After a decade in development, the toughest wind turbines ever built are ready to make their debut.

The machines are the world’s first designed specifically for the harsh and remote conditions of the sea and have been developed in Germany, by the French energy company Areva. The turbines have a new waterproofing system and a simplified and lighter design, which should mean they require fewer expensive maintenance visits and are cheaper and easier to install and maintain. The turbines will stand 90m above the water and have a blade diameter of almost 120m. At full power each of the 5MW turbines will supply enough electricity for 5,000 homes.

The offshore turbines in use today are simply windmills designed for use on land that have been taken out to sea. As such they are not optimised for reliability or ease of installation or maintenance, which drives up the cost of their operation. But, according to the Carbon Trust, a British government-backed company which invests in low-carbon technologies, driving down costs is crucial if the UK is to build the minimum of 29GW of offshore wind power needed by 2020 to hit the EU’s renewable energy targets. “Without urgent action there is a risk that little additional offshore wind power will be built by 2020 beyond the 8GW already planned or in operation,” it said.

In development for more than a decade, Areva has now unveiled plans to install six of the giant Multibrid M5000 turbines as part of the Alpha Ventus project, Germany’s first offshore wind farm to be situated 45km from the island of Borkum. They are expected to be in place by the end of the summer.

Peter Madigan, offshore renewables development manager at the British Wind Energy Association said the Multibrid turbine was an important development: “At present we use onshore wind technology taken offshore. In terms of cost, having devices customised to the offshore environment will help bring prices down.”

David Clarke, chief executive of the independent Energy Technologies Institute, agreed the design is a significant advance: “It is the only device at that full-scale 5MW that has been built and tested as an offshore-specific design. On that basis, Areva are leaders.”

Turbines designed for use on land are relatively heavy and cost a lot to install and maintain. Areva’s design tackles some of these problems by simplifying the engineering, in particular the electrical generator behind the blades. “Coupled with a simplified, novel gearbox, that’s exactly the kind of innovation that we’re looking for in offshore-specific machines,” said Clarke.

The blades are reinforced with carbon fibre to make them as light as possible, and all of the mechanisms needed to change their position relative to the wind are enclosed to prevent sea air damaging them.

The nacelle, which contains the generator and major engineering components, is also hermetically sealed against the ambient air.

An Areva spokesperson said reliability was a top priority for the design – all the sensors and power management systems that are critical for the operation of the turbine have been installed in duplicate, to avoid the system shutting down in the event of an individual technical failure.

Areva also claims that its wind turbine is simpler to install than standard offshore machines since it is largely assembled and tested onshore, but it will still require a customised barge.

Other research teams have tried to tackle the installation problemby developing turbines that float, but experiments by renewables company Blue H and Norweigan oil giant Statoil are still in the earliest stages.

Both Clarke and Madigan said that offshore wind was important for the UK’s future energy mix. “Offshore, you don’t have local residents to worry about so you can do bigger turbines and operational noise isn’t an issue,” said Madigan.

One reason to feel less blue (AP)
Broken record alert: Once again the only real bright spot in GE’s business was energy infrastructure. GE chief executive Jeff Immelt figures the world’s infrastructure binge will keep that business—GE’s “sweet spot”—rolling in a diffcult 2009.

The energy unit was basically the only division that kept its head above water in the fourth quarter, with sales up 21% to $11.4 billion and profit up 11% to $2 billion. For the year, energy sales were up 26% to $38.5 billion, and profit rose 26% to $6 billion.

How important is energy becoming for GE as the rest of the businesses, like capital finance, run into serious headwinds? In 2007, energy accounted for 17.7% of GE’s revenue and 16.5% of net profit. In 2008, energy made up 21% of revenues and 22.8% of profits. In other words, the energy business is not only becoming a significantly bigger part of an already big company, but it is increasingly serving as a profit center, as well.

Despite the gloomy outlook for 2009 in the U.S., GE’s energy business has global reach. New energy projects everywhere from Turkey to China all play to GE’s energy business. Chief financial officer Keith Sherin cited “continued great global activity” for a bullish outlook for the energy business going forward.

Not that the domestic market should be a write-off. GE’s been clamoring for government action to tackle climate change and support a shift to more clean energy, which, of course, is a big part of GE’s energy portfolio. Thanks to President Obama’s victory, and Congress’ plans to tackle the energy crunch this year, GE can probably find at least one glimmer of sunshine in an otherwise dark sky.

Ontario gives wind power big push
Email story
Print
Choose text size
Report typo or correction
Email the author
License this article

Province to unveil $1.3 billion alternative energy plan today with at least 500 megawatts added to the grid

Jan 23, 2009 04:30 AM
Comments on this story (34)
Tyler Hamilton
Energy Reporter

The McGuinty government is expected to announce today another $1.3 billion worth of renewable-energy projects, most of it wind, as part of its ongoing effort to “green” up the province’s power mix, the Star has learned.

Energy and Infrastructure Minister George Smitherman and Colin Andersen, chief executive officer of the Ontario Power Authority, will reveal this morning the results of a bidding process that began in October and aims to add at least another 500 megawatts of renewable electricity to the grid.

The power authority received 38 submissions, some of them backed by native groups.

Winners chosen to invest in and develop the projects get a long-term power purchase agreement with the province.

Officials from the energy and infrastructure ministry could not be reached for comment.

Today’s announcement is part of a third round of procurement.

The power authority was directed back in August 2007 to secure 2,000 megawatts of renewable supply, part of the government’s goal of doubling renewable power in the province to 15,700 megawatts by 2025 and bringing on 2,700 megawatts of that by 2010.

Expect more participation from aboriginal groups.

Grand Council Chief John Beaucage, who leads the 42-member First Nations of the Anishinabek Nation, said Ontario native groups have a great deal to offer and nothing to lose by participating in renewable energy projects.

“The opportunity for involvement in energy development hasn’t been more ideal,” he said.

The previous two bidding rounds have resulted in seven wind farms capable of contributing 900 megawatts of power, though some projects remain in development.

Ontario expects to have 1,200 megawatts of wind power capacity in operation this summer.

The newest addition will likely be the 200-megawatt Wolf Island Wind Project near Kingston which, at a cost of $450 million, is expected to generate enough electricity over a year to power the equivalent of 75,000 homes.

Its development has divided the community of Wolf Island, where some residents argue the turbines threaten birds and are too densely placed.

The wind farm is expected to begin operation at the end of March.

American Superconductor Corp. said Wednesday it has reached a deal to license two of its wind turbine designs to South Korea-based Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd.

Financial terms were not disclosed. But under the terms of the deal, Devens, Mass.-based AMSC (Nasdaq: AMSC) will license designs of its 1.65 megawatt and 2 megawatt turbines to HHI. In addition to up-front license fees, AMSC will receive royalty payments for the first several hundred turbines produces as well as supply core electronic components for the systems.

HHI plans to begin producing the 1.65 megawatt wind turbines by the end of 2009 and will initially target the U.S. market.

some folks dream big and then there is CSU actually walking the walk to wind power ……….
Standing on the northwest side of Larimer County — eyes closed and ready — you can feel the heavy gusts move through your hair, between the fingers and against the body with such force that it becomes too much to stand at times.

Once known as a desolate place between here and there, the Colorado/ Wyoming border is now a place ripe in potential: There is energy here, “free” to those who would reach up nearly 300 feet into sky to grab it.

While wind farms are far from new, what makes a newly proposed site at Maxwell Ranch, 25 miles northwest of Fort Collins, unusual is that Colorado State University is the driving force behind it. CSU and Colorado State University Research Foundation, the private, nonprofit advocacy arm of the university, contracted with Wind Holding LLC to develop the wind farm, which is being called the CSU Green Power Project.
In the coming weeks, Wind Holding is expected to submit a permit application to Larimer County to build up to 100 wind turbines, will could generate up to 200 megawatts of electricity. The 11,000-acre ranch was donated for research to CSU by the Maxwell family in the 1970s.

The proposal will also be submitted to Weld County because about 30-40 miles of 230-kilovolt transmission line would connect to the existing Ault Substation in the county.

“I believe the future for electric delivery will be different than it has been since electrification in the 1930s,” said Wade Troxell, mechanical engineering professor at CSU and Fort Collins councilman. “Our utilities have served us well, but there are changes coming and I think we will be a leader in those changes.”

Troxell is a passionate proponent of the proposed wind farm and said the benefits for the city and university are innumerable.

The ambitious proposal carries a hefty price tag of $400-$500 million, which includes the cost of the towers, the transmission lines and a substation. Yet, part of the justification is that once the farm is built, the power or wind is virtually free, unlike coal or natural gas. If all goes according to plan, the farm could be completed as early as 2010 or 2011.

Wind power costs about 2 million per megawatt in a wind farm construction model. Solar costs about 5million per megawatt for solar farms. The payoff is 5 to 2 wind vs solar on ROI so I stand by my calculation you get a 5 to 2 return on investment by going wind where the wind blows. One must always place wind power where the wind blows consistently like Rocky Mountain region, offshore east coast, mountains of Vermont or Maine. Almost like locating solar panels in the shade or cloudy regions, sometimes solar and wind power are not worth installing if the sun don’t shine or the wind don’t blow.
The 10-megawatt solar farm is being erected in the sand, and it’s scheduled to be completed and hooked to the electric grid in March this year, said Khalid Ballaith, a project manager with Masdar. The solar farm is costing about 185 million dirhams ($50 million) to build, said Sander Trestain, a project manager at Environmena, the generator contractor for the $22 billion Masdar City build out.

The solar farm will be used to power Masdar City’s construction, which started in 2008. Its first residents will be the 100 students and professors of the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology. They plan to move in by September this year.

Madsar is planning on building 240 megawatts worth of power plants overall for the city, Awad said.

ambitious plans for 10,000 MW’s of wind power by 2013………
South Africa may have a viable wind-energy industry by 2013 thanks to an Energy Co-operation Agreement with Denmark.

The agreement was signed by Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica and Danish Foreign Affairs Minister Per Stig Moller at a wind energy seminar in Pretoria.

The agreement aims at providing wind energy solutions to South Africa in light of its energy crisis.

Sonjica said South Africa needed to grow its wind power capacity as this was the world’s fastest-growing energy source and provided more jobs than electric power stations.

She said that South Africa had the technical potential for wind energy.

This presented an investment opportunity for achieving the 2013 target of producing 10 000 gigawatts of energy in South Africa.

She said the 10 000 gigawatt target was modest because South Africa was a “late player” in wind technology.

She, however, urged South Africans to continue saving electricity.

Sapa

American Superconductor Corp. (AMSC) has caught the wind energy boom, but you wouldn’t know it from its incongruent name.

The Devens, Mass.-based company operates a business model unlike many others in the wind energy equipment business. It licenses its wind turbine designs to customers, who in turn buy power converters, performance monitoring systems and other parts from the company to run the turbines built on its specs.

In a sense, it’s the same strategy Intel has used to allow a raft of companies get into PCs and servers: give them access to intellectual property, sell them components, and then have your new customers undercut the establishment.

The company is a hit among Chinese turbine makers, who also happen to be located in one of the fastest growing wind energy markets in the world. American Superconductor has five customers in China (and one in Taiwan), including the biggest domestic wind turbine supplier, Sinovel Wind, said Jason Fredette, a company spokesman. Sinovel signed a $450 million contract with American Superconductor last summer.

American Superconductor doubled its revenues to reach $40.38 million in the second fiscal quarter ending Sept. 30 2008, according to the company filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It did the same for the first six months of the fiscal year.

“Our company has had a huge amount of success in China,” Fredette said.

The company anticipates solid growth over the coming year because of its reception in China, Fredette said. It generated $112 million in revenues for fiscal 2007, which ended March, 31 2008. It expects to generate $175 million to $185 million in revenues from the current fiscal year. For the next fiscal year, the company expects to bringing in more than $225 million in revenues.

But the company also believes that it will post profit for the first time in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year.

The turbine designer recently added Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea to its roster of Asian customers. Hyundai is licensing two designs: a 1.65-megawatt and a 2-megawatt turbine. The company plans to start producing the 1.65-megawatt turbine by the end of this year for the U.S. market.

American Superconductor also makes power-grid equipment. It announced last week its first Chinese customer for its system that regulates voltage to make sure electricity flows smoothly through the grid. Called D-VAR by the company, the equipment is going to a power substation in Inner Mongolia that is operated by the North East Power Grid.

Because wind energy is intermittent, voltage regulators have become necessary pieces of equipment for utilities and grid operators with renewable portfolios, Tyler Tringas, a wind power analyst at New Energy Finance.

“As you see higher penetration of wind power, you will need to incrementally add these improvements” to the grid, Tringas said. “The wind energy is growing rapidly, outstripping the aging grid infrastructure. It’s one of the top concerns for utilities.”

How did the company get its name? That has to do with what it set out to do when it started in 1987. The company has been developing superconductor wires that it says can carry up to 150 times more electricity than copper wires commonly used in underground power transmission cables today.

The super wires are made up of composite materials including bismuth and copper-oxide ceramic. Two scientists won the 1987 Nobel Prize in physics for their work on superconducting materials. One of them, K. Alex Muller, became a consultant to American Superconductor.

Utilities and transmission line developers aren’t a bunch that quickly embraces new technologies. So the company has relied on projects that are partly funded by the federal government to prove itself. Still, this original business could see a both as utilities arm themselves to revamp the grid.

Last year, the Long Island Power Authority in New York became the first utility to run the transmission voltage system built with American Superconductor’s cables. Consolidated Edison Co. of New York plans to connect two of its power substations in Manhattan with the super cables next year.

The company began developing other types of energy equipment about a decade ago. The purchase of Austria’s Windtec Consulting in Austria in 2007 lead to the turbine design subsidiary.

Entering the wind energy market has turned out to be a good bet. The company’s power system business unit, which sells wind energy equipment, generates nearly 90 percent of its sales. The unit has also posted operating incomes while the business unit for developing superconductor wires has posted operating losses.

While it has found fans in Asia, the company has had a tougher time cracking the U.S. market, which overtook Germany in 2008 as the world’s largest wind energy producer (see U.S. Wind Power Doubles in Two Years). The challenge is the same for the European market.

Jostling for market share against large players such as General Electric (GE), Vestas (VWDRY.PK) and Gamesa (GCTAF.PK) is tough, Fredette said. The company also competes against others in the power-grid equipment and cables sectors, including Mitsubishi Electric, Siemens (SI), Sumitomo and Toshiba (TOSBF.PK).