DOE offers conditional loan guarantee to Maine wind project

The U.S. Department of Energy has issued a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee to cover a portion of the cost of constructing the Record Hill wind project.  U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the offer of a conditional commitment for a US$102 million loan guarantee. The project has an estimated cost of US$125 million.

While still subject to final agency reviews, the conditional commitment moves the project significantly closer to resuming construction, which was suspended in early 2010. Under loan guarantees, the federal government agrees to pay portions of private loans in case the companies default.

The loan guarantee will support the Record Hill wind project, which includes a 50.6 MW wind power plant and an eight-mile transmission line and associated interconnection equipment near the town of Roxbury, Maine. 

Record Hill is a four-mile ridge that runs through the town of Roxbury. The wind facility consists of 22 Siemens 93 2.3 MW turbines and new transmission lines to interconnect with Central Maine Power, the local utility. Construction will begin in Spring 2011, with turbine delivery occurring in late summer. RHW expects the wind farm to begin producing green energy by the end of 2011.

The project will employ a new technology on turbines to reduce the need for curtailment of wind operations. By using Siemens’ new Turbine Load Control (TLC) system, operations can be controlled dynamically to maintain operations within design parameters, even during extreme wind conditions.

The turbines will be installed with TLC technology, a system of sensors and processing software that allows the turbines to continue to generate electricity under turbulent conditions, rather than be shut down completely. TLC is also expected to reduce wear-and-tear on the turbines, reduce operation and management costs, and preserve the lifetime of the turbine components.

SSE to halt work on Kintyre offshore wind farm

Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has decided to halt work on the development of its proposed offshore wind farm at Kintyre.

The company shared that initial site survey work and consultations relating to the wind farm planned to be developed 2km off the west coast of Kintyre have identified a number of factors that have led SSE to decide not to proceed further with the development of this site.

These include: the wind resource; the proximity to Campbeltown Airport and local communities; and the impact on recreational sailing in the area.

Referring to Islay, the company mentioned that survey work undertaken so far indicates that this site, 13km off the west coast of Islay, is suitable for the development of a viable wind farm. 

SSE expects to submit an application to develop the site to the Scottish Government around the end of 2013.

PNE receives milestone payment for Borkum Riffgrund I

Denmark-based energy group Dong Energy has officially advised wind farm developer PNE Wind that it has decided to construct and finance the offshore wind farm Borkum Riffgrund I in the North Sea.

PNE Wind sold this project to Dong Energy at the end of 2009. However, PNE Wind is continuing to develop this project as service provider on behalf of Dong Energy.

For its part, Dong Energy plans to commence the construction of Borkum Riffgrund I, its first German wind farm, in 2013, investing about €1.25 billion. First power production is expected in 2014.

The wind farm will be situated in the North Sea, approximately 55 km off the north-west coast of Germany.  Borkum Riffgrund 1 will consist of up to 89 3.6 MW turbines from Siemens Wind Power with a total capacity of 320 MW. Siemens will be responsible for supply, installation and commissioning of the wind turbines over an area of 36 square kilometres and at water depths of as much as 29 metres. 

In addition, Dong Energy is also developing the offshore wind farm Borkum Riffgrund II, having also purchased it from PNE at the end of 2009.

It has also emerged that PNE has received milestone payment for the Borkum Riffgrund I project. According to PNE, at the time of sale, milestone payments for reaching additional specified stages in the development of this project were agreed. One of these milestones is the decision concerning the construction and financing of the project. Thus, PNE is receiving a further milestone payment amounting to €6.4 million.