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Category: Research

Vestas opens component test center in India

February 25th, 2011 | Posted in Wind

Vestas announced the opening of the company's new wind turbine component test center in Chennai, India. The company has had an R&D presence in India since 2008, and this latest center adds to the existing R&D activities, further strengthening the company's presence in the growing wind energy market in India.

The new center will be used to test turbine components and improve their reliability and performance. In addition to the center, Vestas is also expanding its office space in Chennai.

[source: Vestas]

Gamesa and Northrop Grumman open offshore wind technology center

February 15th, 2011 | Posted in Wind

As announced in early October 2010, Gamesa and Northrop Grumman have now officially launched their offshore wind technology center with the goal to jointly develop the next generation of offshore wind turbines, to be deployed in the US and throughout the world. According to the companies' plan, the first offshore wind turbines for the US market are to be developed by late 2012.

Gamesa signs coop agreement with IREC for offshore wind research

February 10th, 2011 | Posted in Wind

Gamesa announced the company has signed a framework technology cooperation agreement with the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC) for offshore wind energy research. Gamesa is looking to reserve four spots for installing its own offshore wind turbines at the ZÈFIR Test Station. Two of the turbines will be anchored to the sea bed, while the second two will be installed as floating units. ZÈFIR Test Station offers a total of 12 places for wind turbine installation, and will be developed in two stages.

Siemens and partners building test molten salt facility in Portugal

February 2nd, 2011 | Posted in Solar

Siemens is working on building a power plant test facility using molten salt technology for storing heat in Portugal. The company is working with German partner companies on this project, as part of the Solar Thermal Power research project sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. Why Portugal? Well, the test facility is to be located on the premises of the University of Evora, some 130 km from Lisbon. All this is being done in collaboration with EDP's innovation business unit called EDP Inovação.

US DoE and DoC in agreement for renewable energy modeling and forecasting collaboration

January 25th, 2011 | Posted in General

US Departments of Energy and Commerce announced an agreement to expand collaboration between agencies on renewable energy weather forecasting and modeling with the goal to enable more effective usage of renewable energy resources in the country.

Denmark's biomass expansion opportunity – potato residues

January 24th, 2011 | Posted in Biomass

Denmark could develope significant biomass energy potential from potato residues, according to Risø DTU. The institute has been holding networking meetings with researchers and companies which produce biomass, and it seems there is significant potential for the Danish biomass sector.

Gamesa establishing offshore wind technology center in Scotland

January 21st, 2011 | Posted in Wind

Gamesa announced plans to develop an offshore technology center in Glasgow, Scotland, making the UK the center of its global offshore wind business. The project is now subject to final agreements on financing. When fully operational, the center will employ some 130 people.

BP says renewables will outgrow oil in twenty years

January 21st, 2011 | Posted in General

BP released a report, BP Energy Outlook 2030, in which the company analyses world energy growth and market in the next twenty years. According to the company, the "best case" scenario is that primary energy usage will rise 40% in the coming two decades, with 93% of the growth coming from non-OECD countries. Russia, China, India and Brazil, as emerging markets, will dominate the growth trend, but also have a major influence on the improvement of energy intensity, as a measure of energy use per unit of economic output, through rapid efficiency gains in these regions.

Vertiwind floating wind turbine prototype to be installed in French waters

January 19th, 2011 | Posted in Hydro

Technip is launching the Vertiwind project for the purpose of testing a pre-industrial prototype of the vertical axis offshore wind turbine (offshore VAWT). The company is working on this project in association with Nénuphar Wind (the developer of the Vertiwind technology), Converteam (direct conversion system) and EDF Energies Nouvelles. Project partners include companies Seal Engineering, ISITV, IFP Energies nouvelles, Arts et Métiers, Bureau Veritas, Oceanide.

PV market crash coming soon? Blame it on Germany…

January 14th, 2011 | Posted in Solar

Well, not necessarily, but according to Photon Consulting, a solar energy research consultancy, we may be facing a PV market downturn, let's call it a crash, in 2012. If this happens, we can all blame Germany , because the country will reduce solar energy incentives starting from 2011, and in 2012, as was reported last January, as well as France. The largest solar energy market in the world will surely have significant impact on the rest of the global solar industry, once these reductions go into effect. One of the reasons this change may cause damage to the PV sector is that the incentive reductions will spread all the way down the supply chain. Less incentives, means higher solar energy development prices (ultimately higher solar electricity prices) which will create an over-supply of solar equipment on the market (less solar developments).