Turbine market to resume growth next year as offshore wind gains ground.

UNC, Duke Energy to develop coastal wind pilot project

Electric power company Duke Energy will fund the University of North Carolina’s (UNC) pilot study of commercial wind turbines in the waters offshore of North Carolina.

Three wind turbines will be installed in the Pamlico Sound. North Carolina Senator Marc Basnight expects this project, which could be operational within one year, to shape the future of offshore wind energy for the state.

Duke Energy will finance the turbines and their installation. UNC, which is taking this vital step following completion of a nine-month coastal wind study in June this year, will continue its research throughout the project.

The pilot turbine installation will facilitate utility-scale wind energy development by enabling studies to optimise measurement and prediction of the wind resource, quantify ecological impacts, and demonstrate turbine performance in tropical storm conditions.

National Grid plans a £1b cable beneath the North Sea

UK’s electricity network operator National Grid has signed a contract with Norwegian Statnett to explore prospects for a high-voltage power cable under the North Sea linking the two countries and offshore renewable power sources.

The 900-km high voltage direct current (HVDC) link from Kvilldal, Norway, to an unspecified point on English coast, could include connection nodes along the route with spurs taking power from offshore generation.

The contract, which ends in January 2011, binds the parties to settle required key subjects before initiating the process of making a planning proposal and licence application to the authorities.

US DOE to provide $750m in funding from ARRA

The US Department of Energy (DOE) will provide up to $750 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to help accelerate the development of conventional renewable energy generation projects.

This funding will cover the cost of loan guarantees, which could support as much as $4 to $8 billion in lending to eligible projects. The Department has decided to create its new Financial Institution Partnership Programme (FIPP) in order to invite private sector participation to accelerate the financing of these renewable energy projects.

SSE to set up Renewable Energy Centre of Excellence in Glasgow

Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) will set up its new Centre of Engineering Excellence for Renewable Energy (CEERE) in Glasgow in partnership with the University of Strathclyde. CEERE is to be developed over the next three years at an estimated cost of £20 million.

It will manage the development, design, engineering, project management, procurement and asset monitoring of SSE’s portfolio of onshore and offshore wind farms in Europe.

Nordic Capital to invest €270m in Master Marine

Private equity firm Nordic Capital has invested €270 million (US$397mn) in offshore energy service company Master Marine to become the new majority owner of the company. The deal features €130 million (US$191mn) of new equity and €140 million (US$206mn) of senior secured loans.

In exchange, the company will receive an 89 percent stake in the business, and it has also acquired €30 million (US$44mn) of outstanding high-yield bonds. Master Marine currently has two Service Jack vessels under construction at the Drydocks World yard in Indonesia. The first vessel is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2010 and the second vessel in the second half of 2010. Service Jack 2 will initially be used to install wind turbines and substation modules for Scira Offshore Energy at the Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm.

PNE Wind completes its first re-powering project

Wind farm developer PNE Wind has completed its first re-powering project by replacing the old wind-driven power systems with more modern, higher performing systems at the Alt Zeschdorf wind farm.

Three Vestas V90 type wind-driven power systems have been constructed at the farm, each with an installed capacity of 2 MW and a comparatively high hub height of 108 metres.

UMaine’s Deep Offshore Wind project makes progress

House and Senate negotiators of the Fiscal Year 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations bill have agreed to include Senator Susan Collins' request for $5 million for the Maine Offshore Wind Initiative at the University of Maine in the final version of the spending bill. It must now receive final approval from the Senate.

Construction of Hatchet Ridge Wind Farm begins

Pattern Energy Group has begun construction work for its Hatchet Ridge wind project. The 101.2-MW project, being developed by Renewable Energy Systems Americas, will be located on a portion of Hatchet Mountain near the town of Burney in Shasta County, California. It will consist of 44 Siemens 2.3 MW turbines. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) will purchase the power under a 15-year power purchase agreement. 

TransAlta and Canadian Hydro Developers agree on acquisition

TransAlta has sweetened its takeover bid for Canadian Hydro Developers by 70 Canadian cents a share. Canadian Hydro, a Calgary-based renewable-energy company, had rejected TransAlta's initial C$4.55 (US$4.36) a share bid. The new bid is worth C$5.25 (US$5.03) a share, or a total of C$1.6 billion (US$1.48 billion).

On a combined basis, TransAlta and Canadian Hydro will have net generation capacity of 8,657 MW in operation. The renewables portfolio will include 1,900 MW in operation, or 22% of the combined portfolio.

Turbine market tipped to resume growth in 2011

The North American market for wind turbines will continue to grow through to 2015, driven by new generation additions as well as replacements of smaller, older turbines with larger, more efficient turbines, according to a report released by Pike Research.

The firm forecasts that by 2015, 45 percent of all turbine installations in North America will be replacements. It projects that the turbine market will resume its growth in 2011, following three years of stagnation, and cumulative wind turbine deployments will exceed 40,000 units during the period from 2010 to 2015. Wind power generation capacity passed the 27 GW-mark last year.