StatoilHydro installs 13km submarine cable

StatoilHydro installs 13km submarine cable
Norwegian oil and gas company StatoilHydro has shared that the 13-kilometre submarine cable which is to carry electricity from the Hywind floating wind turbine has now been installed and tested in the sea north-west of Stavanger. This pilot project, based on StatoilHydro’s own concept, ranks as the world’s first full-scale floating wind turbine. Plans call for the Hywind unit to start generating electricity in late September or early October, and for testing to continue over a two-year period. The goal is to obtain information and data which can be used for further development of the concept. Once generation starts, the power will come ashore in Røyrvika near Skudeneshavn on the island of Karmøy and be delivered to local grid operator Haugaland Kraft.

Dong Energy to build wind farm in Northern Norway
Denmark’s Dong Energy is to build and run the Norwegian wind farm Nygårdsfjell 2 in the Narvik municipality in Northern Norway. Investment in the project is expected to be around $58 million.  The wind farm is owned by Nordkraft Vind AS, a 50:50 JV set up by Norwegian company Nordkraft and Dong Energy. The farm will have a capacity of between 25.3 and 33 MW.

REpower bags orders for 31 turbines
Turbine producer REpower Systems has bagged orders for 31 wind energy turbines for two wind farm projects in Italy. The order is for the Savignano Irpino wind farm in the Puglia region, where 20 REpower MM92 turbines are going to be installed. The other project is the Monte Mimiani project in Sicily. REpower will deliver 11 turbines of the same type. The orders have been placed by two project companies, majority-owned by TRE&P, a subsidiary of Tozzi Holding. Further details weren’t shared.

Sway, Areva to work on new technology
Norwegian renewable energy company Sway and French company Areva are to jointly work on a technology that would it make possible to exploit offshore winds in deep water for energy production. The two companies intend to demonstrate that deep water wind power is commercially attractive within the next four years. The Multibrid M5000 turbine has a capacity of 5 MW and is designed solely for offshore installation. The turbine will be adapted to enable downwind turbine operation on Sway’s tower solution.

Vestas chosen for a project in Cyprus
Vestas has received an order for 41 units of the V90-2.0 MW wind turbine for the Orites project in Cyprus. The order comprises supply and commissioning of the wind turbines as well as a five-year service and maintenance agreement. The order has been placed by a Cypriot-based development company, DK Windsupply Limited, in conjunction with Platina Partners, a London-based private equity group.

Composite to sell DeWind for $49.5m
Irvine, California-based Composite Technology has reached agreement to sell DeWind, a wind turbine maker, to Korean company Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in a deal valued at about $49.5 million. DSME, the world’s second-largest shipmaker by sales, will gain control of DeWind's operating assets and liabilities. DSME added that it now plans to invest a further $70m to develop new wind power turbines and build additional US manufacturing plants for its new subsidiary.

Turbine fire under investigation
A fire occurred at a turbine located at TransAlta’s Kent Hills wind farm in New Brunswick. Investigation into the cause of the fire is underway with the turbine supplier Vestas. The power generation company said that the remaining 31 turbines at the 96 megawatt Kent Hills facility are operational. The 96 MW, $170 million Kent Hills Wind Farm began commercial operation on December 31, 2008.

MoU signed for new wind turbine manufacturing facility
Technology company Atlantic Wind & Solar has signed a memorandum of understanding with Arizona-based Centripetal Dynamics (CDI). The two companies are evaluating the prospects of CDI constructing a wind turbine manufacturing facility in Canada. The MoU is for defining a framework of cooperation and participation for establishing a manufacturing facility.