UK renewables generation gains ground

Total electricity generation from all renewable sources in 2009 was 25,222 GWh -  17 % higher than in 2007, according to figures released by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change.

DECC’s June 2010 edition of the Energy Trends publication reveals that installed capacity for renewable generation reached 8GW at the end of 2009, compared with 6.8GW in 2008.

Generation from onshore wind grew by 31%; and generation from offshore wind grew by 33%. Wind generation accounted for 37% of total renewable electricity generation.

Coal’s energy supply share plunged 17.3%in the first quarter of 2010, while gas increased by 25.0% and nuclear rose by 7%.

Wind, hydro and other renewables’ overall supply share declined 6.6%. Total electricity supplied by all generators in the first quarter of 2010 was 1.1% higher than a year earlier. Final consumption of electricity rose by 2.4% in the first quarter of 2010.

Energy Trends is a quarterly bulletin containing statistics on energy in the UK.

SeaEnergy quits wind farm developing

Britain’s SeaEnergy plans to sell off part of its wind farm development division to focus on setting up a marine services unit after concluding it would be too difficult to raise cash to fund wind farms.

The company plans to sell all, or a significant part, of its 80%-owned stake in its subsidiary SeaEnergy Renewables Limited (SERL), which owns a stake in a 1,300 MW offshore wind power development in the North Sea.

The company believes that the sale of SERL would allow it to focus on the development of its Marine Services business, which has the ability to generate earnings and cash-flow quickly.

Even though SeaEnergy acknowledged that offshore wind continues to present an attractive proposition for its shareholders, the company said its recent discussions with the capital markets have highlighted the tough financing environment.

“To maximise value for our shareholders, we have come to the decision to dispose of our majority interest in our subsidiary business, SERL,” said SeaEnergy chairman Steve Remp in the company’s final results statement.

For the 12 months ended 31 December 2009, SeaEnergy reported a loss of £6.5 million (FY08: £3.4m loss) and, at the end of the year, had cash position of £2.8m (FY08: £1.1m).

The subsidiary, in partnership with EDF, was awarded a 1,300MW offshore wind farm site at Moray Firth by The Crown Estate as part of the UK’s licensing ‘Round 3’.

The subsidiary is also discussing the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Crown Estate, in relation to the 905MW Inch Cape wind-farm project, following the withdrawal of RWE npower from the project’s development consortium. Through the discussions SERL may increase its interest in the project.

According to SeaEnergy, it does not believe, given the current equity market conditions, that institutional investors are willing to support the three to four-year development timetable required to bring the projects to consent and onwards to financial close.

Vestas bags order from Fujian Energy

Denmark-based turbine maker Vestas has won an order from Fujian Energy Wind Power Company for 24 V80 turbines in China.

The order for 48 MW of turbines is for the company’s new site located near the coast in Putian County, Fujian Province. The first delivery is scheduled to take place in the third quarter of 2010.

Fujian Energy Wind Power Company is owned by Fujian Energy Group, a key player in the energy sector of Fujian province.

The contract includes towers, delivery, transportation, installation and commissioning of the wind turbines, a VestasOnline Business SCADA solution and a two-year service and maintenance agreement.

Vestas, which did not disclose financial details, said this was its third deal with Fujian Energy Wind Power Company.

Vestas is working hard to build up a strong value chain in China that can fully support the construction of wind turbines from its factories in China.

Siemens to provide turbines to Anholt offshore wind farm

German industrial conglomerate Siemens will supply 111 wind turbines to Denmark’s largest offshore wind power plant, the 400 MW Anholt Offshore Wind Farm that is being built by Denmark-headquartered Dong Energy.

Siemens Energy will supply wind turbines with a capacity of 3.6 MW and a rotor diameter of 120 metres to the Anholt Offshore Wind Farm project. The wind turbines will be produced at Siemens plant in Brande in Denmark and installed off the east coast of Denmark, 20 km off the northeastern coast of the Jutland peninsula. The wind farm is scheduled for commissioning in 2013.

The scope of supply for Siemens includes the manufacturing, installation, and commissioning of the wind turbines.

The construction of the wind farm will represent a total investment of DKK 10 billion (US$1.65 billion).

According to the tender awarded to Dong by the Danish Energy Agency, the wind farm must come online by the end of 2012, with completion of commissioning by the end of 2013.

If not, delays will result in a reduced tariff income and a penalty if all turbines are not connected to the grid by 31 December 2013 at the latest.

The 400MW Anholt Offshore Wind Farm will feature a capacity almost twice that of Horns Rev 2, currently the world’s largest offshore wind farm in operation at 209 MW.

In 2009, Dong Energy built Horns Rev 2 in the Danish sector of the North Sea. In the UK, Dong Energy recently inaugurated the wind farm Gunfleets Sands 1+2, and is currently involved in three more offshore wind farm projects in the UK.

Dong to sell stakes in two Norwegian hydropower producers

Following its decision to focus expanding its renewable energy production portfolio, Denmark’s Dong Energy has signed an agreement to sell its ownership interests in Nordkraft and Salten Kraftsamband, two energy companies based in northern Norway.

The buyer, Troms Kraft, is owned by the region of Troms and the Tromsoe local authority.

“Given the current rules and regulations in force in Norway, it is difficult for us to develop our existing hydro assets in Norway. That is the reason why we have resolved to divest these assets, so that we can devote our efforts to our other green operations,” said Anders Eldrup, CEO of DONG Energy. 

The selling price of Nordkraft is approx. DKK 1.1 billion while the selling price of Salten Kraftsamband is approx. DKK 0.9 billion (1DKK = US$0.16).

Dong owns 33.33% of the shares in Nordkraft and owns 23.7% of the shares in Salten Kraftsamband.

A substantial part of Dong Energy’s investments and capital expenditure planned for 2010-2012 is expected to involve establishing offshore wind farms and other kinds of renewable energy production.

Lamprell wins Seajacks contract

Oil services firm Lamprell has won a US$129 million contract to construct a wind turbine installation vessel from Seajacks. Lamprell will deliver the vessel in 2012.

The engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) contract is for the design, construction and delivery of a Gusto MSC NG-5500 design self-elevating and selfpropelled offshore wind turbine installation vessel named “Seajacks Zaratan” that will be constructed at Lamprell’s Hamriyah facility.

As part of the contract, Seajacks has an option for Lamprell to build a second vessel valued at US$129 million with a 12-month exercise period.

Earlier this year, Lamprell bagged two contracts from Fred Olsen Windcarrier, which in aggregate total US$320.4 million. Each EPC contract award from Windcarrier is for the design, construction and delivery of a Gusto MSC NG-9000 design self elevating and self propelled offshore wind turbine installation vessel. Both vessels will be constructed at Lamprell’s Jebel Ali facility and will be delivered in Q2 and Q3 of 2012.

Lamprell’s three primary facilities are in Port Khalid and the Hamriyah Free Zone, in the Emirate of Sharjah, and in the Jebel Ali Free Zone, in the Emirate of Dubai, all of which are in the UAE.

AWEA welcomes proposed rulemaking on transmission planning

The American Wind Energy Association has welcomed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) decision to become more involved with regional electric transmission planning and cost allocation. In doing so, the FERC aims to ensure that needed transmission facilities get built.

FERC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking focuses on integrating local utilities’ resource and transmission plans into regional and inter-regional plans, in order to cost-effectively meet local and regional needs.

The Commission is also examining how to allocate the costs of new transmission projects to prevent electricity customers from paying for projects that don’t them directly.

It proposes and seeks comment on requiring:

• Transmission providers to establish a closer link between cost allocation and regional transmission planning by identifying and establishing cost allocation methods for beneficiaries of new transmission facilities;
• Transmission planning to take into account needs driven by public policy requirements established by state or federal laws or regulations;
• Neighbouring transmission planning regions to improve their coordination with respect to facilities that are proposed to be constructed in two adjacent regions and could address transmission needs more efficiently than separate intraregional facilities; and;
• The removal from Commission-approved tariffs or agreements provisions that provide an undue advantage to an incumbent developer so that sponsors of transmission projects have the right, consistent with state or local laws or regulations, to build and own facilities selected for inclusion in regional transmission plans.

The proposal ties cost allocation to regional transmission planning processes to facilitate the transition from planning to implementation.

This ensures that only those consumers benefiting from transmission facilities are charged for associated costs, and gives each region the first opportunity to develop cost allocation mechanisms and identify how the benefits of transmission facilities will be determined. Comments are due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) welcomed this decision.

The Association mentioned that wind energy is facing gridlock in a few regions that is holding up “tens of thousands of megawatts” of renewable energy.

In this context, the AWEA supports FERC’s determination to work through stakeholder concerns and establish a policy that gets transmission built.

Law suit filed against Cape Cod development

A lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., alleges that the 130 turbines planned for Nantucket Sound will endanger protected migratory birds and whales, according to the Associated Press.

The first ever law suit to be brought against the Cape Cod offshore wind farm development alleges that the required scientific studies were not carried out, that mandated protective measures were ignored, and that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird Treat Act, and National Environmental Policy Act.

Groups filing the lawsuit include the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and Cetacean Society International.

The groups say federal agencies refused to adopt recommended protective measures for the endangered roseate tern and the threatened piping plover, including shutting down turbines during peak migration periods.