Gamesa has signed binding agreements with Areva to form a 50:50 joint venture (JV) with focus on the offshore wind energy industry, following completion of exclusive talks initiated in January 2013. The JV aims to secure a 20% share of the European offshore wind market by 2020 and deliver 2.8GW of capacity. The transaction, which is subject to approvals by the French Government and the relevant competition authorities in Europe and other jurisdictions, will combine both the companies’ expertise in delivering turbines to the offshore wind market. The offshore wind market is expected to cross 25GW in Europe and 18GW in Asia by 2020. Under the terms of the accord, Gamesa will contribute assets worth €195m including its 5MW offshore platform; offshore R&D knowledge transfer and license of the onshore technology that can be applied offshore; extensive operations and maintenance ability, and industrial know-how and supply chain access.

Additionally, Areva will contribute assets valued at €280m, which include 5MW and 8MW offshore platforms; a 2.8GW pipeline, the offshore market’s second largest; offshore R&D and engineering knowledge transfer, and offshore manufacturing and logistics capabilities, as part of the agreement. The new company will further develop the upcoming 8MW platform to reduce costs with a view towards installation by 2021 at 1GW of sites recently won by Areva in France’s second offshore wind tender. With registered headquarters in Zamudio, Spain and the executive committee to be based in Paris, France, the JV will fulfill existing Areva industrial development commitments in France and the UK. The transaction is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2014.

MHI Vestas Offshore Wind (MVOW) has signed a conditional agreement with Skovgaard Invest and Energicenter Nord to supply four V164-8.0MW offshore wind turbines for the Velling Mærsk project in Western Denmark.

MVOW is a joint venture between Vestas Wind Systems (50%) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (50%).

The 0-series of the V164-8.0MW will be used by the Velling Mærsk project mainly to test the installation methods and operation and maintenance procedures of the turbine onshore before starting serial deliveries offshore.

MHI Vestas Offshore Wind CEO Jens Tommerup said Skovgaard Invest, Energicenter Nord and a number of local land owners have invested in the V164-8.0MW.

Tommerup said, “It’s a big milestone for the new joint venture and it sends a clear signal to the market that the development of the turbine is on track.

“The order for the first 0-series V164-8.0 MW turbines is a crucial step in the ramp up towards serial production. We will verify the performance, reliability and efficiency of the wind turbine before taking it offshore.

Not only has the region been the primary area for testing of Vestas turbines for the past 15 years, which includes the installation and testing of the V112-3.0 MW turbine – also together with Skovgaard Invest and Energicenter Nord, but also 75% of the wind park is planned to be sold off to local land owners and other local members of the community under the Danish VE (Renewable Energy) Agreement.”

With installation of the turbines scheduled to commence in mid-2015, the project includes a 20-year AOM 5000 service agreement with the first five years of operation being used for testing.

A memorandum of understanding signed this past week sets up an agreement between BC First Nations and the Clean Energy Association of BC (CEBC) to cooperate in developing British Columbia’s renewable sector, including hydroelectric power.

The document — which includes the signatures of 13 First Nations groups, the First Nations Energy and Mining Council, and CEBC — also includes wind, biomass, biogas, solar, geothermal and natural gas generation.

“There is no reason why the clean energy sector cannot power a new era of economic development for First Nations in British Columbia,” Sechelt (shishalh) First Nation councilor Garry Feschuk said. “First Nations are distributed throughout B.C and so are the clean generation fuels. We should all be able to benefit from this sector.”

British Columbia is home to 125 First Nations groups that have had some involvement in the development of renewable energy so far, CEBC said, and all are still welcome to sign the memorandum.

“British Columbia’s clean energy sector has a strong track record of working collaboratively with First Nations to promote economic development,” Minister of Energy and Mines Bill Bennett said. “Working with First Nations is a key part of doing business in British Columbia, and this MOU will help to strengthen these important partnerships.”

MHI Vestas Offshore Wind (MVOW) has signed a conditional agreement with Skovgaard Invest and Energicenter Nord to supply four V164-8.0MW offshore wind turbines for the Velling Mærsk project in Western Denmark.

MVOW is a joint venture between Vestas Wind Systems (50%) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (50%).

The 0-series of the V164-8.0MW will be used by the Velling Mærsk project mainly to test the installation methods and operation and maintenance procedures of the turbine onshore before starting serial deliveries offshore.

MHI Vestas Offshore Wind CEO Jens Tommerup said Skovgaard Invest, Energicenter Nord and a number of local land owners have invested in the V164-8.0MW.

Tommerup said, “It’s a big milestone for the new joint venture and it sends a clear signal to the market that the development of the turbine is on track.

“The order for the first 0-series V164-8.0 MW turbines is a crucial step in the ramp up towards serial production. We will verify the performance, reliability and efficiency of the wind turbine before taking it offshore.

Not only has the region been the primary area for testing of Vestas turbines for the past 15 years, which includes the installation and testing of the V112-3.0 MW turbine – also together with Skovgaard Invest and Energicenter Nord, but also 75% of the wind park is planned to be sold off to local land owners and other local members of the community under the Danish VE (Renewable Energy) Agreement.”

With installation of the turbines scheduled to commence in mid-2015, the project includes a 20-year AOM 5000 service agreement with the first five years of operation being used for testing.

Pattern Energy Group has completed the acquisition of 172MW of owned interest in the 218MW Panhandle 1 wind project from its former parent company, Pattern Energy Group LP (Pattern Development), for a total cash consideration of $124.4m.

The balance of the operational project has been bought by three institutional tax equity investors from Pattern Development.

Located in Carson County, Texas, Panhandle 1 features 118 General Electric 1.85MW wind turbines and Texas’ new competitive renewable energy zone (CREZ) transmission infrastructure, which connects to the state’s main power grid operator, Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

Pattern Energy president and CEO Mike Garland said the acquisition adds 16% to its operating capacity and marks Pattern Energy’s third project to successfully reach completion in 2014.

“It is the second project we have acquired from Pattern Development that has gone into operation since our IPO – again demonstrating the value of that strategic partnership – and we anticipate their extensive pipeline will create more opportunities that will help us meet or exceed our growth plans,” Garland said.

The project’s output of approximately 77% will be transferred to with an A-/Baa2 credit-rated affiliate of Citibank, as part of a 13-year energy price hedge, while the remaining will be sold at ERCOT’s spot market prices.

The Panhandle 1 project, which created more than 275 construction jobs and 11 permanent operations and maintenance positions, is expected to generate clean, renewable electricity for up to 60,000 Texas homes annually without using any of the region’s limited water supplies, according to statistics from the US Energy Information Agency.

Wind turbine supply deal with PGE Energia Odnawialna S.A., worth approximately €80 million.

Gamesa has reached an agreement to support the construction of a 50MW wind farm located in the Department of Flores in Uruguay, for Astidey.

Under the terms of the agreement, Gamesa will supply, transport, install and commission 25 G97-2.0MW turbines at the Talas de Maciel I wind farm.

Gamesa will also operate and maintain the facility for 20 years while the turbines are scheduled to be delivered over the course of 2014.

Expected to be fully commissioned by mid next year, the project financing is sponsored by the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank of the US.

Gamesa has installed 100MW in Uruguay to date, and with the new contract, the company will supply another 150MW.

Gamesa also installed more than 1,900MW of turbines in other Latin American markets, including Mexico, Honduras, Argentina and Costa Rica.

The G97-2.0MW turbines are most versatile on the market, with five different rotors (G80-2.0MW, G87-2.0MW, G90-2.0MW, G97-2.0MW, G114-2.0MW y G114-2.5MW), tower heights ranging from 60m to 125m and environmental alternatives to enable installation at even the most complex sites.

The Gamesa G97-2.0 MW wind turbine features low power density and contributes towards one of the company’s top priorities, which include significantly cutting the cost of energy (CoE) of Gamesa’s low and medium wind speed products.

Alstom has received a contract from PGE Energia Odnawialna to supply ECO110 wind turbines for the 90MW Lotnisko wind farm.

Under the €80m contract, Alstom will provide 30 ECO110 wind turbines for the wind farm based in Kopaniewo, Poland.

The contract scope also includes project management, supply, erection and commissioning of 30 Alstom ECO110 3MW wind turbines, which feature a 110m diameter rotor, a 90m-high steel tower, and a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) remote control system.

“We are convinced that Alstom competences in Poland in the conventional energy sector, combined with the proven technology represented by ECO110 turbines, will translate into an efficient execution of the contract and guarantee Alstom a successful debut on the Polish wind market,” PGE Energia Odnawialna investments department director, Krzysztof Muller said.

Designed to reduce installation, operation and maintenance costs, the ECO 110 minimises noise emission and can produce enough energy for 2,000 households while avoiding the production of 7,000t a year of CO2.

In addition, Alstom will provide turbines operation and maintenance for two years.

Alstom Wind business senior vice president Yves Rannou said, “Alstom is proud to contribute to the project, thus confirming our involvement in the development of the wind power sector and the effort to build a sustainable energy mix in Poland.”

Planned for commissioning at the end of 2015, Lotnisko wind farm is one of the largest project in the Polish wind power industry and is a part of PGE’s aim to reach at least 234MW of power from wind farms by 2016

New windfarms, strong winds and a good winter for hydropower plants sent renewable energy generation surging to 19.4% of all electricity from January to March.

One fifth of all electricity was generated in Britain by windfarms or other green technologies in the first three months of the year, according to new statistics released by the Department of Energy and Climate change (DECC).

New windfarms coming online, strong winds and a good winter for hydropower plants sent renewable energy generation surging to 19.4% of all electricity from January to March 2014, up from about 12% for the same period last year. The power produced was enough for about 15m homes during the quarter.

It was hailed as a breakthrough by the wind industry, which alone provided 12% of the overall power produced, and a rebuff to critics who have said that renewables would never account for such a large proportion of the energy mix.

However, the DECC data could stoke a new price row with energy suppliers because it shows gas prices to domestic customers rising in the first quarter with prices to businesses in decline at the same time.

The cost of gas to householders, including VAT, rose by 4.8% in real terms between the first quarter of 2013 and the same period of this year, while average gas prices to business customers, including the climate change levy, were 5.2% lower.

The statistics underline the significant strides being taken by the industry to meet a government drive to reduce Britain’s carbon emissions, although the scale of renewable energy subsidies remains controversial.

However, the data also shows that in 2013 only 5.2% of final energy consumption, including heat and transport, came from renewable sources – well short of the a target of 15% by 2020 set by EU directives.

The lobby group Renewable Energy Association (REA) said the UK was still lagging behind most other EU states and needed to do more, especially in the field of green heat and transport biofuels.

“Every percentage point increase in homegrown renewable energy makes us that much more energy secure. The progress in electricity is encouraging, but growth is not yet strong enough in renewable heat and transport to meet the government’s objectives,” said Nina Skorupska, chief executive of the REA.

But the UK continued to be highly reliant on coal for its power, according to the government statistics released on Thursday. About 37% of the UK’s electricity came from coal in the first three months of this year, down from a peak of 44% in the same period for 2012, but still a substantial amount.

While the UK’s own production of coal fell by 27% from January to March, owing mainly to controversial colliery closures, the amount of coal imported from Russia rose by 21%.

The picture on gas proved a surprise against the backdrop of ministerial plans to focus on it. Less electricity was generated in the UK from gas in the early part of this year than at any time in at least 16 years, the figures from the DECC showed, throwing into doubt the coalition’s vow for a new “dash for gas”.

Demand for gas fell by about 8%, and gas represented about 23% of electricity generation. Ministers from both the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives have made clear their backing for a big expansion of the UK’s gas-fired power generation in order to “keep the lights on”, as energy chiefs have warned of power shortages by the end of the decade because many of the UK’s current ageing nuclear reactors and coal-fired power stations must be taken out of service.

The DECC data reports the total amount of electricity generated by all forms of renewable power reached 18.1 terrawatt hours in the first three months of this year, up 43% on the same period last year.

Across the whole of 2013, the amount of electricity generated from renewable energy sources, including solar, hydro and biomass, was up by 30% on 2012. Offshore wind rose the most – by 52% – but solar was also up by 51%, while hydro generation fell by 11%, reflecting lower rainfall.

The DECC data reveals that the price of electricity for domestic customers was up by 5.9% in real terms quarter on quarter – the same figure as recorded for industrial electricity prices.