International news Wind power for Germany, US


Siemens Energy is to supply up to 89 wind turbines for the Borkum Riffgrund 1 project, located in the North Sea off the German coast and being developed by the Danish government-owned utility, DONG Energy. The plant will have a total capacity of320 MW, and will be located around 80 km northwest ofEmden and 55 km off the German coast. It will cover an area of36 km2 in water depths of29 m. Each turbine will have a capacity of 3.6 MW. Siemens will be responsible for supply,


installation and commissioning ofthe turbines and has signed a five-year service, maintenance, and warranty agreement for the units. Construction work is expected to start in 2013 with first power production in 2014. After EnBW Baltic 1 (48 MW), EnBW


Baltic 2 (288 MW), Borkum Riffgat (108 MW) and DanTysk (288 MW), Borkum Riffgrund 1 is the fifth order for the con- struction of an offshore wind farm for Siemens in Germany. Elsewhere, in South Dakota, US, 108 GE


1.5 MW turbines have been installed at Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s Crow Lake wind farm. GE announced that the wind farm houses its 15,000th 1.5 MW turbine installed. The turbine will be owned and operated by Mitchell


Technical Institute (MTI) through an agreement with Basin Electric, and will provide hands-on learning opportunities for students enrolled in MTI’s Wind Turbine Technology Programme. ‘We are pleased to know that this mile-


stone turbine will help to support future green technology jobs and will be instru- mental to the training ofthe next generation ofwind turbine technicians,’ said Victor Abate, Vice President- Renewable Energy for GE Power & Water. The project was made possible by a grant awarded to MTI by the US Economic Development Administration. MTI’s Wind Turbine Technology pro- gramme, launched in 2009, provides highly trained technicians to the expand- ing wind industry. Construction at Crow Lake began in


October 2010 and has generated 200 construction jobs. The project spans three counties in South Dakota and is the largest wind project in the US owned solely by a cooperative, with a capacity of


151 MW.  The world’s largest wind turbine blade may materialise following an agreement between Alstom and LM Wind Power. A strategic partner- ship between the two companies will potentially see the blade


Wind turbine blades in testing Photo: Alstom


constructed to fit Alstom’s planned 6 MW next generation offshore wind turbine, a machine optimised for the UK Crown Estate Round Three and other North Sea markets. The prototype blades will be pro- duced in LM Wind Power’s Danish factory in Lunderskov and will be ready for installation at Alstom prototype sites in Europe to start testing later this year. Development ofthe blade will require more than 20,000 hours ofwork by LM Wind Power’s specialist teams focus- ing especially on aerodynamics, structural design and production processes.


Solar PV developments in Italy


ABB has won orders worth $33mn to sup- ply three high-efficiency photovoltaic power plants near the city ofFoggia in southeast Italy. Emmeesseenne, a compa- ny financed by a leading investment fund focused on renewable energies, ordered the plants in late 2010 and they are expected to be in operation by the third quarter of2011. The three plants, De Nittis 1, 2 and 3,


will be located on adjacent sites and will have a combined generating capacity of around 40 MW. ABB will supply the plants with a complete electrical and control solution, including grid connec- tions. Preassembled modules will be


shipped to the site for fast and flexible deployment, says ABB. The solution also includes technologies for accurate con- trol and remote monitoring ofthe plants. Elsewhere in Italy, a 24 MW solar


power plant in the Lazio region is being built by ABB and REC Systems, which developed and financed the project. The plant, which consists of100,000 REC modules, is financed through a leasing structure with Unicredit Leasing, Leasint and BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions providing the lease financing for the plant. The installation will cover around 95 ha and will produce around 37 GWh


per year. Finally, eight new photovoltaic plants


are being constructed in the Marche and Abruzzo regions ofthe country, between the Adriatic Sea and the Apennine Mountains. The plants are being built by Siemens Energy for Virdis Energia. They will be completed in spring 2011 and will have a combined rating of14 MW. Siemens is responsible for the turnkey construction, engineering and project management ofthe photovoltaic plants. The scope ofsupply includes the full range ofSiemens components, such as inverters, medium-voltage equipment as well as monitoring systems.


Australia moves towards a price for carbon


The Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has outlined a two-stage plan to imple- ment a carbon price mechanism, starting with an increasing fixed price for three to five years before moving to an emissions trading scheme. Australia’s Multi-Party Climate Change


Committee has proposed that a carbon price commences in July 2012, but the plans are subject to a majority agreement in both Australian Houses ofParliament. The announcement follows a long battle from the previous Australian Prime


4


Minister Kevin Rudd to introduce a car- bon-trading scheme against fierce opposition. The Australian Department ofClimate


Change and Energy Efficiency states that a carbon price is ‘the cheapest and fairest way to cut pollution and build a clean energy economy.’ The revenue raised from the proposed scheme is planned to assist households with bills, help business- es make the transition to a low carbon economy and to tackle climate change. The Australian government has said


that it will not shy away from this ‘difficult but vital economic reform’. The initial fixed price is designed to pro-


vide businesses with a stable and predictable platform to transition to a cap-and-trade scheme that is planned to be linked to international carbon markets. The price would apply to key sectors, excluding land use and agriculture. Australia currently has one ofthe high-


est per-capita emission rates as it relies on coal for around 80% of its power genera- tion.


Energy World April 2011


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