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 News Briefs
The Long Island offshore
Project
The Long Island Power Authority’s (LIPA) is moving forward with its offshore wind project. According to a recent LIPA announcement, part of the new capacity would be realized through an offshore wind farm reaching as much as 140 MW capacity. This could be the first offshore wind farm development in the United States.
LIPA is likely to add 1000 MW of new capacity over the next ten years. This addition will help meet the region’s growing demand for electricity in the most cost efficient way possible.
LIPA, a non-profit municipal electric utility, owns the retail electric system on Long Island and provides electric service to nearly 1.1 million customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties, and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens. LIPA does not own any electric generation assets on Long Island, and it does not provide natural gas service.
The comprehensive energy resource plan announced by LIPA contains five key elements: 1) Energy Efficiency and Demand Reduction; 2) Renewables and Distributed Generation; 3) On-Island Power Supply for Summer 2005; 4) New On- and Off-Island “base-load” resources linked to Long Island via a cable to New Jersey capable of being available in 2007; 5) Risk Mitigation to increase fuel and energy diversity.
(Source: internet)
50 MW Maine Project
The State of Maine’s first wind power project, and one of the largest wind facilities in the North East, second only to the 64.5-megawatt Waymart Wind Farm in Pennsylvania, has secured the necessary approval to push forward construction.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved the construction of the Mars Hill Wind Power Project. The 50-megawatt project will consist of 30 wind turbines along a ridge and plateau at Mars Hill in northern Maine.
German order for Vestas
Vestas Wind Systems A/S has received an order for 31 units of the V90-2.0 MW wind turbines via its 100% owned German subsidiary, Vestas Deutschland GmbH.The order has been placed by WKN Windkraft Nord AG, located in Husum, and has a value for Vestas of approximately 70 mEUR. The turbines will be delivered during 2004 and will be placed in wind farms erected in Porep, an area between Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in Germany.
“We are very pleased that such a professional wind turbine developer as WKN has selected the Vestas V90-2.0 MW turbine for their projects”, says Svend Sigaard, President and CEO of Vestas Wind Systems A/S, and he continues; “The V90-2.0 MW turbines are now introduced in the market and we take this order as proof of the competitiveness of Vestas new medium to low wind turbine range”.
WKN Windkraft Nord AG is one of the leading full service providers for wind power projects in Europe and is primarily engaged in project development, planning, financing and installation of wind power projects and other related activities. The company has installed more than 330 MW of wind power mainly in Germany but also in other parts of Europe. WKN is a long lasting partner of Vestas and has already installed more than 200 Vestas turbines.
Source: Vestas
150 MW Saskatchewan Project
SaskPower International and ATCO Power have held public open houses to share their plans for their 150 MW Saskatchewan Wind Power Project. The project will be built at Rushlake Creek, about 25 kilometers southeast of Swift Current, in the southwestern part of the province. Construction is expected to start later this year. Rushlake Creek was chosen because it is the most cost-effective site, the partners say, with the determining factors being lower transmission line losses and interconnection costs. When complete, the project is expected to generate energy to meet the electrical needs of approximately 64,000 homes.
Major Plans for wind energy in China
According to Greenpeace, China is on the verge of a major breakthrough. The Greenpeace comment came as China prepares to draft its first law on the promotion of renewable energy.Chinese officials seemed to agree on the potential of wind energy, which, according to Greenpeace, could also help create 382,000 Chinese jobs over the next two decades.China’s roaring economy demands ever-larger amounts of energy, meaning policy planners have to look either abroad or investigate alternative energy sources to meet demand. As an indication of China’s huge appetite for power, the country last year overtook Japan as the world’s second-largest importer of oil after the United States.
USDA Announces Renewable Energy Funds
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced the availability of up to $22.8 million in funding for grants for rural renewable energy and energy efficiency systems. The 2004 Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA), which is the USDA ‘s official solicitation for proposals for FY2004, was published in May. Grants may be for up to 25% of the costs of purchasing and installing eligible rural renewable energy and energy efficiency systems. Minimum grant size is $2500.
Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Large Italian order for Vestas
Vestas Wind Systems A/S has received orders for a total of 35 units of the V80-2.0 MW wind turbines via its 100% owned subsidiary, IWT – Italian Wind Technology S.r.l. The turbines will be installed in 2004 and 2005. The two adjacent wind farms will have a combined capacity of 70 MW. They are located across the borders of the Basilicata and Campania regions, in the South of Italy, on two sites which stretch over two communes, Andretta and Bisaccia.
Source: Vestas
New Minister takes over
Vilas Baburao Muttemwar has taken over as the new Minister of State (with independent charge) for Non-conventional Energy Sources. He replaces Karia Munda of the earlier ruling coalition NDA. Muttemwar who has been elected to the Parliament for the 14th time is also a journalist. Speaking to InWind Chronicle, Muttemwar said people do not realize that over the next 100 years, we would run out of coal as a source of energy and out of oil much earlier. “If the future generations have to depend on non-conventional sources, we have to start planning now,” he said. He said the ministry will work towards removing barriers to renewable energy development in the country.
UK Marching Ahead
for major expansion and several projects were underway. Projects totaling over 1,000 megawatts (MW) of new capacity, representing an investment of some 1 billion pounds (US$1.89 billion), will be built over the next two years. This will take the total installed capacity in the UK to well over 1,500 MW by the end of 2005, generating enough electricity from the power of the wind to meet the needs of almost one million UK homes.
A survey carried out by BWEA shows that 22 new wind projects are due to be built this year, representing some 474 MW of new wind capacity, over four times the total installed last year. The list of new projects includes 21 developments onshore and a new offshore wind farm at Scroby Sands, the UK’s second large-scale development at sea, off the coast of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk.
BWEA also undertook a survey of five major developers establishing their predictions for build in 2005. The results indicate further growth of the industry next year with a predicted 560 MW of projects being built onshore and offshore in 2005, taking new build over the next two years to over a gigawatt with the wind industry supplying 1.3% of total UK electricity needs.
Source: BWEA
Enercon installs 3rd 4.5 MW wind turbine
Third of the world’s largest wind turbines, the E-112 (4.5 megawatts rated power). It is operated by EWE, a customer of ENERCON.
Some more E-112 are planned this year. Foundations of two turbines are currently being prepared
According to graduate engineer Volker Ziem, the managing director of ENERCON Production in Magdeburg-Rothensee, theoretically, next year Enercon will be able to turn out an E-112 blade every 14 days. The company is planning production facilities for E-112 at Rothensee.
In November 2003 the second E-112 was erected in Wilhelmshaven (ENERCON had built the first E-112 in September 2002 in Egeln near Magdeburg). The turbine generates about 15 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year – enough to supply more than 4,250 households (at 3,500 kWh each). With the current energy mix, this means an annual saving of some 97,500 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Based on: Enercon Press Release
NY Recommended Decision
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) has welcomed the Recommended Decision by a New York Administrative Law Judge on the renewable energy requirement announced by Governor George Pataki to generate 25% of New York’s electricity from renewable sources by 2013, up from about 18%.
The favorable Recommended Decision comes on the heels of announcements regarding two large projects : a 140-MW offshore wind farm and a 300-MW wind project in up-state New York.
Source: AWEA
Sun & Wind Alliance
In recognition of shared goals, ideals and interests, the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) and the International Solar Energy Society (ISES) have entered into a formalised co-operative relationship with the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement in Bonn, Germany.
The signing, which took place within the framework of the International Conference on Renewable Energies, was enacted by Yogi Goswami, President of ISES, and Preben Maegaard, President of WWEA, at the new International Headquarters of WWEA in Bonn.
Maegaard stresses the strategic political importance: “Close alliances between the global non-governmental renewable energy association are very important for the broadest possible proliferation of renewable energy technologies. There is still quite a long way to go and we appreciate very much that we can bundle our efforts to achieve jointly our common target, a 100 per cent renewable energy supply. Jointly we will even be able to represent the renewable energies when dealing with governments as well as with existing and future international organisations.”
The agreement focuses on closer co-operation between the two organisations in a number of key areas, including conferences, projects and shared representation. But it also lays the foundation for concerted, long-term co-operation between ISES and WWEA. The signing of the agreement within the framework of the Renewables2004 conference underlines the importance both organisations attribute to multilateral activities with a focus on renewable energy.
Source: WWEA
WWEA Inaugurates New Office
More than 300 guests from all around the world attended the WWEA inauguration ceremony in Bonn, on the eve of the International Conference for Renewable Energies Renewables 2004. The reception was held in cooperation with Heinrich Böll Foundation. Barbara Unmüßig, President of Heinrich Böll Foundation, and WWEA President Preben Maegaard jointly welcomed the guests.
Maegaard stated: “The establishment of the WWEA Head Office right now marks a very important step for our association. Bonn with its many international organisations now being the venue of the Renewables 2004 conference is for our Head Office a very suitable place – here we can be in direct contact with many of our international partner organisations.”
R K Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change pointed out the essential role that renewable energies and especially wind energy will have to play in mitigating climate change. André Traoré, Secretary General of the Ministry for Mines, Water and Energy of Mali, expressed his gratitude for Preben Maegaard’s activities in poverty alleviation by renewable energies in Mali.
Bärbel Dieckmann, Lady Mayor of the City of Bonn, welcomed Ulrich Kelber, Member of German Parliament, the WWEA Head Office in Bonn. She emphasised that Bonn has become a UN city with many important international organisations, especially in the fields of environment and development.
Jürgen Trittin, German Minister for the Environment, stressed the importance of WWEA’s work in advising governments and international organizations. The minister thanked WWEA for its contributions to the worldwide proliferation of wind energy and announced that his ministry will be supporting the 3rd World Wind Energy Conference in Beijing (November 2004). Reinhard Bütikofer, chairman of the Green party, underlined the enormous economic and ecological benefits of wind energy.
Source: WWEA
Difficult period for US wind Industry
According to AWEA, the balance of 2004 looks like a difficult period for the U.S.
wind energy industry. It is forecasting little to no growth in installed wind generating capacity this year. This is due to the inability of the U.S. Congress to pass a timely extension of the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC).
Enercon & GE settle patent dispute
ENERCON GmbH and General Electric Company, through its GE Energy business’ wind segment, have settled their patent disputes on a worldwide and long-term basis by means of a cross-license.
All pending legal disputes on patent infringement have been withdrawn bilaterally and the enforcement of existing rulings has been lifted. Both companies will independently carry on with their respective businesses of manufacturing and selling wind energy converters.
Based on: GE Energy Press Release
GE in Portugal
GE Energy will supply nine of its 1.5-megawatt wind turbines for the Parque Eólico de Alagoa de Cima project, a new wind farm located in northwestern Portugal, 39 kilometers from the Spanish border.
The new project will support Portugal’s initiative to increase the country’s installed wind power capacity to 3,750 megawatts by the year 2010. By the end of 2003, a total of 300 megawatts of wind-generated capacity had been installed in the country.
The wind initiative is part of the country’s policy for developing renewable energy (“Política de desenvolvimento de Energias Renováveis em Portugal”), which states that by 2010, more than 39 percent of the country’s energy will come from renewable sources, including wind. This policy exceeds a European Union goal that member nations obtain at least 12 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2010.
Based on: GE Energy Press Release
GE Energy Enters Wind Industry in India
GE, a major multinational has entered wind industry in India. GE Energy is supplying 18 GE 1.5-megawatt units for the Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd. Wind Power Project. With construction being executed in three phases in Karnataka State, South India, the project will total 27 megawatts when completed by the end of this year. Suzlon Energy Limited, the Pune based wind turbine major is the only other company to have supplied megawatt class machines in Karnataka. Suzlon recently set up 1.25 MW wind turbines in the State
The GE Project is currently under construction in Karnataka and will be commissioned by December 2004. Being executed in three phases, each phase will feature six GE 1.5-megawatt wind turbines - this is the first installations of 1.5-megawatt machines in the State of Karnataka.
The project owner, Nuziveedu Seeds Limited (NSL) of Hyderabad, India, is a leading hybrid seeds business. The company also owns wind power projects totaling 18.65 megawatts of capacity.
Power from the NSL Wind Power Project’s three phases will be sold to the Karnataka State Electricity Board. Combined, the project’s three phases is expected to generate approximately 81 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year, or enough to meet the requirements of more than 50,000 Indian households.
GE’s 1.5-megawatt units are among the most widely used wind turbines in their size class, with more than 2,300 of these machines installed around the world.
While this is GE’s first wind project in India, GE is one of the leading foreign investors in the country. GE employs more than 21,000 people in India, has a local market turnover approaching US $1 billion and exports more than US $1 billion of products and services from India to countries around the globe
Based on: GE Energy Press Release
Gear box facility at Chennai
Flender, the German manufacturer of mechanical and electrical components for power transmission equipment, is planning to open shop in India to manufacture gear boxes for wind turbines. The company is planning to set up a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Chennai with an initial investment of Rs 15 crore.
It is reported that a team of senior officials from the company came to Chennai recently scouting for suitable location to house the project. The company has reportedly approached the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamilnadu Ltd (SIPCOT) for five acres of land for the unit. The facility is likely to be set up at Sriperumbudur park.
The company’s major client is Suzlon Energy Ltd and Sriperumbudur park is a viable location as it would be closer to the Pondicherry facility of Suzlon.
Flenders is one of the international players in gear boxes for the wind turbines. Other major international players are Belgium-based Jacke and Hansen.
Setting up of manufacturing unit in Chennai would help the industry by bringing down the cost of this crucial component. Cost of a gear box constitutes nearly eight-ten per cent of a total turbine cost. A Chennai based facility will result in substantial reduction in costs. Man power costs that are low in India will result in major cost savings. Added to this is the advantage of proximity to Suzlon’s Pondicherry facility, which implies lower transportation & shipment cost. According to sources, with the Gear box facility in place, the cost of wind turbine may come down by 5-8 per cent.
Flender has a diversified product range covering individual components and complete drive system for nearly all industrial applications like motor, chemical and environment, printing machines, crane installations, ship building, rolling mills technology, cement, coal and ore and sugar industry.
It manufactures products including gear motors, couplings, geared motors, electric motors, generators, castings, high speed gear units, oil supply systems and beven gear sets.
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