Category: Categories


EDP Renovaveis and Vestas enter deal for 2.1 GW of wind turbine capacity

April 27th, 2010 | Posted in Wind

EDP Renovaveis and Vestas have entered into, what could be the deal of the year, for a total of 2100 MW of wind turbines. Under the agreement, Vestas is to initially supply EDP with 1500 MW, while the remaining 600 MW is actually a possibility for supply extension, and could be exercisable in 2010 and 2011. The agreement is the result of a competitive proces launched by EDP Renovaveis about a year ago in Chicago, USA.

The initial 1500 MW are to delivered at various locations around the world, in North America, South America and Europe. The agreement grants EDP several advantages:

flexibility in deliveries to various locations on the three mentioned continents
flexibility to choose commercially available wind turbine models and classes for each individual project with a given notice
operation and maintenance service agreement for a two year period – extendible on a project by project basis to up to 10 years

Vestas' strategic plan, the Triple15 (EUR 15bn revenues and 15 per cent EBIT margin by 2015), has this way received a significant boost, and brings the company that much closer to this goal. Unfortunately, the amount involved in this deal hasn't been disclosed.

[source: EDP Renovaveis and Vestas]


REpower celebrates opening of Alpha Ventus – announces own production capacity expansion

April 27th, 2010 | Posted in Wind

REpower celebrates the official start-up of the Alpha Ventus offshore wind farm, featuring six of the company's wind turbines. Along with the launch celebration, the company announced the expansion of its production capacities. The company's 5M and 6M units are currently being assembled at productin facilities in Bremerhaven, Germany.

The Bremerhaven production facility can output about 100 units annually at the moment, and while REpower claims additional orders can be placed with the company, even though its capacities are stretched through large collaboration agreements with giants such as RWE Innogy, there seems to be a realistic need for expansion of production capacity. The company is planning to double, or even triple production rate in the next 16-18 months, if the customers show a need for this. Several possibilities for this are in discussion – expanding the Bremerhaven facility, or building a whole new one elsewhere, such as in Great Britain (where GE and Siemens have already shown interest in building production facilities).

REpower's product offer mostly consists of multi-megawatt units aimed at the large-scale offshore wind project market. With the expansion of this wind energy industry sector, it is expected that demand will grow. With various locations where this growth is happening (Western Europe, North America, Southeast Asia) it may be logical for a wind turbine manufacturer to spread out its production facilities to reduce transport costs, and delivery time.

[source: REpower]

California Public Utilities Commission greenlights PG&E's up to 500 MW solar power plans

April 26th, 2010 | Posted in Solar

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) plans to begin implementing a major new solar PV program, which was recently approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

The program, once complete, will generate up to 500 MW of clean energy, enough to meet the needs of about 150,000 homes in PG&E's Northern and Central California service area.

The solar PV program is part of the company's larger effort to provide its customers with more clean energy. The five-year initiative will consist of up to 250 MW of utility-owned PV generation and another 250 MW provided by independent developers through a streamlined regulatory process.

The moderately sized projects targeted by PG&E's initiative range from 1 MW to 20 MW, and should thus require less time to plan and build.

[source: PG&E]

Cavico invests in joint-stock company with focus on renewable energy development

April 26th, 2010 | Posted in General

Cavico Corporation, an infrastructure company from Vietnam, has made an investment, through its subsidiary Cavico Vietnam, into a joint-stock company called Cavico Renewable Energy Joint Stock Company (Cavico CRE). The new company's main area of focus will be renewable energy development such as hydropower, wind energy, solar energy, and biomass or biofuels.

Cavico CRE requires a total of USD 14 million in investments, of which USD 4.2 million are to be invested within 90 days from receiving the investment license (which Cavico received on March 31, 2010), while the remaining USD 10 million will be contributed over the next three years, after the initial start-up of the company. Cavico Vietnam will own 10% and Cavico Transport will own 20% of Cavico CRE. The remaining shares in the company are planned for outside investor offerings.

Cavico Corporation regards the formation of Cavico CRE as a strategic move in the expansion of the company's activities. The company will continue to build its market-leading position in traditional engineering, construction and infrastructure projects, but will leverage its expertise in these and other areas by expanding its renewable energy capabilities. The company hopes to be able to broaden its investment opportunities as well as increase its profit margins.

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Vestas to supply 16 V82 units for wind project in Canada

April 26th, 2010 | Posted in Wind

Vestas received an order for 16 of its V82-1.65 MW units from the Red Lily Wind Energy Partnership, for the Red Lily wind farm to be developed by Algonquin Power in southeastern Saskatchewan, Canada. Delivery of the ordered wind turbines is to happen at the beginning of 2011. Along with the supply of the wind turbines, Vestas is also to fulfill a ten-year S&M obligation.

Vestas worked with Algonquin Power before, on the St. Leon project, in 2005. Algonquin expressed satisfaction and a positive experience with the V82 units. Aside from several wind energy projects, Algonguin also worked on many other renewable energy projects.

[source: Vestas]

Fortum planning cluster of small wind farms in Finland

April 26th, 2010 | Posted in Wind

Fortum is planning wind power projects in Finaland's municipality Ii, in the northern part of Ostrobothnia. The projects will be with about 3 MW of capacity each, and there will be eight of them initially, near the village of Olhava, north of Nyby. These eight wind projects combined will make up 70% of the total power consumption of the Ii municipality.

Fortum is in land lease agreements with local land owners, and plans to build the wind turbines about 500-1000 meters apart, occupying a total of about 500 hectares of land. The turbines will be installed at a sufficient distance from the nearest residential area, and will be connected to the power grid. If everything goes as planned, wind power production could start in 2013.

[source: Fortum]

Trina Solar introduces new utility scale solar module – TSM-PC14

April 24th, 2010 | Posted in Solar

Trina Solar's subsidiary, Changzhou Trina Solar Energy, is launching its new utility-scale solar module marked as "TSM-PC14". The company will unveil the new module in May at Solarexpo 2010 in Verona, Italy. The TSM-PC14 is Trina Solar's most powerful module to date and is targeted to be available for sale in the European and North American markets in Q4 2010.

It will have expected power output targets ranging from 265 to 290 watts, a positive power tolerance of 0/+3% and with a 72 cell arrangement. The large high-wattage modules are designed specifically for utility-scale installations and large scale, ground mounted systems. It is easy to handle and install and can be used in a wide variety of applications ranging from commercial and industrial installations to utility-scale facilities.

[source: Trina Solar]

SunPower partners with Flextronics and announces Silicon Valley PV manufacturing plant

April 24th, 2010 | Posted in Solar

SunPower has partnered with Flextronics to begin manufacturing solar panels in Milpitas, California by the end of this year. The announcement comes 25 years to the week since SunPower was founded in Silicon Valley in 1985.

The partnership between the two companies is expected to create approximately 100 new jobs this year, and produce 75 MW of SunPower solar panels annually. The West Coast location will allow SunPower to quickly and cost-effectively supply SunPower panels to solar installations at homes, commercial and public facilities, and power plants throughout the Western U.S.

Finally, we end this article with words from Terminator, California Governor Schwarzenegger, who said: "I can think of no better way to celebrate Earth Day than to highlight action that is good for both California's environment and its economy. SunPower is not only enabling homes and businesses to conserve energy and save money by going solar, they are also creating jobs at a time when they are needed most. Today's announcement is another example of how our state's nation-leading green policies are encouraging nation-leading green businesses to ramp up investment in California."

[source: SunPower]

Mercury Solar Systems partners with NREL on solar energy research

April 24th, 2010 | Posted in Solar

Mercury Solar Systems has partnered with The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to advance solar energy research. NREL will extract data for its own long-term research from Mercury Solar System's solar test-bed, the first solar PV testing facility in the Northeast. The system will be constructed on the roof of Mercury Solar Systems' corporate headquarters in Westchester County, NY, and is expected to be operational by the end of the summer. A grant from The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) will help finance the project.

The 81 kW solar PV system will consist of several hundred panels from eight different manufacturers. It is expected to generate 90,000 kWh each year or approximately 75% of the building's annual electricity needs. The system will also incorporate a hybrid PV/solar hot water system.

[source: Mercury Solar Systems]

Panda Energy, Con Edison Development team-up to develop, construct and operate solar power projects in the northeast United States

April 24th, 2010 | Posted in Solar

Panda Solar Ventures and Con Edison Development have signed an agreement to develop, construct and operate utility-scale solar power projects in the northeast United States. The agreement initially calls for the development of two solar PV farms, between 15 and 20 MW in size, with the prospect of additional solar projects to be announced at a later date.

Under terms of the agreement, each company will be equal partners to the joint venture. Panda will assume primary responsibility for managing the development, engineering and construction of the projects. The company will also leverage its extensive relationships with various service providers and equipment builders, and will contribute the solar projects currently under development to the joint venture's portfolio.

Con Edison Development on its end will assume primary responsibility for managing the operation, maintenance and financing of the solar facilities and will support the development, engineering and construction efforts. The company will leverage its extensive knowledge in the energy field to market the Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECS) and the electricity generated by the projects.

[source: Panda Solar Ventures]

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