Greencoat UK Wind has signed an agreement with The AES Corporation to purchase 51.6% interest in Sixpenny Wood, Yelvertoft, North Rhins and Drone Hill wind farms in the UK.

Under the terms of the agreement, Greencoat will acquire the 51.6% stake in the four wind farms from AES’ subsidiaries for a total consideration of £90.6m.

Slated for completion on 22 August, the acquisitions will be funded through reinvestment of UKW’s cash resources and debt facility provided by RBC, RBS and Santander.

The four wind farms, which have a total generation capacity of 87.5MW, were developed by AES.

The 20.5MW Sixpenny Wood wind farm is located near Goole in the East Riding of Yorkshire, whereas the 16.4MW Yelvertoft facility is situated east of Rugby in Northamptonshire.

Both the Sixpenny Wood and Yelvertoft wind farms entered into service in July 2013.

The 22MW North Rhins wind farm, which has been operational since December 2009, is situated on the North Rhins peninsula, west of Stranraer in Dumfries and Galloway.

Located west of Eyemouth in the Borders, the 28.6MW Drone Hill facility started commercial operations in August 2012.

Greencoat UK Wind chairman Tim Ingram said: “We are pleased to increase our investment portfolio to 16 UK wind farms with a net generating capacity of 271.5MW.

“AES is the fifth seller of wind farms to UKW, a testament to the company’s independence and to its ability to be selective in its acquisitions.”

Greencoat UK will have a total outstanding debt of £225m, which is expected to be approximately 38% of gross asset value, upon completion of the transaction.

The remaining 48.4% stake in the wind farms will be acquired by Swiss Life Funds (Luxembourg) Global Infrastructure Opportunities, a fund managed by Swiss Life Asset Managers.

The UK’s Crown Estate has signed a lease agreement with 2-B Energy’s subsidiary Forthwind for the nation’s first offshore two-bladed turbine demonstration on the seabed at Methil in Scotland.

The demonstration involves the installation of two 6MW full-scale units at Methil.

The 6MW two-bladed turbine, designed for offshore wind industry, is claimed to be the first of its kind in the world.

Earlier, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) granted support, along with investment from the Scottish Investment Bank, to 2-B Energy for the development of full-scale onshore prototype in the Netherlands.

Prior to the grant, two offshore machines have already been planned for Methil and will be deployed in 2016, following planning approval.

The Crown Estate Offshore Wind head Huub den Rooijen said: “In order to fully unlock the potential of offshore wind over the long term, it is vital that opportunities are made available to test and demonstrate innovative and emerging technology platforms to bring down costs and secure the UK’s position as a global leader in offshore wind technology.

“As such, we are pleased to have concluded an Agreement for Lease with 2-B Energy and look forward with interest to seeing the technology mature.”

In addition to the two-bladed turbine design, the company is considering integrating wind turbine technology with grid and access systems innovations and the installation process, and a new operational strategy, to reduce costs.

2-B Energy chief operating officer Mikael Jakobsson said: “We hope that through this offshore development and demonstration step, and following the completion of our first on-shore demonstrator in early 2015, to be able to validate significant cost reductions in future offshore wind deployment.”

RWE Generation is planning to close three power plants in Germany with a total capacity of 1,000MW, amid declining demand for conventional energy.

The company is considering closing the 110MW Goldenbergwerk lignite power plant in Hürth in the third quarter of 2015, and Unit C of the 285MW Westfalen hard coal power plant in Hamm in early 2016.

The part of Unit K fuelled by hard coal in the 610MW Gersteinwerk plant will be shut down in the first quarter of 2017.

The shutting down of the power plants will affect 180 of the 640 jobs at the three stations.

RWE Generation CEO Peter Terium said: “Conventional power generation is losing ground – not just at RWE.

“Figures from the Federal Network Agency indicate that, up to 2018, more secured power station capacity will have to be taken offline than is added through capital investment.

“This does not bode well for security of supply, to which wind and solar can make little contribution.

“With a capacity market that is non-discriminatory and open to all technologies, Germany could create an economically feasible basis to continue to operate indispensable generation facilities – and thus supplement the expansion of renewable energy.”

The company will terminate supply contracts for approximately 470MW by the end of this year.

RWE had earlier decommissioned Didcot A and Tilbury power stations in the UK and reduced operating hours of the gas-fired power plants in Continental Europe. This has reduced the company’s electricity generation in the first half by 11%.

Siemens Energy has been awarded a contract by Vattenfall for wind turbines and servicing for the Sandbank offshore wind farm in Germany.

Under the contract, Siemens will supply 72 Model SWT-4.0-130 wind turbines and will also perform maintenance services on the Sandbank installations for an initial period of five years.

The project is being built 90km west of the island of Sylt in water depths between 25m and 37m, within the exclusive economic zone off the German North Sea coast.

A pioneering service plan will generate synergy from its close vicinity to the DanTysk offshore wind farm, utilising joint operations to drive down the maintenance costs of both projects.

Service operations will focus on a service operation vessel (SOV) specially designed for these deployments.

Following project commissioning, this specialised ship, fitted with living accommodations for technicians and a workshop equipped with spare parts, will take up a position between the two wind farms.

Located 20km away from the Sandbank offshore wind farm, the DanTysk wind farm is in an advanced stage of construction and is equipped with Siemens wind turbines of the G4 product platform.

Siemens claims that the SWT-4.0-130 wind turbines ordered for the project represent the latest generation of the Siemens G4 platform wind turbines.

Construction work is scheduled to commence in 2015 and commissioning will take place at the end of 2016.

Siemens Energy’s Wind Power Division CEO Markus Tacke said: “We are very pleased to be joining forces and pooling our shared experience again with Vattenfall to implement another major offshore project.

“Thanks to Vattenfall’s expertise in project construction and operation, and Siemens’ innovative technology and service prowess, Sandbank will boldly demonstrate just how far we’ve come in reducing the costs of offshore wind power.”

Vattenfall’s continental / UK region head of the Renewables Business Unit Gunnar Groebler said: “The Sandbank project is further testament to Vattenfall’s strategy of consistently focusing our growth efforts on the expansion of renewable energy.

“We know how to work offshore and we see it as a significant building block in the success of the energy transition in Germany. We are therefore delighted to have Siemens as an experienced partner for the building of the wind turbines.”

Centrica and DONG Energy have scrapped the Celtic Array offshore wind farm planned for the Irish Sea.

The companies have come to a conclusion that the project is economically unviable with current technology and has confirmed challenging ground conditions.

Celtic Array, which is a joint venture between Centrica and DONG Energy, was formed in March 2012 when DONG Energy bought a 50% share in Centrica’s rights to develop wind farms in the Round 3 Irish Sea Zone.

The Crown Estate has agreed to Celtic Array’s decision to cease the zone development agreement for the Irish Sea Zone, allowing the joint venture to stop development activities.

A spokesperson for the project said: “We’re disappointed not to be progressing with our work to develop wind farms in the Irish Sea Zone, however our assessments have shown that ground conditions are such that it’s not viable for us to proceed with the technology that’s available at this stage. We’re extremely grateful for the support that has been shown to us and would like to thank everyone who has taken part in the development of our proposals for the Rhiannon wind farm and other potential projects.”

In January 2010, Centrica Renewable Energy announced an exclusive zone development agreement with The Crown Estate, allowing Centrica to prepare proposals for developing offshore wind farms in an area of the Irish Sea.

The Irish Sea Zone covers an area of 2,200km². The boundaries of the zone are approximately 15km from Anglesey, 20km from the Isle of Man, and more than 40km to the Cumbrian coast.

Head of Offshore Wind, Huub den Rooijen said: “We have confirmed the developers’ assessment of the zone, which shows that challenging ground conditions make this project economically unviable with current technology.

“We understand that this will be disappointing for many but improvements and de-risking of new technologies may one day in the future make it economic to develop in some parts of the area.

“Whilst we have no plans to re-offer the zone to the market, to improve the understanding of the complex geology in this region we intend to make available the wealth of data from Celtic Array’s activity through our Marine Data Exchange in due course.”

Norwegian state-owned electricity firm Statkraft has signed an agreement to sell a 49% interest in its UK onshore wind power portfolio to Gingko Tree Investment.

Under the agreement, Statkraft will sell its three operating wind farms, including Alltwalis in Wales and Baillie and Berry Burn in Scotland, with a total capacity of 142.2MW.

Upon completion of transaction, Statkraft will continue to manage and operate the wind farms, including the provision of operation and maintenance services, and provide market access for the power and renewable certificates generated.

Operational since 2009, the 23MW Alltwalis wind farm features ten turbines and is located north of Carmarthen in Wales while the 52.5MW Baillie wind farm, operational since 2013, is situated near Thurso, North Scotland.

Located near Inverness in the north of Scotland, the 66.7MW Berry Burn wind farm started operations in 2014.

The wind farms, Baillie and Berry Burn, feature 21 and 29 turbines respectively.

Statkraft executive vice-president Jon Brandsar said: “Statkraft is Europe’s leader in renewable energy and a long term investor in the UK renewables sector.

“We have firm growth ambitions in both onshore and offshore wind power. This agreement enables further growth through project development while at the same time maintaining our industrial role.”

The three projects will be placed under a new holding company Wind UK Invest, 51% owned by Statkraft, with the remaining 49% stake held by Gingko.

The UK’s renewables sources generated 14.9% of electricity in 2013, according to a new report from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

The DECC, in its annual Digest of UK Energy Statistics, revealed that onshore and offshore wind energy in the UK is playing the central role for transition from fossil fuels to clean renewables for the country.

According to the report, electricity generated from renewable sources increased by 30% in 2013 when compared to 2012, and accounted to 14.9% of total UK electricity generation.

Electricity generated from onshore wind provided 32% of the total, while offshore wind generated a further 21%, making a total of 53% of all renewable energy from wind, according to the report.

The renewables installed capacity increased by 27% (4.2GW) to 19.7GW in 2013 due to a 27% increase in onshore wind capacity (1.6GW) and a 23% increase in offshore wind capacity.

RenewableUK policy director Dr Gordon Edge said: “We’re now on course to hit 10% of electricity from wind alone this year.”

Commenting on publication of the annual energy statistics, Energy & Climate Change Secretary of State Edward Davey said: “The government’s investment in renewable energy is paying off: renewable electricity has more than doubled in just four years – with around 15% of Britain’s electricity already coming from clean renewable sources like wind, solar and hydro.

“Having a strong UK renewable sector helps to reduce our foreign imports of energy, improving our energy security, as well as helping us tackle climate change and creating new hi-tech green jobs. A green energy future that once seemed impossible for Britain is fast becoming a reality.”

The UK aimed to meet a legally binding target of 15% of all energy from renewables by 2020.

TÜV SÜD has completed certification of the 600MW Gemini wind farm located in the North Sea off the coast of the Netherlands.

The certification scope included certification of two sub-stations and a design assessment for the wind farm located in the Dutch exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the North Sea, around 85km off the coast north of the province of Groningen.

The wind farm’s design documentation review, which covered the support structures of the wind turbines, including 150 monopiles and connection structures, has already been completed by TÜV SÜD.

TÜV SÜD, on behalf of international service provider Gemini, has now completed the certification of the two offshore sub-stations which involved review of the design documentation and the geotechnical report as well as the review of the sub-stations’ support structures and topside platforms.

TÜV SÜD Industrie Service Offshore Wind Energy department project manager Ulrich Knopf said: “We are very happy that Gemini placed these contracts with TÜV SÜD.

“For us, this fact also confirms our position as one of the world’s leading certification companies for onshore and offshore wind turbines and wind farms.”

In 2013, Typhoon Offshore, on behalf of Gemini, selected TÜV SÜD to conduct the 300MW high-voltage offshore substations certification, which is needed of for the licensing process by the Dutch authorities for Gemini wind farm.

The wind farm is expected to supply 785,000 households per year with clean, renewable electricity while the sub-station platforms will convert the alternating current produced by the wind turbines into high-voltage alternating current for distribution onshore with reduced losses.

Centrica and DONG Energy have scrapped the Celtic Array offshore wind farm planned for the Irish Sea.

The companies have come to a conclusion that the project is economically unviable with current technology and has confirmed challenging ground conditions.

Celtic Array, which is a joint venture between Centrica and DONG Energy, was formed in March 2012 when DONG Energy bought a 50% share in Centrica’s rights to develop wind farms in the Round 3 Irish Sea Zone.

The Crown Estate has agreed to Celtic Array’s decision to cease the zone development agreement for the Irish Sea Zone, allowing the joint venture to stop development activities.

A spokesperson for the project said: “We’re disappointed not to be progressing with our work to develop wind farms in the Irish Sea Zone, however our assessments have shown that ground conditions are such that it’s not viable for us to proceed with the technology that’s available at this stage. We’re extremely grateful for the support that has been shown to us and would like to thank everyone who has taken part in the development of our proposals for the Rhiannon wind farm and other potential projects.”

In January 2010, Centrica Renewable Energy announced an exclusive zone development agreement with The Crown Estate, allowing Centrica to prepare proposals for developing offshore wind farms in an area of the Irish Sea.

The Irish Sea Zone covers an area of 2,200km². The boundaries of the zone are approximately 15km from Anglesey, 20km from the Isle of Man, and more than 40km to the Cumbrian coast.

Head of Offshore Wind, Huub den Rooijen said: “We have confirmed the developers’ assessment of the zone, which shows that challenging ground conditions make this project economically unviable with current technology.

“We understand that this will be disappointing for many but improvements and de-risking of new technologies may one day in the future make it economic to develop in some parts of the area.

“Whilst we have no plans to re-offer the zone to the market, to improve the understanding of the complex geology in this region we intend to make available the wealth of data from Celtic Array’s activity through our Marine Data Exchange in due course.”

Siemens Energy has secured a contract to supply wind turbines for the Westermeerwind project in the Netherlands.

Under the contract, the company will supply 48 direct drive wind turbines to the project, which is claimed to be the country’s largest near shore wind farm.

The contract also represents the first wind power plant Siemens Wind Power’s Offshore unit will erect for handover to the customer on a turnkey basis.

In addition to supplying turbines, Siemens will also provide a 15-year comprehensive maintenance services, during which the owner will benefit from Siemens’ guaranteed availability.

The 144MW Westermeerwind near shore wind farm will be erected in the IJsselmeer lake along the northern and western dike of the Dutch municipality of Noordoostpolder.

The 48 Siemens SWT-3.0-108 wind turbines will be arranged in three rows in the shallow waters between 500m and 1,100m from the dike. Each wind turbine is capable of generating 3MW with a 108m rotor diameter, ensuring maximum efficiency.

Preparation works on the site will start in the middle quarter of 2014, followed by offshore installation in 2015.

Upon completion between end of 2015 and early 2016, the wind project will generate enough electricity to meet the demands of 160,000 Dutch homes.

The project will thereby significantly contribute to the Netherlands reaching their climate-protection targets of generating 14% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020.

The Westermeerwind project is expected to bring approximately 150 additional jobs to the area during the erection phase. Some 30 technicians and other specialists are also expected to be needed over the 15-year service period to operate the wind park.

Farmers and citizens of the facility’s three neighboring councils of Noordoostpolder, Urk and Lemsterland will be offered the opportunity to invest in this wind park around one year after realisation in 2016.