Waubra wind farm: locals petition to save town's name

www.thecourier.com.au
5 Nov 2013

A GROUP of Waubra residents say they don't want the debate about wind turbines and health to end. But they do want the name of their town left out of it. Waubra residents have collected more than 300 signatures of people within the town and the wider community, calling on the Waubra Foundation to remove the name Waubra from its title.

The Waubra Foundation describes itself as a national organisation to conduct research into health problems identified by residents living near wind turbines. The petition was sent to the Waubra Foundation last week. Karen Molloy, one of the residents who started the petition, admits she does have wind towers on her own property.

However, she says, of the 315 signatories, only 28 actually host wind farms. "We've collected over 300 signatures, including 179 from the Waubra community", she says. "The others are all people affiliated with the town, such as footballers and netballers, and people who used to live here. "Even some people who weren't for the wind towers were happy to sign. This is not about the towers, it is about the community and its reputation outside. "The towers have been here for five years. It is time to get over it". Ten residents collected signatures for the petition.

One of them was Doug Hobson, who says the focus of anti-wind farm sentiment on Waubra has tarnished the town's reputation. He says most people in the town would describe it as a great place to live but a scan of the internet would not reveal that. "Waubra is associated with wind towers. We don't mind that," he says. "With the turbines people actually take more notice of our town as they pass through.

"But when you Google 'Waubra' the first thing that comes up is something negative about our town. People would think that everyone in Waubra doesn't like wind farms, and that is not the case." Marcia and Kerryn Gallagher agree. "Even if there is a disease we're campaigning for people to stop calling it Waubra disease and start calling it a wind turbine disease," Marcia Gallagher says.

"I met some people who had come down from Queensland and they actually felt sorry for me because they thought I had some kind of disease." Kerryn Gallagher says the name Waubra Foundation is misleading. "When you look at the word 'foundation', it is a strong word that means a strong base. So when the 'foundation' says we have an illness or sickness, people take it seriously and it's wrong," she says. "We're happy if they continue with their campaign against wind power but we simply want our name back."

Margaret McDonald says most people in Waubra would know someone in the town who has experienced health issues attributed to the wind towers. She says those who organised the petition did not want to trivialise their concerns. "We empathise with the people who feel that they are unwell," she says. "This not about the debate about wind farms. The debate will go on but we have to respect each other. We want to take the name Waubra out of the debate."

Waubra disease a furphy

www.weeklytimesnow.com.au
24 Oct 2013

Waubra disease does not exist.

In my view it is a name dreamt up by the Australian Landscape Guardians group for what has always been known as wind turbine syndrome.

Others followed suit for their own ends, such as gaining publicity for the so-called Waubra Foundation. This group of people owes the community of Waubra an apology for the damage they have done to the town's reputation. More important, they owe our schoolchildren a heartfelt and public apology for the psychological pain inflicted on them when they and their parents saw full-page ads claiming Waubra disease could make them ill.

Some children panicked every time they had a cold or any other normal childhood illness. It was a cruel hoax and someone needs to be accountable. Yes, Waubra does have a wind farm, but in a community of more than 500 people only about 1.3% are vehemently opposed to it. The rest are in favour of it or don't mind either way. Life goes on as it has for more than 100 years in a great community.

We still produce award-winning potatoes, crops, wool and fat lambs. Waubra Primary School is thriving, full of happy, healthy, carefree students. Yes, local groups such as the CFA, school, kinder, sports clubs, Landcare groups and others receive financial assistance from the wind farm, but that happens any time a large company moves into a local neighbourhood.

It is not "buying" those in it. It is showing appreciation to people for allowing their company to grow and prosper there. I don't have a problem with Landscape Guardians or individuals who have complaints of ill health or depression that they attribute to the wind farm.

I do, however, have a problem with those who have never lived in Waubra who perpetrated an outrageous lie, tarnished the reputation of the community which, far from being divided and fractured, is a united one full of mutual support.

I believe Waubra is owed an apology and statements that use the name Waubra disease should be retracted. Call it what it is-wind turbine syndrome-and let Waubra be known for what is it, one of the best farming areas in the country with property prices increasing. Visit our town and our wind farm. Only then will you know the truth.

Marsha Gallagher is a Waubra resident with turbines on her property.

Wave energy turbine on the way

www.borderwatch.com.au
21 Oct 2013

THE countdown to the arrival of the world's first 1MW wave energy converter off the coast of Port McDonnell is underway with Sydney-based company Oceanlinx Limited set to launch the project this week. See your ad here The converter-called greenWAVE-will be connected to the electricity grid in South Australia by the end of the year and is expected to put the South East on the world renewable energy map.

The company has released the first photographs of the groundbreaking unit's turbine, which will soon be part of the seascape off Port MacDonnell. Constructed and to be launched into the water from TechPort in Adelaide on Friday, the $7m project will be the first of its kind to be commissioned in the world.

The demonstration unit received $4m from the Federal Government in a bid to make the project ready for market. The unit-which is on track for a December completion-will be grid-connected and rigorously tested throughout 2014.

The 3000 tonne demonstration unit will be on display at TechPort before being towed to its final location a few km off the coast of Port MacDonnell. The unit has a rated capacity of 1MW, which can supply power to about 1000 homes. Oceanlinx managing director Ali Baghaei said the converter was based on the oscillating water column principle.

He said the technology was one of the wave energy sector's most tested and matured technologies. Mr Baghaei said the unit was completely environmentally friendly, sitting under its own weight on the seabed in shallow water with no anchors, mooring or attachment to the seabed. "It is expected to act as an artificial reef for sea life", Mr Baghaei said.

"It has no moving parts under the water and is designed to withstand the most aggressive sea conditions, while there is ease of access to the weather-tight powerhouse placed above the sea level, so the life management costs are kept to the minimum". He said Oceanlinx had demonstrated three test platforms in the ocean over the past 16 years. See your ad here "It was the first company to achieve the full grid connection of a test platform in Australia in 2010", Mr Baghaei said.

"With an end to end solution, its technologies are globally patented and provide versatility for application in conjunction with a wide range of areas such as offshore platforms, breakwater construction, desalination and provision of energy and water to remote locations. "As a leading technology provider in the wave energy conversion sector, Oceanlinx is in discussion with a number of international entities to develop multiple units of this technology".

Wind turbines are quieter than a heartbeat, acoustical experts find

thinkprogress.org
24 Sep 2013

One complaint voiced by wind turbine opponents is that the turbines create too much noise — even noise below the range of human hearing, known as infrasound. These concerns fuel claims about "Wind Turbine Syndrome," which advocates say is a medical condition that involves mental health problems, heart disease, and vertigo.

A study by an acoustic engineering group in Australia found that that infrasound generated by wind turbines is less loud than the infrasound created by a listener's own heartbeat. It found that wind turbine infrasound does increase as wind speed increases, but this is often masked by the natural noise of wind moving through the area.

The Association of Australian Acoustical Consultants said that "those investigations conclude that infrasound levels adjacent to wind farms are below the threshold of perception and below currently accepted limits set for infrasound."

Wind turbines are quieter than a heartheat, acoustical experts find

thinkprogress.org
24 Sep 2013

One complaint voiced by wind turbine opponents is that the turbines create too much noise--even noise below the range of human hearing, known as infrasound. These concerns fuel claims about "Wind Turbine Syndrome", which advocates say is a medical condition that involves mental health problems, heart disease, and vertigo.

A study by an acoustic engineering group in Australia found that that infrasound generated by wind turbines is less loud than the infrasound created by a listener's own heartheat. It found that wind turbine infrasound does increase as wind speed increases, but this is often masked by the natural noise of wind moving through the area.

The Association of Australian Acoustical Consultants said that "those investigations conclude that infrasound levels adjacent to wind farms are below the threshold of perception and below currently accepted limits set for infrasound".

Those limits are levels of infrasound that people encounter already, created by natural sources like breathing, wind, and waves, as well as mechanical sources like aircraft, traffic, and fossil fuel industry. The study noted that wind turbine noise is all relative:

Our environment has lots of infrasound already in it, the levels generated by wind farms from our point of view are quite low in comparison and they're no higher than what is already out there in the natural environment.,.. "People themselves generate infrasound through things like their own heartheat, through breathing and these levels of infrasound can be substantially higher than an external noise source."

Read More…

Michigan's new tourist attraction? Like them or not, wind turbines

www.freep.com
20 Oct 2013

DELAWARE TOWNSHIP, MICH.--Whether they are beautiful or a blight on the landscape is beside the point.

Michigan's wind farms are here, en masse. And travelers can't miss them. With nearly 900 commercial wind turbines dotting Michigan, especially in the Thumb where the wind is strongest and most consistent, a scenic drive can turn into a jaw-dropping experience. The Thumb alone has 618 wind turbines already operating or scheduled to go into service by next year.

"I was driving down the road when the sun was coming up one morning, and the sun hit the turbines and it was beautiful", says Scott Carr of Elkton, whose tiny community has been transformed in the last five years by 32 wind turbines. "Some people don't like them, but they don't bother me".

Wind turbines began sprouting in the state in response to a 2008 Michigan law that requires at least 10% of the state's energy be provided by renewable energy sources, such as wind, by 2015. The first phase of a high-capacity, 140 mile electric transmission line called the Thumb Loop was just completed in the region. It is capable of carrying electricity linked from at least 2,800 wind turbines.

Many things have been said and written about wind turbines. All over the world, they have changed tourist landscapes, adding strong man-made vertical elements to nature's soft horizontal vistas. Some travelers see wind turbines as engineering marvels and symbols of energy independence. Some see them as evil industrial fans ruining treasured landscapes.

Some see beauty in a sunset that makes the towers shine, or charm in a scene of a small house dwarfed by a turning blade. Other see turbines as too big and harsh--which they are, compared to a cow, a sugar beet or a farmhouse. Some are so tall that Michigan residents can even see turbines erected across the water in Canada.

At first, they dotted the landscape here or there. Then, they spread. Last summer, an operator in the Ludington and Scottville area did a lively business driving busloads of tourists out to see the turbines. That success has others asking: How does Michigan make the most of their breathtaking stature and the awe that they stir inside of us?

Read More…

GE wants to power up older wind turbines

www.elp.com
18 Oct 2013

Earlier this year, General Electric Co (GE) launched a package of technologies and services to improve output from its newer wind turbines like the 2.5 120, calling them "brilliant" at predicting and producing wind power. Now it's bringing those same capabilities to its existing turbine fleet by packaging them into a new suite called "PowerUp" to improve older wind turbines' output and profitability.

Andy Holt, general manager of GE Energy's projects and services group, explained to us how it works: GE analyzes a customer's wind turbine capacity, turbulence, weight, its current condition and age, how hard it's been run, explore the on-site wind regime, and generates a list of possible improvements. "We'll put on as much as we can to optimize and maximize their output and revenue", he said.

One of these capabilities is the company's venerable WindBoost, which essentially nudges a turbine to run a little bit harder if conditions allow for it. Vortex generators, meanwhile, can be applied on the blade to decrease separation and increase lift. Other features that can be bundled with PowerUp run the gamut from trailing-edge serrations to reduce noise, to a winter operations mode that ramps down as ice forms.

Another aspect to PowerUp borrowed from the "brilliant" turbine setup is enabling predictability and condition-based maintenance, "having machines telling us when we have issues" to eliminate unplanned downtime, Holt said.

PulsePoint software monitors set points in the turbine to gauge factors including vibration, bearing temperature, and filter pressure. Other software awakens turbines to recognize when they're falling behind other turbines nearby and alert the dispatch center to find out why, or conversely notice if a turbine in the group (or groups) could be revved up to take advantage of current conditions

These types of tweaks take a page from what GE has done for its gas turbine customers, Holt pointed out.

The company especially sees a sweetspot for PowerUp in its flagship fleet of 9,000 1.5 77 turbines running nationwide, since "the technology has moved so far since we built the earlier machine", Holt said.

For just those turbines, GE claims that PowerUp could increase a wind farm's output by up to 5% and a 20% increase in profit per turbine--even a 1% energy output increase would add another 420,000 MWh annually, according to the company. Holt walked us through how GE came up with those numbers:

• 2.3% more output per machine: Using WindBoost to run a little harder off the gearbox
• 0.5%: Seasonal tuning, such as changing pitch parameters from summer to winter
• 1.2%: Winter ice operations, sensing ice formation and derating/shutting itself down
• 1.5-2%: Vortex generators on the blades
• 0.5-1%: Blade cord extensions with slightly larger aerodynamic areas, increasing the velocity at the top of the blade
• 0.5-1%: Trailing-edge serrations

Of course not every customer site will apply all of those improvements, but taking an average across GE's entire fleet the company calculates a 5% improvement in output.

That's "big enough to matter", Holt said, "and it's also just the beginning". Given the relative youth of GE's fleet of turbines in the US (averaging 5 6 years) repowering of entire hubs and nacelles isn't yet a big services business, but PowerUp could fill a big need for customers who are keen to know more about their turbines' performance in wind speed regimes of between 5-7 meters per second, shy of the rated output.

"We're taking advantage of the design life in the machine that's being underutilized because of lower winds, and that's given birth to a whole upgrade business", he said.

Customers will pay for PowerUp based on "validated performance improvements" i.e, the additional power that gets produced. "We just commit to selling MWs [to customers]", Holt said. "This is a simpler way to do business with us". PowerUp also can be incorporated into existing VICOSC&M contracts.

America’s first floating wind turbine – the future of offshore power generation?

techandinnovationdaily.com
3 Oct 2013

Sitting in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Maine, is a unique feat of technology. At first glance, this giant windmill-like object looks pretty out of place, bobbing around in the middle of the water. But in truth, the wind-lashed Atlantic is the perfect spot for it. VolturnUS 1:8 (trips off the tongue, doesn't it?!) is North America's first floating wind turbine-an innovation that's being hailed as the future of US offshore energy generation.

Designed by engineers at the University of Maine, the turbine is an impressive piece of equipment. Standing 300 feet tall, "it's almost like a 30 to 35 story building", says Habib Dagher, Director of the Advanced Structures and Composites Center at the university, and head of the VolturnUS 1:8 project.

In addition, the diameter of the rotor is the size of one and a half football fields, while "each blade would be the wingspan of a 747 jetliner". But this doesn't even scratch the surface of what the designers ultimately have in mind...

Channeling the Atlantic's Anger into Power
Right now, the VolturnUS 1:8 turbine can only generate enough energy to power four homes. But it's merely the working prototype for a much larger project. How large? "It's one-eighth the scale of a full-size five-to six-MW turbine", says Elizabeth Viselli, Communications Manager of the Advanced Structures and Composites Center.

And that would produce enough wind power to power a few thousand homes. The reasoning behind putting these turbines at sea is simple... Winds are much stronger at sea than on land, with the optimum strength occurring during peak energy usage times in the late afternoon/early evening.

In fact, Dagher says, "Within 50 miles of US shores, there's enough offshore [wind] capacity to power the US four times over". And the fact that the University of Maine team has designed a floating turbine means it's significantly cheaper than a fixed installation turbine.

And as for fears that eyesore wind turbines will spoil the coastline... well, fear not. The team says the turbines will be 20 miles offshore-"beyond the horizon" and not visible from the coast. With the United States only generating 3.5% of its electric power from wind, the goal of this project is two-fold... Boost renewable energy output from wind and, according to Dagher, "bring the cost of offshore wind down by 2020, so it's competitive with other forms of electricity".

Gamesa signs agreement with Iberdrola to supply wind turbines for Penascal expansion project

wind.energy-business-review.com
10 Oct 2013

Gamesa Corp and Iberdrola Renewables have signed a supply agreement for the 202MW Baffin wind farm project, which is an extension to the Penascal wind power complex in Texas. Under the agreement set to begin in mid-2014, Gamesa Corp will supply, install and commission 101xG97 wind turbines of 2MW each for the project, which is likely to become operational by the end of 2014.

To be built with an estimated cost of around $400m, the under-construction project will increase the Penascal complex's total capacity to 606MW, thus becoming Iberdrola's largest renewable energy facility in the world. Located in Kenedy County, the complex is likely to generate enough electricity to power 210,000 households and curb 850,000 tons of CO₂ emissions annually.

Pending approval from the local government, the project will significantly contribute to growth of the local economy by creating up to 240 jobs during construction phase and eight fulltime operational jobs. As one of the largest wind developers, Iberdrola can use the contracted turbines at other US sites if it fails to secure approval from the local government.

The agreement represents Gamesa Corp strengthen its position as Iberdrola's main wind turbine supplier as it provided 9,000MW out of 14,000MW turbines Iberdrola installed worldwide.

Solar power stored at Arizona plant

www.upi.com
9 Oct 2013

PHOENIX, Oct. 9 (UPI)--Spanish energy company Abengoa said Wednesday its Solana solar plant in Arizona produced electricity without direct sunlight in its first commercial test.

The company said Wednesday the facility, about 70 miles southwest of Phoenix, has an installed capacity of 280 MWs of energy and can store the sun's power for six hours via thermal energy. The facility uses concave mirrors to focus the sun's rays to power a conventional steam turbine.

Abengoa said it was able to produce electricity from the steam turbines after the sun went down for six hours using only the thermal energy storage capacity of the facility. State utility company Arizona Public Service has a 30 year agreement with Abengoa to purchase electricity from the plant. The Solana facility will have the ability to meet the annual energy needs of 70,000 households.

Abengoa said the facility is the first of its kind in the United States, which it said was a "turning point" for renewable energy in the country. The company said the plan represents a $2 billion investment. It said it received financial support through a $1.45 billion loan guarantee from the federal government.

Tata Power arm to buy wind farm in Gujarat

www.thehindu.com
8 Oct 2013

Tata Power, on Tuesday, said that it would acquire a 39.2 MW wind farm in Gujarat in a move that would scale up its renewable energy portfolio.

The company's 100% subsidiary, Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd. (TPREL), has signed a share purchase agreement (SPA) with AES Corp for acquisition of the US company's 100% shareholding in AES Saurashtra Windfarms Pvt Ltd. (ASW). The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

It costs about Rs. 6 crore to set up one MW of wind power capacity. The reason behind the exit of AES from this project is not known. ASW owns and operates a 39.2 MW wind farm in Jamnagar district of Gujarat.

The project has been fully operational since January, 2012, and ASW has executed a power purchase agreement with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd, for sale of electricity at a tariff of Rs. 3.56/kW for the duration of the project.

TPREL was selected as the preferred bidder for the sale, and the acquisition is subject to certain conditions. The deal is expected to go through in a few months time, Tata Power said.

With this deal, Tata Power's wind operational generation capacity will go up to 437 MW, with wind turbine generators located across five states, including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

"Tata Power is committed to generating 20 25% of its total generation capacity from clean energy sources, and is proud to have signed this SPA. This is our second acquisition of an operating wind asset and we are constantly looking out for similar opportunities in respect of wind and solar plants", Anil Sardana, Managing Director, Tata Power, said in a statement.

Planning body dismisses anti-wind claims

www.weeklytimesnow.com.au
10 Sep 2013

NSW Planning Assessment Commissions have given plans for the Bodangora wind farm in Dubbo, NSW, the green light. The PAC's recent tick of approval has come just a few weeks before the VCAT hearings on Victoria's Cherry Tree Range wind farm proposal which is scheduled to resume on September 27.

Both wind farm projects have caused controversy within surrounding communities but Friends of the Earth renewables spokesperson Leigh Ewbank said much of the controversy is brought about by the anti-wind farm scare campaign. "The PAC's approval of the Bodangora wind farm shows that planning authorities base their decisions on credible research, not pseudoscience claiming that wind farms harm human health", Mr Ewbank said.

Aside from approving the Bodangora wind farm PAC also dismissed health concerns brought to the attention of the commissioners by anti-wind farm campaigners.

The PAC report stated that: "NSW Health noted that the symptoms reported by residents concerned by wind farms are also reported by those living near other new developments of various kinds. Studies suggest these symptoms are suggestible, ie, if individuals are expecting to be impacted they will be more likely to report symptoms. It was also suggested that the visibility of the turbines influenced the likelihood of complaints from a neighbour".

Mr Ewbank said Friends of the Earth would hope VCAT take the ruling of the PAC into account when deciding the fate of the Cherry Tree Range proposal. "VCAT recently approved a fast food outlet in the Dandenong Ranges that mostly sells unhealthy food. It would be bizarre if they failed to approve a wind farm that produces clean and safe renewable energy", Mr Ewbank said.

He said the anti-wind farm lobby has made a concerted effort to turn the Mitchell Upper Lachlan Council community against the Cherry Tree Range wind farm proposal.

"The anti-wind farm organisers divide communities with their fear campaign and distract people from the local benefits of renewable energy", Mr Ewbank said. "The Cherry Tree Range will deliver jobs and drought-proof income for farmers and the community. It will allow the region to claim a leadership position in addressing climate change".

Based on estimates by Friends of the Earth, the Cherry Tree Range wind farm will generate up to $80,000 for a community fund each year, contribute $76,000 worth of rates each year, inject $1.2 million worth of flow on economic benefit to the economy and produce enough electricity to power 26,000 homes and prevent 150,000 tonnes of carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere each year.

Oceanlinx moves closer to wave energy go-ahead

www.businessspectator.com.au
11 Sep 2013

Oceanlinx Ltd has applied for South Australia's first generation licence using wave energy conversion technology, located offshore of Port MacDonnell, South Australia.

Oceanlinx Limited intends on installing a wave energy converter with a name plate rating of 1000kW. The unit will be connected to the 11kV distribution grid via a subsea cable, the SA Essential Services Commission says. All of the electricity generated will be sold to an energy retailer.

No fuel is used to generate the electricity. The unit is powered from air flow driving a turbine connected to an asynchronous generator. This air flow is created by the passing of waves interacting with the structure which houses the turbo-mechanical and electrical equipment.

The application will be assessed against relevant criteria specified in the Electricity Act and the Essential Services Commission Act 2002. Comments in respect of the application should be provided on or before October 7, 2013. The application has been made pursuant to Part 3 of the Electricity Act 1996 (Electricity Act).

Alstom signs 27MW Brazilian wind turbine deal

www.windpowermonthly.com
5 Sep 2013

BRAZIL: Alstom has signed a EUR 25 million contract with Enerplan, a subsidiary of Brazilian power company Oleoplan, to supply 27MW to a project southern Brazil. The company will supply 10 ECO 122 low wind turbines to the Pontal wind farm Viamao, Rio Grande do Sul state, and is scheduled to be commissioned by the end of 2015.

The nacelles will be manufactured at Alstom's plant in Bahia state and the towers will be produced at the company's new facility in Canoas, in Rio Grande do Sul state. Alstom is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the wind turbines for five years. Since 2010 Alstom has provided more than 2GW in wind projects in Brazil, including the supply of more than 600 ECO 122 wind turbines.

Asia to lead quadrupling of wind energy by 2030: Siemens

www.theage.com.au
27 Aug 2013

Siemens, the world's No.3 maker of wind turbines, expects the global wind power market to more than quadruple by 2030, lifted by strong growth in Asia. "The market will shift away from Europe significantly", Markus Tacke, chief executive of the German company's Wind Power division, said at a renewable energy conference in Berlin.

He said globally installed wind power capacity would increase to 1,107 GW (GW) in 2030 from 273 GW in 2012, with Asia and the Pacific region accounting for more than 47% of the total, up from 34% now.

China is pumping billions of euros into wind power, which is more cost-competitive than solar power and partly able to compete with coal and gas. Wind power subsidies in most parts of Europe are being slowly scaled back. The Europe and the Middle East (EMEA) region is still the world's largest wind market, with a 40% share that will decline to 34% by 2030.

Siemens Wind Power, part of the group's Energy division, achieved sales of 3.555 billion euros ($A5.3 billion) in the first nine months of Siemens' fiscal year, down 1% year on year. It accounted for 6.4% of the company's total sales. Its profit margin for the period stood at 3.6%, down from 4.7% a year earlier, as the company was forced to book charges because of problems relating to some of its wind turbine rotor blades.

Vestas to supply 400MW wind turbines for EDPR's US projects

wind.energy-business-review.com
23 Aug 2013

Vestas, a Danish wind turbine manufacturer, is gearing up to manufacture and supply 400MW of wind turbines to EDP Renovaveis (EDPR) for wind-energy projects in the US.

The developments are a part of a master supply agreement for the first V110 2.0 MW wind turbines secured earlier to supply a total of 1,500MW to wind power plants in North America, South America and Europe. EDPR selected the V110 2.0 MW because of its competitive cost of energy compared with other options.

Vestas US and Canada sales and service division president Chris Brown said the company has successfully worked with EDPR for the past eight years to deliver many wind-power projects around the world. "We look forward to supplying EDPR our new V110 2.0 MW wind turbine, which is a variant of the V100 1.8 MW that can provide over 13% higher annual energy production compared with its predecessor", Brown added.

The agreement also includes five-year service agreements featuring the Active Output Management (AOM) 5000 offering and the VestasOnline surveillance system. Delivery and commissioning of the V110 2.0 MW turbines are scheduled in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Govt puts $37m into Taralga wind far

www.canberratimes.com.au
9 Jul 2013

A contentious wind farm north of Goulburn is the first in the region to receive money from the Australian government's Clean Energy Finance Corporation. The corporation's $37.5 million loan will get the Taralga wind farm, comprising 51 turbines, finally under way.

The clean-energy financier joined an international consortium that provided about $280 million for the wind farm, 45 km from Goulburn and about three km east of Taralga village.

The farm, which should start working this year, is expected to generate enough power to supply 45,000 homes. Operators have a 10 year agreement with EnergyAustralia to supply the grid. The corporation's chief executive, Oliver Yates, said the loan was a catalyst for renewable energy investment in Australia.

The corporation has announced three projects: $50 million for energy efficiency loans; $50 million for a wind farm in Victoria and the Taralga financing package. Taralga's new wind farm will use towers made in Portland, Victoria, using Blue-Scope Steel steel.

Spain's Banco Santander has a 90% stake and renewable energy group CBD Energy will remain the project partner with 10%. The ANZ and Denmark's official credit export agency are also involved. Wind testing has been under way since 2001 in the sheep and cattle grazing district.

Ownership has changed hands during the planning and development stages. For more than a decade the proposal fuelled a bitter debate until the NSW Land and Environment Court concluded that public benefits outweighed private drawbacks that wound up twice in the NSW Environment and Planning Court.

Protesters said turbines would affect the landscape and generate noise. The court concluded the overall public benefits outweighed any private drawbacks either to the Taralga community or specific landowners.

Floating offshore turbines can reduce wind energy cost

dailyfusion.net
5 Jul 2013

Texas leads the U.VICOSC, in energy production with a combination of conventional and alternative energy sources. The state also produces the most wind power of any state in the nation, but with a growing population, there is a demand for more resources of renewable energy. A new design of floating offshore turbines that is being developed by scientists at Texas A&M University may be a cost-effective answer to that challenge.

Typical land-based wind turbines have blades diameters exceeding the wing span of a 747 jet plane. Offshore wind turbine structures can be even larger and are rigidly attached to the sea floor. Near the coast; however, these very large structures can interfere with the ocean view.

Dr. Bert Sweetman, associate professor of Maritime Systems Engineering Texas A&M University at Galveston is studying a new type of structural designs that enable substantial reductions in cost, with only minimal decrease in the amount of electricity generated. Sweetman describes the engineering challenges involved constructing offshore turbines.

"Placing wind turbines beyond sight of land in deep water will require a different type of structure that floats on the sea surface, rather than being fixed to the ocean floor", he said. "Ideally, these floating structures are designed to minimize motion despite wind and wave activity. Unfortunately, this conventional design is very expensive".

Sweetman says the expense, in part, is due to stabilising the large size of wind turbines in deep water. He says cost of these structures could be reduced substantially, if larger motions were found to be acceptable.

"The larger motions of these new structures present a myriad of design issues", Sweetman said. "Like a spinning bicycle wheel, the gyroscopic effect of huge whirling blades makes designs of these offshore structures uniquely challenging".

Read More…

Green bank saves 75 jobs

www.stockjournal.com.au
3 Jul 2013

THE federal government's green bank has funded another wind farm, saving 75 jobs at a Victoria turbine maker.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation will fund $37.5 million of debt for the Taralga wind farm-45km north of Goulburn in NSW-as part of a $280 million consortium of financiers, a day after it helped refinance the Macarthur wind farm.

Unlike Macarthur, the Taralga is a new project with an installed capacity of 106.8 MWs of wind power and has a 10 year power-purchase agreement with EnergyAustralia. Under a joint venture between CBD Energy and Spanish bank Santander, all wind towers for the project will be engineered and manufactured at Victorian firm Keppel Prince, which last year laid off about 50 workers.

Keppel Prince general manager Steve Garner said he would have needed to lay off a further 75 workers if the firm had not secured the work. He said the CEFC was critical to Keppel securing the work and now the business was looking later this year to recruit more staff. "It has just been so slow and so unsupportive for local manufacturing", Mr Garner said of the past year.

"I would be extremely disappointed if the CEFC was to be abolished. It was the driving force behind us being able to secure this as a local manufacturer". "Without their help and assistance and continued effort of [Danish company] Vestas Wind Systems and CBD Energy, we would not have been in the hunt and the jobs would have gone to China. It has meant Australian jobs and it means taxes being paid in Australia".

Floating wind turbine headed for coast off Fukushima Prefecture

ajw.asahi.com
28 Jun 2013

A floating wind turbine to be used for power generation off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture was towed out of Tokyo Bay on June 28 bound for a deep-sea site where it will be part of an experimental floating power sub-station.

The turbine was assembled at the Chiba factory of Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Co, in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture. It will be towed to Onahama Port in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture. The wind turbine, 80 meters in diameter, made by Hitachi Ltd., was mounted on a 32 meter steel submersible structure constructed by Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding.

Named "Fukushima Mirai (future)", the floating wind farm is a project commissioned by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The ministry hopes to provide for the first time a commercial supply of electricity from a floating power station.

After going through adjustment tests in Onahama Port, the structure will be set up about 20 km off Fukushima Prefecture in 120 meter deep waters, secured to the seabed with iron chains. The turbine, with a maximum output of 2 MWs, is expected to start operating in October.

Fukushima Prefecture is home to the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The accident at the plant, following the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, helped create a scarcity of power as most of the nation's nuclear reactors were taken offline.