Corporate/Finance « Renewbl – renewable energy news

Category: Corporate/Finance

GE Energy Financial Services makes investment in 11 wind projects in Idaho

June 30th, 2010 | Posted in Wind | No Comments

GE Energy Financial Services has made an investment in eleven wind energyprojects in Idaho (US), totalling in 183 MW of capacity. The largest so far wind project in the state, has been developed by Exergy Development Group, and represents a value of about a half a billion US dollars. The project has been dubbed the Idaho Wind Partners project, and GE FS will own a majority stake in it.

All the power generated from the wind farm complex will be exported and sold to Idaho Power Company under a 20-year power purchase agreement. GE stated it has put "millions of dollars" to work in the Idaho renewable energy industry, and hopes this investment will result in plenty of new jobs for the state's economy.

Construction of the wind farms has begun earlier this months, and completion is expected by the end of the year. The wind farms will be using GE's 1.5 MW units, 122 of them to be more precise. GE will provide seven years of O&M services for the installed wind turbines.

[source: GE]

REpower has 1 GW of installed capacity in France

June 29th, 2010 | Posted in Wind | No Comments

REpower announced it has now officially installed 1 GW of wind power capacity in France. The company boasts a 20% market share in 2009 in the French market, being the second largest wind turbine manufacturer there. The 1 GW of installed capacity also represents 20% of the total installed wind capacity in the country.

The company's French division is considered a very important part of the company, and much more wind energy development is foreseen in this country. France has plans to build about 6000 MW of capacity by 2020. The French authorities are going to be announcing the start of a round of tenders by the end of 2010 for more capacity. REpower plans to be very active in these tenders, and plans to dedicate much of its potential to offshore wind energy development.

[source: REpower]

Suntech Power opens office in France

June 29th, 2010 | Posted in Solar | No Comments

Suntech Power Holdings has opened an office in France, in Montbonnot. The company has been present in France since 2008, and now the French solar energy market is in the company's top three. The reason for opening the office in France is to be able to serve customers in that area in a faster and better way.

The new company office features a solar product training center for distributors and installers, with hands-on installation training. The office will also be home to a technical customer support team, which will grow with the market.

[source: Suntech Power]

OPEC investing in renewable energy projects around the world

June 24th, 2010 | Posted in General | No Comments

The OPEC has decided to invest in renewable energy project development around the world. A total of USD 170 million will be invested in 14 projects in countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. According to Central America Data, about 20% of the total amount is to be invested in Latin American countries. Some of the countries are Colombia (USD 30 million), Cuba (USD 12 million), the Dominican Republic (USD 5 million) and Nicaragua (USD 4 million).

There are no details about which renewable energy technologies will be developed, but judging from the recent developments in Latin American countries, wind and hydro are the most likely. We couldn't verify this bit of news with OPEC yet, so take this with a little salt (that's why we have the Rumors category ).

[source: Central America Data]

Enel and RusHydro sign MoU for energy development cooperation

June 22nd, 2010 | Posted in General Hydro | Comments (1)

Enel and RusHydro, Russia's largest hydropower developer, have signed a memorandum of understanding which represents the first step towards cooperation in the power sector between the two companies. Apart from pursuing opportunities in the power retail business, Enel and RusHydro will collaborate in analyzing commercial and investment opportunities in renewable energy in Russia. The two companies will exchange R&D, innovation and scientific research on the power industry.

So far, Russia's renewable energy sector has mostly been comprised of hydropower. The country's enormous hydro energy potential dictated the development of hydropower plants over the past decades. Apart from hydropower, Russia may have opportunities in biomass energy, solar, and wind, that could prove to be quite lucrative.

[source: Enel]

Acciona's Eurus wind farm gets USD 375 million loan from ten entities

June 11th, 2010 | Posted in Wind | No Comments

Acciona's Eurus wind farm project in Mexico has reached an important milestone, with the company having obtained financing for the project through a USD 375 million loan guaranteed by ten separate entities. This will be the single largest loan facility for a renewable energy project in Latin America.

The Eurus wind farm will have 250.5 MW of installed capacity, representing the largest wind project ever built by Acciona, and will be the biggest wind energy facility in Latin America. It is located in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Power produced at the wind farm will be exported to Cemex' cement plants, and will cover about 25% of the energy needs for the factories.

The financial agreements for the loan were signed with global and regional entities, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (IDB) and Corporación Financiera Andina (CAF). Other signatories include Spanish, French, German and Mexican banks and companies.

[source: Acciona]

Iberdrola Renovables boosting its global position with EUR 9 billion over next three years

June 10th, 2010 | Posted in General Wind | No Comments

Iberdrola Renovables announced plans to invest EUR 9 billion over the next three years in order to boost its global leadership position and expand international operations, focusing on profitable markets worldwide. Most of the company's growth is to come mainly from the US market, where the company will be investing EUR 4.9 billion, while other investments include EUR 1.9 billion in the UK, EUR 1 billion in Spain, and the remaining EUR 1.2 billion for investments in other parts of the world.

Iberdrola Renovables wants to accumulate about 16 GW of installed capacity by 2012, projecting a 15-20% earnings rise rate in this period. Investment and expansion efforts are going to happen in these key areas of the company's operations:

United States: the company wants to expand operations and increase installed capacity in eastern and south-eastern states.
Offshore wind: the company has a formidanle pipeline of projects in Europe – one of which is the Round 3 development in the UK, the 7.2 GW offshore wind farm off the east coast of England.
R&D&i: the company is going to be making further commitments towards researching new technologies and improving operating efficiency. One of the major projects will be renewables integration into power grids, improving tidal, biomass and marine energy operations.
Financial strength: maintaining financial foundations, improving efficiency, adapting investments to the economic environment, reducing the cost per MW installed.
Sustainability: a sustainable growth plan, which will create value for all the stakeholders.

[source: Iberdrola]

DONG Energy gets loan from EIB for London Array wind energy project

June 10th, 2010 | Posted in Wind | No Comments

DONG Energy signed a loan contract with the European Investment Bank, under which the EIB is to provide EUR 250 million as a loan facility to the company for the purpose of financing of deliveries by Siemens Wind Power and Per Aarsleff. The loan represents a part of the total financing needed for the realization of the London Array project.

The first phase of London Array will have 630 MW of capacity, and is expected to come on line in 2012, and provide power for the 2012 Olympics to be held in the UK. Once completed, the London Array will be the world's largest offshore wind farm. The project is owned by DONG Energy, Masdar and E.ON.

[source: DONG Energy]

ITOCHU and GE in agreement over renewable energy investment and collaboration

June 4th, 2010 | Posted in General Wind | No Comments

ITOCHU Corporation (Tokyo, Japan) and General Electric have entered into a collaboration and cooperation agreement to explore worldwide renewable energy investment opportunities. Under this agreement, GE Financial Services, ITOCHU International and Tyr Energy (hodling company of ITOCHU), are in discussions over co-investing in wind power, particularly the Keenan II wind power project (in Oklahoma, with 152 MW capacity), and another wind energy project, also in the US.

ITOCHU and GE have a history of collaboration, mostly through Tyr Energy.

[source: ITOCHU]

Alstom opening wind turbine assembly facility in Texas

May 26th, 2010 | Posted in Wind | No Comments

Alstom has announced plans to open a new wind turbine assembly facility in Amarillo, Texas. The new facility will be assembling nacelles and control systems. The assembled nacelles will then be transported to wind farm sites where, along with blades, towers, and other necessary equipment, the parts will be assembled on site.

The company will be producing nacelles for two models – the ECO 80/86 and ECO 100/110 wind turbines, both of which are planned to get certification in 2011, through collaboration with NIRE and NREL, as announced here. The turbines will feature the company's PURE TORQUE technology, which offers unique rotor support, resulting in better gearbox performance and more efficient power generation.

[source: Alstom]