Archive for February, 2010
ABB
Friday, February 26th, 2010The Switch – generators and power converters
Thursday, February 25th, 2010The Switch supplies individually tailored permanent magnet generators and full-power converter packages to meet the needs of today’s wind turbine applications. Each of our solutions is designed and built to withstand harsh conditions.
Customers: Goldwind (China), WinWind (Finland), ScanWind (Norway) – now belongs to GE, PowerWind (Germany) etc.
The Bloom Box: An Energy Breakthrough?
Thursday, February 25th, 2010In the world of energy, the Holy Grail is a power source that’s inexpensive and clean, with no emissions. Well over 100 start-ups in Silicon Valley are working on it, and one of them, Bloom Energy, is about to make public its invention: a little power plant-in-a-box they want to put literally in your backyard.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/18/60minutes/main6221135.shtml
Hong Kong moves on with 100-MW offshore wind plan
Thursday, February 25th, 2010Hong Kong Electric will pursue plans to build a 100-megawatt offshore wind farm in the Southwest Lamma Channel, especially now that that an environmental impact assessment has been made for the project.
http://www.ecoseed.org/en/general-green-news/renewable-energy/wind-energy/offshore-wind/6180
UK’s 32GW of offshore wind power by 2020 infeasible
Thursday, February 25th, 2010…Britain will need to build two and a half wind turbines a day to have any chance of reaching its target of supplying 35% of its power from wind by 2020.
One of the major hurdles is related to the fact that there is no turbine manufacturing capacity in the UK…
http://social.windenergyupdate.com/weekly-brief/weekly-intelligence-brief-february-15-22
O&M strategy: Keeping offshore turbines turning
Thursday, February 25th, 2010Colin Morgan, director of offshore wind at consulting engineers Garrad Hassan, expects the availability, or machine reliability, of next-generation offshore turbines to come out in the low 90s compared to the average 97-98 percent reliability achieved in onshore turbines.
Why the deficit? In part, this will be due to more frequent occurrence of turbine operation at full power.
But for the main part, it will be due to the huge challenge of repair access. When operating offshore, time is money, particularly when a crane vessel costing up to £50,000 per day is required. Operators will need bigger, better turbines, and optimum access systems.
http://social.windenergyupdate.com/industry-insight/om-strategy-keeping-offshore-turbines-turning
Northstar Wind Towers, LLC – Modular Wind Tower Manufacturer
Thursday, February 25th, 2010What advantages does a modular tower offer?
By incorporating Northstar Wind Towers to support your turbines, you gain tremendous competitive advantages:
• reduced transportation costs
Depending on destination, Northstar Wind Towers can save you 50% to 75% in transportation costs compared to conventional tubular towers.
• reduced raw material costs
Modular technology enables our towers to be built with less steel, lowering material costs significantly.
• larger turbines
With added tower height available, you eliminate a major hindrance to manufacturing larger turbines. Taller towers allow you to take advantage of greater shear values, producing more megawatt hours, and enable developers a faster return on investment.
• bringing marginal wind regions into play
With the ability to incorporate taller towers, your turbines give developers the opportunity to generate energy from areas that otherwise may not have sufficient wind at 80 meters or lower. Again, you offer developers an advantage that few turbine manufacturers can provide.
• faster project delivery
Manufacturing panels as opposed to tubular sections is much faster. Even painting is an automated, in-line process. Once the panels are manufactured, shipping is immediate. No waiting for expensive, specialized transportation and permitting. With developers eager to meet deadlines for tax and project incentives or to beat their own competitors, your ability to deliver completed turbines faster gives you another critical market advantage.
Sway to erect 10 MW offshore wind turbine
Friday, February 19th, 201012 february 2010
Enova is granting NOK 137 million Sway AS to erect a 10 MW prototype offshore wind turbine in Hordaland, Norway.
Enova, set up by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (MPE) to promote environmentally friendly restructuring of energy consumption and energy generation in Norway, says the wind turbine is to be tested onshore for two years.
The rotor diameter is 145 m and the offshore wind turbine will have a floating tower. According to Sway, the tower is a pole filled with ballast beneath the water creating low centre of gravity. It will be anchored to the seabed with a single pipe and a suction anchor.
The offshore wind turbine can tilt 5-8°, and turns around a subsea swivel with the wind.
Sway is not the only company developing 10 MW wind turbines. Clipper Windpower is developing its 10 MW Britannia project scheduled for deployment in 2011. It is a geared wind turbine with blades over 70 m long, and the whole structure is 175 m high.
American Superconductor (AMSC) is also looking into a 10 MW offshore wind turbine.
All-Energy 2010 – Aberdeen, May 19/20
Friday, February 19th, 2010ROUND THREE – AND MUCH MORE! The Crown Estate has announced the successful bidders for nine vast offshore wind zones within UK waters. With a total capacity of 32GW these will, if fully developed, account for up to 6,000 turbines and up to 45,000 UK-based jobs in new coastal manufacturing hubs by 2020. All-Energy – the UK’s largest renewable energy show – is the perfect event in the perfect place for you to join in the transformation of the UK’s offshore wind capacity. Add to that the decision to approve the Beauly-Denny power line upgrade, FiT and RHI,and the forthcoming Pentland Firth licensing announcements, and it looks like being quite a year for exciting business opportunities.Explore them, and grasp them at All-Energy 2010.
http://www.all-energy.co.uk/ and info@all-energy.co.uk
Classified directory
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010Emissions reduction purchase agreement
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010The Philippines’ Metro Manila Development Authority (M.M.D.A.) and the World Bank have inked an emissions reduction purchase agreement for a project designed to address traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions in the country’s busiest thoroughfare.
On behalf of the Carbon Fund for Europe, the World Bank will purchase emission reductions worth 364,000 euros ($498,000) from 2011 to 2013 following a 10-year crediting period under the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol.
Artemis Wind(TM) – Digital Displacement® hydraulic pump
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010High-pressure oil-hydraulic transmissions have long been considered for wind-turbines but the part-load efficiencies of the available hydraulic pumps and motors have been too poor to make them attractive. Artemis WindTM believes that the prototype Digital Displacement® wind-turbine transmission that it is now building will radically change this perspective. The new transmission will be lighter than competing technologies and will have unprecedented levels of controllability and electrical power quaility. It will be suitable for retro-fitting to existing machines and also for use in the next generations of very-large turbines.
Benefits
The majority of large modern wind-turbines use mechanical gearboxes to couple the slow rotation of the blades to the high-speed of the generator. However gearboxes are heavy and prone to failure. In-situ replacement is very expensive. Other wind-turbine designs use low-speed electrical-generators that are directly coupled to the shaft of the wind-rotor. Though reliable these machines are costly, very heavy and need full-power electronic frequency and voltage converters to condition their power for supply to the electrical network.
A continuously variable transmission-ratio allows the rotor to be operated at the best speed for optimal power capture whilst the synchronous generator is driven at a much higher constant speed. The hydraulic transmission shares its load across many pumping-modules and so avoids the few highly stressed line-contacts that are inherent in gear boxes. The ability of hydraulics to limit pressure to a safe working value avoids potential over-stressing of the driveline. Short-term storage in accumulators can smooth out wind turbulence.
Russian wind power blows in to energy gap
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010Renewable energy producers are lining up to invest billions of dollars in wind power projects in Russia, though Russian power generation has long been dominated by hydro-carbons, nuclear and hydro-electric schemes.
Russia’s centralized power systems cover only one third of the country’s territory, leaving more than 20 million people without mains electricity supply.
Edited 03 January, 2010
Offshore wind China 2010 (June 7-9)
Monday, February 15th, 2010SHANGHAI， Feb. 8 /PRNewswire-Asia/ — The Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association (CREIA)， Global Wind Energy Council and Shanghai International Exhibition Co.，Ltd.，a subsidiary of the Shanghai branch of the China International Trade Promotion Committee， once again join forces to build Asia’s first professional platform focused on the offshore wind power market — the “Offshore wind China 2010″ — which will be held from June 7-9， 2010 in Shanghai. This event will provide opportunities for enterprises to meet， communicate and exhibit in respect to the design， installation and operation of offshore wind power projects， as well as the R&D and support of offshore wind turbines， with the aim to promote the healthy development of China’s offshore wind power market and wind power industry chain.
This exhibition has received strong support from the National Energy Board， Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission， Shanghai Municipal Economic and Information Committee， and the provincial development and reform commissions of Jiangsu， Zhejiang， Shandong and Guangdong.
windSL ® is a leading developer of vibration monitoring systems for Wind Turbines.
Monday, February 15th, 2010“Our WT-HUMS (Wind Turbine Health & Usage Monitoring System) provides real-time, automatic and accurate diagnostics and prognostics for the mechanical components of Wind Turbines, such as gear boxes, bearings and shafts, contributing to their overall performance as well.
Our mission is to improve Wind Turbine performance, therefore reducing maintenance costs. Our WT-HUMS enables operators to predict, plan and control operation & maintenance activities.”
Finnish wind gear manufacturer cooperates with Dong Fang
Thursday, February 11th, 201003 February 2010
Finnish wind gear manufacturer Moventas and Chinese Dong Fang New Energy Equipment (DFNEE) have agreed on R&D cooperation on wind turbines.
Together they will develop a 3 MW wind turbine for the Chinese market. Moventas‘ role is to provide the gear solution to the turbine.
The first prototype wind turbine gears will be delivered in December 2010.
LM Glasfiber joins Global Wind Alliance
Thursday, February 11th, 2010The Global Wind Alliance currently brings together 14 key players within maintenance, repair and overhaul of wind turbines offering one point of contact for wind farm owners internationally.
LM Glasfiber’s international service unit currently has around 300 employees offering on-site repair solutions and builds on an international network of wind turbine blade workshops.
LM Glasfiber says its entry into the post-warranty wind turbine service and maintenance market is part of an overall strategy to strengthen its service offering and customer responsiveness.
http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/view/7134/lm-glasfiber-joins-global-wind-alliance/
Wind energy key to meeting Turkey’s rising power demand
Thursday, February 11th, 2010Wednesday, Feb 10, 2010
Turkey must exploit its huge wind energy resources if it wants to meet its increasing power demand while becoming less dependent on energy imports, delegates heard today at a workshop on integrating wind power in Ankara.
The workshop, organised by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) in cooperation with the Turkish Wind Energy Association (TWEA/TÜREB), brough over 300 representatives from industry, government and national electricity companies together to discuss the potential for wind power development in the country.
BARD joins with VOITH Turbo
Thursday, February 11th, 2010Windpower plant manufacturer BARD has joined with Voith Turbo as a contract partner in the WinDrive project which has recently received the Hermes Award. Both companies have agreed to jointly develop a drive concept for the driveline of the new BARD 5.0 wind turbine, which features an increased output of up to 6.5 MW (7 MVA), an important step towards higher commercial viability of offshore wind power systems.
Wind Power Blows Strongest In Europe
Thursday, February 11th, 2010GALWAY, IRELAND–February 9, 2010–Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)–Europe deployed more wind power in 2009 than any other technology for electricity generation. The latest figures from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) show that 39% of new electricity capacity installed was wind, followed by gas (26%) and solar photovoltaics (16%). In total, renewable energy technologies accounted for 61% of new power generating capacity installed last year. This is the second year running that renewable power investments have been higher than more traditional power generation technologies.
Wind energy’s share increased last year, up from 35% in 2008, but it may struggle in the global economic downturn to match that growth for 2010. Investment in new European wind farms reached 13 billion euros ($17.8 billion) in 2009, including 1.5 billion euros in offshore wind farms. Overall, 10,163 megawatts (MW) of wind power capacity was installed across the European Union (EU), a 23% increase compared to 2008 installations. This was comprised of 9,581 MW onshore, an increase of 21% from 2008, and 582 MW offshore, up 56% from 2008.
http://www.industrialinfo.com/showNews.jsp?newsitemID=155567
Repower UK signs manufacturing deal
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010REpower UK, one of the country’s biggest suppliers of wind energy, has signed a preferred supplier agreement with British manufacturer, Mabey Bridge, to supply wind turbine towers for many of its UK developments.
The news follows the announcement last month that Mabey Bridge will create 240 jobs in a new £38 million facility in Monmouthshire.
The deal means that the steel tubular towers will be manufactured in the UK for most of REpower’s planned wind farms. The REpower nacelle and the blades will continue to be made to order at the REpower factories throughout Europe.
South West RDA
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010The South West RDA works for and promotes a modern, stronger and more resilient economy across South West England. Our work is all about creating better jobs, successful businesses, more prosperous cities, towns and villages within an economy that uses less carbon.
We work in close partnership with business leaders and representatives, skills and training providers, local authority members and officers across the region and nationally with ministers and civil servants.
Oceanlinx
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010Oceanlinx is a leading international company in the field of wave energy conversion. The company has developed proprietary technology for extracting energy from ocean waves and converting that energy into electricity, or using it to provide desalinated potable grade water from sea water.
Oceanlinx has designed and deployed wave energy systems since 1997, to remain at the leading edge of marine renewable technology development.
Pelamis Wave Power
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010Pelamis Wave Power Ltd is the manufacturer of a unique system to generate renewable electricity from ocean waves.
The Pelamis Wave Energy Converter is the result of many years of engineering development by PWP. It was the world’s first commercial scale machine to generate electricity to the grid from offshore wave energy and the first to be used commercially.
Offshore wind piques investor interest
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010Unless manufacturing is really ramped up, the 29GW UK target to install by 2020, will not be met. Currently there are bottlenecks with suppliers and sub- suppliers, there are insufficient port facilities and there is a shortage of vessels.
If these supply chain issues are resolved by 2015, then we are in there with a fighting chance. But in reality, no, I don’t think the supply chain issues will be resolved in time.
When it comes to wind turbine manufacturers, there has always been more concentration on onshore wind than on offshore wind, so I don’t see how, in the next five years, turbine suppliers can ramp up its capacity to meet this huge demand for offshore turbines.
http://social.windenergyupdate.com/qa/offshore-wind-piques-investor-interest
5 February 2010
RWE approves €1bn for Germany’s Nordsee Ost offshore project
Friday, February 5th, 2010The 295-megawatt (MW) Nordsee Ost project will be installed using RWE’s own construction vessel, currently being built for around €100m by Korean shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. RWE has the option to purchase two more such vessels under a deal inked in December 2009.
Nordsee Ost will also be the first major European offshore wind farm to utilise REpower’s 6M turbines, rated at 6.15MW each. The turbines will be the first delivered under the €2bn framework agreement clinched between REpower and RWE in February – one of the largest in the history of the wind-energy industry.
RWE has one of the most formidable offshore wind project pipelines in the world. Along with Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) it is one of just two firms to have its name attached to more than one Round 3 offshore zones in UK waters.
http://www.rechargenews.com/energy/wind/article203221.ece
REpower and RWE Innogy sign contract for about 295 MW for offshore wind farm off Helgoland
Friday, February 5th, 2010_ First supplies under the framework agreement concluded in February 2009
_ Delivery of 48 turbines of the REpower 6M type, each with a rated output of 6.15 MW
_ “Nordsee Ost” wind farm to be built from 2011 to 2013
http://www.yourindustrynews.com/news_item.php?newsID=45061
ADI Wind – gearboxes, R&D
Friday, February 5th, 2010ADI Wind’s patent pending gearbox transfers the same power as conventional units with equal efficiencies, yet our gearbox is 4 times lighter and uses considerably fewer parts, resulting in a dramatically smaller footprint and greatly reduced cost. Furthermore, we offer conventional mounting options and an industry first mobile solution using a telescopic boom crane platform.
VVT – Technology partnership
Monday, February 1st, 2010In a technology partnership, VTT assumes joint responsibility for the development of agreed technologies and competencies as a strategic partner. You can outsource all or a certain part of your R&D operations to VTT. The content of a technology partnership is always unique and tailor-made to meet the specific customer needs. VTT advises you on the latest trends in technological development and helps you to identify new business opportunities.
Winwind Ltd.
Monday, February 1st, 2010The WWD concept has been created by combining German innovation (Multibrid®-technology) and expertise with Finnish know-how in energy production. The most important Finnish component suppliers, Moventas Wind Oy and ABB, are our key partners in our operations network, and continuous developments in our cooperation with these companies ensure that WinWinD retains the lead in this field of technology.