March 12th, 2010 | Posted in
Wind | No Comments
The Swedish government has recently given the go-ahead to Markbygden Vind AB, a Swedish wind energy company, to build 1101 wind turbines with a height of no more than 200 meters, to be used at a wind farm (comprised of interconnected smaller wind farms) in the Piteå Municipality (northeast of Sweden). The wind farm will have anywhere from 2500-4000 MW of installed capacity, depending on the final decision on which wind turbines to use. It will cover an area of about 450 square kilometers. Enercon became part owner of Markbygden Vind in 2008, so it is expected the wind turbines will come from Enercon. Wind turbines will have capacities of 2-6 MW, depending on the final decision on the best technology to use.
The wind farm, when fully operational, will produce 12 TWh of electrical energy annually, which is four times more than what the country currently produces from wind power, but more significantly, this production is equivalent to the energy output of two Ringhals nuclear power reactors, produced in 2005-2008.
Sweden is expanding its renewable energy portfolio, with wind as one of the main sources of renewable energy. The country has formidable wind potential. In order for the project to move forward, it has to comply with several necessary terms, such as health and environment standards, but also satisfy the interests of defence and industries such as the reindeer industry.
[source: Swedish Ministry of Energy, image: Energy Technology Centre]
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March 12th, 2010 | Posted in
Wind | No Comments
Van Oord announced last week the completion of the first phase in the construction of the offshore Belwind wind farm, off the coast of Belgium. The wind farm now has the foundations for each wind turbine installed. The foundations, consisting of a monopile and a tower platform (TP), weigh from 410-660 tons each, with each TP weighing at more than 160 tons. Additionally, as part of this phase, the company has also installed the offshore transformer station.
Everything is now ready for the 55 wind turbines to be placed on top of the foundations. Each wind turbines will have 3 MW of capacity, which will total in 165 MW of installed capacity at the Belwind wind farm, once completed.
[source: Van Oord]
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March 11th, 2010 | Posted in
Solar | No Comments
Norwegian power generator Statkraft opened its first solar power plant Casale in Aprilia, Italy. At the same time, the company announced an agreement with Siemens Energy to build more solar power plants in Italy.
The new plant has a capacity of 3.3 MW and an annual power production of 4.5 GWh, which is enough for energy needs of about 1200 Italian households.
As for that agreement with Siemens Energy, the two companies plan to build up to 40 MW of new solar power capacity in Italy during 2010. The agreement covers Statkraft's project pipeline in the country and construction of the next solar plant is expected to commence in spring 2010.
Siemens Energy will act as a Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) contractor, handling engineering, project management and turnkey construction of the PV plants. The German giant will also be responsible for operation and maintenance for the first five years.
Statkraft's goal is to develop 75 MW of solar power generating capacity by 2012. Their geographical focus is Italy, Spain and France…
[source: Statkraft]
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March 11th, 2010 | Posted in
Solar | Comments (1)
Trina Solar's subsidiary, Changzhou Trina Solar, signed a sales agreement with Essco Wholesale Electric, the southwest US company of Sonepar USA, for supply of approximately 25 MW of PV modules and an additional 4 MW at the option of Essco, to be delivered during 2010.
With this agreements, Trina has now secured a total of approximately 40 MW of PV modules from customers in the United States during 2010, all with agreed prices.
Commenting on the announcement, Essco's President Scott L. Tonn said: "With the addition of Trina Solar modules to our renewable energy equipment portfolio, we truly are able to be a one-stop distributor for our electrical contractors and solar integration companies. With Sonepar's national coverage through its operating companies and encompassing Essco's direct coverage of the Southwest, we are making renewable energy products more available and affordable than ever before to our customers."
[source: Trina Solar]
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March 11th, 2010 | Posted in
Solar | Comments (1)
SunPower has won a contract to provide solar technology for generating up to 200 MW or 80% of the solar power capacity needed for Southern California Edison's (SCE) large solar PV installation program.
During the next five years, the utility plans to install, own and operate 250 MW of solar generating capacity, most of it on otherwise unused large warehouse rooftops. The large 1-2 MW solar installations will be connected directly to neighborhood distribution circuits where the leased rooftops are located.
For the purpose, SCE is purchasing the SunPower T5 Solar Roof Tile product, which integrates into a single unit a solar panel, frame and roof mounting system, thereby reducing installation time and costs. In addition, it produces more power per installation.
In a related development, on January 21, 2010, the California Public Utilities Commission approved the process to be used for a second track of solar installations that will double the size of SCE's PV program. Previously, regulators directed the company to conduct a competitive solicitation, offering long-term power contracts to independent solar power providers willing to install an additional 250 MW of PV generation. SCE hopes to launch the solicitation later this month. Eventually, the two installation tracks will add a total of 500 MW to the solar generating capacity of Southern California's power resources – the largest U.S. PV program ever undertaken.
[source: SCE, SunPower]
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March 11th, 2010 | Posted in
Wind | No Comments
Mexico will be getting 306 MW of new wind energy capacity.
Three new wind farms will be built, with 1.5 MW wind turbines to be supplied by Acciona, under a supply contract awarded to the company by the Mexican government. Acciona won the tender against three other companies, all from Spain – Iberdrola Renovables, Recursos Eólicos de México (ACS), and Enerfin Sociedad de Energía (part of the Elecnor group).
The wind farms will be located in the Oaxaca state, Mexico, and represent an investment of about EUR 450 million, totalling in 306 MW of new wind energy capacity. Construction is expected to begin in 2010, and operation of the new wind farms is planned to begin near the end of 2011. Once completed, the new 306 MW of capacity will represent 12.7% of Acciona's strategic wind power implementation plan to install 2400 MW of new wind capacity by 2013.
The particular wind farms are Oaxaca I, II and III, each to have 102 MW of installed capacity. The model of choice for these projects is Acciona's AW 70/1500 wind turbine.
[source: Acciona]
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March 11th, 2010 | Posted in
Wind | No Comments
Nordex N100 wind turbine.
Nordex announced the launch of its new generation Gamma wind turbine. The new turbine has 2.5 MW of capacity, and it will be unveiled at the European Wind Energy Conference (EWEC) in Warsaw, April 20-23, 2010.
The Gamma generation brings new technological advancements to the existing N80, N90 and N100 wind power systems, resulting from the latest research and development and a decade of production and operational experience with multi-megawatt wind turbines.
All the models are manufactured to be modular, with a maximum weight of 50 tons. The units' modularity will make it easy for the company to speed up installation and service of the wind turbines. The new units also have built-in control of reactive power, thus enabling power companies to stabilize the frequency of the power grid during transient voltage dips or power surges.
The new nacelles and hubs are larger, allowing uninterrupted working areas with enough space for faster and safer servicing. All the wind turbine components can be directly accessed, with each weighing no more than a ton, allowing for easy extraction using a new crane system.
[source: Nordex]
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March 10th, 2010 | Posted in
Solar | No Comments
SunPower and K6 have signed an agreement to build two 1 MW PV solar power plants in Casamassima and Conversano, Puglia region, Italy.
The plants will be completed by August 2010, when the producing electricity will be provided locally, and contribute to Italy's national electric grid.
SunPower will install SunPower panels along with its SunPower T20 Tracker technology, which follows the sun during the day and delivers up to 30% more energy than fixed-tilt systems. Moreover, the SunPower TMAC Advanced Tracker Controller will be used for real-time, remote monitoring and control…
[source: SunPower]
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March 10th, 2010 | Posted in
Solar | No Comments
First Solar announced a power purchase agreement to supply Pacific Gas and Electric Company with electricity from a 300 MW (AC) utility-scale PV solar power facility that First Solar is developing in Southern California.
The Desert Sunlight project, to be located near Desert Center in eastern Riverside County, will have a total capacity of 550 MW, which is enough to power approximately 160,000 area homes – or about 480,000 residents. The other 250 MW portion of the project is already under contract to Southern California Edison. First Solar's power purchase agreements with PG&E and SCE are subject to the approval of the California Public Utilities Commission.
The construction is expected to start by the end of 2010 and completion as early as 2013. When completed, the project will displace 300,000 metric tons of CO2 per year, the equivalent of taking 60,000 cars off the road. It will also create approximately 430 construction jobs…
[source: First Solar]
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March 9th, 2010 | Posted in
Solar | No Comments
Bergamo Acquisition announced a new solar power project for the Republic of Lebanon. The company's key management will travel to the country to conclude the Letter of Intent ("LOI") with the Government of Lebanon.
The total cost for the project will be $500 million, with Lebanese government providing 100% of the total finance package. Bergamo E & A on its end will be responsible for the technical know-how and will provide a turn-key operation for the government under the terms of the LOI and the letter of credit to be issued by the Lebanese government to support Bergamo activities and its involvement in the project.
The Letter of Credit will be issued to Bergamo E & A, the wholly owned subsidiary of Bergamo Acquisition Corp.
[source: Bergamo Acquisition]
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