Trianel and EWE have formed a joint venture (JV) to develop the 200MW phase two of the Trianel wind farm Borkum (TWB II) in the German North Sea.

Phase two of the offshore wind farm will require an investment of about €800m, with the offshore substation already in place.

The on-site transformer platform, which secured a licence from the German Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency, is now ready.

EWE will have a 40% share in the development of the project and the companies expect a final investment decision in 2016.

Located 45km off the island of Borkum, the €1bn first phase of the offshore wind farm that was inaugurated last month reached full commercial operation in July.

Phase one, with 40 Areva / Adwen turbines, will generate more than 800GWh of clean energy a year; sufficient to power 200,000 homes.

Areva started installing the wind turbines at the first phase of Trianel wind farm Borkum in September 2013.

During the initial expansion, Trianel created conditions to increase the project’s capacity to 400MW.
EWE chief technology officer Ines Kolmsee said: “EWE can call upon its expertise from the development and operation of the first German offshore wind farm, alpha ventus, and the first commercial offshore wind farm, Riffgat.

“Trianel will contribute the knowledge it gained during the development of the Trianel wind farm Borkum, the first municipal offshore wind farm.”

Trianel management spokesman Sven Becker said: “The joint venture with EWE provides the foundation for the planned decision to build during the next year.”

On 15 October, the Covenant of Mayors – a movement of climate-friendly cities – and its sister initiative Mayors Adapt will join forces in the fight against climate change ahead of the United Nations climate summit in Paris at the end of November.

In a ceremony at the European Parliament in Brussels hosted by Miguel Arias Cañete, European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, the Covenant of Mayors will acknowledge the important contribution cities make to reducing emissions, decarbonising energy systems and creating climate-resilient urban environments for citizens.

The Covenant of Mayors and Mayors Adapt initiatives are movements involving more than 6000 cities voluntarily committing to take climate action. From now on, the new Covenant of Mayors will integrate Mayors Adapt and include the solutions put in place by cities to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change.

At the event, signatory municipalities will discuss carbon dioxide emissions targets for 2030, as well as adaptation efforts cities undertake to combat the unavoidable adverse effects of climate change.

European cities – home to 360 million people or 72% of Europe’s population – account for 70% of the continent’s energy consumption. Urban areas are in addition particularly vulnerable to the increasing climate change impacts. Cities are therefore of key importance in mitigating and adapting to climate change and ideal places for boosting renewable energy and improving energy efficiency in buildings.

Register by 11 October 2015 to join this event.

Mojo Maritime has developed a marine project planning system called Mermaid to give companies a better understanding of the impact of weather and tidal forces on a project’s schedule.

The company said the aim is to enable enhanced decision making in the early planning stages.
The Mermaid – Marine Economic Risk Management Aid –software simulates marine operations against historical weather and tidal data to support cost-savings through project optimisation.

The system is undergoing testing with a number of clients, with a view to launching towards the end of October, Mojo said.

“The user acceptance testing phase is critical to ensure that that the function, capability and usability of the software has been tested in real world situations,” the company said.

Mojo senior analyst Rich Walker said: “By calibrating accurate weather information dating back over many years (typically between 10 and 23 years), factoring in wave height, sea conditions, wind strength and current velocity and direction, Mermaid enables companies to select the best vessels, ports, methods and processes to suit any proposed project start date.

“This has massive cost-saving implications for a huge variety of marine operations from the offshore renewable market to the oil and gas industries, as well as the shipping and insurance world.”

German manufacturer Nordex is to acquire Spanish company Acciona’s turbine business in a cash and shares deal worth around €785m.

The takeover will create what Nordex called “a new major player in the wind industry” that will reduce overall exposure to “demand swings in individual markets”.

Nordex will pay €366.4m in cash and 16.1m in new shares valued at €26 each for Acciona Windpower. As part of the deal main shareholder Skion/Momentum will also offload some of its Nordex shares to Acciona Energia, which will remain involved in wind farm ownership and operation.

Once the deal is complete Skion/Momentum will hold a 5.7% share in Nordex with Acciona controlling 29.9%. The Spanish company has agreed not to increase its voting position in Nordex above 30% for the next three years.

“Nordex and Acciona Windpower complement each other in a number of important areas,” said the German company.

“Nordex has a strong market position in Europe while Acciona Windpower is well-positioned in the Americas and emerging markets. Nordex products are particularly well-suited for complex projects subject to technical restrictions, while Acciona Windpower’s products are primarily aimed at large-scale wind farms that require efficient and sturdy machines for unconstrained terrains.”

Acciona produces 1.5MW and 3MW turbines for deployment across all wind classes. It has four production facilities located in the US, Brazil and Spain with another under construction in India.

German industry giant Siemens has secured a wind turbine delivery order from Apex Clean Energy for the Grant Wind project in Oklahoma, US.

Located in Grant County, the renewable project will feature 66 Siemens SWT-2.3-108 wind turbines.
Each of the turbines to be installed at the facility will have a power rating of 2.3MW, and feature 53m blades, Siemens has said.

Once operational, the firm will be able to meet the energy requirements of around 50,000 average US households.
The firm will also offer remote monitoring and diagnostic services for the turbines in order to boost their performance throughout their operational life, as well as for the project.

Under the terms of the contract, Siemens will also supply a main step up transformer for the project and offer long term service and maintenance for the turbines.

Turbine installation for the facility has been scheduled to start in October this year, while commissioning of the power plant is expected in the spring of 2016.

The order follows another contract awarded to the German company earlier in the year to deliver turbines, service and financing for Apex Clean Energy’s Kay wind project in Kay County, Oklahoma.

Siemens wind power and renewables division onshore CEO Thomas Richterich said: “With this second order in one year, Apex Clean Energy continues our successful collaboration.

“We are proud to meet the customers demand with our full spectrum of resources, including equipment, service and financing.”
Once operational, the 299MW Kay wind project is expected to meet the electricity demands of 100,000 average US homes annually.

Danish power equipment manufacturer Vestas has won two orders for the delivery of wind turbines, with one in the US for 75 turbines, and other in Finland for 27.

The firm will be delivering 75 of its 2MW turbines under a firm and unconditional order for a US company, whose name has not been disclosed.

Under the scope of the contract, Vestas will be responsible for the supply and commissioning of the wind turbines.
The firm has also signed a five-year customised active output management service agreement for the US project.
Vestas is expected to deliver the ordered equipment in the third quarter of 2016, and for the turbines to be operational by the end of the year.

This order raises the firm’s total announced order intake this year to 5,899MW.
The firm has also won a 93MW order from Finland-based TuuliWatti, to deliver 27 V126-3.45MW turbines for the Simo III project in the province of Lapland.

Besides delivery, Vestas will be responsible for installation of the turbines, and ten years active output management at the facility, which is claimed to be the largest wind power generation plant in Finland.

The Danish giant is likely to start delivery of the turbines in 2016, with commissioning scheduled for 2016 and 2017.

V126-3.45MW turbines model from Vestas have been specially designed for low-wind sites. More than 500MW worth of the turbine variant has been ordered in Finland alone, the company has said.

Vestas Northern Europe president Klaus Steen Mortensen said: “With this project, we build on our strong collaboration with TuuliWatti Oy from previous record projects, like the 73MW Kalajoki wind farm, which was Finland’s very first large-scale wind power plant at the time of order.”

European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete, attended the first ever G20 Energy Ministerial meeting in Istanbul, Turkey on 2 October. It took place back to back with the G20 Conference on Energy Access in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Group of 20 (G20) Energy Ministerial meeting centred on access to sustainable energy for all, energy efficiency, investments in energy and renewable energy. Ministers adopted a ‘toolkit’ of options for a long-term and sustainable approach for a faster roll-out of renewable energy.

“The EU has built global leadership in renewable energy. Today, renewables generate around 23.5% of the EU’s power, and this is expected to rise to 50% by 2030. Yet, we should all aim higher and do all we can to encourage a boost in investments in renewables. Oil prices are low while the cost of renewables is falling dramatically so now is the moment to invest in renewables as a major tool in the fight against climate change,” Arias Cañete said.

G20 countries – which include 20 of the world’s major economies – account for 80% of current renewable electricity capacity in the world, and hold 75% of the total global potential for renewables, making them key players in mitigating climate change. Ministers at the meeting said they strongly support the work of the United Nations on climate change, and said they will work together to contribute to a successful outcome of the UN climate summit in Paris later this year.

Ministers also discussed the implementation of the energy efficiency action plan which was agreed at the G20 summit in November 2014. Under the action plan, G20 countries share knowledge on energy efficiency in a number of areas including vehicles, products and buildings. “The benefits of international collaboration in energy efficiency are immense. By sharing our experiences we can speed-up progress towards greater energy efficiency. The EU has an energy efficiency target of at least 27% by 2030 – a target which will be reviewed in 2020 with a 30% target in mind. Today, our policies will only reduce energy consumption by 21% in 2030, we are therefore taking action to bridge this gap,” Arias Cañete said.

Enel Green Power España (EGPE) has signed an agreement with Portuguese company First State Wind Energy Investments to sell all of its share capital of Finerge Gestão de Projectos Energéticos (Finerge) for €900m ($1bn).

Finerge is a wholly owned EGPE subsidiary operating across the Portuguese renewable sector, chiefly engaged in the development, construction and operation of wind farms in the country. EGPE is the Spanish subsidiary of Italian firm Enel Green Power (EGP).

Besides having 126MW of installed capacity as a part of its portfolio, Finerge also has minority stakes for 292MW.
The transaction, once completed, will mark EGP’s exit from the Portuguese renewable energy sector, which is a part of the firm’s strategy to streamline its assets and leverage those with greater development potential.

It is in line with EGP’s 2015-2019 business plan, which will see an investment of €9.6bn to increase its portfolio.

Finerge also owns a 35.96% interest in Eólicas de Portugal (Eneop), which has operating wind farms totalling 1,333MW under its portfolio.

The transaction will mean Finerge is the sole owner of four special purpose companies, operating 445MW worth of wind projects. Once completed, the entity will own wind farms in Portugal with a total installed capacity of 863MW.
EGP expects to gain around €30m from the divestment.

The sale is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of this year, and is subject to conclusion of the separation of Eneop’s assets.

RenewableUK and the Solar Trade Association have initiated a joint campaign urging the UK Government to rethink its decision to reduce financial support for small-scale renewables, such as wind turbines and solar panels.

Titled ‘People Power’, the campaign has called for members of the public, as well as the thousands of renewable energy employees, to petition the UK Government to provide steady support to the maturing sectors.

The petition is a response to government consultation published in August, which proposed incentive cuts for solar photovoltaic, wind and hydropower through the feed-in tariff scheme from January 2016. It is expected to be organised through social media and by writing to local Members of Parliament.

Proposed plans may result in substantial job losses across the renewable energy sector, as it would deprive several local communities of the financial support they receive for clean power generation from suppliers.
This could cause multiple green energy projects to shutdown, thereby making domestic electricity inaccessible for ordinary households, farmers and small businesses.

“Don’t wreck an industry, which for the first time has given people the power to control their own energy supply.”
RenewableUK consents and intelligence policy director Gemma Grimes said: “This campaign is about sending a simple message to government: don’t wreck an industry, which for the first time has given people the power to control their own energy supply.

“Small-scale renewables is an extraordinary success in the UK, creating thousands of new green jobs and allowing local communities to generate their own clean energy.

“The feed-in tariff provides a lifeline to the rural economy, allowing farmers and small businesses to diversify their income and save on their electricity bills, especially during tough economic times. The government’s actions are in danger of consigning this great work to the past.”

Solar Trade Association External Affairs head Leonie Greene said: “Poll after poll shows the great majority of the public strongly supports local renewable energy.Yet government proposals for feed-in tariffs are extreme and they will stop families and communities from investing locally in clean energy all over the UK.”

Then added : “The Action for Renewables website makes it easy for people to contact their MP and urge them to fight these proposals and protect people power.”

In contrast to the UK proposal, Scotland has decided to retain Renewables Obligation (RO) guarantees for solar investments in the country.

Wave energy developer Marine Power Systems is the first company to benefit from new Welsh government innovation funding of almost £225 000.

The money is part of a £115 million package announced last week to boost innovation in Wales, and create new products and jobs.

Marine Power Systems, which is based in Swansea, was formed to develop the WaveSub, a device that captures the energy potential of ocean waves.

The funding will go to develop the WaveSub technology and produce a prototype.

The prototype will be tested in Milford Haven and the results will inform the development of a full-scale version of the device.

Economy Minister Edwina Hart said: “I’m pleased to announce Marine Power Systems as one of the first beneficiaries of our new innovation funding.

This support has allowed them to create a prototype, which is critical to mitigating risks and allowing the further development of the product, which ultimately allows the company to move on to commercial sales.
“Wave energy has a huge potential as a source of renewable energy and I’m encouraged that one of our first projects is supporting advancement in this field.”

Marine Power Systems managing director Gareth Stockman said: “The Welsh Government has played an integral role in supporting the development of Marine Power Systems’ WaveSub device and we are very grateful to be one of the first companies identified to receive this innovation funding.”