This week's news roundup includes: Centrica, Vestas, Sinovel, AES, SeaEnergy, TGC, E.ON, Lloyds, BNP Paribus, SaskPower, Nordex and Wind Capital Group.

Centrica to invest £725m in 270MW offshore wind farm

Centrica has announced its decision to invest £725 million ($US1.191bn) in a 270MW offshore wind farm, Lincs.

Under current UK Government proposals, Lincs will attract two Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) for every MWh produced.  Construction on the project is expected to begin in 2010 and it is expected to start generating power towards the end of 2012.

Centrica has also decided to sell a 50 percent equity stake in its Lynn, Inner Dowsing and Glens of Foudland wind farms to investment management company TCW for £84 million (US$138mn) in addition to raising £340 million (US$558.5mn) from a consortium of banks for these assets. The combined transactions value the wind farms at approximately £460 million (US$755.6mn).

Vestas forecasts aggressive growth targets

Vestas expects to lift its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) margin to 15 percent and revenue to €15 billion (US$22bn) no later than 2015.

According to the company, this growth can be achieved via competition with the existing peers as well as via competition with new players in Asia, which typically have not developed wind turbines themselves, but are operating on license at the present time.

In 2010, Vestas expects to achieve an EBIT margin of 10-12 percent and revenue of €7-8 billion (US$10-12bn). According to the company, the revenue range reflects short-term uncertainty caused by the credit crisis.

Met Office’s new offering to manage site conditions

The UK Met Office has developed a web-based system to manage site conditions for onshore and offshore wind farms.

The tool, VisualEyes, will be used to help manage maintenance schedules, operational risks and monitoring weather conditions, such as risk of lightning and strong winds.  

VisualEyes is being developed with Scottish Power Renewables and will be installed at Whitelee, Europe’s largest wind farm.

Sinovel, AES form strategic partnership

Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Sinovel and US power company AES Corporation have signed an agreement to deploy a prototype wind turbine in the US.

The two entities will also pursue project opportunities globally with the objective of delivering operations and maintenance, as well as technical support services. The framework agreement would provide AES with competitively priced, advanced technology wind turbines, while opening up potential new markets for Sinovel wind turbines.  

Currently, AES has more than 1,300MW in operation, with more than 500MW under construction and approximately 6,400MW in development.

SeaEnergy and TGC to develop offshore windfarms in Taiwan

Offshore wind energy company SeaEnergy and Taiwan Generations Corporation (TGC) will jointly develop TGC’s portfolio of offshore wind farm projects.

The first will project comprises the Changhua Offshore Windfarm with an installed capacity of up to 600MW. The wind farm will be located on the West Coast of Taiwan, about 2.5 to 10 km from shore in water depths up to 30m.

While initially the two companies will jointly own the venture, SeaEnergy has the right to retain a 25 percent working interest in the wind farm developments.

E.ON’s Humber Gateway offshore wind farm makes progress

E.ON has undertaken an initiative to gain proximity to the development of its Humber Gateway offshore wind farm.

The company has submitted a planning application to build a new substation on industrial land near Salt End. The substation would connect the proposed wind farm, located approximately 8km off the Holderness coast, to the national grid via 30km of underground cable.

If granted planning consent, construction on site could begin as early as 2011. 

Lloyds, BNP Paribas to finance Novera’s Glenkerie wind farm

Novera Energy has secured a 15-year project debt facility for its Glenkerie wind farm in Scotland.

The company signed a mandate incorporating the terms of agreement with Lloyds Banking Group and BNP Paribas Fortis for up to £36 million (US$59mn) for the facility.

Glenkerie will have a minimum installed capacity of 22MW.  It is anticipated that work will commence on site during the first half of 2010 and that the wind-farm will become operational in 2011.

SaskPower to boost wind power production in Saskatchewan

SaskPower is launching two new programmes that will more than double wind power production in Saskatchewan.

Under the Green Options Plan, SaskPower will procure 175MW of wind power from independent power producers. In accordance with the programme, SaskPower will introduce a standing offer to purchase 50MW of renewable power from private sector developers, with up to 25MW of the total coming from wind power.

Currently, SaskPower has 172MW of wind power on its system and has signed an agreement with an independent power producer to bring a further 25MW online in 2011.

Vestas wins contract in Mexico

Vestas has received an order for 51 units of its V80-2.0 MW wind turbine for the Oaxaca I project in the Mexican municipality of Santo Domingo de Ingenio, Juchitan de Zaragoza.

The order, which has been placed by Dragados Proyectos Industriales de Mexico S.A. de C.V., includes supply, installation and commissioning and a 10-year service contract.

The project’s expected completion date is December 2010.

Nordex strengthens its Turkish presence

Nordex will supply Turkish power station operator Bilgin Enerji with 36 N90/2500 turbines for its Soma project.

With a total volume of 90 MW, Nordex’s 36 turbines will yield over 300 GW/hour annually, powering more than 150,000 Turkish homes.

To date, Nordex has secured contracts for a total of 300MW in Turkey.

Wind Capital Group closes finance deal

Wind energy developer Wind Capital has received US$240 million (€163mn) in financing for its 150MW Lost Creek Wind Project in Missouri.

The financial backers include Nord/LB, Bayern LB, Rabobank, Santander and Union Bank. The debt facilities consist of a construction loan, term loan and letter of credit facility. Construction on Lost Creek began in July of this year and is scheduled for completion in late spring of 2010.