The EU accounted for only 5.8% of the world’s energy production in 2013, compared to China with 19.2% and the US with 13.8%, according to the EU’s latest statistical energy pocketbook. Meanwhile, the EU consumed 12% of the world’s total energy, China accounted for 22.4% of energy consumption and the US 16.1%.

The latest statistics reveal that, in 2013, Ireland, Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta were the most fuel import dependent EU countries with over 80% of their energy imported. Denmark, Estonia and Romania were the least import dependent with less than 20% of their energy imported.

Other figures show that in 2013 the EU imported 39% of its natural gas from Russia, 29.5% from Norway and 12.8% from Algeria. For crude oil, 33.5% came from Russia, 11.7% from Norway, 8.6% from Saudi Arabia and 8.1% from Nigeria. Overall in 2013, the EU’s import dependency for all energy products was at 53.2%, rising to 65.3% for natural gas alone and 64.6% for hard coal.

In 2013, the renewable energy share in gross final energy consumption reached 15% for the whole of the EU, and the primary energy intensity – a measure of energy efficiency calculated as units of energy per unit of GDP in 2010 – decreased by about 15.6% from 2005 levels.

The 2015 statistical pocketbook covers a whole range of energy statistical data and indicators including energy intensity, carbon intensity, renewable energy shares, energy efficiency, employment and EU country profiles.

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.”

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.”

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.

The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) has selected Balfour Beatty Equitix Consortium as the preferred bidder to own and operate the offshore transmission link of the 220MW Humber Gateway wind project in the UK.

Selection of Balfour Beatty Equitix Consortium, which consists of Balfour Beatty Investments and Equitix, concludes the third bidding round for the offshore transmission owner (OFTO) projects.
“The £700m wind project…features 73 wind turbines that can meet the energy requirements of around 170,000 homes in the UK.”

The potential agreement for the offshore project will entitle the consortium to be in control of its operations for 20 years.

The £700m ($1.17bn) wind project, located in the North Sea around 8km from the coast of East Yorkshire, features 73 wind turbines that can meet the energy requirements of around 170,000 homes in the UK.

E.ON started generating power from the facility in June this year.

Transmission assets for the offshore project, which have been set-up and are presently owned by E.ON Climate and Renewables UK Humber Wind, has an estimated value of £173.3m. The assets will be handed over to the OFTO at licence granting.

Since its introduction to the UK by Ofgem and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in 2009, the offshore transmission regime has offered investment of nearly £2.6bn.

Completion of tender round three is expected to deliver £350m for consumers.

Renewables outstripped coal as a source of electricity in the UK during a full quarter for the first time ever, government data published Thursday shows.

According to the report, a combination of higher wind speeds, more installed solar panels and a 19.5% increase in rainfall — which resulted in record output at hydroelectric power stations — all contributed to renewables accounting for over 25% of generation in the second quarter of 2015.

Gas-fired power stations provided the most electricity – 30% – with renewables second. Nuclear power was third with 21.5%, while coal fell back to fourth, with 20.5%.

According to industry body Renewable UK’s chief executive, Maria McCaffery, new technologies such as solar and wind power have now become Britain’s second largest source of electricity, generating more than a quarter of the nation’s needs.

“The new statistics show that Britain is relying increasingly on dependable renewable sources to keep the country powered up, with onshore and offshore wind playing the leading roles in our clean energy mix,” she noted in an e-mailed statement.

Howether, on a global scale, coal is expected to overtake oil consumption from 2017, according to a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) released in 2012.

German power giant RWE is close to signing a financing deal with three partners for the $2bn Galloper offshore wind park project in the UK.

Siemens and UK Green Investment Bank are likely to be among the chosen partners, reports Bloomberg.

Reuters quoted RWE Innogy chief executive Hans Buenting as saying: “The plan is to have a deal in autumn, either October or November.”

RWE Innogy is the renewable energy unit of RWE.

The planned development, which is located 27km away from the Suffolk coast of eastern UK, is expected to have a generation capacity of 336MW.

UK-based utility SSE, which was the initial partner for the Galloper project, had dropped out last year in order to cut costs.

This action prompted RWE to seek other partners in order to share the project costs and reduce its stake, then at 37.5%, to 25%.

According to RWE spokesperson Judith Erb, the final investment decision for the offshore project is likely to be disclosed as early as October.

Analysts at Bloomberg New Energy Finance indicate that the facility will have the capacity to meet the power requirements of 200,000 to 300,000 households in the UK.

RWE, which has a capacity totalling around 50GW, has been forced to reduce its wind and solar investments and shutdown its nuclear units in Germany, in order to cope with the drop in energy prices.

The Irish renewable energy investor and asset manager NTR has expanded its remit into Scotland’s eastern seaboard with the acquisition of the Quixwood Moor wind farm capable of generating 24MW.

NTR – based in Sandyford, Dublin – announced the deal following negotiations with the wind farm’s previous developer, the Banks Group, who had were first granted planning permission to develop the land in April 2013.

As part of the deal, NTR has acquired the pre-construction project from the company’s subdivision, Banks Renewables Limited, who are one of the largest renewable energy developers in the UK.

This acquisition marks the company’s first deal concluded on the British mainland following the purchase of another site in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

When completed, Quixwood Moor is expected to produce over 71,000 MW/hr of green energy per year which would be enough to support the annual electricity requirements of just under 15,500 homes in the local area.

NTR now expect that the construction of the project will begin this autumn while commissioning is being targeted for Q4 2016.

Speaking of the deal, NTR’s Chief Executive, Rosheen McGuckian, said: “We are very pleased to have completed another significant wind project acquisition and our first in Scotland.

“Together with the acquisition of the single turbine site projects in Northern Ireland in 2014 and the recent acquisition of the 15MW Ora More wind project in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, this takes NTR’s current total wind portfolio to 42MW.”

Over the course of the next two years, NTR say that they expand to continue expansion across the British Isles and hope to have a portfolio capable of producing 175MW of wind energy.

Last April, the company made a considerable windfall of US$244 (€216m) following the sales of wind farms in its US wind energy company, Wind Capital Group.