News in Review

Germany finally joins wind farm world, €250 million farm is launched

On Tuesday April 27, Germany opened its first offshore wind farm in the North Sea; the 12 windmill-strong Alpha Ventus field. Alpha is situated 45 kilometres from Germany’s coast, in water measuring 100 feet depth. This particular project is worth €250 million, and the property of a consortium of high profile companies—EWE, E.ON and Vattenfall.

It’s been a long and tricky road for Germany to get to this point, although the country had originally planned to open offshore wind facilities in 2004.
This project will, “push wide open the gate to the age of renewable energies,” according to Germany’s Environment Minister, Norbert Roettgen.

11 challenges and mass protests later, first U.S. offshore wind gets go-ahead

On Wednesday April 28, a landmark announcement was made in the U.S. This announcement marks the approval of the nation’s first offshore wind farm; a 130-turbine project in Nantucket Sound, capable of generating 75 per cent of the electricity for Cape Cod and surrounding islands including Martha’s Vineyard. It’s been a tricky point to reach, as this project has come under mass unrest and protest from a flurry of environmentalist groups and various prominent members of the super-powerful Kennedy family. Fears centre on the wildlife already inhabiting the location, and a general unhappiness with how close to the shore the turbines are planned to be.

“This will be the first of many projects up and down the Atlantic coast as we build a new energy future. Cape Wind is the opening of a new chapter—the U.S. will once again lead the world on technology,” Ken Salazar, the U.S. Interior Secretary first announced in Boston.

Salazar also assured listeners that this plan has been assessed and “examined at all levels and on all sides.” After 11 previous court challenges to the plans, it looks like the wind project has finally made it through the door.

UK MoD and wind companies reach defence and offshore project passage

On Monday May 3, a significant deal was struck between wind farm builders and the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) which could potentially result in the builders spending upwards of £16 million per annum of advanced radar defence systems.

The MoD has previously criticised offshore wind farms, saying that they might disrupt these sorts of radar devices, however today the tide has turned and wind projects throughout Britain’s coastal locations, which have spent years struggling against planning blights owing to ‘blackout zones’ for defence technology, may not become a reality.

A group of wind firms have agreed to purchase Lockheed Martin radar equipment, of the United States, which will allow for protection of specific regions of the nation’s eastern airspace and allow wind projects to take place there too.

UK PM Cameron wanted renewables increase in coalition government talks

On Friday May 7, prior to the new coalition government in place and Prime Minister David Cameron taking the helm, the United kingdom watched as the Conservatives highlighted renewable energy amidst the party’s coalition talks with the now-partnered Liberal Democrat Party.

Then Tory-only leader Cameron identified renewables as a potential common ground as the parties sought out the coalition they have now formed, saying “They (the Liberal Democrats) want a low carbon economy and together we can achieve that.”

Since forming the government together, rumours of heightened focus on renewable energy have continued to mount.

Quebec native leaders are not happy with planned hydro project’s power lines, Canada

On Friday May 7, news emerged that Innu leaders of Uashat and Maliotenam Quebec native peoples have gone about seeking an injunction against plans for Hydro-Québec’s 1550 Mega Watt project Romaine River dam development situated in the province’s North Shore region. The groups expressed discontent at planned power lines which will be trailed through their homelands from a nearby hydro-electric project facility at Havre-Saint-Pierre.

“Our community is against this project, our Aboriginal title is threatened and, today, we rely on the courts to stop any development of the territory without our consent. Hydro-Quebec has not left us much choice,” Council Chief Georges-Ernest Grégoire said at a meeting in Montreal, adding that it was most certainly, “not about money.”

The native groups say that the approval for this project, given by Quebec’s environmental assessment board in March, 2009, did not account for the power lines. The challenging continues.

UK approves big expansion plan for offshore wind projects, Crown Estate says ‘go’

On Tuesday May 11, plans for offshore wind farm site expansions around the United Kingdom were given approval by the Crown Estate. The locations in question, coasts of Suffolk, Kent, Cumbria and another in Liverpool Bay are poised to generate another 1.7 gigawatts of power, and in total these extensions will supply the British national grid with another two gigawatts of direct power – enough to power 1.4 million residential homes.

“It is another positive step in the maturing of the offshore wind industry and will significantly support the growth of the supply chain as its adds further to the pipeline of construction projects,” Rob Hastings, director of marine for Crown Estate, told press.

Companies who have been given approval in this latest deal include SSE Renewables and RWE Npower Renewables, Vattenfall Wind Power, Dong Wind UK, Centrica Renewable Energy and Warwick Energy. It has been a good month for win in the UK, and just a couple of weeks earlier, on Friday April 23, the country proudly passed the one gigawatt mark thanks to wind facilities at Gunfleet Sands and Robin Rigg.

Break up of U.S. government oil and mineral department to benefit offshore renewable?

On Wednesday May 12, Ken Salazar, the U.S. Interior Secretary, and the wider Obama Administration, called for the splitting up of an Interior Department agency which is responsible for overseeing offshore drilling. This marks part of the response to the recent events in the Gulf of Mexico, where BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig suffered an explosion and an oil leak was caused on April 20, which has been devastating the coastal environment ever since.
 
Environmentalists rumour that this could be a big breakthrough for renewable energy, which Salazar has long-been working to highlight, and could also mark an end to what they see to be lax oil regulation and control.

Maine’s Baldacci signs to more than double renewable offshore generation by 2030

On May 15, 2010, John Baldacci, the Governor of Maine, U.S., penned a bill which commits the state to generating five gigawatts of renewable from its Atlantic Ocean wind projects by the year 2030. It’s a big challenge which means more than doubling the state’s current wind power capacity generation, but work is already underway and The Maine Public Utilities Commission is overseeing the building of one or more 25 megawatt deepwater offshore wind energy pilot projects and additional hydro projects which could total up to five megawatts.

“Our success is built on innovative leadership and public-private partnerships,” Baldacci told press.

“For far too long we’ve been dependent on fossil fuels to heat our homes, power our industries and transport goods and people. Together, we are pursuing clean, renewable, home-grown energy that will enable us to kick the oil habit.”

The deal comes in symmetry with a US$11m borrowing proposal which the state requires voter approval for from June 8, 2010.  

Japan ready to surge in offshore wind project plans

On Monday May 17, Japan announced plans to up its wind power capacity through offshore projects. Although the country may comparatively have gotten off to a slower start due to political and market resistance to embrace the form of renewable energy, the country looks set to make up for lost time and its Headquarters for Ocean Policy (HOP) is currently putting together a proposal which will provide a favourable alternative following complaints about noisy turbines from onshore projects.

The government is said to be aiming for 2000 wind turbines offshore with combined capacity of at least 10 gigawatts by 2020 in pursuit of the climate change carbon emissions reduction goals. It is hoped that some sort of policy will be created and ready to launch by 2012.

American Superconductor counts up over US$1 billion in deals with offshore giant Sinovel

On Monday May 17, American Superconductor Corporation received an enormous offer for its electrical wind turbine systems from the Chinese company, Sinovel Wind Group Co. Ltd. This deal is worth US$445 million alone, but American Superconductor has said that if you add up other deals between the companies, they total over one billion dollars.

“We are proud to extend our strategic business alliance with Sinovel, which has proven consistently to be a leader in wind turbine technology, Greg Yurek, Chief Executive for American Superconductor told press.

And rightly so, because Sinovel has a mighty history in the Chinese win market, building the nation’s first three megawatt offshore wind farm, which it now plans to expand upon while simultaneously testing larger pilot structures made with American Super conductor products.

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