RES’ North American operations delivered 1 GW of renewable projects in 2018, helping the company reach a 16 GW global milestone in what it describes as the “Year of Renewables.”

A total of 12 wind, solar, and energy-storage projects and 30 transmission and distribution projects were developed and/or constructed across North America. During peak construction periods, these projects created more than 2,000 jobs. Among the 2018 milestones were the development and start of construction on a combined solar/energy storage project in Texas, and the sale of three projects: the 200-MW Reading Wind project, the 50-MW Lamesa II solar project, and the 100 MW Wildhorse Mountain Wind project.
“For us, 2018 was the ‘Year of Renewables’ and one in which Power Purchase Agreements came of age, the clearest indication yet that renewable energy has become as competitive as other forms of energy,” said Ivor Catto, chief executive officer at RES. “We have now developed and built over 16 GW of wind, solar, and storage assets across the world after growing our portfolio by 1.6 GW in the last year. Collectively, we now offset enough carbon, which is equivalent to 531,250 trucks of coal – if you lined them up end-to-end, they would stretch from Albuquerque to London.”

Globally, 2018 proved to be the year of the PPA, with November’s agreement with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. helping the company surpass more than 1 GW of contracts with corporate customers. RES has previously signed agreements with Microsoft, Google, General Mills, Telstra, HSBC, and General Motors. RES also continued to serve utility customers in 2018, signing PPAs for the Crossett Solar project with Arkansas Electric and Delta’s Edge Solar project with Cooperative Energy in the United States.
In a year of milestones, RES also:

• Commenced work on the 429-MW Murra Warra wind farm in Australia, which will be one of the largest in the world when completed in 2020.
• In France, finalized construction and commissioning of the 14.2-MW Montigny la Cour, 8-MW Bricqueville, and 17.6-MW Rosieres wind farms, as well as the 5MWp Lauzieres solar farm.
• Won its first wind farm repowering tender in France for the historic Souliella project – the first wind farm built in the country in 2001.
• Delivered three energy-storage projects totaling 80 MW in the U.K., also taking on management of the 25-MW Castlecraig Wind Farm in Northern Ireland.
• Won a new 10-MW battery storage project in Bordesholm, Germany.

“We have made great progress in 2018, and this provides us with a solid foundation to continue to build toward a future where everyone has access to affordable zero carbon energy, which is the vision of the company,” Catto said.

More info  www.resgroup.com

By the end of 2017, offshore wind had only been deployed commercially across seven markets, with the U.K. and Germany accounting for 68 percent of the grid-connected capacity. However, according to a recent report from Wood Mackenzie Power and Renewables, global offshore wind power demand will increase almost sixfold over the coming 10 years with projects deployed commercially across 18 countries by 2027.

As the pool of offshore markets is expanding beyond a handful of markets in Europe, local content policies in different forms are becoming an increasingly important topic for developers and suppliers as governments look to bolster their local industry and create more job opportunities for local labour forces.

“While the influence of local content policies has been limited thus far, these policies will impact 72 percent of future demand,” said Soren Lassen, leading author and offshore analyst with Wood Mackenzie.

The deployment of next-generation turbines will double average turbine ratings globally over the next 10 years and, in turn, subdue growing demand in the balance of plant segments in terms of number of units and material per megawatt – most notably in the foundation space where the weighted average monopile weight per megawatt will decrease by 36 percent by 2023 in Europe. Similarly, the average installation time per megawatt for turbine and foundation campaigns has been halved in Europe since 2010 and is set to continue. The transmission space is also undergoing holistic innovations where capacities are being increased and materials reduced.

“The proliferation of demand in new markets globalizes the European supply chain and motivates the entry of new suppliers,” Lassen said. “This is particularly true when supported by local content policies as the pressures in Europe lead to consolidation across the European supply chain – especially in the installation segments.”
Furthermore, the report points out that the high growth rates in offshore wind makes it increasingly attractive for oil and gas companies looking to leverage their offshore experience.

Average CAPEX for European offshore projects is dropping quickly, mainly driven by the increased competition in wind-farm development, increasing turbine size, and economies of scale.

“CAPEX and OPEX across Europe will drop, on average, by 36 percent and 55 percent respectively by 2027,” said Shimeng Yang, report author and European offshore analyst.
Offshore LCOE across Europe is also projected to go down at a fast pace with “the average LCOE across Europe for grid-connected projects expected to reach 53.6 euros/MWh by 2027, dropping from approximately 107 euros/MWh in 2018,” Yang said.

The report, Global offshore wind industry dynamics 2018, is available for purchase here.

Leading wind Lidar developer, ZX Lidars, has successfully demonstrated the use of Drone Wind Lidar to accurately measure the wind in what is believed to be a world-first.

ZX Lidars provides vertical and horizontal profiling wind Lidars to accurately measure wind conditions remotely and above or ahead of their installed position. These accurate, independent wind measurements are a cornerstone in the development, construction, and operation of wind farms globally.

The company has now achieved accurate wind Lidar measurements from a commercially available drone (an unmanned aerial vehicle) for demonstration purposes and trialed the system successfully during summer 2018 with excellent data rates and sensitivity.

“ZX Lidars is a pioneer of wind Lidar technology — we were the first on turbines, the first offshore … now we’re the first to fly on a small drone,” SAID ZX Lidars’ Managing Director Ian Locker. “This and other trials conducted since 2015 only stand to further confirm that our core technology is accurate, reliable, and robust lending itself perfectly to a range of applications such as Drone Wind Lidar.”

Dr. Michael Harris, director of Science at ZX Lidars, has pioneered wind Lidar for the wind-energy industry for nearly 20 years and has been the driving force behind this latest innovation.

A number of ZX Lidar systems are available for trialing in this or similar applications.

2018 Drone Wind Lidar trial results will be presented at the Wind Energy Science Conference (WESC) 2019.

Fred. Olsen Windcarrier recently made an agreement with the Seafox International Group for the acquisition of a 51 percent ownership in the jack-up vessel Seafox 5.

By this move, Fred. Olsen Windcarrier will include this vessel under its commercial, technical, and administrative management as an integral part of their fleet of jack-up vessels for offshore wind. Singapore based Keppel Offshore and Marine Ltd. indirectly owns the remaining 49 percent of the vessel.

“We very much look forward to welcoming Seafox 5 to the Fred. Olsen Windcarrier fleet,” said Even Larsen, CEO in Fred. Olsen Ocean, the parent company of Fred. Olsen Windcarrier. “Seafox 5 is a highly capable vessel well suited to operate in the deepest waters and toward the most challenging offshore wind farms emerging in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. To us, this marks an important investment, and the vessel will be a perfect supplement to our current fleet. We believe in offshore wind, and this acquisition further strengthens our position in the growing global offshore wind market. For the Seafox 5, we look forward to partner up with Keppel Offshore and Marine Ltd., a highly reputable player within offshore marine solutions.”

Consequent on this the transaction, Fred. Olsen Windcarrier will be offering a fleet of three modern offshore wind transport & installation vessels, consisting of Seafox 5, Brave Tern and Bold Tern. Seafox 5’s first job under the Fred. Olsen flag will be the “Hohe See” project in 2019, where it will work side-by-side with the Brave Tern.

More info  www.windcarrier.com

The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) commends the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) and the Government of Alberta for its continuing success in attracting some of the lowest prices ever seen for wind energy generation in Canada.

This news comes with the recent announcement of contracts for Rounds Two and Three of the Alberta Renewable Electricity Program (REP).

The AESO will secure power from five new wind-energy projects representing 763 MW of capacity at an average weighted price of $39 per megawatt-hour.

Since REP was originally announced in 2016, the AESO has awarded contracts to projects that will nearly double Alberta’s installed wind-energy capacity, positioning Alberta as the leading province for wind-energy investment in the country today. These commitments will result in a 10 percent increase to Canada’s installed wind-energy capacity, which currently sits at just less than 13,000 MW.

The companies behind the projects have each signed a 20-year Indexed Renewable Energy Credit (IREC) agreement with the AESO, providing predictable revenues while protecting Albertans against increases in the price of power. Under the IREC, when the market price is lower than the contracted price, the generator will be paid the difference; and when the market price is higher, generators will be required to pay back the difference to the government.

As mandated by the procurement process, all of the projects providing power through REP Round 2 (363 MW) meet the required minimum 25 percent equity partnership with Indigenous communities. Such partnerships have also been seen in other jurisdictions across Canada and have proven to provide training opportunities, jobs, revenue sharing and other economic benefits to participating communities.

The projects are expected to be operational by mid-2021.

The wind-energy industry looks forward to details about the schedule of future procurements for new renewable energy and will be active participants in the process.

“By attracting investment in the wind energy projects announced, Alberta is diversifying its economy, driving economic growth, and creating much-needed jobs in multiple sectors such as engineering, construction, and local services,” said Robert Hornung, CanWEA president. “Indigenous and rural communities around the province will benefit from the employment opportunities, and income streams associated with ownership, municipal taxation, or lease payments for landowners. We are pleased that these competitive renewable electricity procurements are resulting in very low costs for the non-emitting electricity that Alberta needs.”

“The competitive nature of these procurement processes made it possible to secure low-cost power for the Alberta grid,” said Evan Wilson,
CanWEA regional director – Prairies. “That in turn provides an incredible opportunity for significant and sustainable greenhouse gas reductions in the electricity sector while also presenting Albertans, particularly Indigenous and rural communities, with new job and economic opportunities.”

More info  canwea.ca

Vestas has received an order for 56 V136-3.45 MW turbines delivered in 3.6 MW Power Optimized Mode for an undisclosed wind project in the U.S.

With 112-meter-tall towers and a tip height of 180 meters, the project will be the tallest in the U.S. Deploying taller towers unlocks new and previously unharnessed wind-resource areas and further increases the project’s annual energy production.

“We’re pleased to expand our tall tower technology and 4-MW platform,” said Chris Brown, president of Vestas’ sales and service division in the United States and Canada. “The combination of taller towers and 4-MW technology is perfectly designed to extract the abundant resource at the site, and deliver low-cost, reliable energy to the community and customer.”

The order includes supply and commissioning of the turbines as well as a 10-year Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement, designed to maximize uptime and energy production and ensure optimized performance for the lifetime of the project.

Deliveries will begin in the third quarter of 2019, with commissioning scheduled for the fourth quarter.

More info  www.vestas.com

Apex Clean Energy recently announced the sale of Sugar Creek Wind to a wholly owned subsidiary of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.

The advanced-stage 202 MW project is in Logan County in central Illinois. In fall 2018, Apex secured a long-term contract with the Illinois Power Agency to provide renewable energy certificates to utilities in the state.

“Sugar Creek Wind demonstrates the Apex team’s proven ability to identify and advance projects with strong fundamentals, including access to transmission, exceptional resources, strong community support, and financeable offtake,” said Mark Goodwin, president and CEO of Apex.

More info  www.apexcleanenergy.com

The Danish Government Scheme for Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program has awarded financial support to the CORTIR project proposed by a partnership of 21 industry companies and two universities headed up by Bladena ApS.

The total budget for the project is 3.9 million euros and the EUDP support is 51 percent.
CORTIR – Cost and Risk Tool for Interim and Preventive Repair – includes the development of a sophisticated, yet user-friendly, numerical tool (CAR-Tool) to optimize the management of turbine-blade maintenance in terms of risks and costs, with the main focus to reduce the levelized cost of energy and secure alignment toward maintenance throughout the full value chain. Early work in this area has illustrated that significant improvements can be achieved by employing an all-encompassing and rigorous tool based on known structural issues.

The CAR-Tool input parameters will be widespread from reliability data to detailed knowledge about structural blade and composite behavior during operation of the wind turbines. Relating the technical inputs to the cost structures within O&M activities, the tool output will suggest an optimum inspection and maintenance strategy to be used for decision making which is both technically and financially sound.

CORTIR will further demonstrate how blade retrofits can be deployed beneficially in this effort and support the reduction of LCOE by diverting from standard repair solutions. This part of the project includes both experimental and theoretical work.

The project aims at benefiting everyone engaged in the blade maintenance activities, the owners as well as the companies that provide maintenance services to the industry, i.e. manufacturers, wind-turbine owners, service companies, and insurance companies. The importance of covering the entire value chain is reflected by the comprehensive list companies that participate and sponsor the project.

“We look forward to being part of this project and giving our input on how the industry can minimize risk and O&M cost on blades,” said Finn Thyrring, technical manager from CODAN insurance, which is partner in the project.

Partners include Bladena, AAU Civil Engineering, DTU Mechanical Engineering, Kirt x Thomsen, ECC, Guide2Defect, Codan, Global Wind Service, E.ON, Engie, Hofor, EDF Energy, Equinor (Statoil), Innogy, EWII, Acciona Energy, Arise, Ørsted, Enel, Vector Cuatro (Part of FalckRenewable), LM Windpower, Nordex, and Vestas.

The project was scheduled to start in January 2019 and run for two years.

More info  www.globalwindservice.com

The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) recently released the results of polling conducted by Saskatoon-based Insightrix Research at an industry event held in Regina.

The province-wide representative poll showed overwhelming support for the development of wind energy with 84 percent of respondents supporting policies that encourage the development of wind energy in Saskatchewan and 78 percent supporting the development of wind farms near their communities.

The polling follows recent announcements that the province will be adding two wind-energy projects that together will add nearly 400 MW of wind-energy capacity to its grid in the near-term. In September, the Ministry of Environment approved the 177-MW Blue Hill Wind Energy Project, and in October, SaskPower announced that it had signed a power purchase agreement with Potentia Renewables for its 200-MW Golden South Wind Energy Facility. Both facilities are expected to be operational in 2021 and will more than double Saskatchewan’s installed wind energy capacity.

“We’re pleased to see the exceptional level of support for wind energy in Saskatchewan,” said Robert Hornung, president, CanWEA. “The wind-energy industry is continuously looking to improve and strengthen the ways it consults and engages with residents, local businesses, municipalities, and indigenous communities. Additionally, the province has put in place wind-energy-specific and results-based standards to ensure developments are located and operated with low environmental impacts. This combination ensures the groundwork is in place for the best possible projects as the government moves forward with its ambitious plans for renewable power.”

“As part of our Prairie Resilience Climate Change Strategy, our government has committed to reduce our emissions from electrical generation by 40 percent by 2030,” said the Honorable Dustin Duncan, Saskatchewan Minister of Environment, Minister Responsible for the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency, and Minister Responsible for SaskPower. “Increasing wind energy is an integral part of achieving this goal, and I am pleased to see the public support for this commitment. We look forward to realizing the environmental and community benefits of increasing Saskatchewan’s wind energy as new projects come online.”

More info: www.canwea.ca

More than two dozen companies in the U.S. wind power industry have signed up so far to back a new fund facilitating research that will speed development and deployment of innovative solutions related to wind and wildlife.

The news was announced at the Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront Hotel in Saint Paul, Minn., before an audience of 400 wind and wildlife researchers, regulators, conservationists, and industry leaders gathered for the national Wind Wildlife Research Meeting held every two years.

The new Wind Wildlife Research Fund will be housed within the American Wind Wildlife Institute (AWWI), an independent, nonprofit organization created by leaders in the wind industry and conservation and science communities to better understand wind energy’s risks to wildlife and create solutions. The Wind Wildlife Research Fund has 28 companies participating, and organizers hope to reach 35 corporate participants in 2019.

“I’m excited. This really is unprecedented,” said Kyle Boudreaux of NextEra Energy Resources and chairman of the Fund’s leadership group. “The only thing that would limit this is participation, and it’s off to a great start.”

The Wind Wildlife Research Fund continues the wind industry’s proud legacy of care for wildlife. Increased reliance on wind power results in cleaner air, water, and other environmental benefits. Even with relatively low impacts, the wind industry continues its commitment to work with conservation partners to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts to wildlife and their habitats.

Industry leaders were briefed on progress in creating the Fund during the American Wind Energy Association’s Clean Energy Executive Summit in Colorado Springs. There Tristan Grimbert, CEO of EDF Renewables, and Greg Wolf, CEO Leeward Renewable Energy, celebrated AWWI’s 10th anniversary and described the new effort.

“The Fund is a tremendous step forward, and further evidence of the wind industry’s commitment to responsible wind development,” Grimbert said. “A significant amount of important research about how to make wind energy safer for wildlife has been done since AWWI was founded in 2008, but collectively, we recognize that there is more to know, and we are pleased to support this initiative.”

The Fund will be used to directly support research projects that will advance understanding of technologies and strategies that can help reduce or avoid those interactions. Investments in the Fund will come from wind energy companies, supplemented by public funding and with support from other conservation-minded entities.

“This first-of-its-kind fund will make it possible to continue to expand wind-energy development while also protecting and conserving wildlife populations,” Wolf said. “It speaks volumes about the wind industry’s values that so many companies have stepped up to invest in the Fund. I encourage everyone to participate, because doing so will help position wind energy to prosper and thrive in the years to come.”

Participating in the Fund include: American Wind Energy Association, Apex Clean Energy, Avangrid Renewables, Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company, Clearway Energy Group, ConnectGen, DTE Energy, Duke Energy Renewables, EDF Renewables, EDP Renewables, Enel Green Power, Engie, Identiflight, Invenergy, Innogy Renewables, Leeward Energy, MAP Energy LLC, NextEra Energy Resources, NRG Systems, Pattern Energy Group, Portland General Electric, Puget Sound Energy, RES Americas, Siemens Gamesa, Southern Power, sPower, Tradewind Energy, and Tri Global Energy.

More info: awwi.org

Cherbourg blade factory recently completed its 2018 recruitment plan at its offshore wind turbine blade manufacturing site in Cherbourg, France.

The site counts more than 100 employees, 34 percent of whom are women.

The first group of 30 newly-hired employees, from all functions, participated in the launch of the factory’s Center of Excellence training center September 30. These new employees joined a one-week theoretical class, followed by a week of practicing on an actual piece of a wind turbine blade mold.

After completing the Center of Excellence course, each trainee left Cherbourg to spend a month abroad at other LM Wind Power sites — from Spain, to Denmark, Poland and even Canada depending on the job scope. Employees from sites around the globe will also travel to Cherbourg to support the ramp-up of the factory. The second group started their training program on October 22.

“The Cherbourg site is a great location to support the development of the offshore wind industry in Europe and beyond, with a positive impact on the jobs and the ecosystem in the surrounding region,” said Alexis Crama, LM Wind Power Offshore Wind vice president. “We are investing in building a strong and sustainable value chain and are happy to welcome the first hundred recruits.”

The construction of the factory is on track to start the prototyping phase in January 2019. The first blade produced will be shipped to ORE Catapult Research & Development Center in Blyth, U.K., for indoor testing. The next three blades produced will be installed on GE’s Haliade-X 12-MW prototype at the end of the second quarter of 2019 at a yet to-be-determined site.

“This project entails new challenges and creates enthusiasm as we are starting up a new factory, installing new equipment inside, and welcoming new people with diverse backgrounds,” said Lukasz Cejrowski, LM 107.0 P project director. “At the same time, we are developing a new product: a new blade of a size we have never achieved before.  We can witness a significant combination of efforts as we use the expertise from our facilities worldwide to train the people in Cherbourg. This enthusiasm from all our teams will bring us to the successful ramp-up of the factory.”

In parallel to the development of the LM 107.0 P blades in Cherbourg, GE’s Offshore Wind teams is focused on the assembly of the first two Haliade-X nacelles at the Saint-Nazaire manufacturing site in France.

More info: www.lmwindpower.com

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) has been awarded a sizable export cable installation contract for the Ostwind 2 offshore grid connection.

The contract was awarded by 50Hertz and carries a value for Boskalis in excess of 250 million euros, making this the largest cable installation contract acquired by Boskalis ever.

The contract scope comprises design and installation of approximately 270 kilometers of export cable that will connect the planned Arcadis Ost 1 and Baltic Eagle offshore wind farms to the onshore substation in Lubmin, Germany. The project is expected to begin in 2019 with a planned completion late 2022.

Boskalis will execute this contract in consortium with its partner NKT that will supply the high-voltage cable system. For this project, Boskalis will deliver an integrated solution of in-house services including supporting UXO survey, geotechnical, and geophysical surveys (through Boskalis subsidiary Gardline), seabed preparation works, pre-lay run, transport, and installation of the 220kV export cables and seabed reinstatement.

Boskalis will deploy a wide variety of its in-house assets including trailing suction hopper and backhoe dredgers, geophysical and geotechnical survey vessels, cable-laying vessels, and a wide range of trenching tools.

“We are very proud to have been selected for this contract, the largest cable installation contract ever for Boskalis,” said Peter Berdowski, CEO of Boskalis. “The fact that we are able to combine our dredging services, recently acquired survey capabilities together with our cable installation competencies demonstrates Boskalis’ ability to offer a unique breadth of services. We look forward to further expanding this position for our clients as the leading subsea cable installation contractor.”

Boskalis’ strategy is aimed at benefiting from key macro-economic factors that drive worldwide demand in our markets: expansion of the global economy, increase in energy consumption, global population growth, and the challenges that go hand-in-hand with climate change. This project is related to the development of generating renewable energy due to climate change and increasing energy consumption.

More info: boskalis.com

In support of the president’s America-First Offshore Energy Strategy, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) recently announced its intention to issue a Notice of Availability (NOA) for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) submitted by Vineyard Wind LLC.

This would allow it to construct and operate an 800-MW wind energy facility offshore Massachusetts. The NOA will be published in the Federal Register on December 7.

The DEIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts of the proposed action described in the Vineyard Wind COP and reasonable alternatives to the proposed action. The publication of the NOA opens a 45-day public comment period. During this time, BOEM will conduct five public meetings and accept comments. The input received via this process will inform preparation of the Final Environmental Impact Statement. Comments on the DEIS should be submitted or postmarked no later than January 21, 2019.

Public meetings will be held during the comment period at the following locations: Hyannis, Narragansett, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and New Bedford.

“The Vineyard Wind Draft Environmental Impact Statement is another important opportunity for us to hear from our stakeholders,” said BOEM Acting Director Walter Cruickshank. “Public feedback is a vital part of our process and we would like to hear from everyone before preparing the Final Environmental Impact Statement.”

More info: https://www.boem.gov/Vineyard-Wind/

HTL Group recently returned to ADIPEC to showcase their U.K. designed and manufactured controlled bolting equipment on the EIC U.K. Pavilion.

With more than 110,000 delegates in attendance each year, ADIPEC was always on the agenda for HTL Group to demonstrate bolting solutions to industry professionals in attendance at the show.

Whilst meeting and networking with clients and overseas Distribution Partners, HTL’s on-stand team presented their full range of tools designed for controlled bolting applications on a fully equipped demonstration rig, allowing delegates to view the equipment on application including many unique safety features.

In keeping with the digital and innovative culture of the show, HTL brought their latest product innovations to the stand including i-Calibrate. Throughout ADIPEC, the team undertook demonstrations of i-calibrate; HTL’s asset management software platform for complete control and access to calibration and test certificates, anytime, anywhere via QR codes. Likewise, the HTL DSX Dedicated Square Drive Torque Wrench was showcased, which through industry first patented features improves both operator and job site safety.

“ADIPEC yet again was a great success for HTL Group,” said Paul Storey, HTL Group managing director. “We all thoroughly enjoyed a very busy week, meeting and networking with our existing and new clients in addition to overseas distribution partners. I look forward to building relationships with all of those we met and returning to ADIPEC next year.”

More info: www.htl-worldwide.com

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed Executive Order NO. 80: North Carolina’s Commitment to Address Climate Change and Transition to a Clean Energy Economy.

The order directs state agencies in North Carolina to take several steps to address and mitigate the impacts from climate change. This Executive Order creates an environment that will expand the opportunity for both land-based and offshore wind in North Carolina by moving the state further towards a clean energy economy, according to the Southeastern Wind Coalition (SEWC).

In addition to significantly expanding the opportunity for wind energy in the state, EO 80 also addresses the growing opportunity for workforce development. As the offshore wind industry moves to the U.S., states must take early and intentional action in order to capture some of the 40,000 jobs this industry is expected to bring. The workforce study outlined in Executive Order 80 is exactly the kind of forward-looking step that signals to the industry that North Carolina is serious about its desire and intentions to be a meaningful participant in the offshore wind industry.

The SEWC expressed its gratitude to Gov. Cooper for his forward-looking vision and recognition of the benefits wind energy can provide both to North Carolina’s generation portfolio, and the state’s economy.

More info: www.sewc.org

Ingeteam, the world-leading supplier of electrical conversion equipment, recently announced it received DNV GL’s certification for its Ingecon^®Wind stator-equipped 2MW DFIG converter.

With this latest achievement, Ingeteam completes the range of its products covered under DNV GL certification, such as the medium voltage full power converters and the statorless DFIG converters; and demonstrates its ability to consistently meet DNV GL’s quality and safety requirements across multiple drive-train topologies.

Ingeteam’s low voltage DFIG power converters have been developed with a modular FRT solution to optimize cost-effectiveness and fulfil the strictest international grid codes. It is a mature technology used by many of the main turbine manufacturers, offering key advantages with regards to costs and sizes savings.

The DNV GL Component Certificate confirms that Ingeteam’s converter is designed, documented and manufactured in accordance to design assumptions, specific standards and technical requirements, globally. It also makes the process of new turbine development easier, speeding up the integration of components to wind turbine platforms.

“To this day, DFIG converters remain the most proven, efficient and cost competitive drive train topology,” said Ion Etxarri Sangüesa, R&D Quality Team Leader of Ingeteam Wind Energy. “Our DFIG converter series offer cost-optimized products for each market and application. Those converters present a very grid-friendly behavior, including FRT, SCR and SSR, which explains why they are used all over the world, and, in particular, why they do very well in emerging markets such as India or Brazil. Our 2MW DFIG converters can be modulated to bring customized solutions that will effectively minimize wind turbine LCOE.”

“We are very pleased to continue our partnership with Ingeteam and support the company in their efforts to demonstrate the quality standards of their products,” said Kim Mørk, executive vice president of Renewables Certification at DNV GL. “This new certification is another step forward in the excellent working relationship we have developed with Ingeteam over the years. The certificate emphasizes the quality requirements of Ingeteam in safety and reliability of their products.”

More info: www.ingeteam.com

Altitec, a leading turbine rotor blade inspection and repair specialist, recently highlighted the need for South Africa to expand its pool of blade repair technicians to support operations and maintenance in the sector.

As shown by Altitec’s 2018 Blade Repair Atlas, published in October, newer wind farms, those under five years old, typically require more active monitoring and maintenance. Nearly all of South Africa’s installed wind energy capacity is under five years old.

The development of wind energy in South Africa has gathered momentum in 2018 since Energy Minister Jeff Radebe signed 27 agreements with independent power producers on behalf of Eskom in April, which included 12 wind energy projects with a capacity of more than 1.3 GW. Looking to the future, the government expects South Africa’s total installed capacity to reach 11.5 GW by 2030.

New wind energy capacity will drive employment in the country, not only during construction, but also over the longer term throughout the operational life of the assets. Altitec’s Blade Atlas, which breaks down the activity of their rotor blade technicians on wind farms worldwide, younger wind farms require an average seven repairs per turbine, compared with only 2.2 repairs per turbine for farms older than five years.

Three-quarters of Altitec’s inspections and repairs around the world were carried out on wind farms younger than five years old, while 15 percent of operations were undertaken on wind farms in South Africa. Altitec segments its repairs in to three distinct types. The report shows that internal works made up 12 percent of all repairs by type in 2018, external repairs were 31 percent, with replacement of aerodynamic add-ons making up the 47 percent of all repairs Altitec carried out in the year.

“With the planned growth in wind farms over the next decade, South Africa will need a local cohort of highly-skilled rotor blade repair technicians to ensure the wind turbine fleet remains in optimal operation,” said Riccardo Buehler, director of Altitec South Africa. “The Altitec Academy in Cape Town provides local training built on global experience to guarantee technicians have the skills to inspect and record damage to blades, and identify and conduct the necessary repairs.”

More info: www.altitec.co.za

Chinese operators remain the leaders of the global wind asset market, according to new research from Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables.

The report, Global Wind Power Asset Ownership 2018, notes Chinese asset owners continue to dominate the global wind power sector following the merger of former top-ranked power producer Guodian Group and seventh-ranked mining and energy company Shenhua into industrial titan CHN Energy.

“Despite the conglomerate’s heavy focus on coal extraction and coal power generation, its wind fleet is more than twice as large as second-ranked utility Iberdrola’s,” said lead author Anthony Logan, research analyst, North America Wind.

“Many turbines installed during recent years of breakneck growth in China’s wind sector, are reaching the end of their turbine OEM (manufacturer) warranty period,” said Xiaoyang Li, an analyst with Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables’ Asia Pacific team. “This coming transition, coupled with the low prices seen at new wind energy tenders, is forcing large asset owners to prioritize availability and annual energy production, driving a significant focus on operations and maintenance.”

“Chinese asset owners, long confined to their domestic market, are now looking to build and buy wind assets abroad,” she said. “Australia has been a particularly attractive overseas market, thanks to its open market and high project profits.”

In offshore wind, four large utilities dominate the capital-intensive market, typically developing and selling off about 50 percent of their projects to a more fragmented pool of institutional investors. The growth of the offshore wind sector will affect asset ownership in Asia Pacific from 2022 onwards, boosting the utility market share in Japan and South Korea.

 “In the U.S., 2017 saw domestic owners NextEra, BHE, Invenergy, and Duke complete just 20 percent of their collective average 2015-2016 installation volume as they and several other domestic asset owners used the year to allow their development arms to rebuild exhausted project pipelines,” Logan said. “Canadian and European firms, on the other hand, developed significant new capacity in the country. So far this year, the U.S. has seen institutional investors move to buy portfolios as independent power producers (IPPs) scramble for capital in time to use the Renewable Electricity Production Tax Credit (PTC) before it runs out in 2020.”

In Latin America, competitive auction dynamics in 2017 and 2018 indicate that global IPPs with utility subsidiaries will increasingly build ownership share in the region. Enel divested a majority stake in most of its Mexican renewable power assets to CDPQ and CKD IM via a newly deployed “build, sell, operate” strategy which improves its ability to bid competitively at long-term auctions.

The expiry of subsidies in Northern and Western Europe drove a record year in the region and affected asset owner segmentation; utilities dominated asset ownership in the U.K., while community ownership in Germany peaked. Across Europe in the first half of 2018, utilities and large IPPs drove consolidation to secure a project pipeline that will ensure their positioning in an increasingly competitive market.

In Asia Pacific excluding China, wind asset owners remain tied to their domestic markets with no activity in other key markets of the region, with the exception of Eurus Energy. Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy consolidated its market-leading position in India, supplying turbines to asset owners around Asia Pacific as well. Due to increasing competition, leading asset owners in Australia did not add new capacity in 2017.

Looking ahead, the phasing out of subsidies in the U.S. and Canada will force a market decline in the early 2020s, which will significantly destabilize the traditional model of independent power producers. Utilities with ambitious rate-basing plans and institutional investors will gain market share in their place. In Europe and the Middle East, competitive auctions will see large IPPs and utilities own more capacity, as they are better able to leverage cost over smaller players.

China will see an increase in ownership share by the turbine OEM segment due to the gradual erosion of the IPP segment. Most Tier I and II turbine OEMs have already reserved wind sites to develop internal wind projects and are looking for development opportunities in the distributed wind power market.

More info: www.woodmac.com

Following years of committed partnership, field testing, and data-backed results with worldwide customers, AMSOIL has been selected by ZF Wind Power for gearbox lubrication during end-of-line testing at all of its manufacturing locations.

Those locations include Lommel, Belgium; Witten, Germany; Tianjin, China; Coimbatore, India; and its service facility in Vernon Hills, U.S.

The agreement solidifies AMSOIL as the global leader in wind gearbox oil reliability and performance. The company’s global presence and unparalleled customer service have not gone unnoticed by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

“We are proud to partner with ZF Wind Power, a company known for its strong technological leadership, strategic partnerships, and strong focus on R&D,” said Dave Meyer, AMSOIL VP, Wind & Industrial. “That reputation makes the decision to partner with AMSOIL a significant validation of our products and service. The agreement is consistent with ZF’s vision to provide the highest quality products on the market.”

AMSOIL PTN 320 Synthetic Gear Oil offers advanced gear protection in the crucial run-in period and is engineered to last. After more than nine years in use, it still passes rigorous OEM test requirements designed for new oil, proving its durability. The premium industrial lubricant’s superior performance and long drain interval saves money and protects the environment.

ZF Wind Power is a globally established designer, manufacturer, and supplier of advanced gearbox solutions for wind turbines, currently operating four state-of-the-art manufacturing plants with an annual output capacity of approximately 18,000 MW. In addition to its manufacturing presence in Europe, India, China, and the U.S., ZF maintains worldwide sales and service operations.

More info: amsoilwind.com

E.ON recently announced it is partnering with GE to repower its Panther Creek I and Panther Creek II wind farms in West Texas.

“We’re excited to embark on our first repowering project in the U.S.,” said Silvia Ortin, chief operating officer, North America and E.ON Climate & Renewables Board Member. “The repowering of our Panther Creek wind farms provides us with the opportunity to increase lifetime earnings from the sites. In addition, it allows us to capture up-to-date turbine efficiency improvements and a resulting increase in power generation.”

The repowering includes the replacement of a significant portion of the components, effectively increasing the annual production for all 172 wind turbine generators (WTGs) totaling 258 MW on the sites.

“This is the largest repowering project we’ve undertaken at E.ON, and we expect this trend to continue as we see our turbine fleet mature,” said Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, CEO, E.ON Climate & Renewables. “While our Panther Creek wind farms have been excellent performers for us in the past, this project allows us to improve reliability while gaining valuable lessons learned for any future repowering activities.”

The erection and commissioning of the project will be conducted by GE as part of the equipment delivery contract and is expected to be complete in the third quarter of 2019.

“GE and E.ON worked collaboratively to develop a repower strategy for Panther Creek that will extend the life of the wind farms, and materially increase the AEP of the existing turbines,” said Vikas Anand, general manager of GE’s Onshore Wind business in the Americas. “The twofold benefit of repower will ensure that renewable energy is available to E.ON’s customers for years to come.”

Panther Creek I came online in September 2008 and consists of 95 GE 1.5 MW SLE turbines for a total of 142.5 MW. It is the first of a three-phase project in West Texas and is in Howard and Glasscock counties.

Panther Creek II came online in December 2008 and consists of 77 GE 1.5 MW SLE turbines for a total of 115.5 MW. Its footprint spans parts of Glasscock and Sterling counties.

More information: www.ge.com/renewableenergy