UK awards £10m grant for offshore wind technology

The UK government has announced grants of £10 million to a series of wind energy projects, the first to be delivered by the new coalition government for companies in the offshore wind industry.

In the first round of grant funding since the Budget, seven supply chain companies will share £5 million, according to UK Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne.

The two single largest grants, for £2 million and £1 million will go to JDR Systems of Hartlepool (technology - high voltage export and array cables for distribution of power from multi-MW turbines) and Converteam of Rugby (large-scale DC conversion technology), respectively.

The remaining five companies are:

• NGentec, Edinburgh - develop and demonstrate new innovative 6MW generator, £800,000;
• Blade Dynamics, Isle of Wight - develop and demonstrate use of modular blade assembly, £400,000;
• South Boats Special Projects, Isle of Wight Modular - design of offshore wind farm support vessels £300,000;
• Cooper Rolling Bearings, Kings Lynn Norfolk - develop and demonstrate the use of split bearing technology in large-scale wind applications, £256,250;
• MTL Group, Sheffield - develop mass manufacturing techniques for jacket and monopile sub-assemblies £250,000.

A £5 million grant for Siemens Windpower, applied for under a previous round of funding, was also confirmed. Siemens will use the money to develop a next-generation 6MW offshore turbine with an integrated foundation design in the UK.

Earlier this year, the Department of Energy and Climate Change launched a competition for capital grants of between £250,000 and £2m, which would provide part-funding (typically at 25%) to commercial business for the development and demonstration of next generation technologies that can cut the cost of offshore wind deployment between now and 2020.

This was built on two successful previous rounds of this scheme (which were aimed at larger companies, with a larger maximum grant size), which led to some significant supply chain developments, such as Clipper Windpower’s decision to start construction of a 10MW blade factory, and Burntisland Fabricators Ltd’s decision to develop a mass-production manufacturing facility to produce jacket foundations for offshore wind turbines.

Vestas opens new engineering site in Louisville

Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas is to open an engineering site in Louisville, Colorado, to support its wind power production capabilities in North America.

The 47,675 square feet site will initially house 46 employees. The headcount will soon be expanded to include up to 125 highly skilled engineers within a year’s time.

Vestas’ Engineering Site will focus specifically on increasing wind turbine efficiency, lowering energy costs, and improving technology for existing turbines and develop the wind power systems of the future.

The company said that the site will enhance its ability to integrate product development by placing it close to the company’s three factories – a blades factory in Windsor, a nacelles-assembly factory in Brighton and towers factory Pueblo, thereby better servicing and meeting the needs of Vestas’ North American customers.

Colorado, according to Vestas, offered it a central location with an extensive transportation infrastructure and rail system, existing manufacturing base, and skilled workforce.

Atlantic Power invests in Idaho wind power

Independent power producer Atlantic Power Corp. will pay about US$40 million to buy a 27% ownership stake in wind farm owner Idaho Wind Partners 1 (IWP).

IWP is currently constructing Idaho’s largest wind power project. The 183 MW project consists of 11 wind farms located near Twin Falls, Idaho.

The company will indirectly own an interest in IWP, a partnership among GE Energy Financial Services, Reunion Power, and Exergy Development Group, the original project developer. The project is expected to complete construction by the end of 2010.

Atlantic Power will fund its stake with cash on hand and a US$20 million borrowing on its senior line of credit. Additional details about permanent financing of the project and guidance about its accretive cash flow to the company will be released at a later date.

Towards the end of June, it emerged that GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of GE, will own a majority equity interest in the Idaho Wind Partners project. Exergy Development Group will own a minority interest along with manager and operator Reunion Power.

Once completed, the portfolio is expected to qualify for the Federal Treasury Grant programme designed to stimulate renewable energy projects.

IWP has 20-year power purchase agreements with Idaho Power Company under which all electricity produced by the wind farms will be sold at fixed prices.

Construction company Fagen initiated project construction last month and expects to complete the wind farms located on farmland clustered near Hagerman and Burley by year end.

In addition to supplying the wind turbines, GE will provide 7 years of operational and maintenance services to the project.

Vattenfall completes wind turbine installation at Thanet

Swedish energy giant Vattenfall has installed the 100th and final wind turbine at the Thanet Offshore Wind Farm, the world’s largest offshore wind farm.

The 300 MW farm has been under construction since 2008 and is due to be finished in early autumn 2010.

The farm, located 12 kilometres off the Kent coast, is made up of 100 Vestas 3 MW, V90 wind turbines. It is to be located in water depths of 20-25 metres and cover an area of 35 square kilometres.

Each turbine will be up to 115 metres tall at its highest point, with a minimum clearance above sea level of 22 metres. The distance between turbines would be approximately 500 metres along rows and 800 metres between rows.

The connection of Thanet’s 300 MW of capacity in 2010 will boost UK offshore wind capacity by more than 30%, according to the company.

The total investment for completing the wind farm is in the order of around £780 million.

UKA Group signs deal with Vestas

Danish wind turbine company Vestas has won an order for 20 V90-2.0 MW turbines from UKA Group for several wind energy projects in Eastern Germany.

The scope of the order includes supply, installation and commissioning of the wind turbines and a long-term full service agreement.

Delivery of the wind turbines is scheduled for completion by the end of 2010.

Established in the Eastern German province of Saxony, UKA has developed wind farms with a combined generation capacity of approximately 165 MW.

Foundations laid for Sheringham Shoal offshore wind farm

The first turbine foundation for the 317 MW Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm has been installed off the coast of Norfolk, UK.

The Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm is owned equally by Statoil and Statkraft through the joint venture company Scira Offshore Energy. Statoil is the operator for the project during the development phase. Scira will be the operator of the wind farm. The wind farm is scheduled to begin operation in 2011.

The monopile wind turbine foundation was installed by the twin-hulled heavy lift vessel Svanen, which has been used for similar operations at other offshore wind farms. Over the next nine months, the vessel will install the remaining 89 foundations ready for the mounting of two substations and 88 wind turbines that constitute the wind farm.

A monopile foundation consists of a tubular steel monopile, driven 32-36 metres into the seabed, and weighing from 400 to 600 tonnes. A transition piece is fitted to the top, forming the support for the turbine tower itself. Each piece is 22m high and weighs about 200 tonnes.

Installation of a submarine export cable is scheduled to begin in August, and submarine infield cables that connect the turbines and substations together in an intricate matrix on the seabed will start in October.

CanWEA expresses concerns over Ontario’s proposed wind regulation

Ottawa, Ontario-based The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) has expressed “serious” concerns about the implications of the Ontario government’s new proposed five kilometres setback for offshore wind energy developments in Ontario.

The proposed regulation is part of a package of policies on offshore wind energy development that are now open to public consultation.

It is being highlighted that the latest proposal by the Ontario government to push offshore wind turbines five kilometres out from shore creates uncertainty for renewable electricity generators. According to the Association, if implemented, this decision will prevent several proposed offshore wind energy projects from proceeding in their current form.

For instance, the proposal spells trouble for a Toronto Hydro proposal to erect about 60 turbines in Lake Ontario stretching from the eastern part of the city to Ajax. The turbines would be located on a reef two to four kilometres offshore, according to thestar.com.

In addition to the five-kilometre exclusion zone, the environment ministry is proposing that offshore wind proposals would have to go through a “stringent and comprehensive application process”.

“Encouraged by the Ontario Government to explore offshore wind energy opportunities, companies have been making significant investments to develop wind energy projects in areas that would now be excluded from development under the proposed regulation,” said CanWEA president Robert Hornung.

CanWEA will be reviewing and responding to these proposals with a view to proposing changes targeted at maintaining investor confidence in Ontario’s offshore wind energy policy framework while at the same time facilitating and ensuring the responsible and sustainable development of offshore wind energy in Ontario.

“Investors require strong and stable wind energy policy, but this element of the proposed regulation is inconsistent with past policy signals concerning offshore wind energy in Ontario,” Hornung added.

SeaEnergy signs deal with Chinese company

Offshore wind energy company SeaEnergy has shared that a subsidiary it had put up for sale has signed a preliminary agreement with a Chinese state-owned shipbuilding company.

SeaEnergy’s 80% subsidiary SeaEnergy Renewables Ltd (SERL) and Chinese company Nantong COSCO Ship Steel Structure Co. (NCSC) have signed a strategic cooperation agreement (SCA) to develop and market steel structures for the offshore wind industry.

NCSC is a member of the state-owned COSCO Group, which specialises in designing and manufacturing heavy steel structures. SERL is an independent offshore wind energy developer, and comprises the team which conceived, developed and delivered the world’s first deep water wind farm development – the Beatrice wind farm off the coast of Scotland.

The deal between the two companies marks the first significant agreement in offshore wind between a Scottish company and a major state-owned Chinese enterprise, according to SeaEnergy.

The SCA is expected to lead to a definitive agreement to develop and market turbine jacket substructures, towers and access systems for offshore wind farms.

The companies will now work together over the coming months to develop a detailed business plan and commercial framework, which will form the basis of their ongoing relationship.

SeaEnergy said in June it was putting its 80% stake in SERL up for sale because it hadn’t been able to persuade investors to finance its wind power development projects. The remaining stake is held by SERL'S management.

Support for offshore wind in New Jersey

New Jersey State Assembly has recently passed a wind energy bill that is expected to provide up to US$100 million in tax credits for wind energy facilities.

Recently, it emerged that a legislation sponsored by Assemblymen Upendra Chivukula and John Burzichelli to promote development of offshore wind power for New Jersey has been released and is due to be voted on by both the state Senate and Assembly.

The landmark legislation (A-2873) known as the Offshore Wind Economic Development Act would establish an offshore wind renewable energy certificate programme and authorise the Economic Development Authority to provide up to $100 million in tax credits for wind energy facilities.

The industry has also welcomed the development.

Garden State Offshore Energy (GSOE), a joint venture between PSEG Global and Deepwater Wind, has applauded the State of New Jersey for passing this legislation.

GSOE has proposed a 350 MW wind farm more than 16 miles off the Southern New Jersey coastline.  As part of a New Jersey Board of Public Utilities competitive process, the GSOE proposal was chosen by the state as the preferred offshore wind developer.

PSEG Global is a wholly owned-subsidiary of PSEG, a diversified energy company based in Newark, NJ.