E.ON makes Waves with Pelamis
One of the UK’s “Big Six” energy suppliers, E.ON, has teamed up with renewable electricity generator Pelamis Wave Power to deploy the company’s second-generation Sea Snake in Orkney in the spring of 2010.
The device consists of four sections which generate electricity by harnessing the motion of waves and is scheduled to be deployed at Orkney’s European Marine Energy Centre for testing, according to Reuters news.
Wave power is more expensive to develop than the higher profile wind turbine technology, however, the Carbon Trust has estimated that 20% of Britain’s future energy demands could potentially be met by harnessing power from waves.
E.ON’s marine development manager, Amaan Lafayette, said that they would like to see a small-scale plant of their own in the water by 2015-2017, built around what the project is doing in Orkney, he also explained that it is a kind of energy generation that they haven’t done before.
Source;
Energyhelpline.com/ Gas & Electricity News
http://www.energyhelpline.com/news/article.aspx?aaid=19394577&y=2009&m=10&w=1&pid=1
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Powering worlds most powerful wind turbine
Alstom Power is a global leader in the world of power generation, setting the benchmark for innovative and environmentally conscious technologies, together with Energias de Portugal Renovaveis (EDPR) – a world leader in the renewable energy sector – the energy companies have initiated the first wind farm using the ecotècnia 100 wind turbine – the world’s most powerful onshore wind turbine.
The turbine has been designed and installed by Alstom Power on behalf of EDPR at Vieux Moulin near Pithiviers in France, and becomes the 12th wind farm to be fitted out by Alstom Power in France and is due to be operational by mid-October 2009.
Ecotècnia 100 wind turbines feature the following:
Power Each unit is 140 metres high, which is the equivalent of a 50 storey building, they have a rotor diameter of 100 metres and a blade length of 48.8 metres. The design enables the maximum benefit to be derived from the wind, including moderate winds, and can withstand wind speeds of up to 8.5 metres/sec.
Performance The turbine has a nominal power of 3 MW which is twice the output of previously designed machines.
Reliability and longevity Teams at Alstom Power have worked to produce a unique stress-reducing design, Alstom Pure Torque™ which protects the gearbox and boosts reliability.
Ease of maintenance The unprecedented design of the nacelle gives easier access for the technical staff, enabling easier maintenance of equipment.
The ecotècnia 100 wind turbines can deliver enough power to allow a given number of MW to be produced with fewer units, therefore reducing the land area required, and it is expected that the electricity generated by Vieux Moulin wind farm will meet the needs of 12,000 homes, avoiding the production of 42,000 tonnes a year of CO2 (according to: European Wind Energy Association).
Source;
Power.alstom.com/ Media Centre/ Press Release (Alstom and Energias de Portugal Renovaveis inaugurate the first wind farm to be equipped with the ecotècnia 100, the world’s most powerful onshore wind turbine-01.10.2009)
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Northern Power becomes more powerful
Northern Power Systems, a next-generation wind turbine company and manufacturer of the Northwind 100, has today announced their growing presence within Europe along with the appointment of Reinout Oussoren as European Managing Director as the company strengthens its commitment and better supports customers, and has also opened a European headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.
Mr. Oussoren will bring more than 20 years commercial and operational leadership experience to Northern Power, having most recently been with GE Energy. Within his new role he will manage strategy, business development, sales, applications engineering and a growing network of premier development partners.
The new director is extremely pleased to be joining Northern Power Systems in a job where he will lead the establishment of a rapidly growing sales and support organisation throughout Europe. He also expressed that Northern Power has got enormous opportunities to place its next generation 100 kW turbines across Europe in a number of distributed generation applications.
Even before having a European office, Northern Power Systems had already received over euro 5 million (7.28 USD) in orders for its 100 kW turbines across Europe for example, turbines in the United Kingdom are being installed at sites including schools, hospitals and municipal facilities, and in Italy, turbines have been purchased singly and in pairs by independent power developers to taking advantage of the euro 0.30 (0.44 USD) per kWh Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) – which is limited to installations up to 200kW.
Source;
Greenbizdaily (twitter):- http://ow.ly/rRy5
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Stroud’s 5050 Energy Campaign
Ecotricity is an electricity company with a difference – dedicated to changing the way electricity is made by investing in clean forms of power generation like wind energy – combined with being the only green electricity company actually building new renewable energy sources.
Featured in a press release, Ecotricity have launched an energy debate in the District of Stroud by campaigning for 50% of Stroud’s energy needs to be sourced from clean, green energy from wind turbines, where they have already proven the viability of wind energy with one local turbine.
Ecotricity argue that just 16 windmills in the area would create enough energy to power 50% of Stroud’s homes, which ultimately would benefit the UK’s energy security.
Stoud5050 is a local campaign for local people, where Ecotricity is aiming for half of the district’s electricity to be completely renewable, actively contributing to the area and supported by local resident.
To find out more or to vote to make 50% of Stroud’s local energy green, visit www.stroud5050.org.
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Scottish & Southern Energy Builds Swedish Wind Farm
Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) are to build an onshore wind farm in Sweden, reports evwind.es. SSE will join together with a Swedish wind farm consortium to build an 89MW wind farm in 2011. The wind farm is to be built in the Jamtland region of Sweden.
The chief executive of the renewable energy division of SSE, Airtricity, said that this area of Sweden had a good wind resource.
Elsewhere, Airtricity has also agreed to buy the Slieve Divena Phase II wind farm project in Northern Ireland. They will buy the wind farm from RES UK & Ireland Ltd. The wind farm will add eight turbines to SSE’s Slieve Divena wind farm which currently has a generating capacity of 30MW.
Source: http://www.evwind.es/noticias.php?id_not=1321
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Wind Farm Given Permission To Extend
The Kilbraur wind farm near Golspie, Sutherland in Scotland is set to be extended, reports eviee.co.uk. The wind farm has been given permission by the Scottish government to increase capacity from 47.5 MW to 67.5 MW.
The wind farm will see eight more turbines added to the site and the construction could mean that as many as 30 jobs are created.
The Scottish government’s energy minister said of the development “The Kilbraur wind farm will provide construction jobs, green energy, reduced emissions and lasting community benefits – a model of the low carbon opportunities we can exploit for economic and environmental benefit.”
Source and further details: http://www.eviee.co.uk/Sustainable-Construction-News/Scottish-renewable-energy-site-set-for-expansion-2519.htm
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Couple In Battle Over Noisy Wind Farm
A couple are going to court in a battle with developers, landowners and operators of a wind farm at Deeping, St Nicholas in Lincolnshire, reports telegraph.co.uk.
The couple, Mr and Mrs Davis, say the turbines, which are 1km from their home, keep them awake at night. They say as a result they have had to move into rented accommodation. Mrs Davis says the turbines make a low humming noise during the day and during high winds or when the air pressure changes, they make the sound of a helicopter landing.
Mrs Davis said that if the case proved to be a success then there were nearly 200 hundred campaigners around the country who may also take legal action.
They hope that if they win the case then they will be able to persuade the Government to look at the noise guidelines for wind farms. She says the guidelines have not been updated since 1997 and modern wind turbines are different from those back in the 1990’s. Campaigners also want the Government to bring in a minimum distance that wind farms can be built from houses.
The British Wind Energy Association however has said that the noise at Deeping has been investigated and that wind farms are very quiet.
Source and further details: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/6195145/Wind-farm-battle-to-go-to-High-Court.html
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GE Energy Acquires Wind Turbine Manufacturer
GE Energy has taken over the Norwegian turbine manufacturer ScanWind, reports rechargenews.com. The deal emphasises GE Energy’s commitment to offshore wind power and after the acquisition of ScanWind their plans to develop a 3.5 MW turbine for offshore markets was announced.
The vice president of renewable energy at GE Energy said they expected to invest around $200m over the next few years in offshore wind technology. Meanwhile the managing director of GE Wind Energy Norway said that the takeover would give GE Energy “the muscle to move forward into the offshore wind market”.
Source: http://www.rechargenews.com/business_area/finance/article187967.ece?WT.mc_id=rechargenews_rss
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Doosan Babcock acquires Skoda Power
Doosan Babcock, provider of a range of services in support of the power generation, petrochemical, oil and gas, marine, and process industries throughout the world, has just announced its intention to become a major player in the global turbine market by entering the retrofit market following the acquisition of Czech power plant maker Skoda Power.
Doosan advised that it would now become a complete plant supplier with the capability to provide single-source engineering, procurement and construction services. According to a statement the acquisition would enable the group to dramatically improve its competitiveness in the power plant equipment business along with significantly expanding their business opportunities in new markets.
The deal is due to be completed by the end of the year, upon which Doosan will create a new subsidiary called Doosan Power Systems – to oversee Škoda Power and Doosan Babcock as its power solutions business across Europe and Americas.
Source;
Utilityweek.co.uk/ News/ Europe (Doosan Babcock acquires Skoda Power)
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Wales Leads The World In Tidal Energy
North Wales is set to get the world’s first commercial tidal energy scheme, reports waterbriefing.org. Tidal power developers Marine Current Turbines (MCT) and nPower renewables are developing a project off the coast of Anglesey. The joint venture will see the development of the world’s first commercial-scale tidal stream project.
The tidal farm scheme will be able to generate 10.5 MW of electricity using major tidal currents. The joint venture will be developed under the name SeaGen Wales and depending on when and if planning permission is granted, the farm could be commissioned in 2011 or 2012.
The scheme will be made up of seven 1.5 MW turbines with each of them being around 9 metres above sea level in an area known as the Skerries, off the coast of Anglesey.
Source and further details: http://www.waterbriefing.org/world-s-first-commercial-tidal-energy-scheme-to-be-launched-in-north.html