US Geothermal announced the company has successfully drilled another production well at Neal Hot Springs, in Oregon, USA. The NHS-2 is the fourth large diameter well drilled at the site, and has resulted in a steady 3027 gpm of flow at about 142 ºC, from a depth of 979 meters.
GE received an order for 55 1.6 MW units from Suncor, which is developing one of the largest wind farm projects in the Canadian province of Alberta. The Wintering Hills project will have 88 MW of installed capacity, and will provide clean power for about 35,000 average Canadia homes. It is located some 125 km northeast of the province's capital Calgary.
The units are to be delivered in Q2 2011. Wintering Hills is being developed by Suncor (with 70% stake) and Teck Resources (30% stake).
[source: GE]
Vestas received three orders for a total of 172 MW of wind turbines from customers in the UK, the US and Brazil.
The UK order comes from RES for 28 MW or 14 V80-2.0 MW units to be installed at the Kelburn wind farm, in North Ayeshire, Scotland. The units are to be delivered and installed in mid-2011. Vestas will provide S&M for ten years, as well as its remote monitoring system.
Gamesa announced the company will launch its new G97-2.0 MW wind turbine model, especially developed for low wind speed regions such as North America. The new model represents an improvement of about 16% in swept area compared to the G90 model, and an output increase of about 14 percent. The new model will be officially launched at the annual conference and exhibition organized by the Canadian Wind Energy Association.
At the 11th Forum on Hydropower, held in Ottawa last week, and organized by the Canadian Hydropower Association, Canadian Minister of Natural Resources delivered a keynote in which he emphasized the significance of hydro energy as the leading clean energy technology in the country, citing a very large installed hydropower capacity base, and a lot more capacity that has yet to be developed.
SunPower Corporation and Iberdrola Renewables announced an agreement to develop a 30 MW PV solar power plant in Colorado, US. The San Luis Valley Solar Ranch will cover 216 acres of land in the state's Alamosa County. Construction will begin by the end of this year, and completion is expected by the end of 2011.
Amonix, designer and manufacturer of cocentrated photovoltaic solar power systems (CPV), announced the company broke ground at the site of its new manufacturing facility in North Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The facility will cover an area of 214,000 square feet, and provide jobs for 278 people.
WindPower Innovations announced the company has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with Wind Sail Receptor, the company behind an innovative design for wind turbines. Under the the LoI WindPower Innovations is planning to produce new, advanced wind turbines, using the design patented by Wind Sail Receptor.
Q-Cells, the German designer and builder of solar power generation systems, announced the opening of the company's office in San Francisco's SOMA district, marking the beginning of the company's involvement with solar energy projects in North America.
The US Department of Energy (DoE), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), and the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are awarding funding for eight joint research projects, supporting responsible siting and permitting of offshore wind energy facilities and ocean energy (wave, tidal, current, thermal gradient). The research will deal with information gaps that exist regarding environmental effects of renewable energy development on the ocean environment.
