Speaking notes for the Honourable Stephane Dion, P.C., M.P. Minister of the Environment, to Address the Toronto Board of Trade
"The Goodale Budget and Canadian Competitiveness in a Sustainable Economy"
Ottawa
March 2, 2005
Speech delivered by theHon. Stéphane Dion P.C., M.P., Minister of the Environment
Check against delivery
The Goodale Budget of 2005 marks a turning point for Canada: it launches the country well on the road to competitiveness within a sustainable economy. This budget does more than inject $5.2 billion (including 3 billion in new, incremental funding) into federal environmental policy. It sends a clear message: in order for Canada to succeed in this new industrial revolution – the sustainable economy – our environmental and economic signals must both point in the same direction: one which moves us forward to a better quality of life for our people, a more competitive and prosperous economy, and enhanced protection of our natural environment.
This is what I want to talk about today before such a prestigious audience as the Toronto Board of Trade, whose mission, since 1845, has been to put Toronto and Canada “ahead of the competition”. Well, my friends, it is organizations like yours – that helped Canada reach the forefront of competitiveness during each industrial revolution, from the development of the steam engine to the emergence of the knowledge economy – that must now work hard to help Canada succeed just as brilliantly in the new sustainable economy.
We know the most profitable technologies are also increasingly the least polluting and the least wasteful of resources. We realize that the intensive search for environment-friendly production methods has given rise to a new leading-edge entrepreneurship and a very dynamic market. We cannot ignore that our very abundance of natural riches has led us to tolerate too much waste, compared to many other industralized countries that compete with us. And we know that our businesses must respond to increased consumer demand for products that are healthy and more respectful of nature.
We know all this. So let us act accordingly. Let us discard the old mentality that sees protection of the environment as a hindrance to economic development. Let us firmly link environment and economy. This is the message of the Goodale budget, this is the vision of our Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Paul Martin, a vision shared not only by the Cabinet but also by the entire Liberal caucus. This osmosis between environment and economy is also the philosophy that inspires our refined plan to meet our Kyoto objectives, a plan that updates the 2002 Climate Change Plan and that the Government of Canada will soon make public.
I would like to review some of the environmental initiatives contained in the Goodale Budget to illustrate how beneficial they will be for our economy. I will start with the measures that affect the environment in general, then deal with those related to climate change. I will conclude with some comments on one innovation – the creation of a climate fund that will help us achieve our Kyoto targets.
1. The environment and the economy
Since I am here in Toronto, I will start with the Great Lakes. The Goodale Budget devotes $40 million to improving the ecological integrity of the Great Lakes ecosystem. This is, of course, good news for the environment, but let’s not forget that Canada’s very competitiveness is linked to the quality of this great ecosystem, which, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, includes 55 per cent of the Canadian population, 16 of our 30 largest cities, 75 per cent of our manufacturing industry and 25 per cent of our agriculture. Think about the economic consequences of the threats to this ecosystem: possible out-of-basin water diversions would reduce water availability for industry and hydroelectric power generation; decreasing water levels would affect the $6 billion marine transportation industry; bacterial and chemical contamination threaten commercial and recreational fishing.
In the same way, by investing $85 million in a strategy to combat invasive alien species, such as the sea lamprey, the zebra mussel or the Asian longhorn beetle, the Goodale Budget defends our economy as much as it defends our natural environment. The cumulative cost associated with 16 of these invasive species is estimated to be between $13.3 to $34.5 billion per year, affecting private property, forestry, fisheries, agriculture, wildlife and industry.
The same reasoning applies to the $28 million that the Goodale Budget devoted to the first phase of the government’s Oceans Action Plan: this is as necessary for the economy as it is for the environment, as Canada’s oceans-related industries contribute significantly to the gross domestic product.
The Goodale budget allots $269 million in additional, much-needed funds to our National Parks. This is good news for the preservation of our natural environment, and good news for our economy. Parks Canada administers $7 billion in national assets, ranging from canal locks to buildings to exhibits to monuments. Our National Parks are not only magnificent, they also contribute $1.2 billion to Canada’s GDP - the equivalent of 38,000 full time jobs - and are an essential source of revenue for our tourist industry, for many of our communities, and for Canada’s aboriginal people.
As science is an obvious link between environmental policy and economic policy, both our environment and our economy will benefit from the $60 million that the Goodale budget has set aside for geographic information, the $111 million devoted to the development of a new generation of remote radar sensing satellites, and the $200 million allocated to the development of a Sustainable Energy Science and Technology Strategy.
Another significant measure in the Goodale Budget is the transfer to municipalities of $5 billion from the gas tax. This transfer targets support for environmentally-sustainable infrastructure projects such as public transit, water and wastewater treatment, community energy systems and the handling of solid waste. This too, is good for the environment and good for the economy. Added to the $300 million the budget invested in the Green Municipal Funds, this New Deal for cities and Communities is itself a green plan that will raise our quality of life and make our cities and communities more attractive and competitive. In addition, the strong emphasis on the development of public transportation will contribute to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and help us reach our Kyoto objectives.
2. Climate change and the economy
The Goodale Budget devotes $4 billion, of which 2 billion is new money, to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. Here again, I can demonstrate that this great environmental endeavor is also a wonderful opportunity to improve our economy.
I am convinced that the Kyoto Protocol, which requires signatory developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, is not only an ecological necessity aimed at reducing changes in climate due to human activity. Kyoto is an opportunity to transform – for the better – our economy and our way of life. In the search for the most practical ways to reduce the emission of gases like methane and CO2 we find an additional incentive to make our economy less wasteful, more efficient, and based increasingly on renewable energy sources.
We have had a plan to meet our Kyoto objectives since 2002. Prime Minister Martin committed to Canadians in the two most recent Speeches from the Throne that we would review this plan carefully, refine it and implement it, and he wants it to be made public very soon. This improved plan will ask each of us to do our share. It will assign targets to the large companies that produce high levels of emissions. But these targets will be realistic and designed to generate greater energy efficiency. The Government of Canada will also do its share. Between now and 2012, the plan will provide for the injection of billions of dollars into sustainable development and economic productivity.
I can guarantee that these climate change-related investments will make the economy more resource- efficient and productive, and that they will help position Canadian companies to compete in the emerging carbon-constrained global economy. Through this improved plan, the Government will stimulate investment in traditional and new sources of energy and will support innovative technologies to ensure the long-term competitiveness of the Canadian economy. The plan will allow us to meet our Kyoto targets in a way that will lead to further and deeper results while building a more prosperous economy. It will position Canada as a world leader in energy efficiency, renewable energy and the conservation of nature.
The plan we have devised to reach our Kyoto objectives will be beneficial for the Canadian economy. The Goodale Budget is proof of this. All the measures devoted to climate change will benefit our economy.
Thanks to the Goodale Budget, Canadian households will save money by reducing their energy consumption. In fact, an additional $225 million will help quadruple the number of households who take advantage of the very popular Energuide for Homes Retrofit Incentive Program. With the new funding, it will reach 500,000 homes by 2010.
Thanks to the Goodale budget, the use of clean, renewable energy will be encouraged: as well as committing the funds necessary to quadruple wind energy production, the budget creates a new Renewable Power Production Incentive to stimulate other sources of renewable energy such as small hydro, biomass and landfill gas. Do I even need to point out, here in Toronto, how much events like the Blackout of summer, 2003 underscore our interdependence and the serious consequences of cascading power outages for both the economy and the security of our population? Through enhanced incentives for renewable energy, the Government is moving to support the diversification of our power system.
Another important measure in the Goodale Budget is the creation of a partnership fund that is expected to grow to $2 or $3 billion over the next few years. This fund is aimed at helping the Government of Canada and the provincial and territorial governments to co-finance their common priorities with regards to climate change. It is not hard to imagine many projects with clear environmental and economic benefits. I am sure that the Toronto Board of Trade would be pleased if this fund were to help create an east-west electricity transmission grid that would ensure the safety of electricity supply in Ontario.
While the Government will continue to rule out the use of a carbon tax, the Goodale Budget opens the door to the use of the tax system to support the achievement of environmental objectives. It begins with bold fiscal measures that will allow entrepreneurs to amortize more quickly their investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy, such as cogeneration plants, wind turbines or the capture of biogas from landfill sites. Additionally, the Finance Minister has committed to study how other tax measures could simultaneously promote both economic and environmental objectives. I invite the Toronto Board of Trade to join this discussion on a topic so fundamental to our economic future; a discussion that will be led by the National Round Table on the Economy and the Environment.
But it seems to me that the Goodale Budget’s greatest innovation is the creation of a new kind of fund, with an initial contribution of $1 billion. This will be a climate fund; and from now on, this is what it will be called. Acting as a sort of investment bank, it will purchase reductions in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from concrete projects. For Canadians, opportunities will be available in all sectors of the economy. Potential examples of who could benefit from this fund include farmers who adopt low-till practices; forestry companies that engage in state-of-the-art forest management practices; property developers who include district heating and renewable energy elements in their plans for new sub-divisions; businesses that develop innovative ways to reduce emissions through recycling and energy efficiency; municipalities that capture landfill gas and use it to generate electricity; or courier companies that retrofit their fleets.
I am convinced that this new instrument of transformation, the Climate Fund, will be the distinguishing feature that marks the greatest difference between our new approach to fighting climate change and previous ones. This market-based approach will be critical to integrating climate change considerations into the day-to-day decisions of Canada’s citizens and businesses, and unleashing the power of innovation for the good of our environment and our economy.
For that reason, I am convinced that we will be in a position to meet most of our Kyoto target through emission reductions achieved here in Canada. But it will also be in our interest to act offshore, not only to serve an environmental cause that knows no borders, but also to expand our economic networks. The Climate Fund will be able to purchase international emission reduction credits tied to specific projects in other countries, but only when such projects truly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To qualify, a project will have to have at least one of the following characteristics: apply Canadian technology, improve Canada’s international competitiveness or otherwise advance our national interest.
Our businesses will benefit from this opportunity to develop their expertise in the fields of environmental technologies and services and to deploy it around the world. They will seize the opportunity to win new market shares in emerging economies and economies in transition.
Conclusion
In one sentence, David Runnals, President of the International Institute for Sustainable Development, has summarized the gist of my remarks today. Of Budget 2005, he said: “It is not just a bunch of money for environmental programs. There are lots of different incentives to do good things that make the economy greener.” (Toronto Star, 2-24-05).
I believe I have shown that the vision in this budget is that of a Canada actively working towards economic success based on a healthy environment. In my view, the most significant remark in Mr. Goodale’s Budget is this:
“Our great challenge – and our primary responsibility – is to bring the same focus, the same determination, and the same iron will to the protection and enhancement of our environment as we devoted to restoring the health of the nation’s finances. Canadians do not want to mortgage their children`s future, nor do they want a heavy environmental debt to be the legacy of this generation to the next.”
It’s quite something when, as Paul Martin’s Finance Minister, you refer to the battle we fought and won against the deficit. Yes, Canada commits itself -- more than ever -- to the fight so that we can also bequeath to our children a healthier environment and a more prosperous economy. It will take more than one budget to win this battle. It will require a truly long-term effort.
The winners of the 2004 Nobel Prize for Economics, Professors Edward Prescott and Finn Kydland, have said : perseverance in the pursuit of clear objectives is essential for an economic policy to be successful. Let us all work to reconcile our environment and our economy, for ourselves, and for the greater well-being of future generations.
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Thursday, March 03, 2005
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
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2006 EWEC: "Time has come for Greece to realise its full potential and become the new developing European wind energy market"
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Wind energy sector criticises lack of competition in European power markets
"Real competition in European power markets is a myth. It is impossible to create effective competition in the European market for renewable electricity unless effective competition is first introduced in the conventional power market. Unless the current distortions in the emerging Internal Electricity Market are overcome, there will be no effective market for renewables to compete in", said Corin Millais, CEO of EWEA.
Press Release WD Editorial EWEA Policy Briefing - Support Systems EREC Policy Briefing - Market Competition
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Wind power continues to grow in 2004 in the EU, but faces constraints of grid and administrative barriers
Industry statistics released today for the EU wind energy market show that cumulative wind power capacity increased by 20% to 34,205MW at the end of 2004, up from 28,568 MW at the end of 2003. 5,703 MW of wind power capacity were installed last year, representing a wind turbine manufacturing turnover of some €5.7 billion.
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The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) supports the intention to eventually adopt support mechanisms for renewable electricity that are compatible with an undistorted Internal Market. However, any shift to a Community-wide mechanism must be well prepared, and follow after effective competition in the Internal Electricity Market has been achieved.
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EWEA calls for wind energy to be reinstated as a priority research area under FP7 Programme
In its response to the European Commission's stakeholder consultation on thematic priorities for FP7, EWEA signals the great scale of the R&D work that remains to be carried out if the EU is to attain its objectives under, inter alia, the Lisbon Agenda, and the RES-E Directive. This document, submitted in response to the Commission's stakeholder consultation on FP7 research themes, represents the consolidated view of the European wind sector.
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BWE and VDMA on German Grid study: Optimal integration of wind energy into the grid is possible - Misinterpretations must be avoided
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Press Release English Press Release German
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Offshore wind: Europe’s major indigenous energy source could satisfy all of Europe’s electricity demand
Whilst land-based wind farms will continue to provide the core contribution to ongoing development, the new frontier for wind energy is offshore, said the European Wind Energy Association at 2004 EWEC, the wind industry conference in London today. "EWEA's expectation is that by 2010 up to 10,000 MW of offshore wind capacity could be operating around European coasts", said Corin Millais, CEO of EWEA.
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Future Prospects Economics Environment Technology
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[Go to News Archive]
German Energy Agency DENA study "Integration of wind energy into the grid"- Opinion of BWE and VDMA released. An English version of the DENA study will be available online soon.
VDMA Press Release BWE Press Release DENA Press Release DENA Response
28-Feb-2005
2006 EWEC: "Time has come for Greece to realise its full potential and become the new developing European wind energy market"
The Call for Abstracts is now open for the next EWEC - European Wind Energy Conference event, which will be held in Athens, Greece, from 27th February - 2nd March 2006. "As one of Europe´s growing markets, Greece is an ideal venue for the 2006 EWEC. The conference will showcase the latest technological advances and international best practice in implementing cost effective wind power to meet the global demand", said Anders D. Christensen, Conference Chair, CEO, LM Glasfiber, Denmark.
Press Release 2006 EWEC - Call for Abstracts
24-Feb-2005
Kyoto Protocol: Wind power is essential for any Government´s top 5 ´Climate to-do´ list
EWEA today welcomed the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol, as wind power is one of the leading global solutions to tackle climate change. “Wind power is one of the few power technologies that has the maturity, clout and global muscle to deliver deep cuts in CO2. Wind power is a proven technology and it has to be in any Government´s top 5 ´Climate to-do´ list”, said Corin Millais CEO of EWEA.
News Release CO2 emission reduction from WP CO2 saving & market development Wind Force 12
16-Feb-2005
Wind energy sector criticises lack of competition in European power markets
"Real competition in European power markets is a myth. It is impossible to create effective competition in the European market for renewable electricity unless effective competition is first introduced in the conventional power market. Unless the current distortions in the emerging Internal Electricity Market are overcome, there will be no effective market for renewables to compete in", said Corin Millais, CEO of EWEA.
Press Release WD Editorial EWEA Policy Briefing - Support Systems EREC Policy Briefing - Market Competition
3-Feb-2005
Wind power continues to grow in 2004 in the EU, but faces constraints of grid and administrative barriers
Industry statistics released today for the EU wind energy market show that cumulative wind power capacity increased by 20% to 34,205MW at the end of 2004, up from 28,568 MW at the end of 2003. 5,703 MW of wind power capacity were installed last year, representing a wind turbine manufacturing turnover of some €5.7 billion.
Press Release 2004 EU capacity map
28-Jan-2005
EREC Position Paper on the future of support systems for RES-e
This Position Paper incorporates the ideas of EREC and its Members, the European renewable energy industry, trade and research associations about the evaluation later this year of the Directive on the promotion of electricity from renewable energy sources, adopted in 2001.
Press Release Position Paper
26-Jan-2005
EWEA publishes Position Paper on the future of EU Support Systems for the Promotion of Electricity from Renewable Energy Sources
The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) supports the intention to eventually adopt support mechanisms for renewable electricity that are compatible with an undistorted Internal Market. However, any shift to a Community-wide mechanism must be well prepared, and follow after effective competition in the Internal Electricity Market has been achieved.
Press Release Policy Briefing
26-Jan-2005
EWEA calls for wind energy to be reinstated as a priority research area under FP7 Programme
In its response to the European Commission's stakeholder consultation on thematic priorities for FP7, EWEA signals the great scale of the R&D work that remains to be carried out if the EU is to attain its objectives under, inter alia, the Lisbon Agenda, and the RES-E Directive. This document, submitted in response to the Commission's stakeholder consultation on FP7 research themes, represents the consolidated view of the European wind sector.
EWEA FP7 Submission
25-Jan-2005
BWE and VDMA on German Grid study: Optimal integration of wind energy into the grid is possible - Misinterpretations must be avoided
Following the German Energy Agency DENA study "Integration of wind energy in to the grid", the German Associations BWE and VDMA have expressed their views. The press release is available in English and German. More detailed information will be available at the end of February.
Press Release English Press Release German
20-Jan-2005
Offshore wind: Europe’s major indigenous energy source could satisfy all of Europe’s electricity demand
Whilst land-based wind farms will continue to provide the core contribution to ongoing development, the new frontier for wind energy is offshore, said the European Wind Energy Association at 2004 EWEC, the wind industry conference in London today. "EWEA's expectation is that by 2010 up to 10,000 MW of offshore wind capacity could be operating around European coasts", said Corin Millais, CEO of EWEA.
Press Release Wind Directions Focus
24-Nov-2004
EWEA publishes main data about wind power industry
EWEA has released 5 main factsheets that provide essential reading about wind power core data on the following topics: current status of the wind industry; future prospects for wind power markets; wind power and the environment; economics; and technology.
Future Prospects Economics Environment Technology
23-Nov-2004
[Go to News Archive]
EU Wind Energy News
Wind power continues to grow in 2004 in the EU, but faces constraints of grid and administrative barriers
Brussels, 27th January 2005 - Industry statistics released today for the EU wind energy market show that cumulative wind power capacity increased by 20% to 34,205 MW at the end of 2004, up from 28,568 MW at the end of 2003. 5,703 MW of wind power capacity were installed last year, representing a wind turbine manufacturing turnover of some € 5.7 billion. Download
DENA Study: Optimal integration of wind energy into the grid is possible
Misinterpretations must be avoidedStill no agreement on final approval of network reportBerlin, 18 January 2005 --- The results of the DENA (German Energy Agency/Deutsche Energie Agentur) grid study Integration der Windenergie in das Verbundnetz (Integration of wind energy into the grid) were discussed into the early hours of the morning today. Unfortunately, those who commissioned the study have still not been able to reach agreement on final approval.Download: press release
Domestic sales down, exports up for German-made wind energy turbines
Frankfurt/Osnabrueck, Germany. Between January and September 2004, 653 wind energy turbines with a total capacity of 1,090 MW were newly installed in Germany. During the same period last year, 906 turbines (1,414 MW) went on line. That’s a year-on drop of 23% in installed capacity. The quarterly figures for 2004, commissioned by the German Wind Energy Association (BWE) and the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) from the German Wind Energy Institute (DEWI), demonstrate a continued decrease in the domestic wind energy market.Download: press release incl. appendix
Renewable Energies Law (EEG) comes into force
Investment security for wind industry again Berlin, 1 August 2004. With the publication in the Federal Law Gazette on 1st August 2004 the amended Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) has come into force. Thus investment security has been created again for a whole industry after a long period of struggle. “Having finished this discussion the way for more clean electricity, more investments and new jobs has finally been opened”, Dr. Peter Ahmels, president of the Federal Wind Energy Association (BWE) said.Download: wording of the lawDownload: EEG amendment
Wind energy industry creates jobs
In 2003 the number of employees in the wind industry amounted to a total of 45,400. This figure follows from a BWE study: about 37,200 people are working in the production and installation of new wind turbines. Most of them are employed in the supply industry. Further 8,200 jobs can be found in company` s management and maintenance.
Wind energy plants with 731 MW capacity installed in the first half-year 2004
6,5 per cent of the German power consumption can be covered by wind-electricity Osnabruck, 15 July 2004. In the first half-year 2004 436 new wind power plants with a gross capacity of 731.4 MW have been installed in Germany. Thus almost every second day five new turbines have been built up. Altogether there were working 15,800 wind energy plants at the end of June with a capacity of 15,239 MW. In an average wind year they are able to produce 30.9 Billion KW/h of clean electricity. This figure corresponds to a share of 6.55 per cent of the electricity consumption. In Schleswig-Holstein wind electricity arithmetically covers already more than 36 per cent of the electricity consumption in this federal state. The Federal Wind Energy Association (BWE) expects an additional installation of 2,200 to 2,500 MW in Germany over the whole year.
Download: Figures 2004
Brussels, 27th January 2005 - Industry statistics released today for the EU wind energy market show that cumulative wind power capacity increased by 20% to 34,205 MW at the end of 2004, up from 28,568 MW at the end of 2003. 5,703 MW of wind power capacity were installed last year, representing a wind turbine manufacturing turnover of some € 5.7 billion. Download
DENA Study: Optimal integration of wind energy into the grid is possible
Misinterpretations must be avoidedStill no agreement on final approval of network reportBerlin, 18 January 2005 --- The results of the DENA (German Energy Agency/Deutsche Energie Agentur) grid study Integration der Windenergie in das Verbundnetz (Integration of wind energy into the grid) were discussed into the early hours of the morning today. Unfortunately, those who commissioned the study have still not been able to reach agreement on final approval.Download: press release
Domestic sales down, exports up for German-made wind energy turbines
Frankfurt/Osnabrueck, Germany. Between January and September 2004, 653 wind energy turbines with a total capacity of 1,090 MW were newly installed in Germany. During the same period last year, 906 turbines (1,414 MW) went on line. That’s a year-on drop of 23% in installed capacity. The quarterly figures for 2004, commissioned by the German Wind Energy Association (BWE) and the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) from the German Wind Energy Institute (DEWI), demonstrate a continued decrease in the domestic wind energy market.Download: press release incl. appendix
Renewable Energies Law (EEG) comes into force
Investment security for wind industry again Berlin, 1 August 2004. With the publication in the Federal Law Gazette on 1st August 2004 the amended Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) has come into force. Thus investment security has been created again for a whole industry after a long period of struggle. “Having finished this discussion the way for more clean electricity, more investments and new jobs has finally been opened”, Dr. Peter Ahmels, president of the Federal Wind Energy Association (BWE) said.Download: wording of the lawDownload: EEG amendment
Wind energy industry creates jobs
In 2003 the number of employees in the wind industry amounted to a total of 45,400. This figure follows from a BWE study: about 37,200 people are working in the production and installation of new wind turbines. Most of them are employed in the supply industry. Further 8,200 jobs can be found in company` s management and maintenance.
Wind energy plants with 731 MW capacity installed in the first half-year 2004
6,5 per cent of the German power consumption can be covered by wind-electricity Osnabruck, 15 July 2004. In the first half-year 2004 436 new wind power plants with a gross capacity of 731.4 MW have been installed in Germany. Thus almost every second day five new turbines have been built up. Altogether there were working 15,800 wind energy plants at the end of June with a capacity of 15,239 MW. In an average wind year they are able to produce 30.9 Billion KW/h of clean electricity. This figure corresponds to a share of 6.55 per cent of the electricity consumption. In Schleswig-Holstein wind electricity arithmetically covers already more than 36 per cent of the electricity consumption in this federal state. The Federal Wind Energy Association (BWE) expects an additional installation of 2,200 to 2,500 MW in Germany over the whole year.
Download: Figures 2004
Wind Energy Integrated Into German Grid
Bundesverband WindEnergie e.V. /
Federal Wind Energy Association
Press Release of 24 February 2005
Timetable Given for Expansion of Wind Energy
Berlin – The wind energy sector adopted the DENA grid study yesterday evening. This means
that nothing now stands in the way of further integration of wind energy into the German
electricity grid. Together with grid operators and the Federal Office for Economic Development,
the wind energy sector has drawn up a timetable for the further expansion of wind energy.
“Despite differences of opinion and indiscretions, we still completed the study”, summarises Peter
Ahmels, the President of the National Wind Energy Association: “All the prejudices and disaster
scenarios have been disproved. To guarantee decentralized energy supply, the grid operators
will have to expand the high-voltage grid by just five per cent. The network operators could only
charge consumers a few hundredths of a cent per kilowatt/hour for that.”
- In total, 850 km of new high-voltage grid will be required by 2015. Costs per year would be 110
million euro. By way of comparison: the grid operators invest two billion euro every year in their
whole 1.6 million km-long grid.
- Grid charges could increase due to the expansion of the network by 2.5 hundredths of a cent
per kilowatt/hour in 2015. That is less than one euro per year per household.
- Until 2003, grid operators required that wind turbines be isolated from the grid in the event of
short-circuits. This increased the hypothetical risk of greater breaks in supply. However, more
recent wind power installations could remain on the grid even in the event of undervoltage. Older
plant will be upgraded over time, and phase-shifters (synchronous generators to control power
flow) ensure grid stability, says the DENA study.
- Due to the expansion of wind energy, conventional power stations with output of approximately
2,000 MW could be replaced. That is equivalent to three large coal-fired stations.
- No additional power stations need to be built for balancing energy generation. The additional
5.6 TWh minutes and hours reserve required per year can be supplied by the existing normal
power stations. The impact on electricity prices will only amount to six to eight hundredths of a
cent per kWh in 2015, which is between two and three euros per year per household.
- The costs of the network expansion, balancing and reserve energy amount to about 0.1
cent/kWh in 2015. “But”, says Ahmels, “the study also has many serious deficiencies, such as
the assumptions about future fuel prices or Renewable Energy Act grants.”
- According to the basic scenario of the study, real prices (compared with 2003) of lignite and coal
will remain constant until 2015 and those for natural gas and oil will even fall. Deutsche Bank
Research, DIW and other research institutes are assuming rising fuel prices for coming years.
However, due to the improbable scenario, the study comes up with costs for further integration of
wind energy of 0.36-0.45 cent/kWh. For the average household using 3,500 kWh per year, the
differential costs would be 12.6 to 15.8 euro per year. That is calculated too high.
- Furthermore, the study requires that the existing tax exemption for lignite and coal in
comparison with natural gas and oil will be maintained.
- According to Offshore-WEA – contrary to the current Renewable Energy Act – there will be an
increased grant even after 2010. For the other renewable energy sources, the rates of REA grant
that apply today will be subject to sliding-scale reductions. Particularly in the fields of biomass
and geothermal energy, sharp cutbacks in grants can be expected.
- The annual rate of inflation is assumed to be 1.5%. In the event of higher inflation – which is
probable with higher oil prices – of 2% for example, the real rates of grant (REA grants are set in
absolute figures) will decline.
- According to the study, CO2 certificate prices will only rise to 12.5 euro/tonne. In the light of the
target of a 40% cut in CO2 emissions by 2020 which is necessary for climate protection reasons,
this appears rather unrealistic. This assumption reduces the contribution of wind energy to
climate protection. In addition, wind energy has other positive environmental effects.
Ahmels: “We have accepted the study despite a large number of criticisms. However, a
continuation is absolutely essential.” Network optimization and temperature monitoring have not
been taken into account yet. Part II of the Grid Study will have to explain how optimal power
transport can be organized within the country, how the connection can be made to the
Scandinavian electricity market and load flows can be organized with neighbouring countries. An
adaptation of the UCTE rules to reflect alterations in electricity generation would also be
necessary. How can wind power be incorporated into the balancing energy market? “All these
questions”, says Ahmels, “have yet to be resolved.”
Federal Wind Energy Association
Press Release of 24 February 2005
Timetable Given for Expansion of Wind Energy
Berlin – The wind energy sector adopted the DENA grid study yesterday evening. This means
that nothing now stands in the way of further integration of wind energy into the German
electricity grid. Together with grid operators and the Federal Office for Economic Development,
the wind energy sector has drawn up a timetable for the further expansion of wind energy.
“Despite differences of opinion and indiscretions, we still completed the study”, summarises Peter
Ahmels, the President of the National Wind Energy Association: “All the prejudices and disaster
scenarios have been disproved. To guarantee decentralized energy supply, the grid operators
will have to expand the high-voltage grid by just five per cent. The network operators could only
charge consumers a few hundredths of a cent per kilowatt/hour for that.”
- In total, 850 km of new high-voltage grid will be required by 2015. Costs per year would be 110
million euro. By way of comparison: the grid operators invest two billion euro every year in their
whole 1.6 million km-long grid.
- Grid charges could increase due to the expansion of the network by 2.5 hundredths of a cent
per kilowatt/hour in 2015. That is less than one euro per year per household.
- Until 2003, grid operators required that wind turbines be isolated from the grid in the event of
short-circuits. This increased the hypothetical risk of greater breaks in supply. However, more
recent wind power installations could remain on the grid even in the event of undervoltage. Older
plant will be upgraded over time, and phase-shifters (synchronous generators to control power
flow) ensure grid stability, says the DENA study.
- Due to the expansion of wind energy, conventional power stations with output of approximately
2,000 MW could be replaced. That is equivalent to three large coal-fired stations.
- No additional power stations need to be built for balancing energy generation. The additional
5.6 TWh minutes and hours reserve required per year can be supplied by the existing normal
power stations. The impact on electricity prices will only amount to six to eight hundredths of a
cent per kWh in 2015, which is between two and three euros per year per household.
- The costs of the network expansion, balancing and reserve energy amount to about 0.1
cent/kWh in 2015. “But”, says Ahmels, “the study also has many serious deficiencies, such as
the assumptions about future fuel prices or Renewable Energy Act grants.”
- According to the basic scenario of the study, real prices (compared with 2003) of lignite and coal
will remain constant until 2015 and those for natural gas and oil will even fall. Deutsche Bank
Research, DIW and other research institutes are assuming rising fuel prices for coming years.
However, due to the improbable scenario, the study comes up with costs for further integration of
wind energy of 0.36-0.45 cent/kWh. For the average household using 3,500 kWh per year, the
differential costs would be 12.6 to 15.8 euro per year. That is calculated too high.
- Furthermore, the study requires that the existing tax exemption for lignite and coal in
comparison with natural gas and oil will be maintained.
- According to Offshore-WEA – contrary to the current Renewable Energy Act – there will be an
increased grant even after 2010. For the other renewable energy sources, the rates of REA grant
that apply today will be subject to sliding-scale reductions. Particularly in the fields of biomass
and geothermal energy, sharp cutbacks in grants can be expected.
- The annual rate of inflation is assumed to be 1.5%. In the event of higher inflation – which is
probable with higher oil prices – of 2% for example, the real rates of grant (REA grants are set in
absolute figures) will decline.
- According to the study, CO2 certificate prices will only rise to 12.5 euro/tonne. In the light of the
target of a 40% cut in CO2 emissions by 2020 which is necessary for climate protection reasons,
this appears rather unrealistic. This assumption reduces the contribution of wind energy to
climate protection. In addition, wind energy has other positive environmental effects.
Ahmels: “We have accepted the study despite a large number of criticisms. However, a
continuation is absolutely essential.” Network optimization and temperature monitoring have not
been taken into account yet. Part II of the Grid Study will have to explain how optimal power
transport can be organized within the country, how the connection can be made to the
Scandinavian electricity market and load flows can be organized with neighbouring countries. An
adaptation of the UCTE rules to reflect alterations in electricity generation would also be
necessary. How can wind power be incorporated into the balancing energy market? “All these
questions”, says Ahmels, “have yet to be resolved.”
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Wind Energy in Spain
Galicia heads Spain's wind rush
UPI - Monday, February 28, 2005
Date: Monday, February 28, 2005 9:38:13 AM EST By ELIZABETH BRYANT
FALADOIRA, Spain, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- The wind turbines loom over this rugged chunk of Galicia, stretching atop bare hills as far as the eye can see.
On any given year, the Faladoira wind farm generates enough electricity to power some 60,000 homes. But the slim, long-limbed machines represent only a fraction of the region's energy ambitions.
Over the last decade, wind energy has developed into a thriving business in Galicia, generating not only electricity, but also jobs and income in this rural northwestern region of fishermen and farmers that once was considered one of the poorest in Spain.
Today Galicia, where an estimated 20 percent of the region's electricity will be powered by wind this year, is at the forefront of the wind energy rush in Europe -- which accounts for 80 percent of the global wind market.
Overall, 6 percent of Spain's power is derived from wind farms. That makes Spain only second to Germany as the world's largest producer of wind power.
Now, with the European Union pushed to curb its greenhouse gas emissions under the newly ratified Kyoto Protocol, renewable energy advocates paint a shining future for the industry.
"We're at the threshold of becoming a mainstream energy source," said Corin Millais, head of the European Wind Energy Association in Brussels. "For years it's been seen as an alternative, green niche product. Now, we're sting signs that the technology and the policy are being combined to create a very visible, multibillion-euro business."
Along with the enthusiasm, however, opposition to wind power is growing.
Some environmentalists charge the huge turbines kills thousands of migratory birds. Fishermen in southern Spain fret that plans for offshore wind farms will disrupt fish stocks and their fishing routes. Skeptical scientists suggest wind's capacity to generate significant, steady power is overrated.
And citizens groups from Scotland to Germany denounce wind farms as an eyesore.
Even in Galicia, where there appears to be little public rancor against wind turbines to date, some officials worry that future wind energy generation may be curbed by how many turbines local residents may be willing to tolerate, rather than by production constraints.
Still, a mix of mother nature - namely, plenty of wind -- government support and private-sector investment has cultivated a success story in this region that is now being modeled elsewhere in Spain, officials say.
Currently Galicia generates roughly 1,800 megawatts of wind power, which is both used locally and exported to other parts of Spain and abroad.
But industry and government officials spin plans of more than doubling that amount to 4,000 megawatts of power by 2010 -- and suggest the figure could zoom up to 9,000 megawatts in the future.
"In Galicia, everyone is for the windmills," said Ramon Ordas Badia, councilor of industrial and commercial innovation at the Government of Galicia, which has subsidized and prodded the region's wind energy development. "They see wind energy as a clean energy that produces employment and business in Galicia."
Already, Ordas estimates the wind industry has generated some 2,000 new jobs in the region, and transformed another 2,000 into wind-sector specific employment that includes manufacturing the turbine parts.
Those figures don't included uncounted secondary jobs, such as transporting the machines to various wind farms.
The economic injection is good news for a region dogged by high unemployment and the fallout of the Prestige oil tanker spill two years ago, which put many local fishermen temporarily out of work.
More than a dozen, mostly local residents work at the Faladoira farm, for example. Area landowners are also profiting from renting out their desolate, hilly property where a brisk wind spins the turbines' white blades.
"Many of these people might have had to commute to places La Coruna or Ferrol," said Jose Crusat, a maintenance worker at the plant, naming cities elsewhere in Galicia. "Now they can live close to home and work."
The wind farm is owned by ECYR, the renewable energy offshoot of the Spanish power company Endesa. Just a few miles away lies another piece of Endesa's energy equation -- a 10-mile square coal mine which cuts an ugly moonscape into the Galician countryside.
"It's impossible to grow with renewable (energy) alone," said Manuel Gago Rodriguez, regional director for ECYR and head of Galicia's wind energy association. "But it is possible to keep growing the percentage generated from renewable energy."
Several other Spanish provinces are now following Galicia's example. Wind energy is flourishing in Navarra, Aragon and Castilla la Mancha. There are also plans to build turbines off the coastline in southern Spain.
Even one diehard conventional power user -- industrialized Catalonia -- unrolled an ambitious goal earlier this month to reach 1,500 megawatts of wind power by next year.
"The regions that were lagging behind realize they have missed something very important for the future," said Manuel Bustos, international policy director of the Spanish renewable energy association, APPA. "Some regions that haven't installed a single megawatt are now ready for development."
Spain is hardly the only European country where wind energy is booming. Germany is the world's wind energy leader in total production. But Denmark, where 20 percent of the nation's power comes from the wind, ranks No. 1 in per capita terms.
Other countries are coming aboard. In France, where wind accounts for only 1 percent of domestic electricity consumption, plans are afoot to install more than 4,000 turbines in the next five years.
As a result, Europe has outstripped the United States, which in the 1980s was the world's wind energy leader.
Unlike the United States, where critics complain of insufficient public funding for renewable energy, governments in Galicia and elsewhere have been underwriting the development of wind and other non-conventional power sources.
The EU's push to develop wind and other renewables is partly fueled by the dearth of conventional domestic energy sources in such countries as France and Spain.
The bloc has also set a target that 6 percent of European energy be derived from wind by 2010 -- partly as a way to meet required cuts in greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol.
But there is another reason for the industry's success, advocates say: Wind energy is profitable.
Today wind amounts to a $10 billion industry in Europe, according to the European wind association -- a figure the group predicts could grow tenfold by 2020.
"In the move toward cleaner energy fuels," the association's Millais said, "wind energy is one of the major winners."
--
Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
All rights reserved.
UPI - Monday, February 28, 2005
Date: Monday, February 28, 2005 9:38:13 AM EST By ELIZABETH BRYANT
FALADOIRA, Spain, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- The wind turbines loom over this rugged chunk of Galicia, stretching atop bare hills as far as the eye can see.
On any given year, the Faladoira wind farm generates enough electricity to power some 60,000 homes. But the slim, long-limbed machines represent only a fraction of the region's energy ambitions.
Over the last decade, wind energy has developed into a thriving business in Galicia, generating not only electricity, but also jobs and income in this rural northwestern region of fishermen and farmers that once was considered one of the poorest in Spain.
Today Galicia, where an estimated 20 percent of the region's electricity will be powered by wind this year, is at the forefront of the wind energy rush in Europe -- which accounts for 80 percent of the global wind market.
Overall, 6 percent of Spain's power is derived from wind farms. That makes Spain only second to Germany as the world's largest producer of wind power.
Now, with the European Union pushed to curb its greenhouse gas emissions under the newly ratified Kyoto Protocol, renewable energy advocates paint a shining future for the industry.
"We're at the threshold of becoming a mainstream energy source," said Corin Millais, head of the European Wind Energy Association in Brussels. "For years it's been seen as an alternative, green niche product. Now, we're sting signs that the technology and the policy are being combined to create a very visible, multibillion-euro business."
Along with the enthusiasm, however, opposition to wind power is growing.
Some environmentalists charge the huge turbines kills thousands of migratory birds. Fishermen in southern Spain fret that plans for offshore wind farms will disrupt fish stocks and their fishing routes. Skeptical scientists suggest wind's capacity to generate significant, steady power is overrated.
And citizens groups from Scotland to Germany denounce wind farms as an eyesore.
Even in Galicia, where there appears to be little public rancor against wind turbines to date, some officials worry that future wind energy generation may be curbed by how many turbines local residents may be willing to tolerate, rather than by production constraints.
Still, a mix of mother nature - namely, plenty of wind -- government support and private-sector investment has cultivated a success story in this region that is now being modeled elsewhere in Spain, officials say.
Currently Galicia generates roughly 1,800 megawatts of wind power, which is both used locally and exported to other parts of Spain and abroad.
But industry and government officials spin plans of more than doubling that amount to 4,000 megawatts of power by 2010 -- and suggest the figure could zoom up to 9,000 megawatts in the future.
"In Galicia, everyone is for the windmills," said Ramon Ordas Badia, councilor of industrial and commercial innovation at the Government of Galicia, which has subsidized and prodded the region's wind energy development. "They see wind energy as a clean energy that produces employment and business in Galicia."
Already, Ordas estimates the wind industry has generated some 2,000 new jobs in the region, and transformed another 2,000 into wind-sector specific employment that includes manufacturing the turbine parts.
Those figures don't included uncounted secondary jobs, such as transporting the machines to various wind farms.
The economic injection is good news for a region dogged by high unemployment and the fallout of the Prestige oil tanker spill two years ago, which put many local fishermen temporarily out of work.
More than a dozen, mostly local residents work at the Faladoira farm, for example. Area landowners are also profiting from renting out their desolate, hilly property where a brisk wind spins the turbines' white blades.
"Many of these people might have had to commute to places La Coruna or Ferrol," said Jose Crusat, a maintenance worker at the plant, naming cities elsewhere in Galicia. "Now they can live close to home and work."
The wind farm is owned by ECYR, the renewable energy offshoot of the Spanish power company Endesa. Just a few miles away lies another piece of Endesa's energy equation -- a 10-mile square coal mine which cuts an ugly moonscape into the Galician countryside.
"It's impossible to grow with renewable (energy) alone," said Manuel Gago Rodriguez, regional director for ECYR and head of Galicia's wind energy association. "But it is possible to keep growing the percentage generated from renewable energy."
Several other Spanish provinces are now following Galicia's example. Wind energy is flourishing in Navarra, Aragon and Castilla la Mancha. There are also plans to build turbines off the coastline in southern Spain.
Even one diehard conventional power user -- industrialized Catalonia -- unrolled an ambitious goal earlier this month to reach 1,500 megawatts of wind power by next year.
"The regions that were lagging behind realize they have missed something very important for the future," said Manuel Bustos, international policy director of the Spanish renewable energy association, APPA. "Some regions that haven't installed a single megawatt are now ready for development."
Spain is hardly the only European country where wind energy is booming. Germany is the world's wind energy leader in total production. But Denmark, where 20 percent of the nation's power comes from the wind, ranks No. 1 in per capita terms.
Other countries are coming aboard. In France, where wind accounts for only 1 percent of domestic electricity consumption, plans are afoot to install more than 4,000 turbines in the next five years.
As a result, Europe has outstripped the United States, which in the 1980s was the world's wind energy leader.
Unlike the United States, where critics complain of insufficient public funding for renewable energy, governments in Galicia and elsewhere have been underwriting the development of wind and other non-conventional power sources.
The EU's push to develop wind and other renewables is partly fueled by the dearth of conventional domestic energy sources in such countries as France and Spain.
The bloc has also set a target that 6 percent of European energy be derived from wind by 2010 -- partly as a way to meet required cuts in greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol.
But there is another reason for the industry's success, advocates say: Wind energy is profitable.
Today wind amounts to a $10 billion industry in Europe, according to the European wind association -- a figure the group predicts could grow tenfold by 2020.
"In the move toward cleaner energy fuels," the association's Millais said, "wind energy is one of the major winners."
--
Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
All rights reserved.
Wind Farm plans in Mexico & Brazil
Iberdrola Plans to Build Wind-Energy Parks in Mexico, Brazil
Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Iberdrola SA, Spain's second-largest power company, plans to build wind-energy parks in Mexico and Brazil to generate more electricity from renewable sources as the utility expands in Latin America.
The Madrid- and Bilbao-based company will build 100 megawatts of wind generation in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, enough to light a city of 100,000 people, and another 50 megawatts in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte, the company said today in an e-mailed statement. The parks will start operations in 2006.
Iberdrola has a total capacity of 24,381 megawatts, according to the company. Renewable generation accounted for 7.7 percent of Iberdrola's production in Spain in the first nine months of 2004. Nuclear generation provided 41 percent of the total over the same period, according to its Web site.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Elena Moya in London moya@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Timothy Coulter at tcoulter@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: November 17, 2004 04:59 EST
Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Iberdrola SA, Spain's second-largest power company, plans to build wind-energy parks in Mexico and Brazil to generate more electricity from renewable sources as the utility expands in Latin America.
The Madrid- and Bilbao-based company will build 100 megawatts of wind generation in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, enough to light a city of 100,000 people, and another 50 megawatts in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte, the company said today in an e-mailed statement. The parks will start operations in 2006.
Iberdrola has a total capacity of 24,381 megawatts, according to the company. Renewable generation accounted for 7.7 percent of Iberdrola's production in Spain in the first nine months of 2004. Nuclear generation provided 41 percent of the total over the same period, according to its Web site.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Elena Moya in London moya@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Timothy Coulter at tcoulter@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: November 17, 2004 04:59 EST
Vestas Expands In India
Vestas plans 300 MW capacity addition, new plant in Chennai:
[India News]: Kolkata, Feb 27 : Vestas RRB India Ltd, a leading player in wind power generation in India, was planning a capacity addition of 300-400 MW while aiming a turnover of about Rs 1,000 crore in 2005-6.The Indo-Danish joint venture, which has already installed over 1,000 wind power generation units generating about 350 MW of power, planned a capacity addition of another 300-400 MW by next year, company managing director Rakesh Bakshi told PTI here.Given the enormous potential of wind power generation in India, ''we are also planning to set up a new plant in Chennai to manufacture blades and controllers (of wind electric generators) at an investment of Rs 35 crore,'' Bakshi said.The company, a 51:49 JV between RRB Consultants and Engineers Pvt Ltd, India and Vestas Wind Systems A/S of Denmark, expected to garner a turnover of Rs 600 crore in 2004-5 while aiming to exceed Rs 1,000 crore next year following the capacity addition.The company's new wind power projects would come up in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Kerala.Bakshi, though optimistic about India's potential to become a 'super power' in renewable energy sector, clamoured for a national policy and legislation to attract private investment.''The potential for wind power generation in the country is estimated at 45,000 MW while installed capacity is only 3,000 MW. There exists a huge gap in between, mainly due to the absence of a national policy or legislation for the renewable energy sector,'' he said. PTI
[India News]: Kolkata, Feb 27 : Vestas RRB India Ltd, a leading player in wind power generation in India, was planning a capacity addition of 300-400 MW while aiming a turnover of about Rs 1,000 crore in 2005-6.The Indo-Danish joint venture, which has already installed over 1,000 wind power generation units generating about 350 MW of power, planned a capacity addition of another 300-400 MW by next year, company managing director Rakesh Bakshi told PTI here.Given the enormous potential of wind power generation in India, ''we are also planning to set up a new plant in Chennai to manufacture blades and controllers (of wind electric generators) at an investment of Rs 35 crore,'' Bakshi said.The company, a 51:49 JV between RRB Consultants and Engineers Pvt Ltd, India and Vestas Wind Systems A/S of Denmark, expected to garner a turnover of Rs 600 crore in 2004-5 while aiming to exceed Rs 1,000 crore next year following the capacity addition.The company's new wind power projects would come up in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Kerala.Bakshi, though optimistic about India's potential to become a 'super power' in renewable energy sector, clamoured for a national policy and legislation to attract private investment.''The potential for wind power generation in the country is estimated at 45,000 MW while installed capacity is only 3,000 MW. There exists a huge gap in between, mainly due to the absence of a national policy or legislation for the renewable energy sector,'' he said. PTI
Rooftop Wind Turbines
Home-spun power
Thursday 1 March 2005
A wind turbine that can be roof-mounted to provide homes with electricity is poised to enter commercial production after months of fine-tuning by the UK engineering team developing it.
Edinburgh-based Renewable Devices claims its Swift system is the first turbine in the world to be practical for use on roofs thanks to the elimination of noise and vibration, the traditional barriers to attaching wind energy devices directly to buildings.
'Conventional wisdom says you don't put turbines on roofs. We thought to hell with conventional wisdom, let's design one,' said Renewable Devices co-founder Dr. David Anderson.
The turbine can be connected to the grid for embedded power generation or linked to an immersion water heating system. The Swift has a rated power output of 1.5kw and will generate up to 4,000kwh per year depending on wind conditions, which its developers claim would cut up to £440 off annual energy bills.
Renewable Devices is about to begin full-scale production of the Swift after signing a sales and distribution deal with Scottish and Southern Energy. The utility will market the device across the UK at a cost of around £1,500 per unit, and hopes to install several thousand over the next two years.
'We don't know of any other company in the world that has reached this stage,' said Anderson.
Renewable Devices has filed five international patents on the turbine's underlying technology, which combines advanced mechanical engineering design with electronic control systems.
To keep turbine-to-building oscillations to a minimum, the Swift's mounting brackets use damping systems designed to absorb a wide range of frequencies.
Its ring diffuser keeps turbine noise low by preventing the creation of turbulent vortices at the blade tip. The system's five-bladed design acts as an additional constraint on noise by allowing a slower speed of rotation.
Both the rotation speed and system integrity are controlled by a custom-developed, over-power regulation mechanism. This consists of a twin-vane progressive mechanical furling system linked to an advanced electronic control system.
According to Renewable Devices, the regulator allows the optimum amount of power to be extracted from the turbine under all wind and loading conditions without stalling.
The company's engineers worked with bearings giant SKF on the development of the rotor and furling mechanism. The carbon fibre rotor is supported by two stainless steel ball bearings designed to cope with the huge gyroscopic and thrust loads imposed by the turbine in high winds.
Thursday 1 March 2005
A wind turbine that can be roof-mounted to provide homes with electricity is poised to enter commercial production after months of fine-tuning by the UK engineering team developing it.
Edinburgh-based Renewable Devices claims its Swift system is the first turbine in the world to be practical for use on roofs thanks to the elimination of noise and vibration, the traditional barriers to attaching wind energy devices directly to buildings.
'Conventional wisdom says you don't put turbines on roofs. We thought to hell with conventional wisdom, let's design one,' said Renewable Devices co-founder Dr. David Anderson.
The turbine can be connected to the grid for embedded power generation or linked to an immersion water heating system. The Swift has a rated power output of 1.5kw and will generate up to 4,000kwh per year depending on wind conditions, which its developers claim would cut up to £440 off annual energy bills.
Renewable Devices is about to begin full-scale production of the Swift after signing a sales and distribution deal with Scottish and Southern Energy. The utility will market the device across the UK at a cost of around £1,500 per unit, and hopes to install several thousand over the next two years.
'We don't know of any other company in the world that has reached this stage,' said Anderson.
Renewable Devices has filed five international patents on the turbine's underlying technology, which combines advanced mechanical engineering design with electronic control systems.
To keep turbine-to-building oscillations to a minimum, the Swift's mounting brackets use damping systems designed to absorb a wide range of frequencies.
Its ring diffuser keeps turbine noise low by preventing the creation of turbulent vortices at the blade tip. The system's five-bladed design acts as an additional constraint on noise by allowing a slower speed of rotation.
Both the rotation speed and system integrity are controlled by a custom-developed, over-power regulation mechanism. This consists of a twin-vane progressive mechanical furling system linked to an advanced electronic control system.
According to Renewable Devices, the regulator allows the optimum amount of power to be extracted from the turbine under all wind and loading conditions without stalling.
The company's engineers worked with bearings giant SKF on the development of the rotor and furling mechanism. The carbon fibre rotor is supported by two stainless steel ball bearings designed to cope with the huge gyroscopic and thrust loads imposed by the turbine in high winds.
China Passes Renewable Energy Law
Source: Greenpeace InternationalPosted by: Greenpeace International - archivePosted on: Feb 28, 2005 @ 9:34 am
[printer-friendly]
China's new Energy Law could be turning point for sustainable development
Beijing, China, 28 February 2005 - Today, the Chinese top legislature voted to pass China's first renewable energy promotion law, which will help the country meet ambitious targets for the uptake of renewable energy. Greenpeace welcomed China's commitment to clean renewable energy as the new law could kick-start a massive take-up of clean energy, such as wind power. With the potential to become a world leader in renewables, China could transform the global markets.
"China could and should be a world leader in renewable energy development. This law has long been anticipated by the global renewable energy industry. If the definition of renewables and the details are right then the international community will get behind China and support its ambition to become an international clean energy powerhouse," said Steve Sawyer from Greenpeace International.
The Renewable Energy Promotion Law, which takes effect on the 1January 2006, will allow the renewable energy industry in China to take off. The law guarantees grid access for renewable energy producers as well as spreading the costs of these new technologies across the electricity sector.
The law's enactment is a signal of China's intentions in relation to global climate protection efforts, as well as its commitment to cleaner air and energy security, and it is well timed with the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol two weeks ago. At present, China has no binding obligation under Kyoto, but as the world's second largest emitter of CO2, international attention has focused on the country and its efforts to curb CO2 emissions growth.
Renewable energy is seen as crucial and there is enormous international interest in China's potential as a huge market for wind power and other renewable energy technologies. The growth of the wind energy in China last year was 35%, even without the new law. China has similarly huge potential for solar, wave, tidal and biomass power and with energy efficiency could meet all its needs solely from clean energy.
For further information please contact:Steve Sawyer, Greenpeace International policy adviser +31 6 535 04 715Yu Jie, Greenpeace China energy policy advisor in Beijing, + 86 13501159105Sven Teske, Greenpeace International renewable energy campaigner, + 31 6 212 96 894
[printer-friendly]
China's new Energy Law could be turning point for sustainable development
Beijing, China, 28 February 2005 - Today, the Chinese top legislature voted to pass China's first renewable energy promotion law, which will help the country meet ambitious targets for the uptake of renewable energy. Greenpeace welcomed China's commitment to clean renewable energy as the new law could kick-start a massive take-up of clean energy, such as wind power. With the potential to become a world leader in renewables, China could transform the global markets.
"China could and should be a world leader in renewable energy development. This law has long been anticipated by the global renewable energy industry. If the definition of renewables and the details are right then the international community will get behind China and support its ambition to become an international clean energy powerhouse," said Steve Sawyer from Greenpeace International.
The Renewable Energy Promotion Law, which takes effect on the 1January 2006, will allow the renewable energy industry in China to take off. The law guarantees grid access for renewable energy producers as well as spreading the costs of these new technologies across the electricity sector.
The law's enactment is a signal of China's intentions in relation to global climate protection efforts, as well as its commitment to cleaner air and energy security, and it is well timed with the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol two weeks ago. At present, China has no binding obligation under Kyoto, but as the world's second largest emitter of CO2, international attention has focused on the country and its efforts to curb CO2 emissions growth.
Renewable energy is seen as crucial and there is enormous international interest in China's potential as a huge market for wind power and other renewable energy technologies. The growth of the wind energy in China last year was 35%, even without the new law. China has similarly huge potential for solar, wave, tidal and biomass power and with energy efficiency could meet all its needs solely from clean energy.
For further information please contact:Steve Sawyer, Greenpeace International policy adviser +31 6 535 04 715Yu Jie, Greenpeace China energy policy advisor in Beijing, + 86 13501159105Sven Teske, Greenpeace International renewable energy campaigner, + 31 6 212 96 894
GE Wind Projects in Canada Agreements
GE Energy completes contracts for eight wind projects in Canada Previously Announced Agreement Totals 990 Megawatts
MONTREAL, March 1 /CNW/ - Completing an agreement first announced by GE
Energy and Hydro-Québec in October, GE Energy has signed contracts with two
developers to supply up to 660 wind turbines for eight projects in the
province of Quebec.
When the projects come on line between 2006 and 2012, they will add 990
megawatts of wind-generated electricity to the power grid of Hydro-Québec, an
international leader in power generation, transmission and distribution.
The contract signings follow a memorandum of understanding signed in
October, naming GE Energy as the turbine supplier for the projects. It marks
the largest single award for wind generation capacity in the history of the
global wind energy industry.
GE will supply up to 740 megawatts of wind turbines to Cartier Wind
Energy and up to 250 megawatts of wind turbines to Northland Power
Inc./Northland Power Income Fund. Both were winning bidders in a solicitation
for awards initiated by Hydro-Québec, under a 2003 request for proposals to
supply 1,000 megawatts of new wind power capacity by 2012.
GE will support the projects with a significant portion of the contracts
supplied locally in the Province of Quebec.
The wind turbines for the new projects will be GE's 1.5-megawatt
machines, which are among the largest wind turbines assembled in North America
and among the most widely utilized megawatt-class wind turbines in the world,
with more than 2,500 installations.
Over the course of six years, GE's wind turbines will be installed at
eight potential locations including Anse-a-Valleau, Baie-des-Sables, St.-
Ulric/St.Léandre, Carleton, Les Méchins, Mont Louis, Montagne - Seche, and
Gros Morne I and II. The power generated will be provided to Hydro-Québec
Distribution, the utility's retail division, for distribution throughout
Quebec.
As of December 2004, Canada's installed wind energy capacity was 444
megawatts. Forecasts by the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CANWEA)
anticipate the installation of 10,000 megawatts of wind power across the
country by 2010. According to CANWEA, projects such as the Hydro-Québec effort
are evidence of wind energy's growing momentum in the country.
About GE Energy
GE Energy (www.gepower.com) is one of the world's leading suppliers of
power generation and energy delivery technology, with 2004 revenues of $17.3
billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy provides equipment, service and
management solutions across the power generation, oil and gas, transmission
and distribution, distributed power and energy rental industries.
For further information: contact: Dennis Murphy, GE Energy,
(678) 844-6948, dennis.murphy@ps.ge.com; Ken Darling or Howard Masto,
Masto Public Relations, (518) 786-6488, kenneth.darling@ps.ge.com,
howard.masto@ps.ge.com
MONTREAL, March 1 /CNW/ - Completing an agreement first announced by GE
Energy and Hydro-Québec in October, GE Energy has signed contracts with two
developers to supply up to 660 wind turbines for eight projects in the
province of Quebec.
When the projects come on line between 2006 and 2012, they will add 990
megawatts of wind-generated electricity to the power grid of Hydro-Québec, an
international leader in power generation, transmission and distribution.
The contract signings follow a memorandum of understanding signed in
October, naming GE Energy as the turbine supplier for the projects. It marks
the largest single award for wind generation capacity in the history of the
global wind energy industry.
GE will supply up to 740 megawatts of wind turbines to Cartier Wind
Energy and up to 250 megawatts of wind turbines to Northland Power
Inc./Northland Power Income Fund. Both were winning bidders in a solicitation
for awards initiated by Hydro-Québec, under a 2003 request for proposals to
supply 1,000 megawatts of new wind power capacity by 2012.
GE will support the projects with a significant portion of the contracts
supplied locally in the Province of Quebec.
The wind turbines for the new projects will be GE's 1.5-megawatt
machines, which are among the largest wind turbines assembled in North America
and among the most widely utilized megawatt-class wind turbines in the world,
with more than 2,500 installations.
Over the course of six years, GE's wind turbines will be installed at
eight potential locations including Anse-a-Valleau, Baie-des-Sables, St.-
Ulric/St.Léandre, Carleton, Les Méchins, Mont Louis, Montagne - Seche, and
Gros Morne I and II. The power generated will be provided to Hydro-Québec
Distribution, the utility's retail division, for distribution throughout
Quebec.
As of December 2004, Canada's installed wind energy capacity was 444
megawatts. Forecasts by the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CANWEA)
anticipate the installation of 10,000 megawatts of wind power across the
country by 2010. According to CANWEA, projects such as the Hydro-Québec effort
are evidence of wind energy's growing momentum in the country.
About GE Energy
GE Energy (www.gepower.com) is one of the world's leading suppliers of
power generation and energy delivery technology, with 2004 revenues of $17.3
billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy provides equipment, service and
management solutions across the power generation, oil and gas, transmission
and distribution, distributed power and energy rental industries.
For further information: contact: Dennis Murphy, GE Energy,
(678) 844-6948, dennis.murphy@ps.ge.com; Ken Darling or Howard Masto,
Masto Public Relations, (518) 786-6488, kenneth.darling@ps.ge.com,
howard.masto@ps.ge.com
Sunday, February 27, 2005
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Scottish Wind Power
Creating power a breeze for Scots
Scottish wind farms produced enough power for 300,000 homesScotland is the windiest country in Europe, producing enough wind power last month for all the homes in Edinburgh and Dundee.
According to Scottish Power, wind farms produced enough electricity in January to cater for more than 300,000 homes.
Over an average year, Scottish wind farms operate at about 35% capacity. Last month that reached 50%, with one wind farm in Argyll hitting 65%.
Capacity in Scotland is expected to double by the end of the year.
Scottish Power claims the figures show wind power is coming of age.
The Scottish Executive has committed itself to generating 40% of electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
Scottish wind farms produced enough power for 300,000 homesScotland is the windiest country in Europe, producing enough wind power last month for all the homes in Edinburgh and Dundee.
According to Scottish Power, wind farms produced enough electricity in January to cater for more than 300,000 homes.
Over an average year, Scottish wind farms operate at about 35% capacity. Last month that reached 50%, with one wind farm in Argyll hitting 65%.
Capacity in Scotland is expected to double by the end of the year.
Scottish Power claims the figures show wind power is coming of age.
The Scottish Executive has committed itself to generating 40% of electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
Deep Water Wind Farms
Researcher Explores Potential of Deep-Water Wind Farms
James Manwell, a research associate professor in the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department of University of Massachusetts Amherst, jokingly calls his current research into offshore deep-water wind farms the “Not Nantucket Sound Project,” referring to the controversy stirred up by a proposed shallow-water wind farm in the waters between Cape Cod and Nantucket.
Manwell and his research colleagues on campus and at MIT and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are sharing a nearly $600,000, one-year pilot grant to begin the design of the next generation of offshore wind turbines that will not only avoid the controversy dogging the Nantucket Sound proposal, but tap into a vast amount of wind energy.
“If you’re just fighting over water that’s only 60 feet deep,” says Manwell, “there’s a significant but not huge amount of energy. But deep water has the potential for wind farms going out to 200 miles. That would mean an enormous energy potential.”
One essential debate that the pilot project will deal with is whether to make wind turbines float or make them bottom-mounted, as in oil rigs. The planning will also deal with optimizing layouts for offshore wind farms by determining the most favorable water depth, distance from shore, spacing between turbines and wind-wave environment. To help sort out these issues, researchers will collect data with remote-sensing “SODAR,” which Manwell describes as “conceptually similar to sonar or radar.” There will also be extensive computer modeling of wind-farm scenarios, including simulations of positive impacts wind farms would have on the utility grid and air pollution.
The Offshore Wind Energy Collaborative, as the research consortium is called, is being funded by the Massachusetts Technical Collaborative, the General Electric Wind Energy Division and the U.S. Department of Energy.
http://www.umass.edu/
Posted 28th February 2005
James Manwell, a research associate professor in the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department of University of Massachusetts Amherst, jokingly calls his current research into offshore deep-water wind farms the “Not Nantucket Sound Project,” referring to the controversy stirred up by a proposed shallow-water wind farm in the waters between Cape Cod and Nantucket.
Manwell and his research colleagues on campus and at MIT and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are sharing a nearly $600,000, one-year pilot grant to begin the design of the next generation of offshore wind turbines that will not only avoid the controversy dogging the Nantucket Sound proposal, but tap into a vast amount of wind energy.
“If you’re just fighting over water that’s only 60 feet deep,” says Manwell, “there’s a significant but not huge amount of energy. But deep water has the potential for wind farms going out to 200 miles. That would mean an enormous energy potential.”
One essential debate that the pilot project will deal with is whether to make wind turbines float or make them bottom-mounted, as in oil rigs. The planning will also deal with optimizing layouts for offshore wind farms by determining the most favorable water depth, distance from shore, spacing between turbines and wind-wave environment. To help sort out these issues, researchers will collect data with remote-sensing “SODAR,” which Manwell describes as “conceptually similar to sonar or radar.” There will also be extensive computer modeling of wind-farm scenarios, including simulations of positive impacts wind farms would have on the utility grid and air pollution.
The Offshore Wind Energy Collaborative, as the research consortium is called, is being funded by the Massachusetts Technical Collaborative, the General Electric Wind Energy Division and the U.S. Department of Energy.
http://www.umass.edu/
Posted 28th February 2005
Vestas Wind Farm in North Dakota
Company developing small wind farm in North DakotaXcel Energy Inc. plans to buy power for next 20 years
Subsidiaries of a Danish wind developer plan to construct 18 wind turbines just north of Velva, N.D., and sell the electricity to Xcel Energy Inc.
The 12 megawatts of power is enough to provide electricity for a town of 6,000 people, and the project could be expanded in the future, said Laurence Greene, a vice president of Global Renewable Energy Partners Inc.
Greene, Gov. John Hoeven and Mark Nisbet, Xcel Energy's top North Dakota executive, spoke at a Tuesday news conference held in Minot to announce the project. PlainStates Energy, a Fargo wind developer, is another partner in the Velva project, Greene said.
Greene said construction on the $10 million development should begin in June, and be completed by year's end. The site has been monitored for wind energy potential for two years, and lease agreements signed with eight landowners for rights to use almost 2,000 acres of land.
Xcel Energy has about 85,000 North Dakota electric customers, mostly in Fargo, West Fargo, Grand Forks and Minot. Xcel has agreed to buy the project's electricity for 20 years, Nisbet said.
Global Renewable Energy Partners, which has a U.S. office in La Jolla, Calif., is a subsidiary of Vestas Wind Systems A/S of Copenhagen, Denmark. Vestas also is providing the wind turbines.
It is the second wind farm project planned for the area. An American subsidiary of ScottishPower PLC of Glasgow has notified the state Public Service Commission that it may construct as many as 100 wind turbines east of Rugby this summer.
From The Associated Press
Subsidiaries of a Danish wind developer plan to construct 18 wind turbines just north of Velva, N.D., and sell the electricity to Xcel Energy Inc.
The 12 megawatts of power is enough to provide electricity for a town of 6,000 people, and the project could be expanded in the future, said Laurence Greene, a vice president of Global Renewable Energy Partners Inc.
Greene, Gov. John Hoeven and Mark Nisbet, Xcel Energy's top North Dakota executive, spoke at a Tuesday news conference held in Minot to announce the project. PlainStates Energy, a Fargo wind developer, is another partner in the Velva project, Greene said.
Greene said construction on the $10 million development should begin in June, and be completed by year's end. The site has been monitored for wind energy potential for two years, and lease agreements signed with eight landowners for rights to use almost 2,000 acres of land.
Xcel Energy has about 85,000 North Dakota electric customers, mostly in Fargo, West Fargo, Grand Forks and Minot. Xcel has agreed to buy the project's electricity for 20 years, Nisbet said.
Global Renewable Energy Partners, which has a U.S. office in La Jolla, Calif., is a subsidiary of Vestas Wind Systems A/S of Copenhagen, Denmark. Vestas also is providing the wind turbines.
It is the second wind farm project planned for the area. An American subsidiary of ScottishPower PLC of Glasgow has notified the state Public Service Commission that it may construct as many as 100 wind turbines east of Rugby this summer.
From The Associated Press
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Cartier Wind Energy
February 25, 2005 02:10 PM US Eastern Timezone Cartier Wind Energy to Become Quebec's Largest Wind Energy Producer LONGUEUIL, Quebec--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 25, 2005--TransCanada (TSX:TRP) (NYSE:TRP):
Cartier Wind Energy is pleased to announce that long term Electricity Supply Contracts have been signed today with Hydro-Quebec Distribution for 740 megawatts (MW) of wind power projects located in the Gaspesie-Iles-de-la-Madeleine region and the Regional County Municipality of Matane. With these agreements, Cartier Wind Energy will become the largest wind energy producer in the province of Quebec. The assets related to the wind power projects are indirectly co-owned by TransCanada Corporation (62%) and Innergex II Income Fund (38%).
This signing follows the October 2004 announcement of Cartier Wind Energy's successful bid in response to Hydro-Quebec Distribution's call for tenders. The long-term Electricity Supply Contracts will be presented to the Regie de l'energie for approval.
"We are pleased to execute these agreements which are the result of four years of work and we are thankful to the community of Gaspesie for supporting these important green energy projects," said Gilles Lefrancois, Chairman of the Board of Cartier Wind Energy.
These projects represent an investment of more than $1.1 billion and will be commissioned beginning in 2006 and continue up to 2012. The projects are Baie des Sables (109.5MW), Anse a Valleau (100.5MW), Carleton (109.5MW), Les Mechins (150MW), Montagne-Seche (58.5MW) and Gros-Morne I and II (211.5MW). The projects' total annual production will represent 2.3 terawatthours (TWh), the energy required to meet the electricity needs of about 150,000 households in the province of Quebec. Cartier Wind Energy has already begun the environmental permitting process for the 2006 projects in close collaboration with local communities and suppliers, and has received a positive response from the regional population following the introduction of the projects.
TransCanada Corporation Profile
TransCanada is a leading North American energy company, focused on natural gas transmission and power services. TransCanada's network of approximately 41,000 kilometres of pipeline transports the majority of Western Canada's natural gas production to the fastest growing markets in Canada and the United States. Including TransCanada's interest in Cartier Wind Energy, TransCanada owns, controls or is constructing more than 5100 MW of power - an equal amount of power can meet the needs of about 5.1 million average households.
Innergex II Income Fund Profile
Innergex II Income Fund ("Innergex II") is a private open-ended trust that was created in 2001 to build, own and operate hydroelectric power plants and wind farms in North America. In addition to being a partner in Cartier Wind Energy, Innergex II owns, operates and develops more than 300 MW hydroelectric projects. Innergex II has executed a cooperation agreement with Innergex Power Income Fund ("Fund"), a public open-ended income trust created in July 2003 and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (IEF.UN), pursuant to which any project developed by Innergex II is offered to the Fund before being offered to any other third party. The Fund indirectly owns nine hydroelectric power stations in Quebec, Ontario and Idaho, USA.
TRANSCANADA (NYSE:TRP) (TSX:TRP)
Contacts
Cartier Wind EnergyMr. Gilles LefrancoisChairman of the Board(450) 928-2550, ext. 243Email: info@innergex.comORMr. Michel LetellierVice President(450) 928-2550, ext. 227Email: info@innergex.comWebsite: www.innergex.comORTransCanadaMedia InquiriesKurt Kadatz/Hejdi Feick(403) 920-7859 or (800) 608-7859ORInvestor & Analyst InquiriesDavid Moneta(403) 920-7911Website: www.transcanada.com
Cartier Wind Energy is pleased to announce that long term Electricity Supply Contracts have been signed today with Hydro-Quebec Distribution for 740 megawatts (MW) of wind power projects located in the Gaspesie-Iles-de-la-Madeleine region and the Regional County Municipality of Matane. With these agreements, Cartier Wind Energy will become the largest wind energy producer in the province of Quebec. The assets related to the wind power projects are indirectly co-owned by TransCanada Corporation (62%) and Innergex II Income Fund (38%).
This signing follows the October 2004 announcement of Cartier Wind Energy's successful bid in response to Hydro-Quebec Distribution's call for tenders. The long-term Electricity Supply Contracts will be presented to the Regie de l'energie for approval.
"We are pleased to execute these agreements which are the result of four years of work and we are thankful to the community of Gaspesie for supporting these important green energy projects," said Gilles Lefrancois, Chairman of the Board of Cartier Wind Energy.
These projects represent an investment of more than $1.1 billion and will be commissioned beginning in 2006 and continue up to 2012. The projects are Baie des Sables (109.5MW), Anse a Valleau (100.5MW), Carleton (109.5MW), Les Mechins (150MW), Montagne-Seche (58.5MW) and Gros-Morne I and II (211.5MW). The projects' total annual production will represent 2.3 terawatthours (TWh), the energy required to meet the electricity needs of about 150,000 households in the province of Quebec. Cartier Wind Energy has already begun the environmental permitting process for the 2006 projects in close collaboration with local communities and suppliers, and has received a positive response from the regional population following the introduction of the projects.
TransCanada Corporation Profile
TransCanada is a leading North American energy company, focused on natural gas transmission and power services. TransCanada's network of approximately 41,000 kilometres of pipeline transports the majority of Western Canada's natural gas production to the fastest growing markets in Canada and the United States. Including TransCanada's interest in Cartier Wind Energy, TransCanada owns, controls or is constructing more than 5100 MW of power - an equal amount of power can meet the needs of about 5.1 million average households.
Innergex II Income Fund Profile
Innergex II Income Fund ("Innergex II") is a private open-ended trust that was created in 2001 to build, own and operate hydroelectric power plants and wind farms in North America. In addition to being a partner in Cartier Wind Energy, Innergex II owns, operates and develops more than 300 MW hydroelectric projects. Innergex II has executed a cooperation agreement with Innergex Power Income Fund ("Fund"), a public open-ended income trust created in July 2003 and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (IEF.UN), pursuant to which any project developed by Innergex II is offered to the Fund before being offered to any other third party. The Fund indirectly owns nine hydroelectric power stations in Quebec, Ontario and Idaho, USA.
TRANSCANADA (NYSE:TRP) (TSX:TRP)
Contacts
Cartier Wind EnergyMr. Gilles LefrancoisChairman of the Board(450) 928-2550, ext. 243Email: info@innergex.comORMr. Michel LetellierVice President(450) 928-2550, ext. 227Email: info@innergex.comWebsite: www.innergex.comORTransCanadaMedia InquiriesKurt Kadatz/Hejdi Feick(403) 920-7859 or (800) 608-7859ORInvestor & Analyst InquiriesDavid Moneta(403) 920-7911Website: www.transcanada.com
Pakistan Gets Huge Loan for Renewable Energy
Pakistan to get $1b ADB loan a year
ISLAMABAD, Feb 26 : The Asian Development Bank will introduce a new five-year loan programme for Pakistan and other member countries from 2006. Pakistan is expected to receive about $1 billion loans per year from the bank under the new programme, ADB Country Director in Pakistan Marshuk Shah said.
“The existing lending programme will expire by December 2005, and the ADB will start a new plan for five years period, to be implemented from January 2006 to 2010,” he said, and added the annual lending of the bank is based on the calendar year.
Shah said the bank is increasing the amount of highly concessional loans for Pakistan gradually. He said in 2004, the ADB provided $228 million soft loans, which did not involve any mark-up, but only less than one percent service charges. “In 2005, the bank has decided to increase soft loans for Pakistan to near $350 million out of total plan of $800 million for different projects.”
He said the bank would enhance the quantum of interest-free or soft-term loans in future, but further increase in soft loans for Pakistan in the upcoming programme would depend on the availability of funds with the ADB.
Shah said tsunami had eroded the funds of the bank, as it allocated around one billion dollars for the tsunami-hit countries.
He said had tsunami not taken place the bank might have increased concessional loans for Pakistan to over $500 million a year from 2006.
He said the bank was focusing on extending loans to Pakistan for infrastructure, communications and energy sectors for development, creation of employment opportunities and poverty reduction. He said in the coming two years, his bank would provide $500 million for transmission, distribution and renewable energy projects in Pakistan besides $200 million for wind, solar and other resources of alternative and renewable energy.
He said the bank had already announced about $800 million loans for various road projects in Pakistan to improve connectivity within the country as well as region, especially Afghanistan, Central Asian Republics, Iran, etc.
Back to Top
ISLAMABAD, Feb 26 : The Asian Development Bank will introduce a new five-year loan programme for Pakistan and other member countries from 2006. Pakistan is expected to receive about $1 billion loans per year from the bank under the new programme, ADB Country Director in Pakistan Marshuk Shah said.
“The existing lending programme will expire by December 2005, and the ADB will start a new plan for five years period, to be implemented from January 2006 to 2010,” he said, and added the annual lending of the bank is based on the calendar year.
Shah said the bank is increasing the amount of highly concessional loans for Pakistan gradually. He said in 2004, the ADB provided $228 million soft loans, which did not involve any mark-up, but only less than one percent service charges. “In 2005, the bank has decided to increase soft loans for Pakistan to near $350 million out of total plan of $800 million for different projects.”
He said the bank would enhance the quantum of interest-free or soft-term loans in future, but further increase in soft loans for Pakistan in the upcoming programme would depend on the availability of funds with the ADB.
Shah said tsunami had eroded the funds of the bank, as it allocated around one billion dollars for the tsunami-hit countries.
He said had tsunami not taken place the bank might have increased concessional loans for Pakistan to over $500 million a year from 2006.
He said the bank was focusing on extending loans to Pakistan for infrastructure, communications and energy sectors for development, creation of employment opportunities and poverty reduction. He said in the coming two years, his bank would provide $500 million for transmission, distribution and renewable energy projects in Pakistan besides $200 million for wind, solar and other resources of alternative and renewable energy.
He said the bank had already announced about $800 million loans for various road projects in Pakistan to improve connectivity within the country as well as region, especially Afghanistan, Central Asian Republics, Iran, etc.
Back to Top
NEW Wind Tower Design
Windtower Composites Receives $1.5 million Grant to Demonstrate Low Speed Wind TurbineA recent grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC) will help test new turbine tower materials and erection methods that could revolutionize the wind energy industry.
As wind turbines gain in size and capacity, they become more cost effective as power plants. At the same time, however, the freight costs associated with transportation of the components - particularly the towers - and the necessity for specialized cranes become a considerable part of a project's financial equation.
Windtower Composites (WT), a Utah based technology company in partnership with SeaWest Wind Power , Inc has been selected as one of three technology teams awarded a grant for the CEC’s “Expanded Wind Regime Turbine Technology and Intermittency Management Demonstration” project solicitation. WindTower Composites, a Heber City company, received $1.5 million to demonstrate its composite wind turbine tower at a site in California in Dec. ’05. The Altamount pass site, owned by SeaWest was specifically selected for demonstration of expanded wind resources at greater heights using the new tower technology.
Previously, WT received two consecutive grants from the United States Department of Energy (DOE) for $850,000 to develop, engineer, and test the components of a 80 meter, 1.5 megawatt, lightweight wind turbine tower that uses a unique space frame geometry of carbon composite tubes. This funding also supported the engineering of a crane-less elevator lifting system for installation of the turbine and blades.
A final 65 meter and preliminary 125 meter tower design along with subscale testing have been completed with help from Brigham Young University and Southern Utah University. Full scale tube manufacturing as well as ultimate and fatigue testing at Brigham Young University will begin in late winter and is scheduled for completion in June ‘05.
The CEC grant money will offset some of the remaining costs to manufacture the crane-less elevator lifting system. WT will then use 50 percent matching funds in partnership with SeaWest Wind Power, Inc. , to purchase the 1.5 MW wind turbine to be used for testing and certification of a 80m tower/turbine combination at the California test site. This demonstration is the first step towards certification of the world’s tallest tower for 1.5 MW turbines at 125m expected in ’06.
“At standard heights, the lower weight, on-site assembly, and crane-less installation will enable small projects as well as logistically difficult sites such as ridgetops, islands, and other remote areas lacking roads infrastructure and crane access while the taller 125m tower is unique in its ability to capture more wind at greater heights at low cost” says Tracy Livingston, President of Wind Tower Composites.
“This will enable the development of Class 3 wind sites, which historically have been uneconomical to develop. Many areas are known to have a vast number of Class 3 wind sites that could be economically developed with this new technology,” added Livingston.
According to the company, the taller tower is expected to demonstrate a substantial reduction in costs of energy in even low wind shear locals.
Wasatch Wind, an affiliate of Wind Tower Composites, also plans to incorporate the space frame tower when it builds a small community owned wind farm in Spanish Fork Canyon. Currently, this wind farm is engaged in the permitting process with Spanish Fork City and has installed an 82 meter IsoTruss meteorological tower to verify the wind speeds. Wind Tower Composites will use the Spanish Fork site to further demonstrate the composite tower with the goal of obtaining certification from Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL). Certification is necessary to sell these towers to turbine manufacturers and other third parties. Once certification of the Wind Tower Composites has concluded, WT plans to build a manufacturing plant for the turbine towers in rural Utah in 2006 creating jobs and increasing its tax base.
Wind Tower Composites developed space frame towers to support large wind turbines comprising segments of lightweight composite tubes assembled into a 3-d matrix. For aesthetics, the frame is covered overall with a thin composite sheathing to achieve the look of a steel tube tower. Used to support 1.2MW turbines in heights from 60 to 100m and larger, the tower can be easily assembled at a wind farm site. Less than 10% the weight of steel tube towers, the lighter weight and onsite assembly enables self-erection and the complete elimination of expensive larger cranes from the job site. In addition, the efficient use of lightweight composites provides a more economical structure than standard steel tube towers and reduces the escalating costs of ground transportation. Contrasted to steel towers, this innovative structure has a combined cost reduction of greater than 35% resulting in a greater than 10% reduction in cost of energy at a typical class 5 wind farm. WWW Link: http://www.windtowercomposites.comWWW Link: http://www.energy.ca.gov
As wind turbines gain in size and capacity, they become more cost effective as power plants. At the same time, however, the freight costs associated with transportation of the components - particularly the towers - and the necessity for specialized cranes become a considerable part of a project's financial equation.
Windtower Composites (WT), a Utah based technology company in partnership with SeaWest Wind Power , Inc has been selected as one of three technology teams awarded a grant for the CEC’s “Expanded Wind Regime Turbine Technology and Intermittency Management Demonstration” project solicitation. WindTower Composites, a Heber City company, received $1.5 million to demonstrate its composite wind turbine tower at a site in California in Dec. ’05. The Altamount pass site, owned by SeaWest was specifically selected for demonstration of expanded wind resources at greater heights using the new tower technology.
Previously, WT received two consecutive grants from the United States Department of Energy (DOE) for $850,000 to develop, engineer, and test the components of a 80 meter, 1.5 megawatt, lightweight wind turbine tower that uses a unique space frame geometry of carbon composite tubes. This funding also supported the engineering of a crane-less elevator lifting system for installation of the turbine and blades.
A final 65 meter and preliminary 125 meter tower design along with subscale testing have been completed with help from Brigham Young University and Southern Utah University. Full scale tube manufacturing as well as ultimate and fatigue testing at Brigham Young University will begin in late winter and is scheduled for completion in June ‘05.
The CEC grant money will offset some of the remaining costs to manufacture the crane-less elevator lifting system. WT will then use 50 percent matching funds in partnership with SeaWest Wind Power, Inc. , to purchase the 1.5 MW wind turbine to be used for testing and certification of a 80m tower/turbine combination at the California test site. This demonstration is the first step towards certification of the world’s tallest tower for 1.5 MW turbines at 125m expected in ’06.
“At standard heights, the lower weight, on-site assembly, and crane-less installation will enable small projects as well as logistically difficult sites such as ridgetops, islands, and other remote areas lacking roads infrastructure and crane access while the taller 125m tower is unique in its ability to capture more wind at greater heights at low cost” says Tracy Livingston, President of Wind Tower Composites.
“This will enable the development of Class 3 wind sites, which historically have been uneconomical to develop. Many areas are known to have a vast number of Class 3 wind sites that could be economically developed with this new technology,” added Livingston.
According to the company, the taller tower is expected to demonstrate a substantial reduction in costs of energy in even low wind shear locals.
Wasatch Wind, an affiliate of Wind Tower Composites, also plans to incorporate the space frame tower when it builds a small community owned wind farm in Spanish Fork Canyon. Currently, this wind farm is engaged in the permitting process with Spanish Fork City and has installed an 82 meter IsoTruss meteorological tower to verify the wind speeds. Wind Tower Composites will use the Spanish Fork site to further demonstrate the composite tower with the goal of obtaining certification from Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL). Certification is necessary to sell these towers to turbine manufacturers and other third parties. Once certification of the Wind Tower Composites has concluded, WT plans to build a manufacturing plant for the turbine towers in rural Utah in 2006 creating jobs and increasing its tax base.
Wind Tower Composites developed space frame towers to support large wind turbines comprising segments of lightweight composite tubes assembled into a 3-d matrix. For aesthetics, the frame is covered overall with a thin composite sheathing to achieve the look of a steel tube tower. Used to support 1.2MW turbines in heights from 60 to 100m and larger, the tower can be easily assembled at a wind farm site. Less than 10% the weight of steel tube towers, the lighter weight and onsite assembly enables self-erection and the complete elimination of expensive larger cranes from the job site. In addition, the efficient use of lightweight composites provides a more economical structure than standard steel tube towers and reduces the escalating costs of ground transportation. Contrasted to steel towers, this innovative structure has a combined cost reduction of greater than 35% resulting in a greater than 10% reduction in cost of energy at a typical class 5 wind farm. WWW Link: http://www.windtowercomposites.comWWW Link: http://www.energy.ca.gov
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Catamount Completes Texas Wind Farm
Catamount Energy Completes Texas Wind Farm
February 24, 2005
[RenewableEnergyAccess.com] Vermont-based Catamount Energy announced that its second U.S. wind project has been completed and attained full commercial operations in February. Sweetwater 2, located in Nolan County, Texas, is a 91.5 MW project using 61 GE Wind turbines. Catamount is an equity investor in the project. DKRW Energy of Houston was the project developer. Babcock & Brown acted as the financial advisor for the project and is also an equity investor in the project. Babcock & Brown and Catamount supported and funded the development and construction of the project. The completion of this project gives Catamount part ownership in a total of 129 MW of operating wind projects in the U.S. The company's UK development pipeline is expected to produce the first completed projects in the 2006/2007 time frame, according Catamount CEO James Moore.
February 24, 2005
[RenewableEnergyAccess.com] Vermont-based Catamount Energy announced that its second U.S. wind project has been completed and attained full commercial operations in February. Sweetwater 2, located in Nolan County, Texas, is a 91.5 MW project using 61 GE Wind turbines. Catamount is an equity investor in the project. DKRW Energy of Houston was the project developer. Babcock & Brown acted as the financial advisor for the project and is also an equity investor in the project. Babcock & Brown and Catamount supported and funded the development and construction of the project. The completion of this project gives Catamount part ownership in a total of 129 MW of operating wind projects in the U.S. The company's UK development pipeline is expected to produce the first completed projects in the 2006/2007 time frame, according Catamount CEO James Moore.
Wind Energy Web Links
Links to Wind Energy Resources
Here are some links to Wind Energy websites to help you learn more about this exciting industry.
Wind Energy Headlines
Latest Wind Energy News from Google News
Large-Scale Turbine Manufacturers
Worldwide Associations
Northern Power Systems
American Wind Energy Association (AWEA)
The Wind Turbine Company
National Wind Coordinating Committee
Vestas
WindPowering America
NEG - Micon
Utility Wind Interest Group
Fuhrländer
Australian Wind Energy Association
Enercon
Austrian Wind Energy Association
Gamesa
Belgium Les Compagnons d'Eole
Nordex
Brazilian Center for Wind Energy (CBEE)
Bonus Energy
British Wind Energy Association
Turbowinds
Canadian Wind Energy Association
MADE
Danish Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association
GE Wind Energy
Danish Wind Turbine Owner Association
Dutch Statistics on Wind Energy
European Wind Energy Association
Small-Scale Projects / Manufacturers
Estonia Wind Energy Association
DanMar and Associates
Finnish Wind Power Association
Bergey Windpower Company
German Wind Energy Association
Southwest Windpower
German Wind Energy Institute
Bornay
German Windpower Federation
Pitch Wind Ab
Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturer's Association
CITA
WindPowerIndia
Vergnet
Indian Wind Energy Association (InWEA)
Atlantic Orient Corporation
Irish Energy Centre
WindTech International, L.L.C.
Irish Wind Energy Association
Wind Turbine Industries Corporation
Polish Wind Energy Association
Wind Power Tutorials
New Zealand Wind Energy Association
Franklin Institute
Norwegian Wind Power Association
WindPower.org Tutorial
South African Wind Energy Association
Small Wind - State-by-State
Suisse-Eole
Windpower Monthly Magazine
Swedish Wind Energy Association
World Wind Energy Association
Wind Energy Action
Projects and General Information
Addison Wisconsin Wind Project Resources
Offshore Wind Energy Network (OWEN)
Akron-Westfield Iowa Wind Energy Project
OffshoreWindFarms.co.uk
West Texas University Alternative Energy Institute
Oklahoma Wind Power Assessment Initiative
American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE)
OurWind Co-op
Basin Electric ND Wind Projects
Plains Organization for Wind Energy Resources
Bison Land Resource Ctr. Wind Energy
Platte River Power Authority Wind Energy Page
Cape Wind Associates
Prairie Power
Colorado Wind Power
PSC of Colorado Windsource Program
Community Energy, Inc.
Renewable Energy Analysis Studies Network
Offshore Wind Energy in Europe Project
Renewable Energy Research Laboratory
Crookwell Wind Farm (Australia)
Risø Wind Energy Program
UK: Proposed Offshore Wind Farm Locations
RiverWinds
Desert Sky Wind Project (TX)
The Rosebud Sioux Tribe Wind Farm
Deutsche Energie Offshore Wind
Sky Wind Power
SD Prairie Winds Program
Southern Alliance for Clean Air
El Paso Electric Hueco Mountain Wind Ranch
Spirit Lake IA Wind Energy Project
Energy Northwest
Stateline Wind Project
Eugene, OR Wind Energy Site
Sustainable Energy Development Authority
Forest City High School (IA) Wind Project
Sustainable Minnesota
Fort Collins Utilities Wind Energy Page
Tennessee Valley Authority's Wind Energy
FPL Energy
Tennessee Valley Infrastructure Group
Graninge (Sweden)
Texas Wind Energy Project
Wind Energy in Hawaii
Tomen Corporation's Wind Projects
Hull, MA Wind Project
Toronto Renewable Energy Cooperative
Hydro Tasmania (Australia)
Tri-State Generation Wind Energy Project
The International Centre for Island Technology
TXU Trent Mesa Project
Iowa Energy Center's Renewable Energy Section
Utility Wind Interest Group
Iowa Renewable Energy Association
Waverly Light and Power's Wind Energy
Iowa Wind Farms
WE Energies Wind Project
Iowa Wind Power
Western Power's Wind Projects
Iowa Wind Resource Maps
Western Resources Wind
Kennemerwind Cooperative (Netherlands)
Wind Energy Council
Kewaunee County WI Wind Energy Project
Wind Energy Research Group
Lincoln NE Electric System Wind Program
Wind Power in Wisconsin
Long Island Offshore Wind Initiative
WindExpert.net
Low Wind Speed Turbine Project (WI)
WindPowerOnline.com
Mackinaw City, Michigan Wind Project
Madison Gas and Electric's Wind Energy site
The Netherlands Energy Research Foundation
ND Sustainable Energy for Econ. Dev.
NOW with Bill Moyers
Here are some links to Wind Energy websites to help you learn more about this exciting industry.
Wind Energy Headlines
Latest Wind Energy News from Google News
Large-Scale Turbine Manufacturers
Worldwide Associations
Northern Power Systems
American Wind Energy Association (AWEA)
The Wind Turbine Company
National Wind Coordinating Committee
Vestas
WindPowering America
NEG - Micon
Utility Wind Interest Group
Fuhrländer
Australian Wind Energy Association
Enercon
Austrian Wind Energy Association
Gamesa
Belgium Les Compagnons d'Eole
Nordex
Brazilian Center for Wind Energy (CBEE)
Bonus Energy
British Wind Energy Association
Turbowinds
Canadian Wind Energy Association
MADE
Danish Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association
GE Wind Energy
Danish Wind Turbine Owner Association
Dutch Statistics on Wind Energy
European Wind Energy Association
Small-Scale Projects / Manufacturers
Estonia Wind Energy Association
DanMar and Associates
Finnish Wind Power Association
Bergey Windpower Company
German Wind Energy Association
Southwest Windpower
German Wind Energy Institute
Bornay
German Windpower Federation
Pitch Wind Ab
Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturer's Association
CITA
WindPowerIndia
Vergnet
Indian Wind Energy Association (InWEA)
Atlantic Orient Corporation
Irish Energy Centre
WindTech International, L.L.C.
Irish Wind Energy Association
Wind Turbine Industries Corporation
Polish Wind Energy Association
Wind Power Tutorials
New Zealand Wind Energy Association
Franklin Institute
Norwegian Wind Power Association
WindPower.org Tutorial
South African Wind Energy Association
Small Wind - State-by-State
Suisse-Eole
Windpower Monthly Magazine
Swedish Wind Energy Association
World Wind Energy Association
Wind Energy Action
Projects and General Information
Addison Wisconsin Wind Project Resources
Offshore Wind Energy Network (OWEN)
Akron-Westfield Iowa Wind Energy Project
OffshoreWindFarms.co.uk
West Texas University Alternative Energy Institute
Oklahoma Wind Power Assessment Initiative
American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE)
OurWind Co-op
Basin Electric ND Wind Projects
Plains Organization for Wind Energy Resources
Bison Land Resource Ctr. Wind Energy
Platte River Power Authority Wind Energy Page
Cape Wind Associates
Prairie Power
Colorado Wind Power
PSC of Colorado Windsource Program
Community Energy, Inc.
Renewable Energy Analysis Studies Network
Offshore Wind Energy in Europe Project
Renewable Energy Research Laboratory
Crookwell Wind Farm (Australia)
Risø Wind Energy Program
UK: Proposed Offshore Wind Farm Locations
RiverWinds
Desert Sky Wind Project (TX)
The Rosebud Sioux Tribe Wind Farm
Deutsche Energie Offshore Wind
Sky Wind Power
SD Prairie Winds Program
Southern Alliance for Clean Air
El Paso Electric Hueco Mountain Wind Ranch
Spirit Lake IA Wind Energy Project
Energy Northwest
Stateline Wind Project
Eugene, OR Wind Energy Site
Sustainable Energy Development Authority
Forest City High School (IA) Wind Project
Sustainable Minnesota
Fort Collins Utilities Wind Energy Page
Tennessee Valley Authority's Wind Energy
FPL Energy
Tennessee Valley Infrastructure Group
Graninge (Sweden)
Texas Wind Energy Project
Wind Energy in Hawaii
Tomen Corporation's Wind Projects
Hull, MA Wind Project
Toronto Renewable Energy Cooperative
Hydro Tasmania (Australia)
Tri-State Generation Wind Energy Project
The International Centre for Island Technology
TXU Trent Mesa Project
Iowa Energy Center's Renewable Energy Section
Utility Wind Interest Group
Iowa Renewable Energy Association
Waverly Light and Power's Wind Energy
Iowa Wind Farms
WE Energies Wind Project
Iowa Wind Power
Western Power's Wind Projects
Iowa Wind Resource Maps
Western Resources Wind
Kennemerwind Cooperative (Netherlands)
Wind Energy Council
Kewaunee County WI Wind Energy Project
Wind Energy Research Group
Lincoln NE Electric System Wind Program
Wind Power in Wisconsin
Long Island Offshore Wind Initiative
WindExpert.net
Low Wind Speed Turbine Project (WI)
WindPowerOnline.com
Mackinaw City, Michigan Wind Project
Madison Gas and Electric's Wind Energy site
The Netherlands Energy Research Foundation
ND Sustainable Energy for Econ. Dev.
NOW with Bill Moyers
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
FPL Energy Completes Bond Offerings
February 23, 2005 02:30 PM US Eastern Timezone FPL Energy Announces Completion of Subsidiary Bond Offerings JUNO BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 23, 2005--FPL Energy, LLC, (NYSE:FPL), today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, FPL Energy National Wind, LLC, has closed a private offering of $365 million of 5.608 percent, 19-year senior secured bonds. The bonds are rated Baa3 by Moody's Investor Service, BBB- by Standard & Poor's and BBB by Fitch Ratings.
The company also announced that FPL Energy National Wind Portfolio, LLC, another wholly owned subsidiary of FPL Energy, LLC, has closed a private offering of $100 million of 6.125 percent, 14-year senior secured bonds. These bonds are rated Ba2 by Moody's Investor Service, BB- by Standard & Poor's and BB by Fitch Ratings.
FPL Energy intends to use substantially all of the net proceeds it will receive from the offerings to repay a portion of the investment made by the company in the development, acquisition and/or construction of nine wind power projects.
"The response from investors to the National Wind financings was extraordinary and is further validation of wind energy as a viable investment option," said Moray Dewhurst, chief financial officer of FPL Group. "As the largest owner and operator of wind turbines in the U.S. with more than 2,750 megawatts in operation, FPL Energy is the only wind generator in the nation with the scale and diversity of projects to put this type of portfolio together."
The financing consisted of nine projects in five diverse wind regions of the U.S., representing 534 megawatts of capacity. The nine wind facilities included in the financing are located in North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Upon the consummation of this financing, FPL Energy will have raised nearly $1.1 billion of long-term, limited recourse project financing on 17 wind projects totaling 1,531 megawatts of capacity, since July of 2003.
FPL Energy is the largest generator of electricity from wind in the United States with more than 2,750 megawatts of capacity in operation. The company said it plans to add 250 to 750 megawatts of new wind to its portfolio by the end of 2005 with approximately 220 megawatts of that total already under construction.
FPL Energy is a subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE:FPL), one of the nation's largest providers of electricity-related services with annual revenues of more than $10 billion. FPL Energy is a leading wholesale generator utilizing clean fuels such as natural gas, wind, solar, hydroelectric and nuclear to generate electricity. It is the nation's leader in wind energy, with 43 wind facilities in operation in 15 states. Its sister subsidiary, Florida Power & Light Company, is one of the nation's largest electric utilities, serving more than 4.2 million customer accounts in Florida. Additional information is available on the Internet at http://www.FPLEnergy.com, http://www.FPLGroup.com and http://www.FPL.com.
Note to Editors: High-resolution logos and executive head shots are available for download at http://www.fpl.com/news/contents/logos.shtml .
Contacts
FPL Energy, LLC, Juno BeachSteve Stengel, 888-867-3050
The company also announced that FPL Energy National Wind Portfolio, LLC, another wholly owned subsidiary of FPL Energy, LLC, has closed a private offering of $100 million of 6.125 percent, 14-year senior secured bonds. These bonds are rated Ba2 by Moody's Investor Service, BB- by Standard & Poor's and BB by Fitch Ratings.
FPL Energy intends to use substantially all of the net proceeds it will receive from the offerings to repay a portion of the investment made by the company in the development, acquisition and/or construction of nine wind power projects.
"The response from investors to the National Wind financings was extraordinary and is further validation of wind energy as a viable investment option," said Moray Dewhurst, chief financial officer of FPL Group. "As the largest owner and operator of wind turbines in the U.S. with more than 2,750 megawatts in operation, FPL Energy is the only wind generator in the nation with the scale and diversity of projects to put this type of portfolio together."
The financing consisted of nine projects in five diverse wind regions of the U.S., representing 534 megawatts of capacity. The nine wind facilities included in the financing are located in North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Upon the consummation of this financing, FPL Energy will have raised nearly $1.1 billion of long-term, limited recourse project financing on 17 wind projects totaling 1,531 megawatts of capacity, since July of 2003.
FPL Energy is the largest generator of electricity from wind in the United States with more than 2,750 megawatts of capacity in operation. The company said it plans to add 250 to 750 megawatts of new wind to its portfolio by the end of 2005 with approximately 220 megawatts of that total already under construction.
FPL Energy is a subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE:FPL), one of the nation's largest providers of electricity-related services with annual revenues of more than $10 billion. FPL Energy is a leading wholesale generator utilizing clean fuels such as natural gas, wind, solar, hydroelectric and nuclear to generate electricity. It is the nation's leader in wind energy, with 43 wind facilities in operation in 15 states. Its sister subsidiary, Florida Power & Light Company, is one of the nation's largest electric utilities, serving more than 4.2 million customer accounts in Florida. Additional information is available on the Internet at http://www.FPLEnergy.com, http://www.FPLGroup.com and http://www.FPL.com.
Note to Editors: High-resolution logos and executive head shots are available for download at http://www.fpl.com/news/contents/logos.shtml .
Contacts
FPL Energy, LLC, Juno BeachSteve Stengel, 888-867-3050
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
1,000 MW Wind Farm in Pakistan
Canadian firm to invest $500 million for 'Wind Farm'
ISLAMABAD: A Canadian firm, Axor Group Inc, will invest $500 million to set up a 100 megawatt (MW) 'wind farm' in Pakistan to enable the country make its entry in the league of 'Green Energy' users. The Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) has registered this firm for setting up a 100 MW wind farm in Pakistan on Built Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis. The AEDB registered the firm after it submitted Canadian bankers comfort and financial capability letter and financing of power purchase agreement along with project proposal for the 500 million dollars investment.M Hassan, country representative of Axor Group Inc in Pakistan, while talking to media people here said that this was the first time that any Canadian company has made investment in the sector.The registration of Axor with AEDB opens the door for setting up a series of wind farms in the coastal belt of Sindh.The company will start from a 100 MW wind farm and, within 12 months of signing of Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC), will set up wind farm of 100 MW and add another 100 MW till it reaches its ultimate capacity of 1,000 MW.By developing this 100 MW wind farm within the vicinity of KESC domain will help in meeting the increasing demand of electricity.Axor is sure that setting up of this first wind farm in Pakistan would be a step forward towards the target of AEDB to contribute 10 percent share in the national electricity generation mix by year 2015.The project will also help in reducing power shortage in KESC system and also save a large amount of money by supplying cheaper and environment-friendly source of energy as compared to thermal.A delegation of the company will soon visit Pakistan and meet government officials, including President, Prime Minister and Minister for Water and Power.Producing power through wind energy like other developing countries would save a large amount of foreign exchange spent on import of oil for energy generation.
ISLAMABAD: A Canadian firm, Axor Group Inc, will invest $500 million to set up a 100 megawatt (MW) 'wind farm' in Pakistan to enable the country make its entry in the league of 'Green Energy' users. The Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) has registered this firm for setting up a 100 MW wind farm in Pakistan on Built Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis. The AEDB registered the firm after it submitted Canadian bankers comfort and financial capability letter and financing of power purchase agreement along with project proposal for the 500 million dollars investment.M Hassan, country representative of Axor Group Inc in Pakistan, while talking to media people here said that this was the first time that any Canadian company has made investment in the sector.The registration of Axor with AEDB opens the door for setting up a series of wind farms in the coastal belt of Sindh.The company will start from a 100 MW wind farm and, within 12 months of signing of Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC), will set up wind farm of 100 MW and add another 100 MW till it reaches its ultimate capacity of 1,000 MW.By developing this 100 MW wind farm within the vicinity of KESC domain will help in meeting the increasing demand of electricity.Axor is sure that setting up of this first wind farm in Pakistan would be a step forward towards the target of AEDB to contribute 10 percent share in the national electricity generation mix by year 2015.The project will also help in reducing power shortage in KESC system and also save a large amount of money by supplying cheaper and environment-friendly source of energy as compared to thermal.A delegation of the company will soon visit Pakistan and meet government officials, including President, Prime Minister and Minister for Water and Power.Producing power through wind energy like other developing countries would save a large amount of foreign exchange spent on import of oil for energy generation.
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